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http://www.archive.org/details/reportoncottonpr1880hilg 


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DEPARTMENT   OF    THE   INTERIOR, 
CENSUS    OFFICE. 


IF^-AJSTCIS    A-    A^ALKER,  Superintendent, 
Appointed  April  1,  IJS79  ;  resigned  November  3,  1881. 


CHAS.    'SV.    SEATON,   Superintendent, 
Appointed  November  4, 1881. 


REPORT 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES; 


ALSO    EMBRACING 


AGRICULTURAL  AND  PHYSICOGEOGRAPHICAL  DESCRIPTIONS 


SEVERAL  COTTON  STATES  AND  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


EUGENE    W.    HILGARD,  Ph.   D., 

Professor  of  Agriculture,  University  of  California,  former  Professor  at  the  University  q/ 

Mississippi,  and  State  Geologist, 

special  a  &  e  jst  t   in   c  ha.  rgb. 


PART  II. 

EASTERN  GULF,  ATLANTIC,  AND  PACIFIC  STATES. 


WASHING-TON: 

GOVERNMENT     P  KIN  TINS     OFFICE, 

18  6*. 


SUBJECTS    OF    THIS    REPORT. 


Part  I. 

GENERAL  DISCUSSION  OF  COTTON  PRODUCTION By  Eugene  W.  IIilgahe, 

COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  THE  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY  AND  SOUTHWESTERN  STATES. 

LOUISIANA |  ,       , 

MISSISStPPT  (       '   EUGENE   " '■  HlLGAHIX 

TENNESSEE  AND  KENTUCKY By  James  M.  Saffoed. 

MISSOURI -j 

ARKANSAS f 

TEXAS ■  f^Y  R-  K.  Loughiiidge. 

END  I  AN  TERRITORY \ 


Part  II. 

COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  THE  EASTERN  GULF,  ATLANTIC,  AND  PACIFIC  STATES. 

ALABAMA , 

FLORIDA  f^Y  EueENB  A.  Smith. 

GEORGIA By  R,  H.  LoUgheidge. 

SOUTn  CAROLINA By  Harry  Hajdioxd. 

NORTH  CAROLINA , 

VIRGINIA }ByW.C.  Kere. 

APPENDIX. 

CALIFORNIA ) 

NOTES  ON  UTAH,  ARIZONA,  AND  NEW  MEXICO \  Bt  Eugene  W.  HlLGAKfc. 


•J 


REP  OR  T 


ON  THE 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  ■  OF  THE  STATE  OF  ALABAMA. 


Po 


WITH    A   DISCI  SSION   OP 


THE  GENERAL  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  STATE. 


BY 


ZETTO-IEItTIE]  .A-LLIEIN"   SIMZITH,  F^l.  ID., 

STATE    GEOLOGIST    AND    PROFESSOR    OF    CHEMISTRY    AXE    GEOLOGY    AT    THE    UNIVERSITY    OF    ALABAMA, 

AND 
SPECIAL    CENSUS    AG-EHNTT. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS.  v 

PART  III. 

Pago. 
Cultural  anb  Economic  Details  of  Cotton  Production: 

Reference  Table  of  Reports 150 

Summary  of  Answers  to  Schedule  Questions 15:i 

Tillage,  Improvements,  etc l.">:s 

Planting  and  Cultivation  of  Tobacco 134 

Ginning,  Baling,  and  Shipping 154 

Diseases,  Insect  Enemies,  etc 155 

Labor  and  System  of  Farming 15r 

MAPS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Agricultural  Map  of  Alabama to  face  page..  9 

Map  of  Alabama  Showing  in  Each  Region  of  the  State  the  Relation  of  trb  Area  Planted  in  Cotton  and  the  Total 

Area to  face  page..  GO 

Diagrammatic  Representations  of  Geological  Sections  : 

1.  Showing  the  General  Relations  of  the  Format ious  of  the  State 13 

2.  Showing  Structure  of  the  Coosa  Valloy,  and  an  outlying  Anticlinal  Valley 18 

3.  Across  the  Tennessee  Valley  in  North  Alabama 20 


LETTERS    OF    TRANSMITTAL. 


Berkeley,  California,  September  12,  1882. 
To  the  Superintendent  of  Census. 

Dear  Sir:  I  transmit  herewith  a  report  on  the  cotton  production  and  agricultural  features  of  the  state  of 
Alabama,  by  Dr.  Eugene  Allen  Smith,  professor  of  chemistry  and  geology  at  the  University  of  Alabama,  aud 
state  geologist.  In  so  doing,  permit  me  to  say  that  I  consider  Dr.  Smith's  report  to  be  one  of  the  best  digested 
ami  most  complete  of  the  series  of  which  it  forms  a  part.  The  geology  of  Alabama  is  by  far  the  most  complex 
among  the  cotton-growing  states,  its  formations  ranging  from  the  very  base  of  the  stratified  rocks  to  the  most  modem, 
with  a  very  varied  representation  of  each  of  the  several  ages.  This  variety  has  in  a  great  measure  impressed  itself 
upon  the  surface  features  and  soils  of  the  state,  the  consequence  being  that  it  is  hardly  possible  to  discuss  the 
latter  intelligently  without  frequent  reference  to  the  geological  features.  LTence  the  prominence  necessarily  given 
to  the  latter  in  the  descriptions  of  the  several  regions. 

The  painstaking  thoroughness  of  Dr.  Smith's  work  will  need  no  comment  with  the  readers  of  this  as  well  as- 
other  reports  issued  from  his  pen ;  but  the  amount  of  labor  involved  therein  can  hardly  be  appreciated  save  by 
those  familiar  with  such  work  aud  with  the  extreme  complexity  of  the  natural  features  of  the  state. 

Very  respectfully, 

E.  W.  HILGAKD, 

Special  Agent  in  charge  of  Cotton  Production. 


University  of  Alabama, 
Tuscaloosa,  Alabama,  August  1,  1882. 

Dr.  EUGENE  W.  HlLGARD, 

Special  Census  Agent  in  charge  of  Cotton  Production. 

Dear  Sir  :  With  this  I  trausmit  my  report  on  the  cotton  production  of  the  state  of  Alabama.  In  the 
arrangement  of  the  subject-matter  I  have  followed  the  plan  adopted  by  yourself  in  the  report  already  published 
on  the  cotton  production  of  the  state  of  Louisiana. 

The  principal  sources  of  information  used  in  the  preparation  of  the  present  report  have  been: 

The  geological  reports  of  Professor  M.  Tuomey,  published  in  the  years  1850  and  1858,  respectively. 

The  reports  of  progress  of  the  geological  survey,  made  by  myself,  for  the,  years  1874,  1875,  187G,  1877-'78,  and 
1S79-\S0. 

Manuscript  notes  of  several  excursions  made  by  me,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Census  Office,  for  the  purpose  of 
collecting  soil  specimens  and  certain  data  for  this  report. 

The  answers  returned  by  correspondents  from  the  various  counties  to  whom  were  sent  the  schedules  of  questions 
relating  to  cotton  culture. 

From  Dr.  Charles  Mohr,  of  Mobile,  a  special  agent  of  the  Census  Office,  I  have  received  many  valuable  notes 
on  the  botanical  character  of  the  different  parts  of  the  state. 

vil 

a 


viii  PREFATORY  LETTER. 

TUe  couuty  officers  in  many  parts  of  the  state  have  given,  upon  solicitation,  much  information  regarding  their 
own  sections.  * 

More  than  half  of  the  analyses  of  soils  ami  subsoils  given  have  been  made  at  the  expense  of  the  state 
geological  survey,  and  acknowledgments  are  due  also  to  Messrs.  McCalley.  Cory,  Durrett,  and  Langdon,  students  in 
the  chemical  laboratory  of  the  University  of  Alabama  (employed  also  by  the  Census  Office  and  by  the  state  survey), 
for  analyses  made  by  them  without  charge. 

Finally,  free  use  has  been  made  of  the  published  bulletins  of  the  Census  Office. 

The  details  of  the  arrangement  of  the  matter  of  this  report  are  as  follows: 

The  tabulated  results  of  the  enumeration  relating  to  area,  population,  and  cotton  production,  and  to  the 
production  of  the  leading  crops. 

Part  I.  A  general  account  of  the  physical  and  geological  features  of  the  state. 

A  special  description  of  the  agricultural  subdivisions  or  regions,  accompanied  by  analyses  of  the  most 
characteristic  soils  and  discussions  of  the  analyses.  The  soils  analyzed  were  collected  by  myself,  except  those 
otherwise  specially  credited. 

Next  follows  a  list  of  the  botanical  and  common  names  of  the  characteristic  timber  trees  and  other  plants  of 
the  several  regions,  including  those  giving  most  trouble  to  farmers,  as  weeds. 

Part  I  concludes  with  some  remarks  on  cotton  culture  in  the  state,  in  which  the  statistics  are  presented  in 
tabular  form,  to  show  the  relations  of  the  several  regions  in  respect  of  area,  population,  and  cotton  production, 
and  to  compare  these  regions,  as  regards  their  product  per  acre  and  their  respective  contributions,  to  the  total 
production  of  the  state.  Under  each  region  are  also  given  the  "banner"  counties  in  regard  to  the  product  per  acre 
and  total  production,  and  a  general  discussion  of  the  areas  of  greatest  production,  of  the  relations  between  the 
population  and  cotton  production,  the  part  borne  by  the  two  races  (black  and  white)  in  cotton  production,  with 
some  inferences  drawn  concerning  the  effect  on  the  soil  and  on  the  yield  of  the  prevalent  systems  of  farming.  This 
is  followed  by  a  chapter  on  the  use  of  fertilizers  in  cotton  planting,  and  an  account  of  the  materials  naturally 
occurring  in  Alabama,  which  have  been,  or  which  may  hereafter  be,  used  in  the  improvement  of  the  soils. 

Part  II  is  devoted  to  the  agricultural  descriptions  of  the  counties  of  the  state,  grouped  under  the  several 
agricultural  regions  described  in  Part  I.  When  a  county  belongs  to  more  than  one  of  these  divisions,  it  is  described 
in  connection  ■with  that  region  with  which  it  is  thought  to  have  most  in  common. 

Each  county  description  is  preceded  by  a  heading  giving  data  relating  to  population,  area,  lands  in  cultivation, 
■with  the  proportion  devoted  to  each  of  the  leading  crops,  but  particularly  to  cotton,  under  which  head  are  given 
the  number  of  bales,  the  average  product  per  acre,  and  the  percentage  of  tilled  land  in  cotton. 

The  statements  of  areas  are  based  upon  measurements  which  have  been  made  as  accurately  as  possible,  but 
they  are  to  be  considered  only  as  approximations,  since  the  lines  separating  the  several  agricultural  regions  are 
themselves  to  a  certain  extent  conventional. 

In  the  county  descriptions  abstracts  are  given  of  the  answers  to  the  schedule  questions  relating  to  the  soil 
varieties,  their  yield  of  seed  cotton  when  fresh,  the  most  troublesome  weeds,  prevalent  practice  with  regard  to 
protection  against  injury  from  washes,  etc. 

The  great  discrepancy  between  the  estimates  of  correspondents  and  the  enumeration  returns  regarding  the 
average  yield  of  the  soils  is  more  particularly  noticed  in  the  section  devoted  to  remarks  on  cotton  culture. 

Part  III  is  devoted  to  the  details  relating  to  culture,  system  of  farming,  etc.,  being  an  abstract  (condensed, 

but  containing  all  the  essential  material)  of  the  answers  to  the  schedule  questions  relating  to  tillage  and  improvement 

of  laud,  planting  and  cultivation  of  cotton,  ginning,  baling,  and  shipping  of  the  same,  diseases  and  insect  enemies, 

■etc.,  and  to  labor  and  system  of  farming. 

Very  respectfully, 
10  EUGENE  A.  SMITE. 


TABULATED  RESULTS  OF  THE  ENUMERATION. 


Table    I.— AREA,  POPULATION,  TILLED  LAND,  AND  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 
Table  II.— ACREAGE  AND  PRODUCTION  OF  LEADING  CROPS. 


1 
ll 


TABULATED  RESULTS  OF  THE  ENUMERATION. 
Table  I.— AREA,  POPULATION,  TILLED  LAND,  AND  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


ThoStato 

METAMORPHIC  REGION. 

Clebmno 

Randolph 

Chambers 

Leo 

Tallapoosa 

Clay 

Coosa 

Total 

COOSA  VALLEY  REGION. 

Cherokee 

Calhoun 

Etowah 

Saint  Clair 

Talladega 

Shelby 

Total 

COAL-MEASURES  REGION. 

DeKalb 

Marshall 

Cullman 

JJlouut 

Jefferson 

Walker 

"Winston 

Total 

TENNESSEE  VALLEY  REGION. 

Jackson  

Morgan 

M  dison 

Limestone 

Lauderdale 

Lawrence 

Colbert 

Franklin 

Total... 

OAK  AND  HICKORY  UPLANDS., 
WITH  SHORT-LEAF  PINE. 

Marion 

Lamar 

Payette 

Pickens 

Total 

GRAVELLY  HILLS,  WITH  LONG 
LEAF  PINE. 

Tuscaloosa 

Bibb 

Chilton 

Aulauga 

£hoore 

Total 


540 
610 
610 
CIS 

eio 

610 

670 


660 
640 
520 
630 
700 
780 


740 
500 
590 
700 
960 
880 
640 


700 
810 
590 
700 
700 
570 
610 


810 

590 

CG0 

1,000 


3,  060 


1,300 
01 II 
700 
000 
630 


3,990 


POPULATION. 


1,  26J,  505 


10,  970 
16,  575 
23,  440 
27,  262 
23,  401 
12, 938 
"l5, 113 


129,  705 


19,108 
19,  591 
15, 398 
14,  462 
23,  300 
17,  230 


109,  155 


12, 675 

14,  585 
6,355 

15,  309 
23,  272 

9,479 
4,253 


sr,,  os.s 


25, 114 
16,428 
37,  025 
21,  COO 
21,  035 
21,302 
16, 153 
9,155 


5,356 
8,198 
11,  517 
13,  079 
11,  578 
6,330 
7,500 


13,  558 


9,679 
9,836 
7,703 
7,231 
11,380 
8,664 


"i4.  493 


6,300 
7,208 
3,234 
7,644 
11,  890 
4,033 
2,131 


43,  mi; 


12,  620 
8,185 
18,538 
10,  762 
10,485 
10,  020 
7,980 
4,523 


168,  502   S3, 719 


9,  304  4,  599 
12,142  I  5,992 
10,135  \  5,061 
21,  479   10,  605 


53, 120 


24,  957 
9,467 
10,  793 
13, 108 
17,  502 


20,  257 


12,  104 
4,064 
5,418 

6,451 
8,780 


75.847      37,417 


5,020 
8,377 
11,  923 
14, 183 
11,  823 


10,  308 
13, 155 

11,  304 

12,  217 
10,  108 


6,  608  11,  870 

7,  613  10,  050 


9,429 
9,755 
7,095 
7,231 
11,  980 
8,572 


54,  002 


0,375 
7,377 
3, 121 
7,  725 
11, 376 
4,846 


12,488 
8,243 
19,  087 
10,  838 
10,  550 
10,  772 
8,173 
4,632 


10,418 
14, 134 
12,  896 

11,  021 
10,  856 

12,  253 


78.17S 


11,  993 

13,  084 
6,312 

14,  210 
18,  219 

8,978 
4,230 


77,1132 


84,783 


4,765 
6,150 

5,074 
10,  874 


21,  074 
11,758 
18,  591 
11,  637 
14, 173 
12.642 
9,203 
8,079 


3,420 
12,  070 
15,  045 
7,293 
1,068 
5,063 


44,  033 


5,457 
2,502 
2,841 
2,504 
4,983 


1, 1)77 


1,501 

'43 

1,159 

5,053 

501 

17 


8,  «l:",l'. 


26,1 


8,841 
9,967 
8,873 
9,132 


I,  813 


12,853  15,216 

4,  823  5,  887 

5,  375  i  8,  651 

6,  657  I  4,  397 
8,722  8,747 


38,430   42,898 


4,040 
4,070 
19,  034 
9,903 
6,862 
8,750 
6,950 
1,076 


523 
2,175 
1,262 

12,  347 


16,307 


9,741 
3,600 
2,142 
8,711 


TILLED  LAND. 


6, 134, 198 


51,  428 
81,  426 
149,  283 
122,  875 
143,  175 
57,  972 
80,  791 


O.-II.  930 


88,  819 
93,  857 
60,  780 
65,  105 
113,  389 
58,  550 


4SO,  5(1(1 


52,  090 
68,175 
20,  527 
68,  800 
71,  959 
46,  725 
17,  767 


340,  1(1 


32,949  |   19 


123,  924 
95,  584 
213,  221 
129, 477 
192,839 
138,  034 
74,  876 
46,  895 


924,  850 


42,  925 
62, 141 
56,118 
115,  560 


276,  744 


111,171 
43,  790 
40,  676 
81, 388 
73,  897 


35(1.  928 


COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


Average  per  acre 


38   2,330,080   699,654 


9,156 
23,177 
70,  934 
51,689 
41,299 
13,  921 
26,  468 


3,609 
7,475 
19,  476 
13, 189 
14, 161 
4,973 
8,411 


0.39 
0.32 
0.27 
0.25 
0.34 
0.36 
0.32 


236,745     71,285  ;  0.30 


24,  388 
26,  435 
15,  187 
14,  735 
32,  841 
17,919 


10,  777 
10,848 
6,571 
6,028 
11,832 
6,  643 


0.44 
0.41 
0.43 
0.41 
0.36 
0.37 


131,505      52,699      0.40 


7,469 
16,  412 

1,469 
12,  502 

14,  220 
8,743 
2,048 


62,  803 


2,  859 
5,358 

378 
4,442 
5,333 
2,754 

568 


0.38 
0.33 
0.26 
0.36 
0.38 
0.31 
0.28 


21,692      0.35 


20 
34 
34 
26 


19,685 
18,  828 
72,  838 
44,  334 
26,  594 
42,  803 
25,411 
10,  368 


260.  Mil 


7,269 
15,245 
12,  331 
52,  651 


87,  496 


0,133 
20,  679 
15,  724 

9,270 
13,791 

9,012 

3,603 


0.33 
0.28 
0.35 
0.35 
0.32 
0.35 
0.35 


2,240 
5,  013 
4,268 
17,  283 


0.31 
0.33 
0.35 
0.33 


28,806      0.33  ,     471 


33,773  '   11,137 
15,  737  I     4,  843 


11,  558 
30,  474 
31, 045 


3,534 
7,944 
9,771 


0.33  |    471 
0.31  I     441 


0.31 
0.26 
0.31 


35  I     122,  587  ;  37, 229      0.  30 


116 
85 
51 
23 


12 
32 


13 
16 


37 
41 
29 
23 


16 
17 
13 


10 
20 

2 
18 
15 
10 

3 


20 
27 
90 
75 
38 
54 
45 
17 


4 
10 


13 
17 
16 


26 
17 


5 

12 


13 


4  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

Table  I.— AREA,  POPULATION,  TILLED  LAND,  AND  COTTON  PRODUCTION— Continued. 


OAK  AND  IIICKORT  UPLANDS, 
WITH  LONG-LEAF  TINE. 


Choctaw  .. 
Clarke .... 
Monroe.  . . 

Wilcox 

Bailor 

Conecuh. . . 
Crenshaw  . 
Piko...    .. 

Coffee 

Dale 

Henry 


Total. 


CENTRAL   PRAIRIE    REGION. 

Sumter 

Greene 

Hale 

Marengo 

Perry 

Dallas 


Luwniles 

Montgomery  . 

Bullock 

Macon 

Knssell  ...... 

Baroour 


Total. 


LONG-LEAF  PINE  REGION. 


Washington 

Mohile 

Baldwin 

Escamhia 

CoviDgton  . . 
Geneva 


930 
1,100 
1,030 

SCO 
S00 
840 
060 
740 
700 
050 
1,000 


1,000 
020 
C70 
900 
790 
980 
740 
740 
600 
630 
670 
860 


0, 220 


1,050 
1,290 
1,620 
1,000 
1,030 
590 


Total  ,     0,580 


POPULATION. 


091 
828 
649 
605 

720 
640 
119  J 
677  , 

761  j 


',750 
1,797 
1,344 
1,024 
1,483 
1,257 
i,741 
1,157 
1,025 


7,981 
9,009 
8,747 
16,204 
10, 160 
6,348 
5,935 
10,  483 
4,094 
6,503 
9,510 


180.033     91,603  I      95,030 


28,  728 
21,  931 
26,  553 
30,  890 
30,  741 
48,  433 
31, 176 
52,  356 

29,  060 
17,  371 
24,  837 
33,  979 


370,001    184,791 


4,538 
48,653 
8,603 
5,719 
5,039 
4,342 


77,  494 


14,740 
11, 108 

13,  357 
15,751 
15. 091 
24, 609 
15,  624 
20,  793 

14,  721 
8,937 

12,  728 
17,  205 


White.  Color'd, 


7,390 
7,718 
7,780 
0,711 

10,684 
0,224 
9,118 

14,308 
6,831 

10,553 

11,994 


99,  371 


191,270 


2,341 
23,  086 
4,430 
2,933 
2,  757 
2, 198 


37,  745 


2,197 
25,  567 
4,173 
2,786 
2,882 
2,144 


39,  749 


0,451 
3,765 
4.903 
7,277 
7,150 
8,425 
5,645 

13,457 
6,944 
4,587 
6,182 

13,  091 


22.  277 
18,106 
21,050 
23,613 

23,  591 
40,  008 
i5,  531 
38,  899 
22, 122 
12,  784 
18,  655 
20,  888 


67,877  '238,184 


2,807 
27, 187 
4,890 
4,100 
4,968 


1,731 

21, 466 

3,  713 

1,613 

071 

513 


29,  707 


TILLED  LAND. 


77, 182 
77, 180 
77, 317 

161,228 
87,  010 
40,  905 
67,  770 

114,850 
42,  126 
08,413 

137,  348 


957,  :i'J.', 


172, 100 
119,  426 
140, 072 
109,  097 
107,000 
207,404 
181,  272 
241,  570 
170,  800 

133,  924 

134,  320 
197,  455 


8,930 
8,998 
7,098 
0,934 
19,  520 
17,  604 


69,  550 


COTTON  PBniHJCTION. 


o  o 


31,086 
33,  477 
33, 463 
77,  070 
35,  851 
10,  523 
20,  962 
47,  107 
16,431 
27,070 
54,  305 


Average  per  acre. 


1,054  : 

,097 

1,421  j 

1,745  i 

,  895 

1,633 

1,173 

>,  130 

1,788 

1,224 

1,573 


80,  662 
03,643 
09,  995 

80,  790 
74, 303 

115,031 
98,  200 

112,125 
80, 
50,  703 

81,  582 
100,442 


0.20 
0.33 
0.31 
0.35 
0.33 
0.28 
0.30 
0.32 
0.29 
0.23 
0.23 


(I.  ::u 


22,211  0.28 
15,611  0.25 
18,093  0.20 
0.29 


™  I 


23,481  | 

21,  027 
33,  534 
29,  350 
31,732 

22,  578 
14,  580 

19,  442 

20,  003 


7S,  508 


3,280 

1,  240 

1 

1 

1,384 

038 

278 

04 

4,170 

1,158 

4,947 

1,112 

0.29 
0.29 
0.30 
0.28 
0.28 
0.20 
0.24 
0.20 


0.27 


0.40 
0.34 
0.28 
0.23 


fc. 

a 

& 

?, 

f-3 

a 

S»H 

15. 
0, 

12 
20 
7 


22- 
30 
27 
24 
27 
31 
40, 
43 


TABULATED  RESULTS  OF  THE  ENUMERATION. 
Table  II.— ACREAGE  AMD  PRODUCTION  OF  LEADING  CROPS. 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 
Table  II.— ACKEAGE  AND  PRODUCTION  OP  LEADING  CROPS— Continued. 


OAK  AND  HICKORY  UPLANDS,  WITH 
LONG-LEAF  PINE. 


Choctaw  .. 

Clarke  .... 
Monroe  ... 
Wilcox  .... 

Butler 

Conecuh  ... 
Crenshaw. 

Pike 

Coffee 

Dale 

Henry 


CENTItAL   TRAIRIE   REGION. 

Sumter. 

Greene 

Hale 

Marengo 

Perry 

Dallas 

Lowndes 

Montgomery. 

Bullock 

Macon   

Kussell 

Barbour 

Total 

LONG-LEAF  TINE  REGION. 

Washington 

Mobile 

Bald  win 

Escambia 

Covington 

Geneva 


Total  . 


COTTON. 

ixdian 

CORN. 

OATS. 

WHEAT. 

TOIIACCO. 

6WEET  I'OTATOEB. 

Acres. 

Bales. 

Acres. 

Bushels. 

Acres. 

Bushels. 

Acres. 

Bushels. 

Acres. 

1'ounda. 

Acres. 

Buahelfl. 

31,  ose 

9,  064 

25,  013 

272,213 

3,338 

28,  432 

23 

4,322 

748 

S3,  477 

11,097 

28,  220 

312.718 

5,  005 

47,  737 

7 

30 

19 

2,349 

1.250 

05,  217 

33,  403 

10,421 

24,  135 

251.  008 

4,597 

44,  024 

11 

77, 076 

26,  745 

40, 053 

573,  385 

7,011 

92,  933 

22 

179 

15 

2,  095 

1.  597 

130,  591 

35,  851 

11,895 

24,048 

274,  008 

7,494 

71,100 

10 

150 

7 

2,  559 

079 

07,  000 

10,  523 

4,033 

652 

26,  962 

8,173 

28,  099 

254,  950 

5,  208 

30,  480 

20 

139 

33 

0,  250 

558 

52.  218 

47, 107 

15, 136 

42,  207 

374. 170 

5.  424 

38,  098 

72 

408 

5 

70) 

683 

91. 1180 

111,  431 

4,  7SS 

18,  068 

155.014 

2,370 

15,025 

22 

65 

5 

1, 103 

474 

■18.  272 

27,  076 

0,  224 

31.S07 

221,497 

5,114 

28,  894 

69 

330 

2 

250 

672 

82,  280 

54,305 

12,  573 

48,001 

325,  840 

7,  902 

03,402 

193 

906 

24 

4,499 

1,  200 

112,084 

399,  357 

120,  739 

332,  289 

::,  100,  800 

50,  096 

401,  861 

411 

2.  233 

151 

28,  803 

9,  903 

882,  558 

80,  662 

22.211 

51,402 

699,  883 

2,700 

31,  380 

24 

225 

13 

2,027 

1,  050 

90. 102 

63,643 

15,811 

31,820 

402,  992 

2,  163 

22,404 

314 

1,  803 

41 

0,  629 

705 

O.074 

69,  995 

18,  093 

43, 254 

595, 185 

3,071 

45,  075 

1,  437 

15,  273 

10 

5,  540 

1,214 

77. 830 

80,  790 

23, 481 

43,  870 

098,  009 

0,  574 

83,  234 

43 

7,479 

1,138 

'.15.  025 

74,303 

21,027 

48,  132 

028,  248 

0,033 

03,710 

440 

2,  974 

24 

4,  522 

1,107 

77,  TOO 

115,  031 

33,  534 

40,  542 

707, 139 

8,  200 

111,213 

71 

487 

13 

1,  078 

2,  250 

137.367 

08,  260 
112,125 

29,  356 
31,732 

41,109 
62,  303 

611.184 
707,  427 

3,630 
4,  895 

43,  922 
62,  292 

1.004 
1.720 

08 

393 

2 

318 

117.265 

80,  470 

22,  578 

47.4)1 

379,  870 

0.177 

43,  028 

111 

455 

3 

833 

773 

07,  0118 

56, 763 

14,  580 

23,  833 

173,  909 

0,  105 

53,  330 

1,910 

9,094 

0 

669 

928 

00,  371 

81,  582 

19,442 

34,  335 

9,789 

91,  141 

1,099 

0,771 

2 

303 

1,093 

80.101 

100,442 

20,  063 

01,  822 

437,415 

10,204 

99,  295 

131 

530 

22 

3,512 

1,274 
14,268 

112,371 

1,  014,  606 

278,  508 

535,935 

6,  310.  882 

70,417 

759,  090 

5,601 

38,  005 

185 

34,  321 

1.051,6711 

3,280 

4,259 

464 

1 

1 

1,039 

25,  272 

139 

1,440 

770 

>■,  (595 

1,384 
278 

038 
01 

2,041 
3,639 

28,  428 
34,  336 

350 
809 

5, 10S 
8,979 

1 

350 

4') 
494 

4,170 

1,158 

10,558 

81,  997 

2,114 

10,  206 

8 

1.704 

400 

4,947 

1,112 

9,476 

58,  887 

'       1, 705 

10,  604 

| 

4 

948 

350 

3.1,  -192 

14,666 

4,249 

31,  672 

287,  025 

5,641 

45,944 

13 

3,062 

3,018 

2CJ*,810 

16 


:p^:r,t  i. 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES 


STATE    OF    ALABAMA. 


7 
17 


2  o  p — vol.  rr 


- 


GENERAL  DESCRIPTION   OF  THE   STATE   OF  ALABAMA. 


Alabama  is  situated  between  the  eighty-fifth  and  eighty-ninth  degrees  of  west  longitude  and  the  thirty-first 
and  thirty-fifth  parallels  »f  north  latitude.  The  thirty-fifth  parallel  makes  the  northern  boundary  of  the  state,  and 
the  thirty -first  the  southern,  with  the  exception  of  that  portion  west  of  the  Perdido  river,  which  extends  south  to 
the  Gulf  of'Mexico.  The  form  is  thus  seen  to  be  oblong,  with  the  greater  dimension  from  north  to  south.  The 
total  area  thus  included  is,  according  to  the  latest  estimates,  52,250  square  miles,  and  the  total  land  surface,  51,540 
square  miles. 

Surface  CONTOUR. — Leaving  out  of  account  the  minor  irregularities,  the  surface  of  the  state  may  be  considered 
as  an  undulating  plain,  whose  mean  elevation-  above  sea-level  cannot  be  much  less  than  GOO  feet.  Toward  the  north 
and  east  the  surface  rises  above  this  level,  and  toward  the  south  and  west  it  sinks  below  it.  The  arc  of  a  circle, 
with  Chattanooga  as  a  center,  described  from  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  state  around  to  the  Chattahoochee  river 
at  Columbus,  would  include  the  area  whose  general  elevation  is  above  600  feet.  The  axis  of  this  elevation,  which 
is  the  southern  terminus  of  the  great  Appalachian  mountain  chain,  runs  northeast  and  southwest,  and  the  altitude 
increases  toward  the  northeast.  There  is  thus  a  general  slope  away  from  this  elevated  region  toward  all  points  of 
the  compass  from  southeast  around  to  northwest.  The  mountains  of  the  state  rest  upon  this  high  land,  and  often 
reach  an  elevation  above  it  of  1,200  or  1,500  feet,  or  above  sea-level  of  2,000  or  2,500  feet. 

The  rest  of  the  state  outside  of  the  area  above  mentioned,  and  whose  general  altitude  is  less  than  600  feet7 
has  a  slope  south  and  southwest  toward  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  Mississippi  valley.  Along  this  slope  the  streams 
have  excavated  their  channels  and  produced  the  various  topographical  features,  none  of  which  are  due  to  elevation 
above  the  general  surface. 

River  systems. — There  are,  in  the  most  general  terms,  two  things  which  have  determined  the  drainage  system 
of  Alabama.  These  are,  first,  the  slopes  toward  the  northwest  and  the  southeast,  away  from  the  axis  of  elevation 
above  spoken  of;  and,  second,  the  more  general  slope  of  the  surface  of  the  state,  taken  as  a  whole,  southwest  toward 
the  axis  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  An  inspection  of  the  map  will  show  that  the  latter  cause  has  greatly  outweighed 
the  former  in  fixing  the  direction  of  the  water-courses,  with  the  result  of  giving  a  general  southwest  direction  to 
the  whole  drainage  system  of  the  state,  with  the  single  exception  of  that  of  the  Tennessee  river.  In  the  northeastern 
part  of  the  state  the  northeast  and  southwest  direction  of  the  valleys  and  ridges  has  also  been  largely  instrumental 
in  turning  southwestward  (down  the  valleys)  the  waters  whose  natural  fall  is  southeastward  at  right  angles  to  the 
axis  of  elevation  of  this  mountainous  region. 

Tennessee  river. — Looking  beyond  the  limits  of  the  state  northeastwardly,  we  find  the  Blue  Eidge,  of  which 
the  elevated  country  in  Alabama  is  but  a  part,  acting  as  a  water-shed  between  the  Atlantic  ocean  and  the  Gulf  of 
Meatco.  The  drainage  slopes  are  therefore  toward  the  northwest  and  the  southeast.  At  the  northwestern  foot  of 
this  water-shed,  in  North  Carolina,  are  the  headwaters  of  the  Tennessee  river.  Its  natural  northwesterly  flow  is 
interfered  with  by  the  topographical  features  of  the  country,  the  most  formidable  of  which,  according  to  Professor 
Safford,  is  the  great  Cumberland  table-land.  Parallel  with  this  the  river  flows  through  a  large  part  of  Tennessee, 
and,  cutting  through  a  detached  part  of  the  Cumberland  range  at  Chattanooga,  enters  the  Sequatchie  valley, 
which  it  follows  to  Guutersviile,  in  Alabama,  where  it  cuts  through  the  rest  of  the  Cumberland  range,  and  flows 
thence  down  the  northwesterly  slope  to  its  confluence  with  the  Mississippi  river.  The  Tennessee  is  thus  exceptional 
among  the  rivers  of  Alabama. 

The  Chattahoochee. — This  is  a  boundary  stream,  and  is  but  slightly  related  to  Alabama,  as  its  headwaters  are 
principally  in  Georgia.     Its  tributary  streams  on  the  Alabama  side  are  mostly  short  and  insignificant. 

The  Tallapoosa,  Coosa,  Alabama,  Warrior,  and  Lower  Tombigbee  rivers  have  many  things  in  common.  They 
all  have  their  headwaters  in  the  elevated  region  above  alluded  to,  and  all  flow  south  and  southwest  into  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico.     In  their  upper  parts,  with  the  exception  of  tire  Tombigbee,  their  flow  is  alternately  southwest  down. 

9 


10  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

one  of  the  valleys  spoken  of,  and  then  south  across  a  ridge  to  resume  their  southwestern  courses.  Where  ihey  leave 
that,  elevated  region  (which  is  in  general  formed  of  the  tough  and  hard  rocks  of  the  older  formations)  and  pass  into 
the  territory  formed  by  the  newer  and  softer  rocks  there  appear  the  cascades  which  form  the  first  obstructions  to 
navigation.  These  falls,  or  rapids,  are  seen  at  Columbus  (Georgia),  Tallahassee,  Wetumpka,  Centerville,  Tuscaloosa, 
and  Muscle  Shoals,  on  the  principal  rivers,  and  at  corresponding  localities  on  the  smaller  streams. 

The  Coosa  river,  from  Rome,  Georgia,  down  to  Greensport,  Alabama,  flows  in  general  along  the  strike  of  the 
rocks  and  has  no  serious  obstructions.  Below  Greensport  it  turns  across  these  rocks,  and  rapids  are  formed,  which 
alternate  with  stretches  of  open,  smooth  waters  down  to  Wetumpka,  where  the  last  falls  are  situated.  This  river 
lias  thus  two  navigable  sections  separated  by  nearly  200  miles  of  alternating  cascades  and  pools.  None  of  the  other 
rivers  in  this  part  of  the  state  are  navigable  above,  the  lower  falls. 

The  Choctawhatchie  and  Conee.uli  rivers,  with  their  tributaries,  Pea  river,  Patsaliga,  Sepulga,  etc.,  are  all  turned 
southward  by  a  prominent  topographical  feature  known  as  Chiiunenugga  ridge,  which  divides  the  waters  flowing 
northwestward  into  the  Tallapoosa  and  Alabama  rivers  from  those  flowing  southward  by  various  channels  into  the 
Gulf.  It  will  be  seen  that  their  general  direction  is  west  of  south,  as  determined  by  the  general  slope  of  the  lower 
portion  of  the  state. 

Mountains  and  tablelands. — The  mountainous  region  of  the  state  is  confined  to  the  northeastern  quarter, 
as  before  defined,  and  the  higher  portions  lie  in  the  eastern  half  of  this  area.  The  valley  of  the  Coosa,  from  the 
state  line  down  to  the  southern  line  of  Shelby  and  Talladega  counties,  divides  this  region  into  parts  which  have  very 
different  characters.  Southeast  of  this  valley  are  some  of  the  highest  lands  of  the  state,  and  the  height  of  the 
mountains  decreases,  as  a  rule,  going  southeast.  In  all  this  region  the  summits  of  the  mountains  are  irregular,  and 
sometimes  sharp  crested,  from  the  outcropping  edges  of  the  generally  highly-inclined  strata.  Northwest  of  the 
Coosa  valley  the  mountains  are.  generally  level  on  top,  forming  table-lands  10  to  1.3  miles  broad,  separated  by  long 
and  narrow  valleys.  Beyond  the  Tennessee  river  these  table-lands  are  cut  by  erosion  into  a  number  of  detached 
peaks,  each  with  a  level  or  nearly  level  top.  These  peaks  overlook  the  valleys  in  steep  escarpments,  which, 
especially  in  the  northeast,  often  attain  truly  mountainous  proportions. 

In  the  lower  part  of  the  state  there  are  no  elevations  which  at  all  deserve  the  name  of  mountains,  and  the 
highest  hills  of  this  region  are  due.  solely  to  erosion — the  wasting  of  the  softer  rocks  by  the  action  of  water. 

Valleys. — Many  of  the  valleys  of  the  elevated  region  show  a  close  dependence  upon  the  geological  structure; 
and  while  they  are  all  due  to  erosion,  their  position  has  been  in  most  cases,  if  not  in  all,  determined  by  the  relative 
positions  of  the  outcropping  edges  of  the  strata  of  different  degrees  of  hardness. 

All  the  valleys  in  the  mountainous  region  of  the  state,  like  the  mountain  ranges  themselves,  have,  a  northeast 
and  southwest  direction.  The  most  important  of  these  valleys  in  many  respects  is  that  of  the  Coosa,  which  is 
the  southern  end  of  a  series  of  valleys  extending  from  New  York  to  Alabama,  and  known  in  New  York  as  the 
valley  of  the  Hudson,  in  Pennsylvania  as  the  Kittatinuy  or  Cumberland  valley,  in  Virginia  as  the  Great  valley, 
in  Tennessee  as  the  valley  of  East  Tennessee,  and  iu  Alabama,  as  we  have  just  seen,  as  the  Coosa  valley.  The 
several  outliers  of  this  valley,  which  separate  the  parts  of  the  table-lauds  and  coal-fields,  belong  to  the  same  general 
system. 

The  sandstones  which  form  the  capping  of  the  mountain  plateaus  rest  upon  softer  strata  of  shales  and 
limestones,  and  the  dip  of  all  the  strata  is  at  a  gentle,  angle  toward  the  south  or  southwest,  while  the  river  cuts 
across  at  nearly  right  angles.  These  are  the  conditions  under  which  escarpments  are  formed,  such  as  make  the 
southern  border  of  the  Tennessee  valley  across  the  state. 

In  the  lower  part  of  the  state  the  valleys,  like  the  hills,  have  very  little  relation  to  the  geological  structure, 
except  iu  the  case  of  the  prairie  region,  which  may  be  considered  as  a  wide  valley,  since  it  is  many  feet  below  the 
hills  that  border  it  on  the  north  and  south. 

Climate. — The  most  potent  influences  which  determine  climate  are  latitude  or  distance  from  the  equator, 
elevation  above  tide,  and  configuration  of  mountain  chains,  proximity  to  the  sea,  and  the  direction  of  the  prevailing 
winds.  In  all  these  particulars  the  position  of  Alabama  is  favorable  for  a  temperate  and  uniform  climate.  The 
geographical  position  and  the  mean  elevation  of  the  state  have  already  been  subjects  of  discussion. 

Winds. — The  prevailing  winds  during  the  autumn  and  winter  mouths  are  from  the  northeast  and  northwest; 
during  the  spring  and  summer,  from  the  southeast;  and  for  the  whole  year,  from  the,  southeast  and  south,  but  the 
yearly  mean  directions  are  nearly  evenly  balanced. 

Temperature. — Extremes  of  temperature  are  comparatively  rare,  and  the  extremes  of  heat  during  the  summer 
months  are  especially  moderated  by  the  tempering  winds  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  In  those  parts  of  the  state  most 
remote  from  the  Gulf  their  elevation  above  sea-level  secures  immunity  from  excessive  heat.  The  mean  annual 
temperature  of  the  state  is  about  64.58°  F.  The  means  for  the  seasons  are  as  follows  :  Spring,  63.9°;  summer, 
79.5°;  autumn,  04.5°;  winter,  00.4°.  The  maxima  and  minima  of  temperature  fall  almost  without  exception 
in  the  months  of  July  and  January,  respectively. 

In  the.  lower  part  of  the  state,  below  the  latitude  of  Montgomery,  the  mean  temperature  for  the  winter  andfoi 
the  year  are  nearly  normal ;  that  is,  the  lines  of  equal  temperature  run  across  the  state  from  east  to  west, 
approximately  parallel  to  the  lines  of  latitude,  the  temperature  depending  thus  almost  exclusively  upon  the  latitude. 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  11 

Above  Montgomery,  however,  two  things  inter/ere  with  this  regularity,  viz:  1.  The  cooling  influence  of  the 
mountains,  which  has  the  effect  of  deflecting  the  isothermals  southward.  2.  The  heating  influence  of  wide  river 
valleys  like  those  of  the  Coosa,  Warrior,  and  Tennessee,  that  are  sunk  in  these  highlands.  By  this  cause  these 
lines  are  carried  northward  of  their  normal  position. 

With  these  general  principles  in  view,  the  distribution  of  the  temperature  will  be  readily  understood. 

The  line  of  mean  annual  temperature  of  68°  F.  crosses  the  state  just  south  of  Mobile;  that  of  64°  just  above 
Montgomery,  curving,  however,  southward  from  Montgomery  to  Eufaula.  The  line  of  00°  follows  approximately 
the  curve  spoken  of  as  running  from  Columbus,  Georgia,  around  to  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  state;  that  is, 
it  follows  the  borders  of  the  elevated  or  mountainous  region,  being,  however,  carried  northward  by  the  Coosa  and 
the  Warrior  rivers  and  eastward  by  the  Tennessee.  The  line  of  50°  is  confined  to  the  northeastern  corner  of 
the  state,  but  is  brought  far  to  the  south  by  the  mountain  plateau  lying  between  the  Coosa  and  the  Tennessee 
rivers. 

The  case  is  similar  with  the  lines  of  equal  temperature  for  the  winter.  That  of  52°  runs  nearly  parallel  with 
the  thirty-first  degree  of  latitude;  that  of  48°  has  its  normal  course  through  Selma  and  Montgomery,  but  is 
carried  by  the  Coosa  river  as  high  up  as  the  crossing  of  the  Selma,  Borne,  and  Dalton  railroad  at  Coosa  bridge; 
and  that  of  44c  follows  the  margin  of  the  mountainous  region,  except  where  it  is  carried  by  the  Coosa  river 
above  Talladega  and  by  the  Tennessee  river  eastward  nearly  to  Decatur.  The  line  of  40°  includes  only  the 
northeastern  corner  of  the  state,  to  which  it  is  crowded  by  the  Coosa  and  the  Tennessee  rivers. 

The  lines  of  equal  temperature  for  the  summer  show  much  greater  irregularity,  caused  apparently  by  the 
preponderating  influence  of  the  river  valleys.  Thus  the  line  of  S0°  runs  diagonally  from  Tallahassee,  in  Florida 
up  to  Tuscaloosa,  by  reason  of  the  Alabama,  Tombigbee,  and  Warrior  rivers.  The  line  of  78°  curves,  like  some 
of  those  above  mentioned,  around  the  border  of  the  mountainous  region,  being  considerably  indented  by  the  Coosa 
and  Warrior  rivers,  while  it  follows  the  valley  of  the  Tennessee  river  through  the  whole  of  northern  Alabama 
into  the  state  of  Tennessee  beyond  Chattanooga. 

In  the  latitude  of  Montgomery  the  last  frost  occurs,  as  a  rule,  between  the  5th  and  the  25th  of  April,  and 
where  the  last  frost  is  recorded  in  March  the  records  show  that  its  actual  formation  in  April  was  prevented  by 
unfavorable  conditions,  such  as  cloudy  weather  or  brisk  winds.  The  first  frosts  occur  usually  between  the  10th 
and  the  25th  of  October.  When  the  first  frost  falls  in  November,  the  records  always  show  that  some  time  in  October 
the  temperature  was  sufficiently  low  for  frost,  the  actual  formation  of  which  was  prevented  by  the  unfavorable 
conditions  above  mentioned. 

The  influence  of  topography  upon  the  formation  of  frost  is  clearly  seen  in  those  parts  of  the  state  where  the 
variations  in  level  are  considerable ;  for  though  both  the  mountains  and  the  valleys  are  exposed  to  the  same 
conditions,  and  radiation  from  each  goes  on  at  the  same  rate,  the  effects  of  the  radiation  will  be  felt  in  different 
degrees.  As  the  air  is  cooled  it  becomes  more  dense,  and  in  consequence  flows  down  the  slopes  to  the  lower  levels, 
where  it  accumulates.  The  elevated  lands  are  thus  never  exposed  to  the  full  intensity  of  frosts,  for  their  position 
affords  a  ready  way  for  the  escape  of  the  cooled  air,  which  flows  down  the  slopes  as  fast  as  formed,  and  the  reduction 
of  temperature  is  in  this  way  greatly  retarded. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  valleys  and  lowlands  not-  only  retain  all  the  cold  air  caused  by  their  own  radiation, 
but  serve  also  as  reservoirs  for  the  cold  air  descending  from  the  adjoining  heights.  The  conditions  for  frost 
formation  are  thus  greatly  increased,  and  iu  a  degree  are  proportional  to  the  narrowness  of  the  valley  and  the 
height  of  the  adjacent  hills. 

Since  the  cotton-plant  continues  to  grow  and  mature  its  fruit  until  cut  off  by  frosts,  it  is  obvious  that  the  length 
of  time  between  frosts  becomes  an  important  factor  in  determining  the  fitness  of  a  locality  for  the  production  of 
cotton.     Hence  mountain  lands,  even  with  inferior  soils,  are  steadily  coming  into  favor  for  cotton  planting. 

Rainfall. — The  supply  of  moisture  for  the  rainfall  of  the  southern  states  comes  mainly  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
the  densest  annual  precipitation  of  CO  inches  and  upward  being  over  the  region  of  the  delta  of  the  Mississippi 
river  and  along  the  coasts  of  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  Alabama,  and  western  Florida.  An  area  of  heavy  annual 
rainfall,  50  inches  and  upward,  spreads  thence,  with  gradually  diminishing  amount,  northeastward,  including 
Louisiana,  southwestern  Arkansas,  western  Tennessee,  the  whole  of  Mississippi  and  Alabama,  northwestern  Georgia, 
and  parts  of  middle,  western,  and  southern  Florida.  Along  the  eastern  coasts  of  Florida,  Georgia,  and  South 
and  North  Carolina  the  influence  of  the  Atlantic  ocean  is  seen  in  the  heavy  precipitate  of  from  55  to  00  inches 
which  falls  there. 

The  distribution  of  the  rainfall  in  Alabama  for  the  year,  and  for  the  winter  and  summer  seasons,  is  about  as 
follows  : 

An  annual  precipitate  of  50  inches  and  upward  falls  within  a  belt  narrowest  in  the  middle  and  widening  out 
at  both  ends,  and  crossing  the  state  diagonally  from  the  southwestern  to  the  northeastern  corner.  In  the  lower 
part  of  this  belt  an  area  including  Mobile  and  Baldwin  and  parts  of  Washington, .Clarke,  Monroe,  Wilcox,  Dallas, 
Lowndes,  Butler,  Conecuh,  and  Escambia  counties  receives  an  annual  rainfall  of  02  inches  and  upward,  reaching  a 
maximum  of  Clinches  at  Mount  Vernon.  In  the  extreme  northwestern  corner  of  the  state  is  another  small  area 
whose  annual  raiufall  is  above  50'inches.     Between  these  two  areas  the  rainfall  is  less,  falling  below  50  inches  iu 


12  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA 

the  central  part.  Eastward  of  the  main  belt  the  amount  of  annual  rainfall  decreases,  being-  between  44  and 
56  inches  over  the  southeastern  part  of  the  state,  except  in  two  small  areas  in  Lee  and  Chambers  and  in  Henry 
counties,  where  it  ranges  between  40  and  44  inches. 

During  the  winter  months  (December,  January,  and  February)  we  find  the  area  of  maximum  rainfall  running 
along  the  western  border  of  the  state  within  30  miles  of  the 'Mississippi  line,  except  where  a  branch  is  thrown  off, 
including  parts  of  Dallas,  Wilcox,  Lowndes,  Montgomery,  Butler,  Crenshaw.  Pike,  and  Bullock  counties,  and 
another  deflection  toward  the.  east  in  the  Tennessee  valley,  including  parts  of  Lawrence,  Limestone,  and  Madison 
counties.  Over  the  rest  of  the  state  the  winter  rainfall  is  between  12  and  16  inches,  except  in  a  small  area  in  the 
western  part  of  Sumter  county  and  a  strip  along  the  eastern  border  of  the  state  below  Ckambers  county, 
including  parts  of  Chambers,  Lee,  Macon,  Bullock,  Barbour,  Dale,  Geneva,  and  all  of  Henry  and  Russell  counties, 
where  it  falls  below  12  inches. 

During  the  summer  months  (June,  July,  and  August)  the  greatest  amount  of  rainfalls  south  of  a  line  running 
from  the  southwestern  part  of  Choctaw  county  to  the  upper  line  of  Dallas,  and  thence  southeastward  to  the 
southeastern  corner  of  the  state,  in  Henry  county.  Within  the  area  thus  outlined  the  rainfall  is  14  inches  and 
upward,  increasing  to  IS  inches  and  more  in  Mobile,  Baldwin,  Washington,  Clarke,  Monroe,  Butler.  Conecuh, 
Escambia,  and  Covington  counties. 

North  of  the  Tennessee  river,  in  Lauderdale,  Limestone,  Madison,  and  Jackson  counties,  we  find  another  area 
of  large  summer  rainfall,  14  inches  and  upward,  and  between  the  two,  over  perhaps  two-thirds  of  the  state,  the 
summer  rainfall  falls  below  14  inches. 

In  the  meteorological  region  of  which  Alabama  forms  a  part  there  are  commonly  observed  two  maxima  of 
precipitation,  the  principal  one  about  the  end  of  July,  the  secondary  one  early  in  December;  also  a  principal 
minimum  early  in  October,  and  a  secondary  one  toward  the  end  of  April.  The  range  in  Alabama,  however,  is 
moderate,  and  the  distribution  tolerably  uniform  throughout  the  year,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  following  statement: 

The  average  rainfall  of  the  state  is  55.04  inches,  and  of  this  13.80  inches  fall  during  the  spring  months,  14.07 
during  the  summer,  10.74  during  the  autumn,  and  16.37  during  the  winter,  (a) 

The  records  kept  at  Montgomery  show  that  no  periods  of  wet  weather  extend  over  five  days,  ami  that  when 
the  periods  are  long  heavy  rainfalls  are  exceptional.  During  the  months  of  March,  April,  and  May  thunder-storms 
are  not  unusual,  and  the  quantity  of  rain  which  then  falls  is  sometimes  great.  These  storms  come  mostly  from 
westerly  directions,  from'  southwest  around  to  northwest,  but  most  often  from  the  southwest.  The  strong  winds 
with  which  they  are  usually  accompanied  sometimes  reach  the  force  of  hurricanes  or  tornadoes,  which  sweep  over 
the  country  in  a  narrow  track,  usually  of  less  than  a  mile  in  width.  The  tornadoes  come  almost  without  exception 
from  the  southwest,  the  wind  having  a  gyratory  motion,  as  is  shown  by  the  positions  of  the  prostrated  trees. 

Snow  falls  occasionally  in  the  months  of  January  and  February.  In  the  lower  counties  of  the  state  it  is 
extremely  rare,  but  northward  there  is  usually  at  least  one  considerable  snowfall  during  the  winter. 

General  topographical  and  geological  features  and  divisions.— Every  geological  formation 
occurring  in  the  Appalachian  region  of  North  America  has  its  representatives  in  the  stratified  rocks  of  Alabama, 
and  this  state  therefore  possesses  a  variety  in  its  geology  and  topography  not  excelled  by  any  member  of  the 
Union. 

The  main  topographical  features  of  any  region  are  either  inequalities  of  surface,  caused  by  actual  folds  or 
wrinkles  of  the  earth's  crust,  or  are  due  to  the  degradation  of  the  land  by  atmospheric  or  aqueous  agencies. 
The  two  great  factors  which  determine  surface  configuration  are  thus  seen  to  be  geological  structure  and  erosion. 
In  all  cases  difference  in  the  quality  of  the  material  acted  upon  as  regards  resistance  to  erosion  is  an  important 
subfaetor,  to  which  are  due  ail  those  minor  inequalities  which  constitute  scenery.  By  atmospheric  and  other 
agencies  the  rocks  decay  and  are  disintegrated,  crumbling  down  into  soils,  which  rest  upon  and  vary  with  the 
underlying  parent  rock,  or  which  are  removed  by  running  water  or  other  transporting  agent  and  spread  over 
regions  more  or  less  remote  from  their  point  of  origin.  A  distinction  is  thus  made  between  transported  or  drifted 
soils  and  those  in  place.  All  bottom  or  alluvial  lands  are  of  the  nature  of  drifted  soils,  but  these  are  always  more 
or  less  related  in  composition  to  the  uplands  of  the  particular  drainage  basin  in  which  they  occur.  On  the  other 
hand,  certain  parts  of  the  state  have  been  covered  in  comparatively  recent  times  with  transported  soils,  resulting 
from  the  commingling  of  the  detritus  of  widely  different  geological  formations,  and  often  bearing  very  little  relation 
to  the  underlying  or  adjacent  rock  masses.  These,  the  true  drifted  soils,  exhibit  local  variations  which  result  from 
the  influence  of  the  underlying  rocks  upon  which  they  have  been  deposited. 

In  the  present  position  of  the  rock  strata,  whether  approximately  horizontal  or  much  inclined  in  the  nature 
of  the  connection  between  the  topography  and  the  geological  structure  and  in  the  relations  of  the  soils  to  the  country 
rocks  upon  which  they  rest,  are  found  the  characters  according  to  which,  for  convenience  of  study  and  description 
of  its  natural  features,  the  state  may  be  marked  off  into  three  tolerably  distinct  divisions:  a  middle,  a  northern, 
and  a  southern  division. 

The  middle  division  is  the  southwestern  terminus  of  a  series  of  folded  and  faulted  strata,  which,  under  the 
name   of  the  Appalachian  chain,  extends  from  the  eastern  states  through   Pennsylvania,  etc.,  into  Alabama. 

a  The  data  for  the  above  account  of  the  climate  are  derived  from  the  Smithsonian. ^ 


PHYSIOO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  13 

Throughout  this  part  of  the  state  the  strata  arc  usually  inclined  at  considerable  angles  either  toward  the  southeast 
or  the  northwest,  and  their  outcropping  edges  have  the  general  direction  of  northeast  and  southwest.  The 
topographical  features,  ridges  and  valleys,  are  disposed  in  parallel  strips  or  belts,  having  the  same  direction  as 
rock  strata,  to  which  they  owe  their  origin.  With  the  exception  of  the  bottom  and  alluvial  lands,  the  soils  of  this 
division  are  in  place,  resting  directly  upon  the  rocks  from  which  they  have  been  derived. 

Northwest  of  this  middle  division  the  southern  terminations  of  the  great  Cumberland  table-land  and  of  the 
highlands  of  Tennessee  extend  down  into  Alabama.  These  two,  together  with  the  Warrior  coal  basin,  constitute 
the  northern  division.  Here  the  strata  are  approximately  horizontal,  except  along  the  borders  of  certain  outlying 
folds  belonging  to  the  middle  division,  and  the  influence  of  geological  structure  upon  the  topography  is  much  less 
distinctly,  seen  than  in  the  preceding  division.  The  soils,  like  those  of  the  preceding  division,  and  with  the 
exceptions  there  noted,  have  been  derived  from  the  disintegration  of  the  underlying  rocks  of  the  country. 

In  the  southern  division,  with  approximately  horizontal  position  of  the  strata,  we  find  the  topography  very 
slightly  influenced  by  geological  structure,  but,  on  the  other  haud,  almost  exclusively  the  result  of  erosion,  as 
determined  by  the  differences  in  the  materials  of  a  single  formation,  the  stratified  drift  or  orange  sand,  which, 
except  in  parts  of  the  prairie  belt,  covers  the  underlying  beds  over  this  whole  division.  In  this  division,  therefore, 
the  agricultural  features  depend,  with  the  principal  exception  of  the  prairies,  primarily  upon  the  quality  of  these 
superficial  transported  beds,  and  not  upon  the  rocks  of  the  country.  Local  modifications  of  these  widely-spread 
drifted  soils,  as  before  stated,  are  not  uncommonly  brought  about  by  the  influence  of  the  underlying  rock  masses 
which  they  cover. 

In  the  detailed  descriptions  which  follow  the  divisions  are  taken  up  in  the  order  previously  given,  which  is  also 
the  order  of  their  relative  geological  ages. 

The  relations  above  mentioned  are  shown  by  the  following  general  section  across  the  state  along  the  broken 
line: 


i    Croaiooau.!.    j  niucui*   Terliarjj, 


OaKixnajffitHvr,,  VpWitne  '        I 

/a/itfaWTWa/t? -^v;/f  ^(7/j  j  j^,TTir,tf,OpeiiTin4~Xiooi7s. 


WLirriorlUiiers 
ior   Coal  Sam'n. 


■p     j     TTc^burip     | 

,     Foot -Tertiary* 


Crotnaeaus.    t  ^Hocent   Tertiary. 
I ^Metamcrp~hie,  Silurian, DcvoTuart  anil  Carhani/broua  Formations. [ 

i 

a  Melamorphie  rocks;  b  Silurian  (Potsdam)  sandstone;  cSilurian  shale;  dSilurian  limestones;  c  Sub-Carboniferous  cherty  limestones;  /Coal  Measures;  pBeds 
of  sand,  "ravel,  ami  loam  averlying  toe  Cretaceous.  Tertiary,  and  part  of  metamorpkic  rock. 

Mf SaniZstOTie.      JWShaTes.       /^'Mbttrmorphzr  .SZa&s.        /UyyUimeseone.        Jffl  Cherty  limestone 

General  section  across  the  stato  of  Alabama  from  Florence,  southeastward  through  Tilscumbia,  Houston,  and  Birmingham  to  Rockford,  Coosa  county,  and  thence 
south  westward  through  Monroeville,  Monroe  county,  aud  Mobile  to  the  Gulf  coast,  showing  the  disposition  of  the  geological  formations  and  the  geographical  positions 
of  the  agricultural  regions,  together  with  tbeir  relations  to  the  geological  formations. 

Agricultural  subdivisions  or  regions. — Under  these  general  divisions  the   agricultural  features  of 
Alabama  will  be  described  in  the  following  order  : 

MIDDLE   DIVISION. 

1.  The  Metamorpkic  region,  including — 

Eed  lands. 
Gray  lauds. 

2.  The  Coosa  Valley  region,  with  its — 

Flatwoods. 

Brown-loam  and  red-clay  lauds. 
Gray  cherty  lands. 
There  are  also  included  iu  this  division  the  Coosa  and  Cahaba  coal-fields,  but  they  are  described  in  detail 
under  the  succeediug  head. 

NORTHERN    DIVISION. 

3.  Coal  Measures  region,  including  the  sandy  lauds  of — 

The  Coosa  and  Cahaba  coal-fields. 
The  Warrior  basin  and  plateau. 

4.  The  Tennessee  Valley  region,  the  three  subdivisions  of  which  are — 

Barrens. 

Bed  valley  lands. 

Sandy  lands  of  Little  Mountain  range. 

23 


14  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 


SOUTHERN  DIVISION. 


5.  Oak  and  pine  uplands  region,  which  includes — 

Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  short-leaf  pine. 
Gravelly  hills,  with  long-leaf  pine. 
Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine. 
Still  further  subdivided  into — 
Brown-loam  uplands,  and 
Pine  hills. 

6.  Upper  or  central  prairie  region,  including — 

Black  prairie  or  "  canebrake". 

Hill  prairies  and  Chunnenugga  ridge. 

Blue  marl  lands. 

7.  Post-oak  tint  woods  belt  or  region. 

8.  Lower  prairie  region,  or  lime-hills. 

9.  The  Long-leaf  pine  region,  subdivided  into — 

Rolling,  open  pine  woods,  with  liine-sinks. 
Pine  flats. 

10.  Alluvial  region  of  Mobile  river  and  the  coasts. 


MIDDLE     DIVISION. 


A  line  drawn  on  the  map  from  the  northeastern  corner  of  the  state  southwestward  to  Tuscaloosa,  and  thence 
through  Centerville,  Clanton,  Wetumpka,  and  Tallassee  to  Columbus,  Georgia,  would  mark  approximately  the 
boundaries  of  this  division. 

A  part  of  the  Coal  Measures  of  the  Warrior  field,  though  falling  within  the  limits  above  given,  is  to  be  classed 
with  the  next  division,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  Murphree's  and  Brown's  valleys,  in  Blount  and  Marshall  counties, 
and  the  continuation  of  the  last-named  valley  northeastward  along  the  Tennessee  river  through  Jackson  county, 
though  outside  these  limits,  is  still  to  be  included  in  this  division,  which,  as  thus  defined,  has  an  area  of  nearly 
10,000  square  miles,  and  embraces  the  following  counties  and  parts  of  counties:  All  of  Cleburne,  Calhoun,  Saint 
Clair,  Shelby,  Talladega,  Clay,  Randolph,  Chambers,  and  Coosa,  narrow  belts  through  Jackson,  Marshall,  I)e  Kalb, 
and  Blount,  southern  Cherokee,  most  of  Etowah,  southeastern  Jefferson,  a  small  strip  along  the  southeastern  edge 
of  Tuscaloosa,  northern  Bibb,  eastern  half  of  Chilton,  southern  Elmore,  Tallapoosa,  and  Lee. 

Subdivisions. — By  reference  to  a  geological  map  of  the  state  it  will  be  seen  that  this  division  includes :  1.  The 
metamorphic  region.  2.  The  valley  of  the  Coosa,  together  with  its  outliers,  the  Cahaba,  Roup's,  Jone.s',  Wills', 
Murphree's,  and  Brown's  valleys,  and  the  continuation  of  the  latter  along  the  Tennessee  river  to  the  northeastern 
corner  of  the  state.     3.  The  Coosa  and  the  Cahaba  coal-fields. 

These  three  subdivisions  are  best  described  separately. 

THE  METAMORPHIC  REGION. 

This  being  a  part  of  the  great  Appalachian  chain,  includes  some  of  the  most  elevated  land  in  the  state  in  the 
counties  of  Cleburne,  Randolph,  Chambers,  Lee,  Macon,  Tallapoosa,  Clay,  Coosa,  Elmore,  and  Chilton,  comprising 
an  area  of  4.425  square  miles. 

Geological  characters. — The  rocks  of  this  region  are  the  altered  and  crystallized  sediments  either  of 
Silurian  or  preceding  ages,  and  exhibit  the  greatest  diversity,  both  in  their  chemical  composition,  in  their  physical 
characters,  and  in  the  nature  of  the  topography  and  the  soils  to  which  they  give  rise.  There  are  all  gradations 
between  the  hard,  almost  indestructible  quartzites  to  the  easily-eroded  marble;  from  the  warm,  fertile,  and 
undulating  granitic  and  gneissic  land  to  the  much  broken,  often  sterile  tracts  formed  by  mica  slates  and  other  highly 
siliceous  rocks.  With  the  varying  composition  of  the  rocks  come  varying  degrees  of  resistance  to  decay  and  erosion, 
and  hence  the  great  variety  in  the  scenery  of  this  region,  where  high  and  almost  mountainous  ridges  alternate  with 
rolling  and  sometimes  rugged  lowlands  and  valleys.  In  some  parts  the  strata  have  undergone  complete  disintegration 
in  place  and  have  been  converted  into  great  masses  of  stratified  clays,  interlaminated  with  seams  of  quartz,  which, 
gradually  broken  down,  cover  the  ground  with  their  angular  fragments. 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  15 

Soils. — The  depth  to  which  this  decay  reaches  depends  on  the  nature  of  the  rock  and  its  position,  and  in  many 
instances,  even  20  or  30  feet  below  the  surface,  the  rock  is  still  much  decomposed.  At  the  surface  a  loam  with  not 
much  appearance  of  stratification  overlies  the  decayed  slates  to  the  depth  of  several  feet  in  valleys,  but  much  less 
alone  the  slopes  and  on  the  summits.  This  loam  forms  the  soils  and  subsoils,  which  are  tlius  seen  to  be  in  most  cases 
directly  related  to  the  underlying  beds.  These  soils  and  subsoils  have  all  probably  been  slightly  shifted  from  their 
original  place,  especially  in  the  valleys,  but  seldom  to  that  distance  where  their  relationships  cannot  be  readily 
traced  to  the  underlying  or  immediately  adjacent  rock  masses. 

The  two  principal  soil  varieties  commonly  recognized  by  the  farmers  are  those  which  make  the  gray  and  the 
red  lands  respectively.  Of  each  of  these,  however,  there  are  numerous  subvarieties,  exhibiting  all  grades  of  color 
and  of  fertility.  The  gray  lands  maybe  derived  from  feldspathic  rocks,  such  as  granite  and  gneiss,  in  which  case 
they  are  often  quite  fertile,  or  from  siliceous  mica  slates  or  other  quartzose  rocks,  when  they  may  be  almost  barren. 
Similarly,  the  red  lands,  when  derived  from  feldspathic  rocks,  such  as  horubleudic  gneiss,  etc.,  rank  high  in 
productiveness,  while  those  resulting  from  the  decay  of  certain  mica  or  clay  slates,  beariug  garnets  or  other  ferruginous 
minerals,  frequently  lie  at  the  other  extreme.  In  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge  it  is  impossible  to  mark  with 
accuracy  the  localities  where  these  several  soil  varieties  occur  throughout  the  metamorphic  region ;  but  what  can 
at  present  be  said  concerning  their  occurrence  will  be  found  under  the  head  of  each  county. 

Of  the  true  gray  granitic  (feldspathic)  soils  there  is  only  a  limited  area  in  this  state,  but  a  belt  of  this  kind  of 
land  passes  through  JRoekford  and  Bradford,  in  Coosa  county.  It  is -seen  again  near  Blake's  ferry,  in  Randolph, 
and  near  Louina,  in  the  same  county  ;  then  near  Milltown,  in  Chambers  county.  Indeed,  the  granite  itself,  so  far  as 
it  has  yet  been  observed,  passes  everywhere,  by  insensible  gradations,  into  a  schistose  or  stratified  rock,  or  into 
gneiss,  and  thus  our  granitic  soils  might  more  properly  be  classed  as  gneissic  throughout.  No  analyses  of  soils  from 
those  localities  where  the  so-called  granite  makes  the  country  are  at  hand. 

The  gneisses  vary  in  composition  from  granitic  gneiss  to  mica-schist,  which  contains  only  quartz  and  mica,  and 
vary  in  fertility  in  a  corresponding  degree.  On  the  other  hand,  variations  brought  about  by  an  intermixture  of  iron- 
beari«g  minerals,  such  as  hornblende,  garnets,  etc.,  are  seen  in  the  horubleudic  gneisses  and  other  similar  rocks. 
Throughout  the  region  of  occurrence  of  the  gneissic  rocks  the  variations  of  soils,  produced  in  the  manner  alluded 
to,  are  so  numerous,  and  follow  each  other  in  so  irregular  a  manner,  as  to  defy  classification  and  localization,  except 
in  the  most  general  way.  Thus,  it  may  be  said  that  the  gneisses  (with  all  their  variations)  are  of  more  frequent 
occurrence  in  the  southeastern  half  of  the  metamorphic  region,  while  the  more  siliceous  and  argillaceous  or 
clayey  rocks  prevail,  as  a  rule,  in  the  northwest.  Still,  such  a  statement  expresses  only  the  most  general  relations, 
for  rocks  of  all  kinds  occur  in  both  divisions. 

Of  the  two  principal  soil  varieties  above  named,  that  of  the  red  lands  is  derived  from  tohe  decomposed  horubleudic 
gneisses  and  slates,  which  in  many  places,  where  exposed  in  washes  or  gullies,  are  seen  to  be  merely  stratified  clays, 
containing  fragments  more  or  less  angular  of  the  quartz  veins  or  seams,  which  are  nearly  always  interbedded  with 
the  other  rocks  of  this  region.  This  red  soil  (the  color  of  which  comes  from  the  iron  of  the  hornblende)  is  considered 
best  adapted  to  the  production  of  corn  and  other  grains.  Its  natural  growth  consists  of  the  various  species  of  oaks 
(white,  post,  Spanish,  red,  and  a  few  black-jacks),  hickory,  poplar,  and  some  short-leaf  pine,  especially  where  the  red 
and  gray  soils  overlap,  making  mulatto-colored  soils.  The  top  stratum  of  this  soil,  from  2  to  3  inches  in  depth,  is 
often  a  dark  chocolate-brown  color,  but  below  it  becomes  a  brighter  red,  and  at:  varying  depths,  from  10  to  15  feet, 
becomes  a  yellowish  hard  clay.  "Where  the  freshly  decomposed  rocks  are  seen  the  color  is  yellowish  rather  than  red, 
the  latter  color  beiug  darker  and  more  intense  apparently  the  further  removed  the  soil  is  from  its  original  position 
and  tne  more  it  is  affected  by  the  decay  of  the  vegetable  matter.  When  first  cleared,  these  lands  were  thought 
to  be  the  best  in  the  country,  and  many  fine  farms  are  still  found  upon  them.  The  majority  of  the  farmers  now, 
however,  seem  to  prefer  the  gray  soil,  as  being  more  certain,  more  easily  tilled,  aud*even  more  fertile.  The  red  lands 
were  the  first  to  be  cleared  up  by  the  original  settlers,  and  most  of  the  older  farms  and  fine  old  country  residences 
are  upon  this  kind  of  land. 

The  gray  soils  result  from  the  disintegration  of  gneisses  and  mica  slates  which  contain  comparatively  little  or 
no  hornblende  or  other  iron-bearing  minerals.  They  are  commonly  somewhat  sandy,  usually  light-colored,  gray  to 
dark  gray,  sometimes  nearly  black,  with  very  often,  however,  a  decidedly  reddish  color  similar  to  that  of  the 
hornblendic  soils  above  described.  Fragments  of  the  partially- decayed  gneiss  of  a  light-gray  color  often  lie 
embedded  in  reddish  and  even  red  clays  or  clayey  sands.  These  gray  soils  are  easily  tilled,  are  certain  of  crop 
even  with  moderately  favorable  seasons,  and  are  better  suited  than  the  red  to  the  culture  of  cotton.  Below  some 
three  or  four  inches  of  dark  gray  sandy  top  soil  there  is  usually,,  a  lighter  colored  but  somewhat  yellowish  subsoil. 
The  timber  is  much  the  same  as  that  upon  the  red  lands,  viz,  oaks  and  hickory,  with  a  few  short-leaf  pines. 

The  sii'bjoined  analyses  will  show  the  chemical  characters  of  these  two  soil  varieties: 

No.  78.  Eed  lands  soils  from  6  miles  north  of  Opelika,  Lee  county  (S.  16,  T.  20,  B.  27  E.).  Depth,  10  inches; 
vegetation,  red,  Spanish,  and  post  oaks,  hickory,  and  a  few  short-leaf  pines;  color,  dark-red. 

No.  79.  Gray  gneissic  (isinglass)  soil  from  6  miles  north  of  Opelika,  Lee  county  (S.  17,  T.  20,  B.  27  E.). 
Depth,  8  inches ;  vegetation,  red,  Spanish,  and  post  oaks,  hickory,  and  a  few  short-leaf  pines ;  color,  grayish-brown. 


16 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 


Gneissic  soils,  Lee  county. 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Potash 

Soda 

Litno 

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  aeid 

"Water  and  organic  matter  . 

Total  .     

Hygroscopic  moisture 

absorbed  at 


ItELi  LANDS  60H.. 


63.710 
3.830 


[72.540 

0.350 
0.119 
0.  013 
0.050 
0.100 
10.  740 
9.  237 
0.170 
O.0S0 
7.011 


100.410 


7.40 
27.  8  C.° 


GUAY  I.A-NP6  60IL. 


79.  170  1 
3.  250  ) 


82. 420 

0.268 

0.067 
0.107 
0.130 
0.093 
3.144 
5.  120 
0.  229 
0.043 
7.712 

99.  429 


4.  04 
26.  7  C.° 


Of  these  two  soils,  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  iusoluble  matter,  the  gray  is  decidedly  better  in  respect  of 
potash,  phosphoric  acid,  and  lime,  and  is  probably  more  thrifty.  The  red  soil  is  rather  deficient  in  lime,  but  in 
retentiveness  of  moisture  it  is  superior  to  the  other.     Both  are  fairly  good  soils. 

Running  northeast  and  southwest  through  the  metamorphic  area  near  the  southern  border  there  is  a  belt  of 
varying  width,  in  which  hydromica  slates,  often  highly  graphitic,  are  of  frequent  occurrence.  Tlw?se  mica  slates  are 
usually  filled  with  garnets,  are  much  decomposed,  and  alternate  with  thin  beds  of  clay  slate,  which  is  occasionally 
so  highly  graphitic  as  to  be  used  as  lubricating  material.  In  Randolph  and  Tallapoosa  counties  these  rocks  are 
abundantly  found,  and  details  of  their  occurrence  will  be  found  uuder  those  'headings.  The  soil  derived  from  these 
rocks  is  of  yellowish-gray  color,  finely  pulverized,  and  supports  a  growth  of  the  usual  upland  character. 

Mica  slates  containing  the  common  micas,  such  as  muscovite  and  biotite,  are  also  of  frequent  occurrence,  and 
the  soils  yielded  by  them  are  also  of  varying  degrees  of  fertility,  being  between  a  first-rate  gneissic  soil,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  a  poor  sandy  material  on  the  other.  These  variations  have  already  been  the  subject  of  remark  under  the 
heading  of  the  gneissic  soils. 

As  to  the  distribution  of  these  mica  slates  no  general  rule  can  be  given,  since  they  alternate  in  so  many  ways 
with  the  other  metamorphic  rocks.     The  following  analyses  are  probably  fairly  characteristic  of  these  two  varieties : 

±NTo.  107.  Mica  slate  soil  (graphitic,  hydrous  mica)  from  4  miles  north  of  Boanoke,  Randolph  county.  Depth. 
8  inches;  vegetation,  black,  red,  post,  and  black-jack  oaks,  with  a  few  short-leaf  pines  and  hickories;  color,  light- 
yellow. 

No.  103.  Mica  slate  soil •  (garnetiferous,  common  mica)  from  S.  27,  T.  19,  E.  7  E.,  Clay  county.  Depth,  8  inches; 
vegetation,  black,  red,  and  Spanish  oaks,  with  a  few  hickories  and  chestnuts;  color,  buff- yellow,  passing  downward 
into  orange.     The  smbsoil  is  a  tolerably  stiff  red  clay. 

Mica  slate  soils. 


26 


* 

RANDOLPH 

COUNTY. 

CLAY  CO  UNIT. 

Mica  slate  soil 
(graphitic,  hy- 
drous mica). 

Mica  skite  aoil 
(garnetiferous, 
common  mica). 

No.  107.                    No.  103. 

J  81.  340 

S75.437 

0.351 

0.24G 
0.038 

Soda 

0.086 
0.010 

6.  8G1                            9.  303 

Phospboric  acid 

Sulphurio  acid 

0.  067                            0. 137 
0.  057                            0.  090 

"1 

99.713     |                   99.097 

4.  612     !                     5.  91 

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  17 

Beth  these  soils  are  deficient  iu  lime,  and  No.  107  is  also  deficient  in  phosphoric  acid.  The  rock  from  which  No. 
107  is  derived  has  usually  been  called  "  talcose  slate",  but  a  full  analysis  shows  that  it  contains  only  a  small  percentage 
of  magnesia.  Soils  like  No.  107  are  quite  common  throughout  the  "  gold  regions",  which,  as  is  well  known,  does 
not  rank  as  the  best  farming  couutry.  The  rock  from  which  No.  103  is  derived  contains  the  ordinary  mica,  and  is 
filled  with  garnets  of  large  size,  often  as  much  as  2  inches  in  diameter.  This  soil  is  fairly  productive  in  good  seasons, 
but  cannot  stand  much  dry  weather,  and,  being  rather  light,  soon  wears  out.  It  is  a  good  representative  of  the 
better  class  of  mica  slate  soils,  and  does  not  exhibit  the  sterility  characteristic  of  some  of  them,  especially  those 
derived  from  a  mica  slate  of  a  purple  color  runnin  g  through  Cleburne,  Clay,  and  Coosa ,  into  Cliiltou  county,  and  which 
are  almost  barren,  supporting  a  growth  consisting  almost  entirely  of  stuuted  long-leaf  pines  and  black-jacks. 

A  comparison  of  the  four  analyses  given  on  page  16  shows  that  the  soils  may  be  divided  into  two  general  classes, 
viz,  sandy  and  clayey  or  loamy.  To  the  first  belong  the  two  gray  soils,  i.  e.,  the  gneissic  and  the  hydromica;  to  the 
second,  the  red  soils,  i.  e.,  the  horublendic  and  the  mica  slate;  and,  in  the  most  general"  terms,  the  soils  of  this 
region  are  usually  grouped  under  one  or  the  other  of  twTo  heads,  as  sandy  or  gray,  and  as  loamy  or  red  soils.  In  some 
rare  instances  we  have  loamy  or  clayey  soils  which  are  deficient  in  red  coloring  matter,  but  as  a  general  thing  the 
clayey  and  the  ferruginous  matters  are  closely  associated. 

This  close  agreement  of  the  soils  in  composition,  though  derived  from  rocks  of  different  kinds,  bears  out  what 
was  said  concerning  the  relations  between  the  different  rocks  themselves;  for  since  the  great  majority  of  the  rocks 
of  this  region  may  be  classed  with  the  gneisses,  and  as  these  vary  iu  the  one  direction,  by  the  accession  of 
hornblende  or  other  iron-bearing  minerals,  through  horublendic  gneisses  to  almost  purely  horublendic  slates,  so 
the  corresponding  soils  pass  from  light-grayish  colors  through  the  various  grades  of  yellow  to  deep  red ;  and 
since  the  increase  in  the  amount  of  hornblende  is  usually  attended  with  a  decrease  in  the  amount  of  free  quartz 
>or  silica,  it  is  easily  seen  that  these  soils  are  less  and  less  distinctively  sandy  as  they  pass  from  light  to  red  colors. 

Variations  in  the  gneisses  take  place  in  another  directiou  by  the  gradual  disappearance  of  the  feldspar  and 
the  corresponding  increase  in  the  proportion  of  quartz  and  mica,  as  when  the  gneiss  passes  into  mica  slate.  la 
this  series  the  light-colored  feldspathic  soil  gradually  loses  its  fertility,  becoming  more  sandy  and  sterile  till  the 
sandy  micaceous  soils  of  the  typical  mica  slates  are  reached.     No  analyses  are  yet  on  hand  of  the  clay  slate  soils. 

THE  COOSA  VALLEY  REGION  AND  ITS  OUTLIERS. 

The  wide  valley,  with  prevailing  calcareous  rocks,  which  lies  between  the  metamorphic  area  on  the  one  hand 
and  the  southeastern  edges  of  the  Coosa  and  Cahaba  coal-fields  and  Lookout  mountain  on  the  other  has  received 
the  name  above  given  from  the  Coosa  river,  which  traverses  its  whole  length.  Geologically  it  is  the  continuation 
■of  the  valley  of  eastern  Tennessee  ;  and,  indeed,  the  valley  of  which  this  is  a  part,  and  which  has  been  described 
by  Professor  Safford  as  a  complex  trough  fluted  with  scores  of  smaller  valleys  and  ridges,  extends  at  least  from 
the  Susquehanna  river  to  middle  Alabama. 

The  maiu  valley  of  the  Coosa,  with  the  limits  above  given,  is  from  15  to  20  or  30  miles  wide,  and  is  closely 
furrowed  with  parallel  valleys  and  ridges,  all  trending  northeast  and  southwest.  This  valley  is  embraced  in  the 
counties  of  Cherokee,  Cleburne,  Calhoun,  Etowah,  Saint  Clair,  Talladega,  Shelby,  Coosa,  and  Chilton,  and  has  an 
area,'  including  its  ridge  lands,  of  2,5S0  square  miles.  Several  outlying  valleys,  with  very  similar  geological 
structure  and  soil  varieties,  may  be  most  conveniently  described  in  connection  with  it. 

These  outliers  are:  1.  The  Cahaba  valley,  lying  between  the  Coosa  and  Cahaba  coal-fields,  in  the  counties  of 
Saint  Clair,  Jefferson,  Shelby,  and  Bibb,  its  area  being  3S5  square  miles.  2.  Roup's  and  Jones'  valley,  between  the 
Cahaba  and  Warrior  coal-fields,  iu  Jefferson,  Tuscaloosa,  and  Bibb  counties  ;  area,  285  square  miles.  3.  Wills' 
■valley,  between  Lookout  and  Sand  mountains,  iu  De  Kalb,  Etowah,  and  Saint  Clair  counties .;  area,  460  square 
miles.  4.  Murphree's  valley,  in  Etowah  and  Blount  counties;  area,  110  square  miles.  5.  The  Blount  springs,  or 
Brown's  valley,  which  is  a  prolongation  into  Alabama  of  the  Sequatchie  valley  of  Tennessee,  and  runs  through 
Jackson,  Marshall,  and  Blount  counties,  having  an  area  of  about  400  square  miles. 

Geological  formations. — The  strata  which  appear  at  the  surface  and  contribute  to  the  formation  of  the  soils 
in  all  these  valleys  are  the  representatives  of  all  the  geological  formations  occurring  in  Alabama,  from  the  primordial 
or  lowest  division  of  the  Lower  Silurian  up  to  the  base  of  the  Coal  Measures.  In  the  following  statement  is  given, 
iu  descending  order,  the  names  and  geological  positions  of  these  strata,  so  far  as  their  equivalence  has  been  made  out : 

Carboniferous 7.  Coal  Measures  ©f  the  Warrior,  Cahaba,  and  Coosa  fields. 

Sub-Carboniferous,  j  '■  Upper  Calcareous  mountain  limestone. 

(  o.  Lower  Siliceous,  siliceous  group. 

Devonian 4.  Black  shale. 

Upper  Silurian. ...     3.  Clinton  or  Red  Mountain  group. 

f  2.  Trenton  and  Chazy,  shales  and  limestones. 

f  e.  Dolomite  or  magnesian  limestone. 

i     ,   ■  .,     i    v  ,  ...  \  d-  T&:l,ale  (calcareous  shales). 

c.  Upper  sandstone  (calcareous  sandstone). 
b.  Potsdam  sandstone  proper. 
a.  Semi-metamorphic  shales  and  conglomerates. 
The  lithological  and  other  characters  of  these  different  formations,  so  far  as  they  are  of  importance  from  an 
agricultural  point  of  view,  will  be  given  in  the  special  description  of  the  soils. 


Lower  Silurian. 


S 


18 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 


COOSA   VALLEY. 

Under  this  name  is  included  that  belt  of  30  or  40  miles  width  east  and  west  lying  between  the  metamorpliic 
area  on  the  one  hand  and  the  Coal  Measures  on  the  other,  and  extending  from  the  eastern  border  of  the  state,  in 
the  counties  of  Cherokee  and  Calhoun,  southwestward  for  120  miles. 

With  reference  to  these  mountainous  borders  it  may  be  considered  as  one  valley,  but  in  reality  it  consists  of 
several  parallel  valleys  separated  by  ridges  of  greater  or  less  height.  The  highest  of  these  ridges  are  found  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  the  valley,  where  they  attain  true  mountainous  proportions. 


Section  from  Sand  mountain,  on  the  northwest,  to  the  metaniornhic  region  on  the  southeast:  showing  the  coolr 

mountain,  and  an  outlying  anticlinal  valley  (Wills'). 


:il  structure  of  the  Coosa  Valley  region,  Lookout 


-  -Willi/  Valley. .  -  -  .Lookout  ^fountain.] ._ ,  CoeeuiValiey  Jtayto. 


^fetamorphic 


Explanation,— a.  Mountains  of  the  Metamorphic  reyitm.  h.  Sandy  mountain  lands — Potsdam  milestone,  c.  Ridgy  lands  of  the  Ujipcr  Sandstone,  d.  Red 
valley  lands  of  the  shale  and  the  lower  part  of  the  Magnesian  limestone.  In  the  Coosa  River  region  and  central  parts  of  Wills  valley  the  shale  tonus  "  Hat  woods  ". 
c.  Loams  and  cherty  gravelly  ridge  lands,  based  on  the  Magnesian  limestone.  f.  Brown  hiatus  of  the  valleys,  based  on  ZVcniotiKmeBione.  </.  Red  ore  ridges. 
Silurian  sandstones  and  ore  on  one  side  and  Sltb-Oarbonifcrous  cherty  limestones  on  the  other.  Tito  cherty  gravel  covers  the  sole  next  to  tlio  Coal  Measures.  It. 
Brown  loams  of  the  valleys,  based  on  sub-Carboniferous  limestones,  i.  Sandy  lands  of  Lookout  and  Sand  mountains,  Coal  Measures.  The  sandstones,  etc.,  of 
Coal  Measures  form  the  borders  of  the  anticlinal  valleys. 

The  structure  of  the  Coosa  Valley  region,  as  well  as  that  of  an  outlying  anticlinal  valley,  will  be  easily 
understood  by  au  examination  of  the  accompanying  sketch,  which  represents  a  section  from  Saiid  mountain,  across 
Wills'  valley,  Lookout  mountain,  and  Coosa  valley,  to  the  mountains  of  the  metamorpliic  region.  The  section  is 
taken  from  northwest  to  southeast,  at  right  angles  to  the  general  direction  of  the  strata,  and  the  sketch  dues  not 
pretend  to  give  the  minute  details  of  structure,  but  only  its  broad  outlines,  and  it  is  therefore  in  great  degree 
diagrammatic. 

The  structure  of  the  Coosa  valley  varies -with  the  locality.  From  the  Georgia  line  down  to  Gadsden  it  consists 
of  two  parts,  the  western  being  a  large  anticlinal,  and  the  eastern  being  formed  of  strata  repeated  by  faults.  The 
eastern  side  of  the  anticlinal  is  itself  cut  short  by  a  fault.  Below  Gadsden  the  anticlinal  turns  w-estward  from  the 
river,  and  is  merged  into  Jones'  valley,  while  the  Coosa  valley  proper  is  altogether  within  the  area  of  the  faulted 
series. 

The  sketch,  taken  together  with  the  lithological  and  topographical  characters  given  in  connection  with  the 
special  description  of  the  soils,  will  show  very  clearly  the  part  borne  by  each  formation  in  the  production  of  the 
topographical  features  of  this  valley.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  ridges  are  of  four  kinds,  viz:  in  the  anticlinal,  the 
red  ore  ridges,  usually  steep,  with  chert  fragments  on  one  side  and  sandstone  and  limestone  on  the  other ;  the 
ridges  of  the  dolomite,  rounded  and  covered  with  masses  of  chert.  In  the  eastern  part  of  the  Coosa  valley  the 
ridges  are  the  chert  ridges  of  the  dolomite,  the  sandstone  ridges  of  the  upper  sandstone,  steep  and  sharp-crested, 
but  not  high,  and  lastly  the  mountains  of  Potsdam  sandstone. 

The  valley-making  formations  are  the  sub-Carboniferous  in  part,  the  Trenton  and  Chazy,  the  calcareous  parts 
of  the  dolomite,  and  the  shale.  The  first  of  these  (sub-Carbouifcrous)  is  found,  only  in  the  anticlinal  part  of  the 
valley ;  the  others  are  found  in  both  parts.  The  immediate  valley  of  the  river  as  far  south  as  Gadsden  is  underlaid 
by  the  shales,  covered,  however,  iu  great  measure,  with  the  sands  and  pebbles  of  a  later  period.  The  dolomite,  as 
usual,  forms  the  greater  part  of  the  superficial  area  of  the  ridgy  valleys  on  each  side  of  this  central  portion,  and, 
from  an  agricultural  point  of  view,  is  perhaps  the  most  important  formation.  («) 


OUTLIERS    OF    TUE    COOSA   VALLEY. 

Cahaba  valley. — This  valley  lies  between  the  Coosa  and  Cahaba  coal-fields.  In  its  geological  structure  it 
resembles  the  eastern  part  of  the  Coosa  valley,  for  a  fault  on  its  western  edge  brings  the  upper  sandstone  up  to  the 
level  of  the  Cahaba  Coal  Measures,  and  going  theuce  eastward  we  pass,  in  ascending  order,  over  the  following 
strata:  Upper  sandstone,  the  shale,  the  dolomite,  Chazy  and  Trenton,  Clinton,  black  shale,  sub-Carboniferous, 
and  Coal  Measures  (Coosa,  field).  As  in  other  cases,  the  greater  part  of  the  area  of  the  valley  is  made  by  the 
strata  of  the  magnesian  limestone  or  dolomite. 

Roup's  and  Jones'  valley. — These  names  are  given  to  the  two  ends  of  the  valley  lying  between  the  Cahaba  and 
the  lower  part  of  the  Warrior  field,  merging  into  the  Cahaba  and  Coosa  valleys  above  Sprihgville. 

Wills7  valley,  Murphree's  valley,  and  Brown's  valley. — There  are  troughs  sunk  in  the  Coal  Measures  ef  the 
northeastern  or  plateau  division  of  the  Warrior  field.  In  structure  these,  are  all,  with  the  exception  of  the'  Cahaba 
valley  above  described,  anticlinal  folds  in  the  Warrior  measures,  furrowed  out  subsequently  by  erosion.     While  the 


as 


a  In  the  sketch  the  dolomite  does  not  occupy  its  proper  proportion  of  the  area. 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  19 

floors  of  these  valleys  are  much  lower  than  the  rims  which  bound  them  (for  the  folding  involved  also  the  strata 
of  the  Coal  Measures  for  a  short  distance  on  each  side),  they  are  nevertheless  considerably  higher  than  the  synclinal 
basins  of  the  Coal  Measures,  between  which  they  lie,  and  for  that  reason  water  rising  in  these  valleys  sooner  or 
later  breaks  through  the  mountain  rim  and  flows  off  into  the  streams  which  drain  the  basins. 

Exceptions  to  this  general  statement  are  found  in  what  has  been  termed  the  plateau  region  of  northeastern 
Alabama,  and  an  examination  of  the  map  will  show  that  the  tributaries  of  the  Tennessee  in  Marshall  and  De  Kalb 
counties  rise  on  the  plateau  near  the  edge  of  Wills'  valley,  flowing  down  and  across  the  plateau,  while  thp  streams 
rising  in  the  valley  flow  along  it  to  each  end  of  the  same  and  do  not  break  across  the  Coal  Measures  on  either 
side. 

The  section  on  page  IS  represents  in  a  general  way  the  geological  structure  of  all  these  valleys,  and  shows  with 
sufficient  distinctness  the  parts  borne  by  each  of  the  formations  appearing  in  them,  determining  their  topography, 
the  remarks  under  the  Coosa  valley  applying  here  also.  The  structure  is,  however,  especially  in  the  southwestern 
part  of  this  region,  rarely  so  simple  as  is  represented  in  the  section,  for  the  anticlinal  fold  has  in  some  cases  been 
thrust  or  lapped  over  toward  the  northwest,  thus  causing  some  of  the  more  recent  formations  to  lie  beneath  the 
older,  and  in  addition  to  this,  by  reason  of  a  fault  or  break  in  the  strata,  the  red-ore  ridge,  on  the  western  side  of 
the  valley,  has  been  duplicated.  This  duplication  of  the  Ked  mountain  is  characteristic  of  the  valley  from  the  upper 
edge  of  Tuscaloosa  county  nearly  through  Jefferson.  On  the  western  side  of  the  valley  also  the  strata  are  usually 
very  nearly  vertical,  and  a  very  prominent  ridge  is  made  by  the  thick  bed  of  a  conglomerate  which  lies  at  the  base 
of  the  Coal  Measures.  At  a  short  distance  from  this  ridge  the  strata  of  the  Warrior  measures  have  their  usual 
nearly  horizontal  position. 

The  red-ore  ridges  are  commonly  of  very  unequal  size  on  the  two  sides  of  the  valleys,  rising  to  the  dimensions 
of  small  mountains  on  one  side,  while  on  the  other  they  are  so  insignificant  in  size  as  to  be  often  overlooked 
entirely. 

Soils  of  the  Coosa  and  outlying  valleys. — Classified  according  to  color  and  general  physical  characters, 
the  soils  occurring  in  these  valleys  are  either  red  or  brown  loams  derived  from  the  pure  calcareous  formations,  such  as 
parts  of  the  shale,  the  dolomite,  Trenton,  and  sub-Carboniferous;  or  lighter  colored  to  gray  siliceous  soils,  usually  filled 
with  angular,  flinty  gravel,  and  resting  on  a  yellowish  clayey  subsoil  derived  from  cherty  limestones  of  the  dolomite 
and  of  the  sub-Carboniferous;  or  the  light  sandy  loams  which  result  from  the  disintegration  of  sandstones  such  as 
make  up  the  greater  part  of  the  Potsdam  proper,  the  upper  sandstone,  and  the  Coal  Measures.  But  since  the  soils 
of  each  of  these  classes  vary  according  to  the  geological  formation  to  which  they  owe  their  origin  their  discussion 
in  connection  with  these  formations  will  best  bring  out  their  peculiarities  of  composition  and  explain  their  distribution 
in  the  valleys. 

Acadian  slates  and  conglomerates. — These  have  received  notice  under  the  preceding  division,  since  they  are  more 
or  less  metamorphosed  and  crystalline  in  texture,  and  are  otherwise  closely  associated  with  the  true  metamorphic 
rocks.  .  • 

Potsdam  sandstone. — The  principal  rock  of  this  group  has  already  been  mentioned  as  a  rather  coarse-grained 
sandstone,  and  hence  the  resulting  soil  is  sandy.  In  many  places  the  soil  is  thin  and  vegetation  scanty  and  stunted, 
but  occasionally  the  growth  is  vigorous,  consisting  of  the  upland  oaks,  chestnut,  and  short-leaf  pine.  By  reason 
of  the  mountainous  character  of  the  country  made  by  these  rocks  very  little  of  this  soil  is  under  cultivation,  but 
there  are  many  spots  of  good  grazing  ground.  The  Potsdam  sandstone,  in  a  series  of  outlying  mountains,  forming 
an  interrupted  chain,  skirts  the  western  border  of  the  metamorphic  region  and  extends  through  the  counties  of 
Cherokee,  Calhoun,  and  Talladega. 

Upper  sandstone.—  The  soils  derived  from  this  formation  are  usually  somewhat  calcareous,  though  sandy,  but 
the  sharp-crested,  steep  ridges  to  which  they  are  confined  are  seldom  under  cultivation.  The  entire  thickness  of 
the  formation  is  inconsiderable,  and  as  the  strata  usually  lie  tilted  at  high  angles  the  superficial  area  occupied  by 
them  is  quite  limited.  Isolated  ridges  of  these  rocks  are  found  in  the  Coosa  valley,  in  the  counties  of  Cherokee, 
Calhoun,  and  Talladega,  and  in  the  Cahaba  valley  in  Shelby  and  Saint  Clair  counties.  Besides  these  occurrences, 
the  mountains  of  Potsdam  sandstone  above  described  have  usually  a  narrow  border  of  these  rocks  on  their  eastern 
slopes. 

The  slutle. — This  formation  in  its  outcrops  presents  two  well-marked  phases.  Its  lower  beds  are  mostly  shales, 
which,  at  the  surface,  have,  been  thoroughly  leached  of  calcareous  matter,  and  generally  break  up  into  small 
fragments  having  very  much  the  appearance  of  shoe-pegs.  The  colors  of  these  shales  are  chocolate-brown,  red, 
greenish,  and  gray.  The  soils  formed  from  these  materials  are  usually  thin,  and,  though  considered  productive  in 
good  seasons,  are  liable  to  injury  from  drought.  The  timber  is  a  mixture  of  chestnut,  red,  and  white  oaks,  dogwood, 
and  hickory.  The  valleys  occupied  by  these  variegated  shales  are  ridgy,  the  shale  ridges  being  often  almost 
bare  of  soil.  Areas  of  these  shales  are  usually  associated  with  the  outcrops  of  the  upper  sandstone,  with  the 
upper  strata  of  which  they  are  closely  related  lithologically,  and  characteristic  occurrences  are  not  infrequent  in 
Bibb  county,  northeast  of  Centerville,  near  Pratt's  Ferry,  in  the  vicinity  of  Moutevallo,  and  Helena,  in  Shelby, 
and  along  the  southeastern  flanks  of  the  isolated  ridges  of  the  upper  sandstone  and  the  mountains  of  Potsdam 
.  sandstone  in  Talladega,  Calhoun,  and  Cherokee  counties.  . 


20 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 


On  the  other  hand,  the  upper  strata  of  the  formation  are  frequently  thin  sheets  of  limestone,  alternating  wiffo 
seams  of  elay  and  with  thin  beds  of  sandy  and  aluminous  shales.  These  beds  often  occupy  the  central  parts  of  the 
anticlinal  valleys  as  a  mass  of  greatly  contorted,  usually  nearly  vertical  strata,  of  which  the  thin-bedded  limestone 
forms  the  greater  part,  the  shales  and  clay  being  mostly  weathered  out,  giving  rise  to  a  stiff  clayey  soil,  through 
which  the  edges  of  the  limestone  protrude. 

Flatwoods. — Where  the  clayey  portions  predominate  and  the  drainage  is  defective  level  tracts  are  formed,  which 
are  known  as  "flatwoods",  and  which  are  usually  uncultivated,  though  the  timber  indicates  a  soil  by  no  means 
sterile.  The  prevailing  timber  of  the  flatwoods  is  post  oak  and  short-leaf  pine.  The  soils  are  usually  of  a  greenish- 
yellow  color,  sometimes  red  in  places,  and  occasionally  nearly  black.  Where  roads  cross  the  flatwoods  tbey  are 
easily  cut  up  into  deep,  muddy  ruts,  in  which  water  stands  for  a  long  time.  Occasionally  a  high  place  may  be 
encountered  with  sandy  soil  and  under  cultivation,  but  these  spots  form  a  very  small  proportion  of  the  whole  area 
of  the  flatwoods. 

Some  of  the  largest  bodies  of  flatwoods  are  found  in  the  anticlinal  part  of  the  Coosa  valley  below  Gaylesville, 
in  Cherokee  county,  extending  down  to  Gadsden  (well  exposed  below  Cornwall,  at  Cedar  Bluff,  and  below  Itound 
mountain),  and  thence  below  Gadsden,  in  the  direction  of  Springvillc,  nearly  to  the  latter  place;  also  in  Jones' 
valley  betweeu  Elyton  and  Jonesboro',  and  in  small  patches  farther  south  in  Jones'  and  Roup's  valley. 

In  the  immediate  valley  of  the  Coosa  river  the  shales  have  usually  a  superficial  covering  of  sand  and  pebbles 
belonging  to  a  much  more  recent  formation,  but  along  the  river  bluffs  they  may  be  seen  underneath  the  surface 
beds.  Throughout  these  flatwoods  the  outcroppings  of  the  limestone  are  frequent,  and  in  places  there  is  very  little 
soil,  the  rocky  surface  being  then  usually  occupied  by  cedar  glades.  Similar  glades  are  ;ilso  often  formed  by  the 
shaly  limestones  of  the  Trenton  period. 

From  the  flatwoods  between  Springville  and  Gadsden  a  specimen  of  soil  was  collected  which  may  be  considered 
as  a  representative.     The  analysis  is  as  follows  : 

Mo.  70.  Flatwoods  soil  (the  Lower  Silurian  shale)  from  3  miles  northeast  of  Asheville,  Saint  Clair  comity.  Depth, 
10  inches;  vegetation,  chiefly  post  oaks  and  short-leaf  pine,  with  red,  Spanish,  and  a  few  black-jack  oaks.  Color, 
gray  on  top,  changing  within  3  inches  to  buff-yellow. 

Flatwoods  soil  (Lower  Silurian  shale). 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Fotash 

Soda 

Lime > 

Magnesia 

BroTvn  oxide  of  manganese 

Peroxide  or  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

Watei  and  organic  matter 

Total 

Hygroscopic  moisture 

absorbed  at' 


0.277 

0.078 

0.  150 

0.  47S 

0.070 

0.528 

7.407 

0.  075 

0.013 

4.777 

09.  544 

11. 15 

27.  2C.° 

The  analysis  shows  that  tins  is  not  such  an  inferior  soil  as  its  total  neglect  by  the  farmers  would  indicate, 
although  the  phosphates  and  vegetable  matter  are  low.  The  natural  growth,  also,  which  is  of  fine,  sturdy  trees, 
tells  in  its  favor.  Many  soils  are  successfully  tilled  which  have  no  better  chemical  composition  than  Ihis. 
Physically,  however,  it  is  too  heavy  and  cold  for  cultivation,  except  where  mixed  with  sand,  as  is  the  ease  near  the 
banks  of  some  of  the  streams  which  traverse  it.  Almost  the  only  inhabitants  of  the  flatwoods  are  to  be  found  along 
these  water-courses.  During  the  winter  and  spring,  by  reason  of  mud  and  holes,  the  roads  are  almost  impassable. 
In  its  uppermost  portions  this  formation  exhibits  very  similar  strata  to  the  lowest  beds  of  the  next  succeeding, 
there  being  no  well-defined  line  of  demarkation  between  them. 

The  great  body  of  deep,  red-colored,  clayey  loams  occurring  in  the  Coosa  Valley  region,  and  especially  in  its 
eastern  part,  may  be  assigned,  as  to  their  origin,  either  to  the  lowermost  of  the  beds  of  the  shale  or  to  the  uppermost 
of  the  dolomite.  They  will  be  more  particularly  described  under  the  next  head,  though  in  part,  without  doubt, 
belonging  here. 

30 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  21 

Tlie  magnesian  limestone,  or  dolomite. — This  iri  Alabama  has  the  widest  distribution  of  any  of  the  calcareous 
formations,  and  for  this  reason,  and  because  it  underlies  a  large  proportion  of  the  cultivated  valleys  in  this  part  of 
the  state,  its  importance  from  an  agricultural  standpoint  is  very  great.  It  has  been  stated  that  the  lower  beds  of 
the  dolomite  are  more  calcareous,  the  upper,  as  a  rule,  siliceous  or  cherty,  and  the  resulting  soils  in  their  extremes 
are  of  two  kinds : 

1.  A  clayey  loam  of  light-yellowish  to  orange-red  colors  and  of  varying  thickness,  the  average  being  perhaps 
one  and  a  half  feet.  The  subsoil  is  usually  heavier,  being  a  rather  stiff  clay  or  clay  loam  of  a  red  or  yellow  color. 
Both  soil  and  subsoil  are  often  filled  with  lumps  of  limonite  or  brown  iron  ore.  Beneath  the  subsoil,  at  varying 
depths,  lies  the  dolomite  or  limestone.  There  is  a  great  variety  in  the  color  of  the  top  soil  between  a  \  ery  light-yellow, 
almost  gray,  and  a  deep  red  and  brown,  but  the  subsoil  is  commonly  a  yellow  or  red  clay,  and  it  is  not  unusual  to 
find  these  soils  and  subsoils,  especially  those  of  lighter  colors,  filled  with  angular  fragments  of  chert. 

The  characteristic  timber  upon  the  red  lands  is  red,  Spanish,  post,  and  black-jack  oaks,  hickory,  short-leaf  pine, 
and  dogwood ;  in  low  grounds,  sweet  gum  and  sour  gum  in  addition  to  the  above. 

Some  of  the  best  farming  lands  in  the  state  are  based  upon  these  lower  beds  of  the  dolomite  and  upon  the 
immediately  underlying  calcareous  parts  of  the  shale,  and  their  widest  distribution  is  to  be  seen  in  the  eastern  part 
of  the  Coosa  valley,  in  Cherokee,  Calhoun,  and  Talladega  counties,  and  southward,  in  the  same  direction,  in  Shelby 
and  Bibb  counties.  The  greater  part  of  the  red  and  brown  loams  witli  deep  red-colored  subsoils  occurring  along  the 
eastern  border  of  this  long  series  of  valleys  is  derived  from  the  dolomite,  but  red  and  brown  loams  of  a  somewhat 
similar  nature  are  also  derived  both  from  the  shale  below  and  from  the  Trenton  rocks  above  the  dolomite.  In  the 
anticlinal  valleys  these  lower  beds  of  the  dolomite  do  not  form  the  surface  to  so  great  an  extent,  and  the  deep  red 
soils  are  of  less  frequent  occurrence  than  in  the  Coosa  valley. 

2.  The  upper  siliceous  beds  of  the  dolomite,  in  disintegrating,  yield  as  a  rule  gray  soils,  which  are  filled  with 
angular  chert  fragments.  The  subsoils  are  mostly  of  a  yellowish  to  red  color  and  of  clayey  substance,  though  the 
clayey  substratum  may  sometimes  lie  at  considerable  depths  below  the  surface.  The  agricultural  characters  of  the 
lands  made  by  these  upper  beds  vary  between  wide  limits,  from  good  brown  loams  on  the  one  hand  to  gray  siliceous 
and  nearly  barren  soils  on  the  other. 

The  cherty  portions  of  the  dolomite,  from  the  weathering  away  of  the  calcareous  part,  gradually  accumulate 
and  protect  the  strata  from  further  erosion,  and  in  this  way  the  chert  ridges  so  characteristic  of  the  formation 
originate.  The  chert,  which  is  of  concretionary  nature  (and  not  bedded), 'occurs  sometimes  in  masses  of  great  size, 
and  the  surface  of  the  hills  is  so  covered  as  to  leave  very  little  soil  exposed,  and  that  of  a  highly  siliceous  character. 
In  such  cases  the  growth  is  chiefly  of  long-leaf  pine  and  black-jack  oak.  The  broad  chert  ridges  of  the  Coosa  valley  in 
Cherokee,  Calhoun,  Talladega,  and  Shelby  counties  are  very  commonly  timbered  with  the  long-leaf  pine. 

Occasionally  the  country  formed  by  this  part  of  the  dolomite  is  rolling  or  slightly  broken,  rather  than  hilly, 
varied  with  lime-sinks  and  outcrops  of  the  cherty  dolomite.  The  southwestern  part  of  Talladega  county,  near  the 
Coosa  river,  furnishes  a  good  example  of  these  rolling  piny  woods,  which  in  many  respects  remind  one  of  the  rolling 
piny  woods  of  the  southern  counties.  Such  soils  have  little  to  recommend  them,  and  we  find  the  country  almost 
uninhabited,  except  along  the  banks  of  the  streams  which  drain  it,  and  these  are  few  in  number.  Where  the  chert 
is  less  prominent  as  a  surface  material  the  gray  lauds  are  frequently  of  very  fair  quality,  and,  while  not  so  fertile 
as  some  of  the  red  lands,  are  thought  to  be  better  adapted  to  the  cotton  crop,  especially  w-here  commercial  fertilizers 
are  used. 

The  better  grades  of  the  gray,  gravelly  lands  are  timbered  with  oaks  and  short-leaf  pine,  hickory,  dogwood, 
etc.,  w;hile  those  of  a  sandier  nature  have  the  long-leaf  pine,  associated  with  post,  Spanish,  and  black-jack  oaks  and 
small  hickories.  The  gray  pine  lands  near  the  Alabama  furnace,  in  Talladega  county,  may  be  taken  as  types  of 
this  last-named  variety. 

In  the  outlying  valleys  there  is  always  at  least  one  of  these  chert  ridges  occupying  the  center  of  the  valley, 
but  it  is  more  commonly  separated  into  two  by  a  narrow  valley  resting  on  the  more  calcareous  lower  parts  of  the 
dolomite,  or  by  a  belt  of  flatwoods  derived  from  the  underlying  shales.  These  ridges  are  timbered  usually  with 
post,  black-jack,  and  Spanish  oaks,  with  some  chestnut  and  short-leaf  pine.  The  long-leaf  pine  is  also  found  where 
the  siliceous  matter  preponderates.  Occasionally  the  cherty  matter  assumes  the  form  of  a  sandstone  or  conglomerate, 
which  forms  considerable  hills.  This  is  best  seen  in  the  Salem  hills,  near  Jonesboro',  in  Jones'  valley,  and  again 
a  few  miles  southwest  of  Springville,  in  Saint  Clair  county.  The  Salem  hills  have  a  characteristic  growth  of  long-leaf 
pine,  as  yet  untouched  by  the  woodman's  ax. 

The  chemical  composition  of  typical  soils  derived  irom  the  rock  varieties  occurring  in  the  dolomite  are  fairly 
exhibited  in  the  analyses  of  four  red-loam  soils  and  one  gray,  cherty  soil  taken  from  several  localities.  Only  the 
better  soils,  such  as  are  under  cultivation,  have  been  examined.  The  barren  soils  of  the  chert  hills  and  pine 
woods  are  not  often  in  cultivation,  and  have  not,  therefore,  been  selected  for  analysis.  In  Calhoun,  Talladega, 
Shelby,  and  Bibb  counties  the  red  soils  appear  most  prominently.  31 


22 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 


No.  71.  Bed  valley  soil  from  1A  miles  south  of  Jacksonville,  Calhoun  county.  Depth,  12  inches;  vegetation, 
red,  Spanish,  and  post  oaks,  hickory,  dogwood,  and  short-leaf  pine;  color,  dark-red.  This  kind  of  soil  occurs  over 
a  good  proportion  of  the  valley  below  Jacksonville  and  around  Alexandria. 

No.  70.  Red  valley  soil  from  near  Mrs.  Walker  Beynolds'  place,  Talladega  county.  Depth,  12  inches;  vegetation, 
red,  Spanish,  white,  and  post  oaks,  sweet  and  sour  gums,  and  hickory;  color,  dark-red.  This  is  a  fair  sample  of 
the  red  soils  which  make  the  valley  of  Talladega  one  of  the  most  beautiful  parts  of  the  state.  The  same  soils  are 
seen  farther  south,  in  Shelby  and  llibb  counties,  those  around  Montevallo  being  of  this  nature. 

No.  45J.  Bed  upland  sail  (dolomite)  from  near  Pratt's  ferry,  Bibb  county.  Depth,  12  inches;  vegetation,  white, 
black,  post,  and  other  oaks,  chestnut,  hickory,  walnut,  mulberry,  dogwood,  with  occasional  black  gum  and  cedar; 
color  of  soil,  brown;  of  subsoil,  reddish-brown. 

No.  07.  Little  Caliaba  valley  soil  (dolomite)  from  0  miles  southwest  of  Springville,  Saint  Clair  county.  Depth, 
12  inches  ;  vegetation,  red,  black,  and  Spanish  oaks,  hickory,  chestnut,  sweet  gam,  and  persimmon;  color,  reddish- 
brown. 

No.  60.  Gray  upland  soil  (dolomite),  1  mile  north  of  Ashville,  Saint  Clair  county.  Depth,  10  inches;  vegetation, 
red  and  Spanish  oaks,  poplar  (Liriodendron),  dogwood,  and  short-leaf  pine,  with  some  sweet  gain  and  persimmon; 
color,  brownish-gray.     Both  soil  and  subsoil  are  commonly  tilled  with  angular  fragments  of  chert. 

Alagnesian  limestone  soils  (Lotcer  Silurian). 


CALHOUN COUNTY 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Potash 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese. 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid  

Water  and  organic  matter. . 


Total. 


Humus 

Available  phosphoric  acid. 

Hygroscopic  moisture 

absorbed  at    


Red  valley  soil. 


SO.  520  J 
3.  941  ( 


84.401 

0.  200 
0.002 
0.112 
0.  200 
0.057 
5.011 
5.722 
0.  120 
0.  056 
4.501 


8.003 
20.7  C.° 


TALLADEGA 
COUNTY. 


Red  valley  soil. 


04.  070  1 
7.647) 


0.084 
0.020 
19.  400 
24.  4  C.° 


unm  county. 


Red  nplandsoil. 


No.  45J. 


81.  480  ^ 
0.  530  i 


88.  010 

0.328 
0.027 
0.255 
0.210 
0.189 
2.010 
5.014 
0.110 
0.167 
3.587 


bAINT  CLAIH  COUNTY. 


Little  Caliaba 
valley  soil. 


73.433 
7.  459 : 


mi.  802 

0.210 
0.  01 1 
0.  225 
0.470 
0.241 
5.518 
7.498 
0.165 
0.  007 
4.719 


Gray  upland 
soil. 


83. 410 
4.230! 


87.  070 

0.  109 
0.018 
0.202 
0.181 
0.042 
2.  178 
4.521 
0.093 
0.  018 
5.301 


8.528 
26.  7  C.° 


In  comparing  these  soils  with  each  other  it  is  seen  that  they  are  all  tolerably  good  soils,  having  an  adequate 
supply  of  available  potash  (except  in  the  case  of  No.  09),  phosphoric  acid,  and  also  of  lime  and  magnesia.  In  these 
respects  the  red  soils,  as  a  class,  are  superior,  but  the  gray  soil  has  ou  its  side  the  advantage  of  being  more  easily 
tilled,  as  it  is  thrifty  because  of  a  large  percentage  of  lime,  and  is  generally  considered  a  safer  soil.  No.  7G  is  rather 
deficient  in  lime,  and  also  in  available  phosphoric  acid.  In  retentiveness  of  moisture  the  upland  soil  (No.  45J)  is  a 
little  deficient,  and  in  its  composition  also  it  approaches  closely  to  the  gray  soil. 

Tlie  soils  which  most  resemble  the  above  are  those  of  the  Tennessee  valley,  in  which  there  are  the.  two 
varieties  of  red  and  gray,  bearing  to  each  other  about  the  same  relations  as  are  seen  in  the  above  analyses.  The 
Tennessee  valley  soils  are,  if  anything,  slightly  better  than  those  of  the  region  we  are  discussing. 

In  the  county  descriptions  will  be  found  fuller  discussions  of  the  qualities  of  these  soil  varieties  from  the 
farmers'  standpoint. 

Chazy  and  Trenton. — The  lowermost  of  the  Trenton  rocks  are  impure  argillaceous  limestones  and  purer  blue 
limestones,  the  upper  calcareous  shales.  As  a  rule,  the  limestone  predominates,  and  the  prevailing  soils  are, 
therefore,  good  strong  loams,  somewhat  calcareous  and  resembling  the  soils  of  the  lower  part  of  the  dolomite,  or 
those  of  the  Saint  Louis  group  of  the  sub-Carboniferous.  The  formatiou  as  a  whole  is  valley-making,  but  the  lower 
beds,  which  are  often  aluminous,  frequently  form  low,  rounded  hills,  along  the  sides  of  which  the  strata  outcrop  in 
long  step-like  ledges.  In  such  cases  they  are  usually  covered  with  a  growth  of  cedars. 
3> 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAP-HICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


23 


In  the  subordinated  valleys  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Coosa  valley  the  Trenton  rocks  are  usually  associated 
■with  those  of  the  dolomite,  the  latter  commonly  forming  the  northwestern  and  the  former  the  southeastern  side 
of  the  valley  range ;  but  the  dolomite,  as  a  rule,  far  exceeds  the  Trenton  in  superficial  extent.  In  the  anticlinal 
valleys  the  Trenton  rocks  are  found  as  a  narrow  belt  on  each  side  of  the  central  area  of  dolomite  and  shale.  In 
many  instances  they  may  be  found  high  along  the  sides  of  the  ridges  of  the  Clinton  or  Red  Mountain  group,  even 
occurring  nearly  up  to  the  summits  of  some  of  them.  The  outcropping  ledges  of  limestone  are  then  usually  covered 
with  a  dense  growth  of  cedars,  and  the  name  of  Cedar  mountains  commonly  given  to  them  is  not  inappropriate. 
In  the  valleys  also  there  are  frequent  patches  of  the  rocks  nearly  bare  of  soil  and  forming  cedar  glades.  The 
shaly  upper  division  of  this  group  is  of  secondary  importance.  • 

In  Jones'  and  the  other  anticlinal  valleys  the  purer  limestones  of  this  age  are  commonly  seen  outcropping  here 
and  there  in  the  lower  places  in  smooth,  rounded  masses  of  a  bluish  color,  rising  very  slightly  above  the  general 
surface.  Very  little  of  the  original  growth  is  now  standing  in  those  parts  of  the  valleys  which  have  usually  been  long 
under  cultivation.  The  soils  are  brownish  sandy  loams  with  yellowish  subsoils.  The  slightly  elevated  knolls  that 
vary  the  uniformity  in  these  valleys  have  sandy  soils,  and  are  usually  covered  with  short-leaf  pine  thickets  of 
secondary  growth.  There  are  also  spots  of  low,  wet,  boggy  soil,  not  at  all,  however,  like  the  flatwoods  before 
described.     The  following  analysis  will  show  the  composition  of  some  soils  of  this  kind : 

No.  123.  Sandy  hroivn-loam  soil  (Trenton)  from  3  miles  west  of  Birmingham,  Jefferson  county.  Depth,  10 
inches ;  vegetation,  red  and  willow  oaks,  sassafras,  and  grape-vines — little  of  the  original  growth  to  be  seen ; 
color,  brown  at  top,  passing  into  yellow  at  3  inches  depth. 

Sandy  brown-loam  soil  (Trenton  limestone),  Jefferson  county. 


. 

No.  123. 

86.  090  ) 

!  90.  331 
4.  341  5 

0.178 

0.028 

0.152 

0.116 

«.  041 

2.840 

3.188 

0.086 

0.051 

2.522 

Soda 

Total 

99.  511 

7.835 
24.4  C.° 

This  is  a  soil  of  only  average  fertility,  and  probably  of  little  durability,  but  thrifty  and  easily  tilled. 

Clinton. — The  rocks  of  this  formation,  calcareous  sandstones  and  shales,  with  beds  of  red  iron  ore,  yield  sandy 
soils  of  considerable  fertility,  but  their  location  on  the  steep  hillsides  makes  them  of  little  importance  in  agriculture. 
The  red-ore  ridges  are  in  reality  made  up  of  three  formations:  the  Clinton,  the  black  shale,  and  the  siliceous 
division  of  the  sub-Carboniferous.  The  usual  position  of  these  ridges  is  on  each  side  of  the  anticlinal  valleys  of 
the  state,  skirting  the  escarpments  of  Coal  Measures,  which  form  the  borders  of  these  valleys.  In  some  places  the 
ridges  are  duplicated  on  one  side  of  the  valley ;  but  they  are  never  wanting  in  the  positions  above  indicated 
(except  where  ingulfed  by  a  fault),  though  sometimes  quite  insignificant  in  height  on  one  side. 

In  the  western  or  anticlinal  portion  of  the  Coosa  valley  a  red-ore  ridge  runs  parallel  with  the  eastern  edge  of 
Lookout  mountain,  and  a  similar  ridge  skirts  the  western  edge  of  the  Coosa  coal-fields  in  the  normal  positions 
above  mentioned  ;  but  in  the  eastern  or  faulted  portion  of  the  valley  the  red  ridges  are  not  associated  with  the 
Coal  Measures,  but  form  parts  of  synclinal  basins  holding  the  rocks  of  the  sub-Carboniferous  formation.  The  four 
localities  thus  far  known  of  red  ore  ridges  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  valley  are  in  the  Dirtseller  and  the  Gaylor 
mountains,  in  Cherokee  county,  in  the  mountain  near  Columbiana,  in  Shelby,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Pratt's  ferry, 
in  Bibb  county.  The  mountain  near  Columbiana  has  along  its  base  a  conglomerate  which  probably  underlies  the 
Bed  Mountain  rocks  proper  and  belongs  to  the  Medina  group.  Where  the  red  ridges  are  not  too  steep  for 
cultivation  their  soils  are  well  adapted  to  most  of  the  southern  crops,  especially  grain.  The  analysis  which 
follows  shows  the  average  red  mountain  soil. 

No.  68.  Bed  Mountain  soil  (Clinton)  from  3  miles  north  of  Springville,  Saint  Clair  county.  Depth,  10  inches; 
vegetation,  large  poplars,  white  oaks,  and  chestnuts,  with  hickory,  black  gum,  and  red  oak  ;  color,  chocolate-brown 
when  cultivated. 


3  c   P— VOL,   II 


33 


24 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 


Red  Mountain  (Clinton)  soil,  Saint  Clair  county. 


InBoloble  matter 81.  5G0  > 

1 85  "40 

Soluble  silica 3.  680  J 

Potash 0.  20G 

Soda 0. 037 

Lime 0.303 

Magnesia o.  270 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese 0.214 

Peroxide  of  iron 4. 918 

Alumina 3.539 

Phosphoric  acid o.  108 

Sulphuric  acid o.  083 

Water  and  organic  matter 4,  P30 


Total.. 


99.  877 


Hygroscopic  moisture, 
absorbed  at  


9.799 
27.2  C.° 


For  the  amount  of  insoluble  matter  this  soil  has  a  fair  percentage  of  potash,  a  large  percentage  of  phosphoric 
acid  and  lime,  and  is  rather  above  the  average  in  fertility,  as  might  be  inferred  from  the  luxuriance  of  the  forest 
growth  which  it  supports.  The  Red  Mountain  soils  are  admirably  suited  to  the  production  of  small  grain,  but  not 
for  cotton,  which  is  inclined  to  run  to  weed,  at  the  expense  of  the  fruit,  unless  restrained  by  superphosphates  or 
other  similar  manures. 

The  above  remarks  apply  to  the  red  or  brown  soils  only  of  these  ridges,  for  it  must  be  remembered  that  fchey 
have  gray,  flinty,  gravelly  soils  usually  on  one  side  and  the  red  soils  on  the  other. 

Hie  blade  shale,  which  follows  next  after  the  Clinton,  rarely,  if  ever,  takes  part  in  the  formation  of  cultivated 
soils.  It  is,  at  best,  only  a  few  feet  thick,  and  as  it  nearly  always  occurs  in  steep  ridges  it  is  of  comparatively 
little  importance  agriculturally. 

Sub-Carboniferoits. — In  the  Coosa  and  outlying  valleys  of  middle  Alabama  this  formation,  though  occurring 
only  in  narrow  belts,  is  of  great  importance,  since  it  forms  the  basis  of  some  of  the  most  desirable  farming  lands 
in  the  region  of  its  occurrence. 

The  surface  distribution  of  the  sub-Carboniferous  strata  is  practically  the  same  as  that  of  the  red-ore  ridges, 
for,  besides  forming  a  part  of  the  ridges  themselves,  they  occupy  the  depressions  between  these  ridges  and  the 
escarpment  of  the  Coal  Measures,  and  in  the  Coosa  valley  they  form  the  surface  in  the  four  small  synclinal  basins 
mentioned  in  a  preceding  section.  This  formation,  as  a  whole,  has  two  well-marked  divisions — the  mountain 
limestone  and  the  siliceous.  The  former,  as  its  name  implies,  occurs  along  the  sides  of  the  mountains  of  the  Coal 
Measures,  and  presents  no  tracts  of  arable  land  in  this  part  of  the  state. 

The  lower  group,  which  is  generally  known  as  the  siliceous,  is  itself  subdivided,  and  its  two  parts  are  very 
unequally  concerned  in  the  formation  of  tillable  lands,  for  the  lowermost  or  more  siliceous  division  is,  as  we  have  seen, 
usually  associated  with  the  Clinton  rocks  in  the  formation  of  the  red-ore  ridges,  which,  because  of  their  steep  slopes, 
are  not  much  in  cultivation.  The  upper  and  more  calcareous  division  of  the  siliceous  group  is  the  true  soil-former 
of  these  belts.  These  soils  are  yellowish,  reddish,  and  brown  loams,  similar  to  the  soils  of  the  red  lands  of 
northern  Alabama,  which  are  based  upon  the  same  rocks. 

The  principal  discussion  of  this  class  of  soils  will  be  under  the  next  division  in  northern  Alabama,  but  the 
following  analysis  of  a  soil  from  Dry  valley,  in  Cherokee  county  (basin  of  the  Dirtseller),  may  serve  to  represent 
the  composition  of  the  soils  of  the  narrow  valleys  of 'middle  Alabama: 

No.  111.  Bed  lands  soil  (sub-Carboniferous),  Dry  valley,  Cherokee  county,  1  mile  northeast  of  Gaylesville. 
Depth,  8  inches;  vegetation,  red,  post,  white,  and  Spanish  oaks,  hickory,  persimmon,  chestnut,  black  gum,  sour- 
wood,  dogwood,  and  a  second  growth  of  short-leaf  pine;  color,  reddish-brown. 


34 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 

Bed  lands  soil,  Cherokee  county. 


25 


Insoluble  residue 

Soluble  silica 

Potash 

Soda 

Lime  

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

Water  and  organic  matter  . 

Total 

Hnmus 

Available  inorganic 

Available  phosphoric  acid  . 

Hygroscopic  moisture 

absorbed  at 


78. 725 
6.  042  • 


84.767 

0.261 
0.124 
0.330 
0.395 

0.215 
3.707 
5.077 
0.089 
0.097 
5.160 


1.865 
1.061 
0.029 
4.500 
26.  7  C.° 


This  soil  is  somewhat  deficient  in  its  retentiveness  of  moisture,  as  also  in  phosphoric  acid ;  otherwise  it  is  a 
very  good  soil.  The  high  percentage  of  lime  makes  available  its  whole  content  of  plant-food.  The  percentage  of 
hnmus  in  this  soil  is  also  quite  high,  as  well  as  the  proportion  of  phosphoric  acid  immediately  available. 

A  fuller  exhibition  of  the  characters  and  variations  of  these  sub-Carboniferous  brown  loams  will  be  seen 
under  the  heading  of  "  The  Tennessee  Valley  Region  "  (page  28),  where  they  are  widely  distributed,  and  are  of 
great  importance  agriculturally. 

The  Coosa  and  Cahaba  coal-fields,  although  occurring  in  this  division,  are  best  described,  together  with  the 
Coal  Measures  of  the  Warrior  field,  under  the  next  division. 


NORTHERN    DIVISION 


This  division,  as  already  stated,  adjoins  the  first  or  middle  division  on  the  northwest,  and  embraces  most  of 
the  state  lying  north  and  west  of  a  line  drawn  from  Chattanooga,  Tennessee,  through  Birmingham,  nearly  to 
Tuscaloosa.  The  area  thus  included  is  estimated  at  9,700  square  miles,  and  embraces  the  following  counties  and 
parts  of  counties:  All  of  Lawrence,  Winston,  Walker,  Cullman,  Morgan,  Limestone,  and  Madison,  and  parts  of  De 
Kalb,  Cherokee,  Etowah,  Jackson,  Marshall,  Blount,  Jefferson,  Tuscaloosa,  Fayette,  Marion,  Franklin,  Colbert, 
and  Lauderdale. 

The  two  parts  into  which  this  division  is,  by  its  topographical  and  agricultural  characters,  naturally  subdivided, 
are :  1.  The  continuation  and  terminus  of  the  great  Cumberland  table-land,  which  in  Alabama  includes  the  Sand 
mountain  and  its  outliers,  Lookout  and  Blount  mountains,  on  the  south,  and  the  detached  spurs  lying  beyond  the 
Tennessee  on  the  north  and  the  Warrior  basin,  into  which  the  table-lands  of  Sand  mountain  gradually  sink  beyond 
the  southwestern  line  of  Blount  county.     2.  The  great  valley  of  the  Tennessee. 

The  rock  masses  which  in  this  division  are  concerned  in  the  structure  of  the  country  and  in  the  production  of 
the  soils  are  referred  to  two  formations,  the  sub-Carboniferous  and  the  Coal  Measures.  In  some  parts  of  this  area  the 
stratified  drift  overspreads  the  country  rocks  aud  forms  the  soils,  but  the  drift  belt,  together  with  its  outreaching 
marginal  parts,  which  overlap  other  formations,  will  be  treated  as  a  whole  under  another  head.  The  approximate 
horizontality  of  the  strata,  aud  the  circumstance  that  the  soils,  almost  without  exception,  have  been  derived  from 
the  immediately  underlying  rocks,  have  already  been  commented  upon,  and  the  close  connection  of  the  agricultural 
with  the  geological  features  has  been  pointed  out.  The  two  component  parts  of  this  division  are  most  conveniently 
described  separately. 


35 


26  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

COAL-MEASURES  REGION. 

COOSA   AND   OAHABA   COALFIELDS. 

The  Coosa  field  embraces  about  30  square  miles  in  the  northwestern  part  of  Calhouu,  about  150  square  miles 
in  Saiut  Clair,  aud  about  235  square  miles  iu  Shelby  county,  making  au  aggregate  of  415  square  miles. 

The  Cahaba  field  includes  about  50  square  miles  in  Saint  Clair,  100  in  Jefferson,  100  in  Shelby,  and  125  in  Bibb 
county,  aggregating  435  square  miles.  Only  75  square  miles  in  Bibb  county  are  free  from  drift,  so  that  the  area 
depending  upon  the  Coal  Measures  for  its  soil  is  reduced  to  3S5  square  miles. 

In  both  these  fields  the  strata,  consisting  of  sandstones,  conglomerates,  shales,  aud  coal  beds,  are  tilted  at 
considerable  angles,  and,  possessing  varying  degrees  of  resistance  of  disintegration  and  erosion,  have  been  very 
unequally  degraded.  The  main  ridges  and  valleys  have  the  general  direction  of  northeast  aud  southwest, 
corresponding  to  the  outcrops  of  the  tilted  strata;  but  this  uniformity  is  often  greatly  obscured,  and  iu  places  is 
obliterated  by  the  irregularities  produced  by  the  streams  which  traverse  the  fields  across  the  outcrops.  In  the 
presence  of  these  inequalities,  produced  by  the  folding  or  the  tiltiug  of  the  strata,  these  fields  differ  from  the  great 
Warrior  field,  where  the  topographical  features  have  no  such  direct  connection  with  the  geological  structure.  All 
the  coal-fields  have  most  of  their  characters  in  common ;  hence  a  further  description  of  the  topography,  as  well 
as  of  the  agricultural  features,  can  be  well  deferred  till  we  come  to  speak  of  the  Warrior  field.  It  seems  to  be  well 
established  that  the  three  coal-fields  of  Alabama  were  once  continuous,  and  that  they  have  been  separated  by  folds 
(siuce  denuded)  and  by  faults. 

THE   WAEHIOR  FIELD. 

That  part  of  the  Coal  Measures  of  Alabama  which  is  drained  by  both  forks  of  the  Warrior  river  and  their 
tributaries  has  received  the  uame  of  the  Warrior  coal-field.  This  field  may  be  divided  into  two  parts:  the  plateau 
or  table-land,  and  the  Warrior  basin  proper. 

The  tableland. — It  is  characteristic  of  the  table-lands  or  plateaus  that  the  liujestoue  beds,  which  underlie  the 
capping  of  Coal  Measures  rocks,  are  above  the  general  drainage  level  of  the  country.  This  arrangement  of  the  two 
classes  of  strata  determines  in  great  measure  the  character  of  the  scenery,  for  the  removal  by  erosion  of  the 
more  perishable  limestones  causes  the  undermining  of  the  harder  sandstones  above,  which  from  time  to  time  break 
off  with  vertical  faces,  forming  cliffs.  Iu  height  the  plateaus  diminish  continuously  toward  the  southwest,  passing 
gradually  into  the  Warrior  basin.  In  the  state  of  Tennessee  their  elevation  above  the  surrounding  country  varies 
from  S50  to  1,000  feet.  Iu  Jackson  and  Madison  counties  some  of  the  spurs  attain  an  equal  height,  but  further 
southwest,  in  Morgan  and  Marshall,  the  elevation  will  not  average  more  than  550,  and  in  Cullman  and  Blount 
counties  not  more  than  300  feet,  aud  near  the  Mississippi  hue  they  come  down  to  the  drainage  level.  The  main  body 
of  the  table-land  is  known  as  Sand  mountain,  lying  between  the  Sequatchie  fold,  or  Brown's  and  Tennessee  valleys, 
on  the  northwest,  and  Wills'  and  Murphree's  valleys  on  the  southeast,  and  include  parts  of  De  Kalb,  Jackson, 
Marshall,  and  Blount  counties.  The  highest  parts  of  this  table-land  are  to  be  found  along  its  edges  overlooking 
the  valleys  above  mentioned,  aud  there  is  a  general  slope  both  ways  toward  the  center  of  the  plateau,  which  thus 
becomes  a  shallow,  elevated  trough. 

Beyond  Wills'  valley  is  Lookout  mountain,  au  outlier  of  Sand  mountain,  and  beyond  Murphree's  valley 
(southeast)  Blount  mountain,  a  spur  of  the  main  table-laud.  All  these  parts  have  similar  structure,  and  their 
elevated  rims,  adjoining  the  valleys,  are  usually  only  slightly  iudeuted  by  the  water-courses,  except  where  some 
large  stream  leaves  the  plateau,  as  in  the  cases  of  Little  river,  on  Lookout,  and  Short  creek,  on  Sand  mountain. 
Northwest  of  the  Tennessee  river,  however,  the  tributaries  of  that  stream  have  cut  the  elevated  lands  belonging 
to  this  division  into  a  number  of  more  or  less  isolated  peaks,  some  of  which,  especially  in  the  northeastern  part  of 
the  state,  have  still  the  capping  of  Coal  Measures,  which  have  been  entirely  removed  from  many  of  those  lying 
farthest  toward  the  west.  Overlooking  the  Tennessee  valley,  in  Lawrence  aud  Franklin  counties,  the  elevated  rim, 
which  is  locally  called  Sand  mountain,  is  the  border  of  the  Warrior  basin,  and  will  be  considered  along  with  it. 

Approximately,  the  area  of  the  elevated  lauds  or  plateaus  as  above  limited  would  lie  about  1,000  square  miles 
on  Sand  mountain  and  its  spur  iu  Jackson,  De  Kalb,  Marshall,  Etowah,  Morgan.  Saint  Clair,  and  Blount  counties, 
about  290  square  miles  on  Lookout  mountain,  in  Be  Kalb,  Cherokee,  and  Etowah,  about  580  square  miles  in  the 
detached  spurs  of  the  Cumberland  northwest  of  the  Tennessee,  in  Jackson,  Madison,  and  Marshall,  aud  to  these 
might  be  added  about  half  the  area  of  Cullmau  county,  whose  measures  partake  of  the  characters  of  both  the  table- 
lands and  of  the  basin,  about  295  square  miles;  aggregating,  in  all,  2,855  square  miles.  A  not  inconsiderable  part 
of  this  area  north  of  the  Tennessee  is  mountain  slope,  and  is  not  strictly  table-land. 

■  The  Warrior  basin. — This,  like  the  table-land,  is  in  general  a  trough,  shallow  aud  sloping  from  northeast  to 
southwest,  with  slightly  elevated  rims  next  to  the  Tennessee  valley  on  the  north  and  Jones'  valley  on  the  south. 
As  Brown's  valley  divides  the  plateau,  so  its  continuation  southwestward  as  a  ridge  divides  the  basin  iuto  two 
unequal  parts.  Southwest  of  the  confluence  of  the  two  Warriors  these  two  parts  seem  to  come  together  in  one 
common  basin  by  the  sinking  away  of  the  ridge  which  separates  them  higher  up. 

The  Warrior  basin  includes  all  of  Walker  and  Winston  and  parts  of  Cullman,  Morgan.  Lawrence.  Franklin, 
Marion,  Lamar, Fayette,  Tuscaloosa,  aud  Jefferson  counties,  and  will  aggregate  about  4,955  square  miles.     The  whole 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


27 


area  of  the  Warrior  field  is  thus  estimated  at  about  7,810  square  miles,  (a)  The  surface  of  the  elevated  border  lands 
here  included  is  comparatively  level,  though  sufficiently  undulating,  and  in  places  the  streams  have  cut  deep  gorges 
into  the  hard  sandstones  and  conglomerates.  In  the  basin  there  is  much  more  inequality  of  surface,  and  in  the 
vicinity  of  streams  the  country  is  often  extremely  rough,  although  the  water-sheds  are  seldom  more  than  250  or 
300  feet  above  the  general  level  of  the  streams.  Along  the  edges  of  both  table-land  aud  basin  the  higher  rims 
are  parts  of  folds  of  the  strata,  and  are  of  sufficient  height  to  determine  the  direction  of  the  water-courses,  and 
hence  the  nature  of  the  topography.  In  the  basin  there  are  numerous  undulations  of  the  strata,  but  they  are 
rarely  of  sufficient  importance  to  affect  the  topography. 

Agricultural  features. — The  Coal  Measures  present  substantially  the  same  characters  everywhere  as 
regards  soils,  but  important  variations  result  from  differences  in  latitude  aud  in  elevation  above  the  sea.  The  plateaus 
seem  to  be  specially  suited  to  the  growth  of  fruits  and  vegetables  and  nutritious  grasses;  but  since  cotton  is  the 
southern  crop  par  excellence,  neither  the  plateaus  nor  the  other  parts  of  the  coal-fields  have  hitherto  been  in  good 
repute  as  farming  lands.  As  yet,  this  part  of  the  state  is  comparatively  thinly  settled,  but  its  many  advantages  are 
gradually  being  appreciated. 

•  In  the  discussion  of  the  soil-varieties  of  the  Warrior  field  reference  is  also  made  to  those  of  the  other  coal- 
fields, as  they  are  entirely  similar.  Since  the  soils  of  this  region  are  derived  from  the  disintegration  of  the  country 
rocks,  and  as  these  are  sandstones,  shales,  and  conglomerates,  the  agricultural  character  of  the  coal-fields  is  easily 
understood.  All  the  soils  are  sandy  and  more  or  less  deficient  in  vegetable  matter  aud  lime.  The  subsoils  vary 
from  yellowish  or  reddish  clay  to  sand.  The  better  classes  of  these  soils  are  light-colored  loams,  with  yellowish  or 
reddish  subsoils,  and  are  capable  of  improvement,  since  they  well  retain  all  fertilizers.  The  gray  soils  with  light- 
colored  to  whitish  subsoils,  deficient  in  clayey  matter,  are  too  porous  and  droughty  to  be  profitably  cultivated,  as 
they  do  not  retain  the  fertilizers  that  may  be  applied  to  them. 

In  the  order  of  their  relative  importance,  both  as  to  surface  distribution  aud  agricultural  value,  the  cultivated 
soils  of  this  region  may  be  classed  as  follows : 

1.  Sandy  loams  of  gray,  yellowish  to  brown  colors,  forming  perhaps  three-fourths  of  the  area.  These  soils  vary 
between  tolerably  wide  limits,  and  the  natural  growth  is  usually  a  mixture  of  various  upland  oaks,  with  some 
hickory  aud  short-leaf  pine.  The  analysis  given  (No.  110)  may  be  taken  as  representing  the  average  composition  of 
soils  of  this  class. 

2.  Creek-bottom  soils. — These  are,  according  to  locality,  sandy  or  loamy,  and  are  generally  in  cultivation  when 
the  proportion  of  sand  is  not  too  great.  The  bottoms  are  usually  narrow,  especially  when  the  surrounding  country 
rocks  are  hard  sandstones  or  conglomerates.  The  growth  is  of  oaks,  poplar  (I/iriodendron),  beech,  holly,  and 
occasionally  what  is  known  as  spruce  pine.  The  more  loamy  bottom  soils  are  underlaid  with  a  reddish  clay 
(hard),  not  mixing  readily  with  the  surface  soil.  The  sandier  varieties  have  a  substratum  of  sand,  and  are  not 
altogether  so  fertile  as  the  preceding ;  both,  however,  produce  well,  are  easy  of  tillage,  and  are  generally  under 
cultivation. 

3.  Sandy  soils. — The  most  highly  siliceous  saudstones  and  conglomerates  yield,  on  disintegration,  a  very  sandy 
soil,  which  supports  a  growth  of  stunted  black-jack  oaks  and  short-leaf  piues.  Such  soils  are  scarcely  at  all  cultivated, 
and  are  of  little  importance  agriculturally. 

No.  110.  Upland  soil,  Sand  mountain,  near  Valley  Head,  De  Kalb  county.  Depth,  20  inches ;  vegetation, 
chiefly  red  (Spanish)  oak,  some  black  oak,  short-leaf  piue,  hickory,  dogwood,  and  chestnut;  color,  light-gray  as  far 

as  taken. 

Sand  Mountain  soil  (Coal  Measures),  De  Kalb  county. 


Insolnble  matter 86.350  > 

>  on  702 

Soluble  silica 4.352) 

Potash i  0. 230 

Soda 0. 141 

Lime 0.  068 

Magnesia 0. 154 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese 0.  070 

Peroxide  of  iron ] .  443 

Alumina 6.  324 

Phosphoric  acid 0.  073 

Snlphnric  acid 0.  062 

Water  and  organic  matter 0.  844 


Total. 


Hygroscopic  moisture 
absorbed  at 


3.< 
16C.° 


a  Of  the  4,9.c>5  square  miles  underlaid  by  the  Coal  Measures  of  the  Warrior  field,  1,990  are  covered  with  drift  deposits,  so  that  only 
2,90;,  of  the  -whole  area  have  soils  which  are  derived  from  the  sandstones,  etc.,  of  the  Coal  Measures.  The  proportion  may  be  even 
smaller  than  this  estimate  makes  it. 

37 


28  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

The  yield  of  the  fresh  land  at  its  best,  without  manures,  is  estimated  at  half  a  bale  of  cotton  to  the  acre. 

From  the  above  analysis  it  will  be  seen  that  the  soil  contains  a  large  proportion  of  sand  and  other  siliceous 
matter  (00.7  per  cent.),  and  that  there  is  a  notable  deficiency  of  lime  and  phosphoric  acid,  with  a  fair  quantity  of 
potash.  The  soils,  therefore,  of  which  this  is  a  representative  may  be  looked  upon  as  rather  below  the  average  in 
fertility  ;  but  having  usually  a  good  basis  of  clayey  matter  they  are  susceptible  of  improvement.  The  agricultural 
history  of  this  class  of  soils  accords  well  with  the  teachings  of  the  analysis,  for  until  quite  recently  these  lauds 
have  been  almost  totally  neglected,  being  deemed  comparatively  worthless.  Recently,  however,  the  use  of  artificial 
fertilizers  has  become  general,  and  it  has  been  found  that  with  a  small  outlay  for  phosphates  or  guano  the  best 
results  are  obtained.  These  soils  are  now  generally  considered  the  most  reliable  for  cotton,  though  they  are  never 
cultivated  without  mannres. 

THE  TENNESSEE  VALLEY  REGION. 

Under  this  head  are  included  not  only  the  immediate  valley  of  the  Tennessee  river,  but  also  the  whole  region 
in  Alabama  drained  by  its  tributaries,  except  the  anticlinal  valley,  down  which  the  river  flows  in  .Jackson  county, 
and  the  tablelands  of  De  Kalb,  the  Cumberland  spurs  in  Jackson,  Madison,  and  Marshall,  already  described,  and 
the  drift-belt  in  Franklin,  Colbert,  and  Lauderdale  counties.  With  these  limits,  therefore,  this  regiou  will  embrace 
an  area  on  both  sides  of  the  Tennessee  extending  from  the  state  line  on  the  north  to  the  Coal  Measures  of  the  Warrior 
field  on  the  south.  The  average  width  of  this  drainage  area  from  north  to  south  is  about  45  miles,  and  includes 
parts  of  Jackson,  Marshall,  Morgan,  Lawrence,  Franklin,  Colbert,  and  Lauderdale,  and  all  of  Limestone  and  part  of 
Madison  counties,  aggregating  4,530  square  miles,  (a) 

The  extreme  western  parts  of  Lauderdale,  Colbert,  and  Franklin  counties,  while  falling  within  the"  above  limits, 
are  best  described  in  another  connection,  since  the  soils  are  derived  from  the  surface  beds  of  drift  which  there 
overlie  the  country  rocks. 

The  general  features  of  this  region  are  those  of  a  plain  12  to  15  miles  wide,  the  Tennessee  valley  proper, 
through  which  the  river  flows  in  its  tortuous  path,  the  valley  being  bounded  both  on  the  north  and  on  the  south  by 
hilly,  and  in  some  places  almost  mountainous,  country,  and  the  hills  and  the  valley  belonging  to  the  same  geological 
age,  the  configuration  of  the  whole  area  being  the  result  of  erosion  during  long  geological  periods  by  waters  whose 
present  representatives  are  the  Tennessee  and  its  tributaries. 

The  average  elevation  of  the  summits,  which  represent  approximately  the  general  level  of  the  original  land 
surface,  is  in  the  eastern  part  of  this  region  about  2,000  feet  above  the  sea,  and  there  is  a  gradual  slope  westward, 
so  that  the  summits  near  the  Mississippi  line  are  not  more  than  000  or  1,000  feet  above  sea-level.  The  general 
surface  of  the  lowlands  exhibits  a  similar  slope,  the  elevation  at  Huntsville  being  012  feet,  at  Court! aud  560  feet, 
and  at  Dickson  488  feet.  The  hilly  country  in  the  northern  part  of  this  area  is  known  as  the  Barrens,  and  is  a 
part  of  the  great  highland  rim  of  Tennessee.  These  have  generally  light-colored  siliceous  soils,  and  are  not  much 
under  cultivation,  but  they  include  mauy  tracts  with  fertile  calcareous  soils. 

South  of  the  Barrens  lies  the  valley  proper  of  the  Tennessee,  which  has  usually  a  fertile  calcareous  soil  of  a  deep 
red  color.  The  surface  is  almost  level,  the  uniformity  broken  here  and  there  by  slight  elevations,  generally  covered 
with  trees  and  made  up  of  fragments  of  chert.  Upon  these  wooded  kuolls  are  frequently  situated  the  dwelling- 
houses  of  the  planters.     Throughout  the  whole  area  sink-holes  and  caves  are  common  aud  almost  characteristic. 

The  southern  border  of  the  valley  is  made  by  the  escarpment  of  the  Warrior  coal-field,  Sand  mountain,  as  it 
is  usually  called,  rising  above  the  valley  to  a  height  which  will  average,  perhaps,  000  or  700  feet.  Along  the 
northern  face  of  this  escarpment,  about  half  way,  is  a  terrace,  or  bench,  which  in  the  eastern  part  of  Morgau  county 
is  very  narrow,  but  widens  going  westward,  and  a  considerable  depression  is  formed  between  it  and  Sand  mountain. 
In  Lawrence,  aud  Franklin  counties  this  depression  is  deepened  into  a  valley  with  calcareous  soils  (Moulton  and 
Russell's  valleys),  and  the  bench,  now  completely  separated  from  Saud  mountain,  forms  a  very  conspicuous  feature 
of  the  landscape,  known  as  the  Little  mountain  range.  These  valleys  have  the  same  general  characters  as  the 
Tennessee  valley,  and  are  partly  based  on  the  same  rocks.  The  Little  mountain  range  terminates  toward  the  north 
with  rather  bold  escarpments,  but  slopes  more  gently  southward. 

The  three  divisions  of  the  Tennessee  drainage  area  in  northern  Alabama  are  the.  Barrens,  the  valley  lands,  and 
the  Little  mountain  range,  and  they  divide  the  surface  about  as  follows:  Barrens,  010  square  miles;  valley  lands, 
2.430  square  miles;  and  Little  mountain  range,  540  square  miles. 

Geological  structure. — Leaving  out  of  consideration  the  mountain  spurs  of  the  Cumberland  range  in 
Jackson  and  Madison,  the  anticlinal  fold  of  the  Sequatchie  in  Jackson,  aud  the  drift  in  Lauderdale,  Colbert,  and 
Franklin,  the  surface  rocks  to  which  the  soils  of  the  Tennessee  valley  owe  their  origin  belong  to  a  single  formation, 
the  sub-Carboniferous,  the  subdivisions  of  which,  as  adopted  by  the  state  geological  survey,  are  as  follows :  Upper : 
Calcareous — Mountain  limestone,  or  Chester;  lower:  Siliceons — Saint  Louis  limestone  and  Keokuk. 

a  This  represents  approximately  the  whole  area  in  northern  Alabama  underlaid  by  sub-Carboniferous  strata.  Of  this,  however,  some 
<>oU  square  miles  in  the  western  part  of  the  valley  are  covered  with  drift,  and  hence  are  classed  with  the  short-leaf  pine  uplands.  Thi* 
leaves  3,880  square  miles,  in  which  the  soils  are  based  on  the  sub-Carboniferous  rocks. 

3d 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  29 

In  addition  to  the  above,  the  strata  of  the  Devonian  and  the  Upper  Silurian  formations  are  exposed  along  certain 
■creeks  in  the  northern  part  of  this  region,  but  their  superficial  extent  is  small,  and  their  part  in  the  formation  of 
the  soils  insignificant. 

The  following  illustration,  taken  from  the  geological  report  for  lS77-'78,  and  representing  a  section  through  the 
strata  from  the  state  line  on  the  north,  through  Oourtland  and  Moulton,  to  the  Sand  mountain  on  the  south,  will 
best  illustrate  the  description  below,  and  will  make  clear  many  of  the  circumstances  affecting  the  distribution  of 
the  various  agricultural  features  of  the  Tennessee  valley: 


SECTION  ACROSS  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  TENNESSEE  IN  NORTHERN  ALABAMA. 

Explanations. — 1,  Silurian;  2,  Devonian  ;  3,  Lower  Siliceous  ;  4,  Upper  Siliceous  ;  5,  Mountain  limestone  ;  6,  Coal  Measures  ;  A,  Sand  mountain  ;  B,  Moulton; 
C,  Little  mountains;  D,  Courtlaud;  E.  Tennessee  river;  F,  Barrens.    Scale. — Horizontal,  1  inch  to  6  miles;  vertical,  1  incli  to  1,000  feet. 

Lithological  CHARACTERS,  distribution,  etc. — 1  and  2.  Silurian  and  Devonian. — These  two  formations, 
which  are  composed  of  limestones  and  shales,  are  exposed  only  in  the  bluffs  of  streams  which  drain  the  northern 
part  of  this  area,  and  which  have  their  sources  within  the  Tennessee  line.  The  slight  dip  of  the  strata  brings 
these  beds  within  the  reach  of  the  denuding  waters  in  the  north,  while  farther  south  they  pass  below  the  overlying 
beds,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  illustration.  As  stated,  they  are  of  no  consequence  from  an  agricultural  standpoint, 
because  of  their  very  limited  occurrence  in  Alabama,  except  along  the  borders  of  Elk  river,  in  Limestone  county, 
where  they  form  some  bodies  of  very  good  land. 

3.  Lower  Siliceous. — These  beds  are  supposed  to  be  equivalent  to  the  Keokuk  and  Burlington  beds  of  other 
states  and  to  the  Barrens  group  of  Tennessee.  The  most  important  rocks  of  the  formation  are  highly  siliceous 
limestone,  alternating  with  a  pure  crystalline  limestone,  admirably  suited  to  architectural  purposes,  and  impure 
shaly  limestones.  The  resistance  to  erosion  offered  by  the  flinty  material  with  which  a  large  proportion  of  the 
limestones  are  impregnated  gives  rise  to  the  broken,  rugged  surface  which  characterizes  so  much  of  the  Barrens. 
The  whole  thickness  of  the  formation  is  about  300  feet,  in  which,  100  feet  below,  are  the  purer  limestones,  and  200 
feet  above  are  the  more  siliceous  beds.  The  distribution  of  these  beds  as  surface  rocks  is  coextensive  with  that  of 
the  Barrens,  as  shown  on  the  map. 

4.  Upper  Siliceous. — This  is  the  equivalent  of  the  Saint  Louis  or  coral  limestone  group,  and  is  in  many  respects 
the  most  important  of  the  formations  occurring  in  northern  Alabama,  for  from  it  are  derived  most  of  those  soils  which 
have  made  the  valley  of  the  Tennessee  one  of  the  best  fanning  areas  of  the  state.  The  rocks  are,  as  a  whole,  cherty 
limestones,  usually  highly  fossiliferous,  and  sometimes  argillaceous.  The  chert  of  this  division  is  generally  easily 
recognized,  being  found  In  nodular  masses  filled  with  impressions  of  fossils.  The  country  where  this  formation 
appears  as  surface  rock  is  generally  level,  with  low  knobs,  formed  of  fragments  of  chert,  remnants  of  the  cherty 
portions  of  the  limestone.  These  chert  masses  are  sometimes  much  decomposed,  weathering  occasionally  to  a  white 
chalky-looking  siliceous  powder. 

The  soil  over  the  Saint  Louis  limestone  is  usually  colored  deep  red  and  orange  by  the  hydrated  oxide  of  iron 
with  which  it  is  impregnated,  and  this  material  is  occasionally  found  in  such  quantity  as  to  form  regular  ore  banks 
(limonite).  The  limestones  of  this  formation  appear  to  have  suffered  subterranean  erosion  to  a  greater  extent  than 
those  of  any  other,  except,  perhaps,  the  dolomite  of  the  middle  Alabama  anticlinals.  As  a  consequence,  sink-holes, 
caves,  underground  streams,  and  big  springs  become  almost  characteristic  of  the  Saint  Louis  group.  The  average 
thickness  of  the  group  in  northern  Alabama  may  be  put  at  150  feet,  and  its  distribution  as  the  surface  rocks  may  be 
seen  on  the  map,  marked  by  the  color  of  the  red  and  valley  lauds,  the  greater  part  of  which  have  been  derived  from  it. 

5.  Mountain  limestone. — This  uppermost  or  calcareous  member  of  the  sub-Carboniferous  formation,  which  is 
considered  as  an  equivalent  of  the  Chester  group  of  other  states,  is  compesed  of  limestones  and  shales,  with  one  bed 
of  sandstone  included.  Its  thickness  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  valley,  as  for  instance  near  Huntsville,  is  between 
650  and  700  feet;  but  westward  it  thins  down,  being  in  Lawrence  and  Franklin  counties  seldom  more  than  150  or  200 
feet.  The  characters  of  the  rocks  change  also  with  the  locality,  for  near  Huntsville  they  are  mostly  limestones, 
the  sandstone  stratum  being  quite  thin.  In  Lawrence,  Colbert,  and  Franklin  counties  the  limestones  thin  out, 
while  the  sandstone  becomes  prominent,  having  often  a  thickness  of  75  feet.  In  these  western  counties  also  the 
sandstone  bed  is  often  duplicated,  its  two  parts  being  separated  by  limestones. 

The  calcareous  beds  of  the  mountain  limestone,  as  the  name  implies,  are  mostly  found  among  the  slopes  of  the 
Cumberland  spurs  in  Jackson  and  Madison  and  along  the  slopes  of  the  escarpment  of  Sand  mountain  in  Morgan, 
Lawrence,  and  Franklin  counties,  and  also  along  both  the  northern  and  southern  slopes  of  the  Little  mountains 
in  Morgan,  Lawrence,  Colbert,  and  Franklin.  Iii  addition  to  these  localities,  many  of  the  valleys  between  the 
Cumberland  spurs  in  Jackson  and  Madison  and  of  the  rich  coves  which  indent  the  northern  edge  of  the  Sand 
mountain  in  Morgan,  Lawrence,  and  Franklin  counties  are  based  upon  these  limestones.     The  sandstone  bed,  on 

39 


30  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

the  other  hand,  is  foimd  as  the  surface  rock  of  the  terrace  or  bench  which  so  generally  occurs  along  the  sides  ol 
the  Sand  mountain  and  of  the  Cumberland  spurs,  capping  many  of  the  smaller  spurs  in  Jackson  and  Madison  ;  and 
also  at  the  summit  of  the  Little  mountains,  which  is  only  a  remnant  of  this  once  wide  terrace,  now  isolated  from  the 
main  body  by  the  cutting  out  of  a  valley  between.  Where  the  streams  have  cut  through  these  mountains  they  flow 
generally  through  deep  gorges  or  canons  with  perpendicular  sides,  the  sandstones  forming  the  top  rock,  with  the 
limestones  below.  The  sandstone,  being  undermined  by  the  wearing  away  of  the  underlying  calcareous  beds 
breaks  off,  leaving  perpendicular  cliffs. 

The  character  of  the  topography  and  the  distribution  of  the  mountain  limestone  beds  will  be  easily  inferred 
from  the.  above  remarks,  and  it  is  perhaps  only  necessary  to  state  that  some  of  the  valleys  and  gaps  separating  the 
mountain  spurs  in  the  extreme  east  of  this  region  are  based,  in  part,  upon  the  calcareous  portions  of  this  formation, 
wJiich  in  such  cases  extend  out  to  some  distance  from  the  base  of  the  mountain. 

Agricultural  characters. — The  Barrens. — Based  upon  the  rocks  of  the  Lower  Siliceous  group,  the 
Barrens  occur  in  greatest  force  in  the  northern  part  of  the  state  near  the  Tennessee  line,  in  the  counties  of  Madison, 
Limestone,  and  Lauderdale.  In  the  valley,  or  red  lands,  occasional  spots  of  barrens  are  exposed  by  the  removal 
by  denudation  of  the  overlying  rocks,  and  this  is  particularly  the  case  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Tennessee  river 
itself,  where  the  drainage  has  cut  deepest.  On  the  other  hand,  occasional  spots  of  red  lands  may  be  found 
occupying  the  summits  of  the  elevations  in  the  Barrens,  and  thus,  while  the  general  line  of  separation  of  the  two 
land  varieties  may  be  laid  down  with  some  accuracy,  nothing  short  of  extended  exploration  would  enable  one  to 
mark  out  their  precise  limits.  The  whole  area  of  the  Barrens  has  been  estimated  at  910  square  miles,  of  which  150 
are  in  Madison,  400  in.Limestone,  and  360  in  Lauderdale. 

As  a  part  of  the  highland  rim  of  Tennessee,  the  Barrens  may  be  described  as  a  high  plain,  having  an  average 
elevation  of  perhaps  700  or  S00  feet  above  the  sea,  with  a  general  slope  from  the  east  toward  the  west  and  a  special 
slope  southward,  caused  by  the  drainage  of  the  Tennessee  river.  The  highest  lands  are  in  general  near  the  state 
line  on  the  north.  Into  this  high  land  the  streams  have  cut  their  channels,  which,  as  a  rule,  are  quite  deep  and 
narrow.  Going  southward,  these  indentations  of  the  elevated  plain  become  more  numerous  and  widen  out,  the  flat 
dividing  lands  narrow  down,  and  near  the  larger  streams  become  more  or  less  rounded  ridges,  which  are  cut  up  by 
the  smaller  tributaries  into  a  number  of  detached  hills.  These  river  hills,  though  often  very  steep,  have  good  soils. 
and  are  generally  in  cultivation.  Strips  of  the  barren  lands  extend  out  into  the  valley  lands  along  most  of  tins 
larger  streams,  in  some  places  coming  down  to  the  Tennessee  itself.  The  western  part  of  Lauderdale  is  perhaps 
the  most  broken  of  any  of  the  barren  lands  in  Alabama.  . 

The  two  principal  soil  varieties  of  the  Barrens  are  derived  from  the  upper  and  lower  rocks  of  the  formation, 
respectively.  The  uppermost  rocks  are  highly  siliceous  limestones,  which  form  the  surface  over  the  greater  part  of 
this  division  and  have  given  it  its  characteristic  topographical  and  agricultural  features,  the  lower  beds,  which  are 
often  pure  limestones,  being  exposed  chiefly  in  the  larger  creek  valleys,  and  southward  in  the  lowlands  of  the  river. 
The  disintegration  of  the  siliceous  roeks  above  named  gives  rise  to  the  most  widely  distributed  and  characteristic 
class  of  Barrens  soils,  which  are  light-colored,  whitish  to  gray  sandy  loams,  having  a  reddish  or  yellowish  siliceous 
subsoil,  which,  in  turn,  rests  upon  a  hard-pan  impervious  to  water  at  a  depth  of  three  to  five  feet.  The  Barrens 
land,  like  some  of  the  Sand  Mountain  land  already  spoken  of,  was  formerly  considered  almost  worthless  for 
farming  purposes,  but  has  been  coming  rapidly  into  favor  of  late  years.  It  has  been  found  that  by  the  use  of,  say, 
200  pounds  of  guano  to  the  acre  this  land  gives  a  fine  yield  of  cotton.  The  main  difficulty  with  cotton  is  in  keeping 
a  stand  of  the  young  plants  in  the  early  spring,  as  on  account  of  the  impervious  hard-pan  underlying  the  subsoil 
the  land  is  often  badly  drained  and  the  young  plants  are  "  scalded",  and  thus  killed.  A  drain  of  less  than  four  feet 
depth  is  generally  useless.     The  subjoined  analyses  will  show  the  general  character  of  the  Barrens  soil : 

No.  40.  Barrens  soil  from  near  Cluttsville,  Madison  county,  collected  by  Thomas  B.  Kelly.  Depth,  8  inches; 
vegetation,  post,  black,  red,  Spanish,  and  black-jack  oaks,  scrub  hickory,  wild  gooseberry,  blackberry,  winter 
huckleberry,  and  a  coarse  grass,  good  for  sheep  and  cattle  ;  color,  yellowish-gray.  This  soil  is  easily  cultivated,  and, 
when  properly  drained,  produces  well.  It  was  formerly  timbered  with  chestnuts,  since  disappeared.  After  rains 
the  soil  hardens,  thus  preventing  the  growth  of  cotton  till  broken  up  with  a  plow. 

No.  48.  Barrens  soil  from  near  Huntsville,  Madison  county,  collected  by  Colonel  W.  C.  Irwin.  Depth,  C 
inches;  Vegetation,  scrubby  post  and  black  oaks,  a  few  hickories  and  dogwoods  <  no  grass,  but  a  thick  undergrowth  of 
dogwood  bushes  ;  color,  light  yellowish-gray  ;  change  of  tint  at3J  inches,  clay  at  7  inches. 

40 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


31 


Barrens  soils  (sub- Carboniferous),  Madison  county. 


Insolable  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Potash 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese . . 

Peroxide  of  iren 

Alamina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

Water  and  orgaulo  matter. . . 


Clnttsville 
soil. 


89.  960 
2.  392 


92.242 

0.255 
0.064 
0.064 
0.035 
0.150 
1.695 
3.292 
0.100 
0.178 
2.024 


Total. 


Hygroscopic  moisture, 
absorbed  at 


4.450 
21C.° 


Hrmtsville 
soil. 


1-88.720 

0.116 
0.025 
0.041 
0.159 
0.041 
2.705 
4.597 
0.054 
0.045 
3.388 


69.  891 


4.785 
28  0." 


These  analyses  show  a  large  percentage  of  insoluble  matter  and  a  deficiency  of  lime  and  vegetable  matter. 
The  hardening  of  No.  40  is  probably  due  to  this  lack  of  organic  matter.  In  potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  considering 
the  amount  of  insoluble  matter,  there  is  a  sufficiency  in  the  case  of  No.  40.  Neither  soil  has  much  capacity  for 
retaining  moisture.  These  soils,  like  those  of  the  Goal  Measures,  chemically  somewhat  similar,  have  generally  a 
good  foundation  of  clay,  and  are  therefore  capable  of  improvement. 

Within  the  limits  of  the  Barrens  there  is  a  class  of  soils  making  what  are  called  the  gravelly  bottom  lands. 
These  are  gravelly  loams  of  gray  to  yellow  or  brown  colors,  resting  on  somewhat  heavier,  yellowish-red  subsoil.  The 
river  hills  along  the  Tennessee  in  some  localities  are  apparently  of  a  somewhat  similar  nature. 

No.  52.  Gravelly  soil,  Limestone  creek  bottom,  near  Cluttsvilie,  Madison  county,  collected  by  Thomas  B.  Kelly. 
Depth,  not  given ;  vegetation,  poplar,  beech,  sugar-maple,  sycamore,  gum,  walnut,  red,  white,  and  black  oaks ; 
color,  light-brown ;  a  somewhat  difficult  soil  to  till  because  of  the  gravel. 

No.  56.  Gravelly  or  river-hills  soil,  one-fourth  of  a  mile  south  of  the  Tennessee  river,  near  Tuscumbia, 
Colbert  county,  collected  by  B.  Pybas.  Depth,  4J  inches ;  vegetation,  red,  white,  and  black-jack  oaks,  dogwood, 
white  poplar,  and  small  scrub-walnut ;  color,  gray  with  shade  of  yellow ;  subsoil,  dark  ocher,  reaching  to  2  feet 
depth. 

Gravelly-bottom  and  river -hills  soils,  Barrens  (sub-Carboniferous). 


\ 

MADISON  COUNTY. 

COLBERT COUNTY. 

Limestone  creek 
bottom. 

Tennessee  river 
hills. 

Ho.  52. 

No.  56. 

79.  005  »  „     „„ 

„  5  85.  028 
6.023) 

0.270 

0.161 

79.  320  i 
6.  760  ) 

0.309 
0.067 

Soda 

0.  224     ,                     0.  226 
0.  230    1                     0.  324 
2.  871                          2.  969 
4.  834                         4.  771 
0.  209     ,                     0. 153 
0.010     ;                         0.172 
5. 758                         4°458 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese 

99.  786 

99.  927 

1.974 
0.S60 
0.073 

5.371 

41 


32  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

These  analyses  indicate  soils  of  a  fair  degree  of  fertility  and  durability,  which,  while  they  contain  a  large 
proportion  of  insoluble  matter,  are  yet  thrifty,  by  reason  of  a  comparatively  large  percentage  of  lime  and  magnesia. 
In  productiveness  they  stand  much  nearer  the  red  lands  than  the  Barrens,  the  average  seed-cotton  product  per 
acre  being  given  at  from  S00  to  1,200  pounds,  while  that  of  the  Barrens  will  probably  not  average  more  than  from 
500  to  700  pounds.  Perhaps  less  than  10  per  cent,  of  the  cultivated  land  of  the  immediate  valley  of  the  Tennessee 
is  of  this  kind. 

To  recapitulate,  until  quite  recently  the  great  proportion  of  cultivated  lands  of  the  valley  of  the  Tennessee 
were  red  limestone  lands.  Of  late,  however,  the  lighter  and  more  siliceous  soils  of  the  Barrens  have  been  found  to 
be  profitable  soils  to  cultivate,  especially  with  artificial  fertilizers,  and  these  are  now  preferred  by  many,  as  they  are 
safer  and  easier  of  cultivation.  The  cotton  staple  from  these  lands  is  less  likely  to  be  stained  or  otherwise  injured 
than  fcnat  from  the  red  lands. 

The  limestones  which  make  the  lower  part  of  the  formation  yield  a  red  or  brown-loam  soil,  and  is  in  most 
respects  similar  to  that  of  the  red  lands  of  the  valley.  Of  this  no  analyses  have  been  made.  This  soil  is  confined 
to  the  borders  of  the  streams  which  traverse  the  highlands,  and,  while  of  much  better  quality  thau  the  average 
soil  of  the  Barrens,  is  of  limited  occurrence. 

The  red  or  valley  lands. — Under  this  head  are  included  the  valley  proper  of  the  Tenuessee,  extending  from  the 
Barrens  on  the  north  to  the  Little  mountains  on  the  south,  the  valley  lying  between  the  Little  mountain  range  and 
Sand  mountain,  and  the  valleys  and  gaps  separating  the  spurs  of  the  Cumberland  in  the  eastern  part  of  this  t'ivisiou, 
which  are  all  closely  related  in  their  agricultural  and  topographical  features.  The  area  is  estimated  at  about  2,430 
square  miles,  of  which  320  are  in  Jackson,  400  in  Madison,  190  in  Limestone,  240  in  Lauderdale,  210  in  Franklin, 
150  in  Colbert,  480  in  Lawrence,  285  in  Morgan,  and  95  in  Marshall  counties.  In  this  estimate  are  included  also 
those  calcareous  lands  derived  from  the  limestones  of  the  mountain  limestone  formation  where  they  occur  in  the 
valleys  and  not  upon  the  mountain  slopes. 

The  general  character  of  the  valley  lands  has  already  been  alluded  to.  They  are  nearly  level  or  gently 
undulating,  especially  near  the  Tennessee  river,  on  both  sides ;  but  in  the  gaps  between  the  mountain  spurs  the  surface 
is  more  broken.  On  account  of  the  fertile  nature  of  the  soil  most  of  these  lands  are  cleared  and  under  cultivation, 
but  the  monotony  is  agreeably  relieved  by  the  low  knolls,  which  are  covered  with  a  luxuriant  growth  of  oaks. 
These  knolls  are  formed  by  the  accumulation  of  the  siliceous  parts  of  the  limestone,  and,  being  too  rocky  for  easy 
cultivation,  are  often  chosen  as  sites  for  the  dwelling-houses  of  the  planters.  Where  the  flaggy  limestones,  either 
of  the  Saint  Louis  or  of  the  mountain  limestone  group,  lie  very  near  the  surface,  with  but  a  thin  coating  of  soil, 
they  are  usually  covered  with  a  dense  thicket  or  glade  of  red  cedar.  Sink-holes  and  big  springs  are  numerous 
throughout  the  valley. 

The  Saint  Louis  or  coral  limestone  has  been  described  as  a  siliceous  limestone,  and  in  its  disintegration  it 
yields  a  soil  which,  while  varying  between  wide  limits,  is  in  general  terms  a  sandy  loam,  resting  upon  what  is 
usually  called  red  clay,  but  which  is  a  heavy  loam,  containing  from  2  to  S  per  cent,  of  ferric  oxide  and  about  an  equal 
proportion  of  alumina.  The  soil  varies  in  color  from  mulatto  to  deep-red  and  nearly  black,  according  to  the 
proportions  of  the  several  ingredients.  The  following  analyses  of  soils  of  this  character  from  different  localities 
will  show  well  the  variations  in  the  quality,  as  well  as  the  average  composition  of  these  lands: 

No.  38.  Red  lands  soil  from  near  Cluttsville,  Madison  county,  collected  by  Thomas  B.  Kelly.  Depth,  11  inches; 
vegetation,  hickory,  poplar,  ash,  red,  black,  and  white  oaks,  chestnut,  walnut,  elm,  cedar,  black  haw,  dogwood,  etc.; 
•color  of  the  soil,  dark-brown;  of  the  subsoil,  yellowish-brown.  In  its  physical  properties  this  soil  is  very  friable. 
Water  sinks  rapidly  into  it,  and  is  retained  by  the  subsoil. 

No.  34.  Red  lands  soil  from  1  mile  east  of  Tuscumbia,  Colbert  county,  collected  by  B.  Pybas.  Depth,  10  inches ; 
vegetation,  black-jack,  red,  and  post  oaks,  hickory,  and  scrub  cedar;  no  undergrowth  ;  color,  dark-brown  to  nearly 
black.     This  soil  after  rains  tends  to  form  a  crust,  which,  if  not  broken  up,  becomes  nearly  as  hard  as  a  rock. 

No.  64.  Red  lands  soil  from  Russell's  valley,  near  Russellville.  Franklin  county,  collected  by  Dr.  Daniel  Sevier. 
Depth,  15  inches;  vegetation,  red,  black,  white,  post,  and  black-jack  oaks,  cedar,  dogwood,  chestnut,  walnut,  wild 
-cherry,  and  black  locust ;  color,  dark-brown,  passing  to  a  lighter  reddish-brown  in  the  subsoil. 

42 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


33 


Bed  soils,  Tennessee  valley  (sub- Carboniferous). 


Madison 
county. 

COLBECT 
COUNTY. 

FKANKLIN 

COUNTY. 

CLUTTSVILLE. 

TU6CUMBI.Y. 

KU6SELUVILLE. 

Red  lands  soil. 

Red  lands  soil. 

Red  lands  soil. 

No.  38. 

No.  34. 

No.  64. 

75.  360  ) 

[  80.  597 
5. 237  S 

0.154 

0.110 

0.250 

0.250 

s.mhs-m 

0.243 
0.058 
0.043 
0.058 
0.103 
2.873 
6.198 
0.188 
0.625 
6.620 

„  „„,  i 85-  018 
8.  995  > 

0.276 

0.133 

0.267 

0.381 

5.691 
0.151 
0.020 

1.794 

8. 163 
0.229 
0.039 

4.100 

100.  307 

99. 179 

99.653 

2.242 
1.551 
0.109 
.9. 760 

0.700 
0.956 
0.020 

8.840 

6.14 

Since  the  immediate  fertility  of  a  soil  depends  upon  the  available  phosphoric  acid  and  other  inorganic  plant- 
food,  the  humus  determinations  should  give  us  an  insight  into  the  capabilities  of  a  soil  with  reference  to  the  next 
succeeding  crop. 

The  analyses  show  that  all  these  soils  are  of  rather  more  than  average  fertility;  and  while  they  do  not  contain 
unusually  large  amounts  of  phosphoric  acid  and  potash,  yet  the  large  percentage  of  lime  in  each  case  renders  the 
soil  thrifty.  In  comparing  No.  38  with  No.  34  the  latter  fe  seen  to  be  notably  deficient  in  vegetable  matter,  to 
which  may  probably  be  ascribed  its  tendency  to  bake  hard  after  rains.  In  the  percentage  of  humus,  also,  they 
differ  widely,  as  also  in  the  amount  of  available  phosphoric  acid,  which  in  No.  3S  is  0.109,  and  in  No.  34  only  0.020 
per  cent.     All  three  soils  have  fair  capacity  for  retaining  moisture. 

The  creek-bottom  lands  in  the  Tennessee  valley  are  of  varying  degrees  of  fertility,  but  are  generally  productive, 
since  they  contain  the  best  parts  of  the  uplands  which  surround  them. 

Upon  the  sides  of  the  mountain  spurs  in  Jackson,  Madison,  Marshall,  and  Morgan  counties,  and  also  along  the 
base  of  the  Little  mountain  range,  the  calcareous  parts  of  the  mountain  limestone  yield  a  stiff  clayey  and  limy  soil, 
which  supports  a  fine  growth  of  forest  trees,  but  which,  on  account  of  their  position  on  the  mountain  slopes,  are 
not  well  suited  to  cultivation.  But  there  are  many  places  in  the  counties  named  where  this  soil  is  found  in 
sufficiently  level  position  to  be  profitably  cultivated,  and  in  many  of  the  rich  coves  which  penetrate  the  edges  of  the 
mountains  these  are  the  prevailing  soils.  No  analyses  have  been  made,  but  the  crops  produced  show  that  they 
are  in  character  somewhat  like  the  red  valley  soils,  though  not  so  generally  of  red  colors.  The  prevailing  color  is 
gray  to  black,  and  there*  are  spots  of  black  soil  that  recall  in  appearance  the  black  prairie  soils  of  the  south,  to  be 
found  in  places  on  Little  mountains  and  other  localities  made  by  this  formation. 

The  Little  mountains. — This  well-marked  feature  of  the  Tennessee  valley  has  already  been  alluded  to  and  its 
principal  characters  given.  The  Little  mountains  proper  extend  from  Morgan,  through  Lawrence  and  Colbert 
counties,  out  to  the  Mississippi  line.  In  Madison  and  Jackson  counties  there  are  many  small  and  detached  spurs 
which  have  exactly  similar  structure  to  that  of  the  main  body,  and  they  are  to  be  considered  in  the  same  connection. 
All  these  spurs,  and  the  Little  mountains  themselves,  owe  their  existence  to  a  stratum  of  sandstone  in  the  mountain 
limestone  or  Chester  group,  which  has  protected  them  against  the  erosion  that  has  wasted  away  the  adjacent  lauds 
on  all  sides.  From  the  approximately  horizontal  position  of  the  strata  the  summits  of  these  mountains  are  mostly 
rather  level,  though  worn  into  slight  depressions  here  and  there.  As  a  general  thing  these  lands  are  not  much 
under  cultivation,  since  the  soil  derived  from  the  sandstones  is  not  rich,  and  scarcely  pays  to  cultivate. 

The  northern  face  of  these  mountains  is  usually  steep  and  abrupt  and  somewhat  indented  with  fertile  coves 
having  red  and  brown-loam  soils.  The  southern  slope  is  much  more  gradual.  Where  the  sandstone  has  been  removed 
the  underlying  calcareous  rocks  of  the  formation  come  to  the  surface  and  give  rise  to  the  so-called  prairies,  which 
are  destitute  of  trees,  because  of  the  thinness  of  the  soil  and  the  proximity  of  the  rock  to  the  surface.     Such 

43 


34 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 


places  furnish,  however,  excellent  pasturage.  The  prairie  spots  are  generally  found  on  the  summit  or  southern 
slope  of  these  mountains,  but  along  their  northern  or  steep  face  there  is  very  often  seen  a  level  bench,  or  terrace, 
with  the  stiff,  limy  soils  of  this  character. 

On  account  of  their  elevation  and  pleasant  climate  the  Little  mountains  are  favorite  places  of  residence,  and 
several  towns  are  situated  upon  them,  among  which  may  be  mentioned  Somerville,  Mountain  Home,  La  Grange,  etc. 
Where  streams  have  cut  across  the  Little  mountains  they  flow  through  deep  gorges  with  almost  perpendicular  sides, 
and  underneath  some  of  the  sandstone  ledges  often  spring  chalybeate  and  other  mineral  waters.  The  area  occupied 
by  the  Little  mountains  and  similar  elevations  is  estimated  to  be  about  540  square  miles,  of  which  50  are  found  in 
the  detached  spurs  of  Madison  county,  140  in  Morgan,  150  in  Lawrence,  170  in  Colbert,  and  30  in  Franklin. 

Soils. — The  agricultural  features  of  the  mountain  spurs  here  included  are,  as  might  be  supposed,  rather  uniform. 
The  sandstone,  which  forms  the  greater  part  of  the  surface,  yields  a  sandy  soil,  which  is  closely  like  the  prevailing 
soil  in  the  Coal  Measures.  Its  chief  timber  also  resembles  that  of  the  coal  regions,  consisting  of  Spanish,  post, 
and  white  oaks,  with  some  short-leaf  pine.     Other  trees  are  common  in  some  places,  as  chestnuts  and  hickories. 

The  following  analysis  of  a  soil  collected  on  Little  mountains  near  the  old  town  of  La  Grange,  in  Colbert  county, 
will  serve  to  show  the  general  nature  of  these  lands  : 

No.  30.  Little  Mountain  noil  from  La  Grange,  near  Tuscumbia,  in  Colbert  county,  collected  by  B.  Pybas. 
Depth,  8  inches;  vegetation,  chestnut,  short-leaf  pine,  hickory,  post  oak,  and  small  sourwood;  color,  top  soil  dark 
brown  2  inches;  below  that  yellowish  sand  at  2  feet,  and  at  5  feet  solid  sandstone  rock. . 

Sand)/  soil  of  Little  mountains,  Colbert  count//. 


No.  30. 

03.  030  i 
,  „„  505.  312 
1.  062  ) 

0.100 

0.000 

0. 120 

0.040 

0.102 

0.761 

1.532 

0.051 

0.028 

2.055 

100.101 

Hygroscopic  moisture 

1.56 

A  rather  poor  soil,  like  that  of  the  Coal  Measures  generally,  but  with  a  larger  proportion  of  lime  and  of  organic 
matter  and  less  of  potash. 


SOUTHERN  DIVISION. 


All  that  part  of  the  state  south  and  west  of  the  limits  of  the  middle  and  northern  divisions  is  embraced  in  the 
southern  division,  which  includes  the  whole  or  parts  of  Lauderdale,  Colbert,  Franklin,  Marion,  Lamar,  Fayette, 
Tuscaloosa,  Bibb,  Chilton,  Elmore,  Tallapoosa,  and  Lee  counties,  and  all  of  Pickens,  Greene,  Hale,  Sumter,  Choctaw, 
Marengo,  Dallas,  Perry,  Autauga,  Lowndes,  Montgomery,  Macon,  Bullock,  Russell,  Barbour,  Pike,  Crenshaw, 
Butler,  Wilcox,  Monroe,  Clarke,  Washington,  Mobile,  Baldwin,.  Escambia,  Conecnh,  Covington,  Geneva,  Coffee, 
Dale,  and  Henry.     The  area  of  this  division  is  approximately  32,335  square  miles. 

General  geological  and  topographical  features  and  subdivisions. — The  Cretaceous  and  Tertiary 
rocks  which  underlie  this  whole  division  axe  approximately1  horizontal  in  stratification,  but  have  a  slight  dip 
toward  the  south  and  southwest.  With  the  exception  of  part  of  the  prairies,  presently  to  be  described,  the  who)e 
area  is  covered  with  beds  of  drifted  material  which  have  been  deposited  upon  an  eroded  surface  of  the  older  rocks. 
The  drift-beds  are,  as  a  rule,  very  irregularly  stratified. 

It  may  thus  be  inferred  that  the  minor  details  of  surface  configuration  and  the  soils  are,  to  a  certain  extent, 
independent  of  the  underlying  older  rocks,  and  are  in  great  measure  determined  by  these  drifted  materials.  In 
these  respects  this  division  differs  from  the  two  preceding  ones.  But  while  it  depends  to  so  great  an  extent 
for  its  soils  and  topography  upon  a  single  formation,  there  is-  not  in  these  the  great  monotony  that  might  be 

-14 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  35 

looked  for  on  this  account.  The  drift  itself  is  composed  of  materials  which  offer  varying  degrees  of  resistance  to 
■denudation,  and  considerable  inequalities  of  surface  result  from  this  circumstance.  In  addition  to  this,  the  older 
rocks  had  been  greatly  eroded  before  they  were  covered  by  the  drift,  so  that  the  general  contour  of  the  country,  as 
well  as  many  of  the  most  prominent  topographical  features  in  this  division,  are  quite  independent  of  the  superficial 
drift-coating  which  determines  so  many  of  the  minor  details. 

The  low  trough  of  the  prairie  region,  the  rugged  hills  of  the  buhrstone,  and  the  gently  undulating  surface  of 
the  southern  pine  belt  were  features  of  the  landscape  before  the  deposition  of  the  drift;  and  similarly  with  the 
soils  the  drift  itself  yields  a  number  of  varieties,  which  are  still  further  increased  by  the  modifications  brought  about 
by  their  intermixture  with  the  disintegrated  portions  of  the  underlying  country  rocks.  These  rocks  are  referred 
to  two  principal  formations,  the  Cretaceous  and  the  Tertiary.  For  convenience  of  reference  I  give  in  condensed 
form  the  most  important  subdivisions  of  these  formations,  together  with  their  lithological  and  other  characters 
in  so  far  as  they  are  of  importance  in  determining  the  agricultural  features. 

Tertiary. —  Viclcsburg  (uppermost). — The  chief  material  is  a  soft  white  limestone  (containing  Orbitoides  Mantelli), 
easily  cut  with  an  as  or  a  saw  into  blocks,  which  are  used  throughout  the  region  of  its  occurrence  in  the  construction 
of  chimneys.  This  alternates  witli  whitish  shell  marls,  and  occurs  over  a  belt  of  country  from  30  to  50  miles  wide 
north  and  south,  the  lower  half  of  which  is  gently  undulating,  the  upper  somewhat  broken  and  hilly.  The  whole 
region  is  covered  with  beds  of  later  age,  which,  in  most  cases,  form  the  soils. 

Jaclcson. — An  impure  Umestone  or  calcareous  clay  of  a  light,  nearly  white  color,  containing  grains  of  greensaud,  is 
the  chief  material  of  this  formation  in  Alabama.  Its  thickness  is  from  40  to  50  feet,  and  in  some  places  it  is  underlaid 
with  fossiliferous  sands  and  with  ten  feet  or  more  of  grayish  laminated  clays.  The  disintegration  of  the  principal 
stratum  gives  rise  to  the  calcareous  prairie  soils  of  the  lime-hills,  whose  surface  distribution  is  the  same  as  that  of 
the  northern  half  of  the  Vicksburg.  Like  the  preceding,  the  strata  of  this  group  are  generally  covered  with  beds 
of  a  more  recent  formation,  which  form  the  greater  part  of  the  soils,  and  in  great  measure  determine  the  topograph  y; 
jet  where  these  overlying  beds  have  been  partially  removed  the  characteristic  soils  and  no  less  characteristic 
topography  of  the  lime-hills  are  produced. 

Claiborne. — The  materials  of  this  division  consist  of  sandy  shell  deposits,  alternating  with  impure  whitish 
limestones  or  calcareous  clays  containing  greensand.  These  deposits  are  exposed  along  ravines  and  bluffs,  but  seldom 
form  the  surface  over  any  considerable  area,  and  have  comparatively  little  effect  upon  the  soils  beyond  making 
them  locally  more  fertile.  These  beds  may  be  observed  at  the  lower  levels  throughout  the  territory  above  assigned 
to  the  Jackson  group. 

Buhr  stone. — Siliceous  sandstones  and  claystones  make  up  the  greater  part  of  this  division.  These  deposits 
form  a  line  of  rocky  hills  extending  nearly  across  the  state.  In  general,  the  soils  are  extremely  poor ;  but  there  are 
limited  areas  of.more  fertile  character,  due  to  the  influence  of  the  calcareous  beds,  with  which  the  prevailing  materials 
are  sparingly  interstratifled. 

Lagrange  or  Lignitic. — Grayish  or  dark-colored  laminated  clays  and  yellowish  or  gray  sands,  containing  several 
beds  of  lignite  and  alternating  with  beds  of  greensand  marl.  These  materials  form  the  substratum  of  a  belt  15 
or  20  miles  in  width,  the  soils  of  which  are  mostly  derived  from  the  superficial  beds  of  drift,  except  where  the  marl 
beds,  especially  along  the  southern  border  of  this  division,  give  rise  to  highly  fertile  lime-hills,  closely  resembling 
those  of  the  Jackson  group. 

Flatwoods. — The  chief  strata  are  "  massy"  or  thick-bedded  joint-clays  of  gray  or  darker  colors,  and  of  tolerably 
uniform  character.  The  soils  are  heavy  and  clayey,  seldom  tempered  to  any  considerable  degree  by  the.  sandy  beds 
of  the  drift.     The  timber  is  mostly  post  oak. 

Cretaceous. — Ripley. — Hard  crystalline  and  often  sandy  limestone  and  bluish,  micaceous,  frequently  highly 
fossiliferous  marls  make  up  the  greater  part  of  this  division.  The  blue  marl  has  its  best  development  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  state.  The  interstratincation  of  the  hard  limestone  with  the  softer  marls  gives  rise  to  the  rugged 
topography  of  the  hill  prairie  region.  The  larger  proportion  of  the  soils  over  this  division  are  derived  from  the 
drift,  with  local  modifications  due  to  the  influence  of  the  marls  and  limestone,  while  occasionally  the  soils  are 
derived  almost  wholly  from  the  Cretaceous  material. 

Rotten  limestone. — An  impure  argillaceous  limestone  of  great  uniformity  of  composition  over  wide  areas  is  the 
characteristic  material  of  this  division.  The  surface  is  gently  undulating,  aiid  the  soils  are  derived  partly  from  the 
simple  disintegration  of  the  limestone  and  partly  from  admixtures  of  this  with  the  loam  of  the  drift.  This  rock 
underlies  a  belt  of  country  averaging  15  or  20  miles  in  width,  and  is  noted  for  its  fertility. 

Eutaw. — The  chief  materials  of  the  Eutaw  group  are  gray  laminated  clays,  irregularly  bedded  sands,  containing 
some  mica,  and  having  often  a  greenish  cast,  partly  from  grains  of  greensand  and  partly  from  some  substance 
coating  the  siliceous  sand  grains. 

Subordinated  to  the  above  are  beds  of  lignite  and  liguitized  trunks  of  trees.  The  soils  over  the  whole  area  are 
derived  from  the  overlying  drift,  except  along  the  sides  of  ravines,  etc.,  where  the  above-named  materials  are 
uncovered,  giving  rise  to  small  tracts  of  more  than  average  fertility,  which  lie,  however,  usually  on  such  steep 
slopes  as  to  be  of  little  agricultural  value.  The  stratigraphical  relations  of  these  formations  are  shown  in  sufficient 
detail  in  the  general  section  given  on  page  13. 


36  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

Taken  as  a  whole,  the  surface  of  the  southern  division  has  a  general  slope  from  the  margin  of  the  two  divisions 
just  described  outward,  i.  e.,  west  and  south  toward  the  Mississippi  basin  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  This  general 
slope  is  interrupted  by  the  trough  of  the  central  prairie  region,  which  is  depressed  many  feet  below  the  general 
level  both  north  and  south  of  it,  and  also  on  a  limited  scale  by  the  trough  of  the  flatwoods.  South  of  the 
prairie,  belt  there  is  a  line  of  rocky  hills  made  by  the  hard  sandstones  and  claystones  of  the  lower  part  of  the 
Tertiary  formation,  beyond  which,  toward  the  south,  the  country  falls  away  very  gradually  and  uniformly  to  the 
coast. 

Mention  has  been  made  of  the  differences  existing  in  the  materials  of  the  drift  formation  overlying  the  most, 
of  this  region.  These  materials  are  pebbles,  sands,  and  a  red,  brown,  or  yellow  loam,  and  the  geographical 
distribution  of  these  several  materials,  taken  in  connection  with  other  physical  conditions,  lies  at  the  basis  of  tho 
classification  of  this  division  into  its  agricultural  regions. 

Around  the  outer  margin  of  the  two  preceding  divisions  there  is  seen  a  great  accumulation  of  these  drift  beds, 
so  great  as  to  hide  completely  from  view  over  areas  of  considerable  size  all  the  underlying  rocks  of  the  country. 
Along  this  belt  pebbles  of  quartz  and  chert  and  beds  of  red  and  brown  loam  are  seen  in  their  greatest  thickness. 
As  we  go  outward  from  this  belt  the  pebbles  become  less  and  less  abundant,  and  seem  to  be  confined  to  well-defined 
channels,  along  which,  however,  they  may  bo  traced  for  great  distances,  even  into  Florida,  but  they  cease  to  be 
characteristic  beyond  a  comparatively  narrow  belt.  The  loam  also  appears  to  decrease  in  thickness  and  prominence 
in  the  same  directions,  though  it  is  fouud  generally  distributed  much  farther  south  that*  the  pebbles. 

The  whole  region  over  which  the  red  and  brown  loams  prevail  has  many  topographical  and  botanical  features 
in  common,  prominent  among  which  are  the  broken  and  hilly  surface  and  the  mixture  with  pines  of  oak  and  hickory 
in  the  forest  growth.  Southward  from  this  region  of  mixed  growth  the  long-leaf  pine  is  the  most  characteristic 
and  constantly  occurring  tree,  and  gives  the  name  to  a  second  region,  which  reaches  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

The  subdivisions  of  the  region  of  mixed  growth  are  based  primarily  upon  the  species  of  pine  which  is  associated 
with  the  other  trees,  it  being  the  short-leaf  pine  in  the  one  case  and  the  long-leaf  in  the  other.  Other  subdivisions 
of  this  region  depend  on  the  relative  proportions  of  long-leaf  pine  and  other  timber  trees. 

The  region  of  the  long-leaf  pine  is  subdivided,  in  accordance  with  the  prevailing  topographical  character,  into 
hilly,  rolling,  and  flat  lands. 

The  black-prairie  region,  the  flatwoods,  and  the  lime-hills  are  agricultural  regions,  in  which  the  soils  are  to  a 
great  extent  dependent  on  the  rocks  of  the  country  for  their  formation,  and  do  not  properly  find  a  place  in  the  two 
regions  as  just  defined. 

In  accordance  with  the  characters  given,  the  southern  division  may  be  divided  into  the  following  agricultural 
regions  or  subdivisions : 

1.  The  Oak  and  Pine  Uplands  Region,  including — 

The  oak  and  hickory  and  short-leaf  pine  uplands. 
The  gravelly  hills,  with  long-leaf  pine. 

The  oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine,  including  brown-loam  uplands  and  long-leaf  pine 
uplands. 

2.  The  Central  or  Upper  Prairie  Region,  with  its  three  features  of — 

Black  prairie  or  "canebrake". 

Hill  prairie  or  Ohunnenugga  ridge. 

The  blue  marl  lands.  • 

3.  The  Post-oak  Flatwoods. 

i.  The  Lower  Prairie  or  Lime-Bills  Region,  including  the  shell  prairies  and  red-lime  lands. 

5.  The  Long-leaf  Pine  Region,  with  its  subdivisions — 

Long-leaf  pine  hills. 

Rolling,  open  pine  woods  and  lime-sink  region. 

Pine  flats. 

6.  The  Alluvial  Region  of  Mobile  River  and  the  coast  marshes. 

From  the  nature  of  the  forest  growth,  as  outlined  in  the  above  agricultural  subdivisions,  it  may  be  inferred 
that  the  prevailing  soil  varies  with  the  geographical  position,  and  in  fact  we  find  that  the  surface  soil  increases  in 
sandiness  as  we  go  southward  toward  the  Gulf.  In  addition  to  this,  local  variations  in  the  predominant  soil  of  all 
the  regions  just  enumerated  arise  from  the,  varying  quality  at  different  depths  of  these  superficial  beds  of  loam  and 
drift.  To  illustrate  this  a  series  of  specimens  was  taken  near  the  city  of  Tuscaloosa  down  to  the  depth  of  14  feet, 
passing  through  the  red  loam  and  into  the  underlying  sand  and  pebble  beds. 

No.  115.  Soil,  brownish-red  color,  taken  to  the  depth  of  5  inches. 

No.  116.  Subsoil,  clayey  loam,  of  a  deep-red  color,  taken  from  5  to  IS  inches. 

No.  117.   Under  subsoil,  more  sandy,  and  of  same  deep-red  color,  taken  from  IS  inches  to  3A  feet, 

No.  IIS.  Red.  sandy  loam,  taken  from  34  to  7J  feet. 

No.  119.  Reddish  sandy  loam,  increasing  in  sandiness  with  the  depth,  and  becoming  yellowish  in  color;  taken 
from  7i  to  9  J  feet. 

4G 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


37 


No.  120.   Yellowish,  coarse  sand,  taken  from  9J  to  14  feet.     The  preceding  bed  gradually  passes  into  this. 

No.  121  is  a  bed  of  pebbles  with  sand,  irregularly  stratified,  and  of  variable  thickness  and  quality,  extending  to 
the  bottom  of  the  gully,  say  from  14  to  45  feet.    This  has  not  yet  been  analyzed. 

No.  122.  Gray  clay,  with  a  few  species  of  red.  This  was  an  irregularly-shaped  bed  near  the  bottom  of  the 
section. 

These  specimens  were  analyzed  by  Mr.  D.  W.  Langdon,  jr.,  of  Mobile,  a  student  in  my  laboratory,  with  results 
as  given  below : 

Analyses  of  brown-loam  soil,  with  subsoil,  and  the  underlying  beds,  down  to  the  depth  of  14  feet ;  also,  analysis  of 

gray  clay,  Tuscaloosa. 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Potash 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Brown  osiile  of  manganese 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphurifl  acid 

Water  and  organic  matter 

Total 

Hygroscopic  moisture 

absorbed  at 


Soil  brownish- 
red  to  depth  of 
5  inches. 


81.  683  ) 
0.  465  > 


255 
175 
140 
007 
102 
184 
081 
000 
1.025 
i.  425 


c   .      ..  i ,      Under  subsoil 

Subsoil  deep-red  |         deep.red 


from 
5  to  18  inches. 


84.  777  ) 
0.  656  i 


85.  433 

0.205 
0.175 
0.065 
0.100 
0.009 
4.903 
6.278 
0.066 
0.083 
2.288 


99.715 


18  inches  to  3* 
feet. 


91.493  ( 
0.  066  > 


91.  559 

0.150 
0.140 
0.071 
0.005 
0.066 
2.495 
3.466 
0.007 
0.071 


Red,  sandy  loam,    Eed,  sandy  loam,  L.no^ah   r„.rR„i  Gray  clay,  with 
more  yellowish    becoming  yellow-  „.  °J  coarse  a  few  specks  of 


than  preceding, 
3J  to  7J  feet. 


ish  below, 
7 j  to  H  feet. 


sand, 
to  14  feet. 


88.  989  , 

>    90. 
1.  827  ) 


816 


0.139 
0.135 
0.045 
0.004 
0.061 
2.592 
3.998 
0.007 
0.066 
1.791 


99.  954 


96.  405  } 
0.  687  > 


97.  092 

0.005 
0.004 
0.006 
0.002 
0.003 
1.910 
0.786 
0.003 
0.004 
0.841 


98.  370  ( 
0.  086  5 


98.456 

0.005 
0.003 
0.004 
0.001 
0.002 
0.717 
0.454 
0.001 
0.004 
0.752 


red,  bottom  of 
gully. 


81.837 
0.  256 . 


82.  093 

0.258 
0.197 
0.341 
0.194 
0.010 
0.576 
11.  314 

o.ooi 

.0.150 
5.140 


100.  272 


These  analyses  show  very  clearly  the  gradual  decrease  in  the  percentages  of  potash,  lime,  magnesia,  and 
phosphoric  acid,  and  consequent  deterioration  of  the  soil-forming  qualities  of  the  beds  as  the  depth  from  the  surface 
increases,  and  a  similar  decrease  in  the  capacity  for  moisture  in  the  same  direction.  The.  prominent  points  of 
difference  between  the  loam  and  the  drift  sands  are  best  seen  on  comparing  Nos.  118  and  120,  since  No.  119  forms 
a  transition  between  the  two.  This  transition  bed  (No.  119)  shows  how  the  lower  parts  of  the  loam  and  the  upper 
parts  of  the  underlying  drift  shade  off  into  each  other  without  there  being  any  sharp  line  between,  and  yet  within 
2  feet  the  change  from  loam  to  sand  is  complete. 

From  the  analyses  we  can  also  easily  account  for  the  fact,  so  often  to  be  observed  in  the  parts  of  the  state  where 
these  beds  make  the  surface,  that  along  many  of  the  slopes  of  the  loam-covered  table-lands  we  find  a  forest 
growth  entirely  different  from  that  of  the  plains  above  and  denoting  a  great  deterioration  in  the  quality  of  the  soil. 
A  removal  by  denudation  of  the  loam  will  expose  the  greatly  inferior  sands  and  cause  a  corresponding  change  in 
the  character  of  the  soil.  Many  of  the  poor  pine  ridges  which  traverse  the  areas  of  better  land  have  had  this  surface 
loam  in  great  measure  removed.  On  the  other  hand,  the  sandiuess  of  the  soils  of  some  of  the  table-lauds  finds  its 
explanation  in  the  fact  that  on  such  level  lands  the  surface  materials  are  not  washed  off  bodily,  but  the  finer  clayey 
particles  are  carried  by  the  percolating  water  deeper  from  the  surface,  leaving  the  coarser  sand  above.  In  most 
cases  of  this  kind  the  surface  soil  is  usually  much  more  sandy  than  its  subsoil. 

The  specimens  of  which  the  analyses  are  given  were  taken  from  a  slope  where  both  the  finer  clayey  and  the 
coarser  sandy  particles  of  the  loam  would  be  washed  away  together  by  the  rains,  thus  preserving  at  the  surface 
nearly  the  original  proportions  between  the  two. 

In  the  following  detailed  descriptions  of  the  agricultural  regions  of  this  southern  part  of  the  state  these  general 
principles  will  find  many  applications. 


THE  OAK  AND  PINE  UPLANDS  EEGION. 

This  region,  with  its  subdivisions,  embraces  an  area  of  10,915  square  miles,  and  includes  some  of  the  best 
uplands  of  the  state.  Its  two  principal  subdivisions,  as  already  stated,  are  named  from  the  species  of  pine  which 
characterize  them.  As  far  north  as  about  latitude  33°  30' the  long-leaf  pine  is  prevalent;  farther  north  it  is  the 
short-leaf  species.  The  northern  and  eastern  margins  of  this  region  (lying  next  to  the  preceding  general  divisions) 
are  well  characterized  by  the  accumulation  of  flinty  pebbles. 

The  soils  along  this  gravelly  belt  are  not  materially  different  from  those  of  the  other  parts  of  the  oak  and  pine 

4T 


38  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

uplands,  except  that  they  are,  in  general,  rather  poorer  and  more  sandy ;  but  since  a  line  of  gravelly  hills,  timbered 
with  oaks  and  long-leaf  pine,  runs  along  the  border  of  the  metamorphic  or  crystalline  rocks  through  South  Carolina 
and  Georgia  into  Alabama  with  substantially  the  same  characters, this  division  is  here  retained. 

OAK  AND   HICKOEY   UPLANDS,  WITH   SHORT-LEAF  PINE. 

This  region  includes  the  whole  or  parts  of  Lauderdale,  Colbert,  Marion,  Lamar,  Fayette,  Tuscaloosa,  and  Pickens 
counties,  with  an  area  of  about  4,135  square  miles.  In  its  soils  and  topography  it  is  so  closely  connected  with  the 
uext  two  regions  that  a  special  account  of  the  same  would  involve  much  repetition.  Along  the  eastern  margin  of 
this  region  there  are  some  modifications  of  the  soils,  brought  about  by  the  influence  of  the  underlying  rocks,  which  in 
the  three  first-named  counties  belong  to  the  sub  Carboniferous  formation,  and  in  the  others  to  the  Coal  Measures. 
These,  however,  have  not  been  specially  studied,  and  the  larger  proportion  of  the  soils  may  be  referred  to  the  red 
loam,  which  also  in  great  measure  makes  the  surface  of  the  following  regions.  Most  of  the  soil  varieties  occurring 
in  the  region  next  to  be  described  have  their  representatives  here,  and  the  analyses  there  given  will  show  their 
general  characters  in  this  section  also. 

GRAVELLY  PINE    HILLS,  WITH  LONG-LEAP  PINE. 

This  subdivision  occupies  a  belt  of  varying  width,  but  averaging  perhaps  30  miles,  bordering  on  the  south  and 
west  the  older  formations  of  the  state  (Metamorphic,  Silurian,  and  Carboniferous),  and  hiding  the  line  of  contact 
between  these  and  the  Cretaceous  formation.  This  belt  stretches  from  Lauderdale  county,  on  the  northwest,  to 
Russell  county,  on  the  east,  and  includes  the  following  counties  and  parts  of  counties:  The  western  parts  of  Lauderdale, 
Colbert,  Franklin,  Marion,  Lamar,  and  Fayette;  nearly  all  of  Pickens,  Tuscaloosa,  and  Bibb;  northern  Greene, 
Hale,  Perry,  and  Dallas,  southern  Chilton,  nearly  all  of  Autauga,  southern  Elmore,  and  Tallapoosa;  northern 
Montgomery,  most  of  Macon  and  Kussell,  and  southern  Lee. 

Within  these  limits  there  are  about  0,170  square  miles  in  which  the  drift  beds  conceal  completely  the  underlying 
rocks  and  2,050  square  miles  in  which  these  surface  beds  make  the  greater  part  of  the  soils  and  the  older  rocks 
show  only  along  the  water-courses.  The  whole  area  in  which  the  gravelly  hills  with  short-leaf  and  long-leaf  pines 
characterize  the  country  may  thus  be  placed  at  about  8,820  square  miles.  But  since  these  gravelly  hills  with  short- 
leaf  pine  timber  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  state  present  no  very  clearly  marked  points  of  difference  from 
the  short-leaf  pine  uplands  of  Mississippi,  into  which  they  gradually  pass,  it  is  only  that  portion  of  the  gravelly 
hills  with  long-leaf  pine  that  is  to  be  considered  under  this  head.  With  these  limitations,  therefore,  this  region 
embraces  parts  of  the  counties  of  Tuscaloosa,  Pickens,  Greene,  Hale,  Bibb,  Perry,  Dallas,  Chilton,  Autauga,  Elmore, 
Montgomery,  Tallapoosa,  Macon,  Lee,  and  Russell,  with  an  area  which  has  been  estimated  at  4,085  square  miles. 

General  characters.' — As  the  name  indicates,  this  subdivision  has  a  rather  uneven,  hilly  surface,  especially 
where  the  table-lands  break  off  toward  the  water-courses.  Between  these  there  are  often  tolerably  wide  tracts  of 
nearly  level  laud.  The  hills  are,  in  general,  clothed  with  a  growth  of  upland  oaks,  among  which  the  pines  are 
usually  conspicuous. 

The  surface  over  most  of  this  territory  is  formed  of  beds  of  red  or  yellowish  loam  varying  in  thickness  from  a 
few  inches  to  25  feet.  This  loam  is,  in  general,  devoid  of  lines  of  stratification,  and  overlies  beds  of  sand  and  pebbles, 
which  are  very  distinctly  stratified,  although  the  stratification  is  extremely  irregular.  All  these  beds  rest  upon  a 
worn  or  eroded  surface  of  the  older  rocks,  and  on  this  account  the  thickness  varies  considerably.  In  many  parts' 
of  the  region  the  sands  and  pebbles  have  been  cemented  together  into  pretty  solid  rocks  by  the  iron  which  is  so 
generally  present  as  coloring  matter.  These  are  the  only  hard  rocks  belonging  to  the  surface  beds.  In  some  parts  of 
the  more  northern  counties,  and  in  Tuscaloosa,  these  pebbly  conglomerates  act  an  important  part  in  the  production 
of  topographical  features,  and  in  most  of  the  region  the  hills,  and  even  slight  elevations,  will  be  found  to  be  capped 
with  a  sheet  of  ferruginous  sandstone  formed  in  this  way,  and  giving  rise  to  the  elevation  by  protecting  the  strata 
from  washing  away.  Wherever  the  red-colored  sands  and  beds  of  pebbles  rest  upon  a  sheet  of  impervious  clay 
the  conditions  for  the  formation  of  these  rocks  exist. 

Agricultural  features. — The  red  or  yellow  loam,  above  mentioned  as  overlying  the  stratified  sands  and 
pebbles  of  the  drift,  forms  all  the  best  upland  soils  of  this  region;  but  in  places  the  underlying  sands  occupy 
the  surface,  forming  very  light  soils,  which  may  produce  well  for  a  while,  but  are  soon  exhausted.  Between  these 
two  extremes  there  are  many  grades  of  soils  resulting  from  their  intermixtures.  The  loam,  as  above  stated,  with  a 
variable  thickness,  overlies  the  stratified  drift,  and  where  the  thickness  is  considerable,  from  2  or  3  feet  upward, 
the  soils  have  the  usual  character  of  those  of  the  brown-loam  uplands.  When  fresh  they  will  yield  under  good 
cultivation  from  1,000  to  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  the  acre,  but  soon  fall  off  in  productiveness.  Between 
the  streams  the  country  has  the  character  of  plateau  or  table-land,  and  is  not  much  broken  or  hilly.  The  following 
analyses  will  show  the  general  nature  of  the  uplands  and  table-lands  soils:. 

No.  0.  Upland  sandy  loam  (second  class  table-lands)  from  4  miles  east  of  Prattville,  Autauga  county,  collected 
by  Dr.  S.  P.  Smith.     The  somewhat  sandy  top  soil  is  underlaid  to  the  depth  of  20  feet  by  red  clayey  loam,  below 

43 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


39 


which  is  a  coarse  yellow  sand  alternating'  with  clay.  Depth,  8  inches ;  vegetation,  short-leaf  pine,  red  and  post 
oaks,  hickory,  dogwood,  black  gum,  chestnut,  persimmon,  etc. ;  color,  yellowish-brown  ou  surface,  passing  into  light- 
red  below. 

No.  57.  Brown-loam  soil  from  near  Mulberry  post-office,  Autauga  county,  collected  by  T.  D.  Cory.  Depth,  0 
inches ;  vegetation,  one-third  pine,  with  white,  post,  and  red  oaks,  hickory,  dogwood,  and  black  gum ;  color,  light 
brown,  changing  below  6  inches  to  dark  red.  Tbe  fresh  land  will  yield  from  S00  to  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to 
the  acre,  but  after  several  years'  cultivation  the  yield  is  reduced  to  200  or  400  pounds. 

No.  GO.  Subsoil  of  No.  57 .    Depth,  G  to  12  inches  ;  color,  dark  red. 

Where  the  table-lands  break  off  in  the  direction  of  the  water-courses  the  top  stratum  of  red  loam  becomes 
thinner,  and  in  places  is  entirely  removed,  leaving  the  underlying  sands  at  the  surface.  In  the  latter  case  the  lands 
are  scarcely  worth  cultivating,  except,  in  the  creek  bottoms,  and  even  here,  the  thin  sandy  soils  with  sandy  subsoils 
are  very  soon  exhausted.  About  a  third  of  the  tillable  lands  in  the  pine  woods  have  a  subsoil  of  greater  or  less 
thickness  of.  this  red  loam,  and  though  the  soil  is  thin,  it  is  moderately  profitable  to  cultivate,  because  of  the  clay 
subsoil.     The  character  of  this  variety  of  pine  lauds  will  be  seen  from  the  following  analyses : 

No.  3.  Upland  pine-woods  soils  near  Prattville,  Autauga  county.  Depth,  8  inches;  vegetation,  long-leaf  pine, 
hickory,  red,  post,  and  black-jack  oaks,  dogwood,  persimmon,  etc.;  color,  ashy-gray  at  top,  changing  to  yellowish 
in  subsoil.     The  fresh  land  will  yield  400  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  the  acre. 

No.  4.  Subsoil  of  No.  3,  Autauga  county.  Depth,  12  to  18  inches ;  color,  yellowish.  Soil  and  subsod  collected 
by  Dr.  S.  P.  Smith. 

Lands  of  the  gravelly  hills,  Autauga  county. 


6IIOBT-LEAF  PINE  LANDS — BROWN  LOAM. 

LONG-LEAP  PINE  LANDS— SANDY. 

Upland  sandy 
loam  nrar 
Prattville. 

Brown  eaDdy  loam  near 
Mniberry. 

Uplands  pine  woods. 

Soil. 

Soil. 

Subsoil. 

Soil. 

Subsoil. 

No.  6. 

1 
No.  57.                    No.  60. 

No.  3. 

No.  4. 

89. 100  )    , 

5  91.940 
2.  840  5 

0.073 

0.018 

0.060 

0.  0G1 

(.122 

1.577 

4.350 

0.077 

0.034 

2.209 

91.  510  l 

5  93.  470 
1.  960  * 

0.115 

0.004 

0.057 

0.140 

0.027 

1.527 

0.943 

0.M2 

0.013 

2.888 

84.  520  > 

589.140 
4.  620  5 

0.136 

0.010 
0.109 
0.172 
0.171 
2.  422 
6.078 
0.078 
0.074 
2.477 

94. 170  i  „    „ 
!  95.  560 
1.390  5 

0.040 

0.006 

0.069 

0.052 
0.117 

88-  860  I  „„  „ 
5  92.  240 
3.  380  5 

0.111 

0.  029 

0.047 
0.139 
0.125 

0.062 

0.009 
2.807 

0.077 
0.002 
1.660 

100.  518 

99.  226 

100.  867 

100.  069 

100.  322 

3.882 

2.905 

5.39 
29C.° 

1.916 
24  C.° 

6.079 
19C.° 

The  analyses  of  brown-loam  soils  show  deficiencies  in  the  principal  elements  of  plant-food,  potash  and 
phosphoric  acid,  and  also  in  lime,  showing  these  to  be  essentially  inferior  soils.  There  is  an  important  difference, 
however,  between  the  soil  and  subsoil  (Nos.  57  and  GO)  in  their  reteutiveness  of  hygroscopic  moisture,  as  shown  by 
the  determinations,  and  the  subsoil  is  also  somewhat  richer  in  lime  and  in  plant-food  than  the  top  soil.  Deep 
plowing  is,  therefore,  at  once  suggested  as  a  means  of  improvement.  Manures  will  be  well  retained  both  by  subsoil 
No.  GO  and  by  loam  soil  No.  G,  which  is  intermediate  in  composition  and  physical  properties  between  soil  No.  57 
and  its  subsoil.  In  the  pine-woods  lands  the  soil  is  seen  to  be  lacking  in  all  tke  elements  of  fertility,  being 
composed  mostly  of  sand,  with  very  slight  retentive  power.  Stimulant  manures  will  do  little  good  except  for  a  very 
short  time.  For  permanent  improvement  nutritive  manures  are  necessary.  The  subsoil  is  superior  in  all  respects 
to  the  top  soil,  and  deep  plowing  will  be  attended  with  good  results.  The  absorptive  power  of  this  subsoil  is  quite 
marked  for  so  sandy  a  material,  and  this  property,  probably  more  than  anything-  else,  makes  it  possible  to  cultivate 
snch  soils  with  profit. 

In  some  parts  of  this  region  there  is  a  kind  of  pond  lands,  which,  when  drained,  will  produce  very  well  for  a 
year  or  two,  but  are  then  apparently  completely  exhausted.     The  accompanying  analysis  shows  its  chemical  nature: 

No.  Gl.  Pond-land  soil  (exhausted)  near  Mulberry,  Autauga  county,  collected  by  T.  D.Cory.  Depth,  12 inches; 
vegetation,  mostly  sweet  gum;  color,  a  dark  gray.  49 

4  c  P — VOL.  II 


40 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 


Pond-land  soil  (exhausted)  near  Mulberry,  Autauga  county. 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Potash 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese  . 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Al  u  id  in  a 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

"Water  and  organic  matter. .. 


Total  . 


Hygroscopic  moisture  . 
absorbed  at 


0.193 

0.094 

0.019 

0.190 

0.079 

0.810 

7.  951 

0.070 

0.  182 

0.  101 

100.  328 

7.  097 

27.  8  C.° 

In  this  soil  it  would  appear  that  a  deficiency  in  the  lime  is  the  chief  cause  of  its  rapid  exhaustion,  and  liming 
is  the  first  improvement  indicated.     It  is  lacking  also  in  potash  and  phosphoric  acid. 

The  bottom  soils  of  this  region  vary  with  the  surrounding  uplands,  and  arc,  as  a  rule,  easily  cultivated  and 
quite  fertile,  as  they  contain  the  best  portions  of  the  soils  of  the  uplands.  The.  second  bottom  or  hummock  soils 
are,  in  great  measure,  similar  to  the  upland  soils,  but  are  usually  somewhat  stronger.  The  best  farming  lands  in  the 
region  are  to  be  found  in  the  river  hummocks  or  second  terraces,  and  the  general  character  of  both  will  be  seen 
from  the  following  analyses: 

No.  9.  Alabama  river  first-bottom  soil,  4  miles  west  of  Montgomery,  in  Autauga  county,  collected  by  Dr.  8.  P. 
Smith.  Depth,  S  inches;  vegetation,  red  and  white  oaks,  poplar,  beech,  hickory,  sweet  gum,  elm,  slippery  elm, 
walnut,  wild  cherry,  ash,  sourwood,  dogwood,  grapes,  and  muscadines;  color,  light-brown  top  soil,  with  yellowish 
subsoil. 

No.  20.  Warrior  river  hummock  soil  (virgin),  plantation  of  James  K.  Maxwell,  near  Tuscaloosa,  collected  by 
James  P..  Maxwell.  Depth,  0  inches;  vegetation,  originally  a  dense  cane  thicket,  with  some  sweet  gum  and  red 
oak;  color  of  the  top  soil,  a  light  to  dark  brown,  changing  at  the  depth  of  10  inches  to  a  reddish-brown.  The 
fresh  land  will  produce  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  or  from  50  to  60  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre. 

No.  00.   Warrior  river  hummock  soil  from  the  same  locality  as  the  preceding,  but  taken  to  the  depth  of  14  inches. 

No.  21.  Warrior  river  hummock  soil  (cultivated  twenty  years)  from  the  same  locality.  Depth,  14  inches; 
vegetation,  same  as  No.  20. 

No.  22.  Warrior  river  hummock  subsoil,  subsoil  of  Nos.  20,  21,  and  66.  Depth,  14  to  24  inches;  color,  reddish- 
brown. 

Nos.  20,  66,  21,  and  22  were  collected  by  James  E.  Maxwell. 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Potash 

Soda 

Lime  

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganeBe 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina    

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

Water  and  organic  matter  . 

Total 

Humus 

Available  inorganic 

Available  phosphoric  acid 
Hygroscopic  moisture    — 
absorbed  at 

50 


AUTAUGA  COUNTY. 


Bottom  lauds, 
Alabama  river. 


First-bottom  soil. 


S3. 117 

0.335 
0.  ISO 

0.  131V 
0.  303 
0.  384 
5.  357 
4.811 
0.  137 
0.  04(1 
5.230 


TUSCALOOSA  COUNTY. 


Humtuock  lands,  Warrior  river. 


Virgin  soil  to 
depth  of  0  inches. 


1.047 
0.802 
0.058 
8.193 


73.  995  ) 
0.  518  > 


80.  513 

0.252 
0.  052 
0.4G8 
0.  429 
0.  000 
4.395 
5.182 
0.274 
0.071 
8.893 


Virgin  soil  to 
depth  of  14  inches. 


09.  900  ) 

10.  987  i 


100.  535 


80.887 

0.448 
0.033 
0.343 
0.547 
0.  ISO 
5.303 
6.004 
0.325 
0.  072 
6.311 


2.310 
1.255 
0  112 
18.  811 


Soil  after  20  years' 

cultivation  to 
depth  of  14  inches. 


73. 339  i 
8.  777  i 


82.110 

0.383 
0.052 
0.314 
0.  5112 
0.1141 
4.590 
5.288 
0.214 
0. 1172 
6.017 


Subsoil  of  the 
three  preceding; 

depth,  14  to  24 
inches. 


Mo.  22. 


71.227  i 
10.  005  > 


81.  802 

0.504 
0.196 
0.241 
0.  516 
0.081 
10.254 
2.105 
0.284 
0.  034 
4.490 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  41 

By  its  composition  the  bottom  soil  is  seen  to  be  an  excellent  soil,  and  tlie  large  crops,  especially  of  corn,  which 
it  produces  are  what  might  be  expected  from  an  inspection  of  the  analysis.  It  is  liable  to  overflow  in  many  parts, 
and  is  therefore  less  planted  in  cotton  than  in  grain. 

The  hummocks  are  also  good  soils,  having,  above  the  average  content  of  phosphoric  acid,  a  good  supply  of 
potash,  and  a  sufficient  quantity  of  lime  to  make  these  ingredients  available.  In  comparing  the  analyses  we  find 
that  the  percentage  of  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  increases  with  the  depth,  while  the  lime  decreases  in  quantity, 
it  being  greatest  at  the  surface.  They  are  all  sufficiently  retentive  of  moisture,  and  will  hold  manures  well.  The 
cultivated  soil,  No.  21,  is  very  little  inferior  to  the  virgin  soil  in  the  elements  of  fertility,  and  the  observed  difference 
in  the  productiveness  of  the  two  is  doubtless  due  to  the  circumstance  that  the  fresh  soil  contains  plant-food  in  a 
more  easily  available  form. 

It  is  a  matter  of  experience  that  when  the  top  soil  has  been  washed  off,  as,  for  instance,  on  the  low  knolls,  the 
reddish-brown  subsoil  appears  to  be,  for  a  time  at  least,  almost  barren.  This,  as  we  see  from  the  analysis,  cannot 
be  due  to  any  deficiency  in  the  elements  of  plant-food,  and  must,  therefore,  be  owing  to  the  physical  and  chemical 
conditions  of  the  material,  to  its  compactness,  want  of  vegetable  matter,  and  perhaps  also  of  lime,  to  render 
available  the  plant-food  which  it  actually  contains.  Thorough  breaking  up,  plowing  in  of  green  crops,  and 
ajiplications  of  lime  would  undoubtedly  in  a  very  short  time  make  this  subsoil  quite  as  productive  as  the  soil. 

The  humus  determination  of  the  virgin  soil,  No.  20,  shows  0.112  per  cent,  of  available  phosphoric  acid,  a  very 
large  proportion  of  the  total  amount  present. 

OAK  AND  HICKORY   UPLANDS,   WITH   LONG-LEAF  PINE. 

The  belt  of  country  lying  between  the  central  prairie  region  on  the  north  and  that  of  the  long-leaf  pine  region 
on  the  south  is  characterized  by  the  almost  universal  presence  of  the  long-leaf  pine  among  the  timber  trees,  but 
with  it,  in  the  upper  part  of  the  belt,  are  associated  the  upland  oaks  and  hickories  in  perhaps  equal  proportions, 
but  diminishing  in  frequency  southward,  and  thus  forming  a  transition  into  the  long-leaf  pine  region  proper.  Under 
this  head  are  embraced  parts  of  the  following  counties:  Sumter,  Choctaw,  Clarke,  Marengo,  Wilcox,  Monroe, 
Conecuh,  Butler,  Crenshaw,  Covington,  Coffee,  Pike,  Montgomery,  Bullock,  Barbour,  Dale,  and  Henry,  and  the  area 
included  is  about  8,095  square  miles. 

While  the  upper  and  lower  parts  of  this  division  in  their  extreme  characters  differ  widely,  they  nevertheless 
shade  off  imperceptibly  into  each  other,  and  it  is  not  possible,  except  in  a  general  way,  to  draw  the  line  between 
them.  In  the  upper  half  the  prevailing  soils  are  brown  sandy  loams,  with  a  growth  of  upland  oaks  and  hickories 
and  some  short-leaf  and  long-leaf  pines;  in  the  lower  half  the  soils  are  more  sandy,  and  the  timber  consists  largely 
of  long-leaf  pine,  along  with  black-jack  oak  and  others  which  usually  affect  sandy  soils.  It  will  be  most  convenient 
to  speak  of  this  region  under  the  two  heads  of  brown-loam  uplands  and  pine  uplands,  bearing  constantly  in  mind 
the  fact  that  these  names  merely  serve  to  call  to  mind  the  predominant  characters  of  the  two  sections,  and  that 
in  each  there  are  tracts  of  greater  or  less  extent  which  have  all  the  distinctive  marks  of  the  other. 

1.  Brown-loam  uplands. — This  section  forms  the  upper  or  northern  half  of  the  region  which  we  are  describing, 
and  embraces  parts  of  the  counties  of  Sumter,  Choctaw,  Clarke,  Marengo,  Wilcox,  Monroe,  Butler,  Crenshaw, 
Montgomery,  Pike,  Bullock,  Barbour,  and  Henry,  with  an  area  which  is  approximately  4,105  square  miles. 

In  the  lower  part  of  Sumter  and  Marengo  and  the  upper  part  of  Choctaw,  Clarke,  and  Wilcox  counties  the 
lignitic  or  Lower  Tertiary  strata,  which  underlie  this  division,  consist  of  laminated  clays  and  sands,  to  which  are 
subordinated  beds  of  lignite  and  of  shell  marls,  often  very  rich  in  greensand  or  glaitconite.  Eastward,  however,  the 
lignitic  character  of  the  deposits  to  a  certain  extent  disappears,  the  beds  becoming  more  exclusively  marine,  and 
consisting  of  sandy  materials,  often  highly  fossiliferous. 

In  Barbour,  Bullock,  and  Pike  counties  the  northern  limits  of  these  uplands  adjoin  the  blue  marls  and  other 
beds  of  the  Upper  Cretaceous  formation,  from  which  they  are  separated  west  of  Lowndes  county  by  a  belt  of  flatwoods. 
The  underlying  beds,  however,  both  east  and  west,  are  in  most  cases  at  sufficient  depths  below  the  surface  to  exercise 
comparatively  little  influence  upon  either  soils  or  topography. 

Exceptions  to  this  are  seen  in  Wilcox,  Marengo,  and  Choctaw  counties,  where  the  beds  of  greensand  marl 
above  mentioned  are  brought  to  the  surface  by  denudation  and  give  rise  to  lime-bills,  which,  in  the  character  both 
of  their  soils  and  their  rugged  topography,  resemble  the  lime-hills  of  the  Jackson  group  farther  south.  A  well 
characterized  belt  of  such  lime-hills  may  be  traced  from  Lower  Peach  Tree,  in  Wilcox  county,  westward  through 
northern  Clarke  and  Choctaw  to  the  Mississippi  line.  This  belt  runs  parallel  with,  and  a  short  distance  north  of, 
the  rocky  hills  formed  by  the  sandstones  and  other  strata  of  the  Buhr-stone  group. 

A  soil  of  this  lime-hills  region  was  collected  about  10  miles  west  of  Lower  Peach  Tree,  iu  Wilcox  county,  of  which 
the  analysis  is  given  on  page  12. 

No.  140.  Lime-hills  soil,  10  miles  west  of  Lower  Peach  Tree,  Wilcox  county.  Depth  8  inches;  color,  yellowish- 
gray,  with  a  slightly  greenish  tinge;  vegetation,  chiefly  beech,  but  mixed  with  hickory,  white  oak,  sweet  gum,  a 
few  short-leaf  pines  and  Finns  glabra,  ash,  some  Spanish  oak,  poplar,  pig-nut,  sourwood,  cucumber  trees,  holly, 
and  sour  gum.  51 


42 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 


Lime-hills  soil,  Wilcox  county. 


No.  140. 

'5.  550  , 

J  76.  684 
1. 134  J 

0.174 

0.184 

0.014 

0.032 

5.  515 

7.772 

0.220 

0.000 

8.022 

00.  010 

17.  067 
10.  5C.° 

In  this  soil  the  percentage  of  phosphoric  acid,  as  also  the  hygroscopic  moisture,  is  high;  the  lime  and  potash 
sufficient. 

Another  belt,  characterized  by  the  occasional  appearance  of  calcareous  soils,  runs  parallel  to  and  some  15  or 
20  miles  north  of  the  one  just  described,  and  is  well  displayed,  for  instance,  near  Luther's  store,  in  Marengo  county. 
Similarly  in  eastern  Alabama  the  prevailing  loam  soils  are,  in  places,  greatly  improved  by  admixture  with  the 
greensand  marls  occurring  there.  Otherwise,  the  superficial  beds  of  loam,  sand,  and  pebbles  determine  almost 
exclusively  the  agricultural  and  other  characters  of  the  region. 

On  account  of  the  almost  universal  presence  of  a  bed  of  red  or  yellowish -red  loam  overlying  the  sandier  materials 
of  the  drift  the  topography  of  this  region  is  quite  varied  because  of  the  unequal  degrees  of  resistance  thus  offered 
to  denudation.  The  water-sheds  are  usually  of  the  nature  of  table-lauds,  which  break  off  toward  the  streams  in 
somewhat  rugged  hills.  The  loam  rests  upon  beds  of  sand  and  pebbles,  as  above  stated,  and  hence  an  abundance 
of  good  freestone  water  in  every  part  of  this  region,  even  in  the  driest  seasons. 

The  agricultural  characters  of  the  upland  region  are  determined  almost  exclusively  by  the  natnre  of  these 
superficial  beds,  and  the  distribution  of  the  soil-varieties  will  be  understood  from  the  following  considerations: 
The  rocks  of  the  country  were  covered  with  beds  of  sand,  and  in  some  places  with  beds  of  pebbles,  which  in  turn 
were  overlaid  with  a  red  or  brownish-yellow  loam  of  20  or  30  feet  thickness.  The  latter  forms,  in  most  cases,  the 
soils  and  subsoils  of  this  region,  with  the  exceptions  to  be  noted  hereafter.  Wherever  the  thickness  of  the  loam  is 
considerable,  say  5  feet  and  upward,  the  water-sheds  and  territory  generally  formed  by  it  are  mostly  of  the  nature  of 
nearly  level  table-lands,  whose  general  elevation  above  the  main  water-conrses  is  350  or  400  feet.  On  these  table- 
lands the  soil  is  usually  a  brown  sandy  loam,  increasing  in  stiffness  with  the  depth  from  the  surface,  and  resting  upon 
a  subsoil  of  clay  loam  of  a  red  or  reddish  color.  The  natural  growth  consists  of  numerous  species  of  upland  oaks, 
conspicuous  among  which  are  the  Spanish,  post,  red,  black,  and  black-jack,  and  hickories  and  short-  aud  long-leaf 
pines. 

Upon  the  table-lands  there  are  varieties  of  soil  depending  upon  the  degree  of  sandiness,  and  the  deterioration  in 
quality  is  generally  marked  by  the  accession  of  the  pines  to  the  oak  growth — short-leaf  pine  first,  then  the  long-leaf 
pine.  Below  a  certain  depth,  or  within  a  certain  distance  of  the  top  of  the  underlying  drift-sands,  the  loam  becomes 
more  and  more  sandy,  making  a  very  gradual  transition  to  the  underlying  beds.  Along  the  edges  of  the  table- 
lands, therefore,  and  in  corresponding  positions  where  the  greater  part  of  the  loam  has  been  removed,  its  sandy 
lower  portions,  and  the  sands  of  the  drift  itself,  form,  the  soils,  which  are  then  of  inferior  quality,  as  is  shown  by 
the  growth,  which  consists  of  long-leaf  pine  and  blackjack,  or  of  the  former  alone.  Of  this  character  are  the  sandy 
pine  ridges  which  are  interspersed  with  the  better  table-lands.  They  have  a  poor  sandy  soil,  which  often  produces 
pretty  well  for  a  short  while,  but  is  soon  exhausted.  Between  the  two  extremes  thus  accounted  for  are  numerous 
gradations  resulting  from  their  intermixtures. 

It  should  not  be  inferred  from  what  has  been  said  that  everywhere  at  elevations  20  or  30  feet  below  the  general 
level  of  the  table-lands  the  sands  of  the  drift  would  be  denuded  of  the  loam  and  alone  form  the  soils,  for  both  the 
drift  and  the  overlying  loam  seem  to  conform  more  or  less  to  the  more  prominent  topographical  features  of  tne 
country,  as  if  they  had  been  deposited  over  a  surface  which  had  already  been  eroded  in  conformity  'n  ith  present 
systems  of  drainage.  It  is  otherwise  difficult  to  account  for  the  fact  that  we  constantly  find,  sometimes  75  or  100 
feet  below  the  level  of  the  table-lands,  terraces  of  greater  or  lesser  width  having  a  capping  of  considerable 
thickness  of  the  same  red  loam,  underlaid  by  sand  aud  pebbles,  just  as  is  the  case  on  the  table-lands  themselves; 
and,  even  more,  the  second  bottoms  of  the  larger  streams  often  present  the  same  condition  of  things.  At  elevatiens 
intermediate  between  these  successive  plains  are  the  pine  ridges.  It  may  be  that  a  part  of  this  is  due  to  the 
subsequent  degradation  of  the  loam  and  its  re-deposition  along  the  slopes  and  over  the  lowlands;  butthis  explanation 
52 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


43 


will  not  apply  to  all  cases,  for  we  should  then  always  find  the  greatest  thickness  of  loam  at  the  lowesfe  levels,  and 
eften  find  the  relative  positions  of  the  loam  and  the  sands  and  pebbles  reversed,  which  is  not  the  case. 

The  heaviest  or  stiffest  loams  are  not,  as  a  rule,  found  on  the  highest  and  broadest  of  the  table-lands,  but  rather 
along  their  borders,  where  exposed  to  partial  denudation,  whence  it  would  seem  that  upon  the  level  table-lands, 
where  the  waters  flow  off  slowly,  there  is  a  constant  tendency  toward  increasing  sandiness  in  the  top  soil,  caused  by 
the  carrying  down  from  the  surface  by  percolating  water  of  the  finer  clayey  particles.  Along  slopes,  however,  the 
more  rapidly  flowing  waters  remove  both  the  finer  clay  and  coarser  sand,  and  the  proportion  of  these  two  ingredients 
originally  existing  in  the  loam  is  preserved. 

It  often  happens  that  the  freshly-exposed  loam  appears  to  be  rather  sterile,  but  this  is  due  to  the  physical 
condition,  and  not  to  the  inferior  chemical  composition,  as  may  be  seen  from  analyses  made  of  soils  from  Tuscaloosa 
county,  given  under  "the  gravelly  pine  hills"  division.  As  illustrating  the  composition  of  the  sandy  varieties  of 
these  upland  loam  soils,  the  following  analyses  are  presented: 

No.  94.  Sandy  upland  loam  soil  from  near  Clayton,  Barbour  county,  collected  by  Judge  n.  D.  Clayton.  Depth, 
12  inches ;  vegetation,  Spanish  and  other  oaks  and  hickory ;  color,  light  yellowish -gray,  with  a  subsoil  a  shade  more 
yellow.     This  soil  is  extensively  cultivated  and  much  prized,  but  it  almost  invariably  rusts  cotton. 

No.  84.  Upland  loam  soil  from  near  Lawrenceville,  Henry  county.  Depth,  10  inches;  vegetation,  Spanish  and 
post  oaks,  with  a  few  black-jacks,  hickory,  chestnut,  sour  gum,  short-leaf  pine,  and  a  few  long-leaf  pines;  long  moss 
on  some  of  the  trees ;  color,  light  yellowish-gray  top  soil,  deeper  yellow  below,  all  resting  upon  a  red  clay  loam  at 
2  to  3  feet  depth. 

The  composition  of  the  better  class  of  brown-loam  soils  is  illustrated  by  the  following  analyses: 

No.  18.  Upland  brown-loam  soil  from  5  miles  southeast  of  Troy,  Pike  county.  Depth,  8  inches;  vegetation, 
red  oaks  and  a  few  short-leaf  pines;  color,  dark-brown. 

No.  19.  Subsoil  of  No.  18.  Color,  reddish-brown. 


Upland  brown-loam  soils  [oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine). 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Potash 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina  

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

Water  and  organio  matter  . 

Total 

Hygroscopic  moisture 

absorbed  at 


BANDY  LOAM. 


BarTjour  coutaty. 


95.  091  > 
1.  913  ) 


0.007 
0.010 
0.058 
0.131 
0.603 
1.366 
0.025 
0.001 
0.443 


0.878 
5. 6  C.° 


Henry  county. 


95. 115 
1. 155 : 


96. 270 

0.212 
0.090 
0.058 
0.039 
0.128 
0.803 
0.703 
0.100 
0.016 
2.009 


ItROWN  LOAM. 


Pike  county. 


Soil. 


91.  905  ; 

i.mb; 


1.225 
23.  3  C." 


93.  880 

0.077 
0.013 
9.112 
0.094 
0.044 
1.431 
1.841 
0.109 
0  015 
2.137 


1.960 
1.435. 


99.  753 


93.  385 

0. 150 
0.056 
0.048 
0.080 
0.092 
1.574 
3.197 
0.072 
0.072 
1.532 


2.826 
18.  3  C.° 


*  Undetermined. 

The  analyses  given  on  page  49  of  upland  sandy-loam  soil  and  subsoil  from  2i  miles  south  of  Union  Springs, 
Bullock  county,  may  also  be  consulted,  since  they  are  of  essentially  the  same  character,  being  derived  from  the  loam, 
but  which,  on  account  of  their  relation  to  the  Chunnenugga  ridge,  have  been  presented  in  connection  with  it. 

A  comparison  of  the  four  analyses  above  given  with  those  of  the  gravelly  piae  hills  north  of  the  prairie  region 
will  show  that  they  are  essentially  similar  sails,  as  was  to  have  been  inferred  from  the  identity  of  the  material  from 
which  both  classes  have  been  derived.  They  are  all  below  the  average  quality,  and  are  more  or  less  deficient  in 
potash,  phosphoric  acid,  and  lime.  Enough  plant-food  in  them  appears,  however,  to  be  in  an  available  form  to 
render  them  all  quite  productive  for  a  time.  No.  IS  is  remarkably  deficient  in  potash  and  No.  94  in  lime.  No.  94  is 
also  greatly  deficient  in  organic  matter  and  in  retentiveness  for  moistuie,  but  the  latter  defect  is  partly  remedied' by 
the  subsoil,  which  is  a  rather  stiff  loam. 

Passing  mention  has  been  made  of  the  modifications  brought  about  by  the  greensand  and  other  marls  which 
form  a  part  of  the  underlying  strata  of  this  division.     The  more  important  soil-varieties  thus  produced  are  described 


44 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 


hereafter.  The  reaction  of  the  greensand  deposit  upon  the  loam  often  produces  a  soil  remarkable  for  its  deep-red 
color  and  for  its  fertility.  These  soils  occur  in  detached  bodies  in  the  brown-loam  uplands,  and  have  been  observed 
more  frequently  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  region,  though  occurring  probably  in  all  parts  of  it.  Near  Clayton,  in 
Barbour  county,  and  Greenville,  in  Butler,  are  characteristic  occurrences.  The  top  soil  is  usually  reddish-brown, 
and  the  deep-red  color  is  better  seen  in  the  subsoil.  The  vegetation  consists  of  Spanish,  white,  red,  black,  and  post 
oaks,  hickory,  short-leaf  pine,  sweet  gum,  sour  gum,  dogwood,  persimmon,  chestnut,  and  chincapin.  When  fresh, 
such  soils  will  produce  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  or  20  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre.  A  partial  analysis  of  a  red 
soil  from  near  Greenville  shows  some  07  per  cent,  of  insoluble  matter  in  the  top  soil,  which  is  quite  high  for  so  good 
a  soil,  but  the  loamy  character  of  the  subsoil  remedies  this  defect. 

In  the  western  counties  of  this  region  the  lignitic  clays  and  sands  are  interstratiffed  with  several  beds  of 
greensand  marl,  and  where  these  come  to  the  surface  prairie  spots  and  a  kind  of  lime-hills  are  produced,  which  are 
perhaps  best  seen  in  Wilcox,  Marengo,  northern  Clarke,  and  Choctaw  counties.  One  of  these  marl-beds  exposed 
in  the  river  bank  at  Nanafalia  landing  is  composed  chiefly  of  the  shells  of  a  small  species  of  Grypnea  (O.  Thirsie). 
This  bed  comes  to  the  surface  in  many  places  near  Luther's  store,  in  Marengo  county,  and  probably  also  in  parts 
of  Choctaw  county,  producing  very  characteristic  prairie  spots. 

Another  marl-bed  which  is  seen  on  the  Touibigbee  river  at  Wood's  bluff  and  on  the  Alabama  river  above  Lower 
Peach  Tree  gives  rise  to  a  beltof  lime-hills  extending  from  the  Alabama  river,  through  Wilcox,  Clarke,  and  Choctaw 
counties,  to  the  Mississippi.  The  best  display  of  these  hills  is  probably  seen  between  Choctaw  Corner  and  Lower 
Peach  Tree.  The  marl-bed  containing  greensand  is  there  at  least  100  feet  above  the  general  drainage,  and  has,  both 
above  and  below  it,  laminated  gray  clays,  in  the  lower  part  of  which  occur  oue  or  two  thin  seams  of  lignite.  The 
country  is  very  much  broken,  and  in  this  respect  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  the  lime-hills  region  of  southern 
Clarke,  etc. 

The  drift-beds  have  been  generally  removed,  and  the  soils  mostly  come  directly  from  the  disintegrated  clays 
and  the  associated  marls.  The  most  characteristic  soil  is  a  heavy  clayey  loam  of  a  yellowish-gray  color  with  a 
slightly  greenish  tinge.  Where  the  drift  loam  is  present  the  color  is  more  decidedly  red  and  the  soil  more  sandy; 
and  where  this  loam  is  absent,  and  the  marl  is  least  felt,  the  crumbling  clays  yield  a  heavy,  dark-colored  argillaceous 
soil.  The  vegetation  is  chiefly  beech,  which  grows  both  on  hills  and  in  the  bottoms.  With  it  are  associated  hickory, 
pig-nut,  white  and  Spanish  oaks,  sweet  gum,  ash,  poplar,  sourwood,  holly,  sour  gum,  cucumber  trees,  numerous 
spruce,  or  swamp  pines  (P.  glabra),  and  a  few  short-leaf  pines.  These  hills  are  very  generally  cleared  and  in 
cultivation,  which  is  proof  of  their  fertility.  Their  usually  steep  slopes  are,  however,  soon  denuded  of  soil,  and 
where  turned  out  they  are  rapidly  cut  up  by  deep  and  unsightly  washes. 

Westward  from  Wilcox  county,  so  far  as  my  observation  goes,  these  lime-hill  areas  are  more  sparingly  interspersed 
among  the  other  classes  of  soils  which  are  derived  from  the  drift.  The  lime-hills  of  northern  Monroe  are  no  doubt 
also  partly  of  this  character.     No  analyses  have  yet  been  made  of  the  calcareous  soils  of  this  particular  section. 

The  second  bottoms  of  this  section,  especially  those  of  the  larger  streams,  are  among  the  best  farming  lands  of 
the  state.  The  analyses  of  the  second-bottom  soils  from  Autauga  and  Tuscaloosa  counties  are  illustrations  in  point, 
although  they  have  been  presented  under  the  division  of  the  gravelly  pine  hills.  The  following  analysis  of  a 
hummock  soil  from  the  Alabama  river  is  presented  as  an  additional  illustration  of  the  character  of  the  second- 
bottom  soils  of  the  brown-loam  region  : 

No.  92.  Second-bottom  soil  of  the  Alabama  river,  in  Black's  bend,  5  miles  east  of  Lower  Peach  Tree,  Wilcox 
county.  Depth,  9  inches;  vegetation,  sweet  gum,  short-leaf  pine,  Spanish,  red,  and  white  oaks,  poplar,  haw,  and 
hackberry ;  color,  brown,  speckled  with  red. 

Second-bottom  soil  of  Alabama  river,  Wilcox  county. 


M 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Potasb 

Soda 

Limo 

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese  . 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina . . . 

Phospboric  acid 

Sulpburie  acid 

Water  and  organic  matter... 


Total  . 


Hygroscopic  moisture  . 
absorbed  at 


80.510 
3.209 


!  89.  779 

0.168 
0.074 
0.221 
0.055 
0.184 
1.783 
2.290 
0.200 
0.073 
4.510 


99.  337 


5.910 
22.2C.0 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  45 

A  comparison  of  this  analysis  with  those  of  the  second-bottom  soils  of  the  Alabama  and  Warrior  rivers, 
previously  alluded  to,  will  show  that  this,  while  somewhat  more  sandy,  is  still  a  good  soil.  The  proportion  of 
phosphoric  acid  is  large;  that  of  potash  adequate;  and  the  large  percentage  of  lime  renders  the  soil  thrifty  by 
patting  in  an  available  form  all  the  nutritive  ingredients. 

2.  Pine  uplands. — We  have  seen  that  the  lower  or  southern  half  of  the  oak  and  long-leaf  pine  uplands  is 
characterized  by  the  predominance  of  the  long-leaf  pine  among  its  timber  and  by  the  usually  broken  and  hilly 
nature  of  its  surface.  This  section  embraces  parts  of  Choctaw,  Washington,  Clarke,  Monroe,  Conecuh,  Butler, 
Covington,  Crenshaw",  Pike,  Coffee,  Barbour,  Dale,  and  Henry  counties,  and  has  an  area  of  about  3,990  square  miles. 
The  surface  characters  of  the  eastern  and  western  parts  of  this  section  are  quite  different.  In  the  counties  of 
Choctaw,  Clarke,  Monroe,  northern  Conecuh,  and  southern  Butler  the  siliceous  rocks  of  the  Lower  Tertiary  or 
Buhr-stoue  formation  lie  near  the  surface  and  give  rise  to  high  and  rugged  rocky  hills.  In  the  other  counties  above 
named  these  rocks  are  more  or  less  deeply  covered  with  the  more  recent  beds  of  sand  and  pebbles,  and  the  surface  is 
correspondingly  much  less  broken.  In  this  part  of  the  section  the  surface  is  generally  undulating,  but  sometimes  it 
is  hilly,  particularly  in  the  vicinity  of  the  water-courses.  In  such  positions,  and  sometimes  along  the  ridges,  the 
siliceous  rocks  above  spoken  of  appear  at  the  surface,  but  they  fail  generally  to  have  much  influence  upon  the 
topography. 

The  drainage  area  of  the  Chattahoochee  river  in  Alabama  seems  to  be  characterized  by  a  prevalence  of  sand 
among  the  surface  materials,  and  quite  extensive  areas  covered  with  deep  sand-beds  are  not  uncommon,  as,  for 
instance,  in  Dale  county,  around  Ozark,  and  between  that  town  and  Newton.  Throughout  the  entire  pine-uplands 
section,  within  25  or  30  miles  of  the  principal  streams,  pebbles  commonly  underlie  the  surface  loams,  and  the  size 
of  the  pebbles  and  the  thickness  of  the  beds  seem  to  increase  with  the  approach  to  the  stream.  Along  some  of  the 
rivers,  as  the  Chattahoochee,  the  pebble  beds  may  be  followed  nearly  to  the  Gulf. 

As  the  name  indicates,  the  long-leaf  pine  is  the  prevailing  tree  over  this  whole  section.  Upon  some  of  the 
poorer  ridges  this  forms  almost  the  only  timber,  but  with  it  are  usually  associated  black-jacks  and  high-ground 
willow  oaks,  the  latter  especially  where  the  soil  is  most  sandy.  From  this,  the  prevailing  timber  growth,  it  may  be 
inferred  that  the  soil  is  generally  a  rather  poor  sandy  loam,  with  subsoil  of  a  similar  nature. 

Along  the  northern  edge  of  this  belt  many  of  the  dividing  ridges  are  of  the  nature  of  table-lands,  supporting 
a  mixed  growth  of  the  long-leaf  pine,  with  post,  red,  black,  and  Spanish  oaks,  in  addition  to  the  black-jack.  The 
same  mixed  growth  is  frequently  seen  also  where  the  divides  break  off  toward  the  water-courses,  and  in  both 
cases  the  sandy  soil  is  underlaid  at  moderate  depths  by  a  red  clayey  loam.  Thus  the  line  between  the  oak  uplands 
and  the  pine  hills  is  a  shadowy  one,  and  each  of  these  divisions  sends  into  the  territory  of  the  other  spurs  often 
of  considerable  length.  Along  the  southern  edge  there  is  a  similar  blending  of  the  characters  of  the  pine  hills  with 
those  of  the  lime-hills  and  the  undulating  pine  lauds. 

Between  these  two  divisions  of  the  pine  lands  there  is  much  less  difference  in  the  soils  and  natural  productions 
than  in  the  surface  topography.  The  typical  sandy  loam,  both  of  this  and  the  undulating  pine  lands,  is  shown  in 
the  analysis  of  the  soil  from  near  Andalusia,  in  Covington  county.  On  the  other  hand,  the  better  class  of  upland 
soils  in  this  division  approach  in  composition  the  oak  upland  soils  of  the  preceding  division,  and  are  sufficiently 
well  represented  in  the  analysis  of  the  soil  from  near  Lawrenceville,  in  Henry  county  (brown-loam  uplands). 

In  the  division  of  the  lime-hills  there  are  tracts  which  have  all  the  characters  of  the  pine  hills,  lying  usually 
upon  the  higher  ridges,  as  has  been  fully  set  forth  under  that  head. 

North  of  the  prairie  belt  the  gravelly  pine  hills  have  great  resemblance  to  this  division  both  in  soils  and 
topography,  and  the  composition  of  the  numerous  soil-varieties  occurring  here  can  be  seen  by  referring  to  the 
analyses  given  under  that  division.  No  analyses  have  as  yet  been  made  of  any  of  the  soils  of  this  particular 
division,  but  the  references  given  will  illustrate  the  composition  of  all  its  principal  soil-varieties. 

The  soils  of  the  first  and  second  bottoms  are  light  and  sandy,  but  quite  productive,  and  form  the  greater  part 
of  the  cultivated  lands  in  this  division,  since  the  uplands  are  in  general  too  poor  for  profitable  cultivation.  Where 
the  red-loam  subsoil  is  near  the  surface,  and  the  various  species  of  upland  oaks  are  associated  with  the  long-leaf 
pine,  there  is,  as  before  stated,  a  great  improvement  in  the  soil,  and  the  land  is  generally  under  cultivation;  but 
these  areas  approach  in  character  the  oak  uplands,  and  are,  as  a  body,  found  in  the  upper  part  of  this  section  and 
on  the  divides. 

UPPEK  OR  CENTRAL  PRAIRIE  REGION. 

This  forms  a  belt  running  somewhat  diagonally  across  the  state,  having  a  width  of  some  thirty  miles  near  the 
Mississippi  line,  but  narrowing  down  toward  the  east,  and  almost  disappearing  in  Russell  county,  on  the  eastern 
border  of  the  state.  The  prairie  region  includes  parts  of  the  following  counties:  Pickens,  Sumter,  Greene,  Hals, 
Marengo,  Perry,  Dallas,  Autauga,  Lowndes,  Butler,  Montgomery,  Crenshaw,  Bullock,  Macon,  Russell,  and  Barbour, 
and  embraces  an  area  which  is  approximately  5,915  square  miles. 

General  description  and  subdivisions. — While  under  this  name  are  included  all  those  parts  of  central 
Alabama  where  the  prairies  occur,  only  a  part,  and  not  the  largest  part,  of  the  area  is  of  the  genuine  prairie 
character.  As  here  used,  the  term  "prairie"  does  not  always  mean  a  timberless  region,  but  refers  rather-  to  the 
character  of  the  soil,  the  most  important  varieties  of  which  are  described  further  on. 


46  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

The  Cretaceous  formation  upon  which  this  region  is  based  is  in  Alabama  made  up  of  three  parts.  The  Eutaw 
group  consists  of  clays  and  sauds,  which  are  for  the  most  part  so  deeply  covered  with  beds  of  stratified  drift  as 
to  have  little  or  no  influence  upon  the  soils  or  topography.  Overlying  this  group  is  a  great  thickness  of  an  impure 
argillaceous  limestone  interstratitied  with  clays,  called  the  rotten  limestone.  The  disintegration  of  these  beds 
gives  rise  to  the  true  prairie  soils.  The  uniformity  in  the  composition  of  the  rotten  limestone  has  its  inlluence  on 
the  topography  of  t.he  region,  which  is  a  low  trough,  with  gently  undulating  surface,  bounded  north  and  south  by 
hills  which  rise  two  or  three  hundred  feet  above  the  general  prairie  level.  The  mouotony  of  the  plain  is  relieved 
by  the  occurrence,  here  and  there,  of  ridges  and  conical  hills  capped  with  the  pebbles  and  sand  beds  of  the  drift, 
which  at  one  time  overspread  the  entire  region.  The  irregularities  of  surface  produced  by  the  wearing  away  of 
the  rotten  limestone  itself  are  comparatively  insignificant.  In  much  of  this  region  the  rocks  lie  very  near  the 
surface,  and  large  trees  are  wanting  entirely ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  many  fine  groves  of  oaks,  walnut, 
poplar,  etc. 

In  all  the  prairie  country  the  surface  water  is  strongly  impregnated  with  lime,  and  is  often  insufficient  in 
quantity.  For  a  supply  of  this  necessity  recourse  is  usually  had  to  artesian  wells  and  cisterns,  and,  for  farm 
purposes,  to  shallow  ponds.  Cisterns  are  dug  into  the  limestone  rock,  and  usually  no  brickwork  is  necessary. 
Wherever  the  drift  and  loam  overlie  the  rotten  limestone  upon  the  ridges  an  adequate  supply  of  pure  freestone 
water  is  always  to  be  had,  and  these  sandy  ridges  are  usually  ohosen  as  the  sites  for  dwelling-houses,  and  often 
for  towns  and  villages.  From  the  uniformity  of  level  the  waters  falling  upon  this  region  are  very  slowly  drained 
away,  and  much  of  it  soaks  into  the  ground,  converting  it  iuto  a  mud,  which,  when  worked  up  by  vehicles,  soon 
renders  the  roads  nearly  impassable. 

Next  above  the  rotten  limestone  lie  the  beds  of  the  Ripley  group,  consisting  of  hard,  sandy  limestone,  sometimes 
crystalline,  underlaid  by  strata  of  bluish  micaceous  marls.  In  contrast  to  the  preceding  division,  the  topography 
of  the  Ripley  group  is  varied,  the  surface  being  more  or  less  hilly,  and  while  the  beds  of  the  stratified  drift  nearly 
always  overlie  the  strata  of  this  group,  the  country  rocks  come  to  the  surface  in  many  localities,  giving  rise  to  very 
marked  agricultural  features.  The  depressions  are  mostly  filled  with  the  materials  of  the  drift,  mingled  more  or 
less  with  the  calcareous  matter  of  the  formation,  but  the  limestone  makes  its  appearance  at  the  surface  iw  numerous 
bald  prairie  spots,  which  are  usually  upon  the  tops  or  sides  of  the  hills.  The  alternations  of  hard  and  softer  strata 
make  the  hills  usually  rough  and  precipitous,  and  in  some  localities,  as  in  Little  Texas,  in  Lewndes  county,  the 
broken  character  of  the  country  is  extreme. 

A  belt  of  this  hill  prairie  country  usually  borders  the  black  prairie  region  on  the  south  for  most  of  the  way 
across  the  state,  at  least  from  Marengo  county  eastward.  In  some  places  the  bald  prairie  hill-tops  are  a  conspicuous 
feature,  as  in  Lowndes  and  Montgomery  counties,  but  more  commonly  the  limestone  upon  the  ridges  is  covered 
with  the  drift,  and  then  the  country  has  the  usual  characters  of  the  oak  and  pine  uplands.  Of  such  nature  is  the 
Chunuenugga  ridge,  which  has  its  counterpart  in  the  Pontotoc  ridge  of  northeastern  Mississippi.  These  occurrences 
will  be  more  particularly  described  under  the  several  counties. 

In  the  eastern  part  of  the  state  the  bluish  micaceous  marls  are  exposed  (by  removal  of  the  superficial  drift) 
along  the  drainage  slopes  of  certain  streams  which  flow  into  the  Chattahoechee  river,  and  there  is  then  produced 
a  third  class  of  lands,  which  characterize  the  low  grounds  of  the  Cowikce  and  Bear  creeks,  in  Barbour  and  Russell 
counties.  In  this  section  of  the  state  these  blue-marl  lauds  become  as  characteristic  as  the  black  prairie  lands  of 
the  west,  as  was  long  since  remarked  by  Professor  Tuomey.  In  topography,  the  blue-marl  lands  are  much  like  the 
oak  and  pine  uplands,  and  the  surface  soil  also  is  in  a  great  degree  composed  of  the  same  materials.  To  bring  into 
prominence  these  three  well-marked  agricultural  regions  I  have  proposed  the  following  division  of  the  central  prairie 
region  : 

The  black  prairie  or  cauebrake  region. 

The  hill  prairies  (Chunuenugga  ridge,  etc.). 

The  blue-marl  lauds. 

The  special  agricultural  characters  of  each  of  these  divisions  will  be  given  under  their  several  heads. 

THE   BLACK   BELT    OR   CANEBEAKE    REGION. 

This  division  of  the  prairie  region  is  underlaid  by  the  rotten  limestone  before  described,  and  in  its  topography 
and  soils  shows  considerable  uniformity.  From  the  great  thickness  of  the  rotten  limestone  this  division  is  much 
more  widely  spread  than  either  of  the  others,  occupying  about  4,365  square  miles.  It  is  found  in  all  the  counties 
above  included  in  the  prairie  region,  except  those  on  the  extreme  eastern  border  of  the  state — Barbour  and  Russell — 
where  it  is  replaced  by  the  blue-marl  lands.     The  general  character  of  the  topography  has  already  been  given. 

Throughout  the  cauebrake  or  black  belt  the  coating  of  drift  which  so  generally  overlies  all  the  country  rucks 
of  the  southern  division  has  been  more  or  less  completely  removed  by  denudation,  but  patches  of  it  are  left  in 
places,  chiefly  upon  the  ridges  and  along  the  slopes,  and  these  play  an  important  part  in  the  production  of  soil 
varieties. 

(1.)  Where  the  rotten  limestone  lies  at  the  surface  unmixed  with  the  drift,  it  yields,  on  disintegration,  a  gray 

or  greenish-gray  clayey,  calcareous  soil,  which  becomes  black  or  very  dark  colored  when  mixed  with  vegetable 
58 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


47 


matter.  The  subsoil  of  the  cultivated  lands  is  usually  of  a  lighter  color  thau  the  top  soil,  aud  passes  gradually  into 
the  Kme  reck  at  varying  depths.  A  distinction  is  often  made  between  the  uppermost  parts  of  this  rock  where  it 
has  been  exposed  to  weathering,  as  it  then  resembles  a  whitish  or  chalky  clay,  quite,  different  from  the  unchanged 
rock,  which  is  frequently  spoken  of  as  the  blue-marl  rock.  Where  the  depth  of  soil  is  sufficiently  great  it  supports 
a  varied  growth  of  trees,  among  whic'h  the  several  species  of  oaks,  ash,  gums,  walnut,  and  poplar  are  prominent. 

From  the  slight  elevations  the  soil  has  sometimes  been  washed  away,  and  bald  spots  are  left,  where  the  bare 
rock  often  partly  forms  the  surface  (bald  prairies).  Such  places  are  not  suitable  for  cotton,  but  produce  corn  and 
oats  very  well.  The  yield  of  seed-cotton  of  the  fresh  black  land  is  variously  estimated  between  800  and  1,800 
pounds,  the  average  of  the  estimates  being  about  1,200  pounds.  Perhaps  not  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  cultivated 
lands  of  this  particular  division  have  this  kind  of  soil,  which  has,  however,  on  account  of  its  great,  and  lasting 
fertility,  given  character  to  the  entire  region.  The  following  analyses  of  black  prairie  soils,  selected  from  the 
different  parts  of  the  state,  will  best  show  their  character : 

No.  30.  Blade  prairie  soil  from  8  miles  northeast  of  Livingston,  Sumter  county  (on  Jones'  Bluff  road), 
collected  by  Dr.  B.  D.  Webb.  Depth,  10  inches  ;  vegetation,  a  few  post,  red  and  black-jack  oaks,  cedar  and  prairie 
white  oaks ;  color,  black  or  very  dark  gray. 

No.  32.  Black  prairie  noil  from  the  edge  of  an  open  prairie  2  miles  north  of  Livingston,  Sumter  county,  collected 
by  Dr.  B.  D.  Webb.  Depth,  10  inches;  vegetation,  post,  red,  black-jack,  and  prairie  white  oaks,  cedar,  walnut, 
and  cane ;  color,  black. 

No.  16.  Black  prairie  soil  from  W.  M.  Stakeley's,  4  miles  east  of  Union  Springs,  Bullock  county.  Depth,  12 
inches;  vegetation,  post -and  red  oaks  aud  short-leaf  pine,  haw,  and  crab-apple;  color,  black,  with  yellowish  stiff 
clay  subsoil  resting  on  the  rotten  limestone ;  color  of  subsoil,  black,  passing  below  6  inches  into  yellowish,  waxy 
clay.  In  the  sloughs  and  drains  of  the  prairies  the  cream  of  the  soil  collects  from  time  to  time,  aud  there  is  formed 
a  soil  of  great  thickness  and  strength.     The  subjoined  analysis  will  show  the  character  of  such  deposits. 

No.  77.  Black  prairie  slough  soil,  8  miles  south  of  Montgomery,  Montgomery  county.  Depth,  8  inches ;  vegetation, 
chiefly  white  oak  and  hickory  ;  color,  black. 

Black  prairie  soils. 


BUMTEB  COUNTY. 

BULLOCK  COUNTY. 

MONTGOMERY 
COUNTY. 

8  miles  northeast 
of  Livingston. 

2  miles  north  of 
Livingston. 

4  miles  east  of 
Union  Springs. 

Prairie  slough. 

SoU. 

Soil. 

Soil. 

Soil. 

No.  30. 

No.  32. 

No.  16. 

No.  77. 

46.990  i       „,„ 
64.  010 
17. 920  > 

0.444 

0.077 

1.901 

0.603 

0.108 

6.944 

12.  418 

0.102 

81-745J84.0D1 
2.346) 

0.205 

0.0715 

0.  900 

0.061 

0. 182 

3.843 

0.108 

0.318 

57'831  \  08.  262 
10.431  5 

0.288 

0.027 

0.981 

0.802 

0.452 

7.855 

11. 488 

0.507 

0.030 

25'188!  48.  980 
23.  792  > 

0.441 

0.119 

8.078 

1.170 

0.173 

7.074 

15.  565 
0.201 
0.125 
5.728 

11.  589 

Lime 

11.  720 

4.075 

8.036 

99.  359 

100.141    . 

98.  728 

99.843 

2.830 

2.000 

2.460 
1.874 
0.837 
19.  992 
7C.° 

0.  0C0     ;                     0. 108 

1.  283                            0.  042 

14. 489 
17C.° 

All  the  above  are  good  soils  in  every  particular.  The  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  is  adequate  in  all,  and  very 
high  in  Nos.  10  and  32,  as  is  also  the  lime.  No.  32  is  deficient  in  organic  matter,  being  taken  from  the  edge  of  an 
open  prairie,  and  it  has  also  less  capacity  for  moisture. 

(2.)  While  the  drift  and  loam  have,  as  a  rule,  been  removed  from  the  rotten  limestone,  there  are  many  places 
where  they  still  remain,  and  where  they  have  protected  the  underlying  rocks  from  degradation,  thus  producing  the 
sandy  ridges  and  brown  loam  table-lauds  which  often  so  agreeably  relieve  the  monotouy  of  the  prairie  region.  These 
superficial  beds  give  rise  to  a  variety  of  soils,  which  upon  many  of  the  ridges  do  not  differ  from  the  loam  soils 
of  other  localities,  since  they  are  formed  of  the  same  materials. 


57 


48. 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 


Where  the  loam  is  mingled  with  the  prairie  soils,  as  is  the  case  along  the  slopes  of  the  sandy  ridgea  before 
mentioned,  and  where  they  occupy  the  slight  depressions  in  the  limestone,  yellow  or  mulatto  soils  are  formed,  upon 
which  the  post  oak  is  the  most  characteristic  tree,  for  which  reason  they  are  often  called  post-oak  prairies. 
With  this  tree  are  also  associated  the  short-leaf  pine  and  some  black-jack  and  other  oaks  and  hickories.  All  these 
trees  are  usually  draped  with  long  moss. 

The  post-oak  prairie  soils  are  mostly  rather  stiff  calcareous  loams  of  yellowish  to  reddish  colors,  having  a 
subsoil  of  red  or  yellow-clay  loam,  which  sometimes  becomes  more  sandy  with  increasing  depth,  but  which  often 
retains  much  the  same  character  down  to  the  unchanged  limestone  rock  (10  to  20  feet).  On  account  of  their 
position  these  lands  are  usually  well-drained,  and  with  good  seasons  are  of  easy  tillage.  As  cotton  lands  they  are 
perhaps  quite  as  desirable  as  the  black  lands  above  described.  The  subjoined  analysis  will  show  the  composition 
of  an  average  soil  of  this  kind. 

No.  17.  Post  oak  prairie  soil  from  Major  Wright's,  3  miles  from  Union  Springs,  Bullock  county.  Depth,  12 
inches;  vegetation,  post  oak,  draped  with  long  moss,  short-leaf  pine,  hickory,  black-jack  and  some  red  oaks;  color, 
4  to  5  inches  dark  gray,  then  a  sticky  red  clay,  and  below  that  a  yellowish  clay  with  "  lime  balls  ". 

Post-oak  prairie  soil,  Bullock  county. 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Potash 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Browu  oxide  of  maneaneBe 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulpli u lie  acid 

Water  and  organic  matter 

Total" 

Hnmus 

Available  inorganic 

Available  phoapboric  acid. 

Hygroscopic  moisture 

absorbed  at 


71 
11 

366 
881 

!  83.  347 

0.209 
0.016 
0.371 
0.290 
0.055 
6.983 
6.022 
0.251 
0.073 
2.888 

100.  505 

0.718 
2.426 
0.015 
8.  574 
16.6C.° 


From  what  has  been  said,  it  may  easily  be  inferred  that  there  are  all  grades  of  soils,  from  the  brown  loams  of 
the  hills  to  the  pure  black  prairie  soils,  and  that  the  post-oak  soils  represent  a  medium  between  the  two. 

A  comparison  of  the  post-oak  prairie  soil  with  those  of  the  black  prairies  shows  that  the  former,  as  a  rule,  has 
a  larger  percentage  of  siliceous  matter  and  less  of  lime  and  magnesia ;  differences  which  might  have  been  anticipated 
in  considering  the  modes  of  formation  of  the  two  classes.  The  analysis  above  shows  a  want  of  vegetable  matter 
and  a  lower  capacity  for  moisture  as  compared  with  the  black  soils ;  in  other  respects  it  is  a  fine  soil.  No.  32 
(page  47),  however,  approaches  in  composition  the  post-oak  soil  except  as  regards  lime. 

(3.)  The  bottom  soils  of  this  region  vary  between  very  wide  limits  from  the  stiff  black  prairie  slough  lands,  like 
No.  77  (page  47),  which  result  from  the  concentration  of  the  black  prairie  soil  to  light  and  rather  sandy  loams, 
and  have  usually  enough  lime  to  make  them  very  strong  and  lasting. 


HILL   PRAIRIES   AND   CHUNNENUGGA   RIDGE. 

A  belt  of  varying  width  of  lauds  of  this  character  is  usually  found  bordering  the  prairie  region  on  the  south,  and, 
as  the  hill  prairies  grade  on  the  one  hand  toward  the  black  prairies  and  on  the  other  into  the  brown-loam  uplands, 
it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  estimate  their  extent,  or,  indeed,  often  to  decide  what  shall  be  included  iu  this  division ; 
but,  restricting  ourselves  to  the  hilly  region  within  which  occur  lands  with  very  calcareous  soils,  its  area  may  be 
given  at  about  1,000  square  miles. 

The  hard  sandy  and  crystalline  limestones  to  which  the  hills  owe  their  existence  have  already  been  mentioned. 
These  alternate  with  beds  of  shaly  clays  of  a  yellowish  and  gray  color,  and  this  disposition  of  the  strata  gives 
rise  to  the  characteristic  topography  of  the  limy  prairie  hills.  The  softer  clays  are  easily  washed  away,  and 
the  limestone  breaks  off  with  perpendicular  faces.  The  surface  beds  ou  the  higher  levels  are  the  sands  and  loam 
of  the  drift,  and,  where  the  ridges  are  broad,  they  exhibit  the  usual  characters  of  the  brown-loam  uplands,  being 
timbered  with  the  trees  which  grow  iu  such  localities,  such  as  Spanish,  white,  post,  and  red  oaks,  hickory,  short-leaf 

piue,  sweet  and  sour  gums,  chestnut,  dogwood,  persimmon,  etc.     The  broad  ridges  of  this  kind  are  usually  water- 

53 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


49 


sheds  or  divides  for  long  distances.  The  creeks  flowing  northward  into  the  Tallapoosa  and  Alabama  rivers,  and 
southward  into  the  Pea,  Conecuh,  Patsaliga,  and  Sepulga,  are  divided  by  the  Churmenugga  ridge  and  its  prolongation 
westward  to  Lowndes  and  Butler  counties.  The  thickness  of  the  drift  and  loam  stratum  varies  with  the  locality, 
and  in  many  places  it  is  not  more  than  25  feet.  These  ridges  and  plateaus  break  off  toward  the  black  prairies  in 
a  series  of  rugged  hills,  along  the  slopes  of  which  the  limy  clays  are  encountered  soon  after  the  summits  are  left. 
These  hills  are  abrupt  knolls,  with  a  surface  of  a  yellowish  tenacious  clay  filled  with  white  concretions  of  lime. 

The  timber  consists  of  red,  post,  and  Spanish  oaks,  short-leaf  pine,  sweet  and  sour  gum,  poplar,  white  oak, 
hickory,  and  ash,  and  all  the  trees  are  usually  draped  with  long  moss.  In  many  places  the  hillsides  are  bare  of 
vegetation  and  deeply  gashed  with  gullies,  and  the  surface  in  such  bare  spots  is  often  strewn  with  fossil  shells. 
At  a  certain  stage  of  drying  these  clays  acquire  an  extraordinary  degree  of  tenacity,  and  so  clog  the  wheels  of  vehicles 
as  to  render  travel  almost  impossible.  Wherever  the  sands  and  loams  form  the  surface  the  roads  are  usually  very 
good. 

The  soils  of  this  region,  considered  from  the  point  of  view  of  their  origin,  are  of  three  types :  1.  Those  derived 
from  the  surface  beds  of  drift  and  loam.  2.  Those  based  upon  the  calcareous  rocks  of  the  country.  3.  Those 
resulting  from  the  intermixtures  of  the  two  preceding. 

The  soils  of  the  first  kind  exhibit  the  usual  variations,  depending  upon  the  quality  of  the  beds.  The  surface 
is  commonly  formed  of  a  loam  of  several  feet  in  thickness,  resting  upon  sandier  beds,  occasionally  mixed  with  pebbles. 
The  broader  parts  of  the  ridges  have  often  considerable  tracts  of  level  table-lands  with  the  usual  characteristic 
oak  upland  growth,  and  this  passes  into  the  other  extreme  of  the  pine  hills,  with  long  leaf  pine  and  black-jack,  with 
increasing  sandiuess  of  the  soil.  Between  these  two  are  many  intermediate  grades.  Taking  all  things  into 
consideration,  the  brown  and  yellowish  soils  are  perhaps  the  most  desirable  of  this  class,  and  in  their  chemical 
composition  they  do  not  differ  materially  from  the  similar  soils  of  the  loam  in  other  localities. 

A  well-defined  ridge,  which  acts  as  a  divide  between  waters  flowing  north  and  south,  may  be  followed  without 
interruption  from  Wilcox  county  along  the  line  between  Butler  and  Lowndes,  through  northern  Crenshaw,  southern 
Montgomery,  and  northern  Pike,  into  Bullock.  This  ridge  has  its' northern  face  overlooking  the  black  prairies, 
usually  rather  steep  and  abrupt,  while  southward  it  slopes  away  very  gradually,  merging  imperceptibly  into  the 
long-leaf  pine  and  oak  uplands.  In  Bullock  county  this  is  known  as  the  Chunnenugga  ridge.  Its  general  surface 
is  quite  sandy,  and  a  fair  estimate  of  the  sandy  varieties  of  the  ridge  soils  may  be  obtained  from  the  following 
analyses : 

No.  11.  Chunnenugga  ridge  soil,  1  mile  south  of  Union  Springs,  Bullock  county.  Depth,  0  inches ;  vegetation, 
chestnut,  short-leaf  pine,  red  oak,  and  sour  gum  ;  color  of  the  top  soil,  dark  gray,  changing  at  6  inches  to  a  lighter 
gray,  and  at  3  feet  to  a  yellowish  color. 

No.  12.  Chunnenugga  ridge  subsoil,  same  locality  as  preceding.     Depth,  6  to  20  inches ;  color,  light  gray. 

No.  13.  Upland  sandy-loam  soil,  2i  miles  south  of  Union  Springs,  Bullock  county.  Depth,  6  inches;  vegetation, 
Spanish  and  a  few  post  oaks,  short-leaf  pine,  and  huckleberry  bushes ;  color  of  top  soil,  gray,  with  a  subsoil  of  light 
yellowish-gray  color,  resting  on  a  reddish-yellow  loam. 

Sandy  soils  of  Chunnenugga  ridge,  Bullock  county. 


SOUTH  OF 
NEAR  UNION  BFBD.GS.                  |      „„„,  bpEKOS. 

Soil. 

Subsoil. 

Soil. 

No.  11. 

No.  12. 

No.  13. 

5  95.  256 
0. 486  I 

0.156 

0.069 

0.081 

0.069 

0.156 

96.  810  )  „  „ 

>  97.  870 
1.060* 

0.165 

0.107 

0.110 

0.035 

0.065 

93.  890  )  „.  „„„ 

!  95.  708 
1.  878  > 

0.209 

0.134 

0.076 

0.021 

0.065 

0.883 

1.260 

0.058 

0.083 

2.062 

0. 101 
0.057 
2.642 

0.113 
0.035 
0.550 

Total 

100.  026 

100.  407 

100.  619 

1.943 
18C.° 

0.822 

1.842 
19C.° 

59 


50  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

From  the  preceding  analyses  it  will  be  seen  that  soil  No.  11  does  not  change  very  materially  from  the  surface  to 
a  depth  of  2G  inches.  For  so  large  a  proportion  of  siliceous  and  insoluble  matter  they  all  show  a  fair  percentage  of 
potash  and  phosphates,  and  of  lime  also,  especially  the  subsoil  No.  12.  In  vegetable  matter  and  capacity  for 
moisture  the  two  soils  stand  very  well.  A  comparison  of  these  with  some  sandy  upland  soils  of  a  preceding  region 
will  show  great  similarity,  as  might  have  been  inferred  from  the  identity  in  their  origin.  All  these  soils  give 
probably  fair  returns  for  a  short  time,  but  they  cannot  hold  out  well. 

Of  the. second  class  above  mentioned,  in  which  the  soils  are  derived  immediately  from  the  country  recks,  there 
are  two  principal  varieties : 

(1.)  The  bald  prairie  hills,  in  which  the  calcareous  strata  approach  very  near  the  surface  and  the  soil  proper 
is  of  slight  depth.  This  soil  resembles  the  bald  prairies  of  the  preceding  division  to  some  extent,  but  the  couutry 
is  more  broken,  and  the  hillsides  are  often  badly  washed. 

(2.)  The  beeswax  hummocks  or  beeswax  flatwoods,  the  soil  of  which  is  a  greenish -yellow,  clayey  material, 
timbered  with  black-jack  oaks  or  with  pines,  forming  the  post-oak  beeswax  prairies  and  the  beeswax  pine  lands  of 
some  sections  (hog-wallow  uplands  of  Mississippi).  The  stiff  and  unmanageable  character  of  this  kind  of  soil 
stands  in  the  way  of  its  successful  cultivation. 

The  third  class  of  soils,  resulting  from  the  intermixtures  of  the  two  classes  just  mentioned,  exhibit  ail  the  grades 
between  the  brown  loams  of  the  uplands  and  the  stiff  beeswax  soils  above  described.  Upon  these  mixed  soils  the 
post  oak  is  a  characteristic  growth,  and  the  post-oak  lands  of  this  division  are,  in  general,  like  those  of  the  rotten 
limestone,  which  are  formed  in  a  similar  way. 

The  surface  loam  is  here,  as  elsewhere,  more  or  less  deeply  tinged  with  iron,  and  in  some  places  the  color 
becomes  a  dark-red,  and  both  soil  and  subsoil  are  filled  with  concretionary  pebbles  of  brown  iron  ore.  These  are 
known  in  Alabama  as  the  red  gravelly  lands,  and  are  similar  to  the  "Buncombes"  of  Pontotoc  ridge,  iu 
Mississippi.  In  both  states  they  are  distinctly  connected  with  calcareous  strata.  While  these  soils  are  fertile, 
they  are  not  so  desirable  as  other  varieties,  since  the  pebbles  dull  the  plow  and  the  lands  are  very  liable  to  injury 
from  washing.  As  yet  no  analyses  have  been  made  of  any  of  these  mixed  soils,  or  of  the  bald  hill-top  prairies  or 
beeswax  lauds,  so  that  we  can  speak  only  in  generalities  concerning  them. 

BLUE-MAEL   LANDS. 

These  lands,  which  are  underlaid  by  a  bluish  micaceous  marl,  are  for  the  most  part  covered  with  beds  of  sand, 
loam,  and  pebbles  of  a  later  age,  and  it  is  only  along  the  drainage  slopes  of  certain  streams  flowing  into  the 
Chattahoochee  river  that  the  marls  are  concerned  in  the  formation  of  the  soils.  The  area  over  which  their 
influence  is  felt  in  the  soil  is  a  limited  one,  and  even  within  this  area  there  are  many  varieties.  It  is  thus  somewhat 
difficult  to  fix  upon  an  estimate  of  the  area  here  included,  but  it  is  put  provisionally  at  550  square  miles. 

As  already  stated,  the  greater  part  of  the  territory  of  the  blue  marl  is  covered  with  later  deposits,  and  bears, 
therefore,  the  characters  of  the  brown-loam  uplands  and  of  the  pine,  hills,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  surface 
beds.  Along  the  Cowikee  and  Bear  creeks  and  their  tributaries,  however,  these  surface  beds  have  in  great 
measure  been  removed,  and  the  blue  marl  and  the  stratum  of  joint  clay,  with  which  it  is  interbedded,  are  exposed. 
These  materials,  mixed  with  the  loam  from  the  higher  levels,  together  form  the  well-known  Cowikee  lands. 
Throughout  the  region  the  comparatively  level  clayey  or  marly  lauds  alternate  with  ridges  capped  with  a  highly 
micaceous  sandy  loam.  The  ridges,  as  before  stated,  are  sandy,  and  are  timbered  with  post  and  black-jack  oaks 
and  long-leaf  pine;  but  where  the  soil  becomes  more  loamy  the  pines  diminish  iu  numbers,  and  the  other  species  of 
oaks  replace  partly  or  entirely  the  blackjack. 

On  each  side  of  the  Cowikee  and  Bear  creeks  the  lands  are  staffer,  from  an  admixture  of  the  clay  above  mentioned, 
and  more  productive,  because  of  the  presence  of  lime.  Ou  these  creeks  there  are  level  or  gently  undulating  tracts 
with  a  clayey  soil,  forming  a  kind  of  prairie,  in  which,  strange  to  see,  the  long-leaf  pine  is  a  prominent  tree, 
associated  with  hickory,  white  and  Spanish  eaks,  and,  in  the  lower  places,  with  sweet  and  sour  gums  and  maple, 
all  covered  with  long  moss.  In  many  places  the  stiff  clay  subsoil  is  filled  with  white  concretions  of  lime,  derived 
probably  from  the  marl.  In  some  of  these  localities  the  short-leaf  pine  replaces  the  long-leaf  species.  It  is  thought 
by  some  that  the  lands  ou  the  north  side  of  the  creeks  are  lighter  and  less  charged  with  lime  than  those  ou  the 
south  side,  and  there  is  a  corresponding  difference  in  the  growth  of  the  cotton,  which  on  the  north  side  is  smaller 
and  more  liable,  to  rust  after  a  few  years'  cultivation  of  the  soil.  In  the  so-called  Cowikee  lands  of  this  region 
there  are  patches  of  hog-wallow  clay,  a  stiff  intractable  substance. 

The  lowlands  in  this  region  are  inhabited  mostly  by  the  blacks,  by  whom  they  are  cultivated,  since  the  white 
people  sutler  from  malarial  fevers.     One  analysis  has  been  made  of  the  soils  of  this  region. 

No.  90.  Bottom  or  low-grounds  soil,  Cowikee  lands,  north  of  Clayton,  Barbour  county.  Depth,  8  inches; 
vegetation,  red,  white,  and  post  oaks,  hickory,  and  short-leaf  pine ;  color,  brown,  changing  into  light  yelloivish-gray 
subsoil. 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


51 


Low-grounds  soil,  Cowikee  lands,  Barbour  county. 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Potash 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese 

Perox  ido  of  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

"Water  and  organic  matter 

Total 

Hygroscopic  moisture 

absorbed  at 


73.  303 
11.  692 

!  84.  895 

0.245 

0.060 

0.280 

0.  351 

0. 113 

2.  660 

5.489 

0.113 

0.013 

4.708 

98.  933 

6.544 

5.6C.° 

As  has  been  said,  the  Cowikee  lands  are  considered  the  best  cotton  lands  in  the  section  in  which  they  occur. 
The  analysis  shows  a  fair  proportion  of  potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  with  a  large  percentage  of  lime,  by  which 
these  are  put  in  an  available  condition.  From  the  large  amount  of  siliceous  matter  this  soil  is  easily  tilled.  The 
statistical  map  shows  that  about  20  per  cent,  of  the  whole  area  formed  by  these  soils  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 


POST-OAK  FLATWOODS  REGION. 

This  region  occupies  a  narrow  belt  extending  from  the  Mississippi  line  through  the  lower  part  of  Sumter  and 
the  middle  of  Marengo  to  the  Alabama  river,  in  the  vicinity  of  Clifton,  in  "Wilcox  county,  and  embraces  an  area 
which  is  approximately  335  square  miles. 

The  flatwoods  or  post  oaks  have  an  average  width  of  perhaps  3  to  5  miles,  and  a  nearly  level  or  gently 
undulating  surface.  They  are  bordered  on  the  northern  edge  by  the  hilly  prairie  region  just  described,  aud  on  the 
southern  by  the  hills  of  brown  loam,  or  oak  and  pine  region.  The  hills  of  the  latter  rise  to  a  height  of  200  feet  above 
the  general  level  of  the  flatwoods.  These  hills  encroach  upon  the  flatwoods  in  some  places  and  recede  from  them 
in  others,  so  that  the  width  of  the  belt  is  quite  variable.  The  hills  are  capped  with  the  sand  and  other  beds  of  the 
drift,  but  the  laminated  clays,  which  form  the  substratum  of  the  flatwoods,  are  to  be  seen  at  the  bases  of  most  of 
them,  and  for  several  miles  the  hills  have  much  the  same  characters  as  the  flatwoods  themselves,  and  might  perhaps 
•with  propriety  be  included  iu  this  division. 

The  formation  upon  which  the  flatwoods  and  the  adjoining  hills  are  based  is  a  heavy  gray  laminated  clay 
belonging  to  the  lower  or  liguitic  division  of  the  Tertiary.  The  flatwoods  soil  proper  is  the  result  of  the  disintegration 
of  this  clay.  When  wet  by  the  rains,  this  clay  becomes  a  tenacious,,  grayish,  sticky  mass,  specked  with  red,  which  is 
in  texture  much  like  some  of  the  clay  of  the  prairie  hills,  but,  unlike  that,  is  rather  deficient  in  lime. 

The  prevailing  tree  throughout  the  flatwoods  is  the  post  oak,  of  long,  lank  habit,  but  the  short-leaf  pine,  and 
in  places  also  the  black-jack,  are  associated  with  it.  The  post-oak  soils  are  tolerably  well  suited  to  the  cotton- 
plant,  which  grows  upon  them  to  the  height  of  3  or  4  feet  and  yields  from  000  to  S00  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  the 
acre  when  the  land  is  fresh.  From  their  texture,  these  soils  are  generally  difficult  to  cultivate.  There  seems  to  be 
no  subsoil,  properly  speaking,  at  least  none  differing  essentially  from  the  soil,  which  continues,  without  material 
change,  to  a  depth  of  10  or  15  feet,  and  passes  gradually  into  the  dark-gray  laminated  clay  above  spoken  of. 
Two  analyses  of  the  flatwoods  soils  or  clays  and  one  of  a  subsoil  have  beeu  made. 

No.  25.  Post-oalc  flat  woods  soil,  i  miles  west  of  Livingston,  Sumter  county,  collected  by  Dr.  JK.  D.  Webb.  Depth, 
10  inches;  vegetation,  chiefly  postoak,  with  some  red  oak,  hickory,  aud  short-leaf  pine;  color,  gray,flecked  with  red. 

No.  26.  Subsoil  of  the  above.     Depth,  10  inches  to  4  feet;  color,  also  like  the  preceding. 

No.  98.  Post-oak  and  flatwoods  clay,  6  miles  south  of  Linden,  Marengo  county.  Depth,  10  inches;  vegetation, 
chiefly  post  oaks ;  color,  reddish-yellow,  spotted.  (il 


52 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

Flatwoods  soil*  and  subsoils. 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Potash 

Soda 

Litne 

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alomina 

Pbospboric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

Water  and  organic  matter 

Total 

Hygroscopic  moisture 

absorbed  at 


SUMTKlt  COUNTY. 


07.  020 
10.  050 


77.  070 

0.  295 
0. 125 
0.198 
0.610 
0.  115 
6.543 
10. 108 
0.  212 
0.  027 
5.031 


79.  6(12  ( 
6.  031  J 


100.  424 


I 


13.  040 
■  28C.° 


12.  841 
9C.° 


MARENGO  CO UKTT. 

Clay. 

No.  98. 

72.  740  1 

[81.072 
8.  020  > 

0.410 

0.112 

0.080 

0.091 

0.100 

12.  400 

2.473 

0.103 

0.061 

1.900 

100.  026 

13.941 

8C.o 

Of  the  three  analyses  above  given,  No.  98  is  perhaps  the  most  characteristic;  the  others  come  from  near  the 
vicinity  of  the  prairie  region,  and  hence,  especially  the  subsoil  No.  26,  have  rather  larger  percentages  of  lime.  The 
potash  and  phosphoric  acid  in  the  others  are  sufficient  in  quantity;  lime  is  inadequate,  but  the  large  percentage  of 
magnesia  shown  by  all  is  noteworthy.  The  same  may  be  noticed  in  the  Mississippi  flatwoods  soils,  and  it  seems  to  be 
characteristic.  They  are  all  deficient  in  vegetable  matter,  which  appears  to  be  a  capital  defect  in  all  the  flatwoods 
soils  analyzed.  The  addition  of  lime  and  the  plowing  under  of  green  crops  and  deep  cultivation  are  at  once 
suggested  as  a  means  of  improvement  of  these  soils,  thorough  drainage  being  first  of  all  necessary. 


THE  LIME-HILLS  OR  LOWER  PRAIRIE  REGION. 

This  agricultural  division  embraces  portions  of  Choctaw,  Washington,  Clarke,  Monroe,  Conecuh.  Covington, 
Crenshaw,  and  Geneva  counties,  and  occupies  a  belt  which  varies  greatly  in  width,  as  may  be  seen  by  referring  to 
the  map.  In  the  first-named  four  counties  these  prairie  spots  are  more  nearly  continuous;  in  the  others  they  appear 
only  in  detached  bodies,  often  far  apart.     The  area  is  put  at  1,250  square  miles. 

From  a  geological  point  of  view  this  subdivision  includes  that  part  of  the  state  in  which  the  calcareous  portions 
of  the  Tertiary  formation  (especially  the  upper  part  of  the  Claiborne  and  the  whole  of  the  Jackson  groups)  lie  at  or 
near  the  surface.  Over  much  of  this  territory  the  white  limestone  of  the  Yieksburg  group  is  a  conspicuous  rock, 
but  it  extends  also  southward  far  beyond  the'  limits  above  given,  without  producing  limy  or  prairie  soils,  (a) 
The  greater  part  of  this  area  has  the  characters  of  the  brown-loam  uplands  or  of  the  pine  hills,  and  it  is  only  in  the 
first  and  second  bottoms  and  on  the  summits  of  the  lower  hills  that  the  limy  soils  are  to  any  extent  encountered. 
The  prairie  or  limy  spots  are  interspersed  in  such  a  manner  among  the  brown  loam  and  sandy  pine  lands  that 
nothing  short  of  a  detailed  map  could  show  their  actual  occurrence.  The  tint  on  the  map  is  therefore  intended  to 
show  only  the  limits  between  which  this  kind  of  soil  occurs  at  all. 

Unlike  the  prairie  region  of  the  Cretaceous,  there  is  in  this  region  comparatively  little  level  land,  except  upon 
some  of  the  broader  table-lands  with  brown-loam  soils.  These  table-lands  break  oft'  toward  the  water-courses  in  a 
series  of  hills,  which  are  capped  with  pebbles  and  sand,  and  which  are  clothed  with  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine  and 
black-jack  oak.     Upon  the  table-lands  the  growth  is  long-  and  short-leaf  pine  and  the  usual  variety  of  upland  oaks. 

The  lower  hills,  as  before  stated,  have  here  and  there  the  peculiar  black  calcareous  soil  which  gives  the  name 
to  this  region,  and  this  soil  extends  usually  to  the  bottom  lauds  below,  where  it  is,  however,  mostly  tempered  with 
the  sandy  washings  from  the  uplands.  The  black  prairie  soils  are  generally  quite  fertile,  and  most  of  the  hillsides, 
usually  very  steep  where  it  occurs,  are  cleared  and  under  cultivation.  In  its  general  features  the  country  made  by 
these  rocks  is  very  similar  to  the  hill-prairie  region  of  the  Cretaceous. 

In  Choctaw  and  Washington  counties,  near  the  line  of  Mississippi,  the  lime-hills,  or  rather  the  prairie  lands, 
are,  characteristic  and  numerous,  occupying  occasionally  moderately  level  tracts  of  100  acres  or  more.  Toward  the 
east,  however,  they  diminish  in  frequency  and  continuous  extent,  and  are  seen  no  farther  east  than  the  lower  part 

a  In  the  sequel  the  term  "  white  limestone ''  is  usually  made  to  include  both  the  white  or  grayish  impure  limestone  of  the  Jackson 
group  and  the  commonly  purer  orbitoidal  limestone  of  the  Vicksburg  group.     This  use  of  the  term  is  fully  justified  by  the  practice  of  the 
country  where  these  rocks  occur. 
62 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


53 


of  Crenshaw  county,  except  a  small  tract  in  the  adjoining  lower  corners  of  Geneva  and  Henry;  but  long  before  this 
limit  is  reached  the  country  bears  almost  exclusively  the  characters  of  the  long-leaf  pine  hills,  the  limy  soils  being 
in  small,  detached  bodies. 

Soils. — The  rock  which  gives  rise  to  the  peculiar  soils  of  this  division  is  an  impure  argillaceous  limestone  or 
calcareous  clay  stone,  bearing  often  a  considerable  resemblance  to  the  rotten  limestone  of  the  Cretaceous  formation, 
as  may  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  subjoined  analysis. 

No.  137.  Impure  argillaceous  limestone  (Jackson),  overlying  the  shell  stratum  at  Claiborne,  Monroe  county. 

In  disintegrating  the  rock  it  yields  a  waxy,  gray  calcareous  clay  soil,  which  becomes  black  when  mixed  with 
vegetable  matter.  This  soil  is  stiff  and  difficult  to  cultivate,  but  is  very  productive,  and  is  quite  similar  to  some  of 
the  prairie  soils  of  the  upper  prairie  region. 

A  second  soil  variety  is  of  loose  texture  and  black  color,  often  full  of  small  rounded  fragments  of  the  limestone, 
some  of  which  are  very  soft  and  crumble  easily  between  the  fingers.  The  solid  limestone  is  usually  at  a  considerable 
depth  from  the  surface.  This  soil,  which  characterizes  the  shell  prairies,  is  one  of  the  best  of  this  division,  and 
rarely  fails  to  yield  excellent  crops,  either  of  corn  or  cotton,  and  when  fresh  will  produce  nearly  a  bale  of  the  latter 
to  the  acre.  Occasionally  loose  shells,  set  free  by  the  decay  of  the  rock,  abound  in  the  soil,  and  it  is  not  uncommon 
to  find  masses  of  these  shells  agglomerated  into  a  compact  and  hard  rock. 

A  specimen  of  this  variety  of  soil  from  Mr.  Eobert  A.  Long's,  Sec.  9,  T.  S,  B.  3  W.,  in  Washington  county,  was 
analyzed  with  the  following  result : 

No.  139.  Loose  Mack-shell  prairie  soil,  Washington  county.  Depth,  8  inches;  vegetation,  dogwood,  white  and 
black  oaks,  sweet  gum,  ash,  short-leaf  pine,  yellow  wood,  and  buckeye  bushes.  The  soil  is  loose,  black,  and  full  of 
soft  crumbling  fragments  of  limestone. 


Impure  argillaceous  limestone  and  loose  black  soil  of  the  lime-hills. 


MONROE  COUNTY. 

WASHINGTON 
COUNTY. 

Impure  argilla- 
ceous limestone. 

Loose  black  soil. 

No.  137. 

Ko.  139. 

28.  394  ) 

5  31.314 
2.  020  ) 

0.502 

0.077 

34.  952 
0.743 
0.156 
1.708 
1.159 
0.096 
0.290 

27. 471 
2.207 

21.  655  > 

! 23.  409 
1.704) 

0.  553 

0.192 

29. 195 

0.489 

0.113 

5.421 

5.155 

0.371 

0.402 

22. 177 

12.  845 

100. 765 

100.  382 

13.56 
20.  5  C.° 

A  comparison  of  the  above  with  the  specimen  of  limestone  will  show  that  this  soil  is  hardly  anything  more  than 
the  disintegrated  limestone  enriched  with  vegetable  matter.  The  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  are  much  above  the 
average,  and  the  great  fertility  of  this  class  of  soil  is  easily  understood.  The  large  proportion  of  sulphuric  acid 
suggests  the  presence  of  gypsum,  which  is  uot  uncommon  in  very  many  of  the  soils  and  clays  of  this  region. 

A  third  variety  of  soil  common  in  this  regiou  is  a  mixed  one,  resulting  from  the  reaction  of  the  limestone  upon 
the  red  loam,  which  in  places  overspreads  it.  This  is  a  stiff,  waxy,  reddish  or  chocolate-colored  clayey  material, 
difficult  of  cultivation,  but  fertile,  and  in  most  respects  similar  to  the  post-oak  prairie  soil  of  the  upper  prairie 
regiou,  which  it  resembles  not  only  in  its  mode  of  formation,  but  also  in  its  timber,  which  is  mostly  post  oak, 
associated  with  some  short-leaf  pine,  hickory,  sweet  gum,  and  dogwood,  all  draped  with  long  moss.  The  analyses 
given  (No.  91)  will  show  approximately  the  composition  of  the  red-mixed  soil. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  soils  throughout  this  region,  as  has  already  been  stated,  are  derived  from  the 
superficial  beds  of  drift  origin.     The  two  analyses  given  on  page  51  will  show  their  general  character. 

No.  90.  Upland  brown-loam  soil,  6  miles  north  of  Gosport,  Clarke  couuty.  Depth,  10  inches;  vegetation,  post, 
red,  and  Spanish  oaks,  short-  and  long-leaf  pine,  and  some  hickory;  color,  brown. 

No.  91.   Underclay  subsoil  of  No.  90.     Depth,  21  to  36  inches;  vegetation,  as  above;  color,  yellowish-red. 

03 


54 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 


The  washings  from  the  uplands  often  produce  a  lastingly  productive  soil,  and  this  variety  is  common  along  the 
creeks  of  Conecuh  county,  especially  Murder,  Bottle,  and  the  tributaries  of  the  former. 

No.  89.  Murder  creek  second-bottom  soil,  2  miles  west  of  Evergreen,  Conecuh  county.  Depth,  12  inches; 
vegetation,  sweet  gum,  magnolia,  white  and  water  oaks,  short-leaf  and  spruce  pines;  color,  brownish-red. 

Brown-loam  soils  and  undercluy  of  lime-hills  region. 


CLARKE  COUNTY. 

CONECUH 
COUNTY. 

Upland  brown- 
loam  Boil. 

Underclay  sub- 
soil. 

MunliT  creek 

scconl-btittom 

soil. 

No.  00. 

No.  91. 

No.  89. 

87-  '53  1  „„  „ 
J  00.  840 
3.  087  S 

0. 1-10 

0.010 

0.090 

0.000 

0.050 

1.090 

3.307 

0.120 

0.010 

3.080 

7L65;  }  77.  014 

60.  870  I  „ 

5  01.402 

0.048 
0.320 
0.091 
0. 133 
7.  408 
8.000 
0.295 
0.080 
5.187 

0.010 
0.094 
0.018 
0.078 
2.385 
3.355 
0.122 
0.005 
2.480 

Total 

99.  808 

100. 138 

100. 155 

2.895 
23C.° 

14.  380 
22C.° 

2.653 
24C.° 

Nos.  90  and  89  are  light  loam  soils  of  very  fair  quality,  quite  similar  to  each  other,  and  are  not  materially 
different  from  the  soils  of  the  pine  lands  and  oak  and  pine  uplands,  which  may  be  consulted  in  this  connection.  No. 
91,  however,  come-s  from  a  hillside  below  the  level  at  which  90  was  taken,  where  the  sandy  surface  loam  had  been 
removed  by  washing  rains,  and  in  it  we  see  the  material  which  forms  the  soil  of  the  lime-hills.  Under  cultivation 
this  would  become  a  black-prairie  soil  of  great  fertility.  "While  it  is  not  strictly  a  soil  (having  been  taken  from  a 
wash  several  feet  below  the  surface),  the  analysis  gives  us  a  fair  idea  of  the  character  of  the  soils  which  give  name 
to  this  region  and  of  the  material  to  which  the  deeper  roots  of  cotton  must  often  penetrate  from  the  sandy  surface. 


THE  LONG-LEAF  PINE  REGION. 

In  the  region  of  the  oak  and  pine  uplands  the  sandy  ridges  are  usually  timbered  with  long-leaf  pine,  while  the 
fiat  table-lands  and  some  of  the  slopos  and  the  second  bottoms  have  the  characteristic  oak  and  hickory  growth,  with 
which  some  short-leaf  pine  and  occasionally  long-leaf  pine  are  associated.  As  we  go  southward  in  this  region  »f 
mixed  growth  the  long-leaf  pine  becomes  more  prevalent,  and  is  found  both  on  the  tablelands  and  in  the  low  grounds, 
at  first  associated  with  the  upland  oaks,  but  farther  south  occupying  the  ground  almost  entirely  in  company  with 
the  black-jack,  high-ground  willow,  and  turkey  oaks,  and  other  trees,  which  are  at  home  only  upon  the  sandiest 
soils.  At  the  same  time  the  shrubby  undergrowth  gradually  disappears  almost  entirely,  and  we  are  thus  ushered 
into  the  open  pine  woods.  Similarly  with  the  topography,  the  hills  of  the  preceding  section  gradually  diminish  in 
height  and  abruptness,  and  the  country  becomes  undulating  or  rolling  rather  than  hilly,  and  southward  sinks  away 
into  the  flat  lands  of  the  coast.  The  whole  area  of  the  long  leaf  pine  region,  as  thus  limited,  is  about  7,790  square 
miles.  The  counties  included  are  named  below  under  the  three  subdivisions,  which  are  in  great  measure  based  upon 
topographical  characters.     These  subdivisions  are: 

The  long-leaf  pine  hills. 

The  open,  rolling  pine  woods,  with  lime-sinks. 

The  pine  flats. 

LONG-LEAF  PINE   HILLS. 

In  southeastern  Mississippi  the  pine  hills,  which  characterize  the  lower  part  of  that  state,  flatten  out  eastward 

toward  the.  Alabama  line,  thus  forming  a  transition  into  our  open,  rolling  pine  woods.     That  part  of  Washington 

county  to  which  the  deep-green  color  of  the  pine  hills  has  been  given  on  the  map  does  not  differ  essentially  from 

that  part  which  is  designated  as  open  pine  woods,  except  in  being  more  broken,  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  give  a 

separate  account  of  its  agricultural  features,  which  are  the  same  as  those  of  the  next  succeeding  division.     The 

area  of  this  pine  hills  or  transition  region,  which  is  altogether  in  Washington  county,  is  about  100  square  miles. 
64 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


55 


ROLLING   AND    OPEN    PINE-WOODS   AKD    LIME-SINK   REGION. 

This  region  includes  parts  of  the  following  counties:  Washington,  Mobile,  Baldwin,  Clarke,  Momoe,  Conecuh, 
Escambia,  Covington,  Coffee,  Geneva,  Dale,  and  Henry,  and  embraces  an  area  of  ti/uO  square  miles. 

The  territory  here  included  is  underlaid  throughout  by  the  white  or  orbitoides  limestone  of  the  Upper  Eocene 
or  Vicksburg  age.  The  limestone,  however,  is  in  great  measure  covered  with  the  sands  and  loams  of  a  later  period. 
Where  this  rock  lies  above  the  drainage  level  (which  is  more  particularly  the  case  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the 
state,  where  the  influence  of  the  elevation  of  the  Florida  peninsula  is  felt)  it  is  pitted  with  caverns  and  traversed 
by  underground  passages.  The  falling-iu  of  the  roofs  of  such  caverns  causes  sinks  or  depressions,  which  are 
sometimes  filled  with  water,  forming  lakes  and  ponds,  and  the  subterranean  waters,  flowing  through  the -channels 
above  mentioned,  emerge  as  big  springs.  In  the  southwestern  part  of  the  state  the.  limestone  sinks  gradually  away 
below  the  drainage  level,  and  its  influence  on  the  topography  is  comparatively  slight. 

The  prevailing  surface  material  throughout  the  whole  region,  being  sandy  and  more  or  less  loose  and  porous, 
quickly  absorbs  the  waters  falling  upon  it,  and  the  formation  of  deep  gullies  has  thus  been  prevented,  the  face 
of  the  country  being  in  general  slightly  rolling,  with  no  great  differences  in  elevation.  In  some  places,  especially 
within  the  drainage  areas  of  the  Chattahoochee  and  Alabama  rivers  and  in  the  northern  parts  of  this  region, 
the  admixture  of  red-clay  loam  with  the  sands  brings  about  modifications  both  of  the  topography  and  of  the  soils, 
because  of  the  varying  degrees  of  resistance  to  denudation  and  the  varying  qualities  of  the  admixtures  of  the 
two  materials. 

.Upon  the  uplands  throughout  this  region  the  prevailing  growth  is  the  long-leaf  pine,  associated  with  little  or 
no  undergrowth,  but  with  black-jack,  turkey,  and  high-ground  willow  oaks,  and  some  hickories.  Upon  the  sterile 
sandy  ridges  the  growth  is  stunted,  and  scrubby  oaks  of  several  species  are  associated  with  the  scrubby  pines. 
The  headwaters  of  the  streams  are  found  usually  in  slight  depressions  and  swampy  tracts,  with  a  growth  of 
magnolia,  bay,  gum,  juniper,  short-leaf  pine,  water  oak,  etc.  The  opeu  swamps  in  the  region  have  the  richest  and 
most  varied  herbaceous  flora,  some  characteristic  species  of  which  have  been  given  on  page  57  in  the  floral  list 
prepared  by  Dr.  Charles  Mohr. 

The  absence  of  all  underbrush  in  many  of  the  pine  forests  enables  one  to  see  for  great  distances  between  the 
straight  trunks  of  the  pines,  and  over  the  rolling  land  thus  unobstructed  by  undergrowth  a  wagon  may  be  driven 
in  any  direction  without  following  any  beaten  track.  The  piues  shade  the  ground  comparatively  little,  and  a  great 
variety  of  grasses  and  leguminous  plants  flourish  and  give  sustenance  to  herds  of  cattle  and  sheep.  This  region 
cannot  be  called  a  good  farming  country,  though  tolerably  fair  crops  are  raised  in  the  more  favored  localities,  such 
as  low  grounds.  The  raising  of  cattle  gives  support  to  many  of  the  inhabitants,  and  the  pines  to  many  more, 
both  in  the  lumber  and  the  turpentine  which  they  yield. 

The  prevailing  soil  of  this  region,  as  has  already  been  said,  is  sandy,  and  of  a  gray  or  ash  color.  In  the  better 
spots  the  color  is  a  dark  gray.  This  is  the  soil  of  the  better  class  of  pine  lauds,  and  its  composition  may  be  seen 
from  the  subjoined  analysis.     With  some  assistance  from  fertilizers  very  fair  crops  of  cotton  and  corn  are  produced. 

No.  88.  Upland  pine-woods  soil,  13  miles  east  of  Andalusia,  Covington  county.  Depth,  10  inches ;  vegetation, 
long-leaf  pine,  post,  Spanish,  black-jack,  and  high-ground  willow  oaks,  with  occasional  small  hickories;  color, 
brownish-gray. 

Upland  pine-woods  soil,  Covington  county. 


Insolublo  matter 

Soluble  silica  

Potash 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

Water  and  organic  matter. . 

Total 

Hygroscopic  moisture 

absorbed  at 


90.  815 
1.575 

\ 92.  390 

0.170 

0.03S 

0.085 

0.032 

0.112 

1.143 

3.018 

0.111 

0.067 

2.772 

99.  936 

This,  considering  the  large  proportion  of  insoluble  matter,  is  a  fairly  good  soil,  though  it  is  deficient  in  lime 
and  magnesia.     It  resembles  in  composition  many  of  the  soils  of  Florida. 

In  places,  especially  along  the  drainage  slopes  of  the  Alabama  and  Chattahoochee  rivers,  the  red  loam  occurs 
as  substratum  to  the  soils  and  subsoils,  and  frequently,  by  denudation,  comes  to  form  the  surface.  In  this  way 
5  o  p — VOL.  II  13 


56  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

quite  a  variety  of  soils  is  produced,  but  they  do  not  differ  from  similar  soils  of  tUe  brown-loam  uplands,  which  result 
from  the  same  admixtures.  Occasionally  the  underlying  limestone  in  its  disintegration  is  mingled  with  the  surface 
loam,  and  there  results  then  a  red  limy  soil  of  great  fertility,  similar  to  that  of  the  red-lime  lands  of  Jackson  county, 
Florida.  The  best  known  tract  of  this  kind  of  soil  occurs  along  the  Chipola  river  in  Florida,  and  its  northern 
extremity  reaches  up  into  the  eastern  part  of  Geneva  and  adjoining  part  of  Henry  county,  Alabama.  Of  a 
similar  nature  are  the  red  limy  soils  of  the  lowlands  of  Murder  and  Bottle  creeks,  in  Conecuh  county,  which  have 
been  spoken  of  before  in  connection  with  the  lime-hills  region,  to  which  they  are  contiguous. 

The  bottom  lands  of  this  region  have,  as  a  rule,  light  sandy  but  productive  soils,  which  vary  in  finality  with 
those  of  the  uplands  adjoining.  The  usual  growth  in  the  bottom  lands  consists  of  magnolia,  bay,  ti-ti,  sweet-leaf, 
juniper,  star  anise,  laurel,  sweet  shrub,  etc. 

THE    PINE    FLATS. 

Toward  the  Gulf  coast  the  rolling  pine  lands  sink  away  into  low  pine  barrens,  in  which  the  tree-growth  consists 
of  the  long-leaf  pine  and  the  so-called  Cuban  pine,  and  with  these  a  smaller  growth  of  several  species  of  ilex,  etc. 
The  low,  wet  margins  of  ponds  support  a  varied  and  beautiful  herbaceous  growth,  consisting  of  Sarraccnias, 
droseras,  Catesby's  lily,  and  a  number  of  others  mentioned  in  the  list  of  plants.  The  soil  here  is  sandy  and  sour, 
little  suited  to  cultivation,  and  cotton  is  not  planted.  The  settlements  are  mostly  confined  to  the  vicinity  of  the 
streams. 

The  coast  plain  and  the  islands  off  the  coast  have  generally  a  soil  of  drifting  sands,  destitute  of  timber,  but 
supporting  a  few  characteristic  shrubs  and  lesser  plants.  The  pine  flats  are  limited  to  the  lower  parts  of  Mobile 
and  Baldwin  counties  as  a  body,  but  low  pine  barrens  of  very  similar  nature  are  seen  further  inland.  The  area  is 
put  at  1,120  square  miles. 

ALLUVIAL  REGION. 

This  includes  the  alluvial  region  of  Mobile  river  and  the_  saline  marshes  of  the  coast,  and  embraces  parts  of 
Washington,  Mobile,  and  Baldwin  counties,  comprising  an  area  of  some  130  square  miles. 

ALLUVIUM    OP   MOBILE    EITEK. 

Below  the  junction  of  the  Alabama  and  Tombigbee  rivers  the  waters  of  these  streams  reach  the  bay  of  Mobile 
by  several  channels,  the  principal  of  which  is  the  Mobile  river,  but  the  Tensas  and  Middle  rivers  and  others 
diverge  from  the  main  stream,  and  form  a  kind  of  delta  region,  low,  flat,  and  subject  to  overflow,  generally 
covered  with  a  growth  of  cypress.  Near  the  bay  this  swamp  assumes  the  character  rather  of  a  marsh,  in  which 
the  courses  of  the  streams  are  often  nearly  indistinguishable.  These  swamps  are  uncultivated,  and  have  in  the 
drier  spots,  besides  the  cypress,  tupelo  gum  and  several  species  of  poplar,  elms,  palmetto,  etc. 

SALTNE   MARSHES   OF   THE   COAST. 

These  are  only  found  in  the  counties  of  Mobile  and  Baldwin.  They  are  without  timber,  but  have  a  herbaceous 
growth  chiefly  of  rushes  and  sedges,  which  is  characteristic.  These  plants  are  enumerated  in  the  list  referred  to. 
The  muck  of  decayed  vegetable  matter  from  the  marshes  may  often  be  applied  with  profit  to  the  sandy  soils  which 
adjoin  them,  and  the  marshes  themselves  in  other  states  have  sometimes  been  reclaimed  for  cultivation.  The  area 
of  sea-marsh  in  Alabama,  on  account  of  comparatively  limited  extent  of  coast,  is  necessarily  small,  and  few,  if  any, 
attempts  have  been  made  toward  reclamation. 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  57 


LIST  OF  TREES  AND  PLANTS  CHARACTERISTIC  OF  EACH  REGION  OF  THE  STATE. 

The  following  is  a  list,  with  botanical  and  common  names,  of  some  of  the  most  important  and  characteristic 
trees  and  lesser  plants  of  the  various  agricultural  regions  of  the  state,  prepared  by  Dr.  Charles  Mohr,  of  Mobile : 
I.  Lower  pine  region,  or  coast  pine  belt,  including — 

a.  The  maritime  plain,  with  saline  marshes  and  flats,  and  dunes  of  drifting  sands  on  the  islands  near  the  coast 
and  on  the  sea-shore :  Shrubs  and  trees — Quercus  virens  (live  oak),  var.  maritima,  and  Q.  Phellos  (willow  oak),  var. 
arenaria,  Quercus  virens  being  the  typical  form  on  the  inlets  and  bayous  with  higher  banks  and  a  more  retentive  soil; 
Vitis  incisa,  Baccharis  haUmifoMa,  Lycium  Oarolinianum,  Yucca  aloifoUa.  Herbs — Chenopodium  Boscianum, 
Ghenopodina  maritima,  Salsola  Kali,  Sesuvium  portulacastrum,  Batatas  maritima,  Ipomosa  Pes-Gaprcc,  Cyperus  Le 
Contei,  Uniola paniculata,  Panicum  repens.  In  the  saline  or  brackish  marshes:  Baccharis  halimifolia,  Myrica  cerifera 
(candleberry),  Fimbristylis  spadicea,  var.  eastanea;  Juncus  Eosmerianus,  Trigloehin  triandrum,  Scirpus  maritimus 
(rush),  8.  pungens,  Brizopyrum  spicatum,  Statice  Garoliniana,  Gerardia  maritima,  Borrichia  fruteseens,  Ipomcea 
sagittifolia,  Batis  maritima,  Salicornia  ambigua  (samphire^,  Galcile  wqualis. 

b.  Open,  grassy  river  swamps  and  wooded  alluvial  bottoms,  more  or  less  inundated:  Open  river  swamps — 
Zizania  aquatica  (wild  rice),  Scirpus  lacustris  (round  rush),  Phragmites  communis  (reed),  Panicum  virgatum. 
Sedges — Ehynchospora,  several  species  ;  Ckidium,  Garex  riparia,  Cyperus  stenolepis,  0.  Michauxianus,  C.  articulaius, 
G.  haspan,  G.  virens,  several  species  of  Sagittaria  (arrowhead),  Cicuta  maeulata  (water  hemlock),  Cacalia  lanceokita, 
Gerardia  purpurea,  var.  fasciculata;  Aster  flexuosus,  A.  divaricatus,  Solidago  sempervirens  (golden  rod),  8.  lanceokita. 
Hibiscus  Moscheutos,  Kosteletzltya  Yirginica,  Lythrum  lineare.  Shrubs — Persea  Garoliniana,  var.  palustris  (red  bay); 
Myrica  cerifera,  Salix  nigra,  Baccharis  halimifolia.  Trees  (forest  swamps) — Taxodium  distichum,  the  variety  yielding 
the  red  cypress  lumber;  JYyssa  uniflora,  or  tupelo  gum;  Populus  heterophylla,  P.  monilifera  (cottonwood),  Fruxinus 
viridis  (ash),  F.  platycarpa,  Persea  palustris,  Carya  aquatica  (hickory),  Quercus  aqualica  (water  oak),  Ulmus  alata 
(wahoo),  V.  Americana  (elm),  Catalpa  bignoniokles,  Sabal  Adansonii  (dwarf  palmetto),  Ilex  opaca  (holly),  I.  decidna. 

c.  Low  flat  pine  Iwrrens,  or  pine  meadows:  Einus  Gubensis  (P.  Flliottii,  pine  pitch),  P.  australis  (long-leaf 
pine),  Ilex  glabra  (gallberry),  I.  Cassine  (yaupon),  Sarracenia  (pitcher-plants)  of  several  species,  Brosera  jiliformis,  I>. 
brevifolia  (sundews),  Bichromena  leucocephala  (white  star-grass),  Friocaulon,  several  species  (pipeworts),  Lachnanlhes 
tinctoria,  Aletris  aurea  and  A.  farinosa,  Sabbatia  gracilis  and  jS'.  gentianoides  (American  centaury),  Tofieldia  pubens,. 
Lilium  Catesbwi,  Zygadenus  glaberrimus,  Ehynchospora  in  numerous  species,  largely  prevailing  with  Scleria  oligantha,. 
8.  Elliottii,  and  8.  Michauxii ;  Aristida  spicata,  Ctenium  Americanum,  Paspalum  rocemulosum  and  P.  purpurascens, 
Panicum  verrucosum,  P.  microcarpon,  and  P.  ignoratum  ;  Andropogon  tener,  A.  Virginiciis,  A.  macrourus,  and  A.  scoparkis 
(broom-sedge);  Erianthus  alopecuroides,  Gratiola  pilosa,  Pinguicula  lutea,  Chaptalia  tomentosa,  Bartonia  vernar 
Leptopoda  Jimbriata  and  L.  brevifolia,  Heliantlms  hetcrophyllus,  Bigelovia  nudata,  Erigeron  vermtm,  several  species  of 
Eupatorium,  Aster  dumosus,  Liatris  odoratissima  (vanilla  plant),  L.  graminifolia,  and  L.  spicata;  CarphepJwrus 
Pseudo-Liatris,  several  species  of  Ludivigia,  Polygala  ramosa,  P.  cymosa,  P.  cruciata,  P.  Chapmanii,  and  P.  Sodkerii; 
Linum  rigidum,  Hibiscus  aculeatus,  Hypericum  cistifolium,  H.  myrtifolium,  and  M.  fasciculatum. 

d.  The  evergreen  glades  of  the  hummock  lands  and  wooded  bottoms,  more  or  less  sphagnous,  with  the  open 
swamp  bordering  upon  them :  Trees  and  shrubs — Magnolia  grandiflora  (bull  bay),  M.  glauca  (bay),  Persea  Garoliniana 
and  Its  variety  palustris,  Nyssa  Caroliniana,  Cliftonia  ligustrina  (the  ti-ti),  Olea  Americana,  Symplocos  tinctoria 
(sweet-leaf),  Calycanthus  kcvigatus  (sweet  shrub),  Myrica  inodora,  Cupressus  thyoides,  or  juniper,  Pinus  Elliottii, 
P.  Tcsda  (loblolly  pine),  Quercus  aquatica  (water  oak),  Oxydendrum  arboreum,  or  sourwood,  Zanthoxylum  Glava- 
Herculis  (prickly  ash),  lllicium  Fhridanum  (star  anise),  Ilex  coriacea,  I.  Gassine  (yaupon),  I.  ambigua,  I.  Bahoon, 
Rhus  venenata  (poison  elder),  Yaccinium  virgatum  and  Y.  myrsinites  (huckleberries),  Halesia  diptera  (snow-drop  tree),, 
Gyrilla  racemiflora,  Bumelia  lanuginosa.  In  the  open  swamps :  Sarracenia  rubra,  S.flava,  S.  Brummondii,  S.  Psittacina 
(pitcher-plants),  Sabbatia  miicrophylla,  Asclepias  paupercula  (marsh  milkweed),  Tiedemannia  teretifoliu,  Lophiola 
aurea,  Calopogon  pulchellns,  Pogonid  (several  species),  Xyris,  and  most  of  the  plants  mentioned  above  as  inhabiting 
the  bogs  of  the  pine  meadows ;  Ehynchospora  (several  species),  Paspalum  prcecox,  Panicum  gibbum,  Gurtisii,  virgatum, 
and  P.  proliferum,  Bottboellia  rugosa.  As  taking  possession  of  the  waste  lands,  or  the  cultivated  soils,  the  following 
are  to  be  mentioned :  Cyperus  rotundus  (nut-grass),  C.  repens,  C.  Baldwinii,  Panicum  sanguimale,  or  crab-grass, 
Cynodon  Bactylon  (Bermuda  grass),  several  troublesome  bind-weeds,  such  as  Ipomosa  commutata  and  J.  lacunosa 
(morning-glory),  Sesbania  macrocarpa  and  vesicaria. 

e.  The  rolling  pine  lands,  covered  with  forests  of  Pinus  australis,  and  almost  devoid  of  undergrowth :  Quercus 
cinerea  (narrow-leaf  black-jack  or  high-ground  willow  oak),  Q.  nigra  (broad-leaf  black-jack,  or  simply  black-jack), 
Q.  Catesbwi  (forked-leaf  black-jack,  turkey  o.-ik),  Carya  tomentosa  (mockernut  hickory),  Ceratiola  ericoides,  Sabal 
serrulata  (saw  palmetto),  Asimina  pareiflc-a  (dwarf  papaw),  Yucca  Jilamentosa  (bear-grass),  several  species  of 
Ehynchospora  preferring  a  sandy,  dry  soil,  such  as  E.  Qrayii,  B.  compressa,  etc.  Of  grasses :  Banthoniasericea,  Aristida 
lanata,  SporoboUtsjuhceua,Eatoniafiliformis,  Paspalum  racemulosum ,  P.Floridanum,Panicumrufum,P.depauperutum, 
and  P.  dichotomum,  in  varieties;  Andropogon  Elliottii  and  A.  scoparkis  (broom-sedge),  Sorghum  nutans,  Brcwcria 

C7 


58  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

humistrata,  Rhynchosia  tomentosa  in  all  its  varieties,  R.  galactioides,  Lupinus  diffusus  and  L.  rillosus,  Oalactia 
sessiflora,  Rhexia glabella  (deer-tongue),  Chrysobalanus  obUmgifolius,  Apivm  divaricatum,  Tetragonotheca  helianthoidcs, 
Vernoniaangustifolia(iTon-'wee&),  tier icocarpus tort ifolius,Liatr is elegans, L. squar rosa (rattlesnakes' master),  Helianthus 
radula,  Coreopsis  senifolia,  Aster  adnatus  and  A.  patens,  Gaillardia  lanceolata,  Eupatorium  aromaticum,  Asclepias 
Miehauxii  and  A.  amplexicaulis  (milkweeds),  Sabbatia  brachiata  (centaury),  Gerardia  Plulcenetii,  67.  Shinneriana, 
Rnellia  ciliosa,  Kalmia  hirsute!,  Buchnera  elongata. 

Among  the  weeds  of  the  fields  and  gardens  are  prominent  Richardsonia  scabra,  or  Mexican  or  Florida  clover, 
crab-grass,  Cassia  nictitans,  Polypremum  procumbens,  Ambrosia  artemisiafolia  (hog weed),  and Erigeron  Philadelphicum 
(rag-weed). 

II.  Region  of  mixed  tree  growth,  or  upper  pine  region,  including — 

it.  The  lowland,  with  its  heavily-wooded  river  valleys  and  creek  bottoms.  Predominating  trees :  Pinus  australis, 
P.  glabra  (spruce  pine),  P.  Tccda,  Cupressus  thyoid.es  (white  cedar),  Quercus  Miehauxii,  Nutt.  (swamp  chestnut-oak, 
Q.  Primus  bicolor  of  Michx.),  Q.  lyrata  (overcup  oak),  Q.  alba  (white  oak),  Q.  falcata  (Spanish  oak),  Q.  rubra  (red 
oak),  Q.  aquatica  (water  oak),  Carya  alba  (shell-bark  hickory),  C.  tomentosa  (mockernut),  C.  aquatica  (water  bitter- 
nut),  C.  porcina  (pig-nut),  Celtis  Mississippiensis  (hackberry),  Planera  aquatica,  Platanus  occidentals  (sycamore), 
Ulmus  Americana  and  U.  alata,  Persea  Caroliniana,  Fraxinus  Americana  (white  ash),  Acer  rubrum  (red  or  swamp 
maple),  Negundo  aceroides  (ash-leaf  inaple),  Primus  Americana  (red  plum),  Tilia  Americana  (basswood,  linden), 
Liquidambar  styraciflua  (sweet  gum),  Gleditschia  triacanthus  (honey-locust),  Ilex  opaea  (holly),  Magnolia  grandiflora, 
M.  acuminata,  M.  macrophyUa  (large-leaf  bay),  M.  Fraseri  (umbrella  trees,  cucumber  trees),  Bumelia  lyeioides, 
Rhamnus  Caroliniana  (buckthorn),  Crataegus  spathulata,  C.  apiifolia,  and  C.  aestivalis  (haws),  Illicium  Floridanum 
(star  anise),  and  Catalpa  biguonioides. 

b.  Uplands  and  so-called  wooded  prairies  or  post-oak  flatwoods:  Quercus  tinctoria  (black  oak),  (/.  obtusiloba 
(post  oak),  Q.  nigra  (black-jack),  Q.  falcata  (Spanish  oak),  Q.  rubra  (red  oak),  Carya  tomentosa,  C.  amara  (bitteruut), 
C. porcina,  Ostrya  Virginiea  (hop  hornbeam),  Castanea  pumila  (chincapin),  Mscutus parviflora  (buckeye),  Thalictrum 
anemenoides,  var.  debile,  HepaMca  triloba  (liver-leaf),  Ranunculus  abortivus,  Zanthorhiza  apiifolia  (yellow  root), 
Calycocarpum  Lyonii,  Viola  pedata,  var.  bicolor,  Hypericum  galioides  (in  swamps),  Stelluria  pubera,  Silene  Virginiea, 
iSida  Elliottii,  Eabenaria  tridentata.  Geranium  macutatum,  Hydrangea  arboreseens,  H.  quercifolia  (seven  bark), 
Philadelphia!  grandiflorus,  StoTcesia  cyanea,  Caliirrhoe  Papaver,  Calamintha  Caroliniana,  Onosmodium  Virijinianum 
and  0.  Carolinianuni,  Phaeeliapusilla,  Phlox  pa  niculata.Sabbattia  chloroidcs,  Acerates  paniculata,  Aristolochia  tomentosa 
(tobacco-pipe),  and  Gonolobus  hirsutus.  Many  of  the  grasses  which  are  common  in  the  region  below  occur  also  here: 
Uniola  latifolia,  Bromits  ciliatus,  Arrhenatherum  arenaecum,  Poaflexuosa.  As  weeds,  besides  those  above  mentioned, 
the  following  are  common:  Xanthium  strumariunt  (cocklebur),  Bidens  bipinnata  (Spanish  needles),  Polygonum, 
several  species  (smarfcweed),  all  growing  iu  low  rich  spots;  Amarantus  chlorostachys,  .1.  hybridus,  ami  .1.  spinosw 
(careless  weeds),  Portulaca  oleracea  (purslane),  Lepidium  Virginicum  (pepper  cress),  Spccularia  pcrfoliata,  several 
species  of  Cerastium  and  Stetlaria  (chickweeds),  Marnta  Cotula  (dog  fennel),  Helenium  augustifolium  (bitter-weed), 
and  several  species  of  Rubus  (blackberry  or  bramble). 

III.  The  Cretaceous  plain,  with  the  so-called  bald  and  wooded  prairies  of  the  black  belt. 

The  growth  is  mostly  the  same  as  that  of  the  division  adjoining  it  below.  Quercus  Pheilos  is  here  found  more 
frequently  and  in  its  best  development. 

This  region  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  interior  long-leaf  pine  regiou  of  the  central  drift,  belt.  Many  of 
the  trees  and  shrubs,  such  as  Illicium  Floridanum  and  Magnolia  grandiflora,  occur  here,  finding  their  northern  limit. 
The  flora  of  the  prairies  is  similar  to  that  of  the  grassy  plains  of  the  northwestern  states  east  of  the  Mississippi, 
with  coarse  Silphiuni,  or  rosin-  weed  (8.  laciniatum  and  S.  la'cigatum),  Rudbechia  triloba,  late  Helianthi  (sunflowers),  such 
as  H.  atrorubens,  H.  mollis,  H.  tomentosus,  with  others;  Lepaehis  pinnaia,  Petalostemon  candidum,  and  P.  carneum; 
Schrarikia  uncinnata,  Desmanthus  brachylobus,  in  swamps;  Brunnichia  cirrhosa,  Hibiscus  incanus,  Cacalia  ovata,  in 
copses  and  wooded  banks;  Pycnanthemum  linifolium,  Penslemon  digitalis.  Of  shrubs,  Primus  umbellata.  Among 
the  grasses  Paspalum  distichum  and  the  crab-grass  (Panicum  sanguinale)  are  troublesome  weeds  in  the  cotton-fields 
of  the  black  lands;  also  the  various  species  of  Cassia — occidentalis,  obtusifolia,  and  Marilandica. 

TV. — The  Mountain  region  of  northern  Alabama  to  the  valley  of  the  Tennessee  river,  including  the  oak  forests  of 
the  metamorphic  region.     In  these  Quercus  rubra,  Q.  tinctoria,  and  Q.  falcata  greatly  predominate. 

On  the  high  lauds  or  extensive  table-lands  of  the  Carboniferous  sandstone  the  following  trees  are  found:  Pinus 
australis  (in  patches),  P.  mitis  (short-leaf  pine),  P.  Tccda  (loblolly  pine),  P.  inops  (here  called  mountain  pine), 
Quercus  coccinea  (scarlet  oak),  Q.  Prinus  (the  mountain  or  tan-bark  oak),  Q.  Muhlenbergii,  Q.  nigra,  Q.  rubra,  Q. 
obtusiloba,  with  Castanea  vesca,  var.  Americana  (the  chestnut),  more  or  less  stunted  hickories  and  poplars,  and  the 
very  common  Oxydendrum  arboreurn.  Azalea  nudiflora  in  several  forms,  Magnolia  acuminata  and  M.  cordata,  the 
butternut  (Juglans  cinerea),  Magnolia  umbrella,  and  M.  macrophyUa  take  to  the  richer  slopes  and  valleys,  along  with 
Tilia  heterophylia  and  T.  Americana  (the  basswoods  or  lindens),  Ulmus  fulra  (slippery  elm),  poplar  (Liriodendroii), 
black  walnut  (Juglans  nigra),  and  Ilex  mollis. 

•Herbs  and  shrubs:  Delphinium  azureum  and  D.  uncinnatum,  Sanguinaria  Canadensis  (blood-root),  Dentaria 
(several  species),  Thalictrum  dioicum,  T.  clavatum,  Viola  blanda,  V.  canina,  var.  sylrestris,  V.  pubescens,  Hypericum 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  59 

aureum,  Armaria  patula,  Silene  regia,  Polygala  Boylcinii,  Rosa  lucida  (wild  rose),  Pyrus  eoronaria  (crab-apple), 
Calyeantlnis  floridus  (sweet  shrub),  Neviusia  Alabamensis,  Croton  Alabamensis,  Sedum  Nevii,  S.  pulchellum,  Heuchcra 
Americana  (alum-root),  Saxifraga  Virginiensis,  Tiarella  cordifolia,  Hydrangea  radiata,  Sericocarpus  conizoides,  Aster 
Shortii,  Solidago  Curtisii  and  8.  amplexieaulis,  Silphium  compositum,  Parthenium  integrifolium,  EudbecMa  mollis, 
Phacelia  bipinnaUJida,  Phlox  divaricata,  Silene  rotundifolia,  and  Campanula  divaricata. 

Upon  the  limestone  belts  of  the  valleys  and  the  slopes  bordering  on  them  are  found  groves  of  red  cedar 
(Juniperus  Yirginiana),  and  on  deep  rich  soils  large  poplars  (Liriodendron),  black  walnut,  ash,  and  white  oaks. 
In  the  basin  of  the  Tennessee  river  are  found,  of  forest  trees,  all  those  of  a  more  northern  range  mentioned  before, 
together  with  shrubs  or  small  trees  like  the  ^SSsculus  glabra  and  flava,  Fraxinus  quadrangulata,  Rims  cotinoides,  and 
Forestiera  acuminata.    Black  walnut,  poplars,  white  hickory,  and  white  ash  are  most  frequent. 


60 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 


REMARKS  ON  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

[The  weight  of  the  hale,  as  used  in  this  report  ami  in  the  tables,  is  470  pounds,  aud  in  nil  the  diseussions  and  comparisons  the  proportion  of  lint  or  fiber  to  Beed- 
cotton  is  assumed  to  ho  as  1  to  3.] 

In  total  production  in  the  United  States  Alabama  stands  No.  4,  being  below  Mississippi,  Georgia,  and  Texas; 
and  in  product  per  square  mile  Alabama  also  occupies  the  fourth  place,  producing  13.6  bales  to  the  square  mile, 
below  Mississippi  with  20.5  bales,  South  Carolina  with  17,  and  Georgia  with  13.S. 

Some  of  the  most  prominent  facts  connected  with  the  production  of  cotton  in  Alabama  are  set  forth  in  the 
results  of  the  enumeration  presented  in  tabular  form  below.  From  these  tables  certain  inferences  may  be  drawn 
which  are  of  interest,  as  showing  where  the  cotton  is  produced,  by  whom,  and  what  effect  the  continuous  cultivation 
of  cotton  has  upon  the  fertility  of  the  soil. 

Table  III.— SHOWING  POPULATION  AND  COTTON  PEODUCTION  IN  EACH  AGRICULTURAL  REGION  OF  THE  STATE. 


Agricultural  regions. 


Total. 


Metamorphic  1  egion 4 

Coosa  valley  region 

Coal  Measures  region 

Tennessee  valley  region 

Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  short-leaf  pino 

Gravelly  hills,  with  long-leaf  pino 

Central  prairie  region 

Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine. 
Long-leaf  pine  region 


51,540 


4.460 
3,930 
5.070 
5,760 
3,060 
3,990 
9,220 
9,470 
6,  5S0 


POPULATION. 


1,262,505 


002,  165 


129,  705 
109, 155 

85,  938 
168,  502 

53. 120 

75,847 
376,  061 
186,  633 

77,494 


85,  072 

78, 178 

i1  77,032 

1,107,157 

]|  36,813 

1 1  42,  898 

i    87,877 

99,  371 

47,787 


(100,3211 


44,  633 
30,  977 
8,  950 
01,345 
16,  307 
32,  949 
288, 184 
87, 262 
29,  707 


COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


Average  per  acre. 


2,330,080  099,654     0.30 


236,  745 
131,  505 

62,  863 
JliO,  801 

87, 490 

122,  587 

1,014,600 

399.  357 


a  o 
.9  c~ 

*-  io 

IS 


71,  285 
52,  099 
21,  692 
84,  447 
28,806 
37,  229 
278,  508 
120.  739 


14,  006       4,  249 


0.30 
0.40 

O.  35 

0.  32 
0.33 
0.30  | 
0.27  | 
0.30  ' 
0.30  I 


16,  930 
12,  510 

5,152 
20,  050 

0,841 

8,842 
00, 140 
28,  070 

1,009 


°3 

So 


33,860 
25,  032 
10,  304 
40,112 
1.1,  082 
17,  084 
132.392 
57,  352 
2,  018  I 


10 
13 

4 
15 

9 

0 
30 
13 

1 


Table  IV.— SHOWING  "BANNER"  COUNTIES  AS  REGARDS  TOTAL  PRODUCTION  AND  PRODUCT  PER  ACRE  IN 

VARIOUS  AGRICULTURAL  REGIONS  OF  THE  STATE. 


THE 


Regions  accordingto  productperncre. 


Coosa  valley  region 

Coal  Measures  region 

Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  short- 
loaf  pine. 

Teuuessee  valley  region 

Gravelly  hills,  with  long-leaf  pine 


S  ££ 


COUNTY  IN  BACH  REGION  HAVING  HIGHEBT  TOTAL  PRODUCTION. 


COUNTY  IN  EACH   REGION  tlAVINO   lUCHRST  PRODUCT 
PER  ACRE. 


Oak  and   hickory  uplands,  with  long- 
leaf  pino. 

Long-leaf  pine  region 

Metamorphic  region 

Central  prairie  region 


0.401  Talladega... 
0.345  Marshall.... 
0.329     Pickens 


BO. 


a  gp 

o  * 


"  a 


32,841         11,832 
16,412  5,358 

52,  651  '       17,  283 


0.324  Madison.*... 
0.304  !  Tuscaloosa. 
0.302  I  Wilcox 


0.302  !  Washington 


0.301 
0.274 


Chambers. 
Dallas 


72,  838 
33,773 

77,  070 


20,  079 
11,137 
26,  745 

1,240 
19,  470 


0.300 
0.326 
0.328 

0.284 
0.330 
0.347 

0.380 
0.275 


4 

59  ! 
11 


gw3 

Cherokee  .. . 

28 

De  Kalb... 

56 

Fayette 

52 

Limestone  .. 

16 

Tnscaloosa.. 

25 

Wilcox 

4 

62 

115,631         33,534       0.290 


24,  388 
7,469 
12,  831 

44,334 
33,  773 

77,  076 

1,384 
9,156 
08,  200 


II         lit 
H-S        U,  *  <= 


10.777       0.442 
2,  859  ;     0.  38J 


o  ©■■- 


2  »  - 
3-~ 


4,268 

0.316 

15,  724 

•0.  355 

11,137 

0.330 

26,  745 

0.347 

638 

0.461 

3,600 

0.393 

29,  356 

0.299 

7 
19 

14 
24 
18 


*  Colbert  has  the  same  product  per  acre  as  LimeBtone. 

Banner  counties  of  the  state.— As  regards  total  production— Dallas,  3.3,534  bales;  as  regards  product 
per  acre  (omitting  those  whose  product  is  less  than  100  bales)— Baldwin,  0.461  bale;  as  regards  percentage  of  tilled 
land  in  cotton — Russell,  61  per  cent.;  as  regards  cotton  acreage  per  square  mile — Montgomery,  152  acres;  as 
regards  bales  per  square  mile — Montgomery,  43  bales. 


Jj E PAR TMEMT    OF   THE    INTERIOR 


TENTH    CENSUS    OF   THE    UNITE!    STATES 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION.  61 

Areas  of  greatest  production. — A  statistical  map  accompanies  this  report  which  shows  in  each  region 
the  percentage  of  the  total  area  planted  in  cotton ;  and  since  the  differences  in  product  per  acre  in  the  several 
agricultural  regions  are  comparatively  slight,  this  map  shows  also  approximately  the  percentage  of  the  whole  crop 
produced  in  each  region. 

Upon  examination  of  this  map,  or  of  the  statistical  tables  given  on  page  60,  we  see  that  the,  central  prairie 
region  produces  40  per  cent,  of  the  entire  cotton  crop  of  the  state,  the  oak,  hickory,  and  long-leaf  pine  region  17  per 
cent.,  the  Tennessee  valley  12  per  cent.,  the  metamorphic  10  per  cent.,  the  Coosa  valley  8  per  cent.,  the  gravelly 
hills  5  per  cent.,  the  short-leaf  pine  uplands  4  per  cent.,  the  Coal-measures  region  3  per  cent.,  and  the  long-leaf  pine 
region  less  than  1  per  cent.  But  these  relations  will  be  much  more  clearly  shown  if  we  take  into  consideration  also 
the  relative  areas  of  these  regions  and  rate  them  according  to  the  number  of  bales  to  the  square  mile.  The  several 
regions  will  then  rank  as  follows: 

Bales  to  the 
square  mile. 

1.  Central  prairie  region 30 

2.  Metamorphic  region - -- 16 

3.  Tennessee  valley  region 15 

4.  Coosa  valley  region 13 

5.  Oak,  hickory,  and  long-leaf  pine  region i 13 

6.  Oak,  hickory,  and  short-leaf  pine  region 9 

7.  Gravelly  hills ..: - 9 

8.  Coal  Measures 4 

9.  Long-leaf  pine  region 1 

By  this  arrangement  we  are  able  to  recognize  three  well-defined  areas  of  large  production  in  the  state.  These 
are :  1,  the  central  cotton  belt ;  2,  the  Tennessee  valley ;  3,  the  Coosa  valley.  The  first  of  these  areas  produces 
at  least  60  per  cent,  of  the  cotton  crop;  the  second,  12  per  cent.;  the  third,  8  per  cent.;  while  the  remaining  20  per 
cent,  is  produced  by  the  rest  of  the  state. 

The  nucleus  of  the  central  cotton  belt  is  composed  of  the  12  counties  of  the  prairie  region,  together  with 
Chambers  and  Lee  counties  and  the  southern  portion  of  Tallapoosa  county,  of  the  metamorphic  region.  On  each 
sido»of  this  nucleus  there  is  a  margin  consisting  of  the  adjacent  portions  of  the  counties  of  the  short-leaf  pine 
uplands  and  gravelly  hills  on  the  north,  and  of  the  oak,  hickory,  and  long-leaf  pine  uplands  on  the  south,  in  which 
the  cotton  production  assumes  nearly7  as  great  proportions  as  in  the  prairie  belt  itself.  In  this  way  are  included  the 
southern  parts  of  Pickens,  Tuscaloosa,  Autauga,  and  Elmore  counties,  and  the  northern  parts  of  Wilcox,  Butler, 
Crenshaw,  Pike,  and  Henry  counties. 

The  width  of  this  central  cotton  belt  across  the  state  is  not  much  less  than  75  miles,  and  the  cotton  production 
throughout  the  area  thus  defined  is  20  bales  and  upward  to  the  square  mile. 

Of  the  counties  which  form  the  nucleus  of  the  central  cotton  belt  Dallas  has  the  largest  total  production, 
because  of  its  greater  area ;  but  if  we  take  into  account  the  differences  of  area,  Montgomery  occupies  the  first 
place,  producing  43  bales  to  the  square  mile.  After  Montgomery  come  Lowndes  with  40  bales,  Dallas  and  Bullock 
with  34  each,  Chambers  with  32,  and  so  on  down  the  list,  ending  with  Tallapoosa,  which  has  17  bales  to  the  square 
mile.  It  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  tables  that  some  of  the  marginal  counties  of  this  central  belt  show  a  yield 
for  the  whole  eounty  of  20  bales  and  upward  to  the  square  mile,  which  would,  of  course,  bring  up  the  yield  of  the 
portion  of  the  county  actually  embraced  in  the  central  region. 

The  second  well-marked  area  of  large  production  is  found  in  the  Tennessee  valley,  with  its  greatest  intensity 
along  the  immediate  valley  of  the  river,  and  the  relative  importance  of  the  several  counties  here  included  in  the 
production  of  cotton  may  be  approximately  measured  by  the  relative  proportion  of  the  red  or  valley  lands  in  the 
area  of  each.  Applying  the  test  of  area  devoted  to  cotton,  we  find  that  the  counties  rank  as  follows :  Madison, 
Limestone,  Lawrence,  Lauderdale,  Colbert,  Jackson,  Morgan,  and  Franklin;  but  in  eliminating  the  disturbing 
influence  of  difference  in  area,  and  taking  account  also  of  the  product  per  acre,  their  rank  as  regards  the  number 
of  bales  to  the  square  mile  becomes:  Limestone,  Madison,  Lawrence,  Colbert,  Lauderdale,  Morgan,  Jackson,  and 
Franklin.     Of  these  counties  only  the  first  two  produce  over  20  bales  to  the  square  mile. 

The  third  large  cotton-producing  area  is  the  Coosa  valley.  In  actual  production  to  the  square  mile  this  falls 
behind  the  other  two  regions,  being  13  bales,  while  that  of  the  Tennessee  valley  is  15,  and  that  of  the  central  cotten 
belt  20  bales  and  upward,  pioth  in  total  production  and  in  cotton  acreage,  and  especially  in  the  number  of  bales 
to  the  acre,  the  counties  of  this  region  fall  behind  those  of  the  two  preceding.  Talladega  county  stands  first,  with 
17  bales  to  the  square  mile;  then  come  Calhoun,  Cherokee,  Etowah,  Saint  Clair,  and  lastly  Shelby,  with  9  bales. 

We  have  thus  seen  where  the  great  proportion  of  the  cotton  crop  of  Alabama,  80  per  cent.,  is  produced.  As 
regards  Jhe  rest  of  the  state  not  much  more  need  be  said,  except  concerning  the  Coal  Measures  and  the  long-leaf 
pine  regions,  which  show  a  production  of  4  bales  and  1  bale  respectively  to  the  square  mile.  With  regard  to  the 
former  region,  it  is  to  be  remarked  that  the  greater  part  of  the  cotton  is  produced  in  the  valleys  which  traverse  it, 
and  not  upon  the  soils  of  the  true  Coal  Measures.  Winston  and  Cullman  may  be  taken  as  fair  representatives  of 
this  region. 

Population  and  cotton  production. — Taking  the  state  as  a  whole,  the  cotton  production  of  Alabama  is 
0.55  bale  to  the  inhabitant,  or  little  more  than  a  bale  for  every  two  inhabitants.     This  proportion  varies  in  the 

71 


62  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

different  agricultural  regions.  In  the  Tennessee  valley  and  the  gravelly  pine  bills  tbe  proportion  is  exactly  a  bale 
to  two  inhabitants;  in  tbe  short-leaf  pine  uplands  the  proportion  is  a  little  more  than  a  bale  to  two  inhabitants, 
and  in  the  Coosa  valley  it  is  slightly  less.  In  the  central  prairie  region  tbe  proportion  is  a  bale  and  a  half,  and 
in  tbe  oak,  hickory,  and  long-leaf  pine  uplands  a  bale  and  a  quarter  to  every  two  inhabitants.  In  tbe  last-named 
region,  however,  there  are  parts  of  some  of  the  counties  immediately  adjoining  tbe  prairie  region  in  which  the  same 
proportion  probably  obtains  as  in  the  prairie  region  itself.  The  same  is  true  of  the  counties  of  Chambers  and  Lee  ; 
so  that  for  the  great  central  cotton  belt  the  proportion  is  about  three-fourths  of  a  bale  to  the  inhabitant. 

Following  out  these  relations  a  step  further,  we  find  that  over  55  per  cent,  of  the  colored  population  of  the 
entire  state  is  to  be  found  in  the  central  cotton  belt,  where  about  60  per  cent,  of  the  cotton  is  produced.  Something 
over  10  per  cent,  of  the  blacks  are  found  in  the  second  cotton  area,  the  Tennessee  valley,  and  about  5  per  cent,  in 
the  Coosa  valley.  This  accounts  for  more  than  70  per  cent,  of  the  colored  population,  which  is  thus  concentrated 
in  the  three  large  cotton-producing  areas  of  the  state,  where  about  SO  per  cent,  of  the  cotton  crop  is  produced. 

The.  distribution  of  the  whites  in  the  same  regions  is  as  follows:  In  the  central  cotton  belt,  about  18  per  ecu!  ; 
in  the  Tennessee  valley,  about  10  per  cent. ;  and  in  the  Coosa  valley,  about  12  per  cent. ;  thus  accounting  for  about 
40  per  cent,  of  the  white,  population,  as  inhabiting  the  three  large  cotton -producing  areas,  against  70  per  cent,  of 
the  blacks  in  the  same  areas.  The  other  regions'of  the  state  which  produce  the  remaining  20  per  cent,  of  the  cotton 
support  54  per  ceut.  of  the  white,  population,  but  less  than  30  per  cent,  of  the  blacks.  Since  the  proportion  of  the 
white  to  the  black  population  in  the  whole  state  is  about  1.1  to  1,  or  not  far  from  equal,  it  seems  to  follow  that  the 
greater  part  of  the  cotton  crop  of  Alabama  is  produced  by  the  negroes. 

Product  per  acre  and  its  relation  to  population. — In  product  per  acre  Alabama  stands  No.  13  of 
the  fourteen  principal  cotton-producing  states  of  the  Union.  Other  things  being  equal,  the  product  or  yield  per 
acre  may  be  taken  as  an  index  to  the  fertility  of  a  soil,  and  if  we  apply  this  test  to  the  several  agricultural  regions 
of  Alabama  they  take  the  following  rank: 

1,  Coosa  valley  ;  2,  Coal  Measures ;  3,  oak,  hickory,  and  short-leaf  pine  uplands ;  4.  Tennessee  valley ;  5,  gravelly 
hills ;  0,  oak,  hickory,  and  long-leaf  pine  uplands ;  7,  long-leaf  pine  region  ;  S,  metamorphic :  and  9,  central  prairie 
region. 

Putting  Chambers  and  Lee  together  with  the  counties  which  constitute,  the  prairie  region,  we  have  the  nucTeus 
of  the,  central  cotton  belt  as  above  defined.  In  all  these  counties  the  average,  product  per  acre  is  0.27  of  a  bale. 
This  somewhat  unexpected  result  cannot  be  considered  as  due  to  the  relative  infertility  of  the  soils  of  this  licit,  for 
correspondents  unite  in  giving  as  the  average  yield  on  the  fresh  lands  of  this  region  from  700  to  1,600  pounds  of 
seed-cotton,  or  from  one-half  a  bale  to  more  than  a  bale  to  the  acre,  and  the  chemical  analyses  show  that  these  soils 
in  their  virgin  state  are  among  the  very  best  in  the  state.  We  are  led,  therefore,  to  the  conclusion  that  the  soils  of 
the  great  cotton  belt  have  been  exhausted  by  improvident  culture,  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  we  know  that  in  many 
parts  of  this  belt  cotton  is  planted  year  after  year  upon  the  same  soils  without  rotation  with  other  crops,  and 
without  an  attempt  at  maintaining  the  fertility  by  the  use  of  manures.  In  the  other  parts  of  tbe  state  where 
cotton  is  produced  a  selection  is  generally  made  of  the  better  soils,  rotation  of  crops  is  more  generally  practiced, 
and  in  some  sections  fertilizers  are  in  more  general  use. 

That  the  character  of  the  laborers  and  the  system  of  farming  practiced  are  largely  concerned  in  determining 
the  yield  cannot,  on  general  principles,  be  denied,  and  we  find  ample  proof  that  these  two  things  are  responsible  in 
no  small  degree  for  the  results  above  shown. 

The  central  cotton  belt  is  generally  a  region  of  large  farms  or  plantations,  in  which  the  laborers  are  chiefly 
negroes,  as  seen  in  the  tables.  As  a  rule,  these  laborers  do  not  own  the  land,  have  no  interest  in  it  beyond 
getting  a  crop  from  a  portion  of  it,  which  they  rent  either  for  a  sum  of  money  or  for  a  share  of  the  crop,  and 
are  not  interested  in  keeping  up  the  fertility,  at  least  not  to  the  extent  of  being  led  to  make  any  attempts  at  the 
permanent  improvement  of  the  same.  In  the  case  of  the  owner  of  the  land,  while  the  conditions  are  different,  the 
result  is  the  same.  He  is,  of  course,  interested  in  the  improvement  of  his  laud ;  but  to  supply  the  fertilizers  for  a 
large  plantation,  when  he  cultivates  it  by  hired  labor,  would  cost  more  than  he  usually  has  to  expend,  and  where 
the  share  system,  or  that  of  renting,  prevails  he  is  still  further  removed  from  personal  care  of  the  land ;  and  thus 
from  all  causes  there  is  an  exhaustive  cultivation  of  the  land,  without  any  attempt  at  maintenauce  or  restoration 
of  its  lost  fertility. 

In  addition  to  these,  the  system  of  advances  or  credit,  so  prevalent  throughout  the  cotton-producing  parts  of 
the  state,  is  not  without  its  evil  influence,  for  the  laborer,  and  too  often  the  owner  of  the  land,  is  obliged  to  get 
advances  of  provisions  from  their  merchants,  for  the  payment,  of  which  the  crop  is  mortgaged  ;  and  as  cotton  is 
the  only  crop  which  will  always  bring  ready  money,  its  planting  is  usually  insisted  on  by  the  merchants  making 
the  advances  and  selected  by  the  farmer  as  a  means  of  providing  for  payment.  In  this  way  cotton  comes.to  be  the 
paramount  crop,  and  there  is  little  chance  for  rotation  with  other  things. 

In  this  connection  it  will  be  instructive  to  read  the  reports  given  under  Part  III,  treating  of  cultural  details. 
It  will  there,  be  seen  that  the  system  of  credits  in  the  large  cotton-producing  regions  prevails  to  such  au  extent  that 
the  whole  cotton  crop  is  usually  mortgaged  before  it  is  gathered ;  and  when  we  consider  that  the  prices  charged  for 
provisions,  etc.,  thus  advanced  are  at  least  50  per  cent,  higher  than  regular  market  rates,  and  that  the  cost  of 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION.  63 

producing  cotton  is  given  by  our  correspondents,  almost  without  exception,  at  8  cents  a  pound,  it  will  need  very 
little  calculation  to  show  that  the  laborer  who  makes  a  profit  of  only  2  or  3  cents  a  pound  or  $12  to  $15  a  bale  on 
his  cotton  will  have  the  chances  too  greatly  against  him  ever  to  be  out  of  debt  to  his  merchants  when  he  relies 
solely  upon  this  crop  to  provide  the  money;  and  the  exorbitant  interest  on  the  money  advanced  is  not  likely  to  be 
lessened  so  long  as  the  merchants'  risks  continue  to  be  as  great  as  they  are. 

In  the  Tennessee  and  Coosa  valleys,  which  are  also  large  cotton-producing  sections,  a  similar  state  of  things 
may  be  observed.  In  Madison  and  Talladega  counties  the  blacks  outnumber  the  whites,  and  in  both  we  find  the 
product  per  acre  falling  far  below  the  average  of  the  region  in  which  they  are  situated.  Thus  Madison  shows  a 
product  of  0.28  bale,  against  the  average  of  0.32  for  the  whole  Tennessee  valley,  and  Talladega  a  product  of  only 
0.3C  bale,  when  the  average  for  the  Coosa  valley  region,  of  which  it  is  a  part,  is  0.40.  Wherever  the  black 
population  is  in  excess  of  the  white  we  may  take  it  for  granted  that  the  system  of  large  farms  rented  out  to  the 
negroes  prevails,  and  the  inevitable  result  of  this  system  of  farming  thus  becomes  apparent  in  these  sections  also. 

In  the  other  agricultural  regions  of  the  state,  and  in  most  of  the  counties  also  of  the  Tennessee  and  Coosa 
valleys,  the  farms  are,  as  a  rule,  small,  and  are  cultivated  by  their  owners,  with  the  assistance  of  such  labor  as  may 
be  hired  from  time  to  time.  In  all  these  cases  provisions  are  produced  on  the  farm,  and  cotton  is  planted  as  a 
secondary  crop.  There  is  thus  some  chance  for  selection  of  the  soils  and  for  rotation  of  crops ;  and  when  a  man 
cultivates  his  own  farm  fertilizers  are  in  more  general  use,  so  that  even  with  soils  naturally  much  inferior  to  those 
of  the  main  cotton-producing  regions  the  average  product  per  acre  is  much  higher  in  these  regions  of  small 
production. 

In  the  Coal-Measures  region,  which  takes  rank  as  third  in  product  per  acre,  there  are  no  large  farms,  and  the 
whites  outnumber  the  blacks  nearly  9  to  1  (a  sure  sign  of  poor  soil),  the  farmers  generally  owning  the  land  which 
they  cultivate. 

Until  very  recently  only  the  lauds  of  the  valleys  traversing  the  Coal  Measures  have  been  planted  in  cotton,  so 
thaf  the  product  per  acre  as  given  in  the  tables  is  an  index  rather  of  the  fertility  and  capabilities,  under  proper 
culture,  of  the  calcareous  valley  soils  than  of  those  directly  derived  from  the  rocks  of  the  Coal  Measures.  Iu 
Winston  and  Cullman  there  are  no  valley  soils,  hence  the  product  per  acre  of  these  counties  may  be  taken  as 
representing  that  of  the  soils  of  the  Coal  Measures  generally,  viz,  0.2G  to  0.28.  In  these  i  egions  it  is  usual  to  plant 
only  the  better  kinds  of  soils  in  cotton,  and  of  late  only  with  the  application  of  some  kinds  of  commercial  fertilizers. 
These  sandy  lands,  which  have  a  clayey  substratum,  are  more  and  more  every  year,  with  moderate  quantities  of 
fertilizers,  coming  into  use  in  the  production  of  cotton,  and  the  same  may  also  be  said  of  the  siliceous  portions  of 
the  valley  lands  of  the  regions  just  spoken  of.  It  is  now  thought  to  be  pretty  well  established  that  these  poorer 
sandy  lands,  with  the  aid  of  moderate  quantities  of  fertilizers,  make  in  the  long  run  better-paying  and  more  certain 
crops  of  cotton  than  the  intrinsically  better  classes  of  soils  without  the  fertilizers. 

In  the  short-leaf  pine  upland  counties  the  whites  are  more  than  twice  as  numerous  as  the  blacks.  The  same 
conditions,  therefore,  hold  here  as  in  the  case  just  mentioned.     The  product  per  acre  is  0.33  per  bale. 

The  soils  of  the  gravelly  hills  are  practically  the  same  as  those  of  the  short-leaf  pine  lands,  but  the  product 
is  0.30  bale  to  the  acre,  and  that  of  the  oak,  hickory,  and  long-leaf  pine  uplands  about  0.30,  with  likewise  very 
similar  soils.  In  these  the  two  races  are  present  iu  nearly  equal  proportions.  These  figures  furnish  an  additional 
illustration  of  what  has  been  shown  above,  viz;  that  the  greater  the  proportion  of  blacks  among  the  population 
the  more  prevalent  will  be  the  system  of  large  farms  worked  on  shares  or  by  renting  and  the  smaller  will  be  the 
yield  of  the  land  so  cultivated,  because  of  the  inherent  vices  of  the  system. 

The  concentration  of  the  black  population  in  the  great  farming  regions  of  the  state,  which  are  also  the  regions 
of  the  originally  most  fertile  soils,  is  amply  shown  by  Table  III ;  and  so  closely  does  this  class  of  the  population 
follow  the  best  lauds  that  the  density  of  the  colored  population  of  any  region  might  almost  be  taken  as  an  index 
of  the  fertility  of  its  soils.  The  white  population  is  much  more  evenly  distributed  over  good  and  poor  lands  alike, 
so  that  the  proportion  between  the  two  races  varies  with  the  fertility  of  the  soils,  (a) 

If  we  examine  any  county  whose  product  per  acre  falls  below  the  average  of  the  region  of  which  it  forms  a 
part,  we  shall  find  almost  without  exception  that  this  is  due  either  to  the.  improvident  culture  which  invariably 
attends  thesystem  of  large  farms  (and  the  prevalence  of  this  system  is  almost  invariably  shown  by  the  preponderance 
of  negroes  among  the  population)  or  to  the  comparative  infertility  of  the  soil,  as  may  be  inferred  from  the 
preponderance  of  the  whites.  Thus  in  the  county  of  Marion,  in  the  short-leaf  pine  uplands,  we  find  the  product 
only  0.31,  and  we  see  that  the  county  is  inhabited  almost  entirely  by  white  men.  Again,  in  Pickens,  there  is  a  slight 
falling  below  the  average,  and  here  we  find  one-third  more  negroes  than  whites  (large  farms  and  bad  culture). 

In  the  gravelly  hills  region  Autauga  falls  below  the  average,  notwithstanding  it  possesses  some  of  the  best 
second-bottom  lands  of  the  Alabama  river.     In  this  county  the  negroes  outnumber  the  whites  two  to  one. 

a  The  negroes  were  originally  brought  together  upon  these  great  cotton-producing  areas  as  the  slaves  of  the  wealthy  planters  who 
bought  up  the  greater  part  of  the  best  lands  in  the  state.  Since  the  war  they  have  remained,  practically  speaking,  in  the  same  places 
where  as  laborers  in  the  cotton-field  (with  which  they  wrere  most  familiar)  they  could  always  be  sure  of  employment  and  of  a  good 
living  without  too  severe  labor.  The  social  attractions  also  of  these  great  centers  of  negro  population  have  not  been  without  their 
influence  in  keeping  the  race  together.  7:> 


64  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA 

In  the  oal\  hickory,  raid  long-leaf pine  region  we  meet  with  some  exceptions  to  the  general  rule.  Most  of  these. 
however,  admit  of  explanation.  Thus,  Choctaw  follows  the  rule  :  excess  of  blacks,  below  the  average  of  product 
per  acre.  Clarke,  Monroe,  and  Wilcox  form  exceptions:  large  negro  population  and  high  product  per  acre.  This 
finds  its  explanation  in  the  fact  that  the  cotton  lands  of  those  three  counties  are  either  the  very  best  of  river  lands, 
such  as  form  Black's  bend,  in  Wilcox,  or  the  equally  fertile  lime-hills  or  black-shell  prairie  lauds,  like  those  in  the 
vicinity  of  Limestone  and  Flat  creeks,  in  Monroe.  Butler  and  Pike  follow  the  rule:  excess  of  white  population, 
small  farms,  better  cultivation,  general  use  of  fertilizers,  all  of  which  combine  to  bring  up  the  product  per  acre 
above  the  average  for  the  region.  The  lower  counties,  such  as  Conecuh,  Coffee,  Dale,  and  Henry,  lie  within  the 
limits  of  the  long-leaf  pine  region,  where  the  poverty  of  the  soil  is  more  than  an  offset  to  the  better  cultivation 
practiced  on  small  farms.  Conecuh  has  also  a  large  negro  population  on  some  of  its  best  lime-lands  to  keep  down 
the  average  product. 

In  the  counties  of  the  open  piny  wood*  there  is  comparatively  little  cotton  produced,  not  much  more  than 
1,000  bales  in  any  of  the  counties.  There  is  thus  a  selection  of  the  best  lands  for  the  planting  of  cotton,  and  a 
correspondingly  high  yield  in  Baldwin,  Washington,  and  Escambia,  with  the  additional  circumstance  that  in 
Washington  there  are  fine  lime-hills  and  shell  prairies,  with  the  highly  productive  river  bottoms,  which  lie  adjacent 
to  the  same,  to  bring  up  its  average. 

Covington  and  Geneva,  in  their  very  small  percentage  of  blacks  (only  one  in  seven  or  eight),  show  that  their  low 
product  per  acre  must  be  due  to  the  original  poverty  of  the  soil,  and  the  open  piny  woods  which  make  so  large  a 
proportion  of  these  counties  would  lead  us  to  expect  none  but  soils  of  much  less  than  average  fertility. 

The  position  of  Alabama  as  a  state,  next  to  the  lowest  in  product  per  acre  of  the  fourteen  cotton-producing 
states,  has  already  been  justly  explained  by  Dr.  Hilgard  as  due  to  the  exhaustion  of  the  soils  by  bad  or  improvident 
culture,  and  to  the  fact  that  the  system  of  returns  to  the  soil  is  not  yet  in  general  practice,  as  is  shown  by  the  very 
bunted  use  made  of  fertilizers.  The  conditions  of  the  different  regions  as  above  set  forth  furnish  ample  illustration 
of  the  truth  of  this  conclusion. 

Inferences  to  be  drawn  from  these  comparisons. — To  recapitulate,  the  following  conclusions  seem, 
therefore,  to  be  plainly  taught  by  the  discussion  of  the  data  contained  in  the  tables  presented  on  page  00 : 

1.  That  where  the  blacks  are  in  excess  of  the  whites  there  are  the  originally  most  fertile  lands  of  the  state. 
The  natural  advantages  of  the  soils  are,  however,  more  than  counterbalanced  by  the  bad  system  prevailing  in  such 
seel  ions,  viz,  large  farms  rented  out  in  patches  to  laborers  who  are  too  poor  and  too  much  in  debt  to  merchants  to 
have  any  interest  in  keeping  up  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  or  rather  the  ability  to  keep  it  up,  with  the  natural 
consequence  of  its  rapid  exhaustiou  aud  a  product  per  acre  on  these,  the  best  lands  of  the  state,  lower  than  that 
which  is  realized  from  the  very  poorest. 

2.  Where  the  two  races  are  in  nearly  equal  proportions,  or  where  the  whites  are  iu  only  slight  excess  over  the 
blacks,  as  is  the  case  in  all  the  sections  where  the  soils  are  of  average  fertility,  there  is  found  the  system  of  small 
farms,  worked  generally  by  the  owners,  a  consequently  better  cultivation,  a  more  general  use  of  commercial  fertilizers, 
a  correspondingly  high  product  per  acre,  and  a  partial  maintenance  of  the  fertility  of  the  soils. 

3.  Where  the  whites  are  greatly  in  excess  of  the  blacks  (three  to  one  and  above),  the  soils  are  almost  certain 
to  be  far  below  the  average  in  fertility,  and  the  product  per  acre  is  low  from  this  cause,  notwithstanding  the 
redeeming  influences  of  a  comparatively  rational  system  of  cultivation. 

4.  The  exceptions  to  these  general  rules  are  nearly  always  due  to  local  causes,  which  are  not  far  to  seek,  and 
which  afford  generally  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  discrepancies. 

FERTILIZERS. 

The  use  of  fertilizers  in  cotton  planting  in  Alabama. — In  the  foregoing  remarks  on  cotton  culture 
incidental  mention  has  been  made  of  the  use  (or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  of  the  non-use)  of  commercial  fertilizers, 
from  which  it  may  be  inferred  that  systematic  efforts  at  the  maintenance  of  the  fertility  of  the  soils  in  Alabama 
are  not  generally  made  by  the  farmers.  There  is,  however,  probably  not  a  farm  in  the  state  where  the  baruyard 
manure  and  composts  produced  on  the  farm  are  not  spread  upon  the  land.  This  kind  of  manuring  is  almost 
universally  practiced,  but  in  this  way  only  a  very  small  proportion  of  the  land  receives  any  assistance.  In  many 
sections  cotton-seed,  either  alone  or  composted  with  other  things,  and  in  certain  cases  also  the  cottonseed-meal, 
are  beginning  to  be  somewhat  generally  used,  but  always  as  yet  sparingly,  and  upon  a  small  portion  only  of  the 
whole  area  in  cultivation.  In  the  regions  of  small  farms,  aud  especially  where  the  soils  are  originally  not  very 
strong,  the  use  of  commercial  fertilizers,  gnauos,  superphosphates,  etc.,  is  gradually  extending,  and  more  rapidly  in 
the  eastern  than  in  the  western  half  of  the  state.  There  are  many  soils  until  recently  thought  to  lie  too  unproductive 
for  cotton  planting"  which  are  now  quite  extensively  used  for  this  purpose,  since  it  has  been  found  that,  with  the  use 
of  small  quantities  of  commercial  fertilizei-s,  better  returns  of  cotton  are  realized  from  such  soils  than  from  better 
soils  without  the  fertilizers.  Instances  of  this  are  seen  in  the  gray  flinty  lands  of  the  Coosa  valley,  the  sandy  lauds 
of  the  Coal  Measures,  and  the  Barrens  of  the  Tennessee  valley. 

In  the  southern  counties  of  the  oak,  hickory,  and  long-leaf  pine  uplands,  and  in  the  long-leaf  pine  region  itself, 
the  poor  quality  of  the  soils  has  compelled  the  farmers  to  use  some  means  of  bringing  up  the  yield,  so  that  the 


NATURAL  FERTILIZERS.  65 

cultivation  of  cotton  may. be  at  all  profitable,  and  in. the  eastern  half  of  this  region,  south  of  the  main  central  cotton 
belt,  there  is  probably  more  sale  of  the  various  brands  of  commercial  fertilizers  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  state 
of  equal  area.  A  central  distributing  station  for  much  of  this  southern  country  is  Troy,  in  Pike  county,  and  it  is  a 
matter  of  common  observation  that  very  few  of  the  wagons  which  haul  the  cotton  to  that  market  return  without  a 
load  of  guano  or  some  other  fertilizer.  In  the  Coosa  valley  region  also  these  brands  of  commercial  fertilizers  are 
now  beiug  generally  sold  in  small  quantities  to  farmers.  In  the  Tennessee  valley,  except  on  the  poorer  soils,  such 
as  the  Barrens,  very  little  besides  stable  manure  or  cottonseed  is  as  yet  used  as  manure.  In  the  great  central  cotton 
belt  the  same  remark  will  apply,  only  here  the  manuring  is  even  less  generally  practiced  than  in  the  Tennessee 
valley.  In  no  instance,  except  perhaps  in  some  parts  of  the  southern  counties  above  mentioned,  is  anything  more 
than  a  very  small  proportion  of  the  laud  thus  enriched. 

It  may  be  said,  in  general  terms,  that  in  the  great  cotton-producing  areas  of  Alabama  the  use  of  commercial 
fertilizers  in  cotton  planting  is  comparatively  unkuown.  In  the  regions  of  moderate  production  the  system  of 
returns  to  the  soil  is  more  generally  practiced,  and  the  use  of  commercial  fertilizers  is  gradually  extending  from 
east  to  west,  beiug  at  its  best,  however,  even  in  these  regions,  far  short  of  the  universal  practice.  In  the  regions  of 
very  small  production  these  fertilizers  are  also  very  seldom  in  use,  the  high  yield  frequently  observed  in  some  sections 
being  generally  due  to  the  fact  that  the  best  soils  only  are  selected  for  cotton,  or  that  the  patches  are  small  enough 
to  be  fertilized  by  the  compost  produced  upon  the  farm. 

Fertilizers  naturally  occurring  in  Alabama. — As  to  the  necessity  of  using  some  means  for  maintaining 
the  fertility  of  soils  there  can  now  be  no  two  opinions,  and  exhaustion  is,  of  course,  only  a  matter  of  time  in  the 
•case  of  any  soil  which  is  continuously  cultivated  without  restoring  to  it  in  some  way  a  portion  at  least  of  the  plant- 
food  abstracted  by  the  crops  produced  upon  it.  It  becomes,  therefore,  a  matter  of  the  greatest  importance  to  know 
what  are  the  resources  of  the  state  for  keeping  up  this  fertility. 

The  two  classes  of  manures  generally  distinguished  are  .stimulant  and  nutritive.  To  the  first  class  belong 
those  substances  which,  like  lime,  serve  chiefly  to  render  available  the  plant-food  already  present  in  the  soil,  but 
in  such  a  condition  as  to  be  not  readily  assimilated  by  the  growing  crop.  To  the  second  class  belong  those  mixtures 
which  contain  some  or  all  of  the  elements  of  plant-food,  chief  among  which  are  nitrogen,  potash,  and  phosphoric 
acid. 

Stimulant  manures. — In  nearly  all  parts  of  Alabama  limestone  is  easily  accessible,  from  which  lime  for  agricultural 
purposes  may  be  prepared  in  sufficient  quantity.  The  use  of  a  merely  stimulant  manure  does  not  keep  up  the  soil 
fertility,  but  on  the  contrary  enables  crops  to  draw  heavily  upon  its  reserve  of  plant  food,  and  thus  causes  its 
available  portion  to  be  exhausted  all  the  more  speedily.  Lime  is  also  extensively  used  to  promote  the  rapid  decay 
of  vegetable  matter,  to  convert  it  into  humus,  and  in  this  way  also  it  is  beneficial  to  soils.  The  presence  of  lime 
in  soils  has  further  the  effect  of  increasing  their  capacity  for  resisting  drought  and  improving  their  tilling  qualities 
generally.  In  addition  to  all  these,  it  is  directly  necessary  to  the  growth  of  all  plants.  It  is  chiefly,  however,  as 
a  stimulant  and  as  a  promoter  of  the  formation  of  humus  from  vegetable  matter  that  it  finds  an  extended  use  in 
agriculture. 

Nutritive  manures. — Of  the  partial  manures  belonging  to  this  class  the  most  extensively  used  are  the  guanos, 
superphosphates,  and  ground  bones,  the  principal  ingredients  furnished  by  these  beiug  potash,  phosphoric  acid, 
audi  ammonia.  Cotton-seed  or  cottonseed- meal  is  also  rapidly  coming  into  me  as  a  fertilizer,  and  it  is  one  of  the 
best,  since  it  contains  all  of  the  essential  ingredients  of  plant-food,  and  may  therefore  be  considered  as  more  nearly 
a  complete  manure  than  any  of  the  others  mentioned.  In  the  marls  of  the  state,  however,  we  have  a  class  of 
fertilizers  which  combine  the  qualities  of  a  stimulant  with  those  of  a  nutritive  manure,  and  they  are  therefore 
worthy  of  careful  attention.  These  marls  are  found  in  the  Cretaceous  and  Tertiary  strata  of  the  southern  division 
of  the  state,  and  are  of  several  varieties.  In  all  the  marls  there  is  a  certain  proportion  of  nutritive  matter  in 
addition  to  the  lime. 

Cretaceous  marls. — Materials  which  might  profitably  be  used  as  fertilizers  occur  in  all  three  of  the  subdivisions 
of  the  Cretaceous  formation  in  Alabama. 

In  the  lowermost,  or  Eutaw  group  of  this  formation,  the  deposits  are  mostly  sandy  and  clayey  and  non- 
calcareous,  except  in  the  upper  strata,  which  correspond  to  the  Tombigbee  sand  of  Mississippi. 

These  beds  consist  of  laminated  clays  and  micaceous  sands,  the  latter  often  of  a  greenish  color,  and  contain 
only  a  small  percentage  of  lime.  A  specimen  of  this  material  from  the  Turkey  Creek  hills,  near  Pleasant  Ridge, 
in  Greene  county,  has  the  composition  given  on  page  66. 

The  rotten  limestone  is  itself  in  composition  a  marl  containing  from  120  to  So  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime, 
which  is  the  constituent  upon  which  its  chief  value  as  a  stimulant  manure  rests;  but  iu  addition  to  the  carbonate 
of  lime  this  rock  contains  also  a  variable  percentage  of  phosphate  of  lime,  ranging,  according  to  Dr.  Mallett's 
analyses,  between  0.37  and  0.54  percent.;  of  potash,  from  0.01  to  0.11  per  cent.;  and  of  silica  in  a  condition 
readily  soluble  in  dilute  acids,  from  0.06  to  0.19  per  cent.  Several  analyses  of  the  rotten  limestone  from  different 
parts  of  the  state  are  to  be  found  iu  Professor  Tuomey's  second  report. 


66 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 


Some  of  the  strata  of  the  rotten  limestone  contain  notable  quantities  of  greensand,  and  well  deserve  the 
attention  of  farmers.  According  to  Dr.  Loughridge,  there  is  a  bed  of  Cretaceous  greensand  marl  extending  along 
the  Chattahoochee  river  bluff  for  15  miles  with  an  average  thickness  of  10  or  15  feet.  It  contains  about  2  per  cent. 
of  potash,  and  would  undoubtedly  be.  valuable  to  the  farmers  in  reach  of  it. 

Near  Epes  station,  in  Sumter  county,  there  is  another  greensand  marl  bed,  and  a  sample  was  analyzed  with 
the  result  given  below. 

No.  lol!.  Greenish  saurf,  Pleasant  Ridge,  Greene  county.  This  consists  of  grains  of  quartz  sand,  often  coated 
with  a  green  material,  scales  of  mica,  rounded  and  ilattened  lumps  of  greensand,  and  fragments  of  lignite.  The 
greensand  makes  only  a  small  proportion  of  the  whole  mass,  and  the  marl  would  hardly  pay  for  the  hauling;  but  its 
effects  upon  the  soils,  over  which  it  is  distributed  by  natural  causes,  are  seen  in  the  luxurious  vegetation  of  the 
lauds  which  receive  the  washings  of  these  hills.  In  other  localities  it  is  quite  probable  that  a  richer  material  may 
be  found. 

No.  145.  Greensand  marl  (Cretaceous),  Epes,  Sumter  county. 

Greenish  Hand  and  greensand  marl  (Cretaceous). 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica  

Potash 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese  - 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina   

Phosphoric  arid  

Sulphuric  acid 

Carbonic  acid 

Water  and  organic  matter  . . 

Total 


GREENE  COUNTY.  SUMTEn  rouxTY. 


Greenish  sand. 

Greensand  marl. 

No.  132. 

No 

145. 

70.734)    , 

.17 
1 

017 

778 

J  .vi.  39B 

0/398 

1.430 

0.113 

a.  US 

0.  S90 

«.  022 

0.  502. 

0.  193 

11.  17" 

0.  101 

S.  457 

13.088 

0.  (131 

2.101 

0.  051 

0.  143 

".  v.-:i 

0.  1G0 
10.  028 

10.210 

2.  200 

The  marl,  while  it  contains  less  lime  than  the  ordinary  rotten  limestone,  is  likely  to  prove  valuable  as  a  fertilizer 
because  of  its  high  percentage  of  potash. 

Dr.  Mallet  tested  a  sample  of  greensand  from  near  Gainesville,  and  found  in  it: 'Potash,  2.437  per  cent.; 
phosphoric  acid,  0.183  per  cent.;  and  carbonate  of  lime,  O.ST  per  cent. 

The  upper  or  Ripley  group  of  the  Cretaceous  is  in  part  composed  of  bluish  micaceous  mails  containing 
greensand.  In  the  region  of  their  occurrence  these  marls  give  rise  to  lasting  and  productive  soils,  well  know  in 
the  low  grounds  of  Cowikee  and  Bear  creeks  in  Barbour  and  Bussed  counties. 

Dr.  Mallet  has  made  several  partial  analyses  of  this  class  of  marls,  of  which  the  following,  a  bluish  or 
greenish-gray  marl,  containing  grains  of  sand,  particles  of  mica,  and  fragments  of  shell,  from  below  Eufaula,  may 
be  taken  as  a  representative : 


Carbonate  of  lime 

Carbonate  of  magnesia 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  ncid  .- 

Silicic  arid  (soluble  in  acid)  

Insoluble  n  latter  (finely  divided  clay,  sand,  and  specks  of  mica) 


13.47 
1.01 
3.21 
1.08 
0.18 
(I.  54 

79.14 


1.03 


88.82 

2.18 

0.94 

0.23 

In  the  same  formation  there  are  beds  of  hard  and  tolerably  pure  limestone,  which  might  be  used  in  the 
preparation  of  lime  for  agricultural  purposes.  One  of  the  samples  analyzed  by  Dr.  Mallet  (see  above)  from 
Chunncnugga  ridge,  Macon  county,  was  a  highly  fossiliferous  limestone,  the  shells  lor  the  most  part  white  crystalline 
carbonate  of  lime,  and  the  limestone  cementing  them  together  of  a  light  brownish-gray  color,  containing  numerous 
small  cavities,  often  lined  with  carbonate  of  lime.  This  is  the  character  of  much  of  the  limestone  of  the  Chunneuugga 
ridge. 


NATURAL  FERTILIZERS. 


67 


Tertiary  marls. — A  special  examination  was  made  by  me,  for  the  purposes  of  this  report,  of  the  marls  and  other 
mineral  fertilizers  of  the  Tertiary  formations  of  Alabama.  These  materials  may  be  conveniently  arranged  in  two 
classes,  viz:  I,  the  greensands,  and,  II,  the  calcareous  marls;  and  the  latter  into  those  which  contain  greeusand 
and  those  whose  value  depends  chiefly  upon  their  content  of  lime. 

I.  The  greensands. — The  lower  300  or  400  feet  of  the  Tertiary  formation  in  Alabama  are  made  up,  in  the  main,  of 
sands  and  clays  of  lignitic  character,  but  interstratifled  with  these,  at  several  horizons,  are  beds  of  marine 
origin.  One  of  the  lowermost  of  these  marine  deposits  may  be  seen  outcropping  at  Nanafalia  landing,  on  the 
Tombigbee  river,  and  may  be  traced  across  the  country  to  the  Alabama  river  at  Coal  bluff,  and  thence  eastward 
through  part  of  Wilcox  county,  and  perhaps  further.  'One  of  the  strata  of  this  group  consists  of  a  mixture  of 
quartz  grains,  small  rounded  or  flattened  lumps  of  greensand,  and  a  few  small  particles  of  mica.  The  thickness  of 
the  deposit  is  only  a  foot  or  two;  the  color,  deep  yellowish-green.  This  greensand  bed  is  best  exposed  where  the 
Linden  and  Nanafalia  road  crosses  Double  creek  in  Marengo  county.  The  analysis  on  page  69  shows  the 
composition  of  a  sample  (No.  128)  selected  from  this  locality. 

Apparently  the  same  bed  is  exposed  on  Gravel  creek  near  Camden,  Wilcox  county,  two  specimens  of  which 
were  partially  analyzed  by  Df.  Mallett,  yielding  in  100  parts : 


Per  cent 

Potash !  2.21 

Lime ;  0.  69 

Phosphoric  acid :J  Trace* 

Iron  pyrites Trace. 


1.89 
0.67 

Trace. 

Kone. 


II.  Calcareous  marls :  Greensand  marls. — Associated  with  the  bed  of  greensand  above  described  are  several 
calcareous  beds  which  also  hold  notable  quantities  of  the  same  mineral.  At  Nanafalia  landing  the  upper  part  of 
the  bluff  is  formed  of  6  feet  or  more  of  a  shell  bed  very  rich  in  greensand,  which  is  overlaid  by  a  stratum  from  8 
to  10  feet  thick,  composed  almost  entirely  of  the  shells  of  a  small  oyster  (Grj/pluea  Tht/r-sn  ). 

The  greensand  bed  is  a  mixture  of  grains  of  quartz  sand,  small  rounded  lumps  of  greensand,  and  fragments  of 
shells,  together  with  a  large  number  of  perfect  and  unbroken  shells.  A  sample  selected  for  analysis  (No.  127) 
Las  the  composition  given  on  page  69. 

These  calcareous  beds  may  be  traced  across  Marengo  county  by  the  prairie  soils  to  which  they  give  rise,  and 
are  exposed  again  at  Coal  bluff,  on  the  Alabama  river.  A  sample  from  this  locality,  partially  analyzed  byr  Dr. 
Mallett,  consisted  of  greensand  grains,  siliceous  clay,  fine  quartz  sand,  fragments  of  shells,  etc.,  and  had  the 
following  composition: 

Per  cent. 

Potash 1.67 

Phosphoric  acid - 1.00 

Carbonate  of  lime 29.33 

Iron  pyrites 10. 57 

^Dr.  Mallett  analyzed  also  some  of  the  separate  grains  of  greensand  of  this  dex)osit,  the  mean  of  two  analyses 
of  which  was — 

Per  cent. 

Silica 57.56 

Alumina 6.56 

Ferrous  oxide 20. 13 

Lime 1.04 

Magnesia 1.70 

Potash 4.88 

Water 8.17 

Total 100.04 


The  value  of  marls  of  this  kind  depends  not  only  on  the  carbonate  of  lime  which  they  contain,  but  also  upon  the 
potash  of  the  greensand,  and  are  therefore  the  more  valuable  in  proportion  to  the/r  percentages  of  greensand,  and 
this  proportion  may  be  approximately  estimated  by  the  color,  the  deeper  the  green  the  better. 

There  can  hardly  be  a  doubt  that  these  beds  will  some  day  be  utilized,  as  they  contain  a  higher  average  of 
potash  than  any  of  the  Tertiary  greensand  marls  thus  far  examined. 

The  most  convenient  localities  for  getting  at  the  marl  for  shipment  are  the  Nanafalia  landing,  on  the  Tombigbee, 
and  Coal  bluff,  on  the  Alabama  river.  At  Turner's  ferry,  on  the  Tombigbee,  above  Tuscahoina,  there  is  exposed  a 
second-marine  deposit,  containing  shells  and  greeusand,  but  no  special  examination  has  been  made  of  it. 

Farther  down  the  river,  in  the  vicinity  of  Wood's  bluff,  a  third  exposure  of  these  marine  deposits  is  seen.  The 
marl  beds  at  this  place  are  about  25  feet  in  thickness,  and  their  geological  position  is  some  175  or  200  feet  below  the 
series  of  aluminous  sandstones  and  claystones  to  which  the  name  bnhrstone  has  been-  applied.  The  strata 
intervening  between  the  buhrstone  rocks  and  the  top  of  the  marl  bed  are  laminated  lignitic  clays  and  sands,  with 
a  few  thin  seams  of  lignite;  below  the  marl,  again  lignitic  beds. 

77 


G8  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

The  marl  at  Wood's  bluff  is  not  of  uniform  composition,  the  lower  strata  being  much  richer  both  in  calcareous 
matter  and  in  greeusand.  The  upper  part  of  the  marl  is  commonly  indurated,  forming  a  kiud  of  limestone,  below 
which  the  soft  pulverulent  marl  is  sometimes  sheltered  and  sometimes  washed  out,  leaving  overhanging  ledges  and 
caves.  This  bed,  with  practically  identical  features,  has  been  traced  from  the  vicinity  of  Butler,  in  Choctaw 
county,  through  Choctaw  Corner,  in  Clarke  county,  to  the  Alabama  river  below  Lower  Peach  Tree.  The  beds 
occurring  at  Elba,  in  Coffee  county,  are  probably  the  same  also,  though  their  identity  has  not  been  perfectly 
established. 

Two  samples  of  this  marl  were  analyzed,  the  one  from  Mr.  Hendrick's,  near  Butler,  the  same  bed  appearing 
in  very  many  localities  about  that  town,  the  other  from  the  "  Natural  Bridge"',  a  few  miles  west  of  Choctaw  Corner. 
The  specimens  analyzed  consist  of  a  mixture  of  broken-up  shells,  quartz  sand,  and  grains  of  greensand.  In  this 
matrix  are  imbedded  many  beautifully  preserved  entire  shells. 

No.  126.   Greensand  shell  marl  from  Hendrick's,  near  Butler,  Choctaw  county. 

No.  130.  Greensand  shell  marl  from  the  "Natural  Bridge",  2  miles  west  of  Choctaw  Corner,  Clarke  county. 

These,  like  all  the  greensand  marls,  owe  their  peculiar  value  to  the  greensand  which  they  contain;  hence  the 
more  pronounced  the  green  color  the  better  the  marl.  The  25  to  30  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime-  which  they  all 
hold  is  also,  of  course,  of  value. 

Where  these  marl  beds  outcrop  across  the  country  they  react  upon  the  laminated  lignitic  clays  with  which  they 
are  interbedded,  giving  rise  to  a  series  of  lime-hills  of  considerable  fertility.  For  an  analysis  of  this  class  of  soil 
consult  lime-hills  soil,  No.  140,  Wilcox  county  (page  42). 

The  fourth  outcropping  of  a  marl  bed  down  the  river  from  Wood's  bluff  is  seen  at  Cofi'eeville  landing  and 
vicinity.  From  its  geographical  position  this  seems  to  be  geologically  above  the  buhr-stone  rocks,  and  consists  of 
several  beds,  chiefly  fossiliferous  clayey  sands  and  pulverulent  and  indurated  marls. 

A  sample  (No.  138)  taken  from  a  loose  pulverulent  bed  just  below  a  hard  ledge  of  similar  composition  is  composed 
of  quartz  sand,  comminuted  shells,  a  small  proportion  of  greensand  grains,  and  an  occasional  particle  of  mica.  Its 
composition  is  given  in  the  table  on  page  69.  Like  the  others,  this  marl,  aside  from  its  carbonate  of  lime,  owes  its 
value  to  its  content  of  greensand. 

The  lower  portion  of  the  bluff  at  Claiborne,  on  the  Alabama  river,  consists  of  sandy,  argillaceous,  and  calcareous 
beds,  the  latter  containing  many  oyster  shells.  A  sample  from  one  of  these  beds,  about  15  feet  above  the  water  level 
(No.  136),  was  composed  of  quartz  grains,  pulverulent  carbonate  of  lime,  clayey  matter,  and  a  few  grains  of  greensand. 
Its  chemical  composition  is  given  on  page  09.  From  the  similarity  in  the  fossils  (which  have  not,  however,  been 
very  closely  studied)  it  appears  probable  that  the  Coffeeville  marl  bed  is  identical  with  some  of  the  lower  strata  of 
the  Claiborne  bluff. 

Ordinary  calcareous  marls,  white  marls. — At  the  Claiborne  bluff  the  stratum,  15  to  20  feet  in  thickness, 
which  has  furnished  all  the  beautifully  preserved  fossils  which  have  made  this  locality  so  celebrated  is  a  mass  of 
comminuted  shells  and  quartz  sands  stained  with  iron.  In  this  material  the  Claiborne  fossils  are.  imbedded.  A 
sample  of  this  marl  from  Mrs.  Gibson's,  a  short  distance  below  Claiborne,  was  analyzed.  Its  composition  is  given 
on  page  69  under  No.  135,  Claiborne  shell  marl  from  Mrs.  Gibson's,  near  Claiborne.  The  value  of  this  marl  rests 
mainly  upon  its  carbonate  of  lime.  With  from  47  to  50  per  cent,  of  inert  siliceous  matter,  it  would  hnrdto  be 
profitable  to  carry  it  far,  but  it  might  be  used  with  advantage  in  the  vicinity. 

This  shell  stratum  is  one  of  the  topmost  of  the.  Claiborne  group  proper.  Immediately  above  it  are  laminated 
gray  clays  and  fossiliferous  yellowish  sands  containing  greeusand,  and  above  these  a  thick  bed  of  whitish,  soft 
limestone,  containing  occasionally  a  few  grains  of  greensand.  This  limestone  is  considered  as  belonging  to  the 
Jackson  group  of  the  Tertiary,  and  in  its  disintegration  gives  rise  to  the  prairie  soils  of  the  lower  lime-hills 
region,  and  is  in  many  respects  similar  to  the  Cretaceous  rotten  limestone.  Its  composition  may  be  seeu  from  the 
subjoined  analysis  of  soft,  white  limestone  (No.  137)  overlying  the  shell  stratum  at  Claiborne  (Jackson  age). 

This,  like  the  rotten  limestone,  is  itself  of  the  nature  of  a  marl,  and"  its  action  upon  the  soil  is  well  shown  in 
the  prairie  soils  of  the  lime-hills. 

In  very  many  of  the  localities  where  this  limestone  occurs  crystals  and  large  masses  of  gypsum  are  imbedded 
in  the  clays  which  result  from  its  disintegration,  and  sometimes  in  such  quantity  that  it  might  be  profitably  taken 
up  for  agricultural  purposes.  Nothing  has,  however,  yet  been  done  in  this  direction.  The  unusually  high 
percentage  of  sulphuric  acid  in  the  limestone,  as  well  as  in  many  of  its  derived  soils,  is  probably  due  to  the 
gypsum. 

The  uppermost  division  of  the  Tertiary  in  Alabama,  the  so-called  Vicksburg  group,  is  made  up  chiefly  of  white 
or  light-colored  limestones  and  marls,  the  most  common  rock  being  a  soft,  white  limestone,  containing  orbitoides 
and  other  characteristic  fossils.  A  sample  of  this  rock  from  Clarke,  county,  above  Jackson  (No.  146),  has  been 
analyzed,  and  its  composition  is  given  in  the  table  relative  to  Tertiary  marls. 

This,  as  will  be  seen,  is  a  tolerably  pure  limestone,  and  when  burned  would  give  a  large  yield  of  lime.  Its 
potash  and  phosphoric  acid  also  are  rather  above  the  average. 


NATURAL  FERTILIZERS 


69 


To  recapitulate:  The  mineral  fertilizers  of  tbe  Alabama  Tertiary  formations  are  greensands,  greensand  marls, 
anil  white  marls  and  limestones,  which  occur  at  the  following  horizons,  viz: 

3.  Greensand  and  greensand  marls  at  Nanafalia  landing  and  across  the  country  to  Coal  bluff,  on  the  Alabama 
river,  and  on  Gravel  creek,  in  Wilcox  county.     These  beds  appear  to  be  the  richest  in  greensand. 

2.  A  marl  bed  at  Turner's  ferry,  above  Tuscahoma,  on  the  Tombigbee. 

3.  The  greensand  marls  at  Wood's  bluff;  found  also  near  Butler,  in  Choctaw  county,  and  across  Clarke  county, 
to  the  Alabama  river,  below  Lower  Peach  Tree. 

4.  Greensand  marls  at  Coffeeville  and  at  Claiborne,  and,  at  the  latter  place,  also  near  the  top  of  the  bluff,  the 
shell  marl. 

5.  Overlying  the  Claiborne  shell  beds,  the  marly  or  argillaceous  limestone  of  Jackson  age,  which  is  known  by 
its  outcrops  and  by  the  peculiar  soils  resulting  from  it,  from  the  western  limit  of  the  state,  through  Washington 
and  Clarke,  into  Monroe  and  Conecuh,  and  thence  in  detached  tracts  to  southeastern  Alabama. 

(i.  The  white  marls  and  limestones  of  the  Vicksburg  group,  occurring  in  all  the  localities  mentioned  in  the 
preceding  paragraph,  but  much  more  widely  distributed. 

Most  of  the  localities  above  given  are  in  western  Alabama.  The  Tertiary  formations  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
state  are  more  generally  calcareous  and  less  intermingled  with  lignitic  strata  than  is  the  case  westward,  and  they 
appear  also  to  be  more  generally,  hidden  by  the  superficial  drift  deposits. 

Marls  and  limestones  are  exposed  on  the  Chattahoochee  river  at  intervals  from  below  Eufaula  down  to  the 
Florida  line,  but  1  am  at  present  unable  to  give  any  details  concerning  them. 

Analyses  of  Tertiary  marls. 


Greensand.                                            Greensand  shell  mauls. 

OUDLNARY  MARLS. 

MARENGO 

COUNT!'. 

MARENGO 
COUNTY. 

CHOCTAW 
COUNTY. 

clarke  county.                  «™« 

MONROE 
COUNTY. 

CLEUURNE 
COUNTY. 

CLARKE 
COUN1Y. 

Greensand. 

Greensand 
shell  marl. 

Hendrick'a, 
near  JSuller. 

NearChoctaw      Greensand         Marl,  with 
Corner.        .     shell  marl.         greensand. 

Claiborne 
shell  marl. 

Soft,  white 
limestone. 

White 
lime 

stone. 

No.  128. 

No.  127. 

No.  126. 

No.  130. 

No.  138. 

No.  136. 

No.  135. 

No.  137. 

No.  146. 

78.  712  , 

!  79.  907 

35.  918  ] 

. [37.281 

45.  877  ) 

{  67.  838    ""      '"  [  64.  444                 [  04.  306            "  \  62.  310 
2.  833  5                 2. 115  >                 1. 153  >                 1.  876  i 

,  „„,  [47.858     „         J  31.  314 
1.  981  >                 2.  920  ) 

2.542 

0.  087 
0.859 

0.340 
24. 164 
1.617 
0.079 
12. 324 
0.930 
(I.  041 
0.310 
18. 980 
0.736 

0.085 

0.  252                    0.  259  !                 0.  222 

0.498 
26.  514 
0.065 
Trace. 
2.332 
0.709 
0.029 
0.070 

0.077 

13.  757 
0.616 
0.029 
4.286 
0.083 
0. 101 
0.106 

10.983 
1.393 

16.  866                  14.  491  |                15.  390 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese 

o.Oll 
9.192 
1. 103 
0.086 
0.051 

Trace.                  0. 089 
2.  083                    2. 149 
0. 139  :                 1.  883 
0.223  '                 0.040 
0.054                      0.164 

14.154  |                12.359 
1.  366                    3.  102 

9.  321 
3.867 
1.355 
0.125 
0.117 
11.805 
2.  832 

0. 156              0.  653 

1.  798  '  ) 

.     .„    1      3123 

Sulphuric  acid 

0.  096            0.  305 
1      0.290  1          0.623 

Water  and  organic  matter 

5.713 

1.554 

2.207           4.102 

Total 

97.  928 

99.  060 

100.  363 

100.  743 

99.  808 

99  833 

100.  572 

100.  765 

99.  268 

Of  other  naturally  occurring  materials  which  have  been  profitably  used,  either  in  compost  heaps  or  directly 
upon  the  lauds,  there  may  be  mentioned  pond  or  marsh  muck,  which  is  specially  rich  in  humus  and  also  in  certain 
mineral  elements  of  plant-food.  This  substance  is  generally  accessible  in  the  state,  and  should,  whenever  practicable, 
be  used  in  connection  with  the  marls  mentioned. 

Professor  Uilgard  long  since  called  attention  to  the  value  of  the  straw  of  the  long-leaf  pine  as  a  manure,  and 
his  analyses  show  that  it  contains  in  considerable  quantities  the  mineral  ingredients  necessary  to  plants.  According 
to  the  same  authority,  the  best  manner  of  applying  it,  next  to  incorporating  it  with  the  manure  pile,  is  to  compost 
the  manure  with  lime  or  some  of  the  calcareous  marls  of  which  mention  has  been  made,  and,  after  it  has  become 
thoroughly  decayed,  then  to  spread  it  upon  the  land. 

The  following  analysis  of  a  specimen  of  muck  from  a  swamp  near  the  banks  of  Autauga  creek,  at  Prattville, 
Autauga  county,  will  show  the  general  nature  of  this  material.  The  swamp  has  a  dense  growth  of  magnolia,  bay, 
laurel,  short-leaf  pine,  sweet  gum,  sassafras,  maple,  elder,  button-ball,  white  oak,  swamp  oak,  dogwood,  buckeye, 
Rhus  vemix,  etc.  When  cleared  and  drained  such  swamps  are  at  first  liable  to  surfer  the  drawbacks  incident  to  an 
excess  of  humus,  but  after  bei^g  a  while  in  cultivation,  and  sand  and  loam  become  mixed  with  the  humus,  very 
productive  soils  result. 

No.  2.  Blade  swamp  muck  from  the  bottom  of  Autauga  creek,  at  Prattville,  Antauga  county.  A  light-black 
pulverulent  mass  when  dry. 

79 


70 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 


Swamp  muck,  Autauga  county. 


Insoluble  matter i 

Soluble  bUk-a 5        51,li78 

Potash 0.487 

SodA    0.865 

Lime  0.472 

Magnesia 0.007 

Brown  oxide  of  manganeBe Trace. 

Peroxide  of  iron Traco. 

Alumina 1.  362 

Phosphoric  acid 0.  OGO 

Sulphuric  acid n.  20G 

"Water  anil  organic  matter '14. 574 

Total  09.201 

Eygroaeopic  moisture 18.47 

absorbed  at !  20.  5  C.° 

-*- 


The  hygroscopic  character  of  the  humus  is  here  well  exhibited.  The  material  contains  a  comparatively  large 
percentage  of  lime  and  potash,  but  the  phosphoric  acid  is  rather  deficient.  This  muck  would  improve  the  physical 
characters  both  of  light  sandy  and  of  heavy  clayey  soils. 


ANALYSES  OF  SOILS  AND  SUBSOILS. 


71 


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63 


74  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

Tabic  showing  humus  and  available  inorganic  matter  in  soils  {percentages  are  referred  to  soils). 


No.  70. 

No.  111. 

No.  52. 

No.  38. 

No.  34. 

No.  9. 

No.  20. 

No.  30. 

No.  32. 

No.  77. 

No.  17. 

0.084 

1.365 
1.001 
0.020 

1.074 
0.  ECO 
0.073 

2.  242 

1.551 
0.100 

0.700 
0.950 
0.020 

1.047 
0.802 
0.058 

2.310 
1.  255 
0. 112 

2.830 
0.740 
0.000 

2.000 
1.430 

0.103 

2.400 
1.674 
0.037 

0.  020 

Analyses  showing  composition  of  grcensands,  greensand  marls,  shell  marls,  and  limestones  of  the  Cretaceous  and  Tertiary 

formations  of  Alabama. 


P 

Name. 

Locality. 

a 

3 
O 

U 

6 

i 

1 

a 

=: 

3 

'SI 

d 
o 
P. 

O 

& 

B 

15 

<3 

'1 

a 

1 

ss 

o  tx 

t 

o 

p 

6 

o 
o 

s 

i 

R 

s 

C 

3 

2 

« 
o 

o 

E. 
6 

2 

a 

% 

s 

p. 

2 
"3 

c 

"5 

o 
JO 

a 

S 
S3 

> 

3 

o 
H 

132 

Greenish     micaceous 
sands  (Cretaceous). 

Pleasant  Kidgo 

Greene  . . . 

70. 734 

1.102 

0.398 

0.115 

0.899 

0.502 

0.178 

8.457 

0.091 

0.051 

0.789 

10.210 

90.074 

Greensand  marl  (Cre- 
taceous). 

Sumter  . . . 

57.  017 

1.778 

1.430 

0.118 

8.922 

0.193 

0.101 

13.  988 

2.101 

0.143 

0.100 

10.028 

2.200 

1?8 

Marengo.  - 

78.  712 

1.195 

0.035    0.087 

0.859 

0.284 

0.011 

9.192 

1.103 

0.080 

0.051 

traces. 

0.713 

97.928 

127 

Grrcusrind  shell  mail 
(Tertiary). 

Nanafulia  landing ... 

....do  

35.  018 

1.303 

2.254    0.340 

24. 101 

1.017 

0.079 

12. 324 

0.930 

0.041 

0.310 

18.980 

0.728 

99.000 

126 

....do  

Hendricks,  near  But- 

Choctaw . . 

05.  005 

2.833 

1.020    0.085 

13.757 

0.610 

0.029 

4.280 

0.0S3 

0.101 

0.100 

10.  983 

1.393 

100.  303 

130 

....do  

Near  Choctaw  Corner. 

Clarke.... 

62.  329 

2.115    0.457    0.252 

10.  860 

0.705 

trace. 

2.083 

0.139 

0.223 

0.051 

11.154 

1.300 

100.743 

138 

....do 

Coffee  ville  landing 

....do  .... 

03.153 

1.153    0.372    0.259 

14.  491 

0.594 

0.089 

2.149 

1.883 

0.040 

0.104 

12. 359 

3. 102 

99.808 

136 

Marl,  willi  greensand 
(Tertiary). 

lf>  feet  above  water- 
level  at  Claiborne. 

Monroe . . . 

00.  434 

1.870    0.033  '  0.222 

15.  390 

0.850 

0.321 

3.807 

1.355 

0.125 

0.117 

11.805 

2.  832 

90.803 

135     Claiborne  shell   stra- 
tum (Tertiary), 

Mrs.    Gibson's,    Clai- 
borne. 

...„„... 

45.  877 

1.981 

0.331    0.498 

20.  514 

0.065 

trace. 

2.332 

0.709 

0.029 

0.070 

20.  552 

1.554 

100.  572 

337 

Soft,  white  limestone 
(Tertiary,  Jackson). 

White  limestone  (Ter- 
tiary, Vicltsburg). 

Overlying  shell  stra- 
tum at  Claiborne. 
Ninth  of  Jackson 

do 

Clarke.... 

28.  394 

2.920 

0.502    0.077 
0.347  ,  0.132 

34.  952 
47.  779 

0.743 
0.602 

0.150 
0.053 

1.798 

1.159 

0.090 
0.305 

0.290 
0.623 

27. 471 
39.000 

2.207 
4.102 

100.  705 

146 

2.5 

(2 

3.1 

23 

99.208 

2 

Black  swamp  muck.. . 

Prattville 

Autauga.. 

51.0 

78 

0.487  ;  0.205 

0.472 

0.007 

trace. 

trace. 

1.302 

0.060 

0.290 

•44.  674 

•90.001 

No.  140  was  analyzed 
84 


*  Hygroscopic  moisture,  18.47;  absorbed  at  20.5  C.°. 
by  T.  W.  Palmer;  all  the  others  by  Henry  McCalloy. 


PART    II, 


AGRICULTURAL    DESCRIPTIONS 


COUNTIES   OF   ALABAMA. 


75 
85 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS 


COUNTIES    OF    ^L^B-A^M^. 

The  counties  are  here  grouped  under  the  heads  of  the  several  agricultural  regions,  previously  described,  to 
which  each  predominantly  belongs,  or,  in  some  cases,  under  that  to  which  it  is  popularly  assigned.  Each  county  is 
described  as  a  whole.  When  its  territory  is  covered  in  part  by  several  adjacent  soil-regions,  its  name  will  be  found 
under  each  of  the  several  regional  heads  in  which  it  is  concerned,  with  a  reference  to  the  one  under  which  it  is 
actually  described.  In  the  lists  of  counties  placed  at  the  head  of  each  group  the  names  of  those  described  elsewhere 
are  marked  with  an  asterisk  (*),  and  the  reference  to  the  head  under  which  these  are  described  will  be  found  in  its 
place,  in  the  order  of  the  list,  in  the  test  itself. 

The  regional  groups  of  counties  are  placed  in  the  same  order  as  that  in  which  the  regional  descriptions  themselves 
■  are  given. 

The  statements  of  areas,  of  woodland,  prairie,  etc.,  refer  to  the  original  state  of  things,  irrespective  of  tilled  or 
otherwise  improved  lands. 

Appended  to  the  description  of  each  county  from  which  a  report  or  reports  have  been  received  is  an  abstractof 
the  main  points  of  such  reports,  so  far  as  they  refer  to  natural  features,  production,  and  communication.  Those 
portions  of  the  reports  referring  to  agricultural  and  commercial  practice  are  (in  condensed  form)  placed  in  a  separate 
division  (Part  III),  following  that  of  the  county  descriptions. 

In  making  the  abstracts  of  these  reports  it  has  been  necessary,  in  most  cases,  to  change  somewhat  the  language 
of  the  reporter  while  preserving  the  sense.  In  some  cases  statements  palpably  incorrect  or  overdrawn  have  been 
altogether  omitted,  while  sometimes  explanatory  words  have  been  added,  placed  in  parentheses. 


METAMOBPHIC    REGION. 

The  following  counties  lie  partly  or  wholly  within  the  metamorphic  region:  Cleburne,  Bandolph,  Chambers, 
Lee,  Tallapoosa,  Clay,  Coosa,  Talladega,*  Chilton,*  Elmore,*  and  Macon.* 

CLEBUENE. 

Population:  10,976.— Wliite,  10,30S ;  colored,  COS. 

Area :  540  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.     Metamorphic,  400  square  miles ;  Coosa  valley,  140  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  51,428  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  9,156  a<cres;  in  corn,  21,552  acres;  in  oats,  5,672  acres;  in 
wheat,  7,504  acres  ;  in  tobacco,  85  acres  ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  221  acres. 

Cotton  production:  3,600  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.39  bale,  555  pounds  seed  cotton,  or  185 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  northern  part  of  Cleburne  county  consists  of  high  and  rugged  mountains  of  sandstone  and  subordinated 
ridges  of  flint  or  chert,  alternating  with  valleys  or  inclosing  coves  of  red  or  yellow  fertile  lands.  This  part  of  the 
county  is  of  the  same  nature  as  adjoining  portions  of  Cherokee  and  Calhoun.  The  red  soils  are  based  on  the 
magnesian  limestones  of  the  country,  and  the  broken  and  ridgy  lands  have  a  soil  of  gray  or  light  colors.  All  these 
valley  lands  contain  more  or  less  of  angular  flinty  gravel  in  both  soil  and  subsoil.  The  timber  on  the  flint  ridges 
is  in  many  cases  prevalently  long-leaf  pine ;  upon  the  sandstone  mountain  the  oaks  and  short-leaf  pine 
predominate  as  a  rule.     The  mountain  lands  are  generally  uncultivated ;  the  ridge  lands  also,  especially  where 

77 
67 


78  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

there  is  much  of  the  chert  or  flint  in  large  masses.  Upon  the  slopes,  however,  there  are  often  very  good  sorts  of 
gravelly  land  with  yellow  subsoil  under  cultivation.  The  rest  of  the  county  is  made  up  of  slaty  or  crystalline 
rocks,  and  the  soils  derived  from  them  are  of  two  principal  classes,  viz:  the  red  and  the  gray  lands.  In  addition 
to  these  there  are  the  sandy  land*  of  tbe  creek  and  river  bottoms.  In  crossing  the  county  from  northwest  to 
southeast  one  goes  across  the  belts  of  different  rocks  and  of  the  different  classes  of  soils  which  are  derived  from 
them. 

The  western  boundary  of  the  county,  as  far  north  as  township  14,  is  made  by  a  mountain  range  of  crystalline 
slates  and  conglomerate.  In  township  14  this  range  turns  eastward,  and  its  prolongation  in  Georgia  is  known  as 
Dug-Down  mountain.  On  this  mountain,  which  is  several  miles  wide,  there  is  very  little  level  land,  and  as  the 
rocks  which  form  the  mountain  furnish  soils  that  are  sandy  and  clayey  and,  in  the  main,  not  very  fertile  this  part 
of  the  county  is  comparatively  thinly  settled  and  little  cultivated.  Across  the  mountain  we  descend  into  the  valley 
of  the  Tallapoosa  river,  and  of  Cane  creek,  its  western  fork.  The  width  of  this  valley  varies,  being  at  Ross'  ford 
about  one  mile.  The  bottom  lands  are  generally  best  suited  to  corn  and  other  grain,  though  some  an;  cultivated 
in  cotton.  The  valley  of  the  Tallapoosa  is  separated  from  that  in  which  Arbaeooehee  is  situated  by  a  ridge 
some  200  or  'I'M  feet  in  height,  with  little  level  land  and  few  settlements.  The  valley  of  Arbaeooehee  is  drained  by 
a  small  stream  called  Dying  creek,  and  in  this  valley  many  of  the  characteristic  features  of  the  valley  lands  of  this 
region  are  well  shown.  The  rocks  which  underlie  these  valley  lands  are  comparatively  easily  disintegrated  by  the 
atmospheric  agencies,  and  near  the  surface  they  have  been  weathered  into  reddish  and  yellowish  clays,  which  retain 
the  bedding  or  stratification  of  the  original  rocks.  These  rocks  consist  in  part  of  thin  beds  or  sheets  of  quartz, 
which  resist  decay,  and  as  the  more  yielding  materials  are  worn  away  the  quartz  fragments  cover  the  ground. 
The  soil  is  a  dark-colored  loam,  underlaid  with  a  red  clay,  which  is  the  result  of  the  removal  and  redeposition  of 
the  underlying  slates,  which,  in  turn,  are  the  stratified  clays  resulting  from  the  decay,  in  place,  of  the  original 
rocks,  as  before  stated.     The  valley  lands  are  rolling  and  gently  undulating,  and  comprise  many  very  fair  farms. 

The  region  about  Arbaeooehee  is  best  known  as  a  great  center  of  gold-mining  operations  thirty  years  ago. 
Southeast  of  Arbaeooehee  for  5  or  0  miles  there  are  hilly  or  mountainous  lands,  with  mica  slates  near  the  surface, 
thinly  covered  with  soil,  in  consequence  of  which  there  is  but  little  in  cultivation.  These  harder  slates  alternate 
with  others  containing  a  good  deal  of  hornblende  (an  iron  bearing  mineral),  and  as  the  hornblendic  rooks  disintegrate 
quite  readily,  their  positions  are  usually  marked  by  valley-like  depressions  with  a  red  or  yellow  clayey  soil,  which 
support  a  growth  of  white,  red,  and  Spanish  oaks,  sour  gum,  walnut,  and  hickory.  Pennyroyal,  a  lime-loving  plant, 
is  found  in  most  of  the  fence  corners  where  this  soil  predominates.  The  red  sods  of  this  kind  are  considered  best 
for  corn  and  other  grains,  but  they  are  not  so  good  for  cotton.  In  good  seasons  they  are  quite  productive,  but  are 
inclined  to  be  droughty. 

The  lower  part  of  this  county  is  characterized  by  the  predominance  of  red  lands,  a  belt  of  which,  5  or  G  miles 
in  width,  crosses  the  county  almost  east  and  west  near  its  southern  boundary.  The  soil  is  a  yellowish-brown  loam, 
which  for  most  crops  is  very  productive.  Throughout  the  county  the  gray  soils  greatly  predominate,  the  red  soils, 
with  which  they  alternate,  being  usually  in  comparatively  narrow  belts.  As  showing  the  average,  composition  of 
the  red  soils,  see  analysis  of  a  soil  of  this  kind  from  Lee  county  (page  10).  The  gray  lands  are  of  widely  different 
grades  of  fertility,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  rocks  from  which  they  have  been  derived.  The  best  of  the 
gray  soils  are  derived  from  a  granitic  rock,  and  are  frequently  found  closely  associated  with  the  red  soils  just  spoken 
of.  Such  soils  rank  in  fertility  among  the  best  in  the  county,  but  they  are  not  the  most  widely  distributed.  Gray 
soils  derived  from  mica  and  clay  slates  make  up  the  greater  part  of  the  lands  of  this  region,  and  are  found  both 
in  the  uplands  and  in  the  lowlands,  being  in  the  latter  position  usually  somewhat  more  sandy.  The  gray  lands 
have  a  growth  of  the  various  species  of  oaks,  and  where  the  sandy  material  predominates  there  is  a  growth  of  oak 
and  pine.  The  average  composition  of  the  gray  soil  of  the  better  quality  may  be  seen  from  an  analysis  of  a  gray 
soil  collected  near  Opelika,  in  Lee  county  (see  page  1G). 

The  cotton  production  of  Cleburne  county  is  small,  which  is  partly  due  to  the  fact  that  there  is  no  railroad  or 
navigable  stream.  Lying,  as  it  does,  along  the  northwestern  border  of  the  metamorphic  regions,  only  a  small 
proportion  of  its  soils  can  be  rated  as  first  class. 

ABSTRACT   OF    THE   REPORTS    OF   JOHN   R.   MOTIS,   OF  EDWARDSVILLE,  AND    OF  JAMES    H.    BELL  AND  DAVID  V. 

CRIDER,    OF   ARBACOOCHEE. 
(These  reports  refer  to  tbe  region  drained  by  Crane  ereek  and  tbe  main  fork  of  tbe  Tallapoosa  river.) 

In  general,  the  uplands  away  from  tho  streams  arc  rather  poor,  and  most  of  the  farming  lands  are  found  in  the  vicinity  of  the  river  and 
the  creeks.  The  low  bottom  lands  are  not  best  suited  to  cotton,  as  the  plant  is  lato  in  getting  started  and  liable  to  injury  from  early  frosts. 
For  this  reason  the  uplands,  though  not  so  fertile,  are  preferred.  Notwithstanding  theBC  objections  to  the  bottom  lands,  they  are  much 
cultivated  in  cotton,  on  account  of  the  generally  inferior  quality  of  the  uplands.  The  bottom  growth  is  a  mixture  of  oaks,  hickory, 
walnut,  gum,  etc.  The  top  soil  is  usually  a  sandy  loam  of  gray  and  yellowish  to  dark  colors,  8  to  10  inches  in  thickness,  with  a  subsoil  in 
general  somewhat  heavier,  and  of  gray  to  yellow  and  reddish  colors,  according  to  locality.  The  underlying  rock  also  varies  with  the 
locality,  being,  however,  some  kind  of  slate  rock  at  depths  of  from  6  to  10  feet.  These  soils,  while  best  suited  to  corn,  are  yet,  in  places, 
well  adapted  to  cotton.  The  other  soil  varieties  are  the  red  lands,  which  are  best  for  grain  crops,  and  the  pine  lands,  with  gray  gravelly 
soils. 

The  chief  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  oats,  etc.,  but  the  soil  is  for  the  most  part  best  adapted  to  corn,  cotton,  and  oats.  From  one- 
third  to  one-half  of  the  cultivated  land  is  in  cotton,  which  usually  grows  to  the  height  of -^  to  4  feet.  It  is  specially  liable  to  run  to  weed 
in  wet  seasons,  but  can  be  prevented  by  topping.  Fresh  land  yields  from  SOO  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and  a  475-pound 
bale  of  lint  requires  from  1,425  to  1,545  pounds.  Tho  fresh-land  staple  generally  rates  as  middling.  After  live  years'  culture  (unmauured) 
the  yield  decreases  about  one-half.  Crab-grass,  purslane,  etc.,  trouble  the  farmer.  Very  little  land  is  turned  out;  and  if  reclaimed, 
it  produces  well  for  a  few  years.     There  is  little  or  no  damage  from  the  washing  of  hillsides. 

The  cotton  is  hauled  in  wagons  as  fast  a6  it  is  ready  for  the  market  (usually  from  November  to  January)  to  the  nearest  railroad 
station  (Cedartown,  iu  Georgia,  or  Oxford,  in  Alabama)  and  there  sold  to  merchants.     The  rate  of  freight  from  Edwardsvilloto  Cedartown 
is  §1  50  per  bale. 
88 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  79 

RANDOLPH. 

Population:  16,575.— White,  13,155  ;   colored,  3,420. 

Area:  G10  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.     All  uietamorphic. 

Tilled  land:  81,420  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  23,177  acres;  in  corn,  29,595  acres;  in  oats,  4,850  acres;  in 
wheat,  10,150  acres ;  in  tobacco,  44  acres ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  433  acres. 

Cotton  production :  7,475  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.32  bale,  456  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  152 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

In  Randolph  county,  as  in  other  counties  of  this  region,  the  rocks  and  their  derived  soils  are  disposed  in  belts 
which  have  a  general  northeastern  and  southwestern  direction,  and  in  crossing  the  county  from  northwest  to  southeast 
the  relations  of  these  belts  may  best  be  made  out.  The  hornblendic  rocks,  which  yield  reddish  and  tolerably  fertile 
soils  and  give  rise  to  gently. undulating  topography,  occupy  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  county,  and  another 
belt  of  a  verjT  similar  nature  is  found  in  the  southeastern  portion,  while  the  greater  part  of  the  intervening  country  is 
made  up  of  mica  and  clay  slates.  The  mica  slates  extend  as  far  as  the  Little  Tallapoosa  river,  beyond  which  comes  a 
belt  of  the  clay  slates  to  Wedowee,  and  then  a  repetition  of  the  mica  slates  as  far  as  the  line  passing  northeastward 
through  Louina.  The  country  made  by  the  mica  slates  is  in  geueral  rather  broken  and  the  soils  somewhat  sandy, 
and  is  not  very  fertile.  The  timber  consists  of  the  upland  oaks  and  hickories,  with  long-leaf  pines,  the  latter 
becoming  in  many  places  the  prevailing  tree.  The  clay  slates  give  generally  a  stiffer  and  more  fertile  soil  than  the 
beds  just  mentioned,  and  the  usual  timber  is  oak  and  hickory,  with  very  little  pine. 

Below  Wedowee,  to  the  limit  above  named,  while  the  mica  slates  are  most,  prominent  among  the  strata,  they 
alternate  with  gneisses,  which  in  many  places  take  the  characters  of  granites.  The  soils  derived  from  this  class  of 
rocks  are  about  the  best  in  the  county,  and,  as  showing  their  average  composition,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the 
analysis  of  gray  granitic  soil  from  Lee  county,  given  ou  page  16.  The  mica-slate  soils  are  well  represented  in  the 
analysis  of  a  soil  of  that  kind  collected  in  Clay  county  (see  page  16).  South  of  Louina  to  the  liue  of  Chambers 
county  the  soils  are  mostly  red,  derived  from  the  uornblendic  rocks  alluded  to  before.  The  subsoils  are  also  red, 
and  rest  on  yellowish  and  reddish  stratified  clays,  which  are  nothing  more  thau  the  decayed  slates  of  the  country. 

In  the  southeastern  part  of  the  county,  from  Roanoke  to  the  hue  of  Chambers,  the  soils  are  sandy,  and  deep 
beds  of  white  sand  remind  one  of  the  southern  counties  of  the  state.  The  color  of  this  soil  is  gray  to  whitish,  and 
the  timber  is  chiefly  long-leaf  pine,  with  blackjack  and  the  other  oaks  which  are  so  commonly  found  in  the  piny 
woods.  The  only  rocks  which  are  to  be  seen  in  this  pine  region  are  sandstones  and  siliceous  rocks,  and  in  many 
places  the  fragments  of  quartz-seams  cover  the  ground.  This  is  usually  the  case,  however,  near  the  edge  of  the 
pine  region. 

The  drainage  of  Randolph  county  falls  into  two  systems,  the  greater  part  being  into  the  Tallapoosa  river,  a 
small  area  in  the  southeastern  corner  belonging  to  the  Chattahoochee. 

In  its  relations  to  cotton  production  Randolph  stands  between  Cleburne  and  Clay  on  the  one  hand  and  Chambers 
on  the  other.  It  is  remote  from  a  market,  and  its  soils  are  not  the  best  suited  to  cotton,  except  in  certain  sections, 
which  are  mostly  in  the  lower  part  of  the  county. 

ABSTEAOT   OF   THE  REPORT   OF  JAMES  H.   RADNEY,   OF  KOANOKE. 
(The  region  referred  to  lies  within  the  drainage  area  of  High  Pine  and  Corn  House  creeks,  tributaries  of  the  Tallapoosa.) 

The  uplands  are  preferred  for  cotton  culture,  since  in  the  lowlands  the  plant,  is  liable  to  he  late,  to  take  the  rust,  and  to  he  killed 
by  early  frosts  before  full  maturity.  Tho  two  chief  varieties  of  soil  are  those  of  the  gray  and  red  uplands,  which  make  at  least  three- 
fourths  of  the  cultivated  lands  of  the  region  described.  For  cotton  culture  the  slopes  facing  the  south  or  southeast  are  preferred  to  other 
localities.  The  timber  upon  these  uplands  consists  of  pines,  oaks,  and  hickories,  the  preponderance  of  one  or  the  other  of  theso  trees 
depending  on  the  quality  of  the  soil.  The  top  soil  varies  from  light  sandy  and  gravelly  to  a  rather  heavy,  clayey  loam  of  gray  to  brown 
or  red  colors,  resting  on  a  subsoil  of  yellow  or  red  clay  (sometimes  very  sandy).  The  underlying  material  is  a  soft,  rotten-slate  chalk, 
which  is  found  at  a  depth  of  from  4  to  8  feet.  Of  less  importance  in  the  cultivation  of  cotton,  but  important  for  corn  and  other  grain 
crops,  are  the  light  sandy-bottom  soils.     These  have  a  natural  growth  of  white  oaks,  beech,  and  poplar. 

The  chief  crops  are  corn  and  cottou  ;  the  former  on  lowlands,  the  latter  on  uplands.  About  one-half  of  the  laud  is  planted  in  cotton, 
which  usually  attains  a  height  of  from  2  to  6  feet,  but  is  most  productive  at  'J  or  4  feet.  Deep  culture  will  cause  cotton  to  run  to  weed. 
The  usual  yield  per  acre  is  from  £00  to  1,000  pounds,  i.  e.,  from  two-thirds  to  five-sixths  of  a  400-pound  bale,  and  varies  but  little  for  the 
first  ten  or  twelve  years  of  culture.  Rag-weed  and  hog-weed  are  most  troublesome.  One-tenth  of  the  land  originally  in  cultivation  is 
turned  out,  but  when  such  land  is  treated  with  manure  it  produces  well.  The  slopes  are  generally  much  damaged  by  washings,  and  the 
washings  of  uplands  are  frequently  hurtful  to  the  valleys.     The  damage  has  to  some  extent  been  prevented  by  hillside  ditching. 

Cotton  is  sent  to  market  chiefly  in  December  and  January,  most  of  it  being  hauled  in  wagons  to  West  Point,  in  Georgia,  the  nearest 
railroad  station  (30  miles  from  Roanoke),  the  freight  charge  to  that  point  being  §2  50  per  bale. 

CHAMBERS. 

Population  :  23,440.— White,  11,364 ;  colored,  12,076. 

Area:  610  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.     All  metamorphic. 

Tilled  lands:  149,283  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  70,934  acres;  in  corn,  49,306  acres;  in  oats,  9,258  acres; 
in  wheat,  11,520  acres;  in  tobacco,  39  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  211  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  1,038  acres. 

Cotton  production :  19,476  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.27  bale,  384  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  128 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  water-shed  between  the  Chattahoochee  and  the  Tallapoosa  runs  nearly  north  and  south  through  Chambers 
county.  The  bedded  rocks  which  form  the  substratum  of  this  county  all  have  the  general  direction  of  northeast 
and  southwest,  except  in  the  southeastern  corner,  wheie  their  arrangement  is  quite  irregular;  and  on  this  account 
the  soils  of  different  kinds  are  in  belts  which  pass  through  .the  county  from  northeast  to  southwest.    The  soils  are 

60 


80  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

essentially  of  two  kinds,  the  red  and  the  gray,  and  a  northeast  and  southwest  line  through  the  county  a  few  miles 
northwest  of  La  Fayette  would  be  about  the  dividing  line  between  these  two  varieties.  Toward  the  northwest 
the  soils  would  be  mostly  gray,  and  toward  the  southeast  mostly  red;  but  in  both  divisions  the  predominant  soil 
variety  is  marked  by  many  belts  and  patches  of  the  other  varieties. 

In  the  northern  and  northwestern  parts  of  Chambers  county,  where  the  gray  soils  prevail,  the  country  is  rolling 
or  gently  undulating,  and  the  timber  species  is  of  upland  oaks,  with  long-leaf  pine,  the  latter  becoming  the  principal 
tree  in  seme  localities  where  the  soil  is  sandy.  In  the  extreme  northwest  the  underlying  rocks  are  slates,  which 
have  been  thoroughly  disintegrated  in  place  and  have  been  converted  into  stratified  clays  of  a  yellowish  color,  with 
atop  covering  of  yellow  or  brown  loam,  constituting  the  soil  and  subsoil.  These  slates  are  always  interbedded 
with  seams  of  quartz,  the  fragments  of  which  in  some  places  completely  cover  the  ground.  The  soils  are  of 
moderate  fertility.  Near  Milltown  the  granite  appears  often  at  the  surface  as  large  areas  of  bare  rock.  The  granitic 
soils  are  among  the  best  in  the  county,  and  their  average  composition  may  be  seen  by  reference  to  an  analysis  under 
Lee  county,  given  on  page  10. 

The  red  soils  are  characteristic  over  more  than  half  of  the  lower  part  of  Chambers  county,  and  the  hornblendic 
rocks  from  which  they  have  been  derived  are  usually  worn  down  by  denudation  rather  uniformly,  producing  an 
undulating  surface.  The  timber  is  mostly  oak,  and  nowhere  can  more  luxuriant  groves  of  red,  Spanish,  white, 
and  post  oaks  be  seen  than  upon  the  rolling  red  lands  of  Chambers.  These  red  lands,  as  stated  elsewhere,  are  better 
suited  to  the  production  of  grain  than  of  cotton,  though  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  latter  crop  is  always 
planted.  The  red  lauds  have  from  the  first  been  selected  by  the  farmers,  and  it  is  rarely  that  any  large  areas  can 
now  be  seen  that  have  not  been  cleared  and  put  in  cultivation.  Most  of  the  handsome  residences  of  the  prosperous 
planters  of  ante-bellum  days  are  situated  in  the  midst  of  these  lands,  and  are  surrounded  with  the  splendid  oak  groves 
alluded  to. 

Chambers  county  forms  a  part  of  the  great  central  cotton  belt  of  the  state,  and  its  soils,  particularly  those  in 
the  lower  townships,  are  well  suited  to  the  production  of  cotton.  Such  are  the  red  and  gray  gneissic  soils,  of  which 
mention  has  been  made  before.  From  La  Fayette  to  the  southern  limit  of  the  county  the  greater  part  of  the  land  is 
in  cultivation,  and  cotton  forms  nearly  one-half  of  the  crops  cultivated.  The  greater  part  of  the  cotton  crop  is 
sold  to  merchants  at  La  Fayette,  Opelika,  and  West  Point. 

LEE. 

Population  :  27,202.— White,  12,217 ;  colored,  15,045. 

Area  :  010  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  All  metamorphic;  but  the  rocks  over  about  250  square  miles  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  county  are  covered  with  stratified  drift,  which  yields  the  soils  and  subsoils. 

Tilled  land  .-  122,875  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  51,SS9  acres;  in  corn,  30,137  acres:  in  oats,  11,91S  acres; 
in  wheat,  8,097  acres;  in  rice,  10  acres;  in  tobacco,  11  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  208  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  925 
acres. 

Cotton  production:  13,189  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.25  bale,  357  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  119 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Lee  county,  though  formed  by  the  strata  of  the  metamorphic  series,  has  these  rocks  almost  entirely  covered 
over  the  southern  half  by  the  beds  of  stratified  drift.  In  the  northern  half  of  the  county  the  tnetamorphie  or 
crystalline  rocks  are  directly  concerned  in  the  formation  of  the  soils,  and  it  is  necessary  to  a  proper  understanding 
of  the  kinds  and  distribution  of  these  soils  first  to  give  a  short  account  of  the  rocks  which  yield  them.  The  greater 
part  of  the  county  is  made  up  of  gneisses  or  crystalline  sedimentary  rocks  composed  of  three  minerals,  quartz, 
feldspar,  and  mica,  in  varying  proportions,  by  reason  of  which  variations  in  the  quality  of  the  rock  and  of  the  soil 
derived  from  it  are  brought,  about.  Further  variations  are  due  to  the  circumstance  that  hornblende  may  partly  or 
wholly  replace  the  mica.  The  hornblendic  rocks,  in  decomposing,  give  rise  to  soils  which  are  deeply  colored  red  by 
iron.  In  many  places  the  feldspar  is  deficient,  sometimes  wanting,  and  the  rock  passes  into  mica  slate,  with  a 
corresponding  change  for  the  worse  in  the  soil  produced  from  it. 

In  the  southern  half  of  the  county,  or  rather  traversing  it  in  a  northeastern  and  southwestern  direction  near  its 
center,  is  a  belt  of  limestone  (magnesian)  associated  with  beds  of  micaceous  sandstone.  These,  especially  the 
limestone,  are  generally  covered  with  beds  of  drift,  and  therefore  very  slightly  affect  the  soils;  the  sandstone, 
however,  forms  some  hills  with  sterile  soil  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  county  near  the  line  of  Macon.  Aside 
from  the  drift  soils,  therefore,  the  arable  lands  of  Lee  county  may  be  classed  as  gray,  red,  and  sandy,  the  gray 
soils,  derived  from  the  gneissic  rocks,  being  most  abundant,  forming  about  three-fourths  of  the  laud,  and  varying 
considerably  in  fertility,  as  might  be  inferred  from  what  has  been  said  before  concerning  the  rocks  which 
furnish  them  (see  analysis  of  an  average  soil  of  this  kind  from  near  Opelika,  page  10).  The  red  soils  are  next  in 
abundance  as  well  .ts  in  importance  in  cotton  cultivation,  and  an  analysis  of  one  of  these,  also  from  near  Opelika, 
has  been  presented  on  page  10.  The  sandy  soils  are  of  least  importance  here  as  in  other  places.  The  drift  soils 
vary,  as  usual,  between  heavy  clayey  loams  and  light  sandy  loams,  and  as  they  are  similar  to  those  soils 
elsewhere  an  enumeration  and  description  of  them  need  not  be  repeated  here. 

Lee  county,  like  Chambers,  is  one  of  the  great  central  cotton  counties.  The  soils  best  suited  to  the  cotton- 
plant  are  the  red  and  gray  gneissic  soils  in  the  north  and  the  loam  soils  of  the  drift  in  the  south,  the  latter 
characteristic  of  the  gravelly  hills  region. 

ABSTRACT    OF   TUE   REPORTS   OF   MR.   JOHN   T.   HARRIS,   OF   OPELIKA,  AJJD  ME.  C.  H.  M'CULLOH,  OF  BEULAH. 

(Theso  reports  relate  to  the  lands  -within  the  drainage  areas  of  Osanippa  and  Hallawoka  creeks  and  the  Chattahoochee  river.) 

The  soils,  in  tbo  order  of  their  relative  abundance  and  importance  in  tbe  cultivation  of  cotton,  are  the  gray  lands,  the  red  lands,  and  tho 

sandy  lands.    Tbe  gray  soils  constitute  from  a  half  to  three-fourths  of  the  arable  lands  of  the  county,  the  natural  timber  of  which  is  short-leaf 

pine,  all  varieties  of  upland  oaks,  except  the  black-jack,  -which  is  comparatively  saarce,  hickory,  and  poplar;  in  swamps,  ash,  maple,  and 

gvm.    This  soil  is  a  light  sandy  loam  of  prevailing  gray  color,  passing  occasionally  into  buff  and  yellowish.     The  average  thickness  to 

90 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  81 

change  of  color  is  from  3  to  6  inches.  The  subsoil  is  generally  a  little  heavier  than  the  surface  soil,  and  is  sometimes  a  yellowish  or 
reddish  clay,  containing  angular  fragments  of  quartz.  This  subsoil  is  underlaid  with  the  more  or  less  decayed  gneiss  or  mica  slate  from 
which  it  has  beeu  derived,  and  it  is  a  not  uncommon  thing  to  seethe  subsoil. passing  by  insensible  gradations  through  the  stratified  clays 
into  the  unchanged  rock.  The  red  lands  make  up  from  a  very  small  proportion  to  nearly  one-half  of  the  lands,  but  the  red  and  the  gray 
in  some  sections  alternate  with  each  other  in  such  a  way  that  it  is  impossible  to  map  out  their  distinct  areas  except  with  avast  amount  of 
close  and  accurate  surveying.  This  soil  is  a  light  clayey  loam,  usually  of  brown,  mahogany,  and  red  colors,  from  5  to  8  inches  thick  to  a 
change  of  color.  The  subsoil  in  consistence  is  not  much  heavier  than  the  soil,  though  perhaps  commonly  of  a  slightly  darker  red  color. 
Like  the  gray  soil,  this  also  contains  the  angular  quartz  fragments.  The  red  soils  are  considered  best  suited  to  corn  and  other  grains, 
though  cotton  forms  on  this,  as  well  as  on  the  gray  soil,  two-thirds  to  three-fourths  of  the  cultivated  crop.  The  sandy  soils  m  the 
neighborhood  reported  upon  are  of  little  extent,  but  are  very  generally  planted  in  cotton. 

The  above-named  lands  are  easy  to  cultivate  in  wet  and  dry  seasons,  being  well  drained,  but  rather  early  and  warm.  The  crops 
are  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  oats,  and  sweet  potatoes.  The  gray  soil  is  perhaps  best  adapted  to  cotton  and  the  red  to  corn  and  grain,  but  all 
the  other  crops  generally  succeed.  From  two-thirds  to  three -fourths  of  the  whole  area  is  planted  in  cotton,  which  varies  iu  height  from  2 
to  4  feet,  and  is  most  productive  wrben,  say,  3  feet  high.  It  runs  to  weed  in  wet  weather  in  August,  but  this  can  be  prevented  by 
fertilizers  aud  shallow  culture.  On  fresh  land  the  average  production  per  acre  is  600  pounds,  or  a  half  bale  of  400  pounds  of  lint  cotton. 
After  12  to  20  years'  cultivation  the  loss  in  yield  is  at  least  ouc-third,  and  it  then  requires  from  1,425  to  1,545  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  make 
a  475-pound  bale.  Rag-weed  aud  crab-grass  are  the>greatest  nuisances.  From  one-fourth  to  one-sixth  of  the  land  originally  in  cultivation 
is  now  turned  out,  but  by  the  use  of  fertilizers  such  lands  can  be  made  to  yield  nearly  or  quite  as  much  as  when  fresh.  The  slopes  or 
hillsides  are  readily  washed  into  gullies,  and  the  valleys  are  injured  by  the  washings  of  the  uplands  ;  but  damage  from  these  causes  is 
being  checked  or  prevented  by  horizontalizing  and  hillside  ditching. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  usually  between  August  15  and  December  26.  The  crop  is  commonly  sold  to  merchants  in  West  Point, 
Georgia,  and  Opelika,  Alabama,  and  by  them  shipped  to  market. 

TALLAPOOSA. 

Population:  23,401.— White,  16,10S;  colored,  7,293. 

Area :  S10  square  miles.— Woodland,  all.  Metamorphic,  all ;  but  about  100  square  miles  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  county  are  covered  wfth  stratified  drift. 

Tilled  land:  143,170  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  41,200  acres;  in  corn,  41,415  acres;  in  oats,  9,10G  acres; 
in  wheat,  14,572  acres ;  in  tobacco,  21  acres ;  in  sugar-cane,  41  acres ;  iu  sweet  potatoes,  40S  acres. 

Cotton  production :  14,101  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.34  bale,  4SG  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  162 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

There  are  no  striking  topographical  features  to  be  noticed  in  Tallapoosa  ceunty.  The  drainage  is  all  into  the 
Tallapoosa  and  the  three  principal  tributaries  ou  the  east,  Sandy,  Blue,  and  Sougahatchee  crce'ks,  which  have  their 
sources  near  the  water-shed  between  the  Chattahoochee  and  the  Tallapoosa,  a  ridge  traversing  Chambers  and  Lee 
■counties.  All  the  bedded  rocks  of  the  county  are  crystalline  or  metamorphic,  and,  like  all  strata  of  the  region  of 
crystalline  rocks,  lie  iu  sheets  whose  outcropping  edges  have  the  prevailing-  direction  of  northeast  and  southwest. 
The  soils  derived  from  these  rocks  are  disposed  in  parallel  belts  having  the  same  general  direction.  Bearing  these 
things  in  mind,  a  description  of  the  agricultural  features  of  the  county  may  best  be  given  by  naming  the  soil  belts 
which  are  crossed  in  succession  in  passing  through  the  county  from  northwest  to  southeast. 

As  to  color,  there  are  two  varieties  of  soils :  the  red  and  the  gray ;  but  the  latter  vary  very  greatly  iu  respect 
to  their  fertility,  as  well  as  in  respect  to  the  rocks  from  which  they  have  been  derived,  aud  in  some  cases,  when 
derived  from  granitic  rocks,  rank  among  the  best  in  the  county.  These  have  commonly  a  subsoil  which  is  more  or 
less  reddish  or  yellowish  in  color.  The  characteristic  timber  consists  of  the  species  of  upland  oaks,  with  some 
short-leaf  pine.  When  based  upon  siliceous  rocks  and  mica  slates,  especially  when  these  are  very  silieeeus,  the 
gray  soils  are  saudy  aud  have  a  light-colored  sandy  subsoil,  aud  then  the  prevailing  timber  is  the  long-leaf  pine, 
■with  its  associates,  black-jack  and  post  oaks.  Such  soils  stand  low  in  the  scale  of  fertility.  Similarly,  there  are 
grades  in  the  fertility  of  the  red  and  yellow  soils.  Those  derived  from  hornblendic  rocks  are  of  a  deep-red  color,  are 
rich  and  strong,  and  are  timbered  with  the  upland  oaks — white,  red,  Spanish,  and  post.  Upon  these  the  long-leaf  pine 
is  seldom  seen.  As  has  bee»  before  stated,  the  red  soils  are  best  suited  to  the  grain  crops.  Another  kind  of  reddish 
soil,  derived  from  certain  varieties  of  mica  and  clay  slates,  has  a  prevailing  timber  of  small  oaks,  with  very  few 
pines.  In  addition  to  the  above-named  soil  varieties  there  are  the  usual  bottom  soils,  which  are  in  their  nature 
dependent  upon  the  surrounding  uplands,  from  which  they  have  been  washed;  but  as  a  rule  the  bottom  soils  are 
rather  sandy,  and  in  most  cases  are  more  fertile  than  the  uplands. 

As  to  distribution,  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  county  there  is  a  small  area  in  which  the  rocks  are  thick- 
bedded  and  approach  granite  in  structure,  aud  throughout  this  regiou  the  soils  are  red  and  gray,  with  red 
subsoils,  and  of  rather  exceptional  fertility.  Thence  southeastward  to  Dadeville  the  country  is  made  up  of  belts  of 
light-gray  sandy  soils,  timbered  with  long-leaf  pines,  alternating  with  light-yellowish  sandy  and  loamy  soils  based 
on  mica  and  clay  slates,  and  supporting  mostly  oak  growth.  Subordinated  to  these  are  areas  of  red  soils  with  red  or 
yellow  subsoils,  but  these  do  not  become  prominent  till  Dadeville  is  passed.  Between  Dudleyville  and  Dadeville 
there  is  much  of  this  undulating  country  with  oak  and  hickory  growth,  but  a  little  northwest  of  the  direct  line 
between  the  two  places  ruus  a  belt  of  long-leaf  pine  land  with  sandy  soil,  and  in  places,  especially  near  the 
Tallapoosa  river,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  line  of  Chambers  county,  there  are  deep  beds  of  white  sand,  much  resembling- 
some  parts  of  the  state  where  the  stratified  drift  forms  the  surface. 

Below  Dadeville,  to  the  southeastern  limit  of  the  county,  the  red  and  gray  soils,  with  red  or  yellow  subsoils, 
prevail,  with  here  and  there  a  belt  of  sandy  pine  land.  The  red  and  the  gray  colors  are  about  equally  prevalent, 
and  the  soils  about  equal  iu  fertility  where  both  have  the  red  subsoil.  The  agricultural  characters  of  these  two 
varieties  are  well  shown  in  the  abstract  given  on  page  82. 

South  of  the  Sougahatchee  creek  to  the  lower  end  of  the  county  the  sands,  pebbles,  aud  loams  of  the  stratified 
drift  overlie  all  the  country  rocks,  hiding  them  completely  from  view;,  except  in  the  vicinity  of  streams.  In  this 
part  of  the  county,  therefore,  these  superficial  beds  are  alone  involved  in  the  formation  of  the  soils.     In  some  parts 

ut 


82  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

of  the  region  thus  covered  with  the  drift  there  are  beds  of  steatite,  which  will  probably  some  day  be  of  value.  At 
Tallahassee  the  rocks  cause  cascades  in  the  Tallapoosa  river,  aud  these  have  beeu  utilized  to  furnish  the  power  for 
oue  of  the  largest  cottou  factories  in  the  state. 

The  chief  cottou  soils  of  Tallapoosa  county  are  the  red  and  gray  gneissic  soils  and  some  of  the  lowlands  of  the 
river  and  creeks,  aud,  in  addition  to  these,  the  loams  of  the  drift  by  which  the  southern  portion  of  the  county  is 
covered.  A  large  proportion  of  the  cotton  crop  is  produced  iu  the  southern  sections,  where  there  is  a  prevalence 
of  the  above-named  soils.     Toward  the  north  aud  northwest  the  slaty  soils  are  much  less  suited  to  the  crop. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  REPORTS  OF  D.  A.  G.  ROSS,  OF  CAMP  HILL,  DANIEL  TAYLOR,  OF  NE"\V  SITE,  AND  JAMES 

ST.  PEARSON,  OF  DADEVILLE. 

(The  second  refers  to  the  region  drained  by  Euiuckfau  crock;  the  othor  two  to  the  region  of  Sandy  creek.) 

About  New  Site  the  soils  are  mostly  gray,  with  subsoils  varying  from  a  sandy  clay  to  a  rather  stiff  red  clay.  Iu  the  other  localities 
the  red  and  the  gray  soils  are  about  equal  in  extent,  the  gray  being,  it*  anything,  rather  more  abundant.  The  uplands  are  preferred  for 
cotton,  for  the  reason  that  in  the  lowlands  the  plant  is  likely  to  be  late,  and  therefore  to  bo  killed  by  frost  before  maturity.  Under  aH 
circumstances  the  use  of  ammoniated  manures  is  recommended,  as  these  cause  the  plant  to  mature  early  and  escape  the  danger  from 
frosts.      The  soils  described  are — 

First.  Gray  soil.  This  soil  makes  from  one-half  to  two-thirds  of  the  cultivated  lands  of  the  county,  and  varies  in  fertility  and 
in  other  respects  with  the  varying  quality  of  the  subsoil,  which  is  sometimes  a  red  clay  and  sometimes  sand  or  gravel.  The  timber  in 
the  first  case  is  a  mixture  of  oaks  aud  hickories,  poplar,  ash,  etc.  When  the  subsoil  is  light,  the  long-leaf  pine  becomes  a  characteristic 
growth.  The  average  thickness  of  the  top  soil  is  C  inches.  The  underlying  granitic  rock,  from  which  both  soil  aud'subsoil  are  derived,  is 
found  at  varying  depths  from  the  surface. 

Second.  The  red  soils.  These  make  from  one-third  to  one-half  of  the  cultivated  lands  of  the  county,  being  more  widely  spread  over 
the  southern  half.  The  natural  timber  consists  of  oaks  and  hickories,  with  very  few  pines.  The  top  soil  is  a  line  sandy  to  clayey  loam, 
5  or  6  iuches  in  thickness,  with  a  subsoil  of  red  clay,  and  is  usually  of  a  darker  shade  (brown)  than  the  subsoil.  The  subsoil,  as  a 
rule,  contains  fragments  of  quartz  or  Hint,  tho  underlying  original  rock  being  found  at  varying  depths.  Of  these  two  soil  varieties  the 
gray  is  best  suited  to  cotton,  the  red  to  grain.  On  the  light  sandy  gray  soils  the  principal  oak,  which  is  associated  with  the  pines,  is 
tho  black-jack. 

Third.  Not  more  than  one-sixth  of  the  county  is  bottom  lnnd.  The  bottom  soils  are  generally  somewhat  heavy,  and  are  of  colors 
and  composition  varying  with  the  uplands  from  which  they  are  derived.  Their  thickness  is  often  great,  from  1  to  5  feet.  The  subsoil  is 
commonly  of  heavier  texture,  but  lighter  in  color  than  the  top  soil,  and  i3  underlaid  at  varying  depths  by  sand,  gravel,  and  granitic 
and  flinty  rocks,  according  to  locality. 

Tillage  is  easy  in  light  sandy  and  difficult  in  heavy  red  lands,  and  is  easier  for  all  lands  in  wet  than  in  dry  seasons.  The  chief 
crops  are  cotton,  corn,  oats,  wheat,  sorghum,  sweet  potatoes,  etc.,  all  being  equally  well  adapted  to  the  soil.  The  cultivated  land  is  very 
nearly  equally  divided  between  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  and  oats.  Cottou  usually  attains  a  height  of  from  3  to  :U  feet,  and  is  must  productive 
when  nearly  or  quite  at  its  full  height.  It  is  inclined  to  run  to  weed  on  fresh  lands,  especially  with  deep  culture  near  the  roots  iu  wet 
seasons.  Excess  of  weed  can  be  prevented  by  shallow  cultHre,  by  toppiug  in  July,  and  by  the  use  of  commercial  fertilizers.  Fresh  land 
yields  from  500  to  2,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  the  average  being,  say,  800 pounds;  a  475-pound  bale  requires  1,425  pounds  of  good 
and  1,583  pounds  of  average  seed-cotton.  The  best  fresh-land  staple  rates  in  the  market  as  middling.  The  last  picking  after  the 
bolls  are  frostbitten  is  light  and  inferior.  After  fifteen  years  in  cultivation,  lauds  originally  thin  will  yield  from  200  to  300  pounds 
of  seed-cotton,  but  when  originally  rich  tho  yield  will  be  from  500  to  800  pounds.  It  requires  from  1,425  to  1,545  |iounds  of  seed- 
cotton  from  old  laud  to  make  a  475-pound  bale,  and  more  seed-cotton  from  rich  than  from  thin  laud  to  make  a  given  quantity  of  lint. 
Crab-grass,  rag-weed,  hog-weed,  and  purslane  are  most  troublesome.  One-third  of  tho  old  lands  are  not  cultivated;  but  after  several 
years  of  rest  they  produce  nearly  as  well  as  when  fresh.  There  is  not  much  injury  from  washings  except  on  coarse  gravelly  hillsides, 
which  can  bo  prevented  by  hillside  ditching.  Valleys  are  not  hurt  by  the  washings  of  the  uplands  unless  clay  is  washed  in  to  cover  the 
soil.     The  damage  from  this  eouree  is  usually  prevented. 

The  cotton  is  sent  off  as  fast  as  it  is  prepared  for  the  market.  Between  September  and  March  it  is  hauled  on  wagons  to  tho  nearest 
railroad  station,  usually  to  Opelika  and  Dadeville,  and  whence  sent  to  different  points  north  and  east.  The  freight  varies  with  the 
distance,  the  rate  from  Camp  Hill  to  Opelika  being  $1  per  bale. 

CLAY. 

Population:  12,938.— White,  11,870;  colored,  1,008. 

Area  :  610  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.     All  metamorphic. 

Tilled  land  :  57,972  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  13,921  acres;  in  corn,  24,503  acres;  in  oats,  4,834  acres; 
in  wheat,  9,785  acres;  in  tobacco,  So  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  10  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  237  acres. 

Cotton  production  ;  4,973  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.30  bale,  513  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  171 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  topographical  features  of  Clay  county  is  a  high  ridge  (Blue  mountain),  composed  of 
siliceous  rocks,  "which  runs  northeast  and  southwest  near  its  western  boundary.  With  the  single  exception  of 
Talladega  creek,  all  the  streams  which  have  their  sources  in  the  hills  of  Clay  county  flow  either  southward  or 
westward  into  the  Coosa  and  Tallapoosa  rivers.  Talladega  creek  rises  in  the  highlands  east  of  this  Blue  Mountain 
ridge,  and,  flowing  down  the  valley  soutbwestward  for  10  or  12  miles,  turns  northwest,  and,  cutting  through  the 
siliceous  rocks  of  the  mountains  which  form  the  western  boundary  of  the  county,  flows  out  into  the  Coosa  river 
across  Talladega  county.  Approximately  parallel  with  this  ridge,  and  G  or  S  miles  distant  from  it  toward  the  east, 
there  is  another  ridge,  which  is  formed  chiefly  of  mica  slates,  with  which,  however,  are  associated  ledges  of  quartz 
rock,  which  give  rise  to  much  rough  and  broken  country.  Between  these  two  ridges  tbere  is  a  valley,  which,  with 
some  interruptions,  extends  through  the  whole  length  of  the  county.  In  its  upper  portion,  near  the  headwaters  of 
Ketchapedrakee  and  Talladega  creeks,  this  valley  has  the  name  of  Fish-Head  valley;  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
county  it  is  called  Horn's  valley. 

West  of  the  BIpic  mountain  (as  the  western  ridge  is  sometimes  called),  out  to  the  borders  of  Talladega  county, 
the  rocks  of  clay  are  all  aluminous  slates  alternating  with  strata  of  quartzite,  and  the  resulting  soils  are  gray, 
S3 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  83 

which  are  not  very  fertile.  Where  the  siliceous  rocks  are  most  prominent,  as  upon  the  higher  ridges,  the  soils  are 
sandy,  and  support  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine;  in  other  places  the  upland  oaks  are  associated  with  the  pines. 

The  soils  of  the  valley  lands  above  mentioned  are  of  two  kinds,  red  and  gray,  the  former  derived  from  the  rocks 
which  contain  the  mineral  hornblende,  and  the  latter  from  the  mica  and  clay  slates.  These  two  varieties  are 
in  belts  and  patches,  and  it  is  impossible  to  give  any  detailed  account  of  their  relative  distribution.  The  country 
from  the  eastern  foot  of  the  Blue  mountain  out  to  the  vicinity  of  Ashland  is  in  general  rolling,  though  rising 
toward  the  east,  and  is  made  up  of  many  alternations  of  mica  and  clay  slates  with  the  hornblendic  rocks.  Perhaps 
the  most  widely  distributed  soil  is  a  brown  loam  resting  on  a  yellow  clay  foundation  and  supporting  a  growth  of 
red,  black,  and  Spanish  oaks,  with  a  few  chestnuts  and  hickories.  A  soil  of  this  sort  was  collected  near  Mr.  H. 
Watts',  and  the  analysis  of  the  same  has  been  given  on  page  10.  The  soils  of  this  class  are  good  with  favorable 
seasons,  but  suffer  much  from  drought.  Going  eastward,  the  red  color  and  stiffness  of  the  soils  increase,  and  at 
Candutchkee  they  have  nearly  the  color  and  texture  of  some  of  the  red  valley  soils  of  the  adjoining  county 
ot  Talladega.  This  red  belt  is  next  followed  by  a  region  made  up  of  mica  slates,  which  for  great  distances 
presents  almost  uniform  characters.  These  latter  rocks  yield  a  brown  soil  with  red-clay  subsoil,  and  usually  contains 
fragments  of  the  much-decayed  slate.  The  prevailing  timber  is  post,  red,  and  black-jack  oaks,  with  some  pines 
and  hickories,  the  two  latter,  however,  not  very  numerous.  Soils  of  this  kind  may  be  seen  from  Delta  to  Hillabee, 
and  probably  in  the  continuation  of  the  same  direction  to  the  lower  limit  of  the  county. 

East  of  the  ridge  lands  between  Delta  and  Ashland,  and  a  few  miles  below  the  latter  place,  there  is  a  belt  4 
or  5  miles  wide  of  rather  low,  gently  undulating  country,  called  Flatwoods,  covered  with  a  mixed  growth  of 
oaks  and  pine,  and  having  generally  a  gray  and  somewhat  sandy  soil.  These  flatwoods  show  a  considerable  variety 
as  regards  the  fertility  of  the  soils.  Some  arc  considered  almost  worthless,  being  too  wet  and  too  rocky  for 
cultivation ;  but  when  good  enough  for  cultivation  the  soil  gives  a  fair  yield,  as  all  the  cotton  matures  and  there  is  no 
danger  of  its  suffering  from  drought.  Beyond  the  flatwoods,  toward  the  southeastern  corner  of  the  county,  there 
is  first  a  belt  4  or  5  miles  in  width  of  grauitic  rocks,  yielding  a  gray  soil,  which  is  usually  quite  fertile,  and 
this  belt  is  succeeded  in  the  same  direction  by  clay  slates  and  micaceous  and  siliceous  rocks,  which  give  yellowish 
and  gray  clayey  and  sandy  soils  of  no  great  value.  In  wet  lowlands  there  is  much  of  what  is  called  "crawfishy" 
land,  which  is  worthless  unless  improved;  but  by  thorough  ditching,  turning  under  of  green  crops,  and  liberal 
applications  of  lime  these  make  very  good  crops,  and  the  crawfishy  character  disappears.  They  are  also  often  much 
improved  by  simply  allowing  the  washings  from  the  red  lauds  to  settle  over  them. 

Clay  county  has  the  disadvantage  of  being  remote  from  market.  The  northwestern  border  of  the  county, 
being  broken  and  mountainous,  possesses  comparatively  few  sections  whose  soils  are  well  adapted  to  cotton 
production.  The  bulk  of  this  crop  in  Clay  is  hence  produced  in  the  southern  and  eastern  parts  of  the  county.  In  the 
character  of  the  soils  cultivated  in  cotton  Clay  resembles  Cleburne  and  Randolph  on  the  one  side  and  Tallapoosa 
and  Coosa  on  the  other,  and  the  remarks  there  made  apply  also  to  the  adjacent  portions  of  this  county. 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE    REPORT    OF   W.    W.   JENKINS,    OF   HILLABEE. 
(This  report  refers  to  the  drainage  area,  of  Enitochopka,  Hillabee,  and  Hatchet  creeks.) 

The  lowlands  consist  of  tirst  bottoms,  which  aro  generally  sandy,  and  of  gray,  black,  and  yellowish,  colors;  of  second  bottoms, 
which  are  more  or  less  rolling,  containing  but  little  sand,  and  have  gray,  yellow,  and  red  colors;  and  of  fkitwoods,  a  body  of  laud  12  miles 
by  8  in  extent,  mostly  with  gray,  sandy  soil,  interspersed  with  patches  of  black  piue-swamp  land,  with  yellowish  soil.  The  flatwoods  have 
a  growth  chiefly  of  long-leaf  pine,  with  black-jack  and  other  oaks,  some  hickory,  sweet  gum,  walnut,  poplar,  aud  patches  of  crab-appl"e, 
persimmon,  ash,  maple,  dogwood,  alder,  etc.,  on  the  branches,  aud  occasionally  a  bush  of  cedar.  The  tlatwoods  are  of  average  fertility, 
and  are  not  droughty.  The  first  bottoms  are  exceedingly  productive;  the  second  bottoms  less  productive,  but  surer  of  a  crop  than  the  first 
bottoms.  The  uplands  consist  of  several  varieties.  The  table-lands  are  very  productive  where  hickory  is  found  in  abundance.  Where 
the  sides  of  the  hills  are  heavily  timbered  with  oaks,  hickory,  and  poplar,  with  no  uudergrowth,  there  are  many  farms,  even  on  steep 
hillsides,  for  the  soil  is  always  good.  Many  of  the  hills  aro  covered  with  chestnut,  chincapin,  aud  sassafras,  and  are  not  much  valued. 
A  large  proportion  of  the  pine  land  is  not  considered  worth  cultivating,  and  many  spots  of  good  soil  cannot  be  cultivated  because  of  the 
great  number  and  size  of  the  rocks  which  cover  the  ground.  In  general,  the  summits  aud  southern  aud  eastern  slopes  of  tke*hills  are 
most  heavily  timbered  and  productive.  The  geuerally  mountainous  character  of  this  county,  with  the  early  fall,  late  spriug,  and  usually 
cool  summers,  makes  the  cotton  season  very  short.  The  caterpillar  comes  late,  and  geuerally  does  more  good  than  harm  by  exposiug  the 
bolls  to  the  sun.  Guano  is  much  tfsed  to  hasten  the  growth  and  maturity  of  the  cotton-plant.  The  gray  lauds,  which  predominate,  are 
the  freest  and  warmest,  and  give  best  returns.  The  first  bottoms  are  generally  too  cold,  and  the  weed  grows  so  rank  that  the  plant  rots 
and  molds ;  they  are  also  too  much  shaded  by  the  hills.  The  second  bottoms  are  generally  rolling,  with  no  hills  so  high  as  to  shade  them 
too  much.  The  flatwoods,  though  the  soil  is  only  of  moderate  fertility,  yield  good  crops,  because  they  are  warmer,  more  exposed  to  the 
eun,  and  are  visited  by  frosts  often  some  weeks  later  than  the  other  lands.  Wet  winter  and  spriug  are  considered  most  injurious  to  the 
cotton  crop,  as  it  takes  the  land  in  the  flats  aud  bottoms  a  long  time  to  dry  and  become  warm. 

The  most  prominent  characters  of  the  principal  soil  varieties  have  thus  been  giveu.  Iu  the  order  of  productiveness  they  would  rank 
about  as  follows:  the  best  uplands,  whether  red  or  gray,  are  indicated  by  a  growth  of  numerous  long  hickory  saplings;  the  black  pine- 
swamp  land,  when  properly  drained,  is  very  productive  ;  while  the  yellow  lands  are  the  poorest  of  all.  The  uplands  and  flats  are  very 
easy  of  tillage,  but  the  bottoms,  being  wet  aud  rich,  are  likely  to  be  overrun  with  grass,  which  is  hard  to  manage. 

The  principal  crop  is  cotton,  which  is  cultivated  on  about  one-half  of  the  tilled  land.  The  plant  grows  to  the  height  of  4  or  5  feet,  being 
most  productive  at  4  feet.  The  causes  which  incliue  the  plant  to  run  to  weed  are  wet  weather,  too  rich  land,  too  much  manure,  and  too  much 
distance  between  the  plants.  Topping  is  suggested  as  the  best  remedy.  From  400  to  700  pounds  to  the  acre  may  be  taken  as  the  average 
yield  of  the  fresh  land,  and  about  1,485  pounds  are  needed  to  make  a  standard  bale.  The  staple  from  fresh  lands  is  usually  better  than 
that  from  land  long  in  cultivation,  since  it  is  not  so  likely  to  be  stained  by  the  subsoil.  After  a  number  of  years'  cultivation  (without 
manure)  the  yield  is  brought  down  to  300  pounds  to  the  acre,  with  about  the  same  proportion  of  lint  to  seed,  but  with  somewhat  inferior 
fiber,  as  it  is  shorter,  less  oily,  and  more  brittle.     The  most  troublesome  weeds  are  the  hog-weed,  crab,  and  "hurrah"  grasses. 

One-fourth  of  the  land  formerly  under  cultivation  is  turned  out.  When  again  taken  in,  the  yellow  soils  appear  to  be  exhausted  ;  but 
the  black  soils  seem  to  be  brought  to  life  by  a  few  years'  growth  of  young  pines,  and  if  they  have  not  been  burned  over  and  the  Btraw 
been  allowed  to  rot  on  the  ground  produce  as  well  a.s  ever.  The  uplands  are  all  more  or  less  easily  washed,  aud  the  injury  from  this 
source  is  considerable,  When  ditching  is  resorted  to,  it  is  to  save  the  uplands,  since  the  lowlands  are  rather  improved  than  injnred  by 
the  washings  from  the  uplands.     Where  the  hillside  ditches  are  properly  cut  they  protect  the  uplands  very  effectually. 

The  shipping  of  cotton  begins  in  September,  and  is  made  by  railroad,  principaliv  to  Savannah,  Georgia,  at  the  rate  of  §1  per  bale. 

93 


84  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

COOSA. 

Population:  15,113.— White,  10,050;  colored,  5,063. 

Area:  670  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.     All  metamorphic. 

Tilled  land:  80,701  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  26,468  acres;  in  corn,  29,990  acres;  in  oats,  5,325  acres;  in 
wheat,  9,735  acres ;  in  tobacco,  28  acres ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  412  acres. 

Cotton  production:  8,411  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.32  bale,  450  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  152 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  drainage  of  Coosa  county  is  westward  into  the  Coosa  river,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  strip  along 
the  eastern  edge  of  the  county,  which  is  within  the  drainage  area  of  the  Tallapoosa.  The  water-shed  between 
Paint  creek  and  Weoguflka  is  a  prominent  ridge  of  siliceous  rocks,  which  runs  northeast  parallel  with  the  course 
of  Paint  creek,  and  very  near  it.  This  ridge  divides  into  two  nearly  equal  parts  the  northwestern  quarter  of  the 
county,  over  which  prevail  soils  of  a  light  or  gray  color  and  sandy  texture,  with  a  timber  growth  in  which  the 
long-leaf  pine  is  always  conspicuous  and,  at  times,  the  principal  tree.  The  underlying  rocks,  however,  from  which 
these  soils  are  derived  differ  on  the  two  sides  of  this  ridge.  Northwestward  to  the  limits  of  the  county  these  rocks 
are  siliceous  and  clay  slates,  with  sandstones  and  a  narrow  belt  of  limestone  in  the  extreme  northwestern  corner; 
southeastward,  over  a  belt  0  miles  in  width,  the  prevailing  strata  are  micaceous  slates,  usually  much  disintegrated, 
and  often  filled  with  garnets.  In  the  direction  of  the  river  the  country  is  much  broken,  and  the  hills  bordering 
the  streams  are  in  some  instances  400  or  500  feet  above  the  water-level.  Where  the  siliceous  dividing  ridge  above 
noticed  is  cut  by  the  Coosa  river  high  cliffs  overlook  that  stream,  and  near  the  southeastern  limit  of  this  belt,  and 
between  Weoguffka  and  Hatchet  creeks,  up  to  the  Talladega  county-line,  steep,  high  ridges  are  numerous.  Most 
of  these  hills  are  covered  with  long-leaf  pine  forests  and  are  uncultivated,  but  hold  apparently  inexhaustible 
deposits  of  iron  ore,  which  may  some  day  be  utilized. 

Southeast  of  a  line  drawn  from  the  month  of  Hatchet  creek  to  the  northeastern  corner  of  the  county  alternating 
red  and  gray  soils  are  distributed  over  a  surface  which  is,  in  general,  more  undulating  anil  less  broken  than 
that  just  described.  The  underlying  rocks  are  also  different,  consisting  chiefly  of  gneisses  and  granites,  and  the 
presence  of  the  mineral  hornblende  in  many  of  these  imparts  to  the  soils  derived  from  them  a  red  or  brown  color. 
The  subsoils,  even  of  the  gray  varieties  of  soil,  are  mostly  of  reddish  colors,  and  are  usually  called  red  days. 
Between  Bradford  and  Kockford  stretches  a  belt  of  granite,  which  in  places  may  be  seen  as  huge  bowlders, 
resulting  from  the  disintegration  of  the  mass.  The  resulting  soils  vary  from  mulatto-colored  to  gray,  and  are  of 
varying  degrees  of  fertility.  The  timber  upon  the  red  soils  is  chiefly  oaks  and  hickory,  and  that  upon  the  gray  soils 
the  same,  with  the  addition  of  pine.  The  short-leaf  pine  is  in  places  associated  with  the  other  trees  mentioned 
both  on  red  and  on  gray  soils,  but  the  lang-leaf  pine  seems  to  grow  in  force  only  upon  the  lighter-colored,  sandier 
soils. 

In  the  vicinity  of  the  Coosa  river,  and  near  the  lower  line  of  the  county,  there  is  a  tolerably  wide  terrace  or  river 
plain,  some  150  or  200  feet  above  the  water-level  on  an  average,  on  which  the  underlying  tocks  are  mostly  hidden 
from  view  by  the  beds  of  sand  and  pebbles  of  stratified  drift.  In  this  region  the  drift  alone  is  concerned  in  the 
formation  of  the  soils  and  subsoils,  since  the  country  rocks  are  exposed  only  along  the  banks  of  the  streams,  anil 
the  aspect  of  the  country  is  in  nowise  different  from  that  which  prevails  over  some  of  the  southern  counties  of 
the  state.  In  addition  to  the  soil-varieties  above  mentioned,  there  are  the  usual  bottom  soils  which  take  their 
character  from  the  uplands  from  which  they  are  washed.  Over  all  that  region  where  the  soils  are  closely  connected 
with  the  stratified  rocks  angular  fragments  of  the  quartz  veins,  with  which  these  rocks  are  traversed,  are  commonly 
seen  on  the  surface  and  in  the  subsoil;  but  as  a  general  rule  these  quartz  fragments  are  more  numerous  upon  the 
gray  than  on  bhe  red  lands. 

The  red  and  gray  gneissic  soils,  and  those  of  the  lowlands  of  the  various  streams,  especially  of  the  Coosa  river, 
form  the  best  cotton  lands  of  Coosa  county.  In  the  northwestern  section  the  lands  are  much  more  broken  and  the 
soils  less  suited  to  cotton  than  is  the  case  elsewhere.  The  superiority  of  Coosa  to  some  of  its  neighboring  counties 
in  the  matter  of  cotton  production  is  doubtless  due  to  its  greater  proportion  of  good  river  lands. 

ABSTRACT   OF  THE  REPORTS   OF  J.  C.  M'DIARMID,   OF   GOOD   WATER,  AND   JUDGE  J.   S.  BEN'TLEY,    OF  ROCKFORD. 
(Both  those  reports  refer  to  the  lands  drained  by  Hatchet  creek,  the  former  to  the  northeastern  part  of  the  county,  the  latter  to  the  central  portion.) 

The  lowlands  and  bottoms  are  iu  some  parts  not  planted  to  any  great  extent  in  cotton,  but  in  some  cases,  where  they  are  not  too 
wet,  or  are  rtroperly  uuderdrained  and  fertilized,  they  are  the  best  cotton  lands,  since  the  plant  grows  to  perfection  and  matures  and 
opens  fully  before  frosts.  Iu  the  bottom  lauds  there  is  more  depth  of  soil  and  more  vegetable  matter,  and  consequently  the  plant  never 
fires  or  sheds,  even  in  long  droughts  and  when  heavily  fertilized.  The  two  varieties  of  upland  soils  described  are  the  red  and  the  gray 
(the  latter  being  the  gray  granitic  soil,  and  not  the  sandy  and  siliceous  soil  prevailing  iu  the  northwestern  part  of  the  county). 

First.  The  gray  land  makes  about  60  per  cent,  of  the  area  described.  It  is  timbered  chiefly  with  oaks,  hickory,  and  pines,  the  latter 
mostly  on  the  uplands.  The  top  sail  is  a  sandy  to  a  clayey  loam  of  gray  and  other  light  colors  from  3  to  8  inches  in  thickness,  with  a 
subsoil  of  heavier  texture  and  usually  of  a  reddish  or  yellow  color,  containing  angular  fragments  of  quartz  or  Hint.  The  snbsoil  is  mostly 
quite  pervious  or  leachy. 

Second.  The  red  soils  make  up  the  other  40  per  cent,  of  the  uplands,  and  have  the  usual  oak  and  hickory  growth.  The  top  soil  is  a 
clayey  loam  of  yellow,  red,  and  brown  colors,  6  or  8  inches  in  thickness  on  an  average,  resting  on  a  subsoil  of  stiff,  tenacious  clay,  which 
is  of  a  yellow  or  mahogany  color  and  rather  impervious  and  difficult  to  break  up  at  first,  but  which,  on  exposure,  becomes  brittle,  and 
is  then  easily  worked. 

Tillage  is  easy  on  gray  but  rather  difficult  on  red  lauds  in  dry  seasons.  The  chief  crops  are.  cotton,  coru,  oats,  wheat,  sweet 
potatoes,  and  sorghum,  the  soil  being  best  adapted  to  the  production  of  the  three  crops  first  named.  From  one-third  to  two-fifths  of  the 
land  is  planted  in  cotton.  Cotton  is  usually  about  'A  feet  in  height  w-hen  grown,  and  is  then  most  productive.  It  inclines  to  run  to 
weed  on  fresh  lauds  and  alluvial  soils,  but  this  may  be  prevented  by  the  use  of  commercial  fertilizers.  The  yield  of  cotton  per  acre  on 
fresh  land  is  about  800  pounds,  or  two-thirds  of  a  400-pound  bale.  After  fifteen  years'  cultivation  (unmanured)  the  same  land  will  yield 
from  '200  to  500  pounds  only  per  acre  ;  but  the  saoie  amount  of  seed-cotton  (1,425  pounds)  will  be  required  for  a  475-pouud  bale.  Crab- 
04 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  85 

^rasa  ia  the  moat  troublesome  of  all  graases  and  weeds.  Perhaps  one-half  of  all  the  land  at  any  time  in  cultivation  now  lies  turned  out; 
but  the  turned-out  portion  is  being  rapidly  reclaimed,  and  when  reclaimed  ia  almost  aa  productive  as  freah  land.  In  some  casee  the 
washings  of  the  slopes  or  hillaides  is  very  damaging  ;  but  the  injury  from  this  source  is  of  no  great  extent,  and  consequently  no  measures 
have  been  taken  to  prevent  it. 

Cotton  is  shipped  generally  when  a  mortgage  is  foreclosed.    The  usual  point  is  Opelika,  and  the  rate  of  freight  $1  per  bale.     Most 
farmers  sell  to  merchants  at  the  nearest  railroad  station. 

TALLADEGA. 
(See  "  Coosa  valley  region  ".) 

CHILTON. 
(See  "  Gravelly  pine-hills  region".) 

ELMOBE. 

(See  "Gravelly  pine-hills  region".) 

MACON. 

(See  "  Central  prairie  region  ".) 


REGION    OF   COOSA  VALLEY   AND    ITS    OUTLIERS. 

Comprising  the  whole  or  a  part  of  the  following  counties:  Cherokee,  Cleburne,*  Calhoun,  Etowah,  Saint  Clair, 
Talladega,  Shelby,  Chilton,*  Bibb,*  Tuscaloosa,*  Jefferson,*  Blount,*  Marshall,*  Jackson,*  and  De  Kalb.* 

CHEROKEE. 

Population:  19,108.— White,  1G,41S;  colored,  2,090. 

Area:  000  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Coal  Measures  of  Lookout  mountain,  150  square  miles;  Coosa  valley, 
etc.,  510  square  miles. 

Tilled  land :  88,819  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  21,388  acres ;  in  corn,  33,373  acres ;  in  oats,  7,177  acres ;  in 
wheat,  10,085  acres;  in  rye,  103  acres;  in  tobacco,  82  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  335  acres. 

Cotton  production ;  10,777  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.14  bale,  G27  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  209 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  western  boundary  of  Cherokee  county  runs  along  the  top  of  Lookout  mountain,  in  many  places  near  its 
western  crest.  A  belt  of  varying  width  along  the  northwestern  edge  of  the  county,  but  averaging  perhaps  5  or 
6  miles,  is  thus  made  of  the  sandstones  and  other  strata  of  the  Coal  Measures.  The  soils  derived  from  these  are 
sandy  loams  of  grayish  to  yellow  colors,  and  the  prevailing  timber  is  a  mixture  of  the  upland  oaks  and  short-leaf  pine. 
For  fruit  cultivation  these  mountain  summits  have  been  found  to  be  especially  well-suited,  as  the  crop  is  rarely 
injured  by  frosts. 

Parallel  with  the  southeastern  edge  of  Lookout  mountain,  and  at  the  average  distance  of  about  a  mile  from  it 
toward  the  southeast,  runs  a  red-ore  ridge  through  the  whole  length  of  the  county,  and  between  this  ridge  and 
Lookout  mountain  lies  a  valley  with  a  yellowish  soil  of  very  fair  character,  similar  to  that  found  in  Dry  valley. 
The  red-ore  ridge  is  of  the  usual  character,  sandy  on  one  side  and  flinty  on  the  other,  and  has  steep  slopes. 
Another  similar  ridge,  called  the  Dirt-Seller  mountain,  runs  parallel  with  this  from  the  Georgia  line  to  Bound 
mountain,  on  the  Coosa  river,  with  one  interruption,  caused  by  the  Chattooga  river.  The  Dirt-Seller  is  in  reality  a 
V-shaped  mountain,  with  the  apes  of  the  "V"  just  beyond  the  line  in  Georgia,  one  prong  (the  longer  one) 
terminating  at  the  Bound  mountain,  and  the  other  (the  shorter  one)  terminating  at  Gaylesville.  The  country 
between  these  two  prongs  is  known  as  Dry  valley,  and  is  a  good  farming  area,  the  soils  being  brownish  and  yellowish 
loams.  An  analysis  of  a  typical  soil  of  this  valley  has  been  given  in  the  general  part.  The  country  between  the 
Dirt-Seller  and  the  red-ore  ridge  at  the  foot  of  Lookout  mountain  is  in  general  ridgy  land  with  gray,  flinty,  gravelly 
soils.  Across  the  Chattooga  river,  south  from  Gaylesville,  and  reaching  into  this  state  a  few  miles  from  the  Georgia 
line,  there  is  still  another  red-ore  ridge,  called  Gaylor's  mountain.  All  this  part  of  the  count y,  included  in  a  triangle 
lying  north  of  an  east  and  west  line  through  Bound  mountain  and  Cedar  bluff,  is  mountainous  and  ridgy,  with  the 
ridges  and  valleys  running  northeast  and  southwest;  but  below  that  line  nearly  to  the  southern  boundary  of  the 
county  the  country  is  comparatively  level,  a  large  proportion  of  it  being  what  is  known  as  Flatwoods,  which  form 
a  belt  4  or  5  miles  in  width,  occupied  by  the  windings  of  the  Coosa  river,  and  is  generally  timbered  with  post 
oaks  and  short-leaf  pines,  with  occasionally  other  oaks.  The  flatwoods  soil  is  a  cold,  yellowish-gray  .material, 
sandy  in  places,  and  in  places  very  tough  and  clayey.  (See  analysis  of  soil  from  Saint  Clair  county,  page  20). 
Probably  on  account  of  the  level  character  of  the  land  and  its  bad  drainage  the  flatwoods  are  not,  as  a  rule,  much 
in  cultivation,  though  the  analysis  shows  that  they  are  by  no  means  sterile  soils. 

Southeast  of  the  flatwoods  belt,  to  the  mountainous  region  in  the  lower  part  of  the  county,  the  laud  is  gently 
undulating,  and  the  surface  soil  is  sandy  and  mixed  with  rounded  pebbles  of  quartz,  precisely  similar  to  the  pebbles 
of  the  drift  farther  south.  This  sandy  land  has  a  characteristic  growth  of  long-leaf  pine  with  black-jack  oaks,  the 
genuine  piny-woods  timber,  and  the  pine  belt  extends  through  the  county  into  Etowah  without  material  change. 
Both  the  piny-woods  and  the  flatwoods  belts  are  based  upon  siliceous  and  calcareous  shales,  and  where  the  soil  is 

95 


86  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

not  too  sandy  on  the  one  band  (from  the  overlying  drift  sands)  or  too  clayey  on  the  other  (from  the  shaly  portions 
of  the  country  rock)  it  is  sometimes  very  good  cotton  land.  The  cutting  of  pine  timber  gives  occupation  to  a 
large  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  belt,  and  "log-yards"  are  established  at  every  convenient  bluff  along  the 
river.  Toward  the  southeastern  edge  of  the  piny  woods,  where  the  surface  drift  has  uot  so  completely  covered  the 
country  rocks,  there  are  many  strips  of  long-leaf  pine  land,  with  soil  derived  from  a  siliceous  sandstone,  alternating 
"with  strips  of  loamy  land  derived  from  calcareous  shales,  having  a  growth  of  post  oaks  and  short-leaf  pines.  This 
■whole  area — flatwoods,  piny  woods,  and  the  mixed  land  just  mentioned — is  less  generally  under  cultivation  than 
the  other  parts  of  the  county. 

As  we  approach  the  southern  and  southeastern  limits  of  the  county  the  topography  becomes  much  varied,  and 
mountainous  elevations,  composed  of  sandstone  and  chert,  rise  up  abruptly  from  the  general  level,  making  short 
ridges  of  5  to  10  miles  in  length,  and  often  over  1,000  feet  in  height  above  the  surrounding  country.  These 
mountains  are  of  two  kinds,  saudstoue  and  Hint  or  chert,  those  formed  of  the  sandstone  being  the  higher  and 
the  more  important.  They  inclose  coves  of  red  fertile  valley  land,  such  as  is  described  under  Calhoun  and 
Talladega  counties,  and  alternate  in  the  most  irregular  way  with  the  flint  ridges.  The  sandstone  mountains 
are  timbered  usually  with  oaks  and  short-leaf  pines,  while  the  characteristic  growth  of  the  Hint  ridges  is  the  loug- 
leaf  pine.  Upon  these  flint  ridges  lie  strewn  immense  masses  of  light-gray  or  whitish  chert,  and  if  the  soils  were 
much  more  fertile  than  they  are  in  reality  these  Hint  fragments  would  offer  serious  obstacles  to  cultivation.  In  a 
similar  way  the  sides  of  the  sandstone  mountains  are  covered  with  huge  fragments  of  that  rock.  In  the  coves,  and 
often  upon  the  sides  of  these  mountains  and  hills,  lie  the  most  valuable  deposits  of  brown  iron  ore,  which  is  worked 
up  at  numerous  furnaces  along  the  Selma,  Rome,  and  Daltou  railroad.  This  railroad  in  Cherokee  county  runs 
chiefly  in  coves  between  the  sandstone  mountains  which  occupy  the  southeast  corner  of  the  county. 

Between  this  group  of  mountains  and  the  Coosa  valley  proper,  before  described,  there  is  a  region  of  ridgy  and 
valley  lands,  with  good  red- and  brown-loam  soils,  based  on  limestones;  and  beyond  these  rises  the  Wiseuar 
mountain,  a  ridge  of  sandstone,  flanked  on  the  eastern  side  with  lower  ridges  of  chert.  The  Wiseuar  is  about  6 
miles  long,  and  its  lower  or  southern  end  is  nearly  in  the  southwestern  corner  of  the  county. 

The  cultivated  soils  of  Cherokee  are  in  general  terms  to  be  classed  as  red  and  brown  loams  derived  from 
limestones— gray,  flinty  gravel  soils,  which,  as  a  rule,  cover  the  ridges  which  traverse  the  valleys,  and  sandy  soils 
near  the  river  based  upon  the  drift.  To  these  might  be  added  the  sandy  and  flinty  soils  of  the  mountains,  which 
are,  however,  not  much  in  cultivation. 

The  relations  of  Cherokee  county  agriculturally  are  very  well  shown  in  the  following  abstract.  The  high 
product  per  acre  shows  that  the  better  lands  are  selected  for  cotton. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE   REPORT   OF   DR.   JOHN   LAWRENCE,   OF   CEDAR  BLUFF. 

The  lowlands  of  the  Coosa,  Chattooga,  and  Little  rivers,  and  Terrapin  and  other  creeks,  embrace  a  small  proportion  of  black  alluvial 
soil  and  close  mulatto  and  coarse  white  sand  in  some  localities.  The  uplands  comprise  the  mountainous,  hilly,  rolling  valley  and  table- 
lands near  these  rivers,  with  pest-oak  flats  and  pine  woods,  the  soils  being  quite  varied,  embracing  many  qualities,  and  the  llatwooda 
and  long-leaf  pine  sections  are  almost  valueless  for  cultivation.  The  river  and  creek  bottom  lauds,  together  with  the  valley  and  table- 
lands, are  the  most  productive. 

Cotton  culture  iu  the  region  described  has  greatly  improved  within  the  last  few  years.  "VVet  weather  in  the  spring  frequently  retards 
planting,  and  drought  in  July  and  August  causes  shedding.  We  also  have  cut-worms  and  lice  in  the  early  stages  of  the  plant,  and 
caterpillars  and  rust  later.     The  most  important  soils  in  the  cultivation  of  cotton  are: 

First.  The  light  mulatto-colored  and  gravelly  lands  of  the  valleys  and  of  the  table-lands  near  the  river.  These  are  sandy  loams, 
timbered  with  oak.  hickory,  chestnut,  short-  and  long-leaf  pine.  The  lands  near  the  river  are  rather  lighter  and  more  sandy,  but  more 
even  and  of  smoother  texture  than  the  long-leaf  pine  soils.  These  are  usually  lightly  timbered,  and  are  easily  cleared  and  cultivated, 
but  very  quickly  exhausted  ;  yet  the  subsoil  in  most  cases  is  heavier,  and  when  mixed  with  the  surface  soil  is  greatly  improved,  especially 
for  cotton  production.     In  both  soil  and  subsoil  the  brighter  the  color  the  better  the  quality. 

Second.  The  ridge  lands  having  usually  gray  or  light-colored  soils,  with  yellowish  subsoils,  containing  angular  flinty  gravel,  and 
supporting  the  usual  upland  growth  of  oaks  aud  hickories. 

Third.  The  light-colored  and  mulatto  sandy  soils  of  Lookout  mountain,  with  yellowish  subsoil,  and  an  upland  growth  of  oaks, 
hickory,  and  short-leaf  pine. 

All  the  soils  that  are  profitably  cultivated  have  subsoils  of  dull  yellow  and  red  colors,  usually  of  finer  texture  than  the  surface.  In 
addition  to  the  above  there  are  some  valley  soils  that  are  considered  scarcely  worth  cultivation.  Those  are  (1)  the  long-leaf  pine  lands, 
which  have  a  thin  sandy  soil  and  yellowish  to  nearly  white  clayey  subsoil  in  the  low  grounds,  but  of  darker  colors  on  the  elevated  lands, 
frequently  covered  with  rounded  pebbles ;  (2)  the  flatwoods,  which  have  a  very  thin  soil,  and  a  subsoil  of  white  or  light-gray  crawfishy 
clay,  containing  in  many  places  flat  fragments  of  the  shale  from  which  it  is  derived.  The  toil  and  subsoil  are  often  much  alike,  containing 
always  more  or  less  lime,  aud  rotten  lime-rocks  may  be  found  underneath  in  most  localities.  Both  the  pine  lands  and  flatwoods  are 
burned  over  every  year,  and  hence  there  is  no  accumulation  of  vegetable  matter. 

All  the  cultivated  lauds  are  of  easy  tillage  if  properly  prepared  and  with  favorable  seasons.  They  are  rather  cold  and  imperfectly 
drained  as  a  class,  and  are  well  adapted  to  cotton,'  corn,  wheat,  oats,  aud  pease.  From  one-third  to  two-lifths  of  the  cultivated  lands  are 
in  cotton,  which  attains  a  height  of  from  2£  to  6  feet,  being  most  productive  at  ?A  feet.  The  plant  inclines  to  rwn  to  weed  with  deep 
culture  aud  good  seasons,  and,  to  prevent  this,  in  its  early  growth  it  should  have  deep  tillage,  but  afterward  tillage  should  b*»  quite 
shallow. 

On  fresh  soils  the  seed-cotton  product  per  acre,  with  proper  cultivation,  varies  from  500  to  1,200  pounds,  of  which  1,425  pounds  aro 
required  to  make  a  475-pound  bale,  the  staple  rating  as  low  middling  to  middling  when  properly  handled.  After  twenty  years'  cultivation 
without:,  manure  and  without  rest  or  rotation  the  yield  would  be  light,  say  from  100  to  1,000  pounds,  according  to  the  original  strength  of 
the  laud.  Iu  these  cases  the  proportion  of  lint  would  probably  be  less  and  the  staple  shorter.  The  most  troublesome  weed  is  crab-grass, 
but  briers  aud  other  weeds  are  often  bad. 

Not  more  than  10  or  15  per  cent,  of  the  originally-cultivated  land  is  turned  out,  and  when  this  is  again  taken  into  cultivation  it 
produces  very  well,  especially  if  fertilizers  are  judiciously  applied.  The  rolling  lands  are  quite  easily  injured  by  washings,  and  the 
damage  from  this  cause  is  often  serious.  But  little,  if  any,  iujury  is  done  to  the  valley  lands  from  such  washings.  The  only  remedy  as 
yet  applied  bas  been  horizontaliziug,  and  in  the  few  instances  where  this  has  been  properly  done  the  results  have  been  satisfactory. 

Cotton  is  shipped,  as  fast  as  prepared  for  the  market,  by  boat  to  Rome,  Georgia,  at  about  75  cents  per  bale. 
V6 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  87 

CLEBURNE. 
(See  "  Metamorphic  region".) 

CALHOUN. 

Population:  19,591. — White,  14,134;  coloied,  5,457. 

Area:  G40  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.    Ooasa  valley,  010  square  miles;  Coosa  coal-fields,  30  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  93,857  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  2G,435  acres;  in  corn,  33,714  acres;  in  oats,  S,S52  acres; 
in  wheat,  10,745  acres;  in  rye,  287  acres ;  in  tobacco,  29  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  283  acres. 

Cotton  'production:  10,84S  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.41  bale,  585  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  195 
pounds  cotton  lint.  • 

The  western  boundary  of  Calhoun  county  below  Greensport  is  formed  by  the  Coosa  river;  above  that  town 
by  a  red-ore,  ridge,  which  enters  this  county  from  Saint  Clair.  The  eastern  boundary  is  formed  by  a  continuation  of 
the  same  mountains  which  form  the  eastern  limit  of  Talladega  county.  These  mountains  are  the  highest  within 
the  county  limits,  and  the  next  most  important  heights  are  found  in  the  sandstone  mountains  which  traverse  the 
county  northeast  and  southwest,  in  general  east  of  the  Selma,  Rome,  and  Baltou  railroad,  and  at  no  great  distance 
(G  to  8  miles)  from  the  eastern  boundary.  One  range  of  these  mountains  extends  without  serious  break  from  near 
Cross  Plains  down  to  the  vicinity  of  Oxford.  At  this  place  there  is  a  gap,  and  the  continuation  of  the  range,  under 
the  name  of  Ooldwn.ter  mountain,  is  fouud  on  the  western  side  of  the  railroad.  Besides  this  principal  range  there 
are  several  smaller  peaks  or  spurs  ou  each  side  df  the  maiu  body  of  the  mountain.  The  long  range  may  be  called 
the  Jacksonville  or  Ladiga  mountain,  and  plays  an  important  part  iu  determining  the  direction  of  some  of  the 
water-courses  of  the  countjr,  the  tributaries  of  Terrapin  and  Choccolocco  creeks  having  their  sources  east  of  this 
range  in  the  valley  between  u  and  the  mountain  which  forms  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  county.  The  latter 
stream  flows  southward  down  this  valley  to  near  the  southern  line  of  the  county,  and  then  turns  westward  through 
a  gap  and  falls  into  the  Coosa;  the  former,  on  the  contrary,  flows  northward  around  the  end  of  the  mountain  through 
a  similar  gap,  and  thence  northwestward  through  Cherokee  county  into  the  river.  The  other  streams  of  the 
county  rise  on  the  western  side  of  the  sandstone  range.  The  valley  drained  by  Choccolocco  and  Nance's  creeks  is 
based  on  the  flinty  magnesias  limestone,  and  presents  the  usual  fluted  structure — flint  ridges,  alternating  with  flue 
valley  lands  with  red  soil.  The  red  soils  prevail  in  the,  lower  levels,  while  gray  gravelly  soils  characterize  the 
uneven  ridgy  lands.  West  of  the  mountain  range  spoken  of  the  country  presents  the  same  alternation  of  flint 
ridges  and  red  valley  lands  out  to  a  series  of  hills  of  sandstones  and  other  rocks  of  the  Coosa  coal-field,  which 
occupies  a  na.rrow  belt  of  4  or  5  miles'  width  near  the  northwestern  boundary  of  the  county.  In  this  intermediate 
region  between  the,  two  mountainous  and  hilly  tracts  just  specified  there  is  a  large  area  of  fine  valley  land  with 
the  usual  red  and  brown  soil, resting  on  red  clay  loam.  The  region  about  Alexandria  is  of  this  character,  and  some, 
of  the  most  desirable  farms  iu  the  county  are,  iu  this  belt,  which  extends  through  its  whole  length. 

The  red  level  lands  are,  as  usual,  separated  by  flint  ridges,  and  all  the  varieties  between  the  deep-red  and  the 
light-gray  gravelly  soils  are  to  be  found.  An  analysis  has  been  made  of  a  red  valley  soil  from  near  Jacksonville 
(see  page  22).  In  the  upper  part  of  the  county  the  flint  ridges  often  broaden  out,  embracing  large,  areas,  which 
have  the  usual  gray  sandy,  gravelly  soil,  changing  to  yellowish  at  2  or  3  inches,  and  resting  on  a  yellow  clay  at  3 
feet  depth.  This  soil  supports  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine,  with  post  and  Spanish  oaks  and  small  hickories.  In 
general,  the,  flint  ridges  ot  this  kind  nearly  always  have  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine,  and  in  the  northeastern  part  of 
the  county,  where  the  sandstone  mountains  and  the.  Hint  ridges  are  in  close  proximity  to  each  other,  the,  former 
have  mostly  oak  timber,  while  the  latter  have  the  pine.  In  some  instances,  however,  pine  grows  also  upon  the 
sandstone  soils.  At  the  northwestern  border  of  the.  county  the  flint  ridge  which  forms  a  part  of  the  red-ore  range 
is  of  different  quality,  being  clothed  with  oak  growth,  without  pine. 

The  low  hills  of  the  Coosa  coalfield,  while  crossing  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  county,  have  little  influence 
on  the  topography,  as  they  have  been  much  worn  down,  and  the  soils  derived  from  them  are,  as  usual,  sandy  and 
rather  poor,  in  striking  contrast  to  the  rich  red  soils  of  the  adjacent  valley. 

The  valley  lands  of  Calhoun  are  usually  selected  for  cotton  planting,  as  is  the  case  in  this  section  generally, 
and  the  high  product  per  acre  may  be  taken  as  indicating  the  superiority  of  the  soil.  The  soils  of  the  other 
counties  included  iu  the  Coosa  Valley  region,  viz,  Etowah,  Saint  Clair,  and  Talladega,  are  of  the  same  nature  as 
those  of  Calhoun  and  Cherokee,  and  the  relations  of  all  these  counties  to  the  production  of  cot-ton  are  practically 
the  same. 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE    REPORTS    OP    DR.    S.    C.    WILLIAMS,    OF    OXFORD.    AND    T.    \V.    FRANCIS,  OF    CANE    CREEK. 

(The  first  of  these  reports  refers  to  the  region  about  the  Choccolocco  (eastern  valley),  the  second  to  that  about  Cane  creek  (western  valley),  and  both  relate  to  uplands 

as  well  as  lowlands.) 

In  the.  lowlands  the,  cotton  is  liable  to  rust,  especially  ou  old  land,  say  from  live  to  thirty  years  iu  cultivation.  The  lowlands  are 
therefore  better  suited  to  wheat  and  oats,  but  good  crops  of  cotton  are  made  ou  them  when  fresh.  Formally  reasons  the  uplands  are 
preferred  for  cotton,  especially  if  the  soil  is  of  fair  quality,  which  is  generally  the  case  for  10  or  12  years,  after  which  time  it  usually 
requires  fertilizers.  Late  springs  and  early  frosts  tend  to  reduce  the  crop.  The  most  important  soil  is  a  reddish  or  mulatto  soil, 
which  makes  about  two-thirds  of  the  cultivated  laud  iu  the  valley.  The  natural  timber  on  such  land  is  red,  black,  white,  post,  turkey, 
and  Spanish  oaks,  hickory,  walnut,  etc.  The  top  soil  is  a  gravelly,  clayey  loam  of  gray  to  brown  and  black  colors,  about  12  inches  thick, 
with  a  yellow  or  red-clay  subsoil,  which  becomes  like  the  soil  after  cultivation.  This  mulatto  soil  grades  into  a  gray  soil  in  the  hilly 
slopes,  aud  the  subsoil  of  both  is  a  yellow  clay,  redder  in  the  case  of  the  mulatto  soils.  This  subsoil  always  contains  flinty  or  cherty 
gravel,  and,  iu  the  red  varieties,  also  pebbles  of  iron  ore.  The  underlying  rock  is  a  limestone,  which  is  reached  at  from  10  to  50  feet 
depth.  From  one-third  to  one-fifth  of  the  laud,  according  to  locality,  is  bottom  or  made  land,  with  a  growth  of  beech,  poplar,  sweet  gum. 
walnut,  hickory,  elm,  ash,  etc.  The  soil  is  a  saudy  or  clayey  loam  from  I  to  5  feet  iu  thickness,  with  a  yellowish  or  bluish-white  clayey 
subsoil,  containing  flinty  pebbles,  and  resting  ou  tbe  limestone  at  varying  depths.  In  the  vicinity  of  Cane  creek  there  is  a  soil  variety 
7   C  P— VOL.    II  07 


88  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

known  as  .slate  or  post-oak  land,  which  is  timbered  with  post  oak  and  black-jack,  the  top  soil  of  which  is  a  gravelly,  in  some  eases  putty- 
like, material,  from  2  to  G  inches  in  thickness,  and  of  a  whitish  color,  and  the  subsoil  a  soft,  black  slate,  which  becomes  hard  on  exposure  to 
tkc  air,  and  is  then  somewhat  impervious.  This  land  is  not  of  much  value,  being  almost  worthless  after  a  few  years'  cultivation.  Upon 
the  mountains  there  is  a  coarse,  sandy  soil  of  a  whitish  to  gray  color,  4  to  li  inches  in  thickness,  with  a  subsoil  which  is  like  the  surface 
soil,  but.  has  more  flint  intermixed  with  the  white,  sandy  clay.  All  rest  upon  a  flinty  substratum.  This  soil  supports  a  growth  of  long-leaf 
pine,  mixed  with  black-jack  and  small  trees,  is  the  extreme  of  the  flinty  soils,  and  is  found  only  on  the  ritjges  and  mountain  slopes.  On 
account  of  its  uneven  and  knobby  character, (it  is  liable  to  wash,  and,  being  rather  barren,  is  not  much  under  cultivation. 

Land  is  generally  easily  tilled  in  both  wet  and  dry  seasons.  The  chiof  productions  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  oats,  and  rye,  and  the 
soil  is  well  adapted  to  cotton  and  grain.  At  least  one-half  of  the  land  is  planted  in  cotton,  which  usually  grows  to  a  height  of  3  foot. 
Deep  culture  and  wet  weather,  one  or  both,  cause  cotton  to  run  to  weed,  which  can  be  obviated  by  shallow  tillage  and  by  "  topping." 
Fresh  land  yields  from  500  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and  it  requires  from  1,425  to  1,545  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  make  a 
475-pound  hale.  Cotton  from  fresh  land  rates  in  market  a  shade  higher  than  that  from  old  land.  The  latter  will  not  generally  produce 
paying  crops  unless  fertilized.  All  the  best  cotton  land  has  been  in  cultivation  from  twenty  to  thirty  years.  Crab-grass  and  rag-weed 
make  necessary  early  and  late  plowing.  The  soil  does  not  wash  much  on  slopes  or  hillsides,  but  the  valleys  are  rather  benefited  than 
injured  by  the  washings  from  the  uplands.  Whatever  damage  may  result  from  rain  on  the  slopes  can  be  readily  prevented  by  hillside 
ditching. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  as  fast  as  the  cotton  is  baled.  From  Cane  creek  neighborhood  the  shipments  are  by  boat  to  Rome, 
Georgia,  at  the  rate  of  75  cents  a  bale;  from  the  other  side  of  the  county  the  cotton  goes  by  railroad  to  Selma,  Alabama,  or  to  Rome, 
Georgia,  the  freight  being  the  same  to  cither  place,  viz,  $2  50  per  bale. 

ETOWAH.      * 

Population:  15,398;— White,  12,S96;  colored,  2,502. 

Area:  520  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Iu  Coosa  valley,  250  square  miles ;  in  Wills'  valley,  90  square  miles: 
in  Murphree's  valley,  40  square  miles;  Coal  Measures,  140  square  miles  (40  on  Lookout  mountain  ami  100  on  Sand 
mountain). 

Tilled  hinrl:  60,780  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  15.187  acres;  in  corn,  24,S91  acres;  in  oats,  5,025  acres;  in 
wheat,  7,003  acres;  in  tobacco,  47  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  0  acres;  m  sweet  potatoes,  230  acres. 

Cotton  production:  0,571  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.43  bale,  012  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  204 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Etowah  county  includes  portions  of  two  mountain  plateaus  and  three  valleys.  All  these,  natural  divisions 
have,  a  northeastern  and  southwestern  direction  through  the  county.  The  valley  of  the  Coosa  forms  the  eastern 
and  southeastern  parts  of  the  county,  and,  like  most  of  the  valleys  of  the  state  which  depend  upon  the  geological 
structure  for  their  existence,  is  a  complex  trough,  made  up  of  several  smaller  valleys,  divided  by  ridges.  The 
river  with  its  windings  occupies  the  central  part  of  this  valley,  which  is  a  gently  undulating  plain  of  5  or  0  miles  iu 
width.  This  plain  is  based  upon  a  shaly  limestone  which  yields  a  clayey  soil,  usually  badly  drained,  and  not  generally 
under  cultivation  where  the  limestone  is  near  the  surface.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  river,  however,  these  limestones, 
together  with  their  resulting  soils,  have,  been  pretty  generally  covered  with  a  deposit  of  loam,  sand,  and  rounded 
pebbles,  and  those  materials  are  more  concerned  in  the.  formation  of  the  soils  than  the  underlying  country  rucks. 
Upon  such  soils  the  prevailing  timber  is  long-leaf  pine,  which  follows  the  river  plain  throughout  the  county  and 
into  Cherokee.  The  marginal  belts  on  each  side  of  the  main  valley  are  fluted  with  smaller  valleys,  separated  by 
flint  ridges,  and  present  the  usual  variety  of  yellowish  clayey  and  gray  gravelly  soils,  the  latter  predominating 
upon  the  hilly  portions  and  the  former  upon  the  more  level  areas. 

Another  belt  of  valley  land  stretches  southwest  below  Gadsden  to  the  county-line  and  beyond.  In  this  area 
the  sand  and  pebbles  are  mostly  wanting,  and  the  soils  are  dependent,  altogether  upon  the  shaly  rock.  This  whole 
region  is  quite  level,  and  has  a  cold,  yellowish,  clayey,  badly-drained  soil,  covered  as  a  rule  with  its  original  .timber 
growth,  chiefly  of  post  oaks  and  short  leaf  pines,  with  red,  Spanish,  and  black-jack  oaks,  and  occasionally  sweet  and 
sour  gums.  This  belt  has  the  name  of  "  the  rlatwoods  ",  and  is  comparatively  little  cultivated,  although  the 
natural  growth  and  the  chemical  analysis,  as  given  on  page  20,  would  indicate  a.  soil  of  very  fair  quality,  'flic 
trouble  seems  to  be  more  due  to  defective  drainage,  and  other  physical  causes.  On  each  side  of  this  llatwoods  belt 
are  found  the  cultivated  lauds  of  the  valley,  which  are,  as  usual,"disposod  in  belts  of  mahogany  land,  alternating 
with  the  gray  gravelly  land  of  the  ridges. 

From  the  northeastern  corner  of  the  county  to  Gadsden  stretches  the  lower  extremity  of  the  Lookout.  Mountain 
plateau,  which  is  capped  with  the  rocks  of  the  Coal  Measures,  yielding  sandy  or  slightly  loamy  soils  ami  supporting 
a  growth  of  upland  oaks  and  short-leaf  pine.  From  this  plateau  flows  Black  creek,  making,  where  it  leaves  the 
mountain  near  Gadsden,  a  fine  waterfall,  which  is  one  of  the  attractions  of  that  vicinity.  Parallel  with  Lookout 
mountain  toward  the.  northwest,  and  separated  from  it  by  Wills'  valley,  is  the  entirely  similar  plateau  of  Sand 
mountain.  Beyond  Sand  mountain  a  part  of  the  northwestern  boundary  of  Etowah  county  is  formed  by  Murphree's 
valley.  These  two  valleys  are  in  all  essential  respects  similar  to  each  other,  and  their  structure  is  already  described 
at  length  in  the  general  part. 

The  valley  soils  are  principally  of  two  varieties,  the  red  or  yellowish  and  the  gray  soils,  aud  as  a  rule  the  former 
occupy  the  subordinated  valleys  between  the.  chert  ridges,  upon  which  the  latter  are  most  commonly  found.  Several 
analyses  of  each  of  these  soil  varieties  have  been  given  in  the  general  description.  The  sandy  soils  are  chiefly 
confined  to  the  plateaus  of  Lookout  and  Sand  mountains.  The  extreme  southeastern  boundary  of  the  county  is 
formed  by  a  high  cherty  ridge,  and  a  similar  ridge  runs  nearly  parallel  with  this  and  5  or  0  miles  west  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river,  terminating  at  a  bend  in  the  river  a  few  miles  below  Gadsden.  Between  these  is  the 
wide  valley  of  the  Coosa. 

In  its  relations  to  cotton  culture  Etowah  corresponds  closely  to  Calhoun,  which  it  adjoins,  and  the  remarks  then? 
made  will  apply  here  also. 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  89 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE   REPORT   OF   W.   B.   EEESON,   OF   GREENWOOD. 
(This  report  refers  to  tbe  drainage  area  of  Little  "Wills'  creek.) 

All  classes  of  uplands  produce  reasonably  well  wbeu  properly  cultivated.  As  this  is  near  the  northern  limit  of  the  cotton  belt,  it  is 
best,  in  order  to  escape  damage  from  frosts,  to  stimulate  the  plant  to  early  maturity  by  the  use  of  fertilizers.  On  bottom  lauds  liable  to 
overflow  there  is  no  cotton  planted  because  of  overflow  and  of  early  frosts.     The  soil  varieties  described  are : 

First.  The  dark  mulatto  or  mahogany,  which  makes  about  one-half  of  the  cultivated  lauds  of  the  two  Wills'  valleys,  and  supports  a- 
growth  of  oaks,  hickory,  chestnut,  and  walnut.  The  toj>  soil  is  a  sandy  loam  of  a  brown  to  mahogany  color,  6  to  1*2  inches  in  thickness, 
with  a  subsoil  of  heavier  clayey  texture,  resting  upon  the  limestone  rocks  at  varying  depths. 

Second.  The  gray  and  dark  gravelly  lands,  which  divide  the  areas  of  the  two  valleys  about  equally  with  the  preceding,  and  which 
support  nearly  the  same  natural  growth.  The  top  soil  is  lighter  both  in  color  and  in  texture  than  the  preceding,  and  the  same  is  true  of 
the  subsoil ;  but  the  subsoil  is  heavier  and  contains  more  clay,  and  also,  as  a  rule,  contains  angular  pebbles  of  flint. 

Third.  The  sandy  soils  upon  Sand  and  Lookout  mountains,  having  the  usual  characters  of  the  mountain  soils.  These  sandy  lands 
are  easily  cultivated.  Clay  is  more  crusty  after  rains,  and  waxy  when  not  so  wet.  The  uplands  are  rolling,  and  hence  naturally  well 
drained.  The  chief  products  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  oats,  millet,  sorghum,  sweet  potatoes,  and  clover.  All  kinds  of  land  are  titted  for 
corn  and  sorghum,  and  all  kinds  of  uplands  are  suited  to  cotton.  About  one-third  of  the  cultivated  laud  is  in  cotton,  which  grows  generally 
to  a  height  of  from  3  to  4£  feet,  the  highest  being  most  productive  unless  the  rains  have  been  excessive.  On  lowlands,  and  especially  in 
wet  weather,  cotton  runs  to  weed;  but  it  is  generally  thought  that  the  yield  is  increased  by  topping  the  plant  in  July  and  August.  The 
seed-cotton  product  per  acre  is  from  GOO  to  1,000  pounds.  Laud  does  not  seem  to  be  injured  by  the  first  four  or  live  years  of  cotton  culture  ; 
indeed,  cotton  does  not  exhaust  the  soil  as  rapidly  as  many  other  crops.  Crab-grass  is  the  worst  enemy,  but  is  not  feared  when  the  crop  is 
worked  often  and  well.  Very  little  laud  that  was  ever  in  cultivation  is  turned  out.  The  soil  washes  on  sandy  or  gravelly  slopes,  aad 
on  some  hilly  farms  the  damage  is  very  considerable,  but  the  valleys  are  improved  by  the  washiugs  from  the  uplands.  There  is  some 
hillside  ditching  to  protect  the  slopes,  which  is  beneiicial  when  well  done. 

The  greater  portion  of  the  cotton  crop  is  hauled  to  Gadsden,  some  to  other  towns  on  the  railroad,  between  October  20  and  January  1. 
Very  little  is  shipped  by  the  producer. 

SAINT  CLAIR. 

Population:  14,461.'.— White,  11,621 ;  colored,  2,S41. 

Area:  030  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Coosa  and  Caliaba  valley  lauds,  430  Square  miles;  Coal  Measures,  200 
square  miles  (Coosa  field,  150;  Cababa  field,  50). 

Tilled  land:  65,105  acres. — Area  planted  iu  cotton,  14,735  acres  ;  in  corn,  25,405  acres  ;  in  oats,  4,603  acres  :  in 
wheat,  9,841  acres ;  in  tobacco,  53  acres  ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  220  acres. 

Cotton  production:  0,028  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.41  bale,  5S5  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  1!)5 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  northwestern  boundary  of  Saint  Clair  county  is  formed  by  Blount  mountain,  which  is  the  southern  end  of 
one  of  the  prongs  of  Sand  mountain,  already  known  as  a  part  of  the  coal-fields  of  the  state.  In  the  northwestern 
corner  of  the  county  Chandler's  mountain,  about  0  miles  long  and  2  miles  wide,  is  of  the  same  formation.  The 
Coosa  coal-field,  occupying  a  belt  some  5  or  6  miles  in  width,  ruus  nearly  parallel  with  the  Coosa  river,  which  forms 
the  southeastern  boundary  of  the  county,  and  at  an  average  distance  from  it  of  3  or  4  miles.  In  addition  to  these 
the  northeastern  extremity  of  the  Caliaba  coal-field  runs  up  into  Saint  Clair  county  as  far  as  the  latitude  of 
Spring'ville.  Between  these  mountainous  or  hilly  lands,  which  the  Coal  Measures  always  form,  lie  the  main  valleys — 
Coosa  valley,  between  the  river  and  the  Coosa  coal-field,  and  Caliaba  valley,  between  the  Coosa  and  Cababa  coal- 
fields. These  valleys  are  themselves  complicated  by  ridges  running  their  whole  length,  dividing  them  up  into  narrow 
ribbons  or  subordinated  valleys  differing  widely  from  each  other. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  Saint  Clair  county  presents  a  great  variety  in  its  topographical  and  other  natural 
features.  The  topography,  soils,  timber,  and  other  characters  of  the  Coal  Measures  are  about  the.  same  everywhere, 
the  lands  upon  the  smaller  ridges  being  of  two  distinct  sorts.  The  red-ore  ridges  run  always  parallel  to  the  edge 
of  the  Coal  Measures,  usually  less  than  a  mile  distant,  and  are  formed  of  sandstones  and  eherty  limestones,  the 
sandstones  being  commonly  found  on  one  side  of  the  ridge  and  the  chert  on  the  other.  These  ridges  are  often 
high  and  steep,  and  form  a  prominent  feature  of  the  landscape.  Their  characteristic  soil  is  a  red  calcareous  loam. 
which  is  specially  suited  to  the  production  of  small  grain,  but  not  of  cotton,  the  slopes  being  usually  too  steep  to 
permit  cultivation  to  any  great  extent.  Where  the  red-ore  feature  is  not  prominent  the  chert  or  flint,  which  also 
enters  into  the  composition  of  the  ridges,  becomes  the  characteristic,  and  the  slopes  are  covered  with  its  sharp 
angular  fragments,  the  soil  thus  formed,  while  very  rocky,  being  quite  fertile,  as  is  shown  by  the  luxuriant  growth 
which  covers  it.  In  this  respect  the  Bed  Mountain  chert  ridges  are,  as  a  rule,  to  be  distinguished  from  the  chert 
ridges,  which  are  based  upon  a  lower  format  ion,  the  former  being  often  called  oak  ridges,  while  pine  is  a  characteristic 
growth  of  the  latter. 

Between  the.  red-ore  ridges  and  the  Coal  Measures  there  is  always  a  small  valley  of  yellowish  or  mahogany- 
colored  soil  of  more  than  average  fertility.  This  soil  is  similar  to  that  of  the  red  lands  of  the  valley  of  the  Tennessee, 
and  its  composition  is  shown  in  the  analysis  of  Dry  valley  soil  from  Cherokee  county  (see  page  24). 

.Next  to  the.  red-ore  ridges  (toward  the  center  of  the  valley)  the  land  is  at  first  rather  level  and  of  good  quality  ; 
then  succeeds  the  eherty,  gravelly  lands,  interspersed  with  dint  ridges  of  Lower  Silurian  origin.  These  have  a  gray 
gravelly  soil  of  medium  fertility  (see  analysis  of  the  soil  collected  near  Ashville,  page.  22).  The  red  or  yellowish 
valley  soil  from  the  same  locality  is  the  type  of  the  other  class  of  valley  soils.  These  yellowish  soils,  like  the  gray, 
are  more  or  less  mixed  with  angular  flinty  pebbles,  but  occasionally  a  cove  of  fertile  red  laud  maybe  found  inclosed 
by  ridges  of  the  white  angular  eherty  gravel,  Clayton  cove,  just,  over  the  line  in  Jefferson  county,  below  Spring'ville, 
being  an  instance. 

From  Springville  northeastward  along  the  line  of  the  Alabama  Great  Southern  railroad  there  is  a  level  country 
called  the  "  flatwoods"  with  cold,  yellowish  soil,  very  little  cultivated,  and  mostly  covered  with  its  original  growth 
of  post  oak  and  pine,  and  in  places  with  other  oaks  and  gums.     This  soil  is  derived  from  a  shaly  limestone. 

.  Saint  Clair  closely  resembles  the  other  counties  of  this  section,  and,  as  regards  cotton  culture  here,  the.  remarks 
under  Calhoun  county  will  apply  equally  well.  y9 


90  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

ABSTEACT    OF    THE    EEPOET    OF   JUDGE    JOHN    \T.    INZEK,    OF    ASHVILLE. 
(Tbi.i  report  refers  to  tho  region  of  Eig  Canoe  creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Coosa  river.) 

Wet,  cold  springs  and  summer  droughts,  more  than  anything  else,  injuro  the  cotton  in  this  region.     The  soils  described  are  three,  viz: 

First.  Gray  upland  soil,  often  full  of  cherty  gravel.  This  makes  about  three-fourths  of  the  cotton  land  of  the  region,  but  not  quite 
one-half  of  the  valley  lauds.  The  usual  timber  consists  of  oaks,  poplar,  and  short-leaf  pine.  Along  the  Coosa  river  the  soil  is  sandier, 
and  long-leaf  pine  prevails.  These  are  the  best  cotton  lands.  The  topi  soil  is  a  fine  sandy  loam  in  the  bottoms  and  a  gravelly  loam  on 
tho  uplands;  color,  gray;  thickness,  about  :i  inches.  The  snbsoii  is  a  reddish  or  buff  clay,  except  in  the  bottoms  where  it  is  sandy.  It 
contains  angular  pebbles  of  chert  or  flint,  and  is  underlaid  at  ".'0  to  2">  feet  by  a  siliceous  magnesiau  limestone. 

Second.  Red  or  mulatto  upland  soil.  This  makes  a  little  over  a  half  of  tho  valley  lands  of  the  county,  but  mil  more  than  a  fourth  of 
it  is  planted  in  colton.  since  it  suits  the.  grain  crops  much  better.  The  timber  is  oak,  hickory,  poplar,  etc.  Tin-  top  soil  is  a  clayey  loam 
of  the  colors  above  given,  and  has  an  average  thickness  of  1  inches;  the  subsoil  is  also  a  clayey  loam,  heavier  than  i  he  lop  soil,  containing 
angular  cherty  pebbles,  and  frequently,  also,  concretions  of  brown  iron  ore.  This  is  underlaid  with  tho  same  magnesiau  limestone  i  lial 
forms  the  basis  of  the  preceding. 

Third.  The  sandy  bottom  lands.  These  make  only  one-tenth  of  tin-  cultivated  area,  and  are  found  along  the  Coosa  river  and  Canoe 
creek.  In  the  former  locality  there  is  much  long-leaf  pine  associated  with  the  other  growth.  The  chief  growth  of  the  bottom  lands  is 
white  and  red  oaks, poplar,  and  hickory.  The  top  soil  is  a  line  sandy  loam  of  a  dark-gray  color  5  inches  in  thickness;  subsoil  heavier, 
being  mixed  with  some  clay.  It  also  contains  angular  cherty  pebbles  like  tin-  others,  and  rests  on  the  magnesiau  limestone  at  from 
6  to  8  feet. 

Laud  is  easily  tilled  in  both  wet  and  dry  seasons,  as  it  is  early,  warm,  and  well-drained.  The  crops  are  corn,  cotton,  oats,  and 
some  wheat,  but  corn  and  cotton  are  best  suited  to  the  soil.  One-half  of  the  cultivated  land  is  planted  in  cotton,  which,  Unfertilized, 
grows  3  and  :U  feet  high,  and  is  generally  most  productive  just  before  attaining  full  height.  Cotton  is  inclined  to  run  to  weed  in  wel 
weather  in  July  and  August,  which  can  sometimes  be  prevented  by  topping.  Fresh  lands  generally  yield  sot)  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre, 
(.  e.,  two-thirds  of  a  400-pound  bale.  The  fresh-land  cotton  is  quoted  as  middling.  After  5  years'  culture  (uumanured)  I  he  yield  is  from 
650  to  700  pounds  per  acre,  and  it  then  requires  1,485  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  the  475-pound  bale.  Crab-grass  is  the  arch  enemy.  Not 
muck  laud  is  turned  out ;  and  when  such  land  is  taken  into  cultivation  again  it  produces  for  two  or  three  years  very  nearly  or  quit  e  as 
much  as  when  fresh.  The  slopes  or  hillsides  are  often  much  injured  by  rains.  Valleys  are  also  injured  by  the  washings  of  the  uplands, 
which  injury  is  checked  on  some  farms  by  hillside  ditching. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  mostly  in  November,  by  rail  or  by  steamer  on  the  Coosa  river,  to  Nashville,  Selma,  Mobile,  and  New 
York.     The  rate  of  freight  to  Nashville  is  83  per  bale. 

TALLADEGA. 

Population:  23,360.— White,  10,856 ;  colored,  13,504. 

Area:  700  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.     All  Coosa  valley  and  ridge  land. 

Tilled  land:  113,389  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  32,841  acres  ;  in  corn,  40,376  acres;  in  oats,  9,278  acres; 
in  wheat,  13,235  acres;  in  rye,  143  acres  ;  in  tobacco,  30  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  335  acres. 

Cotton,  production:  11,832  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.30  bale,  513  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  171 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Talladega  county  lies  between  a  range  of  high  hills  on  the  east  and  the  Coosa  river  on  the  west.  The  water- 
courses, with  the  exception  of  Talladega  creek,  have  their  sources  on  the  western  side  of  this  range,  which  in  part 
of  its  course  is  called  Line  mountain,  and  Hows  westward  into  the  Coosa.  Talladega  creek  has  its  headwaters  in 
the  mountains  beyond  the  borders  of  the  county,  cuts  its  way  through  the  highest  of  these,  and  flows  thence 
south  westward  into  the  river.  The  three  principal  streams  of  the  county  are,  beginning  at  the  north,  <  luoceolocco, 
Talladega,  and  Tallasseehatch.ee  creeks,  which  with  the  smaller  streams  (Line  Eye,  Clear,  and  Cedar  creeks) 
receive  all  the  drainage  of  the  county. 

The.  highest  elevations  in  the  county  are  found  in  the  range  which  makes  the  eastern  boundary,  Line  and 
Eebecca  mountains.  Next  in  point  of  height  are  the  mountains  of  sandstone  of  the  Lower  Silurian  age,  which 
occupy  the  central  parts  of  the  county.  These  mountains,  like  all  made  by  this  formation,  consist  of  detached 
ranges,  which,  rising  up  abruptly  from  the  plains,  extend  15  or  20  miles,  and  then  sink  down  quite  as  abruptly  at  the 
other  end,  beyond  which,  after  an  interval  of  5  or  10  miles,  another  similar  range  makes  its  appearance.  West  of 
the  Selma,  Lome,  and  Dalton  railroad,  from  Choccolocco  creek  to  Alpine  station,  a  distance  of  1.5  miles  or  more,  one 
of  the  most  prorrjineut.of  these  ranges  may  be  seen.  At  Alpine  the  height  of  one  of  the  peaks  is  2,000  feet  above 
the  railroad,  or  2,495  feet  above  the  sea-level.  Northeast  of  the  city  of  Talladega  the  peak  called  Mount  Parnassus  is 
a  prominent  landmark  in  that  vicinity.  Eelow  Alpine,  the.  continuation  of  this  range  is  found  on  the  oilier  side 
of  the  railroad,  and  its  direction  is  changed , to  south  and  east,  and  near  its  eastern  extremity  is  known  under 
the  name  of  Pope  mountain. 

The  lower  part  of  the  county  is  mostly  occupied  by  a  number  of  short  ranges  and  peaks  which  have  the 
collective  name  of  the  Kahatchee  hills.  Near  Childersburg  and  Coosa  bridge  these  mountains  approach  quite  near  to 
the  river.  A  prominent  peak  in  this  vicinity  is  sou  feet  in  elevation  above  the  river.  All  the  mountains  of  this 
character  are  formed  chiefly  of  sandstone,  with  some  calcareous  shales,  which,  however,  never  become  prominent. 
The  resulting  soils  are  necessarily  sandy  and  of  no  practical  value.  Au  oak  growth  covers  the  sides  and  summits 
of  all  these  ranges,  but  cultivation  is  out  of  the  (juest  on,  even  if  the  soils  were  fertile,  on  account  of  the  huge 
masses  of  rock  which  form  the  surface.  Upon  the  summits  there  is  a  scanty  growth  of  gnarled  and  stunted  trees, 
chiefly  oaks. 

Between  these  mountains  and  the  eastern  border  of  the  county,  and  also  between  them  anil  the.  river,  tire  the 
valley  lands,  which  are  far,  however,  from  being  uuifotmly  level.  Eased  as  they  are  chiefly  upon  flinty  and 
magnesiau  limestones,  these  valley  hinds  are  traversed  by  flinj  ridges,  which  have  a  direction  from  northeast 
to  southwest,  and  which,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  county,  lie  between  narrow  belts  of  valley  laud  with  fertilu  ml 
and  brown  soi  s.  These  soils  and  their  subsoils  are  usually  filled  with  angular  fragments  of  Hint,  and  where  this 
becomes  a  prominent  ingredient  the  red  color  disappears,  and  the  soil  as  well  as  subsoil  becomes  gray.  The  gray 
lands  are  commonly  lather  more  broken  thau  the  others,  lying  frequently  upon  the  sides  of  the  Hint  ridges  above 
sp.keu  of.     The  valley  lands  east  of  the  mountain  ranges  before  described  constitute  the  most  attractive  part  of 

100 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  91 

Talladega  county,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  anywhere  a  section  which  has  greater  natural  advantages  than 
the  belt  of  country  lying  east  cf  the  railroad  as  far  south  as  the  Kahatchee  hills.  The  timber  of  this  region  consists 
of  red,  black,  white,  Spanish,  and  post  oaks,  hickory,  and  gums. 

Where  the  soils  are  of  deep-red  colorthe  subsoil  is  mostly  full  of  pebbles  of  brown  iron  ore,  which  are  sometimes 
present  in  quantities  sufficient  to  constitute  true  ore  banks.  Where  these  masses  of  iron  ore  cover  the  surface  (even 
sometimes  to  the  extent  of  seriously  interfering  with  cultivation)  the  soil  is  nevertheless  highly  fertile.  The  gray  or 
ridgy  lands  have  a  characteristic  growth  of  long-leaf  pine,  but  other  trees,  especially  oaks,  are  associated  with  it. 

West  of  the  sandstone  mountains  spoken  of,  and  especially  iu  the  vicinity  of  the  river,  the  chert  or  flint  very 
much  predominates.  In  this  region,  which  embraces  a  belt  4  or  5  miles  in  width  along  the  river  from  Choccoloceo 
to  Talladega  creeks,  is  a  succession  of  chert  ridges,  with  gray,  flinty,  siliceous  soil,  timbered  almost  exclusively 
with  long-leaf  pine,  interspersed  with  lime-sinks.  The  chert  is  sometimes  accumulated  in  hills  of  considerable 
size,  as  in  Calhoun  mountain,  near  the  mouth  of  Talladega  creek,  which  is  at  least  350  feet  above  the  river  level. 
In  some  localities,  as  northwest  of  Plantersville,  these  pine  woods  are  gently  undulating,  and  the  cherty  fragments 
only  occasionally  show  above  the  surface.  This  whole  region,  because  of  tire  sterility  of  the  soils,  is  comparatively 
uninhabited  except  along  the  banks  of  the  very  few  creeks  which  traverse  it,  but  it  has  its  value  as  a  range  for 
cattle.  Inclosed  by  these  barren  flinty  hills  are  occasional  coves  of  excellent  land  with  red  calcareous  soils. 
Howell's  cove,  west  of  Talladega,  may  be  cited  as  an  example.  Iu  the  region  of  the  Kahatchee  hills  there  are  many 
fine  coves  of  red,  fertile  soil,  hemmed  iu  on  three  sides  by  the  mountains. 

Near  the  eastern  border  of  the  county,  below  the  Kahatchee  hills,  the  beautiful  Talladega  valley  extends  quite 
to  the  southern  limit  of  the  county.  In  this  section  is  situated  the  well-known  sulphur  spring.  Of  all  the  watering- 
places  in  the  state  this  has  the  most  attractive  surroundings. 

The  valley  lands  of  Talladega  are  well  suited  to  the  culture,  of  cotton,  as  is  shown  by  the  comparatively  high 
product  per  acre.     The  low  percentage  of  tilled  land  iu  cotton  gives  evidence  that  other  crops  are  more  profitable. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  REPORTS  OF  H.  M.  BURT,  S.  M.  JE3IISON,  AND  A.  W.  DUNCAN,  ALL  OF  TALLADEGA. 

(These  reports  are  descriptive  of  the  soil  varieties  oceuiTia^  tbronybout  the  valley  east  of  the  railroad.) 

The  principal  -soil  is  the  red  valley  soil,  which  makes  nearly  three-fourths  of  the  cultivated  laud  of  the  area  described.  This  is 
timbered  with  red,  post,  and  black-jack  oaks,  hickory,  persimmon,  and  sassafras.  The  top  soil  varies  from  a  light,  line  sandy  to  a  rather 
heavy  clay  loam  of  mahogany  to  brown  and  nearly  black  colors,  and  is  from  1  to  12  inches  thick.  The  subsoil  is  usually  heavier,  being 
mostly  a  tough  red  clay,  containing  angular  fragments  of  liint  and  rounded  pehbles  of  iron  ore.  It  rests  upon  lime-rock,  which  is  found 
at  the  average  depth  of  20  feet. 

A  gray  gravelly  soil  makes  about  one-eighth  of  the  area  embraced  by  the  reports,  which  is  timbered  with  pine,  mixed  with  other 
trees,  such  as  oaks  aud  hickory.  The  top  soil  is  a  sandy,  gravelly  loam,  occasionally  a  clay  loam,  of  a  whitish  to  gray  color,  with  an 
average  thickness  of  2  inches.  The  subsoil  is  usually  heavier  and  yellowish  iu  color,  containing  flinty  gravel  in  quantity,  and  is  underlaid 
first  with  sand,  and  below  that  with  the  lime-rock. 

Still  another  eighth  of  the  region  is  made  up  of  the  first-  and  second-bottom  lands,  which  have  a  growth  of  beech,  poplar,  sycamore, 
iron-wood,  sweet  gum,  etc.  The  soil  is  a  sandy  loam  of  gray  to  blackish  colors,  and  some  12  inches  iu  thickness ;  the  subsoil  a  tough  clay, 
hard  at  first,  but  becoming  soft  by  cultivation.  It  also  coutaius  flinty,  angular  pebbles,  and  is  underlaid  with  sand  aud  the  lime-rock 
at  varying  depths. 

Laud  is  usually  easily  tilled  both  in  wet  and  dry  seasons.  The  principal  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  aud  oats,  but  the  soil  is  best 
suited  to  corn  and  cotton.  From  one-third  to  one-half  of  the  land  is  planted  with  the  latter,  which  is  generally  from  2  to  4  feet  hig4i 
wheu  grown,  and  yields  best  at  or  about  the  full  height.  Running  to  weed  in  wet  seasons  can  he  prevented  by  topping  and  by  the  use  of 
acid  phosphates.  The  yield  per  acre  on  fresh  land  is  about  1,000  pounds,  and  from  1,485  to  1,545  pounds  are  required  for  a  475-pound  bale. 
Fresh-land  cotton  rates  iu  the  market  as  first-class  uplands.  After  ten  years'  culture  there  is  a  falling  off  of  25  per  cent,  in  the  yield,  and 
it  then  requires  from  1,545  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  for  a  475-pound  bale.  Crab-grass  and  hog-weeds  arc  the  most  troublesome  of  all 
the  weeds.  About  one-fifth  of  the  land  is  turned  out,  but  such  land  brought  into  cultivation  again  will,  with  suitable  fertilizers,  produce 
good  crops.  In  some  places  there  is  serious  damage  done  to  the  hillsides  by  heavy  rains,  but  the  valleys  are  rather  improved  by  the 
washings  of  the  uplands.     This  damage  has  been  checked  to  some  extent  by  horizontalizing. 

The  farmers  rarely  ship  their  own  cotton,  but  sell  it,  as  fast  as  it  is  ready  for  the  market,  to  the  merchants  in  the  little  inland  towns. 
These  ship  it  chiefly  to  Selma,  Koine,  and  Montgomery.     The  average  freight  rates  are  $2  35  per  bale. 

SHELBY. 

Population:  17,236.— White,  12,253;  colored,  4,983. 

Area:  780  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Valley  lands,  385  square  miles  (Coosa  and  Cahaba) ;  Coal  Measures, 
395  square  miles  (Coosa  field,  235  square  miles;  Cahaba  field,  160  square  miles). 

Tilled  land:  5S,550  acres. — Area  plauted  in  cotton,  17,919  acres;  iu  corn,  26,159  acres;  in  oats,  4,764  acres;  in 
wheat,  6,294  acres;  in  tobacco,  10  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  340  acres. 

Cotton  production:  6,643  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.37  bale,  528  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  176 
pounds  cotton  liut. 

The  northwestern  part  of  Shelby  county  is  formed  by  the  Coal  Measures  of  the  Cahaba  field  ;  the  ceutral  belt  by 
those  of  the  Coosa  field.  Between  the  two'is  the  Cahaba  valley,  and  east  of  the  Coosa  field  is  the  valley  of  the  Coosa. 
The  eastern  edge  of  the  Cahaba  field  as  far  south  as  Helena  lias  a  northeastern  and  southwestern  direction,  but 
below  that  it  turns  southward  to  Montevallo,  and  thence  westward  to  the  line  of  Bibb  county.  These  Coal  Measures 
have  the  usual  rugged  surface  and  sandy  aud  not  very  fertile  soils  which  are.  always  found  in  such  regions.  The 
whole  area  is  drained  by  the  Cahaba  river,  which  flows  southwest  the  entire  length  of  the  county.  Tributaries  of 
the  Little  Cahaba  drain  the  southern  edge  of  this  field  iu  the  vicinity  of  Montevallo.  The  direction  of  the  main 
streams  in  this  region  has  determined  the  topography.  The  principal  ridges,  with  their  dividing  valleys,  have  a 
general  northeastern  aud  southwestern  trend.  T*he  Cahaba  valley,  which  is  on  an  average  4  or  5  miles  wide,  has 
the  usual  features  of  the  narrow  valleys  of  central  Alabama.     It  is  fluted  by  a  number  of  ridges  with  intervening 


92  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA 

depressions  running  parallel  with  its  length.  A  flint  ridge,  with  gray,  gravelly  soil,  and  with  oak  and  pine,  timber, 
commonly  occupies  the  central  portion  of  the  valley,  and  red-ore  ridges,  with  oak  timber  ;md  red  sandy  loam  and 
gravelly  soils,  lie  near  the  two  margins.  On  the  eastern  side  the  reel-ore  ridge  is  more  or  less  prominent  throughout 
the  length  of  the  county;  but  on  the  west  it  is  often  wanting  altogether,  in  which  respect  this  valley  differs  from 
those  lying  to  the  north  and  west.  The  subordinated  valleys  lying  between  these  ridges  are  based  on  limestones, 
which  are  of  varying  degree's  of  purity,  and  hence  the  great  variety  in  their  soils  as  to  composition  and  fertility. 
The  two  principal  varieties  are  the  yellowish  loamy  soil  with  red  clayey  subsoil  and  the  gray  soil  with  subsoil 
tilled  with  angular  fragments  of  flint.  The  analyses  given  on  page  22  of  soils  from  the  valley  near  Ashville. 
in  Saint  Clair  county,  show  the  character  of  similar  soils  in  this  county.  In  the  lower  part  of  the  valley,  near 
Montevallo,  there  is  a  great  development  of  deep-red  soils,  derived  from  the  lower  limestones  of  the  valley 
formation.  These  are  in  composition  and  derivation  similar  to  the  red  valley  soils,  of  which  an  analysis  has  been 
given  under  Calhoun  county  (page  22).  The  flinty  or  eherty  portions  of  the  limestone  near  Montevallo  lie  often 
upon  the  surface  in  huge,  masses  of  most  irregular  shape,  and  where  this  chert  prevails  the  soil  is  poor  and  long  leal 
pine  abundant.  In  the.  same  region  is  another  class  of  soils  derived  from  gray,  greenish,  and  chocolate-colored 
shales,  of  which,  however,  no  chemical  examination  has  yet  been  made. 

The  soils  and  other  characters  of  the  Coosa  coal-field  are,  in  the  main,  similar  to  those  of  the  Uahaba  held,  but 
the  center  of  the  former  held  is  occupied  by  a,  narrow  belt  of  limestones  yielding  very  good  yellowish  or  mahogany 
soils,  like  those  of  Dry  valley,  in  Cherokee  county.  This  limestone  belt  is  a  peculiar  feature  of  the  Coosa  field. 
The  lands  of  the  Coosa  valley  are,  in  general  terms,  like  those  above  named.  There  is,  however,  a  prevalence  of 
gray  eherty  or  flinty  soils  near  the  river  which  support  a  magnificent  growth  of  long-leaf  pine.  South  and 
southwest  of  Columbiana  this  pine  growth  reaches  great  proportions,  and  has  furnished  for  many  years  the  fuel  of 
the  Shelby  furnaces. 

In  the  southern  part  of  the  county,  below  the,  latitude  of  Helena,  the  underlying  formations  are  in  many  places 
more  or  less  hidden  by  the  beds  of  sand,  loam,  and  pebbles  of  a  later  period,  and  the  surface  soils  are  in  such  cases 
derived  from  these  overlying  beds.  The,  best  of  these  soils  is  a  brown  loam,  which  characterizes  the  oak  upland 
region  of  all  the  lower  part  of  the  state,  and  has  been  mentioned  in  some  detail  in  many  places.  About  Columbiana 
the  prevailing  soil  is  a  yellowish  or  buff  colored  loam,  which  lies  in  good  position,  and  is  generally  under  cultivation. 
Northeast  of  that  town  is  a  small  mountain,  which  incloses  some  coves  of  good  farming  laud.  The  mountain  itself 
is  high,  steep,  and  rocky. 

While  Shelby  belongs  to  the  agricultural  division  of  the  Coosa  valley,  it  partakes  also  of  the  character  of  the 
gravelly  hills  ;  hence,  while  we  find  a  larger  percentage  of  the  tilled  lands  in  cotton,  the  product  per  acre  is  less. 
The  soils  <»f  the  latter  division,  though  probably  intrinsically  poorer  as  a  rule  than  those  of  the  valley  region,  are 
yet  perhaps  better  suited  to  cotton  than  to  other  crops;  hence  a  larger  proportion  of  the  former. 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE    KEPOKT    OF    T.    A.    HUSTON,    OF    WILSONVILLE. 
(Tins  report  refers  to  the  drainage  area  of  Yellow  Leaf  creek  anil  tlio  immediate  valley  of  the  Coosa  river.) 

The  best  cotton  land  is  found  on  the  easy  rolling  slopes  in  patches  varying  in  size  from  1  to  .">  acres.  In  the  flats  the  plant  Her,-,  not 
mature  its  entire  crop  in  time  to  escape  killing  frosts  unless  highly  stimulated  with  fertilizers  ;  otherwise,  the  heavy  gray  lands  -with  a 
yellow-clay  subsoil  would  he  our  best  cotton  lauds.  (This  kind  of  subsoil  does  not  retain  manures  well.)  The  most  important  cotton  soil 
is  atandy  loam  resting  on  a  red-clay  subsoil,  which  makes  perhaps  one  tillable  acre  in  every  six.  Its  timber  consists  of  oaks,  hickory, 
pine,  chestnut,  and  mulberry.  The  top  soil  is  a  coarse,  sandy,  and  gravelly  loam  of  a  light  color,  about  4  inches  in  thickness,  with  a 
subsoil  of  red  compact  clay,  stoutly  resisting  the  plow,  hardening  when  exposed  to  the  sun,  and  an  excellent  retainer  of  all  manure-,.  II 
contains  angular  fragments  of  flint,  and  this  material  often  lies  at  the  surface  as  large  rocks.  At  8  to  40  feet  depth  is  found  the  flinty 
limestone  of  the  country.  Tin1  other  principal  soil  variety  has  been  mentioned  above.  It  is  a  heavy  gray  soil  with  yellowish-clay  subsoil, 
but  for  reasons  given  it  is  not  cultivated  in  cotton. 

Lands  are  difficult  to  till  in  wet  seasons.  The  chief  crops  are  cotton,  coru,  wheat,  oats,  sorghum,  and  potatoes,  but  the  soil  is  best 
adapted  to  corn  and  oats.  About  one-third  of  the  land  is  planted  in  cotton,  which  usually  grows  to  a  height  of  :J  feet.  Late  planting  or  wet 
weather  will  cause  excessive  growth  of  weed,  which  can  be  prevented  by  shallow  plowing.  Fresh  land  produces  450  pounds  per  acre, 
and  1,485  pounds  will  make  a  475-pound  bale.  After  live  years'  cultivation,  without  manure,  the  yield  per  acre  is 500  poundswith  liberal 
culture  aud  favorable  seasons,  and  of  this  it  requires  only  1,425  pounds  to  the  475-pound  hale.  Generally  the  older  the  land  (if  well 
cultivated)  the  better  the  staple.  Perhaps  one-third  of  the  land  originally  cultivated  is  now  turned  out;  but  such  lauds  taken  again 
into  cultivation  generally  surpass  the  fresh  lands.  The  soil  on  the  hillsides  is  washed  to  a  serious  extent,  and  the  valleys  are  sometimes 
rendered  worthless  by  the  washings  of  the  uplands.     The  damage  is  checked  to  some  extent  by  hillside  ditching. 

Cotton  is  shipped,  as  soon  as  ready  for  the  market,  by  the  railroad.  Selina  is  the  usual  port,  the  freight  to  that  point  being  SI  per 
bale. 

CHILTOX. 

(See  "Gravelly  pine-hills  region".) 

cir.B. 

(See  "Gravelly  pine-hills  region".) 

TUSCALOOSA. 
(See  "Gravelly  pine-hills  regions".) 


102 


JEFFEKSOX. 
(See  "Coal-Measures  region".) 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  93 

BLOUNT. 
(See  "Coal-Measures  region".) 


MAKSHALL. 
(See  "Coal-Measures  regien".) 

JACKSON. 

(See  " Teunessee  valley  region".) 

DE  KALB. 

(See  "Coal-Measures  region".) 


COAL-MEASURES    REGION. 

Comprising  the  whole  or  a  part  of  Jacksou,*  De  Kalb,  Cherokee,*  Calhoun,*  Etowah,*  Marshall,  Madison,* 
Morgan,*  Cullman,  Blount,  Saint  Clair,*  Shelby,*  Jefferson,  Walker,  Winston,  Lawrence,*  Franklin,'*  Marion,* 
Lamar,*  Fayette,*  Tuscaloosa,*  and  Bibb*  counties. 

JACKSON. 

(See  "Tennessee  valley  region".) 

DE  KALB. 

Population:  12,675.— White,  11,903;  colored,  082. 

Area:  740  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Wills'  valley,  250  square  miles;  Coal  Measures,  490  .square  miles  (on 
Lookout  mountain,  100  square  miles;  on  Sand  mountain,  390  square  miles). 

Tilled  land:  52,090  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  7,409  acres;  in  corn,  23,929  acres;  in  oats,  5,113  acres;  in 
wheat,  6,846  acres;  in  rye,  383  acres;  in  tobacco,  19  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  218  acres. 

Cotton  production:  2,859  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.38  bale,  543  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  1S1 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  greater  part  of  De  Kalb  county  is  occupied  by  the  plateau  of  Sand  mountain,  a  high  plain,  whose  surface 
rocks  are  the  sandstones  and  conglomerates  of  the  Coal  Measures.  The  eastern  boundary  of  the  county  rims 
northeast  and  southwest  near  the  crest  of  the  plateau  of  Lookout  mountain,  which  is  in  all  respects  the  counterpart  of 
Sand  mountain.  The  two  are  separated  by  Wills'  valley,  which  extends  through  the  county  from  northeast  to 
southwest,  near  its  southeastern  border.  The  highest  points  of  the  two  mountains  are  along  the  edges  of  the  valley 
which  they  inclose,  and  the  slopes  overlooking  the.  valley  are  usually  very  steep,  sometimes  high  cliffs,  continuous 
for  many  miles,  and  almost  insurmountable.  Upon  the  mountain-tops  the  laud  slopes  gently  away  from  the  rims 
next  the  valley.  Little  river  and  its  tributaries  drain  the  Lookout  mountain  plateau  and  Town  creek  that  of 
Sand  mountain.  Upon  the  former,  near  Valley  Head,  are  the  beautiful  falls  of  Little  river,  over  90  feet  in  height, 
with  a  deep  rocky  gorge  below  the  falls. 

The  mountain  soils  are  somewhat  sandy,  of  a  gray  to  yellowish  color,  and  the  timber  consists  of  the  usual  upland 
oaks,  with  hickory,  and,  in  places,  short-leaf  pine.  Their  cultivation  is  of  comparatively  recent  date,  the  first  settlers 
preferring  the  valley  lands,  which  were  originally  more  fertile.  As  the  valley  lauds  have  become  worn  the 
mountains  have  been  brought  under  cultivation,  and  there  are  now  many  considerable  farms  both  upon  Sand  and 
Lookout  mountains.  Upon  these  plateaus  fruit  trees  seem  to  thrive,  and  the  crop  is  rarely  killed  or  injured  by 
frosts.  Cotton  also  is  here  successfully  cultivated  with  the  aid  of  moderate  quantities  of  fertilizers.  The  analysis 
of  a  soil  collected  on  Sand  mountain  near  Valley  Head  will  show  the  chemical  constitution  of  the  average  soil  of 
these  plateaus  (see  page  27). 

The  valley  above  spoken  of  is  about  6  miles  in  width,  and  is  in  reality  a  complex  trough,  made  up  of  four  more 
or  less  well-defined  smaller  valleys,  separated  by  three  flinty  or  cherty  ridges.  At. the  foot  of  the  mountains  on  both 
sides  of  the  valley  are  narrow  valleys,  whose  soils  are  yellowish  loams  of  very  good  quality,  resembling  in  character 
the  .soils  of  Dry  valley,  in  Cherokee  county,  of  which  an  analysis  is  presented  on  page  25.  The  other  sides  of 
these  narrow  valleys  are  bounded  by  red-ore  chert  ridges,  in  which  have  been  found  in  several  places  beds  of 
fireclay  of  exceptionally  good  quality,  and  the  working  of  these  deposits  gives  employment  to  many.  The  center  of 
the  great  valley  is  occupied  by  a  more  or  less  continuous  ridge  of  chert,  on  each  side  of  which  are  small  valleys 
based  upon  the  magnesian  limestones. 

Taken  as  a  whole,  the  valley  soils  may  be  classed  under  three  heads:  the  yellowish  or  mulatto  loams  of  the 
valleys  proper  and  sandy  and  cherty  soils  of  the  ridges.     The  character  of  the  first  has  already  been  indicated. 

The  cherty  soils  vary  considerably.  The  colors  are  gray  to  yellow,  and  the  average  composition  would  be  near 
that  of  the  barrens  soils  of  northern  Alabama.  Where  the  slopes  are  not  too  steep  and  the  surface  not  too  much 
broken  these  soils  are  successfully  cultivated.  The  small  chert  ridges  which  lie  nearest  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains 
have,  as  a  rule,  on  one  side  sandv  and  on  the  other  flinty  or  cherty  soils.    These  ridges  are,  however,  usually  so  steep 

103 


94  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

that  they  are  seldom  much  in  cultivation,  except  near  the  foot.  An  analysis  of  soil  from  Red  mountain,  iu  Saint 
Clair  county,  lias  been  given  on  page  24,  which  will  show  the  general  character  of  these  soils.  They  are  nowhere 
considered  good  cotton  soils,  being  mostly  devoted  to  wheat  and  other  grain. 

At  Valley  Head  is  the  water-parting  between  the  Tennessee  and  the  Coosa  drainages,  the  former  by  Lookout1 
creek  and  its  tributaries,  the  latter  by  Big  and  Little  Wills'  creeks.  The  latter  flows  near  the  foot  of  Lookout 
mountain,  the  former  near  the  center  of  the  main  valley. 

De  Kalb  county  is  occupied  in  great  part  by  the  two  plateaus  of  Sand  and  Lookout  mountains,  upon  neither  of 
which  is  cotton  cultivated  to  any  great  extent.  Cotton  culture  is  mostly  confined  to  Wills'  valley;  hence  the 
comparativly  small  percentage  of  tilled  land  iu  cotton,  though  the  high  product  per  acre  attests  the  superiority 
of  the  soils  selected  for  this  crop.     Cullman  and  Blount  counties  present  similar  conditions. 

CHEROKEE. 

(Sec  "Coosa  valley  region".) 

CALHOUN. 

(See  "Coosa  valley  region".) 

»  ETOWAH. 

•  (See  "  Coosa  valley  region".) 

MARSHALL. 

Population:  14,585.— White,  13,084;  colored,  1,501. 

Area :  500  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Coal  Measures,  375  square  miles  (253  square  miles  on  Sand  mountain ; 
140  square  miles  on  the  mountain  spurs  northwest  of  the  valleys);  valley  of  Tennessee,  185  square  miles  (10  square 
miles  in  Brown's  and  Gunter's  valleys,  south  of  the  river;  50  square  miles  in  Tennessee  valley  north  of  Guntcrsville; 

95  square  miles  coves  and  slopes  of  the  mountain  spurs). 

Tilled  land :  08,175  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  10,412  acres;  in  corn,  27,113  acres;  in  oats,  3, 171  acres;  in 
wheat,  5,797  acres ;  iu  rye,  150  acres ;  in  tobacco,  48  acres ;  in  sugar-cane,  51  acres ;  iu  sweet  potatoes,  243  acres. 

Cotton  production:  5,358  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.33  bale,  471  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  157 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Marshall  county  is  divided  about  equally  by  a  valley  which  traverses  it  from  northeast  to  southwest.  Tliis 
valley  is  a  trough  cut  down  through  the  Coal  Measures  into  the  limestones  and  other  rocks  of  underlying  formations. 
The  Tennessee  river  flows  down  it  as  far  as  Guntcrsville,  at  which  point  it  turns  northwest,  cutting  through  l  he  rim 
of  the  Coal  Measures  which  bounds  the  valley  on  that  side.  Below  Guntcrsville  the  valley  extends  through  Marshall 
and  Blount  counties,  under  the  name  of  Brown's  valley.  The  valley  is  a  complex  one,  being  made  up  of  at  least 
three  smaller  valleys,  separated  by  ridges  of  flint  or  chert,  which  are  parallel  to  each  other.  These  subordinated 
valleys  have  red  or  brown-loam  soils  based  upon  limestone,  and  are  iu  general  characters  similar  to  the  red  soils 
of  the  great  valley  of  the  Tennessee. 

The  valley  lands  are  level  or  slightly  rolling,  and  have  been  generally  cultivated.  Big  springs  and  lime-sinks 
are  numerous  and  characteristic  throughout  the  whole  region.  The  dividing  ridges  above  mentioned  have  mostly 
light-gray  soils  with  reddish  or  yellowish  subsoils,  containing  angular  fragments  of  chert.  The  ridge  lands  are  of 
varying  degrees  of  fertility,  supporting  a  timber  growth  which  often  indicates  no  mean  soil,  but  the  steepness  of  the 
slopes  generally  prevents  their  being  brought  into  cultivation. 

The  valley  rim  on  the  eastern  side  is  nearly  continuous,  but  is  indented  here  and  there  with  gaps  cut  by  the 
creeks  which  flow  down  from  the  elevated  land  on  that  side.  This  tableland  or  plateau  of  Raccoon  mountain  is 
an  elevated,  shallow  trough,  highest  at  its  edges  adjacent  to  this  valley  on  the  one  side,  and  to  Wills'  valley,  in 
De  Kalb  county,  on  the  other  side.  The  rim  on  the  other  side  of  the  valley,  below  Guntcrsville,  is  similarly  high 
and  abrupt,  but  in  the  northwestern  quarter  of  the  county  the  rim  has  lost  by  erosion  much  of  its  origiiufl  height, 
and  its  table-land  character  has  in  great  measure  disappeared.  Upon  all  these  highlands  there  is  a  capping  of 
sandstones  and  conglomerates  of  the  Coal  Measures,  and  the  resulting  soils  are  of  the  kind  described  under  De  Kalb 
and  Jackson  counties,  where  the  same  formations  are  found. 

Marshall  county  has  a  comparatively  large  proportion  of  valley  lands  suited  to  cotton  culture.  The  sandy 
lands  of  the  Coal  Measures  have  not  yet  been  extensively  planted  in  this  crop,  although  with  fertilizers  they  yield 
well. 

MADISON. 
(See  "Tennessee  valley  region".) 

MORGAN. 
(See  "Tennessee  valley  region".) 

CULLMAN. 

Population:  0,355. — White,  0,312;  colored,  43. 

Area:  590  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.     All  Coal  Measures. 

Tilled  land:  20,527  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  1,409  acres;  in  corn,  10,343  acres;  in  oats,  1,179  acres;  in 
wheat,  2,509  acres ;  in  rye,  180  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  0G  acres;  in  tobacco,  41  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  215  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  37S  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.26  bale,  372  jiounds  seed-cotton,  or  124  pounds 
cotton  lint. 
104 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  95 

Cullman  county  is  situated  upon  what  has  been  termed  the  plateau,  which  is  the  southern  prolongation  of  the 
Cumberland  tableland.  The  southeastern  boundary  of  the  county  is  partly  formed  by  Brown's  valley,  or  rather  by 
the  high  rim  of  the  valley.  This  high  level  land  extends  thence  north  and  northwest  to  the  southern  limit  of  the 
great  valley  of  the  Tennessee,  in  Morgan  county.  The  table-land  is  drained  partly  into  the  Tennessee  and  partly 
into  the  Warrior  river,  the  line  separating  the  two  systems  of  drainage  being  near  the  northern  boundary  of  this 
county.  The  South  and  North  Alabama  railroad  traverses  the  county,  and  the  following  altitudes  will  show  the 
average  elevation:  Phelan,  692  feet;  Cullman,  802;  Milner,  840;  Willhite's,  60S  feet  above  tide.  Blount  Springs, 
which»is  in  the  valley  on  the  one  side,  and  Decatur  on  the  other  side  of  the  county,  have  the  altitudes  of  434  and 
577  feet,  respectively.  Geologically,  this  county  is  formed  of  the  Coal  Measures,  and  mostly  of  the  lower  strata  of 
the  same,  for  the  limestones  of  the  sub-Carboniferous  formation  are  exposed  above  the  drainage  level  in  the  valleys 
on  each  side  of  the  table-land  on  which  Cullman  county  is  situated.  The  stratified  drift,  which  plays  so  important 
a  part  both  in  the  geological  structure  and  in  the  soil  formation  of  the  counties  west  of  Cullman,  is  here  almost 
wanting.  The  soils  of  Cullman  are  derived  almost  exclusively  from  the  disintegration  of  the  strata  of  the  Coal 
Measures,  and  vary  according  as  these  are  sandstones  and  conglomerates  or  shales. 

Cotton  is  a  subordinate  crop  in  all  this  region,  yet  experience  has  recently  shown  that  these  light  sandy  soils 
with  good  stiff  subsoils  respond  well  to  fertilizers  and  yield  very  fair  crops  with  a  moderate  outlay  for  manures. 
It  is  probable  that  a  larger  proportion  of  these  lauds  is  now  planted  in  cotton  than  ever  before. 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE   EEPOET    OF    WILLIAM    J.    DUNN,    OF  CULLMAN. 
(This  report  refers  to  the  billy,  rolling,  ami  table-lamls  lying  siloug  the  headwaters  of  the  Warrior  river.) 

This  whole  region  is  interspersed  with  many  small  streams,  all  tributary  to  the  Warrior.  These  streams  have  very  little  first-bottom 
lands,  and  the  whole  area  is  rnueh  varied  with  spots  of  good  and  poor  land.  Warm  weather,  with  occasional  moderate  rains,  ©much 
the  best  for  growing  crops,  and  for  cotton  culture  the  fair  uplands  are  preferred  to  the  low  or  wet  lauds.  The  most  important  soil  is  a  light 
sandy  loam,  which  makes  about,  00  per  cent,  of  the  county.  Of  much  less  importance  are  the  dark  sandy  loams  and  the  sandy  bottoms. 
The  growth  upon  the  uplands  consists  of  post  and  red  oaks,  short-leaf  pine,  chestnut  oak,  hickory,  maple,  dogwood,  etc.  The  soil  is 
usually  a  sandy  or  gravelly  loam,  sometimes  a  heavier  clayey  loam,  of  gray  to  brown  colors,  and  averages  4  inches  in  thickness ;  the 
subsoil  is  rather  heavier,  being  a  reddish  clay  mixed  with  gravel,  hard  when  dry,  and  underlaid  with  slate  in  some  places  and  sandstone  in 
others.  Land  is  easily  cultivated  in  wet  aud  dry  seasons  alike,  and  rarely  needs  draining.  The  crops  produced  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  oats, 
rye,  tobacco,  sorghum,  aud  millet.  The  soil  is  very  well  adapted  to  all  these  crops,  and  is  specially  good  for  growing  grapes,  peaches, 
aud  apples.  Only  about  one-fifth  of  the  laud  is  planted  in  cotton,  which  usually  grows  not  more  than  3  feet  high.  Cotton  generally  runs 
to  weed  on  lowlands  in  wet  seasons.  The  seed-cotton  product  per  acre  is  about-  800  pounds,  and  1,545  pounds  ore  required  for  a  475-pound 
bale.  '  After  five  years'  cultivation,  without  fertilizers,  the  production  does  not  amount  to  more  than  500  pounds  per  acre.  Crab-grass  is 
more  troublesome  in  w-et  seasons  than  it  J 1  other  weeds  and  grasses  combined.  A  rest  of  two  years  to  "  turned  out"  lands  is  beneficial,  but 
longer  rest  permits  the  land  to  grow  up  in  bushes  and  sedge-grass. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  from  November  to  March,  by  railroad,  to  Montgomery,  Nashville,  and  Louisville. 

BLOUNT. 

Population:  15,309.— White,  14,210;  colored,  1,159. 

Area:  700  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Coal  Measures,  460  square  miles;  valley  lands,  240  square  miles 
(Brown's  valley,  170  square  miles;  Murphree's  valley,  70  square  miles). 

Tilled  land:  0S,S60  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  12,502  acres;  in  corn,  29,161  acres;  in  oats,  4,551  acres;  in 
wheat,  10,087  acres;  in  tobacco,  4S  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  371  acres. 

Cotton  production :  4,442  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.36  bale,  513  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  171 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  central  part  of  Blount  county  is  formed  by  the  high  plateau  of  Raccoon  mountain,  which  occupies  a  belt 
from  8  to  10  miles  in  width,  running  from  northeast  to  southwest  through  the  county.  On  the  northwestern  side 
of  this  plateau  is  Brown's  valley;  on  the  southeast,  Murphree's  valley.  Raccoon  mountain  faces  these  valleys  with 
a  more  or  less  continuous  line  of  cliffs  elevated  several  hundred  feet  above  the  general  level,  the  height,  as  a  rule, 
diminishing  coming  southward.  The  highest  parts  of  the  mountain  lie  along  the  edges  of  these  valleys,  the  central 
part  of  its  plateau  being  a  pretty  well  defined  basin,  down  which  flows  one  of  the  main  branches  of  the  Black 
Warrior  river.  Near  this  stream  the  level  is  somewhat  lower  than  that  of  the  two  valleys.  The  whole  of  this 
mountain  basin  has  the  sandstones  and  other  beds  of  the  Coal  Measures  for  surface  rocks,  and  the  soils  derived 
from  them  are  the  usual  light  yellowish  sandy  loams,  whose  average  composition  is  fairly  shown  by  the  analysis  of 
a  soil  from  De  Kalb  county  (see  page  27).  The  timber  is  composed  of  the  species  of  upland  oaks,  with  hickory  and 
some  short-leaf  pine.  These  lands  have  lately  been  much  esteemed  as  cotton  lands,  the  use  of  moderate  quantities 
of  fertilizers  insuring  a  good  return,  and  in  many  places  better  and  more  profitable  crops  have  been  raised  upon  this 
land  than  upon  the  intrinsically  more  fertile  valley  lands.  As  pastures  aud  for  the  cultivation  of  fruit,  particularly 
of  peaches  and  apples,  this  region  is  equal  to  any  in  the  state.     The  fruit  crop  is  rarely,  if  ever,  cut  off  by  frosts. 

The  valleys  above  mentioned  are  two  deep  troughs  cut  down  by  denudation  into  the  lower  rocks  of  the 
geological  series.  From  the  circumstance  that  these  valleys  have  been  worn  down  from  the  crest  of  a  fold  in  the 
strata,  the.  central  parts  of  the  same,  while  much  lower  than  the  mountain  rims,  are  often  higher  than  the  country 
a  short  distance  back  from  the  rim.  It  thus  often  happens  that  the  water  rising  in  the  valleys  makes  its  way 
through  these  rims  into  the  basin  of  Coal  Measures,  of  which  they  are  a  part. 

Brown's  valley,  on  the  northwest,  is  in  reality  for  most  of  its  length  a  double  valley,  Brown's  being  the 
western  and  Gunter's,  or  Big  Spring  Creek  valley,  the  eastern.  The  two  are  separated  by  a  flint  or  chert  riilge, 
made  up  in  great  part  by  the  siliceous  fragments  of  the  sub-Carboniferous  limestones.  The  eastern,  or  Gunter's 
valley,  has  for  its  basis  the  limestones  of  this  age,  and  the  soils  are  the  red  aud  brown  loams  so  prevalent 
in  the  great  valley  of  the  Tennessee.     In  the  upper   part  of  this  valley,  near  the  water-parting   between  the 


96  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

Tennessee  and  the  Warrior  rivers,  there  is  a  great  development  of  the  sandy  strata  of  the  same  formation  (the  rock 
■which  caps  the  Little  mountains  in  Franklin  and  Lawrence  counties),  and  the  soils  are  gray  or  light-yellow  sandy 
loams,  timbered  with  oak,  hickory,  and  short-leaf  pine.  In  Brown's  valley  the  calcareous  rocks  of  a  much  lower 
geological  formation  appear  at  the  surface,  but  the  derived  soils  are  yellowish  clayey  loam,  nut  materially  different 
from  those  of  the  other  valley. 

Between  this  valley  and  the  rim  of  Coal  Measures  which  forms  a  part  of  Sand  mountain  intervenes  a  ridge  of 
the  sandstone  just  spoken  of,  and  at  the  western  slope  of  this  ridge,  and  at  the  foot  of  Sand  mountain,  there  is 
a  narrow  valley  of  the  same  limestone,  which  underlies  the  eastern  or  Hunter's  valley.  The  soil  varieties,  therefore, 
occurring  in  this  complex  valley  are  numerous,  but  are  essentially  of  three  kinds,  viz:  the  red  or  brown  calcareous 
loams  of  the  valleys  proper,  resting  on  limestones;  the  flinty  or  cherty  soils  of  the  Hint  ridges  before  named, 
which  are  closely  related  to  the  soils  of  the  barrens  of  the  region  north  of  the  Tennessee  river;  and.  lastly,  the 
sandy  soils  prevailing  on  the  water-parting  previously  mentioned.  These  do  not  differ  materially  from  the  soils  of 
Sand  and  Raccoon  mountains.  In  the  lower  part  of  the  valley  the  Hint  ridges  above  mentioned  reach  a  great 
height,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  following  list  of  elevations  above  tide:  Blountsville,  807  feet :  Wooteu's  peak, 
1,200  feet;  another  peak  (not  named),  1,400  feet.  Near  the  lower  end  of  the  valley  are  situated  the  well-known 
Blount  springs,  and  to  the  northwest  there  is  a  narrow  strip  of  Sand  mountain  belonging  to  this  county,  as  the 
line  follows  the  Warrior  river. 

Murphree's  valley,  on  the  eastern  border  of  the  county,  is  in  many  respects  similar  to  that  just  described.  In 
both  the  rocks  of  a  geological  formation  much  older  than  that  of  the  Coal  Measures  appear  at  the  surface  and  form 
the  soils.  Both  arc  higher  than  the  basins  on  each  side,  though  the  rims  of  these  basins,  which  form  the  borders  of 
the  valleys,  are  several  hundred  feet  higher  than  the  valley  lands.  Murphree's  is  also  a  complex  valley,  being  divided 
by  ridges  running  parallel  with  its  longest  dimensions.  These,  dividing  ridges  are  mostly  cherty  or  flinty,  and  the 
little  valleys  between  have  the  reddish  calcareous  loamy  soils  which  characterize  -the  other  valleys.  Much  of  the 
gray  flinty-ridge  soils,  especially  where  the  lands  lie  well  and  are  not  too  hilly,  produce  very  lair  crops,  though 
they  are  not  generally  so  much  esteemed  as  the  so-called  red-clay  soils. 

The  southeastern  corner  of  Blount  is  occupied  by  a  mountain  plateau,  similar  to  that  making  up  the  central 
belt  of  the  county,  and  upon  the  eastern  edge  of  this  mountain  runs  the  boundary-line  toward  Saint  Clair. 

Cotton  culture  in  Blount  county  is  chiefly  confined  to  the  valley  lands  :  heuce  the  small  percentage  of  the  tilled 
lands  in  this  crop  and  the  comparatively  high  product  per  acre. 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE    REPORT    OF    GEOR&E    D.    SIIELTON,    OF    BKOOKSVILLE. 

(This  report  refers  to  tin-  lamls  drained  by  Bi£  Springs  Creole,  in  the  eastern  or  Gamer's  valley.) 

The  soils  described  are,  first,  the  loamy  valley  soil,  which  extends  up  aud  down  the  valley  ils  whole  length.  Its  timber  is  beech, 
walnut,  poplar,  sycamore,  etc.  The  top  soil  is  a  sandy,  gravelly,  or  clayey  loam  of  gray,  yellow,  brown,  and  red  colors,  according  (o 
locality,  thickness  from  6  to  12  inches,  and  subsoil  a  thick  loam,  becoming  under  cultivation  like  the  top  soil.  The  subsoil  usually  contains 
angular  flinty  pebbles, and  is  underlaid  at  from  3  to  8  feet  by  limestone.  This  is  the  most  important  soil  of  Ibis  region.  Subordinated 
to  it  arc,  second,  the  dark  gray  or  mulatto  lands,  and  third,  the  gravelly,  sandy,  and  era.wiishy  lands,  both  based  on  sandstone  rock.  The 
dark-gray  lands  have  a  timber  of  post  and  Spanish  oaks,  hickory,  pine,  and  black  gum.  Its  subsoil  is  much  of  tin'  same  descripf  ion.  The 
gravelly  sandy  lands  are  timbered  with  short-leaf  pine,  maple,  chestnut,  and  sweet  gum.  The  color  is  whitish  to  gray  ;  the'  thickness.  1 
or  2  inches  only  ;  the  subsoil  is  also  light  colored.     This  soil  is  better  adapted  to  oats  and  rye,  and  is  very  little  used  in  sot  ton  planting. 

Tillage  is  a  little  difficult  in  wet  weather.  The  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  etc.,  but  the  soil  is  best  adapted  to  corn  and  wheat. 
Only  about  one-fourth  of  the  laud  is  planted  in  cotton,  which  grows  from  2  to  b"  feet  high,  and  runs  to  weed  on  fresh  land  in  wet 
weather;  but  this  can  be  prevented  by  toppiug  at  the  proper  time.  The  usual  yield  per  acre  is  from  600  to  BOO  pounds,  and  it  requires 
1,1G0  pounds  for  a  475-pound  bale.  After  five  years'  culture,  without  manure,  the  yield  per  acre  will  be  from  500  to  6110  pounds,  and  it 
reqaires  1,545  pounds  of  seed-cotton  for  a  475-pound  bale.  The  staple  from  such  laud  is  better  thau  that  from  fresh  la»d.  The  principal 
nuisances  are  Spanish  needles  and  crab-grass.     No  land  is  turned  out.     The  soil  does  not  generally  wash  or  gully  on  the  slopea  or  hillsides. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made,  mostly  in  December,  by  rail  to  Sclnia  aud  Nashville,  at  the  rate  of  S5  per  bale. 

SAINT  CLAIR. 
(See  :'  Coosa  valley  region  ".) 

SHELBY. 
(See  "Coosa  valley  region".) 

JEFFERSON. 

Population:  123,272.— White,  18,219  ;  colored,  5,053. 

Area:  960  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Coal  Measures,  700  square  miles  (Warrior  field,  630  square  miles; 
Cahaba  field,  130  square  miles) ;  valley  lands  (Roup's  aud  Jones'  valleys),  200  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  71,959  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  14,220  acres  ;  in  corn,  30,928  acres ;  in  oats,  4,708  acres ;  in 
wheafc,  10,589  acres  ;  in  rye,  83  acres ;  in  tobacco,  55  acres  ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  504  acres. 

Cotton  production:  5,333  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.38  bale,  543  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  181 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Jefferson  county  is  divided  into  two  unequal  parts  by  a  long  narrow  valley  which  traverses  it  from  northeast 
to  southwest.  Northwest  of  this  valley,  and  forming  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  area  of  the  county,  are  the  Coal 
Measures  of  the  great  Warrior  field,  and  southeast  the  Coal  Measures  of  the  Cahaba  field.  In  their  natural  features 
the  Coal  Measures  are  everywhere  more  or  less  alike,  usually  hilly  and  broken,  and  with  soils,  in  the  main,  sandy 

10b' 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  97 

and  of  medium  fertility,  varying  in  quality  with  the  underlying  rook  from  which  they  are  derived,  which  may  be 
shale,  sandstone,  or  conglomerate.  The  timber  varies  from  that  of  fair  oak  uplands  to  piny  woods.  The  scenery 
is  usually  much  more  varied  than  either  the  soils  or  the  natural  growth. 

In  striking  contrast  to  these  rugged  hills  is  the  valley,  which  is  a  deep  trough  and  not  a  simple  depression, 
but  fluted  with  ridges  and  hollows,  which  run  parallel  with  its  length.  The  lower  part  of  this  trough  goes  by  the 
name  of  Eoup's,  and  the  upper  part  is  called* Jones'  valley.  It  varies  in  width  from  4  to  10  or  12  miles,  but  where 
widest,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  it  is  in  reality  doubled  by  the  continence  of  two  valleys.  The  floor  of 
this  valley  is  higher  than  the  general  level  of  the  country  on  each  side,  and  all  the  creeks  rising  in  it  sooner 
or  later  break  through  its  mountain  rims  and  flow  off  into  the  rugged  region  beyond.  Close  to  the  rim  of  Coal 
Measures,  on  each  side  of  the  valley,  there  is  a  ridge  containing  red  iron  ore,  which  rises  to  tire  proportions  almost 
of  a  mountain,  first  on  one  side  and  then  on  the  other  of  the  valley,  being  rarely  of  equal  height  on  opposite  sides. 
Between  these  ridges  and  the  rim  intervenes  a  narrow  valley  with  very  fair  soils. 

Between  the  two  red-ore  ridges  lies  the  main  body  of  the  valley,  which  is,  in  its  entire  length,  divided  by  one 
(sometimes  two)  flint  ridges,  as  they  .are  called,  made  up  mostly  of  angular  fragments  of  chert,  the  remnauts  of 
the  impure  siliceous  limestone  which  forms  the  basis  of  the  valley.  Iu  places  the  flint  ridge  attains  very  considerable 
height,  and  is  usually  covered  with  a  growth  of  post,  black-jack,  and  other  upland  oaks.  The  hollows  between 
the  ridges  are  of  various  qualities — sometimes  flat  and  glady,  overgrown  with  cedars,  and  not  in  cultivation  because 
of  the  proximity  of  the  limestone  to  the  surface  ;  sometimes  gently  undulating,  and  covered  with  a  yellow  or  mulatto 
soil,  which  produces  well  all  the  common  crops.  These  latter  are  the  typical  valley  lauds.  Along  the  slopes  of  the 
ridges,  and  occasionally  making  up  nearly  the  entire  valley,  are  somewhat  broken  lands  with  gray  soil  and  buff 
subsoil,  filled  with  angular  fragments  of  flint  or  chert.  These  varieties  all  depend  upon  the  varying  quality  of  the 
siliceous  magnesias  limestone  which  usually  underlies  the  central  parts  of  the  valley. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  there  is  in  places  a  cold  yellowish  flatwoods  soil,  which,  because  of  defective  drainage 
and  other  physical  properties,  is  seldom  in  cultivation.  Between  old  Jonesboro'  and  the  railroad  station  and 
southward  the  flint  ridge  becomes  a  very  prominent  feature,  as  it  passes  into  a  sandstone  or  conglomerate  and  widens 
out  into  a  series  of  rugged  hills  several  miles  in  width,  timbered  with  long-leaf  pine,  and  wholly  uninhabited.  These 
Salem  hills  extend  from  the  Jonesboro'  station  southward  about  0  miles.  The  two  valleys,  separated  by  the  flint 
ridge,  have  often  distinct  names.  'Possum  valley  lies  west  of  the  ridge  and  Jones'  valley  east  of  the  same.  In 
several  places  the  red -ore  ridge  is  duplicated  on  one  side  of  the  valley,  thus  producing  additional  complications  and 
a  greater  variety  in  the  valley  lands.  McAshan  mountain  is  the  name  given  to  one  of  these  duplicated  red  ridges, 
which  is  10  or  15  miles  long  on  the  western  side  of  the  valley  between  Jonesboro'  and  Tannehill.  Northeast  of 
Birmingham  the  valley  widens  out  and  eventually  divides,  one  fork  taking  the  name  of  Murplrree's  valley,  the 
other  continuing  as  Jones'  valley,  the  former  mostly  iir  Blount  county.  The  two  are  separated  by  a  point  of  the 
Coal  Measures  called  Blount  mountain. 

The  red-ore  ridge  which  follows  the  edge  of  Blount  mountain  southwest  of  the  point  of  that  mountain  breaks 
np  in  a  series  of  high  knobs,  which  have  the  general  name  of  Cedar  mountains,  from  the  circumstance  that 
the  limestone  forming  the  great  mass  of  the  hills  makes  the  surface  and  is  covered  with  a  dense  growth  of 
cedars.  Occasionally,  where  the  red  ore  and  its  accompanying  sandstones  form  the  summit  of  the  hills,  they  have 
received  the  name  of  Button  mountains,  from  the  great  abundance  of  the  "buttons"  or  segments  of  the  stems 
of  crinoids  with  which  they  are  filled.  At  this  point  of  bifurcation  of  the  valley  the  distance  between  the  Cahaba 
coal-field  on  the  east  and  the  edge  of  Sand  mountain  on  the  west  is  some  10  or  15  miles.  On  the  east,  near  the 
Cahaba  field,  is  Jones'  valley,  and  on  the  west,  next  to  Sand  mountain,  the  Back  valley,  as  it  is  called.  Between 
the  two  is  the  broken  country  before  spoken  of,  formed  by  the  Cedar  and  Button  mountains,  and  also  by  the  ridges 
of  chert,  which  are  invariably  found  in  all  these  valleys.  The  rugged  character  of  this  part  of  the  county  is  still 
further  increased  by  the  fact  that  the  red-ore  ridge  itself  is  duplicated  from  Bed  Gap  to  the  county-line,  just  below 
Springville.  Between  this  duplicated  red  mountain  and  the  similar  ridges  on  the  west,  near  the  foot  of  Blount 
mountain,  is  Clayton's  cove,  embracing  about  3  or  4  square  miles,  and  hemmed  iu  on  all  sides  by  red  ore  and 
flint  ridges.  The  soil  in  this  cove  is  the  mulatto  or  red  valley  soil,  with  its  accompanying  gray  flinty  gravelly  soil. 
It  is  all  cleared  and  in  cultivation,  and  quite  thickly  settled. 

Between  the  base  of  Blount  mountain  and  its  red-ore  ridge  there  is  always  a  valley  of  greater  or  less  width, 
according  to  locality,  with  yellowish  or  buff  soil  based  on  the  sub-Carboniferous  limestone.  Its  character  is  well 
shown  in  the  analysis  of  the  soil  from  Dry  valley,  in  Cherokee  county  (see  page  25).  The  slopes  of  the  red  ridges 
and  the  Cedar  mountains,  where  not  too  steep  and  where  the  rocks  are  not  too  near  the  surface,  are  generally  in 
cultivation.  They  are  well  suited  to  corn  and  wheat,  but  not  to  cotton.  A  soil  of  this  kind  from  near  Springville, 
in  Saint  Clair  county,  has  been  analyzed  (see  page  22). 

Jefferson  county  has  a  large  proportion  of  valley  lauds  giving  high  product  per  acre,  upon  which  alone  in  this 
section  cotton  is  usually  planted  iu  any  large  quantity. 

WALKEB. 

Population:  9,479.— White,  8,978 ;  colored,  SOI. 

Area:  S80  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  All  Coal  Measures,  but  small  areas,  especially  in  the  western  part  of 
the  county,  are  covered  with  drift. 

Tilled  land:  40,725  acres.— Area  planted  iu  cotton,  8,743  acres  ;  in  corn,  21,S38  acres  ;  in  oats,  2,579  acies  ;  in 
wheat,  5,420  acres ;  in  rye,  81  acres ;  iu  tobacco,  09  acres ;  in  sugar-cane,  11  acres ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  325  acres. 

Cotton  production:  2,754  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.31  bale,  441  pouuds  seed-cotton,  or  147 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

In  the  northwestern  corner  of  Walker  county  there  is  a  high  ridge  capped  with  pebbles  and  sand.  This  ridge 
is  a  water-shed  in  its  entire  length  iu  Winston,  Walker,  Fayette,  and  Tuscaloosa  counties.  From  its  position  in 
Walker  county,  and  from  its  general  direction  iu  other  counties,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  drainage  of  Walker  county 
is  toward  the  southeast.     Near  the  dividing  ridge  spoken  of  the  land  is  high  and  gently  undulating,  with  a  soil  and 

107 


98  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

subsoil  derived  from  the  materials  of  the  stratified  drift  formation,  which  forms  the  surface  in  that  park  of  the 
county.  Near  the  mouths  of  the  streams  which  flow  into  the  Warrior  river,  however,  denudation  has  produced 
an  extremely  rugged  country,  with  high,  steep  hills,  and  deep  ravines  between. 

Near  the  southern  extremity  of  the  county  the  two  forks  of  the  Warrior  river,  known  as  the  Locust  and  the 
Mulberry  forks,  come  together,  forming  the  main  river.  A  part  of  Walker  county  lies  between  these  two  branches, 
as  the  line  between  Walker  and  Jefferson  counties  follows  the  water-parting.  The  elevation  of  this  ridge  above  the 
river  is  not  far  from  275  feet.  Close  to  the  river  in  several  places  there  are  high  ridges,  capped  with  pebbles,  with 
an  elevation  of  400  feet  above  the  river  level.  This  is,  however,  rather  an  exceptional  height,  as  tin'  general 
elevation  of  the  country  between  the  streams  is  not  much  over  200  or  250  feet. 

In  the  northeastern  part  of  thecounty,  adjoining  Blount  anil  Winston  counties,  the  scenery  is  rugged,  on  account 
of  the  proximity  to  the  surface  of  thick  beds  of  hard  sandstone  and  conglomerate,  into  which  the  streams  have  cut 
their  channels.  The  soils  vary  with  the  formations  from  which  they  are  derived,  those  in  the  western  corner,  being 
mainly  derived  from  the  drift  and  loam,  presenting  the  usual  characters.  Over  the  greater  part  of  thecounty, 
however,  they  are  derived  directly  from  the  sandstones  and  other  rocks  of  the  Coal  Measures,  and  vary  with  the 
locality.  As  a  rule,  the  soils  of  the  Coal  Measures  are  rather  sandy  and  not  very  fertile;  yet  there  are  many  areas 
of  very  good  farming  laud,  especially  in  the  bottoms  and  lowlands  of  the  various  streams.  In  the  vicinity  of  South 
Lowell,  6  miles  north  of  Jasper,  occupying  perhaps  a  township,  there  is  an  isolated  patch  of  long-leaf  pine  forest. 

The  abstracts  of  the  reports  under  Winston  and  Cullman  counties  describe  soils  which  are  similar  to  those  of 
Walker. 

No  railroad  traverses  Walker  county,  and  the  long  distances  to  which  it  is  generally  necessary  to  haul  the 
cotton  crop  in  wagons  is  a  bar  to  its  successful  production.  The  yield  per  acre  is  very  fair,  but  cotton  is  planted 
only  on  about  20  per  cent,  of  the  land. 

WINSTON. 

Population:  4,253. — White,  4,236;  colored,  17. 

Area:  640  square  miles. — All  woodlaud.  All  Coal  Measures,  but  in  the  western  part  of  the  county  these 
rocks  are  covered  with  drift. 

Tilled  land:  17,767  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  2,048  acres;  in  corn,  8,098  acres;  in  oats,  579  acres;  in 
wheat,  1,067  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  172  acres. 

Cotton  production:  568  bales;  average  cotton  product,  per  acre,  0.2S  bale,  399  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  133  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

The  main  dividing  ridge  between  the  waters  of  the  Warrior  and  Tombigbee  rivers  runs  almost  north  and  south 
through  the  entire  length  of  Winston  county  near  its  western  line.  This  (the  Byler)  ridge,  in  the  northwestern 
part  of  the  county,  also  divides  the  waters  of  the  Warrior  from  ttiose  of  the  Tennessee  river,  flowing  through  Big 
Bear  creek.  The  greater  part  of  the  drainage  of  the  county,  therefore,  is  southeast  into  the  Warrior  river,  the 
principal  streams  being  Blackwater  creek  and  the  Sipsey  fork  of  the  Warrior  river,  with  its  tributaries,  Clear  creek, 
Brushy  fork,  and  Bock  creek.  On  the  western  side  of  the  Byler  ridge  are  the  sources  of  the  Buttahatchie  and 
New  rivers,  which  flow  into  the  Tombigbee,  and  of  Big  Bear  creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Tennessee. 

Although  there  are  in  this  county  no  ridges  except  those  formed  by  denudation,  there  is  a  gradual  increase  in 
the  height  of  the  land  going  northward  from  the  Warrior  river,  through  Walker  and  Winston,  into  the  southern 
part  of  Lawrence  county,  where  the  southern  boundary  of  the  Tennessee  valley  and  the  northern  boundary  of  the 
Warrior  coal-Held  is  formed  by  Sand  mountain.  The  summit  of  this  mountain,  where  it  overlooks  the  valley  of  the 
Tennessee,  lias  an  average  elevation  above  the  general  level  of  the  latter  of  475  or  500  feet. 

The  face  of  the  country  throughout  Winston  county  is  generally  much  broken.  The  map  will  show  a  great 
number  of  small  streams  which  rise  in  the  northern  and  western  part  of  the  county,  and  which,  by  their  confluence, 
form  the  three  or  four  principal  streams  mentioned  above.  The  sandstones  and  conglomerates  of  the  Coal  Measures 
underlie,  usually  at  no  great  depth  below  the  surface,  the  whole  county.  These  harder  rocks  are  often  underlaid 
with  softer  strata  of  shales,  and  the  action  of  running  water  during  the  rainy  seasons  is  to  wear  away  the 
softer  slates,  thus  undermining  the  sandstones,  which  break  oil'  in  large  masses,  forming  perpendicular  cliffs.  The, 
undermining,  thus  described,  causes  the  formation  of  overhanging  ledges  or  "rock  houses",  which  are  to  be  found 
at  the  head  and  frequently  along  the  sides  of  nearly  all  the  ravines  leading  down  toward  the  water-courses.  These 
rock  houses  are  the  localities  where  the  rarest  and  most  beautiful  ferns  flourish.  The  creeks  and  other  streams  of 
Winston  county  have  cut  their  channels  down  through  these  sandstones,  ami  often  flow  through  deep  gorges  with 
nearly  perpendicular  sides.  In  some  instances  rapids  and  waterfalls  are  produced,  the  Clear  Creek  falls  being  the 
best  known  of  these.  The  waters  of  the  creek  here  pour  over  two  bluffs  of  conglomerate,  each  about  30  feet  in 
height,  the  two  being  about  300  yards  apart.  Below  the,  falls  the  creek  flows  down  a  deep,  narrow  gorge.  These 
falls  rival  in  beauty  many  which  in  other  parts  of  the  world  are  annually  visited  by  thousands  of  tourists. 

Over  the  Coal  Measures,  iu  the  western  part  of  the  county,  are  tolerable  thick  beds  of  sand,  pebbles,  and  loam 
of  stratified  drift  age,  which  form  the  soils  and  subsoils.  In  the  eastern  parts,  however,  these  beds  decrease  in 
thickness,  and  are  almost  entirely  wanting  east  of  the  center,  where  the  soils  are  in  great  degree  derived  from 
the  disintegration  of  the  rocks  of  the  Coal  Measures.  The  soils  so  derived  are  seldom  very  fertile,  being  usually 
rather  sandy;  the  shales,  however,  yield  loamy  soils,  which  form  sometimes  very  fair  farming  lauds.  The  ridges 
between  the  water-courses  in  this  region  are  not  much  in  cultivation,  both  on  account  of  tfhe  distance  to  springs  of 
water  and  on  account  of  the  commonly  rather  thin  soils,  and  the  usual  growth  consists  of  post,  red,  and  Spanish 
oaks,  chestnut,  sour  gum,  aud  in  some  places  short-leaf  pine. 

The  farming  lands  are  mostly  in  the  lowlands  and  in  the  creek  bottoms,  where  the  soil  is  of  greater  depth  and 
more  fertile.  Where  the  stratified  drift  forms  the  surface,  there  is  the  usual  variety  of  soils,  frequently  described 
in  other  parts  of  this  report. 

108 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  99 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE   REPORT   OF   F.    C.   BURDICK,    OF   HOUSTON. 
(This  report  refers  to  tile  region  drained  by  Yellow  creek,  a  tributary  of  Sipsey  fork.) 

The  uplands  are  preferred  for  cotton,  as  it  is  liable  to  be  late  in  the  lowlands.  The  three  principal  soils  described  are  the  brown-loam 
upland  soil,  the  Yellow  creek  second-bottom  brown-loam  soil,  and  the  light,  sandy  bottom  soils  of  Brush  and  Clear  creeks.  The 'first  makes 
about  seven-eighths  of  the  laud  of  the  region  described,  and  has  a  natural  growth  of  red,  white,  and  black  oaks,  hickory,  short-leaf  pine, 
chestnut,  and  poplar.  It  is  a  fine,  sandy  loam  of  a  brown  color  of  an  average  thickness  of  20  inches,  with  a  subsoil  of  yellowish  clay, 
hard  when  first  exposed,  but  mixing  readily  with  the  surface  soil.  In  cultivation  it  is  almost  impervious  when  undisturbed.  This  subsoil 
rests  upon  hard  sand-rock  at  depths  varying  from  3  to  7  feet.  The  brown-loam  lands  of  Yellow  creek  bottom  make  a  tenth  of  the  region 
reported  upon.  The  natural  timber  growth  is  composed  of  oaks,  poplar,  beech,  holly,  and  occasionally  spruce  pine.  The  soil  is  a  fine, 
.sandy  loam  of  mixed  brownish  to  black  colors,  with  a  thickness  of  2  feet;  the  subsoil  is  heavier,  a  reddish  clay,  hard,  not  mixiug  readily 
with  the  surface  soil,  and  is  usually  free  from  pebbles.  It  is  also  underlaid  at  8  to  12  feet  depth  by  hard  sandstone.  The  light,  sandy 
loams  of  Brush  and  Clear  creeks  have  usually  a  browu  color  and  a  thickness  of  15  inches.  The  subsoil  is  lighter,  beiug  usually  a  coarse 
sand,  containing  very  few  white  pebbles. 

The  chief  crops  are  corn  aud  cotton,  the  latter  being  best  adapted  to  the  soil.  About  one-fourth  of  the  land  is  planted  in  cotton, 
which  usually  reaches  the  height  of  3  or  4  feet.  Wet,  warm  weather  causes  excessive  growth  of  the  cotton  plant,  but  this  eau  generally 
he  remedied  by  topping  the  plants.  The  average  seed-cotton  product  per  acre  is  about  500  pounds,  and  it  takes  1,425  pounds  to  make  a 
475-pound  bale.  The  cotton  produced  ou  this  land  rates  iu  the  market  as  middling  upland.  After  five  years'  culture  without  fertilizers 
the  yield  per  acre  is  not  more  than  300  pounds,  aud  it  requires  1,545  pounds  of  the  cotton  thus  produced  to  make  a  475-pound  bale.  The 
most  troublesome  weeds  are  crab-grass  and  rag-weed.     Land  is  generally  benefited  by  being  turned  out. 

The  cotton  is  sold  mostly  at  the  nearest  railroad  station,  and  is  never  shipped  by  the  producers. 

LAWRENCE. 
(See  "Tennessee  valley  region".) 

FRANKLIN. 
(See  "Tennessee  valley  region".)  / 

MARION. 
(See  "Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  short-leaf  pine".) 

LAMAR. 

(See  "Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  short-leaf  pine".) 

FAYETTE. 
(See  "Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  short-leaf  pine".) 

TUSCALOOSA. 

(See  "Gravelly  hills,  with  long-leaf  pine".) 

BIBB. 

(See  "Gravelly  hills,  with  long-leaf  pine".) 


TENNESSEE    VALLEY    REGION. 

Comprising  the  whole  or  a  part  of  the  following  counties  :  Jackson,  Marshall,*  Morgan,  Madison,  Limestone, 
Lauderdale,  Lawrence,  Colbert,  and  Franklin. 

JACK  SOX. 

Population:  25,114.— White,  21,(174;  colored,  4,040. 

Area:  990  square  miles  — Woodland, all.  Valley  lands,  500  square  miles  (190  square  miles  in  immediate  valley 
of  the  Tennessee;  310  square  miles,  coves  and  slopes  of  the  mountain  soars  north  of  the  river,  half  of  which  may 
be  led  valley  lauds);  Coal  Measures  table  lauds,  490  square  miles  (200  on  Raccoon  mountain,  south  of  the  river, 
and  290  square  miles  on  the  mountain  spurs  north  of  the  river). 

Tilled  Iniiil :  123,924  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  19,685  acres;  in  corn,  00,285  acres;  iu  oats,  S,241  acres; 
in  wheat,  10.051  acres;  in  rye,  347  acres;  in  tobacco,  99  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  592  acres. 

Cotton  production:  0,235  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.32  bale,  450  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  152 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Tin-  surface  of  Jackson  county  is  probably  more  broken  than  that  of  any  other  county  in  the  Tennessee  valley  in 
northern  Alabama.     The  valley  down  which  the  Tennessee  river  flows  divides  the  county  into  two  parts:  Raccoon 

Hill 


100  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

mountain  on  the  southeast,  and  the  spurs  of  the  Cumberland  mountains  on  the  northwest.     It  has  an  average 

width  of  about  4  miles,  the  greater  part  of  this  area  being  north  of  the  river,  leaving  only  a  narrow  strip  on  the 
other  side.  This  valley  is  based  on  the  rocks  of  the  Lower  Silurian  formation,  which  consist  of  limestones,  shaly, 
aluminous  and  fiinty,or  siliceous.  The  narrow  bottom  of  the  river  is  usually  underlaid  with  the  Trenton  limestones, 
which  also  sometimes  make  low  bluffs  along  the  banks.  The  soils  derived  from  these  beds  are  calcareous  loams 
of  considerable  fertility.  Northwest  of  these  lowlands  a  series  of  low  ridges,  1  or  13  miles  in  width,  run  parallel 
with  the  course  of  the  river  through  the  whole  county.  These  ridges  are  made  by  the  flinty  or  siliceous  limestones 
of  the  Lower  Silurian  formation,  and  are  covered  with  a  light-gray  soil,  usually  filled  with  angular  fragments  of 
chert,  and  support  a  growth  of  short-leaf  pines  and  occasional  hickories.  These  soils  resemble  very  much  the 
soils  of  the  barrens,  though  lerived  from  entirely  different  rocks. 

South  of  the  Tennessee,  Raccoon  mountain  faces  the  river  with  a  line,  of  cliffs  almost  continuous  throughout 
the  entire  length  of  the  valley,  the  narrow  space  between  the  river  bottom  and  the  foot  of  the  mountain  being 
occupied  by  a  ridge  of  the  cherty  fragments  of  the  lower  sub-Carboniferous  formation.  Between  this  Hint  ridge  and 
the  foot  of  the  mountain  there  is  a  narrow  valley  of  very  g  od  reddish  and  yellowish  soils,  and  where  this  valley  is 
wide  enough  and  the  lauds  somewhat  level  these  make  excellent  farming  lands,  as  might  be  expected  from  the  fact 
that  they  are  derived  from  rocks  the  same  as  those  which  form  the  basis  of  the  red  lands  of  the.  great  valley  of  the 
Tennessee.  Along  this  line  of  cliffs  the  points  are  few  at  which  the  mountain  can  be  ascended,  and  the  roads  lead 
up  by  gradual  slopes  or  tortuous  zigzags  cut  out  along  the  mountain  side.  When  the  top  is  reached  there  is  the 
usual  piateau,  very  broad  in  this  case,  extending  beyond  the  limits  of  the  county.  The  monotony  of  this  table- 
land is  relieved  by  shallow  ravines  and  depressions,  along  which  run  the  creeks  and  spring  branches.  All  the 
streams  of  this  plateau  are  shed  from  the  higher  eastern  edge,  in  De  Kali)  county,  and  flow  diagonally  across  the 
plateau  and  off  from  the  mountain  on  the  Jackson  county  side.  Where  they  leave  the  mountain  they  have  usually 
cut  dee.]),  narrow  gorges,  which  present,  especially  near  their  heads,  wild  and  picturesque  scenes.  The  height  of 
the  table-land  is  from  1,800  to  2,000  feet  above  the  sea  and  from  801)  to  1,000  feet  above  the  adjacent  valleys,  ami 
(lie  timber  consists  principally  of  the  various  species  of  upland  oaks,  hickories,  and  short-leaf  pines.  The  soils 
are  light-gray  and  yellowish  sandy  loams,  the  general  composition  of  which  may  be  seen  from  the  analysis  of  the 
Sand  mountain  soil  from  near  Valley  Head,  in  De  Kalb  county  (see  page  137).  While  intrinsically  less  fertile  than 
many  of  the  valley  soils,  these  are  far  from  sterile,  and  are  now  being  very  generally  taken  into  cultivation  by  a 
class  of  small  farmers.     The  table-lands  have  long  been  noted  for  the  excellent  pasturage  which  they  afford. 

The  edge  of  the  Tennessee  valley  on  the  north  side  is  very  irregular,  and  is  deeply  indented  by  coves  of  nearly 
level  fertile  land,  which  are.  underlaid  by  the  rocks  which  form  the  basis  of  both  the  red  and  the  barren  lands  (the 
latter,  however,  to  a  very  limited  exteut)  of  the  counties  westward.  Some  parts  are  usually  also  indebted  to  the 
mountain  limestone  formation  for  their  soils,  and  in  this  way  there  are  many  grades  of  fertility  in  lands  of  these 
coves.  The  ridges  separating  these  coves,  while  decreasing  in  height  toward  the  river,  nevertheless  terminate 
against  the  river  valley  in  a  series  of  heights  with  rather  abrupt  slopes,  called  the  river  hills,  which  are  intermediate 
in  level  between  the  valley  plain  and  the  main  body  of  the.  ridges.  Near  the  river,  where  denudation  has  produced 
its  greatest  effects,  those  parts  of  the  ridges  which  separate  the  coves  have  in  many  places  been  cut  across  by  side 
ravines,  and  are  thus  more  or  less  completely  separated  from  the  main  body  of  the  Cumberland  table-lands.  The 
river  hills  are  mostly  of  this  character. 

Farther  back,  and  generally  north  and  northwest  of  the  line  of  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  railroad,  it  is  usual 
to  tind  the  summit  of  the  highlands  between  the  wafer-courses  continuous  with  that  of  the  great  Cumberland 
plateau  of  Tennessee.  The  lower  parts  of  these  mountain  spurs  are  usually  made  up  of  the  calcareous  strata  of 
the  mountain  limestone,  while  sandstones  and  conglomerates  form  the  upper  parts  and  the  summits.  A  line  of 
sandstone  cliffs  near  the  summits  makes  the  ascent,  of  these  spurs  exceedingly  difficult,  and  in  I  he  northern  part  of 
the  county  it  is  possible  to  cross  the  ridges  only  by  making  wide  detours,  following  the.  courses  of  the  streams, 
ascending  the  plateau  near  their  headwaters,  crossing  the  level  areas  on  the  top,  and  making  the  descent  along  a 
parallel  water-course.  Upon  these  spurs  the  soil  and  timber  are  the  same  as  those  of  the  summit  of  IiaccoOD 
mountain,  described  above. 

To  recapitulate,  the  soil- varieties  of  Jackson  county  are  embraced  under  the  following  general  heads  : 

1.  The  red,  brown,  and  black  soils  of  the  hillsides,  of  the  level  and  rolling  lands,  and  of  the  river  and  creek 
bottoms.  The  soils  of  this  class  are  derived  from  the  mountain  limestone,  the  lower  sub-Carboniferous,  and  Uio 
Silurian  formations.  They  form  the  great,  body  of  the  fertile  valley  lands,  are  mostly  in  a  stale  of  cultivation,  and 
hence  from  an  agricultural  standpoint  are  the  most  important.     They  also  rank  second  as  to  superficial  extent. 

13.  Light-gray  siliceous  or  flinty  gravelly  soils,  covering  some  of  the  creek  bottoms  and  some  of  the  slopes  near 
the  foot  of  the  mountains,  and  also  forming  the  flinty  or  cherty  ridges  which  run  parallel  to  the  river  on  the 
northwest  side.  These  are  derived  from  the  lower  beds  of  the  sub  -Carboniferous  and  from  part  of  the  Lower 
Silurian  formation.     They  are  less  important  than  any  other  described. 

3.  The  light-yellowish  or  gray  sandy  soils  which  cover  the  mountain  plateaus  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  derived 
from  the  rocks  of  the  Coal  Measures,  are  in  superficial  extent  the  most  widely  distributed,  and  are  gradually  coming 
under  cultivation. 

Jackson  county,  like  other  counties  of  northern  Alabama  which  have  a  substratum  of  limestones,  is  noted  for  the 
great  number  and  boldness  of  the  springs  which  break  up  from  the  fissures  in  the  limestone. 

Agriculturally,  Jackson  resembles  Madison,  which  adjoins  it  on  the.  west,  though  a  much  smaller  proportion  of 
its  cultivated  land  is  in  cotton;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  a  much  larger  proportion  is  in  grain. 

ABSTRACT    OF    T1IE    KEPOET    OF   W.    F.    HTJBT,    OF    BELLEFONT. 

(This  report  refers  to  the  lands  drained  by  ilutl  creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Tennessee  river.) 

On  now  lands  the  cotton  grows  too  long  anil  is  liable  to  be  cut  off  by  frost,  but  it  can  safely  be  planted  on  beech  aud  poplar  lands  v.-ben 
not  too  much  exhausted  by  cultivation.     The  black  lands  are  grass  and  grain  lands,  but  are  not  suited  to  cotton.     The  most  important 
soils  are  the  red  lands  with  red-clay  foundations,  the  gray  creek  soils,  atrd  the  barren,  gray,  gravelly  or  flinty  lauds  which  lie  above 
overflow.     Of  these  only  the  first  is  described  iu  detail. 
110 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  101 

The  red  lauds  form  about  two-thirds  of  the  cultivated  area,  and,  alternating  with  the  gray  aud  black  soils,  are  found  throughout  the 
county.  The  native  growth  is  black  aud  red  oaks  aud  hickory  on  the  uplands ;  poplar,  beech,  walnut,  sweet  gum,  aud  white  oak  ou  the 
lower  lands.  The  top  soil  is  a  tine  sandy  or  gravelly  loam,  alternating  with  a  heavier  clay  loam  of  brown,  mahogany,  and  red  colors,  the 
thickness  being  quite  variable.  The  subsoil  is  heavier,  and  somewhat  hard  until  acted  on  by  rain  and  air.  It  generally  contains  angular, 
flinty  pebbles,  and  is  underlaid  at  10  to  20  feet  by  hard  limestone  rock. 

Lands  are  generally  somewhat  difficult  to  cultivate  in  wet  weather.  The  chief  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  etc.,  and  the  land 
seems  equally  well  adapted  to  all.  Perhaps  as  much  as  three-eighths  of  all  the  cultivated  laud  is  plauted  in  cotton.  The  average 
height  of  fully-grown  cotton  is  about  3  feet.  Excessive  rains  will  make  cotton  run  to  weed  on  rich  lowlands,  the  usual  remedy  for 
which  is  topping.  The  seed-cotton  product  varies  from  500  to  1,500  pounds  per  acre,  and  it  requires  from  1,425  to  1,060  pounds  for  a  475- 
pound  bale.  This  cotton  classes  as  middling.  Ten  years'  culture  without  manuring  reduces  the  yield  from  500  to  BOO  pounds  per  acre. 
The  most  troublesome  weeds  are  crab-grass,  rag-weed,  hog-weed,  and  lamb's- quarter.  At  this  date  no  land  lies  turned  out,  as  it  is  al) 
needed  for  cultivation.     The  slopes  are  not  much  injured  by  washings,  and  the  washings  from  the  uplands  are  beneficial  to  the  valleys. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made,  as  fast  as  ready,  to  Memphis  and  Nashville,  at  the  rate  of  about  $2  25  r)er  bale. 

MARSHALL. 
(See  "  Coal-Measures  region  ".) 

MORGAN. 

Population:  16,428.— White,  11,758;  colored,  4,G70. 

Area:  700  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Coal  Measures  of  Sand  mountain, 275  square  miles;  sandy  lands  of 
the  Little  mountains,  140  square  miles  ;  valley  lauds,  285  square  miles  (red  lands,  100  square  miles ;  coves  and  slopes, 
185  square  miles). 

Tilled  land:  95,584  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  18,828  acres;  in  corn,  35,010  square  miles;  in  oats,  4,704 
acres;  in  wheat,  7,005  acres;  in  rye,  135  acres;  in  tobacco,  52  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  305  acres. 

Cotton  production :  0,133  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.33  bale,  471  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  157 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

In  going  from  the  Tennessee  river  southward  through  Morgan  county  one  would  come  upon  four  terrace-like 
plains,  each  with  a  rather  abrupt  slope  toward  the  north  and  a  gentle  incline  southward.     These  plains  would  be : 

1.  The  river  bottom,  with  its  loose,  rich,  alluvial  soil  liable  to  overflow,  and  for  this  reason  mostly  planted  in 
corn,  though  some  parts  arc  put  in  cotton. 

2.  The  valley  of  the  Tennessee,  which  is  from  75  to  100  feet  above  the  river  level,  and  which  is  a  nearly  level 
plain  with  rich  red  or  brown  soils,  interspersed  here  and  there  with  small  rocky  knolls,  crowned  with  dense  groves 
of  post  oak,  black-jack,  and  hickory.  The  greater  part  of  this  valley,  which  has  the  same  general  characters  here 
as  in  Lawrence  county  on  the  west,  is  cleared  and  under  cultivation,  and  the  original  timber  is  represented  only  by 
these  remnants  left  on  the  rocky  ground.  The  width  of  the  valley  varies  greatly  in  different  parts  of  the  county. 
Thus,  for  instance,  opposite  Whitesburg,  in  the  eastern  part,  it  is  only  a  mile  or  two  from  the  river  to  the  foot  of  the 
Little  mountains  on  the  south  side  of  the  valley,  and  dowu  to  the  mouth  of  Flint  creek  the  mountain  in  many  places 
forms  bluffs  along  the  river  bank,  while,  near  Decatur  it  is  6  or  S  miles  wide,  and  in  places  still  wider.  It  will  not 
be  necessary  to  repeat  the  descriptions  already  given  of  other  parts  of  this  valley  in  Lawrence  aud  Colbert  counties. 

3.  From  the  valley  there  is  an  abrupt  ascent  of  75  to  200  feet,  according  to  location,  to  the  summit  of  Little 
mountain,  which  is  capped  with  a  stratum  of  sandstone  belonging  to  the  upper  part  of  the  sub-Carboniferous 
formation.  This  sandstone  has  been  mentioned  somewhat  at  length  under  Lawreuce  aud  Colbert  counties,  where 
it  occupies  a  similar  position  upon  Little  mountains.  This  mountain,  in  its  entire  length,  owes  its  existence  to 
the  protection  against  denudation  afforded  by  the  bed  of  sandstone.  The  soils  derived  from  this  rock  are  saudy 
and  not  particularly  fertile,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  analysis  of  the  soil  from  near  La  Grange,  given  ou  page  34. 
Occasionally,  where  the  sandstone  has  been  cut  through  by  erosion,  the  limestone  which  lies  below  it  comes  to  the 
surface,  forming  very  limy,  prairie-like  soils,  which  are  very  little  under  cultivation  on  account  of  their  droughty 
nature,  due  to  the  proximity  of  the  limestone  to  the  surface  and  the  consequent  thinness  of  the  soil.  These  areas, 
however,  make  excellent  pastures.     A  large  body  of  this  kind  of  land  has  been  mentioned  under  Lawrence  county. 

4.  From  the,  summit  of  the  Little  mountains,  and  overlooking  the  Tennessee  valley,  there  is  a  gradual  descent, 
going  southward,  to  the  foot  of  Sand  mountain,  which  makes  the  fourth  terrace  above  spoken  of.  The  distance  across 
from  the  summit  of  the  Little  mountains  to  the  foot  of  Sand  mountain  varies  very  greatly.  Opposite  Whitesburg 
these  Little  mountains  are  a  mere  bench  on  the  side  of  Sand  mountain  from  one-half  to  one  mile  in  width, 
but  it  widens  toward  the  west,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Decatur  the  distance  is  10  or  12  miles  from  the  summit 
back  to  Sand  mountain.  The  gentle  slope  going  southward  is  due  partly  to  the  dip  of  the  rocks  themselves  in 
that  direction,  but  much  more  is  due  to  erosion,  since  the  slope  is  greater  than  the  dip  of  the  strata.  In  the  southern 
part  of  the  valley  thus  formed  between  the  two  mountains,  and  beyond  the  sandy  slope  of  the  Little  mountains,  the 
drainage  has  cut  down  into  the  calcareous  rocks  which  underlie  the  sandstone  of  the  Little  mountains,  and  the  soils 
produced  from  the,  disintegration  of  these,  rocks  vary  considerably  in  character,  some  being  black,  prairie-like  soils, 
similar  to  that  of  the,  prairie  of  Lawrence  county,  already  mentioned,  aud  some  gray  and  erawnshy,  aud  not  much 
prized.  From  a  few  miles  south  of  Decatur,  up  the  valley  of  Flint  creek,  there  is  a  good  deal  of  this  level,  sticky, 
gray  land,  which  appears  to  be  derived  from  some  of  the  deeper-lying,  study,  calcareous  strata.  Along  the  bases 
of  the  northern  slopes  of  the,  spurs  of  Sand  mountain  there  is  a  mulatto  soil  of  very  considerable  fertility. 

From  this  description  it  will  be  seen  that  the  valley  between  the  two  mountains,  which  in  Lawreuce  county  has 
fertile  red  aud  brown  soils  similar  to  those  of  the  Tennessee  valley,  in  Morgan  county,  is  more  or  less  sandy,  except 
where  the  streams  have  cut  their  channels  down  into  calcareous  rocks.  It  is  doubtful  whether  in  Morgan  county 
the  streams  have  anywhere  (except  in  the  vicinity  of  jthe  river)  cut  down  into  the  strata  which  form  the  basis  of 
the  red  soils  of  the  Tennessee  aud  Moulton  valleys,  and  this  for  two  reasons:  Erosion  has  been  probably  less 

ill 


102  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

effective  eastward  than  westward,  and  the  thickness  of  the  upper  sub-Carboniferous  beds  which  overlie  the  strata 
in  question  is  very  much  greater  in  the  eastern  than  in  the  western  part  of  the  Teunessee  valley.  Even  in  the 
eastern  part  of  Lawrence  county  the  red  soils  begin  to  be  replaced  by  the  gray  and  limy  soils  previously  mentioned. 

The  fourth  terrace,  as  has  already  been  stated,  is  formed  by  Sand  mountain,  which  is  a  part  of  the  great  coal- 
field,  and  capped  by  the  sandstones  and  other  rocks  of  the  Coal  Measures,  and  has  always  an  abrupt  slope,  and  in 
places  a  cliff-like  slope  northward  toward  the  valley,  but  is  nearly  level  on  the  top.  The  height  of  this  summit  above 
the  adjacent  valley  is  from  200  to  450  or  500  feet,  according  to  locality,  the  greatest  height  being  toward  the  east. 
In  Lawrence  and  Franklin  counties  the  northern  edge  of  Sand  mountain  is  comparatively  little  indented,  and  forms 
the  water-shed  between  the  Warrior  and  the  Tennessee  drainages,  except  in  the  ease  of  Big  Bear  creek.  This  is  the 
case  also  in  Morgan  county  as  far  as  the  valley  of  Flint  creek.  East  ward  of  that  point .  however,  this  rim  is  deeply 
indented,  and  its  outline  against  the  valley  is  formed  of  mountain  spurs,  separated  by  deep  coves,  cut  far  back  into 
the  mountain  by  the  streams.  These  spurs,  like  Sand  mountain,  of  which  they  are  a  part,  are  in  great  measure 
composed  of  the,  calcareous  strata  of  the  mountain  limestone,  which  is  the  upper  group  of  the  sub-Carboniferous 
formation.  Overlying  these,  and  forming  the  summits  both  of  the  spurs  and  of  the  main  mountain,  an1  the 
sandstones  of  the  Coal  Measures.  The  northward  slopes  of  these  spurs,  like  thoseof  the  main  mountain,  are  very  steep, 
and  are  composed  chiefly  of  limestones,  timbered  with  tine  poplar  and  walnut  trees.  At  the  foot  of  these  slopes 
is  usually  a  strip  of  half  a  mile  or  more  in  width  with  mulatto  soils  locally  noted  for  their  fertility.  The  summits 
and  very  gentle  southward  slopes  have  commonly  sandy  soils  and  a  growl  li  of  scrubby  oaks  and  short-leaf  pine. 
The  spurs  whicli  project  farthest  north  have,  as  a  rule,  suffered  most  degradation,  and  the  sandstone  lias  in  many 
eases  altogether  disappeared,  leaving  the  limestones  as  surface  rocks.  In  such  cases  the  usual  growth  of  pine  is 
replaced  by  cedars.  Two  of  these  cedar  mountains  are  situated  a  few  miles  southward  from  Somcrville,  one  of 
them  forming  one  of  the  boundaries  of  Cedar  cove.  In  the  eastern  part. of  Morgan  county  one  of  the  spurs  (if  it 
may  not  even  be  called  the  main  body  of  Sand  mountain)  extends  quite  up  to  the  Tennessee  river  near  the  moul  li  of 
Flint  river,  and  on  the  opposite  side  a  ridge,  which  is  the  continuation  of  it,  reaches  far  up  northward  into  Madison 
county. 

It  will  easily  be  inferred  from  the  descriptions  above  given  that  the  whole  of  Morgan  county  was  once  formed 
of  the  Coal  Measures,  whose  general  elevation  was  that  of  Sand  mountain;  that  these  measures  also  formed  the 
surface  of  the  adjoining  counties  in  the  Tennessee  valley;  and  that  all  the  variety  now  seen  in  the  topography, 
geological  formations,  and  soils  in  tins  region  has  been  brought  about  by  the  action  of  running  waters,  of  which 
the  Tennessee  and  its  tributaries  are  the  present  representatives,  and  whicli  have  worn  down  the  surface  very 
unequally,  leaving  here  a  portion  with  nearly  its  original  height,  forming  the  mountains,  and  cutting  down  there 
another  portion  into  channels,  forming  the  present  valleys  and  lowlands.  The  soils  and  productions  are  similar  to 
those  of  the  counties  adjoining. 

MADISON. 

Population:  37,025.— White,  18,591 ;  colored,  10,03-1. 

Area:  810  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Red  valley  lands,  300  square  miles;  barrens,  150  square  miles; 
calcareous  mountain  slopes,  100  square  miles;  Coal  Measures  tablelands,  100  square  miles;  sandy  lands  on  smaller 
mountains,  50  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  213,221  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  72,83S  acres;  in  corn,  69,246  acres;  in  oats,  0,877  acres; 
in  wheat,  12,578  acres;  in  rye,  174  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  5S  acres;  in  tobacco,  224  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes, 
S39  acres. 

Cotton  production:  20,079  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.2S  bale,  399  pounds  seed  cotton,  or  133 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

There  are  only  two  geological  formations  which  take  any  prominent  part  in  the  structure  of  Madison  county, 
the  sub-Carboniferous  and  the  Coal  Measures :  but  the  former  presents  three  distinct  phases,  so  that  the  groups  of 
rocks  which  give  rise  to  well-defined  topographical  features  as  well  as  soil  varieties  are  practically  four  in  number. 
The  lowermost  of  these  groups  is  composed  of  highly  siliceous  or  flinty  limestones,  which,  in  disintegrating, 
produce  gray,  sandy,  or  gravelly  soils  ot  only  medium  fertility,  called,  in  comparison  with  the  soils  derived  from 
the  next  highest  seiies,  "barrens''.     The  topography  of  this  region  is  much  varied  and  generally  rugged. 

The  limestones  which  make  the  next  group,  though  still  siliceous,  are  much  less  so  than  those  below,  and  yield 
soils  which  are  far  above  the  average  in  fertility.  These  soils  are  mostly  sandy  loams,  colored  deep-red  or  reddish- 
brown  with  iron,  and  in  some  localities,  where  more  calcareous,  the  color  is  dark  to  nearly  black,  like  the  prairie  soils 
of  middle  Alabama.  By  reason  of  the  comparatively  uniform  composition  of  these  rocks  the  surface  formed  by 
them  is  a  level  or  gently  undulating  plain,  dotted  here  and  there  with  small  knolls,  composed  of  the  flinty  portions 
of  the  limestone,  and  usually  covered  with  a  dense  growth  of  oaks  and  hickories.  The  great  majority  of  the  best 
farming  lauds  of  the  Tennessee  valley  on  both  sides  of  the  river  are  of  this  character. 

The  next  two  groups,  consisting  of  the  uppermost  beds  of  the  sub-Carboniferous  formation  (called  the  mountain 
limestone)  and  the  Coal  Measures,  are  usually  associated  together,  the  latter  occupying  the  summits  anil  the  former 
the  sides  of  the  mountain  spurs  and,  in  some  localities,  the  valleys  between  them.  It  has  already  been  stated  that 
the  strata  of  the  Coal  Measures  yield  light  sandy  loams  of  gray  to  yellowish  colors  and  of  only  medium  fertility. 
The  mountain  limestone  yields  a  variety  of  soils — black  and  limy,  mulatto,  gray,  and  light  sandy,  according  to 
locality  and  circumstances.     All  these  strata  are  approximately  horizontal,  but  have  a  slight  dip  south  and  west. 

That  part  of  Madison  county  east  of  Iluntsville  is  formed  of  the  spurs  of  the  Cumberland  mountains  (detached 
peaks,  groups,  and  ridges),  the  remnants  of  that  great  table-land  continuous  in  Tenuessee,  but  separated  here  by 
valleys.  The  summits  of  these  mountains  are  nearly  level  on  top,  and  are  formed  of  the  sandstones  of  the  Coal 
Measures,  and  the  resulting  soils  are  the  light  sandy  loams  before  mentioned.  On  account  of  their  great  elevation, 
000  or  700  feet  above  the  valleys,  and  their  pleasant  climate  the  mountain  summits  are,  when  accessible,  desirable 
places  of  summer  resort,  Monte  Sauo,  near  Iluntsville,  being  the  summer  resilience  of  many  of  the  citizens  of  that 
town. 

The  valleys  separating  the  mountain  spurs  have  mostly  calcareous  soils,  and  are  derived  partly  from  the 
mountain  limestone,  as  mentioned,  and  in  the  deeper  valleys,  and  those  which  reach  down  nearest  to  the  river, 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS.  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  103 

from  the  same  beds  which  make  the  soils  of  the  red  lauds  of  the  Tennessee  valley.  In  the  former  case  the 
soils  are  black  and  sticky,  like  many  prairie  soils,  but  these  are  not  very  common.  Sometimes  they  are  light  gray, 
crawfishy,  and  not  desirable  as  farming  lands.  The  mulatto  soils  of  this  formation  are  much  the  best.  As  a  rule, 
the  soils  over  the  mountain  limestone  are  rather  thin,  as  the  rock  is  commonly  found  along  mountain  slopes,  and, 
therefore,  is  much  exposed  to  washing. 

The  southwestern  part  of  Madison  is  covered  principally  by  the  red  or  brown  soils  characteristic  of  the 
great  Tennessee  valley,  and  it  is,  taken  all  in  all,  the  most  desirable  portion  of  the  county  for  farming.  In  general 
it  is  level  or  gently  undulating,  with  a  few  isolated  mountain  peaks,  which  vary  the  sceneiy.  The  northwestern 
part  of  the  county  is  occupied  by  the  barrens.  The  line  between  these  and  the  red  lands  is  very  sinuous,  and 
Strips  of  red  land  extend  far  up  into  the  barrens  along  the  water-sheds,  in  some  cases  reaching  to  the  state  line. 
On  the  ether  hand,  the  peculiar  soils  of  the  barrens  are  seen  along  many  of  the  creeks  much  farther  south  than 
their  general  limit.  This  distribution  will  be  sufficiently  clearly  shown  upon  the  map,  and  the  peculiarities  of  the 
three  most  important  soils  are  well  presented  in  the  following  abstract.  Analyses  of  red  lauds,  barrens,  and 
gravelly  creek  bottom  soils  from  Madison  will  be  found  on  pages  31  and  33. 

Madison  may  be  taken  as  the  banner  county  of  the  Tennessee  valley  in  the  production  of  cotton,  both  in  the 
percentage  of  tilled  laud  in  cotton  and  in  the  number  of  bales  produced.  The  red  valley  hinds  have  mostly  been 
long  cultivated  in  cotton  and  corn,  without  any  adequate  return,  which  accounts  for  the  comparatively  low  product 
per  acre. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE   REPORTS   OF   THOMAS  B.   KELLY,  OF   CLUTTSVILLE,   COLONEL  W.  C.   IRWIN,  OF   HUNTSVILLE, 

AND   GEORGE  D.   NORRIS,    OF  NEW  MARKET. 

(The  first  of  the  reports  subjoined  refers  to  the  lands  drained  by  Limestone  creek  and  its  tributaries,  and  describes  the  red  limestone  land,  the  barrens,  and  the  flint 
gravel  lands ;  the  second  refers  to  the  region  drained  by  radian  and  Spring  creeks,  near  Huntsville,  and  describes  only  the  red  valley  soil ;  the  third  relates  to 
the  drainage  area  of  Mountain  fork  and  Hester's  creek,  both  tributary  to  Flint  river.     The  only  soil  described  is  the  red  clay  or  limestone  soil  above  named.) 

Th'c  uplands  aro  in  most  cases  better  suited  than  the  bottoms  to  cotton  culture,  as  the  plant  matures  better  and  is  less  liable  to  injury 
from  frosts  and  wet  weather.  In  good  seasons,  however,  the  lowlands  will  yield  a  larger  crop  and  a  better  quality  of  cotton  than  the 
highlands.  The  most  important  soil  is  that  of  the  red  lands,  which  make  about  nine-tenths  of  the  cultivated  land  in  tbe  area  embraced 
by  the  second  report,  and  about  two-thirds  of  the  cultivated  area  of  the  other  two.  The  prevailing  timber  is  poplar,  walnut,  hickory, 
chestnut,  black,  post,  red,  and  white  oaks,  ash,  elm,  etc.  The  top  soil  is  a  sandy  clay  loam  of  brown,  red,  and  mulatto  colors,  sometimes 
nearly  black.  The  thickness  varies  greatly  with  locality,  being  1  or  2  feet  deep  in  the  lowlands.  The  subsoil  is  a  red-clay  loam,  not 
impervious,  becoming  darker,  like  the  top  soil,  under  cultivation,  and  contains  commonly  angular  fragments  of  flint  or  chert,  underlaid  at 
a  depth  of  5  to  10  feer^by  soft,  reddish-stained  limestone  rock.  The  barrens  make  a  third  of  the  area  under  cultivation  near  Cluttsville, 
but  they  extend  thence  all  through  the  northern  part  of  the  county.  The  timber  is  chiefly  post,  black,  white,  Spanish,  and  black-jack 
oaks.  The  top  soil  is  a  fine  sandy  loam,  becoming  sticky  and  putty-like  when  wet,  has  usually  a  whitish  to  gray  color,  and  is  on  an  average 
8  inches  thick.  The  subsoil  is  rather  heavier,  a  yellowish-red  sandy  material,  underlaid  with  a  hard-pan  impervious  to  water  at  3  to  5  feet. 
The  flinty  gravel  soil  is  of  limited  extent,  being  found  only  along  the  streams.  Its  natural  timber  is  beech,  poplar,  sugar  maple,  and 
oaks.  The  character  of  the  soil  is  indicated  in  its  name ;  the  color,  whitish  to  gray  ;  thickness,  about  12  inches.  The  subsoil  is  heavier, 
and  is  of  a  yellowish  to  red  color,  and  contains  many  fragments  of  flint.     At  5  to  15  feet  depth  it  is  underlaid  with  a  slaty  rock. 

Land  is  easily  tilled,  in  dry  seasons  especially,  the  principal  crops  being  cotton,  corn,  oats,  etc.  The  soils  are  adapted  to  several 
crops,  but  cotton  is  the  chief  production,  at  least  half  of  the  cultivated  land  being  planted  with  it.  The  average  height  to  which  cotton 
grows  is  3  or  4  feet.  Deep  culture  in  wet  seasons  will  cause  it  to  run  to  weed,  but  this  can  generally  be  prevented  by  shallow  culture.  The 
eeed-cotton  product  per  acre  varies  from  800  to  2,000  pounds,  and  it  requires  from  1,425  to  1,600  pounds  for  a  475-pound  bale.  After  ten  years' 
culture  without  manure  the  yield  varies  from  600  to  1,000  pounds  per  acre.  Rag-weed,  hog-weed,  yellow-dock,  and  blackberry  bushes 
are  most  troublesome.  Very  little  laud  now  lies  turned  out.  The  slopes  or  hillsides  are  much  injured  by  washings  from  rains.  This  can 
be  prevented  or  checked  by  ditching,  which  is  sometimes  practiced  with  success  ;  but  the  valleys  are  generally  improved  by  the  washings 
from  the  uplands. 

The  cotton  is  mostly  sold  to  buyers  in  Huntsville  and  other  places  in  the  county,  and  very  little  of  it  is  shipped  by  the  producer. 
Occasionally  shipments  are  made  to  Memphis,  Ciucinnati,  and  Nashville,  at  the  rate  of  li  to  1£  cents  per  pound.  Shipments  and  sales 
are  made  from  the  time  tbe  crop  is  ready  till  January,  or  later. 

LIMESTONE. 

Population:  21,600.— White.  11,637;  colored,  9,963. 

Area:  590  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.     Ked  valley  lands,  175  square  miles ;  "  barrens,"  41S  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  129,477  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  44,334  acres;  in  corn,  44,612  acres;  in  oats, 4,134 acres;  in 
wheat,  7,561  acres ;  in  rye,  234  acres;  in  tobacco,  107  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  417  acres. 

Cotton  production:  15,724  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.35  bale,  498  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  166 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Limestone  county  resembles  Lauderdale  in  its  geological  structure,  surface  configuration,  and  soils,  and  much 
that  has  been  said  uuder  that  county  will  apply  here.  A  line  drawn  from  the  middle  of  the  eastern  boundary  of 
Limestone  county  to  its  southwestern  corner  will  divide  it  into  two  portions,  differing  widely  from  each  other. 
North  of  this  line  are  the  barrens,  the  extension  into  Alabama  of  the  highlands  of  Tennessee;  south  of  the  line 
the  lowlands  of  the  Tennessee  valley.  The.  average  height  of  the  former  above  the  valley  lands  is  not  less  than 
200  feet,  but  this  increases  going  northward.  The  valley  lands  themselves  are  some  100  feet  or  more  above  the 
level  of  the  Tennessee  river.  Immediately  adjoining  the  river  are  the  first-bottom  lands,  which  are  not  above 
overflow.  These  three  terraces  (if  they  may  be  so  called)  have  their  distinctive  features.  The  bottom  lands  proper 
are  nearly  level,  and  have  the  usual  fertile  sandy  loam  soils,  which  are  much  better  suited  to  the  production  of  corn 
than  to  that  of  cotton.  The  valley  lands  are  also  nearly  level,  or  only  gently  undulating,  with  here  and  there  a  rocky 
knoll  covered  with  timber.  The  rest  of  the  valley,  as  already  stated,  is  almost  entirely  cleared  and  under  cultivation. 
8  c  P— VOL.  II  .  113 


104  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

The  rock  underlying  this  portion  of  the  county  is  a  limestone  of  sub-Carboniferous  age,  more  or  less  impregnated 
in  places  with  chert  or  siliceous  matter.  As  the  rock  disintegrates  under  the  influence  of  the  atmospheric  agencies 
the  indestructible  flinty  portions  are  left,  forming  the  rocky  knolls,  which  are  not  generally  cultivated,  but  which 
often  form  the  sites  of  the  farmers'  houses.  The  soils  derived  from  this  limestone  are  clay  loams  of  red,  brown, 
and  almost  black  colors;  anil  the  subsoil  is  nearly  always  a  heavy,  red  clayey  loam,  which  assumes  the  characters 
of  the  top  soil  after  cultivation.  This  rests  upon  the  limestone  at  depths  which  vary  with  the  locality,  the  black 
soils  being  those  in  which  the  influence  of  the  limestone  is  most  strongly  felt.  These  are  the  true  cotton  lands,  and 
yield,  when  fresh,  from  1,0110  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed  cotton  to  the  acre.  The  timber  which  still  remains  upon  the 
rocky  knolls  is  composed  of  the  various  species  of  upland  oaks,  hickory,  ash,  gums,  etc. 

These  rocky  knolls  are  usually  of  comparatively  small  extent.  "Nubbin"  ridge,  however,  which  seems  to 
have  a  similar  origin,  is  an  exception,  for  it  is  quite  high  and  broad,  and  extends  from  the  near  vicinity  of  the 
Tennessee  river  northward  to  the  region  of  the  barrens.  The  boundary-line  between  this  county  and  Madison 
runs  along  the  top  of  this  ridge  for  many  miles.  The  summit  ot  the  ridge  is  much  less  encumbered  with  the 
fragments  of  chert  than  are  most  of  the  rocky  knolls  of  similar  origin,  and  there  are  upon  it,  mauv  spots  of  lair 
cotton  land.  As  a  general  thing,  however,  the  soil  seems  to  be  badly  worn,  and  old  fields,  gashed  with  gullies  and 
grown  up  in  briers,  are  more  olten  seen  than  cultivated  lauds.  On  account  of  the  tine  water  everywhere  to  be  had 
on  the  ridge,  its  pleasant  climate,  and  its  elevation,  this  ridge  was  once  to  a  greater  degree  than  at.  present  the 
place  of  residence  of  planters  whose  farms  were  situated  in  the  more  productive  but  less  salubrious  lowlands. 

The  valley  lands  are  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  foot-hills  of  the  highlands,  and  the  line  of  separation  is  an 
exceedingly  irregular  one.  The  surface  of  this  transition  region  is  much  more  broken  than  that  of  the  valley  lands 
on  the  one  side  or  of  the  barrens  on  the  other. 

In  general,  the  barrens  have  the  characters  of  a  tolerably  level  plateau,  the  surface  of  which  has  been  cut 
into  deep,  narrow  ravines  by  the  streams.  But  in  this  respect  the  western  part  of  the  county  is  quite  different 
from  the  eastern.  The  tributaries  of  Elk  river,  on  the  west,  are  confined  to  deep  and  narrow  gorges,  and  have  very 
little  first-  and  second-bottom  lands. 

In  the  vicinity  of  any  of  these  streams,  but  especially  of  Elk  river,  are  the  river  hills,  which  make  a  distinct 
agricultural  division.  The  manner  in  which  they  have  been  formed  may  be  explained  by  the  following  considerations: 
Elk  liver  Hows  down  a  basin  •'!  or  1  miles  in  width,  bordered  on  each  side  by  cliffs,  more  or  less  abrupt,  of  the  rocks 
which  form  the  barrens.  The  river  follows  a  winding  course  down  this  basin,  impinging  first  against  the  one  side 
and  then  against  the  other,  leaving  ou  one  side  only  a  narrow  strip  of  bottom  lands  between  it  and  the  cliff.  On 
the  opposite  side,  however,  the  cliffs  are  some  3  miles  away,  and  the  space  between  them  and  the  river  has  been 
much  eroded  and  is  now  dotted  with  hills  having  sleep  sides,  sometimes  isolated,  and  covering  an  area  of  25  or  30 
acres,  sometimes  connected  together  by  low  ridges.  There  is  very  little  level  land  on  top  of  these  hills,  which  are 
the  only  relics  left  of  the  land  degraded  by  the  short  tributaiies  of  the  river.  The  soil  of  the  hillsides  is  red  and 
quite  fertile,  and  generally  in  cultivation  ;  but.  the  hills  have  the  disadvantage,  that  the  soil  is  very  difficult  to  retain, 
as  it  is  liable  to  be  washed  away  by  every  hard  rain  because,  of  the  steep  slopes.  Such  are  the  river  hills,  which 
are  much  desired  as  farming  lands,  notwithstanding  the  natural  disadvantages  to  which  they  are.  subject. 

In  the  eastern  part  of  the  county  the  basins  of  the  creeks  are  shallower,  with  gently-sloping  sides,  and  include 
often  considerable  bodies  of  very  good  land.  The  upper  part  of  Elk  river  also  has  some  very  good  tracts  of 
second-bottom  land,  the  river  hills  being,  as  a  rule,  absent  in  that  section.  The  fertile  areas  found  in  these  positions 
among  the  barrens  are,  in  all  probability,  derived  from  some  of  the  lower  and  more  purely  calcareous  beds  of  the 
generally  highly  siliceous  strata  of  the  lowest  division  of  the  sub-CarBoniferous  formation.  On  account  of  a 
gentle  dip  toward  the.  south,  these  lower  beds,  composed  in  the  main  of  very  impure  siliceous  limestones,  while, 
they  form  the  surface  rocks  in  all  the  northern  half  of  the  county,  in  the  barrens,  in  the  lower  half,  pass  beneath 
the  purer  and  less  siliceous  limestones  of  the  upper  division  of  the  sub-Carboniferous  formation  which  make  the 
valley  lands.  This  valley  limestone,  however,  is  never  very  thick  on  the  northern  side  of  the  Tennessee  river,  at 
least  as  far  eastward  as  Decatur;  and  along  the  river  banks,  and  in  places  also  along  the  smaller  streams,  the 
underlying  rocks  of  the  barrens  are  exposed  in  every  cliff. 

The  line  of  separation  of  the  barrens  from  the  va  ley  lands  is,  as  before  stated,  quite  irregular,  for  the  rocks 
of  the  former  along  the  creek  basins  reach  far  down  into  the  va  ley,  sometimes  even  to  the,  river,  while,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  red  soils  of  the  valley  may  frequent  y  be  found  upon  the  summits  of  the  dividing  ridges,  reaching 
up  into  the  barrens  for  long  distances.  The  town  of  Atheus  stands  upon  one  of  these  prolongations  of  the  red 
lands,  and  in  the.  northern  part  of  the  county  there  are  a  few  isolated  spots  of  this  red  land  still  left  upon  the 
higher  summits. 

Agriculturally,  Limestone  is  like  Madison  county,  except  that  in  Limestone  there  is  a  smaller  proportion  of  red 
val'ey  land  and  a  larger  proportion  of  barrens.  The  area  planted  in  cotton  yields  an  average  return,  although 
the  majority  of  the  lauds  are  much  worn  and  have  had  comparatively  little  help  from  fertilizers. 

ABSTKACT    OF    THE    REPORT    OF   F.    II.    PEEBLES,    OF   MOORESVILLE. 
(Tho  region  referred  to  is  drained  by  Piny,  Limestone,  and  Beaver  Dam  creeks,  all  tributaries  of  the  Tennessee  river.) 

The  two  principal  soil  varietiesdescribed  are  the  red-clay  lands  and  the  light,  sandy  bottom  lands  ot  ihe  Tennessee,  and  only  the  red 
lands  are  mentioned  in  detail.  These  form  about  00  per  cent,  of  the  area  reported  upon,  aud  the  natural  growth  is  composed  of  ash, 
hickory,  gum,  and  species  of  oaks.  The  greater  part  of  the  timber  has  been  removed  aud  tho  laud  brought  under  cultivation.  The 
top  soil  is  a  red-clay  loam,  as  a  rule,  though  other  colors  arc  noticed.  The  average  thickness  is  4  inches,  and  the  subsoil  is  heavier,  but 
of  Ihe  same  general  character  with  the  soil.  It  contains,  especially  uear  the  water-courses,  rounded  aud  angular  pebbles  of  quartz  and 
chert. 

Tillage  is  easy,  except  directly  after  hard  rains  or  in  excessively  dry  seasons.  The  chief  crops  are  cotton  aud  corn,  aud  the  soil  is 
about  equally  well  suited  to  each.  A  little  more  thau  half  of  the  area  is  put  in  cottou,  which  grows  to  a  height,  of  from  1  to  0  feet,  being 
most  productive  at  IJ  feet.  The  plant  inclines  to  go  to  weed  during  wet  fall  weather,  aud  the  ouly  remedy  suggested  is  topping.  The 
seed-cotton  product  per  acre  on  fresh  land  is  from  1,0U0  to  1,500  pounds,  and  1,780  pounds  are  required  to  make  a  475-pound  bale,  the 
staple  from  fresh  laud  rating  as  middling.  After  fifty  years'  cultivation,  without  manure,  the  yield  is  brought  down  to  II0U  pounds,  with 
114 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  105 

about  the  same  quality  of  staple,  and  about  the  same  proportion  between  the  lint  and  seed.  The  moat  troublesome  weed  ia  crab-graBB. 
About  one-tenth  of  the  laud  originally  cultivated  is  turned  out,  but  when  again  taken  into  cultivation  it  produces  very  well.  There  is 
comparatively  little  injury  from  washings,  either  to  the  uplands  or  the  valleys. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  from  October  to  January,  both  by  steamer  and  by  rail,  usually  to  Memphis  or  Cincinnati,  and  the  rate 
of  freight  is  from  $i!  to  &i  25  per  bale. 

LAUDERDALE. 

Population:    21,035.— White,  14,173  ;  colored,  0,802. 

Area:  700  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Barrens,  400  square  miles;  red  valley  lands,  200  square  miles; 
gravelly  hills,  with  short-leaf  pine,  100  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  102,839  acres — Area  planted  in  cotton,  20,504  acres;  in  corn,  42,S90  acres;  in  oats,  4,009  acres; 
in  wheat,  8,475  acres;  in  rye,  262  acres;  in  tobacco,  105  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  407  acres. 

Cotton  production:  9,270  bales;  averagOjCottou  product  per  acre,  0.35  bale,  498  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  106 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

To  present  in  a  satisfactory  manner  the  topography  and  soil  distribution  of  Lauderdale  county  it  will  be 
necessary  to  refer  to  its  geological  structure.  The  entire  couuty  is  immediately  underlaid  with  the  rocks  of  the 
sub-Carboniferous  formation  and  with  the  lower  strata  of  the  same.  These  are  of  two  sorts,  the  upper  beds  being 
more  calcareous  and  the  lower  more  flinty  or  siliceous,  and  the  soils  derived  from  them  vary  accordingly.  All  these 
beds  have  a  gentle  slope  or  dip  southward,  by  which  circumstance  the  lower  or  more  siliceous  beds,  while  forming 
the  immediate  surface  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  are  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Tennessee  river  at  considerable 
depths  below  the  surface,  which  is  formed  of  the.  overlying  more  calcareous  rocks.  The  areas  where  these  two 
classes  of  rocks  form  the  surface  differ  widely  in  their  topography,  soils,  and  other  features. 

The  northern  part  of  the  couuty  (live-sevenths),  formed  by  the  siliceous  beds,  is  an  elevated  plateau,  a  part  of 
the  highlands  of  Tennessee;  the  southern  part  (two-sevenths),  where  the  calcareous  beds  make  the  surface,  is  a 
portion  of  the  great  valley  of  the  Tennessee. 

The  tirst  of  these  two  areas  is  called  the  highlands,  or  barrens,  and  it  may  be  described  as  a  high  plain, 
much  cut  up  by  deep,  long,  narrow  ravines,  which  extend  north  and  south,  and  from  which  branch  off  other  smaller 
ravines,  all  occupied  by  streams  dining  the  winter  months.  This  area  becomes  more  broken  and  rugged  southward, 
where  on  the  borders  of  the  valley  land  it  is  cut  up  into  a  maze  of  hills  and  ridges,  with  hollows  or  coves  between, 
across  which — i.  e.,  east  and  west — it  is  almost  impossible  to  construct  a  passable,  road.  The  broken  character  of 
the  country  and  the  formal  ion  of  the  deep,  narrow  ravines,  with  nearly  perpendicular  sides,  arc  due  to  the 
comparatively  indestructible  rock  which  lies  near  the.  surface.  The  disintegration  of  this  rock,  which  is  a  highly 
siliceous  limestone,  m  places  almost  a  Hint  rock,  gives  rise  to  the  formation  of  the  barrens  soil,  a  light  gray 
siliceous  soil,  which,  as  compared  with  the  valley  soils,  is  rather  poor,  but.  as  analysis  and  practice  both  show,  by  no 
means  merits  the  name  of  barrens.  The  characteristic  timber  consists  of  post  and  black-jack  oaks  and  short-leaf 
pine.  To  these  are  added  other  trees,  according  to  variations  of  the  soil.  Along  the  creeks  and  ravines  are  found 
the  finest  white  and  red  oaks,  poplars,  chestnuts,  etc.  These  lands  have  always  considerable  elevation  above  the  sea 
(250  feet  above  the  level  of  Tennessee  river,  increasing  toward  the  north).  There  is  comparative  immunity  from 
malarial  disease,  the  soils  are  more  easily  worked,  and  the  cotton  matures  earlier,  and  gives  often  a  better  staple. 
For  these  reasons  the  lauds  of  the  barrens  are  gradually  being  brought  into  cultivation.  Analyses  of  soils  of  this 
kind  from  Madison  county  have  been  given  (see  page  31). 

Thesecond  of  the  areas  above  mentioned  is  known  as  the  valley  of  the.  Tennessee,  ar.d  constitutes  in  Lauderdale 
county  a  strip  of  geutly  undulating,  nearly  level  land  about  100  feet  above  the  river  and  some  4  or  5  miles  wide. 
The  line  separating  this  from  the  highlands  is  very  irregular,  especially  in  the  western  part  of  the  county.  The 
valley  soils  vary  from  red  or  brown  loams  to  a  dark  or  nearly  black  calcareous  loam.  They  are  all  fertile  and  stand 
cultivation  well,  some  of  them  having  been  tilled  for  the  past  75  years  (practically  without  manure),  and  yield 
at  the  present  day  tolerably  fair  crops.  The  natural  growth  consists  of  the,  various  species  of  oaks  and  hickories, 
but  most  of  the  best  lands  have  long  since  been  denuded  of  their  native  forests.  The  limestone,  which  forms  the 
substratum  of  the  valley  lauds,  is,  in  general,  somewhat  siliceous,  though  sometimes  quite  pure,  the  less  pure  or 
more  siliceous  portions  of  the  limestone,  in  disintegrating,  giving  rise  to  the  formation  of  rocky  knolls,  which  are 
usually  covered  with  the  original  timber,  and  form  agreeable  interruptions  to  the  otherwise,  somewhat  monotonous 
scenery.  On  these  knolls  frequently  stand  the  houses  of  the  planters.  A  marked  feature  of  the  valley  region 
which  is  underlaid  with  this  limestone  is  the  great  abundance  of  big  springs  and  sinkholes. 

The  drainage  of  Lauderdale  county  is  all  southward  into  the  Tennessee  river  by  streams  which  have  their 
headwaters  in  the  highlands  of  Tennessee.  Some  of  them  have  cut  down  through  the  limestones  of  the  country 
into  the  rocks  of  still  older  formations,  though  these  take  no  part  in  the  formation  of  the  soils. 

In  the  western  part  of  the  couuty  the  calcareous  rocks  above  mentioned  are  covered  with  beds  of  varying 
thickness  of  pebbles  and  sand  of  l  he,  stratified  drift,  formation.  Where  these  beds  form  the  surface,  they  give  rise  to 
the  formal  ion  of  soils  of  the  kinds  often  previously  described.  A  conglomerate  or  sandstone  made  of  these  materials, 
cemented  by  iron,  is  of  frequent  occurrence  in  this  part  of  the  county.  The  ridges,  which  have  generally  a  more 
or  less  sandy  soil,  are  timbered  with  post  oaks  and  short-leaf  pines.  Some  of  the  springs  of  the  county  have  a 
reputation  for  medicinal  properties,  the  best  known  of  these  being  Bailey's  springs,  not  far  from  Florence.  West  of 
the  town  of  Florence,  in  the  great  bend  of  the  river,  is  the  largest  body  of  valley  laud  in  the  county.  It  is  known 
as  the  Colbert  reservation,  and  embraces  some  fine  farms.  The  valley  land  is  said  to  produce,  when  fresh,  as  much 
as  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  the  acre,  and  is  excelled  by  few  tracts  in  the  couuty.  The  yield  of  the  better  class 
of  barrens  in  seed-cotton  is  given  at  600  pounds.  From  the  character  of  the  topography,  the  bottom  lands  within 
the  region  are  quite  narrow. 

By  tar  the  greater  proportion  of  the  cotton  of  Lauderdale  county  is  produced  upon  the  red  valley  lands,  which 
form  a  good  deal  less  than  one-half  the  area  of  the  county.  The  product  per  acre  is  above  the  average,  and  the 
percentage  of  tilled  laud  in  cotton  is  also  quite  high. 

115 


106  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE  EEPOET   OF  JAMES  WILLIAM  MORGAN,   OF  FLORENCE. 
(This  report  refers  to  the  valley  ]andn  and  river  bottom  iu  tlio  Colbert  reservation.) 

The  lowland  QOtton  is  liable  to  rust  and  shed  in  wet  seasons,  and  is  more  likely  to  be  killed  by  early  frosts  than  that  planted  in  the 
higher  valley  lands.  For  these  reasons  very  little  of  the  bottom  lands  is  cultivated  in  cotton  in  the  region  under  discussion,  corn  being 
the  universal  crop.  The  valley  lauds  proper,  about  100  feet  above  the  river  level,  are  the  cotton  lands.  The  soil  varies  with  the  location. 
The  timber  consists  of  hickory,  post,  black,  red,  and  black-jack  oaks,  poplar,  dogwood,  etc.  The  top  soil  is  a  fine  sandy  or  gravelly 
loam  of  a  yellowish-brown  to  orange-red  color,  12  to  18  inches  iu  thickness,  resting  upon  a  lough  reddish-clay  subsoil,  which,  when 
undisturbed,  is  quite  impervious.  It  contains  numerous  angular  fragments  of  Hint  or  chert,  remnants  of  the  siliceous  portions  of  the 
limestone  rock  which  underlies  the  subsoil  at  a  depth  of  8  to  10  feet  on  an  average. 

Land  is  generally  easily  tilled  in  dry  seasons.  The  chief  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  oats,  sorghum,  and  sweet  potatoes,  and  all 
these  crops  are  good  under  favorable  surroundings.  At  least  two-thirds  of  the  laud,  however,  is  planted  in  cotton,  wbTrh  in  very  wot 
seasons  is  inclined  to  run  to  weed ;  but  this  can  often  be  prevented  by  not  plowing  too  near  the  plants,  and  by  topping,  though  the  latter 
is  sometimes  dangerous.  The  seed-cotton  product  per  acre  when  land  is  fresh  is  from  750  to  1,000  pounds  per  acre.  This  cotton  rates  as 
good  ordinary  to  low  middling.  After  five  years'  culture  without  fertilizers  the  yieW  per  acre  is  from  500  to  OOt  pounds,  but  somewhat  less 
of  this  is  required  for  a  bale.  Crab-grass,  smart-grass,  and  careless  weeds  tiro  most  hurtful.  About  one-third  of  the  land  is  turned  out, 
which,  when  reclaimed,  produces  very  well  if  not  too  much  washed.  The  slopes  or  hillsides  are  sometimes  seriously  damaged  by  washings; 
but  the  valleys  are  sometimes  injured,  sometimes  improved,  by  the  washings  of  the  uplands — depending  on  the  character  of  the  deposit. 
Circling  and  ditching  to  some  extent  prevent  injury  to  hillsides  from  raius. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  from  November  to  July,  usually  by  steamboat  to  Ciueiuuati,  the  freight  to  that  point  boing  from  $1  to 
$1  50  per  bale. 

LAWRENCE. 

Population:  21,392.— White,  12,642 ;  colored,  8,750. 

Area:  790  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Bed  valley  lands,  200  square  miles  ;  calcareous  land  along  mountain 
slopes  and  in  coves,  220  square  miles;  saudy  lands  of  Little  mountain,  150  square  miles;  Coal  Measures,  100  square 
miles. 

Tilled  land:  138,034  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  42,803  acres;  in  corn,  54,043  acres;  in  oats,  5,091  acres; 
in  wheat,  5,919  acres;  iu  rye,  117  acres;  in  tobacco,  105  acres;  iu  sweet  potatoes,  379  acres. 

Cotton  produtiion:  13,791  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.32  bale,  450  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  152 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  plateau  of  the  Warrior  coal-field  terminates  in  the  lower  part  of  Lawrence  county,  in  a  mountain  escarpment 
250  or  300  feet  in  height  overlooking  the  Moulton  valley.  This  mountain  forms  the  divide  between  the  waters  flowing 
into  the  Tennessee  and  those  flowing  into  the  Warrior  river.  Between  Moulton  and  Courtland  there  is  another 
range  (called  the  Little  mountains)  running  east  and  west.  This  ridge  is  cut  by  all  the  streams  flowing  north  into 
the  Tennessee,  and  separates  the  Moulton  valley  on  the  south  from  the  Tennessee  valley  on  the  north.  The 
county  is  thus  divided  into  four  belts :  two  with  prevailing  sandy  soils,  formed  by  the  two  mountain  ridges,  and  two 
with  calcareous  soils,  occupied  by  the  two  great  valleys  mentioned.  The  geological  formations  which  enter  into 
the  structure  ef  the  county  are  the  sub-Carboniferous  and  the  Coal  Measures.  The  rocks  of  the  latter  are  found 
only  upon  the  summit  of  Sand  mountain,  and  therefore  only  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county,  while  the 
sub-Carboniferous  rocks  underlie  the  rest  of  it.  The  soils  of  Sand  mountain,  like  those  of  the  Coal  Measures 
generally,  are  sandy  loams  of  no  great  fertility,  but,  holding  well  all  fertilizers,  are  coming  much  into  notice  lately. 

The  sub-Carboniferous  rocks,  while  mainly  limestones,  have  near  the  top  of  the  series  a  bed  of  sandstone  of 
considerable  thickness  and  of  great  importance  in  the  topography  and  soil  formation  in  this  and  adjoining  counties; 
for  the  Little  mountain  range  owes  its  existence  to  the  protection  afforded  by  a  capping  of  this  rock  against  the 
denuding  forces  which  carved  out  the  two  valleys  which  it  separates.  The  main  body  of  the  Little  mountains  is 
made  up  of  limestones,  which  are  passed  over  in  ascending  the  mountain  from  either  side,  and  it  is  only  the  summit 
that  is  occupied  by  the  sandstone.  The  soil  derived  from  this  rock  is  a  sandy  loam,  an  analysis  of  which  from  La 
Grange,  Colbert  county,  is  given  on  page  34,  and  supports  the  usual  growth  characteristic  of  sandy  soils,  viz, 
short-leaf  pine  and  post  and  black-jack  oaks.  In  some  places  the  sandstone  is  absent  over  considerable  areas  on  the 
summit  of  the  mountain,  and  the  underlying  limestones  make  the  surface,  forming  limy  or  prairie  soils.  A  tract 
of  this  prairie  land  about  a  mile  and  a  quarter  wide  and  15  miles  long  extends  along  these  mountains  from  the 
western  part  of  the  county  a  mile  or  less  into  Franklin  county.  This  is  a  level  piece  of  land,  mostly  uncultivated, 
but  thickly  carpeted  with  grass,  through  the  soil  of  which  in  many  places  the  bare  limestone  rock  protrudes.  Where 
the  soil  is  deep  enough  it  is  said  to  be  well  suited  to  the  cultivation  of  wheat,  which  comes  to  maturity  before  the  dry 
weather  of  the  summer  sets  iu ;  to  other  crops  this  land  is  not  suited,  since,  on  account  of  the  proximity  of  the 
underlying  rock  to  the  surface,  the  soil  suffers  much  from  drought.  Throughout  this  prairie  are  scattered  groups 
of  trees,  which  afford  good  shade  to  cattle,  and  thus  enhance  the  value  of  the  land  as  pasture  grounds.  The 
characteristic  growth  is  persimmon,  haw,  cedar,  gum,  and  honey -locust.  Along  the  sides  of  the  mountain  it  is  not 
uncommon  to  find  narrow  ledges  with  level  surface  of  this  kind  of  soil. 

Loth  the  great  valleys  in  this  couuty  have  flinty  limestones  for  a  substratum,  and  the  soils  and  topography 
are  determined  by  these  rocks.  The  valley  in  which.  Moulton  is  situated  is  about  5  miles  wide,  and  extends  nearly 
through  the  county,  merging  into  the  mountain  lands  toward  the  east,  but  being  more  open  toward  the  west.  The 
valley  of  the  Tennessee  has  the  same  general  characters,  but  is  wider  and  muck  more  uniform  in  its  features,  and 
is,  iu  general,  a  level  plain  with  a  red  sandy  loam  soil  of  great  natural  fertility.  The  greater  part  of  this  plain  is 
under  cultivation,  but  the  cleared  hinds  are  dotted  here  and  there  with  beautiful  groves  of  hickory  and  oaks,  which 
cover  the  rocky  knolls  made  by  the  disintegration  of  the  more  siliceous  portions  of  the  valley  limestone.  As 
already  stated,  these  knolls  are  often  selected  as  building  spots,  and  many  of  them  are  adonned  with  handsome 
houses.  Toward  the  river  the  valley  limestone  thins  out,  and  along  the  banks  of  that  stream  the  siliceous  rocks 
which  underlie  it  are  exposed  in  bluffs  of  considerable  height.  The  general  level  of  the  great  vallej  may  be  put  at 
about  100  feet  above  the  river.  The  Tennessee  bottom  lands  are  loose  saudy  loams,  very  productive,  but  in  general 
better  suited  to  the  production  of  corn  than  to  that  of  cotton, 
no 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  107 

The  outline  of  the  Little  mountains  against  the  Tennessee  valley  is  very  irregular,  and  is  a  succession  of  projecting 
mountain  spurs,  often  with  a  face  of  nearly  perpendicular  cliffs,  alternating  with  limestone  coves.  Near  the  heads 
of  these  coves  are  sometimes  found  scenes  of  great  wildness  and  beauty.  In  all  the  valley  the  lands  are  much 
worn  from  continuous  cultivation,  without  return. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  REPORTS  OF  COLONEL  JAMES  E.  SAUNDERS  AND  DR.  F.  W.  SYKES,  ©F  TOWN  CREEK. 

(The  region  described  ia  that  drained  by  Town  and  Big  Nance  creeks.) 

This  region  is  less  liable  to  bo  visited  by  the  caterpillar,  and  is  also  less  liable  to  failures  of  the  cotton  crop  by  reason  of  wet  weather 
than  are  the  cotton  lands  farther  south.  On  account  of  the  sandy  nature  of  the  soil  the  crops  mature  better  in  the  Tennessee  walley  than 
in  regions  with  a  different  soil.  Better  average  crops  are  made  here  than  in  the  rich  black  canebrake  belt  farther  south.  The  chief  soils 
of  the  valley  are  the  level,  uplands,  the  sandy  creek  bottoms,  and  dark  sandy  bottom  lands  of  the  Tennessee  river.  Of  these  only  the  first 
will  be  described  ifi  detail.  This  forms  nine-tenths  of  the  cultivated  lands  of  the  valley,  and  was  originally  timbered  with  post  oak  and 
hickory,  and  some  black-jack  oak  ;  later  a  growth  of  red  oaks  has  Bprung  up.  Tie  top  soil  is  a  fine  sandy  ferruginous  loam  of  a  mahogany 
to  reddish  color,  with  an  average  thickness  of  (i  inches.  The  subsoil  is  heavier,  being  a  clayey  loam  of  a  dark-red  color.  It  bakes  hard 
when  plowed  too  wet ;  yet  it  crumbles  readily  when  exposed  to  the  rain,  and  holds  fragments  Of  chert,  rounded  and  angular,  and  full  of 
the  impressions  of  fossils.     The  subsoil  is  underlaid  with  a  limestone  rock  at  10  to  20  feet  depth. 

Lauds  are  easily  cultivated  in  both  wet  and  dry  seasons.  The  chief  crops  are  cotton  aud  coru,  two-thirds  of  the  land  being  devoted 
to  the  former.  In  rich  soil  cotton  grows  5  or  G  feet  high,  but  is  generally  most  productive  wheu  3  feet  in  height.  On  rich  land,  in  wet 
weather,  the  cotton  is  much  iucliued  to  run  to  weed.  The  seed-cotton  product  per  acre  is  about  1,200  pounds,  i.  €.,  a  400-pound  bale,  and  it 
rates  in  the  market  as  good  middling.  After  eight  years'  culture  without  fertilizers  tile  yield  per  acre  is  800  pounds;  after  fifteen  years' 
culture  it  is  050  pounds,  aud  GOO  pounds  after  thirty  years.  It  requires  somewhat  less  seed-cotton  than  from  fresh  land  to  make  a  bale. 
About  one-tenth  of  the  land  originally  cultivated  is  turned  out ;  but  when  reclaimed,  it  produces  well  if  manured  and  properly  cultivated. 
Uplands  are  much  damaged  by  wasbiugs. 

Shipmentsof  cotton  are  made  from  November  1  to  January  1,  usually  by  railroad  to  Memphis,  Nashville,  and  Cincinnati,  at  the  rates 
of  $2  15  to  $2  75  per  bale. 

COLBERT. 

Population:  1G,153.— White,  0,203  ;  colored,  6,050. 

Area:  570  square  miles. — -Woodland,  all.  Gravelly  hills,  250  square  miles;  sandy  soils  of  the  Little  mountains, 
170  square  miles;  red  valley  and  other  calcareous  soils,  150  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  74,S70  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  25,-ill  acres;  in  corn,  31,575  acres;  in  oats,  3,846  acres; 
in  wheat,  1,701  acres ;  in  rye,  60  acres ;  in  tobacco,  31  acres ;  in  sugar-cane,  15  acres ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  2S6  acres. 

Cotton  production:  0,012  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.35  bale,  408  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  166 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

East  and  west  through  Colbert  countyruns  a  range  of  hills  called  the  Little  mountains,  north  of  which  lies 
the  valley  of  the  Tennessee  and  south  Russell's  valley.  Toward  Russell's  valley  the  slopes  of  these  hills  are 
covered  with  thick  beds  of  pebbles,  but  toward  the  Tennessee  valley  the  mountain  sinks  down  rather  abruptly, 
leaving  an  escarpment  not  covered  by  pebbles.  The  Little  mountains  are  composed  entirely  of  the  strata  of  the 
sub-Carboniferous  formation,  which  also  form  the  substratum  of  the  valleys  on  each  side.  These  strata  are,  in  the 
main,  limestones,  with  a  bed  of  sandstone  of  considerable  thickness  near  the  top  of  the  series.  This  bed  of  sandstone 
forms  the  summit  of  the  Little  mountains,  which  owes  its  present  elevation  above  the  valleys  to  the  protection 
against  the  denuding  forces  afforded  by  this  rock.-  The  average  height  of  the  mountains  above  the  valleys  is  siane 
300  or  350  feet. 

All  the  streams  of  the  county  flow  into  the  Tennessee,  and  all  have  their  sources  in  the  mountains  south  of 
Russell's  valley,  in  Franklin  county.  In  their  courses  toward  the  Tennessee  they  have,  especially  westward,  cut 
gorges  or  small  cations  into  the  sandstones  which  form  the  upper  stratum  of  the  Little  mountains.  After  lea*  ing 
the  mountain,  they  flow  through  the  comparatively  level  valley  toward  the  river.  In  these  mountain  gorges  are  n.  any 
scenes  of  wild  and  rugged  beauty;  and  it  is  not  strauge  that  the  chalybeate  springs,  which  are  so  common  here, 
have  been  favorite  places  of  resort. 

The  soils,  which  have  been  derived  from  the  sub-Carboniferous  rocks,  are  of  two  kinds:  sandy  and  calcareous. 
The  former  are,  as  a  rule,  found  upon  the  summit  of  the  Little  mountains;  the  latter  in  the  valleys.  The  general 
characters  of  the  sandy  soils  may  be  learned  from  the  aualysis  given  of  a  soil  from  La  Grange  (page  31).  The 
calcareous  valley  soils  are  of  two  principal  sorts,  according  to  the  locality:  (1.)  Over  most  of  the  valley  the  soil  is  a 
reddish  loam,  with  yellowish  or  reddish  clay  subsoil,  and  where  the  soil  is  directly  upou  the  limestone,  aud  much 
affected  by  it,  the  color  is  inclined  to  bo  dark  to  black,  like  highly  calcareous  soils  of  other  regions.  (2.)  In  the 
bottoms  and  lowlands  generally  the  soils  are  looser  and  more  sandy  or  gravelly.  The  valley  lands  are  timbered 
with  a  fine  growth  of  oaks  and  hickories,  and  make  an  attractive  country.  The  sandy  mountain  lands  are  timbered 
chiefly  with  post  oaks  and  short-leaf  pines. 

Pebbles  and  beds  of  stratified  drift  cover  all  the  western  part  of  the  county  within  8  or  10  miles  of  the 
Mississippi  line,  and  the  soils,  derived  altogether  from  these  beds,  are  very  little,  if  at  all,  affected  by  the  underlying 
calcareous  strata  of  the  sub-Carboniferous  formation.  In  all  this  part  of  the  state  sandstones  and  conglomerates 
are  of  frequent  occurrence,  formed  by  the  cementing  together,  by  hydrated  oxide  of  iron,  of  the  sands  and  pebbles 
of  the  drift.  Nearly  every  hill  or  ridge  has  upon  it  a  capping  of  this  sort  of  rock.  Pine  (short-leaf)  and  post  eak 
form  the  prevailing  timber  on  all  these  gravelly  and  sandy  lands.  As  previously  stated,  the  beds  of  drift  cover 
also  the  southern  slopes  of  the  Little  mountains  toward  Russell's  valley  as  far  east  as  Frankfort.  In  this  respect 
Russell's  valley  differs  from  that  of  the  Tennessee. 

Analyses  of  the  Tennessee  valley  soil  and  of  the  gravelly  or  river  hills  soil  have  been  given  on  pages  33  and 
34,  and  they,  together  with  the  analysis  of  the  mountain  soil  from  La  Grange,  exhibit  the  characters  of  the  principal 
soils  of  Colbert  county. 

Colbert  differs  from  the  other  counties  of  the  Tennessee  valley,  except  Franklin  and  Lauderdale,  iu  the 
circumstance  that  a  considerable  proportion  of  its  soils  is  made  by  the  drift,  and  they  are,  to  a  certain  extent, 
independent  of  the  underlying  rocks  of  the  country. 


108  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  REPORTS  OP  L.  B.  THORNTON,  OP  TUSCUMBIA,  AND  OF  T.  B.  BICKLEY,  OP  SPRING  VALLEY. 

(Thene  reports  refer  to  the  valley  IiuhIh  within  10  or  15  miles  of  Taacnmljhi.) 

The  higher-lying  lands  of  the  valley  are  best  suited  to  cotton,  which  in  the  flats  or  basins  is  liable  to  injury  from  wet  seasons  and 
early  frosts.  These  higher  hinds  are  excellent  farming  lands,  and  there  is  scarcely  ever  a  failure  in  the  crop.  As  usual,  wet  seasons,  late, 
cold  springs,  and  early  frosts  are  circumstances  of  climate  which  interfere  with  the  growth  of  the  plant. 

The  principal  soil  varieties  are  brown  loam,  with  red-clay  subsoil,  and  the  sandy  mountain  soil.  The  former,  with  its  many  variations, 
forms  the  greater  part  of  the  Tennessee  valley  within  thecounty  limits;  thelatter  is  found  in  all  the  mountainous  region  in  the  southern 
portion  of  the  county.  The  prevailing  timber  upon  the  brown-loam  lands  is  made  up  of  red,  white,  black-jack,  post,  and  chestnut  oaks, 
hickory,  chestnut,  black  walnut,  and  gums.  The  soil  is  a  clayey  loam  of  a  brown  to  nearly  black  color,  1  to  2  feet  in  thickness,  with  a 
subsoil  of  red  clay,  which  becomes  like  the  surface  soil  upon  cultivation,  and  both  soil  and  subsoil  frequently  contain  angular  fragments  of 
the  flinty  or  cherty  portions  of  the  rocks  from  which  they  are  derived.  The  subsoil  rests  on  limestone  rock  at  depths  varying  with  the 
locality  and  is  porous,  and  all  these  lands  are  naturally  well  drained.  The  mountain  lands  have  a  growth  of  chestnut,  post,  white,  and 
chestnut  oaks,  with  short-leaf  pine.  The  soil  is  a  coarse,  sandy  loam  of  a  whitish  to  gray  color,  and  quite  thin.  The  subsoil  is  rather 
heavier,  and  contains  occasionally  rounded  pebbles  of  quartz  and  fragments  of  the  underlying  rock,  which  is  a  sandstone,  and  usually 
at  no  great  depth  from  the  surface. 

Land  is  somewhat  difficult  to  cultivate  iu  wet  seasons,  but  can  be  tilled  early  when  well-drained.  The  principal  crops  ore  cotton, 
corn,  wheat,  oats,  clover,  and  potatoes,  and  all  succeed  well.  About  one-half  of  the  valley  and  one-fourth  of  the  mountain  lund  is 
planted  in  cotton.  The  usual  height  of  the  plants  is  from  :t  to  5  feet  in  the  valley  ami  ti  feet  on  the  mountain,  production  being  most 
rapid  just  before  growth  is  completed.  In  wet  seasons  cotton  planted  close  in  the  drill  is  inclined  to  run  to  weed,  but  this  can  he  preve-iied 
by  thinning  out  to  proper  distance  and  by  topping,  On  fresh  land  the  product  per  acre  of  valley  land  is  about  1,200  pounds  of  seed -cot  ton — 
800  pounds  on  mountain — and  it  requires  from  1,660  to  1,780  pounds  for  a  475-pound  bale.  The  cotton  thus  produced  generally  rates  as 
good  middling  to  good  ordinary.  After  ten  years'  continuous  culture  in  cotton  the  yield  is  only  000  to  sOO  pounds  per  acre,  400  on  mountain 
laud  ;  hut  there  is  no  change  in  the  amount,  required  for  a  hale.  Crab-grass,  hog-weeds,  and  careless  weeds  are  most  troublesome.  At  least 
one-third  of  the  valley  and  one-half  of  the  mountain  land  originally  in  cultivation  is  now  turned  out,  hut  when  restored  to  cultivation  it 
generally  produces  about  as  well  as  fresh  land.  The  slopes  or  hillsides  are  washed  into  gullies  unless  measures  are  adopted  to  prevent 
washing,  hut  the  valleys  are  often  benefited  by  washing  from  the  uplands. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  mostly  iu  November  and  December,  by  rail  and  river,  chiefly  to  Memphis,  at  the  rate  of  8-  per  bale 
by  rail  and  $1  50  by  river.     Occasionally  shipments  are  made  to  other  ports. 

FRAjSKLIN. 

Population:  9,155.— White,  8,079;  colored,  1,076. 

Area:  010  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Red  valley  and  other  calcareous  lands,  220  square  miles;  sandy- 
soils  of  the  Little  mountains,  40  square  miles ;  gravelly  hills,  200  square  miles ;  Coal  Measures,  150  square  miles,  in 
great  measure,  however,  covered  with  drift. 

lilled  land:  40,895  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  10,368  acres;  in  corn,  21,038  acres;  in  oats,  3,020  acres;  in 
wheat,  1,660  acres;  in  tobacco,  17  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  96  acres;  iu  sweet  potatoes,  137  acres. 

Cotton. production:  3,603  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.35  bale,  498  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  100 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  northern  half  of  Franklin  county  is  a  valley  known  as  Russell's  valley;  the  southern  half  is  high  table- 
land, the  northern  edge  of  the  Warrior  coal-field.  Most  of  the  streams  of  this  county  rise  at  this  foot  of  the 
escarpment  which  separates  the  valley  from  the  table-land  and  How  northward  into  the  Tennessee.  Big  Rear  creek 
takes  its  rise  south  of  this  escarpment  and  flows  at  first  sotithwestward,  as  though  a  tributary  of  the  Tombigbce, 
but  its  course  is  soon  changed  to  westward  and  then  northwestward  by  an  accumulation  of  pebbles  and  sand,  and  it 
breaks  through  this  mountain  escarpment  into  the  valley  and  flows  thence  northward  into  the  Tennessee.  This 
pebble  ridge  is  a  noticeable  feature  in  the  topography  of  Franklin  county.  Overlying  the  strata  of  the  Coal 
Measures,  it  forms  an  irregular  crescent,  beginning  in  the  southeast  of  Franklin,  bending  down  into  Marion,  and 
returning  again  into  Franklin  county  near  its  southwestern  corner.  The  waters  north  of  this  ridge  flow  into  the 
Tennessee;  south  of  it  into  the  Tombigbee.  The  extraordinary  deflection  of  Big  Bear  creek,  caused  by  this  ridge, 
has  been  mentioned  under  Marion  county.  The  waters  of  Big  Bear  creek,  on  the  north,  are  some  50  feet  or  more 
higher  than  those1  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Tombigbee  river  on  the  south,  though  the  two  are  only  a  few  miles  apart. 
The  geological  formations  concerned  in  the  structure  of  Franklin  county  are  three  in  number,  viz:  the 
sub-Carboniferous,  the  Coal  Measures,  and  the  sti  at  ified  drift,  and  their  surface  distribution  is  in  general  as  follows  : 
The  table-lands  are  formed  by  the  second,  the  valley  by  the  first,  while  the  drift  overlies  both  iu  the  western  part 
of  the  county,  and  to  some  extent  also  in  other  portions.  To  go  more  into  detail,  the  northern  limit  of  the  Warrior 
field  is  an  exceedingly  irregular  Hue,  formed  by  projecting  ridges,  with  limestone  coves  between.  East  of  Russell  ville 
these  mountain  prongs  extend  northward  as  tar  as  the.  middle  of  township  7,  and  a  few  project  still  further 
northward.  West  and  southwest,  of  Russellville  the.  line  is  still  less  regular,  anil  cannot  well  be  described  without 
the  aid  of  a  detailed  map.  The  irregular  line  of  mountain  spurs,  with  interlocking  coves,  runs  from  Russellville 
south  and  southwest  to  near  the  middle  of  township  8,  range  14  west,  and  thence  southward  into  Marion  county. 
Except  uear  the  southern  line  of  the  county  the  strata,  of  the  Coal  Measures  are  found  only  near  the  summit  of  the 
mountain,  and  are  therefore  of  no  great  thickness,  the  sides  of  the  mountain,  as  well  as  the  valley  below,  being 
formed  of  the  calcareous  rocks  of  the  sub-Carboniferous  formation. 

The  soils  derived  from  the  disintegration  of  the  strata  of  the  Coal  Measures  are,  as  usual,  sandy  and  not  very 
fertile,  but  the  calcareous  rocks  above  mentioned  give  rise  to  soils  which  are  above  the  average  in  fertility.  The  soils 
ot  the  drift  have  already  been  frequently  described.  The  best  cotton  lands  are  found  in  Russell's  valley,  and  the 
soil  best  suited  to  this  crop  is  a  red  or  mulatto-colored  loam  with  red  or  yellow  clay  subsoil.  Where  the  limestone 
reacts  upon  the  soil,  this  is  otten  of  a  black  color,  much  like  the  black  prairie  soils  of  the  lower  part  of  the  state. 
The  deep  color  is  due  to  the  presence  of  vegetable  matter  and  its  rapid  decay  under  the  influence  of  the  lime. 
The  bottom  lauds  partake,  as  usual,  of  the  characters  of  the  uplands  from  which  they  are  derived,  but  are,  as  a 
rule,  rather  more  sandy.  In  the  western  part  of  Franklin  county  the  beds  of  stratified  drift  overlie  the  other 
118 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  109 

formations,  and  the  soils  are  derived  from  tbe  loam  and  other  strata  of  this  superficial  covering.  In  the  eastern 
part  of  the  county  the  table-lands  before  spoken  of  are  about  250  or  300  feet  above  the  general  level  of  the  valley; 
but  westward  the  height  decreases  somewhat,  and  the  escarpment  which  forms  the  southern  limit  of  the  valley 
loses  its  importance  west  of  Russellville,  both  because  of  the  diminished  height  of  the  escarpment  itself  and 
because  the  beds  of  drift  have  filled  up  the  valley. 

In  cotton  product  per  acre  Franklin  ranks  well  with  the  Tennessee  Valley  counties,  and  its  soils,  both  those  of 
the  red  valley  lauds  and  those  derived  from  the  drift,  are  well  suited  to  the  production  of  this  staple. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE   REPORT  OF  DR.   DANIEL   N.  SEVIER,   OF   RUSSELLVILLE. 
(This  report  treats  of  tbe  region  drained  by  Cedar  creek,  a  tributary  of  Big  Bear  creek.) 

The  uplands  hero  referred  to  are  in  the  valley,  and  not  upon  the  table  laud,  and  are  hilly,  with  thin  soil,  mixed  with  Bharp,  angular 
fragments  of  flint  and  cber-ty  gravel.  This  soil  has  a  red  or  a  buff  clay  subsoil.  Either  cold  or  wet  injures  the  growth  of  cotton,  causing 
it  to  die  out  or  become  lousy.  Protracted  wet  spells  cause  it  to  shed  its  squares,  and  early  frosts  kill  the  top  bolls.  Hot,  dry  weather 
i6  best  for  cotton.     No  damage  is  done  by  the  caterpillar  or  boll-worm  in  this  part  of  the  state. 

The  four  principal  soil  varieties  are,  in  the  order  of  their  importance  in  cotton  cultivation,  the  red  or  mulatto  lands,  the  hilly  lands, 
with  thin  soils  and  red  or  buff-colored  clay  subsoils,  the  black  sandy  alluvial  lands,  and  the  black  lime-lands.  The  red  or  mulatto  lauds 
are  much  the  best  for  cotton.  They  form  most' of  Russell's  valley,  which  is  from  6  to  8  miles  wide,  and  extends  from  the  adjoiuiug  county 
on  the  east  to  7  miles  west  of  Russellville.  The  prevailing  timber  is  red,  white,  and  black  oaks,  poplar,  hackberry,  black  walnut,  cherry, 
and  hickory.  The  soil  is  a  coarse  sandy  or  gravelly  loam,  sometimes  a  heavier  clay  loam,  of  buff  to  bro-wn  or  nearly  black  color.  The 
thickness  is  10  to  15  inches,  and  the  subsoil  a  red  or  buff  clay.     When  well  plowed  this  soil  produces  good  crops  and  stands  drought,  well. 

The  hilly  laud  produces  good  crops  both  of  cotton  and  of  corn,  and  other  crops  as  long  as  it  lasts,  and  rests  upon  a  red  04'  buff  clay 
foundation,  but  washes  badly  into  deep  gullies,  and  the  lowlands  are  filled  up  with  great  heaps  of  gravel.  The  black  sandy  alluvial 
lands  are  subject  to  overflow,  and  are  well  suited  to  corn,  but  not  to  cotton.  The  black  lime-laud  is  also  well  suited  to  corn,  but  the  cotton 
grows  too  rank  upon  it,  and  is  likely  to  take  what  is  called  the  black  rust.  In  some  localities  this  land  rests  upon  a  bed  of  limestone  at 
varyiug  depths.     These  lands  are  alluvial  in  character. 

The  chief  productions  are  cotton,  corn,  oats,  and  potatoes,  but  the  soils  are  generally  best  adapted  to  the  two  crops  first  named. 
About  two-thirds  of  the  red  land  is  planted  in  cotton,  the  plants  attaining  a  height  of  from  1  to  3  feet,  and  usually  producing  more  or  less 
according  to  the  height.  Cotton  often  runs  to  wTeed  on  rich  laud  in  wet  weather,  but  this  can  be  cheeked  by  topping.  The  seed-cotton 
product  per  acre  is  from  800  to  1,200  pounds,  and  1,545  pounds  are  reckoned  to  a  475-pound  bale.  Crab-grass  and  hog-weeds  are  most 
troublesome  on  this  soil.     The  slopes  are  much  damaged  by  washings,  and  not  much  effort  is  made  to  prevent  or  check  the  injury. 

The  cotton  crop  is  usually  hauled  on  wagons  to  Tuscumbia  or  some  other  station  on  the  railroad,  and  thence  shipped  to  Memphis  or 
other  ports  by  the  purchasers.  The  freight  to  Tuscumbia  will  average  perhaps  $1  50  per  bale.  Most  of  the  shipments  are  made  during 
the  autuniu  and  winter. 


OAK   AND    HICKORY    UPLANDS,  WITH    SHORT-LEAF   PINE. 

This  region  includes  the  following  counties,  wholly  or  in  part:  Lauderdale,*  Colbert,*  Franklin,*  Marion, 
Lamar,  Fayette,  Walker,*  Pickens,  and  Tuscaloosa.* 

LAUDERDALE. 

(See  "Valley  of  the  Tennessee".) 

COLBERT. 
(See  "Valley  of  the  Tennessee".) 

FRANKLIN. 
(See  "Valley  of  the  Tenuessee".) 

MARION. 

Population:  9,36-1. — White,  S,S41 ;  colored,  523. 

Area:  810  square,  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Coal  Measures,  GOO  square  miles ;  gravelly  pine  hills,  150  square 
miles.  (The  drift  makes  a  certain  proportion  of  the  soils  and  subsoils  over  the  entire  county,  but  on  the  west  the 
underlying  formations  are  completely  hidden.) 

Tilled  land:  42,925  acres. — Area  planted  in  cottou,  7,2G9  acres;  in  corn,  21,S35  acres;  in  oats,  2,321  acres; 
in  wheat,  3,925  acres;  in  tobacco,  44  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  15  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  477  acres. 

Cotton  production:  2,240  bales;  average,  cottou  product  per  acre  0.31  bale,  441  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  147  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

The  area  drained  by  the  Buttahatchie  river  and  its  tributaries  includes  the  greater  part  of  Marion  county.  The 
headwaters  of  this  stream  rise  at  the  western  foot  of  a  ridge  of  sand  and  pebbles  known  as  Byler  ridge,  which 
extends  from  Tuscaloosa  county  northward  through  Fayette,  Walker,  and  Winston  counties  to  the.  southern  limit 
of  the  great  valley  of  the  Tennessee.  Another  ridge  of  similar  structure,  but  much  smaller,  in  the  northeastern 
corner  of  the  county  turns  the  waters  of  Big  Bear  creek  to  the  north.  Most  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Buttahatchie 
river  in  Marion  county  flow  southward  from  this  ridge,  as  do  also  the  tributaries  of  Bull  Mountain  creek,  in  the 

no 


110  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

north  western  corner  of  the  county.  The  bed  of  Big  Bear  creek  is  considerably  higher  than  that  of  the  headwaters 
of  Buttahatchie  river  and  of  Bull  Mountain  creek,  which  are  distant  from  it  only  a  few  miles,  and  a  comparatively 
short  canal  would  suffice  to  turn  the  waters  of  Big  Bear  creek  in  a  torrent  into  cither  of  the  others. 

The  geological  structure  of  Marion  county  is  in  its  general  outline  quite  simple,  its  substratum  being  formed  of 
the  sandstones,  shales,  and  conglomerates  of  the  Coal  Measures,  which  are  covered  with  a  capping  of  pebbles,  sand, 
and  other  beds  of  the  stratified  drift.  The  general  slope  of  the  underlying  beds  is  toward  the  southwest,  and  the 
thickness  of  the  superficial  deposits  increases  in  the  same  direction.  In  the  eastern  part  of  the  county  even  the 
smaller  streams  have  cut  their  channels  through  the  thin  drift-covering  into  the  underlying  Coal  Measures,  but  in 
the  extreme  west  none  but  drift  beds  are  exposed,  even  in  the  deepest  drainage  cuts. 

The  soils  in  the  west  are,  in  consequence,  derived  almost  exclusively  from  the  overlying  drift  beds,  and  are  of 
the  usual  characters  so  often  described.  The,  uppermost  20  or  135  feet  are  usually  formed  of  a  still' red  loam,  which 
rests  upon  the  beds  of  pebbles  and  sand  which  make  up  the  greater  part  of  the  formation.  The  red  loam,  therefore, 
com moidy  occupies  the  higher  table-lands  and  the  level  second  bottoms,  where  erosion  has  been  least  effective. 
Upon  the  hillsides  and  slopes  the  other  beds  of  the  drift  come  to  the  surface,  and  the  soils  derived  from  them  are 
much  less  fertile.  The  surface  soil  of  the  red  loam  is  usually  a  sandy  loam  of  a  brown  color,  from  the  addition 
of  vegetable  matter,  and  the  growth  upon  it  is  that  of  the  brown-loam  uplands  everywhere. 

The  high  tablelands  of  Marion  county  furnish  superior  farming  lands,  desirable  on  account  both  of  the  natural 
fertility  of  the  soil  and  of  their  favorable  position  with  respect  to  drainage,  etc.  In  those  parts  of  the  county 
■where  the  strata  of  the  Coal  Measures  are  near  the  surface  the  sandstones  and  conglomerates  form  bluffs  in  all  the 
ravines.  Underneath  the  overhanging  cliff's,  or  "  rock  houses  ",  as  they  are  locally  termed,  grow  abundantly  some 
of  our  rarest  a»d  most  beautiful  ferns,  such  as  Trichomanes  radicans,  Asplenium  pinnatifidum,  Asplenium  montanum, 
Trichomanes  Petersii,  etc. 

Many  of  the  upland  soils,  especially  in  the  western  part  of  the  county,  are  quite  productive,  and  with  better 
facilities  for  shipping  the  crop  Marion  would  take  a  fair  rauk  among  the  northern  coiiHties  in  the  production  of 
cotton. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  REPORT  OF  MARTIN  NESMITH,  OF  P1KEVILLE. 
(This  report  refers  to  tho  lauds  drained  by  Beaver  creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Buttahatchie  river.) 

Two-thirds  of  this  area  is  hilly,  and  is  not  in  cultivation;  the  remaining  portion  tattle-lands  and  bottoms.  The  soils,  moro  than  tho 
climate,  influence  the  growing  of  the  cotton,  for  in  the  low,  wet  lands  the  plant  weeds  well,  but  does  not  mature.  The  uplands  and 
second  bottoms,  especially  when  well  fertilized,  make  the  best  crops,  and  the  plant  matures  well,  the  staple  being  both  longer  and  better. 
The  soil  varieties  described  are  the  brown-loam  lands,  the  black  sandy  lands,  and  tho  swampy  or  low  marshy  lands. 

The  first  forms  one-half  or  more  of  the  cultivated  lands  in  the  region  described,  and  is  timbered  with  white,  black,  and  red  oaks, 
hickory,  short-leaf  pine,  beech,  and  black  and  sweet  gum.  The  soil  is  a  dark  or  brown  sandy  loam  of  5  or  6  inches  in  thickness,  resting 
on  a  reddish  clayey  subsoil,  which  is  underlaid  with  sand  and  gravel. 

The  black  sandy  lands  form  one-third  of  the  cultivated  lands  in  the  region,  and  this  soil  occurs  in  patches  of  from  25  to  30  acres, 
alternating  with  flinty  or  gravelly  lands.  The  natural  growth  is  short-leaf  pine,  hickory,  post  and  red  oaks,  and  chestnut.  The  soil  is 
a  sandy  or  gravelly  loam,  heavier  clayey  loam  in  places,  of  :m  average  thickness  of  6  inches;  the  subsoil  a  tough,  whitish  clay,  which 
bakes  very  hard,  and  does  not  pulverize  under  cultivation.  It,  contains  often  white,  rounded,  and  angular  pebbles,  and  rests  upon  beds 
of  sand  and  gravel  at  a  depth  of  3  or  4  feet. 

The  swamps  or  marshes  form  the  third  variety  of  land,  and  occupy  about  one-sixth  of  Ihe  area.  The  timber  is  composed  of  white 
oak,  sweet  and  black  gum,  beech,  poplar,  bay,  etc..  and  the  soil  is  a  whitish  or  gray  clayey  loam,  quite  thin  (2  inches),  with  a  subsoil 
of  heavy  clay.     This  soil,  being  very  thin  and  whitish,  is  poor,  anil  does  not  pay  to  cultivate. 

Tillage  is  usually  difficult  only  in  wet  seasons.  The  principal  crops  are  cotton  and  corn,  the  soil  being  generally  be*fc  adapted  to  the 
former  crop.  About  one-half  of  the  land  is  planted  in  cotton,  which  attains  a  height  of  from  2  to  5  feet.  In  late  planting,  on  low  w  <  t 
land,  the  cotton  plant  generally  runs  to  weed,  but  this  can  be  prevented  by  early  planting  and  the  use  of  fertilizers,  'the  yield  per  acre  is 
about  400  pounds,  and  it  generally  requires  1,425  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  a  475-pound  bale.  AfU-r  ten  years'  continuous  culture  without 
manure  the  land  will  not  yield  more  than  300  pounds  per  acre,  and  of  such  cotton  it  will  take  1,545  pounds  of  seed-eotton  to  the  bale. 
Hog-weeds,  rag-weeds,  and  burrs  are  the  usual  farm  nuisances.  About  one-fourth  of  the  land  o/iginally  cultivated  now  lies  turned  out ;  but, 
when  such  land  has  lain  idle  several  years  it  will  produce  good  crops.  There  is  some  hillside  ditching  to  prevent  gullies,  but  the  valleys 
are  generally  benefited  by  washings  from  the  uplands. 

The  shipments  of  cotton  are  made  in  November  and  December,  by  railroad,  to  Mobile,  at  the  usual  rate  of  $1  per  hale;  but  tho  fact 
that  there  is  no  railroad  in  this  county  tells  against  the  production  of  cotton,  which  has  often  to  be  hauled  mauy  miles  in  wagons. 

LAMAR. 

Population:  12,142.— White,  9,967;  colored,  2,175. 

Area:  590  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.     Pebbl.\  hills,  550  square  miles ;  Coal  Measures,  40  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  02,141  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  15,245  acres;  in  corn,  28,30;-!  acres;  in  oats,  4,139  acres;  in 
wheat,  5,027  acres;  in  rye,  75  acres;  in  tobacco,  40  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes.  020  acres. 

Cotton  production:  5,015  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.3;;  bale.  471  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  157 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Lamar  county  is  wholly  upon  the  belt  of  stratified  drift  which  covers  the  line  of  junction  of  the  older  and 
newer  formations  in  Alabama.  Its  surface,  therefore,  is  formed  by  the  bands,  clays,  and  pebble  beds  of  this 
formation  and  of  the  rocks  which  are  produced  by  the  cementing  together,  by  hydrated  iron  oxide,  of  these 
materials.  A  bed  of  varying  thickness  of  red  loam  or  red  clay  nearly  always  forms  the  surface  unless  removed  by 
denudation.  The  soils,  consequently,  vary  fiorn  stiff  reddish  loams,  becoming  brown  upon  the  addition  of  vegetable 
matter,  to  light  sands.  The  natural  growth  varies  similarly  from  the  luxuriant  timber  of  the  oak  uplands  to  that 
of  the  black-jack  ridges,  which,  in  addition  to  the  oak,  often  support  a  growth  of  short-leaf  pine. 

From  observations  made  in  the  adjoining  counties,  it  seems  probable  that  the  strata  of  the  Coal  Measures 
underlie  the  beds  of  drift ;  but  as  yet  these  rocks  have  not  been  noticed.  The  hills  separating  the  streams  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  county  are  from  250  to  300  feet  in  height  above  the  water-courses,  and  are  composed 

120 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  Ill 

throughout  of  the  materials  of  the  drift.  Pebbles  are  found  as  usual  below  the  capping  of  red  loam,  which  here, 
as  elsewhere,  forms  the  surface.  Where  thin  beds  of  clay  underlie  the  loam  or  other  strata  it  is  not  unusual  to 
find  a  thin  layer  of  ferruginous  sandstone  or  conglomerate,  formed  by  the  cementing  together  of  the  sand  or  pebbles 
by  the  oxide  of  iron  which  is  so  universally  diffused  through  this  formation  as  coloring  matter.  The  somewhat  hard 
rocks  formed  in  this  way  often  protect  from  denudation  the  underlying  strata,  and  are  commonly  found  upon  the 
summits  of  the  hills,  which  owe  their  existence  to  the  protection  thus  afforded. 

The  drainage  of  Lamar  county  is  southwest  into  the  Tombigbee  by  the  Buttahatcbie  river  and  Luxapolila  creek 
and  their  tributaries.  The  main  water-sheds  are  usually  table-lands  with  brown-loam  soils  and  reddish  subsoils, 
such  as  have  been  described  at  length  under  Pickens  and  other  counties.  The  average  height  above  drainage  of 
the  table-lands,  like  that  of  the  highest  hills  of  the  minor  water-sheds,  is  some  250  or  300  feet. 

ABSTRACT   OF    THE   EEPOKT    OF   GEORGE   E.    BROWN,  OF    CANSXER. 
(This  report  refers  to  the  region  drained  by  Eeaver  creek  and  Buttahaichie  river  and  tUeir  tributaries.) 

In  the  second  bottoms  cotton  yields  more  to  the  acre  tbnu  upon  the  uplands,  but  is  liable  to  lie  cut  off  prematurely  by  frosts.  Throughout 
the  ceunty  the  soils  are  more  or  less  sandy  in  texture,  and  are  timbered  with  short-leaf  pine,  the  various  species  of  oak,  hickory,  ash, 
chestnut,  and  sassafras.  The  top  soil  varies  from  light  sandy  to  a  rather  stiff  clay  loam  of  whitish,  yello-v,  red, .and  blackish  colors,  and 
the  subsoil  is  usually  somewhat  heavier,  and  of  a  reddish  to  yellow  color,  containing  pebbles  in  size  from  a  buckshot  up.  The  subsoil  rests 
on  a  clay,  and  this  on  bods  of  pebbles  and  sand.  The  lands  are  easily  tilled  under  all  circumstances,  and  the  chief  crops  are  corn  and 
cotton.     It  is  thought  that  corn  succeeds  best,  though  the  soil  is  well  suited  to  each. 

Nearly  half  of  the  tilled  land  is  in  cotton,  which  attains  heights  varying  from  3  to  6  feet,  being  most  productive  at  medium  heights. 
The  plant  tends  to  run  to  weed  when  there  is  an  excess  of  rain  during  its  earlier  stages,  and  no  remedy  is  suggested.  The  seed-cotton 
product  per  acre  of  the  fresh  laud  is  from  600  to  1,200  pounds,  and  l,4b5  pounds  are  needed  to  make  a  475-pound  bale.  The  staple  rates 
about  low  middling.  After  three  or  four  years'  cultivation  without  manure  the  yield  falls  oft'  considerably.  Ths  staple  from  the 
worn  land  is  shorter  than  that  from  the  fresh,  but  it  is  good,  and  requires  a  little  more  of  the  seed-cotton  to  make  a  bale.  The  most 
troublesome  weed  is  crab-grass  and,  in  rich  spots,  cocklebur.  About  one-eighth  of  the  laud  originally  in  cultivation  now  lies  turned  out. 
If  not  hilly,  such  land,  when  reclaimed,  produces  about  as  well  as  when  fresh.  The  soil  is  of  such  a  nature  that  it  washes  badly  on  slopes, 
though  the  injury  from  this  cause  is  not  very  great.  If  the  valleys  are  very  narrow,  they  are  injured  by  being  covered  with  sand,  butno 
serious  efforts  have  been  made  to  check  this  evil. 

€otton  is  usually  hauled  to  Columbus  and  Aberdeen,  Mississippi,  the  nearest  market  on  a  railroad. 

PAYETTE. 

Population:  10,135.— White,  S,S73 ;  colored,  1,262. 

Area:  COO  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Coal  Measures,  GOO  square  miles ;  gravelly  piue  hills,  60  square 
miles  (but  the  gravel  and  other  drift  beds  overlying  the  Coal  Measures  to  some  extent  over  the  entire  county,  it  is 
only  in  the  60  square  miles  above  noted  that  they  hide  completely  the  lower  rocks). 

Tilled  land:  56,118  acres. — Area  planted  iu  cotton,  12,331  acres;  in  corn,  24,950  acres;  in  oats,  3,627  acres;  in 
wheat,  4,826  acres;  in  rye,  46  acres;  iu  tobacco,  37  acres;  iu  sweet  potatoes,  42i  acres. 

Cotton  production:  4,268  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.35  bale,  498  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  166 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

There  are  two  principal  systems  of  drainage  in  Payette  county :  one  into  the  Warrior  river,  and  the  other 
into  the  Tombigbee.  These  are  divided  by  a  sinuous  ridge  having  a  general  northern  and  southern  direction,  and 
known  as  Byler  ridge.  Upon  this  ridge,  for  most  of  its  length,  is  an  old  thoroughfare,  the  Byler  road,  much  used  in 
former  times.  The  Warrior  system  may  be  still  farther  divided ;  for  a  part  of  the  water  reaches  the  Warrior  river 
southeastward  through  Lost,  Cane,  and  Wolf  creeks,  while  a  greater  part  flows  southward  through  the  North  river 
and  its  tributaries.  The  Tombigbee  drainage  is  in  general  southward  in  three  narrow  belts  not  more  than  5  or  6 
miles  wide  east  and  west.  The  widest  of  these  areas  is  that  of  the  Sipsey,  or  New  river;  the  next  is  drained  by 
the  Luxapolila,  and  the  third  by  Hell's  creek  and  Yellow  creek,  both  tributaries  of  the  Luxapolila.  The  ridges 
separating  these  areas  are  simple  ridges  of  denudation,  and  the  average  height  above  the  streams  is  about  250  or 
300  feet. 

The  character  and  distribution  of  the  soil  varieties  of  Fayette  county'  depend  upon  the  relations  of  the  two 
geological  formations  which  enter  into  its  structure.  These  are  the  Coal  Measures  and  the  stratified  drift.  The 
surface  formation  over  the  whole  county,  except  iu  valleys  excavated  by  the  various  streams,  is  the  latter;  but 
beneath  it,  at  depths  varying  with  the  locality,  may  always  be  found  the  sandstones,  shales,  and  other  strata  of 
the  Coal  Measures.  WTest  of  the  Luxapolila  river  no  Coal  Measures  have  been  noticed,  for  the  reason,  probably, 
that  the  drainage  has  not  cut  deeply  enough  to  expose  these  underlying  beds.  In  the  extreme  eastern  part  of  the 
county  the  soils  depend  in  great  measure  upon  the  strata  of  the  older  formation,  but  in  the  rest  of  the  county  they 
depend  upon  the  drift  alone. 

The  most  important  and  widely  spread  soil  is  a  brown  loam  with  red  clayey-loam  subsoil,  with  timber  of  post, 
red,  and  black-jack  oaks,  chestnut,  short-leaf  pine,  etc.,  such  as  characterizes  the  oak  uplands  in  various  parts  of  the 
state.  This  soil  is  derived  from  red  loam,  which,  as  a  rule,  forms  the  capping  over  the  sands  and  pebbles  of  the 
stratified  drift.  It  grades  off  ou  the  one  hand  into  sandier,  and  on  the  other  into  mere  clayey  varieties,  with 
corresponding  changes  in  the  timber.  There  are  two  principal  soil-varieties  derived  from  the  strata  of  the  Coal 
Measures.  These  are  the  sandy  soils  of  the  sandstones  and  conglomerates  and  the  clayey  soils  of  the  shales  of 
these  measures.  These  soils,  however,  do  not  differ  essentially  from  the  sandy  and  loamy  soils  of  other  origin. 
Soils  similar  to  those  of  Payette  are  described  in  the  abstracts  under  Winston  and  Marion  counties. 

There  being  as  yet  no  railroad  through  Fayette  county,  the  cotton  produced  titer*  must  be  hauled  in  wagons 
many  miles,  either  to  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  road,  in  Mississippi,  or  to  Tuscaloosa.  This  lack  of  transportation  is  a 
serious  hinrleranee  to  the  production  of  cotton,  and  the  small  number  of  bales  given  above  is  due  to  the  small  acreage. 
The  soils  are  above  the  average  iu  fertility. 

Fayette  county  might  have  been  classed  with  the  oak  uplands  region,  since  the  prevailing  cultivated  soils  are 
those  which  characterize  this  region. 

121 


112  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

WALKER. 

(See  "Coal-Measures  region".) 

PICKENS. 

Population:  21,479.— White.  9,132 ;  colored,  12,347. 

Area:  1,000  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.     Gravelly  pine  hills,  950  square  miles;  prairie,  50  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  110,500  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  52,051  acres;  in  corn,  43,104  acres ;  in  oats,  8,053  acres  -T 
in  wheat,  2,220  acres;  in  rye,  3  >  acres;  in  tobacco,  51  acres;  in  sugar  cane,  19  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  757  acres. 

Cotton  production:  17,283  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.33  bale,  471  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  157 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  soils,  topography,  and  other  natural  features  of  Pickens  county  are  dependent  almost  entirely  upon  a 
single  formation,  the  stratified  drift,  which  makes  the  surface  over  all,  except  the  extreme  southwestern  corner 
of  the  county,  where  the  calcareous  beds  of  the  Cretaceous  formation  are  exposed.  All  the  drainage  is  into  the 
Tombigbee  river  by  Sipsey  river  and  Bear,  Lubbub,  and  Coal-tire  creeks.  The  face  of  the  country  throughout  the 
county  is  quite  broken,  as  is  always  the  case  where  the  drift  is  the  prevailing  formation.  This  is  well  illustrated 
between  Tuscaloosa  and  Carrollton,  where  the  road  passes  over  a  succession  of  little  hills,  separating  the  drainage 
areas  of  the  creeks.  The  prevailing  timber  here  is  a  mixture  of  the  upland  oaks  with  short-leaf  pine.  With  the 
loam  soils,  which  prevail,  there  is  in  places  a  large  proportion  of  clay  coining  from  the  drift  beds,  and  where  this 
material  is  abundant  the  soil  is  quite  stiff  and  the  post  oak  forms  the  principal  tree.  South  of  Carrollton  the 
lowlands  of  Lubbub  creek,  1  or  2  miles  in  width,  form  excellent  farming  land.  The  divide  between  this  and  Blubber 
creek  is  a  fine  tableland  with  brown  loam  soil,  timbered  with  the  upland  oaks,  and  very  fertile. 

Southwest  of  a  line  joining  Pleasant  ridge,  in  Greene  county,  with  Pickens ville  the  Cretaceous  strata  form  the 
country,  but  do  not  in  any  great  degree  intlueuce  the  soils  on  the  northeastern  side  of  the  river;  but  beyond  it 
the  prairie  soils  of  the  usual  character  make  their  appearance,  forming  the  great  proportion  of  the  lauds  in  the 
southwestern  corner  of  the  county.  Drinking  water  in  this  region  is  obtained  from  bored  or  artesian  wells,  as  the 
surface  water  at  certain  seasons  is  both  scanty  in  quantity  and  of  poor  quality. 

The  upland  soils  of  Pickens  vary  from  the  best  brown  to  sandy  loams,  and  all  rest  upon  red-clay  loam,  which 
itself  is  generally  underlaid  with  sand  and  pebbles.  The  bottom  and  hummock  lauds  in  the  greater  part  of  the 
county  have  in  general  the  characters  of  the  loam  uplands  which  adjoin  them,  and  are  in  many  cases  of  superior 
quality.  Southwest  of  the  river  the  topography  is  less  varied  than  elsewhere,  the  country  being  gently  undulating, 
with  low  ridges  of  drift  to  relieve  the  monotony.  The  soils  in  this  part  of  the  county  are  the  usual  rotten-limestone 
prairie  soils  and  the  varieties  resulting  from  the  intermixture  of  this  with  the  surface  loams  of  the  drift. 

In  its  agricultural  features  Pickens  county  resembles  its  neighbors,  and  presents  no  special  peculiarities. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  REPORTS   OF  M.  F.  COOK,  OF  PICKENSVILLE,  AND  R.  F.  HENRY,  OF   COLUMBUS,  MISSISSIPPI. 

(Thcso  reports  relate  to  the  bottom  ami  uplands  of  Coal-fire  ereek  and  to  those  of  MeBeo  creek,  both  streams  tributary  to  the  Tombigbee  river.) 

Late  springs,  with  cold  rains,  sometimes  cause  poor  stands  of  cotton,  and  late  frosts  kill  the  young  plants.  In  the  northern  pare  of 
the  county  the  uplands  are  generally  poor  from  long  and  careless  cultivation  ;  yet  the  few  level  spots  are  still  quite  productive.  The  bottom 
lands  generally  produce  good  crops  of  cotton,  except  in  a  few  eases  wbcre  the  soil  is  gravelly.  When  planted  in  time  and  properly 
cultivated  the  whole  crop  will  generally  open  before  killing  frosts.  On  the  uplands  id'  the  central  and  southern  parts  of  the  county  cottou 
rarely  fails,  especially  if  fertilizers  are  applied  before  planting.  The  western  part  of  the  county  is  a  good  cotton  country,  and  entire 
failures  of  the  crop  are  unknown. 

The  most  widely-spread  soil  in  the  county  is  the  brown  loam  of  the  uplands,  which  varies  from  a  rather  heavy  and  fertile  to  a 
light  sandy  loam.  The  subsoil  in  most  cases  is  a  stiff,  reddish  clayey  loam,  sometimes  yellow,  with  sand  and  gravel  underlying  at  varying 
depths.  Now  and  then  there  are  patches  of  crawtishy  soil,  with  whitish  clay  beneath.  The  timber  of  the  uplands  consists  of  pine,  red, 
black,  Spanish,  and  black-jack  oaks,  hickory,  chestnut,  etc.,  with  white,  water,  and  willow  oaks,  ash,  cypress,  beech,  sweet  and  sour 
gums,  and  other  growth  in  the  lowlands. 

The  lowlands  and  bottom  lands  have  generally  a  "  made  soil",  which  is  a  light  loam,  more  or  less  sandy,  of  dark,  sometimes  black, 
colors.  These  also  have  usually  a  red-clay  subsoil,  much  like  the  subsoil  of  the  adjacent  uplands.  The  soils  of  the  bottoms  are  often  of 
considerable  thickness;  that  of  the  uplands  varies  greatly,  being  in  places  almost  entirely  washed  off.  From  one-half  to  three-fourths 
of  the  county  has  a  sandy  soil,  especially  on  the  water-sheds,  and  this  soil  has  a  natural  growth  of  pine,  mixed  with  the  several  species 
of  oaks,  and  with  hickory  where  of  better  quality.  These  soils  are  of  gray  to  dark  colors,  and  sometimes  a  foot  or  more  in  thickness.  The 
subsoils  are  also  sandy,  holding  pebbles. 

These  lands  are  generally  easy  to  cultivate.  The  chief  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  oats,  and  potatoes,  but  the  soil  is  best,  adapted  to  cotton, 
potatoes,  and  oats.  More  than  one-half  of  the  cultivated  land  is  in  cottou.  The  height  to  which  cottou  grows  varies  from  2  to  6  feet. 
Rich  bottom  lands,  when  cultivated  too  deep  in  wet  seasons,  make  the  cotton  run  to  weed,  but  this  can  be  prevented  by  underdrainage, 
shallow  culture,  and  topping.  The  seed-cotton  product  per  acre  on  fresh  land  is  about  1,000  pounds,  and  it  requires  1,545  pounds  to  mako 
a  475-pound  bale;  but  the  staple  is  not  as  good  as  that  from  old,  fertilized  land.  After  two  or  three  years'  culture  the  yield  is  increased, 
hut  alter  live  years  the  uplands  begin  to  wash,  and  there  is  a  falling  oft'  in  the  yield;  hut  the  bottom  lands  are  as  productive  uow  as  20 
years  ago.  Morning-glory,  crab-grass,  and  purslane  are  specially  troublesome.  Ouly  a  small  part  of  the  uplands  is  turned  out.  Such 
turned-out  lands  will  produce  well  if  Japan  clover  cover  them  one  or  two  years.  The  hillsides  and  slopes  are  somewhat  injured  by 
washings,  but  this  may  be  and  is  prevented  by  ditching,  uuderdraining,  etc. 

The  cotton  crop  is  largely  sold  to  cotton  buyers  iu  the  local  markets.  When  shipped  to  Mobile  the  freight  is  $1  25  per  bale.  The 
shipping  is  by  the  Tombigbee  river,  and  is  usually  done  between  November  and  February. 

TUSCALOOSA. 
(See  "Gravelly  pine-hills  region".) 

122 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  113 


GRAVELLY   HILLS,   WITH   LONG-LEAF  PINE. 

This  region  includes  parts  of  Pickens,*  Tuscaloosa,  Greene,*  Hale,*  Bibb,  Perry,*  Chilton,  Autauga,  Elmore, 
Montgomery,*  Tallapoosa,*  Macon,*  Lee,*  and  Russell.* 

PICKENS. 
(See  "Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  short-leaf  pine".) 

TUSCALOOSA. 

Population:  24,957.— White,  15,216;  colored,  9,741. 

Area  :  1,390  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Pour  hundred  square  miles  are  pebbly  pine  hills  (250  square  miles 
with  short-leaf  pine  and  150  with  long-leaf  pine),  and,  in  addition  to  this,  of  the  965  square  miles  of  the  Coal 
Measures  675  square  miles  have  the  characters  of  the  pebbly  pine-hills,  and  225  square  miles  have  the  short-leaf 
aud  450  square  miles  the  long-leaf  pine;  .25  square,  miles  in  lioup's  valley. 

Tilled  land:  111,171  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton.  33,773  acres;  in  corn,  38,638  acres;  in  oats,  6,974  acres  ; 
in  wheat,  2.689  acres;  in  rye,  130  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  35  acres;  in  tobacco,  20  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  919  acres. 

Cotton  production:  11,137  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.33  bale,  471  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  157 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

A  line  drawn  from  the  northwestern  to  the  southeastern  corner  of  Tuscaloosa  county  through  or  near  the  city 
of  Tuscaloosa  will  divide  the  county  into  two  parts  of  unequal  size,  differing  widely  in  soils,  topography,  and 
other  natural  features.  North  and  east  of  this  line  the  county  is  formed  of  the  sandstones  and  shales  of  the  Coal 
Measures;  south  and  west,  of  the  sands  and  loams  of  the  stratified  drift  formation.  These  last-named  materials, 
however,  overlie  the  rocks  of  the  Coal  Measures  in  a  belt  12  or  15  miles  wide,  lying  northeast  of  the  line  alluded  to. 
Southwest  of  this  line  the  drift  hides  completely  from  view  any  underlying  rocks,  but  northeast  the  Coal  Measures 
are  everywhere  brought  to  light  where  the  former  has  been  removed  by  erosion.  In  the  southeastern  edge  of  the 
county,  adjoining  Bibb,  there  is  a  narrow  belt,  in  Roup's  valley,  where  the  rocks  of  a  still  lower  geological  formation 
take  part  in  the  formation  of  the  soils  and  in  the  production  of  scenery. 

The  Black  Warrior  river,  which  flows  in  general  southwest  through  the  center  of  the  county,  receives  nearly 
all  the  drainage,  and  the  Sipsey  river,  a  tributary  of  the  Tombigbee,  drains  the  northwestern  corner.  This  river 
is  separated  from  North  river,  the  principal  tributary  of  the  Warrior,  by  a  ridge  of  sand  and  pebbles  of  the 
stratified  drift,  known  as  Byler  ridge,  upon  which  was  one  of  the  principal  thoroughfares  of  the  county  before  the 
days  of  railroads. 

In  all  that  part  of  the  county  where  the  rocks  of  the  Coal  Measures  are  at  the  surface  the  soils  are  mostly  sandy, 
occasionally  shaly  or  aluminous,  and  seldom  very  fertile.  The  uplands  are  timbered  with  the  usual  variety  of 
oaks,  hickory,  and  pine,  and  bring  tolerably  fair  crops.  In  this  part  of  the  county  the  bottom  lands  of  the  river 
and  creeks  are  most  esteemed  by  farmers.  Prom  the  northeastern  corner  down  nearly  to  the  city  of  Tuscaloosa 
the  river  bottoms  are  rather  narrow,  except  in  the  great  bends,  aud  in  some  parts  of  its  course,  as  at  the  Squaw 
shoals,  the  river  flows  between  high,  rocky  banks,  with  almost  no  bottom  lauds  on  either  side.  The  adjacent 
uplands,  also  formed  by  the  same  rocks,  are  very  rugged,  difficult  to  cultivate,  and  rather  poor.  A  large  area  in 
the  northeastern  part  of  the  county  is  thinly  settled,  but  the  woods  are  well  stocked  with  deer  and  other  game, 
which  find  excellent  pasture  in  the  grasses  and  leguminous  plants  which  there  abound.  Below  Tuscaloosa  the 
river  bottom  (partly  above  overflow)  to  the  lower  limit  of  the  county  will  average  1  mile  in  width,  and  has  a  reddish 
loamy  soil  and  red  subsoil,  derived  from  the  uplands,  and  forms  the  best  farming  area  of  the  couuty.  In  all  the 
southwestern  part  of  the  county,  where  the  stratified  drift  is  at  the  surface,  the  topography  shows  the  usual  variety 
characteristic  of  this  formation. 

Prom  the  lowlands  along  the  river  there  is  usually  a  rather  abrupt  rise  of  from  60  to  75  feet  to  a  terrace  or 
plain,  which  is  often  5  or  6  miles  wide.  Upon  this  stauds  the  beautiful  city  of  Tuscaloosa.  From  this  plain  the 
ground  rises  from  the  river,  sometimes  gradually,  sometimes  abruptly,  to  the  general  level  of  the  uplands,  which 
upon  the  main  water-sheds  is  uot  less  than  250  or  300  feet  above  the  water-courses.  This  elevation  is  not  reached 
in  the  lower  part  of  the  county  usually  within  10  miles  of  the  river.  Throughout  this  part  of  the  county  the 
prevailing  soils  are  brown  loams  of  considerable  fertility,  overlying  subsoils  of  red  clayey  loam,  which  in  turn  rest 
upon  beds  of  gravel  ami  sand.  The  bottom  lauds  are  more  or  less  closely  related  to  the  uplands  from  which  they 
are  derived,  but  are  usually  rather  more  fertile,  containing,  as  they  do,  the  cream  of  the  upland  soils. 

At  some  distance  from  the  river,  upon  the  water  sheds  spoken  of  above,  the  soils  are  somewhat  more  sandy. 
The  long-leaf  pine  grows  upon  the  sandy  soils  in  all  the  southwestern  part  of  Tuscaloosa  county,  and  also  east  aud 
northeast  of  the  city  of  Tuscaloosa  for  a  distance  of  25  or  30  miles,  or  nearly  to  the  couuty  limits.  In  these 
localities  the  rocks  of  the  Coal  Measures  are  covered  with  beds  of  pebbles  and  sand  of  the  drift.  The  genuine  piny 
woods  are  here,  as  elsewhere,  rather  poor  aud  thinly  settled,  but,  with  a  moderate  outlay  for  manures,  they  yield 
very  fair  crops  of  cotton. 

The  greater  part  of  the  cotton  crop  of  Tuscaloosa  couuty  is  raised  upon  the  soils  derived  from  the  drift  and 
loam,  and  comparatively  little  upon  those  of  the  Coal  Measures. 

123 


114  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE   "RETORTS   OF   HON.   A.    C.   HARGROVE   AND   JAMES   R.   MAXWELL,   OF   TUSCALOOSA. 

(Both  reports  refer  to  the  bottom  luiuls  of  the  Warrior  river  and  tho  adjacent  uplands.) 

The  growth  of  the  cotton-plant  depends  to  a  great  extent  upon  the  temperature  and  humidity.  In  the  bottom  lands  it  is  likely  to  he 
late,  and  therefore  more  exposed  to  frosts  and  the  ravages  of  the  caterpillar;  and  for  these  reasons  tho  uplands  are  preferred  for  cotton 
where  the  soils  are  at  all  fair.  On  the  uplands  the  cotton  grows  off  well  about  the  last  of  April,  and  matures  about  the  third  week  in 
September.  The  picking  sometimes  begins  the  last  week  in  August.  On  manured  or  fresh  land  it  continues  to  make  till  frost ;  the  most 
of  it,  however,  is  made  by  the  middle  of  September. 

The  bottom  lands  of  the  Warrior  river  and  tributary  creeks  are  of  two  principal  kinds,  the  stiff,  yellowish  soil  and  the  loose  gray.  The 
two  together  make  up  the  soils  of  the  bottoms  from  Tuscaloosa  to  the  southern  limit  of  the  county  with  a  width  of  1  mile  and  a  length 
of  25  or  HO  miles.  Tho  natural  growth  consists  of  beech,  white  and  red  oaks,  sweet  gum,  poplar,  elm,  and  cottonwood,  witli  occasional 
dense  thickets  of  cane.  The  stiff  soil  is  a  heavy  clayey  loam  of  a  gray  to  yellow  color,  sometimes  inclined  to  be  black,  especially  when 
wet.  The  thickness  varies  from  8  to  12  inches.  The  Biibsoil  is  sometimes  heavier,  sometimes  lighter,  than  the  surface  soil,  and  is  of 
a  yellowish  or  buff'  color  when  dry.  When  the  surface  soil  is  washed  away,  this  subsoil  appears  to  be  almost  barren,  though  shown  by 
chemical  analysis  to  be  rich  in  potash  and  phosphoric  acid.  The  barrenness  is  due  to  the  physical  condition.  When  dry,  the  subsoil 
becomes  very  hard,  but  absorbs  water  rapidly,  and  then  becomes  a  sticky  clay.  It  contains  now  and  then  soft,  black  gravel,  and  the 
whole  is  underlaid  at  varying  depths  by  beds  of  sand  and  gravel.  The  stiff,  yellow  soils  are  difficult  to  cultivate,  except  in  tho  proper 
seasans,  for  they  are  too  sticky  in  wet  and  too  hard  in  very  dry  weather.  The  loose,  gray  bottom  soils  are  always  easily  tilled.  Tho  stiff 
soils  are  inclined  to  be  late,  cold,  and  ill-drained,  while  the  loose  gray  soils,  on  the  contrary,  are  early  and  warm. 

The  soil  next  in  importance  is  the  brown  loam  of  the  uplands.  This  makes  from  one- half  to  two-thirds  of  the  uplands,  the  rest  being 
sandy,  piny  woods.  The  timber  consists  of  post,  red,  Spanish,  aud  black-jack  oaks,  hickory,  poplar,  and  short-leaf  pine.  The  soil  is  in 
general  a  brown  loam  from  3  to  10  inches  in  thickness,  with  a  heavier  subsoil  of  reddish  clay,  which  is  often  almost  impervious.  Tho  subsoil 
rests  upon  beds  of  sand  and  gravel,  occasionally  mixed  with  clay,  and  often  contains  pebbles.  These  upland  soils  are  early  and  warm 
when  well  drained,  which  is  tho  case  with  most  of  them. 

The  long-leaf  pine  woods  make  up  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  highest  uplands.  The  natural  growth  is  the  long-leaf  pine,  with 
black-jack  and  other  species  of  oaks  where  the  soil  is  more  fertile.  Tho  soil  is  a  light-colored,  sandy  loam,  2  or  3  inches  in  thickness, 
restiug  upon  a  sandy  subsoil  which  often  contains  rounded  pebbles  of  quartz.  These  sand  and  gravel  beds  underlie  also  the  subsoil  to 
considerable  depths.     The  soils  are  always  easily  tilled. 

The  thief  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  and  oats,  but  many  other  crops  grow  well.  The  soil  generally  is  perhaps  best  adapted  to  cotton, 
but  bottom  lauds  produce  fine  crops  of  corn.  Fully  one-half  of  the  tillable  lands  are  devoted  to  cotton  culture.  On  bottom  lands  cott«n 
grows  from  5  to  S  feet  high,  on  uplands  from  3  to  4  feet,  the  latter  being  generally  most  productive.  Cotton  is  inclined  to  run  to  weed  on 
rich  sandy  bottoms  in  rainy  weather.  On  the  best  lauds  the  bale  of  5JJ0  pounds  is  produaed,  but  the  avorage  yield  is  a  bale  to  three  acres. 
A  475-pouud  bale  requires  from  1,545  to  1,660  pounds  of  seed-cotton.  The  fresh-land  cotton  is  usually  graded  as  middling  uplands. 
Morning-glory,  hog-weed,  and  crab-grass  are  specially  troublesome.  About  one-fourth  of  the  land  origiually  tilled  is  now  turned  out,  which 
produces  well  for  two  or  three  years,  and  then  rapidly  deteriorates.  Tho  slopes  are  much  injured  by  washings;  on  tho  other  hand,  the 
valleys  are  often  improved  by  the  washings  of  the  top  soil  from  the  uplands.  The  damage  to  slepes  is  prevented  or  checked  by  hillside 
ditching. 

The  cotton  is  shipped,  as  fast  as  prepared  for  the  market,  usually  to  Mobile,  either  by  rail  or  by  boat.  Tho  freight  by  rail  is  from 
$1  75  to  $2,  and  by  boat  from  $1  25  to  Si  50  per  bale. 

GREENE. 

(See  "Central  prairie  region".) 

HALE, 

(See  "  Central  prairie  region".) 

BIBB. 

Populatio7i:  9,487.— White,  5,887 ;  colored,  3,000. 

Area:  010  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Hilly  lands  with  long-leaf  pine,  310  square  miles;  125  square  miles  in 
Caliaba  coal-field;  100  square  miles  in  Roup's  valley;  75  square  miles  valley  lands  south  of  the  Cahaba  coal-field. 
About  1120  square  miles  of  the  southern  parts  of  the  coal-field  a»d  the  valleys  are  covered  -with  the  drift,  and  exhibit 
the  characters  of  the  gravelly  hills  with  long-leaf  pine. 

Tilled  land:  43,796  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  15,737  acres;  in  corn,  1S,816  acres;  in  oats,  2,035  acres;  in 
wheat,  3,125  acres;  in  rye,  151  acres;  in  tobacco,  36  acres;  in  sugar  cane,  36  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  368  acres. 

Cotton  production:  4,843  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.31  bale,  141  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  147 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  northwestern  corner  of  Bibb  county  is  occupied  by  the  narrow  trough  of  Roup's  valley,  which  is  well-defined 
as  far  south  as  the  base  line  between  the  two  surveys  (which  runs  east  and  west  about  12  milts  north  of  Centerville). 
Below  this  the  sands,  loams,  mid  pebbles  of  the  drift  hide  all  the  underlying  formations.  The  characters  of  Roup's 
valley,  with  its  parallel  ridges  and  subordinated  valleys,  have  been  given  under  Jefferson  county. 

In  Bibb  county  the  ridge  which  occupies  the  central  part  of  the  valley  is  quite  conspicuous,  and  is  in  many 
places  filled  with  iron  ore  of  good  quality.  It  embraces  many  acres  of  fine  farming  land  where  not  too  much  broken. 
The  color  of  the  subsoil  is  usually  a  deep-red;  the  soil  is  more  sandy  and  of  a  browu  color.  Between  this  and  the 
red-ore  ridges,  which  are  found  near  the  margins  of  the  valley,  but  not  always  prominent  landmarks,  are  belts  of 
valley  land  with  gra;\  and  yellowish  to  red  soils  and  red  subsoils,  mostly  under  cultivation.  The  quality  of  these  soils 
varies  with  the  locality.  As  a  rule,  they  contain  angular  fragments  of  chert  derived  from  the  flinty  limestones  upon 
which  they  are  mostly  based.  Of  considerable  extent  also  is  a  gray,  gravelly  soil,  with  light-colored  subsoil,  filled 
with  fragments  of  flint.  Between  the  red-ore  ridges  and  the  extreme  margin  of  the  valley  on  each  side  there  are 
narrow  depressions  with  a  first-rate  yellowish  calcareous  soil. 
1:24 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  115 

Bast  of  Roup's  valley,  and  occupying  the  northeastern  part  of  the  county,  are  the  Coal  Measures  of  the  Cahaba 
field.  The  southwestern  limit  of  this  field  is  near  Scottsville.  It  is  drained  by  the  Cahaha  river,  and  forms  a  very 
rugged  and  broken  area,  with  prevailing  sandy  soils  of  no  great  fertility.  Near  the  confluence  of  Shade's  creek  with 
this  river  is  a  region  known  by  the  expressive  name  of  "  the  Uglies",  almost  uninhabited,  and  embracing  some  of 
the  most  broken  land  in  the  county.  As  a  rule,  the  area  formed  by  these  Coal  Measures  is  not  densely  populated,  as 
the  soil  is  not  productive,  enough  to  offer  any  inducements  to  the  settler. 

Between  the  southern  edge  of  the  coal-lield  and  a  line  running  from  Centervflle  northeast  to  the  county  line 
there  is  an  area  of  valley  land  with  flinty  ridges  and  the  other  characteristics  of  the  valley  lands  of  central  Alabama. 
In  this  area  there  are  many  tracts  of  fine  farming  land,  with  red,  buff,  and  gray  soils,  derived  from  the  cherty  or 
flinty  magnesian  limestones  of  the  country,  and  giving  evidence  of  their  origin  in  the  great  number  of  angular 
fragments  of  chert  with  which  they  are  filled.  The  red  lauds  are  more  fertile  and  better  suited  to  the  grain  crops, 
while  the  gray  lands,  sandy,  and  timbered  with  pines,  are  preferred  for  cotton. 

South  of  Pratt's  ferry  a  mountain  rim,  composed  of  the  ehert  of  the  sub-Carboniferous  formation,  incloses  a 
basin  of  2  or  3  square  miles  area  with  yellowish  soil,  differing  from  the  usual  red  valley  soils  and  derived  from 
an  entirely  different  series  of  rocks.  This  has  its  representative  in  the  Dry  valley  soil  of  Cherokee  county,  an 
analysis  of  which  has  been  presented  on  page  25. 

The  southern  part  of  the  county,  embracing  the  lower  12  miles,  depends  for  its  topography  and  surface  features 
essentially  upon  a  single  formation,  the  stratified  drift.  This  formation  consists  of  beds  of  sand,  pebbles,  and  loam 
of  great  thickness,  which  overlie  and  hide  from  view  the  older  rocks.  The  cultivated  soils  are  mostly  derived  from 
a  bed  of  red  loam,  which  is  usually  the  uppermost  of  the  whole  series,  and  which  is  nearly  always  prominent  in  the 
subsoils.  In  this  part  of  the  county  the  ridges  and  depressions  are  determined  solely  by  the  water-courses,  and  do 
not  lie  in  parallel,  sharply-defined  belts,  which  are  so  characteristic  of  the  upper  part.  The  high  lauds  separating 
the  main  streams  have  a  brown-loam  soil  resting  upon  this  red  loam  as  subsoil.  Its  timber  is  a  mixture  of  the 
various  species  of  upland  oaks,  and  as  the  top  soil  becomes  more  sandy  the  long-leaf  pine  associates  itself  with 
these,  and  the  transition  into  the  long-leaf  pine  woods  takes  place  by  gradual  stages.  Wherever  the  soil  is  very 
sandy  or  pebbly  and  the  subsoil  light  the  long-leaf  pine  is  the  prevailing  growth. 

Agriculturally,  Bibb  county  shares  the  characteristics  of  the  valley  region  and  those  of  the  pine  hills  and  brown- 
loam  uplands,  the  greater  part  of  the  cotton  crop  being  raised  upon  the  brown-loam  soils.  The  subjoined  report 
does  not  refer  to  any  of  the  brown-loam  or  sandy  soils,  and  for  descriptions  reference  must  be  made  to  the 
descriptions  under  Perry,  Hale,  and  Tuscaloosa  counties,  where  entirely  similar  soils  prevail. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE   REPORT   OF  J.   S.   HANSBERGER,   OF  TIONUS. 

(This  report  refers  to  the  region  of  Six-Mile  creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Cahaba  river.) 

The  two  principal  soil  varieties  described  are  the  red  clay  loam  lauds  and'  the  gray  sandy  lands,  which  make  about  equal 
proportions  of  the  region  under  consideration.  The  timber  of  tho  red  lands  is  composed  of  oak,  hickory,  walnut,  and  poplar  on  the  red 
lands,  and  chiefly  of  long-leaf  t>ino  on  the  other.  The  top  soil  of  the  red  lands  is  a  clay  loam  of  a  red  to  brown  color  from  2  to  10  inches 
in  thickness,  resting  upon  a  subsoil  which  is  of  heavier  quality  and  of  deeper  red  color,  This  subsoil  often  becomes  hard  and  almost 
impervious.  The  top  soil  of  the  gray  lands  is  of  lighter  color  and  more  or  less  sandy,  and  its  subsoil  is  of  a  yellowish  color,  somewhat 
Bandy  also,  and  seldom  becoming  hard  and  "panny". 

The  cultivation  of  the  land  is  easy  in  dry  weather,  but  somewhat  difficult  in  wet  seasons.  The  chief  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat, 
oats,  rye,  barley,  and  sweet  potatoes.  The  red  lands  are  adapted  to  corn,  cotton,  and  wheat;  the  gray  lands  to  cotton  and  potatoes. 
About  oue-third  of  the  land  is  planted  in  cotton,  "which  grows  to  tho  average  height  of  3  feet.  Deep  culture  and  wet  weather  will  make 
cotton  run  to  weed.  The  yield  per  acre  on  fresh  land  is  from  500  to  1,000  pounds,  and  it  requires  from  1,545  to  1,660  pounds  to  a  475-pound 
bale.  The  cotton  from  fresh  lauds  rates  as  low  middling.  After  ten  years'  culture  (unmanured)  the  yield  is  from  400  to  800  pounds  per 
acre.  Rag-weed  is  most  numerous  after  wheat  and  other  small  grain,  while  crab-grass  is  most  troublesome  in  the  cultivation  of  cotton. 
About  one-third  of  the  laud  originally  cultivated  is  now  turned  out,  and  some  portions  of  this  land,  when  taken  into  cultivation  again, 
produce  well,  but  other  portions  are  worthless.     The  washings  of  the  slopes  is  being  checked  to  a  considerable  extent  by  hillside  ditching. 

The  cotton  is  shipped,  as  soon  as  prepared  for  the  market,  by  railroad,  mostly  to  Sehna.  The  farmers  sell  most  of  their  cotton  to 
merchants,  and  these  ship  it.     The  usual  freight  charge  to  Selma  is  from  $1  50  to  §2  per  bale. 

PEBBY. 
(<See  "Central  prairie  region".) 

CHILTON. 

Population :  10,793.— White,  8,651 ;  colored,  2,142. 

Area:  700  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Four  hundred  square  miles  of  gravelly  hills  with  long-leaf  pine; 
220  square  miles  metamorphic  slate  region;  SO  square  miles  valley  lands,  Silurian,  etc.  (Part  of  the  last  two 
divisions  are  also  covered  with  drift  and  partake  of  the  characters  of  the  gravelly  pine-hills.) 

Tilled  land:  40,676  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  11,558  acres;  in  corn,  18,185  acres;  in  oats,  2,255  acres; 
in  wheat,  4,507  acres ;  in  rye,  60  acres ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  350  acres. 

Cotton  production:  3,534  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.31  bale,  441  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  147 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  eastern  part  of  Chilton  county  is  formed  by  the  crystalline  rocks,  the  western  part  by  the  strata  of  the 
drift  formation,  and  at  the  line  of  separation  of  the  two,  which  is  approximately  along  the  line  of  the  North  and 
South  Alabama  railroad,  there  is  a  high  ridge  of  the  drift  which  forms  the  water-shed  between  the  Ceosa  and  the 
Alabama  rivers.  In  many  places  this  water-shed  is  300  feet  above  the  immediately  adjacent  streams.  The  course 
of  the  Coosa  river,  which  forms  the  eastern  boundary  sf  Chilton,  is  nearly  parallel  with  this  ridge. 

Iw  addition  to  the  above-named  formations,  there  appear  in  the  upper  part  of  the  county  certain  Silurian  strata, 
which,  however,  are,  as  a  rule,  more  or  less  covered  with  the  beds  of  drift,  and  therefore  not  solely  concerned  in 

125 


116  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

tlie  formation  of  the  soils.  Near  Verbena,  in  the  belt  of  crystalline  rocks,  there  is  an  occurrence  of  hornblendic 
rocks  which  yield  red  and  brown  soils,  and  south  of  these  are  chiefly  mica  slates,  yielding  sandy  gray  sojls,  with 
much  long-leaf  piue  associated  with  the  oal;  growth.  Northward  from  Verbena  the  gray  soils  prevail,  and  the,  long- 
leaf  pine  is  nearly  always  present  among  the  trees.  Immediately  north  of  the  belt  of  red-colored  soils  mentioned 
as  occurring  near  Verbena  there  is  an  aiea,  formed  by  a  much-decayed  mica  slate  of  purplish  tinge,  which  yields 
an  extremely  sterile  soil,  upon  which  the  chief  growth  is  stunted  long-leaf  pines  and  black-jack  oaks.  In  this 
region  the  surface  is  much  broken.  These  slates  are  traversed  by  veins  holding  large  masses  of  mica,  which  may 
some  day  lie  profitably  worked.  Northward  from  this  the  rocks  are  mostly  siliceous  and  clay  slates,  with  gray 
soils;  long-leaf  pine  t iinber  prevails,  and  the  surface  in  places  is  exceedingly  broken.  The  highest  land  in  the 
county  is  probably  to  be  found  in  this  region.  Of  the  specific  characters  of  the  red  and  gray  soils  here  occurring 
little  need  be  said,  since  similar  soils  have  been  mentioned  under  all  the  counties  in  which  the  crystalline  rocks  are 
more  widely  distributed. 

The  western  part  of  the  county  formed  of  the  strata  of  the  drift  presents  the  usual  variety  which  characterizes 
that  formation  everywhere.  These  soils  vary  from  the  rich  red  and  brown  loams  of  the  oak  and  hickory  uplands 
to  the  gray  sandy  soils  of  the  pine  woods. 

The  watershed  mentioned  as  lying  on  the  eastern  border  of  the  drift  area  is  in  general  a  high  table-land  with 
gray  sandy  soil  and  a  splendid  growth  of  long-leaf  pine  timber,  supplying  some  of  the  largest  saw-mills  in  the 
state,  located  along  the  line  of  the  North  and  South  Alabama  railroad.  This  piue  region  extends  southward  into 
Autauga  and  Elmore  counties,  and  analyses  of  several  typical  soils  of  these  pine  forests  in  the  former  county  have 
been  given  on  page  39. 

Westward  in  the  drainage  area  of  Mulberry  creek  and  of  the  other  small  streams  of  the  county  brown-loam 
soils  of  very  good  character  are  found  and  are  in  cultivation.  This  part  of  the  county  also  is  much  mora 
densely  populated  and  is  of  much  more  importance,  agriculturally,  than  the  eastern,  where  the  pine  timber  and 
the  mineral  resources  are  the  chief  interests. 

The  agricultural  capabilities  of  Chilton  county  are  quite  similar  to  those  of  Autauga  on  the  one  hand,  and  of 
Coosa,  on  the  other. 

Cotton  is  hauled  to  the  stations  on  the  North  and  South  Alabama  and  Selma,  Rome,  and  Daltou  railroads,  and 
there  sold  to  merchants,  who  ship  it  thence  to  the  various  markets. 

AUTAUGA. 

Population;  13,108.— White,  4,397  ;  colored,  8,711. 

Arm:  CGO  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Gravelly  hills,  with  long-leaf  pine,  500  square  miles;  calcareous  lauds, 
100  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  81,388  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  30,474  acres;  in  corn,  20,417  acres;  in  oats,  2,153  acres;  iu 
wheat,  700  acres;  in  rye,  03  acres;  in  rice,  43  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  22  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  540  acres. 

Cotton  production:  7,944  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.20  bale,  372  pouuds  seed-cotton,  or  124 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Autauga  county  is  one  of  the  counties  situated  upon  the  great  pebble  bed  which  covers  and  hides  from  view 
the  line  of  contact  of  the  older  crystalline  or  metamorphic  rocks  and  the  newer  Cretaceous,  and,  as  might  be 
expected  from  this  circumstance,  its  upland  soils  are  almost  exclusively  derived  from  these  drifted  materials. 

The  northern  two-thirds  of  the  county,  viz,  townships  18,  19,  and  all  of  20  which  lies  within  the  county,  are 
piny-woods  land,  hilly  and  timbered  with  long-leaf  pine,  and  often  with  no  other  tree,  except  the  black-jack  oak.  In 
many  places,  especially  north  of  Kingston,  even  an  undergrowth  of  shrubs  is  wanting,  but  grasses  and  leguminous 
plants  flourish  and  afford  excellent  pasturage.  The  soil  is  coarse  to  line  sandy  and  often  gravelly,  and  the  red  or 
yellow  loam  is  almost  entirely  wanting,  except  in  the  subsoil,  often  at  a  considerable  depth  from  the  surface.  In 
these  lands  only  the  hollows  and  creek  flats  are  worth  cultivating,  and  perhaps  not  more  than  one  acre  iu  thirty 
is,  or  ever  has  been,  cleared  up  and  iu  cultivation. 

Coming  southward,  there  is,  as  a  rule,  an  improvement  in  the  land,  and  pine  land  with  red  clay  or  clayey  loam 
subsoil  makes  jup  a  good  part  of  townships  17  anil  18.  Some  of  these  soils  have  a  sandy  subsoil;  that,  is,  the  loam 
lies  deeper  below  the  surface.  Nearly  all  the  pine  lands  with  clay  subsoil  have  been  cleared  up,  not  because  they 
are  better  in  the  virgin  state  than  the  soils  with  sandy  subsoil,  but  because,  they  lie  better,  are.  more  level,  and 
consequently  last  longer.  As  to  productiveness,  they  are  about  equal,  the  fresh  land  yielding  about  400  pounds  of 
seed-cotton  to  the  acre.  About  one-fifth  of  township  17  is  table-land,  level,  and  having  an  average  elevation  above 
the  water-courses  of  225  or  250  feet.  The  rest  of  the  township  is  made  up  of  the  steep  hillsides  which  border  these 
table-lands  and  the  creek  hummocks,  which  are  very  much  like  the  river  hummocks.  From  the.  piny  woods  of  the 
upper  townships  two  strips  of  piue  land  run  down  into  this  township  (17) :  the  on.-,  on  .  he  borders  of  Autauga  creek, 
to  the  river;  the  other,  on  Whitewater  creek,  to  within  2  miles  of  the  river. 

The  table-lauds  have  a  natural  growth  consistingol'  short-leaf  pine,  red,  Spanish,  black,  and  post  oaks,  hickory, 
dogwood,  black  gum,  etc.  These  have  a  clay  foundation,  and  will  yield,  when  fresh,  from  1,000  to  1,200  pounds 
of  seed-cotton  to  the  acre.  The  same  is  true  of  the  hillsides,  which  are  good  farming  lauds  when  level  enough  to 
plow  and  can  be  protected  from  washings. 

There  are  two  outcroppings  of  the  calcareous  rocks  of  the  Cretaceous  formation  in  the  county,  viz:  one, 
about  5  miles  long,  lj  ing  between  Nolan's  and  Bear  creeks,  in  township  17,  on  the  plantation  of  General  Fair  ;  the 
other  near  the  river  below  the  Dutch  bend.  Taken  together,  the  area  of  these  Cretaceous  or  prairie  tracts  is 
small,  only  about  10  sections.  All  of  this  kind  of  land  that  is  level  enough  to  plow  has  been  cleared  up,  and  it  is 
equal  to,  or  perhaps  better  than,  any  land  in  the  county,  yielding,  when  fresh,  from  1,200  to  1,500  pounds  of  seed- 
cotton  to  the  acre. 

Nearly  all  of  township  16  in  this  county  is  second-bottom  or  river-hummock  land,  and  most  of  it  is  in 
cultivation.  In  this  township  also  are  the  first  bottoms  of  the  Alabama  river,  which  are  very  rich  ami  productive; 
but  being  liable  to  overflow  in  the  spring,  are  devoted  almost  entirely  to  corn,  the  yield  of  which  is  from  40  to  50 
126 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  117 

bushels  to  the  acre.  An  analysis  of  a  specimen  of  rirer-bottom  soil  from  this  county  has  been  given  on  page  40. 
The  hummocks  and  the  table-lands  are  about  equally  productive,  giving,  as  above  stated,  from  1,000  to  1,200 
pounds  of  seed-cotton. 

For  many  of  the  above-named  facts  I  am  indebted  to  Dr.  S.  P.  Smith,  of  Prattville. 

The  southern  boundary  of  Autauga  county  is  made  by  the  Alabama  river,  and  the  sandy  loams  of  the  second- 
bottoms  o+'  this  river  and  of  the  streams  that  flow  into  it  have  produced  the  great  proportion  of  the  cotton  crop.  The 
calcareous  lauds  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  county,  while  of  limited  exteut,  are  ven  superior  cotton  lands. 
The  red  or  brown-loam  table-lands  also  furnish  line  plantations,  buirmuch  of  this  land  is  badly  worn,  although, 
with  proper  care,  susceptible  of  almost  unlimited  improvement. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE  REPORT   OF  DR.   C.   M.   HOWARD,   OF  MULBERRY. 

(The  region  repotted  upon  is  in  township  17.  range  13,  in  the  drainage  areas  of  Beaver  and  Ivy  creeks,  and  embraces  the  bottom  lands  of  those  streams,  and  also 

the  hilly  and  table-lands  "f  the  same  drainage  area.) 

The  soils  vary  from  tolerably  stiff  to  light  sandy  clay  loams,  ami  include  also  the  creek  bottoms.  Tbo  most  important  are  the  red  bind 
(loam  soil),  occupying  about  one-half  to  three-fourths  of  the  region  described.  The  timber  consists  of  post,  white,  aud  red  oaks,  hickory, 
short-leaf  pine,  chestnut,  dogwood,  and  sassafras.  The  thickness  of  the  red  soil  is  from  1  to  4  inches,  the  subsoil  generally  heavier,  a  close 
clay,  often  plastic,  and  containing  occasionally  pebbles.  Beneath  tbe  subsoil  are  either  sand,  pebbles,  or  clay  at  varying  depths. 
Alternating  with  the  loam  soils  above  named,  and  forming  perhaps  a  fourth  of  the  urea  under  discussion,  are  the  sandy  lands  with 
timber  of  long-leaf  pine  and  black  jack  oaks,  and  occasionally  other  species  of  oak.  This  is  a  much  lighter  soil,  more  sandy,  and  of  gray 
to  brown  colors  and  from  1  to  3  inches  in  thickness,  having  a  close  yellow  clay,  more  or  less  mixed  with  sand  as  subsoil.  This  subsoil  also 
often  holds,  locally,  beds  of  pebbles,  and  rests  on  sand  and  gravel,  and  in  places  on  lime-rock,  at  varying  depths.  The  bottom  soils 
make  from  one-third  to  one-Hfth  of  tbe  area,  and  have  a  growth  of  oaks,  poplar,  beech,  gum,  iron-wood,  etc.  The  soils  are  light,  line 
loams,  often  heavy,  of  gray  brown  to  blackish  colors,  and  from  3  to  8  inches  in  thickness.  The  subsoil,  as  a  rule,  is  lighter  than  the  surface 
soil,  often  containing  pebbles,  and  is  underlaid  with  sand  and  gravel. 

Land  is  easily  tilled  in  wet  and  dry  seasons.  The  chief  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  oats,  aud  potatoes,  the  soil  being  well  suited  to  all. 
Two-thirds  of  the  tilled  land  is  planted  in  cotton,  which  grows  from  2  to  5  feet  high — the  higher  the  better  for  production.  Early  iu  tbe 
season,  when  fruitage  is  small  aud  weather  wet,  cotton  is  inclined  to  run  to  weed.  The  average  seed-cotton  product  per  acre  on  fresh 
laud  is  450  pounds  and  on  bottom  lands  SOO  to  1,000,  and  it  requires  l,fib'0  pounds  to  a  470- pound  bale.  The  cotton  is  usually  graded  as 
middling.  Alter  thirty  years'  continuous  culture  without  manure  the  yield  is  from  300  to  400  pounds  per  acre.  It  only  requires  1,545 
pounds  of  seed-cotton  from  old  laud  to  make  the  475-pound  bale.  After  twenty  years'  rest  for  turued  out  land  it  will  produce  an  average 
crop  for  2  or  3  years.     The  soil  on  slopes  is  often  much  damaged  by  washings,  and  no  efforts  have  been  made  to  prevent  the  injury. 

The  cotton  is  shipped,  either  by  river  or  railroad,  to  Montgomery,  Selma,  or  Mobile.  The  rate  from  lower  Autauga  to  Selma  is  $1, 
and  to  Mobile  $1  50  per  bale.     From  the  upper  part  of  the  county  the  shipments  are  mostly  to  Montgomery. 

ELMORE. 

Population:  17,502.— White,  8,747  ;  colored,  8,755. 

Area:  G30  square  miles. — Woodland,  a  1.  Gravelly  hills  with  long-leaf  pine,  230  square  miles  ;  crystalline  or 
metam Orphic  area,  400  square  miles.  Of  the  last-named  area  175  square  miles  are  also  covered  witli  the  drift,  making 
in  all  405  square  miles  in  which  the  drift  soils  prevail. 

Tilled  land  :  73,807  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  31,045  acres;  in  corn,  20,000  acres;  in  oats,  5,153  acres;  in 
wheat,  3,883  acres;  iu  rye,  27  acres;  in  rice,  5  acres;  in  tobacco,  12  acres;  iu  sugar-cane,  10  acres;  iu  sweet 
potatoes,  042  acres. 

Cotton  production :  9,771  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.31  bale,  441  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  147 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Elmore  county,  like  Lee,  embraces  the  line  of  junction  of  the  older  crystalline  rocks  and  the  Cretaceous,  but 
this  line  of  contact  is,  as  usual,  hidden  by  the  great  accumulation  of  pebbles  and  sand  of  the.  post-Tertiary.  None 
of  the  Cretaceous  beds,  so  far  as  yet  known,  come  to  the  surface,  and  the  soils  arc.  made  exclusively  ot  the 
disintegrated  metamorphic  rocks  or  the  overlying  drift  loams.  The  crystalline  rocks  form  the  county  north  of  the 
latitude  of  Wetumpka,  and  in  this  area  are  the  usual  red  and  gray  soils,  elsewhere  described  as  derived  from  the 
gneisses  which  constitute  (he  greater  part  of  the  strata. 

The  gray  lands  predominate  greatly  in  Elmore  county,  and  are  derived  either  from  gneisses  or  from  mica 
slates.  Their  fcrl  ility  varies  on  this  account  between  wide  limits,  as  the  mica  slates,  as  a  rule,  yield  soils  of  no  great 
value,  while  some  of  the  gneissic  soils  areof  excellent  quality.  From  8  or  10  miles  northof  Wetumpka,  southward, 
the  stratified  drift  covers  the  couutry  rocks  everywhere,  except  where  the  drainage  has  cut  through  to  the 
underlying  beds. 

The  (Joosa  river  above  Wetumpka  has  rather  narrow  bottom  lands,  but  beyond  the  bottoms,  and  of  2  or  3 
miles  width,  is  a  tolerably  level  plain  with  sandy  soil  (occasionally  mingled  with  pebbles),  timbered  with  long- 
leaf  pine.  West  of  the  river,  in  the  latitude  of  Wetumpka,  the  country  is  an  almost  perfectly  level  plain  to  I  he 
Autauga  county  line,  with  an  occasional  slight  elevation  caused  by  an  accumulation  ot  pebbles.  U|iou  this  plain 
the  soil  is  sandy  and  the  subsoil  rather  stiff,  so  that  the  roads  are  always  firm  aud  hard,  notwithstanding  the  sands. 
The  timber  is  one  unbroken  forest  of  long-leaf  pines,  with  very  little  shrubby  undergrowth,  but  with  a  great  variety 
of  herbaceous  plants,  with  showy  flowers,  especially  in  the  moist  depressions.  Along  the  Tallapoosa,  and  in  the 
fork  of  the  Coosa  and  Tallapoosa  rivers,  there  are  tracts  of  first-class  bottom  lands,  which  have  for  many  years 
yielded  heavy  crops  of  cotton. 

The  higher  bottom  lands  above  overflow  and  the  second  bottoms  of  the  two  rivers  that  form  the  southern  and 
western  boundaries  of  Eunore  are  perhaps  the  best  cotton  lands  in  the  county,  but  some  of  the  brown-loam  table- 
lands and  of  the  better  quality  of  gueissic  soils  yield  excellent  crops.  Shipments  are  made  either  by  rail  or  by 
boat  on  the  Coosa. 

127 


118  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

MONTGOMERY. 
(See  "Central  prairie  region".) 

TALLAPOOSA. 
(See  "  Metainorphic  region".) 

MACON. 

(See  "Central  prairie  region".) 

LEE. 
(See  " Metamof pliic  region".) 

RUSSELL. 
(See  "Central  prairie,  region".) 


THE    CENTRAL   PRAIRIE    REGION. 

This  division  comprises  the  whole  or  part  of  the  following  counties :  Pickens,*  Sumter,  Greene,  Hale,  Marengo, 
Perry,  Dallas,  Wilcox,*  Butler,*  Lowndes,  Autauga,*  Montgomery,  Crenshaw,*  Pike,*  Bullock,  Macon,  Russell, 
and  Barbour. 

PICKENS. 
(See  "Gravelly  pine-hills  region".) 

SUMTER. 

Population:  28,728.— White,  0,451;  colored,  22,277. 

Area  :  1,000  square  miles. — Woodland,  all  except  a  few  isolated  patches  of  open  prairie,  the  extent  of  which 
cannot  be  given  with  accuracy,  but  is  about  35  to  40  square  miles;  central  prairie  region,  575  square  miles;  post- 
oak  ilatwoods,  175  square  miles;  oak  and  hickory  uplands  with  long-leaf  pine,  250  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  172, LOO  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  80,002  acres;  in  corn,  51,402  acres;  in  oats,  2,700  acres; 
in  wheat,  24  acres;  in  rye,  102  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  42  acres;  in  tobacco,  13  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  1,050  acres. 

Cotton  production :  22,211  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.28  bale,  309  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  133 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

A  line  running  northwest  and  southeast  through  Livingston  would  mark  approximately  the  limit  of  the  prairies 
which  form  the  upper  part  of  Sumter  county  down  to  that  line.  This  part  of  the  county  has  an  average  elevation 
of  about  150  feet  above  tide,  and  is  underlaid  throughout  with  the  rotten  limestone  of  the  Cretaceous  formation. 
This  material  is  directly  concerned  in  the  formation  of  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  soils,  which  are  in  some 
cases  little  more  than  the  disintegrated  limestone  mixed  with  organic  matter.  Where  this  rock  forms  the  surface 
the  country  is  gently  undulating,  and  the  differences  in  level  are  very  slight.  Interspersed,  however,  throughout 
this  whole  oanebrake  region  are  ridges  and  hills  capped  with  sand  and  pebbles  of  the  stratified  drift  formation.  These 
ridges  are  occasionally  elevated  150  feet  and  more  above  the  surrounding  country  and  25(1  feet  above  the.  river. 
Their  distribution,  structure,  and  other  circumstauces  point  to  the  conclusion  that  they  are  the  remnants  of  a  once 
universal  covering  of  drift.  Where  this  formation  is  at  the  surface  the  soils  are  sandy  loams  of  the  usual  drill  type. 
These  loams,  in  mingling  with  the  disintegrated  limestone,  give  rise  to  a  class  of  soils  known  as  post-oak  or  prairie 
soils.  As  will  be  seen  in  the  abstract  of  Dr.  Webb's  report,  there  are  all  gradations  between  the  sandy  loams 
and  the  black  prairie  soils.  The  open  or  bald  prairie  spots  form  only  a  small  percentage  of  the  whole  area  formed 
by  the  Cretaceous  limestone  (less  than  one-tenth). 

Southwest  of  the  line  above  alluded  to,  and  occupying  a  belt  varying  in  width  from  5  to  8  miles,  are  the  so-called 
ilatwoods  or  post-oak  fiatwoods.  This  division  shares  with  the  prairies  their  gently  undulating  surface  and 
elevation  above  tide.  It  rests,  however,  upon  a  bluish,  tenacious  clay  of  the  lowest  Tertiary  formation.  Like  the 
prairies,  this  belt  is  covered  in  spots  with  the  sands  and  other  material  of  the  drift,  and  the  varieties  of  soils  thus 
produced  by  intermixture  are  quite  numerous.  Beyond  the  fiatwoods,  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  county,  the 
sandy  and  clayey  strata  of  the  lignitic  group  of  the  Tertiary  ai'e.  as  a  rule,  hidden  from  view  by  the  overlying 
beds  of  sand  and  pebbles  and  red  loam  of  a  later  formation.  This  portion  of  the  county  presents  the  usual 
characters  of  the  drift  regions  so  often  previously  described.  The  high,  level  tablelands  which  occupy  the  main  water- 
sheds have  a  sandy-loam  soil  and  red-loaw  subsoil  resting  upon  sand  and  pebbles,  and  these  in  turn  overlie  the 
laminated  clays  and  other  beds  of  the  lignitic  group.  Sometimes  the  surface  is  made  up  of  dee])  beds  of  sand,  as 
is  the  case  near  Gaston.  The  growth  upon  these  sandy  tracts  consists  mostly  of  long-leaf  pine  and  black-jack  oak. 
Beds  of  lignite  are  exposed  in  many  places  throughout  this  section,  and  one  of  these,  in  a  cut  along  the  Alabama 
Great  Southern  railroad,  has  been  on  tire  for  many  years.     As  yet  this  lignite  has  not  been  profitably  used  as  a  fuel. 

The  agricultural  relations  of  Sumter  county  are  similar  to  the  adjoining  counties  of  Mississippi  and  Alabama, 
which  are  situated  in  the  same  belt,  which  is  pre-eminently  the  cotton  belt  of  the  state.     While  the  soils  of  this  belt 
are,  perhaps,  in  the  elements  of  plant-food,  not  much  superior  to  those  of  other  divisions,  they  are  rendered  more 
thrifty  by  the  usually  notably  large  percentage,  of  lime. 
128 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  119 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  REPORT  OF  DR.  R.  D.  WEBB,  OF  LIVINGSTON. 

(This  report  refers  to  tho  bottom  lands  of  Sncarnotchio  rirer,  a  tributary  of  the  Tombigbee,  and  to  the  prairies  and  uplands  drained  by  the  same.) 

Tho  three  soils  described  are:  the  prairies  or  black  lauds,  the  upland  and  alluvial  (creek  bottom)  sandy  soils,  and  lastly  the  post- 
oak  flatwoods. 

Tho  basis  of  the  first  is  the  Cretaceous  limestone,  that  of  the  last  a  dense,  firm,  blackish-blue  clay,  aud  that  of  the  sandy  uplands 
the  drift  or  orange  sand  overlying  the  two  former.  The  region  about  Livingston  is  a  spotted  one,  having,  in  addition  to  the  three  primary 
soils  above  mentioned,  quite  a  variety  of  mixed  soils,  such  as  sandy  ilatwoods,  prairie  flatwoods,  sandy  prairie,  prairie  loam,  etc.  There 
is  very  little  bottom  land  on  tho  Tombigbee  in  this  section. 

The  black  prairie  soil  forms  two-thirds  of  the  lauds  in  township  19,  ranges  1,  2, 3,  and 4  west,  and  extends  northwestward  to  Mississippi, 
and  iu  the  other  direction,  through  Marengo,  Greene,  Hale,  Perry,  Dallas,  and  Montgomery,  to  Macon  county.  The  timber  is  a  mixture  of 
post,  red,  aud  white  oaks,  hickory,  ash,  walnut,  and  cedar,  The  soil  is  black,  putty-like  prairie,  with  no  subsoil  properly  speaking,  as 
the  soil  rests  directly  upon  the  underlying  limestone,  from  which  it  has  been  derived.  Its  thickness  is  quite  variable  (from  3  to  5  feet, 
sometimes  10  to  12).     This  soil  is  easily  tilled  when  dry,  but  difficult  when  wet. 

The  sandy  uplands  make  up  one-sixth  of  the  region  in  question,  and  are  widely  distributed.  The  prevailing  timber  is  chestnut, 
black-jack,  red,  and  white  oaks,  hickory,  black  and  sweet  gums,  long-leaf  pine,  and  occasionally  poplar.  The  soil  is  a  sandy  loam  of 
brown  to  yellowish  colors,  with  au  average  thickness  of  1  foot  to  the  subsoil,  which  is  a  red-clay  loam,  containing  occasionally  rounded 
pebbles  of  quartz. 

The  post-oak  flatwoods  form  one-sixth  of  the  region  described,  aud  extend  northwestward  to  Mississippi  and  southeastward  nearly 
to  the  Alabama  river,  in  upper  Wilcox  county.  The  uatural  growth  is  post  oak,  pine,  and  hickory.  The  soil  is  usually  a  putty-like  clay  of  a 
brown  color,  often  10  to  15  feet  thick  and  without  a  distinct  subsoil,  and  is  underlaid  below  the  depth  of  10  or  10  feet  with  a  stiff  black  clay 
impervious  to  water.     From  its  nature  this  soil  is  difficult  of  cultivation,  late,  cold,  and  badly  drained. 

Of  these  soils  the  prairies  are  about  equally  well  adapted  to  corn  and  cotton,  the  open  prairies  perhaps  being  best  for  corn.  The  other 
two  soils  are  best  suited  to  cotton,  and  this  is  almost  the  only  crop  ou  the  flatwoods.  On  the  prairies  the  stalk  attains  the  height  of  3 
to  7  feet,  being  most  productive  at  5  feet.  On  the  other  soils  the  best  height  is  about  3  feet.  Iu  wet  seasons  the  cotton  sometimes  runs  to 
weed,  and  the  only  remedy  used  (and  this  very  seldom)  is  topping  in  August,  The  seed-cotton  product  on  the  fresh  lands  (prairies)  is  from 
1,200  to  1,500 pounds;  on  the  uplands  aud  in  the  flatwoods,  GOO  to  1,000  pounds,  about  1,(560  pounds  being  needed  in  each  case  for  a  475- 
pound  bale.  The  staple  rates  from  low  middling  to  middling.  After  twenty-five  or  thirty  years'  cultivation  (without  manure)  the  yield 
is  brought  down  tu  300  or  400  pounds,  with  about  the  same  proportion  of  seed  to  lint,  and  with  very  little  difference  iu  the  quality  of 
the  staple,  which,  if  anythiug,  is  not  quite  so  good,  but  a  little  shorter.  The  most  troublesome  weeds  are  crab-grass,  purslane,  careless- 
weed,  and  coffee-weed.  One-third  of  the  uplands  formerly  in  cultivation  now  lie  turned  out.  Of  tho  other  lands  very  little  has  been 
abandoned,  and  of  the  flatwoods  more  is  in  cultivation  now  than  ever  before.  In  all  cases  where  again  taken  into  cultivation  the  laud 
produces  well.  In  the  prairies  and  uplands  there  is  some  injury  from  washings,  aud  the  valleys  suffer  to  a  slight  extent ;  in  the  flatwoods, 
on  account  of  their  level  nature,  there  is  no  injury  from  this  cause.  Hillside  ditching  has  been  practiced  to  a  limited  degree,  and  with 
good  success  where  properly  done. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made,  as  soon  aa  it  is  ready,  by  steamer  aud  by  rail,  to  Meridian  aud  Mobile.  The  freight  rates  to  Meridian 
are  $1,  and  to  Mobile  $1  25  per  bale. 

GREENE. 

Population :  21,931.— White,  3,705;  colored,  18,166. 

Area:  520  square  miles. — Woodland,  all  except  a  few  small  patches  of  open  prairie,  aggregating  perhaps  25 
square  miles;  prairie  region,  395  square  miles;  pebbly  hills,  with  long-leaf  pine,  125  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  119,420  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  03,043  acres;  in  corn,  31,826  acres ;  in  oats,  2,163  acres;  in 
wheat,  314  acres;  in  rye,  25  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  25  acres;  in  tobacco,  41  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  705  acres. 

Cotton  production :  15,811  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.25  bale,  357  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  119 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Greene  county  occupies  a  position  with  reference  to  the  geological  formations  similar  to  that  of  Perry  and  Hale. 
In  the  northern  part  is  the  belt  of  drift  of  which  mention  has  frequently  been  made,  aud  in  the  southern  the 
prairie  region  underlaid  with  the  rotten  limestone.  The  Warrior  river  makes  its  eastern  and  the  Tombigbee  its 
western  boundary.  The  highest  land  in  the  county  is  situated  in  the  northeastern  part,  within  the  drift  area, 
where  the  main  water-sheds  are  probably  some  350  or  400  feet  above  the  river-level.  The  average  elevation  of  the 
prairies  may  be  given  at  about  170  feet  above  tide,  and  the  line  between  the  drift  belt  and  the  prairies  runs* northwest 
and  southeast  through  or  near  Eutaw,  the  county-seat.  Northeast  of  this  line  the  country  is  broken  and  hilly; 
southwest  only  gently  undulating,  with  here  and  there  a  ridge  or  hill  capped  with  the  sands  of  the  drift,  the  relics 
of  a  covering  which  once  probably  was  spread  over  the  whole  prairie  region. 

The  bottom  lands  of  the  Warrior  river  as  far  as  Eutaw  are  about  1  mile  in  width,  and  are  good  farming  lands, 
but  are  liable  to  overflow.  From  this  bottom  land  there  is  a  rise  of  75  or  SO  feet  to  a  terrace  or  plain  (second  bottom 
or  hummock),  often  5  or  6  miles  wide,  with  brown-loam  soil  and  red  clayey-loam  subsoil,  and  from  this  there  is  an 
ascent  to  the  table-lands,  sometimes  rather  abrupt,  but  more  often  in  several  offsets.  The  soil  and  subsoil  of  the 
table-lands  do  not  differ  very  materially  from  those  of  the  terrace  below,  except  that  the  lower  plain  is  often  more 
sandy  than  the  table-laud.  Below  the  red  loam,  which  forms  the  subsoil  of  both,  are  beds  of  sand  and  pebbles.  The 
hills  which  border  the  table-lands  have  this  red  loam  ol'ten  at  the  surface,  and  the  underlying  pebbles  also  are 
frequently  exposed  by  the  removal  of  the  loam.  Red  clay  and  gravelly  hills  are  numerous  and  characteristic 
throughout  the  whole  length  of  this  drift  belt. 

The  prairie  region  in  Greene  county  has  the  features  which  have  been  described  somewhat  in  detail  under  Hale 
and  Sumter  counties.  In  the  lower  part  of  this  county,  in  what  is  known  as  the  "fork",  the  lands  are  very  much 
like  those  about  Livingston,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Tombigbee,  and  consist  of  calcareous  or  prairie  lands, 
alternating  with  sandy  ridges,  sometimes  capped  with  pebbles.  This  part  of  the  county  has  always  been  celebrated, 
especially  in  ante-bellum  days,  for  its  fine  cotton  plantations. 

129 
9  c  P— VOL.  II 


120  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

In  its  agricultural  features  Greerje  county  shows  two  widely  different  divisions:  the  upper,  with  its  brown-loam 
soils,  and  the  lower,  with  prairie  or  calcareous  soils,  the  greater  part  of  the  cotton  being  produced  upon  the  calcareous 
or  prairie  lauds.  No  report  has  been  received  concerning  the  prairie  lauds  of  Greene  county,  but  that  ou  similar 
lands  in  Hale  county  will  apply  equally  well  here. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE   REPORT   OF   THOMAS  J.   PATTON,    OF  KNOXV1LLE. 
(This  report  refers  to  the  country  drained  by  Siaie'  and  Buck  creeks,  tributaries  of  the  Warrior  river.) 

Tlireo  principal  soil  varieties  are  named,  viz :  sandy,  rolling  uplands  ;  sandy,  loamy  bottoms  of  Sims'  and  Buck  creeks,  and  the  dark 
sandy  loam  of  the  Warrior  river  bottom.  Of  these  the  sandy  uplands  are  most  important,  making  at  least  thrco-fourths  of  the  country 
about  Kuoxville.  The  timber  consists  of  pine,  oaks,  hickory,  ash,  and  gums.  The  soil  is  a  linn  sandy  loam,  dark  on  the  surface  and 
lighter  colored  underneath.  The  subsoil  is  generally  a  red  clay,  a  little  sandy,  and  almost  impervious  to  water,  underlaid  with  sand  and 
pebbles,  and  occasionally  a  thin  stratum  of  sand-rock  at  varying  depths.  The  bottom  soils  abovo  mentioned  are  not  particularly  described, 
as  there  is  but  little  difference  between  the  uplands  and  the  bottoms,  except  that  the  latter  are  somewhat  more  level  and  more  productive, 
especially  for  corn. 

The  land  is  easily  tilled  in  wet  and  dry  seasons.  The  chief  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  oats,  and  potatoes,  but  the  soil  seems  best  adapted 
to  cotton  and  potatoes.  More  land  is  planted  in  cotton  than  in  all  other  crops  combined.  The  average  height  of  growth  of  cotton  is  3. 
feet,  and  stimulating  mauure  promotes  fruiting  more  than  growth.  The  seed-cotton  product  per  aero  ou  fresh  land  is  700  pounds,  and  1,545 
pounds  aro  requisite  for  a  475-pound  bale.  This  cotton  rates  as  middliug.  The  product  per  acre  is  reduced  one-half  by  twenty  years' 
culture  without  manure.  From  such  worn  lauds  it  takes  1,600  pounds  to  the  bale,  and  the  staple  is  graded  low  middling.  Crab-grass 
is  very  troublesame  on  this  soil.  About  one-fourth  of  the  land  is  turned  out,  but  it  is  soon  covered  with  a  dense  growth  of  pines,  and 
if  allowed  to  rest,  say  20  years,  it  produces  well.  The  hillsides,  if  neglected,  aro  much  injured  by  washings,  but  tho  washings  of  the  top 
soil  from  the  slopes  is  a  benefit  to  tho  valleys. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  chiefly  in  January  and  February  by  steamer  to  Mobile.  The  usual  rate  of  freight  to  that  port  is  §1  50 
per  bale. 

HALE. 

Population:  26,553.— White,  4,903 ;  colored,  21,650. 

Area:  670  square  miles. — Woodland,  all  except  a  few  tracts  of  open  prairie;  prairie  region,  345  squaro  miles  ; 
gravelly  hills  with  pine,  325  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  140,072  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  09,995  acres;  iu  com,  43,254  acres;  in  oats,  3,071  acres; 
in  wheat,  1,437  acres;  in  rye,  56  acres;  in  rice,  16  acres;  in  tobacco,  16  acres;  iu  sweet  potatoes,  1,214  acres. 

Cotton  production :  18,093  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.26  bale,  372  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  124 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Hale  county,  in  its  topography,  geology,  and  other  natural  features,  bears  a  strong  resemblance  to  its  neighbor 
Perry  on  oue  side,  and  to  Greene  on  the  other.  Its  upper  half,  nearly  to  the  latitude  of  Greensboro',  the  county- 
seat,  is  formed  of  rolling  uplands,  which  are  so  characteristic  of  the  drift  belt  frequently  alluded  to.  The  lower 
half,  on  the  contrary,  is  chiefly  prairie  land,  very  slightly  undulating,  and  very  little  elevated,  as  a  rule,  above 
the  water-courses.  In  tho  uplands  the  red  loam,  which  overlies  to  a  depth  of  15  or  20  feet  the  sands  and  pebbles 
of  the  drift,  forms  all  the  most  important  soils  and  subsoils. 

The  table-lands,  and  the  better  class  of  uplands  generally,  have  a  brown-loam  soil  with  red  clay  subsoil.  This 
brown  loam  passes,  on  the  oue  hand,  into  a  light  sandy  soil,  with  long-leaf  pine  as  the  prevailing  growth,  and  on  tho 
other  into  a.  stiff  reddish  soil  with  a  considerable  percentage  of  clay.  The  rocks  which  may  underlie  this  drift 
deposit  are  hidden  from  view  north  of  Greensboro'.  Iu  the  vicinity  of  Havana,  iu  the  upper  part  of  the  county, 
the  pebble  and  other  materials  of  the  drift  are,  in  places,  cemented  together  by  byd'rated  oxide  of  iron  into  a  rock  of 
considerable  hardness.  At  Havana  this  rock  forms  cliffs  along  the  sides  of  a  deep  ravine,  and  fragments  of  it,  often 
as  large  as  a  good-sized  cabin,  have  been  broken  off  and  have  rolled  down  the  glen.  Under  the  overhanging  rocks 
on  the  sides  of  the  ravine  are  growing  some  of  the  rare  ferns  of  the  state. (a) 

The  bottom  lauds  of  the  Warrior  river  in  Hale  county  are  similar  to  those  described  at  some  length  under 
Tuscaloosa  county,  and  are  generally  well  suited  to  corn,  but  less  so  to  cotton.  The  average  width  of  these  bottom 
lands  on  both  sides  of  the  river  is  about  1  mile.  Above  the  bottom  lands  is  a  level  plain  or  terrace  from  75  to  100  feet 
above  the  bottom  proper,  and  in  places  some  5  miles  wide.  The  soil  upon  this  terrace  or  second  bottom  is  a  sandy 
loam,  which  is  extensively  cultivated,  and  which  produces  excellent  crops,  especially  of  cotton.  From  this  terrace 
there  is  a  gradual  or  abrupt  ascent  to  the  table-lands,  which  have  a  brown-loam  soil  and  a  red-clay  loam  subsoil, 
and  vary  from  300  to  400  feet  above  the  river-level.  Beneath  the  red-loam  subsoil  are  beds  of  sand  and  gravel, 
often  of  great  thickness.  In  ascending  the  hills  bordering  the  table-lauds  these  pebbles  are  passed  over  along 
most  of  the  roads  a  short  distance  (15  or  20  feet)  below  the  summits.  The  red-clay  subsoil  is  found  also  beneath 
tho  soil  of  the  lower  terrace  above  spoken  of,  and  this  also  overlies  beds  of  pebbles  and  sand,  as  is  the  case  with 
the  table-lauds.  This  appears  to  show  that  the  face  of  the  country  had  already  suffered  denudation  prior  to  the 
deposition  of  the  upper  portion  at  least,  of  the  drifted  materials,  and  that  the  more  important  of  the  river  valleys 
had  already  been  marked  out.  The  soils  of  this  terrace  are,  as  a  rule,  rather  more  sandy  than  those  of  the  higher 
table-lands,  though  otherwise  the  two  have  many  points  of  resemblance. 

The  prairie  lauds  of  the  southern  part  of  the  county  are  of  the  usual  character,  and  are  well  described  iu  the 
abstract  of  Mr.  Harris'  report  given  on  page  121. 

Some  of  the  best  of  the  canebrake  lands  of  the  state  are  situated  in  Hale  county,  and  the  uplands  and  river 
lands  of  the  northern  part  of  the  county  are  among  the  best  of  their  class. 

a  Among  others  are  Camptonorus  rhizophijllus,  Link ;  Trichomanes  radicans,  Swartz  ;  and  Asplenium  ebenoides,  Swartz.     The  last-named 
exceedingly  rare  fern  was  discovered  in  this  locality  by  Miss  Julia  Tutwiler,  the  only  other  known  locality  In  the  United  States  being  tho 
baDks  of  the  Schuylkill  river. 
130 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  121 

ABSTRACT  OF   THE  REPORTS  OF   PROFESSOR  HENRY  TTJTWILER,  OF  GREENE   SPRINGS,  AND   NORFLEET  HARRIS,, 

OF  LANEVILLE. 

(These  reports  refer  to  the  table-lands  and  bottom  lands  along  Five-Mile  creek,  in  the  upper  part  of  the  county,  and  to  the  prairie  and  other  lands  lying  adjacent  to 
Big  Prairie  and  Dry  creeks,  iu  the  southern  part.  Professor  Tutwiler's  report  describes  the  upland  soils,  which  are  chiefly  sandy  and  red-clay  soils,  thi> 
former  being  best  adapted  to  cotton,  the  latter  to  corn.  Reference  is  made  also  to  the  dark  sandy  soil,  of  Five-Mile  creek  and  the  Warrior  liver.  The  report 
of  Mr.  Harris  describes  the  most  important  soils  of  the  canebrake  region.  These  are  the  first  and  second  bottom  lands  of  Big  Prairie  and  Dry  creeks,  and  low 
slough  lands,  and,  iu  addition,  the  rolling- prairie  lands  of  black  and  brown  colors.) 

The  most  important  are  the  sandy  and  the  red-clay  soils,  which  make  two-thirds  of  the  land  about  Havana,  the  first  a  light-colored 
sandy  loam,  the  latter  a  rather  heavy  clay  loam  of  a  brown  to  red  color.  The  natural  growth  upon  these  consists  of  oaks,  hickory,  gum, 
short-leaf  pine,  poplar,  etc.  The  subsoil  is  a  red- clay  loam,  which,  on  cultivation,  becomes  like  the  surface  soil.  This  rests  upon  beds 
of  sand  and  gravel,  and  in  certain  localities  upon  the  conglomerate  above  alluded  to.  Tillage  is  rather  difficult  in  wet  seasons,  and  the 
red  soil  also  is  difficult  of  tillage  in  dry  weather,  as  it  is  disposed  to  crack.     They  are  both  naturally  well  drained. 

The  red  lands  are  somewhat  difficult  to  till  in  dry  seasons,  the  chief  crops  being  cotton,  corn,  oats,  and  potatoes. .  The  saudy  laud  i» 
best  suited  to  cotton;  the  red  land  to  corn.  About  one-half  of  the  land  is  planted  in  eottou,  and  the  average  height  of  growth  ia  3  to  4 
feet.  Too  much  rain  in  July  causes  cotton  to  run  to  weed  ;  but  this  may  be  largely  prevented  by  topping  and  shallow  plowing.  The 
6eed-cotton  product  per  acre  on  fresh  land  is  from  800  to  900  pounds,  aud  it  requires  1,545  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  a  475-pound  bale. 
After  ten  years'  continuous  culture  without  manure  the  yield  per  acre  is  400  pounds,  and  it  takes  1,060  pounds  of  this  cotton  to  the  bale. 
Crab-grass,  rag-weed,  and  bramble  are  nuisances  to  the  farmer.  Nearly  all  the  turned-out  land  has  been  reclaimed  within  the  last  few- 
years,  and  yields  well  for  a  short  time.     The  hillsides  are  injured,  but  the  valleys  are  generally  benefited  by  washings. 

A  wet  May  is  very  injurious, ^is  the  laud  cannot  be  worked  and  the  crab-grass  gets  the  start  of  the  farmers.  Even  more  disastrous 
is  excess  of  rain  in  July  and  August,  when  the  cotton  is  fruiting  most.  When  these  months  are  hot  and  dry,  immense  crops  of  cotton  are- 
always  made. 

The  three  chief  varieties  of  soil  are  as  follows : 

Rolling  prairie  lands  of  black  or  brown  colors,  which  make  about  50  per  cent,  of  the  area  about  Faunsdale.  This  soil,  intermixed; 
with  those  described  below,  make  up  the  canebrake  country  for  many  miles  in  each  direction.  The  prevailing  timber  consists  of  the 
various  species  of  oaks,  ash,  hickory,  sweet  and  sour  gums,  etc.  The  soil  is  a  dark  calcareous  clayey  loam  15  to  18  inches  in  thickness,, 
resting  upon  a  subsoil  of  a  grayish  or  neutral-tinted  clay,  putty-like,  but  apparently  quite  fertile,  since,  when  thrown  up  out  of  ditches, 
it  produces  a  fine  crop  the  first  year.  This  clay  is  almost  impervious,  containing  no  pebbles  or  concretions,  and  is  underlaid  with  a  blue 
lime  rock  at  20  feet  depth  (rotten  limestone).  In  wet  weather  cultivation  is  difficult,  but  iu  dry  weather  easy,  and  grass  and  weeds  are 
then  easily  killed.     This  soil  may  be  classed  as  early  and  warm  when  well-drained. 

The  next  soil  in  importance  is  that  of  the  rolling  prairie  lands  of  yellowish  or  red  colors,  commonly  called  post-oak  prairies.  These 
make  up  perhaps  35  per  cent,  of  the  country  about  FaunBdale,  and  have  about  the  same  distribution  as  the  black  prairies  before 
mentioned.  The  timber1  is  much  the  same  as  that  upon  the  other  land,  with  the  exception  that  the  post  oak  is  the  most  characteristic- 
tree.  The  soil  is  a  clay  loam,  stiff  and  somewhat  putty-like  when  wet,  of  buff,  yellow,  brown,  and  mahogany  colors,  and  more  particularly 
ehocolate-colored  in  places.  Its  thickness  is  from  18  to  20  inches  before  change  of  color  to  that  of  the  subsoil,  which  is  heavier  than 
the  surface  soil,  being  a  Btiff  grayish  clay,  yellowish  in  places,  and  almost  impervious.  This  subsoil  contains  no  pebbles  or  concretions, 
and  is  underlaid  with  a  blue  lime  rock,  like  the  black  soils  (rotten  limcstono),  at  a  depth  of  20  feet.  In  wet  weather  this  soil  is  difficult 
to  cultivate,  as  it  is  very  sticky;  in  dry  seasons,  however,  it  crumbles  easily,  and  is  readily  tilled,  being  early  aud  warm  and  usually 
well-drained,  as  the  surface  is  quite  rolling. 

Lastly,  a  loose  walnut  prairie  land  makes  up  a  small  proportion  of  the  country  about  Faunsdale.  The  growth  is  nearly  the  same  as 
that  upon  the  other  lands  described,  with  some  cedar  and  black  walnut  in  addition.  This  soil  is  a  fine,  loose  silt  or  prairie  of  whitish  to 
gray  color,  often  3  feet  in  thickness,  with  a  subsoil  of  a  white,  heavy,  putty-like  clay,  almost  impervious  to  water.  It  contains  occasionally 
a  few  rounded  pebbles,  and  is  underlaid,  like  the  others,  with  the  rotten  limestone.  These  lauds  are  somewhat  difficult  to  cultivate  in  wet 
seasons,  but  are  the  easiest  of  all  in  dry  weather,  and  are  the  best  corn  lands.  The  soil  is  late,  and  is  not  so  well  drained  as  the  others.  All 
these  soils  are  planted  in  corn,  cotton,  oats,  etc.,  the  first  two  beiug  best  suited  to  eottou,  the  latter  to  corn.  The  post-oak  land  is  perhaps  the 
best  for  cotton,  and,  where  a  farmer  has  several  varieties  of  soil  on  his  place,  two-thirds  of  the  post -oak  land  is  put  in  cotton.  Two-thirds 
of  the  open  ground  of  the  black  prairies  also  are  put  in  cotton,  but  very  little  of  the  walnut  lauds  is  ever  so  planted.  From  3£  to  4  feet 
is  the  most  productive  height  of  stalk.  In  wet  seasons  there  is  a  tendency  to  run  to  weed,  which  is  restrained  by  topping,  or,  as  some 
prefer,  by  x>lowing  close,  so  as  to  cut  the  side  roots. 

The  average  yield  of  seed-cotton  on  the  fresh  land  is  1,200  pounds,  from  1,485  to  1,660  pounds  being  needed  for  a  475-pound  bale,  the 
staple  rating  as  good  middling.  Thirty  to  thirty-five  years'  cultivation  without  manure  will  bringdown  the  yield  to  800  or  900  pounds,  and 
with  very  little  difference  either  in  the  quality  of  the  staple  or  in  the  proportion  of  lint  to  seed.  Most  of  the  land  in  the  canebrake  country 
has  long  been  under  cultivation,  and  the  average  yield  is  as  above  given.  The  post-oak  land  is  thought  to  respond  best  to  fertilizers. 
Crab-grass  and  morniug-glories  are  the  most  troublesome  weeds  on  the  black  lands,  crab-grass  and  pepper-weed  on  the  post-oak  lauds7. 
and  cockleburs,  morning-glories,  and  water-grass  on  the  walnut  lands.  At  present  all  of  the  cleared  land  is  in  cultivation  ;  formerly  a 
large  proportion  (10  per  cent.)  was  turned  out.  When  reclaimed  it  takes  usually  about  two  years  to  conquer  the  weeds  and  grass,  and  tin 
lauds  do  not,  therefore,  produce  as  well  the  first  year,  but  after  that,  for  several  years,  the  yield  is  nearly  as  great  as  on  fresh  land.  AIL 
these  lands,  where  at  all  rolling,  wash  badly  on  the  slopes,  and  the  damage  from  this  cause  would  be  very  serious  but  for  the  fact  that 
this  is  prevented  at  once  by  hillside  ditching,  and  in  a  few  instances  by  horizontalizing  also.  The  valleys  are  not  injured,  but,  on  the- 
contrary,  are  much  improved  by  the  washings  from  the  higher  levels. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  from  Octobor  to  January  (chiefly  in  November  and  December)  to  Mobile  and  Selma,  both  by  rail  and 
by  steamer.  The  freight  charges  to  Mobile  by  boat  are  from  .§1  25  to  $1  75  per  bale;  by  railroad  the  charge  is  higher — from  $1  75  to 
$2  85.    These  charges  vary  also  with  the  locality. 

MABENGO.  * 

Population:  30,890.— White,  7,277  ;  colored,  23,613. 

Area:  060  square  miles. — Woodland,  all  except  a  few  square  miles  of  open  prairie;  prairie  region,  4S0  square 
miles;  oak  and  hickory  uplands  with  long-leaf  pine,  3S0  square  miles;  post-oak  flat-woods,  100  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  169,007  acres.— Area  planted  in  cotton,  80,790  acres;  iu  corn,  43,876  acres;  in  oats,  6,574  acres; 
in  sugar-cane,  43  acres;  in  tobacco,  43  acres;  in  rice,  26  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  1,138  acres. 

131 


122  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

Cotton  production:  23,481  bales;  average  cottou  product  per  acre,  0.29  bale,  -111  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  138 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  northern  half  of  Marengo  county  is  formed  by  the  rocks  of  the  Cretaceous  formation,  and  the  southern  by 
those  of  the  Tertiary,  giving  thus  a  considerable  variety  of  geological  features,  while  the  soils  overlying  and  more, 
or  less  modified  by  these  different  formations  exhibit  corresponding  varieties. 

The  Cretaceous  formation  is  represented  by  the  beds  of  the  rotten-limestone  group,  and  the  physical  features 
and  soils  peculiar  to  this  group  are  sufficiently  characteristic.  The  surface  configuration  of  this  territory  is  nearly 
level,  or  at  most  gently  undulating,  especially  where  the  rotten  limestone  forms  or  is  very  near  the  surface,  broken 
by  irregularly  distributed  ridges,  capped  by  the  sands  and  pebbles  of  the  stratified  drift.  The  soils  vary  from  the 
stiff  calcareous  clayey  or  prairie  soils  of  the  rotten  limestone  proper  through  all  gradations  to  the  light  sandy  loams 
of  the  superficial  beds.  Where  the  rotten  limestone  itself  forms  the  soil,  it  is  a  heavy  clay  soil,  usually  of  a  dark 
tint,  with  a  subsoil  of  a  yellowish-green  color,  and  likewise  of  heavy  nature.  The  color  of  the  soil  varies  from  gray 
to  black,  according  to  the  amount  of  vegetable  matter  present.  Where  the  rock  itself  is  sufficiently  near  the  surface 
the  soil  is  usually  destitute  of  trees,  and  constitutes  the  bald  prairies,  which  are  irregularly  scattered  throughout 
the  territory. 

A  second  variety  of  soil  is  known  as  the  post-oak  soil.  This  is  a  heavy  sandy  clay  of  reddish  or  yellowish 
■colors,  usually  timbered  with  a  prevailing  growth  of  post  oaks  and  short-leaf  pine.  Analyses  of  these  several 
varieties  of  soil  are  given  under  the  regional  description.  The  sandy  ridges  previously  mentioned  are  found 
throughout  this  region,  but  are  more  abundant  and  continuous  for  greater  distances  near  the  southern  border  of  the 
limestone  area.  The  town  of  Dayton  is  situated  upon  such  a  ridge,  and  as  it  is  approached  from  the  north  the 
surface  becomes  more  broken,  and  the  black  or  dark-colored  heavy  prairie  soils  of  the  rptten  limestone  give  way  to  a 
reddish,  somewhat  sandy  soil,  with  a  growth  of  post  oaks  and  short-leaf  pines,  beyond  a  narrow  strip  of  which  come 
the  sandy  soils  of  the  ridge  proper. 

Between  Dayton  and  Linden  is  a  belt  of  hilly  land,  in  which  a  sticky,  yellowish  clayey  soil  (hill  prairie)  is  quite 
■common,  and  which  has  a  characteristic  growth  of  short-leaf  pine,  hickory,  and  red  and  post  oaks.  The  underlying 
rock,  wherever  seen  in  this  strip  between  Dayton  and  Linden,  is  a  hard  yellowish  limestone  containing  Cretaceous 
fossils.     The  whole  aspectof  the  country,  its  soils,  timber,  etc.,  resembles  the  Chunnenugga  ridge  at  Union  Springs. 

South  of  the  latitude  of  Linden,  and  extending  east  and  west  across  the  county,  is  a  belt  5  or  fi  miles  wide  of 
a  low,  gently  undulating  country  called  flatwoods  or  post-oak  flatwoods.  These  flatwoods  rest  upon  a  heavy  grayish 
clay  filled  with  reddish  spots,  which  in  wet  weather  becomes  so  tough  and  intractable  that  the  roads  through  it 
-are  almost  impassable.  By  reason  of  their  unfavorable  physical  composition  these  lands  are  comparatively 
little  cleared  and  cultivated,  though  the  analysis  of  a  specimen  of  the  clay  from  near  Linden,  given  on  page  52, 
will  show  that  it  is  by  no  means  deficient  in  the  elements  of  a  good  soil,  except  in  the  proportion  of  lime,  which  is 
small.  Southward  still  of  this,  to  the  Clarke  county-line,  the  lower  beds  of  the  Tertiary  formation,  consisting  of 
dark-colored  clays  and  sands  (with  which  are  iuterstratified  beds  of  lignite  and  of  shell  marl  containing  greensand), 
underlie  the  superficial  beds  of  sand  and  loam  which  in  general  constitute  the  soil  and  subsoil  throughout  this  entire 
section.  The  lignite  beds  are  occasionally  of  exceptional  thickness,  one  on  Landrum's  creek  being  between  G  and 
7  feet.  Of  great  importance  agriculturally  are  the  beds  of  shell  marl  spoken  of.  One  of  these  is  exposed  at  the 
bluff  of  Nanafalia  landing,  and  makes  its  appearance  at  the  surface  at  several  points  eastward,  where  its  intermixture 
•with  the  surface,  loam  has  given  rise  to  a  kind  of  prairie  or  limy  soil  of  great  fertility.  Beaver  creek  flows  along 
the  foot  of  the  hills  running  parallel  with  these  marl  outcrops,  and  hence  the  very  superior  quality  of  the  lowlands 
which  border  it. 

Between  the  Beaver  creek  lands  and  the  post-oak  flatwoods  rise  some  ef  the  highest  hills  of  the  county,  the 
Bembert  hills,  with  an  elevation  of  350  feet  or  more  above  the  river-level.  These  hills  are  covered  with  the  red- 
clay  loam  and  have  a  fine  oak  growth.  Where  the  Linden  road  crosses  them  there  stand  the  handsome  residences 
of  the  planters,  who  cultivate  the  river  lands  which  they  overlook. 

In  Marengo  county  and  the.  northern  part  of  Choctaw  the  river  lauds  are.  usually  from  one-half  to  three-quarters 
of  a  mile  wide,  of  river  front  or  high  laud,  with  a  fertile  sandy-loam  soil,  all  in  cultivation  and  occupied  by  some  fine 
plantations.  In  the  bends  there  is  often  a  much  greater  width  of  this  front-land,  and  at  the  Turner  place,  above, 
Tuscahoma,  it  is  2  or  3  miles.  Back  of  this  high  laud  is  the  swamp,  1  to  3  miles  wide,  heavily  timbered  with  swec-t 
gum,  holly,  swamp  chestnut,  oak,  elm,  scaly-bark  hickory,  and  white  oak.  The  swamp  is  entirely  uncultivated  and 
traversed  with  sloughs,  and  the  roads  across  it,  even  in  dry  weather,  are  far  from  good,  and  in  the  winter  are  almost 
impassable.  This  seems  to  be  the  general  nature  of  the  river  lands  throughout  the  region  in  which  the  lowest 
Tertiary  or  liguitic  strata  make  theVountry. 

The  brown  loam  uplands  of  the  southern  half  of  the  county  south  of  the  flatwoods  are  in  all  respects  similar 
to  those  of  other  parts  of  the  state,  and  require  no  special  mention. 

Agriculturally,  Marengo  is  similar  to  the  adjacent  parts  of  Dallas,  Perry,  Hale,  Sumter,  and  Greene  counties, 
in  the  prairie  region,  and  Wilcox  and  others,  in  the  oak  and  hickory  uplands.  The  report  of  Bev.  Mr.  Stickney 
gives  all  the  needed  details  concerning  cotton  culture  in  the  principal  cotton  producing  part  of  the  county,  viz,  the 
■canebrake. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE   EEPOET   OF   REV.   W.   A.   STICKNEY,  OF  FAVNSDALE. 

<Xhe  uplands  described  are  the  rolling  and  fiat  lands,  with  partly  a  loose  black-prairie  noil,  partly  a  mulatto  or  post-oak  soil,  and  partly  a  light  ashy-colored  cedar. 

glade  soil,  all  lying  within  the  drainage  area  of  Cottonwood  and  Powell's  creeks.) 

The  bottoms  are  late,  and  hence  the  young  plant  is  ravaged  in  its  very  prime  by  the  caterpillar,  and  these  pests  have  not  for  years 
permitted  the  climate  to  discriminate  between  the  uplands  and  the  bottoms.  This  region  is  known  a-9  the  canebrake.  The  creeks  are 
only  drains  or  artificial  canals,  perfectly  dry  in  summer,  except  in  holes.  The  higher  lands  yield  better  in  wot  years;  the  flat  or  bottoms 
best  in  dry  years.  The  three  kinds  of  soil  most  prevalent  are  :  First,  the  loose  black- prairie  soils,  level  and  rolling,  much  of  it  lying  on  the 
larger  drains  and  their  tributary  ditches,  and  in  the  main  protected  from  injurious  overflow  ;  second,  the  mulatto  or  post-oak  stiff  soil,  mostly 
upland ;  and  third,  light-gray  cedar  hummock  soil,  also  upland.  Of  these  the  most  important  is  the  black-prairie  soil,  which,  however, 
constitutes  less  than  half  the  lands  of  the  region  under  discussion  ;  but  all  these  soil  varieties  are  so  intimately  associated  with  each  other 
that  in  a  few  feet  square  all  may  be  seen.  Occasionally  a  large  unbroken  body  of  the  prairie  soil  will  be  met  with.  The  principal  trees 
132 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  123 

are  the  various  oaks,  scaly  bark,  ash,  haokuerry,  cedar,  sweet  gum,  red,  -white,  and  slippery  elm,  walnut,  hickory,  poplar,  cottonwood, 
papaw,  buckeye,  persimmon,  dogwood,  cane,  and  dwarf  palmetto.  The.  physical  characters  of  the  soils  of  course  change  with  the  soil 
variety,  and  these  are  the  loose,  limy  prairie  soils,  the  stiff,  sticky  clayey  soils,  etc.,  of  mulatto,  yellow,  blackish,  and  black  colors, 
alternating  or  mixed.  The  average  thickness  maybe  from  5  or  6  feet  to  as  many  inches,  the  white,  rotten  limestone  very  commonly 
outcropping  on  the  uplands.  The  subsoil  is  the  same  as  the  soil,  the  cistern  lime-rock  underlying  all  the  cancbrake  soil.  In  exceptional 
spots  the  soil  contains  white  rounded  pebbles  of  quartz.  The  tillage  is  not  difficult  if  the  soil  is  stirred  at  Bhort  and  opportune  iutervals- 
by  the  plow.     When  well-drained  the  soil  is  early ;  when  ill-drained  the  bottoms  are  unproductive. 

The  chief  crops  in  the  cancbrake  are  cotton  and  corn,  and  the  soil  seems  to  be  about  equally  well  adapted  to  each  ;  if  any  difference, 
it  is  in  favor  of  corn.  Two-thirds  of  the  cultivated  area  is,  however,  in  cotton.  The  stalk  varies  in  height  from  2  to  4  or  5  feet,  the- 
latter  height  being  best  if  the  plant  is  not  molested  by  the  worm.  When  well  worked  and  when  overtaken  by  a  rainy  season  the  plant 
is  inclined  to  run  to  weed,  for  which  no  remedy  is  known.  Dirt  thrown  too  high  upon  the  stem  (a)  is  regarded  as  an  obstacle  to  boiling: 
and  very  injurious  when  the  dirt  is  hot.  In  favorable  seasons  the  flesh  laud  will  produce  from  1,200  to  1,600  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  the 
acre  (barring  the  caterpillar).     The  average  for  a  475-pound  bale  is  1,600  pounds.     The  staple  is  of  the  best  quality. 

As  to  the  yield  after  long  cultivation  it  is  difficult  to  speak  with  precision.  In  one  of  the  favorable  years  some  of  our  land,  worked 
consecutively  for  40  to  50  years  without  manure,  will  yield  from  1,200  to  1,600  pounds  per  acre,  while  the  thiu  uplands  will  hardly  turn  out 
300  to  400  pounds  of  seed-cotton.  The  staple  from  old  land  is  usually  thought  to  be  shorter  than  that  from  the  fresh  laud.  The  most, 
troublesome  weeds  are  the  morning-glory,  crab  and  other  grasses,  and  hog-weeds.  Chicken  corn  is  now  overrunning  us  from  bad  culture. 
From  10  to  20  per  cent,  of  the  uplands  have  been  turned  out  in  some  places,  and  the  amount  is  greatly  on  the  increase.  When  these  lands, 
are  again  taken  into  cultivation  they  produce  well  if  they  have  been  fertilized  in  the  meauwhile  by  common  pea-vines  or  clover ;  otherwise, 
poorly.  The  soil  wasbes  badly  on  slopes,  and  the  injury  is  very  serious  aud  constantly  on  the  increase  because  of  negligence.  Where  the- 
ditches  are  kept  cleaned  out  the  damage  to  the  valleys  is  very  slight.  Since  the  war  very  little  has  been  done  toward  checking  this  evil. 
Before  the  war  the  system  of  horizontalizing  was  very  perfect,  but  the  art  is  fast  being  lost. 

In  the  northern  part  of  the  county  the  cotton  is  shipped  as  fast  as  baled  to  the  nearest  station  on  the  Alabama  Central  railroad,  aud 
is  there  sold  to  the  cotton  buyers.  This  is  from  August  to  December.  In  the  lower  part  of  the  county  (from  which,  however,  no  deiinite 
reports  have  been  received)  the  shipments  are  probably  to  Mobile  by  means  of  boats  on  the  Alabama  and  Totnbigbee  rivers. 

TERRY. 

Population:  30,741. — White,  7,150 ;  colored,  23,591. 

Area:  790  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Gravelly  hills,  with  long-leaf  pine,  465  square  miles ;  prairie  region, 
325  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  167,666  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  74,303  acres;  in  corn,  4S,132  acres;  in  oats,  6,093  acres, 
in  wheat,  440  acres;  in  rye,  70  acres;  in  rice,  27  acres;  in  tobacco,  24  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  20  acres;  in  sweet 
potatoes,  1,107  acres. 

Cotton  production:  21,027  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.29  bale,  414  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  13S 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

A  belt  composed  of  thick  beds  of  sand  and  pebbles  covers  all  the.  northern  part  of  Perry  county  as  far  south 
as  the  line  connecting  Greensboro'  and  Marion.  Within  this  area  the  natural  features  are  those  characteristic  of 
the  stratified  drift  everywhere.  The  face  of  the  country  is  somewhat  broken,  though  there  are  no  great  elevations, 
the  main  water-sheds  being  about  300  or  400  feet  above  the  level  of  the  Cahaba  river,  which  receives  directly  or 
indirectly  all  the  drainage  of  the  county.  Upon  the  highest  land  it  is  usual  to  find  the  soil  somewhat  sandy  and 
supporting  a  growth  chiefly  of  long-leaf  pine.  Along  the  slopes,  aud  at  lower  levels  generally,  a  brown-loam  soil 
is  very  widely  distributed,  and  the  timber  upon  it  consists  of  the  various  species  of  upland  oaks,  hickory,  and  short- 
leaf  pine,  with  occasionally  the  long-leaf  species.  Beneath  this  brown  loam  there  is  a  rather  stiff  red  loam,  usually 
called  red  clay,  which  is  underlaid  with  pebbles  and  sand  at  varying  depths.  A  not  uncommon  thicknessfor  the  red 
clay  or  loam  is  20  or  25  feet.  This  part  of  the  county,  while  not  enjoying  the  reputation  of  the  lower  part,  has  still  some 
excellent  farming  lands.  The  level  table-lauds,  which  have  an  average  elevation  of  200  or  250  feet  above  the  water- 
courses, are  nearly  till  cleared,  and  have  been  long  in  cultivation.  In  some  cases,  from  neglect  or  careless  cultivation, 
they  are  badly  worn  or  turned  out,  but  when  reclaimed  and  properly  treated  they  are  among  the  most  desirable 
lands  in  the  county.  Wherever  the  drift  forms  the  surface  there  is  no  lack  of  the  best  of  drinking  water  to  be  had 
from  wells  and  springs.  Marion,  the  county-seat,  and  a  great  educational  center,  stands  on  the  southern  limit  of 
this  drift  belt,  overlooking  the  prairies,  which  stretch  away  for  20  miles  toward  the  south  in  a  gently  undulating, 
trough-like  plain,  lying  between  the  drift  hills  on  the  north  and  similar  ones  on  the  south. 

i'he  rotten  limestone  formation  of  the  Cretaceous  forms  the  substratum  throughout  the  prairie  or  cancbrake 
country,  and  the  topography  and  soils  show  very  little  variation.  The  prairie  soil  proper  is  a  stiff,  putty-like  soil, 
originally  gray,  but  usually  of  dark  to  black  color  (from  organic  matter).  This  soil  can  scarcely  be  said  to  have  a 
subsoil,  since  it  rests  directly  upon  the  rotten  limestone,  from  which  it  is  derived.  The  thickness  varies  greatly, 
the  bare  rock  being  exposed  in  many  places  without  any  soil  at  all,  and  in  the  sloughs  and  low  places  there  is  often 
several  feet  thickness  of  alluvial  or  made  soil.  The  uniform  level  of  the  prairies  is  interrupted  at  intervals  by 
low  hills  or  knolls,  which  are  capped  with  the  sands  and  other  beds  of  the  drift.  In  many  cases  it  appears  that 
these  elevations  owe  their  existence  to  the  protection  afforded  by  these  materials.  Where  the  sands  aud  loam  of 
the  drift  are  mingled  with  the  calcareous  soils  of  the  prairies  there  is  formed  what  is  universally  known  as  the  post- 
oak  prairie  soil,  which  is  a  yellowish  to  reddish  material  of  considerable  fertility,  characterized  by  the  prevalence 
of  the  post  oak  among  its  timber  trees.  These  are  sometimes  also  distinguished  as  ''woods  prairies".  Upon  the 
sandy  ridges  and  knolls  of  this  section  are  situated  many  of  the  towns  and  settlements  of  the  county,  the  abundance 
of  good  water  and  freedom  from  mud  being  the  strong  attractions. 

The  belt  of  prairie  country  underlaid  with  the.  rotten  limestone  has  been  given  as  about  IS  or  20  miles 
wide.     In  the  extreme  southern  corner  of  the  county  a  bed  of  rather  hard  crystalline  limestone  is  found  resting 

a  This  high  dirtiug  in  the  midst  of  the  plant's  fruiting  will  commonly  stimulate  it  to  extra  growtb,  but  cheek  fecundity  for  the  time 
being,  as  if  the  two  growths  were  too  much  at  the  same  time.  I  have  heard  of  breaking  the  roots  by  siding  with  a  loug  colter  plow,  ae- 
a  means  of  cutting  otf  the  excessive  supply  of  sap,  thus  restraining  weedy  growth  and  favoring  fruiting. 

1J3 


124  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

upon  the  rotten  limestone,  and  as  it  is  tolerably  resistant  to  denudation  the  region  of  its  occurrence  is  somewhat 
more  broken  and  rugged  than  that  where  the  rotten  limestone  is  the  surface  rock.  In  the  eastern  part  of  the  state 
this  hilly  region  is  known  as  the  Chunnenugga  ridge.  The  soil,  where  the  overlying  drift  sands  are  in  great 
thickness,  is  sandy  and  of  no  great  fertility,  but  where  on  the  slopes  these  materials  have  been  partially  removed 
'by  erosiou  the  influence  of  the  limestone  is  felt,  and  the  soil  becomes  a  calcareous  loam  of  considerable  fertility, 
approaching  in  character  the  soils  of  the  post-oak  prairies,  which,  indeed,  are  formed  in  a  very  similar  maimer. 
In  the  neighborhood  of  Marion,  which  is  upon  the  extreme  southern  limit  of  the  upper  drift  belt,  the  bluish 
micaceous  clayey  rocks  of  the  lowest  division  of  the  Cretaceous  formation  may  be  seen  in  the  deepest  cuts  and 
gullies,  but  they  have  very  little  influence  upon  the  soils  or  topography,  since  they  are  covered  with  thick  beds  of 
the  drift,  and  are  not  seen*  at  all,  even  in  the  deepest  cuts,  much  north  of  Marion. 

Agriculturally  this  county  shows  two  distinct  characters  :  brown-loam  uplands  in  the  northern  half,  and  prairie 
in  the  southern.  Notwithstanding  the  greater  inherent  fertility  of  the  latter  region,  the  brown-loam  lands  are 
probably  of  more  importance  in  the  production  of  cotton. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE   EEPOET   OF   H.  A.  STOLLENV7ERCK,    OF   UNIOMTOWN. 
(The  soils  described  are  the  black  slougb  lands,  tbe  black  and  yollow  post-oak  lands,  and  the  uplands.) 

The  uplands  soils  are  considered  the  most  important,  and  are  distributed  over  the  canebrake  country  in  patches,  making  more 
than  half  of  the  tillable  lands.  These  uplands  occupy  the  slight  elevations  of  the  prairies,  and  the  soils  grade  almost  imperceptibly  into 
those  of  tho  prairies.  Intermediate  between  the  two  are  the  post-oak  soils.  The  upland  soil  proper  is  a  sandy  loam,  with  subsoil  of 
yellow  clay.  The  color  varies  from  light  gray,  through  brawn,  to  almost  black,  and  the  underlying  rock  is  the  rotten  limestone, 
which  is  everywhere  found  at  depths  varying  from  1  to  -20  feet. 

The  chief  crops  produced  are  cottou  and  corn,  the  black  or  slough  lands  being  best  suited  to  corn,  and  the  uplands  to  cotton. 
About  two-thirds  of  the  tilled  land  is  in  cotton,  which  attains  the  average  height,  when  most  productive,  of  4  feet.  The  plant  inclines 
to  go  to  weed  in  wet-  weather,  and  no  effectual  remedy  is  known.  The  seed-cotton  product  of  the  fresh  land  is  from  1,200  to  1,800  pounds, 
and  1,485  pounds  are  needed  to  make  a  475-pound  bale,  which  rates  as  middling.  After  ten  yoars'  cultivation  without  manure  tho 
yield  is  from  800  to  1.000  pounds,  with  no  difference  observable  either  in  the  proportion  of  lint  to  seed  or  in  the  quality  of  tho  staple 
if  it  is  properly  gathered  and  ginned.  The  most  troublesome  weed  is  the  morning-glory.  About  one-fourth  of  the  land  originally  in 
cultivation  now  lies  turned  out.  and,  as  it  is  rolling,  the  soil  washes  away,  and  the  reclaimed  land  is,  on  this  account,  not  very  productive. 
The  valleys  also  are  often  injured  to  the  extent  of  10  per  cent,  by  the  washings  from  the  uplands.  Some  efforts  have  been  made,  by 
horizontalizing  and  hillside  ditching,  to  check  the  evil,  and  with  very  good  success. 

Shipments  of  the  cotton  crop  are  made  between  the  months  of  October  and  January,  usually  by  rail  to  Selma.  The  rate  of  freight 
js  SI  75  per  bale  from  Uniontown. 

DALLAS. 

Population:  48,433.— White,  8,425  ;  colored,  40,008. 

Area:  980  square  miles. — Woodland,  all  except  a  few  square  miles  of  open  prairie;  prairie  region,  830  square 
miles  (rotten  limestone  or  canebrake,  700,  hill  prairies,  130);  gravelly  hills,  with  pine,  150  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  207,404  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  115,031  acres;  in  corn,  40,542  acres;  in  oats,  S,2G0  acres; 
in  wheat,  71  acres;  in  tobacco,  13  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  18  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  2,256  acres. 

('niton  production:  33,534  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.20  bale,  414  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  138 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Dallas  county  is  traversed  by  the  Alabama  river,  which  flows  through  it  from  northeast  to  southwest.  Its 
principal  tributary,  the  Cahaba  river,  flowing  southward,  falls  into  it  at  the  old  town  of  Cahaba.  The  bottom  lands 
of  the  Alabama  river  are  sandy  fertile  loams,  which  are  especially  suited  to  the  cultivation  of  corn.  A  second 
bottom,  or  terrace,  often  5  or  0  miles  wide,  sometimes  altogether  on  one.  side  of  the  river,  sometimes  equally  divided 
by  the  river,  adjoins  the  true  bottom  lands.  This  terrace  is  generally  sandy,  and  is  almost  a  level  plain.  The  soils 
are  gray  or  light-colored,  and  are  well  suited  to  cotton.  This  terrace  has  an  average  elevation  above  the  river  of 
about  100  feet.  From  this  out  to  the  summits  of  the  various  dividing  ridges  there  is  a  rise  more  or  less  gradual 
to  the  elevation  of  350  or  400  feet,  which  may  be  taken  as  the  average  elevation  of  the  table-lands  aliove  the  river. 

The  geological  structure,  upon  which  depend  the  character  and  distribution  of  the  soils,  is  simple.  The 
underlying  rocks  are  the  strata  of  the  Cretaceous  formation,  consisting,  in  the  middle  and  northern  part  of  the 
county,  of  an  impure  limestone,  known  as  the  rotten  limestone,  and  in  the  southern  of  a  yellowish,  often  crystalline 
limestone,  and  a  bluish  sandy  marl.  Over  all  these  have  beeu  deposited  beds  of  varying  thickness  of  sand,  pebbles, 
and  loam  of  the  stratified  drift  formation.  From  all  these  beds  and  their  intermixtures  the  surface  soils  of  Dallas 
county  have,  been  derived.  In  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  above  Summerlield,  the  underlying  rocks  are 
completely  hidden  from  view  by  the.  surface  beds  of  drift,  and  the  loams  of  this  formation  furnish  the.  soils  and  subsoils, 
■which  have  the  usual  variety  common  in  such  localities.  The  best  of  these  soils  is  a  brown  loam,  with  red-clay  loam 
subsoil,  resting  on  sand  or  gravel.  Its  timber  is  a  mixture  of  the  upland  oaks  and  hickory.  With  admixtures  of 
sand  the  soil  changes  in  character,  and  the  timber  with  it,  long-leaf  pine  being  added  to  the  growth  and  black-jack 
oak  becoming  prevalent.  The  extreme  in  this  direction  is  seen  in  the  upland  pine  woods,  which  occupy  many  of 
the  pebbly  and  sandy  slopes  of  the  northern  portion  of  the  county.  Several  analyses,  representing  these  soil  varieties, 
have  been  given  of  soils  collected  in  the  neighboring  county  of  Autauga  (see  page  39). 

Going  southward  from  Summerlield  this  brown-loam  region,  which  is  also  universally  known  as  the  hilly 
country,  extends  to  within  2  miles  of  Selma,  where  the  river  terrace  is  reached.  As  already  stated,  this  terrace 
has  a  superficial  covering  of  sand  resting  upon  the  rotten  limestone,  which  is  exposed  wherever  the.  streams  have 
cut  their  channels  a  few  feet  below  the  general  level.  Within  2  miles  of  Selma,  in  the  drainage  area  of  Little  creek, 
the  black  prairie  soil  is  crossed  nearly  up  to  the  city  limits,  and  near  the  river  the  sands  form  the  surface.  From 
Selma  to  Cahaba  is  the  same  sandy  river  plain,  the  monotony  of  which  is  only  broken  in  the.  vicinity  of  the  streams. 

Westward  from  Orrville  to  the  limits  of  the  county,  and  also  northwestward,  is  a  prairie  or  canebrake  country 

of  the  usual  character:  a  gently  undulating  region  with  ho  great  elevations,  having  the  rotten  limestone  at  or  very 

near  the  surface,  yielding  calcareous  soils  of  gray  to  black  colors,  affording  splendid  hard  roads  in  dry  seasons, 

but  almost  impassable  muds  in  the  winter.     Here  and  there  throughout  the  prairie  region  are  slight  elevations 

134 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  125 

capped  with  sandy  loams  (.sometimes  associated  with  pebbles)  of  the  drift  formation,  apparently  the  remnants  of 
a  once  universal  covering  of  these  materials.  The  mingling  of  these  loams  with  the  calcareous  soils  gives  rise  to 
the  formation  of  red  sandy  prairie  soils,  upon  which  the  post  oak  seems  to  be  most  at  home.  On  the  eastern  side 
of  the  river  the  same  characters  are  to  be  seen  out  to  the  Lowndes  county-line.  The  sandy  ridges,  which  traverse 
the  prairies,  appear  to  be  quite  as  characteristic  of  this  region  as  are  the  prairie  soils  themselves.  Orrville  is  upon 
one  of  these  sandy  belts.  Many  of  the  details  concerning  these  soils  and  their  composition  are  in  the  description 
of  Perry  and  Marengo  counties  and  in  Part  I,  where  several  analyses  of  typical  prairie  soils  have  been  presented 
(see  page  47). 

The  yellowish,  often  crystalline  limestone  mentioned  as  underlying  the  lower  part  of  the  county  is,  like  the 
rotten  limestone,  covered  with  the  beds  of  the  drift  formation.  These  are,  however,  much  more  universally  present 
here  than  in  the  central  part  of  the  county,  where,  as  has  just  been  said,  they  simply  cap  the  ridges  which  traverse 
the  prairies.  The  existence  of  hard  ledges  of  limestone,  alternating  with  softer  strata,  greatly  influences  the 
topography  of  this  part  of  Dallas  county.  The  table-lands,  or  high  level  country,  at  an  average  elevation  of  350 
or  400  feet  above  the  river,  have  the  brown-loam  soils  and  red  clayey  loam  subsoils  of  the  best  uplands  resting  on 
feeds  of  sand  and  pebbles.  The  thickness  of  these  beds  may  be  put  at  25  or  30  feet  in  the  lower  part  of  the  county. 
Toward  the  streams  these  table-lands  break  off',  usually  quite  abruptly,  by  reason  of  the  hard  limestone  ledges 
alluded  to,  giving  rise  to  the  steep  lime-hills  of  this  section.  The  soils  derived  from  these  calcareous  rocks  are 
mostly  yellowish  calcareous  loams,  which  at  a  certain  stage  of  moisture  form  the  most  tenacious  of  muds. 

The  bottom  soils  of  the  creeks  of  this  section  are  sandy  and  more  or  less  affected  by  the  lime  of  the  neighboring 
hills,  and  as  a  consequence  make  fine  farming  lands.  Of  this  character  are  the  bottom  lands  of  Cedar,  Dry  Cedar, 
and  Mush  creeks.  In  these  bottoms,  however,  there  are  all  gradations  between  black,  limy,  and  loose  sandy  soils, 
according  to  locality.  The  villages  of  Carlowville  and  Pleasant  Hill  are  situated  upon  plateaus  with  brown-loam 
soils,  timbered  with  the  usual  variety  of  upland  oaks.  A  descent  of  25  or  30  feet  from  the  level  of  these  plateaus 
brings  one  to  the  calcareous  rocks  which  underlie  this  part  of  the  county.  The  lowlands  along  Dry  Cedar  and 
Mush  creeks  are  from  2  to  3  miles  wide,  and  are  generally  cleared  and  in  cultivation,  except  where  occasionally  worn 
laud  lias  been  turned  out.  Pebbles,  often  of  large  size,  are  commonly  found  along  the  slopes  of  the  plateaus  above 
alluded  to. 

Dallas  produces  more  cotton  than  any  other  county  of  the  state.  To  this  its  large  area  (980  square  miles) 
contributes  ir  an  important  degree,  but  its  large  proportion  of  rich  prairie  or  canebrake  and  Alabama  river  lands 
would  place  Dallas  county  in  the  first  rank  in  cotton  production. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE   REPORT   OF  J.  F.   CALHOUN,   OF  MINTER   STATION. 

(This  report  refers  to  the  tends  lyiii^  botween  Piue  Barren  and  Dry  Cedar  creeks  on  the  north  and  south,  and  between  the  lines  separating  ranges  10  and  11  and  the 

Alabama  river.) 

The  soils  in  cultivation  in  cotton  are  :  1,  sandy  uplands;  2,  rolling  or  hilly  prairie;  and  3,  creek  bottoms. 

The  most  important  of  these  soils  is  that  of  the  uplands,  which  makes  at  least  one-half  of  the.  region  described.  The  timber  consists 
of  species  of  oak,  except  pin  oak,  chestnut,  hickory,  gum,  short-leaf  pine,  and  chiucapin.  The  top  soil  is  usually  a  fine  sandy  loam  of 
a  gray  color  6  inches  thick,  resting  upon  a  subsoil  of  coarse  red  clay,  which  sometimes,  though  rarely,  contains  rounded  pebbles  of 
quartz.  Beds  of  sand  and  gravel  underlie-  the  subsoil  at  the  average  depth  of  10  feet.  This  soil  is  easily  tilled,  except  in  very  dry 
seasons. 

The  rolling-prairie  soil  makes  about  one-eighth  of  the  region  described,  not  occurring  in  continuous  tracts,  but  cropping  out  at 
different  places.  The  timber  is  mostly  post-oak,  hickory,  and  black-jack.  The  top  soil  is  a  somewhat  heavy  shell  prairie  of  a  gray  color, 
8  inches  thick,  with  a  rather  heavier  subsoil  of  lighter  color  than  the  top  soil,  very  hard  and  waxy.  The  subsoil  contains  shells  and 
the  fragments  of  the  lime-rock  which-  forms  the  general  substratum  of  the  section  at  varying  depths.  In  wet  seasons  the  tillage  is 
■difficult,  and  the  lands  are  rather  late  and  cold. 

The  creek  bottoms,  which  border  the  two  large  creeks  mentioned,  aud  also  the  numerous  smaller  tributaries  of  the  same,  make  about 
three-eighths  of  the  lands  of  the  section.  Their  natural  timber  growth  consists  of  white  and  pin  oaks,  beech,  hickory,  ash,  etc.  The 
top  soil  is  a  coarse,  sandy,  often  gravelly  loam,  sometimes  a  heavy  clay  loam ;  colors,  gray  to  brown ;  subsoil,  usually  a  white,  stiff,  crawfisby 
clay.  White  pebbles  of  quartz  are  not  uncommonly  found.  The  subsoil  rests  mostly  upon  sands,  which  is  difficult  to  till  in  wet  seasons. 
These  lands  are  late,  cold,  and  usually  ill-drained. 

The  rolling  prairies  are  best  suited  to  grain  crops,  very  little  cotton  being  rdanted;  the  other  two  to  cotton,  which  makes  about 
three-fourths  of  the  cultivated  crops  upon  them.  The  height  of  stalk  varies  from  2£  to  3  feet,  but  is  most  preductive  at  3  feet.  In  wet 
seasons  there  is  sometimes  a  tendency  to  run  to  weed,  for  which  as  a  remedy  the  application  of  phosphates  is  suggested.  The  seed-cotton 
product  jier  acre  of  the  fresh  laud  is  800  pounds,  of  which  about  1,545  pounds  are  needed  to  make  a  475-pound  bale.  The  staple  is  rated 
•as  low  middling.  After  thirty  to  forty  years'  cultivation  without  manure  the  yield  falls  off  to  less  than  one-half,  and  the  staple  becomes 
shorter  and  lighter.  The  rolling  prairies,  after  a  few  years'  cultivation,  are  injured  "badly  by  washes,  aud  soon  rust  the  cottou.  The 
most  troublesome  weeds  are  hog-weed,  cocklebur,  morning-glory,  and  a  species  of  purslane,  which  spreads  close  to  the  ground  and  seems 
to  sap  the  moisture.  Very  little  of  the  uplands  is  turned  out,  because  the  use  of  fertilizers  has  brought  it  into  demand.  The  land  seems 
to  be  very  slightly  benefited  by  lying  out.  A  large  proportion  of  the  hilly  prairies  is  abandoned,  because  thoroughly  worn  out  and 
washed  away.  The  subsoil  is  not  usually  washed  oft*.  The  bottom  lands  are  nearly  all  in  cultivation,  and  are  improved  by  resting,  uuless 
soured  by  lack  of  drainage.  The  uplands  and  rolling  prairies  are  injured  by  washings,  but  the  valleys  adjoining  are  improved. 
Horizon  tali  zing  and  hillside  ditching  are  practiced  with  success  in  the  uplands;  in  the  hill-prairie  region  they  are  very  little  practiced, 
because  of  the  very  broken  character  of  the  country. 

Shipments  of  the  cotton  crop  are  made  mostly  during  September  and  October,  by  rail  to  Selma,  from  the  lower  part  of  the  county, 
at  §1  10  per  bale.  From  other  sections  the  other  railroads  and  the  Alabama  river  furnish  the  means  of  transportation.  Selma  is  the  great 
cotton  market,  not  only  of  this  county,  but  of  neighboring  counties  in  the  canebrake  region. 

WILCOX. 

(See  "Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine".) 

BUTLER. 
(See  "  Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine".) 


126  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

LOWNDES. 

Population:  31,176.— White,  5,045;  colored,  25,531. 

Area:  740  square  miles. — Woodland,  all  except  a  few  square  miles  of  open  prairie.  Prairie  region,  740  square 
miles  (470  rotten  limestone  and  270  rolling  or  hill  prairies).  In  the  prairie  region  a  large  area  of  the  uplands  are 
brown  sandy  loams. 

Tilled  land:  181,272  acres. — -Area  planted  in  cotton,  98,200  acres;  in  corn,  41,10!)  acres;  in  oats,  3,630  acres; 
in  sugar-cane,  201  acres:  in  sweet  potatoes,  1,004  acres. 

Cotton  production;  29,356  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.30  bale,  420  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  143 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

In  general,  the  agricultural  features  of  Lowndes  county  are  similar  to  those  of  Montgomery,  which  adjoins  it 
on  the  east.  The  underlying  country  rocks  are  beds  of  the  Cretaceous  formation,  and  these  are  in  places  partly  or 
wholly  covered  with  the  later  beds  of  sand,  gravel,  clay,  and  loam  of  stratified  drift.  Most  of  township  10,  in  the 
limits  of  this  county,  lies  within  (he  river  plain,  and  is  made  up  chiefly  of  the  first-  and  second-bottom  lands.  These 
have  a  general  elevation  of  30  or  40  feet  above  low- water  mark,  and  are  approximately  level.  The  soils  are  mostly 
sandy,  but  very  productive,  especially  in  the  first  bottoms,  and  being  subject  to  overflow,  are  usually  planted  in 
corn,  of  which  crop  40  bushels  to  the  acre  are  often  made.  These  bottom  lauds,  while  prevalently  sandy,  .still  show 
the.  beneficial  effects  of  the  calcareous  substratum.  .  In  many  places  there  is  a  slight  slope  away  from  the  immediate 
bank  of  the  river.  The  foot  of  the  first  terrace  being  often  as  much  as  10  or  15  feet  lower  than  the  actual  river  bank. 

About  the  line  between  townships  15  and  10  there  is  a  tolerably  abrupt  rise  of  175  or  180  feet  to  a  level,  which 
between  Lowndesborough  and  Manack's  station  is  from  1  to  2  miles  wide.  This  terrace  has  the  drift  and  loam  as 
surface  materials,  but  the  calcareous  beds  of  the  Cretaceous  formation  crop  out  in  many  places  along  the  hillsides, 
separating  the  river  hummock  from  the  first  terrace,  and  producing  limy  soils.  Pebble  beds  also  occur  along  this 
slop",  but  very  few  are  seen  as  low  as  the  hummock  proper,  except  upon  the  summits  and  the  sides  of  the  little 
knolls,  which  rise  above  the  general  level  of  the  river  hummock.  The  soil  of  the  first  terrace  above  spoken  of  is  a 
sandy  loam  of  brown  to  gray  colors  with  a  subsoil  of  red-clay  loam,  and  is  in  all  respects  similar  to  the  soils  and 
subsoils  of  the  drift  belt  in  other  parts  of  the  state. 

From  this  first  terrace  there  is  a  second  rise  of  about  75  feet  to  the  level  of  the  Lowndesborough  plateau, 
which  has  about  the  same  elevation  as  the  table-lands  of  Autauga  county  (some  250  or  200  feet  above  the  river). 
Between  Lowndesborough  and  Ilayneville  this  plateau  is  live  or  more  miles  in  width,  and  has  all  the  characters  of 
the  table-lands  of  this  latitude.  The  soil  is  a  brown  loam  of  considerable  fertility,  with  a  red-clay  loam  subsoil,  which 
is  in  many  places  underlaid  with  beds  of  pebbles.  The  analysis  given  fin  page  3!)  of  the  table-lands  soil  of  Autauga 
county  will  show  fairly  the  general  characters  of  this  class  of  soils.  The  level  nature  of  the  land  and  the  abundance 
of  good  water  to  be  had  everywhere  in  the  sands  and  pebbles  combine  to  make  this  and  other  plateaus  of  similar 
kind  among  the  most  desirable  as  farming  lands  and  as  places  of  residence. 

Near  the  line  between  townships  14  and  15  there  is  a  descent,  going  southward,  of  some  120  feet  (usually  in  at 
least  two  terraces)  to  the.  general  level  of  the  prairies.  Thence  to  about  the  line  between  townships  12  anil  13  the 
black  prairies  continue  with  very  little  variation,  and  with  approximately  the  same  general  level.  South  of  this 
line  the  strata  of  the  Upper  Cretaceous  formation,  consisting  of  ledges  of  hard  limestone,  alternating  with  softer 
and  more  clayey  beds,  make  the  country  down  to  the  line  of  Butler  county.  Throughout  this  region  the  surface  is 
much  broken,  the  country  being  a  succession  of  steep  and  sometimes  rocky  hills,  with  clayey,  calcareous  soils.  In 
wet  weather  the  soil  becomes  a  very  tenacious  mud,  which,  together  with  the  steep  slopes  of  the  hills,  makes  the 
country  almost  impassable  for  vehicles.  The  southwestern  corner  of  the  county,  which  is  of  this  character,  has 
the  name  of  "Little  Texas". 

In  a  general  way,  this  hilly  country  makes  the  water-shed  between  the  north  and  south  flowing  streams,  the 
former  being  tributaries  of  Manack's  and  Big  Swamp  creeks,  the  latter  of  Sepulga  river  and  Cedar  creek.  One  of 
the  tributaries  of  the  last-named  stream,  viz,  Dry  Cedar  creek,  drains  this  hilly  country  toward  the  north.  The 
bottom  lands  of  most  of  these  streams  are  excellent  farming  tracts,  but  are  in  general  best  suited  to  corn. 

The  principal  soil  varieties  have  already  been  mentioned  in  passing.  These  are  the  sandy  loam  soils  of  the 
table-lands,  the  dark  loam  soils  of  the  bottoms,  and  the  calcareous  soils  of  the  prairies  and  lime-hills,  and  will  be 
described  more  in  detail  in  the  following  abstract. 

Although  the  whole  of  Lowndes  county  lies  within  the  prairie  belt,  yet  there  is  a  fair  proportion  of  upland  soils, 
which  are  derived  from  the  transported  beds  of  the  drift.  The  agricultural  characters  of  the  county  are  thus  quite 
varied,  but  are  quite  similar  to  those  of  the  corresponding  regions  in  other  counties  adjoining. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE   REPORTS  OF   W.   M.    GARRETT,  OF   MOUNT  WILLING,   AND  P.    T.   GRAVES,   OF  BURKVILLE. 
(The.  lands  described  are  within  the  drainage  area  of  Pintlaia  anil  Cedar  creeks.) 

The  upland  soils  vary  from  black  prairie  on  the  north  to  sandy  loams  on  the  south.  In  dry  seasons  the  uplands  are  not  so  sure  of  a 
good  crop  as  are  the  lowlands,  bnt  with  moderately  wet  weather  the  former  are  far  more  productive.  The  red  table-lands  have  a  clay 
loam  soil  of  a  brown  to  reddish  color,  10  to  18  inches  in  thickness,  with  a  subsoil  of  red  clay  or  loam,  in  the  main  free  from  pebbles  and 
sand,  and  resting  at  a  depth  of  10  to  18  feet  upon  a  bed  of  gravel  and  sand.  The  soil  is  usually  easily  tilled,  warm,  and  well  drained. 
The  black  prairie  lands  have  a  black  or  dark-colored  soil  of  8  to  10  inches  thickness,  passing  gradually  into  the  light-colored  limestone, 
and  have  the  usual  characters  of  the  prairie  soils.  The  bottom  soils  are  of  several  kinds,  according  to  the  surrounding'nplands,  and  need 
no  particular  description. 

The  principal  crops  are  cotton  and  corn,  the  latter  being  most  productive  on  black  lands,  the  former  on  sandy  lands ;  but  the  red 
lands  produce  both  crops  equally  well.  From  two-thirds  to  three-fourths  of  the  tillable  laud  is  devoted  to  cotton.  Cotton  generally 
grows  from  :;  to  o  feet  high,  but  in  wet  seasons  it  runs  to  weed,  which  can  only  be  prevented  by  shallow  culture  and  the  free  use  of  manure. 
Fresh  land  produces  from  1,000  to  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and  a  475-pound  bale  requires  from  1,48,3  to  1,660  pounds  of  seed- 
cotton.  This  cotton  classes  as  low  middling.  Ten  years'  culture  reduces  the  yield  to  900  pounds,  and  fifty  years'  culture  reduces  it  from 
200  to  500  pounds,  provided  no  fertilizers  are  used.  Crab-grass  is  the  greatest  pest  to  cotton.  Very  little  land  is  turned  out ;  but  when 
it  is  level  it  is  easily  restored  to  its  former  productiveness.  The  hillsides  are  somewhat  injured  by  washings;  the  valleys  are  also 
sometimes  injured,  if  the  deposit  is  deep  and  composed  chiefly  of  sand, 
136 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  127 

Two  railroads,  tbe  Seltna  ami  Montgomery  and  tbe  Montgomery  and  Mobile,  traverse  Lowndes  county,  and  its  northern  boundary  is 
made  by  the  Alabama  river.  There  are  thus  ample  facilities  for  tbe  transportation  of  crops  to  the  markets.  Cotton  is  usually  sent  by 
railroad,  as  fast  as  prepared  for  market,  to  Montgomery  or  Selma,  at  rates  varying  from  50  cents  to  $1  25  per  bale,  according  to  locality, 

AUTAUGA. 
(See  "Gravelly  hills  region".) 

MONTGOMERY. 

Population :  52,356.— White,  13,457  ;  colored,  38,S99. 

Area:  740  square  miles. — Woodland,  all  except  a  few  square  miles  of  open  prairie ;  505  square  miles  of  level 
and  hilly  prairies,  of  which  75  square  miles  has  a  coating  of  drift;  100  square  miles  of  sandy  and  pebbly  hills  with 
pine. 

Tilled  land:  241,570  acres. — Area  cultivated  in  cotton,  112,125  acres;  in  corn,  62,303  acres;  in  oats,  4,895 
acres;  in  wheat,  5S  acres;  iu  sugar-cane,  174  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  1,720  acres. 

Cotton  production:  31,732  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.28  bale,  399  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  133 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  Tallapoosa  and  Alabama  rivers,  where  they  form  the  northern  boundary  of  Montgomery  county,  mark 
very  nearly  the  line  between  the  rotten  limestone  and  the  underlying  Lower  Cretaceous  beds.  These  rivers,  especially 
the  Alabama,  have  wide  hummocks  or  second  bottoms  above  overflow  and  bottom  lands  of  great  fertility.  The 
second  bottom,  or  old  river  plain,  is  from  2  to  4  or  5  miles  wide,  and  iu  some  places,  as  between  Benton  and 
Montgomery,  is  very  level,  and  where  not  too  much  covered  with  the  alluvial  sands  is  a  fine  farming  region.  Beyond 
the  river  plain  is  a  ridge  of  sand,  pebbles,  and  clay  of  the  stratified  drift,  which  gradually  slopes  away  to  the  level 
or  gently  undulating  prairie  lands  of  rotten  limestone,  which  form  a  belt  across  the  middle  of  the  county.  In  this 
belt  the  materials  of  the  stratified  drift  are,  in  places,  wholly  wanting  or  in  places  present  in  limited  quantity,  where 
they  are  seen  capping  the  small  hills  of  the  otherwise  level  prairies.  Southward,  beyond  the  black  or  canebrake 
belt,  we  encounter  another  accumulation  of  these  drift  materials  overlying  the  sandy  marls  of  the  Ripley  or 
Ohunnenugga  group  of  the  Cretaceous  formation. 

The  sands  and  laminated  clays  of  the  lowest  division  of  the  Cretaceous  formation,  while  often  exposed  on  the  river 
bluffs,  do  not  come  to  the  surface  in  Montgomery  county,  and  therefore  take  no  part  iu  the  formation  of  its  soils. 
The  next  overlying  series,  however,  the  rotten  limestone,  is  here,  as  elsewhere,  of  great  importance  agriculturally, 
as  being  the  basis  of  the  prairie  lauds,  which  are  among  the  most  valuable  in  the  county.  The  drift,  however, 
with  its  red  and  yellow  loams  resting  upon  beds  of  sand  and  gravel,  forms  all  the  fine  upland  soils,  which  are 
interspersed  with  the  prairie  soils,  and  which  prevail  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county. 

The  greater  part  of  the  cotton,  and  indeed  of  all  the  crops,  is  made  in  the  prairie  belt  and  along  the  first  and 
second  bottoms  of  the  river,  and  of  the  numerous  streams  flowing  into  it.  These  bottom  lands  are  of  great  variety, 
some  being  stiff  prairie  soils,  others  light  and  sandy,  and  this  applies  as  well  to  the  bottom  lauds  of  the  river  itself, 
where  the  greatest  variety  may  be  seen.  The  abstract  given  below  will  show  in  detail  the  nature  and  characteristics 
of  these  various  soils.  Iu  its  agricultural  features  Montgomery  very  closely  resembles  Lowndes.  The  cotton,  as 
soon  as  ginned,  is  hauled  to  the  city  of  Montgomery,  and  there  sold. 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE    REPORTS    OF    THOMAS   W.    OLIVER,   OF   MONTGOMERY,  AND    J.    A.    CALLOWAY,    OF    SNOWDOUN. 
(Tho  region  reported  upon  lies,  as  to  the  lowlands,  alonj,r  tbe  small  streams  tributary  to  the  Tallapoosa  river  and  along  the  waters  of  Ranter  and  Catoma  creeks.) 

The  uplands  are  the  rolling  and  level  table-lands  adjacent  to  these  streams  and  the  prairie  lands,  which  occupy  the  lower  levels  in 
the  samo  region.  The  lowlands  are  often  overflowed,  necessitating  late  planting  of  the  cotton,  which  is  thus  liable  to  be  destroyed  by 
the  caterpillar  before  it  has  had  time  to  mature  a  crop.  For  this  reason  tbe  uplands  are  generally  preferred  for  cotton  where  the  soil 
is  at  all  suitable.  The  chief  varieties  of  soil  are  the  red  lands,  which  are  the  upland  loams,  the  post-oak  and  black-prairie  soils,  and 
the  light-gray  sandy  soils  lying  between  the  red  lands  and  the  river  bottom.  This  last  occupies  a  narrow'  belt  only.  To  these  may  be 
added  the  dark  loam  and  the  light  saudy  soils  of  the  smaller  streams  above  mentioned. 

The  most  important  of  these  soils  is  the  prairie  soil,  which  is  found  iu  patches  over  all  the  central  portion  of  the  county,  and  which  is 
the  main  one  of  the  black  belt  throughout  the  state.  This  soil  occupies  from  a  half  to  three-fourths  of  the  area  described,  and  has  a  natural 
growth  consisting  of  post  oak,  hickory,  hawthorn,  wild  plum,  ash,  etc.  It  has  the  usual  heavy  prairie  soil  of  a  gray  to  black  color.  The 
post  oak  or  timbered  prairie  soil  is  often  of  a  reddish  color,  and  is  thought  to  be  the  result  of  the  admixture  of  the  overlying  loam  with  the 
calcareous  matter  of  tbe  Cretaceous  rocks.  On  the  black  lands  the  subsoil  is  a  jointed  clay,  while  and  chalky,  overlying  a  blue  marl,  (a) 
The  subsoil  often  contains  lime  nodules  of  irregular  shape.  When  properly  broken  up,  the  soil,  on  exposure  and  drying,  crumbles  down 
and  is  very  easily  tilled,  but  in  wet  weather  it  is  stiff  and  difficult  to  work. 

The  red-loam  laud  is  timbered  with  oaks,  hickory,  short-leaf  j>iue,  and  the  bottoms  with  poplar,  gum,  magnolia,  etc.  The  soil  is  a 
sandy  loam  of  different  degrees  of  stiffness,  and  of  colors  varying  from  brown  to  red,  according  to  the  length  of  time  cultivated.  At  8  or 
10  inches  the  color  changes  to  that  of  the  subsoil,  which  is  generally  a  tine  red  loam,  about  one-third  sand,  friable  when  exposed,  and 
darkening  when  mixed  with  vegetable  matter.  It  contains  occasionally  rounded  pebbles  of  quartz,  and  is  underlaid  with  beds  of  sand 
and  gravel,  which,  of  course,  rest  at  varying  depths  upon  the  couutry  rock. 

Tho  sandy  land,  wdiich  occupies  a  narrow  strip  between  the  red  lands  and  the  river  bottcms,  has  a  growth  of  short-leaf  pine  and 
oaks,  with  water  oak  and  sweet  gum  in  the  flats.  The  soil  is  a  light  loam,  mostly  sandy,  of  white,  gray,  and  yellowish  colors,  and  4  to  6 
inches  deep  to  a  change  of  color.  The  subsoil  is  nearly  the  same  as  the  soil ;  if  anything,  more  of  a  yellowish  clay,  with  an  admixture  of 
coarse  sand.     Pebbles  are  found  in  the  subsoil  on  slopes  aud  elsewhere  iu  places. 

All  these  varieties  are  generally  easily  tilled  in  dry  weather;  but  in  wet  weather  the  prairies  especially  are  often  quite  difficult.  The 
chief  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  and  oats,  the  sandy  lands  being  suited  to  cotton  and  the  prairie  lands  to  coru  and  oats.     From  two-thirds  to 

a  These  terms  allude  to  the  varying  aspect  of  the  rotten  limestone  as  it  is  disintegrated  under  the  influence  of  tbe  weather,  the  blue  marl 
being  the  unaltered  rock,  and  the  joint  clay,  of  chalky  appearance,  the  same  rotten  limestone,  broken  anil  partially  desiccated. — E.  A.  tt. 

137 


128  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

three-fourths  of  the  tillable  laud  of  all  sorts  is  devoted  to  cotton,  which  is  most  productive  when  3  or  4  feet  high.  In  wet  seasons,  on  fresh 
land,  the  cotton  is  iucliued  to  run  to  wood.  This  may  bo  prevouted  by  an  application  of  phosphates,  to  promote  early  fruitage.  The  seed- 
cotton  product  per  acre  on  fresh  land  is  from  1,(J00  to  1,200  pounds  and  400  pounds  on  the  sandy  soil,  and  it  requires  from  1,000  to  1,000 
pounds  to  produce  a  475-pound  bale.  After  forty  to  fifty  years'  cultivation  without  manure  the  average  yield  is  about  500  pounds  per  acre; 
200  pounds  on  sandy  land.  Burrs,  morning-glory,  and  crab-grass  are  most  troublesome.  Very  little  laud  is  turned  out.  Serious  damage 
is  sometimes  done  to  hillsides  by  washing. 

The  various  railroads  which  center  iu  the  city  of  Montgomery  and  the  Alabama  river  furnish  the  means  of  transportation  for  all 
the  products  of  the  county.  The  city  of  Montgomery  has  always  been  one  of  the  best  cotton  markets  of  the  state,  and  receives  the  crop 
from  many  sections. 

CRENSHAW. 

(See  "Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine".) 

PIKE. 
(See  "Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine".) 

BULLOCK. 

Population:  20,0GG.— White,  G,944;  colored,  22,122. 

Area:  6G0  square  miles. — Woodland,  all  except  a  few  square  miles  of  open  prairie  ;  prairie  region,  300  square 
miles  (200  of  black  prairie,  etc.,  and  100  of  hill  prairie  or  Chuimenugga  ridge);  oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long- 
leaf  pine,  360  square  miles. 

Tilled  lawk:  17G,8G0  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  80,470  acres;  iu  corn,  47,141  acres;  in  oats,  G,177  acres; 
in  >vheat,  111  acres;  in  rye,  88  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  420  acres;  in  rice,  1G  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  773  acres. 

Cotton  production:  22,578  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.28  bale,  390  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  133 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Bullock  county  lies  wholly  within  the  Cretaceous  region,  and  both,  the  upper  and  lower  subdivisions  of  this 
formation  are  concerned  in  the  formation  of  its  soils.  In  addition  to  this,  the  beds  of  the  stratified  drift  are  spread 
over  all,  modifying  the  soils,  anil  in  some  cases  forming  them  outright.  The  limit  between  the  upper  and  lower 
divisions  of  the  Cretaceous,  running  nearly  east  and  west,  falls  near  the  center  of  the  county,  the  precise  position 
of  this  limit  being  very  difficult  to  determine,  because  of  the  overlying  drift. 

Of  the  two  divisions  of  the  Cretaceous  represented  in  this  county  (rotten  limestone  and  Ripley),  the  former  is 
not  found  south  of  the  ridge  upon  which  Union  Springs  is  situated  (Chunnonugga  ridge).  Beyond  this  to  the 
southern  line  of  the  county  the  Ripley  marls  and  limestone  make  the  country.  This  ridge,  which  divides  the  waters 
flowing  into  the  Tallapoosa  river  from  those  of  Cowikee  creek  and  Conecuh  and  Pea  rivers,  slopes  gently  away  toward 
the  south,  but  toward  the  north  there  is  a  rather  abrupt  descent  into  the  prairie  lands,  which  stretch  thence 
northward  to  the  county-line.  Of  the  prairies  there  is  little  to  be  said  iu  a  general  way  more  than  has  already 
been  given  under  other  counties,  and  the  very  full  reports  below  will  furnish  all  the  needed  details. 

Chunnenugga  ridge  hits  a  northeast  and  southwest  direction,  and  is  made  up  of  beds  of  limestone,  marl,  clay, 
and  sand,  (o)  In  the  calcareous  clays  resulting  from  the  disintegration  and  intermixtures  of  these  beds  small  white 
concretions  of  lime  are  abundant,  and  perhaps  characteristic. 

From  the  statistics  it  will  be  seen  that  this  county  ranks  high  in  cotton  production,  and  the  following  abstracts 
of  carefully  prepared  reports  which  relate  to  all  parts  of  the  couuty  will  be  read  with  profit  by  all  who  desire  to 
have  tin  acquaintance  with  the  capabilities  of  the  several  soil  varieties.  The  farmers,  as  a  rule,  sell  their  cotton 
us  fast  as  baled  to  the  merchants  at  Union  Springs,  and  thence  it  is  shipped  by  rail  to  the  various  markets.  The 
rates  to  Montgomery  and  Columbus,  Georgia,  are  about  $1  50  or  82  per  bale. 

On  account  of  the  great  variety  exhibited  in  the  agricultural  features  of  Bullock  county,  I  have  given  somewhat 
in  detail  the  reports  of  correspondents  from  the  different  sections;  and  since  the  adjoining  counties  are  in  many 
respects  similar,  a  repetition  will  not  be  needed  in  each  case. 

The  greater  part  of  the  cotton  crop  is  produced  upon  the  calcareous  binds  of  the  upper  part  of  the  county, 
where  the  effects  of  constant  (natural)  marling  are  seen.  In  the  brown-loam  uplands,  and  their  intermixtures  with 
the  sandier  materials,  we  have  nothing  different,  from  tut  agricultural  standpoint,  from  what  may  be  seen  iu  so 
many  parts  of  the  state. 

ABSTRACT    OF   THE   REPORTS    OF    W.    M.    STAKELY    AND    J.   F.    CULVER,    OF    UNION    SPRINGS. 
(Tliis  report  relates  particularly  to  tli>-  black  lime-lands,  partly  bald  prairie  and  partly  timbered,  lying  north  of  Chunncnugga  ridge,  near  Union  Springs.) 

The  black  lands  alternate  with  the  post-oak  prairies,  presently  to  be  described,  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  it  impossible  to  give  any  strict 
limits  between  the  two.  Taken  together,  they  occupy  a  belt  from  5  to  10  miles  wide  across  the  country,  widening  toward  the  west.  The 
growth  on  the  black  uplands,  which  make  about  a  fifth  of  the  arable  lands  of  Bullock  county,  consists  of  post  oaks,  interspersed  with 
hickory,  short-leaf  pines,  and  other  trees  iu  small  numbers,  and  an  undergrowth  of  haw  bushes,  and  is  indicative  of  good  cotton  land.  Tie- 
heavy  soil  is  a  clay  loam,  sticky,  and  prairie-like  iu  places,  and  of  gray  to  black  colors,  according  to  the  amount  of  vegetable  matter  present ; 
thickness  to  a  change  of  color,  from  3  to  12  inches.  The  subsoil  is  commonly  heavier  than  the  surface  soil,  and  constats  of  tough  yellow 
and  tough  reddish  clays.  The  sandy  soils  have  sometimes  a  yellow  sand  as  subsoil.  These  subsoils  frequently  have  limy  concretions, 
and  are  underlaid  with  a  blue  marl  (rotten  limestone)  at  10  to  12  feet  depth.  In  wet  seasons  this  soil  is  difficult  to  till,  because  of  its  sticky 
nature ;  but  iu  dry  weather,  when  previously  prepared,  it  is  easy  of  tillage,  and  in  general  may  be  classed  as  an  early,  warm  soil. 

Cotton,  corn,  and  oats  are  the  principal  crops  produced,  the  soil  being  best  suited  to  the  first  two,  though  three-fourths  of  the 
cultivated  land  is  in  cotton,  which  grows  to  a  height  of  from  2  to  5  feet,  being  most  productive  at  about  4  feet.  Very  wet  weather  causes  the 
plant  to  run  to  weed, which  is  restrained  by  thorough  drainage.     The  seed-cotton  product  of  the- fresh  land  is  300  pnundst  1,42."  to  1,515  pounds 

a  The  marl  and  limestone  contain  the  fossils  characteristic  of  the  Ripley  group,  and  have  furnished  many  of  the  newly-described 
fossils  of  this  horizon. 
133 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  129 

io  the  bale  of  475  pounds).  The  staple  is  good  middling.  After  twenty  years'  cultivation  the  yield  is  500  pounds,  with  a  slightly  shorter 
staple  and  slightly  less  lint.  Crab-grass  and  morning-glories  are  tho  most  troublesome  weeds.  At  present  very  little  of  this  kind  of  land 
lies  turned  out,  and  when  it  is  reclaimed  it  produces  well  the  first  year  and  better  afterward.  There  is  some  slight  damage  from  washings ; 
but  the  valleys  are  riot  much  injured  by  the  washings  from  tho  uplands,  and  efforts  made  by  hillside  ditching  to  check  it  have  met  with 
moderate  success. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  REPORT  OF  J.  L.  MOULTRIE,  OF  UNION  SPRINGS. 
(Relates  more  particularly  to  the  post-oak  lands  or  timbered  prairie  lying  upon  the  headwaters  of  (Jupiahatchce  creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Tallapoosa  river.) 
Tho  prevailing  growth  is  post  oak,  short-leaf  pine,  with  some  hickory,  red  oak,  and  black-jack  on  hills;  in  the  bottoms,  poplar, 
elm,  gum,  ash,  shell-bark  hickory,  and  some  walnut.  The  light  soils  are  fine  loams  ;  the  heavier,  more  clayey ;  colors,  gray  red  to  nearly 
black.  Thickness  to  change  of  color,  3  to  6  inches ;  in  the  bottoms,  1  to  2  feet.  Subsoil  mostly  red-joint  clay ;  sometimes  a  yellow  marly 
clay.  On  sandy  hummocks  the  clay  is  yellow  and  mixed  with  mica,  and  is  underlaid  with  blue  or  greenish  marl;  on  sandy  hummocks, 
sometimes  pebbles,  about  13  feet  from  surface,  and  only  about  6  inches  deep.  A  blue  marl  underlies  the  subsoils  at  a  depth  of  about  25  feet. 
In  wet  weather  the  soil  is  rather  difficult  to  till,  as  it  becomes  sticky,  and  it  is  always  heavier  than  the  sandy  laud.  Tho  soil  is  naturally 
well  drained,  even  iu  bottoms,  and  is  early  and  warm.  Cotton,  corn,  oats,  and  sweet  potatoes  are  the  chief  crops.  The  thin  gray  and 
clay  lands  are  best  suited  to  cotton,  the  de*p  black  land  to  corn  and  oats,  and  the  white  bald  prairie  to  corn. 

Fully  three-fourths  of  the  land  is  put  in  cotton.  The  stalk  grows  from  2  to  5  feet,  being  most  productive  at  4  feet.  In  wet  seasons,  and 
on  moist  and  alluvial  lands,  the  plant  sometimes  runs  to  weed.  One  of  the  remedies  suggested  is  to  plant  every  second  or  third  row  in  corn 
or  break  the  land  very  shallow.  The  average  seed-cotton  product  per  acre  of  fresh  land  is  800  pounds  (1,545  pounds  to  a  475-pound  bale),, 
and  the  staple  is  middling.  Twenty-five  years'  cultivation  will  reduce  the  yield  to  500  pounds,  with  staple  perhaps  about  an  eighth  of 
an  inch  shorter  than  that  of  the  fresh  land ;  tho  seeds  are  also  less,  which  makes  tho  proportion  of  lint  and  seed  about  the  same.  Crab- 
grass  gives  the  most  trouble,  and  morning-glories  late  in  the'  summer  in  the  black  lands.  Yellow-dock  is  troublesome  if  it  ever  gets  a 
hold.  None  of  this  land  lies  turned  out,  except  for  want  of  labor  to  cultivate  it,  and  from  this  cause  probably  one-twentieth  is  idle.  If 
neglected,  this  soil  is  likely  to  be  injured  from  gullies.  The  valleys  are  not  hurt  unless  the  washings  are  clay.  Hillside  ditching  is 
sometimes  practiced  with  good  success. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE   REPORT   OF  M.   L.   STINSON,   OF   UNION  SPRINGS. 
(Refers  chiefly  t'i  the  aandy  and  loamy  soils  making  the  bottoms  and  uplands  upon  the  waters  of  Conecuh  and  Pea  rivers  and  their  tributaries.) 

The  soil  varieties  described  are  derived  from  the  loams  and  other  drifted  materials  of  the  post-Tertiary  formation,  and  vary  in 
accordance  with  the  varying  proportions  of  sand  and  clay.  The  varieties  enumerated  are :  First,  loam  lands,  with  growth  of  short-leaf 
pine,  oaks,  and  hickory  ;  second,  loam  lands,  with  black-jack  as  the  characteristic  growth  ;  and  third,  sandy  lands,  with  prevailing  timber 
of  long-leaf  pine  and  black-jack  oak.  The  lower  part  of  the  county  south  of  Union  Springs  is  made  up  of  these  lands,  the  sandy  pine  lands 
occupying  about  half  the  territory,  the  other  two  varieties  the  balance.  The  oak  uplands  have,  iu  addition  to  the  growth  above  named, 
■chestnut,  beech,  poplar,  elm,  magnolia,  cottonwood,  cucumber,  dogwood,  maple,  walnut,  etc.  The  soil  varies  from  a  fine  sandy  to  a  stiff 
prairie-like  consistence  where  tho  marls  of  the  Cretaceous  are  near  enough  to  the  surface  to  be  felt ;  thickness  to  a  change  of  color,  1  to  6 
inches.  The  subsoil,  from  (>  to  18  inches,  is  a  stiff  yellow  clay  or  dark  yellowish  sand,  containing  occasionally  rounded  pebbles  of  quartz. 
Below  tho  subsoil,  clay  and  sand  to  the  marl,  at  an  average  depth  of  30  feet.  Tho  black-jack  laud  sustains  a  growth  of  pine,  hickory, 
black-jack,  and  post  oaks,  some  chestnut,  chincapiu,  sloe,  etc.,  and  has  a  soil  chiefly  saudy,  2  inches  deep,  with  subsoil  of  yellowish  sand, 
containing  pebbles,  and  from  2  to  8  feet  deep.  The  underlying  rock,  at  depths  of  40  or  50  feet,  is  the  marl  above  alluded  to.  The  two 
soils  seem  to  differ  only  iu  the  depth  from  the  surface  of  the  clay  and  upon  its  quality. 

The  third  variety  of  land  supports  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine  and  black-jack  oak,  and  needs  no  further  description,  as  the  same 
quality  of  land  has  been  frequently  the  subject  of  remark,  and  the  pine  woods,  wherever  found,  bear  approximately  the  same  character. 

Agriculturally,  the  loamy  and  sandy  lands  are  of  easy  tillage,  and  are  all  warm  and  well  drained.  The  prairielauds  are  considerably 
earlier  than  any  of  the  sandy  lands,  and  cotton  grows  much  more  rapidly  on  the  strong  limy  lands.  The  usual  crops  are  produced  upon 
all  these  lands,  the  stiffer  clayey  lauds  being  best  suited  to  cotton,  and  the  sandy  to  corn  and  pease.  About  half  the  cultivated  area  of  the 
first  two  and  about  a  third  of  the  nine  laud  is  in  cotton.  The  height  of  stalk  varies  greatly,  but  the  higher  the  better  for  yield.  When 
the  plant  runs  to  weed,  which  it  does  sometimes  when  left  too  thick,  more  room  is  given.  The  maximum  yield  of  seed-cotton  on  fresh  land 
is  from  1,000  to  1,300  pounds  for  first  quality,  800  for  the  second,  and  GOO  for  the  pine  hinds,  and  1,545  pounds  is  about  the  average  for  a 
475-pound  bale.  The  staple  rates  from  middling  to  strict  middling.  Ten  years'  cultivation  will  reduce  the  yield,  on  an  average,  20  per 
cent.,  and  on  some  of  the  lighter  lands  even  more.  The  staple  from  worn  land  is  somewhat  shorter  than  that  from  fresh,  and  rates  a  grade 
less  on  the  average.  Crab-grass  is  the  most  troublesome  of  the  weeds,  except  the  Florida  purslane  (Richarthonia)  in  the  piny  woods.  Not 
much  of  the  originally  cultivated  land  lies  turned  out,  except  for  lack  of  labor  to  cultivate  it.  The  pine  land  has  not  been  cleared  up 
much.  The  better  qualities  do  very  well  when  reclaimed,  but  the  worn  pine  lands  are  not  considered  worth  the  trouble  of  reclaiming. 
The  loam  lands,  because  of  their  uneven  surface,  are  liable  to  injury  from  washing;  but  the  pine  lauds  are  mostly  level.  Hillside  ditching 
is  practiced  with  very  good  results. 

MACOH. 

Population:  17,371. — "White,  4,587  ;  colored,  12,784. 

Area:  G30  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Gravelly  hills,  with  long-leaf  pine,  330  square  miles;  prairie  region, 
J60  square  miles;  metamorphic  region,  40  square  miles. 

Tilled  land :  133,024  acres. —  Area  planted  in  cotton,  5G,703  acres;  in  corn,  23,833  acres;  in  oats,  0,105  acres;  in 
wheat,  1,010  acres ;  in  rye,  45  acres ;  in  sugar-cane,  140  acres ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  928  acres. 

Cotton  production:  14,580  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.2G  bale,  372  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  124 
Hounds  cotton  lint. 

The  geological  and  agricultural  features  of  Macon  county  are,  iu  great  measure,  similar  to  those  of  its  neighbor 
on  the  east,  Russell.  In  the  extreme  northern  part  of  Macon  county  the  metamorphic  or  crystalline  rocks  make  the 
substratum  of  the  country.  These  are  generally  covered  by  the  superficial  deposits  of  a  much  more  recent  period, 
and  seldom  take  any  prominent  part  in  the  production  of  the  soils.  The  line  of  contact  of  these  rocks  with  those  of 
the  Cretaceous  formation  is  everywhere  hidden  by  these  surface  beds,  and  it  is  only  south  of  Tuskegve  that  the 
Cretaceous  strata  have  been  recognized.  The  black  Cretaceous  prairie,  soil  does  not  appear  over  any  considerable 
area  until  the  southern  limit  of  the  county  is  nearly  reached,  within  7  miles  of  Chuimenugga  ridge  (Tuomcy). 

i:.D 


130  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

The  remarks  of  Professor  Tuomey  upon  the  soils  of  this  part  of  the  county  are  of  sufficient  value  to  be 
presented  at  this  point  again.  In  speaking  of  the  area  formed  by  the  rotten  limestone,  he  says:  "The  surface  is 
undulating  and  covered  with  black  and  yellowish  soils.  The  bald  spots  are  covered  with  ash-colored  soils.  The 
whole  of  the  limestone  near  the  surface  is  broken  up  by  lamiiue  and  joints,  but  yet  contains  fossils  in  place  and 
numerous  concretionary  nodules  of  lime  so  white  as  to  resemble  caustic  lime.  This  stratum  is  about  20  feet  in 
thickness;  this  is  called  by  the  well-borers  'clay  ',  and  is  the  limit  of  t  lie  sipe- wells.  The  water,  percolating  through 
the  fissures,  furnishes  these  wells.  Under  this  the  rotten  limestone  assumes  its  usual  characteristics.  Near  Town 
creek  a  good  opportunity  was  afforded  of  seeing  the  junction  of  the  post  oak  and  ordinary  sod  of  the  prairie.''  At 
this  place  Professor  Tuomey  observes:  "1.  The  fissured  rock  mentioned  above,  which  is  found  on  all  the  bald 
spots.  2.  The  sudden  termination  of  the  preceding  stratum  as  if  it  were  washed  away  by  water.  3.  A  bed  without 
fossils,  whinh  appears  to  be  an  accumulation  of  lime  and  clay  with  organic  matter,  deposited  after  the  removal 
of  a  portion  of  the  fissured  rock,  the  subsoil  of  the  post-oak  soil." 

From  these  passages  it  seems  that  the  post-oak  soil  is  the  result  of  the  reaction  of  the  limy  materials  of  the 
Cretaceous  beds  upon  tin-  loams  of  the  overlying  and  more  recent  formation,  while  the  ordinary  prairie  soils  are  the 
result  of  the  disintegration  of  the.  rotten  limestone  itself.  The  fact  that  soils  in  many  respects  unalagous  to  the 
post-oak  soils  are  to  be  seen  where  the  calcareous  rocks  of  the  Tertiary  have,  after  disintegration,  mingled  with 
the  overlying  loams  gives  additional  force  to  the  view  advanced  by  Professor  Tuomey. 

A  short  distance  east  of  the  town  of  Tiiskcgee  the  beds  of  drift  are  well  displayed.  These  consist  of  20  or  25 
feet  of  light-colored  micaceous  sands  with  cross  bedding,  above  which  are  about  4  feet  of  reddish  sand,  and  over  this 
10  feet  of  the  white,  all  capped  by  the  reddish,  irregularly  stratified  beds  of  sand,  clay,  and  loam  of  tin-  usual 
type  of  the  stratified  drift.  Of  course,  with  such  thickness  of  overlying  strata,  the  Cretaceous  rocks  rarely  have 
much  to  do  with  the  soils. 

In  the  southeastern  corner  of  the  county  the  sandy  ridge,  with  substratum  of  bluish  marl,  which  is  so  prominent 
a  feature  of  Bullock  county,  occupies  a  small  area.  Upon  this  ridge  the  soils  are  sandy  and  loamy,  but  beyond  it 
come  the  peculiar  soils  of  the  Cowikee  lands,  already  fully  discussed  under  Russell  ami  Barbour. 

The  creeks  which  traverse  Macon  county  have  in  many  instances  cut  their  channels  I  hrough  the  surface-covci  ing 
of  drift,  aud  the  soils  along  the  lowlands  thus  formed  frequently  differ  very  considerably  from  those  of  the  adjacent 
uplands.  Caleebee  creek,  from  its  source  to  its  mouth,  passes  through  a  rich  country  with  dark  soil,  derived  from 
the  rotten  limestone  and  other  Cretaceous  rocks.  The  same  may  be  said  of  Cupiahatchee  creek.  The  uplands  on 
and  near  both  the  streams  have  mulatto  soils  with  a  growth  of  oaks  and  hickory.  Eufaupee  creek  for  20  miles  from 
its  mouth  flows  through  a  country  with  yellow  sandy  soil  and  a  stiff  yellow  clay  below,  containing  usually  a  good 
deal  of  yellow  and  white  quartz  pebbles.  Big  Swamp  creek  traverses  a  rich  section  of  the  county.  The  soil  is  dark 
and  very  productive.  Chewacla  creek  passes  generally  through  piny  woods,  but  cuts  through  the  surface  beds,  and 
the  bottom  soils  are  in  places  dark  blue  and  very  productive.     The  pine  land  is  poor. 

Agriculturally,  Macon  county  enjoys  several  advantages  over  its  western  neighbors  on  the  pine-hills  belt,  for 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  county  the  underlying  calcareous  rocks  are  exposed,  and  in  the  eastern  the  same  is 
true  of  the  blue  marl,  as  it  is  called.  Both  these  underlying  formations  exercise  a  very  beneficial  influence  upon 
the  prevailing  sandy  loams,  which  are  marled  more  or  less  thoroughly  by  such  intermixtures. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  REPORT  OF  JOHN  L.  COLLINS,  OF  TUSKEGEE. 

The  soils  are  the  varieties  above  enumerated.  Those  of  the  uplands  are  generally  sandy  loams,  of  yellowish  to  light  colors:  those 
of  the  bottom  vary  with  the  locality,  beiug  clay  loams,  and  in  places  are  prairie-like.  The  subsoils,  mostly  somewhat  heavier  than  the-  top 
soils,  often  consist  of  yellowr  or  red  clay,  and  in  most  of  the  county  are  underlaid  with  saud,  which  often  contains  pebbles.  The  soils 
are  easy  of  tillage,  except  when  wet.  The  chief  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  oats,  rye,  wheat,  etc.,  and  the  lands  are  about  equally  well  adapted 
to  each. 

Two-thirds  of  the  cultivated  land  is  in  cotton,  which  on  good  land  attains  a  height  of  4  feet ;  on  poor  land,  18  inches  to  2  feet.  In 
wet  seasons  there  is  sometimes  a  tendency  to  run  to  weed,  lor  which  no  remedy  is  suggested.  When  the  land  is  fresh  the  seed-cotton 
product  per  acre  is  from  700  to  1,000  pounds,  of  which  about  1,425  pounds  go  to  make  a  standard  bale  of  475  pounds.  The  staple  rates  as  low 
middling.  After  five  years'  cultivation,  without  manure,  the  yield  is  one-third  less  on  the  uplands.  On  the  bottoms  there  is  no  perceptible 
change  in  either  the  quantity  or  quality  of  the  yield.  Crab-grass  is  much  the  most  troublesome  of  the  weeds.  Perhaps  a  third  of  the 
laud  originally  cultivated  now  lies  turned  out,  but  when  again  taken  into  cultivation  it  yields  about  a.  third  less  than  when  fresh.  On 
slopes  all  this  laud  washes  badly,  and  the  injury  to  the  uplands  is  considerable,  but  the  bottoms  are,  if  anything,  benefited  thereby. 
Occasionally  efforts  have  been  made  to  check  this  by  horizontalizing,  etc.,  aud  with  very  fair  success. 

Shipments  of  the  cotton  crop  aro  made  chiefly  in  October  and  November,  by  rail,  to  Montgomery,  at  the  rate  of  SI  30  per  bale. 

RUSSELL. 

Population:  24,837.— White,  6,182  ;  colored,  18,655. 

Area:  070  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Pebbly  hills  with  pine  and  oak  uplands  with  pine,  370  square  miles ; 
blue-marl  lands,  300  square  miles. 

Tilled  land :  131,320  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  81,582  acres ;  in  corn,  31,335  acres ;  in  oats,  9,7S9  acres ;  in 
wheat,  1,099  acres;  in  rice,  0.3  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  190  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  1,093  acres. 

Cotton  production:  19,112  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.24  bale,  312  pounds  seed  cotton,  or  114 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Russell  county,  though  underlaid  with  the  strata  of  the  Cretaceous  formation,  depends  for  its  soils  in  great 
measure  upon  (he  thick  beds  of  the  stratified  drift,  which  cover  the  whole  county  to  a  greater  or  less  degree.  The 
great  drift  bed  which  borders  the  older  formations  of  the  state  crosses  this  county  from  east  to  west,  aud  covers  the 
northern  half.  The  water-shed  between  the  Tallapoosa  and  the  Chattahoochee,  which  is  the  continuation  of  the 
Chuunenugga  ridge  of  Bullock  county,  enters  Russell  near  the  middle  of  its  western  boundary.  Its  further  course 
northeastward  toward  Columbus  has  not  been  definitely  traced  out,  but  it  is  probable  that  it  is  soon  merged  into 
the  great  pebble  belt  previously  mentioned.  Northward  of  this  ridge  occasional  patches  of  the  black  prairies  of  the 
140 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  131 

rotten  limestone  are  met  with  where  the  overlying  pebbles  and  sands  have  been  removed  by  denudation.  The 
prairies,  however,  are  in  detached  bodies,  and  do  not  form  large  tracts,  as  is  the  case  to  the  westward. 

Southward  and  southeastward  of  the  water-shed  previously  mentioned  the  beds  of  marl,  etc.,  of  the  Ripley 
group  are  often  exposed  by  the  removal  of  the  drift  deposits,  and  the  reaction  of  this  marl  upon  the  overlying  loams 
gives  rise  to  the  peculiar  soils  of  Oowikee  creek.  Some  of  the  characters  of  this  class  of  soils  have  been  given 
under  the  head  of  Bullock  county,  and  vary  from  a  stiff  to  a  rather  sandy  clay,  the  lighter  soils  being  found  generally 
on  the  north  side  of  the  streams.  Local  patches  of  a  tenacious  clayey  soil,  called  "  hog- wallow  prairie",  are 
here  and  there  met  with  in  the  Cowikee  lands.  The  timber  throughout  this  region  is  a  mixture  of  long-leaf  pine, 
with  hickory,  white  and  Spanish  oaks,  and  sweet  and  sour  gums  and  maple  in  the  bottom  lands.  The  hog-wallow 
clay  in  dry  weather  packs  very  much  after  the  fashion  of  the  prairie  soil  of  the  rotten  limestone,  but  the  colors 
differ,  being  reddish  here,  and  grayish  or  grayish-yellow  in  the  rotten  limestone.  The  low,  heavy  lauds  of  the 
Cowikee  alternate  with  light  sandy  soils  upon  the  hillsides  and  divides,  and  occasionally  beds  of  deep  white  sand 
are  encountered,  which  remind  one  of  the  pine  barrens  of  the  extreme  south.  The  presence  of  an  unusually  large 
proportion  of  mica  in  the  drift  sands  has  been  mentioned  under  Bullock  county,  and  the  same  thing  may  be  noticed 
in  this  county  also. 

A  line  drawn  diagonally  through  the  county  from  northeast  to  southwest  would  approximately  separate  the 
rotten-limestone  lands  from  those  of  the  Ripley  marls.  The  former  are  found  only  in  detached  bodies  among  the 
greatly  preponderating.loams  and  sands  of  the  overlying  drift,  while  the  latter  are  quite  characteristic  of  the  region 
in  which  they  occur. 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  will  not  be  difficult  to  understand  the  variety  and  distribution  of  the  soils  as  they 
occur  in  Russell  county,  being  the  sandy  and  loamy  soils  of  the  post-Tertiary  deposits  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
heavy  black-prairie  soils  of  the  rotten  limestone  and  the  stiff,  clayey  to  light  sandy  and  marly  soils  of  the  Ripley 
group  on  the  other.     Most  of  these  soil  varieties  have  already  been  fully  described. 

The  high  rank  of  Russell  county  in  cotton  production  is  due  chiefly  to  the  cultivation  of  the  lauds  in  which  the 
blue  marl,  as  it  is  called,  forms  the  substratum.  The  intermixture  of  the  blue  marl  with  the  overlying  loams  has 
the  effect  of  stimulating  the  latter  to  its  utmost  capacity. 

The  cotton  crop  is  usually  sold  to  the  merchants  at  the  various  railroad  stations  in  the  county,  and  thence 
shipped  to  the  various  markets  north  and  east. 

BARBOUR. 

Population:  33,979.— White,  13,001 ;  colored,  20,888. 

Area:  800  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine,  010  square  miles; 
blue-marl  lands,  250  square  miles.  , 

Tilled  land:  197,455  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  100,112  acres;  in  corn,  61,822  acres;  in  oats,  10,261  acres; 
in  wheat,  131  acres;  in  rye,  112  acres;  in  rice,  35  acres;  iu  tobacco,  22  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  647  acres;  in  sweet 
potatoes,  1,274  acres. 

Cotton  production:  26,063  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.26  bale,  373  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  124 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

A  line  drawn  east  and  west  through  Barbour  county  near  the  center  will  divide  it  into  two  parts,  which  are 
quite  dissimilar.  The  soils  on  the  north  of  this  line  are  more  or  less  calcareous,  those  on  the  south  sandy.  The 
northern  half  has  a  substratum  of  marl  and  limestone  of  the  Upper  Cretaceous  formation  (Ripley  group),  which, 
actiug  upon  the  soil,  gives  rise  to  some  of  the  best  and  safest  cotton  lands  in  the  state.  This  portion  of  the  county  is 
drained  by  the  three  forks  of  Cowikee  creek,  and  is  known  throughout  the  county  as  the  Cowikee  lands.  The  soil 
is  a  moderately  stiff  calcareous  clay,  with  patches  of  what  is  known  as  hog-wallow,  which  are  seldom  more  than  an 
acre  or  two  in  extent.  In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  streams  the  soil  is  much  more  sandy,  but  highly  productive. 
The  general  appearance  of  these  lands  is  that  of  a  gently  undulating,  eccasionally  hilly  region,  somewhat  resembling 
the  prairies  of  the  rotten  limestone  country,  but  with  reddish  or  light-colored  soils.  This  region,  though  fertile, 
is  malarious,  and  is  inhabited  by  comparatively  few  white  families.  The  negroes,  however,  appear  to  endure  it  very 
well.  There  is  a  peculiar  mixture  of  trees  characterizing  these  lauds,  viz:  hickory,  white  and  Spanish  oaks,  sweet 
and  sour  gums,  and  long-leaf  pine.    The  latter  appears  out  of  place  with  such  surroundings. 

Upon  the  divides  in  the  Cowikee  region  the  strata  of  the  post-Tertiary  are  found,  consisting  of  sands,  clays, 
and  pebbles,  with  the  usual  irregular  stratification.  These  beds  throughout  the  county  show  a  larger  proportion 
of  mica  than  is  usually  seen ;  a  fact  which  may  possibly  find  an  explanation  in  the  nearness  of  the  mctamorphic 
area  of  the  state.  The  soils  produced  by  these  surface  beds  are  of  the  same  general  nature  with  similar  soils  iu 
other  parts  of  the  state,  varying  from  the  extremes  of  sandy  to  clayey,  and  supporting  a  correspondingly  varied 
growth — long-leaf  pines  upon  the  sandier  and  the  various  species  of  oaks  upon  the  more  loamy  portions. 

The  southern  half  of  the  county  is  underlaid  generally  with  the  beds  of  the  Tertiary  formation,  but  these  are 
seldom  concerned  in  the  formation  of  the  soils,  since  they  are  covered  with  the  sands  and  loams  of  the  stratified 
drift.  Upon  occasions  the  Tertiary  beds  approach  the  surface  and  bring  about  modifications  of  the  soil.  Taken  as 
a  whole,  however,  the  soils  of  the  southern  half  of  Barbour  are  deficient  in  lime  and  generally  sandy,  and  the 
country  high  and  rolling,  and  good  freestone  water  is  attainable  by  wells  from  20  to  30  feet  deep.  This  land  is  not 
specially  suited  to  cotton,  though  the  free  use  of  fertilizers  will  always  produce  a  satisfactory  yield.  In  places 
where  the  overlying  drifted  materials  have  been  partially  removed  the  calcareous  and  greeusaud  beds  of  the 
Tertiary  give  rise  to  the  formation  of  local  tracts  of  very  fine  soil,  similar  in  all  respects  to  those  mentioned  under 
Pike  county. 

The  Chattahoochee  river  forms  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  county,  and  the  bottom  lands  of  this  stream  are 
from  1  to  3  miles  wide,  and  very  productive.  Next  te  these  are  the  second  bottoms  or  hummocks,  or  pine  flats, 
always  safe  and  easy  to  cultivate.     Bordering  upon  these  are  the  foot-hills  of  the  pine  uplands. 

Although  the  larger  part  of  the  surface  of  this  county  is  occupied  by  brown  loams,  with  a  growth  of  oak,  hickory, 
and  pine;  yet  the  characteristic  agricultural  features  of  Barbour  depend  upon  the  blue  marls  of  the  Cowikee 
and  other  drainage  areas  of  the  northern  half  of  the  county.  A  large  proportion  (more  than  half)  of  the  cotton 
crop  is  produced  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  county,  where  these  marls  give  character  to  the  soils.    There  is 

141 


132  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

perhaps  no  part  of  the  state  which  ranks  higher  in  the  production  of  cotton  than  the  blue-marl  lauds  of  adjacenl 
parts  of  Russell,  Barbour,  and  Bullock  counties,  whose  prevailing  soils  are  light  sandy  loams,  easily  worked, 
possessing  a  comparatively  high  percentage  of  lime,  by  which  they  are  rendered  extraordinarily  thrifty. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE   REPORTS   OF   JUDGE  H.  D.  CLAYTON,  OF   CLAYTON,  AND  DR.  H.  HAWKINS,  OF  HAWKINSVILLJ!. 
(The  region  reported  upon  lies  at  tlic  headwaters  of  ChoctawbatoUie  river,  and  includes  both  uplands  and  lowlands  ;  also,  the  Cowikoe  lands  are  described.) 

No  local  causes  infln.en.ee  tbe  growth  of  cotton  in  the  former  region,  but  in  the  Cowikee  lauds  the  heavy  dews  are  thought  t<>  bo 
favorable  to  the  growth.  The  upland  soils  are  gray  to  red  in  color,  and  mostly  Bandy  and  porous.  The  gray  lands  are  about  three-fourths 
and  the  red  about  one-fourth  of  the  area.  The  growth  upon  the  gray  land  is  a  mixture  of  long-leaf  pine,  red,  white,  and  post  oaks,  and 
hickory,  and  that  on  the  red  land  the  same,  with  the  addition  of  walnul,  persimmon,  grape-vines,  chincapin,  buckeye,  etc.  The  red 
soil  is  usually  much  stiller  than  the  gray,  and  has  a  subsoil  of  sometimes  very  hard  clay  and  sand,  underlaid  frequently  with  a  hard-pan 
at  a  depth  of  several  feet. 

These  soils  are  of  easy  tillage  at  all  times,  and  produce  the  usual  crops,  being,  however,  best  adapted  to  grain,  potatoes,  and  pease, 
although  cotton  forms  at  least  half  of  the  cultivated  crops.  The  most  productive  height  of  stalk  is  about  .1  feet.  In  wet  seasons,  and  on 
fresh  land,  the  plant  sometimes  runs  to  weed,  but  this  may  bo  checked  by  the  free  use  of  commercial  fertilizers  and  by  topping.  The  seed- 
cotton  product  of  the  fresh  laud  is  given  at  1,000  pouuds  (one  third  lint),  this  average  yield  of  lint  being  estimated  from  the  observation  and 
experience  of  thirty  years.  The  staple  rates  high  in  tho  market  (exact  grade  not  given).  Cultivating  '.S  to  4  years  without  manure  will 
bring  down  the  yield  to  500  pounds  with  a  little  shorter  staple.  Coffee-weeds  are  more  troublesome  than  any  other,  but  none  will  give 
trouble  where  the  crop  is  properly  worked.  About  a  fourth  of  this  kind  of  land  lies  turned  out,  chiefly  because  since  the  war  the  negro 
laborers  cannot  be  induced  to  care  for  the  laud  and  keep  the  ditches  cleared  out  either  on  hillsides  or  in  the  bottoms  unless  especially 
hired  for  the  purpose,  and  this  takes  too  much  money  from  the  owner  of  tho  laud  to  justify  him  in  so  doing.  On  some  farms,  where  tin- 
negroes  have  become  attached  to  the  place,  they  cau  by  a  little  coaxing  be  induced  to  keep  up  the  land. 

When  turned  out  for  10  or  15  years  and  grown  np  in  old-field  pine  lands  will  produce  nearly  as  well  as  tho  fresh  lands  when 
reclaimed.  A  great  deal  cf  injury  is  done  both  to  the  hills  and  the  valleys  by  washings  and  gullies.  When  the  hillsides  arc  turned  out 
and  grow  up  in  the  pines,  the  valleys  are  improved,  there  being  no  washings  from  above. 

The  soil  of  the  Cowikee  lauds  is  a  tine  sandy  loam,  alternating  with  a  heavier,  clayey,  sometimes  prairie-like  loam,  both  more  or 
less  strong  in  lime.  The  color  is  usually  gray  or  yellowish,  and  the  subsoil  is  also  of  light  color.  The  common  growth  is  oak,  hickory 
and  long-leaf  pine.  The  three  branches  of  Cowikee  creek  flow  together  before  reaching  the  river.  On  the  north  side  of  each  the  land  is 
comparatively  level,  and  tho  principal  growth  pine;  the  soil,  light-gray,  chincapin,  and  hog-wallow.  On  these  the  cotton  is  small  but  very 
prolific,  though  most  subject  to  rust  after  the  land  has  been  cultivated  for  a  few  years.  On  the  south  side  of  these  streams  the  land  is 
much  stronger,  with  more  lime,  and  produces  a  large  cotton  weed;  it  is  also  better  for  corn. 

In  wet  seasons  the  land  is  rather  difficult  to  till,  but  yields  fine  crops.  Cotton  occupies!  four-fifths  of  the  cultivated  land,  and  I  lie 
height  of  stalk  at  which  it  is  most  prolific  is  from  3  to  4  feet.  lu  wot  weather  the  plant  inclines  to  run  to  weed,  but  tho  application  of 
commercial  fertilizers  will  usually  check  this.  The  seed-cottou  product  of  the  fresh  land  is  from  1,000  to  1,200  pounds,  one-third  lint  and 
the  staple  rates  high  in  the  markets.  Six  years'  cultivation  will  bring  down  the  yield  to  between  400  and  600  pounds.  When  properly 
cultivated,  weeds  give  no  trouble.  About  10  per  cent,  of  the  land  lies  out,  but  it  does  well  when  reclaimed.  The  soil  washes  badly  on 
slopes,  and  tho  valleys  are  injured,  often  to  the  extent,  of  10  per  cent.,  by  the  washings  from  the  uplands.  Some  slight  efforts  have  been 
made  to  check  the  damage  by  horizontalizing,  hillside  ditching,  etc.,  and  with  good  success. 

Shipments  of  the  cotton  crop  are  made  throughout  the  season,  usually  by  railroad,  to  the  eastern  markets.  From  Clayton  the  rate 
to  Enfaula  is  $1  per  bale;  distance,  20  miles. 


THEtFLATWOODS    BELT. 
This  comprises  a  narrow  strip  running  through  the  counties  of  Sumter,*  Marengo,*  and  Wilcox.1 

SUMTER. 
(See  "Central  prairie  region".) 

MARENGO. 

(See  "Central  prairie  region".) 

WILCOX, 
(See  "Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine".) 


OAK   AND    HICKORY   UPLANDS,  WITH    LONG-LEAF  PINE. 

This  region  comprises  wholly  or  in  part  the  following  counties:  Sumter,*  Choctaw,  Clarke,  Monroe,  Wilcox, 
Butler,  Conecuh,  Coviugtou,*  Crenshaw,  Montgomery,*  Bullock,*  Barbour,*  Pike,  Coffee,  Dale,  and  Henry. 


142 


SUMTEE. 

(See  "  Central  prairie  region".) 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  163 

CHOCTAW. 

Population:  15,731.— White,  7,300 ;  colored,  8,341. 

Area:  930  square  miles. — Oak  and  hickory  ana  long-leaf  piue  uplands,  830  square  miles;  lime-hills,  100  square 
miles.     Of  the  former,  475  square  miles  are  long-leaf  pine  uplands  and  355  square  miles  brown-loam  uplands. 

Tilled  land:  77,182  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  31, OS0  acres;  in  corn,  25,613  acres ;  iu  oats,  3,338  acres;  in 
rice,  38  acres ;  in  sugar-cane,  101  acres  ;  in  tobacco,  23  acres ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  748  acres. 

Cotton  production :  9,0.54  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.29  bale,  414  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  138 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

In  Choctaw  county  the  rocky  substratum  is  made  by  the  various  beds  of  the  Tertiary  formation,  and  while  these 
underlying  older  rocks  have  been  covered  with  deposits  of  sand,  pebbles,  and  loam  of  a  later  period,  yet  they  are 
in  many  places  sufficiently  near  the  surface  to  modify  the  soils,  and  in  some  instances  to  form  them  outright.  On 
account  of  the  slight  southward  dip  of  the  Tertiary  beds,  we  find  the  lowest  and  oldest  of  these  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  county,  while  the  later  beds  appear  at  the  surface  in  succession  as  we  go  southward. 

Throughout  the.  county  the  higher  levels  of  the  table-lands  have  the  brown  loam  to  gray  sandy  soils  of  the 
drift  deposits  before  named;  but  where  these  have  been  removed,  as  upon  the  slopes  and  on  the  borders  of  the 
lowlands,  then  the  Tertiary  rocks  come  to  light  and  produce  many  decided  soil  varieties.  The  lowest  Tertiary 
beds  occurring  iu  Choctaw  county  consist  of  lamiunted  clays,  usually  of  grayish  colors,  which  are  interstratified 
with  sandy  strata  containing  great  numbers  of  marine  shells,  constituting  marl  beds.  These  beds  occur  as  far  south 
as  the  latitude  of  Butler,  and,  where,  they  take  part  in  the  formation  of  the  soils,  give  rise  to  heavy  clayey  soils  on 
the  one  hand  and  to  stiff  calcareous  loams  on  the  other.  About  Butler  may  be  seen  lime-hills  of  this  character. 
The.  growth  on  these  hills  consists  chiefly  of  post  oak,  hickory,  and  short-leaf  pine,  with  a  few  oaks  of  other  species. 
Most  of  these  trees  are  draped  with  long  moss.  Where  the  overlying  sandy  loams  are  thick  the  long-leaf  pine 
becomes  abundant,  and  on  most  of  the  sandy  plateaus  it  is  the  prevailing  tree. 

The  next  division  of  the  Tertiary,  which  makes  its  appearance  south  of  Butler  in  a  belt,  extending  to  Bladen 
Springs,  is  made  up  of  aluminous  sandstones  and  claystones,  which  overlie  beds  of  dark-colored  clays,  interstratified 
with  beds  of  greensaud  marl.  Where  the  sandstones  are  prominent  the  topography  is  quite  varied,  and  consists 
of  high,  steep  hills,  with  deep,  narrow  ravines.  The  soils  which  depend  upon  this  material  are  naturally  poor,  and 
the  timber  is  mostly  of  long-leaf  pine,  black-jack,  and  high-ground  willow  oaks;  but  the  calcareous  deposits 
previously  mentioned  give  rise  to  very  good  limy  soils,  where  sufficiently  large  tracts  of  land  level  enough  for 
cultivation  cau  be  found.  In  all  this  section  between  Butler  and  Bladen  Springs  the  creek  bottoms  appear  to  be 
very  productive,  and  to  contain  a  considerable  proportion  of  lime,  as  may  be  inferred  from  the  luxuriauce  of  the 
vegetation  and  the  prevalence  of  the  spruce  pine,  which  seems  to  be  a  lime-loving  tree.  The  uplands  between  these, 
streams  have  the  usual  sandy  loam  soils,  and  in  some  places  the  sandstones  themselves  form  the  soils,  which  are 
then  almost  worthless  for  cultivation. 

South  of  Bladen  Springs  (the  waters  of  which,  like  those  of  Tallahatta  Springs,  on  the  other  side  of  the  river, 
come  from  the  Tertiary  rocks  just  described)  the  country  is  formed  of  the  strata  of  the  Jackson  and  Vicksburg  groups 
of  the  Tertiary,  and  are  either  calcareous  clays,  marine  shell  deposits,  or  white  limestone.  Iu  places,  particularly 
along  the  usually  very  steep  slopes  bordering  the  streams,  the  calcareous  beds,  and  especially  those  of  slight 
coherence,  mingle  with  the  materials  of  the  overlying  deposits,  and  produce  the  peculiar  soils  of  the  lime-hills.  These 
vary  from  a  stiff,  limy  red  loam  to  a  black  soil  very  much  like  some  of  the  soils  of  the  central  prairie  belt.  Unlike 
these,  however,  the  lime-hill  soils  appear  in  this  county  only  in  comparatively  limited  patches,  and  the  region  of 
their  occurrence  has  the  prevailing  characters  of  the  pine  uplands,  the  calcareous  soils  forming  only  a  small 
proportion  of  the  total  area. 

From  Mr.  James  Hamrick,  of  Isney,  I  learn  that  the  belt  of  what  is  called  iu  this  county  "shell  prairie"  is 
about  5  miles  wide,  and  enters  the  county  in  township  11,  range  5  west,  and  passes  southeast,  leaving  the  county  iu 
township  9,  range  3  west.    These  and  the  creek  bottoms  form  the  very  best  lands  iu  the  county. 

All  the  divides  and  high  lands  of  the  southern  part  of  the  county  have  rather  thick  beds  of  drift  and  loam 
overlying  the  Tertiary,  and  the  agricultural  features  are  hence  mostly  independent  of  the,  latter,  except  along  the 
drainage  slopes. 

It  will  be  seen  from  what  has  been  said  that  while  the  prevailing  character  of  Choctaw  county  is  that  of 
the  long-leaf  pine  uplands  with  oak  and  hickory,  yet  the  most  productive  lands,  and  those  which  are  of  most 
importance  to  the  cotton-planter,  are  the  shell  prairie  and  creek  bottoms.  In  the  adjoining  counties  of  Clarke  and 
Wayne,  in  Mississippi,  the  shell  prairies  are  of  the  same  nature,  though,  if  anything,  rather  more  widely  distributed, 
and  in  larger  bodies. 

The  Tombigbee  river  on  one  side  of  the  county,  and  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  railroad,  in  Mississippi,  on  the  other, 
furnish  the  only  means  of  transportation  for  the  products  of  the  county  to  the  distant  markets. 

CLAKKE. 

Population:  17,806.— White,  7,718  ;  colored,  10,088.  • 

Area:  1,160  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Lime-hills,  560  square  miles;  oak  and  hickory  and  long-leaf  pine 
uplands,  340  square  miles,  of  which  100  are  brown-loam  uplands  and  240  long-leaf  pine  uplands  ;  rolling  and  open 
pine  woods,  200  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  77,186  acres. — Area  planted  iu  cotton,  33,477  acres ;  in  corn,  28,220  acres ;  iu  oats,  5,065  acres  ;  in 
tobacco,  19  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  200  acres ;  iu  rice,  22  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  1,256  acres. 

Cotton  production:  11,097  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.33  bale,  471  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  157 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  position  of  Clarke  county,  in  the  angle  of  the  Alabama  and  the  Tombigbee  rivers,  is  favorable  to  the 
production  of  a  diversified  topography  and  to  the  exposure  of  its  rock  structure;  hence  the  study  of  its  natural 
features  is  of  the  greatest  interest.    The  Tombigbee  receives  by  far  the  greater  part  of  its  surface  drainage,  for  the 

143 


134  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

divide  between  the  two  rivers  runs  within  10  miles  of  the  Alabama  river  the  whole  length  of  the  county.  It  thus 
follows  that  its  principal  creeks — liashi,  Tallahatta,  Satilpa,  Jackson's,  and  Bassett's — flow  west  or*  southwest 
diagonally  across  the  county.  The  rock  strata  have  a  gentle  dip  southward,  and  to  this  relation  between  the 
directions  of  the  streams  and  the  dip  of  the  rocks  is  due  one  of  the  striking  topographical  features  of  the  county, 
viz:  that  escarpments  or  abrupt  hills  are  found  on  the  southern  or  southeastern  borders  of  these  streams,  while  to 
the  north  and  northwest  the  slopes  are  very  gradual,  often  almost  imperceptible. 

The  Tertiary  strata  which  form  the  substratum  of  Clarke  county  have  been  covered  with  beds  of  sand,  pebbles, 
and  red  loam,  and  the  altitude  of  the  main  watersheds,  which  are,  in  general,  plateaus  covered  with  these 
drifted  materials,  is  about  500  feet  above  tide.  The  greater  part  of  the  original  surface  has  been  irregularly  worn 
away  by  erosion,  and  especially  is  this  the  case  in  the  lower  part  of  the  county,  where  the  two  rivers  are  not  more 
than  0  or  10  miles  apart.  Both  the  Tertiary  strata  and  the  drift  beds  overlying  them  have  contributed  to  the 
formation  of  the  soils  of  the  county,  but  in  very  unequal  proportions,  since  the  drift  occupies  the  greater  part  of 
the  surface. 

The  high  hills  which  overlook  and  form  the  southern  border  of  the  drainage  area  of  Tallahatta  creek  are 
caused  by  hard  sandstones  and  claystones  perhaps  200  feet  in  thickness.  These  rest  upon  dark-colored  laminated 
clays  and  sands,  which  form  their  lower  parts,  and  underlie  also  the  whole  region  north  of  them  to  the  line  of 
Marengo  and  beyond.  The  Tallahatta  hills,  as  they  may  be  called,  are  rough  and  rocky,  and  have  in  general  poor, 
saudy  soils,  upon  which  long-leaf  pine  and  black  jack  and  high-ground  willow  oaks  form  the  principal  timber.  Where 
the  streams  have  cut  down  through  these  sandstones  into  the-underlying  strata  the  soils  are  often  of  much  belter 
character,  for  reasons  which  will  appear  hereafter.  Usually  in  the  region  of  these  hills  there  are  no  good  soils,  and 
the  country  is  very  sparsely  settled.     Cattle,  however,  find  very  good  pasturage. 

North  of  the  Tallahatta  hills  the  lignitic  clays  and  sands  form  a  much  more  level  country,  whose  soils,  while 
in  a  great  measure  derived  from  the  overlying  drift  beds,  are  nevertheless  in  places  greatly  modified  by  intermixtures 
with  these  older  rocks,  luterstratilied  with  the  clays  and  sands  are  one  or  two  beds  of  shell  marl  containing  a 
notable  amount  of  greensand,  and  where  these  come  to  the  surface  a  great  improvement  in  the  soil  may  bo  noticed. 
This  improvement  is  most  strikingly  seen  in  the  lime-hills,  a  belt  of  which  crosses  the  county  nearly  east  and 
west  through  Choctaw  corner.  The  limy  tracts  are  not  always  continuous  for  long  distances,  hut  are  rather  in 
detached  bodies,  except  eastward  near  the  Wilcox  line,  where  they  become  characteristic.  The  hills  are  usually 
very  steep,  and  the  soil,  in  consequence,  washes  badly,  and  when  left  out  of  cultivation  soon  becomes  disfigured 
by  unsightly  gullies.  The  timber  is  chiefly  beech,  but  with  it  are  many  other  trees,  such  as  hickory,  white  oak, 
sweet  gum,  short-leaf  pine,  spruce  pine,  etc. 

Southward  from  the  Tallahatta  hills  (leaving  out  of  account  the  superficial  drift  beds)  the  whole  county  is 
formed  of  beds  of  white  limestone  of  varying  degrees  of  purity,  which  are  interstratilied  with  thinner  beds  of  loose 
shell  marl.  These  rocks  and  marl  beds,  with  one  principal  exception,  do  not  play  any  very  important  part  in  the 
formation  of  the  soils.  This  exception  is  found  in  the  lowermost  of  the  limestone  beds,  which  is  impure  and  clayey, 
and  in  places  is  almost  a  calcareous  clay.  Wherever  this  rock  occurs  as  the  surface  formation,  or  where  the  surface 
materials  are  affected  by  it,  it  gives  rise  to  a  series  of  peculiar  soils  which  characterize  the  lime-hills  and  shell 
prairies.  The  varieties  of  soil  depending  on  this  rock  alone  are  of  two  kinds:  a  loose,  black  material,  and  a  gray, 
waxy  clay,  which  becomes  black  on  the  addition  of  vegetable  matter.  A  mixture  of  this  gray  clay  with  the  red-drift 
loam  produces  a  stiff  yellowish  or  mahogany  soil,  difficult  of  cultivation,  but  very  fertile.  These  soils  and  their 
characteristic  vegetation  have  been  somewhat  fully  described  in  the  general  part  (page  52). 

It  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the.  prairie  or  lime  soils  form  the  majority  of  the  tillable  lands,  even 
where  they  give  character  to  the  country.  The  great  proportion  of  all  the  soils  is  derived  from  the  surface  loam 
previously  spoken  of,  and  the  limy  soils  are  seen  usually  in  small  detached  bodies,  mostly  at  lower  levels,  where  the 
superficial  beds  have  been  removed  by  denudation.  This  limestone  is  the  matrix  of  the  huge  bones  which  have 
been  found  from  time  to  time  in  Clarke  county.  Associated  with  it  are  also  beds  of  gypsum,  which  is  found 
•occasionally  in  crystallized  form  in  great  quantities  imbedded  in  clay.  This  gypsum  might  be  profitably  employed 
upon  the  lands  of  the  sections  where  it  abounds.  The  lime-hills  occur  from  the  latitude  of  Coffeeville  southward 
as  far  as  the  vicinity  of  Barlow  bend,  or  over  three-fourths  of  the  county.  In  many  places  the  bare  white  rock 
is  exposed  in  great  bodies,  as  about  Clarkesville,  Suggsville,  Cedar  creek,  etc. 

The.  other  limestone  beds  which  overlie  the  one,  just  described  play  an  knportant  part  in  the  topography,  but 
are  not  so  generally  concerned  in  the  production  of  a  peculiar  soil  as  is  the  former.  It  is  seen  in  a  great  bluff  at  old 
Saint  Stephens.  Portions  of  it.  when  freshly  quarried,  are  quite  soft,  and  are  easily  cut  into  blocks,  which  are  used  in 
the  construction  of  chimneys.  The  thin  beds  of  shell  marl  which  are  associated  with  these  rocks  have  a  local  effect 
upon  the  soils.  Some  of  them  could  be  profitably  employed  on  the  lands  which  lie  contiguous,  but  they  are  not 
generally  rich  enough  to  be  shipped  to  distant  points.  An  exception  might  be  made  in  the  case  of  the  marl  bed 
which  occurs  at  the  Claiborne  landing,  in  Monroe  county,  and  which  is  seen  at  several  points  on  the  Clarke  county 
side.  This  is  a  shell  marl,  which  in  places  contains  very  little  else  than  shells,  and  might  pay  to  ship.  Some,  of  the 
more  level  areas,  where  the  limestone  lies  beneath  the  surface,  are  marked  with  shallow  depressions,  or  lime-sinks; 
but  this  feature  is  not  a  common  one  in  Clarke. 

Of  the  soils  produced  by  the  surface  beds  of  the  drift  it  does  not  seem  necessary  to  speak  at  this  place,  since 
they  have  been  fully  treated  of  in  the  general  part  of  this  report.  All  the  table-lands  and  many  other  areas  in  Clarke 
have  the  loam  soils,  many  of  which  are  of  excellent  quality.  The  pebbles  which  so  commonly  underlie  the  surface 
loams  usually  make  their  appearance  along  the  hillsides,  where  the  table-lands  break  off  toward  the  water-courses. 
They  may  be  seen,  for  instance,  about  the  towns  of  Jackson  and  Grove  llill,  and  in  many  similar  positions. 

On  the  water-shed  between  Bassett's  creek  and  the  Alabama  river  there  are  places  where  the  gullies  have 
encroached  on  each  side  upon  the  hills  until  only  a  narrow  ridge  now  remains  of  the  dividing  plateau.  From  this 
ridge  the  view  is  unobstructed  on  each  side,  and  embraces  the  whole  width  of  the  drainage  areas  of  the  two 
streams. 

With  reference  to  its  prevailing  limber  growth,  this  county  may  be  divided  into  several  distinct  belts.  The 
northern  belt  is  a  legion  of  oak  uplands,  with  long-  and  short-leaf  pine.  Interspersed  with  these  uplands  are  the 
lime-hills,  with  beech  timber  and  the  peculiar  growth  which  generally  characterizes  bottom  lands.  South  of  this 
come  the  Tallahatta  hills,  occupying  a  belt  10  miles  in  width,  timbered  with  long-leaf  pine  and  black-jack;  thence 

144 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  135 

southward,  to  the  lower  limit  of  the  county,  are  alternations  of  oak  and  hickory  uplands  and  long-leaf  pine  forests, 
the  latter  increasing  in  extent  in  the  same  proportion  that  the  former  decrease,  till  below  Grove  Hill  the  country  has 
the  characters  of  the  pine  uplands  and  rolling  pine  lands.  Within  this  region  are  the  lime-hills  and  shell  prairies 
of  the  white  limestone. 

The  cotton  lands  of  Clarke  county  are  the  second  bottoms  or  hummocks  of  the  two  rivers,  and  are  often  several 
miles  in  width,  with  sandy  loam  soils,  in  many  cases  strengthened  by  the  washings  from  the  calcareous  uplands. 
The  creek  lands  are  not  so  generally  desirable,  for  on  the  north  side  the  soils  are  nearly  always  too  sandy.  On  the 
southern  side,  where  by  reason  of  the  marly  beds  the  soils  are  often  of  a  very  superior  character,  the  surface  is 
usually  very  broken,  and  it  is  possible  to  cultivate  only  small  patches;  such,  at  least,  is  the  case  with  the  principal 
streams.  The  small  creeks  which  flow  into  the  Alabama  river  have  generally  very  little  bottom  lands,  and  often 
steep,  rocky  banks.  The  lime-hills,  both  north  and  south  of  the  Tallahatta  hills,  produce  fine  crops,  especially  the 
loose,  black-shell  prairie  of  the  latter.  The  upland  soils  of  the  red  loam  have  the  same  character  in  this  county  as 
elsewhere,  and  are  some  of  the  best  and  safest  of  the  cotton  lands. 

Clarke  countv  depends  upon  the  two  rivers  for  shipping  its  cotton  to  market,  and  the  most  of  it  goes  naturally 
to  Mobile.     The  freight  to  that  point  is  from  $1  25  to  $1  50  per  bale. 

MONROE. 

Population:  17,091— White,  7,7S0  ;  colored,  9,311. 

Area:  1,030  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Undulating  pine  lands,  380  square  miles  ;  pine  uplands,  250  square 
miles  ;  brown  loam  or  oak  and  hickory  uplands,  130  square  miles  ;  lime-hills,  270  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  77,317  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  33,403  acres;  in  corn,  24,135  acres;  in  oats,  4,597  acres;  in 
rice,  78  acres;  in  sugarcane,  329  acres;  in  tobacco,  11  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  920  acres. 

Cotton  production :  10,421  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.31  bale,  441  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  147 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

In  its  geological  structure  Monroe  county  closely  resembles  Clarke,  which  adjoins  it  on  the  west.  The 
underlying  rocks  throughout  the  county  are  those  of  the  Tertiary  formation,  the  aluminous  and  siliceous  sandstoues 
of  the  buhr-stone  group  occurring  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  while  the  white  limestone  underlies  all  the 
southern  pari.  But  the  beds  of  sand,  pebbles,  and  loam  belonging  to  the  stratified  drift  formation  are  spread  over 
all  these  older  rocks,  and  are  concerned  in  the  formation  of  the  greater  part  of  the  soils. 

The  sandstones  above  mentioned  form  a  hilly  and  much  broken  country,  with  poor  sandy  soils,  on  the  uplands; 
but  as  the  sandstones  are  underlaid  with  a  dark-colored  laminated  clay  interstratifled  with  beds  of  greensand  marl 
the  valleys  lying  at  the  foot  of  these  hills  are  often  very  productive.  The  whole  of  this  region  is  characterized  by 
rough,  precipitous  hills  with  long-leaf  pine  growth,  alternating  "with  fertile  limy  valleys.  Notwithstanding  the 
broken  character  of  the  country,  some  of  the  most  prosperous  farmers  are  located  in  this  section. 

In  the  central  and  southern  parts  of  the  county  the  topography  is  comparatively  little  influenced  by  the 
underlying  rocks,  and  the  uplands  have  the  prevailing  characters  of  the  pine  hills  or  rolling  pine  lands,  and 
similarly  with  the  soils,  which  are  for  the  most  part  the  sandy  loams  derived  from  the  drift,  present  no  peculiarities. 
Where,  however,  these  surface  materials  have  been  partially  removed,  as  within  the  drainage  areas  of  Flat  and 
Limestone  creeks,  the  case  is  different;  for  the  marls  or  limestones  of  the  Tertiary  formation  are  uncovered  and 
brought  in  contact  with  the  overlying  loams,  and  thus  are  produced  those  fertile  soils  of  the  lime-hills  and  creek 
bottoms  for  which  these  localities  are  noted.  The  uplands  bordering  these  creek  lands  are  the  usual  sandy  pine 
hills,  and  as  these  break  off  toward  the  creeks  the  lime-hills  occur,  which  are  usually  very  steep,  and  have 
comparatively  little  level  land  on  top.  The  soils  are  of  various  colors,  from  gray  and  reddish  to  nearly  black, 
usually  pretty  stiff,  and  sometimes  contain  shells.  The  bottom  lands  adjacent  to  the  lime-hills  are  more  sandy, 
but  are  usually  more  or  less  influenced  by  the  lime  of  the.  hills,  and  make  the  best  cotton  lands  in  the  county. 

Below  the  latitude  of  Monroeville  the  county  is  a  level  or  gently  rolling  piny  woods,  with  occasional  lime-sinks, 
which  reveal  the  presence  of  the  limestone  beneath,  but  this  rock  seldom  appears  at  the  surface  except  along  the 
banks  of  the  streams.  In  all  this  region  very  little  cotton  is  planted  except  in  the  lowlands  adjacent  to  the  Alabama 
river. 

The  cotton  lands  of  Monroe  county  are  the  lowlands  of  Flat  and  Limestone  creeks  and  the  Alabama  river.  The 
uplands  are  generally  sandy  and  not  very  productive,  especially  in  the  southern  half  of  the  county.  There  are  some 
good  bodies  of  table-land  with  brown-loam  soil  and  red-clay  subsoil,  but  these  are  similar  to  the  brown -loam  soils  of 
the  other  counties.  The  marls  from  Flat  creek,  where  they  occur  in  large  enough  beds,  might  be  used  with  advantage 
on  the  poorer  upland  soils,  which  are  within  convenient  distance. 

The  agricultural  characters  of  the  Flat  Creek  region  are  shown  in  the  following  abstract. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE   REPORT   OF  DE.   J.   M.   HARRINGTON,    OF  NEWTOWN   ACADEMY. 

The  lowlands  of  the  region  described  are  the  first,  and  second  bottoms  of  Flat  creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Alabama  river;  the  uplands 
are  the  rolling  or  level  table-lands  bordering  upon  the  same.  In  the  lowlands  the  cotton  is  generally  later  than  on  the  surrounding  uplands, 
©n  account,  of  the  cold  nature  of  the  soil  in  the  former. 

The  soils  described  are  :  First,  the  stiff  creek  bottoms  with  adjoining  sandy  lands;  second,  the  rolling  lime-hills  and  their  adjoining 
bottom  lands;  and  third,  the  sandy  uplands. 

In  the  region  under  consideration  about  one-half  of  the  cultivated  lands  are  of  the  first  kind,  or  creek  lands.  The  prevailing  timber 
is  poplar,  white  oak,  ash,  beech,  and  sweet  gum.  The  light  soils  are  fine  to  coarse  sandy,  and  the  heavier,  clayey  loams  sometimes  quite 
stiff.  The  colors  are  varied,  ranging  from  whitish  to  gray,  brown,  blackish,  and  black.  A  change  of  color  to  that  of  the  subsoil  is 
usually  noticed  at  a  depth  of  6  inches.  The  subsoil  is  generally  yellow  or  red,  though  sometimes  it  is  of  a  bluish  pipe-clay  color,  and  when 
of  the  nature  of  a  pipe-clay  it  is  sometimes  almost  impervious  to  water.  The  underlying  material  is  sand,  gravel,  or  limestone,  accordiug  to 
the  locality.  In  tilling  qualities  the  soil  is  difficult  both  in  wet  and  in  dry  seasons,  and  is  late,  cold,  andgeuerally  ill-drained.  The  crops 
produced  upon  it  are  corn,  cotton,  sweet  potatoes,  pease,  oats,  and  rice.  The  soil  is  apparently  best  adapted  to  cotton,  wThich  makes  about 
two-thirds  of  the  cultivated  crops.  The  lime  lands  occupy  about  one-fourth  of  the  described  area,  and  their  natural  growth  is  post  oak, 
hickory,  and  maple.  The  soil  is  usually  a  heavy  clay  loam  of  a  whitish,  gray,  buff,  brown,  ©r  mahogany  color,  with  an  average  thickness 
10   C   P — TOL.   II  ■  140 


136  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

to  color  change  ef  '.i  oi'  4  inches.  The  subsoil  is  generally  heavier,  and  is  underlaid  with  ruck  from  1  to  4  feet  in  depth.  The  soil  is  difficult 
of  tillage  in  all  seasons,  but  is  early  and  warm,  and  is  better  suited  to  corn  than  to  the  other  crops.  Cotton  makejs  only  about  one-fourth  of 
the  crop  planted. 

The  sandy  uplands  form  about  one-fourth  of  the  region  herein  embraced.  The  natural  timber  is  long-leaf  pine  and  black  and  red 
oaks.  It  is  uniformly  a  line  sandy  loam  of  whitish,  gray,  and  other  light  colors,  with  a  thickness  of  2  to  4  inches  down  to  the  change  of 
color.  Tito  subsoil  is  usually  heavier,  and  contains  sometimes  rounded  or  water-worn  pebbles  of  quartz,  and,  is  underlaid  with  sand  or 
gravel.  This  soil  is  easily  tilled  under  all  circumstances,  and  is  early,  warm,  and  well-drained ;  is  best  adapted  to  corn,  the  cotton  forming 
only  ono-fourth  of  the  crops.  The  height  of  stalk  varies  from  2  to  3  feet  on  tho  pine  lands  to  5  or  6*  on  the  lime-lands  and  in  the  bottoms,  tho 
most  productive  height  being  tho  medium. 

The  fresh  pine  lands  will  yield  from  400  to  700  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  the  acre;  the  lime-hills  and  bottoms,  from  1.000  to  1,200  pounds, 
and  1,545  to  1,(560  pounds  arc  needed  for  a  175-pound  bale.  Tho  staple  is  low  middling  to  good  middling.  By  ten  years' cultivation, 
without  manure,  tho  yield  is  brought  down  at  least  one-half,  and  the  quality  of  the  staplo  is  slightly  deteriorated.  Crab-grass,  cocklebur, 
hog-weed,  and  rag-weed  arc  most  troublesome.  From  one-third  to  one-fourth  of  the  pine  and  bottom  lauds  have  been  turned  out,  and  at 
least  two-thirds  of  the  lime-hills;  but  the  latter  is  hardly  ever  reclaimed,  because  it  washes  so  badly  that  it  is  about  ruined  before  it  is 
turned  out.  The  other  lands,  when  reclaimed,  produce  better  than  when  turned  out,  but  not  so  well  as  when  new.  Very  little  effort 
has  been  made  to  prevent  washes. 

The  estton  crop  is  shipped,  as  fast  as  baled,  by  boat  to  Mobile,  the  freight  per  bale  being  £1. 

WILCOX. 

Population:  31,828. — White,  0,711 ;  colored,  25,117. 

Area:  900  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine,  600  square  miles; 
central  prairie  region,  300  square  miles  (of  which  200  square  miles  are  of  the  hills  prairie  character  and  100  of  the 
rotten  limestone.) ;  flatwoods,  00  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  101,1328  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  77,070  acres;  in  corn,  40,053  acres;  in  oats,  7,011  acres; 
in  sugar-cane,  251  acres:  in  rice,  11  acres;  in  tobacco,  15  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  1,597  acres. 

Cotton  production:  20,745  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.35  bale,  498  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  100 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Wilcox  county  has  for  its  underlying  rocks  the  strata  of  the  lowest  or  liguitic  subdivision  of  the  Tertiary 
formation,  except  along  the.  northern  edge  on  the  eastern  side  of  tho  river  and  the  northwestern  corner,  west  of  the 
river,  where  the  Cretaceous  rocks  are  found.  Where  the  calcareous  beds  mingle  with  the  overlying  strata  of  sand 
and  loam  a  still',  sticky  soil  of  considerable  fertility  is  produced,  the  growth  on  which  is  a  mixture  of  short-leaf  pines, 
post  oaks,  etc. 

In  the  direction  of  Portland  the  uplands  are  covered  with  the  strata  of  the  drift,  but  as  a  descent  is  made 
toward  Pine  Barren  creek  the  hard  limestones  and  other  calcareous  Cretaceous  rocks  arc  encountered,  and  heavy, 
tenacious  clays  make  the  soil.  Of  the  quality  of  these  clays  one  can  best  judge  after  passing  over  them  with  a 
vehicle  after  rains,  when  the  mud  in  certain  stages  of  drying  sticks  to  the  wheels  with  a  tenacity  that  is  wonderful; 
it  is  difficult  even  to  cut  it  off  with  a  knife.  A  belt  of  country  similar  to  this  is  passed  between  Dayton  and  Linden, 
in  Marengo  county,  as  there  described. 

The  belt  of  flatwoods  which,  in  Marengo  county,  has  been  mentioned  as  occurring  immediately  south  of  the 
sandy  ridge  of  Linden,  is  seen  in  this  county  also  in  a  similar  position.  The  underlying  rocks  of  the  flatwoods  are 
the  laminated  clays  that  lie  at  the  base  of  the  Tertiary  formation.  These  flatwoods,  in  Wilcox,  are  known  only  on 
the  western  side  of  the  river,  southwest  of  Prairie  Bluff. 

In  the  lower  part  of  the  county  the  other  Tertiary  beds  come  to  the  surface.  These  consist  of  gray  and  dark 
colored  clays  and  sands,  witli  which  is  associated  a  marl  bed  containing  the  mineral  greensand.  A.s  a  consequence, 
whenever  these  calcareous  beds  are  near  enough  to  affect  the  soil  a  very  marked  improvement  is  observed.  The 
lime  hills  which  characterize  that  part  of  the  county  west  of  the  river  and  above  Lower  Peach  Tree  owe  their  existence 
to  these  beds.  TJie  surface  in  this  region  is  very  broken,  and  the  lands  suffer  from  washes ;  the  soils  are  stiff,  clayey, 
calcareous  loams  of  gray,  reddish,  and  darker  colors,  and  the  timber  is  mostly  beech,  with  white  oak,  holly,  hickory, 
ash,  poplar,  short-leaf  and  spruce  pine.  This  lime-hill  region  is  bounded  on  the  south  by  a  line  of  rocky  hills,  which 
are  capped  with  sand  and  clay  stones  and  timbered  with  long-leaf  pine  and  black-jack  oak;  but  these  hills  in  most 
cases  lie  south  of  the.  county-line,  in  Clarke  and  Monroe.  The  characters  of  all  these  Tertiary  strata  and  of  the 
country  formed  of  them  have  been  described  in  some  detail  under  Choctaw  county,  and  need  not  be  repeated  here. 

The  fiver-hummock  or  second-bottom  soils  of  Wilcox  county  are  probably  fairly  well  represented  by  an  analysis 
of  soil  from  5  miles  east  of  Lower  Peach  Tree  (see  page  44).  The  uplands  of  Wilcox  are,  therefore,  mostly  the 
sandy  loams  of  the  stratified  drift  and  loam,  and  many  of  the  lowlands,  not  bottom  lands,  are  rendered  highly 
fertile  by  the  calcareous  materials  of  the  Lower  Cretaceous  and  Upper  Tertiary  formations. 

The  drainage  is  altogether  by  means  of  numerous  tributaries  into  the  Alabama  river,  and  the  surface  in  general 
is  broken,  with  a  good  deal  of  level  bottom  land  in  the  large  bends  and  in  the  flatwoods  and  prairies  of  the 
northwest. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  cotton  crop  of  Wilcox  county  is  produced  in  the  numerous  bends  of  the  Alabama 
river.  Pei  haps  the  largest  of  these  is  Black's  bend,  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  county,  long  celebrated  for  the 
great  quantity  of  cotton  annually  produced  there.  The  river  has  almost  everywhere,  fine  first-  and  second-bottom 
lands.     The  limy  soils  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  county  also  bring  fine  cotton  crops. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE   REPORT   OF   HENRY   C.   BROWN,  OF   CA3IDEN. 

(The  region  described  embraces  the  first  and  second  bottoms  of  Pursier  creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Alabama  river,  and  Ihe  hilly,  partly  limy,  partly  sandy  uplands  ot 

the  same  drainage  area.) 
On  tho  lowlands,  when  the  spring  season  is  wet,  planting  is  late,  and  the  cotton  does  not  fully  mature  before  it  is  seriously  damaged 
by  the  caterpillar.  The  uplands,  on  the  other  hand,  are  earlierand  more  easily  worked,  but  the  yield  is  less  than  in  the  bottoms.  When 
the  caterpillar  is  late  in  coming  the  yield  in  the  bottoms  will  double  that  in  the  uplands.  The  soils  described  are:  1,  the  stiff  clayey 
and  limy  lauds  of  Pursley  creek;  2,  the  Btiff  clay  lands  with  gravel,  lying  upon  slopes,  in  patches  of  15  to  'k0  acres:  and  3,  the  sandy 
nplands  w  ith  red-clay  subsoil. 
140 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  137 

The  bottom  lands  are  about  a  fourth  of  the  cultivated  lands  of  the  vicinity,  and  have  a  growth  of  white  oak,  hickory,  elm,  ash, 
beech,  magnolia,  sycamore,  mulberry,  and  walnut.  The  soil  varies  from  a  light  sandy  to  a  heavy  clay  or  often  prairie-like  loam,  with 
gray  to  nearly  black  color.  The  average  thickness  to  a  change  of  color  is  6  inches,  and  the  subsoil  is  generally  of  a  heavier  nature.  The 
soil  will  sometimes  bake  very  hard  after  a  rain  and  in  hot  sunshine,  but  by  proper  cultivation  will  yield  a  loose  soft  material.  The 
subsoil  often  contains  limy  pebbles,  and  is  underlaid  with  a  marl  or  soft  limestone  at  varying  depths.  In  dry  seasons  the  soil  is  easy 
of  tillage,  but  in  wet  seasons  it  is  very  sticky.  It  is  early  and  warm  when  well-drained,  and  produces  well  all  the  usual  crops,  being  best 
adapted  to  cotton,  sugar-cane,  and  rice. 

The  uplands,  or  hummocks,  form  about  a  third  of  the  area  in  the  region  described,  and  their  natural  growth  is  pine,  mulberry,  black- 
jack, etc.  The  soil  has  the  usual  characters  of  the  yellow  loam,  and  rests  upon  beds  of  sand  and  gravel,  with  clay  below  in  many  cases.  It 
is  easy  of  tillage  under  all  circumstances,  and  is  early  and  warm  and  usually  well-drained.  The  soil  is  apparently  best  adapted  to  oats, 
pease,  potatoes,  and  corn,  only  about  a  fourth  of  the  area  being  put  in  cotton. 

The  third  variety  of  soil  is  that  of  the  sandy  lands,  which  have  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine,  and  which  are  the  typical  piny  woods. 
The  soil  is  of  whitish  to  gray  color,  with  sandy  subsoil,  sometimes  containing  pebbles.  Only  the  poorer  classes  cultivate  this  land,  which, 
with  proper  manuring,  may  be  made  to  yield  a  support.  It  is  best  suited  to  sugar-cane,  tobacco,  rice,  etc.,  and  only  about  a  third  of  the 
crop  is  cotton.  The  height  of  the  cotton-stalk  upon  these  soil  varieties  vanes  from  1  to  5  feet,  according  to  quality  and  to  the  amount  of 
manure  used.  Heavy  manuring  and  wet  weather  sometimes  cause  the  plant  to  run  to  weed,  wheu  topping  and  close  cultivation  are 
practiced  to  check  the  tendency. 

The  seed-cotton  product  on  the  fresh  lands  varies  from  800  to  1,200  pounds,  and  about  1,545  pounds  are  needed  to  make  a  475-pouud 
bale.  The  staple  rates  as  low  middling.  Five  years'  cultivation,  without  manure,  will  reduce  the  yield  at  least  one-half,  probably 
more,  but  without  very  materially  affecting  the  quality  of  the  staple.  The  troublesome  weeds  are  hog-  and  blood-weeds,  cocklebur, 
and  purslane.  Very  little  of  the  best  land  is  abandoned,  but  probably  a  third  of  the  poorer  qualities  are  not  now  under  cultivation. 
They  all  improve  by  resting ;  but  the  piny  woods  are  hardly  thought  to  be  worth  the  trouble  of  reclaiming  after  having  once  been  turned 
out.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  injury  from  washes,  and  very  little  effort  has  been  made  to  check  it.  The  valleys  Jire  sometimes  ruined  by 
the  sands  washed  down  upon  them. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE   REPORT   OF   FELIX    TAIT,    OF   CAMDEN. 

The  lands  reported  lie  along  the  Alabama  river.  The  lowlands  are  the  first  and  second  bottoms  of  the  Alabama  river  and  the 
eypress  swampj,  which,  when  well  drained,  make  the  richest  farming  lands.  The  uplands  are  one-fifth  limy,  the  rest  sandy,  and  the  pine 
woodB  have  a  very  light  soil.  There  are,  so  far  as  known,  no  local  causes  which  influence  the  growth  of  the  cotton-plant.  The  only  soil 
described  is  the  sandy  soil,  which  constitutes  four-fifths  of  the  land.  Upon  this  land  the  timber  consists  of  the  various  species  of  pine 
and  oak,  with  hickory,  ash,  elm,  poplar,  cedar,  etc.,  according  to  the  position  and  quality  of  the  soil.  Iu  its  physical  properties  it 
embraces  many  variations,  from  heavy  to  light  sandy  loams.  The  subsoil  on  the  red  lands  and  prairies  is  heavier  than  the  soil,  but  on 
the  gray  or  yellow  pine  lands  it  is  lighter,  and  white  rounded  pebbles  of  quartz  are  by  no  means  uncommon  throughout.  The  soil  is 
usually  of  easy  tillage,  except  where  there  is  much  lime  or  clay  present.  Corn,  cotton,  oaks,  potatoes,  and  pease  are  the  chief  crops,  but 
the  soil  seems  best  adapted  to  corn  and  cotton. 

About  a  third  of  the  area  is  in  cotton,  which  grows  to  a  height  of  2  to  4  feet,  the  largest  stalks  being  the  most  productive.  When 
there  is  too  much  rain,  or  when  the  land  is  put  in  cotton  the  first  year  after  clearing,  there  is  a  tendency  of  the  plant  to  run  to  weed, 
which  is  checked  by  topping  and  by  cutting  off  the  suckers.  From  600  to  1,200  pounds  is  the  average  yield  of  seed-cotton  of  the 
fresh  land  (1,545  pounds  to  a  475-pound  bale).  The  staple  rates  as  low  middling.  Long  cultivation  reduces  materially  the  yield,  but 
does  not  change  much,  if  at  all,  the  quality  of  the  staple.  Hog-weeds  and  coffee-weeds  are  the  most  troublesome  to  the  farmer.  About  an 
eighth  of  the  land  lies  turned  out.  Some  qualities  are  improved  by  resting;  others  apparently  very  little,  if  at  all.  The  soil  washes 
badly,  and  much  injury  is  often  experienced  from  this  cause  ;  but  the  valleys  are  not  as  a  general  thing  much  hurt,  and  only  insignificant 
efforts  have  been  made  to  stop  the  washings. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  from  September  to  January,  by  steamboat,  to  Selma  or  Mobile,  the  rateB  of  freight  varying  from  $1 
to  $1  50  per  bale. 

BUTLER. 

Population:  19,649.— White,  10,084 ;  colored,  8,965. 

Area;  S00  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Oak  and  hickory  or  brown-loam  uplands,  330  square  miles;  pine 
uplands,  400  square  mdes  :  hill-prairie  region,  30(  square  miles  ;  lime-hills,  20  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  87,010  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  35,851  acres;  iu  corn,  24,G4S  acres;  in  oats,  7,494  acres; 
in  sugar-cane,  338  acres;  in  rice,  17  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  079  acres. 

Cotton  production:  11,895  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  -acre,  0.33  bale,  471  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  157 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  underlying  rocks  of  Butler  county,  except  a  narrow  strip  in  the  Dorthern  part  of  the  county,  which  is 
underlaid  with  the  Cretaceous  rocks,  belong  to  the  Tertiary  formation.  As  is  the  case  in  all  the  southern  part.of  the 
state,  this  substratum  of  the  older  rocks  is  covered  more  or  less  completely  with  beds  of  drift,  consisting  of  sand, 
occasional  pebbles,  and,  uppermost  of  all,  a  red  or  brown  loam,  which  is  concerned  in  the  formation  of  far  the 
greater  part  at  least  of  the  upland  soils.  It  is  only  at  the  lower  levels  that  these  underlying  rocks  are  sufficiently 
near  the  surface  to  exercise  any  influence  upon  the  soils,  with  the  exception  of  the  aluminous  sandstones  of  the 
buhr-stone  group,  which  crop  out  in  some  of  the  highest  and  most  rugged  hills  in  the  lower  part  of  the  county. 
These  sandstones  give  rise  to  very  poor  sandy  soils,  on  which  prevails  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine;  but  underneath 
the  sandstones  are  gray  clays  with  thin  beds  of  a  calcareous  nature,  often  containing  the  mineral  greensand ;  so  that 
even  in  this  hilly7  and  generally  poor  country  the  slopes  and  creek  bottoms  are  quite  productive  from  the  washings 
from  these  limy  beds. 

Below  Greenville  the  county  is  generally  of  the  pine-hills  character,  especially  the  uplands.  Around  Greenville 
there  is  a  considerable  area  of  red  lands  (often  containing  pebbles  and  fragments  of  brown  iron  ore  in  quantity), 
timbered  with  Spanish  and  post  oaks,  hickory,  and  short-leaf  pine,  sweet  and  sour  gum,  and  some  chestnut  and 
chiueapin.  The  top  soil  is  a  brown  loam,  passing  into  the  deep-red  loam  at  a  few  inches  depth.  In  favorable 
seasons  this  land  will  yield,  when  fresh,  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  or  from  25  to  30  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre. 

147 


138  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

In  the  northern  part  of  the  county  the  beds  of  the  Cretaceous  formation  are  encountered,  and  tliey  give  rise 
to  several  very  characteristic  soil  varieties.  The  rocks  of  this  formation  in  Butler  county  are  bard  limestones  of  a 
yellowish  color,  interbedded  with  softer  materials,  which  are  easily  removed  by  the  action  of  the  weather.  The 
limestones  thus  undermined  break  off  in  ledges,  which  crop  out  along  the  slopes  of  numerous  very  steep  limy  hills. 
The  soils  of  these  hills  are  stiff  calcareous  clays,  which,  by  intermixture  with  the  overlying  loams,  produce  a  number 
of  soil  varieties.  Within  this  area  are  small  detached  bodies  of  somewhat  level  land,  timbered  with  post  oaks  chiefly, 
to  which  the  name  of  post  oak-beeswax  prairies  has  been  applied.  Other  lauds  of  a  flatwoods  character  exist 
which  are  timbered  chiefly  with  pines,  and  these  are  called  beeswax-pine  lauds  but  none  of  them  are  of  the  same 
character  or  origin  as  the  post-oak  flatwoods  of  Sumter  and  Marengo  counties,  which  are  based  upon  a  Lower  Tertiary 
clay.  In  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  county  there  is  a  small  area  of  prairie  land  noted  for  its  productiveness  and 
flue  cedar  timber.  This  is  of  the  same  kind  as  the  calcareous  lands  of  that  part  of  Wilcox  county  which 
immediately  adjoins  it. 

In  its  agricultural  features  Butler  is  similar  to  the  adjoining  counties.  In  the  lower  part  of  the  county  the 
pine  lands  are  generally  cultivated  with  the  use  of  commercial  fertilizers,  aud  the  red-loam  subsoil  of  most  of  these 
lands  is  well  calculated  to  retain  the  manures. 

The  Mobile  and  Montgomery  railroad  traverses  this  county,  and  affords  a  means  of  transportation  to  market 
for  the  products  of  the  county.  Planters  usually  sell  their  cotton  crop  to  the  merchants  at  the  nearest  railroad 
station,  and,  for  some  parts  of  the  county,  it  is  sent  to  Troy,  in  Pike  county. 

CONECUH. 

Population  :  12,G05.— White,  6,224 ;  colored,  0,381. 

Area:  840  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Lime-hills  and  red  lime-lauds,  470  square  miles;  pine  uplands,  120 
square  miles;  rolling  pine  lands,  250  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  40,905  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  10,523  acres;  in  corn,  20,118  acres;  in  oats,  3,173  acres:  in 
rye,  32  acres ;  in  sugarcane,  267  acres ;  in  rice,  121  acres ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  052  acres. 

Cotton  production :  4,033  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.2S  bale,  390  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  133  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

The  rocky  substratum  of  Conecuh  county  is  made  by  beds  of  the  Tertiary  formation,  and  over  all  is  spread  a 
mantle  of  irregularly  stratified  sands,  clays,  pebbles,  and  loams,  constituting  the  southern  or  stratified  drift.  The 
beds  of  the  buhr-stone  group  underlie  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  and  the  white  limestone  of  the  Vicksburg 
age  makes  its  appearance  in  the  southern  part,  whence  to  the  Florida  line  it  is  the  country  rock.  The  buhr-stone 
rocks  consist  for  the  most  part  of  a  series  of  hard  aluminous  aud  siliceous  sandstones,  which  yield  with  difficulty  to 
the  leveling  action  of  water,  aud  heuce  within  the  region  of  their  occurrence  high  rugged  hills  are  the  characteristic 
features,  and  in  so  far  as  the  soils  are  derived  from  these  rocks  they  are  in  general  poor.  These  hilly  areas  are 
usually  covered  with  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pines,  with  some  oaks.  Below  the  buhr-stone  is  a  black  laminated  clay, 
interstratified  with  beds  of  a  greensand  marl,  and  the  lands  which  lie  under  the  hills  containing  this  mineral  are 
always  of  most  excellent  quality. 

South  of  this  rugged  country  the  land  is  comparatively  level  to  within  3  miles  of  Evergreen,  where  a  calcareous 
sandstone,  holding  beds  of  fossiliferous  greensand  containing  a  large  percentage  of  lime,  outcrops  from  the  hillsides. 
South  of  this  the  county  is  underlaid  with  the  white  limestone,  which,  as  a  rule,  is  so  covered  with  the  sands  and 
other  beds  of  the  drift  as  to  be  of  very  little  importance  in  the  formation  of  the  soils,  except  where,  by  a  partia;! 
removal  of  these  beds  by  denudation,  it  is  brought  near  enough  the  surface  to  influence  the  loam  soils  overlying  it. 
This  is  the  case  along  the  drainage  slopes  of  a  belt  of  hind  extending  from  the  vicinity  of  Bellville  southeastward 
toward  Brooklyn.  These  lands  lie  contiguous  to  Murder,  Beaver,  and  Bottle  creeks,  and  form  an  interrupted 
strip  of  about  0  miles  in  width.  Throughout  this  section  are  knolls  of  rather  hard  lime-rock  of  a  yellow  color,  «  bich 
make  an  excellent  lime  when  burned,  aud  which  are  generally  quite  fossiliferous.  The  lands  below  such  outcrops 
of  lime-rock  are  the  best  in  the  county,  and  have  a  red-loam,  soil  with  a  stiff-clay  subsoil,  and  a.  natural  growth 
consisting  of  sweet  gum,  water  oak,  white  oak,  magnolia,  cedar,  short-leaf  pine,  and  spruce  piue.  In  this  area  are 
also  outcroppings  of  the  soft  white  limestone  which  is  so  universally  used  as  material  for  building  chimneys,  since 
when  fleshly  quarried  it  can  be  easily  cut  with  an  ax  or  a  saw.  Lime-sinks  are  a  characteristic  ieature  not  only  of 
this  area,  but  also  of  all  the  country  underlaid  with  the  limestonij.  The  rocky  knolls  spoken  of  are  not  much  in 
cultivation  because  of  the  rock  fragments,  but  the  soil  is  very  rich  aud  of  a  black  color,  and  as  the  hills  break  off 
toward  the  lowlands  there  are  many  tracts  of  black  limy  soil.  These  red  and  black  lime-lands  are  considered  I  he 
best  farming  lauds  in  Conecuh.  The  highlands  lying  between  the  patches  of  lime  land  are  sandy,  and  of  the  usual 
pine-hills  character. 

Southward  of  the  lime-lands  the  county  is  gently  undulating  piny  woods,  with  lime-sinks,  and  occasionally 
lakes  or  ponds  which  reveal  the  existence  of  the  limestone  beneath  the  sands.  This  rock  makes  its  appearance 
along  the  banks  of  so  me.  of  the  streams.  As  a  general  rule,  the  surface  materials  which  overlie  the  white  limestone 
are  sandy,  with  very  little  clay.  From  the  porous  nature  of  these  beds  the  water  which  falls  upon  them  is  rapidly 
absorbed  and  drained  away  by  the  underground  channels  with  which  the  limestone  is  traversed,  and  thus  causes 
very  little  erosion.  The  resulting  face  of  the  country  is  hence  nearly  level,  sloping  off  very  gently  toward  the 
water-courses.  This  is  the  nature  of  the  rolling  pine  lands  of  the  lower  part  of  Conecuh,  and,  indeed,  of  the  country 
southward  into  Florida. 

From  the  above  general  account,  it  will  lie  seen  that,  while  Conecuh  county  has  a  large  proportion  of  sandy 
loam  soils  with  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine,  there  are  two  or  three  belts  across  the  county  in  which  the  calcareous 
matter  of  the  underlying  rocks  brings  about  very  desirable  modifications  of  the  prevailing  soils,  especially  in  the 
lower-lying  areas.  Where  this  marling  of  the  soils  has  been  effected  by  natural  causes  its  good  effects  are  apparent, 
and  there  is  no  reason  why  the  greensand  marls,  which  are  to  be  found  iu  several  parts  of  the  county,  should  not  be 
used  with  profit  by  the  farmers  on  their  poorer  lands. 

The  choice  farming  lands  of  this  county,  as  may  be  inferred,  are  the  red  lime-lauds  of  Murder,  Beaver,  and 
Bottle  creeks,  most  of  which  have  long  been  in  cultivation,  and  before  the  war  were  held  at  high  prices—  $1.5  to  $20 
148 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  139 

an  acre.  Since  the  war  many  of  them  appear  to  have  been  somewhat  neglected,  though  they  are  still  fine  lands. 
The  cultivation  of  cotton  on  the  other  lands  in  the  county  needs  no  special  notice.  The  use  of  commercial  fertilizers 
is  becoming  general  upon  such  lands,  not  only  in  this  but  in  the  other  counties  of  the  state. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE  REPORT   OF  REV.  ANDREW  JAY,   OF  JAYVILLA 

(This  report  refers  to  the  region  drained  by  Murder  creek  and  the  Escambia  river.) 

The  soil  varieties  are:  1,  the  red  upland  soil  lying  on  Beaver  and  Murder  creeks,  but  above  overflow;  2,  the  hummock  or  sandy 
bottoms  reaching  from  the  creeks  to  the  table-lands,  sometimes  overflowed;  and  3,  pine  lauds,  sandy,  with  clay  foundation,  and  hilly. 

Of  theso  soils  the  most  important  to  the  farmer  are  the  red  uplands,  though  constituting  only  one-fourth  of  the  area.  These  lands 
are  to  be  found  in  detached  bodies,  interspersed  with  the  pine  lands.  The  usual  growth  is  white  oak,  beech,  ash,  hickory,  elm,  and  red 
oak.  Most  of  the  laud  of  this  kind  has  been  cleared  up.  The  soil  is  a  light  loam  of  reddish  to  blackish-red  colors,  3  to  6  inches  deep  to 
a  change  of  color,  but  which  mixes  so  gradually  with  the  subsoil  that  the  exo,ct  depth  is  difficult  to  determine.  The  subsoil  is  of  a  heavier 
nature  than  the  soil,  is  tough,  but  when  exposed  to  the  air  it  becomes  pulverized  and  mixes  readily  with  the  surface  soil,  to  which  it 
seems  to  impart  gome  fertility.  It  often  contains  pebbles,  and  rests  upon  rock  at  varying  depths.  This  soil  is  easy  of  tillage,  early, 
warm  and  well  drained,  and  yields  good  crops  of  cotton,  corn,  oats,  potatoes,  and  pease.  Since  the  land  has  become  worn  it  seems  to  be 
best  adapted  to  corn,  oats,  and  pease,  as  the  cotton  rusts.  As  it  is,  however,  cotton  makes  about  half  the  cultivated  crop.  Upon  freshly- 
cleared  land  the  stalk  attains  a  height  of  5  to  7  feet ;  upon  the  worn  land,  3  to  5  feet. 

The  sandy  bottom  lands  are  not  described  in  detail.  The  pine  hills  occupy  half  or  more  of  the  area,  and  are  interspersed  with 
the  creek  lands,  their  usual  growth  being  chiefly  long-leaf  pine,  with  dogwood  and  red  aud  black-jack  oaks.  The*  soil  is  a  light- 
colored  fine  sandy  loam,  1  to  2  inches  deep  to  a  change  of  color;  the  subsoil  is  heavier,  being  a  clayey  loam,  which  is  stiffer  the  deeper  it  is 
taken.  The  soil  is  easily  tilled  at  all  times,  and  is  rather  late  and  cold,  but  well  drained.  Most  crops  do  well  upon  it,  but  cotton  occupies 
the  greater  portion.  The  height  attained  depends  upon  the  quality  and  quantity  of  the  fertilizers  used.  When  there  is  too  much  rain, 
there  is  a  tendency  of  the  plant  to  run  to  weed,  which  may  be  checked  by  topping  or  by  running  a  furrow  close  to  the  roots. 

The  seed-cotton  product  of  the  fresh  laud  is  1,200  pounds  for  the  red  lands,  and  from  300  to  400  pounds  for  the  other.  The  staple  is 
middliug  to  good  middling,  and  1,545  pounds  are  needed  for  a  475-pound  bale.  The  red  land,  after  50  years'  cultivation,  will  bring 
300  to  500  pounds,  but  after  5  years'  cultivation  of  the  pine  laud  it  is  practically  exhausted  unless  manure  is  used.  With  manure  the 
vield  may  be  brought  up  to  a  bale  to  the  acre.  The  staple  from  the  worn  laud  is  a  little  shorter  than  that  from  the  new,  but  there  seems 
to  be  very  little  dffference  in  the  proportion  of  seed  to  lint.  Crab-grass  is  the  most  troublesome  weed,  and  on  the  red  lauds  cocklebur, 
hog-weed,  and  coffee- weed  also  give  trouble.  About  half  of  the  red  lands  lie  turned  out,  but  after  a  long  rest  of  20  or  30  years  they 
will  produce  nearly  as  well  as  when  new.  The  slopes  are  long  and  gentle,  and  the  injury  from  washes  comparatively  slight,  the  valleys 
being  often  rather  benefited  by  the  settlings.  The  piue  lands  have  been  more  generally  kept  up  than  the  preceding,  and  only  a  small 
proportion  of  them  has  been  turned  out.  The  injury  from  washes  is  much  greater  with  these  than  with  the  other  lands.  Horizontalizing 
and  hillside  ditching  have  been  tried  to  a  small  extent,  with  good  results  where  properly  done. 

ABSTKACT   OF   THE   REPORT   OF  P.   D.   BOWLES,   OF  EVERGREEN. 

The  lowlands  are  the  first  and  second  bottoms  of  Beaver  creek,  and  also  the  alluvial  plains  of  Murder  creek  aud  white-oak  flats 
with  water  oaks  and  magnolias.  The  uplands  are  the  rolling  and  level  lands  with  gray,  limy  soil,  partly  sandy,  bordering  on  the 
bottom  lands  of  Murder  creek  and  Conecuh  river.  The  greater  part  of  this  section  has  a  red-clay  subsoil.  Early  planting  iu  the  lowlands  is 
frequently  injured  by  late  frosts,  and  cold  days  give  the  cotton  "sore-shin"  and  otherwise  retard  its  growth.  Want  of  rain  in  June, 
July,  and  August  causes  more  damage  than  anything  else,  except  the  cotton-worm.  -On  the  other  hand,  too  much  rain  will  produce  the 
same  effect  by  causing  the  forms  and  young  fruit  to  drop  off.  Early  frost  is  never  feared  in  this  locality.  The  soils  described  are:  1, 
gray  sandy  uplands,  with  red-clay  subsoil  very  near  the  surface;  2,  level  lime  prairie,  with  lime-sinks  aud  shell  mounds;  3,  thin  pine 
lands,  with  gray  sandy  loam  soil. 

The  gray  uplands  in  the  neighborhood  of  Evergreen  constitute  perhaps  three-fourths  of  the  arable  lands.  When  well-worn  the  soil 
becomes  red-colored,  and  the  growth  on  such  soils  is  of  white,  Spanish,  and  water  oaks,  sweet-bay,  magnolia,  poplar,  and  beech.  The  light 
soils  are  fine  sandy  loams  of  gray  and  red  colors;  the  heavy  soils,  clay  loams,  of  depths  of  color  varying  according  to  the  length  of  time 
they  have  been  under  cultivation.  The  average  thickness  of  the  soil  to  a  change  of  color  is  about  10  inches.  The  subsoil,  as  a  general 
thing  heavier  than  the  soil,  is  of  a  deep-red  color,  except  in  the  more  limy  spots,  where  the  color  is  yellow,  and  frequently  contains 
fragments  of  soft  lime-rock,  underlaid  with  the  same  at  a  depth  of  from  3  to  20  feet.  About  half  this  land  is  in  cotton,  which  grows  to  a 
height  of  5  or  6  feet. 

The  level  lime  prairies  are  found  in  a  belt  6  miles  wide  extending  across  the  county,  principally  iu  township  5.  Oaks,  walnut, 
hickory,  and  birch  are  the  principal  trees.  The  light  soils  are  gray,  limy  loams ;  the  heavier  are  clay  loams,  of  gray,  brown,  and  blackish  to 
black  colors.  The  subsoil  is  heavier  than  the  surface  soil,  being  a  very  soft  yellow  limestone,  continuing  some  3  feet  to  the  hard  liuiestoue 
rock.  It  contains  fragments  of  the  soft  lime-rock  above  mentioned.  Tillage  is  rather  difficult,  both  when  too  wet  and  when  too  dry ;  and 
when  ill-drained  the  soil  is  late  and  cold.  It  seems  to  be  best  suited  to  corn,  though  cotton  is  planted  upon  about  half  of  the  uplands, 
but  on  very  little  of  the  lowlands.     The  plant  grows  to  a  height  of  from  4  to  7  feet,  being  most  productive  at  5  feet. 

At  least  one-half  of  the  county  is  composed  of  the  sandy  pine  lands,  especially  the  southern,  northwestern,  and  southeastern  portions. 
Long-leaf  pine  is  the  characteristic  tree,  but  with  it,  in  places,  are  also  oaks  of  several  species  and  some  hickory.  The  soil  is  a  fine  sandy 
loam,  with  clay  in  places,  with  whitish,  gray,  to  blackish  colors,  according  to  length  of  time  under  cultivation.  The  thickness  is  0  to  8 
inches  to  a  change  of  color;  subsoil  rather  heavier,  being  almost  without  exception  yellow  or  red  clay,  containing  rounded  pebbles  of 
quartz,  especially  along  the  branches.  The  underlying  substance  is  either  sand  and  gravel,  or  sometimes  hard  limestone  rock  at  10  to  20 
feet.  Tillage  is  easy  at  all  times,  and  the  soils  are  early  and  warm  when  well  drained,  which  is  commonly  the  case.  This  laud  is  best  suited 
to  sugar- eane  and  sweet  potatoes,  and  only  about  one-fourth  of  the  area  is  put  iu  cotton,  which  grows  from  2  to  4  feet  in  height,  being  most 
productive  at  3  feet.  On  new  land,  and  when  shaded  or  planted  too  close,  the  plant  sometimes  runs  to  weed,  for  which  toppiug  in  July, 
application  of  fertilizers,  and  giving  more  room  are  the  usual  remedies,  From  1,000  to  1,800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  may  be  obtained  from 
fresh  land,  and  1,660  pounds  are  needed  for  a  standard  475-pound  bale.  The  staple  rates  as  middling.  Ten  years'  cultivation,  without 
manure,  will  bring  down  the  yield  on  these  lands  at  least  one-half,  and  the  staple  will  be  slightly  inferior,  rating  as  low  middling  or 
good  ordinary.  The  cocklebur  on  limy  land,  the  butter-weed  on  new  land,  and  the  Florida  clover  on  all,  are  troublesome  to  the  farmer. 
From  10  to  25  per  cent,  of  the  formerly  cultivated  lands  are  turned  out  (less  of  the  lime-lands  than  of  the  others),  and  when  reclaimed 
these  lands  will  often  yield  nearly  as  well  as  when  new.  Where  the  land  is  hilly  the  uplands  arc  often  ruined  by  the  washiug  away  of 
the  soil,  but  the  valleys  are  seldom  injured,  but,  on  the  contrary,  often  improved,  by  receiving  the  washings  from  the  higher  lands.  Very 
little  systematic  effort  has  ever  been  made  to  check  this  evil,  except  in  the  very  best  of  the  lauds. 

The  cotton  is  shipped  as  fast  as  baled,  by  railroad,  to  Mobile,  at  the  rate  of  $2  per  bale. 


140  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

COVINGTON. 
(See  "Long-leaf  pine  region".) 

CRENSHAW. 

Population:  11,T2G.— White,  9,118  ;  colored,  2,008. 

Area:  660  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Long-leaf  nine  uplands,  435  square  miles :  oak  and  hickory  or  brown- 
loam  uplands,  125  square  miles;  hill  prairies,  containing  about  10  square  miles  of  red  lands,  CO  square  miles;  red 
lime-lands,  in  lower  part  of  county,  30  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  67,770  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  20,062  acres  ;  in  corn,  28,000  acres;  in  oats,  5,208  acres ; 
in  tobacco,  33  acres  ;  in  rice,  25  acres ;  in  sugar-cane,  204  acres ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  558  acres. 

Cotton  production:  8,173  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.30  bale,  420  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  143 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Crenshaw  county,  lying  between  Butler  and  Pike,  has  many  points  of  resemblance  to  each.  It  has  already 
been  remarked  that  as  we  go  east  the  sands  and  loams  of  the  post-Tertiary  appear  to  increase  iu  thickness  to  the 
extent  often  of  covering  almost  entirely  the  underlying  rocks.  For  this  reason  the  eastern  counties  depend  for 
their  soils  and  physical  features  generally  to  a  very  great  degree  upon  these  surface  beds. 

Crenshaw  county  has  for  its  underlying  strata  the  Lower  Tertiary  beds,  and,  iu  the  northern  tier  of  townships, 
the  uppermost  beds  of  the  Cretaceous  formation.  These  Cretaceous  rocks  consist  of  alternations  of  hard  crystalline 
limestones  aud  softer  strata  of  calcareous  clays.  As  a  rule,  these  beds  are  covered  with  the  drift  deposits,  and 
exercise  little  influence  upon  the  soils.  A  red  soil,  with  small  rounded  lumps  of  brown  irou  ore,  occurs  iu  the 
northern  part  of  the  county,  overlying  a  limestone  ridge  of  the  Cretaceous  formation.  The  influence  of  the 
underlying  lime-rocks  is  frequently  felt  in  the  soil,  giving  rise  to  highly  productive  calcareous  soils,  aud  the 
washings  of  these  lands  improve  very  greatly  the  bottom  lands  of  the  streams  contiguous  to  them.  In  the  latitude 
of  Rutledge  a  white  limestone  of  considerable  purity  is  to  be  found  in  the  banks  of  the  streams,  and  occasionally  at 
higher  levels.  This  has  been  burned,  and  makes  an  excellent  lime  for  building  purposes,  and  could  be  profitably 
employed  on  the  lands. 

The  lower  half  of  the  county  is,  in  general,  piny  woods,  with  areas  of  very  good  oak  and  hickory  lands 
alternating  with  the  prevailing  piue  lands.  In  a  few  localities  in  the  extreme  south  of  Crenshaw  county  occurs  it 
kind  of  red  lime-land,  which  results  from  the  reaction  of  the  white  limestone  upon  the  overlying  red  loam.  These 
lands  occur  usually  where  the  greater  part  of  the  overlying  beds  has  been  washed  away  and  the  limestone  is  thus 
brought  near  the  surface,  and  lie  in  the  vicinities  of  Leon  aud  of  Bullock,  along  tributaries  of  the  Patsaliga,  Conecuh, 
and  Yellow  rivers.  They  are  of  comparatively  limited  extent,  and  resemble  both  ill  quality  and  origin  the  lime- 
lands  of  Murder  creek  and  other  localities  in  Conecuh  county. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  lauds  of  Crenshaw  are  pine  lauds,  and  as  a  rule  are  deficient  in  lime.  The  occurrence 
of  limestone  over  a  considerable  area  through  the  center  of  the  county  might  be  turned  to  good  account  in  improving 
these  lauds.  Commercial  fertilizers  are  now  pretty  generally  used  throughout  the  county  iu  the  culture  of  cotton, 
and  where  the  subsoil  is  a  red  clay,  as  is  the  case  over  a  large  part  of  the  county,  these  fertilizers  do  well. 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE   EEPOET    OF    GEORGE    W.    THAGARD,    OF    RUTLEDGE. 

The  lowlands  described  are  the  first  and  second  bottoms  of  Patsaliga  river,  together  with  cypress  swamps  and  gallberry  fiats,  aud 
the  uplands  are  the  rolling  and  level  lands  contiguous  to  the  same  stream.  In  general,  the  uplands  are  preferred  for  cotton,  for  the  reason 
that  the  lowlands  are  late,  and  the  cotton,  therefore,  much  more  likely  to  he  injured  by  frost. 

The  three  most  important  soils  described  are  :  First,  the  high  mulatto  lands  aud  gray  oak  aud  pine  lands  ;  second,  the  dark  loam  of 
Patsaliga  river  bottom  above  overflow  ;  and  third,  the  sandy  bottom  lands  of  the  same  stream.  Of  these  soils  the  most  widely  distributed 
an-  t  be  gray  sandy  uplands,  making  at  least  three-fourths  of  the  county.  The  natural  growth  is  long-leaf  pine,  oaks,  hickory,  gum,  aud 
cypress.  In  its  physical  characters  the  soil  presents  the  usual  varieties  of  texture  and  color  so  often  described  for  similar  soils.  The 
average  thickness  to  a  change  of  color  to  that  of  the  subsoil  is  from  2  to  6  inches.  The  subsoil  is  cither  red  clay  or  yellowish  sand,  or 
some  intermediate  grade  between  the  two,  and  wheu  undisturbed  becomes  quite  impervious.  It  frequently  contaius  rounded  white 
pebbles  of  quartz,  aud  is  underlaid  at  greater  or  less  depths  by  lime-rock  in  this  vicinity.  The  soil  is  always  easily  tilled,  and  is 
cultivated  in  cotton,  corn,  oats,  and  sweet  potatoes,  but  is  best  suited  to  cottou,  which  makes  about  one-half  of  the  cultivated  crop.  Tho 
most  productive  height  of  stalk  is  3  or  4  feet,  but  the  height  varies  from  2  to  0  feet.  A  tendency  to  run  to  weed  is  sometimes  seen  in 
cottou  growing  upon  fresh  land,  especially  in  wet  seasons,  and  the  best  remedy  is  a  stimulation  of  the  growth  by  the  liberal  application 
of  barnyard  or  commercial  manures. 

The  average  seed-cotton  product  of  the  fresh  land  is  900  pounds  (1,425  pouuds  to  a  475-pound  bale)  ;  staple  excellent  (grade  No.  1 
given).  Five  years'  cultivation  will  bring  down  the  yield  to  500  pounds,  with  little  or  no  difference  in  staple  and  in  proportion  of  lint. 
The  Florida  clover  or  "  poor  man's  trouble  "  is  the  greatest  pest  in  the  way  of  a  weed.  Perhaps  a  sixth  of  the  originally  cultivated  land 
now  lies  turned  out,  but  such  laud,  when  again  taken  into  cultivation,  produces  very  well  if  fertilized.  Iu  some  localities  there  is  much 
injury  from  washings,  hut  no  serious  efforts  have  been  made  to  check  it. 

There  is  no  railroad  or  navigable  stream  iu  Creushaw,  and  the  cotton  crop  is  usually  hauled  iu  wagons  to  Troy,  Greenville,  or 
Montgomery,  at  au  average  cost  of  $2  per  bale. 

MONTGOMERY. 

(See  ■'  Central  prairie  region".) 

BULLOCK. 
(See  "  Central  prairie  region  ".) 

BARBOUR. 

(See  "Central  prairie  region".) 
150 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  141 

PIKE. 

Population:  20,640.— White,  14,368 ;  colored,  6,272. 

Area:  740  square  miles.*— Woodland,  all.  Oak  arid  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine,  590  square  miles;  piue 
hills,  150  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  114,850  acres. — Area  planted  iu  cotton,  47,107  acres;  in  corn,  42,207  acres;  in  oats,  5,424  acres; 
in  wheat,  72  acres ;  in  rye,  23  acres  ;  in  sugar-cane,  400  acres  ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  883  acres. 

Cotton  production:  15,136  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.32  bale,  466  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  152 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Sandy  ridge,  with  a  substratum  of  marl  and  sometimes  limestone  of  the  Upper  Cretaceous  age,  passes  through 
the  northern  townships  of  Pike  county.  Further  east  it  is  known  generally  as  (Jhunnenugga  ridge,  and  it  is  a 
notable  feature  of  the  landscape,  as  well  as  characteristic  from  an  agricultural  standpoint.  Upon  the  level  portions 
of  this  ridge  the  soil  is  sandy  and  comparatively  poor,  but  where  the  drainage  has  removed  these  surface  beds  the 
calcareous  strata  are  brought  to  the  surface  and  produce  lasting  and  productive  soils.  The  bottom  lands,  which 
receive  the  washings  from  these  calcareous  beds,  are  of  the  best  character.  Southward  of  this  ridge  there  is  a  strip 
of  calcareous  clayey  land,  varying  in  width  from  3  to  5  miles,  and  running  east  and  west  through  the  county.  The 
southern  limit  of  the  Cretaceous  formation  is  seen  a  few  miles  north  of  the  town  of  Troy,  where  its  strata  are 
exposed  in  the  banks  of  the  Conecuh  river.  This  limit  of  the  two  formations  is,  however,  concealed,  except  along 
the  banks  of  streams,  by  thick  beds  of  sand  and  loam,  which  form  the  soils  generally  thence  southward. 

East  of  Troy,  according  to  Thornton,  in  the  Pocoson  settlement,  the  valleys,  which  have  the  luxuriant  growth 
and  appearance  of  swamps,  are  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  ridges  of  snow-white  sand,  on  which  grows  only  a 
scrubby  oak,  covered  with  long  moss.  In  the  latitude  of  Troy,  and  a  few  miles  below,  calcareous  beds  of  the  Lower 
Tertiary  formation  outcrop  in  places,  producing  a  stiff  limy  and  clayey  soil  of  considerable  fertility,  but  7  or  8  miles 
south  of  Troy  the  siliceous  and  argillaceous  sandstones  of  the  buhr-stone  group  come  to  the  surface,  and,  as  usual 
where  this  is  the  case,  the  soils  are  poor  and  the  prevailing  growth  long-leaf  pine. 

The  county  below  Troy  is  generally  piny  woods,  with  alternations  and  admixtures  of  oak  and  hickory  lands. 
As  is  so  often  the  case,  the  pine  lands  are  upon  the  level  dividing  plains  between  the  water-courses,  while  the  oaks 
and  other  trees  occupy  more  generally  the  slopes  and  lower  levels.  In  the  vicinity  of  Bruudidge  there  is  a  rather 
stiff  clayey  soil  of  much  fertility,  and  this  is  considered  one  of  the  best  farming  areas  of  the  county. 

In  Pike  county  the  upland  soils  are,  as  a  rule,  poor  in  lime;  the  lowlands  in  places  are  better  in  this  respect. 
A  bed  of  tolerably  pure  limestone,  which  outcrops  occasionally  in  the  central  and  western  parts  of  the  county, 
might  be  profitably  used  to  remedy  this  deficiency.  There  are  also  some  beds  of  a  greensand  marl  within  the 
county  limits.     The  clayey  nature  of  most  of  the  upland  subsoils  allows  commercial  fertilizers  to  be  profitably  used. 

The  great  cotton  mart  for  this  and  also  for  the  adjoining  counties  is  Troy,  and  the  crop  is  hauled  to  this  place 
from  great  distances,  most  of  the  wagons  which  carry  cotton  to  the  market  returning  with  bags  of  guano  and  other 
commercial  fertilizers. 

COFFEE. 

Population:  8,119.— White,  6,831 ;  colored,  1,288. 

Area:  700  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Pine  uplands,  340  square  miles;  rolling  or  undulating  pine  lands, 
360  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  42,126  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  16,431  acres ;  in  corn,  18,668  acres;  in  oats,  2,370  acres  ;  in 
rye,  31  acres;  in  wheat,  22  acres;  in  rice,  21  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  254  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  474  acres. 

Cotton  production :  4,788  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.29  bale,  414  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  138 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  northern  part  of  Coffee  county,  where  the  Claiborne  beds  are  the  underlying  rocks,  is  in  general  much  more 
broken  and  hilly  than  the  southern,  which  is  underlaid  with  the  Vicksburg  or  white  limestone.  Above  Elba  there 
is  a  good  deal  of  what  are  usually  called  "  red-clay  hills",  alternating  with  sandy  bottoms.  The  growth  upon  such 
land  consists  of  long-leaf  pine,  with  the  species  of  upland  oaks,  sour  gum,  etc.,  and  the  soil  is  fairly  productive. 
As  representing  the  average  composition  of  this  class  of  upland  soils  we  may  take  the  analysis  of  an  oak  upland 
soil  from  near  Lawrenceville,  Henry  county  (So.  84,  page  43). 

Below  Elba,  along  the  water-sheds  at  least,  the  country  is  nearly  level  or  gently  undulating,  with  here  and 
there  a  basin-shaped  depression  (sometimes  filled  with  water,  forming  a  pond  or  lake,  sometimes  dry) — evidences  of  the 
existence  of  the  limestone  below.  This  rock,  however,  rarely  comes  to  the  surface,  except  along  the  water-courses, 
but  is  covered  with  thick  beds  of  the  stratified  drift  materials.  These  materials  upon  the  higher  level  areas  are 
prevalently  sandy;  while  along  the  drainage  slopes  the  more  clayey  materials  are  to  be  found,  and  it  is  only  in 
these  latter  places  that  the  soil  is  cultivated.  The  sandy  level  areas  away  from  the  water-courses  are  covered  with 
long-leaf  pine  forests,  which  are  used  as  pastures  for  cattle  and  sheep.  Some  very  good  farming  tracts  are  to  be 
met  with  in  the  vicinity  of  the  creeks  and  branches.  It  is  perhaps  needless  to  say  that  human  habitations  are 
rarely  met  with  upon  these  pine  barren  plateaus. 

Coffee  is  a  fair  representative  of  the  lower  counties  of  the  state.  It  is  well  drained  by  Pea  river,  Double 
Branches  creek,  and  their  numerous  tributaries. 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE    EBPOET    OF    M.    O.    STOTJDENMEIEK,  OF   ELBA. 

The  soil  varies  from  fine  to  coarse  sandy  or  gravelly  loam,  with  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine,  intermixed  with  various  species  of  oak  and 
hickory,  and  undergrowth  The  color  varies  from  light-gray  to  reddish  and  other  dark  colors  ;  thickness,  about  4  inches  before  its  color 
is  merged  into  that  of  the  subsoil.  The  latter  contains  usually  more  or  less  of  yellowish  clay,  which  bakes  hard  upon  exposure,  and  is  often 
very  impervious.     It  frequently  holds  white  quartz  pebbles.     It  is  easily  tilled  under  all  circumstances,  and  is  warm  and  well  drained. 

The  chief  crops  cultivated  arc  cotton  and  corn,  the  former  occupying  about  50  per  cent,  of  the  cultivated  area.  The  stalk  attains 
■usually  a  height  of  'M  feet,  but  is  more  productive  when  at  least  4  feet  iu  height.     With  deep  plowing,  and  iu  wet  seasons,  the  plant 

151 


142  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

sometimes  inclines  to  run  to  weed,  which  tendency  may  be  checked  by  shallow  or  Burface  tillage.  The  fresh  land  will  produce  GOO  pounds 
of  seed-cotton  to  the  acre,  1,425  pounds  of  which  go  to  make  a  475-pound  hale.  The  staple  rates  in  the  market  as  low  middling.  After 
five  years'  cultivation  (unmanured)  the  yield  is  400  pounds,  having  about  the  same  proportion  of  lint  to  seed-cotton,  the  staple  of  which 
usually  rates  one  grade  lower.  The  most  troublesome  weed  (exclusive  of  grasses)  is  the  Florida  clover.  About  one-half  of  the  laud 
originally  cultivated  now  lies  turned  out,  but  some  of  it  is  being  reclaimed,  and  for  two  or  three  years  it  produces  nearly  aawell  as  when 
fresh.  From  the  nature  of  the  soil  there  is  considerable  injury  from  washings,  the  valleys  being  often  damaged  to  the  extent  dt'  10  per 
cent,  by  the  washings  from  the  uplands.     As  yet  no  efforts  have  been  made  to  check  the  evil. 

The  cotton  is  hauled  in  wagons  to  Troy,  in  Pike  county,  at  fin  average  cost  of  §2  50  per  bale,  and  there  Bold.  The  shipping  begins 
usually  in  October. 

DALE. 

Population:  12,077.— White,  10,553;  colored,  2,124. 

Area:  650  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Pine  uplands,  420  square  miles;  undulating  pine  lands,  230  square 
miles. 

Tilled  land:  08,413  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  27,070  acres  ;  in  corn,  31,807  acres;  in  oats,  5,114  acres; 
in  wheat,  59  acres ;  in  rye,  24  acres  ;  in  rice,  49  acres ;  in  sugarcane,  373  acres ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  S72  acres. 

Cotton  production :  0,224  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.23  bale.  327  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  109  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Dale  county  in  its  geological  structure  and  iu  its  surface  features  bears  a  close  resemblance  to  Coffee  county, 
on  the  west.  The  strata  of  the  Claiborne  and  Vicksburg  groups  of  the  Tertiary  are  the  underlying  rocks,  and 
these  are  covered  by  heavy  beds  of  sands,  loam,  and  pebbles  to  the  extent  of  concealing  almost  entirely  the 
underlying  country  rocks.  These  two  groups  of  the  Tertiary  formation  underlie  each  about  half  of  the  county,  the 
Claiborne  in  the  north  and  the  Vicksburg  in  the  south.  Neither  is  largely  concerned  in  the  formation  of  arable 
soils,  since  they  are  derived  almost  exclusively  from  superficial  beds.  Upon  the  topography,  however,  these  lower 
rocks  exert  a  decided  and  easily-recognized  influence.  To  appreciate  this  one  has  only  to  consider  the  difference 
between  the  broken  and  hilly  aspect  of  northern  Dale  with  the  level,  or  at  most  gently  rolling,  pine  forests  of  the 
southern  part.     For  several  miles  around  the  county-seat  (Ozark)  deep  beds  of  sand  arc  a  notable  feature. 

In  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  where  the  drainage  has  cut  through  the  overlying  deposits,  the  country 
rock,  which  is  generally  an  aluminous  sandstone,  full  of  shells  or  casts  of  shells,  is  exposed.  Some  varieties  of 
this  rock  arc,  when  freshly  quarried,  easily  cut  with  a  saw  or  other  implement,  and  blocks  of  it  are  extensively 
used  in  the  construction  of  chimneys  and  pillars  to  the.  houses.  In  this  northern  part  there  is,  usually  a  red  loam 
substratum  to  the  soils,  while  in  the  southern  part  the  loam,  though  not  entirely  absent,  is  comparatively  unimportant. 
At  Newton  it  is  present  in  great  thickness.  Below  Newton  the  irregularities  of  surface  are  very  slight,  10  or  15 
feet  being  often  the  difference  in  elevation  between  the  water-courses  and  the  dividing  laud.  The  surface  soil  is 
mostly  sandy,  and  the  country  rock  is  seldom  seen  until  near  the  Geneva  county-line,  where  there  are  several  large, 
limestone  springs  and  outcrops  of  a  white  fossiliferous  limestone.  This  rock  appears  to  have  generally  very  little 
influence  upon  the  overlying  soil ;  but  there  are  spots  where  the  soil  is  a  calcareous  clayey  loam,  formed  by  the 
reaction  of  lime-rock  upon  the  overlying  loam.  The  rich  lime-lands  of  Murder  creek,  in  Conecuh  county,  are  of  a 
similar  nature. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE  REPORT   OF    J.   C.   MATTHEWS,   OF   CRITTENDEN'S  MILLS. 

The  soils  enumerated  are  red  clayey  loam,  gray  bottom  soil,  and  the  sandy  soils.  The  most  important  in  an  agricultural  sense  are 
red  loams,  which  make  perhaps  a  tenth  of  the  cultivated  area.  This  soil,  which  is  so  prevalent  in  the  counties  further  north,  is  seen  in 
this  county  only  in  spots.  Its  natural  growth  is  oat,  hickory,  and  gum,  with  short-  and  long-leaf  pines  added,  in  accordance  with  the 
variations  in  the  quality  of  the  soil.  It  is  a  clayey  loam  of  buff  to  In-own  colors  of  an  average  thiokness  of  6  iuches  before  the  color 
changes  to  that,  of  the  subsoil,  which  is  heavier  than  the  surface  soil,  being  a  joint  clay  and  white  marl,  and  often  contains  rounded 
pebbles  of  white  quartz,  and  is  itself  underlaid  by  a  black  rock  at  15  feet  depth.  It  is  considered  difficult  of  tillage,  since  it  gets  dry 
and  hard.     It  is,  however,  early,  and  produces  well  the  usual  crops,  to  all  of  which  it  seems  to  be  well  adapted. 

The  bottom  lands  of  the  Choctawhatchee  river  are  next  in  importance.  Their  natural  timber  is  a  mixture  of  oaks,  hickory,  poplar, 
gum,  etc.  The  lighter  soils  are  sandy  loams  ;  the  heavier  are  clayey  loams.  The  colors  are  whitish,  gray,  buff,  brown,  mahogany,  blackish  to 
black,  and  the  average  thickness  to  a  change  of  color  is  2  or  3  inches.  The  subsoil  is  a  joint  clay,  underlaid  with  a  black  rock  at  10  feet 
depth.  This  soil  is  early,  but  rather  difficult  of  tillage,  and  is  considered  best  suited  to  the  cotton  crop.  Between  these  two  extremes  of 
soil  there  are  all  intermediate  grades. 

About  two-thirds  of  the  red  or  brown-loam  lands  and  a  fourth  of  the  Choctawhatchee  bottoms  are  in  cotton,  which  is  most  productive 
at  a  height  of  3  feet.  Too  much  rain  in  July  sometimes  causes  the  plant  to  go  to  weed,  for  which  no  remedy  is  usually  tried.  The  seed- 
cotton  product  per  acre  (fresh  land)  is  from  600  to  1,000  ponnds,  and  the  staple  rates  as  middling  or  strict  middling.  Cultivation 
five  or  six  years  without  manure  will  reduce  the  yield  a  third  or  more  without  making  any  observerable  difference  either  in  the  quality 
of  the  staple  or  in  the  proportion  of  the  lint  to  seed.  Crab-grass,  hog-weed,  and  Florida  clover  are  the  most  troublesome  weeds.  About 
one-fourth  or  one-fifth  of  these  lands  once  in  cultivation  now  lie  turned  out,  and  when  taken  again  into  cultivation  do  not  produce  very 
well.     The  land  suffers  to  some  extent  from  washings,  but  no  well-directed  efforts  have  been  made  to  check  the  evil. 

The  cotton  crop  is  usually  hauled  in  wagons,  as  fast  as  baled,  to  Eufaula,  Troy,  or  Columbus.  Georgia,  at  the  rate  of  38  to  40  cents  per 
hundred  pounds. 

HBNKY. 

Population:  18,701.— White,  11,994;  colored,  0,707. 

Area:  1,000  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.    Oak,  hickory,  or  brown-loam  uplands,  100  square  miles:  pine  uplands, 

550  square  miles:  undulating  pine  lands,  340  square  miles:  red  lime-lands.  10  square  miles. 

152 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  143 

Tilled  land:  137,318  square  miles. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  54,305  acres;  in  corn,  4S.661  acres;  in  oats,  7,902 
acres;  in  rye,  263  acres;  in  wheat,  193  acres;  in  tobacco,  24  acres;  in  rice,  25  acres;  in  sugarcane,  671  acres;  in 
sweet  potatoes,  1,266  acres. 

Cotton  production:  12,573  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.23  bale,  327  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  109 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  upper  half  of  Henry  county  is  underlaid  with  the  strata  of  the  Claiborne  group,  and  the  lower  by  those 
of  the  Vicksburg,  and  a  coating  of  drifted  materials  of  considerable  thickness  covers  these  throughout  the  county. 
These  superficial  beds  present  notable  differences  in  different  sections.  In  the  northern  part  of  the  county  they 
are  characterized  by  the  generally  red  or  orange  color  of  the  subsoil,  which  contains  a  large  proportion  of  clay,  and 
which  lies  upon  reddish  or  yellow  sands,  frequently  coutainiug  gravel.  The  soils  in  this  section  vary  in  the 
proportions  of  sand  and  loam  iu  different  localities.  Upon  the  water-sheds  the  sandy  soils  are,  as  a  rule,  predominant, 
while  upon  the  slopes  the  more  loamy  soils  prevail.  General  reasons  for  this  distribution  have  been  mentioned 
before. 

The  topography  iu  the  upper  part  of  the  county  is,  like  the  soil,  much  more  varied  than  in  the  lower.  Iu  the 
lower  half  the  sandy  soils  prevail,  and  comparatively  level  pine  woods  constitute  the  landscape  very  generally.  The 
drainage  is  principally  into  the  Chattahoochee  river,  but  a  small  area  iu  the  northwestern  part  is  drained  by  the 
Ohoctawhatchee.  The  better  class  of  upland  yellow-loam  soils,  which  are  prevalent  in  the  upper  part  of  the  county, 
are  in  chemical  composition  represented  by  the  analysis  of  the  soil  from  near  Lawrencoville,  given  on  page  43. 

In  the  southwestern  corner  of  the  county,  in  the  drainage  basin  of  Big  creek,  there  are  a  few  miles  of  red 
lands  of  calcareous  nature,  similar  to  the  red  lands  of  Jackson  county,  Florida,  and  of  the  adjacent  part  of  Geneva 
county.  This  land,  which  has  its  counterpart  in  the  lime-lands  of  Murder  creek,  in  Conecuh  county,  is  produced 
by  the  action  of  the  limestone  upon  the  loam  soil  overlying  it.  The  agricultural  peculiarities  of  the  first-mentioned 
soils  are  given  in  the  following  abstract. 

Heury  county  shows  agriculturally  no  peculiarity.  Cotton  is  cultivated  on  upland  and  bottom  soils  of  the 
usual  character  afforded  by  the  drift  and  loam  which  overspread  so  great  a  proportion  of  the  southern  part  of  the 
state.  The  river  lands  here,  as  elsewhere  along  the  Chattahoochee,  have  a  large  proportion  of  fragments  of  mica 
or  isinglass  mingled  with  the  other  ingredients  of  the  soil. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE  REPORT   OF   A.   M'ALLISTEB,   OF   SHORTERVILLE. 

The  most  important  soils  iu  the  vicinity  of  Shorterville  are  the  river  bottom  soils,  and  of  these  the  "isinglass"  soils  are  considered 
best,  because  most  certain.  The  usual  bottom  growth  of  hickory,  oak,  ash,  walnut,  sweet  gum,  bay,  etc.,  is  found.  Both  soil  and  subsoil 
are  sandy  loams  of  various  colors;  whitish  and  gray  most  abundant.  Tilling  qualities  easy  under  all  circumstances.  The  soil  is  early, 
warm,  and  well  drained  as  a  rule,  aud  is  well  suited  to  the  production  of  cotton,  corn,  oats,  rye,  potatoes,  sugar-cane,  field  pease,  etc. 
The  upland  soils  of  the  northern  part  of  the  county  are  fine  to  coarse  sandy  loams,  heavy,  clayey  loams  in  places,  resting  upon  a  sandy, 
sometimes  gravelly,  clay ;  thickness  of  the  soil  to  a  change  of  color,  variable — 12  to  15  inches.  They  are  all  easily  tilled,  and  are  warm, 
early,  and  well  drained.     These  usual  crops  are  all  cultivated  with  success. 

The  pine  lands  in  the  upper  part  of  the  county  are  not  characteristic,  but  in  the  middle  and  southern  sections  pine  forms  almost  the 
exclusive  growth,  except  along  the  streams.  The  surface  soil  is  generally  a  dark-gray  or  brown  sandy  loam,  the  subsoil  a  sandy  clay, 
with  occasionally  pebbles.    The  soil  is  early,  well  drained,  easy  of  tillage,  and  suited  to  the  usual  crops:  cotton,  coru,  sugar-cane,  etc. 

About  half  the  cultivated  land  of  each  of  these  soil  varieties  is  planted  in  cotton,  which  grows  to  a  height  of  from  3  to  5  feet,  being 
most  productive  at  about  4  feet.  Late  planting  and  wet  seasons  sometimes  cause  the  plant  to  run  to  weed,  which  may  be  checked  by 
early  planting,  heavy  manuring,  deep  preparation,  aud  rapid  and  light  cultivation  early  in  the  6eason,  these  being  the  most  effective 
remedies. 

The  seed-cotton  product  on  fresh  land  varies  from  300  to  500  pounds  on  the  pine  lands  to  from  GOO  to  1,200  pounds  on  the  river  lands 
(1,425  to  1,545  pounds  to  the  standard  475-pound  bale).  The  staple  rates  from  middling  to  good  middling,  from  fresh  land,  to  low 
middling  from  the  worn  land.  By  five  or  ten  years'  cultivation,  without  manure,  the  yield  is  reduced  at  least  oue-third  aud  perhaps  more. 
The  most  troublesome  weed  is  crab-grass.  The  hog-weed  is  very  abundant,  but  is  more  easily  subdued.  Only  a  small  proportion  of  the 
river  lands  are  turned  out  (from  5  to  10  per  cent,  of  the  other  varieties),  and  they  all  improve  by  resting,  producing  for  a  few  seasons 
after  being  reclaimed  nearly  a8  well  as  when  fresh.  The  uplands  are  injured  by  washings,  and  the  valleys  are  sometimes  injured  25  per 
cent,  from  this  cause.     Horizontalizing  and  hillside  ditching,  when  properly  done,  are  efficient  remedies. 

Shipments  of  the  cotton  crop  are  made  by  river  and  by  railroad  to  Columbus  and  Savannah,  Georgia.  The  freight  to  Columbus  or 
to  Eufaula  is  50  cents  per  bale ;  to  Savannah,  three-fourths  of  a  cent  per  pound.     The  shipments  are  made  from  and  after  October  1. 


LOWER   PRAIRIE   REGION,    OR   LIME-HILLS. 

In  this  region  are  included  parts  of  the  following   counties:    Choctaw,*  Washington,*  Clark,*  Monroe,* 
Conecuh,*  Covington,*  Crenshaw,*  Geneva,*  and  Henry.* 

CHOCTAW. 
(See  "Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine".) 

WASHINGTON. 

(See  "Long-leaf  pine  region".) 


CLARKE. 
(See  "Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine".) 


153 


144  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

MONROE. 
(See  "Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine".) 

CONECUH. 
(See  "Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine".) 

COVINGTON. 

(See  "Long-leaf  pine  region".) 

CRENSHAW. 
(See  "Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine".) 

GENEVA. 
(See  "Long-leaf  pine  region".) 

HENEY. 
(See  "Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long  leaf  pine".) 


LONG-LEAF    PINE    REGION. 

Iu  this  region  are  included  parts  of  the  following  counties  :  Washington,  Mobile,  Clarke,*  Baldwin,  Monroe,* 
Conecuh,*  Escambia,  Covington,  Geneva,  Coffee,*  Dale,*  and  Henry.* 

WASHINGTON. 

Population:  4,538.— White,  2,807  ;  colored,  1,731. 

Area:  1,050  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Undulating  pine  lands,  800  square  miles;  lime-hills  and  shell- 
prairie  lauds,  150  square  miles  ;  pine  hills,  100  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  8,936  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  3,2S0  acres;  in  corn,  4,259  acres;  in  oats,  4*64  acres;  iu 
rice,  67  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  90  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  448  acres. 

Cotton  production:  1,246  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.38  bale,  543  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  181 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

In  the  northern  part  of  AVashington  county  there  is  a  belt,  varying  in  width  from  2  to  10  miles,  in  which  lime- 
hills  and  prairies  are  the  characteristic  feature.  The  material  upon  which  these  soils  depend  for  their  origin  is  an 
impure  whitish-gray  limestone,  having  sometimes  a  greenish  cast.  This  rock  resembles  to  some  extent  the  rotten 
limestone  of  the  central  prairie  region,  and  like  it,  in  disintegrating  under  the  action  of  the  weather,  yields  a  grayish, 
waxy  clay,  which,  mixed  with  vegetable  matter,  acquires  a  black  color,  like  some  of  the  central  prairie  soils. 

This  stiff  black  soil  is  difficult  to  till,  but  very  fertile.  Some  parts  of  the  rock  crumble  down  into  a  tine,  loose,  black 
material  called  shell  prairie  soil,  in  which  are  small  piecesof  the  crumbling  rock,  sometimes  tilled  with  shells.  This  is 
one  of  the  best  of  the  lime-hills  soils,  rarely  failing  to  bring  good  crops  either  of  cotton  or  of  corn.  It  is  timbered 
with  dogwood,  black  and  white  oaks,  sweet  gum,  ash,  short-leaf  pine,  and  buckeye. 

An  intermixture  of  stiff  calcareous  clay  with  the  red  loam  which  forms  the  surface  over  the  greater  part  of 
the  northern  portion  of  the  county  gives  a  stiff,  mahogany-colored  or  yellowish  soil,  like  the  post-oak  soH  of  the 
central  region,  and,  like  that,  is  timbered  with  post  oaks  and  a  few  short-leaf  pines,  with  occasionally  a  sweet  gum 
and  a  hickory,  all  draped  with  the  long  moss.  This  soil,  like  the  first  named,  is  rather  difficult  to  cultivate,  but  is 
highly  productive.  The  prairie  belt  is  very  variable  in  width,  and  in  places  the  piny  woods  extend  entirely  across 
it.  while,  on  the  other  hand,  narrow  strips  of  prairie  extend  for  miles  out  into  the  piny  woods  along  some  of  the 
streams;  and  everywhere  the  prairie  soils  are  interspersed  with  the  sandy  and  loamy  soil  of  the  drift,  which  spreads 
over  all  the  older  rocks  of  this  county  and  forms  the  great  majority  of  the  soils. 

The  topography  of  the  lime-hills  is  quite  characteristic.  The  hills  are  very  steep,  and  have  usually  very  little 
level  land  on  top;  but  near  the  western  border  of  the  county  it  is  not  unusual  to  fintl  as  much  as  100  acres  in  a 
body  of  tolerably  level  prairie  land.  As  we  go  eastward  these  level  tracts  diminish  in  size  and  frequency,  and 
the  prairie  belt  consists  of  the  genuine  lime-hills.  While  under  continuous  cultivation  the  soil  of  the  lime-hills 
does  not  wash  so  badly  as  might  be  expected  from  the  steepness  of  the  slopes,  but  when  abandoned  the  bare  rock 
very  soon  makes  its  appearance  at  the  surface  on  the  bald  hill-tops. 

Another  variety  of  white  limestone,  geologically  below  that  just  described,  underlies  a  very  large  part  of 
Washington  county,  probably  down  to  the  Mobile  county-line,  but  as  a  rule  it  does  not  take  any  prominent  part  in 
the  formation  of  the  soils,  nor  does  it  materially  influence  the  topography. (a)  Most  of  the  territory  underlaid  by 
it  is  rolling  or  undulating  piny  woods  with  saudy  soils  and  with  subsoils  of  two  kinds.  The  soils  with  yellow, 
sandy  subsoil  are  very  poor,  the  growth  long-leaf  pine,  black-jack,  turkey,  and  high-ground  willow  oaks;  but 
where  the  subsoil  is  a  little  stiffer  and  of  a  reddish  color  the  lands  are  very  fair,  and  are  timbered  with  Spanish  and 
other  upland  oaks  in  addition  to  the  long-leaf  pine. 


o  The  historically,  as  well  as  geologically,  well-known  Saint  Stephen's  bluff  is  in  its  upper  portion  formed  of  this   rock,  while  the 
other  variety  of  limestone  lies  at  the  base  of  the  bluff. 
154 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  145 

Near  the  state  Hue,  southwest  of  the  prairie  region,  the  land  is  a  little  more  broken,  passing  westward  in 
Mississippi  into  pine  hills. 

North  of  the  lime-hills  belt,  in  the  extreme  upper  part  of  the  county,  there  are  other  hilly  pine  lands,  very  poor, 
the  surface  of  which  is  generally  covered  with  fragments  of  sandstone  and  claystone  (the  latter  usually  called 
chalk).  These  chalk  hills  are  best  displayed  in  the  lower  part  of  Choctaw  count}',  as  only  a  very  small  part  of 
Washington  is  of  this  character. 

The  creek-bottom  lands  throughout  the  lime-hills  belt  are  good  fanning  lands,  as  are  also  sometimes  those  of 
the  chalk  hills  north  of  the  prairies.  This  in  the  latter  case  is  caused  by  the  presence  of  marly  beds,  which  are 
sometimes  brought  to  the  surface  in  the  drainage  valleys  of  the  stream.  In  the  rolling  piny  woods  of  the  lower 
part  of  the  county  the  bottoms  are,  as  a  rule,  sandy,  though  geuerally  productive  for  a  time.  The  lowlands  of  the 
river,  chiefly  the  second  bottom,  are  good  farming  lands,  the  soil  being  a  sandy  loam,  easy  to  till  and  productive. 
In  certain  localities  it  is  improved  by  the  calcareous  washings  of  the  uplands.  The  lower  part  of  the  county,  while 
of  little  value  for  farmiug,  affords  a  splendid  pasturage  for  cattle. 

The  high  yield  per  acre  (0.38  bale)  is  due  to  the  fact  that  most  of  the  cotton  is  produced  either  upon  the  highly 
fertile  river  lands  or  the  equally  rich  lime  lands  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county. 

In  the  piny  woods  which  forms  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  area  of  the  count}'  the  cultivation  of  cotton  is  not 
so  profitable  as  stock-raising,  timber-cutting,  and  the  production  of  turpentine. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  REPORT  OF  R.  M.  CAMPBELL,  SAINT  STEPHENS,  AIDED  BY  E.  A.  GLOVER,  JOHN  STARKE, 

AND  OLIVER  PRINCE. 

There  are  three  principal  varieties  of  soil :  First,  upland  sandy  soil  of  gray  to  yellowish  colors,  covering  over  two-thirds  of  the  county  ; 
second,  river hottom,  occupying  a  large  portion  of  the  townships  on  the  eastern  horder  of  the  county  ;  and  third,  lime-lauds  (black  prairie, 
shell  prairie),  occupying  a  largo  part  of  the  northern  tier  of  townships  in  the  county. 

The  sandy  uplands  are  timbered  chiefly  with  long-leaf  pine  and  black-jack,  to  which,  in  spots,  the  other  varieties  of  oak  and  dogwood 
and  hickory  are  added.  Its  soil  is  from  3  to  1*2  inches  deep  before  its  color  changes  to  that  of  the  subsoil,  which  is  more  clayey,  easily 
permeable  by  water,  but  hakes  hard  when  exposed  to  the  sun  where  not  cultivated,  and  contains,  in  places,  concretions  of  ferruginous 
sandstone.     This  soil  is  easily  tilled  under  all  circumstances,  and  is  always  well  drained. 

The  riv'U'  bottom  soil  consists  of  a  fine  sandy  loam  on  the  river  front,  a  heavy  clay  loatn  on  stiff  lands,  and  a  putty-like  loam  ou  hack 
laud.  The  colors  are  brown,  blackish  to  black,  and  thickness  from  18  to  20  feet,  below  which  sand  has  sometimes  been  noticed.  White  oak, 
ash,  cottonwood,  hickory,  sweet  gum,  etc.,  are  the  prevailing  trees.     The  laud  is  easily  tilled  in  wet  ordry  weather. 

Tire  lime-lands  occupy  a  large  part  of  the  northern  tier  of  townships  in  the  county  from  the  river  westward.  The  natural  growth 
is  cedar,  ash,  hickory,  oak,  chestnut,  etc.  The  soil  is  a  heavy  clay  loam  and  a  mellow  shell  prairie,  putty-like  in  places,  of  gray,  brown, 
and  blackish  colors,  alternating  or  mixed ;  thickness,  about  2  feet  to  the  subsoil,  which,  where  the  lime-rock  is  not  near  the  surface,  is  a 
tough  yellow  clay,  turning  black  where  cultivated  (not  otherwise),  very  impervious  if  not  disturbed,  and  containing  lumps  of  the  lime- 
rock  filled  with  seashells.  Beneath  the  subsoil  there  is,  at  depths  varying  from  2  to  10  feet,  the  lime-rock  of  the  country.  Tilling  qualities 
easy  after  being  once  broken  up,  especially  in  dry  seasons.  The  shell  laud  is  mellow,  as  is  also  the  stiff  land  after  being  plowed  in  the 
spring.     The  soil  is  early  aud  warm  when  well  drained,  which  is  effected  only  by  ditching. 

The  soils  of  Washington  county  are  well  suited  to  cotton,  to  corn  and  other  grains,  and  sweet  potatoes,  the  former  being  cultivated 
upon  two-thirds  to  three-fourths  of  the  cultivated  lands.  On  the  uplands  the  average  height  of  stalk  is  3  feet ;  on  the  bottom  and  lime- 
lands  5  to  6  feet,  and  it  is  more  productive  the  higher  the  stalk.  Wet  weather  often  causes  the  stalk  to  run  to  weed,  especially  on  the  shell 
prairies  and  lime-lands.  Topping  in  July  is  the  usual  remedy,  but  some  farmers  think  their  mode  of  plowing  avails.  The  average  seed- 
cotton  product  of  fresh  land  is  from  300  to  000  pounds  per  acre  on  the  uplands,  1,000  to  1,200  pounds  on  the  lime-lands,  and  1,300  pounds 
on  the  river  lands,  1,545  pounds  being  needed  to  make  a  standard  475-pound  bale,  the  staple  of  which  rates  from  low  middling  to  middling. 
After  ten  to  twenty  years'  cultivation,  without  manure,  the  yield  is  reduced  at  least  one-half  on  sloping  or  hilly  lands,  but  not  so  much 
on  the  level  bottoms,  and  about  1,600  pounds  are  needed  to  make  a  bale.  There  is  no  material  deterioration  of  the  fiber,  except  that 
it  is  thought  to  be  a  little  shortor  from  worn  land.  Information  ou  this  point,  however,  is  not  definite.  The  troublesome  weeds  are 
crab-grass,  Florida  clover,  morning-glory,  and  coffee-weeds,  and  cockleburs,  tie-vine,  and  Indian  potato  or  hog-root  on  the  richer  lands. 
From  one-third  to  three-fourths  of  formerly  cultivated  lands  are  turned  out  (a  less  proportion  of  the  lime-lands  than  of  the  others),  and 
when  again  taken  into  cultivation  they  produce  much  better  thau  wrheu  last  tilled,  but  not  quite  so  well  as  when  fresh.  The  uplands 
and  the  lime-lands  are  injured  by  washes,  especially  the  hill-tops,  the  valleys  being  usually  rather  benefited  by  the  washings.  The 
river  lauds  are  injured  by  water  ouly  by  overflows.     Little  effort  has  been  made  to  check  this  evil. 

The  cotton  crop  is  shipped  principally ,  by  boat,  to  Mobile ;  rate  of  freight,  $1  25  per  bale.  Shipping  begins  October  1,  and  usually 
lasts  till  January. 

MOBILE. 

Population:  48,053.— White,  27,IS7;  colored,  21,406. 

Area:  1,290  square  miles. — Woodland,  all  except  coast  marshes.  Boiling  pine  lands,  S20  square  miles  ;  pine 
flats,  470  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  8,99S  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  1  acre  only  returned ;  in  corn,  1,639  acres;  in  oats,  139  acres; 
in  rice,  191  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  151  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  776  acres. 

Cotton  ■production:  One  bale  returned. 

The  statistics  above  given  show  that  Mobile  county  has  a  comparatively  small  area  of  cultivated  land.  With 
respect  to  its  geological  structure  there  is  some  uncertainty,  though  it  seems  probable  that  the  white  limestone 
uuderlies  the  greater  part  of  the  county,  or  at  least  the  upper  part  as  far  south  as  Beaver  Meadow  and 
Ohickasabogue,  where  lime-sinks  show  the  presence  of  a  limestone  below  the  surface.  The  surface  beds  throughout, 
except  in  the  extreme  south,  are  the  stratified  drift  and  loam. 

The  county  is  gently  undulating,  though  the  water-sheds  have  considerable  elevation  above  the  sea.     The 

Oitronelle  plateau,   where  crossed  by  the  railroad,  is  317  feet    and  the  summit  333  feet  above  tide.     All  the 

drainage  is  into  the  Mobile  river  and  bay  on  one   side,  and   into   the   Escatawpa  river   on   the   other.     The 

prevailing  timber  growth  in  the  county  is  the  long-leaf  pine,  which  has  been  extensively  cut  for  timber  in  all  places 

where   accessible  to  streams  deep  enough  to  float  out  the  logs.     The  open  pine  woods  afford  most  excellent 

pastures. 

1  155 


146  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

The  characters  of  the  principal  soil  varieties  may  be  seen  from  the  following  abstract  of  the  carefully  written 
report  of  Professor  J.  P.  Stelle,  of  Citronelle,  which  refers  to  the  lands  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  the 
lowlands  along  the  Mobile  river  and  bay,  and  the  uplands  on  the  Citronelle  plateau. 

The  river,  the  bay,  and  the  railroads  furnish  ample  facilities  of  transportation  for  the  various  products  of 
Mobile  county. 

Cotton  is  not  cultivated,  except  in  small  patches  for  home  use,  and  the  attention  of  the  farmers  is  generally 
turned  to  the  production  of  early  vegetables  and  southern  fruits  for  the  market. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE  REPORT   OF  PROFESSOR  J.   P.    STELLE,   OF  CITRONELLE. 

The  soils  are:  First,  the  red  sandy  loam  with  clay  subsoil,  peculiar  to  all  the  upland  plains;  second,  the  dark  ioamy  soil  along  the 
bottoms  of  Mobile  and  Tombigbee  rivers;  and  third,  the  yellowish  sandy  loam  along  the  western  shore  of  the  bay. 

The  chief  soil  is  the  first  named,  which  is  the  soil  of  the  uplands  throughout  the  county.  Its  natural  timber  ib  predominately  the 
long-leaf  pine,  but  other  trees,  especially  oaks,  are  not  uncommon.  The  top  soil  is  the  usual  sandy  loam  of  whitish  to  gray,  buff,  orange, 
and  blackish  colors;  thickness,  10  incheB.  The  subsoil  on  the  uplands  is  a  red  tenacious  clay  with  a  small  proportion  of  sand,  and  makes 
good  bricks.  It  contains  in  some  places  a  few  white  rounded  pebbles  of  quartz.  Below  the  subsoil  is  sand,  capped  by  a  ferniginouB 
sandstone  at  the  depth  of  10  to  20  feet.     Vegetables  for  the  northern  market  form  the  chief  product  of  the  soil. 

The  black  bottom  lands  make  one-eighth  of  the  cultivated  area  in  the  region  described.  Its  timber  consists  of  oaks,  hickory,  elm, 
magnolia,  bay,  cypress,  sweet  and  sour  gums.  The  top  soil  is  usually  a  clay  loam  with  a  good  deal  of  vegetable  matter,  of  dnrk  to  nearly 
black  colors,  and  many  inches  in  thickness. 

The  flat  pine  lands  make  an  eighth  of  the  cultivated  area  in  question.  Its  timber  consists  mainly  of  long-leaf  pine,  with  magnolia, 
bay,  cypress,  etc.  The  top  soil  is  a  sandy  to  clayey  loam  of  a  yellowish  color  10  inches  iu  thickness,  with  a  yellowish  clay  loam  as  subsoil. 
It  seems  to  be  best  adapted  to  the  production  of  vegetables  and  fruits,  oranges,  etc.  These  three  soils  represent  pretty  nearly  the 
different  varieties  occurring  iu  the  county. 

CLARKE. 
(See  "Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine".) 

BALDWIN. 

Population:  8,G03.— White,  4,890 ;  colored,  3,713. 

Area:  1,620  square  miles. — Woodland,  all  except  coast  marshes;  rolling  pine  lands,  000  square  miles;  pine 
flats,  720  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  7,098  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  1,384  acres  ;  in  corn,  2,041  acres  ;  in  oats,  350  acres  ;  iu  rice, 
121  acres  ;  in  sugarcane,  SI  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  484  acres. 

Cotton  production:  638  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.46  bale,  657  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  219 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

In  physical  and  geological  features  Baldwin  county  resembles  Mobile,  which  it  adjoins  on  the  east.  The 
northern  half  of  the  county  is  more  or  less  undulating,  and  is  covered  with  a  growth  chiefly  of  long-leaf  pine ;  the 
southern  half  is  more  level,  and  is  timbered  with  the  same  tree  and  the  Cuban  pine.  This  general  statement,  however, 
is  to  be  taken  with  some  allowance,  for  between  Mobile  bay  and  the  Perdido  river,  at  Montrose,  the  watershed  is 
200  feet  above  the  bay,  and  it  is  the  highest  laud  on  the  coast  between  the  Rio  Grande  and  Navesink  (Haines). 
The  waters  flow  into  the  Perdido  river  on  the  east  and  into  the  Alabama  and  Mobile  rivers  and  Mobile  bay  on 
the  west.  In  the  western  part  of  the  county,  above  the  bay,  is  a  considerable  tract  of  marshy  land  in  the  delta 
of  the  river. 

From  the  statistics,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  county  is  rather  thinly  settled,  and  that  a  comparatively  small 
proportion  of  the  area  is  under  cultivation.  Much  of  the  county  is  a  natural  pasture,  and  large  herds  of  cattle  and 
sheep  are  sustained,  and,  where  accessible  to  streams,  lumbering  is  an  importaut  industry. 

All  the  cotton,  or  by  far  the  greater  proportion  of  it,  is  produced  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  and,  as  the 
high  yield  per  acre  shows,  with  the  aid  of  fertilizers.  Where  cultivated,  the  cotton  is  shipped  to  Mobile  by  boat 
or  by  rail. 

MONROE. 
(See  ''Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine".) 

CONECUH. 

(See  "Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  loug-leaf  pine".) 

ESCAMBIA. 

Population:  5,719.— White,  4,106  ;  colored,  1,613. 

Area:  1,000  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.     All  rolling  pine  lands. 

Tilled  land:  6,934  acres. — Area  planted  iu  cotton,  278  acres;  in  corn,  3,699  acres  ;  in  oats,  869  acres  ;  in  sugar- 
cane, S3  acres ;  iu  rice,  405  acres ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  494  acres. 

Cotton  production:  94  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.34  bale,  486  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  162  pounds 
cottou  lint. 

Escambia  lies  wholly  within  the  long  leaf  pine  region.  Geologically,  its  structure  is  simple.  The  white 
limestone  of  Vicksburg  age  underlies  certainly  the  northern  part  and  probably  the  whole  of  the  county,  though 
coming  to  the  surface  but  rarely.  Upon  this  are  spread  the  materials  of  the  stratified  drift,  which  here,  as  in 
156 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  147 

so  mauy  other  places,  form  the  soils.  The  Conecuh  and  Escambia  rivers,  with  their  tributaries,  draiu  the  entire 
county,  except  a  small  portion  of  the  northwest  corner,  which  is  drained  by  Little  river,  flowing  into  the  Alabama, 
and  another  small  portion  in  the  southeast,  drained  by  a  tributary  of  Yellow  river. 

The  county  is,  in  general,  a  level  pine  woods,  gently  undulating  and  unbroken,  save  by  the  small  valleys  of 
the  creeks  and  branches,  and  by  occasional  ponds  and  lime-sinks.  The  soil  is  uniformly  a  light  sandy  loam  of 
prevailing  light  colors,  and  is  comparatively  poor.  Along  the  Conecuh  river  especially  there  are  bodies  of  good 
bottom  or  swamp  land.  The  pine  woods  make  here,  as  elsewhere,  a  tine  natural  pasture,  and  cattle-raising  is  an 
important  industry.  The  magnificent  pine  timber  is  also  a  source  of  profit  to  many  of  the  inhabitants.  The  high 
yield  of  the  few  acres  planted  in  cotton  shows  that  this  staple  is  cultivated  only  in  favored  spots  or  with  fertilizers. 

ABSTEACT  OF  THE  EEPOET  OF  JOHN  W.  STEPHENSON,  OF  DOUGLASVILLE. 

The  uplaud  soil  is  very  thiu,  extending  widely  in  vast  unbroken  tracts,  and  is  not  well  suited  to  cotton  unless  manured.  The 
owlands  are  quite  productive,  but  are  sometimes  liable  to  overflow,  anil  the  crop  is  thus  lost.  For  this  reason  the  uplands  are  preferred, 
and  with  manure  they  give  very  fair  returns.  Since  the  war  cornriaratively  little  cotton  has  been  cultivated  ;  it  is  planted  upon  most  of  the 
varieties  of  soil. 

The  most  fertile  soil  is  fouud  in  bodies  of  5  to  10  acres  along  the  Couecuh  river  bottom.  The  natural  growth  is  spruce  pine, 
oaks,  hickory,  chestnut,  birch,  etc.  The  soil  is  of  the  usual  swamp  or  bottom-land  character,  with  subsoil  often  containing  pebbles, 
sometimes  underlaid  with  the  ferruginous  sandstone  so  common  in  the  stratified  drift.  In  dry  seasons  this  soil  is  easily  tilled,  but  it  is 
sometimes  tilled  with  difficulty  in  wet  weather.  Corn,  pease,  and  sweet  potatoes  are  the  most  abundant  crops,  but  cotton  does  well 
wherever  tried.  Very  little  is  raised  for  the  market,  and  no  information  is  at  hand  concerning  the  quality  of  staple,  etc.  On  account  of  its 
position,  this  kind  of  laud  seldom  suffers  from  washing.     Rag-weed  is  one  of  the  most  troublesome  weeds. 

Cotton  is  shipped  by  rail  to  Mobile  or  Montgomery. 

COVINGTON. 

Population:  5,039.— White,  4,908;  colored,  071. 

Area:  1,030  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Undulating  or  rolling  pine  lands,  71i0  square  miles;  lime-hills,  50 
square  miles ;  pine  uplands,  200  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  19,3-JG  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  4,170  acres;  in  corn,  10,558  acres;  in  oats,  2,114  acres;  in 
rice,  47  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  147  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  400  acres. 

Cotton  production:  1,158  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.28  bale,  399  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  133 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  rocky  substratum  of  Covington  county  is  made  up  of  the  strata  of  two  of  the  groups  of  the  Tertiary 
formation,  viz,  the  Jackson  and  the  Vicksburg.  The  white  limestone  of  the  latter  group  is  exposed  where  the 
•overlying  drift  materials  have  been  removed  by  denudation  throughout  the  whole  county,  except,  perhaps,  the 
extreme  southern  portion.  As  a  rule,  this  rock  is  too  deeply  covered  with  the  drift  sands  and  loam  to  have  much 
influence  upon  the  soils,  except  in  a  few  areas  of  limited  extent,  where  red  lime-lands  similar  to  those  of  the 
adjoining  county  of  Conecuh  are  found  in  the  upper  part  of  the  county.  Otherwise,  the  upland  soils  are  of  the 
usual  varieties  afforded  by  the  stratified  drift.  The  soils,  therefore,  are  upland  sandy  loams  of  varying  degrees  of 
fertility,  but  usually  light,  forming  the  great  bulk  of  the  lands.  These  have  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine,  alternating 
with  the  various  species  of  upland  oaks.  The  pines  occupy,  in  general  terms,  the  higher  areas,  while  the  oaks  and  , 
hickories  are  found  more  frequently  along  the  drainage  slopes  of  the  streams ;  positions  determined  in  great  measure 
probiibly  by  the  varying  proportions  of  sand  in  the  soils  from  which  these  trees  derive  their  sustenance.  Upon 
the  higher  lands,  where  by  the  long-continued  action  of  the  rains  the  specifically  lighter  materials  constituting  the 
elay  have  been  carried  down  from  the  surface,  the  sandier  portions  are  left  to  form  the  soil.  Upon  slopes,  however, 
where  running  water  has  been  active,  both  the  lighter  and  heavier  materials  are  removed  together,  and  the  original 
loamy  character  of  the  drift  deposits  has  been  preserved  more  or  less  unchanged. 

Upon  the  nearly  level  gently  undulating  areas  in  the  lower  part  of  the  county  vast  forests  of  long-leaf  pine 
prevail,  with  an  undergrowth  of  grass  and  leguminous  plants,  which  afford  pasturage  for  great  numbers  of  cattle, 
sheep,  and  swine.     The  forests  themselves,  where  accessible,  are  heavily  drawn  upon  for  timber. 

The  bottom  lands  are  of  the  usual  character,  and  are  generally  fertile.  From  their  liability  to  overflow, 
however,  they  are  often  less  desirable  than  the  uplands,  where,  with  a  moderate  outlay  for  fertilizers,  good  crops  of 
cotton  are  almost  certain  to  be  made.  The  chemical  nature  of  the  pine  upland  soils  is  very  well  seen  in  the  analysis 
given  on  page  55  of  a  soil  from  13  miles  east  of  Andalusia.  These  soils,  like  the  sandy,  rather  infertile  soils  of 
the  Coal  Measures  and  parts  of  the  older  formations  of  the  state,  while  intrinsically  poor,  are  yet  rapidly  coming- 
in  to  use  with  fertilizers. 

Agriculturally,  Covington  county  is  like  Conecuh,  with  the  exception  that  the  lime-lands  here  are  of  very  limited 
extent,  and  nearly  the  whole  county  has  the  character  of  the  long-leaf  pine  lands. 

The  cotton  from  this  county  is  usually  shipped  from  Troy,  Greenville,  or  Evergreen,  to  which  markets  it  must 
be  hauled  great  distances  in  wagons. 

GENEVA. 

Population:  4,342.— White,  3,829;  colored,  513. 

Area:  590  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Undulating  pine  lands,  500  square  miles;  red  lime-lands,  30  square 
miles. 

Tilled  land:  17,004  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  4,947  acres;  in  corn,  9,476  acres;  in  oats,  1,705  acres;  in 
sugar-cane,  118  acres;  in  rice,  54  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  350  acres. 

Cotton  production:  1,112  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.23  bale,  327  pounds  seed-cottim,  or  109 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Geneva  county  is  underlaid  throughout  its  eutire  extent  with  the  white  Vicksburg  limestone,  which,  as  usual, 
«xerts  comparatively  little  influence  on  the  cultivable  soils.     Exception  to  this  is  noticed  in  the  eastern  part  of 

157 


148  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

tbe  county,  in  the  drainage  area  of  the  Chipola  river,  where  a  flue  lime-land  is  well  known  for  its  fertile  character. 
This  sort  of  calcareous  soil  is  much  more  prevalent  in  the  adjoining  county  in  Florida,  whose  red  lime-lands  have 
a  wide  reputation. 

The  arable  soils  are  in  great  measure  derived  from  stratified  drift  and  loam,  and  exhibit  the  usual  varieties. 
The  proportion  of  red  or  yellow  loam  in  the  soil  and  subsoil  seems  to  decrease,  in  general,  as  we  go  south,  and 
the  proportion  of  sand  to  increase  in  the  same  direction.  Between  Millville  and  Geneva  tbe  various  species  of  oaks 
are  associated  with  the  long-leaf  pines,  showing  a  very  fair  quality  of  soil.  Northwest  of  Geneva,  along  the  divide 
between  Double  Bridges  creek  and  Pea  river,  pine  woods,  with  scarcely  any  admixture  of  other  trees,  prevail;  but 
occasionally  upland  willow  and  small  post  and  black  jack  oaks  are  associated  with  the  pines,  constituting  a  regular 
pine-barren  growth.  Coarse  tufts  of  wire  grass  form  the  undergrowth  almost  universally,  except  in  the  numerous 
boggy  places,  where  a  rich  and  peculiar  flora  is  commonly  seen. 

Until  a  few  years  past  the  cultivation  of  cotton  in  this  county  has  received  very  little  attention,  the  inhabitants 
being  chiefly  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  and  in  cattle  and  sheep  raising.  With  the  use  of  guano  these  pine 
lands  bring  very  fair  crops,  often  a  bale  to  2  acres. 

With  the  exception  above  noted  of  a  small  area  of  lime  lands  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  county,  the  pine 
woods  form  all  the  uplands  of  Geneva.  The  composition  of  the  soil  is  similar  to  that  of  the  Covington  county  soil 
(analysis  given  on  page  55),  which  is,  however,  a  better  soil  than  that  of  the  average  pine  woods. 

The  white  orbitoidal  limestone  of  the  Vicksburg  age  is  to  be  seen  in  many  localities  in  Geneva  where  the 
drainage  has  removed  the  overlying  sands,  as  along  the  banks  of  the  Choctawhatchee  river  and  other  large  streams. 
This  river  is  navigable  to  the  town  of  Geneva,  and  was  formerly  one  of  the  principal  outlets  for  the  products  of 
the  county.  Most  of  the  timber  still  finds  its  way  to  market  by  this  stream,  though  the  cotton  is  now  hauled  in 
wagons  to  Troy,  at  a  cost  of  $2  50  per  bale. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  REPORT  OF  W.  N.  BRANDON,  OF  GENEVA. 

Tho  lowlands  are  the  dark-gray  bottom  lands,  sand  hummocks,  and  gallberry  flats.  The  uplands  vary  from  light  gray  to  red, 
according  to  the  proportion  of  loam  which  is  mixed  -with  the  sand,  and  are  preferred,  as  the  cotton  can  be  planted  earlier,  with 
consequently  less  liability  to  damage  from  early  frosts  and  worms.  The  river  lands  are  nearly  all  subject  to  overflow,  aud  are  not  so 
certain. 

The  gray  upland  soils  have  a  yellowish  subsoil  down  t®  the  clay  (reached  at  18  inches),  and  Ihe  mahogany  and  red  soily  have  a  red 
subsoil.  The  timber  is  long-leaf  pine,  with  post  oak,  hickory,  broad-leaf  black-jack,  red  oak,  etc.  These  soils  are  early,  warm,  aud  well 
drained,  and  are  well  suited  to  cotton,  corn,  sugar-cane,  rice,  potatoes,  etc. 

About  half  the  cultivated  area  about  Geneva  is  in  cotton,  which  usually  grows  to  a  height  of  3  feet.  When  planted  late,  and  in 
wet  seasons,  there  is  a  tendency  to  go  to  weed,  which  is  restrained  by  planting  early,  using  fertilizers,  and  by  working  fast  and  early. 
Tbe  average  yield  of  seed-cotton  ou  fresh  land  is  from  COO  to  700  pounds  to  the  acre,  which  is  brought  down  to  400  pounds  after  five  years' 
cultivation  without  manure.  To  make  a  475-pound  hale  1,485  pounds  of  seed-cotton  are  needed.  The  staple  rates  as  middling  from 
the  fresh  to  low  middling  from  the  worn  land,  though  there  is  usually  very  little  difference  in  the  quality.  Hog-weeds  are  (exclusive 
of  grasses)  most  troublesome  to  the  farmer.  One-fourth  of  the  laud  originally  cultivated  lies  turned  out,  but  after  a  rest  of  some  years, 
especially  if  cattle  have  been  kept  off,  if  taken  again  into  cultivation,  it  produces  well.  The  damage  from  washings  is  not  very  great 
aud  no  efforts  have  been  made  to  check  it,  except  in  a  few  instances,  where  horizoutaliziug  and  hillside  ditching  have  been  practiced  with 
good  results. 

The  sandy  hummocks  are  found  along  the  Choctawhatchee  river,  and  are  considered  best  for  corn,  ouly  about  a  fifth  of  the  lauds  being 
in  cotton. 

COFFEE. 
(See  "Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine".) 

DALE. 

(See  "Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine".) 

HENRY. 
(See  "Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine".) 


ALLUVIAL  REGION. 

This  region  includes  parts  of  Washington,*  Clarke,*  Mobile,*  and  Baldwin*  counties. 

WASHINGTON. 

(See  "Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine".) 

CLARKE. 
(See  "Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine".) 

MOBILE. 

(See  -Long-leaf  pine  region".) 

BALDWIN. 

(See  "Long-leaf  [line  region".) 


:pjl:r,t  hi. 


CULTURAL   AND   ECONOMIC   DETAILS 


COTTON    PRODUCTION. 


149 
159 


REFERENCE  TABLE 

OF 

REPORTS  RECEIVED  FROM  ALABAMA  COUNTIES. 


I.— METAMOEPHIC  REGION. 


1.  Cleburne. — John  R.  Motis,  Edwardsville,  March,  1680.     Location,  township  14,  range  11,  section  34.     Descrihes  first  and  second-bottom 

lauds  of  Cane  creek. 

2.  Cleburne. — James  H.  Bell  aud  David  V.  Crider,  Arbacoocheo,  April,  1830.    Location,  township  16,  range  10,  section  11.     Describe 

bottom  lands  on  creeks  and  on  the  Tallapoosa  river. 
1.  Randolph. — James  H.  Radney,  Roanoke,  April,  1880.     Location,  township  21,  range  12.     Describes  first  and  second  bottoms  on  Highpiuo 
and  Cornhonse  creeks. 

1.  Lee. — John  T.  Harris,  Opelika,  August,  1830.     Describes  lands  on  Hallawaka  creek  and  Chattahoochee  river. 

2.  Lee. — C.  H.  McCulloh,  Beulah,  May,  1830.     Location,  township  20,  range  29,  section  20.     Describes  first  bottom  of  Hallawaka  creek 

and  Chattahoochee  river. 

1.  Tallapoosa. — D.  A.  G.  Ross,  Camp  Hill,  April,  I860.     Location,  township  21,  rang<*  24,  sections  27  and  :'>4.    Describes  bottom  binds  on 

Sandy  creek. 

2.  Tallapoosa. — Daniel  Taylor,  New  Site,  March,  1380.     Location,  township  24,  range  23.     Describes  bottoms  and -upland*  on  Emuckfaw 

creek  and  Tallapoosa  river. 

3.  Tallapoosa.— James  M.  Pearson,  Dadeville,  May,  1880.     Location,  township  22,  range 23,  section  3(1.     Describes  lauds  on  Sandy  creek. 
1.   Clay. — William  W.  Jenkins,  Hillabee,  January,  1882.     Location,  township  20,  range  7.     Describes  lauds  on  Talladega,   Buzzard, 

Hillabee,  Hatchet,  and  other  creeks. 

1.  Coosa. — J.  C.  McDiarmip,  Good  Water,  April,  1630.     Location,  township  20,  range  22,  sections  24  and  25.     Describes  bottoms  aud 

uplands  on  Hatchet  creek  aud  Coosa  river. 

2.  Coosa. — JonN  S.  Bentley,  Roekford.     Descrihes  bottoms  and  uplands  on  Socopntoy,  Jaeko,  and  Big  and  Little  Hatchet  creeks,  all 

tributaries  of  the  Coosa  river.  « 

II.— COOSA  VALLEY  REGION. 

Cherokee. — Dr.  John  Lawrence,  Cedar  Bluff,  January,  1882.     Describes  lowlands  on  Coosa,  Chattooga,  and  Little  rivers,  aud  Terrapin 
and  other  creeks,  and  uplands  adjacent. 

1.  Calhoun. — Dr.  S.  C.  Williams,  Oxford,  August,  1830.     Location,  townships  11,  15,  16,  17,  rauges  7.  8,  0,  section  10.     Describes  bottom 

lands  on  Choccolocco  creek  and  Coosa  river  and  neighboring  uplands. 

2.  Calhoun. — T.  W.  Francis,  Cane  Creek,  June,  1880.     Location,  township  15,  range  6.     Describes  lowlands  and  uplands  on  Cane  creek 

and  Coosa  river. 
1.  Etowah, — W.  B.  Beeson,  Greenwood,  May,  1830.     Describes  uplands  on  Wills'  Creek. 
1.  Saint  Clair. — John  W.  Inzer,  Ashville,  July.  1880.    Locatiou,  township  14,  range  4,  section  7.    Describes  second  bottoms  and  bill  lands 

on  Big  Canoe  creek  and  Coosa  river. 

1.  Talladega.— B.  M.  Burt,  Talladega. 

2.  Talladega. — S.  M.  Jemison  and  A.  W.  Duncan,  Talladega,  July,  1880.     Describe  bottoms  and  uplands  ou  Choccolocco,  Talladega, 

Cheahbah,  Wewoka,  and  Tallasahatchie  creeks. 
Shelby. — T.  A.  Huston,  Wilsonvillc.     Describes  land  on  several  small  creeks  flowing  into  the  Coosa  river. 

III.— COAL-MEASURES  REGION. 

Cullman, — William  J.  Dunn,  Cullman,  April,  1880.    Location,  township  10,  range  3  west,  section  15.    Describes  bottoms  aud  uplands  on 

the  Warrior  river. 
Blount. — George  D.  Shelton,  Brooksville,  Juno,  1330.     Location,  township  10,  range  2  east,  section  18.     Describes  bottoms  and  uplands 

on  Big  Spring  aud  Slab  creeks  and  Warrior  river. 
Winston.— F.  C.  Burdick,  Houston,  March,  1880.     Location,  townships  it,  10,  11,  12,  ranges  6  to  10  west.     Describes  bottoms  on  Yellow 
creek  and  Sipsey  river,  and  uplands  on  Bushy  and  Clear  creeks  and  Sipsey  river. 
150 
160 


CULTURAL  AND  ECONOMIC  DETAILS.  151 

IV.— TENNESSEE  VALLEY  REGION. 

Jackson. — W.  F.  HURT,  Bellefonte,  July,  1880.     Location,  township  3,  range  6,  section  21.     Describes  bottoms  and  table-lands  on  Mud 

creek  and  Tennessee  river. 
1.  Madison.—  Thomas  B.  Kelly,  Cluttaville,  May,  1880.     Location,  townships  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  ranges  1,  2,  3  west.     Describes  first  bottoms 

on  Tennessee  river  and  hilly  and  mountainous  uplands. 
2  Madison. — William  C.  Irwin,  Huntsville,  May,  1880.     Describes  bottoms  and  uplands  on  Indian  and  Spring  creeks  and  Teutaessee  river. 
3.  Madison. — George  D.  Norris,  New  Market,  March,  1880.     Location,  township  1,  range  2  east,  section  32.     Describes  lowlands  and 

uplands  on  Mountain  Fork  and  Flint  rivers  and  alluvial  plains  on  Hester's  creek  and  Flint  river. 
1.  Limestone. — F.  H.  Peebles,  Mooresville,  November,  1881.     Location,  township  4,  range  3  west,  sections  5, 6,7J8.      Describes  uplands 

and  lowlands  on  Piney,  Limestone,  and  Beaver  Dam  creeks. 

1.  Lauderdale. — James  William  Morgan,  Florence,  June,  1880.     Location,  township  3,  range  13.     Describes  bottoms  on  Tennessee  river. 

2.  Lawrence. — James  E.  Saunders  and  F.  W.  Sykes,  M.  D.,  Town  Creek,  April,  1880.     Location,  township  4,  range  8,  sections  21,  22. 

Describe  level  mulatto  lands  on  Town  creek  and  Tennessee  river. 

1.  Colbert. — L.  B.  Thornton,  Tuscumbia,  January,  1880.     Describes  lowlands  in  Tennessee  valley  and  table-lands  on  Big  Bear  creek. 

2.  Colbert. — T.  B.  Bickley,  Spring  Valley,  March,  1880.     Location,  township  4,  ranges  10, 11,  sections  19,25.     Describes  uplands  on  Spring 

creek. 
Franklin. — Dr.  Daniel  N.  Sevier,  Russellville,  July,  1880.     Describes  bottoms  and  uplands  of  Cedar  creek. 

V.— OAK  AND  PINE  UPLANDS. 

(Including:  1.  Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  short-leaf  pine,     2.  Gravelly  hills,  with  loug-leaf  pine.) 

Marion. — Martin  Nesmith,  Pikeville,  June,  1880.     Location,  township  12,  range  13,  section  32.     Describes  bottoms  and  ui>lands  on  Beaver 

and  Buttabatehie  creeks. 
Lamar. — George  E.  Brown,  Carslen,  December,  1880.     Location,  townships  12,  13,  ranges  14  and  5.     Describes  lands  on  Beaver  and 

Buttahatchie  creeks. 

1.  Pickens. — M.  F.  Cook,  Pickensville,  March,  1880.      Location,  townships  20,  21,  ranges  15,  16,  17.     Describes  bottoms  and  uplands  on 

Coalfire  creek  and  Bigbee  river. 

2.  Pickens. — JR.  IT.  Henry,  Columbus,  Mississippi,  January,  1880.     Location,  township  18,  range  16.     Describes  lowlands  and  uplands  on 

McBee  creek  aud  Tombigbee  river. 

1.  Tuscaloosa. — A.  C  Hargrove,  Tuscaloosa,  June,  1880.     Location,  township  21,  ranges  10,  11,  sections  7,  18,  19,  30,  25,  13.     Describes 

lowlands  on  Warrior  river  and  adjacent  uplands. 

2.  Tuscaloosa. — James  R.  Maxwell,  Tuscaloosa,  July,  1880.    Location,  township  24,  range  5  east,  section  3.    Describes  rolling  bottom  lands 

between  Big  creek  anil  Warrior  river  and  uplands  on  Little  Sandy  river. 
Bibb. — J.  S.  Hansbergee,  Tionus,  March,  1880.     Location,  township  24,  range  10  east. 
Autauga. — C.  M.  Howard,  Mulberry,  August,  1881.     Location,  township  17,  range  13.     Describes  bottoms  and  uplands  on  Beaver  and  Ivy 

creeks. 

VI.— CENTRAL  PRAIRIE  REGION,  INCLUDING  FLATWOODS. 

Sumter. — Dr.  R.  D.Webb,  Livingston,  March  9,  1880.     Describes  the  black  prairie,  the  upland  sandy,  and  the  post-oak  flatwood  soils 

occurring  in  the  drainage  area  of  Sucarnatchie  creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Tombigbee  river. 
Greene. — Thomas  J.  Patton,  Kuosville,  July,  1880.      Location,  township  23,  range  3  east.     Describes  uplands  and  lowlands  on  Sims  and 

Buck  creeks  and  the  Warrior  river. 

1.  Hale. — Professor  Tutwiler,  Greene  Springs,  May,  1880.     Location,  township  22,  range  4  east.     Describes  lauds  on  Five-mile  creek  and 

Warrior  river. 

2.  Hale. — Noreleet  Harris,  Lanevillc,  March,  1880.     Location,  township  18,  range  5  east.     Lands  are  for  most  part  black  and  chocolate 

prairie. 
Marengo. — W.  A.  Stickney,  Fauusdale,  June,  1880.      Location,  township  17,  range  5  east,  sections  8,  17,  20.      Describes  rolling  and  flat, 

loose  black  prairie  uplands,  and  mulatto  or  post-oak  lands  on  and  near  Cottonwood  and  Powell  creeks. 
Perry. — H.  A.  Stollenwerck,  Uuiontown.     Location,  township  18,  range  6,  sections  18,  20.     Describes  first  bottoms  and  rolling  and  level 

prairie  lauds  on  Dry  creek. 
Dalian. — J.  F.  C'ALnouN,  Miuter,  February,  1882.     Location,  township  13,  ranges  10,  11,  sections  11,  14,  etc.      Describes  uplands  between 

Cedar  and  Pine  Barren  creeks. 

1.  Lowndes.-- William  M.  Garrett,  Mount  Willing,  March,  1880.     Location,  township  13,  ranges  13,  14.     Describes  bottoms  and  black 

prairie  and  sandy  uplands  ou  Cedar  creek. 

2.  Lowndes. — P.  T.  Graves,  Burkville,  September,  1S80-.     Location,  township  16,  range  15,  section  36.     Describes  uplands  on  Tallawassee 

and  Pmtlala  creeks. 

1.  Montgomery. — Thomas  W.  Oliver,  Montgomery,  April,  1830.     Location,  towuship  16,  range  18,  sections  8, 18, 17.    Describes  bottoms  on 

Small  creek  and  uplands  on  Catoma  creek. 

2.  Montgomery. — J.  A.  Callaway,  Snowdoun,  Mareh,  1880.     Location,  township  15,  range  18.      Describes  bottoms  and  uplands  ou  Ramer 

aud  Catoma  creeks. 

1.  Bullock. — W.  M.  Starkly,  Union  Springs,  March,  1830.     Location,  township  14,  range  23,  section  4.     Describes  uplands  and  kog-wallow 

prairies  ou  Cupiahatcb.ee  and  Town  creeks. 

2.  Bullock. — J.  F.  Culver,  Union  Springs,  January,  1880.    Location,  township  13,  ranges  23, 24.    Describes  sandy  and  black  prairie  bottoms 

on  the  headwaters  of  Conecuh  river. 

3.  Bullock. — J.  L.  Moultrie,  Union  Springs,  March,  1880.     Location,  township  14,  range  23,  sections  23-26.     Describes  timbered  prairie 

or  post-oak  lands  on  the  Cupiahatchee  creek. 

4.  T^W/ocfc.— M.  L.  Stinson,  Union  Springs,  March,  1880.     Location,  townships  11,12,13,  ranges  23,24.     Describes  bottoms  and  uplands  on 

Conecuh  and  Pea  rivers.  161 

1 1    C   P — VOL.   II 


152  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

Macon. — John  L.  Collins,  Tuskegee,  December,  1861.     Refers  to  entire  comity. 

1.  Barbour. — Hon.  H.  D.  Clayton,  Clayton,  September,  1880.      Location,  township  10,  range  2G,  sections  4,5,8,9.      Describes  first  and 

second  bottoms  and  rolling  uplands  on  Choctawhatchee  creek  and  river. 

2.  Barbour. — Dr.  H.  Hawkins,  Hawkinsville,  March,  1880.     Describes  bottoms  and  uplands  on  Cowikee  and  other  creeks,  and  on  the 

Chattahoochee  river. 

VII.— LONG-LEAF  PINE  REGION. 

(Including;  1.  Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine.     2.  Lime-hills  or  lower  prairie.     3.  Open  pine  woods  and  lime-sink  region.) 
1.    Wash  in  tj  ton. — It.  M.  Campbell,  Saint  Stephens.  June,  1880.     Loeation,  townships  3,  4,  5,  G,  7,  8,  range  1  oast,  and  ranges  1,  2  west. 

Describes  bottoms  and  alluvial  lands  on  the  Tonibigbee  river,  and  rolling  and  level  uplands  on  Lewis  and  Sinta  Boguo  rinks. 
1.  Monroe. — J.  M,  HARRINGTON,  Newtown  Academy,  July,  1880.    Loeation,  township  9,  range  9,  section  10.    Describes  bottoms  and  uplands 

on  Flat  creek. 

1.  Wilcox. — Henry  C.  Brown,  Camden,  January,  1880.     Location,  township  12,  rang.-  8,  section  33.     Describes  bottoms  and  uplands  ou 

Pursk-y  creek. 

2.  Wilcox. — Felix  Tait,  Camden,  April,  1880.     Location,  township  11,  range  7.     Describes  lauds  on  the  Alabama  river. 

1.  Conecuh. — Andrew  Jay.  sr.,  Jayvilla,  February,  1880.     Location,  township  5,  range  12,  section  30.     Describes  lands  on  Murder  cruoh 

and  Escambia  river. 

2.  Conecuh. — P.  D.  Bowles,  Evergreen,  February,  1880.     Location,  township  5,  range  11,  section  11.     Describes  bottoms  and  uplands  on 

Beaver  creek  and  Conecuh  river  and  alluvial  plains  on  Murder  creek. 
Grmshaw. — George  W.  Tha&ard,  Rutledgo,  January,  1830.     Location,  townships  9,  10,  range  17.     Describes  bottoms  and  uplands  on 

Patsaliga  river. 
Coffee. — M.  G.  STOUDENMElER,  Elba.  July,  1880.     Describes  rolling  and  level  lauds  on  Boles  creek  and  IVa  river. 
Dale.— J.  C.  Matthews. — Crittenden's  Mills,  January,  1S80.     Location,  townships  3  to  8,  ranges  23  to  28.     Describes  bottoms  and  uplauds 

on  Ckoctawhatcbeo  river  and  several  tributary  creeks. 
Henri/. — A.  McAllister,  Shorterville,  March,  1880.     Location,  township  7,  range  29.     Describes  bottoms  on  Choctawhatchee  and  uplauds 

ou  numerous  creeks. 
Mobile. — J.  P.  Stelle,  Citronelle,  June,  1880.     Describes  lowlands  and  uplands  on  Mobile  and  Tombigbee  rivers. 
Escambia.  — JOHN  W.  Stephenson,  Douglasville,  April,  1830.      Location,  townships  1,  2,  ranges  11,  12.     Describes  lands  on  Conecuh 

river. 
Geneva. — YV.  N.  Brandon,  Geneva,  August,  1880.     Location,  townships  2,  3,  ranges  22,  23.     Describes  bottoms  and  uplands  on  Wilkinson 

creek. 

162 


ANSWERS  TO  SCHEDULE  QUESTIONS. 


[The  Roman  numerals  used  in  the  following  answers  refer  to  the  regions  as  numbered  in  the  reference  table.] 
These  regions  are — 

I. — Metamorphio. 
II. — Coosa  and  outlying  valleys.  . 
III.— Coal-fields. 
IV. — Tennessee  valley. 
V. — Oak  and  pine  uplands,  including — 

1.  Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  short-leaf  pine. 

2.  Gravelly  hills,  with  long-leaf  pine. 
VI. — Central  prairie  region,  including — 

Flatwoods. 
VII. — Long-leaf  pine  region,  including — 

1.  Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  with  long-leaf  pine. 

2.  Lime-hills  or  lower  prairie. 

3.  Open  rolling  pine  woods  and  lime-sink  region.  / 


TILLAGE,  IMPROVEMENTS,  ETC. 

1.  Usual  depth  of  tillage  (measured  on  land  side  of  furrow). 
The  average  depth  in  all  the  regions  is  3  to  4  inches. 

2.  What  draft  is  employed  in  breaking  up? 

Generally  one  horse  or  mule. 

3.  Is  subsoiling  practiced  ?     If  so,  with  what  implements,  and  with  what  results  ? 

To  some  extent,  and  usually  with  good  results,  iu  regions  I,  II,  III,  and  IV  ;  rarely,  if  at  all,  in  the  last  three  regions. 

4.  Is  fell  plowing  practiced  %    With  what  results? 

Practiced  to  a  limited  extent  in  I,  II,  III,  and  IV,  and  with  good  effect  in  certain  parts  of  the  Tennessee  valley  ;  rarely,  if  at  all,  used 
in  VI  and  VII.  Where  cotton  is  tho  chief  crort,  all  the  labor  is  required  in  the  fall  for  gathering.  Iu  VII  the  character  of  the  soil  is 
generally  of  such  nature  that  fall  plowing  would  not  he  remunerative. 

5.  Is  fallowing  practiced?  Is  the  land  tilled  while  lying  fallow  or  only  "turned  out"?  With  what  results  in 
either  case  ? 

Fallowing  is  practiced  but  little,  if  at  all,  except  iu  small  areas  in  regions  II  and  III.  Throughout  tl^e  state,  however,  it  seems  to 
be  very  common  for  land  to  he  "turned  out"  to  rest. 

6.  Is  rotation  of  crops  practiced  ?  If  so,  of  how  many  years'  course,  in  what  order  of  crops,  and  with  what 
results? 

Rotation  of  crops  is  practiced  throughout  the  state,  but  uot  always  in  a  systematic  way.  Where  there  is  system,  the  usual  order  of 
crops  is  cotton  from  one  to  three  or  four  years,  then  corn,  followed  by  oats,  or  wheat,  to  be  followed  again  by  cotton.  In  regions  V,  VI, 
and  VII  cotton  is  generally  the  chief  crop,  and  all  the  best  aud  freshest  land  is  devoted  to  its  culture.  In  these  regions  it  is  no  unusual 
thing  for  the  same  lands  to  be  planted  in  cotton  five,  ten,  or  ufteeu  years  in  succession.  In  some  parts  of  the  Tennessee  valley  it  is 
becoming  quite  common  to  sow  clover  with  small  grain,  so  that  the  order  of  crops  is  cotton,  corn,  oats,  or  wheat,  with  clover,  followed 
by  oue  or  two  years'  of  rest. 

153 
1C3 


154  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

7.  What  fertilizers  or  other  direct  means  of  improving  the  soil  are  used  by  you  or  in  yonr  region  1  With  what 
results?     Is  green -man  tiring  practiced?     With  what  results'? 

In  I,  II,  VI,  and  VII  guano,  tho  superphosphates,  and  compost,  with  cotton-seed  and  stable  manure,  or  with  lime,  vegetable  matter, 
etc,  are  chief  manures,  and  the  results  are  always  good,  provided  the  crops  are  properly  cultivated.  In  III,  IV,  and  V  there  is  less  use 
of  commercial  fertilizers,  baton  the  contrary,  cotton-aeod  and  cottonseed-meal  are  used  over  a  largo  part  of  this  area  to  a  very  considerable 
extent.  In  all  cases  where  fertilizers  are  properly  applied  and  the  crops  are  thoroughly  cultivated,  it  appears  that  farmers  are  fully 
repaid  for  the  outlay  made  in  their  purchase.  There  is  but  little  green-manuring;  but  in  some  localities  cow-pease,  weeds,  grass,  etc.,  are 
turned  under  with  advantage.     On  lime-lands  pease  cannot  be  profitably  or  safely  used. 

8.  How  is  cotton-seed  disposed  of?  If  sold,  on  what  terms,  orat  what  price?  Where  is  the  nearest  cottonseed- 
oil  factory?     Is  cottonseed-cake  used  for  feedj  for  manure? 

Cotton-seed  is  used  throughout  the  state  as  a  fertilizer,  both  in  the  green  state  and  in  the  form  of  meal.  It  is  als*  used  in  both  forms 
as  a  feed  for  cattle;  the  cake  or  meal  is,  however,  not  yet  much  used  for  feeding.  As  an  article  of  commerce  seed  is  disposed  of  principally 
to  the  oil-mills,  of  which  there  are  quite  a  number  in  this  state.  The  negroes,  as  a  rule,  sell  their  cotton-seed  to  the  mills,  but  tho  more 
thrifty  and  intelligent  planters  find  it  advantageous  to  return  all  surplus  seed  to  the  soil.  Tho  seed,  both  in  its  natural  and  manufactured 
forms,  is  especially  valuable  for  corn  and  all  small-grain  crops.  But,  except  some  small  areas,  the  cottouseed-eake  is  not  much  used 
either  alone  or  mixed,  for  crops,  probably  because  of  its  cost. 

PLANTING  AND  CULTIVATING  OF  COTTON. 

9.  What  preparation  is  usually  given  to  cotton  land  before  bedding  up?  Do  you  plant  in  ridges  j  how  far 
apart?     What  is  the  usual  time  of  planting?     What  variety  of  seed  is  preferred?    How  much  is  used  per  acre? 

Throughout  the  state  there  is  but  little  preparation  given  to  land  before  bedding  it  for  cotton,  except  the  removal  of  the  stalks  of 
the  old  crop  ;  but  in  exceptional  cases  the  land  is  plowed  broadcast  in  the  winter  or  early  .spring.  Cotton  is  uniformly  planted  in  ridges, 
which  are  from  2£  to  4  feet  apart,  according  to  the  strength  of  the  soil.  In  regions  I,  II,  III,  and  IV  cotton  is  planted  from  tho  10th  of 
April  to  the  1st  of  May  ;  in  the  other  regions  the  time  of  planting  is  on  the  average  from  five  to  fifteen  days  earlier.  There  arc  numerous 
varieties  of  seed  used.  Among  others  may  be  meutioned  Dixon,  Boyd  Prolific,  Peeler,  Zellner,  Brown,  Green,  Petit  Gulf,  etc.  According 
to  some  reports  the  cluster  or  short-limb  varieties  are  best  suited  to  deep  soils,  and  long-limb  varieties  do  best  on  light  or  thin  soils. 
The  average  amount  of  seed  required  per  acre  is  from  two  to  three  bushels,  more  being  required  for  early  than  for  late  planting.  It  appears 
that  in  some  cases  the  minimum  may  be  as  low  as  one  bushel  and  the  maximum  as  high  as  six  bushels  of  seed  per  acre. 

10.  What  implements  do  you  use  in  planting?  Are  "  cottonseed-planters"  used  in  your  region  ?  What  opinion 
is  held  of  their  efficacy  or  convenience? 

As  a  rule,  the  bed  or  ridge  is  opened  with  a  narrow  plow  (scooter  or  bull-tongue),  and  the  seed  is  strewn  in  the  furrow  by  hand,  and 
covered  with  a  board,  block,  or  harrow.  Planters  are  but  little  used,  ami  yet  their  use  secures  a  uniform  distribution  of  seed  in  the  drill, 
and  hence  economizes  seed,  and  also  makes  the  after-cultivation  more  easy. 

11.  How  long  usually  before  seed  comes  up"?  At  what  stage  of  growth  is  it  thinned  out  to  a  stand,  and 
how  far  apart?     Is  cotton  liable  to  suffer  from  "sore-shin"?     What  after- cultivation  is  given,  and  with  what 

implements  i 

Seed  comes  up  in  from  five  to  twenty  days,  and  is  usually  thinned  out  to  a  stand  when  three  or  four  weeks  old,  or  when  the  third 
and  fourth  leaves  appear.  The  young  plant  is  sometimes  retarded  in  growth  by  the  "sore-shin",  which  is  specially  the  case-in  cold  and 
wet  weather.  The  injury  seeius  to  be  caused  in  the  first  instance  from  carelessness  or  want  of  skill  in  the  use  of  the  hoe,  by  which  the 
hark  of  Ihe  plant  is  either  abraded  or  cut.  The  first  after-cultivation  consists  in  most  cases,  perhaps,  in  "running"  round  the  cotton 
with  a  turning-plow,  bar  side  to  the  drill,  after  which  the  cotton  is  chopped  trat  and  generally  brought  to  a  stand  with  one  or  two  stalks 
in  a  hill,  at  distances  varying  from  12  to  18  or  20  inches  in  the  drill,  according  to  fertility  of  soil.  After  having  been  brought  to  a 
stand,  cotton  usually  has  simply  surface  culture  with  sweep,  harrow,  or  enltivator. 

12.  What  is  the  height  usually  attained  by  cotton  before  blooming?  When  are  the  first  blooms  seen?  When 
do  the  bolls  first  open  f     When  do  you  begin  your  first  picking  "? 

The  height  attained  before  blooming  is  from  1  to  3  feet,  according  to  the  character  and  preparation  of  the  soil.  The  first  blooms 
appear  when  the  cotton  is  8  or  U  weeks  old,  ami  hence  from  June  10  to  July  4,  tho  former  date  being  generally  true  for  V,  VI,  and  VII 
regious  and  the  latter  for  the  remainder  of  the  state.  The  interval  from  the  bloom  to  the  opening  of  tho  boll  is  from  40  to  50  days,  the 
shorter  interval  "being  required  later  in  the  season.  Hence,  cotton  begins  to  open  from  the  last  of  July  to  the  middle  of  August,  and 
picking  usually  begins  two  or  three  weeks  afterward. 

13.  How  many  pickings  are  generally  made,  and  when  ?  Do  you  usually  pick  all  your  cotton?  At  what  date 
does  picking  usually  close?  At  what  time  do  you  expect  the  first  "black  frost"?  Do  you  pen  your  seed-cotton 
in  the  field,  or  gin  as  the  picking  progresses'? 

As  a  rule  there  are  three  pickings,  by  which  all  the  crop  is  gathered.  Picking  generally  closes  by  the  last  of  November;  but  when 
the  yield  is  heavy,  or  labor  insufficient  or  inefficient,  the  picking  may  not  be  finished  till  Christinas.  Black  frost  is  said  to  occur  from 
October  10  to  the  1st  of  November,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  locality  and  the  character  of  the  seascjn.  Iu  some  cases  seed-cotton  is 
penned  in  the  field,  which  is  generally  quite  hazardous.     The  usual  practice  is  to  have  cotton  ginned,  if  possible,  as  the  picking  progresses. 

9 

GINNING,    BALING,  AND   SHIPPING. 

14.  What  gin  do  you  use  I  How  many  saws  ?  What  motive  power — horse-power  or  steam-engine  ?  If  the  latter, 
which  mechanical  power  arrangement  do  yon  prefer? 

There  are  many  answers  to  the  first  question.  Some  of  the  many  gins  mentioned  are  Pratt's,  Gullott's,  Winship's,  Orr's,  Brown's, 
Carver's,  Avery's,  Loomis',  Eagle,  and  Magnolia.  In  a  few  cases  steam  is  the  motive  power,  and  still  more  rarely  water  is  the  agent. 
Generally  horses  or  mules  are  used  to  drive  the  gin.  The  gearing  consists  usually  of  wooden  cog-wheels  or  iron  segments  with  pinion. 
The  only  thing  iu  the  way  of  a  general  use  of  steam  is  the  cost  of  engine  and  fixtures.  Its  use  is  of  course  advantageous  iu  many  respects. 
The  great  majority  of  the  gins  in  use  have  from  40  to  50  saws. 
164 


CULTURAL  AND  ECONOMIC  DETAILS.  155 

15.  How  much  clean  lint  is  made  in  a  day's  run?  How  much  seed-cotton,  on  an  average,  is  required  for  a 
475-pound  bale  of  lint? 

In  a  day's  run  from  1,000  to  8,000  pounds  of  clear  lint  can  be  made.  The  amount  depends  upon  then  umber  of  saws  in  the  gin,  and 
also  upon  the  motive  power.  A  40-saw  giu  driven  by  a  pair  of  mules  or  horses  will  clean  from  1,000  to  1,500  pounds  in  a  day.  The 
highest  results  are,  however,  to  be  gotten  only  with  steam  or  water.  The  average  amount  of  seed-cotton  required  for  a  475-pound  bale  is 
about  1,545  pounds. 

16.  What  press  do  you  use  for  baling,  and  what  press  is  generally  used  in  your  region  f  What  is  its  capacity1? 
Do  you  use  rope  or  iron  ties  for  baling?  If  the  latter,  what  fastening  do  you  prefer1?  What  kind  of  bagging  is 
used  in  your  region  ? 

It  appears  that  in  large  portions  of  regions  IV  and  VII  the  wooden  press  still  holds  the  place  of  honor;  but  in  the  other  regions 
iron  presses  of  various  patents  are  very  generally  in  use.  They  seem  to  be  specially  in  vogue  in  region  VI,  where  Golding's,  Allum's, 
Wright's,  Stuckie's  Hydraulic,  Janney's,  Bullock's  Segment,  and  perhaps  others  are  enumerated.  The  number  of  bales  pressed  per  day 
varies  from  5  to  20  or  25,  according  to  the  character  of  the  press  and  the  number  of  men  employed.  Iron  ties  are  universally  used,  with 
various  fastenings,  such  as  Buckle  and  Loop,  Arrow,  American,  Kennedy,  the  corrugated  tie,  etc.  Jute  and  Kentucky  or  Missouri  hemp 
and  India  bagging  are  used. 

17.  What  weight  do  you  aim  to  give  your  bales?  Have  transportation  companies  imposed  any  conditions 
in  this  revSpect?  At  what  time  do  you  chiefly  ship,  and  to  what  station  or  city  and  port?  What  is  the  usual  rate 
of  freight  to  such  port  per  bale? 

It  is  almost  an  invariable  rule  in  Alabama  to  aim  to  make  the  bale  weigh  500  pounds.  Steamboats  have  imposed  no  limitation  to 
the  weight  of  a  bale,  but  railroads  usually  charge  by  weight.  Shipping  begins  as  soon  as  cotton  is  ready  for  market,  say,  the  middle  of 
October,  and  continues  throughout  the  fall  and  winter.  The  port  to  which  cotton  is  shipped  is  determined  by  the  locality.  There  are 
good  cotton  markets  at  Mobile,  Montgomery,  Selma,  Memphis,  Tennessee,  Kome,  Georgia,  and  at  various  small  towns  within  the  state ; 
and  it  is  generally  made  advantageous  to  the  farmer  to  sell  near  home.  The  rate  of  freight  is  determined  in  all  cases  by  distance  and 
means  of  transportation. 

DISEASES,  INSECT  ENEMIES,  ETC. 

IS.  By  what  accidents  of  weather,  diseases,  or  iusect  pests  is  your  cotton  crop  most  liable  to  be  injured  ?  At 
what  dates  do  these  several  pests  usually  make  their  appearance?  To  what  cause  is  the  trouble  attributed  by  the 
farmers  ?     What  efforts  have  been  made  to  obviate  it?     With  what  success  ? 

Cotton  is  injured  by  lice,  flea-bugs,  boll-worms,  caterpillars,  shedding,  and  rust.  Rust  is  eansed  on  light  sandy  soils  by  excessive 
rains  ;  on  stronger  lands  it  is  caused  by  the  continuous  planting  of  cotton  for  many  years.  Shedding  is  produced  specially  by  continued  and 
excessive  rains.  A  wet  season  causes  the  loss  of  all  the  bolls  that  should  have  ripened  during  that  period.  In  regions  I,  II,  III,  and  IV  the 
caterpillar  generally  makes  its  appearance  so  late,  if  at  all,  that  its  ravages  are  rather  advantageous  to  the  cotton,  by  stripping  off  the 
dense  foliage,  and  thus  insuring  the  prompt  opening  of  all  matured  bolls;  but  in  the  other  portions  of  the  state  the  caterpillar  makes  its 
appearance  in  multitudes,  usually  in  August — early  enough  to  be  very  hurtful  to  the  crop.  Lice,  flea-bugs,  and  sore-shin  generally  appear 
(if  at  all)  when  the  cotton  is  young,  provided  the  weather  is  wet  and  cool.  The  boll-worm  is  not  often  very  damaging,  but  may  generally 
be  found  in  the  flelds  from  the  appearance  of  the  first  "squares"  or  "forms"  till  the  first  of  September.  Rust  can  be  prevented  by 
rotation  or  fertilizing.  Shedding  can  be  obviated  to  some  extent  by  shallow  plowing.  In  some  localities,  especially  in  some  parts  of 
regions  V,  VI,  and  VII,  Paris  green  has  been  used  to  destroy  the  caterpillar,  but,  as  it  appears,  with  very  little  success  in  most  cases. 

19.  Is  rust  or  blight  prevalent  chiefly  on  heavy  or  ill-drained  soils  ?  Do  they  prevail  chiefly  in  wet  or  dry,  cool 
or  hot  seasons?     On  which  soil  described  by  you  are  they  most  common? 

Rust  sometimes  appears  on  heavy,  ill-drained  soils,  but  is  oftenest  seen  on  sandy  lands,  whether  uplands  or  bottoms,  on  gray  lands, 
un  light-yellow  clay  lands,  and  in  some  places,  as  in  Madison  and  Jackson  counties,  it  is  found  often  on  fresh,  loose  lime-lands. 

LABOR  AND  SYSTEM  OF  FARMING. 

20.  What  is  the  average  size  of  farms  or  plantations  in  your  region?  Is  the  prevalent  pracfice  "mixed 
farming"  or  "  planting"?  Are  supplies  raised  at  home  or  imported  ;  audi!  the  latter,  where  from  ?  Is  the  tendency 
toward  the  raising  of  home  supplies  increasing  or  decreasing? 

In  regions  I,  II,  III,  and  V  the  farms  are  usually  small,  containing  not  more  than  MQO  acres,  bur  in  some  eases  much  larger.  In  the 
other  regions  farms  vary  in  size  from  40  or  50  to  1,000  or  even  2,000  acres.  In  the  regions  of  small  farms  supplies  are  largely  raised  :it 
home,  and  there  is  a  reported  increase  of  production.  In  the  regions  of  large  farms,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  in  some  localities 
increased  production,  but  meat  is  still  largely  imported.  In  the  middle  and  southern  portions  of  the  state  there  is  little  or  no  wheat 
produced,  and  hence  Hour  is  almost  universally  imported  into  those  sections. 

21.  Who  are  your  laborers  chiefly  %     How  are  their  wages  paid  % 

The  laborers  are  negroes  and  native  whites,  the  former  largely  predominating  in  the  regions  of  large  farms,  the  latter  on  small  farms 
for  most  part  In  the  latter  case  the  laborer  is  generally  the  owner  of  the  farm.  Wages  are  paid  in  many  ways,  and  at  various  rates, 
from  40  to  75  cents  per  day  and  from  $8  to  §14  per  month,  to  be  paid  at  the  end  of  the  month. 

22.  Are  cotton  farms  worked  on  shares  ?  On  what  terms  ?  Are  any  supplies  furnished  by  the  owners  ?  Does 
your  system  give  satisfaction  ?     How  does  it  affect  the  staple?     Does  it  injure  the  land  ? 

The  large  cotton  f.rrms  or  plantations  are  almost  altogether  worked  on  the  share  system,  the  smaller  farms  being  usually  worked  by 
the  owners  with  such  hired  help  as  may  be  needed  on  occasion.  It  is  almost  the  universal  practice  on  the  large  farms  for  the  landlord  to 
furnish  everything  but  the  laborers'  board  and  receive  one-half  of  all  the  cropB  ;  but  when  only  the  land  is  furnished  by  the  owner,  ho 
receives  usually  one-fourth  of  the  cotton  and  one-third  of  the  corn  produced  by  the  laborer.  It  is  almost  invariably  reported  that  this 
system  of  cotton  culture  damages  the  quality  of  the  cotton  and  deteriorates  the  land.  165 


156  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 

23.  Which  system  (wages  or  share)  is  the  better  for  the  laborer  I  Why  I  What  is  the  condition  of  the 
laborers  ?     What  proportion  of  negro  laborers  owns  land  or  the  house  in  which  they  live? 

There  is  a  very  decided  difference  of  opinion  as  to  which  is  the  belter  system  (wages  or  share).  With  the  exception  of  regions  IV,  V, 
and  VI,  opinions  are  about  equally  divided  ;  in  These,  however,  there  is  almost  entire  emu'in  rence  in  the  opinion  that  wages  arc  the  best. 
The  reasons  assigned  in  favor  of  wages  are,  that  the  laborer  is  sure  of  reward  and  a  comfortable  living,  and  the  employer  is  enabled  to 
control  labor,  and  is  justihed  in  making  larger  expenditures  in  fertilizers,  etc.,  to  increase  the  yield.  It  is  urged  in  favor  of  the  shares 
system  that  the  laborer  is  encouraged  to  make  effort,  and  that  if  he  is  industrious  and  energetic  he  will  be  rewarded  with  larger  returns 
for  his  labor.  On  the  whole,  the  condition  of  the  laborers  is  good — better,  perhaps,  than  that  of  the  same  e!;iss  of  persons  in  any  other 
quarter  of  the  globe.     Very  few  negroes  own  houses  or  lands  in  the  large  farming  regions. 

24.  What  is  the  market  value  of  land  described  in  yourregiou  Jl  What  rent  is  paid  for  such  land  .'  How  many 
acres  or  400-pound  bales  per  hand  is  your  customary  estimate  ? 

Cotton  lands,  in  the  greater  part  of  the  state,  are  estimated  in  value  at  $3  to  $10  and  $12,  while  in  ;i  few  localities,  such  as  Perry, 
Marengo,  etc.,  in  region  VI,  and  the  best  lands  in  the  Tennessee  Valley  region  arc  estimated  at  $15,  $20,  $:J0,  and  in  some  few  eases  even 
higher.  Rent  varies  partly  in  proportion  to  the  estimated  value  of  the  land,  and  hence  the  price  of  rent  is  from  si  and  less  t"  >",'.  $3,  and 
sometimes  $4  per  acre.  Rent  is  also  paid  in  produce  at  the  rate  of  one-fourth  t>\'  the  cotton  and  one-third  of  tin-  corn  grown  on  the  bind. 
According  to  quality  of  laud,  the  estimate  of  product  per  hand  will  vary  from  2  to  li  bales,  but  the  average  for  good  bind  is  ;i  to  4  bales 
per  hand.    In  some  cases  the  estimate  is  made  at  6  to  in  bales  per  mule,  i.  e.,  one  niulo  and  two  hands. 

25.  To  what  extent  does  the  system  of  credits  or  advances  upon  the  growing-  crop  prevail  in  your  region  !  At 
what  stage  of  its  production  is  the  cotton  crop  usually  covered  by  insurance?     Is  such  practice  general  .' 

In  region  I  credits  to  the  value  of  one-half  the  laborer's  crop  are  often  made  by  land-ownor;  in  region  [I  credits  are  given  largely 
in  a  few  localities,  but  not  as  much  as  formerly  ;  in  region  III  credits  have  only  recently  been  asked  and  granted ;  in  regions  IV,  V,  VI, 
and  VII  credits  are  almost  universal,  and  regularly  consume  the  entire  crop  of  the  laborer.  As  a  rule,  Tin-  crop  is  nut  insured  till  shipped 
or  placed  in  tho  warehouse  for  shipment.  In  a  few  cases  cotton  is  insured  when  baled,  and  in  some  parts  of  Bullock  county  gin-houses 
and  cotton  are  insured  as  soon  as  picking  begins.    Cotton  is  always  insured  when  shipped,  unless  forbidden  by  the  owner. 

26.  What  are  the  merchants'  commissions  aud  charges  for  storing,  handling,  shipping,  etc.,  to  which  your  crop 
is  subject  ?  What  is  the  total  amount  of  these  charges  against  the  farmer  per  pound,  or  400-pound  bale  t  What 
is  your  estimate  of  the  cost  of  production  in  your  region,  exclusive  of  such  charges,  and  with  fair  soil  and 
management1? 

When  the  producer  pays  all  the  expenses  of  shipping,  handling,  storing,  and  commissions  for  selling,  his  expense  or  loss  is  from  6 1  t«>  J6 
per  hale,  but  when  he  sells  to  a  home  merchant  he  often  pays  only  for  the  weighing ;  tho  buyer  incurs  the  additional  expense.  It  is  quite 
general  over  large  areas  of  this  state  for  the  farmer  to  sell  his  cotton  at  the  nearest  town,  store,  or  depot.  The  report  of  cost  of  production 
is  almost  invariably  8  cents  per  pound.  A  hw  seem  to  think  that  cotton  can  be  produced  at  a  cost  of  5  or  6  cents,  while  a  very  few 
estimate  the  cost  of  production  at  10  to  V2$  cents  per  pound. 

166 


INDEX    TO    COTTON    PRODUCTION    IN    ALABAMA. 


A. 

Page. 

Abstracts  of  the  reports  of  correspondents 78-148 

Acadian  slates  and  conglomerates,  soils  of 19 

Accidents  of  weather  as  affecting  cotton 155 

Acreage  and  production  of  leading  crops  (table)  5,  fi 

Acres  cultivated,  estimated  number  of,  per  hand 156 

Addresses  and  names  of  correspondents 150-152 

Advances  to  laborers  on  growing  cotton  crops 156 

After-cultivation  of  cotton . 154 

Agricultural  descriptions  of  the  counties  of  the  state 75-148 

subdivisions  of  the  southern  region,  enumera- 
tion of  the 36 

or  regions,  enumeration  of 13, 14 

Alabama  River  alluvial  lands,  character  and  analyses  of  ..40,  41, 44* 

1-24-127, 135-137 

drainage  system  of 9, 10 

Alluvial  lauds,  trees  and  plants  characteristic  of 57 

Alluvium  of  Mobile  River  delta,  character  of 56 

Analyses  and  descriptions  of  soils  and  subsoils 16-56, 71-74 

of  Alabama  and  Warrior  River  lands 40,41 

barrens  soils _ 31 ,  32 

black  prairie  soils 47 

brown-loam  uplands  soils 43,  54 

Hat  woods  soils  and  subsoils 20, 51, 52 

gneissic  soils 16 

gravelly  bottom  and  river-hills  soils 31 

gravelly-hills  soils 39, 40 

greensand  marl 66-69 

hummock  lands 40, 41 

magnesian-limestone  soils  of  the  Coosa  Valley  re- 
gion          22 

marls 66-69,74 

metamorphic  soils 16, 17 

sandy  soils  of  Chunnenugga  ridge 49,50 

soils  and  subsoils  (table) 71-74 

underlying  beds  of  Tuscaloosa 37 

Tennessee  Valley  lauds 33,  34 

Analysis  of  Cowikee  land 51 

gray  clay  soil 37 

greensand  ■. 66, 67 

lime-hills  soil 42 

limestone 53, 74 

Little  mountain  soil 34 

mica-slate  soil 16;  17 

pine-woods  soil 55 

pond-land  soil.-.. 39,40 

post-oak  soil ., 48 

red-land  soil  of  the  Coosa  Valley  region 25 

red  mountain  soil  of  Coosa  Valley  region 23, 24 

sand  mountain  soil 27,  28 

sandy  brown-loam  soil  23 

second-bottom  soil  of  Alabama  river 44 

swamp  muck 69,  70 


Pago. 

Aphides  (lice)  on  cotton-plant 155 

Arbaeoochee  Valley,  lands  and  gold-bearing  rocks  of 78 

Area  and  extent  of  the  state 9 

of  the  alluvial  region  of  Mobile  river 56 

barrens  lands  of  the  Tennessee  Valley  region 30 

black  prairie  belt 46 

blue-marl  lands 50 

brown-loam  uplands : 41 

Cahawba  coal-field 26 

central  prairie  region 45 

Coosa  coal-field - 26 

valley *. 17 

counties 3,  4 

gravelly  hills  with  long-leaf  pine 38 

hill  prairies  and  Chunnenugga  ridge 48 

lime-hills  or  lower  prairie  region 52 

lime-sink  and  rolling  open  pine  woods 55 

Little  mountain ■ 34 

long-leaf  pine  region 54 

metamorphic  region •-..  14 

middle  division 14 

northern  division  of  the  state ,    25 

oak  and  pine  uplands  region 37 

hickory,  and  long-leaf  pine  uplands 41 

short-leaf  pine  uplands 38 

pine  fiats - 56 

uplands  region 45 

post-oak  fiat  woods  region 51 

southern  division 34 

Tennessee  Valley  region  and  its  subdivisions 28 

Warrior  basin  and  coal-field 26 

Areas  of  the  greatest  cotton  production 61 

Autauga  county,  analyses  of  soils  and  subsoils  of 39, 40 

swamp  muck  of 69,70 

statistics  and  description  of 116, 117 

Average  per  acre  of  cotton  in  regions  (table) 60 

B. 

Bagging  used  in  baling  cotton 155 

Bald  prairie  hills,  character  of. 50 

Baldwin  county,  statistics  and  description  of 146 

Bale,  amount  of  seed-cotton  required  to  make  a  (see  abstracts 

in  county  descriptions) 78-148 

Bales,  estimated  number  of,  per  hand 156 

in  regions  (table) 60 

per  acre  in  counties,  product  of  (table) 3, 4 

square  mile  in  counties  (table) 3,4 

regions  (table) 60 

usual  weight  of 155 

Baling  cotton,  details  of 154,  155 

Banner  counties,  having  highest  total  cotton  production  and 

product  per  acre  in  each  region  (table) . .  60 

rank  of,  in  other  regards  (table) 60 

157 
167 


158 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 


Page. 

Barbour  county,  analyses  of  soil  and  marl  of ,,43,51,66 

statistics  and  description  of 131,132 

Barrens  lands,  area,  extent,  character,  and  analyses  of 28,30-3*2, 

99-109 

Beeson,  W.  B.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 89 

Beeswax  hammocks  and  flat  woods 50 

Bell,  James  H.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 78 

Belt  of  intense  cotton  producl  ion 61 

Bent  ley,  Judgo  J,  S.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 84,85 

Bibb  county,  analysis  of  soil  of ~si 

statistics  and  description  of 114,  115 

Bickley,  T.  B.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 108 

Black  land,  analysis  of 53 

prairie  belt,  area,  extent,  character,  and  analysesof  noils 

of 46-48 

Blight,  occurrence  of,  and  how  obviated 155 

Blooms  appear  on  cotton-plant,  when 154 

Blount  county,  statistics  and  description  of 95,  90 

Blount's  Springs  valley,  area  of IT 

Blue-marl  lands,  area,  character  and  analyses  of 50,51 

Boiling  of  cotton-plants  favored  and  the  plant  restrained  from 
running  to  weed  by  : 

application  of  fertilizers 81, 82, 84, 91, 110,120, 125, 126, 

128, 132, 139, 140, 143, 148 

breaking  the  land  very  shallow 129 

deep  preparation  of  the  land 143 

deep  tillage 86 

early  planting 110, 143, 148 

giving  more  apace  between  the  plants 129, 139 

not  plowing  too  hear  the  plants 100 

planting  every  second  or  third  row  with  corn 129 

plowing  close  to  the  plant 121, 123, 137, 139 

rapid  and  light  cultivation 143, 148 

shallow  culture 81, 82, 86, 88, 92, 103, 112, 121, 126, 142 

thinning  out  to  proper  distances 108 

topping  .... 78,  82, 83, 88-91,  96, 99, 101, 104, 106, 108, 109, 112, 

119,121,137,139,145 

under-drainage 112,  128 

Boiling  retarded  by  throwing  soil  too  high  upon  the  plant  ..       123 

Bolls  first  open  on  cotton-plant,  when  154 

Boll- worm,  appearance  of 155 

Bowles,  P.  D.r  abstract  of  the  report  of 139 

Brandon,  W.  N.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 148 

Brown,  George  E.,  abstract  of  the  report  of Ill 

Brown,  Henry  C,  abstract  of  the  report  of 136,  137 

Brown-loam  uplands,  area,  character  and  analyses  of  ..37,  41-45,54 
Brown's  valley,  area,  geological  character,  and  soils  of. .  17-19,  95,  96 

Buhr-stone  group  (Tertiary) 35,  45 

Bullock  county,  analyses  of  soils  and  subsoil  of 47-49 

statistics  and  description  of 128, 129 

Buncombes  of  Pontotoc  ridge  of  Mississippi 50 

Burdick,  F.  C,  abstract  of  the  report  of 99 

Bart,  H.  M.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 91 

Butler  comity,  statistics  and  description  of 137, 138 

Byler  ridge,  extent  of 109,111 


Cahawba  coal-tield,  area  and  description  of 26 

valley,  area  and  geological  structure  of 17, 18 

Calcareous  marls,  character  and  analyses  of 67-69 

Calcifttfoua  formation 17 

Calhoun  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 22 

statistics  and  description  of 87,88 

Calhonn,  J.  F.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 125 

Calloway,  J.  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 127, 128 

Campbell,  E.  M.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 145 

Canebrake  region,  general  description  of 46—18 

Carboniferous  formation 17 

Caterpillar,  appearance  of*. 83, 122, 155 

Cedar  glades  of  Coosa  valley 20, 23 

Central  cotton  belt,  cotton  product  per  acre  in,  and  its  rela- 
tion to  ]K)pulation . .   62,  (13 

168 


Page. 
Central  prairie  region,  area,  extent,  subdivisions,  and  general 

character  of 36,  45-51 

cotton  product  per  acre  in,  and  its  re- 
lation to  population 62 

county  descriptions  of 118-132 

trees  and  plants  characteristic  of 58 

Chambers  county,  statistics  and  description  of 79,  80 

Chattahoochee  river,  drainage  area  of,  how  characterized. ..     9,45 

greeusand  marl  bed  in  the  bluff  of 66 

Chazy  formation 17, 18,22 

Cherokee  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 25 

statistics  and  description  of 85, 86 

Cherty  ridge  lands 21,22,93-99 

Chilton  county,  statistics  and  description  of 115, 116 

Choctaw  county,  analysis  of  marl  of 69 

statistics  and  description  of 133 

Choctawhatchie  river,  drainage  system  of 10 

Chunnenugga  ridge,  nature  and  analyses  of  soils  of..  .46,48-50, 128 

Claiborne  group  (Tertiary) 35, 52, 142,  143 

Clarke  county,  analyses  of  soil,  subsoil,  and  marl  of 54,69 

statistics  and  description  of 133-135 

Clay  county,  analysis  of  mica-slate  soil  of 16 

statistics  and  description  of 82, 83 

Clayton,  Judge  H.  D.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 132 

Cleburne  county,  analysis  of  marl  of 69 

statistics  and  description  of 77,78 

Climate  of  the  state 10-12 

Clinton  formation 17,18,23 

Close  of  the  cotton-picking  season 154 

Coal-Measures  formation  .17-19, 23,25, 91,93-99, 102, 106-109, 113, 115 

region,  agricultural  features  of 26-28 

cotton  product  per  acre   and  its  rela- 
tion to  population  in 63 

county  descriptions  of 93-99 

Coast  region,  treeless  character  and  Baline  marshes  of 56 

trees  and  plants  characteristic  of 57 

Coffee  county,  statistics  aud  description  of 141, 142 

Colbert  county,  analyses  of  soils  of 31-34 

statistics  and  description  of 107, 108 

Collins,  John  L.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 130 

Comparison  between  the  races  in  relation  to  cotton  production.  02-04 

Compost,  use  of 154 

Condition  of  laborers 156 

Conditions  imposed  by  transportation  companies  as  to  weight  ■ 

of  bales 155 

Conecuh  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 54 

statistics  and  description  of 138, 139 

river,  drainage  system  of 10 

Cook,  M.  F.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 112 

Coosa  coal-field,  area  aud  description  of 26,87-89 

county,  statistics  and  description  of 84, 85 

river,  drainage  system  of 9, 10 

valley,  extent,  structure,   and  section    showing   topo- 
graphical features  of 18 

region  and  its  outliers,  area,  geological  and  agri- 
cultural features,  and  subdivisions  of. . .  17-25 

cotton  production  in 61 

product  per  acre  and  its  relation 

to  population  in 63 

county  descriptions  of 85-92 

Corn,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) 5,6 

Correspondents,  names  and  addresses  of 150-152 

Cory,  Chappell,  analyses  made  by 71-73 

Cotton  acreage  per  square  mile,  in  counties  (table) 3,4 

bales,  average  of,  per  square  mile,  in  counties  (table).       3,4 

blooms  first  appear,  when 154 

bolls  first  open,  when 154 

charges  and  cost  of  sale  of 156 

crop  covered  by  insurance  156 

culture  on  the  barrens  lands 30 

use  of  commercial  fertilizers  lu 65 

disiiises,  insect  enemies,  etc 155 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 


159 


Page. 

Cotton  from  front-bitten  bolls  is  light  and  inferior 82 

lint,  amount  of,  made  in  a  day's  run 155 

tons  otf,  in  state  and  regions  (table) 60 

picking  begins,  when 154 

plant,  height  of,  attained  before  blooming 154 

restrained  from  going  to  weed.     (*5ee  Boiling.) 
tendency  of,  to  run  to  weed  (see  abstracts  in 

county  descriptions) 78-148 

usual  height  of  {see  abstracts  in  county  descrip- 
tions)   78-148 

planting  and  cultivation  154 

use  of  fertilizers  in 64,65 

production  according  to  regions 60 

acres  and  bales  in  each  county  (tables). ..       3-6 

banner  counties  in  ( table) 60 

comparison  of,  in  regions  (tables) 60 

cost  of,  per  pound 156 

cultural  and  economic  details  of 149-156 

distribution   of,  among   counties   and   re- 
gions, general  remarks  on 

greatest  areas  of 6t 

in  the  state  and  counties  (tables)   3-6 

itemized  cost  of 

nucleus  or  central  belt  of 61 

percentage  of  the  state's  total,  in  regions 

(table) 60 

rank  of  the  state  in .' 60 

relation  of  population  to 61,62 

the  races  to 62-64 

remarks  on 60-64 

product  per  acre  according  to  regions 60 

and  its  relation  to  population 62,63 

county  ranking  highest  in 60 

in  counties  (table) 3, 4 

regions  (table) 60 

of  any  soil,  and  from  fresh  and  old 
land.     (See  under  Soils.) 

black  prairie  soils 47 

the  flatwoods  region 51 

gravelly  pine  bills 38 

lands  of  Tennessee  river 104 

soils  of  the  Coal  Measures 28 

Warrior  River  hummock  lands 40 

shipments  (see  county  descriptions) 75-148 

staple  affected  by  share  system 155 

rating  of  (see  abstracts  in  county  deseriptions).  78-148 

Cottonseed-cake  as  feed  or  manure 154 

how  disposed  of 154 

meal,  use  of,  as  a  fertilizer ." 64 

planters,  use  of 154 

value  of,  as  a  ferti  lizer 154 

variety  and  amount  of,  used  per  acre 154 

Counties,  agricultural  descriptions  of 75-148 

having  highest  cotton  product  per  acre  (table) 60 

Covington  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 55 

statistics  and  description  of 147 

Cowikee  lands,  character  and  analysis  of 50, 51, 130-132 

Credit  system  on  growing  crops 156 

Crenshaw  county,  statistics  and  description  of 140 

Cretaceous  formation 34, 35, 46-50, 65, 112, 116-132, 136-141 

marls,  character  and  analyses  of 65,66 

plain,  trees  and  plants,  characteristics  of 58 

Crider,  David  V.,  abstract  of  report  of 78 

Crops,  acreage  and  production  of  leading  (table) 5, 6 

rotation  of 153 

Cullman  county,  statistics  and  description  of     94-95 

Cultivation  of  cotton,  details  of 154 

Cultural  and  economic  details  of  cotton  production 149-156 

Culver,  J.  F.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 128,  129 


Page. 

Dale  county,  statistics  and  description  of 142 

Dallas  county,  statistics  and  description  of 124-125 

Decomposition  of  metamorphic  rocks,  depth  of 15 

De  Kalb  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 27 

statistics  and  description  of 93, 94 

Depth  of  tillage 153 

Details,  cultural  and  economic,  of  cotton  production 149-156 

Devonian  formation 17,29 

Diseases,  insect  enemies,  etc.,  of  cotton 155 

Divisions  of  the  state 12-14 

Dolomite  the  basis  of  good  farming  lands 18, 19 

Draft  employed  in  breaking  up  lauds 153 

Drainage  system  of  the  state 9, 10 

Drift  material,  occurrence  and  soils  of 36, 42,  40-49 

Dry  Valley  region,  character  and  soils  of 85, 92 

Duncan,  A.  W.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 91 

Dunn,  William  J.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 95 

Durrett,  J.  B.,  analyses  of  soils  by 71-73 

E. 

Economic  and  cultural  details  of  cotton  production 149-156 

Efforts  made  to  obviate  diseases 155 

Elevations  in  the  Tennessee  Valley  region 28 

Warrior  coal-field 26,  27 

of  the  state  and  axis  of 9 

Elk  river,  lands  of 104 

Elmore  county,  statistics  and  description  of 117 

Enumeration,  tabulated  results  of  the 1-6 

Erosion  of  Cretaceous  prairies 46 

drift  material 42 

Saint  Louis  limestone 29 

Tennessee  valley 28 

the  cause  of  surface  features 12 

Esca^mbia  county,  statistics  and  description  of 146, 147 

Estimate  of  the  cost  of  cotton  production 156 

Etowah  county,  statistics  and  description  of 88, 89 

Eutaw  group  (Cretaceous) 35,46,65 

Exhaustion  of  cotton  lands  discussed 62 

F. 

Fall  plowing  and  fallowing,  results  of 153 

Farming  and  labor,  system  of 155, 156 

Farms,  size  of 155 

Fa-stening  used  in  baling  cotton,  kinds  of 155 

Fayette  county,  statistics  and  description  of Ill 

Feed,  cottonseed-cake  used  as 154 

Fertilizers,  commercial,  U6e  of,  comparatively  unknown  in 

the  cotton-producing  region 65 

general  remarks  on  and  analyses  of 64-70 

naturally  occurring  in  Alabama 65-70 

use  of,  in  cotton  planting  64,  65 

Fertilizing  and  green- manuring 154 

Flatwoods,  lands  of 118, 122, 136, 138 

ot  the  Coosa  Valley  region,  extent,  timber  growth, 

soils,  and  analyses  of 20 

region,  area  and  soils  of 35,51,52,83,85,88,89 

trees  and  plants  characteristic  of 58 

Flea-bugs,  appearance  of 155 

Francis,  T.  W.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 87,88 

Franklin  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 33 

statistics  and  description  of 108, 109 

Freight,  rates  of  shipment  of  (see  abstracts  in  county  descrip- 
tions)   78-148 

Frosts,  occurrence  of,  and  influence  of  topography  upon 11 

time  at  which  the  first,  appear 154 


Garrett,  W.  M. ,  abstract  of  the  report  of 126, 127 

Geneva  county,  statistics  and  description  of 147, 148 

169 


160 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 


Page. 

Geological  features  of  the  central  prairie  region 45, 4G 

Coosa  Valley  region 17-19 

motamorpliic  region 14 

northern  division 25-27 

southern  division 34-30 

state 12,13 

Tennessee  Valley  region 2S,29 

Ginning  and  baling  cotton,  details  of ..154, 155 

Gins,  cotton,  list  and  capacity  of 154, 155 

Glover,  E.  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 145 

Gneissic  soils  of  Lee  county,  analyses  of 16 

Granitic  lands,  extent  of 15 

Gravelly  bottom  and  river  hills  soils,  analyses  of 31 

pine  bills,  area,  general  character,  and  analyses  of 

soils  of , 38-41 

cotton  product  per  acre,  and  its  relation 

to  population  in 63,64 

county  descriptions  of 113-118 

Graves,  P.  T.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 126,127 

Gray  clay  soil,  analysis  of 37 

lands  of  the  inetamorplric  region,  character  and  analy- 
ses of  15, 10 

Greene  county,  analysis  of  greenish  sand  of 00 

statistics  and  description  of 110,  120 

Green-manuring  and  fertilizing 154 

Greensand,  analyses  and  occurrence  of  .  .41, 43. 44, 00-09, 74, 134, 138 

Gunter's  valley,  character  and  soils  of 95,90 

Gypsum,  beds  of 134 

II. 

Hale  county,  statistics  and  description  of 120,  121 

Hamrick,  James,  quoted 133 

Hausberger,  J.  S.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 115 

Hargrove,  Hon.  A.  C,  abstract  of  the  report  of 114 

Harrington,  Dr.  J.  M.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 135, 136 

Harris,  John  T.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 80,81 

Harris,  Norlleet,  abstract  of  the  report  of 121 

Hawkins,  Dr.  EL .  abstract  of  the  report  of 132 

Height  attained  by  cotton-plants  before  blooming^ 154 

Henry  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 43 

statistics  and  description  of 142, 143 

Henry,  R.  F.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 112 

Hilgard,  Professor  E.  W.,  (juoted  regarding  the  value  of  pine 

straw 09 

remarks  of,  regarding  the  low  prod- 
uct per  acre  of  Alabama  soils. ..         64 

Hill  prairies,  area,  general  character,  and  soils  of 48-50 

Hillside  ditching  (see  abstracts  in  county  descriptions) 78-148 

Home  supplies 155 

Hornblende  lands,  extent  and  growth  of 15 

Howard,  Dr.  C.  M.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 117 

Hummock  lands  of  Warrior  river,  analyses  of 40,  41 

trees  and  plants  characteristic  of 57 

Humus,  presence  of,  in  soil,  and  determination  of  (tables)  ...         74 

Hurt,  AV.  P.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 100,101 

Huston,  T.  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 92 

I. 

Implements  employed  in  subsoiling 153 

used  in  after-cultivation  of  cotton 154 

planting  cotton 154 

Improvements,  tillage,  etc,  details  of 153, 154 

Information  for  this  report,  sources  of vii,viii 

Insect  enemies,  diseases,  etc.,  of  cotton 155 

Insuring  cotton,  practice  of  and  charges  for 150 

Inzer,  Judge  John  W.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 90 

Iron-ore  ridges 114, 140 

Irwin,  W.  C,  abstract  of  the  report  of 103 

J. 

Jackson  county,  statistics  aud  description  of 99-101 

group  (Tertiary), 35,52,  133 

170 


Page. 

Jay,  Rev.  Andrew,  abstract  of  the  report  of 139 

JelTerson  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 23 

statistics  aud  description  of 90,  97 

Jemison,  S.  M.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 91 

Jenkins,  AV.  W.(  abstract  of  the  report  of 83 

Jones'  and  Roup's  valleys,  character  and  soils  of 97 

valley,  chert y  ridge  lands  of 21,  23 

K. 

Kelly,  Thomas  B.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 103 

r.. 

Labor  and  system  of  farming , 155, 150 

Laborers,  best  system  for 156 

condition  of 150 

nationality  of  and  wages  paid  to 155 

owning  houses  or  laud 150 

relation  of,  to  cotton  production 62-64 

Lamar  county,  statistics  and  description  of 110, 1 11 

Lands,  fertility  of,  marked  by  negro  population 03 

lying  ''turned  out",  proportion  of  (nee   abstracts   in 

county  descriptions) 78-14* 

market  value  of 150 

preparation  given  to,, before  planting  cotton 154 

proportion  of,  in  cotton  for  each  soil  (sec  county  de- 
scriptions in  the  respective  regions) 75-148 

rent  paid  for 156 

tilled",  in  counties  (table) 3,  4 

Langdon,  B.  YV\,  analyses  made  by 37,7:'. 

Lauderdale  county,  statistics  and  description  of 105,  106 

Lawrence  county, .statistics  aud  description  of 100, 107 

Lawrence,  Dr.  John,  abstract  of  the  report  of 86 

Lee  county,  analyses  of  gneissic  soils  of 16 

statistics  and  description  of SO,  81 

Letters  of  transmittal vii,  viii 

Lignite,  beds  of 118,  122 

Liguitic  group  (Tertiary) 35, 118 

Lime-hills  or  lower  prairie  region,  area,  general  character, 

aud  analyses  of  soils  of 52-54 

region,  character  and  analyses  of  soils  of.  .41,  42, 134, 144 

prairies,  character  of 139 

Lime-sink  region  aud  rolling  open  pine  woods,  area  aud  gen- 
eral character  of 55, 56 

sinks  characteristic  of  the  Vicksbnrg  limestone 138 

Limestone,  analyses  of 53, 74 

Limestone  county,  statistics  aud  description  of 103-105 

impure  argillaceous,  character  and  analysis  of. ..         53 

Lime,  value  of,  as  a  fertilizer 05 

Lint  per  ac,re  in  counties  (table) 3,4 

List  of  correspondents 150-152 

trees  and  plants  characteristic  of  each  region  of  the 

state ..  -  - ."7-59 

Lithological  features  of  the  Tennessee  Valley  region 29,  30 

Little  mountains,  description  of 100, 107 

nature  and  soils  of 33, 34 

Loam,  action  of  greensand  ou II 

Long-leaf  pine  region,  area,  subdivisions,  aud  general  char- 
acter of 54-50 

county  descriptions  of 144-148 

Lookout  mountain,  area  and  description  of 20 

Longhridge,  Dr.  R.  H.,  analyses  made  by 71-73 

reference  of,  to  greeusand  marl 66 

Lower  prairie  or  lime-hills  region 143 

Silurian  formation 17,89,  100 

Low-ground  soil  of  Cowikee  lands,  analysis  of 51 

Lowndes  county,  statistics  and  description  of 120,  127 

M. 

McAllister,  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 143 

MeCalley,  H.,  soils  analyzed  by 71-73 

McCulloh,  C.H.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 80,81 

MeDiarmid,  J.  C,  abstract  of  the  report  of 84,85 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 


161 


Page. 

Macon  county,  statistics  and  description  of... 129, 130 

Madison  comity,  analyses  of  soils  of 31-33 

statistics  and  description  of ■ 102, 103 

Magnesian  limestone,  or  dolomite,  soils  derived  from 21-23 

Mallet,  Dr.,  analyses  of  marl  by 65-67 

Manure,  cottonseed-cake  used  as 154 

Manures,  stimulant  and  nutritive,  remarks  on 65 

Marengo  county,  analysis  of  clay  soil  of 52 

greensand  of 69 

marl  of 69 

statistics  and  description  of 121-123 

Marion  county,  statistics  and  description  of 109, 110 

Marls  and  limestones,  analyses  of  (table) 74 

occurrence  and  analyses  of 46, 65-69, 74, 122, 134 

the  most  convenient  localities  of,  for  shipment 67 

Marshall  county,  statistics  and  description  of 94 

Marshes  of  the  coast,  character  of 56 

Matthews,  J.  C,  abstract  of  the  report  of 142 

Maxwell,  James  R.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 114 

Medina  formation 23 

Merchants'  commissions  on  sales  of  cotton 156 

-Metamorphic  region,  area  and  geological  and  agricultural  fea- 
tures of 14-17 

county  descriptions  of 77-85 

rocks,  character  of  (see  county  descriptions). . .   77-85 

Mica-slate  soils,  character  and  analyses  of 16, 17 

Middle  division  of  the  state,,  area,  subdivisions,  and  geologi- 
cal and  agricultural  features  of 14-25 

Mixed  farming  or  planting,  details  of 155 

Mobile  county,  statistics  and  description  of 145, 146 

Mohr,  Dr.  C,  list  of  trees  and  plants  prepared  by 57-59 

Monroe  county,  analyses  of  limestone  and  marls  of 53, 69 

statistics  and  description  of 135, 136 

Montgomery  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 47 

statistics  and  description  of 127, 128 

Morgan  county,  statistics  and  description  of 101, 102 

Morgan,  J.  W.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 106 

Mot  is,  J.  R.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 78 

Moultrie,  J.  L.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 129 

Mountain  lauds  coming  into  favor  for  cotton  planting 1 L 

region  of  north  Alabama,  trees  and  plants  charac- 
teristic of 58, 59 

Mountains  and  table-lands,  general  description  of 10 

Muck,  aualysis  of. 69,70 

Murphree's  valley,  area,  geological  structure,  and  character 
of  soils  of 17-19, 90 


Names  and  addresses  of  correspondents 150-152 

Nationality  of  laborers 155 

Negroes,  relation  of.  to  fertile  lands  and  cotton  production . . .  62-C4 
Negro  population,  an  excess  of,  indicative  of  rich  lands,  large 

farms,  and  poor  culture 63, 64 

Nesmith,  Martin,  abstract  of  the  report  vi' IK) 

Norris,  G.  D.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 103 

Northern  division  of  the  state,  area,  subdivisions,  ami  agricul- 
tural features  of  the 13, 14, 25-34 

Number  of  cotton-pickings  made „ .       154 

O, 

Oak  and  pine  inlands,  area,  subdivisions,  and  general  char- 
acter of 37-45 

hickory,  and  long-leaf  pine  region,  cotton  product  per 
acre   and   its   relation    to 

population  in 64 

uplands,  area  and  general 

character  of . . .  41-45 
county      descrip- 
tions of  132-143 

short-leaf  pine,  area  and  description  of..         38 
uplands,    county   descrip- 
tions of - 109-112 


Page. 

Oats,  acreage,  and  production  of  (table) 5, 6 

Oliver,  T.  W.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 127-128 

Orbitoides  limestone 55, 148 

Outliers  of  the  Coosa  vaJley,  description  of 18, 19 

i». 

Paris  green  as  a  remedy  against  the  caterpillar 155 

Patton,  Thomas  J.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 120 

Pearson,  James  M.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 82 

Peebles,  F.  H.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 104, 105 

Perry  county,  statistics  and  description  of 123, 124 

Pickens  county,  statistics  and  description  of 112 

Picking  of  cotton  begins,  when 114, 154 

Pike  county,  analyses  of  soil  and  subsoil  of 43 

statistics  and  description  of *        141 

Pine  barrens  and  meadows,  trees  and  plants  characteristic  of.         57 

flats,  area  and  character  of 56 

hills  region,  trees  and  plants  characteristic  of 58 

uplands  region,  area  and  general  character  of 45 

woods  region,  cotton  product  per  acre  and  its  relation 

to  population  in 64 

Planting  and  cultivation  of  cotton,  details  of 154 

cotton,  time  of 154 

Plants  and  trees  characteristic  of  each  region  of  the  state 57-59 

Pond-land  soil,  analysis  of . .'. 39,  40 

Population,  average,  per  square  mile  (table) 3,4 

in  regions  (table) 60 

negro,   an   excess   of,   indicative   of  rich  lands, 

large  farms,  and  poor  culture 63, 64 

of  the  state  and  counties  (table) . 3,4 

relation  of  cotton  product  per  acre  to 6*2,63 

to  cotton  production 61,  62 

white,   an  excess  of,    indicative   pf  poor  lauds, 

small  farms,  and  better  cotton  culture 63,64 

Post-oak  flatwoods  region,  area,  character,  and  analyses  of..  51,52 

prairie  soils,  character  and  analysis  of 48 

Potsdam  formation 17 

shales  and  sandstone,  toils  derived  from 19 

Power  used  in  ginning  cotton 154 

Prairie  region,  black  belt  or  "  canebrake  " 46-51 

blue-marl  lands 50, 51 

general  description,  subdivisions,  etc.,  of 15,46 

hill  prairie  ami  Chunnenugga  ridge 48-50 

lower,  or  lime-hills,  description  of 52-54 

source  of  soil  of     46 

trees  and  plants  of 58 

upper  or  central,  the  trough  or  valley  of 10 

Prairies,  bald 47 

meaning  of  term  of 45 

of  Little  Mountain  range 33 

post-oak  or  woods  (see  Post-oak  prairies) 48 

wooded,  of  upper  pine  belt,  trees  and  plants  of 58 

Preparation  given  to  cotton  lauds 154 

Press  used  in  baling  cotton 155 

Prevalence  of  the  credit  system  156 

Prince,  Oliver,  abstract  of  the  report,  of 145 

Production  and  acreage  of  leading  crops  (table) 5, 6  , 

Proportion  of  negro  laborers  owning  land  or  houses 156 

R. 

Raccoon  mountain,  character  of  the. plateau  of 94,95 

Races,  relation  of,  to  cotton  production 62-64 

Radney,  J.  H.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 79 

Railroad  transportation  facilities  (sec  county  descriptions)  ..75-148 

Rainfall  of  the  state,  distribution  and  averages  of 11, 12 

Randolph  county,  analysis  of  mica-slate  soil  of 10 

statistics  and  description  of 79 

Rating  of  the  staple  (see  abstracts  in  county  descriptions)..   78-148 
Red  lands  of  the  metamorphic  region,  character  and  analyses 

of 15,  16 

Tennessee  Valley  region,  area,  general  char- 
acter, and  analvses  of 32-34 

171 


162 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 


Pago. 

Ped  land  soil  of  Dry  valley,  analysis  of 25,  33 

mountain  soil,  analysis  of 23,24 

ore  ridges,  occurrence  of 19,23,89,92,93,97 

Reference  table  of  reports  received 150-152 

Region,  areas  of  each,  in  counties  (see  county  descriptions).  .75-148 

Regions,  agricultural,  enumeration  of 13, 1-1 

distribution  of  whites  and  negroes  in (52 

of  the   middle  division: 

Coosa  valley  and  its  outliers 17-25 

met  amorphic 14-17 

northern  division : 

CoalMeosurea 26-28 

Tennessee  valley  28-34 

southern  divis:on : 

alluvial  .~0 

central  prairie 45-51 

lime-hills  52-54 

long-leaf  pine 54-5C 

oak  and  pine  uplands 37-45 

post-oak  flat-woods 51-52 

Regions  of  the  state,  enumeration  of 13, 14 

Remarks  on  cotton  production  in  the  state 00-64 

Rent  paid  for  land If  6 

Report,  plan  of viii 

sources  of  information  for vii,  viii 

Reports  received  from  counties,  reference  tables  of 150-152 

Ripley  group  (Cretaceous) 35,  4G,  127, 131 

River  systems  of  the  State 9,  10 

Rocks,  decay  and  disintegration  of 12 

of  the  met  amorphic  region,  variety  and  disintegra- 
tion of 14 

Rolling  pine  lands,  trees  and  plants  characteristic  of 57, 58 

Ross,  D.  A.  G.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 82 

Rotation  of  crops 153 

Ror.  of  bolls,  occurrence  of,  and  how  obviated 155 

Rotten  limestone,  composition  ami  occurrence  of 65, 118-132 

nature  of,  and  soils  derived  from 46,  47 

Roup's  and  Jones'  valleys,  character  and  soils  of 97 

area  and  geological  structure  of. .   17, 18 

Russell  county,  statistics  and  description  of 130,  131 

Russell's  valley,  description  of  lands  of 108 

Rust  or  blight,  occurrences  of,  ou  heavy  or  ill-drained  soils, 
in  what  seasons,  and  how  obviated 155 

S. 

Safford,  Professor  J.  M.,   quoted 17 

Saint  Clair  county,  analyses  of  soils  of 20,  22,  24 

statistics  and  description  of 89,90 

Saint  Louis  limestone,  character  of 29 

soils  derived  from 29, 32 

Sand  mountain,  analysis  of  soil  of 27,  28 

rocks  and  soils  of 93,98,102 

Sandy  brown-loam  soil,  analysis  of 23 

Saunders,  James  E.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 107 

Second-bottom  soil,  analysis  of 44 

Section  across  Coosa  Valley  region 1m 

the  state,  showiug  topographical  and  geologi- 
cal features 13 

the  valley  of  the  Tennessee 29 

Seed-cotton,  amount  of,  required  for  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint.       155 

penned,  or  how  protected 154 

product  per  acre  of  (nee  county  descriptions) 75-148 

required  for  a  bale  of  lint  (see  abstracts) 75-148 

Sevier,  Dr.  Daniel  N.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 109 

Share  system,  cotton  farms  worked  on,  and  effect  of,  on  the 

soil 155 

reasons  in  favor  of 156 

Shedding,  occurrence  of,  and  how  obviated 155 

Shelby  county,  statistics  and  description  of. 91,  92 

Sheltou,  George  D.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 96 

Shipping,  charges  for 156 

ginning,  and  haling  cotton,  details  of 1F4, 155 

172 


Pugft 

Smith,  S,  P.,  indebtedness  to,  for  information 1 17 

Snow,  precipitation  of 12 

Soils  affected  by  the  share  system 155 

analyses  and  descriptions  of  (tables) 16-56, 71-74 

analyzed  by viii,  71-74 

derived  from  Clinton  rocks,  character  and  analyses  of. .   23,24 

rotten  limestone 46,  47 

Saint  Louis  limestone 32 

sub-Carboniferous    formation,    character 

and  analysis  of 24,25 

Trenton  rocks 22,23 

devoted  to  cotton  (nee  county  descriptions)  75-148 

general  classes  of 12,  i;t 

of  the  black  prairie  belt,  character  and  analyses  of 17,48 

Coal  Measures,  character  and  analysis  of 27,28 

Coosa  and  outlying  valleys,  origin,  character,  and 

analyses  of 19-25 

gravelly  pine  hills,  character  and  analyses  of. ..  38-41 
lime-hills  or  lower  prairie  region,  general  char- 
acter and  analyses  of 52-54 

Little  mountains,  character  and  analyses  of 33,  34 

long- leaf  pine  region 54-56 

magnesian  limestone,  character  and  analyses  of.  21-23 
met  amorphic      region,     origin,     character     and 

analyses  of 15-17 

oak,  hickory,  and  long-leaf  pine  uplands,  char- 
acter and  analyses  of 41-45 

post -oak  tlatwoods  region,  character  and  analyses 

of 51 ,  52 

Potsdam  formation,  character  and  timber  growth 

of 11) 

Tennessee  Valley  region,  character  and  analyses 

of 3U-34 

Soils,  tilling  qualities,  character,  and  productiveness  of: 

Alabama  River  land 137 

barrens  land 103 

black  pine  swamp  land 83 

black  prairie 119, 121, 122, 125-128 

sandy 1 10 

brown-loam  upland 99, 110, 112,  114 

Cowikee  land 132 

creek  bottom  land. 82,90, 91,  104, 112, 117, 120, 125, 135,137,139 

flatwoods '. KJ 

gravelly  clay  loam 87,96 

gray  Bandy  and  gravelly  land..  .79,80,82-84,89-92,96,101, 

103,115 

hummocks 122, 129,  137 

lime-hills  or  prairie 135, 139,  145 

mountain  land 86, 88,  B9 

oak  uplands 129 

post-oak  dat  woods 119,  128 

prairies 121 

red  clay  or  loam 79, 81, 82-84, 86, 89, 99, 96, 101, 103,  104 

115,  117, 121, 126, 127, 132, 139, 140, 142, 146 

mulatto,  of  Russell's  valley !'•'» 

valley 91 

ridge  land 86 

river  bottom  land 142,  143,145-148 

sandy  loam 78,87,95,124,125,130,132 

pine  land Ill,  114, 117, 119, 120, 127, 129,  135, 

137,  139-141.143,145,148 

slate  or  post-oak  land 88 

swamp  land 110 

Tennessee  Valley  land 104,106-108 

walnut  prairie 121 

Warrior  River  bottom  land 114 

Sore-shin  on  cotton-plants 154 

Southern  division,  area,  out  line,  geographical  and  topograph- 
ical features,  and  subdivisions  of  the.. .   34-56 
of  the  state,  general  character  and  regions 

of  the !    13, 14 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  ALABAMA. 


163 


Page. 

Spaces  between  ridges  in  cotton -pi  anting 154 

Stately,  W.  M.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 128,129 

Starke,  John,  abstract  of  the  report  of 145 

Stelle,  Prof.  J.  P..  abstract  of  the  report  of 140 

Stephenson,  John  W.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 147 

Stickney,  Rev.  W.  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 122, 123 

Stinson,  M.  L.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 121) 

Stollenwerck,  H.  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 124 

storing  cotton,  charges  for 156 

Stoudenmier,  M.  G.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 141, 142 

Stratified  Drift  formation .' 25, 38, 42, 80, 84, 98, 105-148 

Snb-Carboniferous  formation 17, 18, 23, 25, 28, 95, 97, 100-109,  115 

Subsoiling  and  implements  used  in   153 

Subsoils,  character  of  (see  abstracts  in  county  descriptions). 78-148 

Summary  of  answers  to  schedule  questions 153-156 

Sumter  county,  analyses  of  soils  and  subsoil  of 47,  52 

analysis  of  greeusand  marl  of 66 

statistics  and  description  of 118, 119 

Supplies  raised  at  home  or  imported 155 

Surface  contour  of  the  state  9 

Swamp  muck,  analysis  of 69,  70 

Sweet  potatoes,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) 5,6 

Sykes,  Dr.  F.  W.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 107 


Table-land  of  the  Warrior  coal-field 

lands  and  mountains,  general  description  of 

of  the  oak,  hickory,  and  long-leaf  pine  region..    42 

Table  of  analyses  of  soils  and  Bubsoils 71 

showing  composition  of  greensands,  greeusand  marls, 

shell  marls,  and  limestones 

counties  ranking  highest  in  total  production 

and  product  per  acre 

linmiis  and  available  inorganic  matter 

Tables  showing  acreage  and  production  of  leading  crops,  area, 
population,  tilled  land,  and  cotton  produc- 
tion in  the  counties 

population  and  cotton  production  iu  regions 

Tabulated  results  of  the  enumeration 

Tait,  Felix,  abstract  of  the  report  of 

Tallahatta  hills  of  Clarke  comity 

Talladega  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 

statistics  and  description  of 90 

Tallapoosa  county,  statistics  and  description  of 81 

river,  drainage  system  of 

Taylor,  Daniel,  abstract  of  the  report  of 

Temperature,  averages  of,  in  the  state 10 

irregularity  of  liucs  of  equal,  and  to  what  due  . 

Tennessee  river,  drainage  system  of 

Valley  region,  area,  geological,  and  general  features 

of -J8-34 

cotton  production  in ... 61 

product  per  acre  and  its  re- 
lation to  population  in 63 

county  descriptions  of 99-109 

Terraces  of  the  Alabama  river 124, 126 

Coosa  river  . . 84 

table-lands  of  southern  Alabama  42 

Tennessee  river 101-104 

Warrior  River  valley   119,120 

on  the  borders  of  the  Tennessee  Valley  region 28 

Tertiary  formation 34,35, 133-148 

marls,  character  and  analyses  of 67-69 

Thagard,  George  W.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 140 

Thinning  out  cotton-plants 154 

Thornton,  L.  B.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 108 

Thunder-storms,  occurrence  of 12 


3-6 

60 

1-6 

137 

134 

22 

91 

■32 

,10 

82 

11 

11 

9 


Pas- 
Ties  used  in  baling  cotton , 155 

Tillage,  improvements,  etc.,  details  of 153, 154 

Tilling  qualities  of  land.     (See  under  Soils.) 

Tilled  lauds,  acres  of  (table) 3,4 

average  of,  per  square  mile  (table) 3, 4 

percentage  of  area  of  (table) 3, 4 

Timber  growth.     (See  the  different  regional  descriptions.) 

Time  of  first  black  frost 154 

thinning  out  cotton-plants 154 

when  bolls  first  open 154 

cotton-picking  begins  and  closes 154 

the  first  cotton- blooms  appear 154 

Tobacco,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) 5,6 

Tombigbee  River,  drainage  system  of 9,  10 

Topographical  features  of  the  southern  division 35,36 

state 12,13 

Topography,  influence  of,  upon  the  formation  of  frosts 11 

Tornadoes,  occurrence  of 12 

Transmittal,  letters  of vii,  viii 

Transportation  companies,  conditions  imposed  by 155 

Trees  and  plants  characteristic  of  each  region  of  the  state. ..  57-r,9 

Trenton  formation 17, 18, 20, 22, 23, 10U 

Trough  of  the  central  prairie  region 36,  46 

flat  woods  region    36 

Tuomey,  Professor,  quoted 130 

Tuscaloosa,  analyses  of  soils  and  underlying  beds  of 37 

county,  analyses  of  soils  and  subsoils  of 37, 40 

statistics  and  description  of 113, 114 

Tutwiler,  Professor  Henry,  abstract  of  the  report  of 121 

u. 

Upland  pine- woods  soil,  analysis  of %. 55 

Upper  Silurian  formation  .t 17,29 


Valleys  of  the  Coosaregion 

state 

Value  of  land 

Variety  of  cottonseed  preferred 


17 
10 

156 
154 


Vicksburg  group  (Tertiary)  ..  .34,  35,  52,  55, 133, 138, 142, 143, 146-14? 

w. 

Wages  paid  to  laborers 155 

system,  reasons  in  favor  of 156 

Walker  county,  statistics  and  description  of 97, 98 

Warrior  basin,  extent  and  character  of    26,  27 

coal-field,  area  and  topographical  and  agricultural 

features  of 26-28 

River  bottom  lands,  character  of 119 

drainage  system  of 9,  1" 

lands,  analyses  of 40,  41 

Washing  of  soils,  and  how  prevented  (see  county  descrip- 
tions)   75-14^* 

Washington  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 53 

statistics  and  description  of 144, 145 

Waste  lands  of  the  region,  plants  and  grasses  of 57 

Webb,  Dr.  R.  D.,  abstract  of  the  report  of Ill' 

Weeds,  troublesome,  on  any  soil.    (See  Soils,  character  and 
tilling  qualities  of.) 

Wheat,  acreage  and  production  of  (tabic) 5,6 

Wilcox  county,  analyses  of  soils  of 42,  44 

analysis  of  greeusand  of 67 

statistics  and  description  of 136-137 

Williams,  Dr.  S.  C,  abstract  of  the  report  of 87,88 

Wills'  valley,  area  and  geological  structure  of 17-19 

Winds  prevailing  in  the  state 1" 

Winston  county,  statistics  and  description  of 98,  99 

Wood's  Bluff,  marls  from 68 


173 


REPORT 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  OF  THE  STATE  OF  FLORIDA, 


WITH   AN   ACCOUNT   OF 


THE  GENERAL  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  STATE. 


BY 


EUGEUE    ALLE1ST    SIMZITZHI,  ZPn.  ID., 

PROFESSOR  OF  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY  AT  THE  UNIVERSITY'  OF  ALABAMA, 
SPECIAL    CENSUS    AGENT. 


1 
175 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Page. 

Lettkrs  of  Transmittal. v,vi 

Tabulated  Results  of  the  Enumeration 1-4 

Table    I. — Area,  Population,  Tilled  Land,  and  Cotton  Production 3 

Table  II. — Acreage  and  Production  of  Leading  Crops 4 

PAPT  1. 

General  Features  of  the  State  of  Florida 5-29 

Physical  Geography 7-9 

Climate 7 

Drainage 7,8 

Rivers 7,8 

Lakes 8 

Everglades 8 

Elevation  above  the  sea I 8,9 

■Geology  : 

1.  Structural  and  Stratigraphical 10-13 

Observations  made  previous  to  1880 10 

Observations  made  in  1880 10,  11 

Conclusions 11-13 

2.  Physiograpkieal 13-15 

The  Limestone...    13-14 

The  Stratified  Drift  and  Loam 14 

Topography  as  influenced  by  the  quality  and  thickness  of  the  superficial  beds  overlying  the  limestone 14,  15 

.Agricultural  Features: 

Agricultural  subdivisions  or  regions 15-29 

I.  Oak,  hickory,  and  pine  upland  region 15-20 

General  features  and  subdivisions 15, 16 

Relative  position  and  origin  of  the  varieties. 1G 

1.  Red  lime-lands 16,  17 

2.  Brown  loam  lands,  with  oak.  hickory,  and  short-leaf  pine 17, 18 

Western  Florida 17,18 

Middle  Florida 18 

Eastern  Florida  and  the  Peninsula 18 

3.  Long-leaf  pine  ridge  lands 19,20 

II.  Long-leaf  pine  region , 20-25 

General  features  and  classification 20 

Origin  and  distribution  of  the  varieties 20 

1.  Pine  lands » 21-23 

a.  Rolling  pine  lands 21,  22 

First  class 21 

Second  class 21,22 

Third  class 22 

b.  Pine  flats,  or  flat  woods _. 22,23 

"Barrens" - 22 

Scenery  and  vegetation  of  the  long-leaf  pine  region 22,23 

2.  Hummock  lands ■.-... 23-25 

a.  High  hummocks 24 

b.  Low  hummocks 24,  25 

c.  Gulf  hummocks 25 

lit.  Pitch-pine,  treeless,  and  alluvial  region 25-28 

General  description 25-27 

1.  Flatwoods  (Cuban  or  pitch  pine) 27 

2.  Swamps 27,28 

3.  Prairies  and  savannas „. 23 

4.  Everglades 28 

5.  Marshes 28 

.  •*  >>i 

12   C  P — VOL.   II  177 


iv  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

F.igc 

Cotton  production  in  Florida 29-3.1 

Table    III. — Population  ami  cotton  production  in  each  agricultural  region 2'.) 

Table  IV. — "  Banner  counties"  as  regards  total  production  and  product  per  acre  in  each  agricultural  region 20 

Comparison  of  t  he  long  and  short  staple  varieties 29,  no- 
Geographical  distribution 29,  30 

Soila 30 

Ginning,  baling,  and  weight,  of  bales 30 

Price  and  product  per  acre 30 

Comparison  of  the  agricultural  regions 30  -32 

Comparison  of  the  counties  in  the  upland  region .11 

Comparison  of  the  counties  iu  the  long-leaf  pine  region 31,  32 

Fertilizers 32,31! 

Marls 32,33 

Phosphatic  rock _ 33 

Marsh  muck 33 

Table  of  analyses  of  Florida  soils,  marls,  and  phosphate  ruck \v\ 

PART  II. 

Agricultural  descriptions  of  the  counties  of  Florida :'.:.- 1;:: 

List  (with  botanical  names)  of  the  most  common  timber  trees  and  shrubs 36 

List  of  plants  most  troublesome  as  weeds 36 

Oak,  hickory,  and  pine  upland  region 37-42 

Long-leaf  pine  region 43-60 

Pitch-pine,  treeless,  and  alluvial  region C0-C3 

PART  III. 

Cultural  and  economic  details  of  cotton  production 65-7 J 

Reference  table  of  reports  received  from  Florida  counties Q\ 

Abstracts  of  the  answers  to  schedule  questions 67-71 

Tillage,  Improvements,  etc i!7 

Planting  and  cultivation  of  cotton 6S,  (59 

Ginning,  baling,  and  shipping 69 

Diseases,  insect,  enemies,  etc G'.>,  70 

Labor  and  system  of  farming 70,71 

MAPS. 

Agricultural  ^Iap  of  Florida „ 7 

Maps  showing  percentage  of  area  in  cotton 29 

Sketch  Map  showing  the  Geological  Structure  of  Florida 10 

178 


LETTERS    OF    TRANSMITTAL. 


Department  op  the  Interior, 
Census  Office, 
Berkeley,  California,  October  31,  1881. 
Hoii.  Francis  A.  Walker,  Superintendent  of  Census. 

Dear  Sir  :  I  have  tbe  honor  to  transmit  herewith  a  report  on  the  cotton  production  and  agricultural  features 
of  the  state  of  Florida,  by  Dr.  Eugene  A.  Smith,  special  agent  in  charge  of  the  subject  for  the  states  of  Alabama 
and  Florida. 

In  view  of  the  very  imperfect  and  fragmentary  data  regarding  the  natural  features  of  Florida  thus  far  accessible 
to  the  public,  and  of  the  growing  interest  in  the  inducements  offered  to  the  immigrant  by  this  semi-tropical  region, 
it  has  been  thought  desirable  to  accord  to  it  a  somewhat  more  detailed  consideration  than  would  be  called  for  in  the 
case  of  the  states  whose  accessibility  by  railroads  and  comparatively  dense  population  have  made  their  general 
features  more  familiar.  Since,  moreover,  the  personal  explorations  of  Dr.  Smith  have  resulted  in  very  important 
additions  to  our  knowledge  of  the  geological  structure  of  the  state  which  has  been  to  a  great  extent  misunderstood, 
this  portion  of  the  subject  has  likewise  received  more  scope  than  will  be  given  it  in  the  case  of  the  states  in  which 
geological  surveys  have  heretofore  been  made  and  reported  on. 

A  map  showing  the  several  agricultural  regions,  and  one  showing  the  acreage  in  cotton,  accompany  the  report. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

EUG.  W.  HILGAED, 
Special  Agent  in  charge  of  Cotton  Production. 


University  of  Alabama, 

Tuscaloosa,  October  15,  1881. 
Dr.  Eugene  W.  IIilgard, 

Special  Agent  Tenth  Census,  in  charge  of  Cotton  Production. 
Dear  Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  herewith  my  report  upon  cotton  production  in  the  state  of  Florida,  in 
the  form  of  tabular  statements  of  the  enumeration  results,  together  with  a. general  account  of  the  physical  geography, 
geology,  and  agricultural  features  of  the  state. 

To  this  are  added  special  agricultural  descriptions  of  the  counties,  in  which  it  lias  been  attempted  to  present 
the  most  important  features  of  each  in  such  a  form  as  to  be  of  service  to  the  general  reader  as  well  as  to  the 
immigrant. 

In  the  general  arrangement  of  the  subject-matter  I  have  followed  the  plan  adopted  by  yourself  in  the  report 
on  Louisiana,  viz: 

1.  Tabulated  results  of  the  enumeration,  showing  acreage  and  production  of  the  leading  crops. 

2.  An  outline  of  the  physical  geography  and  geology  of  the  state. 

In  view  of  the  circumstance  that  so  little  has  been  published  on  Florida  geology,  I  have,  at  your  suggestion, 
prepared  a  measurably  complete  resume  of  what  has  hitherto  been  done  in  this  field,  together  with  a  synopsis  of 
the  results  obtained  by  me  during  the  summer  of  1880  while  engaged  in  the  collection  of  statistics  for  the  present 
report. 

V 

179 


vi  LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL. 

:>.  A  description  of  the  agricultural  subdivisions  or  regions,  with  analyses  of  characteristic  soils,  etc.,  and 
their  discussions.  With  ©ne  or  two  exceptions  these  analyses  were  made  for  the  Census  Office  under  my  immediate 
supervision. 

4.  A  general  account  of  cotton  production  in  Florida,  with  comparisons  of  the  long  and  short  staple  varieties 
and  discussions  of  the  enumeration  results  which  relate  to  the  production  of  cotton.  The  tabulated  results  of  the 
enumeration  are  given  in  this  connection,  showing  population  and  cotton  production  in  each  agricultural  region  of 
the  state,  "banner  counties"  as  regards  production  and  product  per  acre  in  each  agricultural  region,  and  area, 
population,  and  cotton  production  of  the  several  counties,  arranged  according  to  agricultural  regions. 

5.  Descriptions  of  the  counties,  grouped  according  to  the  regions  to  which  they  belong. 

The  lines  between  the  agricultural  regions,  while  sharply  defined  on  the  map,  are  necessarily  more  or  less 
shadowy  in  reality,  and  it  is  in  many  cases  a  mere  matter  of  choice  or  convenience  whether  a  county  is  to  be 
assigned  to  one  or  the  other  of  the  divisions.  Still  I  have  endeavored,  in  grouping  fhc  counties,  to  apply  as  consistently 
as  possible  the  principles  according  to  which  the  classification  into  agricultural  regions  was  made. 

Each  description  is  preceded  by  statistics  of  area,  population,  cotton  production,  production  of  other  leading- 
crops,  and  estimates  of  the  areas  of  each  agricultural  division.  These  latter  figures  have  been  obtained  by  map 
measurements,  but  they  can  make  no  claim  to  be  more  than  clese  approximations.  To  this  the  inaccuracies  of  the 
state  maps,  and  particularly  the  uncertainty  as  to  the  exact  limits  of  the  agricultural  regions,  have  contributed. 

To  the  description  is  appended,  in  every  case  where  the  schedules  have  been  returned,  an  abstract  of  the  answers 
to  the  schedule  questions  relating  to  the  several  soils  and  their  cotton  production,  and  to  the  direction,  mode,  and 
cost  of  shipment. 

G.  Abstracts  of  the  answers  to  the  schedule  questions,  covering  the  details  of  cultivation  and  preparation  for 
market,  diseases  and  iusect  enemies  of  the  plant,  labor,  and  system  of  farming  are  next  given,  arranged  according 
to  topics. 

In  collecting  the  data  for  this  report  I  visited  the  following  counties  during  the  summer  of  1880:  Ilolmes, 
Gadsden,  Leon,  Wakulla,  Jefferson,  Madison,  Suwannee,  Columbia,  Baker,  Bradford,  Nassau,  Duval,  Saint  John's, 
Alachua,  Marion,  Sumter,  and  Orange,  (a) 

From  the  tables  it  will  be  seen  that  the  counties  above  named  produce  the  greater  part  of  the  cotton  crop  of 
the  state.  For  this  reason,  and  for  lack  of  time,  the  remaining  counties  were  not  personally  visited,  and  information 
concerning  them  has  necessarily  been  derived  from  other  sources,  which  are  substantially  the  following: 

The  schedule  answers  returned  from  seventeen  of  the  counties,  abstracts  of  which,  with  due  credit,  are  to  be 
found  in  their  proper  places. 

The  publications  of  the  Bureau  of  Immigration,  under  the  present  commissioner,  Dr.  French,  and  under  his 
predecessor.  Iu  these  pamphlets  is  condensed  much  valuable  information  concerning  the  soils,  climate,  and 
productions  of  the  state,  and  free  use  has  been  made  of  both. 

A  View  of  Went  Florida,  by  Colonel  John  Lee  Williams,  published  in  1S27,  and  An  Account  of  the  Territory  of 
Florida,  by  the  same  author,  published  in  1837.  These  books  are  models  of  clear,  concise,  and  accurate  description, 
and  I  acknowledge  my  great  indebtedness  to  them  throughout.  With  their  aid  I  have  been  able  to  give  a  tolerably 
complete  account  of  those  parts  of  the  state  not  personally  examined.  Some  of  the  descriptions  have  been  literally 
transcribed. 

From  the  judges  of  probate  of  several  counties  I  have  obtained  valuable  notes  on  special  subjects,  and  to  Mr. 
Samuel  Fairbanks,  of  the  Bureau  of  Immigration  ;  to  Mr.  J.  V.  Burke,  of  Marianna;  to  Mr.  Jesse  Wood,  of  Mount 
Pleasant ;  to  Dr.  E.  B.  Miles,  of  Fort  Mason,  and  to  many  of  the  correspondents  from  whom  reports  were  received, 
I  am  under  great  obligations,  both  for  descriptions  of  parts  of  counties  and  for  oft-repeated  courtesies. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

EUGENE  A.  SMITH. 

a  The  geological  results  of  this  excursion  vrere  published  iu  a  paper  "On  the  Geology  of  Florida"  in  the  American  Journal  of  Science 
for  April,  1881. 
180 


TABULATED  RESULTS  OF  THE  ENUMERATION. 


Table    I.— AREA,  POPULATION,  AND  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 
Table  II.— PRODUCTION  OF  LEADING  CROPS. 


1 

131 


TABULATED  RESULTS  OF  THE  ENUMERATION. 
Table  I.— AREA,  POPULATION,  AND  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


a 

9 
U 

P 
IT 

P 

a 
9 

■5 

POPULATION. 

TILLED  LANDS. 

COTTON  rBODUCTION. 

u 

P. 
« 

-  e 
a 

a 

o 

O 

p. 

Counties. 

"a 

6 

a 

o 

1 

< 

a 

0 

©  a 
II 

& 

o 

si 

6 

■3 

a 

Average  per  acre. 

SB 

a 

i 

n 

u    .    1 
a 

Si        1     3 

pr* 

o 

O 

OAK,    HICKORY,   AND   PINK 

UPLAND  REGION. 

Short-staple  cotton.* 

1,000 
540 
000 
560 

850 

14,  372/ 
12, 169 
19,  062 
16,  065 
14,  798 

7,132 
5,926 
9,  570 
7,929 
7,  224 

7,240 
6,243 
10,  092 
8,136 

7,574 

5,  $37 

4,114 
2,822 
3,397 
5,609 

84,  738 
65,304 
104,857 
104,  350 
83,  962 

31.77 
29.81 
41.00 
35.94 
34.52 

13.20 
18.90 
18.20 
29.10 
15.40 

26,  920 
19,464 

42,988 
37,  500 
28,982 

6,144 
4,696 
9,562 
10,  368 
7,054 

0.23 
0.24 
0.22 
0.28 
0.24 

Lbs. 
324 
345 
318 
399 

Lbs. 
108 

115 
100 
133 

1.87 
1.60 
2.19 
2.33 
1.96 

26.  oe 

8,  055     22. 54 

3G.04 

47.76 

12,  068 
9,189 

28.69 
17.41 

77,  066 

37,  781 

39,  285 

21,579 

55, 487 

20.02 

443,  211 

105,854 

37, 824 

0.24 

345  |     115 

2.02 

LONG-LEAF  PINE  ItEGlON. 

Short-staple  cotton* 

720 
1,260 
1,360 
1,330 

540 
1,100 

800 

12, 156 
6,645 

4,201 
4,089 
2, 170 
1,5S0 
1,362 

5,945 
3,318 
2.072 
2,089 
1,058 
705 
081 

6,211 
3,327 
2,129 
2,000 
1,112 
785 
081 

6,854 
4,773 
3,685 
3,171 
2,043 
1,184 
814 

| 

1,298 
1,804 
9,373 
12,  063 
12,  662 
3,453 
3,030 

1.93 
0.94 
15.33 
15.56 
8.98 
20.88 
20.22 

0.30 
0.20 
1.10 
1.40 
3.70 
0.50 
0.70 

25 

17 

1, 437 

1,877 

1,137 

7,21 

734 

10 
5 
382 
602 
273 
172 
197 

0.40 
0.29 
0.27 
0.32 
0.24 
0.24 
0.27 

570 
420 
378 
456 
342 
339 
361 

190 

140 
126 
152 
114 
113 
127 

0.34 
0.40 
0.52 
0.46 
0.54 

1,872 
516 
918 
127 
390 
548 

5.27 
3.09 
3.07 
4.02 
1.30 
1.70 

1.08 

1.41 

Liberty  

0.92 



5,  918 

1,641 

0.28 

393 

131 

Sea-island  or  long-staple 
cotton  A 

580 

1,080 

000 

540 

860 

500 

550 

640 

900 

1,000 

640 

860 

1,260 

040 

040 

1,080 

1,340 

2,250 

1,380 

1,700 

1,300 

2,060 

2,723 
2  279 
7,161 
0,790 
9,589 
2,303 
6,112 
6,635 
19, 431 
4,535 
2,838 
6,261 

1,325 
1,186 
3,750 
3,403 
4,855 
1,210 
3,117 
3,486 
9,719 
2,275 
1,402 
3,306 

1,398 
1,093 
3,405 
3,387 
4,734 
1,093 
2,995 
3.149 
9,712 
2.260 
1,370 
2,955 
7,972 
1,143 
2,686 
6,466 
1,498 
2,755 
2,191 
2,002 
2,827 
1,518 

4.69 
2.11 
10.85 
12.57 
11.15 
4.61 
11.11 
10.37 
21.59 
4.54 
4.43 
7.28 

13.  or 

13,  078 
8,742 

37,  590 
39, 731 
45,  759 
4,898 
22,440 
4,554 
5,959 
2,841 
4,069 
11,788 
49, 731 
7,962 
15,645 
50, 160 
4,044 
11, 762 

14,  550 
14,  691 
11,261 

8,688 

10.90 
22.80 
19.39 
29.40 
28.  72 
22.60 
26.01 
4.28 
0.96 
0.28 
11.21 
11.50 
29.45 
5.93 
23.43 
26.53 
8.16 
6.95 
17.37 
10.61 
4.94 
5.54 

3.70 
1.30 
8.90 
11.50 
8.30 
1.50 
6.40 
1.10 
1.00 
0.40 
1.00 
2.10 
6.20 
1.30 
2.60 
4.70 
0.50 
0.80 
1.60 
1.40 
1.40 
0.70 

2,311 

1,993 

7,288 

11,  6S0 

13, 142 

1,107 

5,836 

195 

57 

8 

456 

1,356 

14,646 

472 

3,665 

13. 305 

330 

818 

2,527 

1,558 

550 

481 

501 

418 

1,177 

1,908" 

1,992 

215 

1,094 

53 

23 

6 

96 

347 

2,519 

107 

1,251 

2.426 

62 

143 

419 

468 

130 

95 

0.24 
0.21 
0.16 
0.16 
0.15 
0.19 
0.19 
0.27 
0.40 
0.75 
0  21 
0.26 
0.17 
0.23 
0.34 
0.18 
0.19 
0.17 
0.17 
0.30 
0.27 

340 
292 
228 
228 
212 

248 
380 
564 
1,052 
296 
360 
240 
316 
476 
256 
264 
244 
232 
420 
376 

85 
73 
57 
57 
53 
68 
62 
95 

141 

263 
74 
90 
60 
79 

119 
64 
66 
61 
58 

105 
94 
69 

0.85 
0.87 
1.02 
1.72 
1.37 
0.48 
0.95 
0.03 

0.10 
0.22 
0.89 

e.19 

0.64 
1.02 
0.10 
0.12 
0.54 
0.37 
0.10 
0.15 

:;.  98 

1.85 

4,021 
4,472 

4,820 

3,140 
2,318 
4,709 

11.04 

21.63 

15.28 

2.21 

3,075 
8,580 
3, 170 
2,265 
3,845 
6,446 

3,500 
10,  851 

1,365 
573 

2,416 
10,  016 

0.06 

1.58 

11.62 

2,  441  |      1,  298 

3.90 

13,  046 
3,294 

0,  618 

6,580 
1,796 
3,863 

4,741       8,305 
2,756          538 
5,  595  [     1,  023 
3,  501       1, 163 

3,  319  '        920 

7.77 
2.46 
2.94 
3.40 
2.50 
4.47 
1.54 

4,248  !|    2,246 
5,814  !     2,987 
3,181  jj    1,663 

Polk 

3,033 

148 

30,  830 

174,  417 

89,  557 

84,860 

107,221 

07,  190 

5.66 

434,  826 

20.64 

2.20 

89,  735 
83,787 

17, 171 
15,  530 

0.19 

0.51 

65 

884 
1,688 
5,569 

1,199 

3,378 

7,059 

190 

592 

106 

3,281 

67 

2.60 
0.76 
4.21 
0.04 
0.34 

521 
5,257 
1,  705 

0.10 
0.20 
0.10 

PITCH-PINE,   TUF.ELESS,   AND 
ALLUVIAL  REGION. 

Sea-inland  or  long-staple 
cotton,  f 

690 
4,680 
3,600 
7,200 
4,390 

1,791 
3,544 
10,  940 

257 
1,478 

907 
1,856 
5,371 

Dado 

819  1         659 

1,952 

0.31 

0.10 

6 

2 

0.33 

464 

116 

Total 

Total  for  State j 

19,  560 

18,  010 

9,  106  ;     8,  904 

13,  805  |     4,  205 

0.92 

9. 435 

0.06 

0.10 

6 

2 

0.33 

464 

116 

54,240 

269,  493 

136,444 

133,  049 

142,  605  J120,  888 

4.97 

887, 472 

27.67 

2.60 

240,  595 

54,997 

0.22 

*348 

*116 

t66 

0.91 

4.53 

*  Bales  —  475  pounds.     Three  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  ono  pound  of  lint. 


f  Bales  —  3">0  pounds. 


Four  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  one  pound  of  lint. 

183 


4  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

Table  II.— ACREAGE   AND   PRODUCTION   OF   THE  LEADING   CROPS   IN  EACH  AGRICULTURAL 

REGION. 


OAK,    HICKORY,  AND   TINE 


UPLAND    [IQGIOX. 


Jackson  .. 
Gadsden  . 

Loon 

Jctferson  . 
Madison  .. 


Total 155,854 


LONG-LEAF  PINE  11ECION. 

Escambia 

Santa  Ro9a  

Walton 

Washington 

Holmes 

Calhoun 

Liberty  

Wakulla 

Taylor 

Suwannee  

Hamilton 

Columbia 

Baker 

Bradford 

Nassau 

Duval 

Saint  John's 

Clay 

Putnam 

Alachua    

Lafayette   

Levy  

Marion 

Volusia 

Orange 

Sumter 

Hernando 

HiUsborongh 

Polk 


Total  . 


CUBAN   PINE,    TREELESS,    AND 
ALLUVIAL  REGION. 

Franklin 

Manatee 

Monroe    

Dade 

Brevard 


20,  920 
10, 404 
42,  968 
37,  500 

28,  982 


17 
1,437 
1,877 

1,  137 
721 
734 

2,311 

1,993 

7,288 

11,  080 

13,142 

1,107 

5,836 

105 

57 

8 

450 

1,350 

14,640 

472 

3,665 

13,  305 

330 

818 

2,  527 
1,  558 

550 
481 


89,  735 


6,144 
4,096 
9,  562 
10,  308 

7,054 


37,  824 


5 

382 

602 

273 

172 

197 

561 

418 

1,177 

1,908 

1,992 

215 

1,094 

53 

23 


347 

2,519 

107 

1,251 

2,420 

02 

143 

419 

408 

150 

95 


33,  780 
25,  753 
43,  745 
39,  059 
33, 493 


175,  83(1 


1,135 
0,  025 
5,809 
4,273 
1,043 
2,202 
6,871 
5,224 
12,  410 
14,  991 
18,  685 
2,388 
9,  511 

2,  559 
1,939 
1,282 
1,885 
2,675 

19,246  j 

3,  420 
7,250 

10,041 
1,250 
2, 763 
6,909 

10,883 


234,  425 
183, 530 
345,  381 
350, 148 

2S5,  281 


6,423 
9,  8;* 
50,  275 
47, 107 
31,479 
17,  303 
10, 285 
50,  110 
49,  051 
99,  835 

110,  503 

172,  795 
22,  838 
91,  305 
23,449 
17,  030 
13,  997 
16,  850 
29,019 

221,809 
33, 420 
73,  899 

180,917 
12,  072 
20,  727 
08,  972 

140,  008 
48,719 
52.  073 


181,032  I    1,746,890 


145  1,761 

2,  608  !  19,  978 

64  045 


,\cres.    Bushels 


0,174 
2,853 
3,193 
3,  919 
5,  694 

22,  063 


60 

1,091 

565 

761 

301 

621 

554 

835 

2,132 

2,570 

4,010 

484 

2,119 

294 

40 

52 

214 

566 

1,006 

351 

2,096 

1,793 

40 

140 

027 

1,371 


50.  021 
20,280 
45,708 
48,  357 
01,  130 


1,541 
435 

0,703 

0,574 

5,  760 

4,340 

5,750 

6,207 

0,910 

18,034 

21.413 

38,  389 

2,584 

17,  829 

2,535 

017 

■181 

2,  5(19 

5,757 

10,  787 

2,909 

19,  782 

15,  629 

375 

1,412 

5,572 

15,  969 

775 

.    1,556 


232.  K50 


68 
169 
120 
84 
120 
75 
71 
37 
40 
154 
225 
317 
59 
143 
14 
92 
10 
45 
12 
73 


37,  833 
78, 183 

22,  250 
11,129 

23,  367 


1741, 702 


24,  820 
06,  823 
84,  289 
00,  735 
79,  740 

23.  120 

24.  825 
20,  000 
10,  800 
56, 200 

120,  404 
132,  974 
30,  785 
65,  212 
8,564 
43,885 
4,410 
28,  209 
5,  803 
27,  740 


19,032 

000 

7,040 


61,547 
13,279 
14, 000 


22  14,539 

3  '  1,  200 


6WKET   POTATOES. 


Acres.       Bushels. 


1,022 
808 

2.  024 
9.-7 
889 


6,  420 


104 
158 
304 
325 
133 
173 
128 
134 


379 

087 


470 
273 
140 
467 
845 
103 
305 
1,  803 
508 
003 
398 
619 
583 
484 


11, 906 


82,  399 
70,  950 
1 10,  383 
89,  267 
80,  815 


445,  840 


29,  533 

32,  070 
21,683 
17,820 
12,  034 
19,  091 
22,  959 
40,  502 

33,  402 
68.  080 
IS. 720 
48,  117 
21,  199 

30,  921 
29.  259 
14,  505 
40,  413 
90,  200 
11,854 
47,  357 
90.  322 

31,  391 
05,  198 
34, 171 

120,  448 
68,  410 
51,  820 


197 
436 


15,  040 
53,  515 
3,445 


SUGAlt-CANE. 


Acres    'Hogsheads    Gallons  of 
of  sugar.      molasaes, 


566 
443 
HI 
537 
573 


153 
131 
74 

59 
106 
124 
238 
222 
297 

48 


121 
119 
74 
109 
301 


57 
202 
237 
383 
238 
154 


4,  592 


121 
70 

111 
13 
40 
C 
32 
37 
51 


75  I 

19  | 

64 

38 

61 

30 

46 


81 
124 
26  ! 


85,  015 
72,114 
71,880 
08,  527 

79,711 


375,  257 


65  I 
10 


1,107 

2,  908 
1U.82S 
31.550 
12,270 
11.310 
10,  891 
24.  550 

19,  292 

20.  022 
20,854 
27.074 

4.K.I2 
35,  572 
9.  050 

13,221 
13,  930 

8,320 
10,781 
42.  930 

0,  542 
50,  120 

33,  >o2 
5,  7  I 

10,428 

34,  790 
04,171 

35,  366 
8,694 

612,661 


13,250 

5,  325 


Total 

Total  for  State.. 


245,  595 


300,  294        3, 174,  234 


13  |  14.0V4 

38  30,413 


21.117 
•II   95C' 


47,  902        408, 112 


2,  551       1,  204,  677 


7,938 


1,273 


1,0211,868 


184 


F>  A.  n  T    I . 


•HYSIOO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  ACRKTITIIRAL  FEATURES 


STATE    OF    FLORIDA. 


1K5 


GENERAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  STATE  OF  FLORIDA. 


PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

Florida,  the  southernmost  state  of  the  United  States,  lies  between  the  parallels  of  24°  30'  and  31°  north  latitude 
and  the  eightieth  and  eighty  eighth  meridians  west  from  Greenwich.  Its  total  gross  area,  as  determined  by  the 
latest  measurements,  is  58,680  square  miles.  The  greater  part  of  this  area  (about  35,000  square  miles)  is  a  peninsula, 
about  350  miles  long,  with  an  average  width  of  100  miles,  separating  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  oceasi  from  those  of 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

The  rest  of  the  state,  luiown  as  eastern  (from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Suwannee  river),  middle  (from  the  Suwannee 
to  the  Apalachicola  river),  and  western  Florida  (from  the  Apalachicola  to  Perdido  river),  nearly  24,000  square 
miles,  is  embraced  in  a  strip1  320  miles  long  and  about  75  miles  wide,  lying  immediately  south  of  the  lines  of 
Georgia  aud  Alabama. 

Roughly  speaking,  about  one-half  the  area  of  eastern,  middle,  and  western  Florida  and  from  one-fourth  to  one- 
third  of  the  peninsula  are  uplands  of  various  kinds;  the  rest  lowlands,  including  the  level  flatlands  near  the 
coasts,  the  Everglades,  savannas,  etc. 

Climate. — The  climate  is  greatly  influenced  by  the  Atlantic  ocean  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Extremes  of 
lieat  and  cold  are  rare,  the  temperature  in  winter  seldom  falling  much  below  32°,  and  in  summer  seldom  rising 
above  90°.  The  average  temperature  for  the  summer  is  7S°,  for  the  winter  G0°.  The  daily  ocean  breezes  temper 
the  heat  of  summer,  the  breeze  from  the  Atlantic  lasting  during  the  day,  while  the  Gulf  breeze  sets  in  about 
nightfall. 

From  the  Smithsonian  records  from  1844  to  1S67,  kept  by  Dr.  A.  S.  Baldwin,  the  following  mean  temperatures 
for  each  month  of  the  vear  at  Jacksonville  have  been  taken : 


January  55 

February 58 

March 64 

April 70 


Deg.  r  Deg.  |j  Deg. 


May  70    |!    September 78 


June 80 

July 8-2 

August  82 


October 70 

November 02 

December 52 


The  hottest  months  are  June,  July,  and  August,  and  the  coldest  December,  January,  aud  February,  the 
uniformity  being  shown  by  the  small  difference  (30°)  between  the  coldest  and  the  hottest  months. 

The  mean  temperature  at  Saint  Augustine,  derived  from  twenty  years'  observations,  is:  For  spring,  08.54°; 
for  summer,  S0.27° ;  for  autumn,  71.73°;  for  winter,  58.08°. 

For  Tampa  the  observations  of  twenty-five  years  give  the  following  mean  temperatures:  For  spring,  72.00°; 
for  summer,  S0.2°  ;  for  autumn,  73.08°;  for  winter,  02.85°. 

The  mean  temperature  at  Key  West,  calculated  from  fourteen  years'  observations,  is  :  For  spring,  75.70°;  for 
summer,  82.51°;  for  autumn,  78.23°;  for  winter,  G9.5S°. 

The  average  rainfall  at  Jacksonville  (mean  of  sixteen  years)  is  50.29  inches,  the  largest  quantity  falling  in 
August  and  September,  the  least  in  Nevember.  The  frequent  showers  iu  early  spring,  during  the  planting  season, 
are  highly  favorable  to  the  germination  and  growth  of  the  seeds  planted.  Droughts  and  excessive  rains  over  any 
large  extent  of  territory  are  rare. 

Drainage. — Rivers.— The  principal  streams  of  Florida  are  the  Apalachicola,  the  Suwannee,  the  Saint  Mary's, 
Saint  John's,  Kissimee,  and  Indian  rivers,  the  last  named  being  merely  an  arm  of  the  sea  running  parallel  with  the 
eastern  coast.  The  Saint  John's  and  the  Kissimee  iu  some  parts  of  their  courses  consist  of  a  chain  of  lakes  connected 
by  the  water-courses,  the  former,  rising  in  the  region  surrounding  the  Everglades,  flowing  northward,  and  the 
latter  flowing  southward  toward  the  Everglades,  the  two  in  part  of  their  courses  flowing  approximately  parallel 
to  each  other,  but  in  opposite  directions,  and  at  no  great  distance  (20  to  30  miles)  apart. 

7 

187 


8  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

» 
According  to  statements  based  upon  surveys  recently  made,  the  waters  of  the  Everglades  are  elevated  22  or 

23  feet  above  the  sea,  and  the  level  of  lake  Harney,  on  the  upper  Saint  John's,  is  9  feet  above  tide.     These 

figures,  if  correct,  would  make  the  waters  of  the  Kissimee  some  14  feet  above  those  of  the  Saint  John's. 

The  Kissimee,  with  its  lakes,  affords  the  channel  by  which  the  elevated  ridge  of  the  peninsula  from  Orange 
county  southward  is  drained  into  the  Everglades,  the  Ooklawaha  and  its  lakes  draining  the  same  elevated  country 
from  Orange  county  northward.  A  characteristic  feature  of  the  drainage  of  Florida  is  the  sinking  of  the  streams 
into  subterranean  passages  and  their  reappearance  as  "lug  springs".  The  natural  bridges  thus  formed  are 
sometimes  narrow  and  sometimes  are  several  miles  across. 

Lakes. — In  the  number  and  variety  of  its  lakes  Florida  is  distinguished  among  the  states.  These  lakes  vary 
in  size  from  mere  ponds  to  vast  sheets  of  water  like  lake  Okeechobee,  which  has  an  area  of  more  than  500  square 
mries.  Xu  some  instances  they  are  apparently  fed  from  underground  sources  and  form  the  headwaters  of  streams ; 
iD  other  cases  the  streams  flow  through  them,  which  thus  appear  as  mere  local  widenings  of  the  channels;  and  in 
stil'l  other  cases  lakes  which  receive  the  drainage  of  large  areas  by  means  of  rivers  have  no  visible  outlet,  the 
waters  being  removed  by  evaporation  or  by  subterranean  outlets.  The  waters  of  lake  Okeechobee  are  apparently 
generally  connected  with  those  of  the  Everglades,  which  are  carried  off  to  the  sea  by  a  number  of  channels. 

It  is  impossible  to  form  an  estimate  of  the  number  of  lakes,  large  and  small,  with  which  the  scenery  of  Florida 
is  diversified,  for  in  some  parts  of  the  state  one  may  travel  for  days  at  a  time  without  being  out  of  sight  of  these  sheets 
of  water.  In  those  sections  where  the  lakes  are  most  abundant  they  receive  the  drainage  over  large  areas,  and  the 
water-courses  are  subterranean.   • 

Everglades. — This  remarkable  feature  of  Florida  has  been  described  as  a  shallow  lake  of  vast  extent,  filled  with 
aquatic  grasses  and  other  similar  vegetation,  giving  it  the  appearance  of  a  vast  wet  meadow.  This  wet  meadow,  or 
shallow  lake,  is  dotted  with  islands  of  from  one  acre  to  a  hundred  acres  in  extent,  which  rise  a  i'vw  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  w  aters,  and  are  covered  with  a  growth  of  live  and  water  oaks,  cabbage  palmetto,  and  other  limber. 

The  Everglades  occupy  a  depression  in  the  limestone  of  the  country,  and  are  surrounded  by  a  rocky  rim, 
skirted  (toward  the  glades)  by  a  belt  of  rather  low  prairie  or  savanna  land. 

The  headwaters  of  most  of  the  streams  of  southern  Florida  are  found  in  the  Everglades,  and  lake  Okeechobee, 
which  seems  to  be  merely  an  open  lagoon,  receives  the  waters  of  at  least  one  large  stream,  the  Kissimee  river.  The 
waters  of  this  lake  appear  to  diffuse,  through  the  Everglades,  whence  they  are  drained  off  east,  south,  and  southwest 
through  the  various  streams  mentioned  below.  The  level  of  the  waters  is  given  at  22  to  231  feet  above  the  sea. 
Further  details  will  be  found  below  in  the  general  account  of  the  agricultural  features  and  under  Dade  county. 

Elevation  above  the  sea. — The  ancient  maps  and  accounts  of  travelers  represent  the  interior  of  Florida 
as  mountainous  ;  later,  the  prevailing  belief  represented  the  state  as  comparatively  low  and  flat  throughout,  while 
the  truth  lies  between  these  two  extremes. 

The  upper  half  of  what  are  known  as  middle  and  western  Florida  consists  of  uplands,  which  are  entirely  similar 
to  the  corresponding  uplands  of  Georgia  and  Alabama.  Some  parts  of  these,  uplands  are  broken  or  hilly,  and  the 
elevation  above  the  sea  cannot  be  far  from  300  feet.  Toward  the  Gulf  and  the  Atlantic  there  is  a  gradual  slope, 
and  within  10  miles  of  the  coast  the  elevation  is  scarcely  more  than  10  feet  above  tide. 

From  the  Georgia  line,  in  the  vicinity  of  Okeefenokee  swamp,  southward  down  the  peninsula,  there  is  an  elevated 
belt  of  laud,  known,  in  part  of  its  course  at  least,  as  Trail  ridge.  This  elevated  land  is  known  to  extend  as  far  south 
as  Polk  county,  and  its  height  above  the  sea  is  between  200  and  300  feet.  Between  this  main  ridge  and  the  Gulf 
there  is  another  ridge,  known  as  the  Sand  hills,  120  feet  and  more  in  elevation. 

Iu  Hernando  county  are  high  hummock  lands  of  considerable  elevation,  and  Mount  Lee,  near  the  head  of 
Homosassa  river,  is  said  to  be  211  feet  high. 

The  lower  part  of  the  state,  from  Polk  county  southward,  is  generally  low,  comparatively  level,  and  with  an 
elevation  probably  not  greater  than  30  or  40  feet.  The  immediate  coast  in  some  localities  has  an  elevation  of  15 
feet,  which  is  looked  upon  by  some  as  evidence  of  upheaval  in  recent  times,  and  by  others  as  the  result  of  the  action 
of  the  waves  alone. 

The  altitudes  as  determined  by  railroad  surveys  are  difficult  to  obtain,  having  been  in  most  cases  lost  in  the 
transfers  of  the  properties.    The  tables  on  page  J>  were  furnished  by  the  kindness  of  Major  P.  W.  O.  Koerner,  engineer : 

188 


GENERAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  STATE. 


I.— TRANSIT  RAILROAD 


Fornandina 

Iloggy  river 

Callaban 

Dutton 

Baldwin 

Maxville 

Summit  of  Trail  ridgo 

Western  foot  of  Trail  ridge . . . 

Lawtey 

Starke 

Santa  F6  (lake  outlet) 

Waldo 

Ilatchet  ereek 

Gainesville  (oourl-house) 

Arrcdondo 

Archer 

Sand  Hills  (summit)   

Bronson   

Otter  ereek  (Gulf  hummock)  . 

Rosewood 

Cedar  Keys 


Distances  from 
Feruamlina. 


*20 
27 
36 
47 
5G 
61 


84 
91 


Altitudeabovo 
low  tide  in 
the  Atlantic 


100  (1) 
107 


127 
134 
141 
154 


30 
45 
47 
57 
210 
ISO 
140 
150 
137 
150 
100 
128 
70 
70 
120 
27 
19 
10 
0 


Baek  tide  water. 


Foot  of  Trail  ridge. 


*27  feet  highest  elevation  between  those  pointa- 
II.— PENINSULA  RAILROAD. 


Names. 

El  ovation  >above 
low     tide     in 
the  Atlantic. 

Remarks. 

Topographical  Matures  near  ' 
line  of  road. 

f 
1 

Santa,  Fe  lake 

Feet. 

137 
85 
68 

39 
150 
GO 

100 
100 

Rim  of  prairie  about 
100  feet  higher. 

1 

1 

Ridge  one  mile  south  of  Ocala  (hummock) . . 

Average  elevntiou  of  the  country  between  Ocala  and  Orange  lake,  80  feet 

III. -FLORIDA  SOUTHERN  RAILROAD. 
Elevations  of  stations  on  Florida  Southern  railway 

[Obtained  from  Engineer  Miller.] 

Feet. 

Sairrt  John'H  river  at  Palatka 0 

Palatka 15 

Francis 70 

MacWillianis .  80 

Blue  pond 1 10 

Johnson 100 

McMeekin 105 

Hawthorne 13fi 

Scott  place 86 

Junction iH) 

Prairie  creek 53 

Alachua 88 

Gainesville 168 


1S9 


10  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

GEOLOGY. 

1. — Structural  and  Stratigrapiiical. — The   remark  of  one  of  the  leading  geologists  of  America  that 
Florida  lias  been  universally  misunderstood  is  true  as  regards  both  the  topography  and  the  geological  structure  of 

the  state.  To  these  erroneous  impressions  several  circumstances  have  largely  contributed.  The  photographic  and 
other  pictures  of  Florida  have  generally  been  selected,  with  a  view  of  presenting  the  state  in  its  semi-tropical  aspects, 
and  since  Florida  in  the  interior  and  in  the  highlands  exhibits  nothing  characteristic  by  which  it  is  distinguishable 
from  the  adjacent  parts  of  contiguous  states  the  most  widely  circulated  views  are  those  of  scenes  along  the  banks 
of  the  rivers  or  of  the  numerous  and  beautiful  lakes  of  the  state.  The  lack  of  railroads  has  restricted  tourists  and 
other  visitors  generally  to  a  few  great  highways  of  travel,  such  as  the  Saint  John's,  Ocklawaha,  and  Indian  rivers, 
aud  for  this  reason  the  geological  observations  hitherto  published  have  been  made  usually  either  along  the  coasts 
or  along  the  banks  of  the  rivers  mentioned. 

In  view  of  Hie  prevailing  misconceptions  concerning  Florida,  it  has  been  thought  desirable  to  give  here  a 
summary  as  complete  as  possible  of  the  published  accounts  of  the  geology  of  the  state. 

Observations  made  previous  to  1880. — As  early  as  177G  Bartram,  who  traveled  in  the  peninsula  as  far  south  as  the  present 
Alaekua  county,  speaks  of  the  limestone  outcropping  through  the  sands  in  many  places.  He  also  mentions  limestone  as  forming  tin-  basins 
of  some  lakes  and  of  large  boiling  springs,  but  makes  no  statement  regarding  the  geological  age  of  the  ruck. 

Colonel  John  Loe  Williams,  in  his  View  of  West  Florida,  published  in  1827,  and  later  in  his  Territory  of  Florida,  published  in  18117,  gives 
accurate  accounts  of  the  topography  and  rock  structure  of  various  parts  of  the  state.  The  prevalence  of  a  limestone  as  underlying  rock 
throughout  the  entire  state  is  there  frequently  mentioned,  and  many  of  its  characteristic  varieties  are  carefully  described,  though  no  attempt, 
is  made  to  fix  its  geological  position.  * 

Later,  in  1838,  Major  Whiting  mentions  the  fact  that  the  rocks  found  in  situ  in  Florida  are  all  calcareous,  and  speaks  of  a  flinty  limestone 
in  the  interior,  and  of  its  connection  with  the  many  ':surth-holes"  and  big  springs. 

In  1846  Lieutenant  Allen  makes  mention  of  a  limestone  occurring  at  Tampa  and  at  various  points  in  the  interior,  where  it  forms  the 
sides  and  basins  of  many  of  the  lakes.  He  makes  a  careful  distinction  between  this  and  a  much  more  recent  limestone  occurring  along 
the  coast. 

In  the  same  year  T.  A.  Conrad  collected  and  described  fossils  from  this  older  Tampa  limestone,  and  settled  definitely  its  age  as  Upper 
Eocene.     He  also  speaks  of  a  limestone  as  prevailing  in  the  interior,  which  he  thinks  will  prove  to  be  of  the  same  age. 

Professor  ,T.  W.  Bailey  discovered  near  Tampa,  ami  between  Gainesville  and  Palatka,  infusorial  strata,  which,  together  with  their  inssil 
contents,  were  described  in  the  American  Journal  of  Science  and  elsewhere.  These  deposits  he  considered  to  be  Eocene,  from  their  association 
with  rocks  containing  shells  of  thai  age. 

In  1850  Professor  Tuoraey,  of  the  University  of  Alabama,  visited  the  Gulf  coast  of  Florida.  He  confirmed  the  statement  of  Conrad 
respecting  tin-  age  of  the  Tampa  limestone,  and  said  that  the  same  rock  extended  probably  as  far  south  as  Charlotte  harbor. 

In  1854  W.  ,1.  Burnett  corrects  the  prevailing  opinion  relative  to  the  flatness  of  Florida  by  showing  from  altitudes  obtained  by  surveys 
that  there  are  poiuts  in  the  peninsula  237  feet  above  the  Atlantic,  and  that  15  or  20  miles  west  of  the  Saint  John's  river  there  are  elevations 
■  of  150  to  200  feet.  He  considered  the  peninsula  to  be  of  comparatively  recent  oriyin,  except  an  elevated  ridge  extending  from  Georgia 
southward  to  a  line  joining  cape  Canaveral  with  Tampa  ;  but  he  does  not  express  any  more  definite  opinion  as  to  the  age  of  this  ridge. 

Professors  L.  Agassi/,  and  John  Le  Conte,  as  results  of  their  explorations  of  the  Florida  coast  in  1851,  conclude  that  the  greater  part 
of  the  peninsula  is  of  comparatively  recent  origin,  and  the  latter  author,  in  1857,  published  his  theory  relating  to  the  agency  of  the  Gulf 
Stream  in  forming  the  submarine  banks  upon  which  the  corals  could  grow,  which  were  so  instrumental  in  extending  the  peninsula  southward. 
Professor  Le  Conte  considered  ns  problematical  the  existence  of  Tertiary  limestone  at  Tampa,  as  established  by  Conrad  and  Tnomey,  but, 
assuming  that  the  limestone  does  actually  occur  there,  he  thinks  it  probable  that  all  of  Florida  60uth  of  the  line  from  Tampa  to  Saint 
Augustine  was  formed  by  successive  additions  to  the  land  in  the  manner  described  by  him,  and  that  this  extension  took  place  in  comparatively 
recent  times. 

In  1857  Professor  John  Le  Conte  procured  from  Silver  Spring,  near  Ocala.  some  fossils  which  were  subsequently  recognized  to  be  of 
Eocene  age,  as  is  recorded  in  the  American  Journal  of  Science  for  January,  18G1,  pages  1-12. 

Since  the  researches  of  Professors  Agassiz  and  Le  Conte  were  published,  the  older  and  correct  observations  of  Conrad,  Tuoiney,  Bailey, 
and  others  appear  to  have  been  completely  overlooked,  aud  upon  the  latest  geological  map  of  the  United  States  Florida  is. represented  ;is 
Quaternary  throughout. 

Obsekvatioxs  made  in  1880  (a). — While  collecting  material  for  the  present  report  during  the  summer  of  18801  had  the  opportunity  of 
making  observations  upon  the  geological  structure  of  Florida  from  Jackson  county,  on  the  west,  to  Orlando,  in  Orange  county,  ami  the 
country  rock  everywhere  between  these  two  limits  was  found  to  be  the  Vicksburg  or  Upper  Eocene  limestone,  with  the  exception  of  the 
recent  or  post-Tertiary  coral  limestone  formations  near  the  coasts  aud  a  limestone  of  Miocene  age  at  Rock  Spring,  near  Apopka  city,  cast 
of  the  lake  of  the  same  name,  in  Orange  county.  (6) 

West  of  Jackson  county  to  the  Perdido  river  the  country  was  not  personally  visited,  but  from  the  position  of  the  Vicksburg  limestone 
iu  the  adjoining  counties  of  Alabama  it  seems  almost  certain  that  the  whole  of  west  Florida,  with  the  probable  exception  of  a  strip  near 
the  Gulf  coast,  is  underlaid  by  the  same  rock. 

On  the  Gulf  shore,  between  the  mouth  of  the  Perdido  river  aud  Apalachee  bay,  the  immediate  coast  is  sandy  aud  the  underlying  rocks  are 
hidden  from  view;  but  a  few  miles  in  the  interior  the  presence  of  fresh-water  mollusks  in  the  streams,  and  the  vegetation  along  their  banks, 
give  certain  evidence  id"  the  existence  of  calcareous  rocks  below.  From  Appal achee  bay  to  the  mouth  of  the  Suwaunee  river  the  coast  is 
formed  of  limestone,  which  extends  out  to  sea  for  several  miles  in  shoal  water. 

South  of  the  Suwannee  the  rugged  coast  is  still  formed  of  this  rock,  and  is  bordered  with  rocky  islands  or  keys.  At  about  the  twenty- 
seventh  parallel  the  calcareous  rock  above  mentioned  begins  to  be  covered  with  the  structures  of  the  coral  polyp,  aud  down  this  coast  and 
around  on  the  eastern  shore  as  far  as  the  Soldiers  key  the  coral  formation  is  prominent  on  all  the  Florida  keys  (Williams). 

a  See  "On  the  Geology  of  Florida",  by  Eugene  A.  Smith,  American  Journal  of  Science,  April,  1881. 

I)  Though  not  yet  observed,  it  is  quite  probable  that  limestone  of  this  age  will  be  found  in  other  localities,  occupying  a  similar  position 
between  the  Eocene  limestone  on  the  west  and  the  more  recent  post-Pliocene  deposits  near  the  Atlantic  coast. 
U'O 


GENERAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  STATE.  11 

Along  the  Atlantic  coast  the  shore  is  sandy,  but  the  calcareous  rock  outcropping  a  short  distance  back  from  the  coast  has  been  examined 
by  Conrad  and  other  observers  and  shown  to  be  post-Pliocene. 

Overlying  the  calcareous  rocks  throughout  the  state  are  beds  of  clay  loam,  sand,  and  in  places  pebbles  of  Champlain  or  stratified  drift 
age.     The  more  recent  formations  (near  the  eastern  coast,  especially)  have  also  a  covering  of  sand,  which  may  be  of  more  recent  age. 

The  observations  upon  which  these  conclusions  are  based  are  given  in  detail  in  the  article  on  the  geology  of  Florida,  alluded  to  above, 
and  are  briefly  as  follows : 

In  Jackson  county,  near  Campbellton,  and  east  of  Mariauna,  limestone  containing  Orbit oides  Mantelli,  Pecten  Pouteont,  and  other 
characteristic  fossils  outcrops  over  considerable  areas,  and  its  presence  below  the  surface-covering  of  drift  is  inferred  from  the  occurrence 
of  ponds,  lakes,  and  il  big  springs"  in  nearly  all  parts  of  the  county,  but  especially  in  the  eastern,  in  the  drainage  area  of  the  Chattahoochee. 

In  Gadsden,  Leon,  Jefferson,  and  Madison  counties  thick  beds  of  the  stratified  drift  and  loam  overlie  the  limestone,  which,  in 
consequence,  does  not  come  to  the  surface,  except  toward  the  river  and  along  the  water-courses. 

In  all  these  counties,  however,  the  numerous  lakes,  of  all  sizes,  which  lend  such  charm  to  the  scenery,  the  sink-holes  into  which  the 
waters  of  large  streams  are  ingulfed,  to  make  their  appearance  again  at  a  distance  as  boiling  springs,  are  evidences  of  the  existence  of 
calcareous  rocks  below  the  surface,  and  the  age  of  these  rocks  has  been  determined  by  the  fossils  which  have  been  collected  at  several  points 
where  the  limestone  appears  at  the  surface,  (a) 

In  Alachua,  Marion,  and  Sumter  counties  the  Orbitoidal  or  Vicksburg  limestone  appears  io  be  everywhere  the  underlying  rock,  sometimes 
hidden  by  overlying  sands,  but  often  outcropping  over  extensive  areas.  In  the  vicinity  of  Gainesville  this  rock  is  a  mass  of  shells,  in 
which  Orbiloides  Mantelli  is  most  prominent. 

Between  Gainesville  and  Palatka  are  the  infusorial  strata  observed  by  Professor  J.  W.  Bailey,  and  by  him  considered  to  be  of  Eocene 
age,  from  their  association  with  rocks  containing  shells  of  that  age. 

At  Ocala  the  limestone  outcrops  in  numerous  localities,  and  the  fossils  are  characteristic. 

At  Silver  Spring,  G  miles  east  of  Ocala.  Eocene  fossils  were  collected,  as  seen  above,  by  Professor  John  Le  Coutc  in  1857,  and  specimens 
of  the  limestone  collected  by  myself  in  1880,  and  submitted  to  Professor  Heilprin,  contained  Orbitoidcs  Mantelli  Morton  and  O.  stipcra 
Conrad,  to  the  exclusion  of  other  forms,  except  polyzoan. 

In  Hillsborough  county  the  Upper  Eocene  limestone  has  long  since  been  identified  by  Conrad,  who,  in  184e',  described  the  organic 
remains  collected  by  him  in  the  vicinity  of  Tampa  bay.  The  existence  of  the  same  rock  in  the  other  counties  of  middle  Florida  and  on 
the  peninsula,  as  far  south  as  Orange  county  at  least,  ia  inferred  from  its  observed  occurrence  in  the  localities  mentioned. 

In  Orange  county,  about  10  miles  east  of  lake  Apopka,  at  Rock  spring,  there  is  a  blufi'of  limestone  some  10  feet  in  height,  from  which 
I  was  able  to  collect  some  fossils.  These  were  submitted  to  Professor  Heilprin,  who  determined  among  them  the  following  species:  Pectcn 
Madiwnius,  Vviws  alceata,  *Cardita  aranitlata,  * Cariditamera  arata,  Mijtiloconcka  incurra.  The  species  marked  thus  (*)  are  also  Pliocene,  and 
from  the  circumstance  that  no  Vicksburg  species  are  associated  with  the  Miocene  shells  above  enumerated  Professor  Heilprin  concludes 
that  the  Rock  Spring  limestone  is  Miocene. 

The  age  of  the  limestone  of  the  coasts  and  keys  has  been  settled  as  post-Pliocene,  probably  beyond  doubt,  by  the  observation  of  many 
men  of  science. 

Conclusions. 

From  the  observations  of  others,  as  quoted  above,  and  from  my  own,  I  have  been  brought  to  the  following  conclusions  regarding  the 
past  geological  history  of  Florida: 

1.  Since  no  rocks  have  been  found  in  Florida  older  than  the  Vicksburg  limestoue,  it  follows  that  until  the  end  of  the  Eocene  period 
this  part  of  our  country  had  not  yet  been  added  to  the  firm  land  of  the  continent,  bat  was  still  submerged. 

*2.  During  the  period  of  disturbance  which  followed  the  deposition  of  the  Vicksburg  limestone  (Upper  Eocene)  Florida  was  elevated 
nearly  to  its  present  height  above  sea-level,  which  elevation  was  maintained  without  material  interruption  until  the  Champlain  period. 
Proofs  of  this  statement  may  be  found  in  the  universal  occurrence  of  the  Vicksburg  limestone  as  the  country  rock  throughout  the  entire 
state,  except  perhaps  in  the  southern  part  of  the  peninsula. 

3.  In  this  upward  movement  the  axis  of  elevation  did  not  coincide  in  position  with  the  present  main  dividing  ridge  (north  and  south) 
of  the  peninsula,  but  lay  considerably  to  the  westward,  probably  occupying  approximately  the  position  of  the  present  western  coast.  (/>) 
In  other  words,  during  the  Middle  and  Upper  Tertiary  periods  the  Florida  peninsula  was  much  broader  than  it  is  now  toward  the 
west;  and  while  the  eastern  coast  had  nearly  its  present  position,  the  western  lay  probably  100,  and  in  places  perhaps  100,  miles  beyond 
its  present  place.  Western  Florida  was  also  affected  by  this  movement,  and  remained  above  sea-level  during  the  same  periods.  Reasons 
for  this  conclusion  are  found  in  the  total  absence  along  the  Gulf  shores  of  western  Florida  and  the  peninsula  of  all  strata  between  the 
Vicksburg  limestone  and  the  post-Pliocene,  while  the  peculiar  beds  of  the  Grand  Gulf  group  of  Hilgard  overlie  the  Vicksburg  limestoue 
on  the  Gulf  borders  of  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Texas,  and  a  marine  Miocene  limestone  of  the  usual  Atlantic-coast  character  overlies 
the  same  rock  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  peninsula.  This  conclusion,  reached,  as  is  seen  above,  from  purely  geological  considerations. 
finds  a  support  amounting  almost  to  demonstration  in  the  position  of  the  100-fathoni  line  oft'  the  Florida  coasts,  as  shown  on  the  accomj>anyiug 
map.  It  will  be  seen  there  that  the  submerged  iwrtion  (if  the  peninsula  (within  100  fathoms)  on  the  west  is  as  wide  as  the  present  laud 
surface,  while  on  the  east  it  is  only  a  narrow  strip.  That  sediments  vrcre  deposited  during  the  Middle  and  Upper  Tertiary  periods  off  the 
Gulf  coasts  of  Florida,  as  well  as  of  the  other  states  mentioned,  is  of  course  self-evident,  and  their  absence  along  the  coast  at  Tampa  and 
elsewhere  can  be  explained  only  upon  the  supposition  that  the  coast-line  at  that  time  was  west  of  its  present  position,  and  that  the 
deposits  then  made  off'  that  old  coast  are  now  submerged  beneath  the  waters  of  the  Gulf. 

It  may  be  objected  that  the  absence  of  these  deposits  on  the  western  coast  is  apparent,  and  not  real ;  that  they  have  simply  escaped 
notice  ;  but  it  seems  hardly  probable  that  two  such  close  observers  as  Conrad  and  Tuomcy  should  have  overlooked  them,  if  they  occur,  at 
least  from  Tampa  southward.  The  negative  evidence  derived  from  the  observations  of  Conrad  and  Tuomey  is  coniirtued  by  the  writings 
of  Colonel  J.  Lee  Williams,  who,  as  early  as  18^7,  in  describing  the  coast  between  Saint  Mark's  river  and  the  Suwannee,  says  that  it.  is 
formed  of  a  soft  calcareous  rock,  with  an  imperfect  flint  embedded  in  it,  and  where  the  softer  parts  of  the  rock  have  been  dissolved 
away  these  nnclei  of  flint  are  left,  forming  extensive  and  very  rugged  reefs.  The  same  author  states  that  at  about  the  twenty-seventh 
degree  of  latitude  the  coral  polyp  begins  to  cover  this  calcareous  rock,  and  thence  southward  the  recent  coral  formation  covers  universally 

a  In  Wakulla  cosuty  and  the  southern  part  of  Leon  these  outcrops  are  numerous,  and  specimens  collected  near  Saint  Mark's,  and 
submitted  to  Mr.  Angelo  Heilprin,  were  pronounced  by  him  to  be  of  Vicksburg  age,  Orbitoides  Mantelli  being  a  characteristic  fossil. 

b  This  assumes  approximate  uniformity  of  slope  on  each  side  of  the  main  line  of  elevation.  Under  any  other  supposition,  the  facts 
would  apparently  require  an  elevation  of  the,  peninsula  after  the  Vicksburg  period  much  above  its  present  height  and  a  depression  during 
the  Miocene  period  at  least  30  feet  below  the  present  level. 

If/1 


"12  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

the  rock  above  described,  which  he  believes  to  be  the  base  or  substratum  of  the  peninsula  and  of  the  keys.  Colonel  Williams  here  makes 
a  clear  distinction  between  the  limestone  which  forms  the  Gulf  coast,  and,  as  he  believes,  also  t ho  base  of  the  peninsula  and  keys,  and  the 
newer  coral  formations  which  rest  directly  upon  it  below  the  twenty-seventh  parallel. 

4.  After  the  Miocene  (or  possibly  after  the  Pliocene)  period  there  was  again  au  elevation  (a)  of  Florida,  as  is  shown  by  the  presence 
of  a  Miocene  limestone  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  peninsula,  some  distance  (not  less  than  '.iO  feet)  above  present  sea-level.  The  absence 
along  the  Gulf  coasts  of  Miocene  and  later  Tertiary  deposits,  either  of  marine  (limestone)  or  of  brackish-  or  fro*h-water  (Grand  Gulf) 
origin,  has  already  been  accounted  for  above.  During  this  period,  between  the  end  of  the  Vtcksburg  and  the  close  of  the  Tertiary,  the 
Florida  peninsula,  with  at  least  twice  its  present  size,  was  subjected  to  sabaor'ial  erosion,  which  marked  its  surface  with  bills  and  valleys, 
The  distribution  of  the  high  hummocks  along  the  present  peninsula  is  explained  below  as  dependent  upon  the  position  of  the  elevated 
points  of  this  old  Tertiary  peninsula,  and  the  greater  prevalence  of  high  hummocks  on  the  western  side  of  the  water-shed  between  the 
Gulf  and  the  Atlantic,  and  the  occurrence  of  coast  hummocks  (Gulf  hummocks)  exclusively  on  the  western  or  Gulf  coast,  seem  to  bo  strictly 
in  accordance  with  the  preceding  conclusions. 

Professor  J.  E.  Hilgard,  in  an  article  on  the  "Basin  of  tho  Gulf  of  Mexico",  published  in  the  Jmerican  Journal  of  Science,  III,  vol.  21, 
page  29L,  writes  as  follows  :  "The  100- fathom  curve  represents  very  closely  tho  general  continental  line ;  the  maseiv  of  the  peninsulas  of 
Florida  and  Yucatan  have  more  than  twice  their  present  apparent  width.  *  *  *  *  Very  steep  slopes  lead  from  thiH  submerged  plateau 
to  an  area  of  55,000  square  miles     *  *     at  the  great  depth  of  over  12,000  feet.     There  are  three  ranges  on  the  Florida  and  Yucatan 

slopes,  extending  in  the  aggregate  to  more  than  GOO  miles,  along  which  the  desceut,  between  500  and  l,.r>00  fathoms,  or  t>,000  feet,  is  within  a 
breadth  of  from  6  to  15  miles.  No  such  steep  slopes  and  correspondingly  elevated  plateaus  appear  to  exist  on  the  unsub merged  surface  of 
the  earth.  The  suggestion  occurs  that  while  the  latter  have  suffered  atmospheric  erosion,  the  submerged  surfaces  have  not  sensibly 
changed  from  tho  positions  determined  by  the  mechanical  shaping  of  the  carters  crust."  (/>) 

5.  We  have  evidence  in  the  distribution  of  the  beds  of  the  Champlaiu  period  (stratified  drift  or  orange  sand)  that  Florida  and 
parts  of  adjacent  states  were  during  this  time  submerged  sufficiently  to  allow  tho  deposition  over  them  of  a  mass  of  pebbles,  sand,  and 
clay,  varying  in  thickness  from  a  few  feet  to  200,  The  conditions  under  which  these  beds  were  deposited  have  been  ably  discussed  by 
E.  W.  Ililgard  in  the  American  Journal  of  Science,  and  iu  his  Mississippi  and  Louisiana  reporrs.  Of  these  conditions  I  shall  speak  of  one 
only.  From  the  peculiar  mode  of  stratification  of  most  of  these  beds  it  is  concluded,  with  reason,  that  they  weie  sediments  from  rapidly- 
flowing,  ever-varying  currents.  In  the  northern  part  of  the  state  the  beds  of  red  and  yellow  loam  lie  directly  upon  tho  stratified  drift. 
These  beds  of  loam  are  devoid  of  stratified  structure  as  well  as  of  fossils,  and  were  probably  deposited  from  slowly-running  or  nearly 
stagnant  waters.  The  direct  superposition  of  the  loam  upon  the  stratified  drift  throughout  Florida,  Alabama,  and  the  grealer  part  of 
Mississippi  and  Louisiana,  and  the  fact  that  tlaere  is,  with  the  exception  presently  to  be  noted,  rarely  if  ever  any  sharp  line  of 
demarkation  between  the  two — the  upper  beds  of  the  drift  passing  by  imperceptible  gradations  into  tho  loam — point  strongly  to  a 
community  of  origin,  and  appear  to  indicate  that  the  loam  is  the  last  of  the  sediments  made  by  tho  floods  of  the  drift.  Along  the 
Mississippi  river  the  two  are  separated  by  the  Port  Hudson  and  Loss  deposits,  both  haviaig  more  or  less  local  characters,  the  Lu>s  being 
distinctly  a  river-bank  and  the  Port  Hudson  a  river  or  gulf  swamp  deposit,  We  can  imagine  that  after  the  great  rush  of  waters  which 
deposited  most  of  the  pebbles  and  other  coarse  materials  of  our  drift  there  followed,  over  the  larger  part  at  least  of  the  Gulf  states,  a 
gradual  checking  of  the  currents,  aud  consequent  deposition  of  the  finer  yellow  loam,  while  along  the  axis  of  the  Mississippi,  where,  aB 
Hilgard  has  shown,  the  extremes  of  oscillation  were  experienced,  this  gradual  change  from  swiftly-flowing  to  nearly  stagnant  waters 
might  have  been  interrupted  by  such  subordinated  and  local  oscillations  as  would  have  caused  the  formation  of  deposits  like  the  Port 
Hudsmi  ami  the  Loss. 

6.  Following  the  submergence  during  the  Champlaiu  period  was  a  re-elevation,  which  brought  up  the  peninsula  with  approximately 
its  present  configuration,  (c) 

Evidences  on  this  point  are  to  be  found  in  the  post-Pliocene  formations  described  by  Conrad,  Tuomcy,  and  others  as  bordering,  more 
or  less  uniformly,  the  eastern,  southern,  and  western  shores,  and  forming  the  keys. 

7.  In  the  height  of  these  post-Pliocene  deposits  above  the  present  sea-level  Conrad  and  Tuomey  see  proofs  of  the  elevation  of  tho 
peninsula  and  keys  (16  or  15  feet)  iu  still  more  recent  times,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  Professors  Agassi/,  and  Le  Conte  give  a  different 
explanation.  To  quote  the  words  of  the  latter  author:  "Neither  the  mainland  nor  the  keys  ore  anywhere  higher  than  may  be  accounted 
for  by  the  action  of  the  waves,  viz  :  from  10  to  15  feet." 

8.  Since  tho  elevation  of  Florida  to  its  present  position  atmospheric  agencies  have  been  at  work  scouring  its  surface  and  producing 
those  inequalities  which  constitute  its  present  scenery.  In  some  places  the  removal  by  these  agencies  of  the  later  Cham  plain  beds  has 
exposed  the  elevated  points  of  the  old  limestone  peninsula,  or  special  lines  of  drainage  have  cut  down  to  tho  general  level  of  1  his  rock, 
which,  in  either  case,  by  its  action  upon  the  soil,  has  produced  hummocks.  The  circulation  of  the  atmospheric  waters  below  the  surface 
has  caused  the  formation  of  caverns  and  underground  chanuels  in  the  limestone,  and  has  thus  given  rise  to  many  of  the  characteristic 
features  of  the  Florida  landscape,  as  sinks,  ponds,  lakes,  "  blue  Bprings,"  etc. 

9.  In  view  of  tho  absence  of  marine  formations  of  the  Middle  and  Upper  Tortiary  age  along  the  Gulf  coasts  of  Mississippi,  Louisiana, 
and  Texas,  and  to  account  for  the  formation  of  the  beds  of  the  Grand  Gulf  group,  without  remains  of  marine  life,  which  overlie  the  Eocene 
of  those  coasts.  Professor  E.  W.  Hilgard  has  beeu  brought  to  the  conclusion  that  during  a  part  or  the  whole  of  the  interval  between  the 
Vicksburg  and  Champlaiu  periods  the  Gulf  was  by  some  means  partially  or  wholly  isolated  from  the  Atlantic,  and  thus  converted  into  a 
fresh-  or  brackish-water  basin,  and  he  also  further  suggested  that  this  was  brought  about  by  a  land  connection  betweeu  Florida  and 
Yucatan. 

Tho  facts  lately  brought  to  light  by  Dr.  Loughridge  and  myself,  taken  in  connection  with  the  soundings  in  the  Gulf  made  under  the 
auspices  of  the  coast  survey,  point  to  a  more  probable  explanation  «f  tho  means  by  which  the  partial  freshening  of  the  waters  of  the  Gulf 
was  effected. 

Professor  Hilgard  writes  as  follows: 

'■  The  inference  is  irresistible  that  the  upward  movement  of  the  Tertiary  period  continued  up  to  the  end  of  the  Glacial  epoch.  *  *  * 
It  is  clear,  also,  that  even  a  minimum  elevation  of  450  feet,  so  far  proven,  would  convert  the  Gulf  border  to  the  edge  of  the  100-fathom 

a  On  this  point  compare  foot-note  under  \\,  above. 

b  It  is  x>roper  to  state  that  the  article  of  Professor  Hilgard  on  the  Gulf  basin  and  my  own  on  the  geology  of  Florida  appeared 
simultaneously  in  ihe  Jmerican  Journal  of  Science,  so  that  the  conclusions  in  each  were  independently  reached. 

c  W©  can  only  speculate  as  to  when  and  how  the  change  from   the  broad  peninsula  of  the  Middle  aud  later  Tertiary  periods  to  the 
present  narrow  form  took  place.     Two  possibilities  suggest  themselves,  viz  :  1.  At  the  beginning  of  the  (£hamplain  period  a  more  profound 
depression  of  the  western  as  compared  with  the  eastern  half  of  the  broad  Tertiary  peninsula;  or,  2.  At  the  end  of  the  period  of  Buhmeigence 
the  shifting  of  the  main  axis  of  elevation  eastward  would  have  brought  about  this  result. 
192 


GENERAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  STATE. 


13 


line  into  a  region  of  shallows,  whose  waters  would  be  kept  perceptibly  freshened  by  the  continental  drainage,  especially  in  the  axis  oi 
the  Mississippi  valley,  even  in  the  present  condition  of  the  straits  of  Yucatan  and  Florida.  If,  however,  we  suppose  the  bottom  of  the 
latter  to  have  participated  in  the  elevation  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  sensibly  lessening  the  oceanic  circulation,  the  freshening  of  tho 
border  waters  may  readily  be  supposed  to  have  been  such  as  to  render  very  precarious  the  existence  of  either  a  marine  or  a  fresh-water 
fauna,  thus  accounting  for  the  remarkable  dearth  of  fossil  forms  in  the  Grand  Gulf  strata."  (a) 

The  facts  with  regard  to  the  distribution  of  the  rocks  of  Florida  are  presented  on  the  accompanying  map.     (The  bathymetric  lines  are 
taken  from  Professor  J.  E.  Hilgard's  map. 

Those  points  where  the  existence  of  the  Vicksburg  limestone  has  been  determined  beyond  doubt  by  fossils  collected  and  identified 
are  indicated  upon  the  map  by  appropriate  marking,  explained  in  the  legend.  This  formation  was  first  recognized,  at  Tampa  and  near 
the  mouth  of  tho  Manatee  river,  by  Conrad  ;  between  Gainesville  and  Palatka,  by  Professor  J.  W.  Bailey  ;  at  Silver  Spring,  by  Professor 
John  Le  Conte ;  and  at  the  other  localities  marked,  by  myself.  The  locality  of  the  Miocene  limestone  was  first  observed  by  myself,  and  the 
post-Pliocene  age  of  the  coasts  and  keys  has  been  determined  at  many  points  by  Conrad,  Tuomey,  Agassiz,  Le  Conte,  and  others. 

Between  the  post-Pliocene  on  the  eastern  coast  and  the  Eocene  of  the  interior  a  space  is  left  blank,  as  undetermined,  except  in  one 
place,  Rock  Spring,  where  the  Miocene  limestone  was  noticed.     In  this  area  other  occurrences  of  Miocene  beds  will  probably  be  found. 

2. — PHYSioGEArniCAL  Geology. — Since  the  surface  configuration,  soils,  and  other  features  of  Florida  are 
in  great  part  dependent  upon  the  mutual  relations  of  the  two  principal  formations  above  named,  viz,  the  Upper 
Eocene  or  Vicksburg  limestone,  which  forms  the  substratum  through  most  of  the  state,  and  the  stratified  drift  and 
loam,  which  form  the  surface  materials,  it  will  be  well  to  give  more  in  detail  the  chief  character  of  each. 

The  limestone. — This  rock,  which  has  been  shown  to  be  of  Upper  Eocene  or  Vicksburg  age  by  the  fossils 
collected  at  widely  distant  localities,  presents  the  following  principal  varieties  : 

1st.  A  white  pulverulent  mass  of  carbonate  of  lime,  without  recognizable  fossils,  except  a  few  silicified  tubes  of 
as  yet  undetermined  affinities.  This  natural  marl,  mingling  with  the  sands  near  the  coast,  forms  the  well-known 
"  Gulf  hummocks".  In  these  the  soil  appears  to  a  casual  observer  to  be  composed  almost  entirely  of  white  sand, 
and  the  vigorous  growth  supported  by  it  seems  at  first  unaccountable. 

The  composition  of  this  substance  is  shown  by  the  following  analysis  : 

Pulverulent  limestone  from  Wakulla  county. 


Insoluble  matter 

Silica  soluble  in  soda  carbonate 

Potash 

Soda 

Lime. 

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese 

Peroxido  of  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulplmric  acid 

Carbonic  acid 

Water  and  inorganic  matter 

Total 


35.  555 
3.  458  "■ 


39.  Oil 

0.372 
0.338 

30.  986 
0.424 
0.134 
0.534 
1.100 
0.014 
0.331 

24.253 
3.074 


100.667 


2d.  An  earthy,  very  slightly  fossiliferous,  much  disintegrated  limestone,  which  appears  to  form  always  the 
substratum  of  the  "  high  hummocks  "  of  the  interior.  This  rock  is  of  a  yellowish  to  white  color,  somewhat  granular, 
and  in  disintegrating  breaks  up  into  small,  rounded,  pebbly  masses.  Disseminated  through  the  soil,  it  imparts  to 
it  a  great  degree  of  fertility,  as  is  shown  by  its  heavy  growth  of  live  oak,  water  oak,  Spanish  oak,  and  other  hard 
•woods,  and  also  by  the  large  crops  produced  upon  the  laud  when  cleared  and  cultivated.  It  seems  probable  that 
this  variety  may  be  found  as  substratum  of  part  of  the  "  Gulf  hummocks  "  also. 

3d.  A  porous,  friable  mass,  made  up  almost  entirely  of  the  shells  of  Orbitoides  Mantelli,  O.floridana,  and  similar 
species,  with  here  and  there  shells  of  other  genera,  all  characteristic  of  the  Upper  Eocene  or  Vicksburg  stage  of 
the  Tertiary. 

4th.  A  light-colored,  tolerably  soft,  porous  rock,  which  has  been  quarried  for  building  purposes,  but  which,  on 
analysis,  proves  to  be  much  more  valuable  as  a  source  of  phosphoric  acid.  This  material  was  first  brought  into 
notice  by  Dr.  O.  A.  Simmons,  of  Hawthorne,  Florida,  who  forwarded  specimens  to  Dr.  George  W.  Hawes. 

An  analysis  (see  page  14),  carried  out  by  the  direction  of  Dr.  Hawes,  revealed  the  true  character  of  the  rock, 
which  contains  in  some  cases  as  much  as  1G  per  cent,  of  phosphoric  acid. 


a  "  Later  Tertiary  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico",  by  Eugene  W.  Hilgard,  America-it  Journal  of  Science,  III,  vol.  xxii,  p.  64. 
13   C   P — VOL.   II 


193 


14  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

Phosphatic  rock,  Hawthorne,  Alachua  county. 


Silica 

Alumina 

Ferric  oxide 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Phosphoric  acid  . 
Water 


40.83 

10.61 

1.04 

2.75 

0.27 

10.02 

14.28 

Total I    101.40    I 


The  mean  of  two  other  analyses  of  specimens  from  the  same  locality  is  given  below  in  the  table  of  analyses. 

As  yet,  the  amount  of  this  material  available  is  not  known,  but  specimens  have  been  received  from  localities  a 
mile  apart. 

This  variety  of  the  rock  and  the  two  preceding,  when  freshly  quarried,  are  quite  soft  and  easily  cut  with  a 
saw,  and  on  this  account  thejT  are  almost  universally  used  where  they  occur  (in  Mississippi,  Alabama,  and  Florida)  in 
the  construction  of  chimneys.  Fortius  purpose  the  rock  is  cut  into  blocks  of  suitable  size,  which  harden  upon 
exposure  to  the  atmosphere,  and  where  somewhat  protected  the  chimneys  thus  made  are  durable.  Objection  to  it 
as  building  material  is  its  porosity,  for  it  absorbs  water  readily,  and  this  in  freezing  causes  the  stone  to  crumble. 
^Notwithstanding  this  objection,  the  oldest  chimneys  throughout  the  region  of  this  limestone  are  constructed  of  it, 
and  they  show,  as  a  general  thing,  no  greater  evidences  of  decay  than  do  the  brick  chimneys. 

5th.  A  highly  fossiliferous  variety,  composed  chiefly  of  shells  of  Orbitoides,  is  often  quite  hard,  and  produces 
very  little  effect  upon  the  soil,  for  it  often  outcrops  through  the  most  barren  sands  of  the  pine  woods. 

0th.  Another  hard,  compact  variety  has  very  few  fossils,  and  is  impregnated  with  silica,  which  often  takes  the 
form  of  nodules  of  Hint  or  hornstone.  Major  Whiting,  above  quoted,  speaks  of  bowlders  of  silica  occurring  in  the 
limestone  from  which  the  Indians  manufactured  their  Hints;  and  Professor  Bailey  found  between  Gainesville  and 
Palatka  nodules  of  flint,  from  which  he  prepared  thin  sections  for  the  microscope,  and  in  these  he  discovered  many 
forms  of  infusoria.     The  flint  is  quite  prevalent  also  along  the  Gulf  coast  below  the  mouth  of  Suwannee  river. 

7th.  Lastly,  Colonel  Williams  notes  the  occurrence  of  crystalline  limestone  in  Hamilton  county,  near  the 
Suwannee  river,  and  on  the  Econflna,  in  Washington  county. 

The  stratified  drift  and  loam. — These  two  formations,  while  quite  distinct  in  portions  of  Mississippi,  where 
they  were  first  accurately  described,  are  in  Florida  so  closely  associated  as  to  justify  their  treatment  together. 
The  thickness  of  these  beds  is  quite  variable  (from  a  few  feet  up  to  at  least  100),  and,  as  they  have  been  deposited 
upon  an  eroded  surface  of  the  underlying  limestone,  great  variations  in  the  thickness  may  be  noticed  in 
comparatively  limited  areas.  The  most  abundant  material  of  the  drift  is  a  siliceous  sand,  often  colored  by  hydrated 
ferric  oxide.  The  depth  of  color  decreases,  as  a  rule,  southward,  and  on  the  peninsula  proper  white  or  very 
light-colored  sands  greatly  predominate.  In  the  upper  counties,  adjoining  Alabama  and  Georgia,  various  shades 
of  yellow  and  red  are  characteristic. 

Next  in  importance  are  beds  of  rounded,  water-worn  pebbles  of  quartz,  rarely  as  large  as  a  walnut,  and 
usually  much  smaller.  These  pebbles  are  more  numerous  and  larger  northward  and  along  the  lines  of  certain 
water-courses,  such  as  the  Apalaehicola.  Upon  the  peninsula  they  have  been  observed  only  in  a  few  instances,  and 
then  are  small  in  size  (uo  larger  than  peas)  and  comparatively  few  in  number.  Beds  of  clay  are  of  local  occurrence, 
and  are  not  abundant. 

The  upper  beds  of  the,  stratified  drift  arc  frequently  seen  to  grade  off  almost  imperceptibly  into  a  reddish  or 
yellowish  clay  loam,  having  often  a  thickness  of  15  to  120  feet,  and  showing  no  traces  of  stratification  or  of  fossils. 
This  loam  forms  the  subsoils  and  frequently  the  soils  of  the  oak  uplands,  and  is  confined  to  the  northern  part 
of  the  state,  thinning  out  and  disappearing  within  10  or  15  miles  of  Ac.  coast.  The  principal  occurrence  of  the 
loam  is  in  the  contiguous  parts  of  middle  and  western  Florida,  on  both  sides  of  the  Apalaehicola  river. 

While  a  distinguishing  feature  of  the  loam  is  the  absence  of  all  traces  of  stratification,  the  drift  is  equally 
characterized  by  the  great  irregularity  of  its  lines  of  stratification.  Barely  can  the  same  stratum  be  traced 
continuously  for  any  great  distance,  and  the  materials  change  greatly  within  comparatively  limited  areas. 

Topography  as  influenced  by  the  quality  and  thickness  of  the  superficial  beds  overlying  the  limestone. — The  several 
materials  of  the  drift  and  loam  offer  varying  degrees  of  resistance  to  denudation.  When  clays  and  loams 
predominate,  rain-water  penetrates  very  slightly,  being  mostly  shed  from  the  surface,  and,  collecting  into  rills, 
rivulets,  and  torrents,  it  produces  that  endless  variety  of  topography  characteristic  of  clayey  lands  everywhere. 
For  this  reason  the  oak-upland  region  of  Florida  shows  a  greater  variety  of  scenery  than  the  rest  of  the  state. 
On  the.  other  hand,  where,  sands  predominate,  as,  for  instance,  southward  upon  the  peninsula,  the  rains  are  quickly 
absorbed  aud  dispersed  below  the  surface,  thus  producing  very  little  erosion,  and  causing  the  formation  of  those 
gentle  undulations  which  characterize  the  sandy  lands. 

Throughout  Florida  the  underlying  limestone  has  been  dissolved  away  in  the  most  irregular  manner  by  the 
atmospheric  agencies,  and  is  everywhere  traversed  by  caverns,  the  outcropping  rock  presenting  the  most  fantastic 

194 


GENERAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  STATE  15 

shapes.  The  sinking  in  of  the  roofs  of  such  caverns  causes  depressions  of  greater  or  less  extent,  which  assume  a 
character  dependent  in  great  measure  upon  the  nature  and  thickness  of  the  superficial  beds;  for  where  these  are 
of  considerable  thickness,  and  are  comparatively  impervious,  as  is  the  case  with  the  clays  and  loams  of  the 
oak-upland  region,  water  collects  in  the  depressions,  forming  the  lakes  which  are  so  numerous  in  the  uplands. 
Occasionally,  but  not  very  often  in  this  part  of  the  state,  these  sinks  are  drained  by  underground  channels. 

In  some  parts  of  the  peninsula,  where  the  surface-beds  are  mostly  sandy  but  of  great  thickness,  lakes,  ponds, 
and  swamps,  caused  by  the  water  collecting  and  standing  in  the  depressions,  are  as  numerous  and  as  characteristic 
as  in  the  upland  region,  and  this  is  notably  the  case  along  the  watershed  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Gulf;  but, 
as  a  rule,  in  the  lower  part  of  the  state  the  surface-beds  are  both  sandy  and  of  no  great  thickness,  and  the  rain-water 
soon  soaks  through  them  to  the  underlying  limestone.  Where  this  is  cavernous,  as  is  usually  the  case  upon  the 
higher  lands,  the  water  passes  by  an  underground  channel  to  the  larger  streams  or  to  the  sea;  or,  after  a 
subterranean  course  of  greater  or  less  length,  it  reappears  at  the  surface  as  a  "boiling  spring"  or  a  "blue  spring", 
flowing  thence  by  a  short  open  "run"  to  the  nearest  large  water-course  or  to  the  sea.  A  large  proportion  of  the 
tributaries  of  the  Saint  John's,  the  Ocklawaha,  the  Suwannee,  and  other  rivers  are  fed  by  such  springs.  An 
inspection  of  the  map,  especially  along  the  Gulf  coast,  will  show  a  great  number  of  "rivers"  which  are  merely  the 
runs  from  limestone  springs. 

Where  the  limestone  is  more  compact,  or  where  the  subterranean  channels  in  the  rock  are  from  any  cause 
obstructed,  the  water  collects  in  the  depressions,  forming  ponds  and  lakes  as  before.  This  is  especially  the  case  in 
those  low-lying  and  flat  lands  which  have  not  sufficient  natural  slope  to  secure  proper  drainage  by  means  of  streams. 
Large  areas  in  many  parts  of  Florida  are  nearly  destitute  of  running  water,  in  place  of  which  are  ponds  and  lakes. 

The  water  of  some  of  the  limestone  springs  above  mentioned  is  impregnated  with  sulphureted  hydrogen, 
which  is  very  evident  to  the  taste,  as  well  as  perceptible  by  the  sense  of  smell  upon  approaching.  From  accounts 
of  various  travelers,  these  sulphur  springs  are  quite  generally  distributed  throughout  the  state. 

By  reason  of  the  great  thickness  of  the  surface-beds  in  the  oak-upland  region,  and  also  along  the  water-shed 
of  the  peninsula,  the  underlying  limestone  seldom  appears  at  the  surface,  and  exerts,  in  consequence,  comparatively 
little  influence  upon  either  soils  or  topography,  except  in  the  formation  of  the  lakes.  Southward,  however,  in 
many  parts  of  the  peninsula,  from  its  proximity  to  the  surface,  the  limestone,  in  its  reaction  upon  the  overlying 
sandy  soils,  is  directly  concerned  in  the  formation  of  the  "high  hummocks",  "prairies,"  and  other  agricultural 
features. 

AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 

The  agricultural  relations  of  Florida  may  conveniently  be  considered  under  the  following  general  subdivisions 
or  regions : 
I.— Oak,  Hickory,  and  Pine  Upland  Region,  subdivided  into — 

1.  The  red  lime-lands. 

2.  The  brown  loam  uplands,  with  oak,  hickory,  and  short-leaf  pine. 

3.  The  long-leaf  pine  ridge  lands.  J 
II. — Long-leap  Pine  Region,  with  its  subdivisions: 

f  First  class. 
(a.  Rolling  pine  lands.       <  Second  class. 

1.  Pine  lands.  J  t. Third  class. 

U-  Pine  flats  (Flatwoods).  \  Second  class. 
(  Third  class. 
[a.  High  hummocks. 

2.  Hummock  Lands.  <  6.  Low    hummocks. 

yc.  Gulf   hummocks. 
HI. — Pitch  pine,  Treeless,  and  Alluvial  Region. 
1.  Flatwoods  (with  pitch  pine). 
*      2.  Swamp  lands. 

3.  Prairies  and  savannas. 

4.  Everglades. 

DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  AGRICULTURAL  REGIONS. 
I. — The  Oak,  Hickory,  and  Pine  Upland  Region. 

General  features  and  subdivisions. — The  uplands  have  a  substratum  of  clay,  or  rather  of  clay  loam,  commencing 
usually  about  20  miles  from  the  coast  and  rising  gradually  toward  the  Georgia  and  Alabama  lines.  Throughout 
the  uplands  the  red  and  yellow  colors  of  the  clayey  subsoil  are  characteristic,  the  soil  varying  from  a  brown  or 
chocolate-colored  loam  to  a  pale  yellow  and  gray,  the  latter  more  or  less  sandy. 

Strictly  speaking,  the  upland  region,  with  clayey  subsoils,  would  comprise  most  of  the  northern  tier  of  counties 
of  middle  and  western  Florida  from  Columbia  county  to  the  Perdido  river;  but  east  of  Madison  county  and  west 
of  Jackson  the  distinctive  features  of  the  uplands  are  lost,  being  merged  into  those  of  the  pine  lauds.  For  this 
reason  the  uplands  on  the  map  are  restricted  to  an  area  averaging  25  miles  in  width  from  the  Georgia  and  Alabama 
lines,  and  extending  from  the  central  part  of  Madison  county,  on  the  east,  to  central  Jackson,  on  the  west.  The 
area  thus  included,  together  with  several  small  upland  tracts  in  Calhoun  and  Washington  counties,  is  about  2,300 
square  miles.  195 


16  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

It  is  to  be  understood  that,  while  the  clayey  subsoils  aud  other  features  of  the  uplands  are  not  wholly  wanting 
beyond  these  limits,  they  are  of  local  occurrence,  and  cease  to  be  characteristic.  There  are  three  principal  soil 
varieties,  which,  with  their  intermixtures,  represent  the  agricultural  character  of  this  subdivision.     These  are : 

1.  The  red  lime-lands.  •  . 

2.  The  brown  loam  lands,  with  oak  aud  hickory  and  short-leaf  pine. 

3.  The  long-leaf  pine  ridge  lands. 

Relative  position  and  origin  of  these  varieties.— The  facts  concerning  the  distribution  of  these  soil  varieties, 
together  with  the  obvious  inference  regarding  their  formation,  are  briefly  these : 

Within  the  area  of  the  uplands  the  red  lime-lands  have  been  observed  only  at  the  lowest  levels,  the  upland 
pine  woods  occupying  the  high  table-lands  and  the  dividing  ridges,  while  the  oak  and  hickory  or  brown  loam  uplands 
are  found  intermediate  between  the  two.  The  topography  varies  similarly,  the  red  lands  being  gently  undulating 
or  nearly  level,  the  pine  lauds  the  same,  while  the.  oak  uplands,  with  their  hills  and  valleys,  present  a  variety  in 
scenery  exceptional  in  Florida.  The  soils  vary  from  the  sandy  soil  of  the  pine  lands  through  the  sandy  loam  of  the 
oak  uplands  to  the  loamy  calcareous  clays  of  t  he  red  lands.  From  these  circumstances  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  pine 
uplands  and  table  lands  have  suffered  least  from  erosion.  The  sandiness  of  their  surface  soils  is  probably  due  to  the 
fact  that,  through  the  scarcity  of  lime,  the  rains  which  for  ages  have  fallen  upon  these  areas  have  gradually  caused  the 
the  finer  clayey  portions  of  the  soil  to  sink  deep  below  the  surface,  or  floated  them  off,  leaving  the  sandier  material. 
Upon  the  slopes,  or  wherever  the  erosive  power  of  water  has  been  active,  this  tendency  of  the  soil  to  become 
more  sandy  is  counteracted  by  the  continual  removal  of  the  sandy  surface  and  exposure  of  the  underlying  clayey 
loam.  The  topography  determined  thus  by  erosion  becomes  more  varied  in  such  localities.  And  lastly,  along  the 
margin  aud  in  the  vicinity  of  the  water-courses  comparatively  level  land  is  again  reached.  The  drainage  having 
cut  down  into  the  calcareous  rocks  which  form  the  substratum  of  the  entire  state,  the  presence  of  lime  in  the  soil, 
by  rendering  the  clay  flocculent,  prevents  it  being  carried  down  by  rains,  and  keeps  it  at  the  surface,  where  its  influence 
is  seen  and  felt. 

Areas. — The  estimated  area  of  the  red  lime-lands  is  150  square  miles,  that  of  the  brown  loam  uplands  1,190 
square  miles,  and  that  of  the  pine  ridge  lands  900  square  miles.  This  estimate  includes  also  the  occurrences  of  the 
soils  in  question  outside  of  the  limits  of  the  uplands,  as  shown  on  the  map:  e.  g.,  in  Walton,  Washington,  Calhoun, 
and  Liberty  counties. 

1. — Red  lime-lands. 

It  is  only  in  Jackson  county  that  lauds  of  this  character  have  been  observed  in  large  bodies.  They  characterize 
the  country  from  Campbellton,  or,  rather,  from  Big  creek,  in  Geneva  county,  Alabama,  to  Marianna,  and  thence 
eastward  as  far  as  the  Big  spring,  0  miles  from  Marianna,  and  northeastward  in  the  direction  of  Greenwood, 
nearly  to  the  Chattahoochee  river;  an  area  of  from  0  to  10  miles  wide,  east  and  west,  by  18  to  25  long,  north  and 
south,  and  estimated  at  about  150  square  miles.  This  area  occupies  the  valleys  formed  by  the  Chipola  river  and  its 
tributaries  from  the  latitude  of  Marianna  northward.  A  small  area  of  similar  soil  occurs  in  the  Euchee  valley,  in 
Walton  county,  aud  near  the  headwaters  of  Alaqua  creek,  in  the  same  county.  Near  Vernon,  in  Washington 
county,  the  soil,  though  limy,  is  not  so  characteristically  red.  In  all  these  spots  white  limestone  of  Vicksburg  age 
lies  near  the  surface  (1  to  8  feet),  but  often  outcrops,  and  to  this  admixture  of  lime  is  probably  due  most  of  the 
exceptional  fertility  of  the  soil. 

The  face  of  the  country  is  tolerably  level  or  gently  undulating,  with  no  considerable  inequalities,  and  is  not  much 
elevated  above  the  water-courses.  The  lands  are  generally  cleared  and  in  cultivation,  and  the  farms  were  once  large 
and  flourishing,  as  is  indicated  by  the  white  frame  houses  and  tastefully  laid-out  yards,  which  in  a  few  instances 
are  still  kept  up,  but  since  tile  war  have  mostly  been  allowed  to  fall  into  decay.  The  greater  part  of  the  population 
consists  of  negroes,  as  is  the  case  also  in  the  adjoining  states  wherever  rich  farming  lauds  occur.  The  soil  varies 
from  a  heavy  red  clayey  loam  to  a  grayish  sandy  loam  where  it  borders  the  pine  lands,  and  a,  brown  sandy  loam 
adjoining  the  oak  uplands.  The  subsoil  is  a  red  clay,  sometimes  bluish,  and  this  is  underlaid  at  a  depth  of  1  to  8 
feet  by  the  calcareous  rocks  above  mentioned. 

The  white  limestone  which  is  found  through  all  this  area  varies  in  character  from  a  soft,  white,  friable  rock, 
made  up  almost  entirely  of  shells,  such  as  Orbitoides  ManteUi,  Nummulites  floridana,  through  a  white  chalky 
substance,  apparently  devoid  of  fossils,  (a)  to  a  hard  ckerty  limestone  with  flinty  concretions.  Although  this  rock 
in  its  several  varieties  is  found  iu  nearly  all  parts  of  Florida,  often  very  near  the  surface,  and  sometimes  even 
outcropping  over  considerable  areas,  yet  this  particular  kind  of  red  soil  occurs  only  in  the  northern  and  western 
parts  of  the  state.  This  circumstance  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  the  soil,  which  is  here  marled  by  the  underlying 
limestone,  is  itself  a  tolerably  fertile  loam.  In  other  localities  east  aud  south  where  the  limestone  approaches  the 
surface  the  soil  is  more  sandy,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  differences  observed  in  the  characters  of  the  hummocks 
of  the  peninsula  and  the  red  lime-lands  of  this  part  of  the  state  (both  of  which  owe  their  existence  to  the  influence 
of  the  limestone)  may  be  traced  to  differences  originally  existing  in  the  soils  themselves.  Similar  red  soils  have 
been  observed  in  parts  of  Alabama  and  Mississippi. 

a  Occasionally  this  rock  is  iu  eomposition  nearer  a  sandstone,  having  only  2  to  3  per  cent,  of  lime. 
196 


GENERAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  STATE. 


17 


The  prevailing  growth  upon  these  red  lime-lands  consists  of  several  species  of  oaks,  such  as  red,  post,  Spanish, 
and  black  oaks,  some  hickory  and  short-leaf  pine  upon  the  uplands,  and  -willow  and  water  oaks,  spruce  pine 
(P.  glabra),  beech,  sweet  gum,  poplar  (liriodendron),  etc.,  in  the  bottoms.  The  typical  red  soil  belongs  rather  to  the 
lowlands  than  to  the  uplands. 

With  changes  in  the  quality  of  the  soil  are  associated  changes  in  the  timber;  for  with  increasing  sandiness  the 
long-leaf  pine  associates  itself  with  the  trees  above  named,  and  such  trees  as  the  beech,  the  poplar,  the  willow,  and 
water  oaks  disappear. 

The  composition  of  soils  of  this  character  is  fairly  shown  by  the  following  analysis  of  a  soil  taken  from  the 
lowlands  bordering  on  Spring  creek  near  Oampbellton.  The  yield  in  seed-cotton  of  the  fresh  land  is  estimated  to 
average  about  1,500  pounds  per  acre: 

No.  1.  Bed  loam  soil  from  lowlands  of  Spring  creek. — Growth,  hickory,  sweet  gum,  post,  red,  and  Spanish  oaks, 
with  short-leaf  pine;  color,  reddish  brown.     The  sample  was  taken  to  the  depth  of  10  inches. 


Bed  loam  soil  (lime 

lands),  Jackson  county. 

No.  1. 

84.  240  ) 

>  87.  400 
3.  250  i 

0.072 

0.019 

0.266 

0.105 

0.077 

1.456 

6.885 

0.222 

0.033 

4.053 

100.  678 

4.291 

21  C.» 

This  analysis  shows  a  deficiency  of  potash,  but  the  soil  is  nevertheless  thrifty,  because  of  the  lime,  which  is 
present  in  considerable  quantity,  and  an  adequate  supply  of  phosphoric  acid.  The  red  soils  of  Murder  creek,  near 
Evergreen,  Alabama,  are  of  a  similar  nature. 

2. — Brown  loam  lands,  with  oak,  hickory,  and  short-leaf  pine. 

The  rolling  and  sometimes  hilly  country  included  under  this  head  is  in  general  aspect  and  in  timber  entirely 
similar  to  the  corresponding  areas  in  Georgia  and  Alabama.  The  elevation  of  these  uplands  varies  between  75  and 
200  feet  above  the  main  water-courses,  the  latter  figure  being  probably  much  nearer  the  average.  Geologically 
considered,  they  are  formed  by  beds  of  varying  thickness  of  stratified  drift  or  orange  sand  (sometimes  75  to  100 
feet),  with  a  capping  of  red  or  yellow  loam  5  to  20  feet  thick,  both  overlying  limestone  of  the  Vicksburg  age.  (a) 
A  characteristic  of  most  of  the  better  class  of  these  upland  soils  is  the  deep  red  or  orange  color  of  the  subsoil,  due 
to  the  presence  of  hydrated  ferric  oxide.  The  subsoils  in  composition  vary  from  tolerably  stiff  loamy  clays  to  rather 
sandy  loams,  and  the  sandiness  generally  increases  southward. 

The  largest  continuous  body  of  the  oak  and  hickory  uplands  with  clay -loam  subsoils  is  found  along  the  Georgia 
line  in  middle  Florida,  and  includes  Gadsden,  northern  Leon,  northern  Jefferson,  and  northwestern  Madison  counties, 
and  in  western  Florida,  including  the  northeastern  part  of  Jackson  county.  These  are  the  limits  marked  off  on  the 
map,  in  addition  to  which  are  small  tracts  in  the  other  counties  named  below,  and  the  area  included  is  about  1,190 
square  miles.  Beyond  these  limits  small  bodies  of  this'kind  of  land,  interspersed  with  predominating  pine  lands, 
and  therefore  represented  as  pine  lands  on  the  map,  occur  in  eastern  Florida,  in  parts  of  Hamilton,  northern 
Suwannee,  and  northern  Columbia;  in  western  Florida  in  parts  of  Jackson,  Washington,  Holmes,  Walton,  and 
Santa  Rosa;  and  on  the  peninsula  in  Hernando  and  Hillsborough  counties.  It  is  impossible,  in  the  present  state 
of  our  knowledge,  to  give  a  trustworthy  estimate  of  the  area  thus  represented.  These  areas  are  more  conveniently 
considered  separately. 

Western  Florida. — The  oak  uplands  in  this  part  of  the  state  are  not  seen  in  any  considerable  bodies  west  of 
Jackson  county,  though  small  areas  occur  iu  Washington  and  Walton  counties,  as  mentioned  below.  In  Jackson 
county  they  divide  the  area  rather  unequally  (as  may  be  seen  in  the  heading)  with  the  red  lime-lands  above 

a  Occasionally  the  term  "hummock"  is  applied  to  all  classes  of  land  (including  these  uplands)  which  support  a  growth  of  hard  woods. 
In  this  report  the  word  hummock  is  used  with  the  restriction  given  below  under  the  appropriate  heading. 


18  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

mentioned  and  the  pine  woods  to  be  described  below.  The  soil  here  is  a  sandy  loam  of  a  gray  to  brown  color,  resting 
upon  a  subsoil  of  stiff  red  loam,  passing  downward  into  red  and  orange-colored  sands,  intermixed  occasionally  with 
pebbles.  The  pebbles  are  found  on  both  sides  of  the  Chattahoochee  and  Apalachicola  rivers  for  15  or  20  miles,  and 
mark  with  some  precision  the  ancient  bed  occupied  by  the  river  during  the  period  following  the  deposition  of  the 
drift,  at  which  time  it  seems  to  have  been  one  of  the  main  water-courses  leading  to  the  Gulf. 

In  the  eastern  part  of  Washington  county,  and  embracing  part  of  northwestern  Calhoun,  a  number  of  hills, 
including  Orange  and  Hickory  hills,  possess  a  soil  of  this  character. 

In  Walton  county  the  Alaqua  country  is  apparently  of  similar  nature.  Euchee  valley,  like  some  other  good 
farming  land  southeast  of  Euchee  Anna,  appears  from  accounts  to  have  a  red  clayey  subsoil,  and  belongs  rather  to 
the  preceding  division  of  red  lime-lauds.  The  rest  of  western  Florida  is  pine  woods,  in  part  pine  uplands  and  in 
part  rather  low  pine  barrens. 

Middle  Florida.— In  this  area,  as  above  defined,  the  oak  uplands  form  from  one-fifth  to  three-fourths  of  the 
tillable  laud.  The  country  is  broken  and  hilly,  and  the  bright  red  or  yellow  color  of  the  subsoil  is  sufficiently 
characteristic.  The  soil  is  usually  a  reddish  brown  to  gray  loam,  becoming  in  places  very  sandy.  The  depth  of 
soil  to  a  change  of  tint  istfrom  2  to  G  inches.  As  the  lands  lie  generally  very  favorably  with  respect  to  drainage 
and  the  like,  they  are  usually  deemed  the  best  farming  areas  of  the  state.  The  timber  comprises  the  usual  varieties 
of  upland  oaks,  such  as  post,  red,  and  Spanish,  with  black-jack  on  the  poorer  spots  and  hickory,  short-leaf  pine,  with 
sweet  gum,  along  the  slopes  and  in  the  valleys.  Most  of  the  trees  are  draped  with  long  moss  ( Tillandsia  usneoides,  L.). 
As  this  class  of  soil  grades  into  the  sandier  varieties,  so  the  short-leaf  pine  and  upland  oaks  are  gradually  replaced 
by  long-leaf  piue  and  black-jack,  there  being  all  gradations  between  the  pure  oak  and  hickory  uplands  and  the 
genuine  pine  woods. 

Eastern  Florida  and  the  Peninsula. — In  eastern  Hamilton,  Suwannee,  and  Columbia  counties  there  are  small 
areas  of  these  uplands,  but  it  is  impossible  to  locate  them  definitely.  Long-leaf  pine  is  the  prevailing  growth  over 
the  greater  part  of  these  counties,  and  they  are  therefore  best  considered  in  connection  with  the  pine  ridge  lands  of 
this  division  or  the  long-leaf  pine  region  below.  In  Hernando,  and  perhaps  in  Hillsborough  county  also,  the  high 
rolling  lands,  with  reddish  or  yellowish  loam  subsoil,  are  probably  of  this  character;  but  my  information  on  this 
point  is  not  definite.  These  soils  are  usually  well  drained  and  easily  tilled  in  all  seasons,  and  are  about  equally  well 
adapted  to  all  the  southern  crops,  such  as  cotton,  corn,  oats,  sugar-cane,  and  sweet  potatoes,  being  perhaps  more 
particularly  suited  to  the  upland  cotton,  which  is  cultivated  upon  from  50  to  00  per  cent,  of  all  the  cleared  laud  of 
this  character.  The  yield  in  seed-cotton  of  the  average  upland  loam  soils  is  usually  estimated  at  about  1,000 
pounds  on  the  fresh  land.  As  representing  the  composition  of  a  characteristic  soil  of  this  class  the  following 
analysis  may  be  taken  : 

No.  2.  Upland  broion  loam  soil,  from  6  miles  northeast  of  Tallahassee,  Leon  county. — Depth,  9  inches;  vegetation, 
post,  red,  and  Spanish  oaks,  short- leaf  pine,  hickory,  and  sweet  gum;  color  of  the  soil,  brown. 


Broicn-loam  upland  soil 

Leon  count;/. 

No.  2. 

86.  460  1 

!  89. 100 
2.  040  > 

0.065 

0.013 

0.243 

0.023 

0.024 

1.491 

3.  977 

0.323 

0.011 

3.982 

Lime 

99.252 

4. 159 
21.1  C.° 

This  soil,  like  the  preceding  red-lime  soil,  is  deficient  in  potash,  though  otherwise  a  fair  soil,  the  high 
percentages  of  lime  and  phosphoric  acid  iu  both  rendering  them  thrifty. 

Throughout  the  region  of  the  oak  uplands  two  well-defined  classes  of  low  hummocks  are  recognized,  and  named, 
according  to  the  prevailing  material,  sand  hummocks  aud  clay  hummocks.  These  are  usually  associated  closely 
with  some  water-course,  and  are,  especially  iu  the  case  of  the  sand  hummocks,  due  to  washings  from  the  uplands. 
These  will  be  mentioned  more  in  detail  under  Gadsden  county. 

1118 


GENERAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  STATE. 


19 


3. — Long-leaf  pine  ridge  lands. 

In  this  subdivision  are  included  all  those  high  pine  lands  which  usually  skirt  the  oak  uplands,  or  which  rather 
occupy  the  ridges  separating  the  oak  upland  areas  from  each  other.  A  classiiication  of  these  lauds  into  first,  second, 
and  third  quality  is  in  common  use  among  the  farmers.  The  soils  are  sandy  loams,  mixed  with  more  or  less  of 
vegetable  matter;  the  subsoils  saudy,  but  underlaid  by  yellow  or  red  clay  loam,  at  depths  varying  from  two  or 
three  to  several  feet.  The  largest  continuous  area  of  this  kind  is  associated  with  the  oak  and  hickory  uplands 
above  mentioned  in  Gadsden,  Leon,  Jefferson,  and  western  Madison  counties,  in  middle  Florida,  and  in  Jackson, 
northern  Calhoun,  Washington,  and  Walton  counties,  west  of  the  Apalachicola. 

Iu  eastern  Florida  and  in  other  parts  of  western  Florida  most  of  the  pine  lands  are  to  be  classed  rather  with 
the  long-leaf  pine  region,  as  below  defined. 

As  stated  above,  the  oak  uplands  and  pine  ridges  are  estimated  as  dividing  about  equally  (900  square  miles 
of  pine  ridge  lands,  1,190  oak  uplands)  the  whole  upland  region.  The  surface  configuration  of  this  class  of  land 
is  varied.  Iu  Gadsden  county  there  is  a  large  body  of  high,  level  table-land,  with  small  inequalities  of  surface, 
except  where  it  breaks  off  toward  the  water-courses.  This  table-land  soil  would  probably  be  rated  as  second  class, 
and  while  too  unproductive  for  ordinary  crops  without  mauures,  it  has  lately  beeu  coining  steadily  into  favor,  as 
it  has  been  found  that  with  the  moderate  use  of  commercial  fertilizers  it  produces  quite  well,  is  easily  tilled,  and 
is  very  safe. 

Through  Holmes,  Calhoun,  northern  Washington  and  Walton,  Santa  Rosa,  and  Escambia  counties  the  pine 
lauds  are  high  and  rolling,  and  mostly  of  second  and  third  quality,  with  smaller  bodies  of  first-class  land.  It  is 
more  convenient  to  treat  these  iu  connection  with  the  long-leaf  pine  region,  though  they  partly  belong  here.  In 
these  counties,  as  also  in  Jackson,  the  third-class  lauds  have  usually  a  scrubby  growth  of  piue  and  high-ground 
willow  oak  (Q.  cinerea),  turkey  oak  (Q.  caiesbwi),  and  shrub  oak  (Q.pumila).  To  these  are  added,  with  gradual 
improvement  of  the  soil,  black-jack,  post,  and  other  species  of  oak,  with  short-leaf  pine,  forming  a  gradual  transition 
into  the  oak  uplands.  On  the  other  hand,  the  pine  ridge  lands  grade  off  imperceptibly  into  the  low  pine  barrens,, 
with  cypress  swamps  and  undergrowth  of  saw  palmetto. 

The  distinction  here  mude  between  the  upland  and  the  low  pine  lands  is  based  upon  the  existence  in  the  first 
case  of  underlying  beds  of  red  and  yellow  saudy  and  clayey  loams  and  their  absence  in  the  latter  case,  rather 
than  on  any  marked  difference  in  the  general  character  of  the  land  and  the  vegetation;  for  whether  upland  or 
lowland  the  same  characters  of  surface  soil  will  be  productive  of  about  the  same  class  of  pine  woods.  The  pine 
uplands  or  ridge  lands  vary  greatly  in  their  productiveness.  The  third-class  lands  do  not  pay  for  cultivation; 
the  second  class  are  scarcely  cultivated  without  manure;  but  the  average  yield  of  the  first-class  lands  may  be  put 
at  500  pounds,  though  in  many  cases  the  yield  is  given  at  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  the  acre.  Sea-island 
cotton  succeeds  well  on  this  soil.  The  table-lands  of  Gadsden  county  may  be  considered  as  fairly  representative  of 
the  second-class  pine  lands,  and,  while  they  are  scarcely  ever  cultivated  (iu  cotton)  without  the  use  of  fertilizers,  with 
fertilizers  very  fair  returns  are  always  reached.     The  following  analysis  shows  the  character  of  this  kind  of  soil : 

No.  8.  Table-land  noil,  Mount  Pleasant,  Gadsden  county  (S.  5,  T.  3,  B.  5  W.). — The  color  remains  without  change 
to  a  depth  of  G  inches,  below  which  it  passes  into  that  of  the  subsoil,  which  is  a  yellowish  sand,  with  a  slight 
intermixture  of  yellowish  clay.  The  clayeyness  increases  downward,  and  at  a  depth  of  2  to  0  feet  it  becomes  a 
hard  yellow  clay,  with  browuish,  sometimes  black  (iron)  pebbles  in  places.  Depth  at  which  sample  was  taken,  9 
inches ;  natural  growth,  long-leaf  pine,  round  and  narrow  leaf  black-jack,  red  and  post  oaks,  some  hickory,  with 
undergrowth  of  oak  runners,  low  bush  whortleberries,  devil's  shoestring  (Tephrosia  Virginia),  wild  oats,  vanilla, 
and  other  weeds,  and  wire-grass. 

Pine  upland  soil,  table-land,  Gadsden  county. 


No.  8. 

93.  361!  i 

[  95.  083 
1.721 1 

0.045 

0.018 

0.064 

0.005 

0.  220 

0.941 

1.339 

0.066 

0.091 

2.422 

Potash 

Soda 

Watc-r  and  organic  matter 

100.  294 

1.830 
21.10.° 

199 


20  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

As  will  bo  seen,  this  is  essentially  a  poor  soil,  being  notably  deficient  not  only  in  potash,  but  also  in  lime, 
phosphoric  acid,  and  magnesia,  its  lack  of  retentiveness  of  moisture  is  also  to  be  remarked.  The  under  subsoil 
of  clay  loam,  however,  causes  it  to  retain  and  profit  by  all  the  artificial  fertilizers  which  may  be  applied,  and 
hence,  with  small  outlay  for  these  aids,  fair  crops  may  always  be  expected.  The  sea-island  variety  of  cotton 
grows  well  upon  this  soil,  which  seems,  moreover,  to  be  specially  suited  to  grape  culture. 

II. — Long-leap  Pine  Region. 

General  features  and  classification. — In  the  most  general  terms  the  soil  varieties  occurring  within  the  limits  of 
the  long-leaf  pine  region  may  be  grouped  under  the  three  heads  of  pine  lands,  hummocks,  and  swamps. 

In  those  parts  of  Florida  where  the  long-leaf  pine  forms  the  principal  timber  there  are  three  kiuds  of  pine 
lands,  which,  in  their  extremes,  may  easily  be  recognized.  These  are  the  long-leaf  pine  uplands  or  ridge  lands, 
the  rolling  pine  lauds,  and  the  pine  flats  or  "flatwoods".  The  first  of  these  is  associated  with  the  oak  uplands 
above  mentioned,  occupying  usually  the  ridges  and  plateaus  intersecting  the  same.  The  sandy  top  soil  of  these 
elevated  places,  formed  in  the  manner  already  described,  is  underlaid  with  beds  of  red  and  yellow  clayey  sands 
and  loams  of  notable  thickness.     These  are  the  pine  uplands  which  have  already  been  described. 

In  the  second  and  third  kinds  of  pine  lands  the  subsoil  is  never  a  red  clay,  but  is  at  best  a  light-yellow  sandy 
loam,  grading  into  light-celored  sand  or  sandy  clay,  the  whole  resting  upon  the  Tertiary  limestone  of  the  state, 
which  can  be  found  at  varying  depths  below  the  surface. 

The  pine  lands  of  the  upper  counties  of  middle  Florida,  adjoining  the  Georgia  line,  and  of  the  eastern  counties 
of  western  Florida  belong  generally  to  the  first  kind,  as  they  are  more  or  less  closely  associated  with  the  oak  uplands, 
and  have  red  er  yellow  clayey  loam  subsoils.  Eastward  and  westward,  however,  from  these  uplands,  and  adjoining 
the  Georgia  and  Alabama  lines,  the  underlying  red  and  yellow  loams  either  thin  out  or  change  so  much  in  character 
as  to  give  to  the  pine  lands  of  these  sections  most  of  the  features  of  the  long-leaf  pine  region  proper,  which 
includes  the  rolling  pine  lands  and  the  pine  flats  of  the  above  division.  It  is  in  many  cases  a  mere  matter  of 
choice  or  of  convenience  to  which  of  these  divisions  a  particular  tract  of  pine  lands  shall  be  assigned,  and  they 
have  been  restricted  to  the  limits  above  given,  while  the  great  bulk  of  tkem  have,  for  convenience  of  treatment, 
been  reserved  for  description  under  the  present  heading. 

The  pine  lands  adjoining  the  Alabama  and  Georgia  lines  as  far  east  as  the  middle  of  Hamilton  county,  and 
occupying,  with  an  exception  presently  to  be  noted,  the  central  portion  of  the  peninsula  as  far  south  as  the  middle 
of  Polk  county,  are  gently  undulating  and  sufficiently  elevated  to  secure  good  drainage.  These  constitute  the 
rolling  pine  lands  of  this  division,  and  correspond  to  the  lime-sink  and  wire-grass  division  of  Georgia  and  Alabama. 

South  of  the  Okeefenokee  swamp,  in  Columbia,  Baker,  Bradford,  and  Ulay  counties,  and  skirting  the  rolling 
pine  lands  east,  south,  and  west  toward  the  coast,  are  level,  generally  badly-drained  bodies  of  poor  land,  known 
as  pine  flats,  or  flatwoods. 

The  area  first  mentioned,  that  south  of  Okeefenokee  swamp,  has  considerable  elevation  above  the  sea  (at  least  200 
feet) ;  the  other  pine  flats  are  seldom  more  than  40  feet  above  tide,  sloping  gradually  down  to  15  or  20  feet  elevation. 
jSTear  the  coast,  and  especially  south  of  latitude  27°,  the  Cuban  or  pitch  pine  (P.  Cubcnsis  Grisebach,  P.  EUiottii 
Engeltnann)  partly  or  wholly  replaces  the  long-leaf  species  (P.  australis). 

The  estimated  area  of  the  long-leaf  pine  region,  exclusive  of  the  pine  ridge  lauds  of  tlie  preceding  section, 
but  including  the  flatwoods  and  hummocks,  is  28,050  square  miles. 

The  rolling  pine  lands  are  of  all  three  qualities;  the  flatwoods  are  mostly  third-class  lands,  sometimes  second 
class,  but  never  first.  Throughout  the  long-leaf  pine  region  are  interspersed  subordinated  areas  of  hummock 
lands,  as  described  below. 

To  complete  the  enumeration  of  the  soil  varieties  occurring  in  the  long-leaf  pine  region  it  would  be  necessary 
to  include  swamp  lands  and  prairies;  but  as  these  are  more  conveniently  treated  in  the  next  division,  a  mere 
mention  of  them  will  suffice  here. 

Wherever  the  underlying  limestone  of  the  country  has  ouly  a  thin  coating  of  the  surface  materials  lime-sinks 
and  outcroppings  of  the  rock  itself  are  of  frequent  occurrence.  Around  the  borders  of  the  sinks  the  jagged  edges 
of  the  limestone  are  usually  exposed.  These  sinks  have  sometimes  an  underground  outlet,  by  which  waters  collecting 
in  them  are  drained  away,  and  as  the  soil-covering  is  usually  thin  they  are  often  destitute  of  timber,  but  are  covered 
with  a  dense  carpet  of  grasses,  constituting  prairies,  and,  when  somewhat  -wet,  savannas.  The  sinks  in  the 
limestone,  when  without  outlet,  are  soon  filled  with  water,  thus  forming  lakes  or  ponds,  according  to  size.  Payne's 
prairie,  formerly  also  called  the  Alachua  savanna,  is  at  the  present  time  a  lake,  the  change  from  prairie  to  lake 
having  been  caused  by  the  obstruction  of  the  underground  outlet. 

The  subterranean  streams,  as  above  stated,  often  come  to  light  in  big  springs,  which  are  usually  at  no  great 
distance  from  some  water-course  or  the  sea,  with  which  they  are  connected  by  a  short  open  run.  This  position  of 
the  springs  near  the  coast  or  near  water-courses  is  obviously  determined  by  the  greater  amount  of  eresion  in  such 
localities. 

200 


GENERAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  STATE. 


21 


1. — Pine  lands. 

a.  Rolling  pine  lands. — As  has  already  been  stated,  the  pine  lauds  belonging  to  this  division  are  rolling  or 
gently  undulating,  and  are  sufficiently  elevated  to  secure  good  drainage.  The  counties  and  parts  of  counties  included 
under  this  division  are  Escambia,  Santa  Rosa,  Walton,  Holmes,  Washington,  Jackson,  Calhoun,  Liberty,  Madison, 
Hamilton,  Suwannee,  Columbia,  Nassau,  Duval,  Clay,  Putnam,  Alachua,  Marion,  Hernando,  Hillsborough,  Sumter, 
Orange,  a*nd  Polk;  in  general  terms,  embracing  those  pine  lands  lying  adjacent  to  Alabama  and  Georgia  (except 
the  oak  uplands,  already  described,  and  the  flatweods  area  south  of  Okeefeuokee  swamp),  and  occupying  the  central 
part  of  the  peninsula  to  the  southern  limits  above  given.  The  whole  area  thus  included  may  be  put  at  15,1130 
square  miles.     The  map  shows  the  distribution. 

Irrespective  of  the  topographical  character  of  the  country  (whether  rolling  lands  or  flatwoods),  the  classification 
of  the  pine  lands  in  common  use  among  the  farmers  of  the  state,  and  for  that  reason  adopted  in  this  report,  is  into 
first,  second,  and  third  class. 

These  three  qualities  of  pine  land  appear  to  depend  in  great  measure  upon  the  admixture  of  varying  quantities 
of  loam  with  the  prevailing  sandy  soils.  Of  the  distribution  of  these  varieties  not  much  can  be  said  definitely.  In 
general,  however,  the  third-class  soils  form  the  surface  of  most  of  the  barren  ridges,  separating  more  fertile  areas. 

First-class  pine-land  soil. — This  is  a  dark-colored  sandy  loam,  usually  underlaid  with  a  stiff  loam,  approaching 
a  clay.  In  the  upland  region,  already  described,  the  underlying  loam  of  the  pine  lands  is  quite  stiff,  clayey,  and 
usually  of  a  tolerably  deep  red  color.  In  the  long-leaf  pine  region  proper  it  has  a  much  higher  percentage  of  sand, 
and  lacks  the  red  color  almost  entirely,  having  at  most  a  shade  of  yellow. 

The  surface  of  the  country  is  usually  gently  rolling,  and  has  considerable  elevation  above  sea-level.  The 
natural  growth  is  long-leaf  pine,  with  Spanish  and  red  oaks  and  hickories. 

The  soil  is  well  adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  sea-island  cotton,  and  when  fresh  will  yield,  under  favorable 
circumstances,  from  500  to  700  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  the  acre.  A  soil  collected  in  Marion  county,  of  which  an 
analysis  is  subjoined,  is  a  good  type  of  this  class. 

No.  C.  Oak,  hickory,  and  pine  lands  soil. — Depth,  10  inches;  vegetation,  red  oaks,  hickory,  and  long-leaf  pine, 
and  wire-grass;  locality,  9  miles  north  of  Ocala,  Marion  county. 

First-class  pine-land  soil. 


No.  6. 

94.  460  i 

! 90.  125 
1.  665  5 

o  iso 

0.038 
0.  072 
0.  039 
0.055 
0,321 
0.915 
0.110 
0.091 
1.884 

Total 

99.  839 

2.138 
26. 1C.° 

Second-class  pine-land  soil. — This,  like  the  first,  has  a  clayey  or  loamy  substratum.  It  is  usually,  however,  a  little 
more  sandy  and  somewhat  less  productive.  These  lands  are  sometimes  high  and  rolling,  sometimes  nearly  level, 
interspersed  with  areas  of  swampy  land,  and  this  appears  often  to  be  the  case  upon  or  near  the  dividing  ridge  above 
spoken  of.  The  natural  timber  is  chiefly  long-leaf  pine,  to  which  are  added  occasionally  high-ground  willow  oak 
(Q.  cinerea  Mich.),  black-jack,  and  post  oaks. 

I  subjoin  an  analysis  of  a  soil  of  this  kind  taken  from  the  vicinity  of  Lake  City.  In  this  neighborhood  the 
lands  are  comparatively  level,  and  swampy  tracts  alternate  with  pine  lands.  The  elevation  above  the  sea  is 
considerable,  this  being  upon  the  water-shed.  The  average  yield  of  seed-cotton  (long  staple)  is  about  350  pounds. 
As  was  stated  above  with  reference  to  similar  soils  upon  the  uplands,  these  are  not  commonly  planted  in  cotton 
without  manure. 

No.  7.  Gray  sandy  pine-tcoods  soil  from  5  miles  north  of  Lake  City,  Columbia  County. — Depth,  10  inches; 
vegetation,  long-leaf  pine  and  wire-grass. 

301 


22 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

Second-class  pine-land  soil. 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Potash 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

PboBplioric.  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

Water  and  organic  matter  . 

Total 

Hygroscopic  moisture 

absorbed  at 


9.',.  030 
0.  879  : 


90.  509 

0.117 
0.004 
0.058 
0.  042 
0.049 
0.224 
0.473 
0.092 
0.058 
1.807 


99.«l.'l 


1.043 
24.  5  C.  ° 


A  comparison  of  these  two  analyses  will  show  at  once  the  relations  of  the  two  classes  of  soil.  AVith  nearly 
equal  amounts  of  insoluble  matter,  the.  first  is  richer  in  potash,  phosphoric  acid,  and  lime,  and  its  larger  content  of 
iron  and  alumina  and  greater  capacity  for  absorption  of  moisture  make  it  superior  in  physical  condition,  as  well  as 
in  chemical  composition.  Neither,  however,  is  a  high-grade  soil,  the  deficiency  in  lime  and  potash  being  most 
marked. 

Third-class  pine-land  soil. — The  sandy  ridges  which  traverse  this  region  have  both  soil  and  subsoil  very  sandy. 
The.  natural  growth  is  indicative  of  the  poverty  of  the  soil,  and  consists  of  long-leaf  pine,  mostly  small  and  worl  bless 
for  timber,  shrubby  oaks  (Quercus  pumila,  Q.  cinerca,  Q.falcata,  Q.  ferruginea,  Q.  virens,  Q.  Catesbasi),  occasionally 
small  hickories,  sour-wood  (Andromeda),  and  whortleberries  ( Vaccinium).  These  barren  ridges  alternate  with  the 
better  qualities  of  pine  lands.     The  name  "pine  barren"  is  applied  to  third-class  lands. 

6.  Pine  flats,  orflatwoods. — In  the  direction  of  the  coast  the  rolling  pine  lands  are  bordered  with  a  margin  of 
greater  or  less  width  of  low,  flat,  badly-drained  lands,  which  become  water-soaked  in  wet  weather.  For  this  reason 
they  are  seldom  cultivated,  but,  as  grass  flourishes  upon  them,  they  are  usually  well  suited  for  pastures.  These 
flats  embrace  parts  of  the  following  counties:  Escambia,  Santa  Eosa,  Walton,  Washington,  Calhoun,  Liberty, 
Wakulla,  Jefferson,  Taylor,  Lafayette,  Levy,  Hernando,  Hillsborough,  Polk,  Manatee,  Orange,  Brevard,  Volusia, 
Putnam,  Saint  John's,  Clay,  Duval,  and  Nassau,  aggregating  about  11,250  square  miles.  Beside  this  belt,  there  is 
upon  the  elevated  land  of  the  peninsula,  on  the  divide  between  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  and  the  Gulf,  a  similar 
tract  of  flat,  wet  land,  differing  from  that  of  the  coast,  principally  in  its  greater  elevation.  Parts  of  the  comities  of 
Columbia,  Baker,  Bradford,  Putnam,  Clay,  Duval,  and  Nassau  are  of  this  character,  and  this  area  includes  about 
2,1280  square  miles,  the  whole  area  of  the  long-leaf  piue  flatwoods  being  13,530  square  miles. 

In  the  flatwoods  second-  and  third-class  pine  soils  are  only  represented,  with  which, along  the  coast,  are  associated 
Gulf  hummocks,  and  in  all  parts  areas  of  swamp  laud. 

The  more  or  less  sandy  soil  of  the  flatwoods  is  usually  underlaid  by  a  clayey  substratum  or  a  densely-packed 
sand,  which  is  impervious,  and  this,  together  with  the  low  position  and  level  surface,  prevents  proper  drainage,  and 
produces  a  water-soaked  soil  that  cannot  be  profitably  cultivated.  For  similar  reasons,  swamps  are  everywhere 
associated  with  the  flatwoods.  The  principal  growth  is  long  leaf  pine,  black-jack  oak,  saw  palmetto  (Sabal  sermlata), 
and  gallberry  (Prims  glabra).  In  this  division  the  pine  lands  are  mostly  of  third  class,  there  being  very  little  of  the 
second  class. 

Barrens. — Throughout  the  long-leaf  piue  region  the  poorer  classes  of  land  are  termed  pine  barrens.  The 
growth  upon  these  is  mostly  long-leaf  pine  and  black-jack,  with  shrubby  oaks  of  other  species.  In  the  flat  pine 
barrens  saw  palmetto  and  gallberry  bushes  are  common. 

While  the  undergrowth  of  shrubs  in  the  barrens  is  sometimes  scarce,  and  often  wanting  entirely,  the  herbaceous 
undergrowth  is  rich  and  varied,  embracing  nearly  half  the  flora  of  the  state.  In  most  pine  barrens  slight  sinks  or 
basins  in  the.  surface,  which  are  filled  with  water  in  wet  seasons  and  are  moist  at  all  times,  are  of  frequent  occurrence, 
and  these  places  have  a  large  and  characteristic  flora. 

Scenery  and  vegetation  of  the  long-leaf  pine  region. — The  most  prominent  characteristics  of  this  region  as  regards 
surface  configuration  and  natural  growth  have  already  been  enumerated  under  the  several  divisions.  Wire-grass 
(species  of  Aristida,  chiefly  A.  stricta)  grows  upon  nearly  all  the  varieties  of  pine  land,  and  in  some  places  it  forms 
almost  the  entire  undergrowth. 

Where  the  shrubby  undergrowth  is  scanty  or  wanting,  one  can  see  for  great,  distances  between  the  straight 
trunks  of  the  pines,  and  over  the  gently  undulating  surface  a  wagon  may  be  driven  for  miles  in  any  direction 
without  need  of  following  any  beaten  track. 
202 


GENERAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  STATE.  23 

The  following  are  a  few  of  the  most  characteristic  plants  of  those  opeu  pine  lauds:  Actinomeris  nndicaulis, 
A. pauciflora,  Baldwinia  uniftora,  Berlandiera  tomentosa,  B.  siibacaulis,  Eriogonum  tomentosum,  Asimina pygmaea. 

Along  the  margins  of  ponds  or  wet  places  in  the  barrens  are  to  be  found  many  plants  which  are,  to  a  certain 
extent,  peculiar  to  such  localities ;  as  Drosera  capillaris ;  species  of  Sarracenia,  as  8.  Psittacina,  S.  Drummondii,  etc. ; 
Utrieularia  of  several  species,  as  U.  purpurea,  IT.  eornuta,  Pinguecula  lutea. 

One  who  has  never  traveled  through  the  pine  barrens  can  have  little  idea  of  the  impression  of  utter  desolation 
which  they  leave  upon  the  mind.  Nothing  is  to  be  seen  in  any  direction  but  the  tall,  straight  columns  of  the  pine, 
with  here  and  there  a  pond  or  lakelet.  It  need  hardly  be  said  that  human  habitations  upon  these  typical  pine 
barrens  are  few  and  of  the  rudest  character,  generally  mere  cabins,  which  barely  afford  shelter  from  the  weather. 

2. — Hummock  lands. 

Origin  and  distribution  of  these  varieties. — It  has  already  been  stated  in  the  general  geological  description  that 
the  variety  in  the  topography  and  the  soils  of  Florida  depends  upon  the  mutual  relations  of  the  limestone,  which 
makes  the  substratum  of  the  entire  state,  and  the  surface-beds  of  sand  and  loam  which  have  been  drifted  over  it. 

The  limestone  formation  presents  throughout  the  state  the  same  varieties  described  in  some  detail  above.  It 
can  be  easily  shown  that  before  the  beds  of  drifted  material  had  been  deposited  the  surface  of  the  limestone  had 
already  been  subjected  to  a  great  amount  of  erosion,  and  great  inequalities  had  thus  been  produced,  so  that  the 
superficial  beds  were  deposited  upon  a  very  uneven  hill-and-valley  surface.  The  thickness  of  these  later  beds  was, 
therefore,  from  the  first  quite  variable.  Adding  to  this  the  fact  that  since  the  emergence  of  the  peninsula  these 
surface  beds  have  themselves  been  subjected  to  erosion  in  conformity  with  existing  systems  of  drainage,  many 
points  in  the  topographical  and  other  physical  features  of  southern  and  middle  Florida  are  readily  explained.  An 
examination  of  the  map  will  show  that  the  water-shed  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Gulf  is  an  irregular  line 
running  from  Okeefenokee  swamp,  in  Georgia,  southeastward,  and  in  general  parallel  with  the  axis  of  the  peninsula. 

From  figures  obtained  by  railroad  and  other  surveys,  the  average  altitude  of  this  divide  as  far  south  as  Orange 
county  cannot  be  much  less  than  from  200  to  250  feet. 

.  It  will  also  be  seen  that  upon  this  divide  are  numerous  ponds  and  lakes,  forming,  in  many  instances,  the 
headwaters  of  streams  running  off  on  each  side  to  the  sea.  The  beds  of  drift  are  here  found  in  greatest  thickness 
(having  been  least  removed  by  erosion),  and  the  underlying  limestone  seldom  makes  its  appearance  at  the  surface. 
The  sinks  aud  depressions  in  this  rock  are  shown  in  the  basin-shaped  depressions  in  the  overlying  sands,  and  most  of 
these  basins,  being  filled  with  water,  appear  as  ponds  or  lakes. 

On  either  side  of  this  water-shed  erosion  has  removed  the  sands  and  partially  exposed  the  underlying  limestone, 
and  wherever  this  rock,  in  its  disintegration,  affects  the  overlying  sands  and  soils  hummocks  are  produced,  which 
are  nothing  but  the  soils  marled  by  the  decomposing  country  rock,  (a) 

It  has  been  stated  above  that  previous  to  the  deposition  of  the  drift  the  limestone  itself  had  suffered  from 
denudation,  its  surface  having  been  worn  into  hills  and  valleys.  This  circumstance  explains  the  apparently  irregular 
distribution  of  the  high  hummocks,  which,  according  to  the  present  view,  mark  the  places  where  the  elevated  points 
of  the  ancient  Tertiary  peninsula  (b)  are  brought  to  the  surface  by  removal  of  the  sands,  aud  thus  affect  the  overlying 
soil.  Along  the  drainage  slopes  also  of  the  larger  lakes  and  the  various  water-courses  the  underlying  limestone  is 
exposed  by  denudation,  and  its  reaction  upon  the  soil  produces  the  low  hummocks.  And  finally,  along  the  Gulf 
slope  itself,  where  general  drainage  has  uncovered  the  limestone,  spots  of  hummock  land — the  Gulf  hummocks — 
are  formed,  which  are  disconnected  from  any  definite  water-course. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  distribution  of  the  hummock  lands  (using  the  term  in  the  restricted  sense  just 
given)  depends  upon  two  principal  factors:  1st,  the  configuration  of  the  underlying  limestone,  with  its  worn  surface, 
its  elevations  and  depressions;  and,  2d,  the  position  of  existing  lines  or  channels  of  drainage.  The  latter  can  easily 
be  traced  out,  but  to  determine  accurately  the  former  is  no  easy  task,  and  only  a  few  general  remarks  upon  this 
head  can  at  present  be  advanced. 

In  general  it  appears  that  on  the  western  or  Gulf  side  of  the  water-shed  the  ancient  limestone  suffered  more 
from  denudation  than  on  the  eastern,  aud  that  in  more  recent  times  the  drifted  materials  have  also  been  more 
generally  washed  away  on  that  side,  leaving  the  great  bulk  of  hummock  lands,  both  high  and  low,  on  the  western 
half  of  the  peninsula.  This  is  in  accordance  with  the  conclusions  already  reached  concerning  the  geological  history 
of  the  peninsula,  (c) 

It  is  impossible  to  give  more  than  an  approximate  estimate  of  the.  aggregate  area  of  the  various  hummock 
lands  of  the  state  for  two  reasons:  First,  the  hummocks  are  irregularly  distributed  in  tracts  which  vary  greatly  in 
extent;  aud  secondly,  the  term  hummock  has  been  applied  to  several  widely  distinct  varieties  of  land. 


a  The  brown  loam  uplands  are  sometimes  called  hummocks  because  they  support  a  growth  ehietly  of  hard  woods. 
b  See  above,  under  heading  "  Geology". 

c  See  "Notes  on  the  Geology  of  Florida",  by  Eugene  A.  Smith,  published  in  Sillimau's  Journal  for  April,  1881,  and  alBO  above,  under 
general  heading,  "Geology." 

203 


24 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 


Limiting  the  term  as  defined  above  in  the  general  part,  the  area  of  the  several  kinds  of  huuitnocks  associated 
with  the  pine  region,  and  excluding  the  so-called  hummocks  of  the  upland  region,  may  be  given  at  from  2,500  to 
3,000  square  miles. 

a.  High  hummocks. — Throughout  this  agricultural  division  of  the  state  (long-leaf  pine  region)  there  are  areas  of 
what  is  called  high  hummock  laud,  in  contradistinction  to  the  low  hummock  land  of  the  streams  and  water-courses. 
This  laud  supports  a  vigorous  growth  of  "hard  woods",  such  as  live  and  other  oaks,  hickory,  magnolia,  bay,  sweet 
bay,  long-leaf  pine,  cabbage  palmetto,  cedar,  elm,  and  linden. 

The  color  of  the  soil  varies  from  brownish  red  to  nearly  black;  is  always  more  or  less  sandy,  and  its  thickness 
varies  from  S  to  12  inches,  the  subsoil  being  sometimes  sandy  also,  but  oftener  a  marl  or  limestone.  Earthy 
disintegrated  limestone  of  Eocene  age  underlies  invariably,  so  far  as  observations  go,  the  whole  of  these 
hummocks.  Usually  fragments  of  the  rock  are  to  be  found  mingled  with  the  surface  soil,  and  nearly  always  with 
the  subsoil. 

The  yield  of  long-staple  seed-cotton  per  acre  may  be  put,  on  an  average,  at  500  to  700  pounds  for  fresh  land. 

The  general  principles  which  bear  upon  the  mode  of  formation  and  distribution  of  hummock  lands  have  been 
mentioned  above,  and  from  this  it  will  be  seen  that,  the  distribution  of  the  high  hummocks  through  tin?,  prevailing 
pine  lands,  depending  as  it  does  upon  the  local  character  of  the  underlying  limestone  and  upon  the  degree  of  its 
intermixture  with  the  surface  soil,  cannot  be  laid  down  with  any  degree  of  accuracy  upon  a  map  without  close  and 
detailed  surveys  of  the  whole  country. 

A  few  of  the  largest  and  best  known  areas  of  such  hummock  lands  may  be  mentioned. 

In  Lafayette  county  are  Cooke's  and  Old  Town  hummocks,  and  in  Marion  county,  near  Ocala,  begins  a  strip 
of  hummock  land  which  stretohes  away  toward  the  southwest,  through  Sumter,  into  Uernando  county.  In  the 
latter  comity  there  are  two  of  the  largest  bodies  of  hummock  land  in  the  state,  known  as  the  Annutalaga  and  the 
Choccochattie  hummocks.     Further  details  concerning  these. will  be  found  in  the  county  descriptions. 

A  specimen  of  soil  from  the.  hummock  near  Ocala  was  collected  for  analysis,  and  it  may  be  looked  upon  as  a 
representative  of  this  class. 

No.  5.  High-hummock  soil,  from  1  mile  south  of  Ocala,  Marion  county. — The  soil  is  of  grayish  "pepper-and-salt" 
«olor.     Depth,  10  inches;  vegetation,  live  oak,  white  and  water  oaks,  hickory,  bay,  sweet  and  sour  gum,  magnolia. 


High-hummock  soil,  Ocala,  Marion  county. 

No.  5. 

90.  565  )       „ 

f 91.  965 
1.380) 

0.  112 

0.035 

0.185 

0.033 

0.027 

2.048 

2.494 

0.110 

0.054 

3.583 

1(10.  046 

4.210 
26.  6  C.° 

A  noticeable  feature  of  this  soil  is  the  large  percentage  of  lime,  iron,  alumina,  and  organic  matter  which  it 
contains,  as  compared  with  other  Florida  soils  from  the  long-leaf  pine  region. 

I).  Low  hummocks. — Along  the  margins  of  many  of  the  lakes  and  streams  of  the  long-leaf  pine  region,  and  in 
some  of  the  low,  swampy  areas  not  connected  with  any  running  water  or  lake,  are  the  low  hummocks,  with 
cypress,  cabbage  palmetto,  saw  palmetto,  hickory,  live  oak,  water  oak,  bay,  evergreen,  etc.  These  hummocks 
appear  to  be  generally  rather  more  sandy  in  character  of  soil  and  subsoil  than  the  high  hummocks,  and  the 
admixture  of  lime  is  less  obvious,  especially  on  what  are  called  the  light-gray  hummock  lands.  There  seems, 
however,  to  be  very  little  reason  to  doubt  that  it  is  the  influence  of  the  underlying  limestone,  felt  through  the 
intervening  beds,  which  gives  to  the  soils  of  all  the  hummocks  their  greater  degree  of  fertility. 

The  yield  of  the  light-gray  sandy  hummock  land  may  be  put  at  about  400  pounds  of  seed-cotton  (sea  island)  to 
the  acre  when  the  land  is  fresh. 

The  following  may  be  taken  as  showing  the  composition  of  the  light-gray  hummock  lands: 

2Sb.  4.  Light  hummock  soil,  Leesburg,  Sumter  county. — Color,  light  gray,  "pepper-and-salt;"  depth,  8  inches; 
vegetation,  hickory,  live  oak,  water  oak,  red  bay  {Persea  Ca-olinensis),  evergreen,  and  saw  palmetto. 
204 


GENERAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  STATE. 

Low-hummock  soil,  Leesburg,  Sumter  county. 


25 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Potash 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  raanganeBe 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

rhosphoric  acid 

Sudphuric  acid 

Water  and  organic  matter  . 

Total 

Hygroscopic  moisture 

absorbed  at 


97.  350 
0.214: 


97.S64 

0.052 
0.015 
0.077 
0.019 
0.032 
0.214 
0.628 
0.079 
0.053 
1.675 


1.199 
23.  8  C.  ° 


c.  Gulf  hummocks. — Aloug  the  Gulf  coast,  especially  from  Wakulla  county  down  to  Hillsborough,  there  are 
frequent  spots,  sometimes  quite  extensive,  where  the  Tertiary  limestone  lies  near  the  surface,  and  its  reaction  upon 
the  sandy  soils  brings  about  the  modification  known  as  Gulf-hummock  laud.  This  land  will  yield  a  bale  of  lint 
(sea-island  cotton)  to  the  acre  in  some  localities ;  the  average,  however,  would  probably  be  less.  The  growth  is 
the  usual  hummock  growth  given  above.  The  color  of  the  soil  in  some  localities  in  Wakulla  county  is  light  gray, 
nearly  white,  looking  very  much  like  white  sand.  In  this  place  the  limestone  is  a  white  pulverulent  mass,  with 
shells,  aud  has  the  following  composition : 

Marl  from  Wakulla  county. 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Potash 

Soda   

Lime 

Magnesia    

Brown  oxide  of  manganese 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

Carbonic  acid 

Combined  water 

Moisture  driven  off  at  100°. 

Total 


0.372 

0.338 

30.  986 

0.424 

0.134 

0.534 

1.190 

0.  014 

0.331 

24.  253 

1.159 

1.915 

The  intermingling  of  this  substance  with  the  sandy  soils  gives  to  this  hummock  its  high  degree  of  fertility. 
No  analyses  have  yet  been  made  of  any  Gulf-hummock  soil. 


HI. — Pitch  pine,  Treeless,  and  Alluvial  Kegion. 

Under  this  head  are  included  nutwoods  (pitch  pine),  swamps,  prairies  and  savannas,  everglades,  and  marshes. 

The  grouping  of  so  many  seemingly  diverse  things  in  one  division  is  justified  by  the  following  circumstances: 
They  are  all,  with  the  exceptions  presently  to  be  noted,  closely  associated  geographically,  together  forming  the  whole 
of  the  peninsula  south  of  the  line  joining  cape  Canaveral  with  the  head  of  Charlotte  harbor. 

The  pitch  pine  grows  all  along  the  Gulf  coast,  and  has  been  designated  as  Pinus  EUioitii  Engelmanu,  in  the 
northern  portion  of  its  area  of  occurrence,  while  southward  it  is  named  Finns  Cubensis  Grisebaoh,  by  Professor 
Sargent,  who  considers  it  identical  with  the  Cuban  pine.  The  coast  marshes  and  swamps  also  are  not  confined  to 
the  lower  end  of  the  peninsula,  the  treeless  portions  being  practically  mere  modifications  of  one  aud  the  same  thing, 
brought  abeut  by  varying  degrees  of  moisture  and  by  changes  from  salt  to  fresh  water.    Thus,  a  savanna  may  be 

205 


26  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

looked  upon  either  as  a  fresh-water  marsh  or  a  wet  prairie,  or  as  a  part  of  the  Everglades  not  submerged. 
Finally,  for  the  special  purposes  of  this  report,  they  may  be  well  classed  together,  since  none  of  them  are  of  any 
importance  in  the  cultivation  of  cotton.     Only  two  bales  are  reported  from  the  whole  territory. 

Where  the  lands  of  this  division  are  under  cultivation  at  all  they  are  devoted  to  corn,  sweet  potatoes,  and 
sugar-cane,  and  especially  to  tropical  fruits;  but  by  far  the  greater  proportion  of  them,  even  where  not  submerged, 
is  practically  uncultivated.  They  constitute  now,  and  are  likely  long  to  remain,  the  great  natural  pasture-grounds  of 
the  state. 

The  timbered  portions  of  the  above  group,  viz,  the  swamps  and  pine  ilats,  as  well  as  part  of  the  sea  marshes, 
are  not  confined  to  the  extremity  of  the  peninsula,  as  the  map  will  show. 

General  description. — The  relations  between  the  flat  lands  of  the  coasts  and  the  uplands,  and  a  comparison 
between  the  Gulf  and  Atlantic  coasts,  have  been  very  clearly  stated  by  Colonel  J.  L.  Williams  in  his  account  on 
Florida,  already  referred  to,  and  no  apology  is  needed  for  reproducing  his  descriptions  here: 

The  Gulf  coast  from  the  mouth  of  the  Perdido  river  to  cape  San  Bias  is  formed  of  white  sand,  mixed  with  some  calcareous  particles 
of  broken  shells,  and  the  cabbage-palmetto  region  extends  often  quite  to  the  sea-shore.  Occasional  live-oak  hummocks  are  met  with 
along  this  part  of  this  coast.  From  cape  San  Bias  to  Apalachee  bay  the  sand  becomes  of  a  yellowish  brown  color,  and  extensive  salt 
marshes  alternate  with  the  sand-hills. 

From  the  Apalachee  or  Saint  Mark's  river  to  the  Suwannee,  a  distance  of  80  miles,  a  soft  calcareous  rock  forms  the  sea-coast.  It  is 
uniformly  covered  with  coarse  grass  and  rushes,  which  extend  from  the  woody  coast  several  miles  out  to  sea.  This  limestone  forma 
the  base  of  the  x^eniusula  and  of  the  Florida  keys ;  but  in  the  Apalachee  bay  it  is  sheltered  from  the  storms,  and  is  very  shoal,  so  that  at 
low  tide  the  sea  appears  like  a  green  meadow  5  or  6  miles  from  the  coast.  This  rock  resembles  chalk,  and  is  generally  of  an  ash  color; 
some  of  it,  however,  is  quite  white,  and  is  used  for  chalk.  A  kind  of  imperfect  flint  is  embedded  in  it,  in  form  of  a  shelly  nucleus.  It 
becomes  hard  on  exposure  to  air.  The  Hint  is  of  a  light-gray  color,  full  of  holes,  which  are  tilled  with  the  calcaneus  matter.  It  breaks 
with  a  conch oidal  fracturo,  gives  fire  freely  with,  steel,  is  quite  opaque,  but  is  void  of  the  greasy  feel  which  is  peculiar  to  pure  Hint.  On 
points  of  the  coast  whoro  the  waves  have  washed  the  calcareous  matter  away  these  flinty  nuclei  form  extensive  and  very  rugged  reefs. 
Along  the  shores  of  Apalachee  bay  the  forests  rarely  approach  within  \\  or  4  miles  of  the  tide.  On  the  marshes,  however,  there  are 
frequent  keys,  which  rise  like  small  islands,  covered  with  live  oak,  cedar,  and  tall  cabbage  palmetto.  These  are  most  frequent  where 
streams  of  water  enter  the  bay.  The  high  grounds  bordering  the  marshes  are  usually  rocky,  but  are  covered  with  a  great  variety  of 
heavy  timber. 

A  ridge  of  lime  rock  runs  parallel  with  the  coast,  and  S  or  0  miles  distant  (inland)  it  does  not  rise  much  above  the  surface,  but  causes 
falls  in  all  the  streams  between  tho  Saint  Mark's  and  the  Suwannee.  For  a  distance  of  15  or  20  miles  from  the  coast  this  rock  is  but 
slightly  covered  with  saud  ;  small  streams  are  rather  scarce  and  sink-holes  are  frequent,  in  which  the  watgr  is  rat  her  cool,  but,  like  the  rivers, 
highly  tinctured  with  lime.  This  tract  of  flat  country  is  generally  covered  with  yellow  or  long- leaf  pine  timber,  under  which  grasses  grow 
luxuriantly,  and  it  is  a  good  grazing  country.  From  this  levol  tract  of  pine  land  tho  country  rises  over  gentle  swells,  underlaid  with  red 
and  white  clay,  into  the  uplands,  covered  wife  brown-loam  soil,  and  crowned  with  wide-spreading  oaks  and  tall  hickories,  mixed  with 
liriodendnni,  magnolia,  and  gum.  The  uplands  rarely  approach  to  within  18  miles  of  the  coast.  In  places  the  flat  woods  form  indentations 
extending  many  miles  further  inland. 

South  of  the  Suwannee  the  shore  and  the  keys  present  a  bare  rock,  with  small  trees  of  rabbage  palmetto  and  cedar  growing  in  tho 
crevices  as  far  as  the  Anclote  keys.  Beyond  these +ho  sea  beats  heavily  on  the  shore,  and  makes  a  rough  coast  as  far  south  as  cape  Roman. 
The  pine  barrens  here  usually  extend  to  the  rocky  shore.  About  the  twenty-seventh  degree  the  coral  formations  begin  to  cover  the  calcareous 
rock  above  mentioned.  From  Sarasota  key  down  the  coast,  and  around  on  the  eastern  shore  as  far  as  the  Soldier's  key,  this  cor:il  formation 
is  prominent  on  all  tho  Florida  keys.  Key  Biseayne  is  sandy,  as  is  the  coast  north  of  it  as  far  as  Jupiter  inlet.  Thence  the  coijuina  rock 
lines  the  coast  as  high  as  Anastasia  island,  in  front  of  Saint  Augustine  ;  here  it  ceases,  and  no  sign  of  this  formation  is  Been  north  of  this 
inlet.  Coral  formations  are  seen  in  Indian  river  even  as  high  as  Halifax  river,  but  in  no  proportion  to  those  of  the  western  coast.  North 
of  Saint  Augustine  the  whole  coast  is  formed  of  white  siliceous  sand  as  far  as  the  Saint  Mary's. 

We  resume  now  the  description  of  the  flat  lands  : 

The  flat  lands,  reaching  down  to  the  coast  as  far  south  as  the  Suwannee  river,  have  already  been  described  above.  Below  the 
Suwannee  the  Waeasassee  river  empties  its  waters  behind  the  Cedar  keys  through  a  low,  marshy  coast.  The  country  then  rises  through 
rich  Gulf  hummocks  into  a  series  of  sandy  ridges,  occasionally  broken  by  masses  of  limestone,  to  the  Alachua  country,  a  name  originally 
applied  to  a  rich  tract  of  land  30  or  40  miles  in  extent,  but  wholly  undefined  as  regards  boundary.  This  name  has  since  been  given  to  a 
county  which  embraces  the  original  Alachua.  This  part  of  the  country  is  diversified  with  savannas,  lakes,  ridges  of  hummocks,  and 
plains  of  pine  barrens.  The  soil  is  equally  various.  Some  of  the  savannas  are  large  and  covered  with  a  tall  grass,  and  an  adjoining 
ridge  of  sand-hills  will  remind  one  of  the  sea-coast,  the  hummocks  presenting  groves  of  live  oak,  exactly  similar  to  the  shores  of  the 
Gulf,  which  are,  however,  2:3  to  30  miles  distant.  South  of  this,  toward  the  Witblacoochce,  the  land  falls  off  in  the  direction  of  the  coast 
in  gentle  swells  of  pine  land. 

On  every  part  of  the  country  watered  by  the  Witblacoochce  the  lands  are  diversified  with  rich  hummocks,  dense  swamps,  pine 
flats,  wet  savannas,  and  extensive  grassy  ponds.  South  of  the  Withlacoochee,  and  near  the  sea-coast,  is  an  extensive  tract  of  rich  swamp 
land,  8  or  10  miles  in  length  and  from  3  to  4  in  breadth.  From  Tampa  bay  to  Peace  creek  the  country  is,  in  general,  flat  and  rather  poor 
as  far  south  as  Charlotte  harbor. 

About  the  twenty-seventh  degree  of  latitude  the  vegetation  begins  to  change  rapidly.  Oaks  and  yellow  (long-leaf)  pines  become 
rare,  and  at  length  disappear  altogether.  The  howey  (a  species  of  fig),  caccaloba  or  sea-grape,  and  gum  elemi  take  their  place  on  the 
sea-coast,  and  p  tch  pine  takes  the  place  of  the  yellow  pine  in  the  interior. 

On  the  eastern  or  Atlantic  side  of  the  peninsula  the  flat  lands  are  in  general  rather  wider  than  on  the  Gulf  side.  They  are  mostly  flat 
pine  lands,  diversified  with  streams  of  good  water.  There  is  little  difference,  either  in  soil  or  productions,  from  the  Saint  Mary's  to 
Mosquito  inlet.  The  sea-coast  is  covered  with  the  palmetto.  Two  or  three  miles  from  the  sea-s^ore  there  is  a  strip  from  1  to  4  miles  wide 
covered  with  excellent  laud,  bordering  on  the  lagoons  that  stretch  parallel  with  tho  shore.  West  of  that  are  flat  pine  lands.  South  of 
Mosquito  inlet  and  of  Volusia,  on  the  Saint  John's,  the  country  changes  rapidly.  Vast  grass  meadows  aud  savannas,  diversified  with 
clusters  of  cabbage  palms  and  live  oaks,  are  separated  by  strips  of  pine  land  and  hummocks  of  wild  orange,  and  verges  fast  toward  a 
tropical  complexion,  which  increases  as  vou  approach  cape  Florida. 
206 


GENERAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  STATE.  27 

The  interior  of  the  peninsula  south  of  the  twenty-seventh  degree  of  latitude  is  even  yet  imperfectly  known.  In  soil  and  productions 
it  varies  considerably  from  the  aorthern  part  of  the  state. 

The  shores  and  islands  of  the  south  are  uniformly  covered  with  mangrove  bushes;  these,  as  the  cape  (Florida)  is  approached, 
become  forests  of  tall  trees.  This  timber  extends  as  far  into  the  country  as  the  salt  water.  The  back  country  presents  a  singular 
alternation  of  savannas,  hummocks,  lagoons,  aud  grass  ponds,  called  all  together  the  Everglades.  They  are  drained  north,  east,  and 
west  by  a  great  number  of  streams,  more  particularly  mentioned  elsewhere.  There  is  a  curious  contrast  between  the  calm  and  gentle 
swells  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  furious  surf  that  eternally  lashes  the  Atlantic  coast.  The  tide  in  the  Gulf  rises  only  2+  feet,  but  on 
the  Atlantic  it  rises  more  than  6  feet. 

In  the  Gulf,  on  the  western  sido  of  the  peninsula,  the  soundings  range  from  7  to  14  fathoms  at  20  miles  from  the  coast ;  on  the 
Atlantic,  the  same  distance  from  the  shore,  in  many  places  soundings  are  lost.  The  eddies  of  the  Gulf  Stream  throw  upon  the  eastern 
coast  such  a  quantity  of  broken  shells,  called  coquina,  that  from  Saint  AuguBtine  to  Key  Largo  the  mouths  of  all  the  rivers  are 
dammed  up  and  their  waters  thrown  back  on  the  country.  Such  are  the  waters  of  Indian  river,  as  well  as  of  Hillsborough,  Halifax,  and 
Matanzas.  These  are  shut  out  from  the  sea  by  banks  of  shells  and  sand  from  15  to  30  feet  high.  The  waters  thus  barred  out  from  the 
ocean  unite  laterally  and  form  extensive  lagoons,  peculiarly  calculated  for  inland  navigation.  When  the  waters  of  these  lagoons  are 
greatly  swelled  by  rains  ill  the  upper  country  they  burst  their  shelly  barriers  and  open  a  deep  channel  into  the  ocean,  through  which 
the  waters  are  soou  drained,  and  tho  waves  again  commence  a  uatural  dam  to  close  the  inlet.  As  soon  as  the  shells  are  cast  upon  the 
shore  the  rains  dissolve  the  calcareous  matter,  crystallization  commences  between  the  fragments,  and  the  rudiments  of  a  rock  are  formed. 

The  coquina  formation  extends  from  Auastasia  island  south  beyond  Indian  river,  but  is  scarcely  ever  more  than  6  miles  wide,  and 
generally  not  more  than  2.  "We  think  the  formation  began  at  the  south ;  the  rocks  there  appear  much  older  than  at  Saint  Augustine. 
Very  small  quantities  of  shell  are  thrown  on  the  coast  at  cape  Canaveral,  while  at  Saint  Augustine  they  are  abundant.  The  strata 
are  horizontal  and  of  varying  thickness.  They  have  been  quarried  to  the  depth  of  20  feet,  but  we  have  not  been  able  to  learn  how  much 
further  they  descend  into  the  earth. 

Areas. — This  agricultural  division  embraces  an  area  of  about  23,290  square  miles,  of  which  4,850  square  miles 
are  swamp  lands,  5,840  square  miles  are  coast  marshes  and  flat  lands,  timbered  with  pitch  pine,  and  12,000  square 
miles  are  prairies,  savannas,  and  everglades.  The  area  of  the  Everglades,  as  estimated  from  the  most  reliable  data 
available,  may  be  put  at  0,400  square  miles. 

1.  Flatwoods  (pitch  or  Cuban  pine). — South  of  latitude  27°,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  above  extract  from  Williams' 
book,  the  pitch  pine  replaces  in  part  or  wholly  the  long-leaf  species.  Through  the  courtesy  of  Professor  C.  S.  Sargent 
I  am  enabled  to  give  other  localities  of  this  tree  north  of  that  parallel  along  the  coast.  From  the  map  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  flat  lands  along  the  coast  from  the  Perdido  river  to  Apalachee  bay  have  as  timber  chiefly  this  pine, 
The  same  remark  applies  to  the  eastern  or  Atlantic  coast  from  the  Saint  Mary's  river  to  the  end  of  the  peninsula, 
and  from  Hernando  county  southward  on  the  Gulf  side,  In  Manatee  and  Brevard  counties  the  flatwoods,  which, 
alternating  with  prairies  and  savannas,  make  up  the  country,  are  timbered  with  pitch  pine,  aud  wherever  the 
prairies,  savannas,  and  marshes  prevail  this  tree  is  characteristic,  The  area  is  little  cultivated,  being  used  almost 
exclusively  as  grazing  grounds  for  vast  herds  of  cattle. 

2.  Sioamps. — These  are  of  three  kinds  : 

a.  Those  formed  along  the  banks  of  rivers  and  other  bodies  of  water  by  inundation.  These  are  the  richest 
and  most  extensive.  Between  them  and  the  stream  is  usually  a  ridge  of  dry  land,  a  sort  of  natural  levee,  formed 
of  the  coarsest  part  of  the  alluvial  sediments,  which  is  deposited  immediately  after  leaving  the  current.  This 
ridge  prevents  the  waters  from  draining  off  as  the  river  subsides.  Swamps  are  usually  densely  covered  with  heavy 
timber,  and  this  timber  is  tangled. with  innumerable  vines,  which  renders  them  almost  impenetrable  (Williams). 
Of  this  kind  are  the  swamps  skirting  the  Saint  John's,  the  Ocklawaha,  and  other  rivers.  Where  high  enough,  these 
lands  have  occasionally  been  cleared  and  cultivated  in  corn  and  sugar-cane,  to  which  they  seem  to  be  best  suited. 
It  has  been  demonstrated  that  they  will  yield  four  hogsheads  of  sugar  to  the  acre.  Large  bodies  of  swamp  lands 
are  met  with  in  central  and  southern  Florida,  embracing,  according  to  estimate,  over  a  million  acres.  Drainage 
is  necessary  in  most  cases  to  prepare  them  for  cultivation. 

b.  The  pine-barren  swamps.  These  are  natural  basins,  containing  the  waters  of  the  surrounding  country 
(Williams).  The  growth  upon  them  is  principally  cypress  trees  and  knees.  Pine-barren  swamps  are  frequently 
associated  with  the  flatwoods  above  mentioned.  While  this  kind  of  swamp  and  the  flatwoods  are  often  formed  in 
the  lowlands  near  the  Gulf  or  the  Atlantic,  they  together  form  quite  an  extensive  area  upon  the  dividing  ridge, 
and  at  an  elevation  of  from  150  to  200  feet  above  tide.  The  Okeefenokee  swamp,  in  Georgia,  the  southern  limit  of 
which  is  in  Baker  county,  Florida,  is  upon  the  high  land;  and  southward  down  the  peninsula,  still  upon  the 
dividing  ridge,  are  large  bodies  of  swamp  land  of  this  character  in  Baker,  Columbia,  Bradford,  Clay,  and  Putnam 
counties.  (See  map.)  The  basins  occupied  by  these  swamps  appear  in  most  cases  to  be  caused  by  sinks  in  the 
underlying  limestone. 

It  has  been  stated  above  that  where  a  moderately  thin  coating  of  surface  materials  covers  the  country  limestone 

the  depressions  or  sinks  in  this  rock  are  shown  at  the  surface  as  hummocks,  prairies,  savannas,  or  lakes,  according 

to  the  degrees  of  moisture  or  the  quantity  of  water  filling  them.    On  the  other  hand,  where  the  sand  and  soil  over  the 

limestone  are  of  not  inconsiderable  thickness,  such  depressions  are  marked  above  by  low  hummocks,  swamps,  and 

lakes.     And  similarly,  whether  a  water-course  shall  be  skirted  with  a  belt  of  hummock  or  of  swamp  laud  seems 

in  great  measure  to  depend  upon  the  depth  of  sand  and  soil  overlying  the  limestone  aud  upon  the  degree  of  drainage; 

for  where  the  influence  of  the  limestone  or  marl  is  felt  in  the  soil,  and  where  surface  waters  are  tolerably  well 

drained  off,  hummocks  result, 

207 


28  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

c  Galls  or  sour-lauds  are  spongy  tracts,  where  the  water  continually  ooze  through  the  soil  and  dually  collect 
in  streams  and  pass  off.  They  are  the  coldest  soils,  aud  the  waters  rising  through  them  are  frequently  impregnated 
with  sulphur  and  iron.  When  their  foundation  is  alluvial  matter,  it  is  usually  very  thin,  like  quagmire,  and  ihe 
land  may  be  shaken  for  acres  in  extent.     When  the  base  is  sand,  it  is  a  lively  quicksand,  very  dangerous  for  cattle. 

These  galls  are  usually  covered  with  titi  (Cliftonia  ligustrina),  loblolly  bay,  and  others,  vaceiniums  and  vines 
(Williams). 

In  some  of  the  swamps  of  southern  Florida,  and  probably  of  other  parts  of  the  state  also,  beds  of  marine  shells 
of  recent  species,  aud  in  some  instances  large  bones,  have  been  fouud  at  small  depths  below  the  surface  soil.  Of 
the  character  of  these  bones  I  can  say  nothing  from  personal  knowledge,  but  I  obtained  large  shells  of  a  species 
of  strom bus  or  conch  from  a  swamp  near  Sanford,  Orange  county. 

3.  Prairies  and  savannas. — On  the  peninsula,  and  especially  in  the  lower  part,  where  the  limestone  is  close  to 
the  surface  and  the  soil  thin,  there  are  large  areas  of  treeless  country,  called  prairies,  and,  when  rather  wet,  savannas. 

Savannas  are  no  more  than  natural  reservoirs, like  swamps,  except  that  they  are  covered  with  grass  and  herbs  instead  of  with  trees 
and  vines.  They  are  usually  founded  on  clay  or  marl,  but  sometimes  on  hard  sand.  They  are  frequently  extensive,  and  form  excellent 
grazing  lands. —  Williams. 

The  transition  from  low  hummocks  through  prairies  to  savannas  and  everglades  is  by  imperceptible  gradations, 
aud  they  differ  from  each  other  only  in  degree  of  moisture  and  thickness  of  the  soil  overlying  the  limestone. 

i.  Everglades. — On  account  of  the  interest  which  attaches  to  this  part  of  Florida,  and  the  meageruess  of  the 
literature  of  the  subject,  I  have  subjoined  the  following  extract  from  Williams'  Florida,  which  gives  perhaps  the 
best  published  account  of  the  Everglades: 

(That  part  of  the  peninsula  of  Florida  that  lies  south  of  the  twenty-eighth  degree  of  north  latitude-  declines  toward  tin-  center  in  the 
form  of  a  dish,  the  border  of  which  is  raised  toward  the  coast.  Near  cape  Florida  this  border  is  from  12  to  20  miles  from  the  sea-beach. 
It  is  formed  of  the  same  calcareous  rock  which  skirts  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  as  far  west  as  the  Apalaehee  river.  This  vast  basin  is  tilled  with 
marshes,  wot  savannas,  intersected  by  extensive  lakes  and  lagoons,  forming  a  labyrinth  which,  taken  together,  is  called  the  Everglades. 
It  is  very  little  known.  It  is  drained  on  every  side  by  rivers  of  different  dimensions.  The  Saint  John's  drains  it  on  the  north;  the 
Saint  Lucie,  Greenville,  Jupiter,  New,  Rattones,  and  Miami  on  the  east;  and  Snake,  Swallowr,  Caloosahatchee,  and  Macaco  on  the  west. 
Behind  cape  Florida  the  glades  approach  within  12  miles  of  the  coast.  The  inlets  may  here  bo  ascended  in  one  day,  notwithstanding 
the  swiftness  of  their  currents. 

On  reaching  the  level  of  t-ho  glades  a  vast  grass  meadow  is  expanded,  apparently  aB  boundless  as  the  ocean.  You  then  pass  on  tho 
winding  lagoons  from  6  to  12  miles  westwardly,  and  the  grass  by  degrees  disappears,  and  you  are  left  in  an  unexplored  grassy  lake,  to  which 
you  can  discover  no  bounds.  It  probably  extends  near  to  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Gulf.  The  grassy  borders  of  this  lake  are  usually 
covered  with  water  during  the  winter  season;  not  so  deep,  however,  as  to  hide  the  grass,  which  is  very  thick  and  tall.  During  the 
summer  the  ground  is  often  dry  and  hard  for  10  miles  from  the  timbered  land.  This  tract  is  at  all  times  stocked  with  wild  game,  and 
would  afford  a  superior  range  for  cattle. 

The  border  of  savanna  and  prairie  land  which  skirts  the  Everglades  passes  gradually  into  rocky  pine  land  with 
P.  Cubensis,  which  forms  the  rim  of  the  basin  occupied  by  the  glades.  This  rim  is  on  an  average  some  20  feet  above 
the  sea,  but  occasionally  it  rises  to  a  much  greater  height,  as  on  the  border  of  the  Saint  Lucie  river,  where, 
according  to  Williams,  the  hind  is  at  least  a  hundred  feet  above  the  Atlantic. 

5.  Marshes  are  of  two  kinds,  fresh  and  salt.  The  former  are  usually  situated  on  the  borders  of  some  large 
body  of  water  in  the  interior  of  the  country ;  the  latter  on  the  sea-coast  or  near  the  estuaries  of  rivers. 

There  is  a  great  diversity  of  marshos,  and  much  depends  on  the  substratum  on  which  they  are  based.  For  instance,  the  most  extensive 
marshes  of  west  Florida  are  based  on  limestone,  which  renders  them  extremely  fertile  ;  some  of  tho  fresh  marshes,  on  the  contrary,  aro 
merely  quicksands  covered  with  a  very  thin  soil,  and  are  of  course  quite  barren,  while  others  have  a  clay  foundation,  and  may  be  cultivated 
to  advantage.  Marshes  produce  no  trees;  a  few  shrubs  sometimes  skirt  the  edges  of  them.  The  salt  marsh  has  been  found  to  be  au 
invaluable  manure  for  our  sandy  soils,  (a) 

The  principal  grass-like  pkmts  growing  in  the  salt  marshes  are  as  follows: 

Grasses. — Spartina  juncea,  <S'.  gracilis,  S.  glabra.  Eustachys petrma,  Leptoehloa  polystachya,  Paspalum  vaginatum, 
Muhleribergia  capillaris. 

Sedges. — Gladium  effusum,  Gyperus  Nuttallii,  Eleooharis  albiila,  E.  arenicola,  Scirpus  pnngens,  S.  Olneyi,  S. 
lacustris,  S.  maritimus,  Fimbristylis  spadicea,  Junous  maritimus,  J.  soirpoideus. 

A  few  of  the  most  important  areas  of  coast  marshes  have  been  laid  down  upon  the  map.  In  some  localities 
along  the  eastern  shore  of  the  peninsula,  in  Saint,  John's  and  Volusia  counties,  fine  plantations  were  formerly 
cultivated,  which  were  salt  marshes  drained.  On  all  the  water-courses  in  this  part  of  the  state  there  are  extensive 
marshes,  which  are  valuable,  as  the  expense  of  draining  is  less  than  that  of  clearing  the  heavy  timber  from  the 
swamp  lands. 

n  Williams,  Florida,  p.  96. 
208 


•I- 


".. -■.',-' "  .,  f'r 


' 

A 

A 

■ 

j  *■ 

_  .    r-  .        v  ; 


i    'i  ■ 


I 


■ 


0 


-  ■  =  -401.. 


r 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION. 


29 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION  OF  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

Amoug  the  cotton  states,  Florida  stands  fourteenth  in  population  (total  269,493),  tenth  in  total  cotton  production 
(5-1,997  bales),  and  fourteenth  in  product  per  acre  (0.22  bale). 

The  following  tabulated  results  of  the  enumeration,  which  relate  to  the  production  of  cotton,  are  here  inserted 
for  convenience  of  reference : 

Table  III.— POPULATION  AND  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  EACH  AGRICULTURAL  REGION  OF  THE  STATE. 


POPULATION. 

COTTO.N  1'HODUCTIOS. 

O 
H 

3 

o 

< 

tilled 
d    to 

Average  per  aero. 

Total  in  tons. 

It  1   is 

Agricnltnr.il  regions. 

Percentage  of 
lands   uevott 
cotton. 

a 

O 

.So 
a 

a 

a   . 
S3 

0) 

W 

a 
a 
o 

a 

3 
►4 

5 

3 

O 
Ph 

a 
w 

• 

a 

3 

^ 

w 

o  o 
a  = 

|| 

|2 

P  £ 
>  to 

"4« 

Oak,  hickory,  and  pino  uplands 

77, 066 
174, 417 
18,  010 

21,  579 

107,  221 
13,  805 

55,  487 
67, 106 
4,205 

155, 854 

(    *5,948 

(183,787 

0 

35.16 
'13.43 
t21.45 

"37,  824 
*1,  041 
tl5,  530 

t2 

0.24 
•0.28 
(0.19 

0.33 

345 
•303 
t200 

464 

115 
•131 
105. 
110 

230 
•262 
tl95 

8,084 

•390 

(2,718 

17,  968 

•780 

t8,154 

74 
}        20 

40.  48 

Pitch  pine,  treeless,  and  alluvial . .. 



2G9, 4*13 

142,  605 

120,  SS8 

245,  595 

27.67 

54,997 

0.22 

■348 
t204 

•116 
ICO 

•232 

tl9S 

12,  092 

26,  902 

100 

4.53 

•Short  staple:  1  bale  =  475  pounds,    t  Long  Btaple :  1  bale  =  3"i9  pounds. 

Table  IV.— "BANNER  COUNTIES"  AS  REGARDS  TOTAL  PRODUCTION  AND  PRODUCT  PER  ACRE  IN  EACH  AGRICULTURAL 

REGION. 


fc  a 

6  A  a 

& 

a 

a 

o^S 

1    o^ 

g 

t+ 

Regions  according  to  product  per  acre. 

fa, 

O  * 
•a  © 

£a 

ft(_  m 

3a1 

ItfP. 

■Sla 

a   . 
3  » 

ft-: 

u  a  3 
»5g 

l    ft*- 

g 

a 
.2 

a 

o 
a 

**3 

1j 

Hi 

so  a 

2  » 

a 

o 

ftj 
"3 

o 

g 

S-3  ft 
5  uoc 

1-2.2  • 

■3 1| 

a 

3 
O 

ft 
"c 

s 

3,3 

3  o 

•4 

o 

M 

O 

H 

£ 

o 

I « 

O 

H 

ft. 

K 

10,  368 
1,  "51 

0.23 

4 

0.19 

Alachun, 

22 

14,640 

2,519 

0.17 

10 

3,  GG5 

0.34 

1 

For  the  state:  In  cotton  production,  Jefferson  ;  in  product  per  acre,  Lovy. 

Note. — In  making  estimates  for  this  table  all  counties  are  excluded  whose  total  production  is  less  than  100  bales. 

The  cotton  production  of  Florida  in  1SG0  was  estimated  at  about  05,000  bales,  in  1870  at  about  39,000  bales, 
and  in  18S0  at  about  55,000  bales.  This  decrease  becomes  all  the  more  noticeable  when  we  take  into  consideration 
the  increase  of  population  during  the  same  period. 

In  Wakulla  county  alone  it  is  said  that  there  are  from  four  to  six  thousand  acres  (the  greater  portion  of  which 
is  rich  hummock,  not  worn)  that  have  been  permitted  to  go  out  of  use  since  the  war,  the  fencing  having  rotted  or 
been  burned;  and  these  once  flourishing  and  famous  plantations  are  now  common  grazing  grounds.  It  is  a  matter 
of  common  remark  in  the  cotton-producing  sections  of  the  state  that  the  great  plantations  of  the  past  have  either 
been  allowed  to  go  into  disuse  or  have  been  cut  up  into  smaller  ones.  The  reason  for  this  state  of  things  has  been 
correctly  given  by  Hon.  Dennis  Eagan,  former  commissioner  of  immigration :  "The  new  conditions  of  labor  have 
operated  largely  to  reduce  the  acreage  of  this  staple  (cotton),  and  the  attention  of  planters  has  been  turned  to  the 
culture  of  other  crops  requiring  the  employment  of  a  less  number  of  hands." 

Comparison  of  the  long  and  short  staple  varieties. — In  discussing  the  cotton  production  of  Florida  it 
is  necessary  to  bear  in  mind  that  there  are  two  kinds  of  cotton  in  cultivation,  the  long  and  short  staple  varieties. 

Geographical  distribution. — The  short-staple,  or  upland  cotton,  which  makes  nearly  72  per  cent.  (39,405  bales) 
of  the  entire  crop,  is  cultivated  exclusively  in  the  northern  and  western  counties,  i.  e.,  those  north  of  latitude 
30°  15'  and  west  of  the.  Suwannee  river.  These  counties  are  Jackson,  Gadsden,  Leon,  Jefferson,  and  Madison, 
forming  the  oak  and  hickory  uplands  of  the  preceding  section,  together  with  parts  of  Liberty,  Calhoun,  Holmes, 
Washington,  Walton,  Santa  Rosa,  and  Escambia,  belonging  to  the  long-leaf  pine  region. 

West  of  the  Apalachicola  river  no  sea-island  or  long  staple  cotton  is  produced,  but  east  of  that  river,  even 
in  the  upland  region,  the  sandy  soils  of  the  pine  ridge  lauds  have  lately  been  found  to  be  very  well  suited  to  its 
cultivation;  yet  the  great  bulk  of  the  crop  in  these  five  counties,  and  in  Liberty,  adjoining,  is  of  short-staple 
cotton.  In  Jefferson  county  the  uplands  in  t lit;  northern  half  produce  the  short,  and  the  lowlands  of  the  south  the 
sea-island  variety,  though  in  comparatively  small  quantity.  In  Hamilton  county,  which  is  also  a  border  county, 
14  c  P — VOL.  II  209 


30  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

botli  kinds  are  cultivated,  but  chiefly  the  long  staple.  There  is  naturally  no  hard  and  fast  line  separating  the  areas 
producing  these  two  kinds,  and  in  the  analysis  of  the  enumeration  results' given  below  the  counties  where  both 
staples  are  produced  have  been  classed  according  to  the  predominant  variety. 

Soils. — Loamy  soils,  with  somewhat  heavy  clayey  subsoils,  produce  nearly  all  the  upland  cotton  of  Florida, 
while  the  sandy  soils,  with  light  loamy  or  sandy  subsoils,  are  specially  suited  to  the  sea-island  variety. 

In  the  counties  of  Liberty,  Calhoun,  Washington,  and  Walton  (which  produce  most  of  the  short-staple  cotton 
outside  of  the  upland  region  proper)  almost  the  entire  crop  grows  upon  those  small,  outlying  areas  with  loam  soils 
and  clayey  subsoils  (described  in  the  county  details),  and  not  upon  the  sandy  soils,  which  characterize  the  loug-leaf 
pine  region  as  a  whole. 

Upon  second-class  sandy  soils,  where  the  upland  cotton  will  barely  attain  the  height  of  12  inches,  the  sea-island 
variety  appears  to  thrive,  and  may  grow  to  the  height  of  3  or  4  feet. 

With  the  same  height  of  stalk  the  upland  cotton  seems  to  be  more  prolific  of  fruit,  and  the  proportion  of  seed- 
cotton  to  the  lint  is  greater  than  is  the  case  with  the  long  staple.  The  ratios  of  seed  cotton  to  lint  are  usually 
assumed  to  be  3  to  1  for  upland  cotton  and  4  to  1  for  the  sea  island;  hut  in  reality  the  yield  of  lint  is  seldom  so 
high  in  either  case 

Ginning,  baling,  and  weight  of  bales. — The  lint  of  the  upland  cotton  adheres  closely  to  the  seed,  and  in  separating 
it  a  gin  with  steel  saws  is  commonly  used ;  but  the  saws  have  been  found  to  injure  the  fiber  of  the  long-staple  cotton, 
and  since  the  lint  in  this  variety  is  very  easily  detached  from  the  smooth,  black  seed,  the  roller-gin  is  used.  In  this 
gin  the  fiber  is  drawn  by  means  of  a  leather  roller  between  a  metal  plate  and  a  blade  which  moves  across  the 
plate  like  the  blade  of  a  pair  of  shears,  and  thus  knocks  or  beats  back  the  seed.  The  saw-gins  are  all  modifications 
of  the  Whitney  gin,  and  those  most  in  use  are  Pratt's,  Brown's,  Gullett's,  and  Carver's.  Of  the  roller-gin,  the 
McCarthy,  or  some  modification  of  it,  is  in  general  use. 

The  short-staple  cotton  is  packed  by  means  of  a  screw  or  lever  press  into  bales  wrapped  with  coarse  bagging 
and  bound  with  iron  or  rope  ties,  the  average  weight  of  a  bale  being  475  pounds.  This  mode  of  packing  has  generally 
been  considered  injurious  to  the  long-staple  cotton,  which  is  usually  packed  more  loosely  in  a  long  bag,  the  open 
end  of  which  is  suspended  so  as  to  hang  vertically,  with  the  closed  end  touching  the  ground ;  and  the  cotton  is  put 
in  and  packed  down  by  a  man  with  an  iron  crowbar  or  pestle.  In  some  parts  of  the  country,  however,  the  common 
screw  or  lever  press  is  used  for  packing  both  long  and  short  staple,  and  without  any  injury  to  the  fiber  of  the 
former,  so  far  as  can  be  seen.     The  desired  weight  of  a  bag  of  sea-island  cotton  is  350  pounds. 

Price  and  product  per  acre. — If  we  assume  the  average  price  of  the  upland  cotton  to  be  10  cents  a  pound  and 
that  of  the  sea  island  to  be  30  cents,  we  may  get  an  estimate  of  the  comparative  values  of  the  two  varieties.  (In 
making  this  estimate  it  will  be  understood  that  we  take  only  the  data  furnished  by  the  reports  of  the  correspondents 
and  the  results  of  the  enumeration.) 

The  product  per  acre  of  upland  cotton  is  0.24  of  a  bale  (of  475  pounds),  equal  to  114  pounds  of  lint.  This,  at  10 
cents  a  pound,  will  bring  $11  40,  from  which  must  be  deducted  the  cost  of  production,  7  cents  a  pound  (average 
estimate  of  correspondents),  or  87  9S,  leaving  S3  42  average  profit  on  one  acre  cultivated  in  upland  cotton. 

The  product  per  acre  of  the  sea-island  cotton  is  0.10  of  a  bale  (of  350  pounds),  equal  to  G7  pounds  of  lint, 
which,  at  30  cents  a  pound,  will  bring  820  10;  deduct  20  cents  a  pound  (813  40),  cost  of  production,  and  the 
average  profit  on  one  acre  cultivated  in  sea-island  cotton  will  be  80  70. 

Finally,  with  reference  to  the  two  varieties,  it  may  be  repeated  that  many  of  the  sandy  soils  of  the  upland 
region  east  of  the  Apalachieola  river,  which  until  recently  have  never  been  planted  in  cotton  at  all,  are  now  known 
to  be  well  suited  to  the  cultivation  of  the  sea-island  variety,  and  its  production  in  this  part  of  the  state  is  evidently 
on  the  increase,  although  it  has  not  yet  reached  any  large  proportions. 

Comparison  of  the  agricultural  regions. — The  five  counties  of  Jackson,  Gadsden,  Leon,  Jefferson,  and 
Madison,  which  lie.  within  the.  limits  of  the  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  upland  region,  produce  69  per  cent,  of  the  cotton 
of  the  state  (all  short  staple);  the  twenty-nine  counties  of  the  long-leaf  pine  region  the  remaining  31  per  cent,  (of 
which  28  per  cent.,  referred  to  the  total  production  of  the  state,  is  long  staple,  and  3  per  cent,  short  staple);  while 
the  four  counties  forming  the  lower  extremity  of  the  peninsula,  together  with  Franklin,  constituting  the.  pitch-pine, 
treeless,  and  alluvial  region,  produce  poetically  none. 

To  keep  distinct  the  relations  between  the  short-  and  long-staple  product,  the  yield  of  Liberty,  Calhoun,  Holmes, 
Washiugton,  Walton,  Santa  Eosa,  and  Escambia,  which  belong  to  the  long-leaf  pine  region,  should  be  included  with 
that  of  the.  five  upland  counties  above  named,  since  only  the  short-staple  cotton  is  produced  there  in  any  large 
quantity.  The  upland  areas,  as  thus  extended,  yield  72  per  cent,  of  the  whole  cotton  crop,  all  of  which  is  short-staple 
cotton;  and  the  remaining  counties  of  the  state  produce  almost  exclusively  sea-island  cotton,  which  forms  28  per 
cent,  of  the  entire  crop. 

To  go  more  into  detail,  the  upland  counties  proper,  with  an  area  of  3,850  square  miles,  have  18  per  cent.,  or 
443,211  acres,  in  cultivation,  of  which  35  per  cent,  is  in  cotton,  while  the  long-leaf  pine  region,  with  eight  times  the 
area,  or  30,830  square  miles,  has  only  2.2  per  cent.,  or  434,820  acres  in  cultivation,  and  only  21  per  cent,  of  this 
in  cotton. 

These  comparisons  show  more  strikingly  the  relations  of  the  two  regions  to  the  cotton  production  of  the  state. 
•:io 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION.  31 

The  average  product  per  acre  of  the  uplands  is  0.24  of  a  bale ;  that  of  the  long-leaf  piue  region  0.19.  These 
figures  might  be  taken  as  indices  of  the  relative  fertility  of  the  soils  in  the  two  regions;  but  a  comparison  is  vitiated 
by  the  circumstance  that  in  the  first  the  upland  or  short-staple  cotton  is  almost  exclusively  produced,  and  in  the 
second  the  long-staple  or  sea-island  variety,  which,  with  the  same  height  of  stalk,  is  much  less  prolific  of  fruit  than 
are  the  varieties  of  upland  cotton  in  common  cultivation.  On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  stated  that  upon  the 
second-class  saudy  soils,  where  the  long-staple  cotton  will  attain  a  height  of  3  feet,  the  short-staple  variety  will 
barely  average  12  inches. 

The  relations  between  the  population  and  the  cotton  acreage  and  production  in  the  two  regions  are  as  follows: 

iu  the  uplands  40.48  acres  are  in  cotton  in  each  square  mile,  producing  about  10  bales  per  square  mile ;  aud  each 
square  mile  supports  20.03  people,  which  would  give  the  proportion  of  2  acres  in  cotton,  yielding  about  half  a  bale 
(0.49)  to  the  inhabitant. 

In  the  long-leaf  pine  region  the  cotton  acreage  is  2.91  to  the  square  mile,  and  the  product  a  little  over  half  a 
bale  (0.56)  per  square  mile.  The  population  is  5.65  to  the  square  mile,  and  this  gives  the  proportion  of  about  half 
an  acre  of  cotton  (0.51)  and  one-tenth  of  a  bale  to  the  inhabitant. 

The  relative  parts  borne  by  the  white  and  the  colored  population  in  the  production  of  cotton  may  be  roughly 
stated  thus :  In  the  uplands,  where  69  per  cent,  of  the  crop  is  produced,  the  colored  element  outnumbers  the  white 
in  the  ratio  of  2.6  to  1,  while  iu  the  piue  region,  which  produces  only  31  per  cent,  of  the  cotton,  the  whites  outnumber 
the  blacks  iu  the  proportion  of  1.6  to  1. 

Comparison  of  the  counties  in  the  upland  region. — Iu  this  region  Jefferson  county  stands  first  in  respect  both  to 
total  production  and  to  product  per  acre.  Its  rank  in  product  per  acre  is  due  to  superior  fertility  of  soil  or  to  better 
cultivation,  or  to  both  combiued  (see  Hilgard,  Census  Bulletin  No.  251,  p.  2). 

Comparisons  of  total  production  are  apt  to  be  misleading,  because  of  the  inequality  of  the  areas  of  the 
counties ;  aud  if  we  eliminate  this  element  we  still  find  Jefferson  county  occupying  the  first  place,  since  29  per 
cent,  of  the  whole  area  is  under  cultivation,  and  of  this  29  per  cent,  over  one-third  (0.36)  is  in  cottou. 

Leon  county  has  a  slightly  larger  proportion  (0.41)  of  its  tilled  laud  iu  cotton,  though  only  IS  per  cent,  of  the 
whole  area  is  under  cultivation.  The  remaining  counties  stand,  in  these  respects,  in  the  following  order:  Gadsden, 
Madison,  and  Jackson.  In  cotton  acreage  per  square  mile,  population  per  square  mile,  and  cotton  acreage  and 
production  to  the  inhabitant,  Jefferson  county  likewise  takes  the  lead. 

Comparison  of  the  counties  in  the  long-leaf  pine  region. — In  making  the  comparisons  it  will  be  most  convenient  to 
group  the  counties  in  three  sets,  comprising,  respectively:  1st,  those  prodncing  less  than  100  bales;  2d,  those 
producing  more  than  100  and  less  than  1,000  bales;  and,  3d,  those  producing  over  1,000  bales  each.  We  find 
that  the  seven  counties  of  Suwannee,  Hamilton,  Columbia,  Bradford,  Alachua,  Levy,  and  Marion,  forming  the 
third  set,  produce  12,367  bales  (all  sea- island  cotton),  or  72  per  cent,  of  the  crop  of  the  entire  region;  the  other 
two  sets,  embracing  twenty-two  counties,  yield  the  remaining  2S  per  cent.,  or  4,804  bales.  Of  these  twenty-two, 
the  eight  counties  of  Escambia,  Santa  Rosa,  Nassau,  Duval,  Saint  John's,  Clay,  Volusia,  and  Polk,  forming  the  first 
set,  have  a  total  production  of  ouly  350  bales  (about  2  per  cent.),  the  fourteen  counties  of  the  second  set  producing 
the  remainder  of  4,454  bales  (about  26  per  cent.).  Iu  the  following  comparisons  the  eight  counties  producing  less 
than  100  bales  will,  not  be  taken  into  account. 

The  average  product  per  acre  of  the  seven  counties  whose  yield  is  over  1.000  bales  each  is  0.18  of  a  bale;  that 
of  the  fourteen  yielding  between  100  and  1.000  bales  is  0.24  of  a  bale.  This  difference  may  be  accounted  for  by  the 
superior  fertility  of  the  particular  soils  on  which  aloue  the  cotton  is  to  any  great  extent  cultivated  iu  these  last- 
named  eouuties.  Thus  the  comparatively  high  products  of  Walton  (0.27),  Washington  (0.32),  Holmes  (0.24),  Calhoun 
(0.24),  aud  Liberty  (0.27),  in  which  they  resemble  the  upland  counties,  is  undoubtedly  due  to  the  fact  that  iu  these 
five  counties  the  small  outlying  areas  possessing  brown  loam  aud  red  lime-soils  (see  map)  yield  the  great  bulk  of 
the  crop,  the  small  acreage  in  each  case  showing  that  cottou  cultivation  is  confined  to  narrow  limits.  Iu  these  five 
counties  short-staple  cottou  ouly  is  produced. 

Similarly,  the  high  products  of  mostly  long-staple  cotton  of  Wakulla  (0.24),  Taylor  (0.21),  Lafayette  (0.23), 
Levy  (0.34),  Hernando  (0.30),  and  Hillsborough  (0.27)  may  be  traced  to  the  rich  Gulf  hummocks,  which  in  some  of 
these  counties  form  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  farming  lands. 

The  average  product  per  acre  (0.1S)  of  the  seven  principal  cotton-producing  counties  of  this  region  may  be  taken 
as  a  fair  index  of  the  general  character  of  the  pine  lands  upon  which  the  greater  part  of  the  cotton  is  produced 
and  of  the  average  yield  in  sea-island  cotton. 

In  product  per  acre  Levy  county  leads  the  entire  state  (0.34);  and  this  figure,  taken  in  connection  with  the 
circumstances  that  of  the  entire  area  of  the  couuty  only  about  2.0  per  cent,  is  under  cultivation  at  all,  while  of 
this  tilled  land  nearly  one-fourth  (23  per  cent.)  is  in  cotton,  shows  that  the  soil  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  the 
cultivation  of  sea-island  cotton. 

Alachua  couuty  holds  the  first  rank  iu  the  piue  region  as  regards  total  cottou  production,  and  this  not  so  much  iu 
virtue  of  its  large  area  (seven  counties,  with  a  yield  of  over  100  bales,  exceeding  it  in  this  respect)  as  by  reason  of 
the  large  proportion  of  its  area  under  cultivation,  and  especially  of  the  high  percentage  of  tilled  lands  in  cotton 
(29  per  cent.),  in  which  it  leads  the  state,  followed  closely  by  Hamilton  and  Columbus. 


32 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 


Leaving  out  of  account,  as  before,  the  eight  counties  which  produce  less  than  100  bales  each,  but  which  have 
large  towns  within  their  limits,  it  is  seen  that  the  seven  counties  above  named  as  producing  72  per  cent,  of  the 
cotton  of  the  long-leaf  pine  region  have  a  population  of  04,927,  or  considerably  over  half  that  of  the  twenty-one 
cotton-producing  counties.  In  these  seven  counties  the  proportion  of  white  to  colored  is  as  1  to  0.9G,  the  two 
classes  being  about  equal  in  number.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  fourteen  counties  which  produce  4,450  bales,  or 
only  about  20  per  cent,  of  the  crop,  the  whites  outnumber  the  blacks  in  the  proportion  of  39,001  to  11,114,  or 
nearly  3.0  to  1. 

Of  the  seven  principal  (sea  island)  cotton-producing  counties  of  the  pine  region  the  product  per  acre  shows 
an  almost  uniform  increase  going  southward,  Levy  standing  highest  and  Columbia  lowest.  Their  ranks  in  the 
proportions  of  cotton  acreage  to  the  inhabitant,  cotton  acreage  to  the  square  mile,  and  population  to  the  square 
mile,  on  the  contrary,  are  almost  directly  proportional  to  their  degree  of  proximity  to  the  upland  region.  This 
uniformity  is  interrupted  in  each  case  by  a  single  county.  Thus  the  large  population  to  the  square  mile  of  Alachua 
county  (13.07)  places  it  at  the  head  of  the  list,  instead  of  in  its  proper  place  geographically;  and  to  its  large 
population  is  probably  also  due  its  exceptional  rank  (between  Columbia  and  Suwannee  counties)  in  cotton  acreage 
to  the  square  mile. 

In  cotton  acreage  to  the  inhabitant  Marion  county  is  eccentric,  standing  between  Suwannee  and  Columbus. 

Fertilizers. — It  may  be  inferred  from  the  reports  which  have  come  from  some  of  the  counties,  and  it  is 
also  clearly  shown  in  the  low  product  per  acre  of  the  principal  cotton-producing  counties,  that  the  use  of  fertilizers 
is  not  general  in  Florida.  It  is  only  in  those  counties  whose  total  product  is  a  few  bales,  or,  in  other  words,  where 
cotton  is  cultivated  only  in  small  patches  for  home  use,  that  a  high  yield  is  noticed  (except  in  the  case  of  Levy 
county,  already  referred  to).  Cotton-seed  meal,  barn  yard  compost,  aud  guano  appear  to  be  used  in  small  quantities 
in  many  parts  of  the  state,  but  such  a  thing  as  systematic  application  of  manure  to  the  fields  is  essentially  unknown. 

Marls. — Samples  of  marl  from  various  parts  of  the  state  have  come  under  notice,  and  a  few  analyses  have 
been  made. 

Marl  from  Wakulla  count y. 


Insoluble  residuo 35.  555  i 

>  30.  011 

Soluble  silica 3.  450  ) 

Potash •                0.372 

Soda 0.338 

Lime 30.086 

Magnesia  0.424 

Manganese  (brown  oxide)  0.134 

Peroxide  of  iron 0.  534 

Alumina !  1. 106 

Phosphoric  acid 0.  014 

Sulphuric  acid 0.331 

Carbonic  aeid 24.  253 

Water  aud  volatile  matter 3.074 


Total  . 


100.  007 


This  is  the  marl  which  gives  to  the  Gulf  hummocks  of  Wakulla  county  their  exceptional  fertility. 
A  marl  from  the  vicinity  of  Live  Oak  was  analyzed  with  the  following  result : 

Marl  from  Lire  Oal;  Smranncc  county. 


_ 

1.070 
56.  634 
42.  140 
0.123 
0.200 

100. 173 

This  is  almost  pure  carbonate  of  lime,  and  hardly  a  marl,  strictly  speaking,  but  well  adapted  to  use  as  such. 
Specimens  of  marl  from  various  localities  in  Clay  county  have  been  received,  but  have  not  been  analyzed. 
In  many  counties,  especially  southward,  and  in  the  uear  vicinity  of  rivers  and  other  water-courses,  are  great 
heaps  of  the  shells  of  recent  fresh- water  species;  and  these  have  been  used  to  a  limited  extent. 

212 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION. 


33 


In  Volusia  county  a  very  friable  shell-marl,  apparently  not  of  living  species,  has  been  dug  and  applied  to  the 
fields  in  certain  localities.  Indeed,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  geological  formation  which  makes  the  substratum 
of  the  entire  state,  it  seems  almost  certain  that  calcareous  material  suitable  for  agricultural  purposes  will  be  found 
in  most  of  the  counties. 

Pkospkatic  rook. — Among  the  samples  of  building-stone  sent  to  Dr.  George  W.  Hawes,  of  the.  National  Museum, 
was  one  from  Hawthorne,  in  Alachua  county.  Upon  analysis  this  rock  was  found  to  be  rich  in  phosphoric  acid, 
which  led  to  the  examination  of  a  number  of  specimens.  One  of  the  analyses  gave  only  3  to  4  per  cent,  of 
phosphoric  acid;  auother  as  much  as  10  per  cent.;  and  1  have  taken  the  following  analysis  as  representing 
prohablv  the  average  composition  of  the  material : 

Phosphatie  rock  from  Hawthorne,  Alachua  county. 


(J.  33 

a.  39 

100.  75 

Of  the  extent  of  this  deposit  little  is  as  yet  definitely  known  beyond  the  fact  that  specimens  were  collected 
from  localities  at  least  a  mile  apart.  This  occurrence  of  phosphatic  rock  will  probably  be  thoroughly  investigated 
and  utilized. 

Marsh  muck. — Of  this  substance  I  have  nothing  to  say  from  personal  knowledge,  but  from  the  statements  of 
Williams  and  others  it  appears  that  it  has  been  tried  in  many  instances,  especially  on  the  eastern  side  of  Hie 
peninsula,  and  has  been  found  to  be  a  valuable  fertilizer  for  the  sandy  pine  lands. 

Since  marsh  muck  is  humus,  resulting  from  the  partial  decay  of  vegetable  matter  in  marshes  and  bogs,  the 
beneficial  effects  of  itjs  application  to  the  sandy  soils  of  the  peninsula,  are  twofold:  physically,  it  improves  the 
sandy  soil  by  making  it  more  coherent,  and  on  account  of  its  capacity  for  absorption  of  water  it  increases  its 
moisture;  and  chemically,  since  the  muck  holds  all  the  mineral  substances  contained  in  the  plants  from  which 
it  was  derived,  and  as  its  organic  acids  fix  the  ammonia  resulting  from  the  decomposition  of  the  nitrogenous 
parts  of  the  plants,  it  may  be  looked  upon  as  a  complete  manure,  furnishing  directly  all  those  ingredients  which 
the  growing  crop  can  assimilate  from  the  soil.  Its  acidity  should,  wherever  possible,  be  counteracted  by  the 
simultaneous  use  of  marl  or  lime. 

Of  the  great  quantity  and  easy  accessibility  of  marsh  muck  in  most  parts  of  Florida  there  can  be  no  doubt; 
the  humus  from  bogs  and  swamps  inland  might  be  profitably  used  in  the  same  way  as  marsh  muck. 


213 


34 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 


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.  AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  COUNTIES  OF  FLORIDA. 


35 
215 


LIST    (WITH    BOTANICAL    NAMES)    OF    THE    MOST    COMMON    TIMBER  TREES,  SHKUBS,   AND 

WEEDS  OCCURRING   IN   FLORIDA. 

This  list  is  intended  to  include  only  the  more  common  trees  and  shrubs,  most  of  which  are  mentioned  in  county 
descriptions. 

Some  of  the  more  common  herbaceous  plants  have  already  been  mentioned  above  in  the  general  description 
and  their  botanical  names  given. 

In  the  elevated  and  bottom  lands  of  the  upland  region: 


Quercus  falcata,  Ms.     Spanish  oak,  red  oak. 

Quercus  tinctorial  Bastr.     Black  oak. 

Quercus  coctinca,  Wang.     Scarlet  oak. 

Quercus  rubra,  L.     Red  oak. 

Quercua  obtusiloba,  Ms.     Post  oak. 

Quercus  alba,  L.     White  oak. 

Quercus  aqualica,  Catesb.     Water  oak. 

Quercus  nigra,  L.     Black-jack. 

Quercus  Fhcllos,  L.     Willow  oak. 

Vhius  mitis,  Michx.     Short-lent'  pine. 

Finns  Tada,  L.     <  >ld-field  pine. 

Finns  glabra,  Wall.     Spruce  pine. 

Juglana  nigra,  L.     Black  walnut. 

Carya  tomentosa,  Nutt.     Hickory. 

The  trees  and  shrubs  of  the  hummocks  are,  to  a  great  extent,  the  same  as  those  of  the  bottom  lands  of  the 
upland  region ;  but  the  following"  are  more  characteristic  of  the  hummocks  : 

Quercus  virena,  Ait.     Live  oak. 

Persea  CaroUncnsis,  Nees.     Red  bay. 

Stibal palmetto,  R.  S.     Cabbage  palmetto,  along  the  coast. 

Many  of  the  trees  above  named  are  also  found  along  the  borders  of  swamps;  but  (be  following  are  more 
characteristic  of  swamps: 


Magnolia  grondijlora,  L.     Magnolia. 

Magnolia  Fraaeri,  Walt.     Large-leaf  magnolia. 

Liriodendron  lulipifera.  L.     Poplar. 

Cornus  Florida,  L.     Dogwood. 

Diospyros  Firginiana,  L,     Persimmon. 

Liquidambar  stryacijluu,  L.     Sweet-gum. 

Xyssa  multijlora.  Wang.     Soar-gum. 

Fag  us  ferruginea.    Ail.     Beech. 

Flaiunus  occidentalis,  L.     Sycamore. 

Uhnus  Americana,  L.     Elm. 

Jsimhia  triloba,  Dunal.     Papaw. 

Asimina  pgymaa,  Dnual.     Dwarf  papaw. 

Osydendrnm  arborcum}  DC.     Sour-wood. 


Juiiipmts   I'irginiana,  L. 
Froj'iuiis  Americana,  L. 


Red  cedar. 
White  ash. 


Taxodium  distichtim,  Rich.     Cypress. 
Fraximta  platycarpa,  Michx.     Water  ash. 
Xyssa  unijlora,  Walt.     Tupelo. 
Quercus  lyrata,  Walt.     Over-cup  oak. 
Prinua,  L,     Swamp  chestnut-oak. 

In  the  pine  region  the  more  common  trees  and  shrubs  are: 

F'inns  australis,  Michx.     Long-leaf  pine,  yellow  pine.  Quercua  cinerea,  Michx. 

Finns  Cnbensis,  Grisebach.     Pitch  pine,  along  the  coasts  and  in  the 


Magnolia  glauea,  L.     Bay. 

<  'ephalanthits  occidental  is,  L.     Button  bush. 

Kuonymus  Americanus.  L.     American  strawberry  bns.h. 

CUJ'tonia  ligustrina,  Banks,     Titi. 


High-Ground  willow  oak. 


lowlands  south  of  latitude  27 

In  the  sterile  pine  lands  other  species  of  oaks  have  a  dwarfed  or  scrubby  growth 

Hickory ;  also  often  assumes  a  shrubby  growt 


Carya  tomentosa 

pine  barrens. 
.Saba!  scrrulala,  R.  S.     Saw  palmetto. 
Sabal  Adansouii,  Guerns.     Dwarf  palmetto. 

monly  on  low  sandy  pine  lands. 


These  two  grow  com- 


Zamia  intcgi'ifolia.  Wild.  Coon  tie.     Low  grounds  of  southern  Florida. 

Kalmia  latif'ol'ta,  L      Calico  bush. 

Kalmia  hirauta,  Walt.     Wicky-flat  barrens. 

Prima  glabra.  L.     Gallberry.     Flat  pine  barrens. 


The  following- list  embraces  the  plants  most  troublesome  as  weeds: 


Cassia  <  hamaerinta,  L. 

Cassia  niciitaus,  L.,  var.  aapera. 


Cassia  obtitsifolia,  L. 
Cassia  occidcnlalis,  L. 
Cassia  Marilavdiea,  L. 

These  cassias  have  the  general  name  of  coffee-weeds  or  coft'ee-plants. 
weeds  are  perhaps  obtitsifolia  and  Ghamcecrista. 

Richardsonia-scabra,  Florida  clover,  Indian  clover,  beggar-lice,  and 
so  on.  This  plant  grows  everywhere  in  sandy  fields.  By  some  it 
is  considered  very  good  pasturage,  and  therefore  is  not  an  unmiti- 
gated evil. 

Ambrosia  artcmisiaj'olia,  L.     Hog-weed. 

Xanihium  strumarium,  L.     Cocklebur. 

Selenium  tenuifolium,  Nutt.  Yellow  dog-fennel;  a  most  troublesome 
weed.  It  is  eaten  in  the  spring  by  cattle,  and  imparts  an  in- 
tensely bitter  taste  to  tho  milk. 

36 

216 


The  most  common  and  troublesome  as 


Manila    Cotnla,    DC.       Dog-fennel,    May-weed.       Formerly    more 

troublesome  ;  now  being  driven  out  by  Selenium  tenuifolium. 
Bidene  frondoaa,  L.     Beggar-ticks. 
Bidens  bipiunata,  L.     Spanish  needles. 
Ainarantus  spinosita,  L.     Careless-weed. 

Chenopodium  Anllielminlictun,  L.     Worm-seed,  Jerusalem  oak. 
F>artyloclcniuin  JEgyptiacum,  Willd.     Crow-foot  grass. 
Fanicum  sanguinalc.  L.     Crab-grass. 
Cenclirus  eehinatns,  L.  Sand  spur,  cockspur. 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTION 


COUNTIES    OF    FLOEIDA. 


The  counties  are  here  grouped  under  the  heads  of  the  several  agricultural  regions,  previously  described,  to 
which  each  predominantly  belongs.  Each  county  is  described  as  a  whole.  When  its  territory  is  covered  in  part 
by  several  adjacent  soil  regions,  its  name  will  be  found  under  each  of  the  several  regional  heads  in  which  it  is 
concerned,  with  a  reference  to  the  one  under  which  it  is  actually  described.  In  the  lists  of  counties  placed  at 
the  head  of  each  group  the  names  of  those  described  elsewhere  are  marked  with  au  asterisk  (*) ;  and  the  reference 
to  the  head  under  which  these  are  described  will  be  found  in  its  place,  in  the  order  of  the  list,  in  the  text  itself. 

The  regional  groups  of  counties  are  placed  in  the  same  order  as  that  in  which  the  regional  descriptions  themselves 
are  given. 

The  statements  of  areas,  woodland,  prairie,  and  so  on,  refer  to  the  original  state  of  things,  irrespective  of  tilled 
or  otherwise  improved  lands. 

Appended  to  the  description  of  each  county  from  which  a  report  or  reports  have  been  received  is  an  abstract 
of  the  main  points  of  such  reports,  so  far  as  they  refer  to  natural  features,  production,  and  communication.  Those 
portions  of  the  reports  referring  to  agricultural  and  commercial  practice  are  placed  in  a  separate  division  (Part  III), 
following  that  of  the  county  descriptions. 

In  making  abstracts  of  the  reports  it  has  been  necessary,  in  most  cases,  to  change  somewhat  the  language  of 
the  reporter,  while  preserving  the  sense. 

I.-OAK,  HICKORY,  AND  PINE  UPLAND  REGION. 

The  following  counties  lie  wholly  or  partly  within  this  region :  In  western  Florida,  Walton,*  Washington,* 
Calhoun,*  and  Jackson;  in  middle  Florida.  Gadsden,  Liberty,*  Leon,  Jefferson,  and  Madison. 

WALTON. 
(See  under  "Long-leaf  pine  region".) 

WASHINGTON. 

(See  under  "  Long-leaf  pine  region".) 

CALHOUN. 

(See  under  "  Long-leaf  pine  region".) 

JACKSON. 

Population. :  14,372. — White,  5,637;  colored,  8,735. 

Area:  1,000  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Ked  lime-lauds,  150  square  miles;  oak  and  hickory  uplands, 
including  pine  ridge  lands,  400  square  miles;  long-leaf  pine  lands,  450  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  84,738  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  20,920  acres;  in  corn,  33,780  acres;  in  oats,  6,174  acres; 
in  rice,  88  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  1,022  acres;  in  sugar  cane,  500  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  0,144  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.23  bale  (short  staple),  324  pounds  seed-cotton, 
or  10S  pounds  cotton  lint.     Thirty-two  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  lands  are  devoted  to  cotton  culture. 

3? 

'-'17 


38  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

The  whole  of  Jackson  county  is  underlaid  by  limestone,  upon  the  eroded  surface  of  which  have  been  subsequently 

deposited  thick  beds  of  sand,  pebbles,  and  red  or  yellow  loam.  Frequently  the  upper  beds  of  these  drifted  materials 
are  mostly  sand,  and  when  that  is  the  case,  as  in  the  western  or  northwestern  part  of  the  county,  where  denudation 
has  been  least  effective,  high,  rolling  land  prevails,  with  sandy  soil,  and  universally  clothed  with  a  growth  of  the 
long-leaf  pine. 

The  Chipola  river  and  its  tributaries  traverse  the  county  from  north  to  south  near  its  center,  and  in  its  drainage 
area  the  sands  have  been  to  great  extent  removed,  in  some  cases  laying  bare  the  limestone  itself.  Along  this 
river  a  strip  of  country  20  or  30  miles  long  and  perhaps  10  miles  wide  has  a  rich  loamy  soil,  thoroughly  marled  and 
rendered  fertile  by  the  calcareous  matter  of  the  country  rock.  This  is  known  in  the  county  as  red  lime  laud. 
Upon  these  red  lands  white  orbitoides  limestone  (Vicksburg)  was  observed  in  several  outcrops,  usually  a  little 
above  the  general  level  of  the  red  fields.  The  area  occupied  by  this  kind  of  land  is  perhaps  about  one  sixth  of  the 
county  lying  adjacent  to  the  Chipola  river  and  its  tributaries. 

Between  the  Chipola  and  the  Chattahoochee  rivers  the  original  thickness  of  sands  and  clays  remains  in  great 
measure,  forming  high  pine  barrens,  where,  in  many  places,  the  only  associate  of  the  long-leaf  pine  is  a  dwarf  oak. 
Toward  the  Chipola,  where  the  limestone  is  near  or  at  the  surface,  the  big  spring  of  Chipola,  between  Marianna 
and  Chattahoochee,  breaks  up  from  the  foot  of  a  bluff  of  this  rock  some  20  feet  high  and  runs  off  in  a  large  stream. 

Near  the  southern  limit  of  the  county,  and  reaching  down  into  Calhoun,  the  oak  uplands,  with  brown  loam  soil 
and  red  clay  loam  subsoil,  which  form  so  large  a  part  of  the  uplands  of  Leon  and  Gadsden  counties,  are  met  with 
on  the  western  side  of  the  river.  These  uplands  extend  across  the  county  to  Washington,  where  they  subside  as 
detached  hills. 

It  will  be  seen  that  Jackson  county  possesses  a  large  area  of  excellent  farming  lands,  which  may  be  described 
under  the  heads  of — 

1.  lied  lime  lands  of  the  Chipola  and  its  tributaries. 

2.  Brown  loam  uplands,  with  red  clayey  subsoil,  timbered  chielly  with  oaks  and  hickories.  To  these  may  be 
added: 

3.  The  long-leaf  pine  ridge  lands  and  rolling  pine  lands,  which  are  of  less  value  agriculturally. 

Of  these  soil  varieties  the  brown  loam  and  the  pine  ridge  lands  are  commonly  found  in  the  other  upland 
counties,  but  the  red  lime-lands  have  not  been  met  with  in  any  large  bodies  outside  of  Jackson  county. 

ABSTRACT    OF    REPORT    OF   JAMES   V.    BURKE,    OF   MARIANNA. 

This  report  refers  to  the  lowlands  of  the  Chipola  river,  a  tributary  of  the  Chattahoochee,  and  to  the  high  rolling  and  level  lands 
between  the  Chipola  and  the  Chattahoochee,  and  westward  of  the  Chipola.     The  soils  described  are  those  enumerated  above. 

Bed  Ume-land. — This  has  a  brown  or  reddish  loam  soil  with  a  red  clayey  subsoil  (sometimes  bluish),  with  limestone  underlying  at  3  to 
8  feet  below  the  surface.  It  supports  a  growth,  of  several  species  of  oak,  hickory,  beech,  poplar,  and  dogwood,  with  short-leaf  pine 
where  the  soil  is  a  little  sandy.  Though  productive,  it  is  not  easy  to  till,  as  it  is  very  sticky  in  wet  weather  and  hard  in  dry  seasons. 
Most  of  this  laud  is  cleared  and  cultivated.  The  usual  crops  are  produced,  but  cotton  (short  staple)  upon  at  least  one-half  of  the  land. 
The  stalks  vary  in  height  from  2  to  10  feet,  according  to  locality,  being  about  equally  productive  at  all  heights.  From  fresh  land  the 
yield  is  1,000  to  2,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  the  acre,  and  1,425  to  1,050  pounds  are  required  to  make  a  -175-pound  bale.  After  ten 
years'  cultivation  the  average  yield  is  said  to  be  from  800  to  1,500  pounds.  Cotton  from  this  land  rates  from  good  ordinary  to  low 
middling,  and  from  the  cultivated  land  it  is  usually  one  grade  better,  owing  to  the  fact  that  less  cotton  rots  in  the  boll  because  of  smaller 
weed.  Mucb  of  this  land,  about  one-sixth,  now  lies  turned  out.  When  taken  again  into  cultivation  it  is  usually  not  much  improved,  for 
it  supports,  wben  not  cultivated  for  two  or  three  years,  a  dense  growth  of  broom-sedge,  which  keeps  it  pretty  well  drained  of  available 
plant-food.  On  account  of  the  generally  level  character  and  the  tolerably  stiff  soil  of  the  red  land  there  is  not  much  damage  done  by 
washes  or  gullies.  In  cases,  however,  where  horizontalizing  and  hillside  ditching  are  practiced  the  damage  from  this  cause  is  almost 
completely  checked.     The  injury  to  the  valleys  from  washing  is  due  to  the  fact  that  they  are  covered  with  a  coarse  gravelly  sand. 

Next  in  importance  to  the  red  lime-lauds  are  the  oak  and  hickory  or  brown  loam  uplands,  which  have  as  subsoil  the  yellowish  or  red 
loam  alluded  to  above.  In  places  iu  this  county  pebbles  also  are  found  intermixed  with  the  other  materials  constituting  the  subsoil. 
The  usual  growth  is  very  similar  to  that  upon  the  limestone  lauds,  with  perhaps  a  larger  percentage  of  short-leaf  pine.  The  soil  is  a  line 
sandy  loam  of  a  grayish  to  brown  cokir,  easily  tilled  in  all  seasons,  and  is  well  suited  to  all  the  southern  crops,  although  about  one-half 
the  area  is  planted  in  cotton.     The  usual  height  of  stalk  is  from  2  to  3  feet. 

On  fresh  land  the  seed-eotton  product  is  1,000  pounds  to  the.  acre,  and  about  1,200  to  1,300  pounds  are  required  to  make  a  400-pound 
bale.  The  staple  is  classed  as  low  middling.  Under  cultivation  the  land  deteriorates,  so  that  after  live  years,  without  manuring,  the 
seed-cotton  product  per  acre  is  only  500  pounds,  of  which  1,365  to  1,425  pounds  are  needed  to  make  a  475-pound  bale.  The  liber  is  said  to 
improve  sligbtly  as  the  land  deteriorates.  Of  this  land  very  little  now  lies  turned  out,  and  that  which  has  rested  and  been  taken  again 
into  cultivation  is  much  improved,  being  nearly  as  productive  as  the  fresh  land.  From  the  uneven  character  of  the  surface,  gullies  and 
washes  are  numerous,  and  the  valleys  are  injured  to  the  extent  of  25  to  50  per  cent,  by  the  washings  from  the  uplands.  Hillside  ditching 
and  horizontalizing,  when  carefully  carried  out,  are  found  to  be  effective  remedies  against  this  evil. 

The  long-leaf  pine  ridge  lauds  occupy  at  least  one-third  of  the  area,  predominating  in  the  western  parts  of  the  county  and  toward  the 
south.  The  natural  growth  is  long-leaf  pine,  with  scrub  oaks,  with  which  are  associated  trees  of  black-jack  and  other  species  of  oak  and 
hickory  where  this  soil  variety  approaches  the  others  above  described.  The  three  principal  types  of  soil  herein  mentioned  grade  off  into 
each  other  where  they  come  in  contact.  The  soil  is  a  coarse  sandy,  sometimes  gravelly,  material,  of  a  whitish  or  gray  color.  These 
characters  are  frequently  maintained  without  serious  change  to  a  depth  of  3  to  5  feet,  and  below  this  there  is  often  a  heavy,  close  sand, 
not  very  pervious  to  water.  Pebbles  also  are  occasionally  found  in  the  subsoil.  In  these  pine  lands  limestone  lies  deep  below  the  surface. 
From  its  nature  this  soil  is  best  suited  to  sugar-cane,  ground-peas,  and  sweet  potatoes,  though  with  the  use  of  fertilizers  cotton  may  very 
profitably  be  cultivated.     Very  little  cotton,  however,  is  produced  upon  it. 

The  fresh  land,  unmanured,  will  yield  from  300  to  700  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  the  acre,  and  the  staple  is  rated  as  good.  The  stalk 
is  low,  from  2  to  2*  feet  iu  height,  and  never  runs  to  weed.  Under  cultivation  this  soil  is  naturally  soon  exhausted,  yielding  on  an  average 
after  five  years  (unmanured)  300  pounds  of  seed-cotton,  the  staph-  of  which,  however,  is  by  some  thought  to  rate  better  than  that  from 
the  fresh  land.  "Where  such  lands  lie  well  they  are  coming  iuto  notice,  because  of  the  ease  with  which  they  are  cultivated  and  their 
safety,  and  from  the  fact  that  with  small  outlay  for  commercial  fertilizers  good  returns  are  obtained. 
218 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  39 

Upon  the  red  lime-lands  the  natural  tendency  of  the  cotton-plant  i8  to  go  to  weed,  particularly  in  wet  seasons;  on  the  loam  lauds  it 
rarely  goes  to  weed,  and  on  the  pine  ridge  lands  never.  Any  tendency  in  this  direction  may  usually  he  checked  by  the  application  of 
phosphates  at  the  rate  of  100  pounds  to  the  acre.  This  stimulates  the  plant  to  early  fruiting,  and  will  increase  the  yield  25  to  50  per  cent. 
The  most  troublesome  weeds  upon  all  classes  of  soil  are  crab-grass,  crow-foot  grass,  coffee-weeds,  and  cockleburs. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  from  September  10  to  January  1,  by  steamer  or  by  rail,  to  Columbus  and  Savannah,  Georgia.  The  rate 
of  freight  per  bale  is  75  cents  to  Columbus  and  $2  25  to  Savannah. 

GADSDEN. 

Population:  12,160.— White,  4,114  ;  colored,  8,055. 

Area  :  540  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Oak  and  hickory  uplands,  180  square  miles  ;  long  leaf  pine  ridge 
lands,  235  square  miles  ;  hummocks,  125  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands  :  05,304  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  19,464  acres;  in  corn,  25,753  acres  ;  in  oats,  2,853  acres  ;  in 
rice,  130  acres  ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  808  acres ;  in  sugar-cane,  443  acres. 

Cotton  production :  4,000  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre  0.24  bale  (short  staple  chiefly),  345  pounds 
Seed-cotton,  or  115  pounds  cotton  lint. 

Throughout  Gadsden  county  the  country  rock  is  a  white  limestone  of  Tertiary  (Eocene)  age. 

In  the  upper  part  of  the  county,  from  Chattahoochee  to  Quincy,  there  is  a  belt  of  high  tableland,  the  elevation 
of  which  above  sea-level  cannot  be  less  than  300  feet.  Northward  toward  the  Georgia  line,  upon  the  drainage  slope 
of  Flint  river,  this  table-land  breaks  off  into  brown  loam  uplands,  and  lower  down  into  rolling  pine  lands. 

The  distribution  of  the  soil  varieties  is  to  a  great  extent  determined  by  the  position  of  the  water-courses. 
Upon  the  high  plateau  above  mentioned,  and  in  general  upon  the  ridges  separating  adjacent  drainage  basins, 
the  soil  is  quite  sandy,  and  the  timber  chiefly  long-leaf  pine,  associated  in  places  with  black-jack  and  other  species 
of  oak,  with  some  hickories.  In  the  poorer  spots  the  growth,  both  of  pines  and  oaks,  is  stunted.  An  undergrowth 
of  wire-grass  is  found  throughout  this  area,  which  occupies  about  one-third  of  the  county. 

The  sandy  soil  is  underlaid  at  varying  depths  by  a  reddish  clayey  loam,  which,  as  we  descend  from  the  table- 
lands toward  the  water-courses,  itself  forms  the  surface  (the  overlying  sandier  portions  having  been  washed  away), 
and  constitutes  the  red  and  brown  loam  uplands.  These  cover,  perhaps,  another  third  of  the  county.  As  is 
usual  wherever  the  red  and  brown  loams  form  the  surface  materials,  covering  the  underlying  country  rocks  in 
considerable  thickness,  the  surface  is  generally  quite  broken. 

At  still  lower  levels,  where  the  loams  forming  the  soils  and  subsoils  of  the  uplands  have  been  mostly  removed 
by  denudation  and  only  comparatively  thin  deposits  of  sandy  material  have  been  left  upon  the  country  limestone, 
the  gently  undulating  or  rolling  country  is  timbered  mostly  with  large  pines.  Not  much  of  Gadsden  county  is  of 
this  kind,  but  the  loam  uplands,  as  a  rule,  reach  down  to  the  vicinity  of  the  water-level  in  the  various  streams, 
where  the  hummocks,  (a)  both  clay  and  sandy,  or,  more  properly  speaking,  the  second  bottoms,  begin  . 

Upon  the  table-lands  first  mentioned  the  cultivation  of  the  sea-island  cotton  is  reaching  considerable  proportions. 
Upon  the  other  varieties  of  soil  the  upland  cotton  is  almost  exclusively  cultivated. 

ABSTRACT   OF   REPORT   OF  JESSE   "WOOD,  OF  MOUNT  PLEASANT. 

This  report  refers  to  the  lowlands  of  Mosquito  and  Flat  creeks,  tributary  to  the  Apalachicola  river,  and  to  the  highlands  between 
Chattahoochee  and  Quincy. 

The  soils  described  are  :  1st,  those  of  the  table-laud  ;  '3d,  of  the  oak  and  hickory  uplands  ;  3d,  clay  hummocks ;  4th,  sandy  hummocks. 

The  table-lands,  or  pine  ridge  lauds,  are  cultivated  In  eottou,  corn,  oats,  tobacco,  sugar-cane,  and  potatoes.  The  soil  is  sandy,  aud 
the  growth  long-leaf  pine,  with  some  oak.  Of  late  years  the  cultivation  of  grapes  has  become  a  very  important  item.  The  use  of 
fertilizers  in  cotton-planting  on  this  land  is  becoming  geueral,  noue  being  produced  without  them.  With  fertilizers  this  is  considered 
very  safe  for  cotton,  which  is  now  cultivated  on  about  one-third  of  the  cleared  laud.  Under  favorable  circumstances  the  yield  is 700  to  800 
pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  the  acre,  the  staple  being  rated  as  "low  middling".  Very  little  if  any  of  the  table-land  now  lies  turned  out, 
and  on  account  of  its  position  there  is  uo  injury  from  washing  or  gullies. 

The  soil  next  in  importance,  or  probably  of  equal  importance,  is  that  of  the  red  clay  or  loam  uplands,  occupying  one-third  of  the  area 
of  the  county.  This  soil  supports  a  natural  growth,  which  varies  with  the  soil  itself.  Where  this  is  sandy,  long-leaf  pine  is  the  chief 
timber  tree,  but  with  increasing  proportions  of  loam  or  clay  oaks  and  hickory  and  short-leaf  pine  replace  partly  or  altogether  the 
long-leaf  species.  Below  the  red  clay  or  loam,  which  is  of  varying  thickness,  are  found  beds  of  sand  and  occasionally  of  pebbles,  especially 
westward  within  the  drainage  area  of  the  Apalachicola  river,  and  underneath  all  the  limestone,  which,  however,  does  not  usually  appear 
at  the  surface  except  in  the  vicinity  of  the  river.  This  soil  is  good  for  all  the  ordinary  crops,  but  is  considered  best  adapted  to  cotton  (short 
staple),  which  is  cultivated  on  perhaps  one-third  of  the  cleared  land.  The  height  of  the  stalk  when  most  productive  is  4  feet,  and  on  fresh 
land,  according  to  its  quality,  a  yield  of  from  800  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  the  acre  may  be  expected.  The  staple  is  rated  as 
"low  middling".  This  soil  retains  well  its  fertility,  yielding  500  to  700  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  the  acre  after  ten  years'  cultivation 
without  manure.  With  long-continued  cultivation  of  the  land  the  staple  is  slightly  deteriorated.  Unlike  the  table-lauds,  these  uplands 
suffer  from  washing,  but  the  lowlands  are  usually  improved  rather  than  injured  by  washings  from  high  levels.  This  trouble  can  be 
successfully  remedied  by  hillside  ditching  and  horizontalizing.  One-fourth  of  the  land  originally  cultivated  now  lies  turned  out,  aud 
when  again  taken  into  cultivation  it  produces  nearly  as  well  as  when  fresh,  especially  when  cattle  have  not  been  allowed  to  graze  upon  it. 

The  clay  hummocks  are  situated^is  above  indicated,  near  the  creeks,  and  they  constitute  perhaps  one-sixth  of  the  tillable  area  of  the 
county.  The  natural  growth  is  beech,  white  oak,  hickory,  magnolia,  spruce  pine,  ete.  The  color  is  usually  what  is  known  as  mulatto, 
and  the  depth  of  soil  to  where  change  of  color  is  noticed  is  from  5  to  6  inches.  The  subsoil  is  a  clay  or  loam,  soMe  times  red,  sometimes  yellow, 
sometimes  what  is  called  pipe-clay.  This  soil,  as  well  as  that  of  the  red  clay  uplands,  is  easily  tilled,  except  in  dry  weather,  when  the 
ground  is  likely  to  become  too  hard.  It  is  neither  early  nor  late,  warm  nor  cold,  but  of  medium  quality.  The  three  staple  crops — corn, 
cotton,  and  oats — are  cultivated,  the  soil  being  apparently  best  adapted  to  eottou,  which  is  planted  on  about  three-fourths  of  the  cleared 

a  It  will  be  seen  that  in  the  brown  loam  region  the  term  hummock  is  usually  applied  to  the  lowlands  in  the  vicinity  of  water-courses 
.  or  lakes,  though  sometimes  also  to  the  uplands  which  bear  a  growth  of  oaks  and  hickories.     In  this  respect  the  custom  here  differs  from 
that  prevailing  in  some  parts  of  the  peninsula,  where  the  term  hummock  lands  is  almost  invariably  applied  to  places  where  the  underlying 
limestone  mingles  with  and  marls  the  usually  sandy  surface  soil. 

219 


40  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

laud.  The  usual  height  of  stalk  at  which  it  is  most  productive  is  from  4  to  G  feet,  aud  the  seed-cottou  product  on  fresh  laud  under  favorable 
circumstances  is  from  800  to  t,°.00  pounds.  The  staple  rates  as  "low  middling".  Like  that  of  the  red  clay  uplands,  this  soil  retains  well 
its  fertility,  yielding  after  ten  years'  cultivation,  without  manure,  (iOO  to  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton,  according  to  quality  ;  and,  as  is  usually 
the  case,  the  staple  is  slightly  deteriorated.  From  its  position  this  class  of  land  is  much  injured  by  gullies,  the  valleys  being,  on  the  other 
hand,  if  anything,  improved  by  washings  from  the  uplands.  Horlzontalizing  and  hillside  ditching  are  practiced  to  some  extent,  and, 
when  properly  done,  check  the  damage  from  washing.  About  one-half  of  this  land  lies  turned  out.  It  recovers  rapidly  when  cattle  are 
kept  off',  and  when  again  taken  into  cultivation  produces  nearly  as  well  as  fresh  land. 

Closely  associated  with  the  above,  aud  occupying  similar  positions  along  the  banks  of  creeks,  are  the  sandy  hummocks.  The  natural 
growth  upon  these  is  the  same  as  that  upon  the  clay  hummocks,  with  the  addition  of  willow  oak.  The  subsoil,  as  well  as  the  soil,  is  more 
or  less  sandy.  This  soil  is  warm,  early,  well-drained,  aud  easily  cultivated,  producing  well  the  three  staple  crops,  but  being  best  adapted 
to  corn,  since  cotton  is  much  moro  likely  to  go  to  weed  upon  this  than  upon  the  other  soils  above  described.  In  extent  the  sandy 
hummocks  are  about  like  the  clay  hummocks,  embracing  one-sixth  of  the  cultivated  lands.  Only  about  one-third  is  planted  in  cotton, 
which  grows  well  when  the  land  is  fresh,  but  soon  falls  oil'  with  continued  cultivation.  The  staple  is  usually  rated  as  "low  middling", 
but  it  is  inferior  to  that  of  cotton  grown  upon  the  other  varieties  of  soil.  The  fresh  land  yields  800  to  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to 
the  acre,  but  after  somo  years'  cultivation  not  more  than  300  or  400  pounds  are  produced.  The  staple  from  the  old  land  is  very  much 
inferior  to  that  from  the  fresh.  Probably  one-half  of  the  sandy  hummock  land  originally  cultivated  now  lies  turned  out,  but  it  is  quite 
productive  wheu  reclaimed,  provided  that  cattle  have  not  been  allowed  to  graze  upon  it.  As  to  injury  from  washing  and  remedy  for 
the  evil,  what  has  been  said  above  under  clay  hummocks  applies  equally  here. 

In  all  these  soils  late  planting  and  wet  seasons  are  looked  upon  as  producing  a  tendency  to  run  to  weed,  and  early  planting  aud 
topping  are  suggested  as  remedies.      Crab-grass  is  by  far  the  most  troublesome  weed. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  from  September  1  to  March,  by  rail  and  water,  to  Savannah,  Columbus,  and  to  New  Orleans.  Tho 
usual  rate  of  freight  to  Savannah,  to  which  port  most  of  the  cotton  goes,  is  75  cents  per  hundred  pounds. 

LIBERTY. 
(See  under  "Long-leaf  pine  region"). 

LEON. 

Population:  19,062.— Wit  ite,  2,S22 ;  colored,  10,84(1. 

Area:  900  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Oak  and  hickory  uplands  (including  long  leal'  pine  ridge  lands 
about  200  square  miles),  400  square  miles;  first-class  pine  lauds,  275  square  miles;  second- and  third-class  pine 
lands,  225  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  104,857  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  42,988  acres;  in  corn,  43,745  acres;  in  oats,  3,193  acres; 
in  rice,  41  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  2,024  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  844  acres. 

Cotton  production :  9,502  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.22  bale  (short  staple),  318  pounds  seed- 
cotton,  or  100  pounds  cotton  lint. 

In  geological  structure  Leon  county  resembles  Gadsden,  As  compared  with  Gadsden,  it  has  a  rather  more 
broken  and  uneven  surface,  and  the  level  table-lauds  tire  here  almost  wanting. 

In  its  general  appearance  the  country  about  Tallahassee  northward  is  the  counterpart  id'  much  of  the  oak 
uplands  of  Georgia,  Alabama,  and  Mississippi.  A  ll-w  miles  southward  of  the  capital,  however,  there  is  a  descent 
into  the  low,  flat  pine  woods,  which,  interspersed  with  hummocks  and  swamps,  reach  to  the  Gulf. 

Of  the  soil  varieties  of  Loon  county  three  only  need  special  mention:  1st,  the  red  or  brown  clay  loam  lands, 
sometimes  called  oak  and  hickory  hummocks ;  2d,  the  light  sandy  pine  lands;  and,  intermediate  between  these, 
3d.  A  light  clay  loam  of  grayish  color,  with  a  growth  chiefly  of  pine,. forming  the  long-leaf  pine  uplands  or  ridge 
lands. 

The  most  important  soil  is  that  of  the  red  or  brown  clay  loam  lands,  which  form  about  one-half  the  cultivated 
area  of  the  county.  The  principal  trees  are  species  of  oak,  with  hickory  and  short-leaf  pine.  Near  the  lakes  other 
hard  woods  are  associated  with  these.  This  soil  is  a  clay  loam  of  gray,  brown,  and  mulatto  colors,  changing  at  an 
average  depth  of  0  inches  to  the  subsoil,  which  is  heavier,  more  clayey,  and  of  a  dark  red  color  on  the  better  lands 
and  yellow  in  the  poorer  spots.  Underneath  this  are  beds  of  sand  and  gravel  25  to  50  feet  in  depth,  resting  upon 
a  substratum  of  limestone,  which,  however,  is  rarely  seen  except  in  the  southern  parts  of  the  county.  As  usual 
where  the  drift  beds  overlying  the  limestone  are  very  (hick  the  inequalities  produced  by  sinks  in  the  hitter  rock  are 
shown  on  the  surface  as  large  depressions  rilled  with  water,  constituting  lakes  and  ponds.  In  this  way  the  region 
characterized  by  lime-sinks  differs  from  that  in  which  lakes  are  the  distinctive  features,  the  country  rock  being  in 
the  hitter  case  deeply  covered  with  drifted  or  transported  materials,  which  in  the  former  case  have  been  partially 
removed  by  denudation,  leaving  the  limestone  bare,  or,  at  most,  covered  by  only  a  few  feet  thickness  of  sand  or 
loam. 

The  upland  pine  woods  or  pine  ridge  lands  are  next  in  importance  to  the  loam  uplands.  The  soil,  which  is  of  a 
gray  to  mahogany  color,  rests  upon  a  subsoil  of  somewhat  heavier  material,  often  a  red  clay  loam,  quite  hard,  and 
sometimes  of  a  yellow  color.     Beneath  this  is  a  joint  clay  at.- depths  of  S  to  15  feet« 

• 

ABSTRACT    OF    REPORT    OF   JOHN    BRADFORD,    OF    TALLAIIASSF.E. 

The  red  or  brown  loam  soil  and  that  of  the  pine  ridge  lauds  are  both  easily  tilled,  early,  aud  warm,  aud  an-  well  adapted  to  corn, 
cotton,  etc. ;  but  about  one-half  the  cleared  land  in  both  coses  is  in  cotton,  which  attains  a  height  of  .1  to  4  feet,  being  most  productive 
at  3  feet.  When  left  too  thick,  and  when  the  seed  is  not  frequently  changed,  the  plant  shows  a  tendency  to  run  to  weed,  which  teudency 
may  be  checked  by  allowing  proper  distance  between  the  plants,  by  bringing  in  new  seed  from  the  upcountry  (Georgia  and  South 
Carolina)  and  sometimes  by  topping. 

220 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  41 

The  seed-cotton  product  upon  the  fresh  land  (red  clay  loam  uplands)  is  1,000  to  1,500  pounds  (after  twenty  years'  cultivation, 
unmanured,  400  to  600  pounds);  on  the  piue  lands,  from  tiOO  to  1,000  (after  fifteen  years,  unmanured,  000  to  800  pounds) ;  and  from  1,545  to 
1,780  pounds  in  either  case  are  needed  to  make  a  475-pound  bale.  Crab-grass  everywhere,  and  beggar-weed  in  some  places,  are  the  most 
troublesome  weeds. 

From  10  to  15  per  cent,  of  the  laud  now  lies  turned  out,  but  the  soils  are  rapidly  recuperated  after  a  few  years'  rest,  when  grazing  is 
not  allowed  upon  them.     When  taken  again  into  cultivation  they  yield  well  the  hrst  year  and  better  the  second.  m 

Except  upon  the  Hat  or  nearly  level  highlands  considerable  injury  is  done  by  washes  and  gullies,  but  the  lowlauds  are  frequently 
improved.     To  cbeck  this  removal  of  soil  from  the  uplands  horizoutalizing  and  hillside  ditching  have  been  tried  with  good  success. 

The  third  variety  of  soil,  constituting  what  is  known  as  the  sandy  pine  lands  (second  and  third  classes),  is  of  very  little  importance 
in  cotton  cultivation.  It  is  found  in  spots  all  over  the  county,  making  nearly  one-fourth  of  the  area.  The  natural  growth  is  almost 
exclusively  long-leaf  pine.  The  soil  is  light  sandy,  of  a  whitish  gray  color,  and  5  to  6  inches  deep  to  where  the  change  of  color  is  noticed. 
The  subsoil  is  usually  slightly  heavier  tbari  the  surface  soil,  being  a  yellowish-colored  sand,  underlaid  with  sand  for  several  feet.  It  is 
easily  tilled,  but  in  places  is  boggy  in  wet  seasons.  No  cotton  is  planted  with  profit  upon  this  soil,  which  is  best  suited  to  sweet  potatoes. 
This  soil  does  not  wash  so  readily  as  those  having  more  clay  in  their  composition,  probably  for  the  reason  that  the  water  is  rapidly 
absorbed  and  does  not  collect  and  run  off  on  the  surface.  The  washings  from  the  sandy  uplands  injure  the  lowlands  by  covering  them 
with  sand.     The  poor  quality  of  the  soil  makes  it  scarcely  worth  while  to  practice  horizoutalizing  or  hillside  ditching. 

Cotton  is  shipped  as  fast  as  baled,  by  rail  and  steamer,  to  New  York.     The  freight  is  about  $1  20  per  hundred  to  that  port. 

JEFFERSOX. 

Population:  10,065.— White,  3,397  ;  colored,  12,068. 

Area  :  560  square  miles. — Woodland,  520  square  miles ;  oak  uplands,  200  square  miles  ;  long- leaf  pine  uplands, 
150  square  miles  ;  Hat  pine  lands,  100  square  miles  ;  swamp  and  hummock  lands,  70  square  miles;  coast  marshes, 
40  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands  :  104,350  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  37,500  acres  ;  in  corn,  30,050  acres  ;  in  oats,  3,940  acres  ; 
in  rice,  22  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  987  acres;  in  sugarcane,  537  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  10,368  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.28  bale  (short  staple  chiefly),  399  pounds 
seed-cotton,  or  133  pounds  cottou  lint. 

Jefferson  county  embraces  every  variety  of  soil,  from  the  oak  uplands  to  the  coast  flats. 

From  the  Georgia  line  southward  for  20  miles  or  more  the  face  of  the  country  is  broken  and  hilly.  The  soil 
on  these  uplands  varies  from  a  light  sandy  to  a  dark  stiff  loam,  and  the  subsoil  in  most  cases  is  a. pretty  stiff  red 
clay  loam,  which,  however,  at  times,  is  too  far  below  the  surface  to  exercise  an  appreciable  effect  upon  the  soil.  In 
such  eases  the  growth  is  piue  and  black-jack;  but  where  the  soil  becomes  stiffer  other  trees,  oaks  and  hickories 
chiefly,  are  added,  and  upon  the  best  lands  the  oak  and  hickory  growth  prevails. 

South  of  the  uplands  the  country  slopes  gradually  toward  the  Gulf.  Some  of  this  area  is  known  as  flatwoods, 
and  on  the  borders  of  these  lowlands  and  ou  some  of  the  streams  are  the  usual  rich  hummocks. 

In  the  northern  part  of  the  county  the  thick  beds  of  red  sand  and  loam  hide  completely  the  underlying 
limestone,  which  extends,  on  the  south,  even  several  miles  out  to  sea  in  very  shoal  water,  the  rock  under  this  shoal 
water  supporting  a  rich  growth  of  aquatic  grasses.  The  Massasaugea  sinks  are  a  few  miles  southeast  of  Micosakie 
lake,  and  into  them  the  waters  of  the  lake  with  several  other  streams  discharge,  and  together  plunge  into  the 
earth  (Williams). 

Between  the  uplands  and  the  sea-shore  intervenes  a  belt  of  flat  lands,  timbered  with  long-leaf  pine  and 
having  a  sandy  soil.  Where  this  soil  is  marled  by  mingling  with  the  disintegrated  calcareous  rock  it  acquires  a 
high  degree  of  fertility  and  supports  a  growth  of  oaks  and  other  hard  woods.  These  places  are  called  Gulf 
hummocks. 

In  places  the  limestone  occasionally  appears  in  outcrops,  either  through  the  sandy  soils  or  around  the  edges 
of  big  springs  or  in  the  banks  of  streams. 

ABSTRACT    OF    REPORTS    OF   JAMES   F.    TUCKER,    OF    MONTICELLO,    AND    J.    P.    GRANTHAM,    OF   "WATJKEENAH. 

These  reports  relate  to  the  country  drained  by  the  Aucilla  river,  and  describe  soils  of  the  pine  ridge  lauds,  oak  and  hickory  uplands, 
huarmocks,  aud  flatwoods,  or  third-class  pine  lauds.  *■  Of  these  the  most  important  is  the  soil  of  the  oak  and  hickory  uplands,  closely 
associated  with  which  are  the  gray  hummock  lands.  The  latter,  though  of  no  great  extent  superficially,  are  thought  to  yield  more  cotton 
to  the  acre  than  any  other  kind.  These  two  varieties  make  up  probably  three-fourths  of  the  cultivated  land  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
county,  but  a  smaller  portion  farther  sotath,  where  the  pine  lands  prevail.  The  natural  growth  is  hickory,  species  of  oak,  and  short-leaf 
pine  chiefly,  with  ash,  beech,  holly,  red  bay,  gum,  dogwood,  and  other  trees  in  different  localities.  The  lighter  soils  are  tine  sandy  loams; 
the  heavier,  stiff  clay  loams,  of  a  variety  of  colors,  from  white  or  gray,  through  yellowish,  mulatto,  orange,  and  brown,  to  nearly  black. 
Between  2  and  6  inches  a  change  of  color  is  generally  seen.  The  subsoil  is  usually  a  stiff  red  clay,  inclined  to  hard-pan*  standing  well 
both  wet  and  dry  weather.  In  other  cases  the  subsoil  is  lighter,  soft,  aud  easily  worked.  It  contains  frequently  beds  of  rounded  quartz 
pebbles,  and  where  this  is  the  case  commercial  fertilizers  do  well.  Beneath  the  subsoil,  at  varying  dt-pths,  from  10  to  100  feet,  is  lound 
the  limestone  of  the  country.  These  soils  are  usually  easily  tillefl,  but  the  stiffer  varieties  are  occasionally  a  little  difficult  of  cultivation 
in  wet  seasons.  They  appear  to  be  equally  well  suited  to  all  the  southern  crops.  Cotton,  however,  is  planted  upon  at  least  60  per  cent 
of  the  cultivated  loam  lands,  the  chief  drawback  being  the  caterpillar,  which  invariably  makes  its  appearance.  The  stalk  attains  a 
height,  of  from  2  to  6  feet  (on  stronger  lands  still  greater),  being  most  productive  at  o  feet. 

The  causes  which  tend  to  make  the  plant  run  to  weed  ou  these  and  the  following  soils  are  rich  and  fresh  land,  wet  seasons,  too  heavy 
application  of  manures,  and  the  attacks  of  the  boll-worm,  when  they  cause  shedding  of  the  fruit.  Topping  in  July,  light  cultivation,  and 
dry  weather  restrain  this  tendency  and  favor  boiling,  and  allowing  plenty  of  room  will  also  act  favorably  in  this  respect.  An  average  of 
l,f)00  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  is  usually  taikon  as  the  yield  of  the  fresh  hind  when  the  damage  from  caterpillars  is  insignificant.  It 
requires  about  1,660  pounds  of  seed-cotton  for  a  475-pound  bale,  and  the  staple  (short)  rates  from  middling  to  middling  fair.     After  six 

221 


42  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

to  ten  years'  cultivation  without  fertilizers  the  yield  will  be  from  500  to  1,000  pounds,  according  to  season  ami  proportion  of  injury  done 
by  caterpillars.  The  staple,  on  old  land  is  not  so  good  as  that  from  fresh,  rating  as  low  middling  or  good  ordinary.  If  well  handled, 
however,  there  is  not  inueh  difference  in  the  staples  from  new  and  from  old  lauds. 

These  lauds  suffer  much  from  washes  and  gullies.  The  injury  to  tin?  valleys  from  washings  of  the  uplands  varies  greatly,  and  in  some 
instances  the  soil  appears  to  be  lost  entirely,  and  sand  covers  the  bottoms,  much  to  their  detriment.  In  other  cases  the  bottoms  receive 
the  cream  of  the  uplamLsoils,  which  are,  pari  passu,  injured.  Ilorizontalizmg  and  hillside  ditching  are  both  practiced,  usually  the  former, 
and,  where  properly  done,  with  a  fair  degree  of  success. 

The  long-leaf  pine  lauds  occupy  probably  three-quarters  of  the  entire  county.  The  areas  held  by  these  lands  may  be  subdivided 
into  the  pine  uplands,  or  ridge  lands,  and  the  ilatwoods. 

Upland  pine  woods  (ridge  lands)  occur  in  irregular  bodies  over  all  the  county,  except  toward  the  coast,  and  occupy,  in  general  terms, 
the  higher  lauds,  separating  areas  of  oak  uplands.  The  natural  growth  is  long-leaf  pine,  with  scrub  oak  occasionally,  and  with  wire-grass 
below.  Associated  with  these  iu  low  places  are  cypress,  etc.  The  surface  soil  is  sandy,  coarse  or  tine,  and  generally  of  a  whitish  or  grayish 
color.  This  material  is  often  1  to  3  feet  in  depth,  and  below  it  there  is  frequently  a  red  or  yellow  clay,  mixed  with  sand,  and  sometimes 
with  gravel.     Beneath  this,  at  varying  depths,  occurs  the  limestone. 

On  these  lauds  cotton  forms  perhaps  two-fifths  of  the  cultivated  crops,  the  stalk  attaining  a  height,  when  most  productive,  of  3  feet. 
■  On  fresh  land  from  GOO  to  1,000  pounds  of  soed-eotton  per  acre  may  be  obtained,  the  sample  rating  as  middling  and  low  middling.  After 
six  years'  cultivation  without  manure  the  yield  falls  to  300  or  400  pounds  with  slightly  deteriorated  staple.  About  1,000  pounds  of  seed- 
cotton  are  required  in  either  case  for  a  475-pound  bale.  Much  of  these  uplands  sutler  from  washes,  and  usually  the  valleys  are  greatly 
injured  by  the  sands  which  are  washed  down  upon  them.  Where  liorizontalizing  and  hillside  ditching  are  properly  practiced,  this  evil 
may  be  iu  a  great  measure  counteracted. 

The  tlatwoods,  as  the  name  indicates,  arc  level  or  gently  undulating  lands,  supporting  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine,  black-jack,  scrub 
oak,  saw  palmetto,  etc.  The  soil  is  aandy,  of  gray,  brown,  and  mahogany  colors,  here  and  there  alternating  with  white  sand.  There  is 
ofteu  no  change  in  the  character  of  the  material  until  the  universally  underlying  limestone  is  reached.  It  is  easily  tilled,  except  when 
covered  with  water  in  wet  seasons,  and  in  this  area  are  found 'all  varieties  of  early,  late,  warm,  and  cold  soils,  according  to  locality. 

The  tlatwoods  are  the  natural  pastures  and  timber  lands,  much  of  their  area  being  occupied  by  cattlemen  for  a  short  time  and  then 
abandoned.  Sea-island  cotton  is  planted  over  a  small  proportion  of  the  tlatwoods,  and  in  some  places  also  the  upland  variety.  The  fresh 
land  will  produce  sometimes  300  or  400  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  the  acre,  but  it  is  not  profitably  cultivated  without  manure  for  any  great 
length  of  time.  The  staple  from  this  laud  rates  about  middling;  that  from  long  cultivated  land  is  not  so  good.  There  is  no  injury  from 
washes,  as  the  land  is  flat.  Very  little  of  the  land  formerly  cultivated  in  the  oak  uplands,  pine  lands,  or  tlatwoods  lies  turned  out,  less 
now  than  formerly. 

All  these  soils,  when  allowed  to  rest,  recuperate  rapidly.  It  is  necessary,  however,  to  keep  cattle  off  while  the  laud  is  lying  out,  or 
it  will  deteriorate  still  further.     Crab-grass,  sand  spurs,  beggar-lice,  coffee-weeds,  and  cockleburs  are  everywhere  most  troublesome  weeds. 

Cotton  is  shipped  as  fast  as  ginned,  from  October  to  January,  by  rail,  usually  to  Savauuah,  Georgia.  The  rate  of  freight  is  75  cents 
per  hundred  pounds,  or  $3  50  to  $4  a  bale. 

MADISON. 

Population:   14,798.— White,  0,(509;  colored,  9.1S9. 

Area:  850  square  miles. — Woodland,  nil.  Oak  uplands,  250  square  miles;  swamp  and  hummock  lands,  175 
square  miles;  pine  lands,  425  square,  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  83,962  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  28,982  acres;  in  corn,  33,493  acres;  iu  oats,  5,894  acres; 
in  rice,  77  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  889  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  573  acres. 

Cotton  production:  7,054  hales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.24  bale  (short  staple  chiefly),  348  pounds 
seed-cotton,  or  116  pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  general  topographical  features  of  Madison  county  may  be  presented  in  a  few  words.  Its  western  boundary 
is  the  Aucilla  river;  the  eastern  is  formed  by  the  Withlaeoochee  and  Suwannee  rivers.  The  highest  land  east  and 
west  lies,  therefore,  between  these  two  drainage  slopes,  and  there  is  also  a  gradual  descent  from  the  Georgia  line 
southward.  On  the  east  the  Withlaeoochee  and  Suwannee,  rivers  have  cut  through  the  surface  materials  down 
into  the  underlying  limestones.  On  the  west  the  thick  beds  of  drift  and  loam  have  not  been  so  deeply  eroded  by 
the  Aucilla,  ami  the  indications  of  limestone  are  less  apparent  tliere.  Between  these  two  borders  lie  the  undulating 
uplands. 

The  common  classification  of  lands  in  Madison  county  is  into  pine  lauds,  hummocks,  and  swamp,  with 
intermediate  varieties;  and  the  distribution  in  general  is:  in  the  north  and  east,  pine  lands;  south  and  west, 
hummocks.  * 

The,  oak  uplands,  with  red  loam  subsoil,  which  form  so  conspicuous  a  feature  of  the  northern  parts  of  Leon  and 
Jefferson  counties,  occupy  the  western  half  of  Madison  county;  thence  eastward  to  the  Withlaeoochee  ami  Suwannee 
rivers,  and  beyond  into  the  western  part  of  Hamilton  and  northwestern  part  of  Suwannee,  county,  the  surface  soil 
is  more  sandy,  and  the  prevailing  timber  is  long-leaf  pine.  Much  of  these  high  pine  lands  with  sandy  subsoils  lias 
a  substratum  of  red  or  yellow  clay  loam,  and  therefore  belongs  to  the  class  of  pine  uplands  or  ridge  lands  always 
associated  with  the  oak  lands. 

Upon  the  red  uplands  the  short-staple  cotton  is  generally  cultivated,  as  it  is  also  to  a  great  extent  upon  the 
upland  pine  lands;  but  the  sea-island  variety  also  succeeds  well  upon  the  hitter. 

South  of  the  limit  of  the  red  or  brown  loam  the  land'is  generally  rather  low  and  flat,  with  a  growth  of  pine 
and  scrub  oak,  and  in  places  of  gallberry  bushes.  These  lands  constitute  the  Ilatwoods.  which,  for  reasons  already 
given,  are  seldom  brought  into  cultivation. 

Beginning  in  the  lower  part  of  Madison  county  and  extending  to  the  Gulf  is  an  extensive  and  as  yet  unutilized 
area  of  almost  impenetrable  swampland. 

There  is  no  prairie  or  savanna  land  in  the  county.  For  corresponding  soils  the  abstracts  given  under  Jefferson. 
on  the  one  hand,  and  Hamilton,  on  (he  other,  will  convey  a  fairly  correct  idea  of  the  capabilities  of  the  soils  of 
Madison. 

Shipments  from  Madison  are  generally  to  Savannah,  Georgia,  at  about  75  cents  per  hundred  pounds. 
222 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  43 


TT.    LONG-LEAF    PINE    REGION. 

Comprising,  in  western  Florida :  Parts  of  Escambia,  Santa  Rosa,  Walton,  Washington,  Holmes,  Jackson,*  and 
Calhoun.  In  middle  and  eastern  Florida:  Parts  of  Liberty,  Wakulla,  Leon,*  Jefferson,*  Madison,*  Taylor,  all 
of  Suwannee,  parts  of  Hamilton,  Columbia,  Baker,  Bradford,  Nassau,  Duval,  Saint  John's,  and  Clay.  On  the 
peninsula:  Part  of  Putnam,  all  of  Alachua,  parts  of  Lafayette  and  Levy,  all  of  Marion,  parts  of  Volusia  and 
Orange,  all  of  Sumter,  and  parts  of  Hernando,  Hillsborough,  Polk,  and  Brevard.* 

ESCAMBIA. 

Population:  12,156.— White,  6,854;  colored,  5,302. 

Area:  720  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Pine  lands,  500  square  miles,  of  which  about  150  square  miles  are 
pine  flats;  swamp  lands,  75  square  miles;  pitch-pine  flats,  85  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  1,29S  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton.  25  acres;  in  corn,  002  acres;  in  oats,  132  acres;  in  rice,  08 
acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  104  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  12  acres. 

Cotton  production :  10  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.40  bale  (short  staple),  570  pounds  seed-cotton, 
or  190  pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  soil  in  Escambia  county  is  generally  sandy,  with  a  substratum  of  clay  of  various  colors — white, 
yellow,  red,  and  blue.  Near  the  Escambia  river  there  are  many  occurrences  of  n  dark-brown  ferruginous  sandstone, 
formed  by  the  drift  sand,  cemented  by  iron.  The  soil  being  generally  siliceous,  supports  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine 
chiefly,  with  wire-grass.  .  Near  the  streams  are  occasionally  productive  hummocks.  Between  Peusacola  bay  and 
Santa  Bosa  sound  the  peninsula  is  said  to  have  a  stratum  of  peat  beneath  the  surface  sands,  and  in  this  peat 
abundant  cypress  and  cedar  stumps  (Williams'  View  of  Went  Florida,  1827,  p.  7).  The  clays  are  worked  into 
excellent  bricks. 

In  its  surface  configuration  this  county  shows  a  general  slope  from  north  to  south,  and  from  the  center  toward 
the  Perdido  river  oh  the  west  and  toward  the  Escambia  on  the  east.  These  highlands  are  timbered  with  pine,  and 
form  good  grazing  grounds.  The  northern  part  is  uneven  and  in  places  hilly,  the  sandy  soil  resting  upon  red  clay 
subsoil. 

Cotton  is  generally  shipped  via  Peusacola  to  New  Orleans,  75  cents  a  bale  being  the  usual  rate  of  freight. 

SANTA  BOSA. 

Population:  6,045.— White,  4,773;  colored,  1,872. 

Area  :  1,260  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Pine  lands,  1,060  square  miles,  of  which  about  210  square  miles  are 
pine  flats;  swamp  lands,  100  square  miles;  coast  lands,  40  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands;  1,804  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  17  acres;  iu  corn,  1,135  acres;  in  oats,  GO  acres;  in  rice,  109 
acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  158  acres;  iu  sugar-cane,  43  acres. 

Cotton  production:  5  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.29  bale  (short  staple),  420  pounds  Sied-cotton, 
or  140  pounds  cotton  lint. 

Between  the  Escambia  and  Blackwater  rivers  is  a  tract  of  land  with  a  sandy  clay  subsoil,  known  as  Pine  Level, 
which  is  perhaps  one  of  the  best  parts  of  Santa  Bosa  county  agriculturally,  since  most  of  the  southern  crops  do  well 
upon  it.     Between  Blackwater  and  Yellow  Water  rivers  are  pine  ridges,  with  sandy  soil,  usually  rather  poor. 

The  peninsula  between  Escambia  bay  and  Yellow  Water  bay  is  generally  covered  with  pine  and  black-jack 
oaks,  with  some  moist  savannas  and  a  few  hummocks  (Williams).  The  same  character  of  land  is  found  on  the 
peninsula  between  Peusacola  bay  and  Santa.  Bosa  sound. 

The  bottom  lands  of  the  Escambia  river  are  said  to  be.  quite  rich,  but  being  subject  to  overflow  are  not  much 
in  cultivation.  Along  Pensacola  bay  and  the  other  bays  with  which  this  county  is  indented  are  many  spots  of 
good  hummock  laud. 

The  soil  on  the  uplands  is  mostly  sandy,  and  of  gray  mulatto  and  brownish  colors.  The  subsoil  is  in  many 
instances  sandy  also,  but  occasionally  is  of  reddish  or  yellowish  clay. 

Beside  the  extensive  pine  uplands  there  are  numerous  gallberry  flats  and  titi  swamps. 

The  bottoms  of  the  Blackwater  and  the  Yellow  Water  rivers  afford  a  grayish  sandy  soil. 

In  surface  configuration  Santa  Bosa  county  shows  a  general  slope  southward  from  the  Alabama  line,  the  uplands 
being  sandy,  with  long-leaf  pine.  Very  little  cotton  is  planted  in  the  county,  as  the  soil  is  better  adapted  to 
other  crops,  such  as  corn,  rice,  sugar-cane,  and  particularly  to  sweet  potatoes.  The  principal  occupation  of  the 
inhabitants  is  the  cutting  and  shipping  of  pine  timber. 

ABSTRACT   FROM   REPORT    OF   DR.    JOHN    M.    M'GEIIEE,    OF    MILTON. 

The  soil  is  at  all  times  easy  of  cultivation,  early,  warm,  and  well  drained.  The  cotton  stalk  is  most  productive  at  a  height  of  about  3  feet, 
but  shows  a  t&ndcncy  to  run  to  weed  in  wet  seasons  and  when  growing  on  loose  soil.  Application  of  manure  stimulates  the  plant  to  early 
fruiting  and  prevents  running  to  weed.  The  seed-cotton 'product  per  acre  of  the  fresh  land  is  from  400  to  600  pounds,  about  1,780  pounds 
being  needed  to  make  a  475-pound  bale.  Cotton  has  been  cultivated  in  this  county  too  short  a  time  to  furnish  other  data  of  importance. 
Florida  clover  is  considered  the  most  troublesome  weed.  When  lands  are  reclaimed  after  lying  turned  out  for  three  or  four  years  they  are 
about  as  productive  as  when  fresh,  especially  where  cattle  have  not  been  allowed  to  graze  upon  them.  From  the  general  character  of  the 
soil,  its  porous,  absorbent  nature,  and  the  favorable,  nearly  level  position  of  the  lands,  comparatively  little  injury  is  experienced  from  washes 
and  gullies. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  via  Pensacola  by  steamer  or  sail-boat  to  New  Orleans,  and  the  usual  rate  of  freight  is  75  cents  a  bale. 

U2'i 


44  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

WALTON. 

Population  :  4,201.— White,  3,685 ;  colored,  51G. 

Area  :  1,300  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Oak  uplands,  75  square  miles;  pine  lands,  1,110  square  miles,  of 
■which  -'.50  square  miles  are  pine  flats;  marshes,  100  square  miles;  swamp,  75  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  9,373  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  1,-137  acres;  in  corn,  0,025  acres;  in  oats,  1,091  acres;  in 
rice,  120  acres;   in  sweet  potatoes,  304  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  153  acres. 

Cotton  production:  3S2  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.27  bale  (short  staple),  37S  pounds  seed-cotton, 
or  120  pounds  cotton  lint. 

A  line  of  sand-hills  running  approximately  east  and  west,  though  near  the  center  of  Walton  county,  divides 
the  waters  which  flow  southward  into  Choctawhatchee  bay  from  those  which  fall  into  Shoal  creek  on  the  north. 
This  ridge  is  more  than  30  miles  long,  is  generally  sandy,  and  the  ferruginous  sandstone  of  the  stratified  drift 
covers  many  of  its  high  points.  Toward  the  north  and  south  its  sides  are  steep  and  cut  up  into  deep  ravines; 
toward  the  west  it  slopes  off  gradually  into  low  pine  barrens;  toward  the  east,  however,  it  subsides  in  a  series 
of  detached  peaks  or  hills,  among  which  are  the  headwaters  of  Shoal,  Alaqua,  and  Euchee  creeks  (Williams). 
Northwest  of  these  hills  the  country  is  generally  undulating,  with  sandy  soil,  and  is  covered  with  a  growth  of 
long-leaf  pine  and  wire-grass,  rising  gradually  toward  the  Alabama  line. 

Along  Yellow  Water  creek,  near  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  are  tracts  of  very  good  land,  not  confined 
to  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  river,  but  extending  out  for  several  miles. 

The  sand-hills  above  mentioned  may  be  looked  upon  as  marking  nearly  the  southern  limit  of  the  high  lands, 
for  below  them  the  country  slopes  off  gradually  toward  the  Gulf. 

Limestone  appears  to  underlie  the  whole  county,  but  it  comes  to  light  only  near  the  eastern  edge,  where  it 
lias  been  laid  bare  by  the  waters  of  White  creek,  and  in  the  Euchee  valley ;  but  the  presence  of  this  rock  elsewhere 
is  suggested  by  the  circumstance  that  Alaqua,  Twin,  Boggy,  and  Bock  creeks,  which  rise  at  the  foot  of  the  sand- 
hills above  named,  receive  the  waters  and  increase  their  volumes  rapidly  from  several  large  springs,  "  some  of 
which  are  large  enough  to  turn  mills  at  their  source"  (Williams'  View  of  West  Florida,  1827,  p.  21). 

Upon  the  substratum  of  limestone  there  have  been  deposited  beds  of  sand  and  loam,  which  increase  in  thickness 
toward  the  Alabama  line.  The  upper  beds  are  usually  more  or  less  sandy,  and  where  these  are  thickest  the 
country  presents  the  usual  characters  of  the  pine  barrens,  viz,  open  pine  woods,  with  ponds  and  lakes  interspersed. 
McDavid's  lake,  or  Lake  ATiew,  as  it  is  now  called,  one  of  the  largest  of  these  bodies  of  water,  lies  partly  in  this 
county  and  partly  in  Alabama,  and  is  3  miles  long  by  1A  miles  wide.  The  land  on  its  borders  has  a  clayey  subsoil 
and  produces  well.     Pond  creek  connects  this  lake  with  Shoal  creek  and  Yellow  Water  river. 

In  the  sand-hill  region  below  Shoal  creek  there  are  also  several  ponds  of  considerable  size,  situated  in  the  open 
pine  woods.  In  all  this  part  of  the.  county  the  drainage  has  not  cut  down  through  the  sand,  but  eastward  ami 
.southward  the  waters  flowing  into  Choctawhatchee  river  and  bay  have  removed  much  of  the  superficial  sands  and 
brought  to  light  the  underlying  red  loams,  and  in  some  cases  the  limestone  itself. 

Along  Alaqua  creek  there  are  areas  of  hilly  country  with  a  fertile  soil  and  a  red  clay  subsoil.  Similar  tracts  are 
found  in  the  Euchee  valley.  This  land  seems  in  many  respects  to  resemble  the  red  lands  of  Jackson  county,  which 
have  resulted  from  the  intermixture  of  the  limestone  or  marl  with  the  loamy  surface  soil. 

The  presence  of  lime  in  the  subsoil  and  in  the  substratum  of  rock  underlying  the  eastern  part  of  this  and 
the  western  part  of  Washington  county  is  sufficiently  well  indicated  in  the  prevalence  of  spruce  pine  in  the 
bottoms  near  the  Choctawhatchee  river  and  in  the  abundance  of  fresh-water  shells  in  most  of  the  streams. 

Near  the  Choctawhatchee  river,  southeast  of  Euchee  Anna,  in  the  Mushy  bend,  the  land  has  a  heavy,  loamy 
soil,  with  a  red  clay  subsoil,  and  in  places  a  marl  beneath.  This  river  has  in  this  county  a  wide  bottom  or  swamp, 
which  is  very  rich  and  productive,  but  is  not  much  cultivated  because  of  its  liability  to  be  overflowed.  Westof  the 
bend  above  named  is  a  comparatively  high,  sandy  country,  very  poor,  but  covered  with  a  dense  carpet  of  wire-grass, 
and  therefore  an  excellent  grazing  region  during  the  summer  time. 

In  the  southern  part  of  the  county,  near  Choctawhatchee  bay,  are  several  large  swamps.  Toward  the  coast 
the  soil  is  sandy  and  barren. 

As  a  general  summary  it  may  be  asserted  that  about  one-third  of  the  county  is  good  tillable  upland  and 
hummock,  the  rest  being  the  poorer  qualities  of  pine  lands,  barrens,  and  swamp. 

Cotton  is  shipped  from  some  parts  of  the  county  by  water  to  Xew  Orleans;  from  other  parts  by  rail  to  New 
Orleans  and  other  markets. 

WASHINGTON. 

Population:  4,089 White,  3,171;  colored,  91S. 

Area:  1,330  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Pine  lands,  950  square  miles,  of  which  250  square  miles  are  pine 
flats;  oak  uplands,  50  square  miles;  swamp  hummock  and  coast  lands,  330  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  12,063  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  1.877  acres;  in  corn,  5,809  acres;  in  oats,  565  acres;  in 
rice,  84  acres;  iu  sweet  potatoes,  325  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  131  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  002  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre.  0.32  bale  (short  staple),  45G  pounds  seed-cotton, 
or  152  pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  greater  part  of  Washington  county  is  made  up  of  pine  lands,  yet  all  gradations  between  the  fertile  red 
clay  or  loamy  soils  and  those  of  the  pine  barrens  are  met  with. 

The  brown  or  red  loam  uplands,  which  constitute  the  line  farming  lands  of  southern  Georgia  and  Alabama, 
terminate  north  of  the  center  of  this  county  in  a  series  of  hills  elevated  some  hundred  feet  or  more  above  the 
contiguous  country.  These  hills,  the  best  known  of  which  are  Orange  hill,  Oak  hill,  Mossy  hill,  and  Wind  hill, 
have  each  a  fertile  soil  resting  upon  a  stiff  red  clay  subsoil,  and  support  a  native  growth,  consisting  of  hickory  and 
varieties  of  oak  chiefly,  with  which  are  associated  short-leaf  pine.  Prom  the  sides  of  these  hills  rise  numerous 
springs,  which  constitute  the  headwaters  of  Hard  Labor  and  Dry  creeks  and  the  Econtina  river.  These  hills  are 
separated  from  each  other  by  valleys  of  sterile  pine  lands  and  gallberry  flats. 
■2  2-1 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  45 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  areas  in  the  county  is  Holmes  valley,  which  begins  at  the  foot  of  Moss  hill  (the 
most  western  of  those  above  named)  and  extends  in  a  southwestern  direction  for  about  15  miles.  This  valley 
is  from  1  to  3  miles  wide,  and  is  parallel  with  Holmes  creek,  from  which  it  is  separated  by  a  sandy,  open  pine 
flatwoods  country  from  3  to  5  miles  wide.  On  the  south  of  the  valley  there  are  high  sandy  hills,  running 
its  whole  length.  The  soil  upon  these  is  very  poor,  and  the  growth  consists  of  forked-leaf  black-jacks  and  a 
few  stunted  pines.  The  valley  itself  is  about  100  feet  below  the  general  level  of  the  surrounding  country.  The 
soil  appears  to  be  chiefly  a  rich  vegetable  mold,  several  feet  thick,  underlaid  with  red  clay,  having  occasional 
streaks  of  blue.  By  many  the  valley  is  thought  to  be  an  ancient  lake  bottom,  a  view  which  the  peculiar  character, 
great  depth,  and  fertility  of  the  soil  appear  to  bear  out.  As  an  instance  of  this  fertility,  a  farm  which  has  been  in 
cultivation  for  thirty-five  years  without  manure  yielded,  in  1880,  12  bales  of  cotton  on  13  acres.  The  soil  shows  no 
evidence  of  an  unusual  percentage  of  lime,  but  the  spruce  pine,  a  lime-loving  tree,  prevails  along  the  Choctawhatch'ee 
river  lowlands  as  far  up  as  Vernon.  The  native  growth  in  Holmes  valley  is  white,  black,  red,  and  water  oaks, 
white  ash,  black  gum,  wild  cherry,  red  bay,  magnolia,  and  a  variety  of  shrubs  (Williams). 

Below  the  mouth  of  Holmes  creek  is  the  Big  spring  of  the  Ohoctawhatchee,  the  most  noted  of  the  big  springs 
of  this  section.  The  stream  running  off  from  it  has  0  feet  depth  of  water,  and  the  spring  itself  was  formerly  a 
well-known  landing-place  (Williams). 

In  the  northeastern  part  of  the  county,  within  the  drainage  area  of  Holmes  creek,  the  underlying  limestone  is 
often  either  laid  bare  or  has  only  a  thin  covering. of  soil,  and  here  the  usual  liaie-sinks  are  often  seen.  Some  of 
these  sunken  areas  are  quite  dry,  and  are  cultivated,  as  the  soil  is  often  fertile.  The  limestone  is  soft,  and  when 
freshly  quarried  can  be  hewn  or  sawed  readily  into  blocks,  whicn  are  used  for  building  purposes,  especially  in  the 
construction  of  chimneys. 

Beyond  the  red  clay  hills  above  mentioned  the  country  slopes  away  toward  the  south,  and  where  the  overlying 
sands  have  been  partially  removed  by  denudation  the  limestone  beneath,  thus  brought  near  the  surface,  often 
■exerts  a  beneficial  influence  upon  the  soil.  The  limestone  lands  of  the  Bcoufina  river,  well  known  for  their  fertility, 
are  produced  in  this  way. 

The  southeastern  part  of  the  county  consists  generally  of  high  pine  hills,  covered  with  a  deep  white  sand,  upon 
which  are  the  usual  ponds  and  lakes.  In  the  southwestern  part  the  land  is  generally  somewhat  lower,  but  is 
covered  with  sand  and  interspersed  with  ponds  and  lakes.  « 

Good  hummock  lands  are  found  along  the  borders  of  Choctawhatchee  bay,  also  along  the  northern  borders  of 
the  main  body  and  the  eastern  arm  of  Saint  Andrew's  bay.  The  lands  north  of  this  arm  of  the  bay  are  clayey,  and, 
although  covered  with  pine  timber,  are  capable  of  successful  cultivation  (Williams).  Substantially  the  same 
varieties  of  soil  are  cultivated  as  in  Jackson  county. 

The  lack  of  facilities  for  transportation  standing  greatly  in  the  way  of  the  prosperity  of  Washington  county, 
cotton  is  hauled  in  wagons  from  many  parts  of  the  county  to  Marianna,  in  Jackson  county,  and  sold  to  local 
dealers. 

HOLMES. 

Population:  2,170.— White,  2,043;  colored,  127. 

Area:  540  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.     Pine  lands,  440  square  miles;  swamp  lands,  100  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  12,662  aores. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  1,137  acres;  in  corn,  4,273  acres;  in  oats,  761  acres;  in 
rice,  120  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  135  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  74  acres. 

Cotton  production :  273  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.24  bale  (short  staple),  312  pounds  seed-cotton, 
■or  114  pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  underlying  rock  in  Holmes  county  is  the  usual  white  limestone.  As  is  the  case  throughout  Florida,  this 
rock  is  covered  to  considerable  depths  by  drifted  material,  here  chiefly  sand.  The  limestone  is  everywhere  cavernous 
and  much  eroded,  and  the  roofs  of  these,  caverns  falling  in  produce  lime-sinks.  Where  a  great  thickness  of  sand 
■  overlies  these  sinks  the  depressions  are  filled  with  water,  constituting  the  ponds  and  lakes,  which  are,  therefore, 
generally  found  upon  the  ridges  or  where  the  drifted  materials  are  in  greatest  thickness.  Where  drainage  waters 
have  removed  partly  or  entirely  the  sands,  the  underlying  limestone  lies  often  near  the  surface,  being  sometimes 
entirely  bare,  and  the  underground  waters,  filling  many  of  the  channels  in  the  rock,  break  out  as  big  springs,  which 
flow  away  to  the  nearest  water-course  by  open  streams,  often  of  size  sufficiently  great  to  float  small  steamboats. 
With  these  general  principles  in  view,  the  topography  of  the  county  and  the  distribution  of  the  agricultural  regions 
are  easily  described.  The  Ohoctawhatchee  river,  flowing  from  north  to  south,  divides  the  county  nearly  equally. 
The  two  halves  are,  however,  very  unlike  each  other  in  soil  and  productions.  West  of  the  river  there  is  much 
diversity;  on  the  east  the  country  is  generally  poor  pine  uplands.  Euchee  and  Sandy  creeks  flow  into  the 
■Ohoctawhatchee  on  the  west,  while  Holmes  creel;,  rising  in  Geneva  county,  Alabama,  forms  the  eastern  boundary 
of  Holmes  county,  and  falls  into  the  Choctawhatchee  river  below  the  southern  limit  of  the  county.  West  of  the 
river,  where  the  drainage  seems  to  have  cut  deepest,  the  limestone  often  makes  its  appearance  on  the,  surface,  and 
several  of  the  big  springs  above  alluded  to  feed  the  river  from  the  same  side.  The  high  land  lying  between  the 
water-courses,  formed  of  a  great  thickness  of  sand  and  occasional  pebble  beds,  supports  a  growth  of  the  long- 
leaf  pine,  and  its  gently  undulating  surface  is  diversified  by  ponds  and  lakes  and  slight  depressions,  not  filled  with 
water,  except  during  wet  seasons. 

The  red  clay  or  loam,  which  underlies  so  generally  the  soils  of  the,  counties  east  of  this,  is  here  comparatively 
seldom  seen,  the  subsoil  being  usually  sandy  like  the  soil. 

Hummock  lands  are  met  with  in  the  low  places  along  some  of  the  streams,  and  are  generally  cultivated. 

The  high  pine  lands  furnish  excellent  pastures  for  cattle,  and  the  pine  timber  is  carried  down  the  Choctawhatchee 
.river,  which  is  navigable  up  to  Geneva,  iu  Alabama. 

•Cotton  is  hauled  to  Marianna  and  other  markets  outside  the  county  limits. 

'       JACKSON. 

..,  (See  under  "Oak,  hickory,  and  pine  upland  region".) 

15  C  P— VOL.  II  v  >  J!  l  l  fa  '  225 


46  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

CALHOUN. 

Population:  1,580.— White,  1,184;  colored,  3%. 

Area:  1,100  square  miles. — Woodland,  980  square  miles;  pine  lauds,  775  square  miles;  swamp  lands,  17Q 
square  miles;  oak  and  hickory  uplands,  35  square  miles;  marsh,  180  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  3,453  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  721  acres;  in  corn,  1,043  acres;  in  oats,  391  acres;  iu  rice, 
75  acres;  iu  sweet  potatoes,  173  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  52  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  172  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.24  bale  (short  staph'),  339  pounds  seed-eottou, 
of  113  pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  northern  part  of  Calhoun  county  is  hilly  and  broken,  the  southern  low  and  flat,  and  limestone  underlies  the 
whole  area  at  varying  depths.  Upon  the  divides,  especially  in  the  northern  halt  of  the  county,  the  limestone  is 
covered  to  a  great  depth  beneath  the  drifted  materials,  and  here  we  find  the  usual  ponds  ami  lakes.  Near  the 
water-courses  the  sands  have  been  more  or  less  completely  removed,  leaving  the  underlying  formation  near  the 
surface,  giving  occasion  to  the  occurrence  of  lime-sinks  and  big  springs.  The  banks  of  the  Apalachicola  river  in 
Calhoun  county  as  far  south  as  Iola  are  in  great  part  bluffs  of  this  limestone,  which  is  in  places  a  good  shell  marl, 
suitable  for  fertilizing  purposes. 

West  of  lola  are  the  Dead  lakes,  sunken  areas  with  dead  cypress  forests  standing  submerged  to  depths  of  10 
to  20  feet.,.  This  would  indicate  that  the  sinking  which  formed  the  basins  of  the  lakes  is  of  comparatively  recent 
date,  and  it  is  generally  thought  that  subsidence  is  still  in  progress,  from  the  fact  that  a  young  growth  of  cypress 
is  gradually  spreading  outward  from  the  margins  of  the  lakes. 

South  and  west  of  the  Dead  lakes  Calhoun  county  is  low,  flat,  and  marshy  or  swampy,  the  pine  flats  being 
overgrown  chiefly  with  the  Cuban  or  pitch  pine. 

The  red  clay  hills  which  mark  the  southern  limit  of  the  uplands  in  this,  as  iu  Washington  county,  are  found 
as  far  south  as  the  base-line  running  east  and  west  through  Tallahassee. 

Iu  the  character  of  soil  and  production  of  cotton  Jacksou  county,  elsewhere  described,  especially  in  its  northern 
parts,  has  much  in  common  with  this  county. 

The  Apalachicola  river  is  the  only  way  of  outlet  for  the  products  of  Calhoun  county. 

LIBERTY. 

Population:  1,362.— White,  S14  ;  colored,  548. 

Area:  800  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Oak  uplands,  200  square  miles;  pine  lands,  315  square  miles; 
flatwoods,  250  square  miles;  swamps,  35  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands  :  3,030  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  734  acres;  in  corn,  2,202  acres;  in  oats,  021  acres  ;  iu  rice, 
71  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  128  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  59  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  197  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.27  bale  (short  staple  chiefly),  381  pounds 
seed-cotton,  or  127  pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  sandy  table-lands  of  Cadsden  county,  with  their  growth  of  long-leaf  pine  and  wire-grass,  extend  southward 
into  Liberty  county  for  some  distance,  gradually  merging,  below  the  central  part  of  the  county,  into  an  almost 
uninhabited  region  some  20  to  30  miles  square.  This  section  is  interspersed  with  ponds,  (ringed  with  almost 
impenetrable  shrubbery,  ami  the  flatwoods  between  the  little  creeks  are  covered  with  saw  palmetto,  wire-grass,  and 
other  grasses,  which  furnish  the  best  pasturage  for  cattle. 

Bordering  upou  the  Apalachicola  river  is  a  strip  with  a  red  clay  subsoil,  but  back  a  short  distance  from  the 
river  are  high  lands,  on  which  the  sand  covers  deeply  the  red  clay. 

Marl  beds,  which  are  outcrops  of  the  underlying  limestone,  make  their  appearance  at  the  surface  wherever  the 
drainage  has  cut  deep  enough.  This  occurs  in  many  places  near  the  Apalachicola  river,  and  also  iu  the  eastern 
part  of  the  county,  near  the  Oeklockonnee  river,  while  between  the  two  wells  suuk  to  a  depth  of  15  to  20  feet  below 
the  surface  nearly  always  reach  a  marl. 

Occasional  small  limestone  springs  break  up  from  the  ground,  but  the  underlying  rock,  especially  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  county,  and  in  parts  of  Gadsden  also,  appears  to  be  rather  compact ;  a  white,  amorphous,  earthy, 
calcareous  mass,  which  breaks  with  conchoidal  fracture,  and  being  of  quite  uniform  texture,  is  not  readily  worn  into 
caverns  and  inequalities  by  the  solvent  action  of  the  waters.  In  the  southern  part  of  the  county  it  seems  probable 
that  the  limestone  is  of  a  different  nature,  more  like  that  which  is  seen  near  the  coast  in  Wakulla  county  eastward. 

The  description  of  Gadsden  county,  where  the  characters  of  the  soil  and  varieties  common  to  the  two  counties 
are  given,  wi  1  supply  further  details. 

The  Apalachicola  river  and  the  Jacksonville,  Pensacola  and  Mobile  railroad  are  the  two  principal  routes  by 
which  shipments  of  cotton  are  made. 

WAKULLA. 

Population:  2,723.— White,  1,563 ;  colored,  1,160. 

Area. :  580  square  miles. — Woodland,  480  square  miles  ;  coast  marshes.  100  square  miles  ;  pine  lands,  380  square 
miles  ;  swamps  and  hummocks,  100  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands  :  13,678  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  2,311  acres  :  iu  corn.  6.871  acres  :  in  oats.  554  acres  :  in  rice, 
37  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  134  acres ;  in  sugar-cane,  108  acres. 

C  tton  production:  561  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.24  bale  (chiefly  long  staple),  340  pounds. 
seed-cotton,  or  85  pounds  cotton  lint. 

Wakulla  county  lies  entirely  upon  what  we  have  called  above  the  Gulf  slope.  Its  surface  rises  gradually 
toward  the  north,  being  nowhere  very  much  elevated  above  tide,  and,  while  generally  level,  there  is  still  sufficient 
inequality  of  surface  to  secure  thorough  drainage. 

The  limestone  in  this  county  is  always  near  the  surface,  and  although  the  soil  is  iu  great  measure  composed  of 
sand,  yet,  by  reason  of  intermixtures  with  the  marl  or  disintegrated  limestoue,  it  shows  all  grades  of  fertility,  from. 
sandy  pine  barrens  to  the  richest  hummocks. 
226 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  47 

The  prevailing  growth  over  the  county  is  tne  long-leaf  pine,  which  upon  the  hummocks  is  replaced  by  oaks, 
hickories,  and  other  hard  woods. 

Near  the  coast  for  4  or  5  miles  the  land  is  low  and  marshy,  with  spots  of  firm  land  covered  with  live  oak,  and 
rising  a  few  feet  above  the  general  level. 

The  water  off  the  coast  is  shallow  for  several  miles  out,  the  bottom  being  formed  of  limestone. 

Within  S  or  10  miles  of  the  coast  are  found  the  "Gulf  hummocks",  which  owe  their  fertility  to  the  intermingling 
with  the  sandy  soil  of  a  finely-pulverized  chalky  variety  of  the  limestone,  which  serves  as  a  natural  marl.  A 
specimen  of  this  marl  was  collected  a  lew  miles  north  of  Saint  Mark's  (see  analysis  in  general  part  under  head  of 
"Cotton  production"). 

Upon  some  of  the  land  of  this  character  the  soil,  while  having  the  appearance  of  being  nothing  but  sand,  shows 
remarkable  fertility,  a  bale  of  cotton  to  the  acre  beiug  often  the  yield.  The  sea-island  variety  is  principally 
cultivated. 

Wakulla  county  possesses  soils  of  nearly  all  the  varieties  found  in  Florida:  Pine  lands  of  the  several  grades; 
large  hummocks,  with  a  dense  growth  of  white  oak,  hickory,  magnolia,  sweet  gum,  cherry,  white  ash,  red  bay, 
and,  in  the  low  hummocks,  spruce  pine,  cedar, and  cabbage  palmetto;  swamp  lands,  with  growth  of  cypress,  black 
gum,  tupelo,  poplar,  maple,  etc. 

Many  of  the  fine  hummock  lands  once  in  cultivation  are  now  abandoned,  not  because  they  are  worn  out,  but 
because  of  changes  in  the  system  of  farming,  caused  by  the  war. 

The  manufacture  of  salt  was  once  au  important  industry  here,  and  it  is  still  kept  up  to  some  extent. 

The  Tallahassee  and  Saint  Mark's  railroad  provides  means  of  transportation.  Cotton  is  shipped  by  rail  to  the 
markets  of  Charleston  and  Savannah. 

LEON. 

(See  under  "Oak,  hickory,  and  pine  upland  region".) 

JEFFERSON. 
'  (See  under  "Oak,  hickory,  and  pine  upland  region".) 

MADISON. 
(See  under  "Oak,  hickory,  and  pine  upland  region".) 

TAYLOR. 

Population:  2,279.— White,  2,114;  colored,  1G5. 

Area:  1,080  square  miles. — Woodland,  8S0  square  miles;  coast  marshes,  etc.,  200  square  miles;  pine  lands, 
630  square  miles,  of  which  450  square  miles  are  flatwoods;  swami>s  and  hummocks,  250  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands :  8,742  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  1,993  acres;  in  corn,  5,224  acres;  in  oats,  S35  acres;  in  rice, 
40  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  224  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  124  acres. 

Cotton  production :  418  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.21  bale  (sea  island),  292  pounds  seed-cotton, 
or  73  pounds  cotton  lint. 

In  the  northern  and  eastern  parts  of  Taylor  county  the  underlying  lime  rock  often  has  over  it  a  considerable 
thickness  of  sand  and  loam,  but  toward  the  coast  these  materials  thin  down,  and  the  rock  often  outcrops  through 
the  sands.  Eight  or  nine  miles  from  the  shore  a  low  rocky  ridge  ruus  parallel  with  the  coast,  causing  ripples  and 
falls  in  all  the  streams  that  empty  into  the  bay  east  of  the  Wakulla  (Williams). 

The  best  known  of  the  various  mineral  springs  are  the  sulphur  and  iron  springs  on  the  Econtiua,  a  chalybeate 
spring  on  Blue  creek,  and  Hampton  springs  (sulphur)  on  Rocky  creeti. 

Along  the  coast  are  found  areas  of  Gulf  hummock  land,  produced  as  in  Wakulla  county. 

Near  the  coast  lie  large  bodies  of  "flatwoods",  third-class  pine  lands,  with  gallberry  flats,  growth  of  saw 
palmetto,  etc.,  seldom  brought  into  cultivation,  but  affording  tine  pasturage.  Stock-raising  has,  until  comparatively 
recent,  times,  been  one  of  the  chief  occupations  of  the  inhabitants. 

Hummock  lauds  are  also  met  with  farther  inland  along  the  water-courses,  Oklockonuee,  Fenhalloway,  Warrior, 
and  Steinhatchee  rivers. 

In  the  northeastern  part  of  the  county,  adjoining  Madison,  and  in  various  other  localities,  are  considerable 
bodies  of  swamp  land,  as  yet  unimproved. 

The  uplands,  or  rather  the  lands  intermediate  between  flatwoods  and  uplands,  constitute  the  first,  second,  and 
third  class  pine  lands. 

The  sea-island  or  long-staple  cotton  is  almost  exclusively  cultivated  in  this  county. 

ABSTRACT  OF  REPORT  OF  JOHN  B.  CARRIN,  OF  STEPHENSVILLE. 

These  answers  relate  to  the  lowlands  in  the  first  and  second  bottoms  of  Beven's  creek,  and  of  Steinhatchee  river,  flowing  into 
Deadman's  hay,  and  also  to  tho  uplands  adjacent  to  Blue  Border  and  Dallas  creeks,  tributaries  of  the  Steinhatchee. 

The  uplands  vary  greatly,  being  found  in  patches  of  from  1  to  20  acres,  some  being  dark  brown,  and  known  as  chincapin  land,  and 
tbis  is  considered  the  best  for  sea-island  cotton,  the  only  variety  cultivated. 

The  lowlands  are  not  so  well  suited  to  cotton,  being  generally  too  wet,  which  causes  the  plant  to  rust  or  shed  its  fruit,  or  both.  The 
three  principal  varieties  of  soil  will  be  considered  in  turn. 

1st.  Dark  gray,  sometimes  nearly  black,  sandy  pine-chincapin  land. — This  occupies  about  20  per  cent,  of  the  whole  area,  or  40  per  cent, 
of  the  uplands.  The  natural  growth  upon  it  is  long-leaf  or  yellow  pine,  white  oak,  chincapin,  saw  palmetto,  wire-grass,  etc.  The  soil  is 
fine  sandy,  of  a  gray-browu  to  blackish  color,  alternating  or  mixed.  At  an  average  depth  of  5  inches  tbe  color  changes  to  that  of  the 
subsoil.  The  subsoil  varies;  sometimes  it  is  light-colored  fine  sand,  very  compact;  sometimes  a  hard-pan,  very  hard,  almost  black,  and 
composed  of  sand  and  what  seems  to  be  loam.    This  subsoil  frequently  contains  fragments  of  limestone  holding  sca-shcUs,  and  the  whole  is 

227 


48  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

underlaid  at  varying  depths  of  from  5  to  10  feet  by  the  limestone,  which  is  usually  rather  soft.  This  land  is  sometimes  a  little  difficult 
to  cultivate  in  wet  seasons,  but  it  is  usually  quite  easy.  Iu  this  vicinity  corn,  sugar-cane,  soa-islanil  cotton,  oats,  peauuts,  peas,  and  sweet 
potatoes  are  the  usual  crops.  This  soil  is  best  suited  to  cotton,  oats,  and  potatoes;  10  per  cent,  of  the  cultivated  land  being  in  cotton, 
which  attains  a  height  of  6  or  8  feet,  being  most  productive  at  6.  The  fresh  land  will  produce  500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  the  acre,  1,575 
pounds  being  required  to  make  a  350-pound  bale,  and  sells  at  35  cents  a  pound.  Alter  three  years'  cultivation  (unmanured)  the  yield  is 
400  pounds,  of  same  quality  and  about  the  same  yield  of  lint. 

2d.  High-hummock  land. — About  15  per  cent,  of  the  uplands,  or  30  per  cent,  of  tho  whole  area,  is  of  this  kind.  The  natural  growth 
consists  of  species  of  oak.  hickory,  magnolia,  bay,  6weet  bay.  cabbage  palmetto,  pine,  cedar,  elm,  linden,  etc.  The  soil  is  a  fine  sandy 
loam,  of  brown,  reddish,  and  blackish  colors,  varying  in  thickness  from  8  to  12  inches.  The  subsoil  varies,  being  sometimes  sand,  but 
most  of  these  lands  are  underlaid  either  with  marl  or  lime-rock  at  different  depths.  The  subsoil  often  contains  fragments  of  the  limestono 
inclosing  sea-shells.  The  cultivation  is  usually  easy;  the  soil  is  better  adapted  to  corn  and  sugar-cane,  only  2  or  3  per  cent,  being  planted 
in  cotton,  which  attains  a  height,  when  most  productive,  of  about  4  feet.  The  fresh  land  will  sometimes  yield  400  pounds  of  seed-cotton, 
falling  to  300  pounds  after  three  years'  cultivation.  From  1,065  on  fresh  to  1,750  pounds  on  long-cultivated  land  are  required  to  make  a 
350-pound  bale,  and  the  usual  price  is  34  cents  a  pound;  on  old  land  the  staple  is  slightly  inferior. 

3d.  Black-jack  ridges  or  sandy  pine  lands. — This  variety  makes  about  30  percent,  of  the  whole  area,  or  15  per  cent,  of  tho  uplands.  Tho 
natural  growth  is  long-leaf  pine,  black-jack  oak,  and  wire-grass.  Tho  soil  is  fine  and  sandy,  of  a  gray  to  whitish  color,  changing  at  3  to  4  inches 
depth  to  a  lighter  sand,  sometimes  yellow,  sometimes  white,  which  constitutes  the  subsoil.  In  these  areas  the  lime  rock  lies  deep  below 
the  surface,  and  is  seldom  reached.  The  soil  is  best  adapted  to  peas,  peauuts,  and  sweet  potatoes,  and  not  more  than  2  to  3  per  cent,  is 
planted  in  cotton.  The  stalk  grows  to  the  height  of  2^  feet.  Two  hundred  pounds  per  aero  is  the  average  seed-cotton  product  on  fresh 
laud,  and  1,750  pounds  are  required  to  make  a  350-pound  bale,  and  sells  at  35  cents  a  pound.  After  three  years'  cultivation  without  manure 
the  yield  is  100  pounds  an  acre.  "When  tho  cotton  is  planted  late  or  upon  fresh  land  it  often  shows  a  tendency  to  run  to  weed.  Application 
of  stimulant  manures  and  lopping  are  the  usual  remedies.  Upon  all  these  soils  crab  and  crow-foot  grasses  and  sand  spurs  give  most 
trouble  to  the  farmer.  None  of  these  lands  originally  cultivated  now  lie  turned  out,  and  by  reason  of  their  generally  level  position  there 
is  no  injury  from  washing  and  gullies. 

Cotton  is  hauled  from  the  different  parts  of  the  county  to  .stations  on  the  Jacksonville,  Pensacola  and  Mobile  railroad  and  sold  to 
merchants;  by  them  it  is  shipped  thence  by  rail  to  Savannah,  at  the  rate  of  about  §3  per  bale.    Most  of  the  shipments  are  mado  in  December. 

SUWANNEE. 

Population:  7,161.— White,  4,021;  colored,  3,140. 

Area  :  060  square,  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Pine  lands,  including  barrens  or  flatvroods,  030  square  miles ;  swamp 
lands,  30  square  miles. 

Tilled  land  :  37,590  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  7,288  acres;  in  corn,  12,410  acres  ;  in  oats,  2,132  acres ;  in 
rice,  154  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  484  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  238  acres. 

Cotton  production :  1,177  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.16  bale  (sea  island),  228  pounds  seed-cotton 
(sea  island),  or  57  pounds  cotton  lint. 

Tiie  highest  land  in  Suwannee  county  is  in  the  eastern  central  part,  from  which  the  drainage  slopes  incline 
toward  the  north,  west,  and  south,  the  Suwannee,  or  one  of  its  main  brauches,  the  Santa  Fe,  receiving  all  the  waters. 

This  county  shares  with  Hamilton  and  Madison,  in  part,  the  clay  subsoil.  The  surface  is  diversified,  being 
chiefly  rolling  pine  lands,  interspersed  with  low  pine  lands  and  palmetto  and  gallberry  flats,  called  here  "  flatwoods". 
Near  the  Suwannee  and  other  streams  occasional  hummocks  are  found. 

The  Suwannee  river  flows,  in  a  part  of  its  course,  between  banks  of  lime,  rock,  and  large  springs  break  out  in 
several  places  from  its  crevices. 

Limestone  is  the  underlying  rock  through  the  whole  county,  and  exhibits  several  varieties,  some  of  which  are 
soft  and  easily  cut  when  freshly  quarried,  and,  as  it  hardens  on  exposure,  it  is  used  in  some  localities  for  building 
purposes.  It  is  laid  bare  in  many  places  where  most  of  the  superficial  sands  have  been  removed  by  denudation, 
especially  near  the  Suwannee  river. 

ABSTRACT  OF  REPORTS  FROM  L.  A.  JENNINGS,  OF  LITE  OAK,  AND  GEORGE  E.  DEXTER,  OF  HOUSTON. 

The  soils  may  be  divided  into  the  following  well-marked  varieties,  viz:  1st.  Rolling  or  level  pine  uplands,  with  clay  subsoil  (first 
class);  2d.  Gray  or  gravelly  lands;  3d.  Sandy  pine  lands  (second  class);  and  subordinated  to  these,  4th.  Swamp  and  hummock  lands. 
together  with  third-class  pine  lands  and  llatwoods. 

1st.  Hailing  pine  uplands. — This  class  of  soil  forms  about  one-third  of  the  county,  the  prevailing  growth  being  long-leaf  pine,  with  oak 
and  hickory  added  upon  the  uplands.  The  soil  is  as  usual  a  sandy  loam  of  whitish  or  gray-reddish  to  brown  colors,  underlaid  with  a 
sandy  clay,  occasionally  with  tough  dark-colored  clay,  which  is  hard  while  tho  land  is  resting,  but,  mellow  after  being  broken  up.  This 
subsoil  often  contains  concretions  of  bog-iron  ore,  aud  rests  usually  upon  the  limestone  rock  at  depths  of  5  to  8  feet.  This  land  is  of  easy 
cultivation  under  nearly  all  circumstances.  Tho  soil  is  apparently  best,  adapted  to  cotton  (long  staple),  potatoes,  and  rice.  One-half  to 
three-quarters  of  the  tillable  land  is  put  iu  cotton,  which  grows  to  a  height  of  4  to  9  feet,  being  most  productive  at  about  4  feet.  On 
the  black  pine  lands,  on  fresSi  land,  aud  when  the  seasons  are  too  wet,  the  plant  tends  to  run  to  weed.  When  this  is  the  case,  topping 
and  late  plowing  are  resorted  to  as  remedies.  The  yield  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  (sea  island)  on  fresh  land  is  put  at  about  500  pounds, 
about  1,315  pounds  being  required  to  make  a  350-pound  bale.  The  staple  is  rated  as  medium  to  good.  After  five  to  ten  years'  cultivation 
withoi.'.  manure  the  yield  decreases  from  250  to  400  pounds,  according  to  quality  of  soil,  it  being  in  some  localities  much  stronger  than 
i-  others.  The  staple  is  then,  perhaps,  a  little  coarser,  but  not  much  different,  and  about  the  same  quantity  of  seed-cotton  is  needed  for  a 
bale.  Very  little,  if  any,  of  this  land  has  been  abandoned.  When  the  "turned-out"  land  has  been  reclaimed,  it  is  said  to  yield  at  its  best. 
Upon  the  rolling  lands  there  is  occasionally  some  injury  from  washes;  on  the  more  level  areas,  none. 

2d.  Gray  or  gravelly  lands. — These  make  up  two-fifths  of  the  cultivated  land  in  the  vicinity  of  Houston,  at  least  for  15  miles  in  each 
direction.  The  natural  growth  is  hickory  and  white  oak.  The  soil  is  coarse  sandy,  mixed  with  gravel,  and  is  of  gray  to  nearly  black 
colors.  The  subsoil  is  somewhat  heavier,  containing  coarse  gravel  and  fragments  of  rock  (probably  limestone,  perhaps  flint),  and  is 
underlaid  at  4  to  8  feet  depth  by  the  limestone  rock  of  the  country.  Land  of  this  kind  is  easily  tilled,  and  the  soil  is  warm,  early,  and  well 
drained,  being  very  well  suited  to  tho  cultivation  of  sea-island  cotton,  which  is  the  chief  crop.  The  height  attained  by  the  stalk  is  3  to  7 
228 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  49 

feet,  it  being  most  productive  at  3  to  5  feet,  and  upon  this  soil  it  is  never  known  to  run  to  weed.  The  average  seed-cotton  product  por  acre 
on  fresh  land  ia  given  at  600  pounds,  1,300  or  1,400  pouuds  being  required  to  make  a  350-pound  bale,  the  staple  rating  as  good.  After  ten 
years'  cultivation  without  manure  the  yield  keeps  up  to  500  pounds,  requiring  1,490  pounds  of  seed-cotton  for  a  bale,  the  staple  being  very 
little,  if  at  all,  different  from  that  of  fresh  land.  With  such  exceptional  strength  it  is  not  surprising  that  none  of  these  lands  have  been 
turned  out. 

3d.  Second-class  pine  lands. — These  constitute  perhaps  one-sixth  of  the  cultivated  lands  about  Live  Oak.  The  growth  is  almost 
exclusively  long-leaf  pine.  The  soil,  line  and  coarse  sandy,  is  of  usually  light  colors,  sometimes  inclined  to  reddish,  and  from  1  inch  to  6 
inches  depth  before  its  color  changes  to  that  of  the  subsoil.  The  subsoil  is  generally  heavier  than  the  soil,  being  a  sandy  clay,  resting 
usually  upon  sand,  the  underlying  rock  being  seldom  seen.  The  land  is,  of  course,  always  of  easy  tillage,  and  is  warm  and  well  drained. 
The  usual  crops  are  cotton,  peas,  and  fruit — mostly  grapes  and  oranges.  Three-fourths  of  the  land  is  put  iu  cotton  (long  staple),  which  has 
an  average  height  of  2-J  to  3  feet,  being  most  productive  at  3  feet.  It  has  no  tendency  to  run  to  weed.  Fresh  land  will  yield  300  pounds 
of  seed-cotton  to  the  acre  of  medium  staple,  1,050  pounds  being  required  for  a  bale.  Five  years'  cultivation  without  manures  will  bring 
down  the  yield  to  150  pounds,  but  with  uo  material  difference  iu  the  ratio  of  lint  or  the  quality  of  the  fiber.  Upon  all  the  soils  crab-grass, 
sand  spurs,  and  hogweed  give  most  trouble.    There  is  uo  inj  ury  from  washes  on  this  and  the  preceding  soil,  since  the  surface  is  nearly  level. 

A  third  class  of  pine  barrens  ( including  "llatwoods")  is  prevalent  in  some  parts  of  the  county,  but  is  comparatively  little  in 
cultivation  ;  and  a  so-called  black  hummock  land,  timbered  with  bay,  magnolia,  whito  oak,  ash,  gum,  etc.,  is  cultivated  in  corn  and  rice, 
but  not  in  cotton.  This  soil  is  a  dark-gray  to  black,  resting  upon  a  tough  black  clay,  which  is  easily  worked  after  being  once  broken  up. 
It  contains  fragments  of  the  lime  rock  with  which  it  is  underlaid  at  a  depth  of  5  to  8  feet.  In  wet  weather  it  is  rather  difficult  to 
cultivate,  but  it  is  of  easy  cultivation  in  dry  seasons. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  from  November  to  January  by  rail  to  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  and  Savannah,  Georgia.  The  rate 
is  75  cents  per  hundred  pounds. 

HAMILTON. 

Population  :  0,790.— White,  4,472  ;  colored,  2,318. 

Area:  540  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Pine  lands,  340  square  miles;  swamp  lands,  125  square  miles; 
hummoclis,  75  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  39,731  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  11,680  acres;  in  corn,  14,991  acres;  in  oats, 2,570  acres; 
in  rice,  225  acres ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  379  acres ;  in  sugar-cane,  222  acres. 

Cotton  production :  1,90S  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.16  bale  (chiefly  sea  island),  22S  pounds 
seed-cotton,  or  57  pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Hamilton  county,  though  in  general  somewhat  rolling,  is  in  good  part,  especially  in  the  northeast 
quarter,  occupied  by  what  are  known  as  llatwoods  or  pine  barrens. 

The  general  drainage  is  southward  from  the  Georgia  line  into  the  Suwannee  river  and  its  tributaries.  The 
highest  lands  are  west  of  the  center  of  the  county,  and  near  the  White  Sulphur  springs,  in  the  southeast  corner, 
adjacent  to  the  Suwannee  river. 

Near  the  rivers  which  bound  the  county  the  drainage  has  cut  down  into  the  subjacent  limestone,  and  occasional 
outcropphigs  of  this  rock  may  also  be  noticed  5  or  6  miles  distant  from  these  streams. 

In  many  parts  of  the  county  a  red  or  a  yellow  clay  loam  underlies  the  soil  at  varying  depths,  and  while  this 
county  might,  on  this  account,  be  classed  in  the  agricultural  division  of  the  brown  loam  uplands,  the  oak  uplands, 
so  characteristic  of  the  counties  farther  west,  are  almost  entirely  lacking  here.  On  the  other  baud,  much  of  the 
pine  land  has  a  substratum  of  the  clay  loam,  like  the  pine  uplands  of  Jefferson  county,  etc. 

The  soil  over  a  large  proportion  of  the  county  is  sandy  and  rather  light,  and  the  principal  varieties  recognized 
are:  1st,  rolling  uplands,  with  dark  loamy  soil,  and  sandy  subsoil  resting  upon  red  or  yellow  clay  loam;  2d,  sandy 
uplands,  including  piue  barrens  and  llatwoods,  the  last  two  being  similar  in  quality;  3d,  hummocks;  and  4th, 
swamps. 

Upon  some  of  the  uplands  the  short-staple  cotton  is  planted;  but  sea-island  cotton  makes  about  five-sixths 
(or  more)  of  the  crop,  according  to  estimates  of  correspondents. 

ABSTRACT   OF  REPORTS  OF   THOMAS  N.  BELL  AND   H.  J.  STEWART,  OF   JASPER. 

The  reports  refer  to  the  region  drained  by  the  Alapaha  and  Suwaunee,  and  the  soils  described  are  those  above  enumerated. 

1st.  Rolling  uplands,  with  growth  of  long-leaf  pine,  interspersed  with  red  oak,  hickory,  etc.  In  the  most  fertile  portions  the  oak  and 
hickory  prevail  to  the  almost  total  exclusion  of  the  pine.  Iu  this  the  first-class  pine  lands  approach  in  quality  the  oak  uplands.  It  is 
estimated  that  about  one-sixth  of  the  county  near  the  water-courses  possesses  soil  of  this  nature.  The  uplands  vary  considerably.  Some 
are  level  pine  barrens,  others  rolling.  These  latter,  especially  when  red  oak  and  hickory  grow  upon  them  to  any  extent,  are  productive,  the 
valleys  in  particular.  The  soil  is  sandy,  and  generally  of  light  colors ;  subsoil,  a  yellow  or  red  clay,  which  rests  upon  lime-rock  at  varying 
depths.  This  kind  of  soil  is  well  adapted  to  the  upland  or  short-staple  cotton,  which  is  planted  on  at  least  a  third  of  the  cultivated  land. 
The  stalk  attains  a  height  of  3  or  4  feet.  The  seed-cotton  product  on  fresh  land  is  from  500  to  1,000  pounds  (the  latter  iu  the  bottoms 
and  valleys),  and  from  1,660  to  1,000  pounds  are  required  to  make  a  475-pound  bale.  After  five  years  or  more  of  cultivation  (unmanured) 
the  yield  is  brought  down  to  300  pounds.  The  staple  from  this  worn  laud  is  usually  not  much  inferior  to  that  grown  on  fresh  laud. 
Only  a  small  proportion  of  this  kind  of  land  lies  turned  out.  When  reclaimed,  it  produces  about  as  well  as  originally.  There  is  not 
much  injury  done  by  washes,  and  the  valleys  are,  if  anything,  consid  erably  benefited  by  the  settling  from  the  slopes.  Some  slight  efforts 
have  been  made  to  stop  the  washings  by  horizontalizing  and  hillside  ditching,  and  with  good  success  where  properly  done. 

2d.  Flatwoods,  including  someof  the  pine  barrens.  These  level  lands  cover  over  one-half  of  the  county,  and  they  have  a  natural  growth 
of  yellow  pine,  with  an  undergrowth  of  saw  palmetto.  Cypress  ponds  and  gallberry  flats  are  iuterpersed  throughout  this  area.  The  soil 
is  a  fine  sand  of  a  grayish  color,  3  or  4  inches  thick  before  change  of  color ;  the  subsoil  is  heavier,  is  of  a  yellow  color,  passing  into  clay 
usually  at  4  feet  depth.  Tilling  qualities  of  the  land,  generally  easy.  The  usual  crops  are  cultivated,  viz,  sea-island  cotton,  sweet  potatoes, 
oats,  sugar-cane,  etc.,  the  soil  being  apparently  best  adapted  to  cottou,  which  is  plauted  on  about  one-third  of  the  tilled  land.  The  stalk 
often  grows  to  6  feet  height,  but  observation  has  shown  that  it  is  most  productive  a,t  about  5.  Three  causes  tend  to  make  the  cotton  run 
to  weed,  viz.,  not  thinning  out  at  proper  time,  improper  cultivation,  and  too  much  wet  weather.  When  wet  weather  is  the  cause,  topping 
is  the  remedy  suggested;  when  improper  cultivation  is  to  blame,  the  remedy  is  obvious.     "If  the  hands  are  idle,  hire  anew  set,  ordischargo 

229 


50  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

and  hire  over  the  same  set."  Five  hundred  pounds  is  taken  as  the  average  seed-cotton  product  per  acre  on  fresh  land,  and  300  pounds 
after  ten  years'  cultivation  without  manure.  There  is  a  slight  difference  in  the  staple  in  favor  of  the  fresh  land.  In  botyh  cases  about 
1,400  pounds  are  needed  to  make  a  350-pound  bale.  The  cleared  land  is  generally  under  cultivation,  and  very  little  of  it  is  turned  out,  and 
from  its  level  nature  there  is  hardly  any  tendency  to  wash  or  gully.  Crab-grass,  dog-fennel,  hogweed,  and  beggar-lice  or  Indian  clover  aro 
most  troublesome  weeds  upon  all  the  soils. 

3d.  Some  good  bodies  of  hummock  swamp  lauds  are  found  in  various  parts  of  the  county. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  from  September  on,  mostly  to  Savannah,  Georgia,  by  rail,  at  ©1  per  bale. 

COLUMBIA. 

Population:  9,589.— White,  4,820;  colored, 4,709. 

Area:  SCO  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Pine  lands  (including flatwoods),  635  square  miles;  swamp  lands,  150 
square  miles;  hummocks,  75  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  45,759  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  13,142  acres;  in  corn,  18,685  acres;  in  oats,  4,010  acres;  in 
rice, 317  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  G87  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  297  acres. 

Cotton  production :  1,092  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.15  bale  (sea  island),  212  pounds  (sea-island) 
seed-cotton,  or  53  pounds  cotton  lint. 

Columbia  county  is  in  great  part  upon  the  elevated  belt  forming  the  water-shed  between  the  Atlantic  and  the 
Gulf.  The  county  slopes  away  from  the  high  land  of  the  northeastern  and  eastern  parts  toward  the  Suwannee 
river  on  the  west  and  toward  Olnstee  creek  and  Santa  Fe  river  on  the  south. 

The  soils  throughout  the  county  are  sandy,  with  the  exceptions  noticed  below,  and  are  underlaid  with  either  a 
reddish  or  a  yellowish  clay  loam,  or  with  sands,  according  to  locality. 

The  prevailing  growth  is  long-leaf  pine,  with  the  usual  first,  second,  and  third  class  pine  lands. 

In  the  northeastern  and  eastern  portions  of  the  county,  upon  the  dividing  ridge,  there  is  much  flat  land  of  second 
-and  third  quality,  with  pine,  saw  palmetto,  and  wire-grass  as  natural  growth,  with  numerous  tracts  of  swamp  and 
many  lakes.  Such  lands,  though  flat  and  often  covered  with  water,  are  not  unhealthy.  Where  the  land  is  more 
rolling  a  yellowish  sandy  soil  frequently  occupies  a  position  between  the  uplands  and  the  lowlands  corresponding 
to  the  oak  uplands  farther  west. 

In  addition  to  the  pine  lands  and  swamps  there  is  in  this  county  a  fair  proportion  of  hummock  land.  Where 
the  drainage  has  thinned  down  the  covering  sauds  in  the  vicinity  of  the  various  water-courses  the  hummocks  are 
of  frequent  occurrence.  These,  however,  are  not  always  couhned  to  the  vicinity  of  streams,  but  appear  occasionally 
in  the  highest  parts  of  the  county.  Lake  City  is  said  to  be  about  200  feet  above  the  Atlantic,  and  in  its  vicinity 
flat  pine  lands,  interspersed  with  swamps  and  lakes,  prevail.  The  analysis  of  soil  from  near  Lake  City  will  show 
the  composition  of  the  better  class  of  flat  pine  lands. 

ABSTRACT    OF  REPORTS   OF  MESSRS.    G.   B.   SMITHSON,  OF  LAKE    CITY,   AND   T.   R.   COLLINS,  OF  MIKESVILLE. 

The  soils  described  are  those  of  the  pine  lauds  and  of  the  hummocks. 

1st.  Light  rolling  sandy  pine  lands. — These  make  three-fourths  of  the  uplands,  the  growth  being  chiefly  long-leaf  pine.  The  soil  is  a 
fiue  sandy  loam,  gravelly  in  spots,  of  whitish  to  yellowish  colors,  averaging  in  depth  6  to  8  inches.  The  subsoil  is  usually  heavier  than  the. 
soil,  being  upon  the  hills  a  reddish  clay  or  stiff  loam,  which  mixes  with  and  stiffens  the  soil,  making  it  more  difficult  to  cultivate,  as  it 
hardens  upon  exposure  to  the  sun.  Beneath  the  subsoil,  at  depths  varying  from  2  to  10  feet,  is  usually  found  the  limestone  of  the  country. 
The  soil  is  easily  tilled,  and  is  early,  if  well  drained.  The  principal  crops  are  corn,  sea-island  cotton,  sugar-cane,  oats,  potatoes,  etc. 
Cotton,  oats,  and  peas  succeed  best,  other  crops  usually  requiring  fertilizers  for  their  successful  cultivation.  Cotton  makes  usually  about 
one-third  of  the  crop,  the  stalk  attaining  a  height  of  4  to  5  feet,  being  most  productive  at  about  4.  Upon  fresh  land  the  seed-cotton 
product  per  acre  is  400  to  500  pounds  (1,400  pounds  to  a  350-pound  bale),  the  staple  ratiug  as  fair.  After  four  years'  cultivation  without 
manure  the  product  falls  to  350  pounds,  with  slightly  reduced  percentage  of  lint,  which  does  not  rate  quite  so  well  (by  1  cent  to  3  cents  per 
pound)  as  that  produced  upon  fresh  land,  but  comes  a  week  or  two  earlier.  Being  light,  this  soil  washes  badly  on  slopes,  but  the  valleys 
are  usually  benefited  to  the  extent  of  10  or  15  per  cent,  by  the  washings  from  the  uplands.  Scarcely  any  efforts  have  been  made  to  check 
the  damage,  but  when  horizontalizing  lias  been  tried  it  succeeds  well. 

2d.  Yellow  sandy  soil,  a  little  broken  and  usually  lying  between  the  uplands  and  the  lowlands.  This  soil  (which  seems  to  correspond 
to  the  oak  and  hickory  uplands  of  the  western  counties  of  middle  Florida)  occurs  in  limited  patches  of  30  to  50  acres,  and  makes  perhaps 
10  to  15  per  cent,  of  the  lands  near  Mikesvillo.  The  growth  is  long-leaf  pine,  with  an  undergrowth  of  scrub  oak  and  hickory.  The  color 
is  yellowish,  and  the  depth  0  to  Ji  inches.  The  subsoil  is  mostly  clay,  sometimes  a  variety  of  the  country  rock,  which  has  a  very  small 
proportion  of  lime,  but  a  correspondingly  large  percentage  of  siliceous  matter,  and  which  is  usually  called  sandstone.  The  clay  is  usually 
at  the  depth  of  2  feet.  These  soils  are  easily  tilled  in  dry  seasons,  but  difficult — becoming  boggy  from  bad  drainage — in  wet  weather. 
Corn,  cotton  (sea  island),  and  oats  are  the  chief  products,  cotton  forming  10  or  15  per  cent,  of  the  whole.  The  stalk  grows  to  a  height 
of  4  or  5  feet,  being  most  productive  at  4.  The  fresh  laud  will  bring  400  pounds  of  seed-cotton  (one-fourth  lint  by  weight)  to  the  acre.  The 
staple  is  rated  as  fair  in  good  seasons,  but  it  is  liable  to  be  stained,  and  thus  injured,  if  it  falls  upon  the  ground.  The  land  retains  its 
fertility  well.  Much  injury  is  caused  by  washes  and  gullies,  and  the  valleys  suffer  from  the  sands  washed  from  the  uplands;  yet  almost 
no  efforts  have  been  made  to  check  the  damage. 

3d.  Dark  h inn  mock  land. — This  forms  only  a  small  proportion  (oue-tenth  or  less)  of  the  arable  land,  being  in  patches  of  a  mile  or  two  in 
area.  The  natural  growth  is  hickory,  oak,  red  bay,  cherry,  gum,  and  magnolia.  The  soil  is  a  light  clay  loam  of  a  blackish  or  dark  brown 
color,  12  or  1-1  inches  deep,  with  dark  clay,  or,  in  places,  a  red  clay  subsoil,  coutaining  fragments  of  limestone  full  of  shells.  Beneath  these 
lie  sand  rind  limestoue  rock  at  2  to  4  feet  depth.  The  soil  is  heavily  timbered  and  difficult  to  clear,  but  is  of  easy  tillage.  In  wet  seasons 
it  is  unfit  for  cotton  on  account  of  bad  drainage,  but  is  well  adapted  to  corn  and  sugar-cane.  Cotton  forms  not  more  than  one-tenth  of  the 
cultivated  crop.  The  stalk  grows  to  6  or  7  feet  in  height,  but  is  more  productive  at  about  5.  The  seed-cotton  product  on  fresh  land  is  400  to 
(JOG  pounds  per  acre  (one-fourth  lint),  which  rates  as  fair,  but  which  is  usually  slightly  inferior  to  that  grown  upon  the  uplands.  Tbe  soil 
shows  very  little  evidence  of  exhaustion  after  several  years1  cultivation  without  manures.  No  injury  from  washes  or  gullies.  When 
planted  late  or  upon  fresh  land,  when  plowed  deep,  or  when  the  season  is  too  wet,  the  plant  shows  a  tendency  to  run  to  weed.  Topping 
or  shallow  culture  are  resorted  to  as  remedies.  The  most  troublesome  weeds  are  crab-grass,  sand  spurs,  Jerusalem  oak,  hogweed,  and 
230 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  51 

beggar-lice  or  Florida  clover,  the  seeds  of  the  latter  mixing  with  the  cotton  when  pulling  it  out  of  the  boll.  Some  10  or  15  per  cent,  of  the 
cultivated  lands  in  the  rolling  pine  regions  are  usually  turned  out;  upon  the  large  farms  sometimes  even  a  larger  proportion.  Of  the  other 
varieties  very  little  land  originally  cultivated  now  lies  out.  All  varieties  improve  rapidly  whilo  resting,  and  when  again  taken  into 
cultivation  they  produce  as  well  as  ever  for  a  few  years.  The  other  varieties  of  soil,  including  flatwoods  and  swamp  lands,  are  not  much 
in  cultivation. 

Cotton  is  shipped  by  rail  and  by  steamer,  chiefly  during  the  months  of  November  and  December,  to  Charleston  and  Savannah.  The 
freight  charge  is  about  $2  a  bale. 

BAKER. 

Population:  2,303.—  White,  1,6G0;  colored,  643. 

Area :  500  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Pine  lands,  including  flatwoods,  375  square  miles;  swamp  lands,  100 
square  miles;  hummocks,  25  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands :  4,S98  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  1,107  acres;  in  corn,  2,388  acres;  in  oats,  484  acres ;  in  rice, 
59  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  208  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  48  acres. 

Cotton  production :  215  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.19  bale  (sea  island),  272  pounds  seed-cotton,  or 
68  pounds  cotton  lint. 

Baker  county  occupies  the  summit  and  eastern  slope  of  the  water-shed  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Gulf.  The 
drainage  is  chiefly  into  the  Saint  Mary's  river. 

The  uniform  thick  covering  of  sandy  material  overlying  the  country  limestone,  and  the  frequent  occurrence  of 
low,  swampy  tracts,  lakes,  and  ponds,  with  spots  of  hummock  land  where  denudation  has  been  most  effective  in 
partially  removing  the  sands,  thus  bringing  the  lime-rock  within  reach  of  the  soil,  are  characteristics  of  Baker 
county.  Since  the  eastern  slope  of  the  divide,  at  least  in  northern  Florida,  has  apparently  suffered  less  degradation 
than  the  western  the  areas  of  high  hummock  land  are  comparatively  few,  and  in  some  parts  wanting  entirely  on 
the  eastern  side  of  this  water-parting. 

From  these,  circumstances,  as  may  be  inferred,  the  surface  of  Baker  county  is  flat  or  gently  undulating,  though 
in  the  western  parts  considerably  elevated  above  the  sea.  The  soil  is  almost  uniformly  sandy,  and  the  growth 
long-leaf  pine.  The  pine  lands  are  principally  of  second  and  third  quality.  The  second-class  pine  lands  have  a 
heavy  growth  of  pine,  which  is  a  source  of  wealth  ill  lumber  and  in  turpentine  and  rosin.  The  third-class  lands  in  this 
county,  as  in  other  parts  of  the  state,  have  a  growth  of  piue,  saw  palmetto,  and  gallberry  bushes. 

The  northwestern  parts  of  Baker  county  are  interspersed  with  large  areas  of  cypress  swamp. 

The  abstract  given  under  Columbia  will  apply  quite  well  to  similar  soils  in  Baker.  Sea-island  cotton  is  chiefly 
cultivated. 

In  physical  features  and  other  respects  there  are  many  points  of  resemblance  between  Baker  county  and 
Bradford,  Clay,  and  Duval  counties  on  the  one  hand  and  Columbia  on  the  other. 

The  cotton  is  usually  shipped  from  November  to  January  by  railroad  to  the  sea,  and  thence  by  steamer  or  sail- 
boat to  Charleston  and  Savannah,  the  rates  varying  from  $1  to  $2  a  bale. 

BRADFORD. 

Population:  6,112.— White,  4,S22;  colored,  1,290. 

Area :  550  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Pine  lands,  including  flatwoods,  410  square  miles;  swamp  land,  140 
square  miles. 

Tilled  lands  :  22,440  acres. — Area  planted  in  cottou,  5,836  acres;  in  corn,  9,511  acres;  in  oats,  2,119  acres;  in 
rice,  143  acres ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  388  acres ;  in  sugar-cane,  260  acres. 

Cotton  production :  1,094  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.19  bale  (sea  island),  24S  pounds  seed-cotton, 
or  62  pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Bradford  county  is  in  general  rather  level,  and  the  soil  sandy.  The  eastern  parts  of  the  county, 
though  presenting  often  the  appearance  of  low  pine  barrens,  have  in  reality  considerable  elevation  above  the  sea. 
The  following  altitudes  are  taken  from  railroad  surveys:  Trail  ridge,  summit  210  feet;  Lawtey,  140  feet;  Starke, 
150  feet ;  Santa  F<5  lake,  137  feet.  This  portion  of  the  county  is  timbered  mostly  with  long-leaf  pine,  and',  in  addition 
to  the  many  lakes  and  ponds  with  which  it  is  diversified,  contains  much  swampy  land.  Pine  lands  of  the  description 
given  above  cover  about  four-fifths  of  the  county,  part  being  strong  land  (first  class),  with  heavy  growth  of  pines 
and  some  Cttk  and  hickory,  and  part  being  more  sandy  (second  and  third  class),  constituting  the  genuine  pine  barrens. 
New  river  traverses  the  county  from  north  to  south  near  the  center,  and  along  this  stream  the  country  is  more 
broken,  the  underlying  limestone  occasionally  making  its  appearance  at  the  surface,  or  its  influence  being  felt  in  the 
overlying  soil.  Iu  the  western  part  of  the  county,  in  the  drainage  area  of  Olustee  creek,  similar  conditions  hold. 
The  sea-island  cotton  is  the  kind  produced.     The  lumber  trade  is  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  wealth. 

Shipments  as  under  Baker  and  Columbia,  above. 

NASSAU. 

Population:  6,635.— White,  3,075;  colored,  3,560. 

Area :  640  square  miles. — Woodland,  570  square  miles;  coast  marshes,  70  square  miles;  pine  lands,  mostly 
flatwoods,  450  square  miles;  hummocks  and  swamp,  120  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  4,554  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  195  acres;  in  corn,  2,559  acres;  in  oats,  294  acres;  in  rice, 
14  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  2S2  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  64  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  53  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.27  bale  (sea  island),  380  pounds  seed-cotton,  or 
95  pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  larger  proportion  of  Nassau  county  is  made  up  of  level,  sandy  pine  barrens,  averaging  not  more  than  25 
to  30  feet  above  sea-level.  In  the  northwestern  part  these  flatwoods  are  interspersed  with  the  so-called  "sand-hills", 
which  furnish  an  upland  sandy  soil  in  the  midst  of  pine  barrens. 

The  clay  bluffs  along  the  Saint  Mary's  river  have  a  soil  which  is  capable  of  great  improvement  by  the  use  of 
fertilizers,  and  which  is  well  adapted  to  the  production  of  fruit. 

23! 


52  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

On  the  islands  of  the  coast,  and  on  the  mainland,  the  soil  is  well  suited  to  the  long-staple  cotton,  which> 
however,  at  present  forms  a  very  small  percentage  of  the  agricultural  products  of  the  county. 

In  addition  to  the  sandy  soils  above  mentioned,  which  have  in  cases  a  substratum  of  clay  and  sometimes  of 
marl,  thus  giving  rise  to  great  variety,  there  are  along  the  coast  large  bodies  of  marsh  laud,  which  have  been 
partially  reclaimed,  but  are  now  generally  lying  idle,  and  along  the  tributaries  of  the  Nassau  river  tracts  of  swamp 
land,  which  are  yet  to  be  drained  and  generally  brought  into  cultivation. 

Sea-island  or  long-staple  cotton  is  the  variety  produced. 

Cotton  is  shipped  from  the  different  ports  to  Savannah  and  Charleston. 

DUVAL. 

Population:  19,431.— White,  8,580;  colored,  10,851. 

Area:  900  square  miles. — Woodland,  S25  square  miles;  coast  marshes,  75  square  miles;  pine  lands,  chiefly 
nutwoods,  725  square  miles ;  swamps  and  hummocks,  100  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  5,959  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  57  acres;  in  corn,  1,939  acres;  in  oats,  40  acres;  in  rice,  92 
acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  470  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  121  acres. 

Cotton  production :  23  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.40  bale  (sea  island),  5G4  pounds  seed-cotton,  or 
141  pounds  cotton  lint. 

Duval  county,  like  Nassau,  is  generally  rather  low,  the  eastern  part  being  flat  and  marshy,  the  western 
consisting  in  great  part  of  low  pine  barrens.  The  elevation  above  the  sea  of  the  western  part  is  about  50  feet. 
The  soil  is  light  sandy,  interspersed  with  a  few  areas  of  hummock  land.  This  soil,  though  light,  does  well  with 
the  use  of  fertilizers,  and  marls  are  easily  obtained  in  all  parts  of  the  county. 

Near  the  Saint  John's  river  and  many  of  its  tributaries  are  bodies  of  swamp  laud  yet  to  be  brought  under 
cultivation. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  by  water  to  Savannah  and  Charleston  principally. 

SAINT  JOHN'S. 

Population:  4,535. — White,  3,170 ;  colored,  1,305. 

Area:  1,000  square  miles. — Woodland,  SG0  square  miles;  coast  marshes,  140  square  miles;  piDe  lands,  chiefly 
flatwoods,  010  square  miles;  swamps  and  hummocks,  250  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  2,841  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  8  acres;  in  corn,  1,2S2  acres;  in  oats,  52  acres;  in  rice,  16 
acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  273  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  149  acres. 

Cotton  production :  0  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.75  bale  (sea  island),  1,052  pounds  seed-cotton, 
or  203  pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  general  surface  of  Saint  John's  county  is  low,  flat,  and  in  great  part  occupied  by  "scrub"  pine  barrens, 
with  palmetto  undergrowth.  North  of  Saint  Augustine  a  ridge  of  pine  land  3  or  4  miles  wide,  extending  from 
the  north  line  to  Saint  Augustine,  separates  two  good  bodies  of  land.  Although  the  hummocks  are  not  extensive, 
yet  the  pine  land,  5  or  0  miles  from  the  river,  has  a  good  clay  foundation,  and  produces  excellent  crops  (Williams). 

The  small  streams  which  flow  into  the  Saint  John's  river  and  the  Atlantic  ocean  have  usually  very  good 
hummocks. 

Shipments  from  Saint  John's  county  are  by  steamer  or  sail-boat  to  the  northern  markets. 

CLAY. 

Population:  2,838. — White,  2,205;  colored,  573. 

Area:  640  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Pine  lauds,  550  square  miles;  swamp  lands,  70  square  miles; 
hummocks,  20  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  4,009  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  450  acres;  in  corn,  1,885  acres;  in  oats,  214  acres;  in  rice, 
45  acres ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  140  acres ;  in  sugar-cane,  74  acres. 

Cotton  production :  96  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.21  bale  (sea  island),  290  pounds  seed-cotton,  or 
74  pounds  cotton  lint. 

Clay  county  shows  considerable  variety  in  its  topographical  and  agricultural  features.  The  western  part,  being 
a  portion  of  Trail  ridge,  has  an  elevation  of  150  to  200  feet  above  sea-level.  This  elevation  becomes  less  toward  the 
east,  being  only  a  few  feet  above  tide  iu  the  part  of  the  county  adjoining  Saint  John's  river.  Upon  the  elevated 
country  west  and  southwest  are  found  many  beautiful  lakes,  some  of  which  have  open  outlets,  and  are  thus  the 
partial  sources  of  Black  creek.  Of  these  the  most  important  are  Kingsley's,  Blue,  Fish,  and  Sand  Hill  lakes. 
The  first  named  is  by  some  considered  to  be  the  highest  above  sea-level  of  any  of  the  Florida  lakes.  Its  elevation 
is  given  at  171  feet.  In  addition  to  these  there  are  numerous  lakes  and  ponds  which  have  no  apparent  outlet, 
though  they  are  probably  drained  by  subterranean  channels.  In  the  eastern  part  of  the  county  water  from  these 
channels  breaks  forth  iu  a  great  number  of  springs.  Green  Cove  springs,  Montmorenci,  and  Blue  springs  are 
well-known  sulphur  springs. 

Along  Black  creek,  where  much  of  the  overlying  sands  has  been  removed  by  denudation,  the  country  rock, 
which  is  usually  a  limestone,  appears  on  the  surface. 

ABSTRACT    OF   REPORTS    OF   MESSRS.    L.    D.    WALL,    OF    WILDERNESS,    AND    O.    BUDINGTON,    OF   3IIDDLEBURG. 

The  chief  varieties  of  soil  are  pine  lands  -with  clay  subsoil,  pine  lauds  with  sandy  subsoil,  and  black  and  sandy  hummocks.  Of  these 
only  the  light  sandy  soils  with  substratum  of  clay  are  used  to  any  considerable  extent  iu  cotton  cultivation. 

Upou  the  lowlands  the  growth  of  the  cotton  is  quite  dependent  upon  the  seasons.     In  dry  weather  the  soil  cakes  hard  and  crackB, 
and  thy  cotton,  not  being  able  to  penetrate  it,  often  dwindles  and  dies.     On  the  other  hand,  in  very  wet  weather  it  is  liable  to  scald  and 
rust,  sheds  its  bolls,  and  is  frequently  killed  by  too  much  water.     On  high  lands  (both  pine  and  hummock)  it  does  better,  these  having 
mulatto  soils,  which  the  tap-root  cau  penetrate. 
•232 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  53 

Light  sandy  soil  with  clay  subsoil. — This  comprises  over  half  of  the  lands  about  Wilderness  and  Middlehurg.  The  natural  timber  is 
long-leaf  pine,  with  species  of  oak  and  some  hickory.  The  soil  is  a  light  sandy  loam  of  a  whitish  gray  to  brown  color,  with  an  average 
depth  of  perhaps  10  inches.  The  subsoil  is  heavier  than  the  soil,  being  principally  clay.  On  high  lands,  where  farming  has  been  carried 
on  for  many  years,  this  subsoil  becomes  a  hard-pan  ;  but  beneath  the  subsoil  the  clay  is  found  sometimes  to  a  depth  of  20  feot,  resting  upon 
the  lime  rock  of  tho  country,  which,  however,  is  not  always  visible.  The  soil  is  easily  tilled  under  most  circumstances,  and  the  usual 
southern  crops  are  cultivated,  sea-island  cotton  being  planted  en  from  one-eighth  to  one-third  of  the  cleared  laud.  The  height  of  stalk 
varies  from  2  to  8  feet,  according  to  the  quality  of  the  laud,  beiug  most  productive  at  about  5  feet.  On  the  richer  land,  especially  on  low 
land,  and  when  planted  too  thickly,  the  cotton  inclines  to  run  to  weed,  and  the  same  tendency  is  noticed  when  wet  if  it  is  cultivated  with 
a  turn-plow.  To  check  this  tendency  shallow  plowing  and  good  hoeing  are  recommended,  and  also  planting  4  or  5  feet  apart  aud  leaving 
only  one  or  two  stalks  in  the  hill.  Tho  average  seed-cotton  product  upon  fresh  laud  may  be  given  at  400  pounds  per  acre,  from  1,1100 
to  1,400  pounds  of  seed-cotton  being  required  to  make  a  3u0-pouud  bale.  Tho  staple  is  classed  as  first  rate.  After  ten  years'  cultivation 
without  manure  the  yield  falls  two-thirds,  with  a  slightly  reduced  x>roportiou  of  lint  aud  slightly  deteriorated  staple.  The  ordinary 
grasses,  sand  spur,  crab-grass,  and  certain  weeds,  such  as  beggar-lice,  sheep  burrs,  Spanish  needle,  etc.,  give  most  trouble. 

A  considerable  proportion  of  this  land,  amounting  in  places  to  one-half,  lies  turned  out,  but  it  recovers  its  fertility  rapidly,  and  when 
taken  again  into  cultivation  produces  nearly  as  well  as  originally.  This  soil  washes  badly  on  slopes,  and,  while  the  uplands  arc  injured, 
the  valleys  are  usually  improved  by  the  washings.     Horizontalizing  is  sometimes  practiced  with  very  good  success. 

The  other  varieties  of  soil  mentioned  above  are  seldom  plauted  in  cotton.  A  considerable  proportion  even  of  the  first-class  pine 
auds  still  remains  uncleared  aud  uncultivated. 

Shipments  are  made  by  rail  and  steamer,  principally  in  November,  to  Savannah  and  Charleston,  the  rates  varyiug  from  $2  to  §3  a  bale. 

PUTNAM. 

Population:  6,261.— White,  3,845 ;  colored,  2,416. 

Area:  860  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Pine  lands,  600  square  miles;  swamp  lands,  225  square  miles; 
hummocks,  35  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  11,78S  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  1,356  acres;  in  corn,  2,675  acres;  in  oats,  560  acres;  in 
rice,  12  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  167  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  109  acres. 

Cotton  production :  347  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.26  bale  (sea  island),  360  pounds  seed-cotton,  or 
90  pounds  cotton  lint. 

In  Putnam  county  tho  following  three  natural  agricultural  divisions  may  be  distinguished,  viz :  The  western  part, 
the  river  bottoms,  and  the  peninsula  east  of  the  Saint  John's  river. 

The  western  part  is  principally  undulating  pine  lands  of  varying  quality,  with  a  substratum  in  many  places  oi 
blue  and  red  clay.  The  surface  rises  gradually  toward  the  west,  being  near  that  border  150  feet  or  more  above  the 
sea.  The  soils  west  of  the  river  vary  in  quality  according  to  locality.  Near  the  river  the  pine  lands  are  low  and 
flat,  valuable  chiefly  for  timber  and  as  a  range  for  cattle. 

The  river  bottom-lands  are  mostly  low,  and  were  originally  covered  with  a  growth  of  cypress  and  oaks,  aud 
wherever  these  are  6  feet  above  the  river-level  they  are  in  cultivation,  principally  in  oranges  and  other  fruit.  The 
swamps  are  still  generally  covered  with  their  original  growth. 

A  part  of  the  west  bank  of  the  Saint  John's  river  in  this  county  is  formed  of  a  strip  of  hummock  land,  presenting 
a  bold  front  to  the  river;  otherwise  the  river  is  bordered  by  swamp  land. 

On  the  so-called  Fruit-land  peninsula,  which  lies  betweeu  the  Saint  John's  river,  on  the  west,  and  Crescent 
lake,  Dunn's  lake,  and  Deep  creek,  on  the  east,  the  cultivation  of  the  orange  forms  the  principal  occupation. 
This  peninsula  is  from  1  to  5  miles  wide  between  Deep  creek  and  Dunn's  lake,  and  as  far  south  as  Polleston 
consists  of  a  narrow  strip  of  hummock  land,  running  back  into  flat  pine  laud,  which  is  under  water  daring  the 
rainy  season.  At  San  Mateo  the  hummock  land  bordering  the  river  is  of  greater  width,  and  rises  into  rolliug 
pine  land  a  hundred  feet  or  more  above  the  level  of  the  river. 

Between  Dunn's  lake  aud  the  Saint  Johu's  river  that  portion  of  the  peninsula  belonging  to  Putnam  county  is 
about  25  miles  in  length  and  some  8  miles  in  width,  and  for  the  most  part  is  rolliug  pine  laud,  with  some  hummock 
land  skirting  the  lake  and  river  (Hon.  E.  E.  Chad  wick). 

Near  the  river  are  frequent  beds  of  marl,  which  form  productive  lands.  These  marl-beds  appear  to  belong  to 
a  comparatively  recent  geological  formation,  aud  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  beds  of  fresh-water  shells,  which  in 
places  form  low  bluffs  ou  the  banks  of  the  river.     Similar  varieties  of  soil  are  described  under  Clay  county. 

Cotton  is  shipped  from  various  points  along  the  Saint  Johu's  river  to  Charleston  and  Savannah.  The  rates  are 
usually  from  $1  to  $1  50  a  bale. 

ALACHUA. 

Population:  10,462,— White,  6,446  ;  colored,  10,016. 

Area:  1,260  square  miles. — Woodland,  all,  except  a  few  acres  of  prairie.  Pine  lauds,  1,000  square  miles; 
hummocks,  200  square  miles;  swamp  land,  60  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands :  49,731  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  14,646  acres;  in  corn,  19,246  acres;  in  oats,  1,006  acres;  in 
rice.  73  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  845  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  361  acres. 

Cotton  production :  2,519  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.17  bale  (sea  island),  240  pounds  seed-cotton, 
or  00  pounds  cotton  lint. 

Alachua  county  embraces  the  following  principal  varieties  of  land,  viz:  Oak  aud  hickory  pine  lands  (first  class), 
level  or  rolling  pine  lands  (second  and  third  class),  hummocks,  and  prairie  land.  Of  these  the  level  pine  lands 
greatly  predominate,  making  perhaps  two-thirds  of  the  county. 

The  eastern  part  of  the  county  is  elevated  some  250  feet  above  the  Atlantic,  sinking  toward  the  west  to  70 
eet.  Near  the  line  between  this  and  Levy  county  is  a  range  of  sand-hills  120  feet  above  tide  where  crossed  by  the 
Transit  railroad  between  Archer  and  Bronson  stations. 

In  the  vicinity  of  the  Santa  Fe"  and  Suwannee  rivers,  which  form  the  northern  and  western  boundaries,  the 
mean  elevation  is  perhaps  less  than  70  feet,  and  in  these  localities  the  limestone  often  outcrops,  giving  rise  to 

233 


54  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

hummock  lands  of  excellent  quality  and  considerable  extent.  The  Suwannee  river  flows  in  a  large  part  of  its  course 
between  limestone  banks.  Through  the  crevices  in  this  rock  many  large  springs  break  forth,  the  waters  of  which 
are  often  impregnated  with  sulphureted  hydrogen. 

Extending  from  northwest  to  southeast  through  Alachua  is  a  strip  of  varying  width,  where  the  limestone  is 
near  the  surface  and  is  very  thinly  covered  with  soil.  Along  this  belt  are  many  areas  of  tine  hummock  land, 
supporting  a  growth  of  oaks,  hickory,  black  and  sweet  gum,  bay,  magnolia,  beech,  maple,  and  other  hard  woods. 
The  substratum  of  all  the  hammock  lands,  so  far  as  observations  go,  is  an  earthy  variety,  much  disintegrated, 
of  the  limestone  above  alluded  to. 

The  hummocks  are  very  irregularly  distributed  along  this  belt,  usually  in  small  detached  bodies  of  100  to 
500  acres.     San  Felasco  hummock,  north  of  Gainesville,  however,  embraces  many  square  miles. 

An  analysis  of  a  typical  soil  of  this  class,  from  Ocala,  in  Marion  county,  has  been  given  in  the  general  part  of 
this  report,  and  from  it  the  average  character  of  the  soil  may  be  seen. 

ABSTRACT   OF  REPORTS   OF  P.  B.   TURPIN,    OF  WALDO,   AND   "WILLIAM   H.  ROBERTSON,   OF   GAINESVILLE. 

The  varieties  of  soil  are  included  in  the  several  classes  of  pine  lands,  and  the  hummocks  with  smaller  areas  of  swamp  and  prairie. 

The  hummocks  make  perhaps  a  sixth  of  the  area  of  the  county,  and  sustain  a  growth  of  oak,  hickory,  hay,  and  magnolia.  Two  kinds 
are  recognized,  viz.,  the  black  hummock  and  the  gray  hummock  or  "mixed  land". 

The  soil  of  the  black  hummocks  is  a  fine  sandy  loam  of  a  brown  to  blackish  color,  10  to  12  inches  deep,  with  sandy  subsoil  usually, 
though  sometimes  the  latter  is  a  brownish-yellow  clay.  This  contains  in  places  fragments  of  a  soft  sand  rock.  It  is  underlaid  with  sand, 
clay,  or  hard-pan  at  G  to  8  feet  depth. 

The  soil  of  the  gray  hummocks  differs  from  the  above  in  being  more  sandy  and  of  a  lighter  color.  Its  subsoil  is  usually  a  coarse  yellow 
sand,  sometimes  almost  white,  and,  beneath  this,  sand,  sand  rock,  or  hard-pan  at  4  to  6  feet  depth.  The  gray  hummocks  have  usually 
some  long-leaf  pine,  along  with  the  other  trees  characteristic  of  such  land. 

These  soils  are  easy  of  tillage  in  all  seasons.  About  one-half  is  planted  in  cotton,  though  they  are  thought  to  be  rather  better  adapted 
to  sugar-caue  aud  rice.  The  yield  of  seed-cotton  (sea  island)  will  average  b'00  to  700  pounds  to  the  acre,  one-fourth  of  the  weight  being 
lint.     The  usual  height  of  the  stalk  is  5  or  G  leet,  being  most  productive  at  5.     None  of  these  lands  are  turned  out  of  cultivation. 

Outside  of  the  hummocks  and  prairies,  which  together  form  perhaps  a  little  less  tban  one-sixth  of  the  superficial  area  of  the  county, 
the  prevailing  growth  is  the  long-leaf  pine,  with  wire-grass.  The  soils  of  the  pine  lands  vary  considerably  in  productive  qualities,  and 
these  variations  are  sufficiently  well  characterized  by  the  natural  growth  associated  with  the  pines.  Upon  the  poorer  areas,  where  the  soil 
is  most  sandy,  long-leaf  piue,  with  some  scrub  oak,  prevails,  to  the  almost  total  exclusion  of  other  trees.  Where  the  soil  becomes  more 
loamy,  red  oak  and  hickory  are  associated  with  the  pines. 

The  great  proportion  of  the  cotton  of  this  county  is  produced  upon  the  better  class  of  pine  lands.  The  soils  rest  upon  a  yellowish 
sandy  subsoil,  and  this  often  upon  a  clayey  foundation.  From  one-third  to  one-half  of  the  cultivated  lands  of  this  sort  are  planted  in 
cotton  (sea  island),  which  attains  a  height  of  3  to  6  feet,  being  most  productive  at  about  5  feet.  The  seed-cotton  product  on  fresh  land  is 
about  500  pounds  to  the  acre,  1,400  to  1,460  pounds  of  the  seed-cotton  yielding  a  300-pound  bale  of  No.  1  staple.  Five  or  six  years' 
cultivation  without  manures  brings  down  the  yield  to  200  or  400  pounds  per  acre,  the  fiber  becoming  shorter  and  coarser,  1,225  to  1,445 
pounds  of  seed-cotton,  however,  yielding  a  bale.  Probably  one-third  of  this  land  lies  turned  out ;  when  again  taken  into  cultivation  it 
produces  very  well  the  second  and  third  years. 

From  the  level  or  slightly-rolling  character  of  most  of  the  land  in  the  county  there  is  little  or  no  injury  from  washes  or  gullies. 

The  troublesome  weeds  everywhere  are  crab  and  crow-foot  grass,  sand  spurs,  Jerusalem  oak,  careless-weed,  and  "beggar- weed" 
The  latter,  however,  is  not  an  unmitigated  evil,  as  it  makes  an  excellent  pasturage  for  stock,  and  is  supposed  to  add  to  the  fertility  of 
the  soil. 

In  wet  weather,  and  when  the  rows  are  too  close  or  the  fruit  sheds,  the  plant  will  tend  to  run  to  weed.  Planting  early,  giving 
plenty  of  room  and  applying  small  quantities  of  potash  or  bone-dust  for  manure,  will  check  this  tendency. 

The  Atlantic  and  Gulf  and  West  India  Transit  railroad  crosses  this  county  from  northeast  to  southwest,  and  affords  means  of 
transportation  for  the  products  of  Alachua.  Cotton  is  shipped  by  this  road  to  the  coast,  and  thence  by  steamer  or  sail-boat  to  Charleston 
and  Savannah.     Most  of  the  shipments  are  made  during  November,  the  usual  rate  being  from  §2  50  to  S3  a  bale. 

LAFAYETTE. 

Population:  2,441.— White,  2,268;   colored,  173. 

Area  :  940  square  miles. — Woodland,  830  square  miles ;  coast  marshes,  110  square  miles ;  pine  lauds,  410  square 
miles,  of  which  200  or  more  are  flat  woods;    swamps,  2S0  square  miles;  hummocks,  140  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  7,902  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  472  acres;  in  corn,  3,420  acres;  in  oats,  351  acres;  in  rice, 
none;  in  sweet  potatoes,  103  acres;  iu  sugar-cane,  56  acres. 

Cotton  production:  107  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.23  bale  (sea  island),  316  pounds  seed-cotton, 
■or  7!i  pounds  cotton  lint. 

Lafayette  county  lies  between  the  Steinhatehee  river,  on  the  west,  and  the  Suwannee,  on  the  east,  on  the  north 
reaching  up  nearly  into  the  brown  loam  or  red  clay  uplands,  from  which  it  slopes  away  southward  to  the  Gulf. 
In  consequence  of  this  position,  most  of  the  varieties  of  soil  occurring  in  Florida  are  met  with  in  Lafayette.  The 
greater  proportion  of  the  area  is,  however,  pine  land,  with  sandy  soil,  interspersed  with  large  tracts  of  hummock 
land,  among  the  most  important  of  which  may  be  mentioned  Cooke's,  Old  Town,  and  Clay  hummocks,  and 
smaller  bodies  of  similar  land  near  the  Steinhatehee;  in  addition,  there  are  some  areas  of  Gulf  hummock  A  not 
inconsiderable  area  is  also  occupied  by  swamps,  which  are  situated  near  the  center  of  the  county  and  toward  its 
southern  and  southeastern  borders. 

Some  of  the  pine  lands  have  a  subsoil  of  red  clay  or  loam,  and  in  this  respect  they  resemble  similar  lands  in 
Suwannee  and  Madison  counties. 

The  limestone  in  Lafayette  county  not  only  extends  down  to  the  coast,  but  continues  out  to  sea  for  several 
miles,  a  small  depth  only  below  the  water-level.     In  this  shallow  water  there  is  a  heavy  growth  of  aquatic  grasses, 

'J34 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  55 

-and  near  the  shore  is  often  a  low,  rocky  ridge,  formed  of  tbe  flinty  portions  of  the  limestone.     Rapids  or  cascades 
are  produced  in  all  the  principal  streams  as  they  cross  this  flinty  mass. 

The  abstract  given  under  Taylor  county,  adjoining  this  on  the  west,  describes  the  composition  and  agricultural 
capabilities  of  similar  soils. 

The  Suwannee  river  is  navigable  to  New  Troy,  the  county-seat,  and  the  products  of  Lafayette  find  their  way 
.to  market  by  this  channel,  or  they  are  hauled  to  the  railroads  and  thence  shipped. 

LEVY. 

Population  ;  5,707.— White,  3,732  ;  colored,  2,035. 

Area:  940  square  miles. — Woodland,  890  square  miles;  coast  marshes,  50  square  miles;  pine  lands,  mostly 
;flatwoods,  G20  square  miles  ;  hummocks,  1G0  square  miles  ;  swamps,  110  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  15,045  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  3,005  acres;  in  corn,  7,250  acres;  in  oats,  2,096  acres;  in 
rice,  none ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  305  acres ;  in  sugar-cane,  292  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  1,251  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  a«re,  0.34  bale  (sea  island),  476  pounds  seed-cotton, 
■  or  119  pounds  cotton  lint. 

In  the  northwestern  part  of  Levy  county  is  a  range  of  sand-hills,  which,  at  the  point  where  the  Fernandina 
and  Cedar  Keys  railroad  crosses,  between  Bronson  and  Archer  stations,  is  120  feet  above  the  Gulf  level.  From 
this  ridge  to  the  Gulf  is  a  low,  flat  country,  covered  with  sand,  through  which  at  intervals  the  underlying  limestone 
makes  its  appearance,  giving  rise  to  hummock  lands. 

In  the  southwestern  part  of  the  county  an  extensive  Gulf  hummock,  100,000  acres  iu  extent,  is  formed  on  both 
sides  of  the  Wakasassa  river  down  nearly  to  the  Withlacoochee.  Along  the  Wakasassa  and  its  tributaries 
these  hummocks  reach  up  some  distance  into  the  interior. 

Where  the  drainage  of  the  Suwannee  river  has  cut  down  to  the  limestone  there  are  also  occasional  patches  of 
rich  hammocks,  and  similarly  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Withlacoochee. 

The  soils  of  Levy  county  are  the  varieties  of  sandy  to  loamy  pine  lands  and  hummocks. 

The  general  descriptions  of  the  pine-land  soils  of  Columbia  and  Marion  counties,  of  the.  hummock  soils  of  Marion 
and  Sumter,  and  of  the  marl  which  underlies  and  mingles  with  the  sands  of  the  Gulf  hummocks  of  Wakulla 
•  county  are  applicable  to  this  county. 

In  physical  features,  soils,  etc.,  Levy  is  closely  allied  to  Taylor  county. 

Shipments  are  by  rail  to  the  seaports,  and  thence  by  water  to  Savannah  or  Charleston. 

MARION. 

Population  :  13,040.— White,  4,741 ;  colored,  8,305. 

Area:  1,080  square  miles. — Woodland,  all.  Pine  lands,  1,140  square  miles ;  hummocks,  400  square  miles; 
■swamp  lands,  140  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  50,100  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  13,305  acres;  in  corn,  16,641  acres;  in  oats,  1,793  acres; 
in  rice,  71  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  1,S03  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  274  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  2,426  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.1S  bale  (sea  island),  250  pounds  seed-cotton, 
or  04  pounds  cotton  lint. 

In  its  physical  features  Mariou  has  a  close  resemblance  to  Alachua  county.  Diagonally  through  this  county 
from  northwest  to  southeast  runs  an  elevated  belt  of  land,  covered  generally  with  sand,  but  diversified  with  extensive 
tracts  of  rich  hummocks.  The  prevailing  limestone  of  Florida  makes  its  appearance  at  the  surface  at  intervals 
throughout  the  county,  and  the  earthy  disintegrated  portions  of  this  rock,  mingling  with  the  sandy  soil,  constitute 
the  high  hummocks.  A  variety  of  the  country  limestone  is  highly  siliceous,  and  may  often  be  seen  outcropping  in 
large  masses  through  the  sandy  soil  without  exerting  any  beneficial  effect  upon  it.  Between  Silver  Spring  and 
Ocala  limestone  of  this  kind  can  be  seen  in  several  places,  especially  where  exposed  in  the  tramway  cuts.  The 
rock  which  underlies  the  high  hummock  land  just  south  of  Ocala  is  of  a  very  different  nature,  especially  as  regards 
its  influence  upon  the  soil. 

The  Ocklawaha  river  traverses  Marion  county  from  south  to  north.  This  river  is  bordered  by  a  swamp  for 
most  of  its  length,  except  where  iu  a  few  localities  the  hummocks  extend  down  to  the  river  banks.  Most  of  the 
■draiuage  is  received  into  underground  passages  or  into  lakes,  and  comes  to  light  again  in  the  big  springs  which  are 
found  near  the  Ocklawaha  river  and  the  lakes  of  the  Saint  John's,  on  the  one  side,  and  the  Withlacoochee,  on  the 
other. 

The  most  noted  of  these  springs  are  Silver  spring,  near  Ocala,  the  waters  of  which  flow  oft*  in  a  navigable  stream 
9  miles  long  to  the  Ocklawaha,  and  Blue  spring,  which  flows  in  a  similar  way  into  the  Withlacoochee,  in  the 
southwestern  part  of  the  county.  Orange  spring,  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  county,  strongly  impregnated  with 
sulphur,  was  once,  a  place  of  resort  for  invalids. 

While  the  soil  throughout  Marion  county  is  sandy,  yet  the  influence  of  the  underlying  limestone  is  almost 
•everywhere  felt,  so  that  there  is  very  little  barren  land  within  its  limits.  The  sands  are  iu  places  underlaid  with 
■small  pebbles,  and  occasionally  with  a  clayey  sand,  bringing  about  a  variety  of  modifications. 

The  chief  soil  varieties  are :  1st.  Oak  and  hickory  pine  lands  (first  class),  with  associated  high  or  gray  hummocks ; 
2d.  Light  sandy  pine-hills  soils  and  sandy  hummocks ;  and  3d.  Swamp  lands  near  water-courses  and  other  low,  wet 
places. 

An  analysis  of  oak  and  hickory  pine-laud  soil  from  this  county  9  miles  north  of  Ocala,  and  of  the  gray 
hummock  soil  1  mile  south  of  Ocala,  will  be  found  in  the  general  part  of  this  report.  Also  an  analysis  of  the  light 
hummock  soil  from  Leesburg,  in  Sumter  county.  It  is  believed  that  these  analyses  will  show  fairly  the  composition  of 
the  average  soils  which  they  represent  throughout  the  middle  portion,  at  least,  of  the  peninsula.  The  largest  and 
most  important  bodies  of  hummock  land  in  Marion  county  are  Tuscawilla  (in  part),  Wetumpka,  Moody's,  Sugar,  Long 
Swamp,  and  Ocala.     These  hummocks  collectively  make  a  large  area  of  extremely  valuable  and  productive  land. 

235 


56  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

ABSTRACT   OF   REPOKT   OF  J.   L.   BINNICKEBj   OF  FLEMINGTON. 

The  soils  described  are: 

1.  Oak  and  hickory  pine  lands  and  gray  hummocks. — This  class  of  land  forms  perhaps  oue-half  of  tho  cultivated  lands  of  the  county.  The 
timber  upon  the  hummocks  embraces  live  oak,  white  oak,  water  oak,  magnolia,  and  hay,  and  upon,  the  rolling  pine  lands  red  and  black 
oaks,  with  hickory,  are  associated  with  the  long-leaf  pine.  The  soil  is  a  dark-colored  sandy  loam,  approaching  black  on  tho  hummocks, 
and  has  a  depth  of  1  foot;  the  subsoil  is  sometimes  small  gravel,  mixed  often  with  clayey  sand  and  fragments  of  the  disintegrated  limestone. 
This  limestone  has  also  its  flinty  portions,  which  mingle  with  the  other  materials  of  the  subsoil.  Tho  soil  is  always  well  drained,  being 
underlaid  everywhere  by  the  cavernous  limestoue.  In  very  wet  weather  it  is  a  little  difficult  of  cultivation,  and  in  dry  weather  is  somewhat 
liable  to  sutler  from  drought.  It  is  very  well  adapted  to  most  of  the  southern  crops,  especially  to  corn,  sugar-cane,  and  sweet  potatoes. 
Sea-island  cotton  is  cultivated  on  about  one-third  of  the  cleared  laud,  growing  to  a  height  of  5  feet,  but  is  most  productive  at  about  4  feet. 
On  fresh  land  a  yield  of  from  4U0  to  700  pounds  of  seed-cotton  (one-fourth  weight  being  lint)  may  be  expected,  the  Btaple  being  first  class. 
After  four  or  five  years'  cultivation  without  manure  the  yield  on  the  hummocks  is  reduced  to  100  pounds,  and  that  on  the  pine  lands  to  less, 
the  staphs  from  the  old  laud  rating  quite  as  well  as  that  from  the  fresh.  In  some  localities  nearly  oue-half  of  these  lands  originally 
under  cultivation  now  lie  turned  out.     After  beiug  taken  again  into  cultivation  the  soil  will  for  a  few  years  produce  as  well  as  when  fresh. 

2.  L'ujht pine  land  and  sandy  hummocks, — Nearly  one-third  of  the  land  about  Flemington  is  of  this  nature.  The  timber  is  long-leaf 
pine,  with  shrubby  oaks,  live  oak,  and  scrub  aud  saw  palmotto  in  hummocks.  The  soil,  always  sandy,  is  of  a  whitish  to  brown  color,  and  is 
often  2  feet  deep,  down  to  a  clayey,  sandy  subsoil,  which  cou tains  in  places  fragments  of  the  llinty  parts  of  the  limestone.  About  one-lifth  part 
of  these  hinds  is  devoted  to  cotton  culture.  The  average  height  of  the  stalk  is  from  2  to  2^  feet,  and  it  is  most  productive  at  this  height. 
The  fresh  laud  will  yield  300  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  the  acre,  a  bale  of  300  pounds  requiring  about  1,500  pounds  of  tho  seed-cotton.  Tho 
staple  rates  from  fair  to  good.  Three  or  four  years'  cultivation  without  manure  will  bring  down  tho  yield  to  200  pounds  or  less,  but 
the  quality  of  tho  staple  will  not  be  changed.  These  uplands  are  soon  exhausted  without  manure,  and  for  that  reason  large  plantations, 
once  cultivated,  now  lie  turned  out.  It  is  not  generally  considered  profitable  to  reclaim  such  land,  as  it  hardly  pays  forthe  fencing.  On 
all  these  soils  wet  weather  and  too  deep  plowing  sometimes  cause  the  plant  to  run  to  weed.  Thorough  drainage  aud  stopping  the  cultivation 
prevent  this  tendency.  Jerusalem  oak,  cocklebur,  and  sand  spurs  are  the  worst  weeds,  the  latter  especially.  From  the  level  or 
gently-undulating  character  of  most  of  these  lands  and  the  porous  nature  of  the  soils  the  injury  from  washes  is  comparatively  trilling. 

3.  Occasionally  in  small  bodies,  near  lakes  or  water-courses,  are  low,  swampy  spots,  overgrown  withli-ti,  palmetto,  and  short-leaf 
pine.  The  soil  is  a  blackish  muck,  1  or  2  feet  thick,  underlaid  with  white  sand,  something  like  quicksand,  below  which  is  often  a  clay. 
This  soil  is  of  easy  tillage  only  in  dry  seasons,  and  is  well  suited  to  the  orange  tree.  Such  areas  make  also  fine  pastures.  Only  about 
one-tenth  of  this  land  is  devoted  to  cotton  culture,  the  plant  often  running  up  to  a  height  of  10  feet,  but  with  very  little  fruit.  As  the 
land,  by  reason  of  its  low  situation,  cannot  be  drained,  there  seems  to  bo  no  way  of  preventing  this  running  to  weed,  which  is  caused  by 
too  much  moisture.  One  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  seed-cottou  to  tho  acre  are  yielded  by  fresh  laud,  and  this  yield  remains  about  tho 
same  after  several  years'  cultivation,  as  the  laud  is  not  easily  exhausted.  The  staple  rates  fair  to  good.  One-half  of  the  originally  cultivated 
land  lies  now  turned  out.     It  produces  as  well  as  ever  after  a  few  years'  rest. 

Cottou  is  hauled  either  to  the  Transit  railroad  or  its  branches,  or  to  the  Ocklawaha  river,  and  is  thence  shipped  by  rail,  steamer,  or  Bail 
boat  to  Charleston  or  Savannah.  Most  of  the  shippiug  is  done  in  November  and  December,  and  the  rate  is  about  $1  a  halo  by  the  water 
route  ;  a  little  more  when  sent  by  rail. 

VOLUSIA. 

Population:  3,21)4. — White,  2,750;  colored,  53S. 

Area :  1,340  square  miles. — Woodland,  1,140  square  miles;  prairies  and  savannas,  200  square  miles j  pine  lands, 
740  square  miles  :  swamp,  200  square  miles;  hummock,  200  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  4,044  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  330  acres;  in  corn,  1,250  acres;  in  oats,  40  acres;  in  rice, 2 
acres ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  508  acres  ;  in  sugar-cane,  57  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  02  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.19  bale  (sea  island),  204  pounds  seed-cotton,  or 
66  pounds  cotton  lint. 

A  belt  of  tolerably  high  rolling  pine  lands,  varying  in  width  from  2  to  7  miles,  extends  centrally  southward 
about  30  miles  from  the  northern  boundary  of  Volusia  county.  East  of  these  pine  lands  is  a  belt  of  prairie  extending 
the  entire  length  of  the  county,  affording  fine  pasturage  for  stock.  East  of  the  prairie  belt,  and  occupying  the 
lands  on  the  west  banks  of  the  Halifax  and  Hillsborough  lagoons,  are  rich  hummocks. 

Westward  and  southward  from  the  pine  belt  follow  rolling  pine  barrens,  and  then  the  lowlands,  hummocks,  and 
savannas  of  the  Saint  John's  river.  "With  this  great  variety  in  its  physical  features  Volusia  county  shows  a 
corresponding  variety  in  its  soils  and  productions.  The  hummocks  have  been  cultivated  chiefly  in  sugar-cane,  as 
the  high  natural  marling  in  these  areas  seems  to  cause  the  cotton  to  go  too  much  to  weed.  The  prairies  and 
savannas  are  natural  pastures,  seldom  cultivated.  The  pine  lauds  are  best  suited  to  cotton.  In  these  the  soil  is 
always  sandy,  in  places  somewhat  loamy,  and  is  occasionally  mingled  with  calcareous  matter.  The  face  of  the  country 
is  diversified  with  the  usual  abundance  of  lakes  and  ponds,  and  springs  are  numerous  throughout  the  county. 

ABSTRACT   OF  EFFORT   OF   D.  J.  M'BKIDE,  OF  YOLUSIA. 

The  soil  is  sandy,  and  is  of  a  whitish  gray  to  brown  color,  according  to  locality,  changing  in  color  at  perhaps  4  inches  depth.  The 
subsoil  varies,  being  in  some  places  heavier,  and  in  others  lighter,  than  the  surface  soil,  and  bringing  about  corresponding  variations  in  the 
character  of  the  land.  It  is  always  easily  tilled,  and  produces  good  crops  of  corn,  sugar-cane,  cotton,  sweet,  potatoes,  etc.  Only  a  small 
proportion  of  the  land  is  planted  in  cotton,  the  sea-island  variety  being  exclusively  cultivated.  The  average  height  of  the  stalk  when 
most  productive  is  about  5  feet.  The  plant  is  inclined  to  run  to  weed  when  the  soil  is  too  rich  or  when  forced  too  fast  in  spring.  The 
remedy  is  to  keep  back  the  growth  by  "  flat  weeding". 

The  average  seed-co' ton  product  per  acre  of  fresh  land  is  about  500  pounds,  and  about  1,460  pounds  are  needed  to  make  a  300-pound  bale. 
This  sells  at  from  30  to  35  cents  per  pound.  After  three  years'  cultivation  without  manure  there  seems  to  be  no  falling  off  in  the  yield,  but 
after  six  or  eight  years  it  comes  down  to  300  or  400  pounds,  of  about  the  same  proportion  of  lint  and  seed,  but  with  slightly  improved  staple, 
as  it  sells  better  than  that  from  fresh  land  by  about  1  to  2  cents  a  pound.  Crab-grass  and  sand  spurs  are  the  troublesome  weeds  on  sandy 
land,  while  beggar-lice  give  most  trouble  on  the  hummocks.  None  of  the  originally-cultivated  land  is  turned  out,  as  it  is  all  planted  in 
orange  groves.     The  country  is  so  nearly  level  or  so  slightly  undulatiug  that  uo  injury  is  sustained  from  washes. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  in  December  and  January,  chiefly  by  the  Saint  John's  river,  etc.,  to  Charleston  aud  Savannah.  The 
freight  charge  to  these  ports  is  $1  50  a  bale. 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  57 

ORANGE. 

Population:  6,618.— "White,  5,595;  colored,  1,023. 

Area:  2,250  square  miles. — Woodland,  2,035  square  miles;  marsh,  75  square  miles;  prairie  and  savanna,  140 
square  miles;  pine  lands,  1,675  square  miles;  swamp,  220 square  miles;  hummock,  140  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands :  11,762  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  818  acres;  in  corn,  2,763  acres;  in  oats,  140  acres;  in  rice, 
8  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes,  663  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  202  acres. 

Cotton  production :  143  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.17  bale  (sea  island),  244  pounds  seed-cotton,  or 
61  pounds  cotton  lint. 

In  the  lake  region,  in  the  west  of  Orange  county,  the  country  is  high  and  undulating,  the  hills  on  the  borders 
of  some  of  the  lakes  rising  to  a  height  of  70  feet  above  water-level.  Eastward  the  land  is  more  nearly  level  or  gently 
undulating. 

The  soils  are  the  usual  varieties  common  in  southern  Florida,  viz,  rolling  pine  lands,  better  class,  with  sandy  soil, 
underlaid  by  a  loam  which  rests  upon  clay  or  marl.  The  prevailing  timber  upon  such  lauds  is  long-leaf  pine  and 
red  and  black  oaks,  and  occasionally  hickory.  The  pines  are  large  and  of  sturdy  growth,  and  make  the  very  best 
lumber.  A  second-class  pine  land  has  little  else  in  the  way  of  timber  than  pines,  except  in  places  a  small  growth  of 
oaks.  A  third  class  of  pine  lands  is  seen  in  the  fine  pine  barrens,  with  small  pine,  wire  grass,  and  saw  palmetto.  Such 
lands,  though  occupying  frequently  high  levels,  are  often  half  submerged  during  the  rainy  seasons.  Hummock  lands 
are  found  on  the  borders  of  the  lakes  and  water-courses,  as  lake  Apopka,  Tohopekaliga,  Jessup,  and  adjoining  some 
of  the  swamps  of  the  Saint  John's  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county.  Around  the  swamps  of  the  Wekiva  and  near 
the  center  of  the  county  east  and  west  are  other  bodies  of  hummock  land  of  considerable  extent. 

The  limestone  underlying  this  county  is  not,  as  is  the  case  in  the  middle  and  western  counties,  altogether  of  Vicksburg  age,  but  in 
one  place  certainly,  and  probably  along  a  belt  of  considerable  width  parallel  with  the  Saint  John's  and  12  to  15  miles  distant  from  it,  the 
underlying  limestone  is  of  the  Miocene  or  Middle  Tertiary  age. 

Upon  the  high  pine  lands,  where  great  thickness  of  sands  overlie  the  country  rock,  lakes  of  all  sizes  and  in  great 
numbers  are  seen.  In  the  lower  levels,  where  the  drainage  has  removed  a  part  of  the  sands,  the  limestone  sometimes 
outcrops  in  bold  bluffs,  as  at  Eock  spring,  Hoosier  spring,  and  Clay  spring,  or  it  merely  lies  near  the  surface, 
influencing  the  surface  soil  and  producing  the  hummocks. 

Near  the  river  at  still  lower  levels  occur  in  places  swamps  of  considerable  size,  and  aloug  the  river  in  the  southeast 
a  large  area  of  prairie  or  savanna  land,  which  supports  always  a  luxuriant  growth  of  grasses,  forming  the  best  natural 
pasture  grounds. 

The  abstracts  of  the  reports  from  Sumter  and  Marion  counties  will  apply  almost  equally  well  here,  and  the 
analyses  of  the  oak  and  hickory  pine-land  soil  north  of  Ocala,  of  the  dark-gray  hummock  land  at  Ocala,  and  of  the 
light  hummock  land  at  Leesburg,  will  show  fairly  the  composition  of  similar  soils  in  Orange  county.  The  low  flat 
pine  barrens  soil  here  is  in  all  respects  similar  to  that  of  Columbia  county  north  of  Lake  City,  analysis  of  which  is 
given  in  the  general  part  of  this  report. 

Railroads  from  lake  Monroe  and  Astor,  on  the  Saint  John's  river,  to  Orlando  and  fort  Mason  provide 
transportation  from  the  interior  of  the  county  to  that  river. 

Shipments  are  made  from  the  above  and  other  points  on  the  Saint  John's  by  boat  to  Savannah  and  Charleston 
at  from  $1  to  $1  50  per  bale. 

SUMTER. 

Population :  4,686.— White,  3,501 ;  colored,  1,185. 

Area :  1,380  square  miles. — Woodland,  all,  except  a  few  small  areas  of  prairie.  Pine  lands,  1,000  square  miles; 
hummocks,  130  square  miles;  swamps,  250  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands :  14,550  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  2,527  acres;  in  corn,  6,909  acres;  in  oats,  627  acres ;  in 
sweet  potatoes,  39S  acres ;  iu  sugar  cane,  237  acres. 

Cotton  production. :  419  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.17  bale  (sea  island),  232  pounds  seed-cotton, 
or  58  pounds  cotton  lint. 

Sumter  county,  although  resembling  Marion  in  many  particulars,  differs  from  it  in  having  a  much  larger 
proportion  of  lowlands  and  a  greater  number  of  lakes.  In  this  respect  it  forms  a  transition  to  Orange  county, 
south  of  it.     From  Dr.  E.  B.  Miles,  of  Fort  Mason,  we  get  the  following  description  of  the  '"Florida  mountains": 

Tho  highest  land  in  the  county  lies  west  of  lake  Apopka.  These  highlands  (called  sand-hills  by  the  natives)  extend  from  the  country 
lying  between  lakes  Eustis  and  Apopka  southward  to  the  headwaters  of  Davenport  creek,  which  empties  into  lake  Tohopekalega,  and 
thence  through  the  Kissimee  river  into  lake  Okeechobee.  These  are,  therefore,  probably  the  highest  lands  in  the  lower  part  of  the  state,  as 
"the  -waters  in  the  valleys  flow  southward,  as  above  indicated,  into  lake  Okeechobee,  and  through  the  Palatkaonha  creek  and  the  great  lakes 
Apopka,  Harris,  Dora,  Eustis,  and  Griffin  northward  through  the  Ocklawaha  river.  In  going  southward,  the  first  and  most  notable  of 
these  peaks  is  Tabio  mountain  (so  called  from  its  flat  top).  A  mile  or  two  further  south  are  two  more  elevations  still  greater — Mount 
Sumter  and  Prospect  mountain;  and  beyond  these,  Mount  Hudson,  with  the  most,  abrupt  ascent  of  all.  Its  eastern  side  is  so  steep  that 
it  cannot  be  climbed  directly.  With  this  exception,  these  mountains  have  gentle  ascents,  and  their  broad  summits  and  sloping  sides  are 
covered  with  a  growth  of  pines  and  wire-grass. 

In  the  northern  and  western  parts  of  the  county  there  are  large  bodies  of  tine  hummocks  similar  to  those  of 
Marion,  and  in  the  southern  part  there  is  much  low  and  often  swampy  laud,  alternating  with  prairies  or  savannas, 
dotted  with  numerous  lakes.  The  cultivation  of  cotton  (sea  island)  in  Sumter  county  has  not  yet  reached  large 
proportions,  though  much  of  the  land  is  well  suited  to  this  crop.  Fruit  culture  has  heretofore  been  one  of  the  chief 
pursuits  of  the  inhabitants. 

The  usual  varieties  of  soil  described  under  Marion  and  Alachua  counties  are  also  represented  in  this  county. 
These  are:  First,  oak  and  hickory  pine  lands  (first  class),  with  soil  of  a  dark-brown  color  and  somewhat  loamy;  second, 
high  rolling  pine  lands  (second  class),  with  sandy  soil;  and  third,  light-gray  or  sandy  hummock  soil,  the  latter 
being  usually  associated  with  sandy  pine  lands.     The  dark-gray  hummocks  occur  in  the  western  and  northwestern 

237 


58  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

parts  of  the  county,  and  are  in  all  respects  similar  to  those  of  Marion,  of  which  they  are  the  continuation.  The 
analysis  of  a  soil  of  this  character  from  Marion  county  is  given  in  the  general  part,  where  the  dark  gray  hummock 
south  of  Ocala  has  been  described.  The  dark-brown  loamy  soils  are  similar  to  that  described  and  analyzed  from 
the  uplands  north  of  Ocala. 

The  subsoil  of  the  light  gray  hummock  near  Leesburg  below  the  depth  of  1  or  1£  feet  is  a  light  yellow,  nearly 
white  sand,  and  below  this  a  yellowish  clayey  sand,  which  is  used  sometimes  in  brick-making.  The  bricks  are 
quite  friable,  however,  and  are  useful  only  for  light  work,  such  as  furnaces  for  sugar-boiling. 

The  clay  or  loam  which  underlies  the  stiff,  heavy  hummocks,  such  as  have  been  described  under  Marion  county, 
is  of  a  darker  color,  and  less  sandy  than  is  the  case  with  the  under-clay  of  the  light  hummocks. 

ABSTRACT  OF  REPORT  OF  GEORGE  M.  LEE,  OF  LEESBURG. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  Leesburg  two-thirds  of  the  land  is  pine  land,  with  sandy  soil,  mostly  of  a  light  or  grayish  color,  the  assoeiutedi 
hummocks  having  darker-colored  soil,  still  quite  sandy.  This  hummock  soil  is  usually  said  to  have  a  clayey  subsoil,  but  the  proportion  of 
clayey  matter  is  quite  small.  Upon  the  highlands  the  timber  is  mostly  long-leaf  pine,  with  an  undergrowth  of  oak  bushes  and  wire-grass. 
In  the  hummocks  are  live  oak,  water  oak,  hickory,  red  bay,  and  evergreen,  with  saw  palmetto  as  an  undergrowth.  The  soils  of  the  pine 
lands  and  of  the  light  hummocks  are  always  of  easy  tillage,  and  are  usually  well  drained.  The  ordinary  southern  crops  all  do  well;  about 
one-fourth  the  laud  cultivated  is  now  planted  in  cotton  (sea  island).  In  wet  seasons  the  plant  shows  a  tendency  to  run  to  weed.  On  fresh 
pine  land  the  yield  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  is  300  to  400  pounds;  on  the  hummocks,  400  to  H00  pounds,  according  to  quality.  For  a 
350-pound  bale  1,400  pounds  of  seed-cotton  are  usually  required.  With  cultivation  for  several  years  without  manures  the  yield  is  diminished 
one-third  or  more,  and  the  staple  is  not  considered  so  good.  Sand  spurs  and  careless-weed  are  considered  most  troublesome  to  the  farmer. 
A  small  proportion  only  of  this  land  originally  cultivated  is  now  turned  out ;  but  this,  upon  being  reclaimed,  produces  nearly  as  well  aa- 
fresh  land  for  a  few  years,  gradually  falling  off  after  that  time.  No  injury  1b  caused  by  washes,  as  the  land  Hcb  comparatively  well,  and 
the  sands  absorb  quickly  the  rains  which  fall  upon  them.  The  swamp  lands  of  Sumter  are,  as  a  general  thing,  unreclaimed.  The  third-class 
pine  lands,  of  which  there  is  a  considerable  proportion,  are  not  planted  in  cotton.  Shipments  are  made  by  boat  on  the  lakes  and  the 
Ocklawaha  river  to  the  seaports,  and  thence  by  steamer  and  sail-boat  to  Charleston  and  Savannah.     The  rates  vary  from  $1  to  $2  a  bale. 

HERNANDO. 

Population:  4,248.— White,  3,319 ;  colored,  929. 

Area :  1,700  square  miles. — Woodland,  1,540  square  miles;  pine  land,  1,340  square  miles  ;  hummocks,  100  square 
miles  ;  swamps,  100  square  miles;  prairie,  80  square  miles;  sea  marsh,  SO  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands  :  14,691  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  1,558  acres  ;  in  corn,  10,883  acres ;  in  oats,  1,371  acres ;  in 
rice,  88  acres  ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  019  acres;  in  sugarcane,  383  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  408  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.30  bale  (sea  island),  420  pounds  seed-cotton, 
or  105  pounds  cotton  lint. 

Hernando  in  its  topography  and  soils  shows  a  greater  variety,  perhaps,  than  any  other  county  on  the  peninsula. 

From  the  Withlacoochee,  on  the  north,  to  Brooks ville  there  is  a  high,  hilly  country,  with  a  subsoil  of  yellowish 
sandy  clay  or  loam,  possessing  in  general  excellent  soil,  interspersed,  however,  with  spots  of  poor  pine  land. 

Near  Brooksville  are  two  of  the  largest  bodies  of  hummock  land  in  the  state,  known  as  the  Annuttelaga  and 
Choccochattie  hummocks.  In  each  of  these  are  found  high  hills  and  a  variety  of  soils,  all,  however,  highly  productive 
and  well  suited  to  most  crops. 

In  the  eastern  part  of  the  county  and  along  the  Withlacoochee  river  are  other  excellent  hummocks,  with  some 
prairie  and  savanna  land.  Westward  toward  the  Gulf  tbe  lands  as  a  class  are  level  flatwoods,  interspersed  with 
Gulf  hummocks  near  the  coast.  In  this  region  Mount  Lee,  near  the  head  of  Homoi.assa  river,  rises  to  a  height  of 
214  feet,  according  to  the  statement  of  Captain  Reynolds;  and  according  to  the  same  authority  other  hills  in  tbe 
county  have  an  elevation  of  170  feet. 

South  of  the  Withlacoochee,  near  the  coast,  is  a  large  tract  of  swamp  land  eight  or  ten  miles  in  length  and 
three  or  four  in  width.  Tbe  growth  upon  the  high  hummocks  above  mentioned  consists  of  white,  water,  and  live 
oaks,  hickory,  red  bay,  magnolia,  ash,  sweet  and  black  gum,  elm,  dogwood,  and  irouwood,  and  ou  some  of  the 
hummocks  red  cedar. 

Soutbward  from  Brooksville  the  prevailing  flat  pine  woods  are  diversified  with  lakes  and  bodies  of  hummock 
land.  Tbe  flatwoods  afford  excellent  pasturage,  and  stock-raising  gives  occupation  to  many.  On  the  headwaters 
of  tbe  Hillsborough  river  are  numerous  rich  hummocks. 

In  tbe  vicinity  of  the  coast,  from  tbe  moulh  of  the  Withlacoochee  to  that  of  the  Wekawatchee  river,  the  sand 
and  soil  have,  to  a  large  extent,  been  washed  away,  laying  bare  tbe  underlying  limestone,  giving  rise  to  rocky 
hummocks  and  Gulf  bummocks;  and  in  ibis  region  limesinks  and  large  springs  are  characteristic  features. 

Crystal  aud  Homosai-sa  rivers  are  both  short  "  runs"  from  limestone  springs.  The  scenery  along  the  coast  is 
also  diversified  by  many  lakes  of  clear  water. 

It  will  tbus  be  seen  that  Hernando  presents  the  characters  rather  of  one  of  the  counties  of  the  Brown  Loam 
upland  region  of  middle  Florida  than  of  the  peninsula. 

The  extension  of  the  limestone  down  to  the  sea-level  seems  to  be  characteristic  of  the  coast  from  the  Apalachee- 
bay  soutbward  nearly  to  Tampa  bay,  a  circumstance  already  noticed  by  Williams,  who  says  the  navigation  of  all 
the  streams  from  tlie  Saint  Marks  to  the  Suwannee  is  impeded  by  a  stratum  of  this  rock,  wbicb  has  a  kind  of  flint 
imbedded  in  it,  and  when  tbe  waves  have  washed  the  calcareous  matters  away  these  flinty  nuclei  form  extensive 
and  rugged  reefs. 

Lack  of  transportation  is  a  serious  drawback  in  this  county.     Cotton  is  hauled  to  the  various  ports  on  the 
Gulf,  and  is  thence  shipped  by  steamer  or  sail-boat  to  Charleston  and  Savannah  at  an  average  rate  of  75  cents  per 
hundred  pounds. 
238 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  59 

HILLSBOKOUGH. 

Population :  5,814.— White,  4,899 :  colored,  915. 

Area:  1,300  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  pine  lands,  1,185  square  miles;  swamps,  75  square  miles;  hummocks, 
40  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands  :  11,261  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  556  acres;  in  corn,  4,96S  acres;  in  oats,  9S  acres;  in  rice, 
23  acres ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  583  acres ;  in  sugar-cane,  238  acres. 

Cotton  production :  150  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.27  bale  (sea  island),  376  pounds  seed-cotton, 
or  94  pounds  cotton  lint.     Five  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  lands  are  devoted  to  cotton  culture. 

Hillsborough  county  is  undulating,  even  somewhat  hilly,  the  prevailing  soil  being  sandy,  but  becoming  more 
loamy  toward  the  east,  where  much  of  the  high  land,  especially  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  county,  has  a 
substratum  of  red  or  yellow  loam,  similar  to  that  so  common  in  the  counties  of  middle  Florida.  Westward  the 
subsoil  is  sandier,  and  the  natural  growth  more  predominantly  the  long-leaf  pine,  except  where  the  country  rock 
(the  usual  limestone)  is  brought  by  the  removal  of  the  overlying  sands  by  denudation  near  enough  the  surface  to 
influence  the  soil,  when  the  high  hummocks,  with  their  varied  growth  of  live  oak,  white  oak,  red  bay,  and  magnolia, 
are  produced.  The  high  lauds  with  loam  subsoil  support  a  growth  consisting  of  long-leaf  piue,  mingled  with  red 
and  black  oak  and  hickory.  East  of  Tampa  bay  the  laud  is  generally  timbered  with  pine,  though  some  of  it  with 
clay  subsoil  is  tolerably  fertile;  southeastward  most  of  the  land  is  rather  flat. 

The  cultivated  soifs  may  he  included  under  three  heads:  1.  Pine  lands  of  various  qualities;  2.  Eujh  hitmmoelcs; 
3.  Low  hummocks. 

ABSTRACT   OF  KEPOKT   OF  W.  F.  WHITE,  OF  DTJNEDIN. 

1.  Pine  lands.— These  lands  are  high  and  generally  quite  level,  but  more  broken  in  the  northeast.  The  usual  growth,  according  to  the 
quality  of  soil,  is  long-leaf  pine  and  scrub  oak,  with  which  black-jack,  turkey,  and  water  oaks  are  associated  as  the  soil  improves 
in  fertility.  About  three-fourths  of  the  county  is  pine  lands.  The  soil  is  in  the  west  a  fine,  sandy,  gray  loam  ;  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the  county  heavier,  becoming  in  places  a  yellowish  clay  loam.  The  thickness  of  soil  is  variable,  being  sometimes  of  uniform  quality  for 
2  feet.  The  subsoil  is  usually  of  a  heavier  nature,  being  in  part  a  white  saud  and  in  places  sandy  loam  of  yellowish  and  mahogany  colore, 
In  the  latter  cases  the  subsoil  may  he  mixed  to  advantage  with  the  surface  soil.  In  the  low  pine  flats  subject  to  overflow  the  subsoil, 
is  mixed  with  a  great  quantity  of  sea-shell  fragments.  The  whole  county  has  a  substratum  of  limestone — often  earthy,  sometimes  flinty-^ 
At  varying  depths  from  the  surface.  These  pine-land  soils  are  usually  easy  to  cultivate,  being  a  little  more  difficult  in  wet  seasons,  and, 
they  are  all  naturally  well  drained.  The  chief  crops  are  sea-island  cotton,  sweet  potatoes,  sugar-cane,  and  corn,  and  the  soil  is  apparently,, 
next  after  tropical  fruits,  best  adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  cotton,  which  makes  about  three-fourths  of  the  cultivated  crop.  The  average 
height  of  stalk  is  about  5  feet,  and  it  is  most  productive  between  3  and  5  feet. 

On  fresh  hind  the  average  seed-cotton  product  per  acre  is  given  at  300  pounds,  1,600  pounds  being  needed  to  make  a  400-pound 
bale;  the  staple  is  of  first  quality.  Three  years'  cultivation  without  manure  will  reduce  the  yield  to  150  pounds,  without  making,, 
however,  any  material  change  in  the  quality  of  the  staple  or  in  the  proportion  of  lint  to  seed-cotton.  Very  little  of  the  land  originally 
cultivated  lies  turned  out,  but  rotation  of  crops  is  commonly  practiced,  with  good  results;  for  after  two  or  three  years'  rest,  or  a  change 
of  crops,  the  soil  produces  about  as  well  as  it  did  originally. 

2.  High  hummocks. — These  constitute  not  more  perhaps  than  one  one-hundredth  part  of  the  cultivated  lands,  and  they  occur  rather 
more  abundantly  in  the  eastern  than  in  the  western  part  of  the  county.  The  timber  is  the  usual  hummock  growth  of  oaks  and  other  hard 
woods.  The  soil  exhibits  many  varieties,  being  sometimes  a  light  sandy  loam,  sometimes  a  heavier  clay  loam.  Colors  vary  also  from  buff  to 
yellow,  mahogany,  and  brown.  The  subsoil  in  places  is  a  clay,  sometimes  a  cold,  hard  sand  apparently.  These  hummock  soils  are  always 
well  drained,  generally  early  and  warm,  and  are  well  adapted  to  any  of  the  southern  crops.  Cotton  is,  however,  planted  upon  about  one- 
half  the  area.  It  attains  the  usual  height  of  4  to  6  feet.  The  fresh  land  will  yield  from  400  to  *00  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  the  acre,  and 
about  one-fourth  its  weight  of  lint-cotton,  which  rates  as  first  quality.  With  proper  cultivation,  the  soil  will  hold  its  own  for  years  ;  it  is 
not  known  how  long.     All  hummock  lands  origiually  cleared  are  in  cultivation. 

3.  Low  hammocks,  with  saw-grass,  inducting  marshes. — About  the  same  proportion,  one  in  one  hundred,  of  the  county  area  is  of  this 
character,  as  of  high  hummock  land.  Low  hummocks  and  marshes,  etc.,  are  found  scattered  all  over  the  county.  Cypress,  bay,  and 
maple  form  the  chief  growth,  and  where  there  is  no  cypress  then  there  is  usually  an  undergrowth  of  mere  brush. 

The  soil  is  a  black  or  brownish-black  vegetable  mold  of  varying  thickness,  resting  usually  upon  a  heavy  cold  sand,  which  seems  to 
be  impervious.     This  subsoil  is  underlaid  sometimes  by  sand  and  sometimes  by  rock  at  1  to  10  feet  depth. 

The  soil  is  difficult  to  cultivate,  being  too  wet  or  too  dry,  according  to  the  season,  and  is  very  little  adapted  to  cotton,  of  which  only 
a  small  proportion  is  planted.     Thorough  drainage  would  probably  render  these  spots  as  good  as  any  in  the  county. 

The  plant  tends  to  run  to  weed  occasionally  from  causes  not  understood,  sometimes  because  of  wet  weather.  In  the  first  case 
thorough  cultivation  and  the  importation  of  new  seed,  in  the  second  the  stopping  of  cultivation  for  the  time,  have  been  found  effective 
remedies.  Sand  spurs  and  crab-grass  are  the  most  troublesome  weeds.  These  lauds  usually  lie  so  favorably  that  there  is  little  if  any 
injury  from  washes.  The  valleys  are  sometimes  slightly  injured,  sometimes  benefited,  by  the  washings  from  the  higher  levels;  but  no 
general  rule  holds  good.     Stock-raising  is  still  one  of  the  most  important  lines  of  busiuess  here,  as  in  Manatee  county  adjoining. 

Cotton  is  usually  shipped,  as  fast  as  baled,  from  the  ports  of  Tampa,  Clear  Water,  Dunedin,  etc.,  by  steamer  or  sail-boat,  to  Charleston 
and  Savannah.     The  usual  rate  is  75  cents  a  hundred. 

POLK. 

Population :  3,181.— White,  3,033  ;  colored,  14S. 

Area :  2,060  square  miles. — Woodland,  1,900  square  miles ;  piue  lauds,  1,700  square  miles,  one-half  flatwoods ; 
swam]i  lands,  100  square  miles;  hummocks,  40  square  miles;  prairie,  100  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands  :  8,088  acres. — Area  plauted  iu  cotton,  481  acres ;  in  corn,  5,593  acres ;  in  oats,  209  acres ;  in  rice, 
20  acres ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  484  acres ;  in  sugar-cane,  154  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  95  bales  ;  average  cotton  pioduct  per  acre,  0.20  bale  (sea  island),  276  pounds  seed-cotton,  or 

69  pounds  cotton  lint. 

.,39 


60  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

The  surface  of  Polk  county  is  generally  level  or  slightly  undulating,  and  with  apparently  no  great  elevations. 
Lakes  of  all  sizes  from  10  acres  area  to  5  miles  across  are  numerous  throughout  the  county,  especially  west  of 
Peace  creek.     The  lands  between  the  lakes  are  somewhat  elevated  and  rolling. 

The  underlying  limestone  is,  as  a  general  thing,  well  hidden  by  the  sands,  and  makes  its  appearance  at  the 
surface  in  very  few  places.  Near  Peace  creek  there  are  some  limestone  and  sulphur  springs,  which  flow  off  into  that 
stream. 

On  the  east  a  chain  of  large  lakes,  connected  by  the  Kissimee  river,  forms  the  boundary  between  this  and 
Brevard  county.  The  principal  soil  is  the  gray,  sandy  soil  of  the  pine  lands,  which  covers  perhaps  three-fourths  of 
the  county.  Subordinated  to  this  are  the  hummocks  and  prairies,  and  occasionally  a  small  area  of  what  is  termed 
red  hummock  land,  so  called  from  its  red  subsoil.    The  pine  lands  show  the  usual  varying  degrees  of  fertility. 

ABSTEACT  OF  EEPOET   OF  ME.   S.  B.   BONHA5I,   OF  BAETOVf. 

The  most  important  soil  varieties  are: 

1.  Gray  pine-lands  soil. — This  covers  about  three-fourths  of  the  county,  and  while  iufcrior  iu  fertility  to  the  others  is  yet  more 
important  on  account  of  its  wider  distribution.  The  prevailing  growth  is  the  long-leaf  pine;  in  low  places,  gallberry  bushes.  Tin-  st.il 
is  fine,  sandy,  of  whitish-gray  to  buff  colors,  of  uniform  substance1  for  1  or '2  feet,  below  which  depth  it  passes  iuto  a  somewhat  heavier 
subsoil,  containing  hard  "black  gravel",  the  whole  underlaid  by  sand  and  sometimes  by  lime  rook  at  5  or  C  feet  depth.  Tilling  qualities 
of  the  land  easy  ill  all  Beasons.  About  one-fourth  of  the  cultivated  soil  is  iu  cotton,  which  attains  a  height  when  most,  productive  of  3 
feet.  A  yield  of  150  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  the  acre  (averaging  one-third  its  weight  of  lint)  may  be  realized  upon  fresh  land.  The  cotton 
(sea  island)  is  worth  in  the  market  from  35  to  40  cents  a  pound.  On  some  of  these  lands  the  yield  of  cotton  is  by  a  few  years'  cultivation, 
oven  without  manure,  increased  to  200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre. 

2.  Summoi'k  land. — Iu  the  vicinity  of  Bartow  only  a  small  proportion  of  the  land  is  of  this  character,  one  one-hundredth.  The 
hummocks  bear  the  usual  variety  of  timber,  pine,  oaks,  hickory,  ash,  elm,  and  palmetto,  with  and  without  Baws.  The  soil  exhibits  a  great 
variety  of  colors,  varying  from  gray  to  nearly  black.     It  is  supported  by  sand,  or  occasionally  lime  rock,  at  3  to  4  feet  depth. 

The  principal  crops  are  corn,  sugar-cane,  potatoes,  rice,  oats,  and  cotton  ;  of  these,  cotton  is  cultivated  on  about  one-twentieth  of 
the  tilled  area.  The  stalk  often  attains  a  height  of  6  feet  or  more,  but  is  most  productive  at  3  or  4.  The  eeed-cottou  product  of  fresh  land 
is  250  to  300  pounds,  yielding  one-third  its  weight  of  lint,  selling  at  30  cents  a  pound.  Two  years'  cultivation  without  manure  will  bring 
down  the  yield  to  200  pouuds.  One-tenth  of  the  originally  cultivated  hammock  lauds  lies  now  turned  out,  but  on  reclamation  it 
produces  about  as  well  as  when  fresh. 

3.  Bed  hummock. — The  area  formed  by  this  class  of  soil  is  very  small,  and  cannot  well  be  estimated.  The  usual  growth  is  hickory, 
live  oak,  ash,  and  grape-vines.  The  soil  is  a  mahogany-colored  clay  loam  1  or  2  feet  thick,  with  a  reddish  loamy  Biibsoil,  containing 
flinty  pebbles,  and  underlaid  at  4  or  5  feet  depth  by  lime  rock.  It  is  an  extremely  fertile  soil  adapted  to  all  the  southern  crops.  About 
one-tenth  of  it  is  usually  in  cotton,  which  grows  to  a  very  great  height,  being  mostly  weed,  and  producing  badly — only  50  pounds  of  seed- 
cotton  to  the  acre.     Though  not  well  suited  to  cotton,  all  land  of  this  kind  is  in  cultivation,  as  it  will  bring  50  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre. 

Upon  all  the  soils  described  the  cotton-plant  is  inclined  to  run  to  weed  by  too  wet  weather,  and  topping  is  the  usual  remedy.  Sand 
spurs  and  cockleburs  are  troublesome  upon  all  the  soils,  and,  in  addition  to  these,  Spanish  needles,  careless  weed,  and  beggar  lice  become 
troublesome  upon  the  rich  red  liunimock  land.     The  generally  level  surface  of  the  county  prevents  any  serious  injury  from  washes. 

Most  of  the  shipments  of  cotton  are  made  during  October  by  steamer  to  Savannah  and  Charleston,  and  the  rate  is  about  §1  per  bale. 

BBEVABD. 
(See  under  "Pitch  Pine,  Treeless,  and  Alluvial  Eegion".) 

III.-PITCH  PINE,  TREELESS,  AND  ALLUVIAL  REGION. 

Comprising  in  western  Florida  parts  of  Escambia,*  Santa  Eosa,*  Walton,*  'Washington,*  Calhoun,*  and  all  of 
Franklin;  in  middle  Florida  parts  of  Liberty,*  Wakulla,*  Jefferson,*  and  Taylor;*  in  eastern  Florida  parts  of 
Nassau,*  Duval,*  and  Saint  John;*  on  the  peninsula  parts  of  Lafayette,*  Levy,*  Hernando,*  Hillsborough,* 
Manatee,  and  Polk,*  all  of  Monroe,  Dade,  and  parts  of  Brevard,  Orange,*  and  Volusia.* 

ESCAMBIA. 

(See  "Long-leaf  pine  region".) 

SANTA  EOSA. 
(See  "Long-leaf  pine  region".) 

WALTON. 

(See  "Long-leaf  pine  region".) 

WASHINGTON. 

(See  "Long-leaf  pine  region".) 

CALHOUN. 
„..  (See  "Long-leaf  pine  region".) 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  61 

FRANKLIN. 

Population  :  1,791.— White,  1,199 ;  colored,  592. 

Area :  690  square  miles. — Woodland,  490  square  miles ;  marshes,  200  square  miles ;  pine  lands,  390  square 
miles,  mostly  flatwoods ;  swamps  and  hummocks,  100  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  521  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  none;  in  corn,  145  acres;  in  oats,  none;  in  rice,  none;  in 
sweet  potatoes,  197  acres ;  in  sugar-cane,  81  acres. 

Cotton  production :  None. 

In  a  general  way  Franklin  county  may  be  described  as  a  sandy  level,  a  few  feet  above  tide-water,  except  along 
the  river  and  between  its  five  mouths,  where  the  couutry  is  marshy  and  covered  with  rank  aquatic  grasses. 

The  limestone  is  seldom  seen,  especially  west  of  the  river  in  Franklin;  but  shallow  ponds  abound  everywhere, 
and  lake  Wiuico  is  a  large  body  of  water  in  the  western  part  of  the  county,  6  tb  8  miles  long,  with  an  outlet  into  the 
Apalachicola  river.  A  few  gardens  are  the  only  attempts  at  cultivation  of  the  soil.  Apalachicola,  the  county  site, 
was  formerly  an  important  port,  but  its  prosperity  has,  in  great  measure,  passed  away.  To  this  port  most  of  the 
products  of  the  county  are  sent  for  shipment. 

LIBERTY. 
(See  "Long-leaf  pine  region".) 

WAKULLA. 

(See  "Long-leaf  pine  region".) 

JEFFERSON. 
(See  "Oak,  hickory,  and  pine  upland  region".) 

TAYLOR. 
(See  "  Long-leaf  pine  region  ".) 

NASSAU. 
(See  "  Long-leaf  pine  region".) 

DUVAL. 

(See  "  Long-leaf  pine  region".) 

SAINT  JOHN'S. 
(See  "Long-leaf  pine  region".) 

LAFAYETTE. 
(See  "Long-leaf  pine  region".) 

LEVY. 
(See  "  Long-leaf  pine  region'?.) 

HERNANDO. 

(See  "  Long-leaf  pine  region".) 


HILLSBOROUGH. 

(See  "  Long-leaf  pine  region'1 


MANATEE. 

Population :  3,544. — White,  3,378 ;  colored,  166. 

Area :  4,680  square  miles. — Woodland,  3,350  square  miles;  prairie,  1,100  square  miles;  marsh,  230  square  miles; 
pine  lands,  3,030  square  miles ;  swamps,  200  square  miles ;  hummocks,  120  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands  :  5,257  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  none ;  in  corn,  2,668  acres ;  in  oats,  none ;  in  rice,  22  acres  ; 
in  sweet  potatoes,  436  acres ;  in  sugar-cane,  124  acres.  241 

Cotton  production :  None. 
10  c  P — VOL.   IT 


62  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA 

Manatee  county,  like  Folic,  has  a  generally  level  surface,  diversified  with  ponds  and  lakes,  with  gently  rolling 
pine  lands  (mostly  Cuban  or  pitch  pine)  between.  Peace  creek,  with  its  chief  tributary,  the  Charles  Apopka,  flows 
nearly  through  the  center  of  the  county.  Near  these  water-courses  the  underlying  limestone  appears  sometimes  at 
the  surface,  though  its  presence  is  oftener  indicated  by  the  fertile  hummocks  and  by  limestone  springs,  which  flow 
off  into  the  creeks.  A  subsoil  of  clayey  loam  underlies  some  of  the  best  pine  lands  of  Manatee,  and  part  of  the 
prairies  also  appear  to  have  a  clay  subsoil. 

A  large  part  of  the  county  is  prairie  land  covered  with  rank  grasses,  which  afford  excellent  pasturage  for  cattle, 
and  stock-raising  is  a  most  important  occupation. 

The  Manatee  river  on  the  west  is  one  of  the  largest  streams  after  Peace  creek.  Myakka  river  flows  into 
Charlotte  harbor  near  its  upper  end.  Near  the  headwaters  of  this  river  are  some  large  lakes  and  a  great  tract  of 
prairie  land. 

As  yet  little  or  no  cotton  is  produced  in  Manatee  county. 

Peace  creek,  which  has  been  made  navigable  as  far  as  Fort  Meade,  in  Polk  county,  is  the  chief  outlet  for  the 
productions  of  this  county  to  Charlotte  harbor. 

POLK. 

(See  "  Long-leaf  pine  region  ".) 

MONROE. 

Population :  10,940. — White,  7,059 ;  colored,  3,281. 

Area :  2,600  square  miles. — Woodland,  a  small  proportion  of  everglades,  marshes,  prairies,  aud  savannas  make 
up  the  greater  part  of  the  county,  and  it  is  impossible  to  give  estimates  of  the  proportion  of  each. 

Tilled  lands :  1,705  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  none;  in  corn,  04  acres ;  in  rice,  3  acres;  in  sweet  potatoes, 
48  acres;  in  sugar-cane,  20  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  None. 

Monroe  county  includes  a  comparatively  small  proportion  of  cultivated  lands,  a  large  part  of  its  area  being 
covered  by  cypress  swamps  aud  everglades,  and  it  is  only  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county  that  the  land  is  much 
under  cultivatiou. 

A  number  of  islands  and  keys,  the  most  important  of  which  is  Key  West,  the  county  seat,  belong  to  Monroe 
county.     Upon  these  the  cultivation  of  tropical  fruits  is  an  important  industry. 

Adjacent  to  the  Caloosahatchee  river  and  Charlotte  harbor  are  pine  lands  (pitch  pine),  which  pass  gradually 
into  a  savanna  or  prairie,  with  groves  or  clumps  of  hammock  land  heavily  timbered,  interspersed  with  ponds  and 
lakes  of  clear  water. 

With  the  draining  of  the  everglades  a  vast  amount  of  savanna  and  prairie  land  will  bo  made  available  for 
agricultural  purposes. 

DADE. 

Population  :  257. — White,  190  ;  colored,  67. 

Area  :  7,200  square  miles. — Woodland,  a  strip  along  the  coast  and  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  about 
500  square  miles;  of  the  rest,  everglades,  marsh,  prairie,  savanna,  and  swamp,  it  is  impossible  to  give  a  trustworthy 
estimate  of  the  proportions. 

Tilled  lands:  None. 

The  greater  part  of  the  area  of  Dade  county  is  occupied  by  the  everglades,  by  the  prairies  and  savannas 
which  skirt  it,  and  by  lake  Okeechobee,  in  the  northwestern  corner,  which  covers  an  area  of  over  500  square  miles. 

The  following  descriptions  have  been  compiled  from  various  sources,  chiefly  from  the  publications  of  the 
bureau  of  immigration: 

Along  the  Alantic  coast  there  is  a  strip  of  rocky  pine  lands  from  3  to  15  miles  wide,  and  having  a  considerable 
elevation  above  the  sea.  The  rock  here  is  apparently  the  same  which  forms  the  substratum  of  the  entire  county, 
and  it  is  described  as  an  oolitic  and  crystalline  limestone,  which  is  sometimes  quite  soft  aud  easily  cut  and  hardens 
on  exposure  to  the  atmosphere,  being  thus  suitable  for  building  purposes. 

The  [line  lands  are  skirted  with  a  strip  of  prairie  or  savanna  land  from  half  a  mile  to  a  mile  in  width,  reaching 
to  the  everglades,  it  is  thought  by  some  that  this  prairie  strip  has  been  formed  by  the  recession  of  the  water,  by 
evaporation,  or  by  upheaval.     This  prairie  comprises  some  of  the  richest  land  in  the  state. 

The  everglades,  which  form  so  singular  and  unique  a  feature  of  Florida,  may  be  described  as  a  shallow  lake  of 
vast  extent  occupying  a  basin  or  depression  in  the  limestone  of  the  country. 

From  surveys  recently  made  it  is  known  that  the  whole  bed  of  the  everglades  has  considerable  elevation  above 
the  sea,  so  that  the  draining  of  this  area  is  merely  a  question  of  time  and  expense. 

All  the  streams  which  flow  from  the  everglades  are  interrupted  by  falls  or  rapids.  The  Caloosahatchee  is 
navigable  by  steamers  to  within  10  miles  of  lake  Okeechobee,  where  the.  rapids  begin. 

The  water  through  the  everglades  varies  in  depth  from  6  inches  to  as  many  feet,  and  is  filled  with  aquatic  and 
semi-aquatic  grasses  and  other  plants.  From  this  maze  of  water  and  vegetation  rise  innumerable  islands,  containing 
from  1  acre  to  100  acres  of  land.  These  islands  are  covered  with  a  growth  of  cypress,  sweet  bay,  crab-wood,  mastic, 
cocoa  palms,  cabbage  palmetto,  and  live  and  water  oaks,  beneath  which  bloom  flowers  in  almost  endless  variety. 

Notwithstanding  the  shallowness  of  the  water  in  the  everglades  and  the  profuseness  of  the  vegetation  growing 
in  it,  it  is  comparatively  pure  and  clear,  and  abounds  in  fish,  turtles,  aud  alligators.     Bears,  panthers,  wild-cats, 
and  deer  inhabit  the  islands. 
242 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  63 

Lake  Okeechobee  is  about  50  miles  long  from  northwest  to  southeast  and  about  20  miles  broad,  and  is  from  8  to 
20  feet  deep.  Its  northeastern  and  eastern  shore  is  skirted  with  a  low  hummock  of  red  bay,  live  oak,  water  oakr 
and  other  timber;  its  western  and  southwestern  shore  with  a  dense  growth  of  saw-grass. 

The  lake  has  no  visible  outlet  except  as  its  waters  soak  through  the  everglades,  and  the  lauds  around  the  lake 
can  never  be  made  available  till  the  waters  are  lowered  by  artificial  canals. 

The  soil  of  Dade  county  is  generally  sandy,  but  mingled  in  places  with  lime,  The  sea-island  variety  of  cotton 
grows  well  on  this  soil,  and  is  perennial  here,  and  can  be  picked  at  almost  all  seasons  of  the  year. 

The  soil  of  the  prairies  and  savannas,  on  account  of  the  vegetable  matter  and  the  influence  of  lime,  is  exceedingly 
rich,  and  the  draining  of  the  everglades  will  make  available  many  square  miles  of  soil  of  similar  character. 

Between  Fresh  Water  creek  and  Cape  Sable  the  prairie  approaches  near  the  coast,  extending  into  the  country 
about  15  miles,  and  is  interspersed  with  hummocUs  of  good  land.  This  prairie  usually  terminates  in  cypress  swamps.. 
and  these  in  the  interminable  glades  (Williams). 

BKEVAED. 

Population  :  1,478.— White,  1,379 ;  colored,  99. 

Area:  4,390  square  miles. — Woodland,  1,840  square  miles;  prairie  and  savanna,  1,750  square  miles ;  marsh 
lands,  800  square  miles ;  pine  lands,  1,340  square  miles  ;  swamp  and  hummock,  500  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands  :  1,952  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  6  acres;  in  corn,  555  acres;  in  oats,  5  acres;  in  rice,  13 
acres ;  in  sweet  potatoes,  160  acres ;  in  sugar-cane,  152  acres. 

Cotton  production :  2  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.33  bale  (sea  island),  464  pounds  seed-cotton,  or 
116  pounds  cotton  lint. 

Brevard  county  is  best  known  from  the  oranges,  pineapples,  and  other  tropical  fruits  which  are  produced, 
chiefly  along  Indian  river.  The  culture  of  cotton  is  of  minor  importance.  It  presents  a  considerable  variety  in  its 
soils  and  surface  configuration.  The  western  shore  of  Indian  river  is  skirted  with  cabbage  hummocks  on  a  rich 
but  rocky  surface  (Williams).  The  coquina  rock  makes  the  river  banks  in  many  places;  beyond  this  hummock 
land  often  follows  pine  lands  of  varying  quality,  and  then  grassy  savannas  and  swamps.  A  very  considerable 
proportion  of  the  county  is  prairie  or  savanna  laud,  and  on  this  account  stock-raising  is  an  important  industry. 

In  many  respects  Brevard  resembles  Manatee  county,  much  of  whose  description  will  apply  equally  well  here 

The  products  of  this  county  find  their  way  to  market  by  the  Indian  river. 

ORANGE. 
(See  "  Long-leaf  pine  region  ".) 

VOLUSIA. 

(See  "  Long-leaf  pine  region  ".) 

243 


PART    III. 
* 

CULTURAL  AND   ECONOMIC   DETAILS 

OF 

COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


65 
24& 


EEPEEENCE  TABLE 

OF 

REPORTS  RECEIVED  FROM  FLORIDA  COUNTIES. 


OAK,  HICKORY,  AND  PINE  UPLAND  REGION. 

Jackson. — Jas.  V.  Burke.    Mariauna,  March  30,  1880.     Refers  to  township  5  north,  ranges  11  and  12  west.     Describes  the  red  lime-lands, 

loam  uplands,  and  long-leaf  pine  uplands. 
•Gadsden. — Jesse  Wood.     Mount  Pleasant,  October  1,  1880.     Refers  to  township  3  north,  range  5  west.    Describes  the  loam  uplands  and 

long-leaf  pine  table-lands. 
Xeon.  —John  Bradford.    Tallahassee,  March  5;  1880.    Refers  to  townships  1  and  2  north,  ranges  1  and  2  east,  and  describes  the  oak  uplands, 

with  associated  long-leaf  pine  uplands. 
1.  Jefferson. — J.  P.  Grantham.    Waukeenah,  September  1, 1880.   Refers  to  township  1  south,  range  4  east.    Describes  loam  and  pine  uplands, 

light  hummocks,  and  llatwoods. 
2.   Jefferson. — James  F.  Tucker.     Monticello,  March  16,  1880.     Refers  to  townshipB  2  and  3  north,  ranges  6  and  7  east.     Describes  high 

hummocks,  lirst  and  second  class  pine  lands,  and  flatwoods. 

LONG-LEAF  PINE  REGION. 

Santa  Rosa. — Dr.  John  M.  McGehee.    Milton,  December  18, 1880.    Refers  to  entire  county,  and  describes  second  and  third  class  pine  lands. 
1.  Hamilton. — Thomas  N.  Bell.     Jasper,  July  1,  1880.     Refers  to  township  1  north  and  range  14  east.    Describes  flatwoods  and  pine 

uplands. 
"2.  Hamilton. — Henry  J.  Stewart.    Jasper,  February,  1880.     Refers  to  the  uplands  and  lowlands  contiguous  to  Tiger  creek,  and  describes 

sandy  upland  soil. 
1.  Suwannee, — L.  A.  Jennings.     Live  Oak,  January  4,  1880.     Refers  to  the  entire  county.    Describes  first,  second,  and  third  class  pine 

lands. 
"2.  Suwannee. — George  E.  Dexter.    Houston.    Refers  to  township  2  south,  range  14  east.    Describes  first-class  pine  lands,  gray  or  gravelly 

lands,  and  black  hummocks. 
1.  Columbia. — G.  B.  Smithson.    Lake  City,  February  20,  1880.    Refers  to  township  3  south,  range  16  east.     Describes  the  three  classes  of 

pine  lands. 
12.  Columbia. — T.  R.  Collins.    Mikesville,  February  27,  1880.     Refers  to  township  G  south,  range  17  east,  and  describes  the  pine  lands 

and  hummocks. 
Saint  John's. — Col,  N.  R.  Fitz  Hugh.     Picolata.     Describes  the  pine  lands. 
1.  Clay. — O.  Budington.     Middleburg,  January  7,  1880.     Refers  to  township  5  south,  range  24  east.    Describes  the  better  class  of  pine 

lands. 
H.  Clay. — Lawrence  D.  Wall.     Wilderness,  March  10,  1880.     Refers  to  the  entire  county.     Describes  the  same  class  of  lands  as  the 

preceding. 
Hillsborough.— W.  F.  White.     Dunedin,  January  30,  1880.     Refers  to  township  28  south,  range  15  east.     Describes  pine  lands  and  high 

and  low  hummocks. 
1.  Alachua. — P.  B.  Turpln.     Waldo.     No  date.     Refers  to  the  entire  county,  and  describes  pine  lands  and  hummocks. 
H.  Alachua.— -William  H.  Robertson,      Gainesville,  October  19,  1881.     Refers  to   Payne's  prairie  and  lowlands  of  Pithlacbocco,  or 

Newnan's  lake,  and  the  level  pine  lands  and  hummocks  near  Gainesville.    Describes  black  and  gray  hummocks  and  pine  land. 
Marion.—  J.  L.  Binnicker.     Flemington,  February  16,  1880.     Refers  to  townships  12  and  13  south,  ranges  20  and  21  east.     Describes 

the  pine  and  associated  hummock  lands. 
Sumter. — George  M.  Lee.     Leesburg,  September  23,  1880.     Refers  to  township  19  south,  range  24  east,  and  describes  second-class  pine 

lands  and  low  sandy  hummocks. 
Polk. — SCOTT  B.  Bonham.     Bartow,  January  10,  1880.     Refers  to  the  country  about  Bartow.     Describes  hummocks  and  gray  pine  lands. 
Taylor. — John  B.  Carrin.     Stephensville,  January  22,  1880.     Refers  to  townships  8  and  9  south,  ranges  9  and  10  east.     Describes  two 

varieties  of  pine  lands  and  high  hummocks. 
•Volusia. — D.  J.  McBride.     Volusia,  March  18,  1880.     Refers  to  township  15  south,  range  29  east,  and  describes  the  better  class  of  pine 

lands. 
66 
246 


ABSTRACTS  OF  THE  ANSWERS  TO  SCHEDULE  QUESTIONS. 


TILLAGE,  IMPROVEMENTS.  ETC. 

1.  Usual  depth  of  tillage  (measured  on  laud  side  of  furrow),  and  draft  employed  in  breaking  up. 

Four  to  six  inches  is  the  usual  depth  of  tillage  in  preparing  the  land ;  horse  or  mule,  occasionally  two  horses  or  a  yoke  of  oxen. 

2  inches  in  cultivation.     The  draft  employed  is  mostly  one 

2.  Is  subsoiliug  practiced  ?     If  so,  with  what  implements,  and  with  what  results  ? 

In  most  counties  subsoiliug  seems  to  bo  practiced  not  at  all;  in  a  few  equally  divided,  some  holding  that  the  soils  are  improved, 

cases,  Jackson,  Gadsden,  Columbia,  with  Watts'  subsoil  plow,  others  that  they  are  injured  by  subsoiliug. 

with  bull-tongue  plow,  etc.     As  to  results,  opinions  are  about 

3.  Is  fall  plowing  practiced?     With  what  results? 

In  some  counties  fall  plowing  is  not  practiced;  in  others,  very  little,  results  are  good;  "the  green  vegetation  turned  under  equals 

except  in  sowing  oats.      In  every  case  where  practiced  the  a  coat  of  manure." 

4.  Is  fallowing  practiced?     Is  the  land  tilled  while  lying  fallow,  or  only  "turned  out"?    With  what  results 
in  either  case? 

Hamilton,  Columbia,  and  Hillsborough  report  no  fallowing  prac-  broom-sedge,  which  does  not  seem  to  improve  it.     In  Alachua 

ticed.     In  the  other  counties  the  practice  is  followed  to  some  and  Polk  fallow  land  is  sometimes  sown  in  cow-peas ;  in  the 

extent.      Results  always  good,  except  where  cattle   are  al-  others  it  is  simply  "  turned  out".     "When  land  is  turned  out 

lowed  to  graze  upon  the  laud  when  "turned  out".     In  Leon  a  year  or  two  it  yields  nearly  as  well  as  fresh  land,  and  is 

county,  where  land  is  "turned  out",  it  is  apt  to  grow  up  in  easier  to  cultivate." 

5.  Is  rotation  of  crops  practiced  ?     If  so,  of  how  many  years'  course,  in  what  order  of  crops,  and  with  what 
results  ? 

In  Santa  Rosa,  Hillsborough,  Marion,  and  Saint  John's  systematic  can  be  made  by  planting  the  vines  after  oats  are  cut.  Wherever 

rotation  of  crops  is  not  generally  practiced;    in  the  other  systematic   rotation   of  crops   is    practiced   the   results   are 

counties  the  order  of  crops  is  :  corn,  cotton,  oats,  and  pease,  or  reported  good;  "the  lands  are  kept  at  a  uniform  degree  of 

sweet  potatoes,  or  fallow  ;  in  Jackson  and  Taylor,  a  rest  every  fertility." 
third  year  is  reported.     In  Gadsden,  a  good  sweet  potato  crop 

6.  What  fertilizers  or  other  direct  means  of  improving  the  soil  are  used  ?     With  what  results  ? 
Cottonseed  and  stable  manure  are  used  to  some  extent  in  all  the  "By  proper   application  of  cottonseed  and  stable  manure, 

counties;  guano,  dissolved  bone,  and  Charleston  superphos-  combined  with  a  little  lime  and  plaster,  600  pounds  of  cotton 

phates  are  also  generally  used  to  a  small  extent.     The  results  per  acre  can  be  produced  upon  land  considered  worn  out." 

are  always  good.     The  correspondent  from  Hamilton  says: 

7.  Is  green-manuring  practiced  ?     With  what  results  ? 

With  one  or  two  exceptions  green  manuring  is  reported,  but  usually  Florida  clover  (Eichardsonia    acabra),  along  with  cow-peas, 

to  a  limited  extent  only.     The  green  crop  is  mostly  cow-peas,  There  is  no  difference  oftopinion  as  to  results;  they  are  always 

but  occasionally  rye,   in  the  spring,  and  fin  clay  all  green  good, 
vegetation;    in  Jefferson  and  Santa  Rosa,  "beggar  lice"  or 

8.  How  is  cottonseed  disposed  of?     If  sold,  on  what  terms,  or  at  what  price? 

Cottonseed  is  used  to  some  extent  in  all  the  counties  for  manure  and  Tbe  upland  or  short-staple  seed  is  less  valuable,  the  relative 

as  feed  for  stock.     Where  a  market  is  accessible,  the  bulk  of  values  of  the  long  and  short  staple  being,  iu  Suwannee  county, 

the  seed  seems  to  be  sold.     The  prices  reported  vary  greatly —  $8  per  ton  for  short-  and  $14  for  long-staple  seed, 
from  7  or  10  to  25  cents  a  bushel,  or  from  $8  to  §130  a  ton. 

9.  Is  cottonseed-cake  used  for  feed  ?     Is  it  used  for  manure  % 

In  the  counties  near  or  accessible  to  oil-mills  the  seed-cake  is  used  is  reported  are  Gadsden,  Suwannee,  Columbia,  and  Taylor, 

to  some  extent   both  as   cow-feed  and  as  manure,  chiefly,  It  must,  however,   be  stated  that  where  two  reports   have 

however,  as  manure.     For  this  purpose  it  is  used  sometimes  been  received  from  one  county  the  answers  are  frequently 

alone,  but  is  generally  mixed  with  stable  manure,  muck,  or  conflicting, 
phosphates.     The  counties  where  its  use  4>r  feed  or  manure 

67 
247 


68  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

PLANTING  AND  CULTIVATION  OF  COTTON. 

10.  What  preparation  is  usually  given  to  cotton  land  before  bedding  up  ? 

In  moat  of  the  counties  no  preparation;  in  Jackson  aud  Gadsden  re-bedding    in    spring,  except    whore    a    crop  of    ■weeds  is 

flushing  or  breaking  up  broadcast  in  winter  and  bedding  in  occasionally  turned  under  in  the  fall, 

the  spring;  in  Jefferson,  Hamilton,  and  Columbia  bedding  aud 

11.  Do  you  plant  in  ridges?     How  far  apart?     What  is  the  usual  time  of  planting  ? 

The  custom  in  all  tho  counties  is  to  plant  in  ridges  3£   to  G  feet  ing  March ;  in  Hillsborough,  1st  of  February  to  May;  Volusia, 

apart.     In  the  upland  counties  the  usual  time  of  planting  is  1st  of  March  to  May;  Polk,  1st  of  March,  the  latitude  doter- 

about  the  1st  of  April  (from  the  25th  of  March  to  tho  10th  of  mining  to  some  extent  the  time  of  planting. 
April).    The  yea-island  variety  is  usually  planted  earlier,  dur- 

12.  What  variety  of  seed  is  preferred?     How  muck  is  used  per  acre? 

The    short-staple   varieties    planted    in    tho   upland  counties  are  island  varieties  have  only  local  names ;  tho  "Dexter"  and 

"  Boyd's  Prolific",  "  Dixou's  Improved  Proline, "  "  Hurlong,"  "Bollar"   are   the    only  ones  specified.      Of    tho   sea-island 

"  Rameses,"  and  "  Lattimer".     From  1  to  2  bushels  per  acre  seed,  half  a  bushel  to  the  aero  is  the  common  practice  ;  in  a 

are  planted,  the  average  being  about  1-J  bushels.      The  sea-  few  cases  three-fourths  and  even  1  bushel. 

13.  What  implements  are  used  in  planting  1 

In  tho  upland  counties  "planters"  are  in  uso  to  some  extent,  but  "scooter",  "bull-tongue,"  or  small  plow,  and  cover  with  a 

the   usual   practice   throughout    the  state   is  to  open  with  board,  sometimes  with  a  harrow. 

14.  Are  "cottonseed  planters"  used?     What  opinion  is  held  of  their  efficiency  or  convenience? 

In  tho  northern  counties,  from  Jackson  to  Columbia  and  Suwannee,  Labor,  a  better  stand  is  obtained,  and  tho  young  crop  is  moro 

planters  are  used  to  some  extent.     "They  save  both  time  and  easily  cultivated  after  them." 

15.  How  long  usually  before  seed  conies  up  ?     At  what  stage  of  growth  is  cotton  thinned  to  a  stand,  and  how 
far  apart  ? 

The  first  appearance  of  the  young  plant  above  ground  depends  the  crop  is  thinned  to  a  stand  and  about  18   inches  apart, 

greatly  upon  the  character  of  the  season;  when  wet,  in  four  Sometimes  tho  plants  are  left  only  10  inches,  sometimes  as 

to  five  days;  when  dry,  twelve  to  fourteen  days,  the  average  much  as  24  inches  apart,  according  to  the  quality  of  the  land, 

being  about  seven  days.     When  the  plant  is  4  to  G  inches  In  tho  uplands  the  stand  is  closer  (8  to  12  inches)  than  in 

high,  or  when  tho  third  or  fourth  leaf  is  of  good  size,  which  the  sea-island  counties,  where  18  inches  to  3  feet  are  left 

occurs  about  three  or  four  weeks  from  tho  time  ef  planting,  between  the  plants. 

1G.  Is  cotton  liable  to  suffer  from  "sore-shin"? 

In  the  upland  counties  sore-shin  is  common,  particularly  with  early  generally  less  prevalent,  and  to  be  the  result  of  bruises  with 

plantings  and  where  the  weather  is  cool  aud  dews  heavy.     In  tho  hoe  or  plow.     In  Volusia,  only  on  low,  damp  lands. 

the  lower  counties,  with   sea-island  cotton,  it  seems  to  bo 

17.  What  after-cultivation  is  given,  and  with  what  implements  ? 

The  general  custom  is  to  plow  three  or  four  times,  usually  with  In  Volusia,  first  bar  off  the  cotton,  then  chop  out.  After  stand- 
sweeps,  keeping  the  grass  out  of  the  rows  by  hoeing  whenever  ing  a  week,  dirt  is  thrown  to  tho  plant  with  a  sweep.  Tho 
it  becomes  necessary.  Iu  Jackson,  the  reporter  says,  bar  off  correspondent  from  Jefferson  thinks  implements  make  no 
with  turn-plow,  throwing  the  earth  from  the  plant.  After-  difference,  all  depending  upon  keeping  the  cotton  clear  of 
ward  cultivate  entirely  with  sweeps,  except  on  the  stilbst  of  grass  and  weeds, 
red  lands,  where  round-pointed  shovels  are  sometimes  used. 

IS.  What  is  the  height  usually  attained  by  cotton  before  blooming?     When  do  the  blooms  first  appear? 
When  do  the  bolls  first  open  i 

The  heights  before  first  blooms  appear  vary  greatly  with  the  quality  counties,  occasionally  in  the  latter  part  of  May,  and  about 

of  the  soil.     The  statements  give  6  inches  to  4  feet,  18  inches  forty  days  after  the  appearance  of  the  first  blooms,  the  first 

to  2  feet  being  the  average.     The  first  blooms  appear  visually  bolls  open.     This  happens,  therefore,  about  the  last  of  July 

between   the  5th  and  the  15th  of  June.      In  the   southern  or  first  of  August,  nearly  four  months  after  planting. 

10.  When  does  the  first  picking  begin?     How  many  pickings  are  usually  made,  and  when? 

In  the  upland  counties  picking  begins  about  tho  middle  of  August,  usually  all  picked  by  the  first  of  November.    -In  the  southern 

and  continues  till   the  crop  is  gathered,   which   is   usually  counties  the  picking  begins  about  August  1  and  lasts  till  tho 

in  November,   sometimes  not  till    December.     Three  t<>  six  last  of  October  usually.     Four  pickings  if  the  caterpillar  does 

pickings  are  usually  necessary.      Early  or  prolific  cotton  is  not  come,  three  if  it  does. 

20.  Is  all  the  cotton  generally  gathered?     At  what  date  does  picking  usually  close? 

The  cotton  is  generally  gathered,  except  where  labor  is  scarce,  or  Hamilton  some  of  the  crop  is  lost  in  this  way.     Picking  is 

"  where  the  negroe*  lose  interest  in  the  crop,  as  during  the  ended,  as  a  rule,  in  November,  but  with  scarcity  of  hands  it 

holidays  and  when  cold  weather  comes  on  ".     In  Jefferson  and  is  sometimes  protracted  till  nearly  Christmas. 

21.  At  what  time  does  the  first  "black-frost"  appear? 

In  the   upland  counties  about  the  middle  to  last  of  November.  frost"  occurs  about  Christmas.     Marion,  middle  of  October; 

In  tho  southern  counties  later;    sometimes  not  at  all.      In  Taylor,  middle  of  December. 

Hillsborough  about  once  in  three  or  four  years  a  "black- 
248 


CULTURAL  AND  ECONOMIC  DETAILS.  69 

22.  Is  the  seed-cotton  put  in  pens  in  the  field  or  ginned  as  the  picking  progresses? 

Small  farmers  sometimes  pen  the  cotton  in  the  field.     Others  put  it  enough  to  plant."  (Alachua.)      "Prefer   to  gin  as  picking 

in  substantial houses  in  the  field  or  at  the  gin  house,  "never in  progresses,   but   have   to   be    governed   by    circumstances." 

pens  in  the  field,  as  it  would  not  stay  there  long."  (Gadsden.)  (Jefferson.)     "Both  plans  prevail."  (Sumter.) 
"  If  we  penned  in  the  field  the  negroes  would  not  leave  us  seed 

GINNING,  BALING,  AND  SHIPPING. 

23.  What  gin  is  used  f     How  many  saws?     What  motive  power? 

For  the  upland  or  short  staple  cotton  the  gins  in  use  are  Pratt's,  Hull's  and  Whitney's  to  a  less  extent.     The  motive  power 

Brown's,  Carver's,  and  Gullett's  "light-running".    The  size  is  varies  with  circumstances.     The  large  gins  are  run  by  steam 

mostly  about  50  saws,  but  varies  between  30  and  80  saws.  and  water;  smaller  ones  generally  by  mule-  or  horse-power. 

For  the  long-staple  variety  McCarthy's  gin  is  most  used; 

24.  How  much  lint  is  cleaned  in  a  day's  run?     How  much  seed-cotton,  on  an  average,  is  required  for  a  400- 
pound  bale  of  lint? 

The  answers,  even  from  same  county,  vary  greatly.  In  a  day  of  ten  The  two  correspondents  from  Clay  give  a  day's  run  (10  hours) 
hours  two  bales  of  upland  cotton  is  cleaned  with  horses  as  at  250  pounds  and  700  pounds,  respectively.  For  a  400-pound 
motive  power,  and  four  to  six  bales  where  steam-power  is  bale  of  upland  cotton  about  1,200  to  1,500  pounds  of  seed- 
used;  that  is,  1,000  to  1,500  pounds  by  horse-power  and  2,000  cotton  are  needed.  Of  the  long-staple  cotton  a  400-pound 
to  3,000  pounds  by  steam-power.  Of  the  long-staple  cotton  bale  requires  usually  about  1,600  pounds  of  seed-cotton,  of 
about  250  to  300  pounds  of  lint  may  be  cleaned  by  each  gin.  from  1,500  to  1,700. 

25.  What  press  is  used  for  baling?   What  press  is  generally  used  in  your  vicinity?   What  is  its  capacity? 

The  upland  cotton  is  generally  packed  with  screw-press;  in  some  The  sea-island  cotton  is  usually  packed  in  long,  sound  bags,  with 
parts  the  old-fashioned  wooden  screw  ;  in  others,  improved  an  iron  pestle  or  crow-bar.     One  hand  can  in  this  way  pack  1 

iron  screws.  to  2  bales  a  day,  according  to  his  expertness. 

Jackson.  Stribling's  screw,  when  run  by  3  men  and  1  mule,  can  pack  In  some  of  the  upper  counties  the  long-staple  cotton  is  also  packed 
15  hales  a  day.  with  screw-press,  and  no  injury  to  the  fiber  seems  to  result 

Leon.  Scofield's  iron  screw  and  old-style  wooden  screw.    The  latter,  from  the  use  of  screw-press  rather  than  the  crow-bar. 

when  run  by  2  mules,  can  pack  10  to  12  hales  a  day. 

Columbia.  Wxnship  Brothers'  screw.    "When  run  by  water  or  steam 
its  capacity  is  50  bales  a  day. 

26.  Do  you  use  rope  or  iron  ties  for  baling?    If  the  latter,  what  fastening  do  you  prefer?     What  kind  of 
bagging  is  used  in  your  region? 

Iron  ties  used  exclusively  in  the  upland  counties.  For  sea-island  kinds—jute,  gunny,  India,  and  American  bagging.  The  sea- 
cotton  no  ties  used  unless  the  bale  is  very  large  and  heavy  ;  island  bagging  mostly  used  for  the  long-staple  cotton;  Dundee 
then  iron  ties  preferred.  The  arrow  fastening  is  the  only  kind  bagging  is  reported  from  Columbia,  and  manila  from  Hills- 
mentioned.      For  upland  cotton  the  bagging  is  of  several  borough. 

27.  What  weight  do  you  aim  to  give  to  your  bales?     Have  transportation  companies  imposed  any  conditions 
in  this  respect? 

The  desired  weight  of  upland  cotton  bale  is  500  pounds^  that  of  the  while  railroad  "companies  charge  so  much  a  pound.     Buyers 

sea-island  cotton,  350  pounds.     No  restriction  is  imposed  by  deduct  10  pounds  when  a  bale  of  short-staple  cotton  weighs 

transportation  companies,  but  steamers  charge  so  much  a  tale,  less  than  300  pounds. 

28.  At  what  time  do  you  ship  ?     How?     To  what  station,  city,  or  port?     What  is  tho  usual  freight  to  such 
port  per  bale? 

Shipping  begins  usually  in  September  and  continues  to  January,  eastern  Florida,  not  on  the  coast  nor  on  navigable  streams,  ship 

and  even  later.     The  chief  markets  are  Columbus  and  Savan-  by  rail  and  steamer  to  Charleston  and  Savannah  at  $2  to  !f?3 

nah,  Georgia,  and  Charleston,  South  Carolina.     Santa  Rosa  a  bale,  or  75  cents  a  hundred  pounds.     Hillsborough,  Polk, 

ships  to  Now  Orleans,  at  75  cents  a  bale,  by  steamer ;  Jackson  and  other  counties  near  the  coast  ship  by  steamer  to  the  same 

to  Columbus,  Georgia,  by  boat,  at  75  cents  a  bale,  and  to  Savan-  ports,  at  the  rate  of  75  cents  to  $1  a  bale.     Volusia,  by  the 

nah  by  railroad  at  $2  25.     Leon,  by  railroad  and  steamer,  to  Saint  John's,   to  same   ports,   at  $1  50   a  bale  (see   county 

New  York  at  $1  20  per  hundred.    The  counties  in  middle  and  descriptions). 

DISEASES,  INSECT  ENEMIES,  ETC. 

29.  By  what  accidents  of  weather,  diseases,  or  insect  pests  is  your  cotton  crop  most  liable  to  be  injured?    At 
what  date  does  these  several  pests  or  diseases  usually  make  their  appearance? 

Wet  weather  and  Gulf  storms;  sore-shin,  shedding,  rot  of  bolls,  rust,  Hamilton,  appears  generally  before  blooming;  rust  appears 

and  blight ;  cut-worm,  boll-worm,  lice,  and  caterpillar.     The  usually  early  in  August.     The  caterpillar  usually  appears  in 

cut-worm,  lice,  and  sore-shin  make  their  appearance  early,  August  or  September.     The  other  troubles  may  come  at  any 

usually  in  April  and  May  ;  blight,  reported  as  most  hurtful  in  time  after  June.                                                                  249 


70  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 

30.  To  what  cause  is  the  trouble  attributed  by  the  farmers'?  What  efforts  have  been  made  to  obviate  it? 
With  what  success? 

Bust  is  thought  by  correspondents  in  Jackson,  Gadsden,  Columbia,  of  vegetable  mold  in  the  soil;  also,  deep  careless  plowing, 
and  Alachua  to  be  due  to  want  of  potash  and  vegetable  matter  by  which  the  roots  of  the  plant  are  cut,  is  often  to  blame, 
in  the-  soil.  Fertilizing  with  barn-yard  manure  is  considered  Shallow  plowing  in  Gadsden  has  been  deemed  a  remedy  or 
almost  a  preventive  by  the  correspondent  from  Columbia.  In  preventive  of  shedding  in  Jackson  and  Gadsden.  Late  plow- 
Jefferson,  Suwannee,  and  Volusia  rust  is  thought  to  be  caused  ing  has  been  tried  in  Suwannee  as  a  remedy  both  for  shedding 
by  excessive  rains.  Shedding  is  supposed  by  the  correspond-  and  blight,  and  in  some  instances  with  fine  success.  No  efforts 
ents  from  Jackson,  Gadsden,  Leon,  Jefferson,  Suwannee,  Co-  have  been  made  against  the  boll-worm;  but  Paris  green  has 
lumbia,  and  Volusia  to  bo  due  to  extremes  of  seasons  and  de-  been  tried  against  the  caterpillar,  and  fires  at  night  against  the 
fective  cultivation  The  correspondent  from  Alachua  thinks  moth.  Wet  weather  favors  greatly  the  spread  of  the  cater- 
that  shedding  as  well  as  rust  may  be  prevented  by  resting  pillar, 
the  land  and  rotation  of  crops,  so  as  to  increase  the  amount 

31.  Is  rust  or  blight  prevalent  chiefly  on  heavy  or  ill-drained  soils'?  Do  they  prevail  chiefly  in  wet  or  dry, 
cool  or  hot  seasons1?     On  which  soil  described  by  you  are  they  most  common1? 

On  Ill-drained  soils,  especially  sandy  and  sterile  lands  in  Gadsden,  and  Sumter.     Wet  weather  aud  hot  season,  or  extremes  either 

Leon,  Jefferson,  Santa  Rosa,  Suwannee,  Columbia,  Clay,  Hills-  of  wet  or  dry,  or  rainy  season  followed  by  a  drought,  are  in 

borough,  Alachua,  Marion,  Taylor,  and  Volusia.    Difference  in  every  case  looked  upon  as  causes  of  these  troubles, 
the  soil  is  not  thought  to  have  any  effect  in  Jackson,  Hamilton, 

32.  Is  Paris  green  used  as  a  remedy  against  the  caterpillar?     If  so,  how,  and  with  what  effect? 

In  Jackson,  Leon,  Jefferson,  Columbia,  aud  Marion,  to  a  small  ex-  rather  than  benefited,  and  the  danger  to  stock  and  to  laborers 

tent  only.     In  the  other  counties  reported  as  not  used.     In  is  very  great.     The  few  experiments  tried  in  Columbia  proved 

Leon,  abandoned  after  few  years  trial  as  worthless.     In  Leon,  beneficial,  but  rather  expensive.     In  the  manner  in  which 

applied  mixed  with  flour,  and  with  good  results.    In  Jefferson,  the  correspondent  has  seen  it  applied  in  Marion,  it  has  a 

opinions  differ  as  to  value,  the  cotton  is  sometimes  injured  tendency  to  scald  aud  kill  the  growing  plant. 

LABOR  AND  SYSTEM  OF  FARMING. 

33.  What  is  the  average  size  of  farms  or  plantations  in  your  region  ?  Is  the  prevalent  practice  "  mixed 
farming"  or  "planting"? 

In  the  upland  counties,  Jackson,  Gadsden,  Leon,  and  Jefferson,  the  In  Leon,  Jefferson,  and  Marion,  both  "planting"  and  "mixed 
farms  are  from  40  to  1,000  acres;  in  Gadsden  the  majority  are  farming"  are  practiced,  principally,  however,    "planting". 
2-horse  farms.     In  these  four  counties  large  farms  are  quite  In  the  other  counties  the  prevailing  pratico  is  "  mixed  farm- 
common.     In  the  other  counties  the  farms  are  small,  varying  log", 
in  size  from  10  to  150  acres,  the  majority  being  60  to  120  acres. 

34.  Are  supplies  raised  at  home  or  imported?  And,  if  the  latter,  where  from  ?  Is  the  tendency  toward 
raising  home  supplies  increasing  or  decreasing1? 

Part  of  the  meat  and  nearly  all  the  flour  are  imported;  other  sup-  increasing.      Along   the   Gulf   coast   supplies   are  imported 

plies  are  to  some  extent  raised  at  home,  but  different  parts  mostly  from  New  Orleans;  elsewhere  the  supplies  como  from 

of  the  same  county  give  different  reports.     In  all  cases,  how-  Saint  Louis,  Cairo,  Louisville,  New  York,  and  Savannah, 
ever,  the  tendency  toward  raising  home  supplies  is  generally 

35.  Who  are  your  laborers  chiefly?     How  are  their  wages  paid?     At  what  rates?     When  payable? 

In  the  northern  counties  laborers  are  mostly  negroes ;  further  south  varies  according  to  the  contract.     Payments  are  made  by  the 

native  whites  and  negroes,  the  proportion  of  negro  laborers  day,  week,  month,  and  year,  sometimes  after  sale  of  the  first 

decreasing  southward.     Wages  are  paid  either  in  money,  at  cotton.     Yearly  contracts  are  settled  on  the  1st  of  January  ; 

the  rate  of  $6  to  §10  a  month  and  rations,  or  f>0  cents  a  day  but  the   correspondents  from  Gadsden,  Leon,  and  Alachua 

aud  board  or  75  cents  without  board,  or  in  part  of  the  crop,  state  that  from  60  to  80  per  ceut.  of  the  amount  is  usually 

which  is  generally  one-half  of  the  corn.     The  time  of  payment  advanced  from  time  to  time  during  the  year. 

36.  Are  cotton  farms  worked  on  shares  ?  On  what  terms  ?  Are  any  supplies  furnished  by  the  owners  "?  Does 
your  system  give  satisfaction  ?  How  does  it  affect  the  quality  of  the  staple  ?  Does  the  soil  deteriorate  or  improve 
under  it? 

Jackson  reports  wages  as  the  only  system  practicable  in  that  county.  The  staple  is  thought  by  correspondents  to  be  injured  from  Gadsden, 

The  custom  in  all  the  other  couutiesisto  work  on  shares, except  Jefferson,  Columbia,  Clay,  Alachua,  for  the  reason  that  it  is 

in  Alachua,  where  the  laud  is  generally  rented  for  a  certain  not  promptly  gathered. 

aniouut  of  cotton  per  acre.     When  the  land-owner  furnishes  The  correspondents  from  Jackson,  Leon,  Marion,  and  Taylor  observe 

teams  and  implements  he  gets  one-half  the  crop;  when  he  no  injury  to  the  staple  from  this  system.    The  soil  deteriorates 

furnishes  all  supplies  in  addition  he  gets  two-thirds  to  three-  under  the  system  because  of  constant  drain  without  return  ; 

fourths  of  the  crop,  according  to  contract.     This  system  is  but  correspondents  from  Suwannee,  Hamilton,  and  Taylor  do 

reportedassatisfactory,  except  inGadsden,  Leon,  and  Alachua,  not  observe  any  deterioration  of  the  soil, 
■where  it  is  considered  only  partially  satisfactory.     Jefferson 
says  the  negroes  prefer  this  system,  because  by  it  they  are 
able  to  do  very  nearly  as  they  please. 
250 


CULTURAL  AND  ECONOMIC  DETAILS. 


71 


37.  Which  system  (wages  or  share)  is  better  for  the  laborer  ?     What  is  the  condition  of  the  laborers  ?     What 
proportion  of  negro  laborers  own  land  or  the  houses  in  which  they  live  ? 

Gadsden,  Leon,  Jefferson,  1  Hamilton,  2  Columbia,  Alachua,  Marion,       The  condition  of  the  laborer  is  reported  as  generally  food  by  corre- 
spondents  in   Jackson,    1    and  2  Jefferson,    2    Hamilton,   2 


Sumter,  Polk,  and  Volusia  consider  wages  best  for  the  laborer, 
since  the  laborer  gets  what  he  needs — direction  and  "follow- 
ing up" — and  makes  something;  he  runs  no  risk  of  accidents 
of  weather,  etc.,  and  the  laborer  makes  more  than  by  the  share 
system.  By  tho  latter  system  the  laborer  cannot  be  made 
to  work  steadily,  and  thus  idles  away  more  of  his  time.  On 
the  other  hand,  2  Hamilton,  1  and  2  Suwanuee,  1  Columbia, 
and  Taylor  believe  the  share  system  to  be  better  for  the 
laborer,  and  Jackson  thinks  tho  advantages  about  equal.  As 
arguments  in  favor  of  the  share  system,  it  is  thought  that 
the  laborer,  if  industrious,  gets  better  pay,  and  that  he  can 
not  spend  his  earnings  as  readily  as  he  can  money. 


Suwannee,  1  Columbia,  1  and  2  Clay,  Hillsborough,  Alachua, 
and  Sumter,  while  those  in  Gadsden,  Leon,  1  Hamilton,  1 
Suwannee,  8  Columbia,  Marion,  and  Polk  consider  the  condi- 
tion of  tho  laborer  to  be  very  poor,  as  they  are  generally  des- 
titute and  dependent.  Jackson,  Gadsden,  Leon,  Jefferson, 
Hamilton,  1  Suwannee,  2  Alachua,  Marion,  and  Polk  report 
a  very  small  proportion  only  of  the  negro  laborers  own  land  or 
houses,  not  more  than  one-tenth,  while  2  Suwannee,  Colum- 
bia, Hillsborough,  1  Alachua,  Sumter,  aud  Volusia  report  over 
half  the  negro  laborers  as  owning  land  and  houses. 


38.  What  is  the  market  value  of  land  described  in  your  region?    What  rent  is  paid  for  such  land? 

No  general  statement  of  the  market  value  of  the  lands  can  be  given.  money  or  one-fourth  the  crop,  or  15  to  20  pounds  of  liut- 

It  varies  from  $1  to  $25,  according  to  quality  and  locality.  cotton  to  the  acre,  or  500  to  1,000  pounds  of  lint  for  a  40-acre 

The  poorer  pine  lands  are  worth  from  $1  to  $3  per  acre  ;  farm,  according  to  locality  of  the  laud  and  the  quality  of  the 

uplands  and  hummocks  from  $5  to  $25.     The  average  rent  cotton.     In  some  ocalities  rent  is  as  high  as  $3  an  acre, 
charged  for  cleared  and  cultivated  laud  is  $1  50  per  acre  in 

39.  How  many  acres  or  400-pound  bales  per  hand  is  your  customary  estimate? 

When  other  crops  are  cultivated  the  average  loug-staple  is  2  to  3  counties  from  6  to  8  bales  to  the  hand  and  an  average  of 

bales  to  the  hand  and  from  12  to  20  acres.     In  the  upland  about  15  acres. 

40.  To  what  extent  does  the  system  of  credits  or  advances  upon  the  growing  crop  prevail  in  your  region? 

In  Jackson,  Gadsden,  Leon,  Jefferson,  Hamilton,  Suwannee,  Alachua,  profits.     No  remedy  seems  possible  under  the  present  system 

and  Marion,  and  where  cotton  is  the  chief  crop,  the  credit  of  planting  cotton  exclusively.     In  the  lower  counties,  Polk, 

system  prevails,  and  often  to  a  ruinous  extent,  as  in  many  Taylor,  and  Volusia,  the  credit  system  does  not  prevail  to  any 

cases  the  farmers  are  a  year  behind ;  the  merchants  are  will-  great  extent,  cotton  not  being  the  chief  crop, 
ing  to  advance  on  growing  crops  and  take  liens  for  heavy 

41.  At  what  stage  of  its  production  is  the  cotton  crop  usually  covered  by  insurance?     Is  such  practice 

general? 

There  appears  to  be  no  insurance  on  the  cotton  in  any  of  the  conn-  it  reaches  the  market,  not  before ;  in  some  cases  never. 

ties  while  it  is  in  the  producer's  hands.     It  is  insured  when 

42.  What  are  merchants'  commissions  and  charges  for  storing,  handling,  shipping,  insurance,  etc.,  to  which 
your  crop  is  subject?    What  is  the  total  amount  of  these  charges  against  the  farmer  per  pound  or  400-pound  bale? 


In  Alachua,  16  cents  per  pound.  One  correspondent  says:  "Com- 
missions, 2-J  per  cent. ;  insurance,  $1  a  bale  per  month ;  amount 
of  stealage,  uncertain,  but  perfectly  Sure  to  come." 

Marion,  Polk,  and  Volusia  report  about  $5  a  bale,  and  Taylor  about 


For  tho  upland  or  short-staple  cotton  the  charges  are  given  at  1 

cent  a  pouud  or  $4  a  bale  in  Jackson;  1A  cents  in  Gadsden; 

nearly  2  cents  in  Leon  ;    1£  cents  a  pound  or  $5  a  bale  in 

Jefferson  ;  $2  50  to  $3  50  a  bale  in  Hamilton. 
For  the  sea-island  cotton,  $7  to $7  50  a  bale  in  Suwannee;  $8  to  $10  $9. 

in  Columbia  ;  $5  to  $7,  or  2£  per  cent.,  in  Clay. 

43.  What  is  your  estimate  of  the  cost  of  production  in  your  region,  exclusive  of  such  charges,  and  with  fair 
soil  and  management  ? 


For  Bhort-staple  cotton  Jackson  reports  7f  cents  a  pound ;  Gadsdeu, 
7  to  10  cents;  Leon,  6  to  8  cents;  1  Jefferson,  6  to  7  cents  in 
a  good  year ;  in  a  bad  year  the  farmer  will  come  out  in  debt ; 
2  Jefferson,  counting  interest  on  investment  and  services  of 
owner,  it  costs  10  to  12  cents  a  pouud,  otherwise  about  8 
cents;  Hamilton,  about  $25  a  bale. 

Of  the  long-staple  we  have  the  following  estimates:  1  Suwannee, 
about  three-fourths  of  its  value ;  2  Suwannee,  $1 5  to  $20  a  bale ; 


1  Columbia,  "My  opinion  is  that  it  costs  at  least  4  cents  a 
pound  in  the  seed" ;  2  Columbia,  20  cents  a  pound ;  1  Clay, 
15  cents  a  pound ;  Hillsborough,  "  It  is  usually  claimed  that 
it  costs  more  than  it  sells  for,  but  it  brings  ready  money"; 
1  Alachua,  30  cents  a  pound;  2  Alachua,  16  cents  a  pound; 
Marion,  not  less  than  20  cents  a  pound ;  Sumter,  about  oue- 
half  its  market  value.    The  others  givo  no  estimates. 

251 


INDEX   TO   COTTON   PRODUCTION   IN   FLORIDA. 


Pagu. 

Abstracts  of  the  reports  of  correspondents 38-60 

Accidents  of  weather  as  affecting  cotton,  crops 69, 70 

Account  of  the  territory  of  Florida,  by  J.  L.  Williams vi,  10 

Acreage  and  production  of  cotton  (tables) 3, 4 

leading  crops  (table) 4 

Acres  of  cotton  per  hand 71 

Addresses  and  names  of  correspondents,  list  of 66 

Advances  made  on  growing  crop 71 

After-cultivation  of  cotton 68 

Agassiz,  Professor  L.,  observations  made  by 10 

Agricultural  descriptions  of  the  counties  of  Florida 35-63 

features  and  subdivisions  of  the  state 15 

Alachua  county,  analyses  of  phosphatic  rock  of 14,  33 

statistics  and  description  of 53, 54 

Allen,  Lieutenant,  observations  made  by 10 

Amount  of  charges  against  tho  farmer  in  sates  of  cotton 71 

Analyses  and  description  of  soils  and  subsoils,  with  discus- 
sion (tables) 17-19, 21, 22, 24, 25,  34 

Analysis  of  brown-loam  upland  soil 18 

first-class  pine-land  soil 21 

high-hummock  soil 24 

low-hummock  soil 25 

marls 25,32 

phosphatic  rock 14, 33 

pine-upland  soil  (table-land) 19 

pulverulent  limestone 13 

red-loam  soil  (lime-lands) 17 

second-class  pine-land  soil 22 

Answers  to  schedule  questions,  summary  of 67-71 

Aphides  (lice)  on  cotton-plants 69 

Area  and  extent  of  the  state 7 

of  the  brown-loam  uplands 16, 17 

coast  marshes  and  flat  lands 27 

everglades 27 

hummock  lands 23,24 

long-leaf  pine  region „ 20 

oak,  hickory,  and  pine  upland  region 15 

pine  flats 22 

lands 21 

ridge  lands 16, 19 

pitch  pine,  treeless,  and  alluvial  region 27 

prairies,  savannas,  and  everglades 27 

red  lime-lands 16 

swamp  lands   27 

population,  tilled  lands,  and  cotton  production  of  the 

counties  (table) 3 

Average  population  per  square  mile  (table) 3 

size  of  farms  or  plantations 70 


Bailey,  Professor  J.  "W. ,  obser vati  one  made  by 10 

Bagging  and  ties  used  iu  baling  cotton 69 


Page. 

Baker  county,  statistics  and  description  of 51 

Bale;  amount  of  seed-cotton  required  for  a  (see  abstracts  in 

county  descriptions) 38-60 

Bales,  number  of,  in  regions  (table) 29 

per  acre,  in  counties,  number  of  ( table) 3 

hand,  usual  working  estimate  of 71 

weight  of,  and  remarks  concerning 30, 69 

Baling  cotton,  kinds  of  presses,  ties,  and  bagging  used  in  .. .  69 

of  both  short  and  long  staple,  methods  of 30 

Banner  counties,  having  highest  total  cotton  production  and 

product  per  acre  in  each  region  (table) 29 

Barrens  of  the  pine  region 22 

Bartram,  geological  observations  made  by 10 

Bell,  T.  N.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 49,50 

Binnicker,  J.  L.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 56 

Black  frost,  first  appearance  of 68 

Blight  or  rust  as  affecting  cotton-plants 69, 70 

Blooms  first  appear,  when 68 

Boiling  or  blue  springs,  character  of 15 

Boiling  favored  and  the  cotton-plan  Restrained  from  running 
to  we  ed  by : 

application  of  fertilizers 39,43,48,54 

early  rdanting 40, 54 

flat  weeding 56 

importation  of  new  seed  from  Georgia  and  South  Carolina  40, 59 

late  plowing 48 

light  cultivation 41 

proper  distance  between  plants 40, 41,53, 54 

shallow  culture 50,53 

thorough  cultivation 59 

topping 40,41,48,49,50,60 

Bolls  first  open  on  cotton-plants,  when 68 

Boll- worm,  appearance  of 69,  70 

Bouham,  S.  B.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 60 

Botanical  names  of  trees,  shrubs,  etc  ...; 36 

Bradford  county,  statistics  aud  description  of 51 

Bradford,  Jv  abstract  of  the  report  of 40, 41 

Brevard  county,  statistics  and  description  of 03 

Brown-loam  lauds,  area,  extent,  general  character,  and  analy- 
sis of , 17,18 

Budington,  O.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 52,53 

Burke,  J.  "V.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 38,39 

Burnett,  W.  J.,  observations  made  by 10 

C. 

Calhoun  county,  statistics  and  description  of 46 

Carrin,  J.  B.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 47,48 

Caterpillar,  appearance  of,  aud  how  destroyed 69,70 

Chadwick,  Hon.  E.R.,  cited 53 

Champlain,  occurrence  of  beds  of 11, 12 

Charges  for  storing,  handling,  aud  shipping  cotton 71 

Clay  county,  statistics  and  description  of 52, 53 

73 
253 


74 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 


Page. 

Climate,  general  remarks  on 7 

Coast  lands  of  the  Gnlf  and  Atlantic,  relations  between 20 

marshes,  description  and  area  of 27 

Collins  T.  R.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 50, 51 

Columbia  county,  analysis  of  second-class  pine-land  soil  of..  22 

statistics  and  description  of 50,51 

Commissions  of  merchants  in  sales  of  cotton 71 

Compost,  use  of G7 

Conditions  imposed  by  transportation  companies 09 

Conrad,  T.  A.,  observations  made  by 10 

Coquina,  character  and  extent  of 27 

Coral  formation,  extent  of 20 

Corn,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) 4 

Correspondents'  names  and  addresses,  list  of 00 

Cotton  acreage  and  production  in  counties  (tables) 3,4 

per  square  mile  and  per  capita  (table) 3 

average  prices  for  short-  and  long-staple 30 

comparison  of  long-  and  short-staple  varieties  of,  and 

geographical  distribution  of  each  variety 29,30 

lint,  amount  of,  made  by  gins  in  a  day's  run  of  ten 

hours 09 

pickings,  when  begun,  and  how  many  made 68 

plant,  height  of,  upon  different  soils 30 

planting  in  ridges,  remarks  on 08 

production,  comparisons  of  agricultural  regions  and  of 

the  counties  regarding 30-32 

cost  of,  per  pound 71 

cultural  and  economic  details  of 05-71 

distribution  of,  among  the  several  regions.  30, 31 

general  discussion  of 20-33 

in  census  years 29 

each  region  (table) 29 

per  capita,  remarks  concerning 31 

percentage  of  state's  total,  in  each  region 

and  its  rank  in  (table) 29 

relation  between  whites  and  negroes  in  ..  31 

product  per  acre  in  counties  (table) 3 

regions  and  maximum  of,  in  coun- 
ties (table)  29 

of  Gnlf  hummocks 25 

high  and  low  hummocks 24 

pine  table-laud 19 

on  any  soil  and  on  fresh  and  old 
lands.  (See  abstracts  in  county 
descriptions.) 

brown-loam  lands 18 

first-class  pine  lands 21 

second-class  pine  lands 21 

remarks  concerning 30 

shipments  (see  aho  county  descriptions) 09 

total  of  lint  and  seed,  in  tons,  in  each  region  (table).  29 

Cottonseed-cake  as  feed  or  manure 07 

disposal  and  price  of 07 

planters,  use  of 68 

ratio  of,  to  lint 30 

varieties  of,  and  amount  used  per  acre 0b 

Counties,  area,  population,  tilled  lands,  and  cotton  produc- 
tion of  (table) 3 

descriptions,  agricultural,  of 37-C3 

in  each  region  having  highest  cotton  production 

(table)  29 

Crop,  advances  made  on  growing 71 

Crops  best  suited  to  the  soil  (see  abstracts  in  county  descrip- 
tions)    38-00 

leading,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) 4 

Cuban  pine  region 4 

Cultivation  and  planting  of  cotton,  details  of 08, 09 

Cultural  and  economic  details  of  cotton* production 05-71 

Cut- worm,  appearauce  of 09 

D. 

Dade  county,  statistics  and  description  of 02,03 

Dead  lakes,  submerged  cypress  forests  of 40 

254 


Pago. 

Depth  of  tillage  usual  in  cotton  culture 07 

Descriptions,  agricultural,  of  the  counties 37-03 

Details,  cultural  and  economic,  of  cotton  production 65-71 

Dexter,  G.  E.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 48,  49 

Diseases,  insect  enemies,  etc.,  of  cotton 09,70 

Disposal  of  cottonseed 07 

Distribution  of  cotton  production  among  the  several  agricul- 
tural regions 30,  31 

Draft  employed  in  breaking  up  land 07 

Drainage  system  of  the  state 7,8 

Duval  county,  statistics  and  description  of 52 

i:. 
Eastern  Florida  and  the  peninsula,  general  character  of  the 

lands  of 18 

Egau,  Hon.  Dennis,  cited 29 

Economic  and  cultural  details  of  cotton  production 05-71 

Effect  of  the  share  system  on  the  soil  and  staple 70 

Efforts  mado  to  obviate  diseases  and  pests 70 

Elevation  of  certain  localities  above  the  sea 8,9 

Enumeration,  tabulated  results  of  the 1-4 

Escambia  county,  statistics  and  description  of 43 

Estimate  of  number  of  bales  of  cotton  per  hand 71 

the  cost  of  cotton  production 71 

Euchee  valley,  lands  of 18 

Everglades,  area  and  description  of 27,28 

elevation  above  the  sea  and  general  character  of  8 

F. 

Fallowing  and  fall  plowing,  results  of 07 

Farming,  system  of,  and  labor 70,71 

Farms,  size  of 70 

Fastening  used  in  baling  cotton,  kinds  of 09 

Feed,  cottonseed-cake  used  as 07 

Fertilizers,  remarks  concerning 32,  33 

Fertilizing  and  green -manuring , 07 

First-class  pine  lands,  character,  analysis,  and  cotton  prod- 
uct per  acre  of 21 

First  frost  appears,  when 08 

Flatwoods,  area,  extent,  and  general  character  of 22 

of  the  long-leaf  pine  region  20 

pitch-pine  region,  description  of 27 

Flint,  presence  of,  in  the  limestone  of  the  Gulf  coast 30 

Florida  "mountains",  description  of 57 

Southern  railroad,  stations  and  altitudes  of 9 

Franklin  county,  statistics  and  description  of 01 

Freight,  rates  of  shipment  of  (see  also  county  descriptions) ..  69 

French,  Dr.  Setli,  commissioner  of  immigration    vi 

Frosts,  first  appearance  of 68 

Fruit-land  peninsula,  location  of 53 

G. 

Gadsden  county,  analysis  of  pine-upland  soil  of 19 

statistics  and  description  of 39,40 

Galls  or  sour  lands,  description  and  growth  of 28 

General  discussion  of  cotton  production 29-33 

features  of  the  state 5-28 

Geology,  general  remarks  on 10-15 

physiographical 13-15 

structural  and  stratigraphical,  remarks  on 10-13 

summary  of  observations  made  previous  to  and  in 

1880 10,11 

Ginning,  baling,  and  shipping  cotton,  details  of 69 

weight  of  bales,  remarks  concerning. ..  30 

Gins,  list  and  capacity  of 69 

saw  and  rolling,  description  of 30 

Grantham,  J.  P.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 41,  42 

Grasses  of  the  marsh  lands 28 

Green-manuring  and  fertilizing 07 

Gulf  coast,  flinty  character  of  limestone  of 26 

general  description  of 26,  27 

hummocks,    character,   location,    fertility,    and    cotton 

production  of 25,  47,  55 

how  formed 13 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA 


75 


Pa^e. 

Gulf  of  Mexico,  submerged  plateaus  of 12 

Stream,  agency  of,  in  forming  coral  banks 10 

II. 

Hamilton  county,  statistics  and  description  of 49, 50 

Hawes,  Dr.  G.W.,  analysis  of  phosphatic  rock  by 13,14,33 

Height  attained  by  cotton-plant  before  blooming 68 

of  cotton-plant  (see  abstracts  in  county  descriptions)-  38-60 

Heilprin,  Professor  Angelo,  determinations  of  fossils  by 11 

Hernando  county,  statistics  and  description  of 58 

High  hummocks,  extent,  character,  and  analysis  of 24 

Hilgard,  Professor  E,  W.,  cited 12,13 

Hilgard,  Professor  J.  E.,  cited  regarding  the  basin  of  tho  Gulf 

of  Mexico 12 

Hillsborough  county,  statistics  and  description  of 59 

Holmes  county,  statistics  and  description  of 45 

valley,  area,  extent,  and  character  of 45 

Home  supplies 70 

Horizontalizing  to  arrest  washing  of  the  soil  (see  abstracts  in 

county  descriptions) 38-60 

Hummock  lands,  area,  character,  origin,  subdivisions,  and 

analyses  of 23-25 

distribution  of,  upon  what  dependent 23 

how  formed 13 

occurrence  of 18 

trees  and  shrubs  of 36 

I. 

Implements  employed  in  subsoiling 67 

used  in  planting  and  after-cultivation  of  cotton.  68 

Improvements,  tillage,  etc.,  details  of 67 

Information,  sources  of,  in  compiling  this  report vi 

Infusoria,  occurrence  of 11,14 

Insect  enemies,  diseases,  etc.,  of  cotton 69,70 

Insuring  cotton,  practice  of  and  charges  for 71 

J. 

Jackson  county,  analysis  of  red-loam  soil  of 17 

statistics  and  description  of 37-39 

Jacksonville,  average  rainfall  at 7 

Jefferson  county,  statistics  and  description  of 41, 42 

Jennings,  L.  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 48, 49 

K. 

Key  West,  average  temperatures  of 7 

Koerner,  Major  P.  W.  O.,  tables  of  elevations  furnished  by..  9 

JL. 

Labor  and  system  of  farming,  details  of 70, 71 

Laborers,  best  system  of  labor  for 71 

condition  of 71 

nationality  of 70 

owning  houses  or  laud 71 

Lafayette  couuty,  statistics  and  description  of 54,55 

Lakes,  remarks  concerning 8 

Lands  lying  "turned  out",  proportion  of  (see  abstracts  in 

county  descriptions) 38-60 

market  value  of  and  rent  paid  for   71 

preparation  given  to,  before  planting  cotton 68 

proportion   of,  in  cotton  for  each  soil.     (See  county 
descriptions  in  tho  respective  regions.) 

Le  Conto,  Professor  John,  observations  made  by 10 

Lee,  G.  M.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 58 

Leon  county,  analysis  of  brown-loain  upland  soil  of 18 

statistics  and  description  of 40, 41 

Letters  of  transmittal v,  vi 

Levy  county,  statistics  and  description  of 55 

Liberty  county,  statistics  and  description  of 46 

Limestone,  character  and  analysis  of 13,14 

of  Gulf  coast,  character  of 26 

red  lime-lands,  extent  and  character  of 16 

relation  of,  to  hummock  lands 23 


Page. 
Lime-sinks  and  big  springs  a  characteristic  feature  of  the  state.  8 

character  of,  and  how  formed 14, 15, 20,  45 

upon  tho  Atlantic  and  Gulf  water-shed 23 

Lint  per  acre  in  counties  (table) 3 

tons  of,  in  state  and  regions  (table) 29 

List  of  names  and  addresses  of  correspondents 06 

Long-leaf  pine  region : 

area,  general  features,  classification  of  lands,  and  de- 
scription of 20-25 

comparison  of  the  counties  in,  regarding  cotton  pro- 
duction     31, 32 

county  descriptions  of 43-60 

scenery  and  vegetation  of 22, 23 

trees  and  shrubs  of 3(> 

Long-leaf  pine  ridge  lands,  area,  extent,  general  character, 

and  analysis  of 19, 20 

Low-hummock  lauds,  extent,  character,  and  analysis  of 24, 2S 

m. 

Madison  county,  statistics  and  description  of 42 

Manatee  county,  statistics  and  description  of 61,62 

Manure,  cottonseed-cake  used  as 67 

Marion  county,  analysis  of  first-class  pine-land  Boilof 21 

high-hummock  soil  of 24 

statistics  and  description  of 55,56 

Marls,  remarks  concerning,  and  analyses  of 25,32,33,34 

Marshes,  area,  description,  and  vegetation  of 27,28 

Marsh  muck,  value  of,  as  a  fertilizer 33 

McBride,  D.  J.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 56 

McGehee,  Dr.  J.  M.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 43 

Merchants'  commissions  ou  sales  of  cotton 71 

Middle  Florida,  general  character  of  lands  of 18 

Miles,  Dr.  E.  B.,  description  of  Florida  "mountains"  by 57 

Miocene  limestone,  occurrence  of 10 

Mixed  farming  or  planting 70 

Monroe  county,  statistics  and  description  of 62 

Moth,  fires  as  a  preventative  against  the 70 

Motive  power  in  running  gins 68 

Muck,  value  of,  as  a  fertilizer 33 

IV. 

Nassau  county,  statistics  and  description  of 51,52 

Nationality  of  laborers 70 

Negroes,  condition  and  relation  of,  to  cotton  production 31,71 

Number  of  cotton  pickings  made 68- 

O. 

Oak,  hickory,  and  pine  upland  region  : 

comparison  of  counties  in,  regarding  cotton  produc- 
tion           31' 

county  descriptions  of 37-42 

general  features,  subdivisions,  and  vegetation  of . .  15-20, 34 

Oats,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) 4 

Okeechobee  lake,  area  of 8 

Okeefeuokeo   swamp,  character    and    elevation   of   country 

south  of 20 

Orange  county,  statistics  and  description  of 57 

Orbitoides  limestone,  occurrence  of 38 

Mautelli 11,16 

P. 

Paris  green  as  a  remedy  against  the  caterpillar 70- 

Pebble-beds,  extent  of,  along  the  Chattahoochee  and  Apalachi- 

cola  rivers   18 

Peninsula  portion  of  the  state,  length,  width,  and  extent  of. .  7 

railroad,  stations  and  altitudes  on 9> 

Phosphatic  rock,  analysis  of 14, 33 

Picking  of  cotton  begins,  when 68 

Pine  barren  swamps,  elevation  and  description  of 27 

flats,  area,  extent,  elevation,  and  general  character  of  . .  20, 22 
lands,  area,  character,  counties  included  in,  and  subdivi- 
sions of 21-2S 

255 


76 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 


Page. 
Pino  lands  correspond  to  tbo  lime-sink  and  wire-grass  regions 

of  Georgia  and  Alabama 20 

distinction  between  tbo  high  and  low,  and  pro- 
ductiveness of 10 

first  class,  character  and  analysis  of 21 

second  class,  character  and  analysis  of 21,22 

third  class,  character  of 22 

tabfle-lamls,  productiveness  and  analysis  of 10 

upland  soil  (table-land),  analysis  of 19 

Pitch  pine,  occurrence  of 25 

Pitch  pine,  treeless,  and  alluvial  region: 

area,  character,  and  subdivisions  of 25-28 

county  descriptions  of 60-63 

the  great  natural  pasture-ground  of  tho  state 26 

Planting  and  cultivation  of  cotton,  details  of G8, 60 

cotton,  time  of 68 

Plants  occurring  in  tho  state,  names  of 36 

Polk  Bounty,  statistics  and  description  of 50,  60 

Population,  average,  per  square  mile  (table) 3 

in  regions  (table) 29 

of  tho  state  and  counties  (tablo) 3 

Port  Hudson  formation,  remarks  concerning 12 

Power  used  in  ginning  cotton   60 

Prairies  and  savannas,  how  formed 20 

savannas,  and  everglades,  area  of 27 

Preparation  given  to  cotton  lands 68 

Presses  used  in  baling  cotton,  capacity  of  69 

Prevalence  of  the  credit  system 71 

Price  paid  for  cottonseed 67 

Production  and  acreage  of  leading  crops  (tablo) 4 

Proportion  of  negro  laborers  owning  land  or  houses 71 

Putnam  county,  statistics  and  description  of 53 

R. 

Railroads,  stations,  distances,  and  altitudes  on 0 

Railroad  transportation  facilities CO 

Rainfall,  general  averages  of 7 

Rates  of  transportation  69 

Rating  of  the  staple  (see  abstracts  in  county  descriptions) .  ..  38-60 
Red  lime-lands,  area,  extent,  and  general  character  and  analy- 
sis of. 16,  17 

loam  soil  ( lime-Ian ;ls),  analysis  of 17 

Reference  table  of  reports  received 60 

Region,  area  of  each,  in  counties  (see  county  descriptions)  ..  37-63 

long-leaf  pine,  general  description  of 20-25 

oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands 15-20 

pitch-pine,  treeless,  and  alluvial 25-28 

Regions,  agricultural,  enumeration  of 15 

Remarks  on  cotton  production  in  tbo  state 20-33 

Rent  paid  for  land 71 

Report,  general  arrangement  of  this v,  vi 

Reports  received  from  counties,  reference  table  of 66 

Rice,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) 4 

Rivers,  principal,  of  the  state 7,  8 

Robertson,  W.  H.,  abstract  of  tho  report  of 54 

Rolling  pine  lands,  area,  general  character,  and  subdivisions 

of 21,22 

Rotation  of  crops 67 

Rot  of  bolls,  occurrence  of,  and  how  obviated 69 

Rust  or  blight,  occurrences  of,  on  hoavy  or  ill-drained  soils, 

in  what  seasons,  and  how  obviated 60, 70 

8. 

Saint  Augustine,  average  temperature  of 7 

John's,  statistics  and  description  of 52 

Sand-hills,  elevation  of 8 

ridge  forms  the  southern  limit  of  the  highlands 

of  Walton  county 44 

Santa  Rosa  county,  statistics  and  description  of 43 

Sargent,  Professor  C.  S.,  cited 27 

Savannas,  prairies,  and  everglades,  area  and  description  of..  27,  28 
256 


Pago. 

Schedule  questions,  summary  of  answers  to  67-71 

Sea-island  cotton,  method  of  packing 30 

ratio  between  lint  and  seed  of 30 

or  long-staple  cotton,  extent  of  culture  of 29, 30 

Second-class  pine  lands,  character,  analysis,  and  cotton  prod- 
uct per  acre  of 21,22 

Sedges  of  the  marsh  lands 28 

Seed-cotton,  amount  of,  required  for  a  475-pound  hale  of  lint.        60 

penned,  or  bow  protected 60 

product  per  acre  {see  county  descriptions)' 37-63 

required  for  a  halo  of  lint,  amount  of  {see  ab- 
stracts in  county  descriptions)   38-60 

Share  system,  cotton  farms  worked  on;   effect   on   the  soil, 

and  reasons  in  favor  of 70,71 

Shedding,  occurrence  of,  and  how  obviated 69,70 

Shipping  cotton,  charges  for 71 

rates  of  {see  also  county  descriptions) (7J 

Short-staple  or  upland  cotton,  counties  and  soils  for 29,30 

Shrubs,  trees,  and  weeds  occurring  in  Florida 36 

Smithson,  G.  B.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 50, 51 

Soils  and  vegetation  of  the  Gulf  coast 26,27 

analyses  and  description  of  (tables) 15-28,34 

character,  tilling  qualities,  productiveness,  etc.,  of: 

black-jack  ridge 48 

brown-loam  uplands 38,40 

clay  hummock  lands 39 

dark  hummock 50 

Hat  woods 42,49 

gray  gravelly  land 48 

hummock 41,51,56 

high-hummock  land 48,  59 

lightsandy 63,56 

low-hummock 59 

oak  and  hickory  uplands 41,  56 

pine  barrens 49 

ridge  lands 38-40,42,43 

red-clay  laud 39 

hummock 60 

lime-lands 38 

rolling  piue  laud 48-50,54 

sandy  hummock 40,56,  58 

pine  chincapin  land 47 

land 41, 48, 52, 58-60 

second-clftss  pine  land 49 

swamp  land 56 

yellow  sandy 50 

upon  which  cotton  is  produced 30 

Soil-varieties  of  the  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  upland  region, 

relative  position  and  origin  of 16 

Sore -shin  on  cottoH-plants 68,69 

Space  between  ridges  in  cotton  planting 68 

Stewart,  IT.  J.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 40,50 

Stratified  drift,  greatest  thickness  of,  upon  the  water-shed —         23 

occurrence  of 11, 44 

thickness  and  character  of 14 

Storing  cotton,  charges  for 71 

Subsoil ing,  and  implements  used  in 67 

Subsoils,   character  of.     {See   abstracts   in    county   descrip- 
tions.) 

Sugar-cane,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) 4 

Sulphur  springs,  occurrence  of 15 

Sumter  county,  analysis  of  low-hummock  soil  of 25 

statistics  and  description  of 57,58 

Supplies  raised  at  home  or  imported 70 

Summary  of  answers  to  schedule  questions 67-71 

Suwauee  county,  analysis  of  marl  of 32 

statistics  and  descriptions  of 48,  49 

Swamp  lands,  area  and  character  of 27 

trees  and  shrubs  of 36 

Sweet  potatoes,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) 4 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  FLORIDA. 


77 


T. 

Page. 

Tab!*  showing  acreage  and  production  of  loading  crops 4 

area,  population,  tilled  land,  and  cotton  pro- 
duction in  the  counties 3 

counties  ranking  highest  in  total  cotton  pro- 
duction and  product  per  acre 29 

population,  and  cotton  production  in  regions.  2D 

Tables  of  analyses  of  soils  and  subsoils 17-10,  21,22,24,  25,  34 

railroad  elevations 9 

Tabulated  results  of  the  enumeration 1-4 

Tampa,  average  temperatures  of 7 

occurrence  of  limestone  at 10 

Taylor  county,  statistics  and  description  of  47,  43" 

Temperatures  of  the  state 7 

Tertiary  formation 10-15 

Thinning  out  cotton-plants H8 

Third-class  pine  lauds,  character  and  growth  of 22 

Tillage,  improvements,  etc.,  details  of 67 

Tilled  lands,  acres,  percentage  of  area,  and  percentage  of,  In 

cotton  (table) . _ 3 

Tilling  qualities  of  land.     (See  under  Soils.) 

Timber  growth  of  brown-loam  lauds 13 

long-leaf  pine  ridge  lauds 19 

red  lime-lands 17 

(See  the  different  regional  descriptions.) 

trees,  shrubs,  and  weeds  occurring  in  Florida,  list  of  . .  36 

Time,  length  of,  before  cottonseed  comes  up 03 

of  first  black  frost 68 

thinning  out  cotton-plants 03 

when  bolls  first  open   63 

cotton  picking  begins  and  closes 63 

the  first  cotton-blooms  appear 68 

Topography,  as  influenced  by  the  quality  and  thickness  of 

the  beds  overlying  the  limestone 14, 15 

Trail  ridge,  elevation,  extent,  and  lakes  of 8, 52 

Transit  railroad,  stations  and  altitudes  on  (table) 9 

Transmittal,  letters  of v,  vi 

Transportation  companies,  conditions  imposed  by G9 

17    O   P — VOL.    IT 


Page. 

Trees  occurring  in  the  state,  names  of ' 36 

Tucker,  J.  F.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 41,42 

Tuomey,  Professor  M.,  observations  made  by 10 

Turpi n,  P.  B.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 54 

V. 

Value  of  land 71 

Variety  of  cottonseed  preferred 68 

Vegetation  and  laud  of  the  Gulf  coast 20,27 

of  the  long-leaf  pine  region 22,  23 

Vieksburg  limestone 11 

Volusia  county,  statistics  and  description  of 56 

W. 

Wages  paid  to  laborers 7© 

system,  reasons  in  favor  of 71 

"Wakulla  county,  analyses  of  marls  of 25,  32 

analysis  of  limestone  of 13 

plantations  of,  out  of  use,  and  reasons  for..  29 

statistics  and  description  of 46,47 

Wall,  L.D.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 52,53 

Walton  county,  statistics  and  description  of 44 

Washing  of  soils,  how  prevented  (sec  abstracts  in  county  de- 
scriptions   33-60 

Washington  county,  statistics  and  description  of 44, 45 

Water-shed  of  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf,  average  altitude,  ponds, 

and  lakes  of 23 

Weed,  running  to,  of  the  cotton-plant  (see  abstracts  in  county 

descriptions) 38-CO 

Weeds,  shrubs,  and  tree;;,  occurrence  of,  in  Florida 36 

troublesome  on  any  soil.     (See  under  Soils,  chnracter 
and  tilling  qualities  of.) 

West  Florida,  general  character  of  lauds  of 17, 18 

White,  W.  F.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 59 

Whiting,  Major,  observations  made  by 10 

Williams,  Col.  J.  Lee,  cited  (also  in  county  descriptions)  ...  10,  20-28 

publications  of vi 

Wood,  J.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 39, 40 

Woodland,  proportion  of  (see  county  descriptions) 37-63 

257 


REPORT 


ON  THE 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  OF  THE  STATE  OE  GEORGIA, 


WITH  A  DESCRIPTION   OF 


THE  GENERAL  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  STATE. 


BY 


IR,.    HI.    LOUGHRIDGE,    Ph.  ID., 

LATE  ASSISTANT  IN  THE  GEORGIA  GEOLOGICAL  SPKVET, 

SPECIAL    AGEX  r. 

[NORTHWEST  GEORGIA  BY  A.  K.  llcCTTTCHEN,  SPECIAL  AGENT.) 


1 
259 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 


Page. 

Letters  of  Transmittal ?ii,  viii 

Tabulated  Results  of  the  Enumeration 1-8 

Table    L — Area,  Population,  Tilled  Land,  and  Cotton  Production 3-5 

Table  II. — Acreage  and  Production  of  Leading  Crops 6-8 

PART  I. 

Physico-Geographical  and  Agricultural  Features  of  the  State  of  Georgia 9-53 

General  Description  of  the  State 11-53 

Topography 11 

Climate 11 

Geological  Features 11-16 

Metamorpbie 1*2, 13 

Triassic 13 

The  Border  Region  of  the  Metamorphic 13 

Cretaceous .' 13, 14 

Tertiary 14-16 

Quaternary,  or  Southern  Drift 16 

Drainage  and  River  Systems 16, 17 

Navigation 17 

Land  Divisions 17 

Head  Rights 17 

Indian  Treaties 17 

Agricultural  Features 17-58 

General  View  of  the  State 18, 19 

Northwest  Georgia 19-29 

Topography 19 

Water  Divide 20 

Climate 20, 21 

Geology 21-23 

Paheozoic  Series 21 

Silurian 21 

Devonian 21 

Carboniferous 21,22 

The  Coal  Measures 22 

Dips  22 

Table  showing  Geological  Formations  and  Lithological  Groups 23 

Gray  Sandy  Lands  of  the  Metamorpbie  (Huronian)  24 

Flat  woods  (Potsdam  and  Calciferous) 24 

Red  Clay  Lands  (Lower  Quebec)  - _ 24 

Gray  Siliceous  Soil  of  the  Ridges  (Upper  Quebec) £4,25 

Brown  and  Red  Loams  (C'hazy  and  Trenton,  Sub-Carboniferous) . 25-28 

Yellow  Clay  Soils  (Cincinnati  and  Clinton ) 26-28 

Sandy  Lauds  of  the  Mountain  Summits  (Carboniferous) 28 

Alluvial  Lands 28, 29 

Metamorphic  Region 29-38 

Blue  Ridge 29,30 

Middle  and  Southern  Metamorphic  or  Middle  Georgia 30 

Mineral  Constituents  of  the  Rocks 30,31 

Chief  Racks 31 

Decompositian  of  Rocks 31 

Agricultural  Features 31,  32 

iii 
261 


iv  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Pago. 
Physico-Geogijaphical  and  Agricultural  Features  of  the  State  of  Georgia — Continued 
Metamorphio  Region — Continued. 

Gray  Sandy  Lands 32,  33 

Area 32 

Topography  and  Character  of  the  Land 32,33 

Red  Lands 33-35 

Red  Belt* 34 

Topography  and  Character  of  the  Soils -, 34, 35 

Granitic  Lauds 35-37 

Topography  and  Soils 35,  SG 

Localities 30 

Granite  with  Pink  Feldspar - 36 

Flatwoods 37 

Cultivated  Lands  of  the  Metamorphio  Region 37,3- 

The  Central  Cotton  Belt 38-4(3 

Sand  and  Pine  Hills 38,311 

Red  Hills 30-41 

Oak,  Hickory,  and  Long-leaf  Pine  Hills  or  Yellow-loam  Region 41 

Eastern  Division 41 

Western  Division 41-43 

Southern  Oak,  Hickory,  and  Pino  Region 43 

Lowlands  of  the  Central  Cotton  Belt 44 

Marls  and  Limestones 44-46 

Long-leaf  Pine  and  Wire-grass  Region 4G-51 

The  Lime-sink  Region 47-40 

Pine  Barrens  or  Sandy  Wire-grass  Region 40, 50 

Pine  and  Palmetto  Flats 50,51 

Okefenokee  Swamp 51 

Coast  Region 51-53 

Savannas 51 

Live  Oak  and  Coast  Lands 52 

The  Coast  Tide  Swamp  Land 52, 53 

Marsh  Laud 93 

The  Sea  Islands 53 

Remarks  ox  Cotton  Production  in  Georgia 53-03 

Early  History 53, 54 

Cotton  Production  in  1880 54 

Table  III. — Population  and  Cotton  Production  in  each  Agricultural  Region  of  the  State 54 

Table  IV. — "Banner  Counties"  as  Regards  Production  and  Product  Per  Acre  in  the  Various  Agricultural  Regions  of  the  State.  55 

Comparison  of  Acreage  and  Production  by  Regions 55, 50 

Productiveness  or  Product  Per  Acre  in  Regions 50 

Banner  Counties 56, 57 

Laborers 57 

Methods  of  Cultivation 57,58 

Intense  Culture 58, 59 

Transportation 59 

Fertilizers 59, 00 

Soil  Exhaustion 60,  01 

Natural  Fertilizers  61, 02 

Marls 01 

Black  Muck Gl 

Pine  Straw 02 

General  Comparison  of  the  Soils  of  the  State 62,63 

Table  of  Analyses  of  Soils  and  Subsoils 64,  65 

Table  of  Humus  Determinations 00 

PART  II. 

Agricultural  Descriptions  of  the  Counties  of  Georgia 07-158 

Northwest  Georgia 69-78 

Blue  Ridge  Region  (Metamorphio) 78^1 

Middle  Georgia  (Metamorphio J 81-110 

Central  Cotton  Belt 116-135 

Southern  Oak,  Hickory,  and  Pine  Uplands 135-138 

Long-leaf  Pine  and  Wire-grass  Region 138-154 

Lime-sink  Division 138-145 

Wire-grass  and  Pine  Barrens  Division 145-154 

Pine  Flats  and  Coast  Region 154-158 

262 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS.  V 

PART  III. 

Cultural  asb  Economic  Details  of  Cotton  Production 159-176 

Reference  List  of  Names  and  Addresses  of  Correspondents 160-16*2 

Summary  of  Aaswers  to  Schedule  Questions 163-176 

*  Tillage,  Improvement,  etc  163-166 

Planting  and  Cultivation  of  Cotton 166-169 

Ginning.  Baling,  and  Shipping 169, 170 

Diseases,  Insect  Enemies,  etc 170, 171 

Labor  and  System  of  Farming 172-176 

Cost  of  each  Item  of  Lalnor  and  Material  Expended  in  the  Cultivation  of  an  Acre  of  Cotton 175, 176 

Cost  of  Picking 176 

MAPS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Agricultural  Map  of  Georgia 11 

Agricultural  Map  of  Northwest  Georgia 19 

Map  showing  Relative  Acreage  in  Cotton 54 

Section  showing  Elevation  of  the  State , 18 

Section  showing  Geology  and  Surface  Features  of  Northwest  Georgia - 2L 

263 


LETTERS    OE    TRANSMITTAL. 


Beekeley,  California,  January  1,  3883. 
To  the  Superintendent  of  Census,  Washington. 

Deae  Sir  :  I  transmit  herewith  a  report  on  the  cotton  production  and  agricultural  features  of  the  state  of 
Georgia,  prepared  by  Dr.  B.  H.  Loughridge,  in  accordance  with  the  general  plan  approved  by  you. 

You  will  observe  that  the  proportion  of  counties  from  which  replies  to  schedule  questions  have  been  received  is 
very  considerable,  being  one  hundred  and  twelve  out  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven.  This,  together  with  the 
extended  personal  knowledge  of  the  state  possessed  by  Dr.  Loughridge,  has  made  the  description  more  complete 
and  detailed,  and  of  course  of  correspondingly  greater  length  than  that  of  other  states  from  which  the  returns  have 
been  less  complete. 

It  should  be  fully  understood  by  the  public  that  the  agricultural  descriptions  of  states  and  counties  given  in 

connection  with  the  cotton  returns  of  the  census  make  no  pretensions  to  completeness,  but  only  to  correctness  as 

far  as  they  go;  and  even  in  the  latter  respect  must,  of  necessity,  in  a  considerable  degree,  depend  upon  the 

faithfulness  of  the  reports  received  from  those  replying  to  schedule  questions.    We  have  taken  all  reasonable  pains 

to  secure  both  correctness  and  completeness  so  far  as  means  would  permit,  and  especially  in  so  far  as  our  efforts 

were  seconded  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  regions  concerned.     We  are  conscious  of  the  fact  that  our  work  is  but  the 

beginning  of  more  complete  industrial  descriptions  of  the  states  to  be  perfected  hereafter  with  the  aid  of  those 

who  appreciate  the  importance  of  thus  setting  before  the  world  a  fair  and  true  exposition  of  the  resources  of  their 

respective  states. 

Very  respectfully, 

EUG.  W.  HILGAED, 

Special  Agent  in  charge  of  Cotton  Production. 


Professor  Eugene  W.  Hilgaed, 

Special  Agent  in  charge  of  Cotton  Production. 

Deae  Sie  :  I  have  the  honor  of  submitting  to  you  the  following  report  on  cotton  culture  in  the  state  of 
Georgia,  embracing  also  a  general  description  of  the  state  and  its  counties,  made  in  accordance  with  your 
instructions. 

In  its  preparation  I  have  been  largely  assisted  by  data  obtained  from  the  records  of  the  late  state  geological 
survey,  to  which  I  had  access  through  the  kindness  of  the  commissioner  of  agriculture  and  of  the  former  state 
geologist,  Dr.  George  Little.  Valuable  information  has  also  been  obtained  from  Messrs.  C.  A.  Locke  and  M.  T. 
Singleton,  formerly  of  the  survey,  but  now  of  the  corps  of  United  States  engineers  engaged  in  river  improvement 
in  Georgia.  My  own  connection  with  that  survey  has  enabled  me  to  add  many  items  in  the  state's  agricultural 
features  of  which  the  records  make  no  note,  and  in  this  other  members  of  the  survey  (Professor  D.  C.  Barrow,, 
of  Athens,  and  A.  B.  McCutchen,  of  La  Fayette)  have  assisted  me.  The  largest  part  of  the  state  had  never  been 
examined  by  the  survey,  and  hence  the  lines  marking  the  limits  of  agricultural  regions  are  not  absolutely  correct 
in  their  detail.  It  is  but  justice  to  the  corps  to  say  that,  so  far  as  regards  agricultural  features,  their  instructions. 
did  not  include  more  than  mere  cursory  observations  of  the  country  passed  over. 


viii  LETTERS  OF  TRANSMITTAL. 

The  northwestern  part  of  the  state,  or  "Northwest  Georgia  ",  as  il  is  generally  called,  is  well  described  by  the 
special  agent  for  that  region,  Mr.  A.  E.  MeCntclieu,  whose  thorough  knowledge  of  its  geological  and  agricultural 
features  has  especially  fitted  liini  for  the  work.  The  descriptions  of  the  counties  of  the  region  which  appear  iu 
Part  II  were  also  prepared  by  him. 

The  schedules  of  quest  ions  on  cotton  culture  prepared  by  you  were  sent  to  parties  in  each  county  in  the  state, 
and  their  answers  have  been  made  willingly,  and,  in  most  cases,  fully,  the  writers  often  showing  great  interest 
in  the  work. 

The  publications  of  the  Georgia  department  of  agriculture  have  been  of  much  service  to  me,  and  the  officers 
of  the  department  have  freely  given  me  any  aid  in  their  power. 

To  Messrs.  G.  E.  Black,  of  Screven  county  ;  .1.  A.  M.  King,  of  Liberty  county  j  S.  M.  H.  Lyrd,  of  Polk  county, 
and  0.  A.  Locke,  then  in  Telfair  county,  I  am  indebted  for  samples  of  the  soils  of  their  respective  regions  for  analysis. 

This  report  is  made  after  the  plan  of  your  report  on  Louisiana,  dividing  the  subject-matter  into  the  following 
parts,  preceded  by  tables  showing  enumeration  results  : 

Part  I.  A  general  description  of  the  state,  embracing  its  topographical,  climatic,  and  agricultural  features,  and 
special  descriptions  of  the  agricultural  divisions,  with  analyses  of  the  chief  soils. 

More  space  is  given  to  a  general  outline  of  the  geology  of  the  state  than  would  ijeein  to  be  justified  by  the 
leading  objects  of  the  report ;  but  so  little  is  known  of  this  subject,  which  is  of  exceptional  interest  (because  of  the 
state's  position  between  the  Gulf  and  the  Atlantic),  that  it  has  been  thought  well  to  dwell  somewhat  largely  on  the 
general  formations. 

A  chapter  on  cotton  production,  as  relating  to  agricultural  regions  and  counties,  the  product  per  acre,  etc.,  is 
included  iu  this  part. 

Part  II.  Agricultural  descriptions  of  counties,  with  abstracts  of  schedule  auswers  from  correspondents. 

Part  III.  Details  of  cotton  culture,  and  a  summary  of  auswers  to  questions  on  methods  of  culture,  diseases 
and  insect  enemies,  system  of  labor,  etc.,  as  given  by  correspondents  in  very  many  of  the  counties  throughout  the 
state. 

In  conclusion,  I  would  express  to  you  my  deep  sense  of  obligation  for  the  very  material  aid  you  have  given  me 
in  outlining  this  report,  and  the  care  and  interest  you  have  taken  iu  its  revision. 
Very  respectfully, 

E.  H.  LOUGHRIDGE. 

20b 


TABULATED  RESULTS  OF  THE  ENUMERATION. 


Table    I.— AREA,  POPULATION,  TILLED  LAND,  AND  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 
Table  II.— ACREAGE  AND  PRODUCTION  OP  LEADING  CROPS. 


l 
267 


TABULATED  RESULTS  OF  THE  ENUMERATION.  3 

Table  I.— SHOWING  AREA,  POPULATION,  TILLED  LAND,  AND  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


NOKTUWEST  GEORGIA. 


Murray  — 
Whitfield . . 

Catoosa 

Walker.... 

Dado  

Chattooga  . 
Gordon  — 

Floyd 

Polk 

Bartow 


Total . 


META.MORI'IIIC   REGION. 


Blue  Ridge  counties. 


Rabun  

Towns 

Union 

Fannin 

Gilmer 

Pickens 

Dawson 

Lumpkin. . . 

White 

Habersham . 

Total.. 


Middle  Georgia  counties. 


Franklin 

Hart 

Banks 

Hall  

Forsyth. 

Milton 

Cherokee  . . . 
Haralson  — 
Paulding  . . 

Cobb 

Fulton 

DeKalb.... 
Gwinnett  .  - . 

Jackson 

Madison 

Elbert 

Oglethorpe. 

Clarke 

Oconee 

Walton 

Kockdale — 

Clayton 

Campbell... 

Douglas 

Carroll 

Heard 

Coweta 

Fayette 

Spalding 

Henry 

Newton 

Morgan 

Cireene 


Land 
area. 


58,  980 


420 
330 
160 
440 
180 
400 
360 
540 
339 
500 


POPULATION. 


41)1) 
180 
330 
300 
48U 
•230 
180 
200 
180 
400 


330 
330 
320 
540 
250 
110 
470 
330 
340 
400 
200 
280 
470 
360 
300 
440 
510 
180 
160 
400 
120 
140 
240 
190 
540 
290 
440 
220 
229 
400 
260 
400 
340 


6,431 
7,  245 
8,386 
0,  790 
5,837 
6,526 
5,  341 
8,718 


03,  100 


Hi,  453 
9,094 
7,337 

15,  298 
10,  559 

6,261 
14,  325 

5,  974 

10,  887 
20,  748 
49, 137 

14,  497 
19,  531 

16,  297 
7.97S 

12,  957 

15,  400 

11,  702 

6,  351 

15,  022 
6,838 
8,027 
9,970 
6,  934 

16,  901 
8,769 

21, 109 
8,605 


14,  032 
17,  547 


2,396 
5,506 
2,645 
4,837 
5,523 
12,  082 
6,139 
9,130 


.OS,  219 


2,243 
1,665 
3,211 
3,508 
4,135 
3,253 
2,797 
3,223 
2,655 
4,374 


31,  004 


5,718 
4,480 
3,624 
7,590 
5,137 
3,090 
7,061 
2,985 
5,  465 
10,  202 
23,  470 
7,173 
9,630 
8,149 
3,885 
6,485 
7,087 
5,  465 
3,143 
7,  S20 
3,434 
3,957 
5,085 
3,421 
8,407 
4,362 
10,  457 
4,255 
6,166 
7,  050 
6,760 
6,884 


4,139 
6,039 
2,343 
5,550 
2,057 
5,184 
5.64S 
12,  336 
5,813 
9,560 


58,  009 


5,735 
4,614 
3,713 
7,702 
5,422 
3,171 
7,264 
2,989 
5,422 
10,  546 
25,  667 
7,  324 
9,901 
8,148 
4,093 
6,472 
7,713 
0,237 
3,208 
7,802 
3,  404 
4,070 
4,885 
3,513 
8,494 
4,407 
10, 652 
4,350 
0,419 
7,-137 
6,863 
7,148 
8,854 


7,362 
9,689 
4,127 
9,492 
3,618 
7,981 
9,347 

14,  958 
7,805 

12,  419 


i,  798 


4,437 
3,157 
6,321 
7,112 
8,258 
6,045 
5,479 
6,075 
4,751 


6,212 
5,830 

13,  040 
9,072 
5,484 

12,  699 
5,  821 
9,903 

14,  734 
28,  295 

9,954 
16,  016 
11, 139 
5,393 
6,085 
5,469 
5,313 
3,327 
9,321 
4,149 
4,938 
6,085 
5,463 
14,  591 
5,  671 
9,305 
5,742 
5,439 
7,901 
6,740 
4,249 
5,573 


907 
2,210. 

612 
1,564 
1,084 
2,040 
1,824 
9,460 
4,147 
6,271 


30,120 


197 
104 
110 
133 
128 
145 
358 
451 
590 
1,361 


3,577 


2,  S47 
2,882 
1,507 
2,258 
1,487 
777 
1,  626 
153 
984 
0,014 
20, 842 
4,543 
3,515 
5,158 
2,586 
6,872 
9,  931 
6,389 
3.024 
6,301 
2,689 


1,471 

36 

2,310 

31 

3,  095 

30 

1,804 

48 

2,803 

39 

7,146 

57 

6,232 

35 

6,883 

52 

9,783 

35 

1,974 

52 

TILLED  LAND. 


42,  494 
44,199 
24,600 
69,  756 
17, 148 
50,  802 
69,  467 
96,  479 
54,233 
88,  231 


557, 409 


18,  209 
14, 198 
30,  347 
27, 197 
30,  273 

20,  834 
24,  958 

21,  019 

19,  889 
28,  365 


241,289 


61,117 
39,  759 
31,  261 
64,  981 
53,  042 
30,  629 
63,  289 

28,  225 
52,654 
88,  578 

38,  735 
60,  023 
96,  582 
67, 109 
51,716 
79,  406 
92,  772 
23,  337 
34,  223 
82,  628 
33,  529 

39,  995 
61,411- 

29,  330 
85,  683 
47,  701 

110,  956 
59,  278 
53,  335 
73,  58.3 
65, 039 
88,  315 
91,  224 


15.8 
20.9 
24.0 
24.8 
14.9 
19.8 
30.2 
27.9 
25.1 
27.6 


23.8 


7.1 
12.3 
14.4 
10.9 

9.9 
18.2 
2L7 
11.3 
17.3 
11.1 


12.3 


28.9 
18.8 
15.3 
18.8 
33.2 
43.5 
21.0 
M.4 
24.2 
34.0 
30.3 
33.5 
32.1 
29.1 
26.9 
28.2 
28.4 
20.3 
33.4 
32.3 
43.7 
44.6 
40.0 
24.1 
24.8 
25.7 
41.5 
42.1 
37.1 
28.7 
39.1 
32.2 
41.9 


COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


0.25 
0.04 


0.40 
8.24 
8.77 
1.28 
1.15 
6.21 


27.05 
37.53 
20.39 
18.84 
22.85 
32.61 
21.71 
17.22 
30.  69 
30.76 
25.91 
32.18 
28.  52 
37.07 
25.19 
32.53 
38.00 
34.37 
35.  95 
3S.  48 
43.  05 
43.50 
34.93 
32.46 
26.37 
36.32 
41.4  6 
30.75 
43.00 
48.56 
42.75 
42.81 
43.89 


5,937 

4,068 
307 

5,797 

32 

12,  906 

8,608 
30,615 
16,  774 
21,  909 


107,  133 


122 

2,210 

2,189 

269 

228 

1,762 


6,837 


475  lbs. 
814,  441 


1,917 
1,240 
111 
2,009 
12 
5,247 
3,301 

14,545 
8,126 

10,  111 


1,619 


Average  per  acre. 


0.32 
0.30 
0.30 
0.35 
0.38 
0.41 
0.38 
0.48 
0.48 
0.46 


0.44 


32 
734 
B50 
109 


0.26 
0.33 
0.39 
0.41 
0.30 
0.34 


0.35 


16,901  ;  5,- 723 
14,  923  i  5,  094 


12,  245   5, 133 
12, 121  '  5,  044 


.  13,  739 
4.SO0 
16, 158 
27,  250 
10,  038 
19,  318 
27,  549 

24,  874 

13,  029 

25,  833 
35,  300 

8,020 
12,  303 
31,  797 

14,  448 
17, 422 
21,448 

9,520 
22,  593 
17,  348 
48, 494 

21,  787 

22,  935 
35..730 
27,  801 
35,  243 
40,  037 


5,615 
2,035 
7,  352 

13,  092 
4,285 
8,008 

11,810 
9,  482 
4,918 
8,820 

12,  330 
3,310 
4,257 

12,  534 
4,385 
6,606 
8,986 
4,099 
9,  300 
5,900 

10,  282 
7,131 
7,418 

10,  930 
7,796 
7,  358 

12,  448 


0.34 
0.34 
0.30 
,  0.42 
)  0.42 
j  0.45 
[  0.41 
0.42 
0.46 
0.48 
0.43 
0.41 
0.43 
0.38 
0.  3S 
j  0.34 
0.35 
0.41 
0.35 
0.39 
0.30 
0.38 
0.42 
0.43 
0.41 
0.34 
0.34 
0.33 
0.32 
0.31 
0.28 
0.21 
0.31 


Lbs. 
444 


Lbs. 
148 


492 
501 
432 
540 
597 
615 
588 
486 
477 
465 
462 
435 
399 
297 


14.1 
12.3 

2.3 
13.2 

0.2 
32.3 
24.1 
56.7 
50.8 


0.3 
9.0 
12.2 
0.9 
1.3 
4.4 


4.6 
3.8 
0.7 
4.6 
0.1 
13.1 
9.2 
26.9 
24.0 
20.9 


IE.  7 


25.8 

48.5 
90.  8 
29.2 
14.7 
47.5 
68.1 
50.2 
69.0 
58.6 
69.1 
43.4 
58.7 
69.2 
44.6 
76.9 
79.5 

120.4 

124.  4 
89.4 
50.1 
41.8 
59.8 

110.2 
99.0 

104.3 
3 

106.9 
88.1 

117.8 
CD 


4.7 
0.4 
0.4 
1.5 


9.5 
20.  2 
40.  8 
11.9 

6.2 
21.6 
32.7 
21.4 
28.  t 
25.1 
2n.  3 
16.4 
20.1 
24.2 
18.4 
26.6 
31.3 
36.5 
47.2 
37.4 
21.0 
17.2 
20.3 
37.0 
32.4 
33.7 
27.3 
30.0 
18.4 
36.0 


4  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

Table    I.— SHOWING  AREA,  POPULATION,  TILLED    LAND,  AND   COTTON  PKODTJCTION- Cont'd- 


METAMOM'HIC  REGION— cont'd. 


Middle  Georgia  counties— Con- 
tiiun  id. 


Land 
area. 


Taliaferro 

Wilkes 

Lincoln 

Columbia 

McDuffie...   . 

Warren 

Hancock 

rtitnnm 

I'.aklwin 

Johcs 

Bibb 

Jasper 

Butts 

Monroe 

like 

Tlpson 

Crawford 

Talbot 

Meriwether. . 

Troup . 

Harris 

Muscogee 


CENTKAL  COTTON  KELT. 


l'.ichmonil 

Brtrke 

Jefferson 

Glascock 

Washington 

I.anrcns 

Wilkinson 

Twiggs 

Pulaski 

Houston 

Taylor 

Mjrion 

Chattaboocb.cc. 

Stewart 

Webster 

Schley 

Macon 

Sumter 

Lee 

Terrell 


Randolph   . 
Quitman. . . 

I 'lay 

Callionn 

Dougherty. 
Early 


«,.  tuts 
ISO 
•1(10 

289 
290 
330 

290 
520 

500 

240 

■170 

240 

380 
180 
470 
L'90 

mo 

MO 

:jno 

490 
430 
470 
210 


Total 18,110 


320 

1,030 

c?o 
100 

080 
740 
440 

330 


400 
300 
220 
440 
1130 
189 
360 
520 
3011 
320 
400 
100 
200 
260 
340 
518 


Total !  10,570 


Hccatnr.. 
Thomas.. 

Brooks... 


Total 2,470 

27U 


toe-elation. 


Male.    Female 


7,034 
15,  985 

0,412 
10,  465 

9,449 
10,860 
10.  DS0 
14,538 
13,8.0 
11,01.3 
',7,117 
11,851 

8,311 
IS,  808 
15, 8,9 
12,  400 

8, 050 
14. 115 
17,  851 
20, 505 
15,  758 
19,322 

748.  151 


3,  514 
7,  958 

3,  132 

5,  243 
4,808 
5,  443 
8,471 
7,203 
(1,  77(1 
5,775 
12,  759 
5,903  I 

4,  095 
9.  372 
7,  852 
0.115 
4,  305 

7.  071 

8.  754 
10,1,-7 

7,  797 

8,  900 


3,520 
8,027 


4,041 
5,  442 
8,  51S 
7,330 
7,030 
5,  838 

14,  388 
5,  888 
4,216 
9,430 
7,997 
0,265 
4,351 
7,044 
8,897 

10,  373 
7,961 

10.410 


While.  Color'd. 


CO 


2,312 
5, 173 
2.254 
3.ICU 

3,  430 

4.  030 
.-i.oll 
3,518 
4,512 
3,  753 

11.429 


4,  722 
10, 812 

-I,  1.-8 
7,  435 
0,  019 
0,  640 
11,945 
11,021 
9,  294 
7,809 
15,718 
7,  593 


4,277 

4,  034 

0,093 

12,115 

7,780 

8,  069 

6,  153 

6,  207 

3,  940 

4,710 

4,448 

9,  007 

7,797 

9,  854 

0,  595 

13, 970 

0,450 

9,  308 

8,  905 

10,327 

308.7111    379,450    393,781    354,370 


34,  665 
27, 128 
15,  671 
3,577 
■.'1,901 
10,  053 
12,  001 
8,018 
14,  058 
22,  414 
8,  597 
8,508 
5,  670 
1.1,  998 
5,237 
5.  3112 
11,075 
18,  239 
10,577 
10.451 
13,311 
4,  392 
0,  050 
7,024 
12,  032 
7,011 


330,  493 


19.  072 

20,  597 
11,  727 


51.396 


10,025 
|  13,579 
■  7, 908 
1.811 
10,784 
5,  065 

5,  995 
4.477 

7,  057 
11.108 

4,210 

4,310 

2,821 

\     0, 972 

2,  542 
2,012 
5,743 

8,  888 
5,324 
5,188 

6.  431 
2,181 
3,222 

3,  408 
0,  242 
3.  749 


18.  640 
13,549 
7,  703 
1,706 
11,  ISO 

4.  988 
0,006 
4.441 
7,001 

11,300 
4,381 
4,288 
2,849 
7,  020 
2.695 
2,690 

5,  933 
9,351 
5,  253 
5,  263 
0,  910 
2,211 
3,  428 
3,556 
6,380 
3,  802 


17,  185 
0,  089 
5.  581 

3,  506 
9,419 
5,  702 
0i,  050 
2.  844 
5,  824 

0,  024 

4,  770 
4,  291 
2.  130 
4.  370 
2,  007 
2.  229 
4,  288 
6,050 

1,  739 

4,  268 

5.  545 
1.773, 
2,798 

2,  354 
1,952 
3,015 


17,480 

21,039 

10,  090 

1,071 

12, 515 

4.351 

5.  511 

0,  074 

8,231 

16,  390 

3,827 

4,  304 

3,  540 

9,  022 

2,  570 

3,  073 

7,  387 

12,  189 

8,838 

6, 183 
7.  796 
2,  619 
3.852 
4,  670 
10.070 
4,590 


157,778    162,715    122,002    198,411  30    2,117,391      31.3 


9,  399       0,  073  ,     8,  889     10,  183         16 
10,162      10,435        8, 3S4      12.213  26 

5,822  i     5,955        5,070        0,057  22 


TILLED  LAND. 


Area.        Z  9 


40,  010 
88, 770 
57,812 
54,  302 
54, 3tl 
53,  000 
99,  397 
72, 664 
61,464 
70, 928 
52.  179 
87.  203 
49,  090 
100,673 
93,020 


40.  5 
30.2 
21.1 

29.3 
25.  7 
29.1 
29.  9 
31.  5 
40.0 
2.3.  0 
34.0 

:;.',.  o 


30. ! 


COTTON    1KODECTION. 


24.  0 
32.1 


53,  531 
74.  037 

124.  118  39.  0 

125,  046  I  46.  9 
01,989  30.0 
44,718  33.3 


30.10 
34.80 
33.  65 
40.  54 
45.64 
40.31 
43.03 
49.29 
45.28 
42.04 
39.72 
31.00 
42.  28 
42.17 
■11.40 
42.  r, 
46.24 
49.04 
40.02 
.-,1.29 
40.07 
20.  00 


Acres.      Bales. 


Average  per  acre, 


47 


3,598,551      31.0 


30,  626 
228,  886 
123,  924 

25,  124 
152,887  J 

89,  834 
101,049  ; 

67,050 

.-::.  703 
109,827  I 

41,770 

77,051 


107. 


51 


43,  702 
38,  931 
07. 593 
101,004 
99,449 
58,  844 
91,  249 
25,  584 
5,1,  952 
57,  804 
85,  885 
42,  270 


34.7 
31.  2 
39.3 
35.1 
19.0 
35.9 


17.5 
33.8 
27.  3 
38.1 
29.7 
33.8 
29.3 
31.4 
43.2 
28.7 
3,-,.  0 
25.0 


39.5 
13.0 


25,383   26,013   22.943  28.453 


79.219  10.7 
SO,  760  18.  0 
75.  902   22.  4 


244.  941 


14,  058 
30,  891 
1 2,  796 
25,302 
24,  810 
24,991 
42, 773 
35,  819 
27, 832 

29,  820 
20,  724 
27, 000 
20,  755 
44,979 
38,750 

2,1.  :,-,l 
24,  754 

30,  310 
49,  076 
66,  186 
43,203 


«... 

4,  758 
11,100 

3,801 
8,313 
7,439 

7,  685 
15,010 

9,  078 
7,021 

8,  297 

5,  858 
o,  711 
0,  629 

13,351 
12,431 
8,540 
0,  765 
10,325 
1.-,,  154 
18,  055 
12,  677 
3,  268 


0.34 
0.  30 
0.30 
0.33 
0.30 
0.32 
0.35 
0.27 
0.28 
0.28 
0.26 
0.24 
0.33 
0.  30 
0.32 
0.28 
0.27 
0.28 
0.31 
0.  28 
0.29 
0.28 


37.  89 


21.49 
58.17 
33.38 
32.  54 
43.76 
23.03 

25. 16 
44.25 
36. 29 
42.  70 
40.  35 
27.  08 
40.15 
41.44 
39.33 

49. 17 
46.88 
42.  22 
35.  89 
43.74 
37.48 
40.18 
39.92 
42.  26 


1,363,539    449,811 


7.671 
67,  359 
41,377 

8. 175 
00, 1,00 

20,  089 
25.  423 
29,  671 
32, 074 
72,011 
18,064 
21.579 
15,442 
44,449 
17,  235 
19,143 
31,087 
41,190 
35,  094 
25.  740 
34,  204 
11,815 

21,  5119 
24, 429 
40,  990 
20,  552 


29,  172 
13,  377 

2,  025 
23,  058 

0,  803 

7.  900 
8,217 
9,  si,.", 

19.  099 
4,854 
6, 169 
4,400 

12,  055 
4,  042 
4,945 

8.  334 
11,451 

9.  143 
0,944 
8.467 
3, 103 
4,576 
4,670 
9,736 
4,270 


0. 115 

0.33 

0.32 

0.32 

0.31 

0.33 

0.31 

0.28 

0.31 

0.26 

0.27 

0.29 

0.29 

0.28 

0.27 
0.  26 

0.  20 
0.  20 
I,.  20 
0.27 
0.25 
0.27 
0.21 
0.  10 
0.24  I 
0.21 


483 
513 
429 
468 
420 
447 
501 
384 
4115 
390 
405 
318 
■108 
423 
456 
399 
390 
405 
435 
4(12 
417 
402 


495 

•177 

462  I 

458 

492 

474  | 

447 

306 

435 

375 

384 

408 

411 

■1,15 

364 

309 

375  ! 

309 

366 

964 

354 

381 

303 

273 

339 

297 


38.67       818.898    231,411     0.28       402 


37.25  29,509        6,306     0.22 

39.  99         35,  895       8.  773     0.  24  j    34S 

27.98  21,255  1     6,288      0.30        423 


35.38         80,659     21,457     0.25 


354 


161 
171 
143 
150 

142 
149 
107 
126 
135 
132 
130 
110 
156 
111 
152 
133 
130 
131 
145 
134 
139 
134 


101 
159 
154 
153 
1G4 
158 
140 
132 
145 
125 
128 
130 
137 
133 
128 
123 
125 
123 
122 
128 
118 
127 
101 
91 
113 


--  2 


1.1,. . 
78.1 
07.2 
45.  7 


83.  3 
•,■9. :, 
110.11 
03.  4 
sO.  4 
72.0 
115.3 
03.  7 
133.0 
98.  6 
7  J.  8 
1011.9 
101.4 
153.0 
01.9 
55.  4 


24.6 

81.8 
06.7 
81.8 
98.4 
28.0 
57.  8 
89.  9 
68.2 
129.  7 


101.0 
4.0 

1 1 10.  1 
86.0 
85.0 
99.2 
80.4 
65.5 
73.8 

107.7 
87.2 

120.0 
40.3 

77.5 


25.4 
40.0 
40.1 


35.1 


28.0 

28.8 

33.0 
17  7 
21  I 
17.7 
37.  9 
28.4 
42.9 

19.9 
28.  7 
30.  9 
■13.  4 
27.0' 
15.0 

24.8 


8.6 

28.  3 
21,0 
20. .'! 
33. 1) 
9.3 
18.1 
24.9 
20.(1 
34.1 
12.1 
17.1 
20.  3 
28.8 
20.2 
27.  5 
23.1 
22.  O 
25.  4 
21.7 
21.2 

19.8 

22.9 

10.7 
2«.  0 
8.4 

21.8 


5.5 
11.2 
11.0 

8.7 


TABULATED  RESULTS  OF  THE  ENUMERATION.  5 

Table  I.— SHOWING  AREA,   POPULATION,  TILLED  LAND,  AND   COTTON   PRODUCTION— Cont'd. 


LONG-LEAF  FINE  AND  WIRE- 
GKASS  RBCION. 

Limcsink  division. 

Screven 

Dodge 

Dooly 

Worth 

Baker 

Miller 

Mitchell  

Colquitt  

Lowndes 

Total  

Pine  barrens  division. 

Johnson 

Montgomery 

Emanuel 

Bulloch  

Effingham  

Tattnall 

Wayne 

Appling 

Coffee 

Telfair 

Wilcox 

Irwin 

BeiTien 

Pierce 

Total   

l'INE   PLATS  AND  COAST  COUN 
TIE8. 

Ware 

Clinch 

Echols 

Charlton 

Camden 

Glynn 

Mcintosh 

Liberty 

Bryan 

Chatham 

Total 


Land 
area. 


.S'y.  nils 
720 
580 
780 
710 
340 
240 
500 
550 
470 


288 
720 

,040 
900 
420 

,100 
740 

,030 
980 
420 


760 
540 


620 
900 
400 
1,060 
620 
430 
530 
720 
400 
400 


rcruLATiQN.' 


Male.    Female 


12,786 
5,358 

12,420 
5,892 
7,307 
3,720 
9,  392 
2,527 

11,049 


70,451 


4,  800 
5,381 
9,759 
8,053 
5,979 


5,270 
5,070 
4,828 
3,109 
2,696 
6,619 
4.53S 


6,494 
2,899 
6,217 
3,033 
3,669 
1,832 
4,686 
I,  240 
5,  466 


35,  530 


79,  878 


4,159 
4.  138 
2,  553 
2, 154 
6,  183 
6,  497 
6,241 

18,  649 
4,  929 

45,  023 

92, 520 


2,  348 
2,770 
4,982 
4,  042 
3,032 

3.  579 
3,284 
2,928 
2,570 
2,072 
1,  540 
1,350 
3,380 
2,475 


6, 292 
2,459 
6,203 
2,859 
3,638 
1,888 
4,706 
1,287 
5,583 


31,915 


2,  452 
2,611 
4,777 
4,011 
2,947 
3,409 
2,696 
2,348 
2,500 
2,156 
1,560 
1,346 

3,  239 
2,063 


40,901   ■  38,115 


232 
238 
266 
137 
124 
276 
099 
298 
641 
998 


45,309  !  47,217   39.437   53, 


White.  Color'd. 


6,173 
3,506 
6,592 
4,068 
1,742 
2,327 
4,189 
2,422 
5,  412 


38,  431 


6,613 
1,852 
5,828 
1,824 
5,565 
1,393 
5,203 
105 
5,  637 


31, 1120 


,345 

,871 

1,099 

:,256 

!,751 

,974 

,920 

,192 

,042 

!,162 

698 

535 

836 

,473 


3,  015 
3,300 
2,053 
1,794 
2,091 
2,195 
1,546 
3,  581 


1,144 

838 

500 

360 

4,092 

4,  302 

4,695 

7,068 

2,  561 

27,  529 


TILLED  LAND. 


Acres.       ©  P 


77, 143 
23,471 
117,113 
37,  526 
06,  767 
23,  527 


: 


16.7 
6.3 

23.5 
8.3 

30.7 

15.3 
!2.  6 


72, 307 
13, 906  ]     ■ 
53, 373     1' 


4*5,  1113 


39,762 
29,211 
46,439 
35,  626 
22,747 
23, 166 

S,  706 
13, 172 
17,618 
14, 124 
18,229 
11,  658 
26,  214 

9,496 


15.5 


23.9 
0.3 
7.8 
6.2 
8.5 
3.3 
1.9 
1.9 
2.8 
5.3 
5.7 


COTTON  rUODUCTION. 


Average  per  aero. 


21,716 
6,002 
36,  495 
12, 157 
28,  670 
8,  980 
30,  203 
2,958 
17,664 


34.  40        166,  907 


316,228     I  4.9 


332 
346  ; 
785  j 
077 
106  | 
615  j 
898 
047  j 
588 
496 


15   129,290  ;  3.3 


29.44 
8.07 

23.15 

25.66 
7.77 

11.30 
3.78 


15.77 
28.  95 


21.30 
10.47 


11,705 
2,  350 

10,749 
9,140 
1,707 
2,618 
331 
1,869 
1,825 


0.29 
11.31 
22.67 
5.  08 
2.26 
1.03 
3.81 
9.04 
4.90 
1.23 


7.52 


1,622 
3,  578 


58 
339 


75  lbs. 
8, 166 
1,916 
9,686 
2,893 
4,870 
1,905 
5,559 
736 
4,981 


0.38 
0.32 
0.25 
0.24 
0.17 
0.21 
0.18 
0.25 
0.28 


48,692  ,  0.24 


3,  323 

852 

3,  660 

3,724 

686 
904 
119 


0.28 
j  0.36 
0.34 
0.41 
j  0.39 
■  0.37 
a  36 
379  ,  0.35 
591  j  0.32 
740  i  0.33 
1,331  j  0.25 
595  ,  0.33 
2,008  j  0.36 
369  !  0.37 


Lbs.  Lbs. 
179  38.2 
10.  3 
49.4 


119 
113 

81 
101 

87 
118 
134 


19,  350     0.  34  !    480 


158 
511 
731 


10 

104 
679 
304 


0.30 
0.32 
0.20 
0.24 
0.33 
0.17 
0.  SI 
0.33 
0.40 
0.22 


429 
450 
291 
342 
471 
246 
438 
465 
567 
321 


17.1 
84.3 
37.4 
60.5 
5.4 
37.6 


45.0 
3.3 
10.3 
10.2 
4.2 
2.4 
0.4 
1.0 
1.9 


11.3 

3.3 
12.  4 

4.1 
14.3 

7.9 
11.1 

1.3 
10.6 


1.2 
3.5 
4.1 
1.6 
6.8 
8.2 
6.4 
6.6 
1.8 
2.7 
0.9 
2.6 
0.7 


6.1 
0.1 


0.2 
0.9 


271 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 
Table  II.— ACREAGE  AND  PRODUCTION  OF  THE  LEADING  CROPS  OF  THE  STATE. 


Total  for  the  State 


NORTHWEST  GEORGIA. 


Murray  — 
Whitfield  . . 
Catoosa  . . . 
Walker.... 

Dado 

Chattooga.. 

Gordon 

Floyd 

Polk 

Bartow 


Total  . 


MET  AMORPHIC   REGION. 

Slue  Ridge  counties. 


Kabun  

Towns  

Union 

Fannin 

Gilmer 

Pickens 

Dawson 

Lumpkin  ... 

White 

Habersham  . 

Total  . 


Middle  Georgia  counties. 


Franklin. . . . 

Hart 

Banks  

Hall 

Forsyth 

Milton 

Cherokee  .. 
Haralson  . . . 
Paulding    . . 

•Cobb 

Fulton 

Do  Kalb 
Gwinnett  - .. 
Jackson  . . . . 
Madiwon 

Elbert 

Oglethorpe  . 

Clarke  

Oconee  

Walton  ..... 
Rockdale  . . . 
Clayton 
Campbell    - . 

Duiiglaa 

Carroll 

Haard 

Coweta 

Fayette 

Spalding  .... 

Henry 

Xewton 

Morgan 

Greene 

Taliaferro  .. 

Wdkes 

Lincoln  .... 
Colombia  . . . 
McDuffie.... 
Warren  . 


SWEET  I'OTATOEH. 


TABULATED  RESULTS  OF  THE  ENUMERATION.  7 

Table  II.— ACREAGE  AND  PRODUCTION  OF  THE  LEADING  CROPS  OF  THE  STATE— Continued. 


met  amorphic  region— continued. 
Middle  Georgia  counties — Continued. 

Hancock 

Putnam 

Baldwin  

Jones  

Bibb 

Jasper  

Butts 

Monroe  

Pike 

Upson 

Crawford 

Talbot  

Meriwether 

Troup 

Harris  

Muscogee 


Total  . 


CENTRAL  COTTON  BELT. 


Richmond 

Burko 

Jefferson 

Glascock 

AYashington 

Laurens  

Wilkinson 

Twiggs 

Pulaski 

Houston  

Taylor 

Marion 

Chattahoochee  . 

Stewart 

"Webster 

Schley 

Macon 

Sumter 

Lee' 

Terrell 

Randolph 

Quitman 

Clay 

Calhoun 

Dougherty 

Early 


Total 

SOUTHERN  OAK,  HICKORY,  AJTD  PINE  UPLANDS. 

Decatur 

Thomas 

Brooks  

Total 

LONCLEAF  PINE  AND  WIRE-GRASS  REGION. 
Limcsink  division. 

Screven 

Dodge    

Dooly 

Worth 

Baker 

Miller  

Mitchell 

Colquitt 

Lowndes 


Acres.  Bales. 


42,  773 
35,819 
27, 832 
29,  820 
20,  724 
27,  606 
20,  755 
44,  970 
38,  755 
30,551 
24,754 
36,  310 
49,  676 
66, 188 

43,  203 
11,  625 


7,871 
87,  359 
41,  367 

8,175 
66,  900 

20,  689 
25,  423 
29,  671 
32,  074 
72,  611 
18,  064 

21,  579 
15, 442 
44,449 
17,  235 
19, 143 
31,  687 
44,190 
35,  694 
25, 740 
34,  204 
11,  815 
21,  539 
24,  429 
40,  996 
20,  552 


15,  OKI 

9,078 

7,921 

8,297 

5,858 

6,741 

6,829 

13, 354 

12,  431 

8,540 

6,765 

10,  325 

15, 154 

18,  055 

12,  677 

3,268 


INDIAN  CORN. 


Acres.         Bushels. 


410,  Ml 


2,  742 
29, 172 
13,  377 
2,635 
23,  058 
6,863 
7,066 
8,217 
9,805 
19,009 
4,854 
6,169 
4,460 
12,  653 
4,642 
4,945 
8,334 
11,451 
9,143 
6,944 
8,467 
3,163 
4,576 
4,670 
9,736 
4,270 


815,  898       231,  HI 


29, 509 
35,  695 
21,255 


21,716 
6,002 
38,  495 
12, 157 
28,  670 
8,980 
30,  265 
2,958 
17,664 

166,  907 


8,166 
1,916 
9,666 
2,893 

4,870 
1,905 
5,559 
736 
4,981 

40,  602 


18  C  P — VOL. 


33, 328 
23, 175 
17,  599 

22,  464 

14,  325 

23,  303 

15,  880 
29,  884 
29,  243 
23, 143 

16,  737 

25,  696 
35,842 
38,  077 

26,  871 
8,263 


11,703 
68, 131 
42,  335 
10,  742 
58,  653 
25,  563 
32,  394 
23,  732 
28,  505 
48, 785 

10,  426 
21,  053 

11,  618 
31,  979 
16, 121 
15,  845 

23,  910 
37,  495 

24,  045 
21,  719 
27,  484 

7,596 
14,  898 
19,  642 
23,  263 
17,  624 


Acres.        Bushels 


233,  608 
141, 172 
125,  572 
181,  777 
137,  720 
163, 152 
149,  838 
238,  776 
244,  674 
193,  694 
144,  351 

234,  545 
310,428 
341,  963 
238,  452 

69,  659 


681,351 


102,  619 
505,  290 
296,  551 
64,701 
411,499 
196,486 
224,  305 
168,  044 
242,814 
354,  229 
115,  400 
141, 145 
75,  441 
182,  948 
96, 105 
99, 188 
154,  238 
272, 238 
161,  574 
137,  882 
130, 258 
40,  220 
73,  467 
91,323 
141,  020 
110,682 


30,  847 
35, 839 
23,  027 


89,  713 


201,  872 
245,  531 
173, 530 


620,  933 


24,  154 
9,132  ; 
40,334 
13,671 
20,  606 
9,229 
23,  806 
4,  375 
20,  010 


180,  215 

72,  038 
302,  049 

86,  222 
100,  591 

55,  809 
127, 101 

24,110 
138,  671 


165,323  |  1,087,466 


1,858 
3,010 

4,  101 
2,687 
2,254 
6,765 

5,  696  I 
3,205 
2,688 
3,  652 
7,  340  j 
6,975 
5,438 
2,071 


74,  810 

35,  234 
23,  954 
31,  392 
52,  588 
30, 122 
18,  876 
76,543 
48,  976 
30, 140 
26,  928 

36,  834 
57,  913 
69,  672 
48,220 
22,649 


AcreB.       Bushels. 


2, 465,  085 


4,209 
4.457 
0,146 
1.076 
7,560 
4,745 
4,967 
1,176 
3,370 
10,  570 
2,108 
1,889 
1,774 
5,284 
2,809 
1,447 
4,313 
8,742 
6,721 
6,210 
6,770 
2,  202 
2,844 
5,520 
6,  052 
4,750 


73,155 
52,  869 
59,  037 

15,  851 
88, 184 
40, 123 
37,  665 

9,202 
29,  604 
121,  261 
19,177 

16,  800 
15,  029 
61,370 
20,  039 
12,  408 
49,  712 
83, 868 
56,  912 
42,  830 
46,  612 
22,  398 
25, 168 
41,  968 
48,  797 
39,  604 


5,913 
2,855 
1,607 
2,685  | 

74S 
4,649 
4,135 
6,742 
7,510 
6,751 
2,040 
3,882 
8,026 
7,312 
5,549 

310 


LW.nal 


117,723       1,120,643 


9,282 
18,  281 
14,  087 


84,482 
158,467 
163,  862 


41,  650  406,  811 


3,502 
2,054 
9,522 
4,687 

5,614 
4,  188 
8,721 
2, 138  ' 
9,945  ' 

50,431 


35,  347 
15,  581 
87,  699 
33,  466 
39,  345 
33,647 
67,  835 
18,  080 


1,  §49 

406 

5,783 

4,257 

7,404 

■178 

4,872 

374 

208 

3,289 

3,079 

3,481 

740 

2,052 

2,236 

1,944 

2,702 

1,984 

367 

1,928 

2,790 

560 

156 

198 

116 

39 


34, 142 
24,  591 
10, 160 
17,  374 
4,974 
37,  700 
30, 138 
54,998 
52,  880 

52,  258 
13,  080 
26, 411 

53,  965 
55,  572 
32,  563 

1,577 


SWEET  POTATOES. 


Acres.       Bushels. 


53,  052 


13,  553 
1,778 

23,  767 
14, 197 
30,  460 
1,624 
10,805 
1,870 
1,320 
19,909 

14,  739 
13,132 

2,482 

12,  922 

8,834 

7,980 

11, 105 

9,650 

2,660 

9,710 

12,  653 

2,419 

928 

1,035 

695 

230 


146 
160 
315 


23 
1,569 


51 
8 
64 

1,953 


373 
36 
488 


969 
440 
482 
429 
585 
305 
79 
566 
571 
389 
365 

1,462 
684 

1,025 
692 
394 


22,  074 


714 
763 
462 
143 

1,  260 
345 
533 
294 

1,112 
730 


320 
,167 
266 
325 
464 
737 
438 
828 
672 
169 
347 
380  ' 
640 
459 


00,  701 
21,413 
30,  36B 
31,519 
41,391 
18,  776 
4,758 
42, 215 
41,540 
23,  077 
28,846 
41, 072 
50,485 
81,987 
51,  603 
25,449 


47,  213 
05,  01O 
61,  086 
11, 819 
99,  552 
40, 108 
39, 971 
24,  885 
51,  698 
70, 792 
30, 696 
43,  598 
21,  285 
60,  930 
22, 930 
25, 999 
42,  077 
70,  273 
33,  693 
39,  919 
51,697 
11,964 
28,  248 
28,  094 
31,  380 
36,  382 


1,860  ,    82,171 

2,  009      90,  727 

733  :    72,362 


4,  602 


251,  200 


1,  002 
203 

1,203 
519 
440 
265 
517 
313  | 
758 


27  :>, 


44,  186 
20, 100 
90,  437 
40,  059 
38,  811 
26,  588 
40,701 
41,804 
58,  793 

413,  539 


8  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

Table  II.— ACREAGE  AND  PRODUCTION  OF  THE  LEADING  CROPS  OF  THE  STATE— Continued. 


Counties. 

COTTON. 

INDIAN  COEN. 

0AT8. 

WHEAT. 

SWEET  POTATOES. 

Acrca. 

Bales. 

Acres. 

Bushels. 

Acres. 

Bushels. 

Acres. 

Bushels. 

Acres. 

Bushels. 

LONG  LEAF  TINE  AND  WIHE-CEASS  REGION — Cont'd. 
Pine  barrens  division. 

11,705 
2,356 

10,  749 
9,140 
1,767 
2,618 
331 

3,323 

852 

3.C09 

3,  724 
080 
904 
119 
379 
591 
740 

1,331 
505 

14.S88 
10,231 
24,  300 
15,  394 
9,337 

87,413 
84,375 
195,  094 
134,  222 
72,619 

359 
347 
539 
597 
393 

28,300 
42,080 

4,  90 1             30,  218 
3,057              32,110 
7,661  1          71,880 
2,096  j          18,930 
4,802  |          36,954 
2,188  :          15,506 
4,007  |           31,594 
5,450  i          44,760 

142  |                 495 
950              4, 033 
15  '                 05 

01, 473 
28,750 

8  1                  07 

"Wayne 

4,  243  J          39, 112 

3f  9  j           30,  048 

1,825 
2,228 
6,  278 

1,800 

6,925 
6,302 
7,804 
4,049 
8,429 
4,105 

58,  408 
49,  942 
01,511 

38,  391 
80,  681 

39,  026 

240 
677 
473 
507 
430 

27,826 
33,071 
50,  700 
84,080 
45,  770 

3,088 
3,319 
8,199 
2,209 

20,711 
29, 114 
89, 166 
21,786 

0 

32 

15 

128 

57,443 

19,  350 

133,  214 

1,  094, 150 

55,  826 

479,  471 

1,540 

6,436 

7,088 

705,  304 

PINE  FLATS  AKD  COAST  COUNTIES. 

3,388 
5,524 
5,159 
1,980 
3,195 
1,565 
2,825 
8,665 
5,000 

29,184 
48,  995 
30,  873 
16,  763 
29,  792 
17,546 
34,  463 
74,  041 
38,  248 

343 
302 
150 
179 
370 
290 
514 
962 
273 
758 

Clinch 

1,622  !           511 
3, 578              731 
258  ,              62 
200  1              08 
63  j              10 
339              104 
2,084  1            079 
704                304 
289                05 

30,550 
13, 269 
16,988 

1,650 

11,918 

138  !            1,343 

28,868 

354 
3,597 

4,107 
27,178 

74,038 

619  1            9, 128 

20 

300 

40,777 

4,147 

358,  952 

274 


PART    I. 


PHYSIC0-GE0GRAPH1CAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES 


STATE   OF   GEORGIA. 


9 
275 


' 


GENERAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  STATE  OF  GEORGIA. 


The  state  of  Georgia  lies  between  longitude  3°  47'  21"  and  8°  42'  west  from  Washington,  and  between 
latitude  30°  21/  39"  an  A  35°  north,  embracing  in  its  area  59,475  square  miles,  of  which  495  square  miles  is  water 
surface,  embracing  150  square  miles  of  coast  waters  (bays,  gulfs,  sounds,  etc.),  3U0  square  miles  consist  of  rivers 
and  smaller  streams,  and  45  square  miles  of  lakes  and  ponds.  The  laud  area  is  therefore  58,980  square  miles. 
There  are  137  counties  in  the  state. 

Topography. — The  northwestern  corner  of  the  state  is  crossed  from  Tennessee  to  Alabama  by  several  ranges 
of  mountains  that  rise  in  altitude  from  500  to  1,000  feet  above  the  intervening  broad  aud  rich  valleys.  Sand  and 
Lookout  mountains  are  broad-backed,  while  the  other  ranges  are  mostly  narrow  or  "backbone"  ridges.  In  the 
northeastern  portion  of  the  state  is  the  Blue  Eidge  chain,  with  other  isolated  points,  risiug  high  above  the  surrounding 
country.  The  Chattahoochee  ridge,  an  offshoot  from  this,  and  forming  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  water-divide,  passes 
south  of  the  Chattahoochee  river,  soon  losing  its  prominence  as  a  ridge  and  falling  in  elevation  to  Atlanta. 
Southward  the  country  is  more  generally  level  or  rolling,  sometimes  hilly,  with  but  few  low  mountains  until  the 
pine  lands  are  reached  ;  thence  to  the  coast  the  fall  is  very  gradual  aud  the  lands  very  level.  These  features  are 
described  more  in  detail  under  each  agricultural  region. 

Climate. — The  state,  with  its  southern  boundary  resting  against  Florida  and  in  part  washed  by  the  Atlantic 
ocean  on  the  southeast,  its  northern  boundary  320  miles  to  the  north  among  the  mountains  of  the  Blue  Bidge  and  the 
Cumberland  range,  aud  nearly  5,000  feet  above  sea-level,  presents  an  average  temperature  of  CS°  F.  on  the  coast, 
52°  to  56°  in  middle  Georgia,  and  52°  in  the  Blue  Eidge  region,  or  an  annual  average  of  about  05°  for  the  entire  state. 

The  average  rainfall  for  the  state  is  from  46  to  50  inches,  the  steady  rains  being  usually  brought  by  southeastern 
winds. 

The  coast  region,  with  its  sea  breezes  and  "salty  atmosphere",  has  a  mean  winter  temperature  of  about  48°, 
the  lowest,  being  rarely  below  32°.  Its  summer  maximum  is  90°  aud  the  mean  79°.  Its  rainfall  is  about  57  inches, 
December  and  January  being  the  driest  months. 

So  genial  is  the  climate  of  the  coast  counties  that  oranges,  bananas,  and  other  semi-tropical  fruits  are  produced 
in  abundance.  The  markets  of  colder  states  are  supplied  with  very  early  vegetables  and  gaideu  luxuries  from  the 
farms  of  this  region. 

In  middle  Georgia  the  rainfall  is  less  (41  inches),  the  driest  months  being  Juue  aud  September.  The  yearly 
temperature  ranges  from  0°  to  96°,  with  an  average  of  44°  in  winter  and  73°  in  summer.  During  the  hottest 
summer  days  the  temperature  often  rises  to  100°,  but  the  nights  are  cool,  pleasant,  and  invigorating. 

In  northeastern  Georgia  the  extremes  of  temperature  are  6°  and  90°,  with  an  average  of  43°  for  the  winter 
months  and  75°  for  the  summer.  The  rainfall  for  this  section  is  about  57  inches,  heavy  rains  occurring  in  the  fall 
and  winter  months.  The  amount  of  rain  that  annually  falls  in  each  section  and  in  the  wet  and  the  dry  months 
varies  greatly. 

Snow  falls  in  northern  Georgia  every  winter,  but  only  to  depths  of  from  2  to  4  inches,  and  remains  but  a  short 
time.  In  middle  Georgia  it  frequently  falls,  but  melts  almost  as  rapidly  as  it  touches  the  ground.  Occasionally,  on 
ridges,  it  reaches  a  depth  of  an  inch  or  two.     In  southern  Georgia  snow  is  rarely  seen. 

High  winds,  mostly  accompanied  by  thunder  storms,  prevail  chiefly  in  the  spring  aud  early  summer,  and  come 
from  the  southwest,  occasionally  becoming  tornadoes. 

Planting  in  the  low  or  southern  country  begins  as  early  as  March  15,  and  fall  frosts  do  not  appear  earlier  than 
December  1,  and  it  often  happens  that  there  is  no  frost  during  the  winter. 

In  northern  Georgia  planting  is  not  done  until  about  the  last  of  April,  because  of  continued  cold  and  frosty 
weather. 

Geological  features. — The  geological  formations  represented  in  Georgia  embrace  the  Metamorphic,  the 
Palaeozoic,  the  Triassic,  Cretaceous,  Tertiary,  and  Quaternary.     Their  full  and  detailed  examination  had  not  beeu 

It 

277 


12  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

made  when  the  state  geological  survey  (from  the  records  of  which  this  description  is  taken)  was  suspended,  and 
hence  the  data  are  not  sufficient  for  a  full  outlining  of  each  group.  This  is  especially  the  case  in  the  southern 
counties.  The  description  of  the  Pateozoic,  by  Mr.  McCutchen,  appears  under  the  head  of  "Northwest  Georgia'', 
page  19. 

Metamorphic. — The  metamorphic  region  embraces  the  broad  area  of  crystalline  rocks  in  the  middle  and  northern 
part  of  Georgia.  This  is  claimed  by  many  eminent  geologists  to  be  the  oldest  formation  of  the  state  (Archaean),  while 
others  contend  that  the  series  of  strata  are  but  the  changed  Silurian  groups  (chiefly  Quebec  and  Cincinnati),  and 
therefore  newer  than  the  northwestern  Palaeozoic  region. 

The  commonly -occurring  rocks  of  the  series  are  the  well  known  feldspathic  granites  and  gneisses,  hornblendic 
gneisses  and  schists,  mica-schists,  sandstoness  soapstones,  etc.,  of  the  Appalachian  region.  These  form  strata  of 
varying  thickness,  but  seldom  of  uniform  character,  and  are  intercepted  and  crossed  by  quartz  veins,  large  and  small, 
and  by  numerous  trap  dikes,  which  are  greatly  disintegrated  and  form  the  local  soils.  They  inclose  a  large  variety  of 
minerals  (gold  being  the  most  prominent  ore),  especially  in  the  counties  of  Habersham,  White,  Cherokee,  Cobb, 
and  Carroll.     The  following  are  the  principal  features  of  the  region: 

Adjoining  the  Pala'ozoic  region  (northwest  Georgia)  is  a  nearly  continuous  series  of  short  mountain  ranges, 
the  more  prominent  of  which  present  bold  fronts  toward  that  region.  These  are  composed  of  metamorphic  and 
semi-metamorphic  rocks,  and  have  a  southerly  trend  from  the  Tennessee  line  through  Murray  into  Bartow  county, 
and  thence  westerly  through  the  southern  part  of  Polk  into  Alabama,  across  the  strike  of  the  Palaeozoic  formations. 
Their  relation  to  the  latter  is  given  by  Mr.  McCutchen  in  his  report  on  that  section  of  the  state. 

The  Blue  Ridge  mountains,  on  the  northeast,  are  formed  most  generally  of  gray  feldspathic  gneisses,  some  of 
their  offshoots  beiug  hornblendic.  The  rocks  of  the  section  present  a  greater  variety  than  in  any  other  portion 
of  the  metamorphic,  aluminous  and  magnesian  minerals  being  very  prevalent  and  entering  largely  into  their 
composition.  Their  strike  is  very  generally  to  the  southwest.  Tallulah  mountain,  one  of  the  offshoots  forming  the 
boundary-line  between  Habersham  and  Rabun  counties,  is  composed  principally  of  sandstone  of  great  thickness, 
which  extends  over  a  part  of  Habersham,  and  is  found  also  in  Gilmer  and  in  other  counties. 

Southward  from  the  Blue  Ridge  and  sandstone  regions  to  the  Chattahoochee  river  are  broad  belts  of  very 
generally  disintegrated  gneisses  and  gold-bearing  mica-schists  having  multitudinous  quartz  veins  and  a  general 
strike  southwest  across  the  state  to  Alabama.     This  is  "the  gold  belt"  of  Georgia. 

Ou  the  northeast  a  series  of  magnesian  rocks,  embracing  stratum  of  limestone,  apparently  overlies  these 
schists.  The  limestone  has  an  irregular  thickness  of  from  a  few  inches  to  several  feet,  is  non-fossiliferous  in 
character,  and  contains  small  deposits  of  galena.  It  passes  from  South  Carolina  through  Habersham  ami  Hal! 
counties,  its  last  known  outcrop  being  near  Buford,  in  Gwinnett  county.     These  strata  dip  to  the  southeast. 

While  the  various  strata  enter  the  state  from  South  Carolina  with  very  regular  southwesterly  strikes,  and  I  hose 
that  pass  into  Alabama  on  the  west  have  also  the  same  regularity,  this  is  not  preserved  through  Georgia,  deflections 
occurring  ou  both  sides  of  a  large  central  granite  region,  which  deflections  are  greatest  on  the  east,  where  the  belts 
pass  south  nearl}T  to  the  sand-hills  before  resuming  their  southwesterly  strike.  The  line  connecting  the  points  where 
these  deflections  begin  on  the  east  would  pass  from  the  mountains  of  Fannin  and  Gilmer  counties  (which  have  a 
southeasterly  trend  at  right  angles  to  the  Blue  Ridge)  southeast  to  Hancock  county,  on  the  southern  edge  of  the 
metamorphic.  This  line  is  parallel  with  the  Savannah  river,  the  various  trap  dikes,  the  greater  part  of  the  main 
water-divide  of  the  state,  and  the  Florida  peninsula,  and  also  marks  the  eastern  edge  of  the  Oconee  and  Ocmulgee 
basin. 

On  the  eastern  side  of  the  state  the  gray  gneisses  prevail  with  belts  of  granitic  outcrops,  all  having  southwestern 
trends.  In  Franklin  county  hornblendic  gneiss  covers  nearly  the  entire  county,  but  afterward,  in  its  southern 
deflection  through  Jackson,  Clarke,  Oconee,  Morgan,  and  other  counties,  its  width  is  much  contracted,  and  biotite 
gneiss,  with  some  mica-schists,  are  intermingled  with  it. 

In  the  western  part  of  the  state  gray  gneisses  and  mica-schists  again  predominate,  the  hornblendes  occurring 
only  in  very  narrow  belts,  except  in  the  counties  of  Carroll  and  Troup,  where  their  width  is  great  enough  to  make 
definite  areas  of  red  land. 

The  agricultural  divisions  of  the  metamorphic,  as  marked  out  on  the  map,  show  very  well  the  general  outline 
of  the  strikes  of  the  rocks,  except  in  the  northwest,  where  the  general  prevalence  of  "  gray  sandy  lands",  without 
intermixture  of  the  "  red  belts",  prevents  the  representation  of  the  southerly  strikes  that  occur  along  the  eastern 
bolder  of  the  Palaeozoic  of  northwestern  Georgia. 

The  Chattahoochee  river,  in  its  course  through  the  metamorphic  region,  has  also  marked  the  general  strike  of 
the  rocks  of  the  section  through  which  it  flows,  for  it  lies  between  the  strata  throughout  almost  all  of  its  length, 
bending  around  with  them  to  West  Point,  on  the  west  of  the  granite  region,  but  afterward  cutting  across  them  to 
Columbus.  Occasionally  it  has  been  turned  across  some  stratum  that  offers  but  little  resistance,  but  it  soon  again 
resumes  its  course  with  them. 

The  central  granite  region,  above  alluded  to,  is  a  prominent  feature  of  the  metamorphic  division  of  the  state. 
Its  area  is  narrow  on  the  northeast,  becomes  very  wide  on  the  south  of  Atlanta,  again  narrow  ou  the  southwest.. 
and  continues  thence  southward  t»  Thomaston,  in  Upson  county,  and  how  much  farther  is  not  definitely  known. 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  13 

Piue  mountain,  which  forms  a  part  of  the  southern  boundary  of  Meriwether  county,  is  a  high  ridge,  composed 
mainly  of  heavy-bedded  sandstone,  dipping  north  15°  west.  It  is  overlaid  on  the  north  by  talcose  slates  and 
a  stratum  of  itacolumite  (very  flexible  at  Warm  Springs),  which  branches  off  to  the  northeast  in  the  eastern  past 
of  the  county.  The  anticlinal  of  this  sandstone  ridge  is  found  a  few  miles  to  the  south,  forming  Oak  mountain 
(which  terminates  abruptly  on  the  west  near  Hamilton,  in  Harris  county),  while  between  the  two  ridges  there  is  a 
broad  valley,  in  which  are  outcrops  of  granites  and  quartz  masses.  The  trends  of  these  ridges  present  but  little 
irregularity  to  the  eastward  until  Flint  river  is  crossed,  when  Pine  mountain  turns  abruptly  northward  and  seems 
to  be  broken  up  into  a  number  of  sandstone  hills  with  no  regularity  of  position,  while  Oak  mountain  is  lost  in  a 
rough  and  broken  country. 

On  the  east  of  the  state,  as  well  as  along  the  southern  border  of  the  metainorphic,  are  other  granitic  areas, 
terminating,  so  far  as  known,  near  the  Oconee  river,  the  large  belt  of  stratified  gneisses  and  schists  passing 
southward  between  them  and  the  central  granite  region.  The  granites  along  the  southern  border  of  the  metamorphic 
differ  from  those  mentioned  in  having  coarse  crystals  of  a  pink  feldspar  and  in  being  more  highly  siliceous,  and 
hence  less  subject  to  disintegration. 

Triassio. — This  formation  probably  includes  the  trap  dikes  of  the  metamorphic  region,  and  also  the  clay  slates 
that  occur  along  its  border.  The  trap  dikes  are  most  numerous  on  the  east  of  the  central  granite  region,  but 
beyoud  the  fact  that  they  are  apparently  the  same  in  character  throughout  and  have  the  same  general  strike  of 
north  15°  west  are  not  deserving  of  special  mention,  being  with  one  or  two  exceptions  small  and  not  continuous. 
On  the  west  of  the  granite  region  there  occurs  the  largest  dike  in  the  state.  Beginning  in  the  northern  part  of 
Coweta  county,  it  passes  slightly  east  of  south  through  Meriwether,  and,  cutting  its  way  barely  through  the  top  of 
Piue  and  Oak  mountains,  continues,  via  Talbotton,  to  the  sand-hills  near  Geneva,  in  the  southern  part  of  Talbot 
county.  Its  width  is  several  hundred  feet,  and  its  outcrop  is  continuous  and  accompanied  by  occasional  granite 
bowlders.  Its  course,  as  well  as  that  of  nearly  all  the  other  dikes,  is  parallel  with  the  main  Atlantic  and  Gulf 
water-divide  from  Atlanta  southward. 

Along  the  lower  line  of  the  metamorphic  clay  slates  are  occasionally  found  resting  directly  upon  the  gneisses, 
and  are  unconformable  to  them  both  in  strike  and  dip,  the  latter  being  almost  vertical.  So  far  as  known,  they 
cover  but  a  small  area  in  the  state. 

The  border  region  of  the  metamorphic. — This  region  is  characterized  on  the  surface  byr  sand-hills,  which  overlie 
clays  and  sands,  the  accumulation  of  the  disintegrated  material  of  the  metamorphic  rocks,  as  shown  by  the 
beds  of  kaolin,  associated  with  mica  and  occasional  pieces  of  feldspar,  hornblende,  and  other  minerals,  and  also 
by  the  pink  clays  found  just  below  the  falls  of  Chattahoochee  river  at  Columbus.  These  pink  clays  also  underlie 
the  town  of  Gerard,  on  the  Alabama  side.  The  metamorphic  strata  suddenly  disappear  along  almost  the  entire 
line,  and  wrells  dug  75  or  100  feet  deep,  in  valleys  whose  level  is  below  that  of  the  metamorphic  and  not  a  great 
distance  from  it,  fail  to  strike  them. 

The  region  is  from  10  to  15  miles  wide,  lying  between  the  metamorphic  on  the  one  side  and  the  Cretaceous  and 
Tertiary  hills  on  the  other.  Its  altitude  is  from  100  to  COO  feet  above  tide  (highest  between  Macon  and  Milledgeville) 
and  from  200  to  400  feet  above  the  river.  The  sand-hills  are  most  prominent  along  the  line  of  the  metamorphic — 
often  much  higher  than  the  adjoining  portions  of  that  region— and  fall  in  elevation  to  the  foot  of  the  Cretaceous  and 
Tertiary  hills  on  the  south.  Ferruginous  sandstone  caps  the  hills,  but  water- worn  drift  pebbles  are  found  only  along 
the  streams,  the  beds  gradually  thinning  out  as  they  recede  from  them.  The  belt  is  mostly  a  long-  and  short-leaf 
l>ine  region  with  scrub  undergrowth,  though  there  are  occasional  isolated  spots  of  red  lands  of  the  Tertiary  found 
mostly  along  its  northern  limit,  which  are  apparently  but  the  remnants  of  what  were  once  continuous  beds.  Thick 
beds  of  a  conglomerate  of  coarse  grit,  mica,  clay,  kaolin,  and  the  very  friable  "recomposed  granite"' of  Lyell  occur 
all  along  the  belt,  outcropping  either  on  hillsides  or  in  the  beds  of  streams  and  underneath  the  sands. 

In  brief,  it  would  seem  that  the  Cretaceous  and  Tertiary  beds  that  probably  once  occupied  the  western  and 
eastern  portions,  respectively,  had  been  simultaneously  washed  away  by  drift  floods,  leaving  here  and  there  a  few 
isolated  high  points  (as  at  Rich  Hill,  Houston  county),  and  that  in  the  trough  thus  formed  there  had  subsequently 
been  deposited  these  great  beds  of  clays  and  sands,  with  thickness  and  height  greatest  along  the  immediate 
metamorphic  border.  Yet  this  view  is  not  without  its  difficulties,  for  in  many  localities  we  find  the  sand-hills 
rising  suddenly  high  above  the  metamorphic  border,  and  either  sloping  gradually  southward  to  the  general  surface 
of  the  Tertiary,  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  region  (as  in  Taylor  county),  or  to  the  foot  of  a  bluff  (75  or  100  feet  high)  of 
exposed  strata  of  Tertiary  limestone  marls  and  clays. 

Cretaceous. — This  formation  covers  but  a>  comparatively  small  area  in  Georgia  on  the  west,  and  is  the  eastern 
termination  of  that  broad  belt  which  forms  so  prominent  an  agricultural  feature  of  middle  Alabama  and  northeastern 
Mississippi.  On  the  Chattahoochee  river  it  reaches  from  Columbus  southward  to  a  point  one  mile  south  of  the 
mouth  of  Pataula  creek,  in  Clay  county.  From  this  point  the  eastern  limit  of  exposure  is  along  that  creek 
northeastward  to  the  mouth  of  Hodchodkee  creek,  and  thence  northward  into  Stewart  county,  6  miles  west  of 
Lumpkin,  the  county-seat;  thence  it  bends  around  eastward,  passing  7  miles  north  of  Lumpkin  and  5  miles  north  of 
KUaville,  to  the  northeast  corner  of  Schley  county,  where  the  formation  disappears. 

279 


14  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

In  its  surface  features  it  differs  from  the  region  in  the  other  states  in  a  total  absence  of  the  black  prairies  anil 
of  any  outcrop  of  the  rotten  limestone.  The  beds  are  covered  almost  throughout  by  red  clays  and  deep  white  sand, 
forming  a  rolling  and  well-timbered  country.  Passing  southward  along  the  river,  from  the  metamorphic  rocks  at 
Columbus,  we  lind,  at  first,  beds  of  plastic  and  purple  clays  (exposed  only  for  a  short  distance).  Near  the  mouth  of 
Upatoi  creek,  S  miles  south  of  Columbus,  blue  micaceous  sands  and  clays  form  abrupt  bluffs  along  the  river  for  a 
number  of  miles',  and,  dipping  to  the  southwest  at  a  slight  angle,  are  overlaid  by  heavy  and  yellow  clays  more  or  less 
fossiliferous,  and  probably  the  representatives  of  the  rotten  limestone  group.  At  Georgetown,  Quitman  county, 
and  thence  to  the  border  of  the  Tertiary,  the  highly  fossiliferous  beds  of  blue  marl  and  thin  ledges  of  limestony 
of  the  Ripley  group  are  exposed  along  the  river  bank  and  preserve  the  same  slight  southwest  dip.  Their  most 
interesting  point  of  exposure  is  at  the  "narrows"  of  Pataula  creek,  in  Clay  county.  The  most  valuable  feature  of 
the  Cretaceous  marls  is  the  bed  of  greensaud  clays  which  outcrops  in  the  bluff  of  the  river,  25  feet  thick,  for  a 
distance  of  15  or  20  miles  from  Kood's  bluff,  in  the  southwestern  coruer  of  Stewart  county.  The  marls  of  the 
formation  are  not  rich  in  lime,  though  some  contain  many  fragments  of  bone,  and  especially  of  the  large  fossil 
turtle,  Emys,  the  shells  of  two  of  which,  almost  entire,  were  found  near  Chimney  bluff,  Stewart  county. 

Tertiary. — The  Tertiary  beds  underlie  the  rest  of  southern  Georgia,  and  are  covered  largely  by  the  Quaternary 
deposits  of  sands  and  clays  on  the  south  and  east.  The  geological  group  most  largely  represented  is  the  Eocene; 
but  the  Miocene  and  Pliocene  also  occur  on  the  southeast.  The  Claiborne,  Jackson,  and  Vicksburg  groups  of  the 
Eocene  are  all  present,  but  their  different  areas  have  not  been  fully  defined  as  yet. 

Eocene:  The  rock  found  directly  overlying  the  Cretaceous  marls  on  the  Chattahoochee  river  is  the  white 
limestone  of  the  Claiborne  group,  which  outcrops  along  the  banks  of  the  river  for  many  miles  south  of  Fort  Gaines, 
and  has  a  slight  dip  to  the  southwest.  The  rock  is  at  first  hard  and  compact,  but  in  the  upper  portion  is  very 
friable,  and  is 'composed  largely  of  fine  corals.  Over  it,  as  seen  in  the  bluff  at  Port  Gaines,  are  blue  and  yellow 
fossiliferous  clays,  with  some  lignite,  and  finally  a  deposit  of  red  clayey  loam  50  feet  thick,  containing  in  places 
siliceous  fossils.     The  age  of  both  clay  and  loam  is  unknown. 

Section  of  bluff  at  Fort  Gaines,  Clay  county. 

Red  loam feet..  50 

Layer  of  Ostrea  compj-essirostm  (!) inches..  18 

Light  yellow-clay  marl,  with  a  few  broken  fossils feet.,  lo 

Blue,  compact,  pyritoua  clay do. ..  8 

The  same  with  casts  of  fossils do. . .  2 

Blue  fossiliferous  and  compact  clay  marl do. ..  25 

Clay,  with  nodules do . . .  -1 

Yellowish  shell  marl . do...  3 

White  friable  limestone  or  marl,  with  ledges  of  hard  limestone,  disappearing  below  the  water do.  . .  15 

This  lower  bed  of  limestone  extends  across  the  state,  outcropping  probably  with  the  Vicksburg  beds  at  Silver 
and  Shell  bluffs,  on  the  Savannah  river,  as  well  as  on  the  banks  of  all  the  larger  streams  and  in  exposed  bluffs. 
Its  northern  limit  is  marked  by  that  of  the  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  division  on  the  agricultural  map. 

The  following  section  of  strata  at  Shell  bluO',  on  the  Savannah  river,  near  the  Boggy  Gut  creek,  Burke  county, 
was  taken  by  Mr.  M.  T.  Singleton,  formerly  of  the  state  survey : 

Section  at  Shell  bluff',  Burke  county. 

1.  Red-loam  hill-tops feet. .   15  to  25 

2.  White  sandy  marl,  coarse  saud,  ami  oysters,  0.  Georgiana feet . .  10 

3.  Coarse  drift  and  shell  fragments feet..  2 

4.  Shell  bed,  O.  Georgiana feet..  13 

5.  White  sandy  marl feet..  GO 

6.  Indurate  marl, 'with  casts  of  small  shells feet..  2 

7.  White  sandy  marl feet..  6 

8.  Indurate  marl,  with  casts  of  shells  and  few  Ostrea  sellwformie feet..  3 

9.  Hard  yellowish  white  marl feet . .  4 

10.  Oyster  bed,  0.  ncUafonnis feet. .  1 

11.  Hard  marl feet..  5 

12.  Oyster  bed,  0.  sellwformis inches..  6 

13.  Hard  yellowish-white  marl * feet..  10 

14.  Fine  yellowish  sandy  marl feet..  6 

15.  Yellowish- white  clay  marl feet..  2 

16.  Indurate  marl,  with  shells feet..  2 

17.  Whitish-gray  elay  marl  (to  water)  feet..  15 

The  upper  portion  of  this  bluff,  which  contains  the  Ostrea  Georyiana  beds,  is  of  the  Vicksburg  group,  while 
the  lower  portion,  including  perhaps  stratum  No.  5,  is  of  the  Cleburne.     The  intermediate  Jackson  has  not  been 
recognized. 
880 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  15 

The  red  loams,  sometimes  with  siliceous  fossils,  cap  the  hills  along  the  upper  Hue  throughout  the  region,  while 
the  white  limestone  mentioned  is  always  found  at  their  base.  Between  the  two  (limestone  and  siliceous  fossiliferous 
loams),  in  the  central  counties,  are  found  beds  of  greeusand  clays  2  and  3  feet  thick  and  well-preserved  Eocene 
fossils  (not  determined).     Throughout  the  region  the  relative  position  of  the  beds  is  about  as  follows: 

1.  Red-clay  loams  from  15  to  25  feet  thick,  with  siliceous  fossils  and  buhr-stone  sometimes  capping  the  hills. 

2.  Bluish  and  yellow  marls,  greeusand  clays  in  beds  from  2  to  3  feet  thick,  or  sometimes  pipe-clay. 

3.  White  friable  limestone  (Claiborne),  with  small  corals,  Pecten,  and  large  numbers  of  clypeasters. 

4.  Cretaceous  (only  on  the  west)  or  metamorphic  beds,  or  beds  of  white  clays  and  sands. 

The  area  occupied  by  these  Eocene  beds  is  very  wide  on  the  west,  extending  into  Florida,  and  including  the 
agricultural  divisions  of  "lime-sink"  and  "southern  oak  and  hickory  lands".  Limestone  of  the  Vicksburg  group 
underlies  the  latter. 

Siliceous :  The  buhr-stones,  opals,  and  siliceous  shell  rocks  of  the  Tertiary  seem  to  belong  to  no  particular 
group,  but  extend  over  almost  the  entire  Eocene  formation,  and  present  one  of  the  most  prominent  features  of 
the  region.  On  the  Savannah  river,  in  Burke  county,  they  form  beds  at  Stony  bluff,  near  the  Screven  county 
line,  where  they  are  found  on  the  edges  of  large  ponds  in  beds  from  8  to  10  feet  thick,  or  in  scattered  fragments  on 
the  surface  of  the  country.  The  siliceous  shells  are  found  embedded  only  in  the  red  clays  that  border  the  upper 
part  of  the  oak  and  hickory  upland  division. 

In  Washington  county  opal  (comnion  and  fire)  is  found  in  the  clay  stones.  On  the  east  of  Macon,  Bibb  county, 
on  the  line  of  the  metamorphic,  the  siliceous  rocks  form  high  aud  thick  beds,  with  great  numbers  of  opalized  fossils, 
including  Venericardia planicosta,  in  an  excellent  state  of  preservation.     These  beds  overlie  white  limestone. 

In  Sumter  and  counties  on  the  southwest  the  rocks  are  in  great  abundance.  It  is  noteworthy  that  along  the 
northern  limit  of  the  region  they  are  in  the  form  of  flint,  and  are  often  studded  with  crystals  of  quartz,  while  southward, 
in  the  wire-grass  region,  the  rock  is  softer  and  more  fossiliferous,  decomposing  to  a  soft  powdery  silica,  either  red  or 
white  iu  color,  still  overlying  the  white  limestone.  (This  variety  of  the  rock  is  also  found  on  the  east,  in  Burke 
county,  where  Lyell  found  it  to  be  full  of  silicified  corals,  fine  shells,  and  sponges.) 

Still  southward,  in  the  southern  oak  and  hickory  uplands  along  the  Florida  line,  in  Decatur  county,  the  rock 
does  not  appear;  but  in  Thomas  county,  to  the  eastward,  there  are  quantities  of  silicified  coral  columnar  in  form 
and  compact.  On  the  Withlacoochee  river  are  found  claystones  and  beautiful  chalcedonic  forms,  and  under  them 
the  still  soft  siliceous  material,  which  hardens  after  long  exposure. 

This,  in  brief,  gives  the  general  features  and  changes  in  the  siliceous  rocks  of  the  Eocene.  The  fossils  they 
contain  have  not  yet  been  determined,  as  but  few  have  been  found,  except  at  Artopee's  quarry,  near  Macon,  where 
the  variety  is  great,  comprising  the  well-known  Venericardias,  Oliva,  Dentalium,  etc. 

The  region  covered  by  these  siliceous  rocks  is  widest  in  the  western  part  of  the  state,  extending  from  the 
Florida  line  northward  to  Americus,  in  Sumter  county.  Its  eastern  and  southern  limits  are  marked  by  the  line 
which  forms  the  limit  also  of  the  lime-sink  agricultural  division  and  of  the  southern  boundary  of  the  oak  and  hickory 
uplands  on  the  northeast  to  Screven  county,  which  it  also  includes,  and  passes  thence  into  South  Carolina.  In  the 
central  counties  the  rock  is  uot  veiy  abundant. 

Miocene,  or  Grand  Gulf:  Included  between  the  Savannah  river  and  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  water-divide  there 
seems  to  have  been  once  formed  a  large,  shallow  basin,  which  is  now  filled  with  a  sandstone  composed  for  the  most 
part  of  coarse  angular  grit  and  clay  partly  cemented  with  silica  and  resembling  in  character  the  Grand  Gulf 
sandstone  of  the  Gulf  states.  The  area  is  marked  on  the  map  by  the  deep-green  color  of  the  pine  barrens  region, 
whose  soils  overlie  the  formation.  The  rocks  have  a  slight  dip  to  the  southeast,  and  have  been  traced  by  Captain 
M.  T.  Singleton  (now  of  the  United  States  engineer  corps,  engaged  in  river  improvement)  for  60  miles  along  Oconee 
river,  and  he  estimates  the  thickness  to  be  200  feet.  Outcrops  have  been  observed  in  Irwin,  Dodge,  Ware,  and 
other  counties.  Paramore's  hill,  in  the  western  part  of  Screven  county,  is  of  this  sandstone,  which  here  has  a 
thickness  of  50  feet  or  more.  Its  grains  of  quartz  are  partly  clear  and  translucent  and  partly  white  and  opaque, 
and  the  rock  is  highly  aluminous. 

The  southern  limit  of  the  sandstone  is  apparently  at  the  edge  of  the  second  terrace,  near  the  coast  and  along 
the  Satilla  river  north  of  Okefenokee  swamp,  but  the  formation  (represented  by  blue  clays  underlying  the  sandy 
lauds)  extends  probably  still  southward,  including  in  its  area  the  country  near  the  Florida  line  between  Allapaha 
river  east  to  the  ridge  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  swamp — a  part  of  the  main  Atlantic  and  Gulf  water-divide  of  the 
state. 

That  the  swamp  is  underlaid  by  these  impervious  blue  clays  there  is  but  little  doubt  (for  they  occur  in  the 
adjoining  country),  though  its  immediate  bottom  is  of  white  sands.  There  is  no  visible  water  supply  except  the 
heavy  rains,  yet  water  remains  over  its  surface  the  year  round  with  a  depth  of  from  4  to  0  feet.  Drainage  is  to  the 
west  and  south,  but  the  streams  are  very  slow  in  movement  and  effect  but  little.  To  all  appearances  this  swamp, 
situated  as  it  is  on  the  uplands,  120  feet  above  tide- water,  is  but  a  basin  formed  at  the  time  of  the  uplift  that 
produced  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  water-divide,  which  incloses  it  ou  the  north,  east,  and  south.  This  basin  has  been 
slowly  filled  with  water,  its  evaporation  being  prevented  by  the  dense  growth  of  moss,  which  is  yearly  increasing 
and  as  rapidly  decaying  below,  and  the  formation  of  muck  or  peat,  whose  retentive  power  for  water  is  very  great 

281 


16  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

Pliocene:  The  savanna  region  along  the  coast,  which  occupies  the  first  ten-ace  at  au  elevation  of  from  10  to  15 
feet  above  tide-water,  is  assigned  to  the  Pliocene  formation.  Marls  or  shell  beds  of  this  age  are  found  on  the 
Savannah  river  near  the  Effingham  and  Chatham  county-lines. 

On  Satilla  river  a  white  marl  bed  outcrops  at  Burnt  Fort,  the  head  of  tide-water,  which  is  mostly  devoid  of 
fossils. 

In  the  sand  and  clay  beds  of  this  coast  region,  in  Glynn,  Chatham,  and  other  counties,  have  been  dug  up  the 
remains  of  extinct  gigantic  quadrupeds,  such  as  the  mastodon,  and  along  its  borders  are  the  buried  stumps  of 
cypress  and  other  trees  still  standing  upright.  Live  oak  is  a  prominent  growth  of  the  region  adjoining  the  marshes. 
Quaternary  or  southern  drift. — This  formation  consists  of  irregular  deposits  of  sands  and  clays  and  ferruginous 
sandstones  over  the  older  strata.  In  Georgia  they  are  confined  exclusively  to  the  southern  half  of  the  state,  the 
belt  of  sand-hills  or  inetamorphic  border  region  being  the  most  northerly  deposit  as  well  as  the  main  representative 
body  of  drift  in  the  state.  Exclusive  of  this  belt,  they  are  heaviest  on  the  western  side  of  the  state,  especially  over 
Clay,  the  tipper  parts  of  Randolph,  Webster,  Sumter,  and  counties  north  of  these.  The  sands  are  white  and  deep, 
and  overlie  variegated  clays,  mostly  plastic.  To  the  south  these  beds  occur  now  and  then,  but  are  not  so  prominent. 
On  the  east  of  the  water-divide  the  drift  beds  are  confined  almost  entirely  to  the  oak,  hickory,  and  pino 
division,  or  Eocene  territory.  There  are  a  Jew  isolated  sand  and  pebble  beds  in  the  pine  barrens,  ami  beds  of  white 
sand,  with  a  scrub  growth,  have  been  observed  on  the  eastern  side  of  some  of  the  streams  in  the  region.  One  of 
these,  two  miles  wide,  occurs  on  the  eastern  side  of  Alligator  creek,  in  Montgomery  county,  about  25  feet  above  the 
stream,  and  lying  parallel  with  it. 

Drainage. — It  will  be  seen  by  a  glance  at  the  map  that  all  of  the  rivers  of  the  southern  three-fourths  of  the 
state  flow  south  or  southeastward,  while  across  their  headwaters  the  Chattahoochee  river  has  a  course  at  right 
angles  to  then?  southwestward  from  near  the  North  Carolina  line,  on  the  northeast,  to  Alabama.  North  of  the 
Chattahoochee  basin  the  course  of  the  stream  is  generally  westward. 

Two  general  divisions  are  recognized,  viz,  the  Atlantic  and  the  Gull',  with  their  respective  tributaries.  The 
divide  between  these  two  is  formed  at  first  by  the  Blue  Ridge  as  it  enters  the  northeastern  corner  of  (he  state:  then, 
as  it  turns  south  and  southwestward,  it  follows  Tallulah  mountain  and  Chattahoochee  ridge  along  the  south  side  of  the 
Chattahoochee  river  to  Atlanta;  thence  it  turns  southeastward  across  the  granitic,  area  between  the  tributaries  of  the 
Flint  and  Ocmulgee  rivers  to  Irwin  county,  and  thence  between  the  headwaters  of  the  Satilla  and  Withlacoochee 
rivers  (here  near  each  other),  in  Irwin  county,  to  the  region  of  the  Okefenokee  swamp,  in  Clinch,  where  the  country 
is  very  level.  All  the  streams  that  enter  this  swamp  ou  the  north  unite  and  form  the  Suwanee  river,  which  flows  out 
on  the  western  side.  The  divide  proper  extends  thence  eastward  along  the  north  of  the  swamp,  then  turns  abruptly 
south,  forming  a  low  sand  ridge  along  its  eastern  side,  and  then  again  bends  southwestward  around  the  headwaters  01 
the  Saint  Mary's  river  into  Florida  (to  "  Trail's  ridge"),  thus  forming  the  north,  east,  and  south  rims  to  the  swamp  basin. 
The  courses  of  the  two  streams,  the  Satilla  and  Saint  Mary's,  are  peculiar.  They  flow  in  nearly  parallel  eastward 
directions  for  a  short  distance  on  the  north  and  south  of  the  swamp,  then  suddenly  turn  and  approach  each  other 
on  the  same  line  to  within  a  few  miles,  and  us  suddenly  and  abruptly  turn  to  the  ocean. 

This  Atlantic  and  Gulf  water-divide  is  not  properly  a  ridge  throughout  its  length,  but  as  a  general  rule  is  only 
a  slightly  elevated  region  with  a  somewhat  rolling  surface,  whose  ascent  is  so  gradual  that  its  importance  in  the 
drainage  system  of  the  state  would  not  be  suspected.  The  area  occupied  by  the  Gulf  shed  is  the  larger,  covering 
about  three-fifths  of  the  state. 

The.  streams  of  the  Atlantic  water-shed  are  very  regular  in  their  parallel  courses  southeastward,  each  having 
its  own  system  of  tributaries  and  emptying  independently  into  the  ocean,  excepting  the  Oconee  and  Ocmulgee, 
which  unite  to  form  the  Altamaha.     The  Savannah  basin  is  very  narrow,  especially  on  the  south. 

The  Gulf  water-shed  comprises  a  number  of  different  river  systems.  The  Tennessee  basin,  included  between 
the  Blue  Ridge  on  the  southeast  and  the  mountains  of  Fannin  aud  Gilmer  counties,  comprises  an  area  of  850  square 
miles.  Ou  the  southern  slope  of  the  Blue  Ridge  thetwo  distinct  basins  of  the  Chattahoochee  and  Etowah  rivers  have 
their  heads  side  by  side  with  but  a  narrow  ridge  between,  the  former  trending  southward  for  a  short  distance  and 
suddenly  turning  westward,  while  the  latter  lies  along  the  foot  of  the  ridge  westward  to  Rome,  where  it  unites 
with  the  Coosawattee  basin,  from  which  it  has  been  separated  by  the  continuation  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  These  two 
streams  form  the  head  of  the  Coosa  basin,  whose  area  in  Georgia  comprises  0,020  square  miles.  This  includes  the 
Tallapoosa  River  division,  which  in  Georgia  is  distinct  and  separated  from  the  main  basin  by  the  Dug  Down, 
Kenesnw,  and  Sweat  mountains  and  intervening  uplands. 

The  Chattahoochee  basin  has  a  greater  length  than  any  other  in  the  state — nearly  450  miles.  Its  head  is  in  the 
coiner  formed  by  the  Blue  Ridge  and  the  Tallulah  mountains,  aud  thence  it  extends  across  the  metamorphic  region 
in  a  southwesterly  course  to  West  Point,  with  a  width  very  narrow,  sometimes  only  15  miles,  thence  southward  to 
the  Gulf.  The  ridge  separating  it  from  the  Etowah  ami  the  Tallapoosa  basins  is  so  low  as  to  be  almost  imperceptible, 
and  the  tributaries  of  each  basin  interlock  very  generally.  Ou  the  south  it  is  separated  from  the  Atlantic  water- 
shed by  the  main  water-divide,  which  approaches  very  near  the  river,  until  it  turns  southward  from  Atlanta, 
Here,  however,  the  Chattahoochee  ridge,  which  to  this  point  is  the  chief  divide,  continues  in  the  same 
southwestward  course  to  Newnan,in  Coweta  countv.  and  thence,  turning  southeastward  and  paraWel  to  the  former. 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  17 

forms  the  western  rim  to  the  Flint  River  basin  as  far  south  as  the  sand-hills.  Thence  southward  the  basin  of  the 
Chattahoochee  is  very  narrow,  while  that  of  the  Flint  is  wide,  draining  the  largest  part  of  the  territory  of  the 
southwest. 

Navigation. — The  Savannah  river  has  long  been  open  to  light-draught  steamboat  navigation  as  far  north  as  the 
shoals  near  Augusta.  A  canal  9  miles  in  length  connects  with  the  river  above  the  shoals,  and  flat-boats  laden  with 
cotton  and  other  produce  are  thus  enabled  to  reach  the  city  from  the  counties  northward  as  far  as  the  mouth  of 
Broad  river,  a  distance  of  100  miles,  or  350  miles  from  Savannah. 

The  Ogeechee  river  is  navigable  but  for  a  short  distance  from  the  coast.  The  Altamaha  is  the  largest  river 
of  the  state ;  steamers  run  regularly  as  far  northward  as  the  Central  railroad  bridge  on  the  Oconee,  in  Washington 
county,  and  to  Hawkiusville,  Pulaski  county,  on  the  Ocmulgee,  each  about  340  miles  from  Darien. 

The  Chattahoochee  river  is  navigable  to  the  falls  at  Columbus,  Muscogee  county.  The  channel  is  being 
deepened  and  improved  in  the  removal  of  the  marl  beds  and  other  obstructions  north  of  Eufaulaby  United  States 
engineers.     Steamboats  ascend  Flint  river  as  high  as  Albany,  Dougherty  county. 

Saint  Mary's  river  is  navigable  as  far  as  Traders'  Hill,  and  the  Satilla  to  Burnt  Fort,  the  heads  of  tide-water. 
Lumber,  rosin,  and  turpentine  are  the  chief  exports  by  sloops  from  stations  along  these  streams. 

The  Coosa,  in  Georgia,  is  all  navigable,  and  boats  ascend  the  Oostanaula,  its  tributary,  105  miles  from  Borne. 

The  islands  along  the  coast  afford  safe  and  good  coasting  facilities  between  Savannah  and  Florida  ports. 

Tide- water  reaches  inland  along  the  various  streams  from  20  to  40  miles,  and  large  vessels  easily  reach  the  city 
of  Savannah. 

Land  divisions. — The  proprietary  laud  divisions  of  Georgia,  being  different  from  those  of  other  states,  the 
following,  from  the  Hand-Bool;  of  Georgia,  is  given  as  a  matter  of  interest : 

Head-rights. — Originally  in  Georgia  land  was  held  in  what  was  called  in  law  "tail  male",  but  this  policy  was 
changed  at  an  early  period.  An  act  was  passed  in  1777  for  opening  a  land-office  and  to  encourage  immigration, 
granting  to  every  free  white  (the  head  of  a  family)  200  acres  of  laud,  and  50  acres  for  each  member  of  the  family 
(including  negroes),  not  exceeding  ten  in  number.  This  was  the  first  head-right  law ;  but  the  war  of  the  Bevolution 
being  then  in  progress,  it  failed  of  its  purposes. 

In  17S0  it  was  renewed,  and  the  land-office  was  located  in  Augusta.  After  the  war  much  of  the  legislation  had 
reference  to  thus  settling  the  state. 

The  head-right  country  includes  all  the  territory  south  of  Franklin,  Banks,  and  Jackson  counties  and  east  of 
che  Oeonee  river,  and  was  all  acquired  from  the  Indians  before  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

Indian  treaties. — After  the  revolutionary  war  the  remaiuing  portions  of  the  state  were  acquired  by  successive 
treaties  made  by  the  federal  government  with  the  Indians,  the  northwestern  part  being  finally  acquired  in  1S19. 
The  land  thus  acquired  was  distributed  by  successive  lotteries  among  the  free  white  male  citizens  of  the  state 
over  eighteen  years  of  age.  Every  such  citizen  who  had  not  previously  drawn,  was  entitled  to  one  ticket ;  if  a 
husband  or  father,  to  two  tickets;  and  certain  officers  and  soldiers,  to  two.  Widows  and  orphans  were  included  in 
the  distribution. 

The  lands  taken  up  by  head-rights  were  wholly  irregular  in  form,  each  man  pursuing  his  own  tasteiu  shaping 
the  land  selected  and  varying  the  lines  to  include  the  best  lands.  The  remaining  portions  of  the  state  distributed 
under  the  lottery  system  were  regularly  surveyed  and  divided  into  sections  and  subdivisions  of  districts  and  lots. 

The  details  of  the  division  of  lands  under  successive  lotteries  from  1805  to  1S33,  and  in  different  districts, 
varied  considerably.  The  lots  for  each  ticket  had  202J  acres  more  frequently  than  any  other  number.  Some 
districts  were  divided  into  lots  of  490  acres  each,  while  still  others  were  divided  into  lots  of  250  acres  each.  In 
the  seventh  lottery,  in  1S33,  the  lots  were  100  acres  each;  and  in  the  eighth,  known  as  the  Gold  lottery,dn  which 
lands  in  the  mineral  region  were  distributed,  the  lots  were  40  acres  each. 

Agricultural  features. — The  state  is  naturally  divided  into  the  following  agricultural  regions  and  their 
respective  subdivisions,  which  will  be  separately  described  in  detail: 

I.  Northwest  Georgia : 

1.  Gray  sandy  lands  of  the  metamorphic  border. 

2.  Flatwoods. 

3.  Bed-clay  lands. 

4.  Gray  siliceous  soils  of  the  ridges. 

5.  Brown  and  red  loams. 
G.  Yellow-clay  lands. 

7.  Sandy  table  or  mountain  lauds. 
S.  Alluvial  lands. 
II.  Metamorphic  or  mineral  region  (Blue  Bidge  or  northern,  middle  and  southern): 

1.  Gray  sandy  lands. 

2.  Bed  lands. 

3.  Gray  granitic  lauds. 

4.  Flatwoods.  283 


18 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IX  GEORGIA. 


III.  Central  cotton  belt, 

1.  Sand  and  pine  hills,  or  border  region. 

2.  Oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands. 

3.  Eed-clay  hills. 

IV.  Long  leaf  pine  and  wire-grass  region. 

1.  Liuiesink  or  clay  lands. 

2.  Sandy  pine  barrens. 

3.  Pine  and  palmetto  flats. 

V.  Coast  region. 

1.  .Savanna  lands. 

2.  Live-oak  and  coast  lands. 

To  give  a  general  idea  of  the  state  in  brief,  before  entering  upon  the  detailed  descriptions,  the  following  section 
as  given  from  the  coast  to  the  northwestern  corner,  accompanied  by  a  short  description  of  the  country  passed  over: 


XmthweaS  region.  Metamorphic  or  middle  region.  rellowloam.  "      Long-leaf  pine  and  wire-grass.     Savannas.     Coasl 

Section  showing  elevation  from  the  northwestern  corner  of  Georgia  to  the  Atlantic  ocean.    Distance  ttbout  375  miles.     Altitude  of  Pino  Log  mountain   2,347  feet. 

General  view  of  the  state. — The  islands  "cover  a  width  of  10  or  12  miles,  with  sandhills  seaward  and 
marshes  and  live-oak  lauds  inland.  On  the  mainland  the  marshes,  with  live-oak  lands,  extend  back  for  a  few  miles 
to  the  open  savanna  belt,  which  occupies  the  first  terrace,  above  the  coast  marshes  and  is  a  level  plain,  covered 
with  palmetto  and  long-leaf  pine,  and  interspersed  with  bay  and  gum  swamps.  Uniformity  in  character  exists  for 
10  or  15  miles  to  the  foot  of  the  second  terrace.  This  rises  from  15  to  25  feet,  and  with  it  the  wire-grass  region 
begins.  Its  surface,  at  first  undulating,  has  an  open  growth  of  long-leaf  pine,  with  little  or  no  undergrowth,  except 
wire-grass.  These  pine  barrens  extend  northwestward  about  100  miles,  and  gradually  rise  to  the  altitude  of  305 
feet.  As  we  pass  northward  over  this  region  the  loamy  soils  become  perhaps  mure  sandy,  though  still  firm,  and 
the  country  becomes  somewhat  more  rolling,  the  monotony  being  varied  only  by  cypress  ponds,  gallberry  Hats, 
and  occasionally  by  a  stream  with  its  annually  overflowed  bottoms. 

The  central  cotton  belt,  or  yellow  loam  region,  is  to  the  northward.  Long-leaf  pine  is  til  first  must  prominent, 
but  gradually  thins  out  to  the  north,  being  replaced  by  the  short-leaf  variety.  The  surface  of  the  country,  level 
at  first,  becomes  more  and  more  rolling,  and  luthrstone  lies  in  fragments  on  the  ground,  limestone  crops  out 
in  the  streams,  and  wire-grass  disappears  entirely.     Oak  and  hickory  are  prominent. 

The  soil,  sandy  at  first,  with  yellow  clay  subsoil,  becomes  more  clayey  northward;  the  country  also  rises  to  an 
elevation  of  500  feet,  and  in  some  places  to  COO  feet,  to  the  summits  of  the  red  clay  hills  (150  miles  from  the  coast), 
a  rise  of  over  150  feet  in  30  miles.  Still  northward  from  this  yellow  loam  and  oak  uplands  belt  the  sand  and  pine 
hills,  with  their  pine  and  black-jack,  are  crossed.  At  first  the  land  is  lower  than  that  of  the  red  hills,  but  rises  to 
a  line  of  hills  from  500  to  600  feet  above  the  sea.  Red  clay  lands,  isolated,  and  similar  to  those  on  the  south,  are 
found  on  Che  northern  edge  of  the  belt,  which  here  is  only  from  12  to  IS  miles  wide,  The.  three  divisions  form 
parallel  belts,  and  extend  from  the  Savannah  to  the  Chattahoochee  river  diagonally  across  the  state. 

With  the  northern  edge,  of  the  belt  last  described  the  metamorphic  or  mineral  division  of  the  state  begins, and 
presents  a  rolling,  broken,  and  often  hilly  surface.  Soils  varying  from  gray  sandy  to  red  clayey,  gravelly  and  rocky, 
occur  in  belts  of  every  width,  and  rocks  peculiar  to  the  section,  hornblendic  and  gray  gneiss,  outcrop  in  place  or 
are  found  in  fragments  on  the  surface. 

The  growth  is  of  great  variety,  the  chief  trees  being  oaks,  hickory,  chestnut,  poplar,  and  pine.  The  elevation 
gradually  increases  toward  the  broad  central  granite  region  and  beyond  to  Atlanta,  where  the  altitude  is  1,050  feet 
above  the  sea,  and  on  Stone  mountain  1,686  feet.  Thence  the  country  falls  to  700  feet  at  the  Chattahoochee  river; 
but  from  there  the  altitude  increases,  until  it  reaches  a  maximum  of  2,347  feet  on  Pine  Log  mouutaiu, on  the  eastern 
side  of  Bartow  county,  and  at  the  northwestern  border  of  the  metamorphic  region,  in  all  about  125  miles  from  the 
sand-hills.  On  the  northeast  the  rise  from  the  Chattahoochee  river  is  still  greater  to  the  top  of  the  Blue  Bidge,  a 
maximum  of  4,796  feet,  and  thence  falls  to  the  Tennessee  line,  a  distance  of  about  150  miles  from  Macon,  on  the 
southern  border. 

Bordering  the  metamorphic  on  its  northwestern  limit  are  ranges  of  hills  having  various  names  and  a  general  trend 
southward  from  the  Tennessee  line  to  the  Etowah  river  and  the  southeastern  corner  of  Bartow  county,  and  thence 
westward  to  the  Alabama  line.     These  ranges  are  metamorphic  iu  character,  and  are  higher  than  the  northwestern 


Brown  fcnedClayLand 
Hfi-om  ,Vr£iUaceous 
Shales  .v  Slates 

Sterile 
ds.from  SlLlcc 
Shales 


■ 1  Sanclv  Lands, trom 

I I  fianda  tones  fcConelmtb 


.  Grey  S.i  1 1.!-,-  Lartds 
frora  Gneiss  fc Mic; 


K  llocki,,; 

■€.      -™#*ffJiv*-t' 

'  ..„: ■;;-«:.  ■»■■..%■'»;  Z,0untA 


7  Coal  Measures 

6  Subcarboniferous 

5  Clinton  a  Med.na 

4  Trenton  &  Chazy 

3  Quebec[Kncxbolorn,te&K   Shale 

2  Calciferous  6  Potsdam  1]    \   |<  ALSO  N 

1    Metamorphic  -|^ 


X  '        Agricultural    Map 

SHOUT.  U    l;-  '     I   '"■- 

LITHOLOGY  and  TOPOGRAPHY 

X(  )RTH  -WE  ST  GE(  JRGIA 


A.R.M«  CCTCHE? 

SPKI  IAL    WEST. 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  19 

Georgia  region,  not  excepting  its  mountains.  From  the  tops  of  these  ranges  we  overlook  the  region  popularly 
known  as  "Northwest  Georgia",  whose  surface  is  prevalently  characterized  by  abrupt  ridges  (mostly  synclinal), 
consisting  of  folded  Palaeozoic  rocks,  varying  from  sandstones,  shales,  and  cherts  to  limestones,  with  a  general  trend 
south-southwest  and  with  broad  agricultural  valleys. 

NORTHWEST    GEORGIA,  (a) 

The  region  of  northwest  Georgia  extends  from  the  Cohutta,  Pine  Log,  Allatoona,  and  Dug  Down  mountains 
to  the  Alabama  and  Tennessee  state  lines,  and  embraces  an  area  of  3,3G0  square  miles,  including  the  counties  of 
Dade,  Walker,  Catoosa,  Whitfield,  Murray,  Gordon,  Chattooga,  Floyd,  Bartow,  and  Polk.  The  lands,  usually  well 
characterized  by  the  geological  formations  to  which  they  belong,  are  found  to  change  and  alternate  at  every  few 
miles  in  crossing  the  trend  of  mountains  and  valleys,  and  these  changes  are  usually  quite  apparent  in  the  natural 
growth  of  the  country  and  in  the  color,  relative  fertility,  and  adaptation  of  soils.  The  great  variety  of  soils,  together 
with  a  diversity  of  climate,  due  to  the  varying  altitudes  of  this  country,  render  it  suitable  for  the  successful  culture 
of  pei'haps  every  agricultural  product  of  the  temperate  climate. 

Topography. — The  country  is  banded  by  a  number  of  mountains,  ridges,  and  valleys,  extending  with  a 
general  parallelism  in  an  approximate  northeast  and  southwest  direction,  approaching  nearest  to  north  and 
south  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  division,  and  with  divergent  mountains  running  nearer  to  east  and  west  in  the 
southern  and  central  portions.  Sand,  Lookout,  and  Pigeon  mountains,  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  state,  are 
synclinal  table-lands  belonging  to  the  Alleghany  coal-field.  These  vary  in  altitude  from  800  to  1,200  feet  above 
the  adjacent  valleys,  and  are  usually  trough-shaped  on  the  top,  having  somewhat  elevated  borders  along  their 
brows  and  precipitous  sides,  marked  by  perpendicular  sandstone  bluffs.  These  mountains  have  an  area  on  the 
top  of  rolling  and  often  nearly  level  sandy  lands  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  200  square  miles.  Lookout 
mountain  is  separated  from  Sand  mountain  on  the  northwest  by  Lookout  valley,  which  has  a  width  of  3  or  4  miles,  and 
extends  from  Alabama  across  this  part  of  the  state  into  Tennessee.  Pigeon  mountain  is  an  easterly  spur  of  Lookout 
mountain,  giving  rise  to  a  V-shaped  valley,  which  widens  out  toward  the  north,  and  is  known  as  McLemore's 
cove.  These  mountains  are  bordered  throughout  most  of  their  extent  by  steep  sandstone  ridges  of  from  100  to 
300  feet  in  height,  giving  rise  to  narrow  valleys  around  their  bases.  These  ridges  are  a  constant  feature  of  the 
table-land  mountains,  and  occur  everywhere  in  this  relation  to  them,  except  where  they  have  disappeared  by 
erosion.  About  the  central  portion  of  Pigeon  mountain,  where  the  table-land  feature  is  lost  with  the  disappearance 
of  the  sandstones  and  conglomerates  from  its  summit,  the  ridges  on  each  side  merge  into  the  main  mountain,  and 
with  it  form  the  broken  and  knobby  region  terminating  the  range.  These  are  known  in  Walker  and  Chattooga 
counties  as  shinboue  ridges,  and  in  Dade  county  as  pudding  ridges. 

East  of  Lookout  and  Pigeon  mountains,  at  distances  of  from  10  to  20  miles,  is  another  series  of  mountains 
extending  nearly  centrally  across  this  division  of  the  state.  These  are  mostly  sharp  topped,  and  have  altitudes  of 
from  500  to  1,000  feet  above  the  surrounding  valleys.  White  Oak  mountain,  Taylor's  ridge,  and  Gaylor  mountain 
extend  in  a  direct  line  across  this  part  of  the  state,  only  separated  from  each  other  by  narrow  gaps.  To  the  east  of 
these  mountains,  either  in  interrupted  parallel  ranges  or  divergent  spurs  belonging  to  the  same  system  of  elevations, 
are  Dick's  ridge,  Rocky  Face,  Chattoogata,  Horn's,  John's,  Little  Sand,  Rocky,  Lavender,  and  Horse  Leg  mountains. 
Little  Sand  mountain  and  Rocky  mountain  are  table-lands  of  small  extent  belonging  to  the  Coosa  coal-field.  The 
surrounding  sharp-crested  mountains  here  bear  the  lithological  relation  to  these  table-lauds  that  the  shinbone  and 
pudding  ridges,  before  described,  bear  to  Sand,  Lookout,  and  Pigeon  mountains  on  the  northwest. 

Next  on  the  east  are  the  Cohutta,  Salicoa,  Pine  Log,  Allatoona,  aud  Dug  Down  mountains,  constituting  a 
single  range,  aud  extending  around  the  eastern  aud  southern  boundary  of  this  division  of  the  state,  being,  in  fact, 
the  eroded  escarpment  of  an  elevated  plateau  that  lies  to  the  southeast  of  this  region.  This  feature  of  the  range  is 
quite  apparent  in  Polk  couuty,  where  the  brow  of  the  escarpment  is  but  500  or  GOO  feet  above  the  valleys  on  the 
northwest  and  corresponds  to  the  general  level  of  the  country  to  the  south;  but  in  the  northern  part,  especially 
in  the  Cohutta  mountains,  where  the  altitude  is  much  greater,  it  is  cut  up  by  coves  and  ravines,  so  that  mountains 
are  encountered  in  all  directions  for  a  distance  of  10  or  15  miles  between  the  base  and  the  summit  of  the  escarpment. 

To  recapitulate:  The  ranges  in  this  division  of  the  state  may  be  designated  by  the  most  prominent  mountains  of 
each,  as  (1)  the  Lookout  range,  on  the  west;  (2)  the  Chattoogata  range  of  the  central  portion  of  this  region  ;  and 
(3)  the  Cohutta  range,  on  the  eastern  and  southern  border.  Intermediate  between  these  mountains  are  a  number 
of  chert  and  sometimes  sandstone  ridges,  rarely  exceeding  200  or  300  feet  in  height.  The  sandstone  ridges  are 
geuerally  narrow,  while  the  cherty  ones  form  knobby  belts  of  from  1  mile  to  10  miles  in  width.  These  alternate 
with  shale  and  limestone  valleys,  thus  subdividing  the  areas  between  the  mountains  into  somewhat  narrow  belts, 
with  topographical  and  agricultural  features  varying  with  these  lithological  characters.  The  valleys  range  in 
altitude  from  500  or  000  to  1,000  feet  above  the  sea,  the  elevation  being  greatest  about  the  divide  between  the  waters 
of  the  Tennessee  river  on  the  north  and  the  Coosa  river  on  the  south. 


u  The  description  of  Northwest  Georgia,  from  pages  19  to  W,  is  by  A.  K.  McCutolieu,  of  La  Fayette,  Walker  couuty,  special  agent, 
formerly  assistant  state  geologist. 

885 


20 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


Watee-divide. — The  water-divide  extends  iu  a  zigzag  Hue  across  both  mountains  and  valleys  from  about 
the  southeastern  corner  of  Dade  across  the  county  of  Walker,  and  to  the  northern  line  of  Whitfield,  where  it  passes 
into  the  state  of  Tennessee.  There  is  a  general  depression  in  the  level  of  the  country  toward  the  southwest  from 
this  divide  corresponding  in  direction  with  the  trend  of  the  mountains,  while  the  fall  in  the  direction  of  drainage 
toward  the  north  to  the  Tennessee  is  confined  to  the  valleys  in  which  the  streams  flow,  the  mountains  in  general 
maintaining  about  the  same  elevation  above  the  sea.  The  streams  near  the  water  divide  have  a  fall  of  from  20  to 
40  feet  per  mile,  but  this  decreases  rapidly  as  they  approach  the  Tennessee  and  the  Coosa  rivers. 

Most  of  the  valleys,  and  generally  those  of  greatest  width,  belong  to  anticlinal  folds,  and  owe  their  present 
dimensions,  if  not  their  existence  as  valleys,  to  extensive  erosion  that  has  followed  the  folding  and  elevation  of  the 
strata.  Along  some  of  these  folds  the  existing  rocks  indicate,  the  removal  of  at- least  10,000  feet  of  strata;  1ml 
the  erosion  in  synclinal  valleys  has  not  gone  to  so  great  an  extent,  and  in  some  of  these  there  is  evidence  of 
the  disappearance  over  considerable  areas  of  about  1,500  feet  of  strata. 

Climate. — The  annual  mean  temperature  in  this  part  of  the  state  varies,  according  to  locality,  from  about  50° 
to  60°  F.  The  regions  of  lowest  temperature  are  about  the  Cohntta  mountains,  in  the  northeast,  anil  on  the  table- 
lands in  the  northwest,  where  the  altitudes  range  from  1,800  to  3,000  feet  above  the  sea,  and  that  of  the  highest 
temperature  iu  the  valleys  of  the  southern  and  central  portions.  This  difference  of  climate  is  due,  in  pari,  to  a 
difference  of  about  one  degree  of  latitude  between  the  northern  and  the  southern  limits  of  the  region,  but  in  a  much 
greater  degree  to  the  general  features  of  the  country,  mainly  to  the  difference  of  altitude,  and  again  to  the 
general  direction  of  the  slope,  which  is  toward  the  south  in  the  central  and  most  of  the  southern  portions,  and 
toward  the  north  in  the  northwestern  and  northeastern  portions.  These  influences  all  combine  to  give  a  warmer 
climate  to  most  of  the  valleys  drained  by  the  Coosa  river  and  its  immediate  tributaries. 

In  the  extremes  of  temperature  the  thermometer  seldom  rises  above  90°  F.  in  the  summer  or  falls  below  20° 
in  the  winter.  Vegetation  usually  starts  some  time  in  March,  and  there  is  a  difference  of  about  a  week  in  this 
respect  between  the  more  northern  and  the  more  southern  counties,  giving  to  the  latter  an  earlier  time  for  planting 
and  a  somewhat  longer  crop  season.  Severe  frosts  rarely  occur  after  the  first  of  April,  and  about  six  months  usually 
elapse  between  the  latest  frosts  in  the  spring  and  the  earliest  in  autumn.  Kidges  and  mountain  slopes  of  100 
feet  or  more  in  altitude  above  the  valleys  are  free  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  from  spring  frosts,  and  are  less  subject 
to  cold  dews  in  spring  and  summer.     For  this  reason  the  fruit  crop  seldom  fails  in  such  situations. 

The  climate  of  the  table-lands  differs  in  several  particulars  from  that  of  the  valleys,  being  much  more  uniform 
and  having  a  lower  mean  temperature.  From  the  following  table  a  comparison  maybe  made  for  the  month  of 
July,  18S0.     The  observations  were  made  at  stations  about  four  miles  distant  from  each  other : 


IB 

> 

o    ■ 

■Sf 
1 

(B 

W 

TIIF.[;MOMETF.It. 

Menn. 

liange. 

Menu 

or— 

MasimaiD. 

Minimum. 

Difference. 

7im. 

! 

2  p.m. 

9  p.  m. 

Daily 

tango. 

Feel. 

967 
1,968 

Degrees. 
77J 
74J 

Degrees. 
95 
83 

Degrees. 
01 
63 

Degrees. 
34 
25 

Degrees. 

71 
70 

Degrees. 
87 
80j 

Degrees. 
75 
73 

Degrees. 

lOJ 

1,001 

3 

7 

2 

9 

1 

ej 

2 

sj 

The  Smithsonian  rain  charts  indicate  for  this  part  of  the  state  a  mean  precipitation  of  rain  amounting  for  the 
summer  to  10  inches  and  about  the  same  for  the  winter  months,  with  40  inches  for  the  entire  year.  The  amount 
of  rain,  however,  varies  very  much  in  different  seasons,  and  also  to  some  extent  with  the  local  features  of  the 
-country,  the  heavier  precipitations,  as  well  as  the  greater  number  of  rainfalls,  occurring  usually  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  larger  mountains. 

During  the  fall,  winter,  and  spring  months  continued  southeast  winds  are  usually  accompanied  within  a  few 
hours  by  clouds,  and  are  commonly  followed  within  thirty-six  hours  by  a  fall  of  rain.  These  rain  spells  often  continue 
through  two  or  three  days  of  cloudy  weather,  with  either  occasional  showers,  or  else  slow  and  constant  or  drizzling 
rains.  Rain  clouds  from  this  direction  are  generally  dispersed  by  westerly  or  northwesterly  winds,  and  the 
clearing  off  is  usually  preceded  by  brisk  showers,  accompanied  by  gusts  of  wind.  Snow  clouds,  unlike  the  rain 
clouds  in  winter,  come  from  a  northwest  direction.  Snows,  however,  are  comparatively  unusual,  and  the  winter 
season  very  often  passes  without  a  snowfall  that  lies  on  the  ground.  A  snow  of  six  inches  depth,  or  one  that 
covers  the  ground  for  more  than  two  or  three  days  in  the  valleys,  is  unusual;  but  on  the  mountains  snows  are 
somewhat  more  frequent. 

Southeasterly  winds  in  the  summer  seasou  are  uot  so  commonly  accompanied  by  rain  clouds  as  in  the  cooler 
portions  of  the  year,  but  the  vapor  with  which  the  atmosphere  is  charged,  mainly  from  this  source,  is  condensed 


8 


DEPAI     '  ' 


TITTER!  OR 


SE  CTION 


ILLUSTRATING    THE     GEOLOGY 


NORTH-WEST    GEORGIA 


A  R    M'    CI'TrHEN 


Special  agishi 


n 


5^5 





.  .. 


ypv-^= 


"^ifr 


gt^sissasa&asas 


tents  census  of  tee  touted  states. 


&  ■ 


]  —   Lime  stone 


Siliceous 

Shales 


. 


Cherty  I  .imestone 


Si!  n  ecus 
Limestone 


Argillaceous 
Limestone 


Calcareous 
Shale 


Sandstones  & 
Conglomerates 


Chert 


^E?|  Argillaceous 
■;    Shale 


Gneiss 


Mica  Schist 


Chloritic 
Schist 


3   Argilliie 


'    Debris  (Up  Q  i 


jtzi>:2zzjzx]  Hematite 


rbonifei 


Coal 


It  en  to 


Cpp« 

Sl.lhiMl    Lllll  ll'l    (MIS 


Cha: 


I  ;    1   pperthietec 

J    Su-i-"'-' : 


h! ,  i :  m  1 1 . .  1 1     I ' 


Lower  Quebc  c 


Calciferous 


*  'linTon 


: 


Medina 


\l'dl,rlHi 


: 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  21 

into  clouds  usually  by  cold  winds  approaching  from  the  northwest.  Thus  the  summer  rains,  and  particularly  the 
thunder-storms,  come  with  clouds  drifting  in  a  direction  almost  the  opposite  of  that  of  the  winter  rains.  Severe 
wind-storms  in  the  warm  season  are  almost  uniformly  from  the  west. 

Geology. — The  geological  formations  embrace  all  of  the  Palceoaoio  rocks  of  the  state,  together  with  a  part  of 
the  metamorphic §eries,  bordering  the  former  on  the  east  and  south. 

The  most  highly  crystalline  of  the  metamorphic  rods  in  this  part  of  the  state  are  the  hydromica  and  hornblendic 
schists  and  gneisses,  abounding  in  quartz  veins,  that  constitute  the  gold-bearing  rocks  of  the  southeastern  part  of 
the  county  of  Bartow.  These  beds  are  more  or  less  pyritous  throughout,  and  are  often  deeply  decomposed.  The 
country  is  generally  broken,  though  rarely  mountainous,  and  the  surface  is  commonly  covered  with  loose  quartz 
rocks.  These  gold-bearing  beds  are  followed  on  the  northwest  by  rocks  that  constitute  the  bulk  of  the  Cohutta 
range  of  mountains,  principally  graphitic  hydromica  schists,  conglomerates,  and  argillites,  associated  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  the  range  with  heavy  beds  of  chloritic  schists  and  porphyritic  gneisses,  all  dipping  to  the  east, 
southeast,  or  south. 

Palaeozoic  series. — The  metamorphic  series  is  followed  on  the  northwest  by  the  Palaeozoic,  from  the  primordial 
to  the  Coal  Measures,  inclusive.  The  aggregate  thickness  of  the  groups,  estimating  the  primordial  at  8,000  feet 
and  taking  the  maximum  thickness  of  each  of  the  higher  groups,  amounts  to  about  20,000  feet.  These  strata  are 
made  up  principally  of  sandstones,  shales,  and  limestones.  The  siliceous  rocks,  including  the  sandstones,  the 
siliceous  shales,  and  the  cherty  beds  associated  with  some  of  the  limestones,  are  greatly  in  excess  of  the  other 
materials,  making  up  perhaps  one-half  of  the  entire  thickness,  while  the  argillaceous  beds,  or  such  as  are  composed 
largely  of  clay,  are  somewhat  in  excess  of  the  limestones;  but  in  the  upper  half  of  the  series  these  materials  are 
more  nearly  equal. 

Silurian. — The  Lower  Silurian  begins  with  a  prevalence  of  sandstone  and  conglomerates,  graduating  upward 
into  argillaceous  shales  and  limestones,  so  that  toward  the  top  the  limestones  are  greatly  in  excess  of  the  shales 
and  the  sandstones  are  found  only  in  the  Ohattoogata  range  at  the  close  of  the  Trenton.  The  primordial  and 
calciferous  consist  of  sandstones  and  conglomerates,  argillites,  siliceous  shales,  and  siliceous  limestones.  These 
are  followed  by  rocks  referred  to  the  Quebec  group:  first  by  about  2,400  feet  of  shales,  and  then  by  5,000  feet  of 
cherty  limestones,  and  this  again  by  the  comparatively  pure  limestones  of  the  Chazy  and  Trenton  periods,  of  from 
600  to  1,000  feet  in  thickness. 

The  shales  of  the  Lower  Quebec  are  more  or  less  calcareous  throughout,  and  are  generally  of  a  light-green 
color  at  the  depth  of  the  constant  water-level,  but  at  the  weathered  surfaces  these  shales  are  banded  with  various 
shades  of  color,  from  white  to  red,  blue,  green,  and  brown  to  black,  but  most  commonly  some  shade  of  brown.  The 
strata  generally  dip  at  steep  angles,  and  always  abound  in  closed  folds  and  contorted  lamina?. 

The  limestone  and  chert  of  the  Upper  Quebec  alternate  in  beds  of  irregular  or  rugged  outline  and  of  constantly 
varying  thickness,  the  strata  of  one  kind  often  including  the  other  in  great  lenticular  masses,  but  each  retaining 
independently  the  traces  of  its  own  bedding.  The  limestone  is  generally  dolomitic,  though  not  always  so  in 
all  its  layers.  The  chert,  which  is  of  a  dark  blue  color,  weathers  to  a  light  gray,  and  more  rarely  to  a  dark 
gray,  brown,  or  red.  It  breaks  easily  with  an  irregular  fracture,  and  occurs  on  the  surface  in  usually  porous 
angular  fragments  of  various  sizes,  rarely  exceeding,  or  even  equaling,  one  foot  in  diameter.  Some  of  the  upper 
beds  of  chert  are  of  oolitic  structure.  This  formation  gives  rise  to  ridges  or  knobby  belts  of  country.  The  Chazy  and 
Trenton  gronps  consist  of  thin-bedded  blue  limestones,  interstratified  with  calcareous  shales,  aud  contain  some 
thin  layers  of  flint  or  a  cherty  material  that  in  some  localities  give  a  gravelly  character  to  the  soil.  In  Poik, 
Floyd,  and  Murray  counties  the  character  is  similar,  with  a  more  uniform  distribution  of  the  cherty  materials.  In 
the  Chattoogata  range  of  the  mountains  east  of  Dick's  ridge  a  marked  change  in  the  lithological  character  is 
observed.  The  rocj^s  are  found  outcropping  around  those  mountains  as  red  and  dove-colored  rotten  limestone,  with 
rarely  an  admixture  of  the  chert  noticed  as  occurring  elsewhere.  This  change  may  be  seen  in  all  its  grades  along 
a  single  outcrop  at  the  western  base  of  Taylor's  ridge  from  Riuggold,  where  the  blue  limestone  is  found,  to  Cathy's 
Gap,  in  Chattooga  county,  in  a  distance  of  forty  miles,  the  limestones  becoming  more  and  more  argillaceous  and 
ferruginous.  The  fossils  that  abound  in  the  blue  limestone  at  the  same  time  disappear,  until  nearly  all  resemblance 
in  character  is  lost.  In  Red  Clay  valley,  and  around  Dalton,  in  Whitfield  county,  some  heavy  bedded  fossiliferous 
red  limestones  or  variegated  marbles  are  associated  with  the  rotten  limestones. 

The  Upper  Silurian  in  the  Chattoogata  range  of  mountains  consists  of  the  heavy-bedded  Medina  sandstone  of 
400  feet  thickness,  the  Clinton  sandstones  and  shales  of  350  feet,  and  the  Oriskany  of  from  1  foot  to  15  feet.  West 
of  Taylor's  ridge  the  Clinton  only,  with  a  thickness  of  from  200  to  400  feet,  has  been  recognized.  The  Clinton  group 
has  three  beds  of  fossiliferous  red  iron  ore,  varying  in  thickness  from  a  few  inches  to  15  feet. 

Devonian. — The  Devonian  rocks  are,  first,  a  black  bituminous  shale  of  from  10  to  50  feet  thickness,  followed 
by  a  blue  shale  that  graduates  above  either  into  a  hard  siliceous  limestone  or  into  siliceous  shales  with  characteristic 
geodes.     The  total  thickness  is  about  200  feet. 

Carboniferous. — The  sub-Carboniferous  is  made  up  of  two  lithological  groups :  the  lower  a  siliceous  and 
eherty  limestone  of  200  feet,  and  the  upper  a  heavy-bedded  blue  limestone  of  400  feet  thickness  in  some  localities. 
The  latter  is  generally  fetid  and  bituminous  in  some  of  its  layers.    The  shales,  which  are  most  abundant  in  the 


22  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

middle  portion  of  the  series,  are  sandy  and  calcareous,  and,  with  the  loss  of  a  portion  of  the  lime  in  weathering, 
become,  porous  and  friable.  The  lower  portion  consists  of  siliceous  limestones  with  eherty  layers,  and  abounds  in 
rounded  flint  nodules  from  a  few  inches  to  a  foot  or  more  in  diameter.  Porous  eherty  fragments,  the  result  of  a 
decomposition  of  these  flints,  are  found  abundantly  in  some  of  the  soils.  The  decomposition  sometimes  discloses 
an  oolitic  structure  not  observable  in  the  flint. 

The  Coal  Measures,  with  a  thickness  of  about  S00  feet,  consist  of  shales,  sandstones,  and  conglomerates,  with 
five  beds  of  coal,  the  lowest  of  which  is  below  the  first  conglomerate. 

Dips. — As  a  rule,  on  the,  easterly  side  of  the  anticlinal  folds  the  dip  of  the  rocks  is  observed  to  be  steeper 
than  on  the  opposite  side,  so  that  the  westerly  dips  approach  nearer  to  the  horizontal  and  the  easterly  dips  nearer 
to  the  perpendicular,  and  are  not  infrequently  overturned.  In  connection  with  this  fact  of  the  greater  disturbance 
on  l  he  easterly  side  of  the  synclinals  it  is  worthy  to  note  that  when  the  outcropping  rocks  give  rise  to  a  ridge  or 
mountain  that  on  the  west  is  almost  invariably  the  more  prominent.  Thus  the  Upper  Silurian  sandstones  forming 
Taylor's  ridge,  on  the  west  side  of  a  synclinal  trough,  are  on  the  east  side  exposed  in  a  comparatively  low  ridge, 
known  as  Dick's  ridge,  and  for  some  distance  in  Catoosa  and  Chattooga  counties  are  swallowed  up  in  a  fault.  In 
the  next  and  most  easterly  occurrence  of  these  sandstones,  in  the  mountains  of  Whitfield,  Gordon,  and  Floyd 
counties,  the  eastern  side  is  faulted  for  their  whole  extent,  bringing  the  overlying  sub-Carboniferous,  by  a  dislocation 
of  8,000  feet,  in  contact  with  some  of  the  lowest  groups  of  the  Lower  Silurian. 

The  increasing  impurities  in  the  limestones  and  the  coarser  constitution  of  the  shales  and  sandstones  are 
observed  in  following  these  from  west  to  east.  They  are  seen  in  the  more  argillaceous  and  ferruginous  character 
of  the  Chazy  limestones,  and  to  a  greater  degree  in  the  Trenton  limestones  (from  which  at  the  same  time  the 
fossils  to  a  great  extent  disappear),  and  again  in  the  Clinton,  in  which  heavy-bedded  sandstones  and  conglomerates 
take  the  place  of  calcareous  shales  and  fine  sandstones,  with  a  great  thickening  of  the  beds. 

These  changes  in  the  character  of  these  sediments  take  place  from  Lookout  to  Chattoogata  mountain,  a 
distance  of  25  miles,  (a) 

The  table  on  page  23  gives  the  geological  divisions  that  are  represented  in  this  region,  and  also  the  thickness 
of  each  group.  The  lithological  features  of  each  and  of  the  same  group  vary  somewhat  in  the  eastern  and  western 
sections  of  the  northwestern  region,  and  it  is  of  sufficient  interest  to  represent  this  in  the  list  by  making  Taylor's  ridge 
(a  prominent  and  sharp-topped  mountain  chain  in  the  middle  of  the  region)  a  dividing  line  and  in  the  two  columns 
showing  the  features  of  each  group. 


a  There  appear  to  be  two  horizons  of  unconformity  in  this  part  of  the  state.  The  first  of  these  is  strikingly  indicated  at  Dug  Down 
mountain  between  some  of  the  Silurian  groups  and  the  metamorphic.  The  direction  of  this  mountain  is  nearly  east  and  west,  and  its 
rocks,  consisting  of  gneiss  and  mica-schists,  dip  to  the  south  or  southeast,  while  the  Quebec  and  Trenton  groups  approach  the  mountain 
on  the  north  with  folds  trending  north  and  south  and  with  east  and  west  dips.  The  Potsdam  sandstones  in  Indian  mountain,  standing 
off  to  the  northwest,  show  an  approximate  correspondence  in  the  strike  of  its  rocks  with  that  of  Dug  Down  mountain,  and  a  like 
discordance  with  that  of  newer  groups,  which  appear  to  cross  its  folds  without  marked  evidence  of  disturbance.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact, 
not  corroborative,  however,  of  the  hypothesis  of  nonconformity,  that  the  rocks  of  Dug  Down  mountain  appear  to  show  no  flexures  in 
correspondence  with  the  folds  in  these  newer  rocks.  This  is  most  likely  due  to  a  great  lateral  dislocation  here  at  the  time  of  this 
disturbance. 

The  next  horizon  of  unconformity  is  at  the  top  of  the  Quebec  group,  evidenced  in  the  relation  of  overlying  groups  to  this  in  a 
number  ot  localities,  but  more  particularly  in  Dry  valley,  in  Walker  county.  Here  the  Trenton  and  Clinton  rocks,  in  an  anticlinal  valley 
or  cove  between  Mission  ridge  and  one  of  its  westerly  spurs,  dip  toward  the  east  against  tho  ridge,  and  also  toward  the  west  against 
this  spur,  passiug  around  its  terminal  point,  where,  with  the  same  angle  of  dip,  it  is  covered  by  the  sub-Carboniferous,  also  abutting 
against  the  ridge. 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


23 


The  rocks  belonging  to  groups  that  afford  arable  lands  are  indicated  in  the  table  with  an  asterisk  (*) 
others  in  general  enter  into  the  structure  of  steep  mountains  and  ridges. 


The 


Geological  formations. 


LITHOLOGK'AL  GBOUFB. 


West  of  Taylor's  ridge. 


Thick- 
ness. 


East  of  Taylor's  ridge. 


*  Thin-bedded  sandstones  and  shales,  with  coal. 


Carboniferous  . 


Conglomerates  and  heavy-bedded  sandstones  . 
Shales,  with  bed  of  coal  at  top 


Sub-Carboniferous  . 


*  Heavy-bedded  blue  limestone 

*  Siliceous  limestone,  with  flint  nodules. 


Devonian  ...., 
k  (Oriskany  . 


Siliceous  limestone,  with  geodes 

Black  bituminous  shale 

Blue  shale,  with  phosphatic  nodules. 


Feet. 
400 


250 
200 


400 
200 


100 

80 
1 


Thin-bedded  sandstones  and  ! 
Conglomerates  and  heavy-bedded  sandstones. 


*  Shales . 


*  Arenaceous  shales  and  bituminous  limestone 

*  Siliceous  limestone,  with  flint  layer  and  nodules. . 


m  ■ 


*  Calcareous  shales,  with  geodes 

•Black  bituminous  shale 

*Blue  shale,  with  phospbatic  nodules. 
'Siliceous  skeleton  [limestone?] 


Clinton  . 


Sandstone  and  arenaceous  shales  . 


Id  i  Medina 

r  Cincinnati  . 


*  Calcareous  shales,  with  iron  ore.. 

*  Calcareous  shales 


350 
250 


Sandstone,  with  beds  of  iron  ore. . 


Heavy -bedded  sandstones. 
Argillaceous  sandstones  ... 


Trenton. 
Chazy ... 


*  Thin-bedded  blue  limestone  and  calcareous  shales 

*Thin-bedded  blue  and  gray  limestone  and  calcareous  shales 


Upper  Quebec  . 
Lower  Quebec. 


*  Limestone,  with  heavy  beds  of  chert.. 


*  Argillaceous  shales,  with  beds  of  oolitic  limestone  . 


600 
400 


5,000 
2,500 


*  Red  and  dove-colored  rotten  limestone  . 


*  Limestone,  with  heavy  beds  of  chert. . 


*  Argillaceous  shales,  with  oolitic  limestone. . 


Calciferous  and  Potsdam. 


Glauconitic  shales  and  sandstones  . 

Sandstones 

Argillites 


Conglomerates,  slates,  gneisses,  mica-schists  . 


Feet. 
200 


150 
200 


300 
250 


5  to  15 

1 


410 
200 

1,000 

5,000 

2,500 

1,000 
(!) 

(?) 

(?> 


The  soils  belonging  to  the  different  groups  are  in  general  well  characterized,  each  affording  a  soil  in  many 
particulars  peculiar  to  itself.  For  this  reason  it  will  be  most  convenient  to  consider  separately  the  soils  of  certain 
groups  of  rocks  (the  geological  groups  to  which  they  belong  being  added  in  parenthesis),  arranged  in  accordance 
with  general  characteristics  in  common,  or  else  with  reference  to  accessory  relations  in  the  structure  of  valleys  or 
other  areas  of  arable  lauds.  '  !, 

The  soils  pertaining  to  a  formation  are  often  modified  to  some  extent  by  the  admixture  of  materials  derived 
from  adjoining  groups  in  the  wearing  down  of  the  country,  or,  as  is  rarely  the  case  here,  may  be  wholly  composed  of 
transported  materials.  This  is  true  of  some  localities  bordering  on  mountain  slopes,  but  changes  from  this  cause,  to 
the  extent  of  disguising  the  prominent  soil  characteristics  inherent  to  the  formations,  are  of  rare  occurrence  on 
uplands  in  this  country. 

The  following  comprise  the  chief  varieties  as  represented  in  northwest  Georgia: 

1.  Gray  sandy  lands  of  the  metamorphic  border. 

2.  Flatwoods. 

3.  Red-clay  lands. 

4.  Gray  siliceous  soils  of  the  ridges. 

5.  Brown  and  red  loams. 

6.  Yellow-clay  lands. 

7.  Sandy  table  or  mountain  lands. 

8.  Alluvial  lands. 

19  C  V— VOL.  II  289 


24  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

Gray  Sandy  Lands  op  the  Metasiorphio  (Huronian). 

The  metamorphic  rocks  to  which  these  belong  are  confined  mostly  to  rugged,  mountainous  areas  on  the  eastern 
sides  of  Murray  and  Gordon  and  the  eastern  and  southern  sides  of  Bartow  and  Polk  counties.  The  rocks  named  in 
the  order  of  predominance  are  quartzites,  conglomerates,  slates,  feldsitic  gneisses,  siliceous  and  graphitic  hydro- 
mica  schists,  and  chloritic  schists. 

These  give  rise  in  general  to  a  gray  sandy  soil  of  moderate  productiveness,  the  growth  of  which  consists  of  red, 
black,  post,  and  mountain  oaks,  hickory,  chestnut,  and  short-leaf  pine.  In  addition  to  this,  in  the  higher  portions 
of  the  Cohutta  mountains,  there  are  spruces,  holly,  and  white  pine.  The  lands  are  mostly  in  forests,  owing  to  the 
broken  character  of  the  country. 

"Flatwoods"  (Potsdam  and  Calci/crous). 

These  formations  are  made  up  of  sandstones  and  hard  siliceous  and  argillaceous  shales,  with  siliceous  limestones 
in  certain  localities.  The  siliceous  shales  are  most  abundant  in  the  upper  part  of  the  series,  and  these  are  often 
glauconitic,  while  the  sandstone  occurs  in  both  the  lower  and  the  upper  beds.  Owing  to  its  somewhat  varied 
lithological  character,  the  topography  is  correspondingly  diversified  with  mountains,  hills,  and  nearly  level 
"flatwoods",  but  the  soils  are  nearly  everywhere  of  one  general  character,  at  least  with  regard  to  sterility.  The 
most  extensive  area  of  these  lands  is  that  of  the  flatwoods  near  the  Oostenaula  and  the  Coosa  rivers,  in  Gordon, 
Floyd,  and  Polk  counties,  and  a  mountainous  section  south  of  the  Coosa  river,  in  Floyd  and  Polk  counties,  belonging 
to  the  same  formation,  and  with  which  these  flatwoods  are  continuous.  It  occurs  again  in  a  belt  of  hills  in  the 
.southern  part  of  Murray  county,  extending  southward  nearly  across  the  county  of  Gordon.  In  the  eastern  part  of 
Catoosa  the  glauconitic  shales,  with  sandstones,  are  found  in  a  narrow  belt  extending  southward  into  Whitfield.  It 
affords  a  thin  soil  of  a  gray  or  a  light-brown  color,  with  but  little  depth  above  the  hard  shales  and  sandstones,  and  the 
lands  are  generally  regarded  as  unfit  for  cultivation.  This  land  abounds  in  short-leaf  pine,  with  post  and  red  oaks 
as  its  principal  forest  growth. 

Bed-clay  Lands  (Lower  Quebec). 

These  lands  are  underlaid  by  a  series  of  shales  and  limestones  of  about  2,500  feet  thickness.  The  region 
covers  in  Georgia  about  400  square  miles,  occurring  in  belts  of  from  half  a  mile  to  2  or  3  miles  in  width,  and  is 
found  in  all  of  the  counties  under  consideration  except  Dade, 

The  formation  affords  an  argillaceous  soil  of  an  orange  or  light  red  color,  and  of  great  importance,  nearly 
the  entire  area  consisting  of  slightly  rolling  or  nearly  level  lands,  most  of  which  have  long  been  under  cultivation. 
This  soil  contains  more  clay  in  general  than  most  of  the  other  good  lands  of  the  region,  but  is  more  or  less 
calcareous,  and  contains  a  sufficient  amount  of  sand  or  fine  gravel,  derived  in  part  from  bordering  cherty  ridges,  to 
promote  easy  culture.  The  clay  beneath  the  soil  has  varying  depths  of  from  1  foot  or  2  to  15  feet  down  to  the 
shales,. but  rarely  less  than  4  or  5  feet.  The  generally  rolling  character  of  the  land  is  sufficient  for  good  drainage. 
The  forest  growth  is  red,  white,  and  Spanish  oaks,  hickory,  dogwood,  chestnut,  and  pine;  the  principal  agricultural 
products,  corn,  oats,  wheat,  clover  and  grasses,  and  cotton.  Land  of  this  character  that  has  been  kept  in 
cultivation  for  thirty  or  more  years,  with  little  or  nothing  returned  to  the  soil  for  its  improvement,  will  now 
produce  about  20  bushels  of  corn,  G  bushels  of  wheat,  and  10  bushels  of  oats  to  "the  acre.  These  lands  are, 
however,  capable  of  a  high  degree  of  improvement,  and  where  they  have  been  properly  kept  up  the  yield  is  good. 
They  rank  as  about  third-rate  uplands  in  relation  to  cotton  culture,  and  with  fertilizers  will  produce  about  500 
pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  The  lands,  where  hilly,  are  inclined  to  wash:  but  this  can  generally  be  prevented 
by  bonzontal  plowing,  though  they  are  rarely  so  steep  as  to  require  this.  The  valleys  in  which  these  lands  occur 
are  supplied  with  numerous  springs,  running  from  the  bases  of  cherty  ridges  that  border  them  on  one  or  both 
sides,  and  water  is  easily  obtained  in  wells,  that  do  not  require  curbing,  at  depths  of  from  20  to  40  feet. 

Gray  Siliceous  Soil  of  the  Budges  (Upper  Quebec). 

This  region  covers  an  area  of  804  square  miles,  or  about  one-fourth  of  the  entire  extent  of  country.  The 
formation  gives  rise  to  ridges  or  knobby  belts  of  country  of  from  1  mile  to  10  miles  in  width,  with  heights  varying 
from  100  to  300  feet.  Where  these  belts  are  broad,  they  often  contain  lands  that  are  nearly  level,  or  at  least 
consist  of  low  rolling  hills. 

The  limestone  beds  iu  these  ridges  have  been  leached  out,  commonly  to  the  depth  of  100  feet  or  more;  but  the 
chert  and  less  soluble  impurities  of  the  limestone  layers  cover  the  surface,  and  the  formation  is  buried  to  this  extent 
in  its  own  debris.  There  are  seven  or  eight  belts  of  this  character,  some  of  which  are  continuous  across  this  part 
of  the  state,  known  nearly  everywhere  by  the  common  name  of  "the  ridges". 

The  hinds  have  a  gravelly  soil,  varying  in  color  from  light  to  dark  gray,  with  generally  a  porous  gravelly 
subsoil;  but  in  some  places  there  is  a  good  clay  subsoil,  with  a  gravelly  soil  of  a  dark  brown  or  red  color.  These 
290 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


25 


lands  are  generally  regarded  as  poor,  and  are  for  the  most  part  in  the  original  forests.  The  prices  range  from  50 
cents  to  $3  per  acre,  according  to  situation,  the  highest  values  being  given  to  such  as  adjoin  the  valley  lands, 
without  regard  to  their  adaptation  to  culture.  Recently  attention  has  been  attracted  to  these  as  among  the  most 
profitable  lands  for  cotton.  They  are  found  to  give  a  better  immediate  return  for  manures  than  the  richer  valley 
lands,  and  their  present  cheapness  and  comparatively  easy  culture,  with  their  general  healthfulness,  give  them 
additional  importance.  The  timber  is  of  good  size,  and  consists  of  red,  black,  mountain,  post,  white,  and  Spanish 
oaks,  chestnut,  pine,  hickory,  dogwood,  sourwood,  and  black  gum.  The  oaks  predominate,  but  chestnut  and 
short-leaf  pine  are  generally  abundant.  When  the  belts  are  broad  and  the  lands  nearly  level,  as  in  some  portions 
of  Bartow  and  Polk  counties,  the  long-leaf  pine  is  the  prevailing  growth.  Hickory  is  common,  especially  where 
there  is  a  somewhat  compact  subsoil,  and  the  mountain  oak  is  only  found  upon  the  high  and  steep  portion  of  the 
ridges.  Notwithstanding  the  hilly  character  of  these  lands,  they  are  less  liable  to  injury  from  washing  than  most 
of  the  uplands,  the  gravel  and  small  stones  with  which  the  surface  is  covered,  as  well  as  the  pervious  character 
of  the  soil,  protecting  it.  The  cotton  crop  is  less  subject  to  injury  from  continued  wet  weather  in  the  spring  than 
on  most  other  soils,  and  comes  to  maturity  early,  rarely  failing  to  open  well.  The  production  with  fertilizers  is 
about  1,'JOO  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  Corn  does  not  do  well  on  these  lands  after  a  few  years'  cultivation, 
except  in  very  rainy  seasons.  With  the  use  of  fertilizers  wheat  might  be  made  a  profitable  crop,  as  it  is  less 
subject  to  disaster  and  nearly  always  matures  a  better  developed  grain  than  on  the  richer  valley  lands;  but 
without  fertilizers  it  does  not  "  tiller"  or  spread  well,  and  the  average  yield  is  not  so  good.  The  lands  are  well  suited 
for  fruit  culture,  the  trees  being  healthy  and  long-lived,  and  the  tops  and  slopes  of  ridges  here  have  an  immunity 
from  late  spring  frosts  that  often  kill  the  fruit  on  lower  lands. 

There  are  no  springs  or  constantly  running  streams  in  the  central  portions  of  these  belts,  and  water  is  obtained 
with  some  uncertainty  at  depths  of  from  70  to  100  feet  in  wells  that  always  require  curbing.  The  drainage,  except 
in  wet  weather,  is  confined  to  deep  subterranean  streams,  which  find  outlets  in  the  bold  springs  that  occur  in  great 
numbers  along  the  outskirts  of  bordering  valleys. 

The  following  analysis  gives  the  composition  of  an  average  sample  of  these  cherty  ridge  soils  : 
No.  506.  Gray  cherty  soil,  taken  south  of  La  Fayette,  Walker  county.     Depth,  6  inches;  timber  growth,  oak, 
hickory,  poplar,  chestnut,  and  pine. 

Cherty  ridge  lands,  Walker  county. 


Insoluble  matter 

Solnble  Bilica 

Potash 

Soda  

Lime 

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese 

Peroxide  ofiron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

Water  and  organic  matter  . 

Total 

Hygroscopic  moisturo 

absorbed  at 


81.  470 
7.456 

1 88.  826 

0.422 

0.277 

0.107 

0.878 

0.178 

1.U88 

3.058 

0.  411 

0.193 

4.  405 

100.  926 

[This  analysis  shows  that  these  lands  are  remarkably  rich  in  potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  with  a  sufficiency  of 
lime  to  insure  their  availability  for  the  present  at  least.  The  generally  prevailing  idea  that  these  ridge  lauds  are  of 
no  value  agriculturally  is  shown  both  by  this  result  and  by  actual  tests  to  be  a  mistaken  one.— R.  II.  L.l 


BROWN  AND   RED   LOAMS. 

These  are  formed  from  the  limestones  and  calcareous  shales  of  several  geological  formations,  and,  as  they  differ 
somewhat,  they  are  described  separately. 

Lands  of  the  Chazy  and  Trenton.— In  Dade  county,  and  in  that  portion  of  Catoosa,  Walker,  and  most  of  Chattooga 
counties  that  lies  west  of  Taylor's  ridge,  the  lauds  are  all  highly  calcareous,  and  are  perhaps  the  richest  uplands  in 
the  state.  The  timfjer  is  large,  and  consists  principally  of  red,  Spanish,  and  white  oaks,  hickory,  poplar,  sugar  maple 
post  oak,  and  cedar,  with  an  admixture  of  most  of  the  varieties  indigenous  to  the  country  and  common  to  the  valley 
lands.  The  lands  generally  lie  well,  but  are  sometimes  hilly  and  inclined  to  wash.  Where  the  blue  limestones  are 
nearly  horizontal,  they  are  sometimes  exposed,  or  else  lie  in  close  proximity  to  the  surface.     Such  lands  are  usually 

291 


26  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

covered  with  a  growth  of  cedar  and  red  haw,  and  are  known  as  cedar  glades;  but  there  are  no  very  extensive  areas 
of  this  kind.  Where  the  limestones  lie  unexposed  near  the  surface,  this  fact  is  usually  indicated  by  a  growth  of 
post  oaks. 

The  soil  consists  of  two  principal  varieties,  viz,  a  brown  calcareous  loam  of  the  blue  limestone  areas  and  a 
red  calcareous  loam  of  the  rotten  limestone.  The  first  varies  in  color  from  a  light  to  dark  brown  and  almost  black, 
a  dark  or  chocolate  brown  being  the  most  characteristic  color,  with  a  subsoil  uf  lighter  shade,  sometimes  approaching 
to  red.  The  soil  of  the  rotten  limestone  belts  is  of  a  dark  red  color  with  a  red  subsoil.  There  is  quite  a  striking 
difference  in  the  appearance  of  these  lands,  though  in  the  more  essential  characteristics  of  productiveness  and  iu 
adaptation  to  various  crops  a  comparison  shows  no  important  difference.  In  Polk,  Floyd,  and  Murray  counties  the 
lands  are  red,  but  of  a  lighter  color  than  that  of  the  rotten  limestones.  Lands  that  have  been  in  cultivation  for 
thirty  or  more  years  will  often  produce  from  30  to  50  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre.  The  soils  seem  to  be  considerably 
deteriorated  for  the  wheat  crop,  but  after  the  land  has  been  rested  in  clover,  and  a  crop  of  this  turned  under,  from 
10  to  20  bushels  is  not  an  unusual  yield.  Cotton  has  not  been  grown  to  much  extent  on  these  lauds  north  of  Floyd 
county,  and  in  this  county  and  Polk  about  000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  is  the  usual  yield. 

Sub-Carboniferous  broicn-loam  lands. — The  rocks  of  this  formation  consist  of  limestones,  arenaceous  shales, 
aud  siliceous  or  cherty  limestones.  The  lands,  which  are  generally  rolling,  but  sometimes  nearly  level  where  the 
valleys  are  broad,  have  a  brown  soil  that  is  calcareous  and  siliceous,  or  sandy,  with  sufficient  clay  in  the  subsoil  to 
give  it  a  somewhat  retentive  character  and  yet  admit  of  good  drainage,  even  where  the  lands  are  nearly  level.  The 
areas  of  this  character  are  in  the  valleys  immediately  around  Sand,  Lookout,  and  Pigeon  mountains,  in  the  broader 
valleys  immediately  east  of  Taylor's  ridge,  and  again  east  of  Horn's  mountain,  viz:  West  Armuchee  valley,  iu 
Walker  county ;  Sugar  valley,  iu  Gordon  ;  Dirt  Town  valley,  in  Chattooga ;  aud  Texas  valley,  with  a  large  portion 
of  the  country  to  the  west  of  Coosa  river,  iu  Floyd  county.  These  are  decidedly  the  best  cotton  uplands  in  this 
part  of  the  state,  yielding  often  without  fertilizers  from  1,000  to  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  the  acre.  They 
seem  to  be  especially  adapted  to  the  cotton  crop,  but  corn,  wheat,  and  oats  do  well. 

Analyses  of  the  following  soils  of  these  red  and  mulatto  lands  have  been  made.  («) 

A  few  samples  of  lands  that  have  been  in  successful  cultivation  for  very  many  years  and  without  apparent 
diminution  of  productiveness  have  been  added  for  comparison. 

No.  505.  Mulatto  soil  of  West  Armuchee  valley,  WTalker  county,  taken  6  inches  deep.  Timber  growth,  oak, 
hickory,  and  pine. 

No.  517.  Darl;  mulatto  soil,  valley  land  near  Cedar  Town,  Polk  county,  taken  8  inches  deep.  Growth,  black, 
red,  and  post  oaks,  hickory,  a  few  short-leaf  pine  aud  black  gum,  dogwood,  walnut,  and  buckeye. 

No.  502.  Mulatto  soil,  cultivated,  from  near  Cedar  Town,  Polk  county,  taken  8  inches  deep.  This  soil  has  been 
under  cultivation  several  years,  and  commercial  fertilizers  have  been  applied  to  some  extent. 

No.  503.  Subsoil  to  the  above,  taken  from  8  to  10  inches. 

No.  GO.  Upland  mulatto  soil  near  Stilesboro',  southwestern  part  of  Bartow  county,  taken  3  inches  deep.  Growth, 
oak,  pine,  and  hickory. 

No.  67.  Subsoil  to  the  above,  taken  from  3  to  9  inches  deep. 

No.  68.  Upland  mulatto  soil,  cultivated,  from  near  Stilesboro',  Bartow  county,  taken  3  inches  deep.  This  soil 
had  been  in  cultivation  about  50  years  when  taken  in  1874.  No  fertilizers  had  been  used.  Its  corresponding  virgin 
soil,  No.  66,  was  taken  in  the  woods  about  100  feet  distant. 

No.  69.  Subsoil  to  the  above,  taken  from  3  to  9  inches  deep. 

No.  21.  Red  soil  of  Pine  Log  valley,  northeastern  part  of  Bartow  county,  taken  10  inches  deep.  Timber  growth, 
white  oak,  hickory,  and  pine. 

No.  51S.  Virgin  mulatto  soil  from  the  place  of  Colonel  J.  J.  Fitten,  near  Adairsville,  Bartow  county,  taken  8 
inches  deep.  Timber  growth,  post  and  black  oaks,  pine,  walnut,  hickory,  and  persimmon.  Lingula  shales  underlie 
this  laud,  and  small  fragments  occur  in  the  soil. 

No.  11.  Subsoil  to  the  above,  taken  a  short  distance  from  it.     Depth  taken,  S  to  12  inches. 

No.  519.  Cultivated  soil  of  the  above,  taken  5  inches  deep,  to  a  hard,  undisturbed  clay  subsoil.  The  field  was 
cultivated  by  the  Cherokee  Chief  Adair,  100  or  more  years  ago,  aud  has  since  been  under  cultivation  without 
fertilizers. 

No.  9.  Cultivated  subsoil  of  the  above  land,  taken  from  5  to  19  inches  deep. 


a  The  samples  with  low  numbers  are  of  the  state  geological  collection,  and  the  analyses  were  made  in  1875  for  the  Georgia  department 
of  agriculture ;  all  others  were  collected  and  analyzed  for  the  Census  Office,  and  their  numbers  are  merely  used  for  convenience. — R.  H.  L. 
292 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 

Red  and  brown  loams. 


27 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Potash 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

Water  and  organic  matter... 


Total  . 


Hygroscopic  moisture  . 

absorbed  at 

Humus 


Available  inorganic 

Available  phosphoric  acid  . 
Available  silica 


"WaLKEKCOLXTY. 


I,  C80  > 

.„,]«■■• 

0.178 
0.065 
0.047 
0.031 
0.041 
1.750 
2.  677 
0.188 
0.041 
2.980 


Polk  county. 


VAN'S  VALLEY  RED  LAND,  NEAR  CEDARTOWN. 


Virgin  soil. 


67.  310  ; 

5.  207  : 


99.  301 


72.  526 

0.334 
0.003 
0.286 
0.  392 
0.  034 
6.234 
9.721 
0.042 
0.328 
10.015 


1)9.  075 


2.153 
1.378 
0.036 
0.701 


Cultivated  soil. 


Cultivated  subsoil. 


72.  320  , 
4.  230  i 


70.  550 

0.725 
0.165 
0.290 
0.  255 
0.179 
0.290 
7.101 
0.261 
0.114 
6.  600 


70.  835  i 
12. 180  i 


98.  530 


0.  320 
0.  067 
0.  205 
0.317 
0.137 
5.800 
6.190 
0.360 
0.095 
3.213 


99.  719 


Bartow  county 

RACCOON  CREEK  VALLEY,  NEAR  STILESBORO'. 

PINE  LOG 
VALLEY. 

OOTltCALOGA  VALLEY,  NEAR  ADAinSVlLLE. 

Virgin  soil. 

Cultivated 
soil  (fifty 
years). 

Virgin 
subsoil. 

Cultivated 
subsoil. 

Bed  soil. 

Virgin,  soil. 

Cultivated 
soil  (oue  bun- 
dred  years). 

Virgin 
subsoil. 

Cultivated 

subsoil  (one 

bundled 

years). 

No.  60. 

No.  68. 

No.  67. 

No.  69. 

No.  21. 

No.  518. 

No.  519. 

No.  11. 

No.  9. 

79.  939) 

<83.  210 
3.271* 

0.209 

0.001 

0.  201 

0.181 

0.436 

3.287 

5.170 

0.130 

0.063 

7.019 

76.  830) 

'83.  680 
6.  850* 

0.207 

0.009 

0.189 

0.203 

0.234 

4.404 

7.097 

77.  360, 

'82.  401 
5.041* 

0.155 

0.  020 

0.095 

0.246 

0.255 

4.302 

7.898 

70.  230, 

80.200 
9.  970* 

0.337 

Trace. 

0.179 

0.326 

0.112 

4.886 

3.373 

0.  071 

0.  037 

4.  862 

70. 391) 

'•74.  791 

4.400* 

0.  225 
0.  003 
0.  057 
0.201 
0.389 
12.  050 

64.874)„ 

10.988>'°' 

1.150 
0.  028 
0. 100 
0.805 

o.  iso 

6.  880 

J            79. 711 
0.503 

69.691) 

'80.  779 
11.088* 

0.925 

'  '-78.  779 

0.  028 

0/282  1               0. 100 

0. 161 

0.178 

I           13. 409 

0.  140 
0.035 

5.  G37 

0.  278 
c            5. 239 
t             8. 823 
0.  209 
0.003 
3.512 

0.373 

4.571 

10.  784 

0.252 

0.002 
5.  256 

0.016 
6.  GS1 

0.037 

4.490 

4  591 

4.595 

100.  003 

100.  640 

100. 170 

94.413 

99. 461 

99.  670 

100.  463 

100.  603 

100.  733 

7.740 
21  C.° 

6.680 

17C.° 

8.560 
iSC.° 

8.020 

17C.° 

9.  790 
16C.° 

8.410 
17  C.° 
1.  852 
0.  606 
0.016 
0.  059 

6.440 
17C.° 

9.440 
17C.° 

7.840 

20C.° 



1.313 
0.027 
0.  027 

1 

[Of  the  above  analyses,  that  of  Walker  comity  is  perhaps  not  a  fair  sample  of  the  rich  and  productive  lands 
of  West  Arm  lichee  valley,  almost  the  entire  area  of  which  is  under  cultivation,  leaving  but  few  spots  of  virgin  soil, 
usually  inferior  in  quality.  This  seems  to  have  been  the  case  with  this  sample,  for  it  is  very  deficient  in  lime,  a 
thing  unusual  in  the  other  lands  of  this  group,  and  its  potash  percentage  is  also  rather  low. 

The  virgin  soil  of  Polk  county,  sent  in  by  Mr.  Byrd  as  a  fair  sample  of  the  lands  of  that  region,  while  rich  in 
potash,  is  very  deficient  in  phosphoric  acid.  There  is  a  fair  percentage  of  lime,  and  its  importance  is  evident  in 
the  fact  that  it  renders  even  this  small  amount  of  phosphoric  acid  available,  as  is  shown  in  the  comparatively  high 
productiveness  (800  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre).     The  humus  percentage  is  also  large.  293 


28  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

In  the  cultivated  soil  there  is  an  increase  of  both  potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  but  this  is  due  to  the  commercial 
fertilizers  that  have  been  used  in  the  cultivation  of  cotton. 

The  virgin  lands  of  Raccoon  creek,  Bartow  county,  have  a  fair  percentage  of  potash  and  phosphoric  acid, 
with  a  sufficiency  of  lime  to  make  them  available.  After  long  cultivation  they  seem  not  to  have  lost  much  of  the 
potash,  while  the  phosphoric  acid  and  lime  have  been  reduced  about  one-half. 

The  Pine  Log;  valley  soil  has  a  deep  red  color,  from  the  large  amount  of  iron.  It  contains  fair  percentages  of 
potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  but  the  lime  is  not  in  sufficient  quantity  to  render  these  available  for  any  great  length 
of  time. 

The  most  interesting  group  of  analyses  is  that  of  the  soils  of  Oothcaloga  valley,  Bartow  county,  the  specimens 
representing  lands  uncultivated  and  others  of  the  same  quality  that  have,  been  in  cultivation  without  fertilizers 
for  probably  100  years.  The  specimens  were  carefully  taken,  and  the  analyses  repeated  on  specimens  taken 
about  200  yards  distant  from  these.  The  analyses  show  a  great  reduction  in  the  chief  elements  of  plant-food 
after  long  tillage,  and  that  even  then  the  soil  is  rich  in  potash  and  has  a  fair  percentage  of  phosphoric  acid,  with  a 
sufficiency  of  lime  to  render  it  constantly  available  and  the  laud  productive.  The  extremely  large  percentage  of 
potash  in  the  soil  is  doubtless  due  to  the  fact  that  the  lands  are  largely  derived  from  the  shales  that  abound  in 
lingula,  fragments  of  which  are  found  interspersed  through  it.  The  methods  of  improvement  in  practice  on  this 
land  have  been  rotation  of  crops  and  the  turning  uud«r  of  green  crops,  especially  clover. — R.  H.  L.] 

Yellow  Clay  Soils  (Cincinnati  and  Clinton). 

The  Cincinnati  group  and  the  lower  portion  of  the  Clinton  group,  in  Dade  county,  and  along  the  eastern  side  of 
Lookout  mountain  and  around  Pigeon  mountain,  in  Walker  county,  consist  of  green  calcareous  shales  that  weather  to 
a  yellow  or  orange  color.  The  rocks  outcrop  in  the  hills  or  on  the  slopes  of  the  ridges  around  these  mountains,  and 
the  lands  to  which  they  give  rise  are  rich,  and  are  very  generally  under  cultivation.  The  soil  is  yellow  or  orange 
colored  and  rather  argillaceous  in  character,  though  there  is  an  admixture  of  line  sand  and  gravel  that  renders  it 
easy  of  tillage.  The  steepness  of  slopes  and  character  of  soil  predisposes  the  lands  to  wash,  and  horizontal  hillside 
plowing  is  necessary  to  prevent  washing.     These  lands  are  well  adapted  to  corn  and  wheat. 

Where  these  formations  occur  east  of  Lookout  and  Pigeon  mountains  they  are  represented  by  hard  siliceous 
shales  and  sandstones,  and  in  this  character  contribute  largely  to  the  materials  of  which  the  Chattoogata  range  of 
mountains  is  built. 

Sandy  Lands  of  the  Mountain  Summits  (Carboniferous). 

The  portion  of  the  Carboniferous  series  above  the  conglomerates,  consisting  of  sandstones  and  sandy  shales,  gives 
l'ise  to  a  gray  or  yellow  sandy  land,  more  or  less  gravelly  and  rocky.  The  soils  of  this  character  are,  on  table-lands, 
from  1,000  to  1,200  feet  above  the  valleys.  Sand  mountain,  in  Dade  county,  Lookout  mountain,  in  Dade,  Walker, 
and  Chattooga  counties,  and  Little  Sand  mountain,  in  Chattooga  county,  afford  the  lands  of  this  character,  the  total 
area  of  which  is  about  200  square  miles.  The  topography  varies  from  nearly  level  to  rolling  and  hilly.  The  daily 
range  of  the  thermometer  here  is  about  50  per  cent,  less  during  the  summer  months  than  in  the  valleys,  though  the 
daily  minimum  temperature  is  usually  but  2°  or  3°  less.  Owing  to  this  average  low  temperature,  these  lands  are 
thought  to  be  unfit  for  the  growth  of  cotton,  to  which  otherwise  they  would  seem  to  be  well  suited.  They  are 
especially  adapted  to  fruit  culture  and  to  a  great  variety  of  vegetables. 

A  variety  of  mineral  springs  is  found  on  these  table-lands,  and  these,  together  with  the  pleasant  summer  climate, 
give  importance  to  this  region  as  a  health  resort.  The  timber  is  of  medium  size,  consisting  of  mountain,  white,  and 
red  oaks,  chestnut,  pine,  and  hickory,  with  less  undergrowth  than  is  common  to  other  woodlands  in  this  part  of 
the  state,  and  with  a  good  coat  of  grass  covering  the  surface  nearly  everywhere. 

Ai.lutial  Lands. 

In  the  mountains,  where  the  streams  are  rapid,  the  alluvial  lands  have  but  little  extent,  but  in  the  valleys  the 
creek  and  river  bottoms  are  comparatively  broad.  The  bottom  lands  vary  from  about  one-eighth  of  a  mile  on  small 
streams  to  1  mile  or  2  miles  on  the  larger  ones,  the  greater  part  of  their  width  being  generally  on  the  western  side 
of  the  stream.  The  alluvial  deposits  of  small  streams  vary  more  in  character,  those  of  the  larger  ones  in  general 
being  most  productive. 

Alluvial  lauds  with  a  large  proportion  of  sand  are  the  only  ones  on  which  cotton  has  been  grown  with  success, 
the  Coosa  and  Etowah  rivers  affording  some  of  the  best  cotton  lands  in  this  part  of  the  state. 

The  following  analyses  of  soils  and  subsoils  give  an  idea  of  the  composition  of  the  alluvial  lands  of  the  region, 
although  the  samples  are  from  one  county  alone : 

No.  70.  Dark  bottom  soil  of  Baccoou  creek,  near  Stilesboro',  Bartow  county,  taken  10  inches  deep.    Timber 
growth,  ash,  poplar,  gum,  and  elm. 
294 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


29 


No.  71.  Subsoil  to  the  above,  taken  from  10  to  15  inches  deep. 


No.  74.   Dark  bottom  soli 
Growth  the  same  as  above. 


of  Pumpkin-vine  creek,  near  Stilesboro',  Bartow  county,  taken  15  inches  deep. 
Alluvial  lands,  Bartow  county. 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Potash 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  aoid ,. 

Sulphuric  acid 

Water  and  organic  matter  . 

Total 

Hygroscopic  moisture 

absorbed  at 


EACCOOH  CHEEK. 

PUMPKIN-VISE 
CHEEK. 

Soil. 

Subsoil. 

Soil. 

No.  70. 

ISO.  71. 

No.  74. 

^J"  588.830 

4.  038  > 

82.  050  ) 

J  88.  020 
6.  870  5 

83. 110  j 

5  87.  000 
3.  890  3 

0.205 

0.212 

0.160 

0.001 

0.002 

0.021 

0.211 

0. 120 

0.264 

0.205 

0.255 

6.509 

0.127 

0.058 

0.067 

2.260 

3.568 

3.146 

3.031 

3.800 

3.  896 

0.099 

0.147 

0.242 

0.028 

0.013 

0.055 

3.737 

2.501 

4.212 

99.  324 

99.  662 

99.  572 

4.550 

4.550 

4.170 

18C.° 

17C.O 

18C.° 

[From  the  above  it  appears  that  these  lands  are  not  as  rich  in  the  elements  of  plant- food  as  some  of  the  red  and 
mulatto  soils  of  the  valleys.  Their  sandy  character  well  adapts  them  to  the  cultivation  of  cotton,  but  this  is 
partly  counteracted  by  their  low  situation.  There  is  nothing  in  these  analyses  to  indicate  great  durability  in  the 
lands,  though  the  percentages  of  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  are  sufficient  in  the  presence  of  the  lime  to  insure 
fair  productiveness  for  some  time. — E.  H.  L.] 


THE  METAMORPHIC  REGION. 

The  rocks  and  soils  characterizing  the  metamorphic  region  cover  the  whole  north  half  of  the  state  except 
northwestern  Georgia.  Its  southern  limit  follows  an  irregular  line,  passing  through  the  cities  of  Augusta,  Milledgeville, 
Macon,  and  Columbus.  These  cities,  situated  respectively  on  the  Savannah,  Oconee,  Ocmulgee,  and'  Chattahoochee 
rivers,  mark  the  heads  of  navigation,  shoals  and  falls  in  the  streams  at  these  points  being  formed  by  the  outcropping 
gneisses  and  other  metamorphic  rocks.  The  dividing  line  between  this  and  the  northwestern  region  would  pass  from 
Alabama  slightly  northeastward  through  the  southern  part  of  Polk  county  to  the  northern  part  of  Paulding,  and 
into  the  southeastern  corner  of  Bartow  ;  thence  north,  through  the  eastern  parts  of  Bartow,  Gordon,  and  Murray 
counties,  into  the  state  of  Tennessee.  There  are,  in  all,  fifty-six  entire  and  portions  of  seventeen  counties  included 
in  the  metamorphic  region,  and  the  area  is  approximately  19,090  square  miles.  The  entire  surface  of  the  country 
is  or  has  been  heavily  timbered,  with  the  exception  of  the  bald  areas,  without  either  vegetation  or  soil,  where 
granite  is  exposed.  The  timber  growth  common  to  the  entire  region  comprises  red,  white,  post,  and  black-jack 
oaks,  chestnut,  hickory,  short-leaf  pine,  dogwood,  black  gum,  and  walnut  on  the  uplands,  and  poplar,  ash,  elm, 
sycamore,  birch,  and  sweet  gum  on  the  lowlands.  It  has  been  estimated  that  of  the  entire  metamorphic  region  about 
40  per  cent,  has  been  cleared  for  cultivation,  leaving  54  per  cent,  of  the  original  growth  still  standing.  The  northern 
portion  of  the  region  differs  so  widely  in  its  features  from  the  rest  of  the  metamorphic  counties  that  it  will  be 
described  under  the  subdivision  of  "  The  Blue  Kidge  region  ".  Its  rocks  and  soils  are,  however,  similar  to  those  of 
the  other  counties,  and  a  separate  color  is  not  necessary  on  the  map. 

The  Blue  Ridge. — The  Blue  Ridge  is  the  southwest  termination  of  the  Alleghany  mountains  of  Virginia 
and  North  Carolina.  In  these  states  the  mountains  and  valleys  are  spread  over  a  wide  territory,  which  also 
extends  southward  into  South  Carolina,  forming  what  is  known  as  the  Piedmont  region. 

Soon  after  entering  Georgia,  and  especially  after  leaving  Rabun  county,  it  is  but  little  else  than  along  and 
high  ridge,  so  narrow  and  with  sides  so  steep  that  it  forms  a  most  convenient  boundary-line  southwestward  between 
the  counties  north  and  south  of  it.  From  the  main  ridge  a  number  of  others  form,  as  it  were,  offshoots,  known  by 
different  names. 

In  Pickens  county  the  Blue  Ridge  terminates  with  several  isolated  and  short  mountain  ridges,  which  have  the 
same  trend  as  the  main  ridge.  Another  line  of  high  mountain  ridges  leaves  the  terminus  of  the  Blue  Ridge  proper, 
and,  with  a  northwesterly  trend,  passes  through  Gilmer  and  Fannin  counties  into  Tennessee.  ~95 


30  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

The  general  elevation  of  the  valley  lands  at  the  foot  of  the  ridges  is  from  1,G00  to  1,800  feet,  and  from  them 
the  mountains  rise  abruptly  from  2,000  to  3,000  feet,  their  sides  and  sharp  summits  being  covered  with  a  somewhat 
dense  timber  growth.  The  general  height  of  the  Blue  Bidge  varies  with  the  many  high  points  and  low  gaps  that  are 
found  throughout  its  length.  Many  of  the  highest  points  have  been  triangulation  stations  of  the  United  States 
coast  survey,  and  their  altitudes  are  thus  given  : 

/  Foot. 

Enota,  in  Towns  county 4,796 

Rabun  Bald,  in  Rabun  county 4,718 

Blood,  in  Union  county 4,408 

Tray,  in  Habersham  county 4,435 

Cohutta,  in  Fannin  county 4, 155 

Yonab,  in  White  county 8, 16K 

Grassy,  in  Pickens  county :i,090 

Walkers,  in  Lumpkin  county 2,014 

Chattahoochee  ridge,  at  Mount  Airy,  Habersham  county 1.G00 

From  these  high  points  magnificent  views  may  be  obtained  on  a  clear  day.  The  mountain  chains  of  this  and 
the  adjoining  states  appear  in  the  distance  as  faint  blue,  irregular  lines,  while  in  the  intermediate  space  arc  the 
■well-timbered  and  isolated  mountains,  small  hills  and  ridges  rising  in  rounded  undulations,  interspersed  with 
streams  and  patches  of  farming  lands,  small,  few  and  far  between,  with  here  and  there  isolated  houses. 

The  counties  included  in  the  Blue  Ridge  region  are  Babun,  Towns,  Union,  Fannin,  Gilmer,  Pickens,  Dawson, 
Lumpkin,  White,  and  Habersham,  making  a  little  over  3,000  square  miles.  About  3  ij  per  cent,  of  their  aggregate 
area  is  estimated  to  be  too  hilly  and  broken  for  tillage. 

Middle  and  southern  metamorphio,  or  middle  Georgia. — Southward  from  the  Blue  Bidge  counties 
the  elevation  of  the  country  becomes  less  and  the  surface,  less  mountainous,  though  still  hilly,  to  the  Chattahoochee 
river.  The  mountains  now  are  mere  isolated  ridges  or  points  of  from  500  to  700  feet  above  the  general  level  of  the 
country.  Their  sides  are  steep  and  their  summits  sharp,  and  they  are  all  timbered.  Sawnee  mountain,  in  Forsyth 
county,  is  1,908  feet  high,  and  Kennesaw  mountain,  in  Cobb  county,  is  1,809  feet  high.  Only  7  per  cent,  of  the 
lands  of  the  eleven  counties  embraced  in  this  region  is  too  broken  for  successful  tillage,  and,  together  with  the 
Blue  Bidge  region,  it  forms  the  great  gold-bearing  belt  of  the  state  from  North  Carolina  to  Alabama.  Other 
minerals  also  occur,  such  as  corundum,  asbestus,  and  copper. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  Chattahoochee  river,  and  within  a  few  miles  of  it,  the  ridge,  which  in  Habersham  county 
is  high  and  prominent,  falls  in  elevation  southwestward  to  Atlanta,  and  to  that  point  is  the  water-divide  of  the. 
Atlantic  and  Gulf  tributaries;  its  summit  is  very  nearly  marked  by  the  course  of  the  Air-line  railroad. 

Atlanta,  situated  on  the  point  where  the  water-divide  turns  to  the  southeast,  has  an  elevation  of  1,050  feet 
above  the  sea  and  28S  feet  above  the  Chattahoochee  river.  The  height  of  the  ridge  above  the  surrounding  country  is 
scarcely  perceptible,  as  it  rises  gradually  northeastward  to  Habersham  county,  where  the  ascent  from  the  south  is 
very  abrupt  for  several  hundred  feet. 

From  the  river  southward  to  the  sand-hills,  a  distance,  of  about  70  miles,  there  is  a  gradual  fall  of  400  feet,  the 
elevation  being  about  000  feet  along  the  lower  limit  of  the  metamorphic,  except  that  section  between  the  Ocmulgee 
and  Ogeechee  rivers,  which  has  an  altitude  of  only  300  or  400  feet.  About  1A  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  the  twenty- 
two  counties  in  this  region  is  too  hilly  and  broken  for  tillage. 

There  are  a  number  of  ridges  and  isolated  mountains  in  this  section.  Graves'  mountain,  in  Lincoln  county,  is 
the  only  one  of  prominence  on  the  east,  its  altitude  being  300  feet  above  the  surrounding  country.  It  is  composed 
of  a  very  friable  sandstone,  having  crystals  of  lazulite,  associated  with  rutile  and  manganese  ore.  Other  mountains 
in  the  middle  of  the  region  are  Alcova  mountain,  in  Walton  county,  1,088  feet  high,  and  Stone  mountain,  in  De  Ivalb 
county,  1,GSG  feet.  Still  farther  southwest  Pine  and  Oak  ridges,  lying  parallel  in  Harris  and  Talbot  counties, 
are  only  about  300  feet  above  the  general  level  of  the  country,  but,  because  of  their  isolation,  are  visible  from  a  great 
distance.  Their  summits  are  sharp,  except-  where  deflections  occur  in  the  trend  of  the  mountain,  at  which  points 
the  surface  is  broad  and  level. 

Mineral  constituents  of  the  rocks. — The  minerals  that  enter  into  the  composition  of  the  rocks  are 
present  in  greatly  varying  proportions  in  the  different  varieties,  and  may  be  briefly  mentioned.  Quartz,  or  silica, 
is  more  generally  diffused  throughout  the  rocks  of  the  state  than  any  other  mineral,  and  it  determines  largely 
the  physical  or  mechanical  character  of  the  soil.  The  mineral  feldspar  contains,  besides  silica  and  alumina,  from 
14  to  1G  per  cent,  of  either  potash,  soda,  or  lime,  which  give  to  it  an  agricultural  importance.  By  decomposition 
these  are  set  free  as  soil  ingredients,  the  silica  and  alumina  going  to  form  the  white  clays  known  as  kaolin,  immense 
beds  of  which  are  formed  along  the  southern  line  of  the  metamorphic  region. 

Mica  occurs  still  more  abundantly  than  feldspar,  being  very  generally  associated  with  it  in  the  granite  and  gray 
gneisses,  and  forming  besides  great  beds  of  mica-schists.  The  mineral  is  popularly  known  as  "isinglass",  from 
its  strong  outward  resemblance  to  that  article.  In  but  few  localities  does  it  occur  in  large,  clear  sheets  suitable  for 
use.  In  the  various  rocks  it  is  found  in  sizes  down  to  extremely  small  particles,  and  usually  in  thin  flakes  only. 
It  is  not  easily  decomposed,  and,  being  readily  borne  by  currents,  is  found  in  the  sands  and  clays  of  the  region  far 
south  of  the  metamorphic,  recognizable  by  the  bright  shining  particles. 

296 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  31 

There  are  several  varieties  of  inica  recognized  in  Georgia,  but  only  two  are  of  any  importance.  The  clear,  bright, 
■  common  "  isinglass  "  variety  is  known  as  muscovite,  and  contains  4  per  cent,  of  iron,  2  of  magnesia,  and  9  of  potash, 
with  silica  and  alumina.  The  other  variety  is  a  black  "  biotite",  very  common  in  the  metamorphic  region  south  of  the 
Chattahoochee  river,  and  especially  in  the  granites  and  gneisses  of  the  central  portion  of  the  region,  or  the  counties 
of  Henry,  Butts,  Pike,  Jasper,  etc.  Its  composition  is  8  per  cent,  of  iron,  22  of  manganese,  10  of  potash,  the 
remainder  being  silica  and  alumina.  Hornblende  is  largely  present  in  the  rocks,  and  together  with  its  associated 
and  closely-related  minerals,  pyroxlne  and  epidote,  it  furnishes  the  soils  of  the  metamorphic  region  with  its  highly 
important  element  of  plant-food,  lime,  of  which  it  contains  about  12  per  cent.  In  addition  to  lime,  it  contains 
IS  per  cent,  of  magnesia  and  10  of  iron.  The  result  of  decomposition  is  a  red  clayey  soil  more  or  less  calcareous, 
and  dependent  upon  other  minerals  for  potash 'and  phosphoric  acid. 

Chief  rocks. — Granites. — The  granite  is  a  gray  and  massive  rock,  resembling  the  gneisses  except  in  structure, 
which  has  often  associated  with  it  narrow  outcrops  of  hornblendic  material  and  occasional  trap  bowlders. 
Tourmaline  crystals  usually  mark  the  occurrence  of  granite  in  Georgia. 

Gneisses. — These  are  laminated  in  structure,  and  are  of  two  varieties:  feldspathic,  a  gray  rock  having  the 
composition  of  the  granites,  and  hornblendic,  in  which  the  mineral  hornblende  replaces  the  mica  and  sometimes  the 
feldspar.  The  gray  gneisses  vary  as  much  in  the  proportions  of  their  ingredients  as  do  the  granites,  and  very  often 
pass  into  the  latter  so  gradually  as  to  be  scarcely  distinguishable  from  it.  They  often  form  excellent  building 
material  by  their  firmness,  durability,  and  the  fineness  of  their  ingredients,  while  on  the  other  hand  the  rock  is 
sometimes  coarsely  crystalline,  the  feldspar  presenting  large  bright  faces  on  the  surface.  These  rocks  cover  large 
areas  in  Georgia,  and  from  them  is  largely  derived  the  gray  sandy  lands.  They  are  associated  frequently  with 
narrow  strata  of  other  rocks  of  the  series. 

The  hornblendic  gneisses  do  not  occur  as  generally  as  the  other  variety.  Hornblende  is  the  most  prominent 
ingredient  in  the  rock,  giving  to  it  a  black  or  speckled  appearance,  according  to  its  percentage.  The  rock  grades 
into  a  schist  and  other  varieties,  but  all  resist  decomposition  to  a  greater  degree  than  the  feldspathic  gneisses. 
The  red  clayey  lands  derived  from  it  are  found  all  over  the  region,  either  in  wide  or  narrow  belts,  isolated  areas,  or 
thin  strata  between  other  formations. 

Mien-schist. — This  is  a  loose  or  very  friable  material  in  the  metamorphic  series,  having  the  appearance  of  a  mass 
of  mica  scales  cemented  together  with  clays  or  silica,  but  stratified  and  penetrated  with  quartz  veins  of  every 
thickness,  from  the  fraction  of  an  inch  to  a  foot,  and  even  more,  and  from  which  are  derived  the  great  quantities 
of  quartz-rock  and  gravel  that  are  found  over  the  region.  These  schists  are  often  gold-bearing,  especially  north 
of  the  Chattahoochee  river. 

Itacohnnite. — This  sandstone  occurs  in  belts  in  various  parts  of  the  metamorphic  region,  and  in  Hall  county 
and  the  northern  part  of  Gwinnett  forms  the  chief  feature  of  Hog  mountain.  Along  the  south  side  of  the 
Chattahoochee  it  is  highly  talcose,  with  dendritic  markings,  and  in  a  number  of  counties  it  is  very  flexible  in  its 
nature. 

Magnesian  roclcs. — These  embrace  the  "soapstones",  or  talc,  etc.,  which  contain  from  25  to  44  per  cent,  of 
magnesia  and  occupy  small  areas  and  narrow  belts  or  outcrops  in  various  portions  of  the  state.  They  contribute 
to  the  soils  but  very  little  that  is  valuable. 

All  of  the  rocks  of  the  metamorphic  contain  more  or  less  of  other  minerals,  which,  by  decomposition,  add  other 
elements  to  the  lands,  but  they  are  not  in  sufficient  quantities  to  make  a  description  important. 

Decomposition  of  rocks. — The  average  depth  of  decomposition  which  the.  rocks  of  the  metamorphic  have  undergone 
is  from  30  to  40  feet,  the  resulting  materials  below  the  immediate  surface  still  retaining  the  position  and  dip  of 
their  original  strata.  Sometimes  this  undisturbed  condition  extends  to  the  surface,  but  there  is  usually  a  deposit 
of  clay,  sand,  and  gravel  over  the  upturned  strata  having  a  thickness  of  but  a  few  inches  on  the  hills  and  of 
several  feet  iu  the  valleys.  Very  often  it  happens  that  thin  beds  of  quartz,  grit,  and  gravel  form  the  first  deposit 
on  these  strata  and  are  overlaid  by  the  subsoil  and  sandy  soil.  Portions  of  rocks  that  have  resisted  decomposition 
are  often  found  in  their  original  place  in  the  decomposed  material  and  at  various  depths  from  the  surface.  This 
decomposition  seems  to  have  been  more  complete  and  extensive  in  the  southern  than  in  the  northern  half  of 
the  region,  which  perhaps  is  due  to  the  greater  proportion  of  siliceous  rocks  on  the  north,  with  an  apparent 
corresponding  preponderance  of  micaceous  and  feldspathic  rocks  on  the  south. 

Agricultural  features. — As  a  consequence  of  the  ever  changing  character  of  rocks  forming  them,  and 
in  the  absence  of  the  great  transporting  agencies  that  have  so  mixed  and  made  uniform  the  soils  of  the  various 
southern  belts,  there  is  less  uniformity  in  the  character  of  the  soils  of  the  metamorphic  than  iu  those  of  the 
southern  part  of  the  state.  The  lauds  may  generally  be  arranged  in  four  groups,  viz  :  gray  sandy  and  gravelly 
soils,  red-  clays,  including  mulatto  or  chocolate-colored  sands  and  clays,  granite  lands,  and  flatwoods. 

The  red  lauds  pass  through  the  various  shades  of  color,  from  the  deep,  almost  blackish  red,  to  the  light  mulatto 
or  chocolate,  and  almost  invariably  have  a  deep  red  clay  subsoil. 

The  gray  and  sandy  lands  are  somewhat  dark  on  the  surface  from  decayed  vegetation,  and  are  often  gravelly 
and  rocky.  The  subsoil,  or  underclay,  is  for  the  most  part  of  a  red  or  yellow  color,  and  is  more  or  less  sandy.  Its 
near  approach  to  the  surface,  and  its  exposure  on  hillsides  and  in  small  areas  in  nearly  all  of  the  cultivated  fields, 


32  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

gives  a  variety  to  the  soils  in  almost  every  acre  in  the  gray  lands  of  the  metamorphic  region.  These  lands,  while  very 
much  intermixed,  are  respectively  found  to  occupy  large  areas  and  belts,  in  which  one  variety  or  color  is  most 
prominent  and  almost  exclusively  prevalent. 

These  belts  are  extremely  irregular  in  their  northeast  and  southwest  course  through  the  state,  following  in  this 
regard  the  general  direction  of  the  rocks  of  which  they  are  the  decomposed  representatives. 

GRAY    SANDY   LANDS. 

The  disintegration  of  the  quartz,  feldspar,  and  mica  of  the  gray  gneiss  rocks  produces  a  loose,  sandy,  gray 
soil,  more  or  less  clayey,  and  covered  or  mixed  with  gravel  and  loose  quartz-rock.  The  subsoil  is  usually  a  yellowish 
clay. 

The  mica  schists,  which  also  are  found  in  large  areas,  are  more  or  less  garuetiferous,  and  are  penetrated  by 
quartz  seams  and  veins  of  every  size.  By  the  disintegration  of  these  schists  a  gray  sandy,  gravelly  land  is 
produced  unless  there  is  present  much  iron  or  biotite  mica,  as  in  the  southern  part  of  the  region.  By  the 
subsequent  denudation  of  the  surface  of  the  country  the  quartz  fragments  are  either  left  on  the  surface  or 
transported  as  gravel  and  sand  to  the  low  country.  They  are  often  accompanied  by  narrow  decomposed  strata  of 
other  rocks  of  the  series,  but  no  material  change  is  perceptible  in  the  lands. 

The  quartz  veins  alluded  to  often  contain  gold-bearing  pyrites,  which,  by  decomposition  along  with  the  other 
rocks,  leave  in  the  quartz  black  or  reddish  cavities,  in  which  the  gold  either  remains  in  small  particles  or  becomes 
intermixed  with  the  sands  and  clays,  to  be  washed  down  the  streams  when  opportunity  offers.  This  feature  of 
the  quartz  veins  is  especially  noticeable  in  the  country  north  of  the  Chattahoochee  river,  where  many  stamp-mills 
are  in  successful  operation,  and  where  the  farmer,  after  "laying  by"  his  crops,  spends  his  extra  hours,  until  the 
time  of  gathering,  in  panning  out  gold  dust  from  the  sands  iu  the  "pockets"  of  the  creeks  and  ravines. 

The  gray  sandy  lands  of  the  northeastern  part  of  Habersham  county  and  adjoining  portions  of  Rabun  are 
from  the  sandstone  which  forms  Tallulah  mountain,  and  which  underlies  a  large  portion  of  this  region.  Many  other 
rocks  of  the  metamorphic  are  highly  siliceous. 

Area. — The  area  covered  by  these  gray  lands  can  only  be  approximately  outlined  because  of  a  want  of  minute 
examinations  of  the  entire  section,  and  because  of  the.  existence  of  small  areas  of  red  lands  all  over  that  country 
which  is  designated  as  gray  land.  The  country  north  of  the  Chattahoochee  river  across  to  the  Alabama  line  is, 
for  the  most  part,  covered  by  soils  of  this  gray  character.  Bed  lands  are  often  formed  from  the  mica-schists,  there 
being  but  two  or  three  narrow  red  belts,  as  far  as  at  present  known,  to  break  the  continuity  of  the  gray  lands  from 
the  river  to  the  Blue  Bidge  chain  on  the  east  and  the  northwest  Georgia  region  on  the  west.  Answers  from 
correspondents  give  as  the  entire  area  of  gray  lands  in  the  section  named  over  CO  per  cent,  of  the  surface  of  the 
country.     A  uumber  of  the  counties  have  little  other  than  this  soil. 

South  from  the  Chattahoochee  river,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  state,  after  passing  a  broad  red  belt,  we  find  the 
gray  sandy  lands,  from  gneisses,  extending  southward  to  Columbia  county  with  but  few  intermissions.  The  gray 
granitic  soils  of  Elbert  and  Lincoln  counties  are  included  in  this  area.  These  lands  are  a  continuation  of  the  broad 
and  extensive  gneissic  soils  of  South  Carolina,  and  are  found  westward  until  interrupted  by  the  southerly  trend  of  the 
red  lands  iu  Jackson,  Clarke,  and  Oconee  counties,  their  rocks  also  taking  the  same  direction.  Still  farther  westward, 
to  the  large  granitic  region,  the  gray  lands,  derived  from  gneisses  and  mica-schists,  follow  in  their  course  the  general 
south  and  southwesterly  bend  peculiar  to  this  sectiou  of  the  lnetamorphic. 

On  the  western  side  of  the  state  the  rocks  have  resumed  their  regular  southwest  and  northeast  trends,  and 
from  the  northwest  region  at  Bug  Down  mountain,  in  Haralson  county,  to  the  pine  hills  in  Muscogee  county  the 
gray  sandy  lauds  are  but  slightly  interrupted,  except  "in  Troup  county  and  at  the  county-line  of  Haralson  and 
Carroll  counties,  where  red  lauds  again  appear. 

Topography  and  character  of  the  land. — The  surface  of  country  covered  by  gray  lands  is  always  more  or  less  rolling 
and  hilly,  but  has  broad  level  areas  either  on  the  ridges  or  in  the  valleys.  The  slopes  of  the  ridges  are  so  gradual 
as  not  to  interfere  with  their  successful  cultivation,  excepting,  of  course,  iu  the  more  mountainous  districts.  Their 
light  sandy  nature  makes  them  very  liable,  when  opened  up  to  cultivation,  to  wash  into  gullies  and  flood  the 
lowlands  with  sands,  but  the  methods  of  hillside  ditching  and  horizontalizing  practiced  are  successful  in  preventing 
such  damage.  There  is  comparatively  little  of  the  gray  lands  too  broken  for  cultivation  outside  of  the  Blue  Bidge 
mountain  region.  The  growth  is  generally  short-leaf  pine,  post,  Spanish  (red),  and  white  oaks,  hickory,  dogwood, 
and  persimmon,  with  some  ash,  black  and  sweet  gums,  poplar,  walnut,  and  cherry  on  the  lowlands.  Bine  has  not  as 
large  a  growth  as  on  granite  lands,  and  only  the  short-leaf  variety  is  found. 

The  soils  are  coarse,  gray,  and  sandy,  frequently  colored  dark  for  an  inch  or  two  with  decayed  vegetation, 
are  more  or  less  gravelly,  from  3  to  12  inches  deep,  and  have  a  yellow,  clayey  subsoil.  From  the  intermixture  of  the 
soil  and  subsoil  by  cultivation  a  yellow  mulatto  soil  is  obtained.  Loose  quartz-rocks  or  stones  are  often  so  abundant 
on  the  surface  as  to  require  removiug  before  the  ground  can  be  broken  up. 

Though  these  lands  are  said  to  produce  late  crops  of  cotton,  they  are  preferred  to  the  red  clays,  as  being  more 

productive,  and  because  they  enable  the  stalks  to  stand  the  drought  better.     They  are  also  easy  to  till,  and  a  larger 
298 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


33 


area  can  be  cultivated  than  of  tlie  red  lands  with  the  same  labor.  Of  the  gray  lands  under  cultivation,  from  one-half 
to  two-thirds  is  devoted  to  the  culture  of  cotton.  Fresh  lands  yield  from  500  to  700  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre, 
as  do  also  old  lands  by  the  aid  of  fertilizers;  but  without  fertilizers  the  latter  yield  only  250  or  300  pounds  per 
acre,  or  about  100  pounds  of  lint. 

The  following  analyses  show  the  composition  of  these  gray  lands  in  different  counties: 
"'--■'    Nos.  S2  and  200.  Sandy  soil  and  reddish  subsoil,  taken  one  mile  north  of  Pray's  church,  in  the  southern  part  of 
Douglas  county.     Its  depth  is  3  inches,  when  a  change  occurs  from  the  gray  sandy  soil  to  the  red  clay  subsoil  (No.  206), 
the  latter  taken  to  10  inches.     Growth,  white  oak  and  hickory.     A  granite  region  occurs  not  far  from  this  land. 

JTo.  172.  Sandy  mulatto  soil  from  5  miles  northeast  of  Athens,  Clarke  county.     Depth,  12  inches ;   growth, 
hickory  and  short-leaf  pine. 

Nos.  507  and  508.  Gray  soil  and  mulatto  subsoil,  taken  from  the  place  of  Dr.  T.  P.  Janes,  near  Peufleld,  Greene 
county.     (It  has  no  further  record.) 

Nos.  212  and  213.  Gray  soil  and  yellow  sandy  subsoil,  taken  near  Olarksville,  Habersham  county.     Oak  and 
hickory  growth.     Depth:  soil,  0  inches;  subsoil,  from  6  to  9  inches. 

Gray  sandy  lands  of  the  metamorphie. 


DOUGLAB  COUNTY. 

Clarke  county. 

Greene  county. 

Habersham  county. 

\ 

1  MILE  NORTH  OP  TRAY'S 
CHURCH. 

5  MILES    NORTH- 
EAST OF  ATHENS. 

near  fexfteld. 

1  mile  north  of  clarksville. 

. 

Soil. 

Subsoil. 

Soil. 

Soil. 

Subsoil. 

Soil 

Subsoil. 

No.  82. 

No.  206. 

No.  172. 

No.  507. 

No.  508. 

No.  212. 

No.  213. 

80.205) 

J    88.835 
2.  570  ) 

0.159 

0.100 

0.133 

0.033 

0.157 

2.660 

3.183 

0.297 

0.196 

4.598 

80.430)    „„ 

f    87.950 
1.  520  > 

0.225 

0.095 

0.095 

0.  OSO 

0.145 

3.810 

4.708 

0.142 

0.101 

8.175 

88.  440  ) 

J    91.615 
3. 175  J 

0.153 

0.071 
0.060 
0.111 
0.060 
2.214 
4.272 
0.105 
0.050 
1.  938 

}   92.261 
1.017  * 

0.135 

Trace. 

0.026 

0.089 

0.022 

1.320 

3.305 

0.116 

0.  020 

2.416 

85.  344  ) 

}   92.518 
7. 174  5 

0.110 

0.004 

0.  023 

0.084 

0.018 

1.178 

3.428 

^0.132 

0.017 

3.122 

91. 098  ,    „„  „„„ 

J   92.926 
1.828> 

0.122 

0.122 
0.021 
0.031 
0.025 
0.847 
2.598 
0.035 
0.  026 
3.316 

80.  270  | 
„  .„„  !   83.  685 

100.  351 

100.  526 

100.  649 

99.  710 

100.  634 

100.  069 

2.847 
1SC.° 

2.960 
19C.° 

2.039 
18C.» 

2.300 
16C.° 

2.670 
16C.° 

1.700 
12  C." 

These  analyses,  on  the  whole,  show  low  percentages  of  potash,  the  sample  from  Douglas  county  containing  the 
highest,  probably  from  its  proximity  to  the  granite  region  of  the  county. 

With  the  exception  of  this  county,  the  amount  of  phosphoric  acid  is  ouly  moderate,  while  with  the  same  exception 
the  lime  is  exceedingly  deficient,  and  its  application  is  indicated  as  the  most  urgent  as  well  as  the  cheapest  means 
of  improving  all  these  soils. 

These  analyses,  showing  such  small  percentages  of  plant-food  and  proving  the  soils  to  be  comparatively  poor, 
are  supported  by  the  fact  that  nearly  one-third  of  the  gray  lauds  once  under  cultivation  now  lie  turned  out  for  rest 
and  recuperation,  and  on  all  the  lauds  fertilizers  or  manures  are  used  in  the  cultivation  of  cotton.  In  some  of  the 
counties  one-half  of  the  gray  lauds  is  reported  as  lying  idle,  while  in  others  but  little  is  now  resting. 


RED  LANDS. 

Under  the  designation  of  red  lands  are  included  both  red  sandy  and  clayey  soils,  from  whatever  source  they 
may  be  derived.  Hornblendic  rocks,  by  decomposition,  form  a  red  clayey  soil  more  or  less  sandy  for  a  few  inches, 
but  have  a  deep  red-clay  subsoil.  The  color  and  character  of  the  soil  is  as  varying  as  is  the  proportion  of  hornblende 
and  associated  minerals  in  the  rock.  Biotite  mica  contains  also  much  iron,  and,  if  present  very  largely  in  the  rock, 
forms  by  decomposition  a  deep  mulatto  or  sometimes  red  soil  having  the  same  general  appearance  as  that  fiwm 
hornblendic  rocks,  but  usually  lighter  in  character. 

The  magnesian  rocks,  soapstone  and  serpentine,  frequently  produce  red  lands,  but  their  areas  are  very  narrow, 
and  are  not  extended  in  belts.  They  soon  become  intermixed  with  clays  and  sands  from  surrounding  hills,  and  their 
separate  designation  or  description  is  not  necessary.     Another  source  of  the  red  soil  is  in  the  many  trap  dikes,  which 

299 


34  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

are  found  chiefly  in  the  central  part  of  the  region,  usually  not  more  than  100  feet  wide,  and  some  but  a  few  feet. 
The  rock  slowly  decomposes  on  the  surface  into  a  deep  yellow  ocherous  and  silty  material.  So  thick  are  they  piled 
up  on  each  other,  and  so  varied  are  the  sizes,  that  fences  are  often  built  of  them.  The  area  occupied  by  the  dike  is 
nntillable  because  of  the  rocks,  and  on  either  side  the  decomposed  material  extends  but  a  short  distance. 

Tiie  different  eed  belts. — It  has  already  been  stated  that  the  country  north  of  the  Chattahoochee  river, 
including  the  Blue  Ridge,  has  almost  entirely  gray  sandy  soils,  excepting,  of  course,  the  many  patches  of  red  laud 
that  always  accompanies  them.  A  narrow  belt  of  mulatto  land  reaches  from  Rabun  county  southward  into  Lumpkin 
county,  and  thence  probably  turns  northward  into  Forsyth  and  Milton,  but  becomes  very  much  intermixed  with 
gray  soils  in  those  counties. 

Along  the  foot  of  the  Blue  Ridge  some  red  areas  also  occur  in  Towns  and  Union  counties,  where  there  is  much 
hornblendic  rock. 

Another  red  belt  from  the  northeastern  part  of  Cherokee  county  passes  southward  (south  of  Canton)  into  Cobb, 
Paulding,  and  north  Carroll  counties.  This  belt  is  formed  from  hornblendic  gneisses  exclusively,  and  is  dee])  red 
and  clayey,  rather  sandy  on  the  surface,  and  covered  with  loose  rocks.  Keuncsaw  and  Lost  mountains,  in  Cobb 
county,  situated  on  the  upper  limit  of  this  belt,  are  composed  entirely  of  hornblendic  gneisses,  while  Sweat  and 
Black-Jack  mountains,  on  the  southern  edge,  are  composed  of  quartz.  These  lands  are  considered  best  for  grain, 
though  cotton  is  largely  planted  on  them,  especially  in  the  more  sandy  portions,  and  because  of  early  frosts 
fertilizers  arc  used  to  hasten  maturity. 

From  the  Chattahoochee  river  southward  to  the  pine  hills  the  country  embraces  the  largest  areas  of  red  lands. 
Chattahoochee  ridge  of  Habersham  county  is  composed  mainly  of  hornblendic  rocks,  and  on  the  south,  lying 
parallel  with  the  river,  is  a  narrow  belt  of  red  land  extending  into  Fulton  county  to  the  granite  section,  at  East 
Point,  with  an  apparent  continuation  on  the.  west  into  Coweta  and  Troup  counties,  and  terminating  a  little  west  of 
La  Grange;  thence,  after  a  narrow  break,  a  wide,  area  extends  southwesterly  into  Alabama.  Some  outcrops  of 
soapstone,  serpentine,  and  corundum  are  found  accompanying  this  belt. 

On  the  east  and  south  of  the  central  granite  region  the  red  lands  largely  predominate,  covering  large  areas 
and  occurring  in  wide  belts.  In  the  gourd-shaped  areas  lying  immediately  to  the  east  and  south  of  the  granite 
region  the  red  lands  are  formed  mostly  from  biotite  gneisses  or  granites,  small  areas  of  gray  soils  being  found 
associated  or  mixed  in  with  them. 

The  apparent  termination  of  one  of  these  areas  is  found  in  the  valley  land  between  Pine  and  Oak  mountains, 
in  the  northern  part  of  Talbot  and  Ilarris  counties.  In  this  valley  there  is  a  narrow  ridge  of  quartz  lying  along 
near  the  center,  while  on  either  side  are  hornblendic  granites  and  deep  red-clay  lands.  The  ridges  or  mountains 
on  both  sides  of  the  valley  are  formed  of  sandstones  many  feet  thick.  Another  extensive  belt  of  red  land  occurs 
north  of  Milledgeville,  Baldwin  county,  and  along  the  line  of  the  southern  granite  region  westward  and  northeast 
into  Hancock  county. 

The  largest  of  these  belts  is  that  which  enters  the  county  of  Franklin  from  South  Carolina  with  a  southwest 
trend,  and,  turning  southward  through  Clarke,  Morgan,  and  other  counties,  again  turns  southwest  to  the  sand-hills. 
The  belt,  at  first  is  very  wide,  covering  nearly  the  whole  of  Franklin,  and  its  lands  are  formed  principally  from 
hornblendic  rocks ;  but  southward  it  narrows,  and  biotite  gneisses  are  occasionally  found  associated  with  the  strata. 

In  the  southeastern  part  of  the  region  there  are  but  few  red  areas,  aud  these  are  mostly  from  hornblendic 
rocks,  and  lie  on  the  outskirts  of  the  granite  region. 

Topography  and  character  of  the  soils. — The  surface  of  the  country  occupied  by  these  red  lands  is  rolling  or 
undulating  and  often  somewhat  hilly,  there  being  but  few  very  level  areas,  and  then  not  in  very  large  tracts.  Very 
little  is  too  broken  for  cultivation. 

The  growth  is  red  or  Spanish,  white,  aud  post  oaks,  hickory,  chestnut,  dogwood,  and  some  short-leaf  pine,  with 
poplar,  ash,  walnut,  cherry,  and  buckeye  in  the  lowlands  of  some  of  the  counties.  The  proportion  of  hickory  is 
much  larger,  and  that  of  pine  much  less,  than  on  gray  sandy  laud.  Black-jack  is  occasionally  interspersed  with  these. 
The  red  lands  are  usually  sandy  for  a  depth  of  several  inches,  and  hence  are  rather  easily  cultivated,  especially  in 
dry  weather.  Decayed  vegetation  frequently  gives  to  them  a  dark  or  "black"  surface,  but  the  subsoils  and 
underclays  are  very  red.  The  latter,  beiug  "  in  place"  and  derived  from  the  disintegrated  and  decomposed  rocks,  are 
variegated,  showing  different  colored  strata.  On  these  red  lands  cotton  grows  very  well  if  the  soil  is  loose  and  sandy. 
The  cotton  yield  in  the  northern  portion  of  the  largest  belt  is  given  as  from  300  to  500  pounds  per  acre  on  fresh  lands 
and  from  200  to  300  pounds  after  a  number  of  years'  cultivation.  In  Morgan  county  the  yield  is  given  at  about  S00 
pounds  per  acre  on  fresh  and  450  pounds  on  old  lands,  while  in  Monroe  1,000  pounds  is  reported  on  fresh  and  from 
100  to  400  pounds  after  twenty-five  years'  cultivation. 

The  lands  are  in  general  difficult  to  till  in  wet  weather,  being  sticky,  and  in  dry  seasons  are  very  hard  and  compact, 
yielding  about  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  when  fresh.  In  some  of  the  counties  as  much  as  1,000  pounds 
yield  is  reported,  while  iu  others  only  000  pounds.  Those  east  of  Flint  river  and  south  of  the  34th  parallel  of 
latitude  report  from  800  to  1,000  pounds  per  acre,  while  those  west  of  Flint  river  report  from  000  to  800  and  north 
•of  the  34th  parallel  from  300  to  000  pounds.    After  ten  years'  cultivation  (unmanured)  the  first  group  reports  a 

30(1 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHIGAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


35 


yield  of  from  400  to  700  pounds;  the  second  and  third  group  from  250  to  400  pounds.  The  maximum  yield  per 
acre  reported  from  fresh  lands  is  from  1,200  to  1,500  pounds,  in  Putman  county ;  the  minimum,  from  250  to  500  pounds, 
in  Cobb  county;  but  fertilizers  give  an  average  of  about  685  pounds  per  acre  for  both  new  and  old  land. 

Except,  perhaps,  in  the  southern  counties,  these  red-clay  lands  are  considered  best  for  small  grain  (especially 
oats),  as  they  are  cold  and  their  cotton  crops  are  late  in  maturing.  A  large  proportion,  probably  one-third,  of  these 
lauds  under  cultivation  is  devoted  to  cotton. 

The  following  analyses  are  given  of  specimens  of  red  soils  from  various  counties: 

Nos.  149, 150.  Red-clay  soil  and  subsoil  near  Elberton,  Elbert  county,  taken  respectively  to  depths  of  5  andl, 
12  inches.     The  growth  is  red,  white,  and  post  oaks,  dogwood,  hickory,  chestnut,  and  pine. 

Kos.  390, 391.  Red  soil  and  subsoil,  9  miles  east  of  La  Grange,  Troup  county,  taken  to  the  depth  of  0  inches. 

Nos.  254,  255.  Mulatto  soil  and  red  subsoil  from  the  northeast  part  of  Monroe  county,  taken  to  the  depth  of  6 
inches. 

No.  203.  Deep-red  soil,  north  of  Marietta,  Cobb  county,  taken  8  inches,  and  has  a  growth  of  post  and  red  oak 
and  hickory. 

No.  516.  Reddish  soil  from  near  Milledgeville,  Baldwin  county,  taken  6  inches  deep. 

Nos.  514,  515.  Red  soil  and  subsoil,  taken  from  Dr.  T.  P.  Janes'  place,  near  Penfield,  Greene  county. 

Red  lands  of  the  metamorphic. 


Elbert  county. 

Tbolf  county. 

Monroe  county. 

Cobb        1    Baldwin- 
county,      'j      COUNTY. 

Greene  county. 

NEAR  ELBERTON. 

NINE  MILES  EAST  OF  LA 
GRANGE. 

NORTHEAST  FROM  FORSYTH. 

NORTH  OF 
MARIETTA. 

MILLEI'GE- 
V1LLE. 

NEAR  PENFIELD. 

SoU. 

Subsoil. 

Soil. 

Sul)80il. 

SoU. 

Subsoil. 

Soil. 

Soil. 

SoU. 

Subsoil. 

Ho.  149. 

No.  150. 

No.  390. 

No.  391. 

No.  254. 

No.  255. 

No.  203. 

No.  516. 

No.  514. 

No.  515. 

73.690)       „ 
{77.060 
3.370S 

0.176 

0.004 

0.090 

0.112 

0.140 

5.989 

81.820) 

.      }85.830 
4.010S 

0.131 

o.oso 

0.081 
0.037 
0.072 
5.177 

,77.688) 

'■83.435 
5. 747  J 

0.147 

0.049 

0.059 

0.127 

0.029 

4.812 

77.005j 

,84.942 
7.937) 

0.138 

0.015 

0.091 

0.151 

0.064 

5.213 

81.924> 

,     '-87.377 
5.453S 

0.129 

0  042 

0.057 

0.125 

0.029 

4.160 

{80.603 
9.02O 

0.154 

0.093 

0.033 

0.149 

0.005 

9.212 

3.810 

0.164 

0.368 

5.311 

• 

60.370 

'62.370 
2.000* 

0.186 

0.119 

0.070 

0.005 

0.196 

9.705 

82.402) 

'■85.742 
3.340S 

0.134 

(1.034 

0.132 

0.353 

0.039 

3.803 

75.803,      „  , 
80.804 
5.001> 

0.151 

0.035 

0.162 

0.146 

0.020 

5.877 

73.805) 

'■80.960 
7.1555 

0.12S 

0.014 

Lime 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese  . . 

0.077 
0.180 
0.150 
4.343 

5.779  1                  9.572 

0.071  j               0.051 

0.115 

5  300 

0.071                  0.085 

0.285 
8.953 

0.029  ;                0.015 
5.382  j                6.777 

0.008 

"Water  and  organic  matter  . .  - 

8.891 

3.500 

3.770 

4.398 

4.832 

99.899 

99.417 

99.934 

101.274 

100.105 

99.902 

100.219 

100  232                99.862 

100.319 

Hygroscopic  moisture 

15.9S0 

22C.° 

3.7S8 
20C.° 

3.533 
18C.O 

3.S41 

3.49S 

4.709 
10  C.° 

8.470 
13C.° 

4.890                   0.000 
11C.°                 16  C.° 

5.1S0 
]6C.° 

A  comparison  of  the  results  shows  that  the  red-clay  soil  of  Cobb  county  contains  an  unusually  large  percentage 
of  phosphoric  acid,  and  is  a  characteristic  horubleudic  soil,  though  containing  little  lime.  The  report  of  productions 
from  the  county  places  that  of  these  fresh  hinds  as  between  250  and  500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and  after 
three  years  as  only  from  150  to  300  pounds.  The  very  large  amount  of  clay — nearly  20  per  cent. — gives  to  the  land 
a  cold,  stiff  character,  unsuitable  for  cotton. 

The  Monroe  county  soil  and  subsoil,  which  shows  much  less  amounts  of  these  elements,  is  reported  to  yield 
from  800  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  when  fresh  and  500  to  700  after  ten  years'  cultivation.  The  land  is  much 
more  loose  and  sandy  and  has  a  little  more  lime  than  that  of  Cobb  county,  while  the  subsoil  is  more  clayeyr.  The 
Monroe  land  is  derived  chiefly  from  biotite  gneisses. 


GRANITIC   LANDS. 

Large  and  small  areas  of  gray  sandy  soils  having  outcropping  and  underlying  granite  rocks  are  found  in  many 
counties  of  the  metamorphic  region,  but  chiefly  in  its  southern  half,  and  cover  about  2,600  square  miles.  The 
rocks  often  graduate  into  the  gray  gneisses  in  such  a  manner  that  the  line  of  separation  cannot  easily  be 
determined. 

Topography  and  soils. — The  surface  of  the  country  is  generally  rolling  and  broken,  with  sharply  defined 
and  rounded  hills  in  localities  which  have  the  granite  bowlders  or  rounded  masses,and  broad  level  areas  when  only 
the  flat  rock  underlies  the  land.  A  little  hornblende  occasionally  accompanies  the  granite,  and  black  tourmaline 
crystals  are  also  often  found  in  the  quartz-rock  near  its  outcrop. 


301 


36  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

The  almost  universal  timber  growth  on  all  these  lands  is  pine  (either  long  or  short  leaf),  with  oak,  chestnut, 
hickory,  and  some  blackjack. 

The  soil  is  often  a  coarse  gray  or  gravelly  sand  from  3  to  C  inches  deep,  with  a  subsoil  of  yellow  or  red  clay  more 
or  less  sandy,  or  sometimes  a  whitish  impervious  clay,  the  result  of  feldspar  decomposition.  The  soils  are  reported 
by  some  as  cold,  but  are  easily  tilled  and  well  adapted  to  cotton  culture.  About  2  percent,  of  the  entire  granite  lands 
of  the  state  are  reported  to  be  untillable  either  from  their  broken  character  or  because  of  the,  exposure  of  the 
granite  or  its  near  approach  to  the  surface.  In  Oolumbia  county  one  of  these  exposures  is  said  to  cover  125  acres, 
there  being  nothing  but  flat  and  bare  rock,  having  a  low  scrub  growth  only  in  its  seams  and  crevices. 

The  yield  per  acre  on  these  lands  is  about  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  when  fresh  and  unmanured,  equal  to  270 
pounds  of  lint.  Cultivation  rapidly  reduces  this  product  to  350  pounds  of  seed-cotton.  Cotton  is  planted  only  on 
the  uplands,  it  being  liable  to  rust  on  the  lowlands. 

Localities. — The  largest  area  of  granitic  lands  lies  south  of  Atlanta,  covering  all  of  Clayton,  Henry,  Fayette,  and 
Rockdale  counties,  and  portions  of  Fulton,  Campbell,  Coweta,  Spalding,  Butts,  Newton,  De  Kalb,  Walton,  Gwinnett, 
and  Jackson,  while  an  offshoot  follows  the  river  in  a  southwest  course.  It  covers  in  all  about  1,660  square  miles, 
and  has  a  general  altitude  of  from  000  to  1,000  feet  above  the  sea.  The  surface  of  the  country  in  De  Kalb  and 
Fulton  and  some  of  the  counties  southward  is  very  broken,  with  granitic  hills  and  outcrops  of  large  rounded  masses 
or  weathered  bowlders.  Stone  mountain,  1,GS6  feet  high,  or  800  feet  above  the  surrounding  country,  and  Little 
Stone  mountain  (near  Lithonia,  in  De  Kalb  county)  are  the  most  prominent  of  these  hills.  The  base  of  the  former 
covers  2,000  acres.  Southeastward,  and  also  northeast  in  Gwinnett  and  Jackson  counties,  the  country  is  very  much 
more  level  but  still  rolling  or  undulating,  the  granite  existing  chiefly  in  its  ''flat  rock"  character  or  largely 
decomposed.    Large  areas  of  land  lie.  beautifully  for  farming  purposes  in  many  parts  of  the  region. 

The.  rocks  of  the  region  are  generally  coarse,  with  large  crystals  of  feldspar.  There  are  quarries,  however,  of 
flue  building  material.  The  mica  is  chiefly  the  clear  variety  on  the  north  and  west,  but  southward  it  changes  to 
black.  Hornblcudic  gneiss  appears  in  small  patches,  with  accompanying  red  soils  in  many  places  southward. 
The  coarse  granites  give  to  the  soil  a  loose,  gravelly  and  sandy  character,  with  over  90  per  cent,  of  sand  and  other 
insoluble  matter. 

As  shown  by  the  analyses  of  a  Clayton  county  soil,  the  lands  also  contain  a  fair  percentage  of  potash  and 
phosphoric  acid,  though  lacking  in  time.  These  soils,  from  3  to  6  inches  deep,  have  a  yellow  or  red  clayey  subsoil, 
and  are  said  to  produce,  when  fresh,  about  12  bushels  of  corn  or  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton,  equal  to  267  pounds  of 
lint,  per  acre.  This  yield,  however,  rapidly  diminishes,  and  the  use  of  fertilizers  is  necessary  to  keep  it  above  350 
pounds  after  a  few  years'  cultivation.  Even  with  the  aid  of  fertilizers,  which  are  almost  universally  in  use,  the 
average  yield  per  acre,  is  only  about  500  pounds  of  seed-cotton. 

The  granite  lands  of  other  counties  in  the  metamorphic  region  differ  but  little  from  those  just  mentioned.  The 
surface  presents  the  same  characteristics,  with  gray  sandy  and  gravelly  soils  and  red  and  yellow  clay  subsoils. 

In  Lexington,  Oglethorpe  county,  large  bowlders  of  granite  are  piled  one  on  another.  One  of  these,  several 
tons  in  weight,  is  so  nicely  poised  on  a  diagonal  and  central  pivot  that  a  slight  rocking  motion  is  easily  given  to  it. 
In  their  composition  these  grnnites  vary  greatly,  those  of  Oglethorpe  and  Elbert  being  very  fine-grained  and 
siliceous,  with  small  specks  of  black  mica,  while  those  of  other  counties  are  coarse  and  more  feldspathie.  In  Greene 
county  the  feldspar  is  in  coarse  crystals.  The  productiveness  of  these  lands  is  about  the  same,  as  that  of  the  large 
granite  region. 

Granite,  with  pink  feldspar, — Another  granite  is  found  at  points  along  the  southern  edge  of  the  metamorphic 
region  the  leldspar  of  which  is  a  pinkish  color  and  very  coarse  and  the  mica  a  black  biotite.  It  is  found  only  in 
this  lower  belt,  and  then  in  small  outcrops  in  Muscogee,  Jones,  Columbia,  and  other  counties.  This  southern  granite 
belt  outcrops  largely  in  Columbia  county,  extends  from  Warreuton,  beyond  Sparta,  nearly  to  Milledgeville,  and  is 
found  in  Muscogee  county  north  of  Columbus. 

The  following  analyses  are  given  of  the  granitic  lands  of  Clayton,  Lincoln,  and  Hancock  counties: 

No.  28S.  Sandy  mulatto  soil,  1  mile  north  of  Jonesboro',  Clayton  county,  taken  to  a  depth  of  0  inches,  the  soil 
itself  being  3  inches  and  gray  sandy.     The  growth  is  hickory,  post  oak,  black-jack,  and  chestnut. 

No.  142.  Gray  sandy  soil,  southwest  from  Lincolnton,  Lincoln  county,  taken  6  inches  deep.  This  soil  has  a 
growth  of  red  and  post  oak,  pine,  and  hickory.     The  subsoil  of  this  (No.  143)  was  taken  several  inches  deeper. 

No.  170.  Ogeechec  ridge  gray  sandy  soil  from  11  miles  northeast  of  Sparta,  Hancock  county,  taken  about  6  inches 
deep. 

302 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 

Qranitic  lands. 


37 


Clatton 

COUNTY. 

Lincoln  county. 

Hancock 
county. 

ONE  MILE  FROM 
JONESBORO'. 

60UTHWEST  OF  L1NCOLNTON. 

ELBVBH  MILES 

NORTHEA6T  OF 

SPAKTA. 

Soil. 

Soil. 

SubsoiL 

Son. 

No.  288. 

No.  142. 

No.  143. 

No.  170. 

80-  572  i 
3. 441  J90013 
0.240 
0.081 
0.080 
0.064 
0.160 
2.171 
3.045 
0.232 
0.080 
3.868 

92.  090  1 
j  220j93.310 

0.110 
0.035 
0.090 

0.025 
0. 126 
0.963 
1.  959 
0.191 
0.105 
3.477 

91.810) 

J  93.  000 
1.190) 

0.154 

0.024 

0.662 

0.058 

0.048 

1.715 

3.653 

92.  335  )  „.  _. 
}  93.  799 
1.455) 

0.099 

0.020 
0.175 
0.025 
0.070 
1.438 
2.417 

Lime 

0. 105    |                     0. 145 

1.482 

2.209 

100.  034 

100.  391 

100.  831 

100.  409 

2.  776 
19C.° 

1.890 
21C.° 

1.560 
20  C.o 

2.160 
21C.° 

Between  the  soils  of  Lincoln  and  Hancock  counties  there  is  a  strong  similarity,  except  in  the  matter  of  lime  and 
organic  matter,  there  being  nearly  twice  as  much  lime  and  one-third  less  of  organic  matter  in  those  of  the  latter;  but 
the  soil  from  Hancock  should  perhaps  be  a  little  more  fertile,  because  of  the  presence  of  even  so  little  lime  and  the 
greater  retentive  power  for  hygroscopic  moisture.  The  Lincoln  subsoil  is  no  better  than  the  soil,  though  it  has  a 
little  more  potash.  The  amount  of  lime,  phosphoric  acid,  and  organic  matter  is  less,  and  its  retentive,  power  is  also 
less,  though  there  is  present  a  larger  amount  of  clay  and  iron.  One  of  the  most  striking  features  iu  aid  these 
analyses  is  the  near  agreement  of  the  percentage  of  insoluble  residue.  The  Clayton  county  soil  is  apparently  superior 
in  every  respect,  except  in  the  proportion  of  lime. 

A  noticeable  feature  in  the  soils  of  the  granitic  region  is  the  increase  of  both  potash  and  lime  over  that  of  other 
metamorphic  soils,  both  doubtless  derived  from  the  feldspars  of  the  granite.  The  general  average  percentage  of  lime 
in  the  granitic  lands,  as  shown  by  these  analyses,  is  0.102,  an  amount  sufficient  to  make  these  lands  thrifty  and 
more  durable  than  others.  In  the  analysis  of  gray,  sandy  soils  on  page  33  the  soil  from  Douglas  county  is  apparently 
of  granitic  origin,  and  should  perhaps  be  so  classed. 

The  flatwoods. — These  comprise  but  a  small  area  in  Georgia,  though  they  are  largely  represented  in  South 
Carolina.  The  largest  belt  is  found  entering  from  that  state  above  the  mouth  of  Broad  river,  passing  with  a 
southwest  trend  across  Oglethorpe  into  the  upper  part  of  Greene  county.  Iu  Elbert  county  the  belt  is  from  5  to  7 
miles  wide,  and  has  a  dark  colored  soil  and  a  growth  of  black-jack  oak.  In  other  counties  the  belt  is  about  4  miles 
wide,  and  has  a  similar  growth.  The  lands  are  very  level,  and  in  places  large  ponds  of  water  are  found.  In  some 
places  the  soil  is  said  to  be  tough  and  like  pipe-clay,  with  some  gravel,  and  is  almost,  useless  for  agricultural 
purposes;  in  wet  weather  boggy,  and  in  dry  as  hard  as  a  brick.  A  correspondent  says  of  it :  "The  flatwoods  have 
a  black  soil,  with  a  yellow-clay  subsoil,  producing  all  the  cereals  finely  and  continuously,  but  making  cotton 
successfully  from  four  to  six  years  after  clearing;  after  that  producing' a  sufficiency  of  weed,  but  not  boiling,  and 
ruined  by  rust." 

The  lands  underlaid  by  the  clay  slates  are  not  extensive  in  Georgia,  and  occur  in  small  areas  (as  far  as 
ascertained)  along  the  southern  edge  of  the  metamorphic.  The  soils  are  sandy  and  not  of  that  cold,  gray,  clayey 
nature  represented  in  South  Carolina. 

Cultivated  lands  of  the  metamorphic  region. — In  the  high  and  mountainous  district  of  the  Blue  Ridge 
region,  especially  in  Towns  and  Rabun  counties,  there  is  a  comparatively  small  amount  of  laud  suitable  for  tillage. 
The  farms  are  small,  and  are  found  principally  along  the  water-courses.  Iu  the  entire  group  of  ten  counties  but 
12.3  percent,  of  theirarea  (or  an  average  of  79  acres  per  square  mile)  is  under  cultivation. 

The  lands  of  the  region  have  a  dark  or  red  loam  soil,  very  rich  anil  durable,  those  of  the  Little  Tennessee  valley, 
in  Rabun  county,  being  especially  noted  for  their  fertility  and  excellence;  but  iu  those  counties  which  lie  chiefly 
outside  or  south  and  west  of  the  mountains  the  lands  are  gray,  sandy,  and  gravelly,  with  a  yellow  or  red  clay 
subsoil.  But  little  attention  is  given  to  the  culture  of  cotton,  because  of  (1)  the  distance  from  market  and  the 
absence  of  transportation  facilities,  and  (2)  the  severe  climate  of  the  region  and  short  seasons  suitable  to  the  growth 

303 


38  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

of  cotton.  The  lew  cottou  farms  that  do  exist  are  usually  found  on  the  southern  slopes  of  the  hills,  where  they 
secure  the  direct  warmth  from  the  sun  and  protection  against  the  north  winds.  The  crop  is  also  stimulated  and 
hastened  to  maturity  by  the  aid  of  commercial  fertilizers.  Farmers  only  plant  a  sufficient  amount  to  provide  for 
home  use,  the  spinning-wheel  and  hand-loom  being  still  in  common  use  in  these  mountains. 

Passing  southward  from  the  Blue  Ridge  counties,  we  find  at  first  a  small  increase  in  acreage  under  cultivation, 
the  average  proportion  in  the  counties  of  Franklin,  Hart,  Madison,  Banks,  Hall,  Forsyth,  Cherokee,  and  Pickens 
being  about  38  per  cent.;  but  beyond  these,  to  the  pine  hills  of  the  central  cotton  region,  the  general  average  of 
lands  that  have  been  or  are  now  under  cultivation  is  about  51  per  cent,  of  the  entire  area. 

The  lands  uqrth  of  the  Chattahoochee  river,  on  the  northeast,  have  almost  entirely  gray  sandy  soils,  with  but 
a  few  strips  of  red  clay.  The  subsoils  are  almost  universally  clays.  This  section  has  been  designated  the 
"  northeast  division  "  by  the  state  department  of  agriculture,  and  the  yield  per  acre  with  fair  cultivation  is  reported 
as  follows:  Corn,  20  bushels;  wheat,  15  bushels;  oats,  25  bushels;  rye,  S  bushels;  barley,  25  bushels;  hay,  from 
2  to  3  tons ;  sorghum  sirup,  75  gallons.  Tobacco,  buckwheat,  and  German  millet  can  also  be  grown  with  great 
success.  The  fruits  adapted  to  the  section  are  the  apple,  cherry,  pear,  grape,  plum  in  all  its  varieties,  peach, 
gooseberry,  raspberry,  and  strawberry. 

In  the  rest  of  the  metamorphic  or  "  middle  Georgia  "  region  the  products  are — 

Cotton,  corn,  oats,  and  wheat,  and  all  the  grains  and  grasses,  and  even  tobacco,  may  be  grown  successfully.  After  tho  coast 
country,  this  division  was  the  first  settled,  and  has  continued  to  be  the  most  populous  in  tho  state.  A  large  proportion  of  the  land  has 
suffered  temporary  exhaustion  by  injudicious  culture,  which  claimed  everything  from  the  soil  and  returned  nothing  ;  but  this  ruinous 
practice  is  fast  giving  way  to  a  more  enlightened  and  economical  system.  The  abandoned  fields  grown  up  iu  stunted  pines,  and  for  from 
twenty  to  forty  years  considered  useful  only  as  pasturage,  have  been  restored  to  cultivation,  and  arc  now  among  the  most  productive 
lauds  of  tho  state. — Georgia  Department  of  Agriculture. 

The  fruits  to  which  this  section  is  best  adapted  are  the  peach,  fig,  apple,  pear,  strawbeny,  and  raspberry.  The 
yield  per  acre  of  the  common  crops  under  ordinary  culture  is  :  Corn,  12  bushels ;  wheat,  8  bushels  ;  oats,  25  bushels ; 
bailey,  30  bushels  ;  rye,  8  bushels  ;  sweet  potatoes,  100  bushels. 

The  acreage  devoted  to  cotton  is  naturally  small  in  the  northern  counties  near  the  Blue  Bidge,  and  averages 
no  more  than  1  per  cent,  of  the  entire  area  under  cultivation  iu  a  belt  a  few  miles  in  width.  Southward  the  acreage 
increases  rapidly,  until  in  the  southern  half  we  find  that  the  percentage  of  the  total  area  occupied  by  this  crop  is 
10  to  15  on  the  east  and  15  to  20  on  the  west,  with  three  counties  whose  average  is  above  20  per  cent.,  viz  :  Troup, 
Pike,  and  Clayton. 

THE  CENTRAL  COTTON  BELT. 

The  central  cotton  belt  includes  that  broad  strip  of  country  extending  across  the  center  of  the  state  in  a  slight 
south  of  west  course  from  the  Savannah  river  on  the  east  to  the  Chattahoochee  on  the  west,  and  is  included  between 
the  metamorphic  on  the  north  and  the  long-leaf  pine  and  wire-grass  regions  on  the  south.  Its  width  eastward 
from  the  Octuulgee  river  has  an  average  of  about  40  miles,  but  on  the  west  of  that  river  it  widens,  its  southern 
limit  passing  iu  a  southwesterly  course,  via  Albany,  to  the  southern  part  of  Early  county.  Its  extreme  width  along 
the  Chattahoochee  river  is  about  90  miles.  The  area  embraced  is  about  0,835  square  miles,  and  includes  all  of  the 
following  counties,  viz:  Richmond,  Glascock,  Washington,  Wilkinson,  Twiggs,  Houston,  Taylor  (nearly),  Macon, 
Schley,  Marion,  Chattahoochee,  Stewart,  Quitman,  Webster,  Sumter,  Lee,  Terrell,  Randolph,  Clay,  and  Calhoun  ; 
the  lower  or  southern  portions  of  Columbia,  McDuflie,  Warren,  Hancock,  Baldwin,  Bibb,  Crawford,  Talbot,  and 
Muscogee ;  the  upper  or  northern  portions  of  Early,  Baker,  Dougherty,  Dooly,  Pulaski,  Laurens,  Johnson,  Jefferson, 
and  Burke,  and  the  eastern  part  of  Screven,  along  the  river — all  of  twenty  and  parts  of  nineteen  counties. 

Within  this  central  cotton  region  there  are  three  distinct  belts,  differing  very  widely  from  each  other.  These 
are:  First,  the  sand-hills  and  pine  belt  on  the  north,  and  bordering  the  metamorphic  region  of  the  state,  its  sands 
also  often  extending  northwaid  and  covering  some  of  its  rocks;  second,  the  red  kills,  adjoining  the  first  belt  on 
the  south;  third,  the  oal;  hickory,  and  pine,  sandy  loam  uplands,  with  clay  subsoils,  forming,  as  it  were,  a  transition 
belt  from  the  red  hills  to  the  sandy  wire-grass  region  of  the  south,  and  gradually  falling  in  elevation  from  the 
hills  to  the  level  lauds  of  the  latter. 

THE    SAND   AND    PINE   HILLS. 

The  records  of  the  state  geological  survey  place  the  northern  limit  of  this  belt  from  a  few  miles  north  of 
Augusta  and  Thomson,  a  few  miles  south  of  Warrenton  and  Sparta,  to  Milledgeville,  Macon,  Knoxville,  Geneva,  and 
Columbus,  at  which  points  the  metamorphic  rocks  are  found  outcropping  in  the  beds  of  the  streams,  while  the  sand- 
hills extend  northward  a  short  distance  along  the  uplands.  The  southern  limit  is  easily  defined  by  the  somewhat 
abrupt  red  clay  hills  along  its  border.  Its  width  varies  greatly,  but  is  greatest  on  the  east  and  west,  about  25  or 
30  miles  from  each  of  the  large  boundary  rivers.  Between  the  Ogeechee  and  Flint  rivers  it  is  rather  narrow,  but 
widens  to  the  west  to  20  miles  or  more  in  Taylor  and  Marion  counties.  On  the  Chattahoochee  river  its  southern 
limit  is  near  the  mouth  of  Upatoi  creek.     The  area  embraced  iu  the  sand-hills  is  about  2,950  square  miles. 

The  surface  of  the  country  embraced  in  this  belt  is  high  and  rolling,  and  this  is  especially  the  case  near  its 
northern  limit,  where  the  altitude  is  from  500  to  000  feet  above  the  sea,  and  sometimes  100  feet  or  more  above  the 

304 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES  39 

adjoining  metamorphic  region.  Southward  the  country  falls  to  the  foot  of  the  line  of  red  hills,  which  often  rise 
abruptly  from  its  limit.  Again,  in  other  localities,  as  between  the  Flint  and  Ocmulgee  rivers,  the  lower  part  of  the 
belt  presents  a  broad  plateau,  which  gradually  declines  southward.  In  the  western  portion  of  the  belt  the 
transition  to  the  red  hills  is  gradual.  The  country  is  very  hilly  and  broken,  with  a  height  of  from  100  to  150  feet 
above  the  streams,  and  is  interspersed  with  deep  gullies,  formed  by  the  washing  away  of  clays  and  sands. 

This  belt  is  characterized  by  deep  beds  of  white  sands  and  gravel  overlying  white  and  variegated  clays,  with 
ledges  of  a  gritty  and  micaceous  mass,  called  by  Professor  Lyell  "decomposed  granite".  Heavy  beds  of  rounded 
quartz  pebbles,  sometimes  containing  tourmaline  and  other  minerals,  are  found  chiefly  along  the  streams.  Yellow 
ferruginous  sandstone,  sometimes  approaching  an  iron  ore  in  composition,  and  rounded  concretions  filled  with 
sand,  are  found  over  the  surface  of  the  belt  and  in  great  abundance  in  some  of  the  counties.  From  the  Flint 
river  to  the  Savannah  on  the  east,  where  the  belt  is  comparatively  narrow,  the  beds  of  sand  and  clay  deposits 
are  deepest,  and  where  exposed  by  railroad  cuts  or  excavations  show  the  irregular  "flow  and  plunge"  structure. 
The  sand  has  a  depth  of  10  or  15  feet,  and  overlies  from  100  to  200  feet  of  white  or  variegated  colored  clays,  while 
on  the  west  of  Flint  river  the  latter  is  only  about  50  feet  deep,  overlaid  by  thick  deposits  of  red  and  white  sands. 

The'  usual  timber  growth  of  these  sand-hills  is  Jong  and  short-leaf  pine,  scrub  black-jack  oak,  sweet  gum. 
and  some  dogwood.  Along  the  streams  there  is  an  undergrowth  of  bay  and  gallbeny  bushes,  while  their  soil  is  but 
little  less  than  sand,  darkened  more  or  less  by  decayed  vegetation. 

The  lands  of  the  sand-hills  region  have  a  soil  of  white  sand  from  6  to  12  inches  deep  and  usually  a  sandy 
subsoil  underlaid  by  variegated  clays,  and  are  not  very  productive,  except  where  fresh  or  highly  fertilized.  The 
yield  after  a  few  years'  cultivation  is  only  about  200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  but  on  the  best  lands  it  is  300 
pounds.     A  large  proportion  of  the  lauds  originally  in  cultivation  now  lies  "out". 

BED    HILLS. 

A  region  of  red  hills  occupies  a  narrow  and  interrupted  belt,  4  or  5  miles  wide,  southward  from  the  sand-hills 
region,  and  passes  through  the  northern  part  of  the  counties  of  Burke,  Jefferson,  and  Washington,  the  middle  ot 
Wilkinson  and  Twiggs,  and  the  southern  part  of  Houston  to  Flint  river.  West  of  that  river,  in  the  counties  of 
Macon,  Schley,  Sumter, Webster,  Stewart,  and  Bandolph,  the  red  clay  lands  are  found  scattered  over  a  large  territory, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  large  areas,  they  are  rather  in  patches,  being  frequently  covered  by  the  white  sands 
•of  the  yellow-loam  region. 

The  continuity  of  the  belt  throughout  is  broken  by  these  sand-beds,  especially  on  the  west  of  Flint  river, 
where  the  sands  are  deeper  and  more  generally  distributed.  The  red-hills  region  is  characterized  by  a  high 
rolling  or  broken  and  well-timbered  surface,  covered  with  deep  red  clay  lands,  more  or  less  sandy,  and  having  a 
thickness  of  from  20  to  50  feet,  including  siliceous  fossil  shells  and  rocks,  and  sometimes  beds  of  greensand. 

On  the  extreme  east,  in  Burke  county,  the  hills  have  an  altitude  of  over  300  feet  above  the  sea  and  175  above 
Savannah  river.  Their  red  clays  are  covered  by  sands  within  a  few  miles  of  the  river,  and  only  outcrop  in  the  bluff 
and  on  the  sides  of  the  hills.  Silver  bluff  seems  to  be  the  most  northern  point  of  exposure  of  these  ferruginous 
clays,  the  country  northward  being  covered  with  the  sands  and  white  or  variegated  clays  of  the  sand-hills  region, 
while  southward  it  gradually  falls  and  becomes  more  sandy,  the  exact  limit  between  this  and  the  sandy  yellow- 
loam  belt  being  impossible  to  define.     Much  buhr-stoue  is  found  in  fragments  over  the  surface  of  this  county. 

Westward,  in  the  counties  of  Jefferson  and  Washington,  the  country  is  more  and  more  level  until  near  the 
Oconee  river,  where  the  high  lands  are  cut  through  to  a  depth  of  150  feet  by  the  streams,  and  form  broken  and  abrupt 
hills  facing  the  bottom  lands. 

Still  westward,  through  the.  county  of  Wilkinson,  this  broken  and  hilly  character  continues,  the  sides  of  the 
ridges  between  the  streams  showing  outcropping  marls  and  limestone.  The  summits  of  the  hills  are  frequently 
covered  with  red  clays,  which  are  also  exposed  on  the  south  and  east  slopes,  these  sides  being  rather  steep,  while 
on  the  north  and  west  the  decline  is  more  gentle,  and  is  usually  covered  with  sand  and  a  timber  growth  of  pine,  with 
here  and  there  small  prairie  patches  of  a  black  tenacious  soil. 

Still  to  the  westward,  in  Twiggs  and  Houston  counties,  the  red  hills  continue  with  broad  summits  and  more  or 
less  sand.  In  the  latter  county  they  are  in  some  places  abrupt  or  bold  on  the  north, facing  the  sand-hills  belt,  with 
gradual  descents  southward.  The  small  patches  of  black  prairie  lands  also  occur  in  these  counties.  On  the  west 
of  Flint  river  the  country  is  much  more  sandy,  with  variegated  and  plastic  clays  covering  hard  limestones  to  a 
greater  depth. 

The  red  lands  are  very  generally  associated  with  siliceous  shell-rocks  and  friable  ferruginous  sandstones,  and, 
as  before  stated,  arc  found  in  isolated  areas  over  the  entire  yellow-loam  region.  The  beds  have  a  thickness  of  GO 
feet  at  Shell  bluff,  on  the  Savannah  river,  and  50  feet  at  Fort  Gaines,  on  the  Chattahoochee,  but  between  these  two 
points  they  thin  out  to  10  or  20  feet  as  they  approach  the  central  Atlantic  and  Gulf  water-divide. 

Soils. — The  lands  of  these  red  clay  hills  are  usually  somewhat  sandy,  and  have  a  deptli  of  from  12  to  24  inches  in 
the  eastern  counties  and  from  0  to  12  inches  in  others.  The  subsoil  is  a  heavy  clay  loam,  deeper  in  color  than  the  soil 
and  more  clayey,  which  sometimes  overlies  a  variegated  and  plastic  pipe-clay.  The  growth  is  oak,  hickory,  short-leaf 
20  c  p— vol.  n  30*5 


40 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


pine,  and  dogwood,  with  beech,  maple,  and  poplar  ou  the  lowlands.  The  lands  of  the  belt  lying  between  the  Savannah 
and  Flint  rivers  art'  considered  the  best  of  the  region,  and  nut  only  occur  in  larger  areas,  but  are  more  productive 

and  durable,  and  are  easily  tilled.  The  subsoil  is  stiff  and  tenacious  and  hard  to  ••break  up".  The  lands  yield  from 
800  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  when  fresh,  and  500pounds  alter  a  few  years'  cultivation.  Reports  give  the 
product  after  50  years'  cultivation  as  300  pounds.     These  lands  are.  however,  preferred  for  small  grain. 

West  of  Flint  river  the  red  clay  lands  of  southern  Stewart,  Webster,  ami  Randolph  counties  have  similar 
productiveness  and  durability;  but  the  more  sandy  of  the  red  lands,  while  baviug,  when  fresh,  a  yield  equal  to  the 
above,  are  not  as  durable.  After  live  or  six  years'  cultivation  they  produce  only  about  250  pounds  of  seed-cotton 
per  acre.  The  red  hills  of  Chattahoochee,  .Marion,  Quitman,  and  the  northern  part  of  Stewart  county  are  chiefly  red 
sandy  clays  or  red  sauds,  from  the  large  amount  of  red  ferruginous  sandstones  that  lie  scattered  on  the  surface  of 
the  hills  or  form  beds  and  ledges.  The  underlying  strata  are  variegated  clays  and  blue-clay  marls.  This  portion 
of  the  belt  is,  however,  so  broken,  that  for  the  most-  part  only  the  low  valley  lauds,  with  thin  dark  soils,  are  under 
cultivation. 

There  are  isolated  areas  of  these  red  clay  lands  north  and  south  of  the  main  red-hills  belt,  a  few  of  which  are 
marked  on  the  ma]).  The  most  prominent  of  these  is  that  of  Rich  Hill,  in  the  pine  and  sand  hills  adjoining 
the  metamorphic,  a  few  miles  southeast-  of  Knoxville,  Crawford  county.  The  summit  of  this  hill  is  some  200  feci 
above  the  surrounding  country,  and  ils  bed  of  red  clay,  50  feet  thick,  can  be  seen  for  miles.  Underlying  it  is  a 
bed  of  coral  marl  (Tertiary)  and  from  50  to  75  feet  of  variegated  and  joint  clay.  Deep  white  sands  cover  the 
adjoining  hills  and  ridges. 

The  composition  of  these  lands  is  shown  in  the  following  analyses  of  soils  taken  from  various  points  in  the  belt 
by  the  state  survey  : 

Kos.  301  and  362,  Mulatto  soil,  and  red  subsoil  from  5  miles  north  of  Louisville,  in  Jefferson  county.  These  are, 
perhaps,  fair  samples  of  the  eastern  half  of  the.  belt.  The  soil  is  sandy,  and  was  taken  0  inches  deep.  The  snbsoil, 
while  more  clayey,  is  not  properly  a  clay.     The  depth  to  which  it  was  taken  is  not  known. 

Xu.  200.  Red  hill  soil  from  Dr.  S.  S.  Byrd's  place,  3  miles  south  of  Amerieus,  Sumter  county,  taken  10  inches 
deep.  Buhr-stoue  fragments,  covered  with  quartz  crystals  and  containing  fossil-shell  cavities,  are  in  great 
abundance  on  the  surface  of  the  low  hills  and  in  the  soil. 

No.  100.  Red  clay  soil,  taken  southwest- of  Lumpkin,  Stewart  county.  This  represents  a  large  body  of  red  land 
covering  the  high  and  rolling  country.  It  was  taken  0  inches  deep.  Ferruginous  sandstone  is  abundant,  over  the 
surface  of  these  hills. 

So.  322.  Darlc  sandy  uplaml  soil  from  a  few  miles  east  of  Fort  Gaines,  Clay  county,  taken  0  inches  deep.  Timber 
growth,  oak,  hickory,  aud  long  leaf  pine. 

No.  323.  Red  sandy  subsoil  of  the  above  is  rather  compact,  and  overlies  a  variegated  or  "  calico  "  clay. 

Red-hill  lands  of  the  central  cotton  region. 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Potash 

S.-.ta   

Lime 

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganeae 

Peroxide  of  iron  

Alumina 

Phosphoric  aeiu 

Sulphuric  acid 

Water  alio  organic  matter. 

Total 

Hygroscopic  moisture 

absorb*  1  at  

30G 


Jefferson  county. 

Sumter  county. 

Stewart  county. 

Clay  county. 

5  MILES  NORTH 

OF  LOUISVILLE. 

3   MILES   SOUTH 
OF  AMKRICUS. 

o  mills  south- 

WEST  OF  LUMP- 
KIN'. 

4  MILLS  EAST  OF  FORT  HAINES. 

Soil. 

Subsoil. 

Soil, 

Soil. 

Soil. 

Subsoil. 

No.  301. 

No.  302. 

No.  200. 

No,  100. 

No.  322. 

No.  323 

02.  730  l 

,04.113 

0.180 

o.  095 

90.  59G 

3.721  i 

h.  330 
0.14.7 
0.120 
ti  110 
0.220 

2.  010 
3.911 
0.  224 
273 
1,646 

84.501  i 

36  200 
1,  000  > 

0.  073 

0.  008 

0. -i-l 

0,177 

0.  082 

3.013 

0.  507 

0.060 

-J.  Ml 

4. 193 

73. 422  1 

70.131 
2.  7o9  1 

'        D.  134 

Trace. 

0.  219 

0.101 
4.  054 
10.  598 
0.  0119 
0.  035 
8.  300 

90.  230  ) 

J  92.  170 
1.  940  > 

0.  (ir-7 

0.  OOO 

0.119 

0.090 

0.313 

1.9:7 

2.141 

0.111 

0.  (134 

2.881 

91.330  ) 

2.  350  ) 

a.  -H7 
a.  034 

o  110 

a.  066 

a.  07,-. 

0,  158 

1.  1SS 
1.770 

",i.-7 

a,  107 

2.  442 

a.  084 

IE 

1.511 

■  160 

0.  993 

09. 670 

99.  ''-2  i 

100.503 

100.002 

99.882 

H-,,  o,l 

1.  673 
16  C.° 

1GC.° 

4.372 
20  C.° 

7.  510 
1CC.° 

2.900 

11  c.° 

o  noo 

15C.° 

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  41 

The  soil  aud  subsoil  from  Jefferson  count}-  shows  the  greatest  percentages  of  plant-food,  both  potash  and 
phosphoric  acid  being  present  in  reasonable  amounts,  with  enough  lime  to  act  upon  them  for  a  few  years.  The 
percentage  of  sulphuric  acid  is  extremely  large.  The  Sumter  county  soil  percentages  are  low,  as  is  natural  in  a 
country  full  of  siliceous  rocks.  The  phosphoric  acid  is  very  close  to  the  limit  of  deficiency.  The  Stewart  county 
sample  is  an  improvement  on  the  latter  in  having  a  greater  percentage  of  potash  and  of  lime,  the  latter  being  sufficient 
for  the  present  to  act  on  the  low  percentage  of  phosphoric  acid.  The  Clay  county  soil  is  richer  than  the  subsoil, 
the  latter  being  largely  deficient  in  potash,  lime,  and  phosphoric  acid.  The  moisture  coefficient  is  very  low,  which 
is  unnatural  in  lands  of  this  color. 

THE   OAK,   HICKORY,  AND  LONG-LEAF  PINE  HILLS   OR  YELLOW-LOA3I  REGION. 

This  region  forms  a  belt  of  country  across  the  state  between  the' Savannah  aud  the  Chattahoochee  rivers,  and 
extends  in  width  from  the  sand-hills  south  to  the  pine-barrens  and  wire-grass  region.  Its  width  varies  greatly. 
Between  the  Savannah  and  the  Ocmulgee  it  is  narrow,  and  is  confined  almost  entirely  to  the  country  south  of  the  red 
hills,  from  15  to  25  miles.  Westward  to  the  Flint  river  it  is  wider,  and  in  Houston  county  the  lands  are  found  north 
of  the  red  hills.  On  the  west  the  area  widens  still  more,  one  narrow  belt  extending  southwest  to  Albany,  while  the 
lower  limit  of  the  rest  of  the  region  extends  to  the  Alabama  line  a  few  miles  north  of  Fort  Gaines,  and  the  northern 
passes  west  to  the  Alabama  line  at  the  mouth  of  Upatoi  creek.  The  entire  area  embraced  by  the  yellow-loam 
region,  including  the  red  hills,  is  about  G,G50  square  miles. 

Eastern  division. 

Topography. — The  surface  of  the  country  between  the  Savannah  and  the  Flint  rivers,  while  very  broken  in 
some  localities,  is  generally  rolling,  with  ridges  parallel  to  the  streams,  and  a  timber  growth  of  long-leaf  pine, 
post  and  Spanish  oaks,  and  hickory.  The  long-leaf  pine  is  the  most  prominent,  and  in  many  places  is  almost  the 
exclusive  timber. 

In  some  of  the  counties,  notably  in  Twiggs,  Jefferson,  aud  Burke,  there  are  a  few  large  areas  of  what  are  termed 
"oaky  flatwoods",  level  uplands  with  a  yellow  clay  soil,  mostly  free  from  the  sands  that  generally  cover  it 
elsewhere  in  the  region,  which  have  a  prominent  growth  of  post  and  red  and  black-jack  oaks,  hickory,  and  some 
long-leaf  pine. 

This  yellow-loam  bel't  extends  southward  along  the  larger  streams  into  the  wire-grass  region  in  Screven  county,, 
and  occupies  narrow  areas,  with  a  growth  of  oak,  hickory,  etc.  Along  the  Savannah  river  the  belt  extends  as  far 
south  probably  as  Sister's  ferry,  in  Effingham  county,  but  the  growth  there  is  chiefly  black-jack  oak. 

Red  and  yellow  loam  lauds  are  found  along  the  slopes  of  the  pine  hills  adjoining  the  streams  and  their  valleys, 
and  the  entire  area  represented  in  Screven  county  forms  about  one- tenth  of  its  surface. 

This  belt  or  region  is  underlaid  at  from  3  to  10  feet  by  the  same  bed  of  soft  limestone  and  marl  found  under 
the  red  hills  and  already  described.  It  outcrops  along  the  streams,  and  is  easily  accessible.  Bed-clay  beds  are 
frequently  found  below  the  subsoil  aud  exposed  on  banks  of  streams  or  hillsides,  though  the  latter  aie  generally 
covered  with  sand.  Siliceous  rocks  are  abundant  in  fragments  over  the  surface  of  the  country,  and  among  them 
are  found  opal,  flint,  buhr-stone,  and  the  light  aluminous  or  clayey  variety.  On  the  east,  in  Burke  county,  they 
form  beds  from  8  to  10  feet  thick,  and  are  the  more  compact  rocks  used  for  millstones.  They  seem  to  thin  out  to 
the  west  toward  the  Atlantic  aud  Gulf  water-divide  in  Houston  county. 

The  soils  of  this  eastern  part  of  the  belt  are  sandy  aud  gray,  except  on  the  immediate  surface,  where  they  are 
dark  from  decayed  vegetation.  Black,  brown,  and  yellow  ferruginous  gravel  is  abundant  in  some  of  the  counties 
on  the  surface  and  mixed  with  the  soil.  The  subsoil,  at  a  depth  of  from  3  to  9  inches  from  the  surface,  is  either  a 
yellow-clay  loam  or  yellow  sand.  Lands  Laving  the  latter  are  poor  and  unproductive,  except  perhaps  for  a  year 
or  two,  and  are  only  kept  under  cultivation  with  fertilizers.     The  growth  is  almost  exclusively  the  long-leaf  pine. 

The  better  class  of  soils,  with  their  clay  subsoils  aud  mixed  growth  of  long-leaf  pine,  oak,  and  hickory,  are  easy 
to  cultivate  and  are  well  drained,  and  yield  an  average  of  500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  when  fresh  and  250  or 
300  pounds  after  a  cultivation  of  ten  years. 

"The  oak  and  hickory  upland  soils  of  Houston  county  east  of  Fort  Valley  differ  from  the  general  class  in  being 
often  thin  and  underlaid  by  a  white  and  variegated  pipe-clay.  Ferruginous  sandstone  is  abundant  in  localities,  and 
the  growth  is  pine,  oak,  hickory,  gum,  elm,  and  persimmon.     Spots  of  red  lauds  occur  occasionally. 

Western  division. 

West  of  Flint  river  these  lands  cover  the  greater  part  of  the  oak  and  hickory  region.  The  upper  counties, 
and  those  along  the  Chattahoochee  river  as  far  south  as  Clay  county,  are  hilly,  and  are  usually  covered  with  a 
heavy  deposit  of  sand.  Underneath  the  sandy  soil  are  the  red  ami  yellow  clays  over  variegated  and  joint  clays 
with  Cretaceous  marls.     The  growth  of  these  hills  is  oak  and  hickory,  with  a  large  proportion  of  short-  and  long-leaf 

:i07 


42 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


pine,  which  also  characterize  these  lauds  southward.  Ferruginous  sandstone  is  abundant  in  some  localities  ou 
high  poiuts.  These  lands  are  but  sparingly  under  tillage,  owing  to  their  broken  character  and  to  the  abundance  oi 
good  valley  lands. 

Going  southward  from  these  hills  the  country  becomes  more  level,  and  the  soil  is  a  liner  loam.  The  clay  subsoil 
is  covered  by  the  sandy  deposit  to  a  much  less  depth,  and  bubrstone  is  found  in  fragments.  There  are  large  areas  of 
level  uplands  in  Sumter,  Webster,  and  Stewart  counties,  in  the  lower  parts  of  Macon,  Schley,  and  Marion,  and  in  the 
upper  parts  of  Lee,  Terrell,  Randolph,  and  Qui!  man.  In  these  counties  the,  clays  are  underlaid  by  a  hard  limestone, 
outcrops  of  which  are  seen  in  the  bluffs  of  the  Chattahoochee  south  of  Patanla  creek,  Clay  county,  in  the  caves 
of  Randolph  county  north  of  Cuthbert,  and  in  the  bluffs  of  Flint  river  at  Montezuma.  Pine,  oak,  and  hickory 
also  characterize  the  growth  of  this  section. 

Going  still  farther  south,  into  the  counties  of  Clay,  Early,  Calhoun,  Terrell,  and  the  lower  part  of  Randolph  and 
Sumter,  we  find  the  lands  very  level,  except  along  the  river.  The  sandy  soil  is  still  more  shallow,  and  the  red  or 
yellow-clay  subsoil  often  comes  to  the  surface,  forming  by  admixture  a  mulatto  soil  sometimes  1(1  inches  in  depth. 
Long  leaf  pine  becomes  more  abundant  and  the  growth  more,  open.  Lime  sinks  are  found,  anil  underground  streams 
frequently  are  seen  flowing  through  them.  Streams  disappear  suddenly  and  as  suddenly  reappear  miles  away. 
The  rock,  when  exposed,  is  found  to  be  a  very  white  and  soft  limestone,  composed  largely  of  small  corals  and  shells, 
as  in  the  eastern  counties.  The  largest  exposure  of  limestone  is  along  the  Chattahoochee  river  at  Fort  Gaines  and 
southward  for  30  miles  or  more. 

Siliceous  shell-rock,  varying  in  character  from  hard  flint  to  soft,  powdery  material  (fossiliferous),  is  abundant 
and  overlies  the  limestone.  Silicilied  wood  also  occurs  in  many  places,  some  of  the  logs  having  large  diameters 
and  cavities  thickly  lined  with  small  quartz  crystals. 

On  the  east  of  these  pine  hills,  and  between  them  and  the  wire-grass  country,  is  a  belt  of  oak,  hickory,  and 
pine  uplands  very  similar  in  every  respect  to  the  northern  portion  of  the  region.  This  belt  comprises  the  western 
half  of  Dougherty,  central  portion  of  Lee,  and  northward.  The  soils  are  largely  sandy,  with  red  or  mulatto  clays 
interspersed  in  large  bodies  throughout. 

The  yield  of  the  fresh  lauds  of  the  upland  region,  as  claimed  by  correspondents  with  but  few  exceptions,  is 
from  COO  to  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  or  from  1350  to  400  pounds  on  lands  of  several  years'  cultivation. 
There  is,  however,  some  difference  between  the,  enumeration  results  in  the  eastern,  middle,  and  western  portions  of 
the  region,  the  product  per  acre  ranging  from  470  or  500  pounds  in  Burke  and  Washington  counties  to  424  in 
Pulaski  and  399  in  Twiggs,  while  on  the  west  it  varies  from  414  in  Chattahoochee  to  300  in  Early  county. 

The  following  analyses  of  samples  from  different  counties  show  the  composition  of  the  lands  of  the  oak,  hickory, 
and  pine  uplands: 

Xo.  359.  Gray  sandy  soil,  taken  near  Bushyville,  a,  few  miles  from  Fort  Valley,  Houston  county.  Depth,  about* 
inches;  growth,  not  given.     The  yellow  sandy  subsoil  (Xo.  300)  was  taken  a  few  inches  deeper. 

Xo.  252.  Darl;  sttii'ly  soil  from  J.  Shep.  Green's  place,  near  Chokey  creek,  in  the  northeastern  corner  of  Lee 
county.     Depth,  0  inches ;  white  marl  beds  underlie  these  lands  at  a  few  feet. 

Oak,  hickory,  ami  pine  uplands. 


Houston  county. 

Lee  county. 

Soil. 

Subsoil. 

Dark  sandy  soil. 

No.  350. 

No.  360. 

No.  252. 

,  „„.  J  92.  006 

1.885) 

0.  275 
0.  130 
0.053 
0.048 
0. 172 
1.837 
.      1. 436 
0.105 
0.  034 
3.082 

88.  000  i 

f  90.  975 
1.  085  > 

0.200 

0.  001 

0.  005 

0.  007 

0.  001 

1.860 

3.  282 

0.102 

0.085 

2.580 

02, 400  i 

504.010 
1.  550  I 

0.005 

0.036 

0.070 

0.083 

0.040 

0.843 

2.649 

0.030 

0. 045    ' 

2.  304 

Soluble  silica 

Potash 

Soda 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese* 

Total 

100.  340 

99.  338 

100.  270 

2.000 
16C.° 

4.168 

io  c.° 

2.125    ' 

21  C.° 

One  of  the  most  striking  features  of  these  soils  is  their  low  percentages  in  lime  and  phosphoric  acid.     The 
percentage  of  potash  in  the  Houston  county  soil  is  respectable,  but  is  not  so  in  the  others.     That  the  application  of 

309 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


43 


lime  in  all  of  them  is  of  the  first  importance  is  very  apparent  to  render  available  what  little  phosphoric  acid  there 
is.  In  the  case  of  the  Lee  county  soil,  this  lime  from  the  underlying  marl-bed  was  applied  a  few  years  ago  on  the 
farm  adjoining  the  timbered  spot  where  the  soil  analysis  was  taken,  resulting  in  a  large  increase  in  the  cotton 
yield  after  the  first  year.  An  excellent  white  limestone  and  indurate  marl  occurs,  underlying  nearly  the  entire 
region,  and  is  easily  accessible.  Still  better  than  marl  alone  would  be  a  compost  of  marl  and  fertilizers  containing 
both  potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  as  the  amount  of  each  of  them  that  now  occurs  in  the  soil  would  soon  be  exhausted 
by  liming  alone. 

SOUTHERN  OAK,   HICKORY,   AND   PINE   REGION. 

The  region  embraced  in  this  division  comprises  portions  of  the  counties  of  Decatur,  Thomas,  and  Brooks, 
lying  along  and  near  the  Florida  line.  The  country  for  the  most  part  is  high  and  rather  rolling,  and  is  about 
75  feet  above  the  open  wire-grass  country  on  the  north  or  130  feet  above  the  river.  In  Decatur  county  it  presents 
a  bolder  front  to  that  region  than  in  the  other  counties,  the  ascent  along  the  line  from  a  point  7  miles  south  of 
Bainbridge,  thence  eastward  to  near  Attapulgus  and  northward  by  Climax,  being  quite  abrupt.  Eastward  it 
gradually  assumes  the  wire-grass  feature,  and  the  line  of  separation  is  not  so  well  marked. 

The  area  embraced  in  this  southern  region  is  estimated  to  be  about  2,317  square  miles.  The  surface  of  the 
country  is  for  the  most  part  very  open,  with  a  tall  timber  growth  of  long-leaf  pine. 

The  soil  is  very  generally  sandy,  from  6  to  12  inches  deep,  with  mostly  a  clayey  subsoil,  underlaid  by  white 
limestone.  A  peculiar  feature  of  the  region  is  the  presence  of  a  red  clay  loam  in  small  localities  where  the 
timber  growth  is  oak  and  hickory.  Wire-grass  occurs  but  seldom  in  this  region,  and  siliceous  shell-rocks  are 
almost  entirely  absent,  except  in  some  lowlands.  The  yield  is  reported  to  be  from  600  to  S00  pounds  of  seed-cotton 
per  acre  after  four  years'  cultivation. 

The  following  analyses  show  the  composition  of  some  of  the  lands  of  this  region.  The  subsoils,  unfortunately, 
•were  not  taken  in  every  case : 

Nos.  307  and  30-<.  Gray  sanely  soil  and  subsoil,  taken,  respectively,  at  C  and  6  to  9  inches  depth  from  the  oak 
and  hickory  lands  at  Ocopilco,  northwest  of  Quitman,  in  Brooks  county.     Sarsaparilla  in  abundance. 

No.  105.  Gray  sandy  soil,  taken  near  Thomasville,  Thomas  county,  G  inches  deep.  Timber  growth,  long-leaf 
pine. 

No.  161.  Sandy  soil,  taken  15  miles  southwest  of  Thomasville,  Thomas  county.  Timber  growth,  long-leaf  pine, 
oak,  and  hickory. 

So.  182.  Hummock  soil,  taken  near  Barrows'  mill,  in  the  northeastern  corner  of  Decatur  county,  underlaid  by 
limestone. 

Lands  of  the  southern  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  region. 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  ailica 

Potash  •... 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia    

Brown  oxide  of  manganese 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

"Water  and  organic  matter. . 

Total 

Hygroscopic  moisture 

absorbed  at 


Brooks  county. 


OCOPILCO  CHURCH. 


94.  428  ) 
0.  529  i 


94.  957 

0.209 
0.069 

0.141 
0.031 
0. 101 
0.601 
1.195 
0.103 
0.040 
3.113 


80.  070  J 
5.  528  > 


85.  598 

0.255 

0.114 
0.040 
0.025 
0.  089 
2.172 
4.551 
0.183 
0.025 
2.829 


90.8S7 


Thomas  county. 


Decatur  county. 


THOMASVILLE. 


15  MILES  SOUTHWEST 
OF  THOMASVILLE. 


94.  822  ) 
1.  037  i 


95.  859 

0.034 
0.022 
0.  045 
0.  043 
0.020  I 
0.  930  i 
1.576 
0  014 
0.035 
1.630 


92.  726  i 
0.  701 1 


1.042 
1.042 
L019 
1.016 
I.  108 
.427 
.780 
i.021 
'.026 


Hummock  soil. 


91.  544  j 
2.  367  i 


93.911 

0.0(3 
0.  008 
0.  052 
0.  051 

0.  047 
1.130 

1.  000 
0.243 
0.  028 
2.924 


A  marked  difference  is  readily  observed  in  the  soils  of  Brooks  and  Thomas  counties.  The  soil  and  subsoil  from 
Brooks  are  by  far  the  richer  in  both  potash,  phosphoric  acid,  and  lime,  though  even  they  do  not  contain  more  thau 
tair  percentages  of  each.    The  locality  from  where  the  samples  were  taken  (northern  part  of  Brooks)  has  more  of  the 

3U9 


44  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IX  GEORGIA. 

character  of  the  lands  of  the  central  region  than  the  soils  of  Thomas  county,  and  there  is  a  comparatively  sparse 
growth  of  long-leaf  pine.  The  samples  from  Thomas  county,  on  the  contrary,  arc  from  localities  where  the  long-leaf 
pine  is  abundant,  and  the  soils  resemble  more  those  of  the  long-leaf  pine  region  proper  in  their  great  deficiencies  in 
potash,  lime,  and  phosphoric  acid.    The  hummock  soil  of  Decatur,  probably  a  fair  representative  of  all  of  the 

hummocks  of  the  southern  part  of  the  state,  is  rich  in  phosphoric  acid,  but  deficient  in  all  other  important  elements, 
including  even  the  vegetable  matter,  whose  percentage  is  usually  much  larger. 

Loiclands  of  the  central  cotton  belt. 

These  comprise  the  bottoms  and  hummocks  of  the  streams  ami  gallberry  tlats.  The  bottoms  of  the  larger 
streams  are  usually  liable  to  yearly  overflows,  and  are  therefore  but  little  in  cultivation.  Their  width  varies  from 
200  to  1,500  yards,  and  even  more  in  the  sharp  bends  of  the  streams.  The  growth  is  usually  pine,  oak,  hickory, 
bay,  poplar,  maple,  beech,  gum,  etc.  Tin'  soil  is  a  dark  loam,  more  or  less  sandy,  red  in  some  of  the  streams,  and 
from  1  foot  to  li  feet  deep  to  a  tenacious  pipe-clay. 

On  the  Chattahoochee  river  there  is  but  little  bottom  land  proper,  the  uplands  approaching  to  the  water's 
edge  and  forming  bluffs.  As  cotton  crops  on  all  of  the  bottom  lands  are  liable  to  injury  from  early  frosts  and  rust, 
corn  and  oats  comprise  the  chief  crops. 

The  gallberry  tlats  are  lowlands  along  the  very  small  streams,  which  have  a  lighi  sandy  soil  and  a  dense  growth 
of  gallberry  bushes  about  3  feet  high  and  a  larger  growth  of  titi,  cassino,  small  bays,  and  a  i'vw  cypress.  They 
are  somewhat  marshy,  and  are  not  under  cultivation. 

The  hummocks,  or  second  bottoms,  of  the  larger  streams  above  overflow  are  largely  under  cultivation,  and  on 
some  of  the  streams  are  very  extensive.  They  are  very  level,  and  have  a  growth  similar  to  the  bottoms.  The  soil  is 
a  rich  sandy  loam  from  12  to  24  inches  deep,  with  much  decayed  vegetation,  and  is  considered  the  most  productive 
of  all  the  lands  of  the  belt.  An  analysis  of  a  hummock  soil  from  Decatur  county  is  given  on  page  43.  Of  seed- 
cotton  these  hummock  soils  yield  about  1,400  pounds  when  fresh  and  from  S00  to  1 ,000  pounds  after  being  cultivated 
a  few  years.  Heavy  clays  also  underlie  the  lands.  These  lauds  are,  however,  not  considered  best  for  cotton,  that 
crop  being-liable  to  injury  from  early  frosts  and  rust,  though  large  crops  are  produced.  They  are  said  to  be  late, 
cold,  and -ill  drained. 

The  alluvial  lands  of  the  Savannah  river  are  very  level  and  wide,  and  have  a  growth  of  beech,  white  and 
water  oaks,  hickory,  ash,  holly,  bay,  birch,  walnut,  mulberry,  sycamore,  and  cottonwood.  The  soil,  a  (iue  brown 
loam  mixed  with  scales  of  mica,  is  from  2  to  3  feet  deep,  with  a  putty-like,  tenacious  pipe-clay,  which  is  hard  to  till  and 
"breaks  up  iu  clods''.  These  lands  are  largely  under  cultivation,  being  well  adapted  to  cotton,  corn,  and  grain, 
though  the  former  suffers  much  from  rust  and  early  frosts.  The  yield  in  seed-cotton  is  about  1,500  pounds  on  fresh 
land  and  1,000  pounds  after  a  fbw  years'  cultivation,  and  unless  prevented  by  having  the  rows  far  apart,  or  by 
other  means,  it  grows  to  a  height  of  .">  or  G  feet.     Very  little  of  this  land  lies  out. 

Along  the  Chattahoochee  river,  south  from  Columbus  to  Georgetown,  there  are  many  level  valleys  of  open 
prairie  occupying  a  position  similar  to  the  second  bottoms  of  other  streams,  but  higher,  and  without  their  growth. 
In  Muscogee  county  these  valleys  are  very  broad  and  open,  and  have  a  liae  sandy  loam  soil  from  5  to  12  inches  deep 
and  a  heavy  clay  subsoil. 

In  the  couuties  south,  where  the  blue-clay  marls  approach  near  the  surface,  these  prairie  valleys  are  richer,  the 
soil  being  darker  and  more  tenacious.  The  sand  and  red  clays  of  the  adjoining  hills  eider  more  or  less  into  its 
composition.  In  the  southwestern  part  of  Stewart  county  this  valley  is  two  or  more  miles  wide.  The  lands  under 
cultivation  yield  from  800  to  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  when  fresh  and  from  600  to  sou  pounds  after  five 
or  ten  years  of  constant  tillage. 

Ou  the  eastern  side  of  the  state,  iu  Burke  and  Screven  counties,  there  are  a  number  of  ponds,  some  of  them 
covering  many  acres  each,  which  were  once  drained  and  brought  into  cultivation.  Thesoil,  while  black  from  the  long 
accumulation  of  decayed  vegetation,  was  soon  found  to  consist  largely  of  a  line  dust  or  silt,  which,  when  dry.  was 
very  light.  On  being  stirred  up  by  plows  or  hoes  this  dust  rose  in  the  air,  and  by  inhalation  so  irritated  and  injured 
the  throats  and  lungs  of  the  workmen  that  the  fields  had  to  be  abandoned.  This  dust  is  derived  from  the  siliceous 
and  flinty  rocks  that  usually  are  found  in  heavy  beds  on  the  borders  of  these  ponds.  Examinations  of  these  rocks 
with  the  microscope  by  Lyell  revealed  the  presence  of  very  minute  siliceous  sponge  spicules,  with  sharp,  needle- 
like points.  The  rocks,  by  their  disintegration,  have  formed  this  line  and  light  dust,  white,  or  sometimes  red  from 
the  presence  of  a  little  iron,  and  it  is  these  spicules  which  have  done  the  injury  to  the  workmen. 

Marls-  and  limestone. 

Throughout  the  central  cotton  belt  there  occur  extensive  beds  of  marl  and  limestone  beneath  the  sands  and  clays 
of  the  hills  often  exposed  along  the  banks  and  bluffs  of  the  streams.  The  marls,  composed  of  a  mass  of  comminuted 
.shells,  are  especially  valuable  agriculturally,  because  of  their  richness  in  lime,  and  sometimes  in  potash  and 
phosphoric  acid.  They  vary  greatly  iu  the  thickness  of  their  beds  and  in  their  character  and  composition,  and 
mostly  belong  to  the  class  of  stimulant  manures  that  serve  by  their  lime  to  make  available  for  plant  use  the.  food 
elements  that  exist  iu  the  soil  in  an  insoluble  condition.  There  arc  also  other  beds  containing  much  greensaud 
(glauconite),  rich  iu  potash  and  valuable  as  a  nutritive  manure, 
aio 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


45 


The  marls  belong  to  the  two  geological  formations,  Cretaceous  and  Tertiary,  and  tlieir  localities  and  characters 
'have,  to  some  extent,  been  examined  by  the  state  geological  survey.  Analyses  have  been  made  of  some  of  the  chief 
beds,  and  the  results  are  given  below,  as  taken  from  the  Hand-Boole  of  Qeorgia.  (a) 

Cretaceous  marls. — The  beds  embraced  within  the  Cretaceous  region  south  from  Columbus  are  generally  of  a 
bluish  micaceous  character,  and  contaiu  comparatively  little  lime,  usually  from  i  to  6  per  cent.,  and  are  therefore 
hardly  worth  the  cost  of  removal  to  any  distance.  The  shells  they  contain  are  in  a  good  state  of  preservation, 
and  in  the  beds  on  Pataula  creek,  Clay  county,  they  are  far  more  abundant  than  farther  north,  in  Chattahoochee 
county,  or  eastward  from  the  Chattahoochee  river.  Their  greatest  exposure  is  along  the  river  from  the  mouth  of 
Upatoi  creek,  Muscogee  county,  to  that  of  the  Pataula,  in  Clay  county,  the  beds  having  a  thickness  above  the  water's 
edge  of  from  15  to  20  feet.  In  some  places  there  occur  beds  of  a  stiff  clay,  yellowish  or  slightly  bluish  in  color,  in 
which  the  shells  are  of  a  firmer  character  and  less  broken  and  the  clay  apparently  less  calcareous,  though  still 
properly  belonging  to  the  class  of  marls. 

In  both  blue  and  yellow  clay  marls  there  is  much  decomposing  iron  pyrites,  which  tend  to  render  the  mass 
more  or  less  acid  in  character,  and  therefore  unfit  for  fertilizing  purposes. 

The  following  analyses  have  been  made  of  samples  of  blue  marl  from  a  few  localities: 

No.  1.  Blue  marl  from  "the  narrows",  Pataula  creek,  Clay  county,  dark  bluish-gray  color,  a  friable  mass  of 
shells  and  calcareous  fragments  mixed  with  fine,  dark-colored  earth— micaceous,  the  small  particles  of  mica  giving 
it  a  glistening  appearance,  and  slightly  acid  in  reaction,  hence  dangerous  to  use  alone,  and  should  be  mixed  with  a 
small  amount  of  caustic  lime  or  purer  marl  before  application. 

No.  2.  Blue  marl  from  near  Hatcbie  station,  Quitman  county,  of  a  light  bluish-gvay  color,  coarsely  granular 
and  friable,  containing  sand  and  pebbles,  and  slightly  acid  in  reaction. 

No.  3.  Blue  marl  from  Bagley's  mill,  Chattahoochee  county,  in  general  appearance  and  properties  very  similar 
to  No.  1. 

Blue  marls  (Cretaceous). 


Sand 

Soluble  silica.  . . . 
Potash  and  soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Oxide  of  iron  ... 

Alumina  

Phosphoric  acid 
Sulphuric  acid  . 
Carbonic  acid... 

Organic  acid 

Water. 

Total 


CLAY  COUNTY.        QUITMAN  COUNTY, 


CHATTAHOOCHEE 
COUNTY. 


Pataula  creek.     Hatchio  station.  '    Bagley's  mill. 


71.  112 
2.213 
0.140 
4.  S91 
0  153 
5.108 
2.142 
0.  315 
0.543 
3.740 
7.312 
2.450 


72 

191 

0 

123 

0 

108 

7 

740 

Trace. 

4 

loe 

1 

541 

0 

121 

0 

312 

6.081 

5 

352 

2 

421 

70.  919 
0.321 
0.158 
5.551 
0.162 
4.982 
2.321 
0.231 
0.430 
4.362 
S.  121 
2.560 


100.118 


The  comparatively  small  amounts  of  lime  (for  marls),  and  of  potash,  soda,  and  phosphoric  acid,  are  readily 
observed  in  the  above,  while  at  the  same  time  the  acid  character  is  shown  in  the  large  amounts  of  sulphuric  acid, 
which  probably  occurs,  combined  with  some  of  the  iron,  as  copperas. 

Blue  greensand  marl. — There  is,  however,  an  extensive  bed  of  blue 'marl  along  the  banks  of  the  Chattahoochee 
river  in  Stewart  county  which  is  rendered  valuable  by  its  greensand  character.  It  occurs  in  a  bed  exposed  some 
15  or  20  feet,  and  for  many  miles  along  the  river  dips  to  the  southwest,  and  finally  disappears  below  the  water.  A 
complete  analysis  has  not  been  made  of  this  marl,  but  a  test  for  potash  alone  showed  the  presence  of  from  1  .to  2  per 
cent,  of  that  element. 

Tertiary  marls. —  The  Tertiary  marl-beds  are  far  more  extensive,  as  well  as  more  valuable,  than  are  the 
Cretaceous  beds.  They  are  generally  a  white  and  friable  mass  of  broken  shells  and  fine  corals,  and  are  so  compact  as 
to  form  almost  perpendicular  bluffs  where  exposed  on  the  larger  streams.  This  is  especially  the  case  with  the  lower 
or  Claiborne  beds,  which  occur  at  Fort  Gaines,  Clay  county,  forming  there  a  bed  25  feet  or  more  thick,  and  in  turn 
overlaid  by  bluish  fossiliferous  clays,  and  still  higher  by  50  feet  or  more  of  red  loam.  A  white  limestone  underlies  it. 
This  marl  has  numerous  outcrops  eastward  to  the  Savannah  river,  where  thick  beds  occur  at  the  foot  of  Shell  bluff  and 
at  Silver  bluff.     It  contains  usually  as  much  as  95  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime,  and  is  well  worth  transportation 

a  A  publication  by  the  state  department  of  agriculture,  1876.     The  analyses  were  made  by  Professor  W.  C.  White,  of  the  University 

of  Georgia. 

311 


46 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


to  the  farms  of  the  region  and  elsewhere,  its  use  upon  the  soil  has  been  attended  with  a  large  increase  in 
productiveness,  as  attested  by  several  farmers  in  Lee  county.  When  used  broadcast  on  the  land,  its  effects  are  not 
usually  apparent  in  the  first  year's  crop ;  but  afterward  it  produces  a  marked  and  continuous  improvement,  provided 
there  are  fair  amounts  of  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  already  present  in  the  soil. 

The  following  analyses  are  selected  to  show  the  average  composition  of  these  marls  : 

No.  6.  Marl  from  Shell  bluff,  Burke  county.  This  marl  has  a  faint  brownish  tinge,  and  is  coarsely  granular  and 
friable,  showing  fragments  ami  impressions  of  shell.  A  similar  marl  at  Sapp's  mill,  in  this  county,  contains  more 
lime  and  0.251  per  cent,  of  phosphoric  acid. 

No.  5.  A  nearly  pure  white  marl  from  Reddick's  quarry,  Screven  county,  coarsely  granular  and  friable,  similar 
to  No.  0.  Another  bed  at  Crockett's  spring,  in  the  same  county,  contains  the  same  percentage  of  lime,  but  less 
phosphoric  acid  (0.045). 

No.  3.  Darlc-broicn  marl  from  Mrs.  Longstreet's,  Effingham  county,  a  mass  of  coarsely  comminuted  shells, 
mixed  with  sand,  pebbles,  etc. 

No.  1.  White  marl  from  2  miles  north  of  Tennille  or  Station  No.  13,  Central  railroad,  coarsely  granular, 
friable,  and  dry.     Contains  fragments  of  fossil  bones. 

No.  IT.  Light  buff-colored  shell  marl  from  Houston  county  (locality  not  given).  This  is  one  of  three  specimens 
analyzed,  a  notable  feature  being  the  very  high  percentages  of  phosphoric  acid  in  each,  viz,  0.758,  0.804,  and 
1.012.     They  have  nearly  the  same  percentages  of  lime,  sand7  iron,  and  alumina. 

No.  13.  Shell  marl  from  the  plantation  of  J.  S.  Odom,  near  Montezuma,  Macon  county,  light  colored,  friable, 
and  coarsely  granular. 

No.  IS.  Dark-colored  marl  from  the  neighborhood  of  Albany,  Dougherty  county,  loose  and  pulverulent. 

White  marls  [Tertiary). 


BURKE   COUNTY. 

SCREVEN  COUNTY. 

EFFINGHAM 
COUNTY. 

WASHINGTON 

COUNTY. 

HOUSTON- 
COUNTY. 

MACON  COUNTY. 

DOUGHERTY 
COUNTY. 

Shell  bluff. 

Fceiltlick's 
quarry. 

Mrs.   Long- 
street's." 

Near  Teunille. 

Near  Montezuma. 

Near  Albany. 

No.  C. 

No.  5. 

No.  3. 

No.  1. 

No.  17. 

No.  13. 

No.  18. 

Saml 

S.  412 
1.210 

46. 70:; 

0.  016 
4.  310 
0.021 
0.125 
30.  521 
0.752 
1.314 

7.321 
1.582 

50.  130 
0.  054 
3.218 
0.  »49 
0.132 

37.054 
0.  058 
1.231 

05.  020 
0.012 

15.  048 
Trace. 
2.  380 
1.354 
0.  075 

12.  452 
0.250 
1.168 

5.320 

0.984 

49.  872 

0.120 

1.  054 

0.400 

0.782 

39.  215 

Trace. 

1.028 

13.  551 
0.314 

45.  054 
0.075 
2.  082 
1.114 
1.012 

34.  874 
0. 130 
1.194 

12.042 
1.215 

43.  672 
0.035 
3.025 
1.  750 
0.  028 

34.122 
%  105 
1.450 

14.  008 

0.  435 
42,  ,~70 

2.  0'4 

l  328 

•J.  574 

31.958 

2.394 

1.048 

wo.  oeo 

101.  935 

09. 805 

99.  981 

100.  000 

100.050 

While  all  of  the  above  marls  are  highly  valuable  because  of  their  high  lime  percentages,  those  from 
Washington,  Houston,  and  Dougherty  counties  are  made  more  especially  so  by  their  additional  very  high  amounts 
of  phosphoric  acid.  The  Dougherty  county  sample  is  extremely  rich,  and  its  extraordinary  percentage  of  phosphoric 
acid  is  probably  due  to  the  presence  of  animal  bones. 

Grcensand  clays.— Overlying  these  beds  of  limestone  and  white  marl  in  the  counties  of  Twiggs,  Wilkinson, 
and  Houston  are  other  beds  of  greensaud  clays  from  12  to  24  inches  thick.  These  contain,  as  shown  by  analysis, 
from  2  to  3  per  cent,  of  potash,  and  are  well  worth  removal  to  those  farmswhose  soils  are  lacking  in  this  element  of 
plant-food.     A  complete  analysis  of  the  marl  has  not  been  made. 


LONG-LEAF  PINE  AND  WIRE  GRASS  REGION. 

This  region  covers  a  large  portion  of  southern  Georgia  south  of  the  oak  and  hickory  and  pine  lauds  of  the  central 
cotton  belt,  extending  from  the  Savannah  river  on  the  east  to  the  Chattahoochee  river  on  the  west,  and  including  in 
its  area  eighteen  whole  counties  and  large  parts  of  others.  The  entire  region  is,  as  it  were,  a  vast  plain  very  nearly 
level,  except  on  the  north,  and  covered  with  a  growth  of  tall  long-leaf  pine.  Their  large  and  straight  trunks  are 
devoid  of  branches  for  from  30  to  100  feet  above  the  ground,  and  stand  so  far  apart  as  to  make  an  average  of  only 
from  50  to  75  trees  per  acre,  with  only  here  and  there  some  undergrowth.  In  most  of  the  region  public  roads  are  of  use 
only  as  guides  and  a  means  of  crossing  any  small  streams  that  may  come  in  the  way,  and  to  avoid  the  fallen  timber 
that  marks  numerous  storm  tracks.  Over  large  areas,  where  the  lands  are  a  dark  sandy  loam  with  yellow  sandy  subsoil, 
the  roads  are  compact,  hard,  and  smooth.  Houses  in  this  region  are  few,  and  the  feeling  of  loneliness  that  steals 
312 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPIIICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  47 

over  a  traveler  passing  through  the  "piny  woods"  for  the  first  time  is  enhanced  by  the  peculiar  sighing  of  the 
breeze  among  the  tree-tops.  The  roots  of  the  pine  tree  do  not  penetrate  to  a  great  depth,  but  are  rather  inclined 
to  spread  out  under  the  surface  soil,  and  the  trees  are  therefore  easily  uprooted  and  thrown  to  the  ground  by  a 
wind  that  would  scarcely  affect  another  growth.  As  a  consequence,  the  paths  of  destructive  winds  in  the  section 
are  marked  for  many  years  by  fallen  timber,  which  lie  parallel  with  the  track  or  with  the  tree-tops  toward  its 
center.  The  hearts  and  knots  ("  lightwood  ")  of  the  decaying  pine  timber  are  utilized  for  fuel  (making  quickly- 
lighted,  durable,  and  hot  tires),  and  also  for  light  instead  of  lamps,  by  the  backwoodsman.  Lumber,  turpentine, 
resin,  and  charcoal  are  prominent  products.  "Turpentine  farms"  of  from  10,000  to  75,000  trees  each  are  found 
throughout  the  entire  region,  and  especially  in  the  middle,  eastern,  and  southeastern  portions. 

When  once  killed,  either  on  cultivated  lands  or  on  burned  areas,  the  long-leaf  pine  does  not  return,  but  is 
replaced  by  a  stunted  short-leaf  species  ("loblolly  pine'').  Large  open  tracts  or  "  prairies"  are  now  being  farmed 
in  this  section  of  the  state,  the  grass  and  undergrowth  being  yearly  burned  off. 

The  long-leaf  pine,  while  one  of  the  most  prominent  characteristics  of  the  wire-grass  region,  is  also  found 
northward  in  small  patches  even  as  far  as  the  Tennessee  line,  while  north  of  the  central  cotton  belt  it  becomes 
of  smaller  growth. 

As  might  be  judged  from  the  name  given  to  the  region,  its  chief  characteristic  feature  is  the  so-called  wire-grass 
(various  species  of  Aristida),  that  covers  the  entire  region  from  the  Savannah  river  westward  to  the  Chattahoochee 
river  and  into  Alabama.  In  many  places  it  forms  a  thick  "  carpet"  over  the  land,  while  westward  especially  it  is  not 
so  dense.  This  wire-grass  is,  as  its  name  implies,  a  long  and  round  bladed  grass,  tapering  to  a  sharp  point,  growing  in 
large  tufts,  which  bend  outward  on  all  sides,  though  quite  stiff  and  upright  for  from  0  to  12  inches  from  the  ground. 
In  the  spring,  when  young  and  tender,  it  furnishes  excellent  pasturage,  and  stock-raising  is  now  becoming  the  chief 
industry  of  the  region.  As  winter  approaches  the  grass  becomes  coarse  and  tough.  It  is  said  to  be  easily  choked 
out  by  the  weed  known  as  "dog- fennel",  and  whenever  once  destroyed,  either  by  cultivation  or  otherwise,  does  not 
return.  Another  peculiarity  is  that  it  is  never  found  on  lauds  that  are  subject  to  overflow.  It  is  also  found  in 
patches  in  the  coast  region  and  on  the  islands. 

Streams. — The  streams  of  the  long-leaf  pine  and  wire-grass  region  soon  after  they  leave  the  oak  and  hickory 
belt  become  slow  in  their  movement,  and  have  banks  from  25  to  30  feet  high  (showing  on  some  of  the  streams 
heavy  beds  of  sandstone),  with  bottom  lands  not  very  wide,  having  a  growth  of  magnolia,  bay,  and  titi.  Southward 
they  become  slower  in  movement,  with  bottom  lands  increasing  in  width,  and  having  banks  only  from  15  to  25  feet 
high.  The  small  streams  are  usually  very  sluggish  and  dark  from  decayed  vegetation.  They  often  have  little  or 
no  bottom  land,  and  but  for  the  undergrowth  that  skirts  their  low  banks  a  traveler  would  hardly  suspect  their 
proximity  until  at  their  very  edge.  The  saw-palmetto  appears  on  the  lowlands,  while  the  pitcher-plant  also  covers 
large  areas.  The  former  increases  in  growth  until  it  finally  seems  largely  to  displace  the  wire-grass  in  the  coast 
and  swamp  counties.     The  growth  of  the  bottoms  in  the  lower  section  differs  but  little  from  that  in  the  upper. 

The  surface  of  the  upper  and  western  portions  of  this  region  is  somewhat  rolling  or  undulating,  with  a  few  low 
ridges  or  hills,  and  is  elevated  from  25  to  50  or  even  75  feet  above  the  streams  and  from  200  to  500  feet  above  the 
sea.  This  is  especially  the  case  in  the  northeastern  and  southwestern  portions  of  the  region,  which  also  differ 
from  the  rest  in  being  underlaid  by  limestone  ("lime-sink  region")  and  having  a  better  class  of  soil,  as  indicated 
by  the  occasional  admixture  of  oak  and  hickory  with  the  long-leaf  pine. 

The  differences  in  the  two  regions  mentioned  are  sufficiently  great  to  justify  a  subdivision  into  what  may  be 
termed  the  "  pine  barrens"  proper  and  the  "  lime-sink  "  divisions,  the  growth  of  long-leaf  pine  and  wire-grass  being 
still  common  to  both.  This  entire  wire-grass  region  is  the  special  home  of  the  gopher  (" Testudo  polyphemus"), 
whose  holes  are  marked  by  the  innumerable  small  hills  of  sand  seen  everywhere.  The  salamander  (triton  sp.)  is 
also  a  native  of  this  region. 

THE    LIME-SINK   REGION. 

The  lime-sink  region  lies  chiefly  on  the  west  of  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  water  divide.  The  soft  limestone 
underlying  this  section,  instead  of  the  sandstone  alluded  to,  is  accompanied  on  the  surface,  and  sometimes  in 
beds,  by  masses  of  a  siliceous  and  aluminous  and  often  flinty  shell-rock.  The  eastern  limit  of  this  lime-sink 
region  is  marked  by  a  line  of  low  ridges  branching  off  southward  from  the  main  divide  and  separating  the  waters 
of  the  Allapaha  and  Withlacooehee  rivers  from  those  of  the.  Flint  river.  This  line  passes  through  the  eastern  side 
of  Worth  and  Colquitt  counties,  and  southeastward  into  Brooks  and  Lowndes.  The  region  embraces  about  7,020 
square  miles,  and  includes  the  following  counties  and  parts  of  counties:  Screven,  except  a  strip  along  the  eastern 
and  northern  sides  of  the  county ;  the  lower  part  of  Burke ;  the  upper  part  of  Bulloch ;  all  of  Miller,  Mitchell, 
Colquitt,  and  Worth  ;  the  southern  parts  of  Pulaski,  Dougherty,  Baker,  and  Early  ;  the  northern  parts  of  Decatur, 
Thomas,  Brooks,  and  Lowndes;  the  eastern  parts  of  Dooly,  Lee,  and  Dougherty;  and  the  western  parts  of  Irwin, 
Berrien,  Dodge,  and  Wilcox. 

In  this  lime-sink  region  the  banks  of  the  streams  are  from  50  to  75  feet  high,  and  the  bottoms  rather  narrow, 
with  a  growth  of  oak,  hickory,  walnut,  magnolia,  and  dogwood.     The  water  is  generally  clear,  though  not  rapid  in 

313 


48 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


movement.  On  the  uplands  the  timber  growth  is  almost  exclusively  long-leaf  pine,  except  in  the  vicinity  of  the  large 
streams,  where  oak  is  found  to  some  extent.  The  country  is  very  open,  and  resembles  very  niueh  the  pine  barrens 
though  it  is  not  as  level. 

The  depressions  of  the  surface,  called  "lime-sinks",  are  caused  by  the  dissolution  and  wearing  away  of  underlying 
limestone.     Into  one  of  these  sinks  sometimes  a  small  stream  falls  and  disappears,  while  in  another  the  underground 

stream  may  be  seen  flowing'  past.     In  others  tin'  water  is  still  ami  quiet,  but  rises  and  falls  in  conjunction  with  S e 

neighboring  large  stream,  thus  showing  underground  connections.  Ponds  are  also  abundant,  one  of  these,  near 
Bainbridge,  Decatur  county,  being  3  miles  in  circumference.  <  Saves  are  often  found  associated  with  these  sinks,  ami 
in  some,  the  great  rush  of  air  that  either  enters  or  conies  from  them  has  given  to  them  tin-  name  .if  "blowing 
caves  ". 

Agricultural  features. — This  is  a  better  cotton-producing  region  than  the  pine  barrens,  and  Decatur  county  was 
at  one  time  reported  to  be  even  the  '•  banner  cotton  county  "  of  the  state  in  total  production.  It  is  said  that  I  per 
cent,  of  the  land  is  irreclaimable  swam)),  anil  of  the  remainder  over  20  per  cent,  has  been  cleared.  Much  of 
this  is  reported  as  now  lying  out;  1ml  15.5  per  cent,  of  the  area  is  under  cultivation,  and  of  this  34.4  percent. 
is  in  cotton. 

The  uplands  of  the  region,  with  their  long-leaf  pine  and  wire-grass,  have  a  gray,  sandy  soil,  which  is  from  0 
to  12  inches  deep,  and  a  red  or  yellow  sandy  clay  subsoil,  and  contains  some  ferruginous  gravel.  These  lands  are 
less  under  cultivation  than  the  other  varieties,  as  they  are  not  as  productive  or  as  durable.  They  yield  at  flrsl 
from  500  to  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  but  after  eight  or  ten  years,  without  fertilizers,  this  is  diminished 
to  350  or  500  pounds.  The  country  is  so  sparsely  settled  that  the  farms  are  located  chiefly  on  the  better  classes  of 
land. 

The  following  analyses  of  soil  and  subsoil  Nos.  500  and  501,  taken  near  Sylvauia,  Screven  county,  may  lie 
considered  a  fair  representation  of  the  lands  of  the  lime-sink  division  of  the  wire-grass  region.  The  soil  was  taken 
G  inches  deep ;  the  subsoil  from  0  to  12  inches.     Growth,  long-leaf  pine. 

Long-leaf  pine  land,  Screven  county. 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silioa 

Potash  

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese. 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina  

Phosphoric*  acid    

Sulphuric  acid 

Water  anil  organic  matter  . 

Total  


Hygroscopic  moisture  . 
absorbed  at 


No.  500. 

No. 

501. 

93.  050  i 

J  93.  010 
0.  800  > 

04.  820 

0,590 

>  05. 410 

0.  320 

0.  102 

0. 103 

0.051 

0,  129 

0.013 

0,  110 

0.033 

0. 103 

0. 11117 

0.672 

1.  000 

1.095 

1.078 

0.  125 

0.112 

0. 125 

(I.  007 

:t.  017 

1.  575 

100.360 

99.  028 

2.  050 

1.171 

16C.° 

20C.° 

In  this  case  the  soil  proves  to  he  much  richer  than  the  subsoil  in  all  the  essential  elements  of  fertility.  There 
is  a  fair  percentage  of  potash,  phosphoric  acid,  and  lime. 

The  bottom  lands  lying  along  the  rivers  and  hummocks  of  the  creeks  have  a  dark  loamy  soil  (alluvial),  with  a  clay 
subsoil  at  a  depth  of  from  10  to  20  inches.  They  are  very  durable,  and  yield  from  S00  to  1.000  pounds  of  seed-cotton 
per  acre  when  fresh,  and  nearly  the  same  after  several  years"  cultivation.  The  growth  on  the  streams  is  white  .mil 
red  oaks,  ash,  hickory,  poplar,  beech,  bays,  and  magnolia;  on  the  uplands,  along  the  large  water-courses,  oaks  are 
a  prominent  growth. 

No.  504.  Black  soil  from   Brier  creek  near  its  junction  with  the  Savannah  river,  in  Screven  county.     This  soil 
has  a  depth  of  from  1  foot  to  3  feet,  and.  as  its  analysis  below  shows,  contains  over  20  per  cent,  of  vegetable  matter. 
Its  native  growth  is  chiefly  cypress  and  black  gum.     The  subsoil  is  either  sand  or  a  pipeclay. 
314 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


49 


Bottom  land,  Brier  creel;  Screven  county. 


No.  504. 

63.310  J 

J  CO.  715 
3.  405  > 

0.315 

0.184 

0.235 

0.044 

0.07-1 

0.  449 

2.050 

0.208 

0.137 

99.  501 
12.840 
20  C.° 
15.  913 
1.  264 
0.169 
0.127 
0.916 
0.  171 
0.  015 

Available  inorganic 

The  large  percentages  of  potash,  lime,  and  phosphoric  acid  make  this  a  very  fertile  soil.  These  elements  are 
probably  largely  derived  from  the  oak  and  hickory  lands  on  the  north,  in  which  the  stream  has  its  source,  and 
through  which  it  cuts  its  way. 

Hon.  George  E.  Black,  of  Sylvauia,  says  of  the  productiveness  of  this  soil: 

These  lauds  produce  cotton  remarkably  well  for  three  or  four  years,  hut  after  a  few  years'  cultivation  the  cottou  becomes  subject  to 
rust.    For  com  these  lands  are  famous,  producing  very  tiue  crops  for  a  long  series  of  years  of  continuous  cultivation  without  fertilization. 


PINE    BARRENS,   OR  SANDY   WIRE-GRASS  REGION. 

The  division  known  as  the  pine  barrens  proper  covers  an  area  of  over  10,000  square  miles,  and  includes  the 
following  counties  and  parts  of  counties:  Tattnall,  Montgomery,  Emanuel,  Telfair,  Appling,  Coffee,  the  middle  of 
Effingham,  the  southern  portions  of  Bulloch,  Johnson,  and  Laurens,  the  eastern  parts  of  Wilcox,  Irwin,  Berrien,  and 
Lowndes,  the  upper  portions  of  Pierce,  Wayne,  Mcintosh,  Liberty,  and  Bryan,  and  areas  in  Jefferson,  Washington, 
Dodge,  Ware,  and  Clinch,  and  is  indicated  on  the  map  by  a  deep  green  color.  It  has  a  generally  level  or  slightly 
undulating  surface,  and  is  underlaid  in  many  places  by  a  sandstone,  which  juts  out  in  bold  bluffs  ou  some  of  the 
streams.  The  soil  is  usually  fine  and  sandy,  with  a  yellow  sandy  subsoil,  though  clay  frequently  underlies  it.  The 
surface  of  the  country  in  the  upper  counties  is  rolling  or  undulating,  but  becomes  quite  level  southward,  the  soil 
also  becoming  less  sandy.  The  lands  contain  much  ferruginous  gravel  or  brown  pebbles.  The  Atlantic  and  Gulf 
water-divide  forms  a  rolling  country  as  it  passes  south  and  then  southeast  through  the  counties  of  Dooly,  Wilcox, 
Irwin,  and  Coffee. 

The  wire-grass  region  terminates  near  the  coast,  forming  the  second  terrace.  From  this  terrace  there  is  a 
descent  for  15  or  25  feet  to  the  savannas  and  pine-flat  and  palmetto  lauds.  This  terrace  is  very  marked  along  its 
course  from  Effingham  county,  30  miles  above  Savannah,  through  Bryan  and  Liberty  (near  Hinesville),  Mcintosh, 
Glynn,  and  Camden  counties,  to  the  Saint  Mary's  river.  30  miles  west  of  the  coast-line.  The  lower  limit  of  the 
region,  however,  leaves  the  terrace  in  Mcintosh  county  and  turns  westward  nearly  through  Ware  county,  and 
thence  southward  to  Florida,  the  Allapaha  liver  nearly  marking  its  course.  Between  this  line  and  the  coast  the 
saw-palmetto  supplants  the  wire-grass. 

The  country  in  this  lower  or  southern  part  of  the  wire-grass  region  is  more  open  and  the  views  are  more 
extended  than  on  the  north,  being  broken  only  by  the  many  cypress  ponds  and  small  streams,  with  their  dense 
and  low  swamp  growth.     Rocks  or  stones  are  almost  wholly  wanting  on  the  surface. 

Agricultural  features. — This  cannot  properly  be  called  a  cotton-growing  section  of  the  state.  Of  the  large  area 
included  in  it,  the  estimate  made  by  the  Georgia  department  of  agriculture  is  that  about  6  per  cent,  consists  of 
irreclaimable  swamp,  and  of  the  remainder  only  15  per  cent,  has  been  cleared  for  cultivation.  Returns  show  that 
of  this  a  large  percentage  now  lies  out,  ami  that  but  about  5  per  cent,  is  under  actual  cultivation.  About  eighteen 
-counties  are  devoted  to  cotton  culture,  lumber  and  turpentine  interests  absorbing  nearly  the  whole  attention  of  its 
couutry  people,  especially  near  the  navigable  water-courses.  The  introduction  of  fertilizers  in  this  section  has  made 
the  cultivation  of  cotton  profitable,  and  has  broken  up  to  seme  extent  the  old  method  of  throwing  away  old  land 
and  taking  in  new. 


50 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


The  soil  of  the  uplands  is  sandy  and  gray  or  ash-colored,  12  inches  deep,  and  has  a  subsoil  of  yellow  or  orange- 
colored  loam.  In  the  higher  regions  there  is  sometimes  a  clay  subsoil  approaching  the  surface,  giving  to  the  land 
greater  fertility  and  durability,  as  indicated  by  the  oak  and  hickory  growth.  The  soil  is  frequently  covered  with 
gravel,  either  of  quartz  or  of  ferruginous  concretions,  yellow  or  dark-brown  externally,  and  either  smooth  or 
rough,  with  a  black  interior.  These  latter  are  commonly  known  in  some  of  the  counties  as  the  so-called  "Georgia 
pills". 

Both  kinds  are  found  in  the  upper  portion  of  the  region  ;  but  in  the  lower  the  ferruginous  concretions  only  are 
observed,  and  then  usually  on  the  low  hills.  It  has  been  noted  that  on  lauds  containing  these  latter  cotton  is  very 
liable  to  rust. 

These  sandy  soils,  while  producing  a  very  good  crop  of  cotton  when  new  and  fresh,  very  soon  wear  out,  ami 
without  the  aid  of  fertilizers  their  cultivation  is  not  profitable. 

The  yield  in  seed-cotton  on  fresh  sandy  uplands  without  the  aid  of  fertilizers  is  about  500  pounds  per  acre, 
though  some  correspondents  report  more  than  this.  After  cultivation  for  several  years,  this  is  diminished  to  about 
300  pounds  of  seed-cotton,  or  100  pounds  of  lint,  per  acre.  This,  when  sold,  would  bring  only  about  $10,  with  a  clear 
profit  of  only  from  $2  to  $4  at  the  estimated  cost  of  production  and  marketing.  Of  other  crops,  corn  and  oats  yield 
10  bushels  per  acre,  while  sorghum-cane  does  very  well,  and  much  attention  is  given  to  its  cultivation. 

The  bottom  lauds  in  some  counties  are  considered  better  than  tiie  uplands,  but  are  more  or  less  liable  to 
overflow.  In  the  northern  section  it  is  found  that  where  cotton  is  cultivated  it  sutlers  from  rust  and  is  liable  to  be 
killed  by  early  frost ;  hence  corn  is  raised  instead  of  cotton.  The  soil  is  very  sandy,  and  is  colored  almost  black  by 
decayed  leaves  and  other  vegetation.  Its  depth  is  12  inches  or  more,  and  it  is  sometimes  underlaid  by  clay.  The 
growth  is  poplar,  cypress,  and  titi,  with  some  pine  and  "fever-tree",  or  "  Georgia  bark  "  (Pinchteya  pubens). 

The  second  bottoms  or  hummock  lands  differ  from  the  bottoms  in  being  above  overflow,  but  their  other  features 
are  similar. 

The  following  is  the  analysis  of  a  fair  sample  of  the  soil  and  subsoil,  Xos.  509  and  5L0,  of  the  pine  barrens. 
The  specimen  was  taken  in  the  "neck"  of  Telfair  county,  near  Lumber  City,  by  Captain  (J.  A.  Locke,  of  the 
United  States  engineer  corps.  Depth  of  soil,  (!  inches;  subsoil,  from  d  to  12  inches.  Growth,  long-leaf  pine  and 
wire -grass. 

Pino  barrens  and  leire-grass  land,  Telfair  county. 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Potash .. 

Soda 

Lirae 

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

Water  and  organic  matter. 

Total 

Humus 

Availabto  inorganic  

Hygroscopic  moisture 

absorbed  at 


Soil. 

Subsoil. 

Xo.  509. 

Xo. 

510. 

93.  354  , ,       .. 
>  94.  45o 
1.  101  1 

73.480 
4.  245 

§7,725 

0.  (|94 

0.251 

0.078 

o.  169 

0.  022 

0.  035 

0.  136 

0.  326 

O.018 

0.  031 

0.  974 

4.418 

2.  202 

1 1.  059 

0.039 

0.  024 

0.082 

0.  290 

2.080 

5.278 

100.  260 

100.  200 

0.836 

1.  298 

1.908 

8.752 

Little  can  be  said  of  this  soil  except  that  it  is  very  poor  in  all  the  elements  of  fertility.  A  rather  remarkable 
feature  of  the  subsoil  is,  that  although  containing  so  much  clay  (iron,  alumina,  aud  soluble  silica)  its  amounts  of 
phosphoric  acid  and  lime  should  be  so  deficient.  Its  water  and  organic  matter  are  also  large  for  a  subsoil,  while 
its  percentage  of  potash  is  fair. 


PINE    AND    PALMETTO    FLATS. 

The  region  thus  designated  lies  in  the  southeastern  corner  of  the  state,  around  Okefenokee  swamp,  and  embraces 
mainly  Charlton,  Echols,  and  Clinch  counties,  and  large  portions  of  Ware,  Pierce,  and  Wayne.  It  is  considerably 
nigher  than  the  belt  of  the  coast  region  that  extends  across  other  counties  to  the  Savannah  river,  a  dotted  line 
through  Glynn  and  Camden  alone  marking  the  line  of  separation  between  the  two  on  the  map.  The  country  is 
very  level  open,  and  sparsely  settled,  and  is  covered  with  many  swamps  having  a  dense  growth  of  titi,  tupelo,  and 
310 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPLUCAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  51 

black  guuis,  sweet  and  loblolly  bays,  cassino,  a  short-leaf  pine  (Pinus  EUiotti,  or  pitch  pine  of  Mississippi),  all 
interlocked  and  frequently  tied  together  with  bamboo  briers,  forming  an  impenetrable  thicket.  Long-leaf  piue  and 
cypress  are  the  timber  growth,  and  the  open  lands  are  often  covered  with  a  low  and  dense  mass  of  saw-palmetto, 
gallberry  bushes,  and  some  wire-grass. 

This  region  is  about  125  feet  above  the  sea,  the  descent  being  very  rapid  on  the  east  from  Okefenokee  swamp  to 
Traders'  Hill,  at  the  head  of  tide- water  on  Saint  Mary's  river.  Thence  there  is  a  level  second  terrace  to  the  edge  of 
the  savanna  lauds,  15  miles  east  of  Colerain.  This  terrace  is  covered  in  places  with  deep,  white  sands,  and  is  veri- 
similar to  the  third  or  Okefeuokee  upland. 

In  the  entire  section  but  little  cotton  is  produced.  The  lands  are  sandy,  though  firm,  and  the  roots  of  the  saw- 
palmetto  (Sabal  serrulata)  not  only  make  travel  disagreeable,  almost  forbidding  the  use  of  four-wheel  vehicles,  but 
give  trouble  in  farming  operations.  The  lauds  wear  out  rapidly,  and  have  not  as  yet  been  renovated  with  fertilizers, 
new  and  fresh  tracts  being  inclosed  and  cultivated.  In  the  swamps  the  white  sandy  bottoms  are  covered  with  a  muck 
several  inches  deep,  while  streams  of  dark  and  even  black  water  flow  sluggishly  among  the  roots  and  cypress  kuees 
and  across  open  spaces. 

The  creek  bottom  lands  and  hummocks  of  this  pine-flat  region  are  not  very  wide,  and  have  a  dark  loam  soil  from 
8  to  12  iuches  deep,  with  a  clayey  subsoil  underlaid  by  a  blue  clay  stratum.  This  latter  is  found  also  in  wells 
on  the  uplands  north  of  Homerville,  Clinch  county,  at  a  depth  of  9  feet  from  the  surface.  These  lands,  while 
considered  the  best  for  cotton,  have  but  a  small  area  devoted  to  that  crop.  It  is  claimed  that  its  late  planting,  and 
consequent  late  maturity,  makes  it  liable  to  be  killed  by  early  frosts.  The  growth  of  these  hummock  lands  is 
chiefly  oak,  black  gum,  maple,  and  tupelo-gum,  cypress,  etc.     The  soil  is  said  to  be  late,  cold,  and  ill  drained. 

Okefenokee  swamp. — This  swamp  has  a  width  of  30  and  a  length  of  40  miles,  covering  an  area  of  about  500,000 
acres.  It  is  in  reality  an  upland  swamp,  having  an  altitude  of  120  feet  above  tide-water  on  the  Saint  Mary's  river,  4 
miles  distant.  A  sand  ridge  (part  of  the  water-divide  of  the  state)  30  feet  above  the  swamp  extends  aloug  its 
eastern  border  to  the  south,  becoming  lower  as  it  reaches  the  southern  horseshoe  bend  in  the  Saint  Mary's  river.  The 
swamp  is  highest  on  the  northeast,  and  falls  irregularly  to  the  south  and  southwest  from  12GA  to  111J  feet  at 
Ellieott's  mound  and  ou  the  southwestern  corner. 

The  eastern  part,  12  miles  in  width,  is  an  open  "prairie"  or  marsh,  largely  covered  with  water,  in  which  are 
long  rushes  and  water-lilies.  Under  its  surface  is  a  dense  body  of  moss  from  4  to  G  feet  thick,  the  great  mass  of 
which  is  decayed,  forming  muck  and  peat.  It  is  so  dense  that  it  will  readily  bear  up  a  man's  weight,  merely  sinking 
a  little  and  risiug  for  many  feet  around;  hence  the  name  Okefeuokee — "trembling  earth."  Small  islands,  covered 
by  clumps  of  cypress,  bay,  and  cassino,  frequently  occur.  The  western  part  of  the  swamp  is  mostly  covered  by 
cypress  trees  and  a  dense  growth  similar  to  that  of  the  small  swamps  outside,  so  tied  together  by  bamboo  briers  and 
vines  as  to  be  impenetrable  except  by  slow  and  tedious  cutting  away  with  bush  knives.  Small  open  marshes,  and 
also  a  number  of  large  islands,  are  found  throughout  this  region.  These  islands  are  quite  level,  but  are  slightly 
elevated  above  the  swamp  lands,  and  have  a  sandy  soil,  with  an  open  timber  growth  of  long-leaf  pine  and  a  very 
low  undergrowth  of  saw-palmetto,  and  are  similar  in  every  respect  to  the  mainland.  Their  dimensions  are  3  or  4 
miles  by  from  1  to  2,  and  they  are  bordered  by  a  low  hummock  laud,  on  which  there  is  a  growth  of  magnolia,  oak,  etc. 
Hunters  find  deer  and  bear  on  these  islands.  The  soil  or  bottom  of  the  swamp  proper  seems  to  be  but  little  else 
than  white  sand. 

COAST  REGION. 

The  coast  region  embraces  savannas,  live-oak  lands,  and  islands,  covering  in  all  about  2,045  square  miles. 

Savannas. — The  region  properly  designated  " savannas"  occupies  a  belt  of  country  from  10  to  15  miles  wide 
between  the  pine  barrens  and  wire-grass  region  on  one  side  and  the  coast  live-oak  lands  on  the  other,  extends 
from  the  Savannah  to  the  Saint  Mary's  river,  and  embraces  nearly  all  of  the  counties  of  Chatham,  Bryan,  Glynn, 
and  Camden,  and  large  portions  of  Liberty  and  Mcintosh.  The  surface  of  the  country  is  very  level  and  10  or  15 
feet  above  tide-water,  and  comprises  what  is  known  as  the  first  terrace.  Its  northwestern  limit  is  the  bluff  of  the 
second  or  wire-grass  terrace,  passing  through  the  lower  part  of  Effingham  (20  miles  north  of  Savannah)  into  Bryan, 
where  it  is  50  feet  high.  Southward  through  Liberty  county  this  bluff  forms  "  the  gravel  hill "  south  of  Hinesville, 
which  has  an  elevation  of  from  15  to  30  feet  above  the  sea;  deep  sands  are  found  here.  Thence  the  limit  extends 
through  Mcintosh  county  to  Waynesville,  and,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Satilla  river,  into  and  across  Camden 
county  at  a  distance  of  about  15  miles  cast  of  Colerain.  At  this  last  point  the  rise  is  about  25  feet.  Within  this 
regiou,  adjoining  the  marsh  lands,  there  is  a  belt  of  li%re-oak  laud  having  a  width  of  several  miles  which  properly 
belongs  to  the  savannas.  This  regiou  along  the  first  or  lower  terrace  is  noted  for  its  beautiful  meadow  or  savanna 
lands,  which  are  broad,  flat,  and  open  plains,  having  no  growth  other  than  sparse  and  tall  long-leaf  pine  and 
a  thick  undergrowth  of  saw-palmetto,  with  here  and  there  bunches  of  wire-grass  that  has  found  its  way  down 
from  the  upper  terrace.  Iu  the  spring  and  early  summer  months  these  plains  are  covered  with  a  dense  growth 
of  flowers,  which  gives  to  them  an  enchanting  appearance.  The  savannas  at  one  time  covered  a  large  part  of  these 
counties,  but  the  custom  of  burning  off  the  lands  to  cause  a  growth  of  young  grass  for  grazing  purposes  has  also 
produced  a  scrub  undergrowth  of  trees  aud  bushes.  The  soils  and  subsoils  outside  of  the  live-oak  lands  are 
sandy  and  not  much  under  cultivation.     The  streams  are  dark  aud  sluggish.  .Jl7 


52 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IX  GEORGIA. 


Live-oak  amd  coast  lamjs. — Along  the  coast  (as  well  as  occupying  the  islands)  from  the  Savannah  river  to 
Saint  Man's  i  iver  there  is  an  irregular  and  interrupted  belt  of  yellow  or  mulatto  sand\  lands  about  111  miles  wide, 
whose  characteristic  feature  is  the  growth  of  very  large  live-oak  trees.  From  their  widely-spreading  branches  there 
hangs  a  very  great  profusion  of  "  long  moss"  (Tillands-ia  usneoides),  its  long  gray  streamers  reaching  often  as  much 
as  10  or  15  feet  toward  the  ground.  Associated  with  the  live-oak  there  is  a  growth  of  red  and  water  oaks,  hickory, 
chiucapin,  pine,  red  cedar,  sweet  gum,  cabbage  palmetto  (Sabal  palmetto),  sassafras,  and  a  tall  variety  of  blue 
palmetto  (Chamwrops  hystrix).  There  are  properly  tlnce  divisions  of  this  live  oak  belt,  viz,  upland  or  ridge,  middle, 
ami  lower  bottom  lands,  each  comprising  about  one-third  of  the  area.  The  first  has  sandy  soils  and  subsoils,  which 
arc  not  considered  as  remunerative.  The  bottoms,  on  the-  other  hand,  are  very  rich,  anil  have  a  daik  soil  underlaid 
by  a  blue  clay. 

These  lands  arc  well  adapted  to  sea-island  cotton,  though  but  little  attention  is  given  to  its' cultivation.  The 
yield  is  about  400  pounds  of  seed  cotton  per  acre. 

Analyses  of'  a  representative  soil  and  its  subsoil  of  the  live-oak  lands  are  given  below.  The  samples  were 
taken  by  J.  A.  SI.  King,  of  Do: Chester. 

Mo.  511.  Soil  from  near  Stiubury,  Liberty  county,  taken  0  inches  deep.     Growth,  live  oak. 

No.  512.  Subsoil  of  the  above,  taken  from  0  to  111  inches  deep. 

Live-oaJc  land,  Libert)]  county. 


Insoluble  matter ... 

Soluble  silica 

Potash    

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

Water  ami  organic  matter. 

Total   

Humus 

Available  inorganic 

Hygroscopic  moisture   

absorbed  at 


93.  229  ) 
0.  303  J 

95 
0 

35; 

074 

1 96.  029 

0.  002 

0.130 

0.  153 

0.  070 

0.100 

0.039 

0.  ITS 

0.  136 

0.  039 

0  015 

0. 285 

i).  120 

0.019 

0.  742 

0.  1107 

0.  030 

0.  ISO 

0.141 

4.809 

2.509 

100.  000 

100.  282 

3.  210 

2.419 

14.  5  C.o 

14. 

->c.° 

In  view  of  the  small  amount  of  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  in  this  soil,  its  richness  is  no  doubt  due.  to  the  large 
percentage  of  humus  and  the  fair  quantity  of  lime,  which  renders  available  the  phosphoric  mud  for  plant-food.  The 
subsoil  does  not  come  up  to  its  assistance  as  these  uuder-strata  usually  do,  but  is  even  more  sandy  and  more  deficient 
in  plant-food  than  the  soil,  except  that  it  has  twice  the  percentage  of  potash,  even  then  too  small. 

Sir.  King  thus  describes  these-  live-oak  lands  : 

They  vary  in  quality  from  heavy  bottom  to  light  sandy,  ami  may  be  classed  as  upper,  middle, and  lower  lo.u. an  lands,-oacb  covering 
one-third  of  the  entire  width.  Tin-  soil  of  the  bottom  live-oak  lauds  is  .lark  ami  mucky,  tho  upper  licit  having  a  blue-clay  subsoil,  the 
middle  belt  a  dark  sandy  subsoil,  while  on  the  coast  or  lower  belt  the  subsoil  is  a  white  sand. 

The  ridge  live-oak  lauds  are  confined  to  the  .oast  belt  and  the  islands.  The  soil  is  sandy,  eitherlight  or  gray  colored,  with  white  so  ml* 
subsoils.  Tho  ridoos  are  m  reality  but  a  huge  ocean  sand-bank  covered  with  live  oak  and  saw-palmetto,  a  lew  water  oaks,  and  an 
occasional  pine  These  oaks  on  Black  Beards'  island  are  mostly  stunted  in  growth,  ami  on  the  sea  side  look  like  a  closely  trimmed  heago, 
Such  lands  would  not  remunerate  cultivation,  while  the  inland  live-oak  bottoms  wen-  considered  the  richest  lauds  of  the  county.  In  "lie 
bine  day  iinil.  rlying  .lies.,  lauds  have  been  found  well-preserved  stalks  and  leaves  of  marsh  grass  i  Vniola). 

Tho  live  oaks  of  lb.-  region  attain  a  great  size,  their  lateral  limbs  of  ten  extending  as  much  as  ;,il  feet  .from  the  trunk.  Long  moss 
hangs  m  greatest  profusion  from  the  limbs,  and  wild  grape-vines,  measuring  as  much  as  :;7  inches  m  circumference  at  the  ground  or -27 
inches  at  a  height  of  7  feet,  are  found  out  wined  among  them. 

Tho  live-oak  bottoms  were  mostly  cleared  ami  plant.:, 1  two  or  three  generations  ago. 

TnE  coast  tide  swamp  la^d.— This  occupies  a  narrow  belt,  not  continuous  along  the  Atlantic  coast,  but 
bordering  on  the  various  inlets  and  streams  to  the  limits  of  tide-water.  In  White's  Statistics  of  Georgia  appears 
the  following: 

On  the  Savannah  river  the  bodies  of  tide  swamp  land  are  extensive,  and  are  cultivated  upwardof  -20  miles  from  the  brackish  marsh  up 
the  river.    On  the  Altamaha  these  lands  equal  iu  width  those  of  the  Savannah  river,  butfromthemarshesiipwardtheirextentdoesn'ot  exceed 

lb  miles,  where  the  freshets  forbid  their  beiug  of  any  value  except  for  timber.     The  soil  has  more  of  decayed  vegetable  mold  thau  tho 
laud  of  the  Savannah  river,  and  is  more  easily  cultivated.     The  tide  lands  ..£  the  Ogeeekee  exteud  from  the  marshes  about  10  miles. 
Those  of  the  Satilla,  not  as  broad  as  those  mentioned  above,  extend  from  tin-  marshes  '20  miles  up  the  river,  and  are  not  liable  to  freshets. 
31  f> 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION.  53 

Ou  tlic  Saint  Mary's  the  swamp  lands  on  the  Georgia  side  extend  only  to  the  foot  of  the  second  terrace,  some 
15  mi  es  east  of  Ooleraiu,  though  tide-water  reaches  Traders'  Hill.  These  are  the  rice  lauds  of  the  state,  being 
now  a'.most  exclusively  devoted  to  its  cultivation,  though  other  crops  do  well.  Black  seed  or  Florida  sea-island 
cotton  was  ouce  one  of  the  principal  crops  of  these  low  swamp  lands. 

The  soil  of  the  swamp  lands  along  the  streams  and  inland  is  ash-colored  and  clayey,  from  1  foot  to  C  feet  deep 
to  a  blue  clay  stratum.     The  growth  is  cypress,  water  oak,  gum,  ash,  maple,  beech,  and  saw-palmetto. 

An  analysis  of  a  sample  of  this  soil,  No.  513,  taken  near  Savannah,  Chatham  county,  gave  the  following  results : 

Rice  or  swamp  Until,  Chatham  county. 


No.  513. 

63.444  >        „„ 
■  74.  7C9 
11.325) 

0.242 

0.070 

0.387 

0.508 

0.052 

3.894 

13.454 

0.  071 

0.  055 

6.843 

Peroxide  of  iron  

Phosphoric  acid 

Total   " 

100.  354 

10.  720 
13    C.° 

The  percentage  of  phosphoric  acid  in  this  soil  is  very  small,  the  potash  respectable.  The  high  lime  percentage 
makes  it  thrifty  by  acting  on  the  former  ;  and  as  long  as  it  holds  out  the  soil  will  be  good,  especially  with  continued 
overflow. 

Maksh  land. — There  is  very  little  of  what  may  be  properly  termed  sea  marsh  aloug  the  Georgia  coast.  Very 
small  areas  are  found  at  the  mouths  of  some  of  the  rivers. 

The  sea  islands.— Aloug  the  coast  there  lies  from  one  end  to  the  other  a  perfect  net-work  of  islands,  large  and 
small,  having  a  rolling  surface,  not  exceeding  15  feet  above  tide.  Their  united  areas  amount  to  about  500  square 
miles.  The  growth  is  live  oak,  cedars,  pines,  and  saw-palmetto,  with  some  magnolia,  gum,  etc.  The  soil  is  usually 
sandy  and  well  adapted  to  the  production  of  sea-island  cotton,  corn,  and  sweet  potatoes.  Lemons,  figs,  pomegranates, 
olives,  oranges,  and  lemons  grow  finely.  The  cultivation  of  the  sea-island  cottou  has  been  nearly  abandoned  since 
1861. 

The  changes  made  in  machinery  for  the  manufacture  of  coarser  staples  when  sea-island  cotton  could  not  be 
obtained  (1801-05)  are  said  to  have  been  its  death  blow. 

The  cultivation  of  upland  cotton  (short  staple)  is  now  receiving  more  and  more  attention  since  the  introduction 
of  commercial  fertilizers.  Of  sea-island  cotton  these  soils  formerly  yielded  from  400  to  500  pounds  per  acre  in  the 
seed  when  fresh  and  300  pounds  after  the  fourth  year. 


REMARKS  OX  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

Early  history. — But  little  data  are  at  hand  concerning  the  early  history  of  cotton  production  in  the  state. 
Its  culture  seems  to  have  been  begun  on  a  very  small  scale  in  1735,  or  about  the  same  time  as  in  South  Carolina, 
seed  having  in  the  previous  year  been  sent  from  Euglaud.  In  1791  the  yield  was  estimated  at  500,000  pounds, 
equal  to  1,250  bales  of  400  pouuds  each.  The  sea-island  variety,  or  long  staple,  is  said  to  have  been  introduced 
in  1780.  The  New  York  Commercial  Bulletin  gives  the  following  copy  of  a  bill  of  lading,  bearing  date  of  July  20, 
1751,  now  in  possession  of  a  prominent  cotton  commission  merchant  of  New  York: 

Shipped  by  the  grace  of  God,  in  good  order  arid  well  conditioned,  by  Henry  Hansen,  in  and  upon  the  good  Snow  called  the  "  Mary ", 
whereof  is  master  under  God,  for  this  present  voyage,  Barnaby  Badgers,  and  now  riding  at  anchor  in  the  Harbour  of  New  York,  and,  by 
God's  grace,  bound  for  London — To  say — Eighteen  Bales  of  Cotton  Wool,  being  marked  and  numbered  as  in  the  margin ;  and  are  to  bo 
delivered  in  the  like  good  order  and  well-conditioned  at  the  aforesaid  port  of  Loudon  (the  Danger  of  the  Sea  only  excepted)  unto  Messrs. 
Horko  and  Champion,  or  to  their  Assigns,  ho  or  they  paying  Freight  for  the  said  Goods  three  farthings  p.  pound,  with  Primage  and  Average 
accustomed.  In  witness  whereof,  the  Master  or  Purser  of  the  said  Snow  hath  affirmed  to  three  bills  of  Lading,  all  of  Tenor  and  Date; 
the  one  of  which  three  bills  being  accomplished,  the  other  two  to  stand  void.  Ami  so  God  send  the  good  Snow  to  her  desired  Port  in 
safety.     Amen.     Dated  in  New  York,  July  20th,  1751. 

(Signed,)  Bernard  Badgers. 

31U 


54 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


In  the  margin  of  said  document  are  tlie  following  references: 

5  Bales  marked  III  No.  105;  13  Bales  marked  II  No.  1®13. 

On  the  back  of  the  wall-worn  frame  which  helps  preserve  the  curious  document  is  an  extract  of  a  letter  from 
the  secretary  of  the  trustees  for  establishing  the  colony  of  Georgia.  The  following  is  an  exact  copy,  and  was 
addressed  to  the  president  of  the  "colony  ": 

Georgia  Office  (London),  Jul)/  7,  174'.). 
*  *  *  *  " 

You  say,  sir.  likewise  in  your  letter,  that  the  people  of  Vonmuhitrgh  and  Actou  are  giving  risible  appearances  of  reviving  their 
industry;  that  they  are  propagating  large?  quantities  of  flax  and  cotton,  and  are  provided  with  weavers,  who  have  already  wove  several 
large  pieces  of  cloth  of  an  useful  sort,  whereof  they  sold  divers  and  sumo  they  made  use  of  in  their  own  families.  The  account  of  their 
industry  is  highly  satisfactory  to  the  trustees;  but  as  to  manufacturing  the  produces  they  raise,  they  must  expect  no  encouragement  from 
the  trustees,  for  setting  up  manufactures  which  may  interfere  with  those  iu  England  might  occasion  complaints  here,  for  which  reason  you 
must,  as  they  will,  always  discountenance  them ;  and  it  will  be  necessary  for  you  to  direct  the  industry  of  those  people  into  a  way  which 
might  he  more  beneficial  to  themselves  and  would  prove  satisfactory  to  the  trustees  and  the  public  ;  that  is  to  show  them  what  advantages 
they  will  reap  from  the  produce  of  silk,  which  they  will  receive  immediate  payment  for,  and  that  this  will  uot  interfere  with  or  prevent 
their  raising  flax  or  cotton  or  any  other  produces  for  exportation  unmanufactured. 

This  letter  shows  that  cotton  was  raised  and  manufactured  iu  the  neighborhood  of  Savannah  as  early  as  the 
year  174*  in  sufficient  quantity  to  lie  tlie  subject  of  official  notice.  It  should  be  said  that  the  term  "Snow", 
mentioned  in  the  bill  of  lading,  was  the  name  then  given  to  a  bark. 

Cotton  production  in  1880. — Georgia  is  now  one  of  the  great  cotton-producing  states  of  the  Union,  ranking 
first  in  the  acreage  devoted  to  that  crop  (2,017,138)  and  second  iu  the  number  of  bales  produced  (S14,441),  the  state 
of  Mississippi  being  first.  Cotton  is  the  chief  crop  of  the  state,  its  acreage  being  a  little  more  than  34  per  cent,  of 
all  the  lands  under  cultivation  (see  Table  II  of  leading  crops)  and  averaging  44.4  acres  per  square  mile  for  the  state 
at  large.  The  acreage  of  corn  is  78,405  acres  less  than  that  of  cotton.  The  great  bulk  of  the  crop  is  produced  in 
the  central  belt  of  counties  from  South  Carolina  to  Alabama,  and  but  two  counties  in  the  entire  state  report  no 
production  at  all,  viz,  Fannin  and  Towns,  in  the  Blue  Ridge  region,  where  cotton  is  grown  mostly  in  patches  for 
home  use,  much  of  it  failing  to  mature  before  early  frosts  unless  hastened  by  the  application  of  fertilizers.  A 
reference  to  the  map  showing  the  relation  between  cotton  acreage  and  the  total  area  will  give  a  fair  idea  of  the 
varying  degrees  of  intensity  and  the  several  belts  of  each,  represented  by  different  tints  in  color.  The  greatest 
intensity  of  cotton  acreage  (20  per  cent,  of  total  area)  is  shown,  by  the  deepest  shades,  to  occupy  areas  in  the 
western  part  of  the  state,  in  the  counties  of  Troup,  Clayton,  Spalding,  Pike,  and  Houston."  A  large  region  of  the 
next  degree,  from  15  to  20  per  cent.,  also  lies  to  the  westward, chiefly  in  the  metamorphic  lands  south  and  southwest 
of  Atlanta,  and  to  the  eastward;  also  in  the  red  lauds  of  Lee  and  Dougherty,  in  the  long-leaf  pine  region,  and 
along  the  Chattahoochee  river. 

Altogether,  it  will  be  seen  that  tlie  intensity  of  cottou  acreage  increases  westward  from  the  South  Carolina 
line  and  diminishes  toward  the  north  and  south,  the  central  belt  of  intense  acreage  widening  to  the  westward  and 
reaching  south  west  ward  nearly  to  the  Florida  line,  being  cut  in  two  by  the  belt  of  sand-hills  along  the  lower  edge  of  the 
metamorphic  region  ;  and  that  regions  of  almost  no  cotton  production  lie  along  the  Atlantic  coastof  the  southeast, 
the  Blue  Ridge  mountain  region  of  the  northeast,  and  the  extreme  northwestern  corner,  or  the  Sand  and  Lookout 
mountain  region,  of  the  state. 

Tabus  III.— POPULATION  AND  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  EACH  AGRICULTURAL  REGION  OF  THE  STATE. 


Agricultural  rejrioo. 


.v.;.  mla. 

Northwest  Georgia 3,660 

Blue  JUdge 3,000 

Middle  Georgia 18,110 

Central  cottou  belt 10,570 

Lime-sink  and  .southern  oak  7,  360 
and  hickory  uplands. 

.  Pine  Darrens  to,  ho 

Coast  ami  pine  flats.    6,  080 

Total .--.'.'-II 

320 


rorreATlON. 


White.      Colored. 


110.013 
63, 169 
748,151 
320,493 
121.847 

79,076 
92.  526 


.-•..  !'.'■■ 
59,  592 
393,  781 
122,  002 
59.  ::74 

55,  922 
39,437 


30,  120 

3,577 

354.  370 

198.491 

62.  473 


1.542,  ISO         810.9H0        725,274 


107, 133 

0,837 

1,303,539 

818,  89? 

253,  566 

57,  443 


COTTOX  mODCCTIOX. 


Average  per  acre. 


Fraction 
of  bale, 

475  lbs. 


Seed- 
cotton. 


Total  in  tons. 


46.619 

2,409 

449,811 

231,411 

62, 149 

19,350 


Per- 
centage 

of  the 
btate's 

total 
produc- 
tion. 


0.44 
0.35 
0.33 
0.28 


0.31 
0.28 


IJ.s 
621 
501 
471 

402 


480 
390 


Lbs. 

207 
167 


160 
132 


Lbs. 

414 
334 
314 
208 
232 


11.072 
572 
106.  830 
54.900 
14,  700 

4,  500 
639 


290   193.420 


22,  141 

1,  144 
213.  660 
109.920 
29,  520 

9, 1112 
1,278 


5.72 
0.  30 
55.  23 
28.41 

7.  03 

2.  36 
0.33 


Aver- 
age  cot- 
ton 
acreage 

per 
square 
mile. 


29.3 
2.2 
75.  3 


3-6.858      100.00 


5.7 
1.0 


DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  TOTE  RIO  R 


TEHTH   CE1TSTTS    OF   THE   THflTED    STATES 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION. 


00 


Table  IV. 


•BANNER  COUNTIES"  AS  REGARDS  PRODUCTION  AND  PRODUCT  PER  ACRE  IN  THE  VARIOUS 
AGRICULTURAL  REGIONS  OF  THE  STATE. 


REGIONS  ACCORDING  TO  PRODUCT  PER  ACRE. 


Northwest 

Blue  Ridge 

Pine  barrens 

Middle  metatriorphic 

Coast  and  pine  flats 

Central  cotton  belt 

Lime-sink  and  sandy  yellow  loam 


p.  a 


0.44 
0.35 
0.34 

0.33 
0.28 
0.28 


COUNTIES  IN  EACH   REGION  HAVING  HIGHEST  TOTAL 
PRODUCTION. 


Floyd .  - 
Dawson 

Bulloch 
Troup  . 
Echols  . 
Burke  . 
Dooly  . 


p< 

-.  ° 

T3  « 

e/S 

a -a 

3 

*a"» 

1 

a 
O 

3 

30,  615 

24 

2,189 

19 

9,140 

97 

06, 188 

131 

3,578 

54 

87,  359 

117 

38.  495 

Bales. 
14,  545 
850 
3,724 
18,  655 
731 
29, 172 
9, 1)66 


Bale. 
0.48 
0.39 
0.41 
0.28 
0.20 
0.33 
0.23 


Polk 

Union 

Bulloch..  - 

Cobb 

Bryan  

Richmond 
Screven  .. 


16,774 
12 
9,140 
27,  250 
764 
7,871 
21,716 


Bale*. 
8, 126 


Bab 

0.48 
0.41 


3,724 

0.41 

13,  092 

0.48 

304 

0.40 

2,742 

0.35 

8, 166 

0.  38 

13 
19 


Comparison  of  acreage  and  production  regions. — The  northwest  and  Blue  Ridge  regions  together 
produce  about  6  per  cent,  of  the  state's  production,  and  here  the  corn  acreage  very  largely  predominates;  but 
southward  the  difference  becomes  less  and  less,  until  in  the  counties  east  from  Atlanta  to  the  Savannah  river,  and 
also  south  of  the  Chattahoochee  from  Atlanta  to  the  Alabama  line,  cotton  begins  to  gain  predominance  and  reaches 
its  maximum  in  the  central  cotton  belt,  its  acreage  being  about  one-seventh  greater.  In  the  pine  barrens  corn 
again  takes  precedence,  its  acreage  being  more  than  double  that  of  cotton  and  four  times  more  in  the  coast  counties. 

The  metamorphic  region,  because  of  its  greater  extent  and  larger  population,  produces  more  cotton  than  all  of 
the  rest  of  the  state  combined  (,"55.23  per  cent.).  Nearly  all  of  this  (440,811  bales)  comes  from  the  counties  south  of  the 
Chattahoochee  river.  The  average  cotton  acreage  for  this  part  is  about  75.3  acres  out  of  about  199  acres  of  tilled 
lands  per  square  mile.  In  some  counties  this  average  is  considerably  greater,  and  we  find  in  Troup  153.9  acres  of 
cotton  out  of  300  acres  of  tilled  land  per  square  mile. 

The  ratio  between  production  and  population  of  the  entire  region  is  over  one-half  a  bale  per  capita.  If  from 
the  entire  population  (748,151)  that  of  the  cities  of  Atlanta,  Augusta,  Macon,  and  Columbus  be  taken  the  comparison 
would  be  more  nearly  correct,  and  the  ratio  would  be  about  0.70  of  a  bale  per  capita. 

The  central  cotton  belt  (embracing  the  sand  and  pine  hills  and  the  oak,  hickory,  and  long-leaf  pine  uplands) 
produces  2S.41  per  cent,  of  the  state's  entire  production,  while  its  cotton  acreage  per  square  mile  (77.5)  is  greater 
than  that  of  any  other  region  as  a  whole.  Its  ratio  between  production  and  population  also  is  greater,  being  0.73 
of  a  bale  per  capita,  a  little  more  than  that  of  the  middle  metamorphic  region  outside  of  the  large  cities.  Cotton 
production  is.  however,  largely  concentrated  in  the  western  part  of  the  belt,  or  west  of  the  Oconee  river,  a  maximum 
region  cf  20  per  cent,  of  the  area  occurring  in  Houston  county.  Two  areas  of  over  15  per  cent,  occur  along  the 
Chattahoochee  river  in  Clay,  Quitman,  and  Stewart,  and  on  the  red  lands  of  Lee  and  Dougherty  near  Flint  river. 
The  rest  of  the  region,  excepting  the  belt  of  sand-hills  on  the  north,  has  from  10  to  15  per  cent,  of  its  total  area  in 
cotton. 

The  lime-sink  division  and  southern  oak  and  hickory  uplands  region  ranks  next  in  its  production  (62,149  bales) 
and  in  its  average  of  34.4  acres  of  cotton  per  square  mile.  It  is  a  sparsely  settled  region  in  the  southwestern  part 
of  the  state,  with  an  average  of  but  17  persons  per  square  mile.  The  ratio  of  cotton  production  is  a  little  more  than 
half  a  bale  (0.51)  per  inhabitant.  It  produces  7.63  per  cent,  of  the  state's  total  production,  and  from  5  to  10  per 
cent,  of  its  total  area  is  in  cotton.  A  portion  of  the  region,  that  of  Baker  county,  has  a  cotton  acreage  of  from  10 
to  15  per  cent,  of  its  area,  due  in  part  to  a  greater  population.  In  the  part  bordering  the  pine  barrens  of  the 
east  this  average  is  much  less  (from  1  to  5  per  cent.),  forming  a  crescent-shaped  belt  reaching  from  Bulloch  county, 
westward  and  southward,  to  the  Florida  line. 

This  forms  a  transition  to  the  lumber  and  turpentine  or  pine  barrens  region  of  the  state,  whose  lands  are  poor, 
except  near  the  streams,  and  whose  cotton  acreage  is  less  than  1  per  cent,  of  the  entire  area.  The  average 
population  of  this  division  is  but  8  persons  per  square  mile,  and  that  of  cotton  acreage  5.7  acres  per  square  mile, 
the  total  cotton  yield  being  but  2.58  per  cent,  of  the  state's  production. 

The  northwestern  region,  or  "northwest  Georgia  ",  ranks  next  below  the  lime-sink  division  and  southern  oak  and 
hickory  uplands  region  in  its  cotton  production,  46,619  bales,  or  5.72  per  cent,  of  the  total  yield  of  the  state.  Its 
average  cotton  acreage  is  29.3  acres  per  square  mile.  Production  is,  however,  chiefly  confined  to  the  southern  part 
of  the  region,  and  here  we  find  from  5  to  10  per  cent,  of  its  area  in  cotton.  Northward  of  this  the  acreage  is 
diminished  from  1  to  5  per  cent,  of  the  total  area,  and  in  Catoosa  county  and  a  strip  along  the  eastern  border  to 
less  than  i  per  cent.  In  Dade  county  and  in  a  small  strip  of  Walker  there  is  scarcely  any  cotton  produced. 
21  c  p— vol.  11  3J1 


56  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

The  rich  valleys  of  Floyd,  Polk,  and  Bartow  give  a  vigorous  growth  to  the  stalk,  fertilizers  hasten  maturity  of 
the  cotton,  and  the  season  is  sufficiently  mild  and  long  to  permit  the  gathering  of  a  very  good  crop.  The  average 
production  for  the  region  is  four-tenths  of  a  bale  per  inhabitant. 

The  altitude  of  the  Blue  Ridge  region  is  too  great  and  the  season  too  short  to  make  the  production  of  cotton  as 
profitable  as  in  other  parts  of  the  state.  Up  to  the  present  time  the  lack  of  sufficient  transportation  facilities  to 
market  also  causes  the  farmers  of  the  region  to  take  but  little  interest  in  cotton  production,  and  we  therefore  find 
an  average  of  but  2.2  acres  of  cotton  per  square  mile,  the  counties  of  Fannin  and  Towns  reporting  none  at  all.  The 
region  produces  but  0.30  per  cent,  of  the  total  yield  of  the  state. 

The  coast  and  pine  flats  also  produce  very  little  cotton,  the  average  of  that  crop  being  but  l.li  acres  per  square 
mile,  and  the  total  yield  but  0.33  per  cent,  of  the  state's  production.  The  region  is  well  adapted  to  the  sea-island, 
or  long  staple  variety. 

Productiveness  or  product  per  acre. — The  general  average  yield  for  the  state  is  nearly  one-third  of  a 
bale  per  acre,  and  this,  too,  is  the  general  result  anticipated  by  the  farmers  themselves  when  they  prepare  their  lands 
forthecrop.  This  yield  would  be.  very  greatly  increased  by  the  judicious  use  of  fertilizers,  as  is  shown  in  the 
many  experiments  made  under  the  direction  of  the  Georgia  department  of  agriculture  and  by  individual  persons. 

A  comparison  of  the  scale  of  productiveness  in  the  counties  of  the  eastern,  middle,  and  western  parts  of  t  he  state 
(excepting  all  that  part  north  of  the  Atlanta  parallel,  which  is  newer  in  cotton  culture)  shows  that  those  having 
the  highest  product  per  acre  lie  chiefly  on  the  east  of  the  Ocmulgee  and  Altamaha  rivers,  their  averages  ranging  from 
0.30  to  0.45,  while  on  the.  west  to  the  Alabama  line  they  range  from  0.30  to  0.17  of  a  bale.  Comparing  the  averages 
of  the  two  extreme  tiers  of  counties,  we  find  those  on  the  Savannah  river  from  the  coast  to  the  Blue  Kidge  to 
average  a  little  over  one-third  (0.34)  of  a  bale  per  acre,  and  those  on  the  Chattahoochee  from  the  Florida  line  to  the 
northwestern  region  to  average  but  little  over  a  fourth  (0.2S)  of  a  bale.  The  counties  of  Haralson  and  Carroll,  in 
this  latter  list,  have  high  averages,  which  raise  the  total  above  that  which  it  would  otherwise  be. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  there  is  a  larger  proportion  of  the  better  class  of  oak  and  hickory  uplands  and  less  of 
wire-grass  lands  on  the  west,  the  results  show  a  better  system  of  culture  on  the  east,  with  perhaps  a  more  general 
use  of  fertilizers.  The  great  bulk  of  commercial  fertilizers  enters  the  state  from  the  east  and  from  the  coast  ports, 
and  would  naturally  be  brought  into  more  general  use  there  than  in  other  parts  of  the  state. 

The  culture  of  cotton  in  the  northern  counties  of  the  state  is  a  comparatively  new  industry,  and  the  lands  are 
not  so  much  worn  as  southward.  We  therefore  find  the  maximum  of  natural  productiveness  per  acre  in  those 
counties  north  and  east  of  Atlanta,  with  a  gradually  descending  scale  as  we  go  south. 

Comparison  by  regions. — The  northwestern  region  not  only  ranks  highest  in  product  per  acre  (over  four-tenths 
of  a  bale),  but  embraces  the  "banner"  county  of  the  state,  Polk,  whose,  average,  is  about  one-half  a  bale  per  acre. 
The  freshness  of  the  lands,  still  further  enriched  by  fertilizers,  has  tended  to  produce  this  result,  which  would  be 
much  greater  but  for  the  fact  that  early  fall  frosts  cut  of?  a  large  part  of  the  maturing  crop. 

The  product  per  acre  in  the  metamorphic  reaches  one-third  of  a  bale,  while  that  of  the  central  belt  is  far  below 
it.  In  view  of  the  immense  amount  of  commercial  fertilizers  used  iu  the  state,  these  low  per  cents  are  surprising. 
Even  the  "poor  piny  woods"  are  made  to  surpass  the  lands  of  the  central  belt,  and  that,  too,  when  marls  and 
limestones  underlie  the  latter  so  abundantly.  The  lime-sink  region  and  southern  oak  and  hickory  uplands,  because  of 
the  small  area  comprised  in  the  latter,  are  classed  as  one.  The  average  productiveness  per  acre  of  the  two  is 
one-fourth  of  a  bale,  or  about  what  the  lands  would  produce  without  fertilizers.  The  region  ranks  lowest  of  all  in 
this  respect,  a  fact  coincident  with  that  already  mentioned,  viz,  a  low  scale  of  productiveness  per  acre  iu  nearly 
all  of  the  counties  of  the  western  side  of  the  state. 

The  pine  barrens,  which  heretofore  have  been  almost  exclusively  devoted  to  stock-grazing  and  the  turpentine 
and  lumber  industries,  are  being  settled  by  people  who  see  that  with  the  aid  of  fertilizers  the  poor  sandy  lands  of 
the  region  can  lie  made  to  produce  cotton  abundantly.  The  result  is  seen  in  a  product  per  acre  somewhat  greater 
than  that  of  the  oak  and  hickory  clay  lands  of  even  the  more  favored  metamorphic  region.  Iu  contrast  with  the 
southwestern  region,  this  belougs  to  the  eastern  side  of  the  state,  where  the  products  per  acre  are  highest,  owing,  no 
doubt,  to  a  more  judicious  and  abundant  use  of  fertilizers.  The  cotton  acreage  of  the  region  is  comparatively 
small,  and  only  the  best  lands  are  devoted  to  this  crop. 

The  coast  counties  are  low  in  the  scale  of  productiveness,  and  cotton  is  considered  rather  a  secondary  crop  in 
that  region.  The  variety  to  which  these  lands  are  specially  adapted  (sea  island)  is  not  in  great  demand,  and  its 
culture  is  said  to  have  decreased  since  1870.     Attention  is  now  being  turned  to  the  culture  of  the  short  staple. 

In  the  tables  which  give  the  amounts  of  seed-cotton,  lint,  and  cotton-seed  produced  per  acre  in  each  region 
the  estimate  is  based  on  475  pounds  as  the  average  bale  and  the  generally  accepted  rule  that  seed-cotton  will 
"third  itself"  iu  lint.  This  weight  of  the.  bale  is  the  average  reported  for  the  seasou  from  Savannah  and  Atlanta, 
an  increase  over  that  of  1S70,  due  probably  to  the  more  general  use  of  improved  presses  having  a  greater  power 
and  capacity  for  heavier  bales,  and  also  because  transportation  charges  are  per  bale,  irrespective  of  actual  weight. 

"  Banner  counties." — For  the  state  with  regard  to  total  number  of  bales — Burke.  29,172  bales  ;  with  regard 
to  average  product  per  acre — Polk,  GOO  pounds  of  seed-cotton  ;  with  regard  to  percentage  of  tilled  lands  iu  cotton — 
322 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION.  57 

Troup,  51.29;  with  regard  to  average  cotton  acreage  per  square  mile — Troup,  153.9  acres;  with  regard  to  average 
bales  per  square  mile — Clayton,  47.2  bales.  Twenty-three  counties  produced  more  than  10,000  bales  each,  and  of 
these  nine  produced  about  15,000  each. 

In  the  entire  state  Burke  county,  of  the  central  cotton  belt,  is  the  "  banner  "  county  as  regards  number  of  bales 
produced  in  1S79,  Washington  being  next.  In  "product  per  acre",  however,  it  falls  far  below,  to  the  fifty-third 
place,  Polk  county,  on  the  northwest,  being  first.     In  its  own  region  it  ranks  third  in  product  per  acre. 

In  the  metamorphic  region  Troup  county  produces  the  largest  number  of  bales,  but  its  product  per  acre  is  low 
(not  three-tenths  of  a  bale),  there  being  forty- six  counties  in  the  region  and  ninety-six  in  the  state  having  larger 
percentages. 

Cobb  county  ranks  first  in  its  own  region  in  product  per  acre,  producing  nearly  one-half  a  bale  per  acre,  there 
being  but  one  county  in  the  state  (Polk)  with  a  higher  percentage. 

Echols  and  Bryan  counties  are  the  two  banner  counties  of  the  eleven  coast  and  pine  flats  counties,  the  latter 
ranking  highest  in  product  per  acre  in  its  region  (four-tenths  of  a  bale).  Column  13  shows  that  there  are  in  the 
state  twenty-one  counties  above  it  in  this  regard.     Its  acreage  and  its  number  of  bales  are  small. 

In  the  central  cotton  belt  Richmond  county  stands  first  in  product  per  acre,  even  above  Burke,  the  "banner" 
county  for  total  production  in  the  state,  owing  probably  to  the  large  cultivation  of  valley  lands  of  the  Savannah 
river,  and  to  the  fact  that  within  its  limits  (in  the  city  of  Augusta)  there  are  fertilizer  manufactories,  from  which 
supplies  can  be  obtained  in  abundance.  The  greater  part  of  the  county  is  included  in  the  sand-hills  region, 
comprising  the  poorest  lands  of  the  central  belt. 

In  the  lime-sink  and  southern  yellow-loam  regions  Dooly  for  total  production  and  Screven  for  product  per  acre 
rank  first,  the  latter  being  also  above  that  of  any  of  the  counties  of  the  central  belt;  a  fact  to  be  accounted  for 
only  in  the  improved  methods  of  culture,  for  the  lauds  of  the  county,  except  along  the  river  and  on  the  north,  are 
mostly  sandy  with  sandy  subsoils,  and  are  much  iuferior  to  those  of  Brooks,  Jefferson,  and  Washington. 

It  will  be  seen  also,  by  reference  to  the  tables  placed  at  the  beginning  of  this  report,  that  there  are  in  the  state 
twenty-two  counties  with  average  products  of  0.40  of  a  bale  per  acre,  and  thirty  having  over  0.36 ;  also  that  there 
are  sixty-three  counties  whose  average  is  at  least  0.33  of  a  bale,  each  of  the  rest  producing  less. 

Mr.  McCutchen  says  of  the  region  of  northwest  Georgia. : 

The  production  of  cotton  as  a  staple  crop  in  this  part  of  the  state  until  within  the  last  few  years  has  heen  confined  mostly  to  the 
counties  of  Polk,  Floyd,  Chattooga,  Bartow,  Gordon,  and  the  southeastern  part  of  Walker.  Since  the  general  use  of  fertilizers,  thero  can 
be  said  to  be  no  limit  to  its  area  within  this  state  except  that  due  to  the  altitude  of  high  mountain  ranges. 

There  is  a  marked  increase  in  cotton  production  in  all  of  these  counties  in  the  last  ten  years.  Of  this  the  southern  counties  show  the 
largest  amount  of  increase,  though  the  largest  percentage  of  increase  is  found  to  be  in  some  of  the  northern  counties,  where  comparatively 
little  is  grown.  From  a  comparison  of  the  returns  of  the  district  enumerators  it  appears  that  lands  on  which  cotton  has  not  been  grown 
until  recently  have  given  sometimes  evon  a  better  average  yield  per  acre  than  that  of  other  localities  where  cotton  has  long  been  grown 
with  success  and  where  the  lauds  are  thought  to  be  better  adapted  to  its  growth.  Two  causes  may  combine  to  produce  this  result:  (1)  The 
partial  exhaustion  for  this  crop  of  the  lands  on  which  it  has  long  been  grown,  and  (2)  the  greater  dependence  on  the  use  of  fertilizers  on 
some  lands  not  naturally  so  well  suited  to  this  crop. 

Laborers. — Negroes  comprise  the  majority  of  laborers  throughout,  the  state,  though  in  the  extreme  northern 
counties  there  are  very  few  of  this  class,  for  they  prefer  the  warmer  climate  and  towns  of  middle  and  southern 
Georgia.  While  a  large  majority  of  them  live  "from  hand  to  mouth",  many  have  been  provident  and  have 
accumulated  property  both  in  the  country  and  in  towns.  This  fact,  as  well  as  their  mania  for  living  around  towns 
and  cities,  is  shown  in  the  report  of  the  comptroller-general  for  18S0,  from  which  the  following  summary  is  taken  : 

Value  of  land  owned  by  them  (586,664  acres)  $1,533, 173 

Value  of  town  property  owned  by  them 1,  201 ,  992 

Value  of  stock  of  all  kinds  owned  by  them , 2,  054,  787 

Value  of  other  property 985,  311 

Making  a  total  of 5,764,293 


Methods  of  cultivation. — A  summary  of  the  answers  in  Part  III,  showing  the  general  method  of  the  planting 
and  cultivation  of  cotton,  may  be  thus  given:  The  preparation  that  precedes  planting  consists  usually  in  first 
"laying  off"  the  rows  by  deep  furrows  3  or  4  feet  apart  and  then  "bedding  up"  over  these  with  turn-plows.  By 
some  farmers  this  "bedding  up"  is  not  practiced,  but  planting  is  done  in  the  furrows  on  level  land.  When 
fertilizers  are  used,  they  are  either  placed  in  the  furrows  and  the  laud  bedded  over  them,  or  the  top  of  the  bed  is 
opened  with  two  furrows,  one  in  the  other,  into  one  of  which  from  100  to  200  pounds  of  the  fertilizer  is  placed  by 
means  of  a  tin  tunneled  tube  3  or  4  feet  long,  and  into  the  other  the  cotton-seed  is  distributed  either  by  hand  or  by 
cottonseed  planters  and  covered  usually  with  a  plow  or  often  with  a  board  drawn  on  its  edge  over  the  rows.  The 
seed  is  either  planted  directly  or  is  first  soaked  or  rolled  in  fertilizers,  which  is  said  to  cause  an  earlier  appearance 
of  the  plant. 

Each  farmer  has  his  favorite  among  the  many  varieties  of  seed,  which,  either  because  of  the  long  limbs  of  the 
plant  (producing  more  to  the  stalk)  or  its  short  limbs  (allowing  the  stalks  to  be  nearer  together),  or  of  some  other 
feature,  apparently  causes  a  productiveness  greater  than  that  of  any  other  variety.     Some  planters  try  to  improve 

323 


58  COTTON   PRODUCTION   IX  GEORGIA. 

well-known  varieties  by  various  means,  and,  while  successful  in  part,  the  result  frequently  is  but  different  names 
for  the  same  seed.  Although  the  careful  selection  from  t  tie  crop  of  cotton-seed  for  planting  is  of  us  great 
importance  as  with  other  seed,  it  seems  to  bo  but  little  thought  of  by  many  planters,  who,  upon  the  principle  that 
"cotton-seed  is  cotton-seed ",  simply  take  their  seed  from  the  gin-house  pile.  Two  or  three  bushels  are  usually 
required  per  acre,  except  when  the  seed  is  carefully  selected,  wheu  1  or  1J  bushels  are  used. 

Planting  usually  occurs  in  April,  or,  if  the  seasou  is  unfavorable,  in  May.  The  seed  comes  up  in  a  week  oi  ten 
days,  and  is  thru  "  barred  nil"  or  the  dirt  is  thrown  from  tin-  row  to  the  iniddlu  with  a  small  or  u  irrow  plow,  the 
plant  in 'in\'  protected  by  a  board  of  scrape,  attached  to  the  plow,  with  it«  end  turned  up  to  ruu  between  tin-  plow 
ami  the  plant.  The  crop  is  now  " chopped  out"  with  hoes,  cutting  away  8  or  to  inches  of  the  young  plants  ami 
leaving  a  bunch  in  each  hill,  to  In'  thinned  out  subsequently  to  two  plants  per  hill.  By  this  time  tin-  plan;  is  .s  or 
to  inches  high  ami  several  leaves  have  appeared.  Tin-  dirt  is  thru  thrown  back  from  tin'  middle  of  tin-  row  by 
means  of  a  sweep.  Hoeing  between  the  hills  is  kept  up  continuously,  ami  t  his  shallow  cultivation  is  continued  until 
near  the  picking  season,  the  crop  being  thus  worked  over  1 1 .mi  three  to  live  times,     in  about  two  mouths  the  lii  st 

blooms  appear,  at  first  white  in  color,  then  changing  to  purple  and  red  on  the  s ml  day.    The  hulls  begin  to  open 

in  about  si \  weeks  after  the  blooms  appear,  ami  picking  commences  in  a  few  days,  or  as  BOOll  as  it  will  paj  to 

pick.     When  the  bolls  burst  the  cotton  opens  out  in  l.n  go  balls  or  locks,  9 i  making  the  tieids  perfectly  white. 

The  boll  soon  becomes  brown  and  begins  to  shrink  up,  and  the  cotton,  thus  loosened,  hangs  from  il.  and  is  liable  to 
be  blown  to  the  ground  by  the  wind,  or  after  a  time  falls  of  its  own  accord,  'rim  demand  for  pickers  is  therefore 
great,  and  the  price  paid  is  usual]  5  from  50  to  70  cents  per  inn  pounds  of  seed-cotton,  the  pickers  furnishing  their  own 

subsistence.  Weighings  are  made  every  night,  and  the  laborer  is  either  paid  then  or  is  given  credit.  The  COttOU 
is   stored    in   some   safe    place  or   in    the   gin-house    until    il    can    be   ginned   and    baled.      Sonic    feu    farmers  sell   the 

cottou  while  in  the  seed,  but  most  of  t hem  either  gin  it  themselves  or  have  il  ginned  by  others,  paying  a  certain 
loll.     Picking  continues  until  but  little  cotton  remains  in  the  field  or  until  the  winter  rains  begin,  the  crop  beiug 

picked  over  once  in  each  mouth,  or  oflcner  if  possible.  The  bolls  continue  to  ripen  and  open  until  killed  by  fro-:, 
which  occurs  usually  about  the  last  of  October,  the  picking  continuing  until  near  Christmas. 

Ropes  have  gone  entirely  out  of  use  as  a  means  of  baling  cotton  and  hoop-iron  has  taken  their  place.  The 
tie  is  usually  an  inch  in  width,  and.  after  being  passed  around  the  bale  while  the  latter  is  under  heavy  pressure,  I  he 
ends  are  fastened  together  by  means  of  a  small  cast-iron  "fastening".  These  fastenings  comprise  a  number  of  kinds, 
the  points  most  to  be  desired,  next  to  strength,  being  the  readiness  and  quickness  with  which  they  may  be  adjusted 
and  security  against  becoming  loosened  or  broken  in  the  rough  handling  to  which  the  bales  an-  afterward  subjected. 
There  are  four  classes  into  which  they  may  be  grouped:   (1)  The  "  arrow  ".  in  which  the  ends  ol  the  tie  are  attached 

■  by  simple  loops,  each  being  bent  under.  (2)  The  buckle,  as  the  ••  Heard",  being  the  fastening  attached  b.\ 
the    manufacturer)    to   one  end   of  the   tic   and    made   to  slip   through    the   perforations    of  the   other  end.      (3     The 

■  hook  fastening,  which  is  fastened  to  one  end  of  the  tie  and  simply  hooks  into  i  he  perforations  ot  tin-  other.  I .  The 
•'  Delta",  also  fastened  to  one  end  of  the  tie.  and  made  to  clasp  the  loop  of  the  other  by  simply  closing  the  t  wo 
arms  of  the  fastening.     Tl arrow"  fastening  is  most  generally  in  use. 

The  cost  of  cotton  production,  exclusive  of  c missions,  freights,  etc.,  is  variouslj  estimated  at  from  7   to 

1(1  cents  per  pound,  the  general  average,  as  well  as  a  majority  of  estimates,  being  3  cents.  This  embrace, 
the  cost  ol'  commercial  fertilizers,  which  arc  usually  applied  directly  to  the  soil  and  without  regard  to  il-  actual 
necessities.  With  the  raising  of  home  supplies  and  the  more  careful  attention  to  cultural  details,  as  embodied  in 
what  is  known  as  the  ••  intensive  system ",  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  cost  would  be  greatly  lessened  and 
the  net  profits  of  cottou  production  correspondingly  increased,  in  addition  to  the  many  other  advantages  to  the 
farm  and  home  that  would  be  derived  from  the  system.  Mr.  Furman's  estimate  by  his  method  is  1 J  cents  pel 
pOUUd  (See  below). 

Intensive  culture. — Within  the  past  few  years  the  subject  of  an  intensive  system  of  culture  his  begun  to 
attract  much  notice,  chiefly  through  the  successful  efforts  of  a  few  intelligent  farmers,  who.  by  scientific  methods 
of  treatment,  have  produced  enormous  yields  of  cotton  from  fields  accustomed  to  give  an  average  of  but  about  500 

pounds,  and  even  less,  of  seed  cotton  per  acre 

lion.  I'.  C.  Furman,  near  Milledgeville,  I  la  Id  win  county,  is  most  prominent  because  of  his  extraordinary  success 
in  producing  75  bales  of  cotton  and  500  bushels  of  oats  from  65  aero  of  old  land  that  had  previously  yielded  but 
S  bales  of  cotton  and  was  considered  worthless.  That  this  was  no  spasmodic  result,  but  was  attained  by  careful 
and  intelligent  culture,  based  upon  a  knowledge  of  the  irmits  of  the  soil  ami  of  the  plant,  is  shown  in  the  following 
method,  which,  by  request,  he  has  furnished: 

In  IsTs  I  took  Go  acres  of  land,  the  original  growth  of  which  was  scrub  oak  and  pine.     It  lii  slightly  rolling,  and  was  cti    I 

•irar  30  years  ago.     The  soil  is  light  sand  with  a  firm  red-clay  subsoil  within  •*>  or  10  inches  of  the  surface,  and  was  w..m  onl 
considered  worthless  years  ago.     This  piece  of  land,  planted  in  cottou  and  cultivated  carefully  without  man  I  rne  the  firei 

s  hal.s;  uccond  year,  with  " pounds  of  compost  per  acre,  the  yii  Id  was  IJ  bales;  third  year,  with  1,000  pounds  ol  compost  pi  r  . 

the  yield  was  '2.1  bales;  fourth  year,  with  2.000  pouuds  of  compost  i"  r  acre,  the  yield  was  I"  bales.     This  year    I---J    I  used  1    I 
of  compost  per  aero  and  have  gathered  75  bales.     From  o  acres  oi  this  land  I  this  year  harvested  50  I  bushels  of  oats.     I  then  planti 
iu  cotton  (June  7),  and  the  yield  was  from  1-  to  -  bales  per  acre.      My  estimate  of  the  cost  of  production  this  year  i*4:  cent*:  pel  pounds 
324 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION.  59 

Up  to  this  time  I  have  made  no  great  departure  from  tho  Dickson  system  of  cultivation  and  preparation,  have  never  subsoiled,  and 
only  break  my  land  in  bedding,  plant  very  late,  never  till  after  May  1,  manure  in  the  drill,  opening  deep  and  wide,  listing  iu  the  manure 
and  letting  it  stand  until  ready  to  plant,  then  throw  two  furrows  on  the  list  and  plant  with  a  Dowlaw  planter,  breaking  out  tho 
middles  and  finishing  the  bed  after  the  cotton  is  in  the  ground,  thus  giving  a  porous  bed  for  the  plant  and  killing  the  first  crop  of  "rass 
at  the  same  time;  cultivate  with  a  sweep,  and  let  the  cultivation  be  as  shallow  as  possible.  I  change  the  drills  12  inches  every  year  so  at 
to  enable  me  in  four  years  to  manure  across  my  land  with  4-foot  rows. 

The  true  secret  of  my  success  lies  in  the  character  of  my  compost.  I  insist  upon  furnishing  each  crop  with  a  manure  that  contains 
every  element  necessary  to  that  crop  (combined  in  tho  proportions  in  which  the  crop  requires  them).  Iu  order  to  do  this  accurate 
knowledge  of  tho  chemical  composition  of  the  crop  (stalk,  leaf,  and  fruit)  is  essential.  For  cotton,  then,  my  aim  was  to  make  a 
compost  that  would  contain  the  elements  that  form  it,  viz,  phosphoric  acid,  potash,  soda,  humus,  lime,  silica,  and  nitrogen,  and  in  the 
right  proportions.  This  compost  is  made  with  30  bushels  of  cotton-seed,  30  bushels  of  stable  manure  or  well-rotted  leaves  or  organic 
matter.  400  pounds  of  acid  phosphate,  and  200  pounds  of  kainit. 

In  this  mixture  the  kainit  is  indispensable.  It.  furnishes  potash,  lime,  magnesia,  soda,  and  a  substance  called  "bittern''  and 
combined  with  humus,  is  a  specific  against  rust  in  cotton.  After  manuring  in  the  drill  for  4  years  and  filling  the  "round  with  humus  we 
come  to  a  point  where  ideal  cotton  culture  can  begin.  Now  we  begin  to  manure  broadcast,  turning  it  in  flush,  harrowiu"-  the  ground 
laying  it  oif  on  a  level  in  rows  4  by  4  feet,  and  planting  cotton  at  the  intersection  of  each  furrow.  In  this  system  we  dispense  with  the 
hoe,  the  most  deadly  enemy  the  cotton-plant  has  to  encounter,  and  use  the  plow  altogether,  plowing  both  ways,  and  thinning  by  hand  to 
a  stand  of  two  stalks  per  hill.  Upon  this  system  of  culture,  properly  carried  out,  I  believe  that  an  average  production  of  3  bales  of  cotton 
per  acre  is  possible. 

Transportation. — The  principal  cotton  markets  in  the  state  are  Savannah,  Augusta,  Atlanta,  Macon,  and 
Columbus.  As  a  rule,  farmers  prefer  to  sell  to  local  buyers  at  railroad  stations,  thus  avoiding  delay,  trouble  and 
commission  charges,  which  are  found  to  counterbalance  any  additional  advantages  that  might  arise  with  small 
shipments  to  great  markets. 

The  owners  of  very  large  farms  usually  secure  the  services  of  commission  merchants,  to  whom  the  factories  send 
their  orders.  Some  of  the  latter,  however,  have  their  agents  in  the  various  portions  of  the  state,  who  buy  directly 
from  the  planters,  taking  the  cotton  from  the  wagons  at  the  depots. 

The  rates  of  transportation  over  the  different  routes  vary  according  to  the  relation  of  competing  lines.  The  rates 
were  once  fixed  pee  bale  of  any  weight  above  300  pounds,  and  it  was  therefore  to  the  advantage  of  the  shipper  that 
the  weight  of  a  bale  should  be  as  great  as  possible,  limited,  of  course,  by  other  expenses,  such  as  the  extra  handling 
and  drayage  incident  to  such  an  increased  weight. 

These  weights  frequently  reached  000  pounds,  but  475  pounds  was  iu  1S79  the  usual  bale.  The  irregularity  of 
charges  made  by  the  railroads  caused  such  a  feeling  of  dissatisfaction  in  the  state  that  a  railroad  commission  has 
been  created  by  the  legislature  and  a  schedule  of  rates  as  uniform  as  possible  has  been  adopted,  not  by  the  bale,  as 
heretofore,  but  by  the  pound,  and  the  tendency  now  is  a  reduction  in  the  weight  of  the  bale  for  greater  convenience  in 
handling.  This  commission  has  just  been  established,  and  this  fact  will  explain  the  discrepancy  between  the  answers 
of  the  various  correspondents  in  the  county  descriptions,  which  were  made  at  different  times.  The  ordinary  bales 
coming  from  the  country  presses  are  large  and  bulky,  and  take  up  so  much  unnecessary  space  that  transportation 
companies  now  almost  invariably  have  them  reduced  from  40  to  50  per  cent,  in  size  before  shipment  by  means  of 
steam  hydraulic  compresses.  The  pressure  applied  varies  in  the  different  presses,  the  highest  being  about  3,800 
tons  per  bale.  So  perfect  are  the  details  of  manipulation  that  from  100  to  150  bales  per  hour  are  passed  through  each 
press. 

The  cities  of  Augusta,  Athens,  Atlanta,  Savannah,  and  Brunswick  are  supplied  with  these  presses,  all  owned 
by  private  companies,  the  charges,  which  range  from  25  to  60  cents  per  bale,  being  paid  by  the  transportation 
companies.     Savannah  is  the  chief  export  town  of  the  state. 

Fertilizers.— Previous  to  the  late  civil  war,  when  there  was  much  land  that  had  never  been  under  tillage, 
planters  gave  but  little  attention  to  the  restoration  of  old  worn-out  lands,  or  to  the  maintenance  of  fertility  iu  those 
under  cultivation.  When  crops  became  poor,  new  lauds  were  cleared  and  cultivated,  and  tillage  was  shallow,  subsoiling 
but  little  practiced,  and  fertilizers  were  almost,  unknown.  With  the  abolition  of  slavery,  and  the  consequent 
unreliability  of  labor  and  greater  cost  of  production,  came  the  question  of  obtaining  the  greatest  results  with  the  least 
labor  and  cost.  Commercial  fertilizers  were  introduced  and  found  to  be  beneficial  on  some  lands  and  not  on  others, 
and  because  of  high  prices  were  thought  to  be  unprofitable  by  most  farmers.  Many  inferior  brands  were  also 
introduced,  and  finally  the  legislature,  to  protect  the  people  against  worthless  fertilizers,  required  that  none  be 
offered  for  sale  without  having  been  analyzed  and  approved  by  the  state  department  of  agriculture.  Inspectors 
were  appointed  at  Savannah,  Augusta,  Atlanta,  and  other  points,  whose  duties  were  to  take  average  samples  of 
every  cargo  or  brand  and  transmit  them  to  the  department  for  analysis. 

Every  »  ammoniated  superphosphate "  must  have  in  its  composition  a  minimum  of  S  per  cent,  of  available 
phosphoric  acid  and  2  per  cent,  of  ammonia ;  every  brand  of  "  acid  phosphate  "  or  "  dissolved  bone"  must  have  10 
per  cent,  of  available  phosphoric  acid ;  and  it  was  made  the  duty  of  the  commissioner  of  agriculture  to  prohibit  the 
sale  of  any  fertilizer  which  was  found  not  to  meet  these  requirements.  The  cost  of  inspection  and  of  analysis  is 
covered  by  a  fee  of  50  cents  for  every  ton  inspected,  and  is  paid  by  the  manufacturer.  The  result  of  this  rigid 
inspection  law  is  a  greatly  increased  nutritive  value  without  additional  cost  per  ton  to  the  farmer. 


60 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


The  department  of  agriculture  lms  also  instituted  a  general  plan  of  experiments  with  the  many  brands  of 
fertilizers.  Each  manufacturer  is  required  to  furnish  501)  pounds  of  his  own  brand  for  this  purpose,  and  this  is 
distributed  to  persons  selected  in  the  various  sections  of  the  state.  The  experiments  are  conducted  under 
directions  of  the  department,  and  the  results  published. 

The  use  of  commercial  fertilizers  in  the  form  of  composts  with  cotton-seed,  stable  manure,  and  other  ingredients 
is  growing  in  favor  among  the  farmers,  as  better  results  are  often  obtained,  and  at  a  less  cost,  than  when  the  several 
fertilizers  are  used  alone.  There  has  been  an  increased  demand  for  commercial  fertilizers  since  the  season  of  1875-'76, 
when  the  sale  amounted  to55,316  tons.  In  1S79-'S0,  119,583  tons,  embracing  182  brands,  were  used  in  the  state;  of 
this  amount,  104,838  tons  were  ammoniated  superphosphates  and  13,0013  tons  were  acid  phosphates.  Of  the  entire 
amount  but  40  tons  were  rejected  because  lacking  the  necessary  percentages  of  ingredients.  The  analyses  made  of 
these  fertilizers  numbered  L'77.     In  his  report  to  the  commissioner  the  chemist  remarks: 

The  fertilizers  offered  on  this  market,  while  mostly  coming  up  to  the  minimum  required  by  law,  present  a  wonderful  variation  in 
quality  by  reason  both  of  material  used  iu  the  manufacture  and  the  percentages  of  valuable  ingredients  contained.  Tin'  acid  phosphat&B 
range  all  along  from  1(1. ti  per  cent,  to  6.5  per  eent.  of  available  phosphoric  acid  ;  the  guanos  from  13  per  rent,  to  5  per  cent .  of  phosphoric 
acid,  and  from  7  per  cent,  to  less  than  2  per  cent,  of  ammonia  and  from  3  percent,  to  less  than  1  per  cent,  of  potash,  and  -still  these,  each  of 
its  own  class,  respectively,  are  sold  to  the  farmer  at  practically  the  same  price. 

The  general  average  percentages  of  all  the  fertilizers  for  the  season  is  reported  as  follows  :  Available  phosphoric 
acid,  10.25  per  cent. ;  potash,  1.33  per  cent.;  ammonia,  2.5S  per  cent. 

Soil  exhaustion. — The  exhaustion  produced  in  soils  by  cultivation  (without  returns)  varies  with  each  crop 
planted. 

The  following  statement,  of  estimates  has  been  prepared  by  Professor  E.  YV.  Hilgard  : 

Soil  ingredients  withdrawn  by  various  crops. 


Potash. 

Phosphoric 
acid. 

Oiio  bale  of  cotton  : 

i-JOO  pounds  of  tint  indices  J  pounds  of  ash, 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

1, 350  pounds  of  sccd-cotton, 

D30  pounds  of  660(1  makes  41  pounds  of 

14.7     i            15.2 

10.  3     j            15.  7 

Of  the  41  pounds  of  nsh  in  tho  seed— 

The  bulls,  weighing        475  pounds,  contain    9.  5  pounds  of  ash. 
The  nil-cake,  "weighing    363  pounds,  contain  31.0  pounds  of  fish. 
The  oil,  weighing            107  pounds,  contains  0.  5  pounds  of  ash. 

030                                  41.ii 

Fifteen  bushels  of  wheat: 

The  grain  makes  \S  pounds  of  ash,  containing. 

Two  tons  of  straw  makes  200  pounds  of  ash  (silica,  12S  pounds),  containing 

Total 

8.0 

0.0 
3.0 

13.  5                12.  0 

Thirty-five  bushels  of  corn: 

Two  tons  of  stalks,  etc.,  makes  200  pounds  of  ash  (50  pounds  silica),  con- 

Total 

21.0 

10.3 
13.  5 

21.  0 

JO.  0 

15.7 
L2.  0 

20.0 

0.5 
0.0 
13.0 

From  these  tables  the  following  is  drawn  : 
If  nothing  be  returned  to  the  soil — 

Fifteen  bushels  of  wheat  (grain  and  straw)  withdraws 

If  the  cotton-seed    wheat  straw,  and  corn  stalks  be  returned,  then  there  is 
permanently  withdrawn : 

5.5 

CO 

From  this  statement  it  will  be  seen  that  corn,  with  its  stalks  and  cobs,  withdraws  more  from  the  soil  than  either 
of  the  other  crops ;  but.  as  the  stalks  are  almost  always  returned,  either  as  ashes  or  by  plowing  under,  the  loss  is  much 
less  than  with  cotton. 

Under  the  present  system  of  allowing  the  seed  to  be  virtually  thrown  away,  cotton  is  thus  seen  to  be  the  most 
exhaustive  of  all  crops,  whereas  the  reverse  would  be  true  should  this  seed  be  returned  to  the  soil. 
32fi 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION. 


61 


The  oil,  of  which  107  pounds  are  contained  in  the  seed  belonging  to  every  bale  of  cotton,  is  another  source  of 
waste  of  a  highly  useful  product.  With  only  half  a  pound  of  ash,  its  return  to  the  soil  with  the  seed  is  a  matter 
of  no  consequence,  as  the  proportion  of  plant-food  it  contains  is  extremely  small.  The  cotton-seed  oil-mills  now 
springing  up  iu  various  parts  of  the  state  afford  an  opportunity  of  having  the  hulls  removed  and  the  oil  extracted 
from  the  seed,  the  resulting  cake  or  meal  (if  ground)  still  retaining  nearly  all  of  the  essential  elements  in  a  more 
concentrated  and  more  available  form. 

In  this  connection  the  following  estimates  may  be  of  interest.  Taking  the  general  average  proportion  of  two  of 
seed  to  one  of  lint,  we  find  thai,  there  were  at  least  38G,S5S  tons  of  cotton-seed  produced  in  Georgia  in  1S79. 
Kelerring  to  the  table,  and  taking  the.  percentages  of  phosphoric  acid  and  of  potash,  we  again  find  that  the  seed 
of  the  cotton  crop  of  1S79  alone  took  from  the  soils  of  the  state  6,1S9  tons  of  phosphoric  acid  and  5,990  tons  of 
potash,  making  an  average  loss  to  every  acre  cultivated  in  cotton  of  4.7  pounds  of  phosphoric  acid  and  4.0  pounds  of 
potash.  The  lint  produced  withdrew  244  tons  of  phosphoric  acid  and  1,547  tons  of  potash,  or  an  average  of  0.2 
pound  of  phosphoric  acid  and  1.2  pounds  of  potash  to  each  acre  of  cotton. 

To  replace  the  0,189  tons  of  phosphoric  acid  taken  from  the  soil  by  the  cotton-seed  of  1S79  alone  there  were 
returned  through  the  medium  of  fertilizers,  in  the  spring  of  1S80,  11,500  tons,  or  nearly  double  the  amount  lost. 
For  the  5,990  tons  of  potash,  but  1,500  was  returned,  thus  creating  a  loss  of  nearly  three-fourths  of  the  potash. 
These  fertilizers  have  been  applied  on  an  increased  cotton  acreage,  and  hence  the  gain  may  be  considered  less  in 
the  case  of  phosphoric  acid  and  the  loss  greater  in  potash.  These  figures  are  again  influenced  somewhat  by  the 
fact  that  cotton-seed  itself  is  being  returned  to  the  soil  as  a  manure. 

The  long  table  of  analyses  appended  to  this  report  shows  that  the  soils  of  the  state  are,  on  the  whole,  very  poor 
in  the  percentage  of  phosphoric  acid  and  of  potash,  and  cannot  long  bear  the  great  loss  inflicted  by  the  immense 
cotton  crops  unless  fertilized.  This,  too,  will  account  in  part  for  the  great  proportion  of  lands  now  "lying  out" 
because  of  exhaustion.  Had  the  cotton-seed  or  its  equivalent  been  returned  to  the  soil  each  year  since  first  brought 
into  cultivation,  the  fertility  would  now  be  nearly  if  not  quite  the  same  as  at  first,  and  the  necessity  of  a  large  excess 
of  fertilizers  would  have  been  obviated. 

Fertilizers  are  applied  in  drills  by  means  of  tin  funnels  with  long  tubes,  the  planter  walking  in  the  rows, 
keeping  the  funnel  full  from  a  sack  at  his  side,  and  allowing  the  fertilizer  to  fall  evenly.  This  extremely 
disagreeable  method  is  fast  giving  way  to  "  distributers  "  on  wheels,  by  which  the  object  is  attained  with  greater 
economy  of  time,  labor,  material,  and  a  partial  relief  from  the  disagreeable  odors  that  attend  it  and  fix  themselves 
in  the  clothing. 

Natural  fertilizers  OCCURRING  in  Georgia. — Marls. — These  embrace  the  extensive  beds  of  marl  that 
occur  in  the  central  cotton  belt  from  the  Savannah  to  the  Chattahoochee  river  south  of  the  metamorphic  or  middle 
Georgia  region.     They  are  described  and  their  analyses  given  on  page  44,  in  the  regional  description. 

The  Cretaceous  marls  on  the  west,  from  Columbus  nearly  to  Fort  Gaines,  in  Clay  county,  are  of  but  little  value 
agriculturally,  except  the  bed  of  greensaud  that  outcrops  along  the  river  bank  in  Stewart  county.  The  Tertiary 
marls,  on  the  contrary,  are  very  valuable,  containing,  as  they  do,  above  90  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime,  and  in 
Dougherty,  Houston,  and  Washington  counties  very  high  percentages  of  phosphoric  acid. 

Another  bed  of  a  white  pulverulent  marl  occurs  in  the  banks  of  the  Satilla  river  at  Burnt  fort,  in  Charlton 
county ;  it  is  doubtless  also  very  rich  iu  lime. 

Blade  muck. — The  cypress  swamps  of  southern  Georgia  (embracing  the  long-leaf  pine  and  coast  regions)  very 
generally  have  thick  deposits  of  a  black  muck  or  mass  of  decayed  vegetation  that  would  be  valuable  on  the  sandy 
lands  of  that  region  and  are  used  to  some  extent.  An  analysis  of  a  sample  from  near  Albany,  Dougherty  county, 
is  here  given.     It  is  spongy  and  light  in  character. 


Swamp  muck. 

53. 115 
4.  021 
0.152 

1.  312 
0. 129 
3.  224 

2,  415 
0.  241 
0.100 
0.914 

22. 450 
11.321 

1 

The  muck  deposits  that  cover  the  greater  part  of  Okefeuokee  swamp  are  several  feet  in  thickness,  and  form  a 
dense  mass  resembling  "peat"  in  character. 

307 


(52 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


Pine  straw. — Another  fertilizing  element  that  could  very  profitably  enter  into  compost  heaps  is  the  fallen 
long-leaf  pine  straw  that  usually  covers  the  ground  in  southern  Georgia.  The  following  analysis  and  remarks  are 
taken  from  the  report  on  Mississippi  by  Professor  Hilgard.  The  air-dried  "  straw'',  carefully  freed  from  adhering 
impurities,  yielded  2.5  per  cent,  of  ash.  The  composition  of  the  latter  (calculated  exclusive  of  about  6.5  per  cent, 
of  carbonic  acid)  was  found  to  be  as  follows  : 

Ash  of  long-leaf  pine  straw. 


Silica 

Potash  

Soila 

Lime  

Magnesia 

Eio^vn  oxide  of  manganese  . 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

Potassium  chlorido 


Todil  . 


C5.  -2<2 

r,.  030 
0.410 
13.  SCO 
5.  208 
1.081 
II.  Ml 
4.539 
1.  154 
(J.  831) 
1.470 


LOO.  080 


[Notwithstanding  the  unusually  low  percentage  of  phosphoric  acid  shown  by  tin's  analysis,  the  composition  of 
this  straw  is  such  that  about  1,400  pounds  of  it  would  amply  replace  the  drain  upon  the  soil  caused  by  the  growing 
of  one  bale  of  cotton  lint,  provided  the  seed  and  stalk  be  also  returned. 

In  the  sandy,  uuretentive  soils  of  the  region,  however,  the  pine  straw,  when  turned  under  by  the  plow  direct  ly, 
will  sometimes  not  decay  for  one  or  two  seasons,  and  thus  renders  the  soil  too  open  for  cultivation  in  the  interval. 
It  should  therefore  be  first  used  as  a  material  for  composting,  whether  with  earth,  muck,  stable  manure,  or  marls, 
bone  meal,  etc.,  as  the  case  may  be,  and  only  applied  to  the  land  after  it  is  decayed.  This  practice  is  already 
pursued  in  the  older  states  with  excellent  results. 

It  is  thus  possible  to  concentrate  the  fertility  of  a  large  area  of  pine  land  upon  a-  small  portion  kept  in  a,  high 
state  of  culture,  instead  of  (as  has  heretofore  been  doue)  clearing  laboriously  large  areas,  whose  profitable  fertility 
lasts  only  a  few  years  and  then  suddenly  "  gives  out",  in  consequence,  no  doubt,  of  the  exhaustion  of  the  plant-food 
accnmulated  near  the  surface  during  many  years  by  the  decay  of  the  pine  leaves.  Whether  it  will  be  best  to  apply 
this  system  to  the  production  of  cotton  on  these  pine  lands,  or  whether  other  branches  of  husbandry  could,  on  the 
whole,  be  more  profitably  pursued,  is  a  question  that  must  be  largely  determined  by  local  and  commercial  conditions. 
Since  cotton,  so  long  as  the  seed  is  regularly  returned  to  the  soil,  is  undoubtedly  the  least  exhaustive  crop  known, 
its  culture  would  seem  to  be  specially  adapted  to  lauds  of  limited  natural  resources  under  an  intelligent  system  of 
fanning.— E.  W.  II.] 

General  comparison-  or  the  soils  of  the  state. — In  the  northwest  the  broad  valleys  between  the  ranges 
of  hills  and  mountains  are  covered  with  clay  lands  from  the  limestones,  shales,  and  sandstones,  and  are  the  richest 
and  most  durable  of  the  state.  The  lands  of  the  adjoining  metamorphic  or  mineral  region,  extending  south  to 
Columbus,  Macon,  and  Augusta,  are  of  rocks  entirely  different  in  structure,  and  composed  of  minerals  which  resist 
disintegration  to  a  greater  extent.  The  lauds  tire  therefore  more  sandy,  less  fertile,  and  differ  in  character  almost 
every  few  feet. 

The  lands  of  the  southern  half  of  the  state  are  still  more  sandy,  but  more  uniform  in  physical  constitution, 
having  been  more  thoroughly  intermixed  throughout  their  several  regions  by  the  waters  in  which  they  were 
deposited  or  brought  down  from  the  hills  of  the  "up  country". 

The  lands  of  the  several  regions  are  above  described  under  their  respective  heads. 

Analyses  of  many  of  the  soils  of  the  state  have  been  made  in  part  under  the  auspices  of  the  Georgia  department 
of  agriculture,  but  chiefly  under  that  of  the  Census  Office,  and  a  table  of  the  results  will  be  fouud  on  page  t>4. 
The  samples,  except  those  from  Polk,  Walker,  Screven,  Telfair,  and  Liberty  counties,  were  taken  from  the  large 
collection  made  under  the  supervision  of  the  state  geological  survey,  and  are  probably  fair  averages  of  their  class. 
It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  they  were  in  most  cases  taken  to  so  shallow  a  depth,  the  soil  being  taken  to  where 
the  character  and  color  changes  to  the  subsoil,  while  no  definite  rule  was  observed  with  regard  to  securing  a  fair 
average  of  the  subsoil  to  the  depth  reached  by  vegetation.  Hence  the  differences  shown  in  the  composition 
between  the  surface  soils  and  the  subsoils  are  not  as  great  as  those  which  in  practice  influence  vegetable  growth. 

The  soils  of  northwestern  Georgia,  excepting  that  of  Armuchee  valley,  show  the  presence  of  plant-food  in 
percentages  commensurate  with  the  high  fertility  that  they  are  reported  to  possess.  The  percentages  of  phosphoric 
acid  and  of  potash  are  greater  than  in  any  other  of  the  soils  of  the  state  thus  far  analyzed,  and  there  is  a  sufficiency 
328 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION.  63 

of  liuie  present  to  make  them  readily  available  to  plants.  The  soil  from  Armuehee  valley  is  evidently  not  a  fair 
representative  of  the  lands  of  that  valley,  the  fertility  of  which  is  very  great.  Indeed,  so  completely  have  all  of  its 
arable  lauds  been  put  into  cultivation  that  a  fair  sample  of  virgin  soil  was  scarcely  obtainable. 

In  the  metamorphic  region,  because  of  the  greater  differences  in  the  nature  of  the  rocks  from  which  the  soils 
are  derived,  a  greater  diversity  of  soil  composition  is  to  be  expected,  and  this  great  diversity  appears  in  the  results 
of  the  analyses.  The  insoluble  residues  are  naturally  greater  in  the  gray  sandy  and  grauitic  lands  than  in  the  red 
lands,  and  range  from  90  to  04  per  cent.  The  portion  of  this  soluble  in  carbonate  of  soda  (soluble  silica)  is  from  1 
to  3  per  cent.  In  the  red  lands  the  percentages  of  insoluble  residue  vary  from  G2  to  01,  while  the  soluble  silica 
reaches  as  high  as  9  per  cent.,  due  largely  to  decomposition  of  clay  by  acid  in  the  process  of  analysis. 

The  feldspar  in  the  granitic  lands  would  naturally  give  to  those  lands  the  highest  percentages  of  potash,  though  in 
all  the  soils  of  the  metamorphic  the  percentages  of  this  element  of  fertility  are  comparatively  low.  The  percentages 
of  phosphoric  acid  are  not  high  in  any  of  these  lands,  but  in  most  of  them  are  extremely  low ;  the  highest  are  shown 
in  the  analyses  of  soils  from  Douglas  and  Cobb  counties.  In  some  of  the  counties  the  proportion  of  phosphoric 
acid  in  the  soil  is  as  low  as  0.02  per  cent.,  and  shows  conclusively  the  need  of  phosphate  manures. 

Lime  is  shown  by  these  analyses  to  be  especially  needful  in  rendering  available  the  little  phosphoric  acid  that 
is  present.  In  but  few  of  the  soils  does  this  latter  reach  one-tenth  of  1  per  cent.,  the  minimum  which,  with  a  large 
supply  of  lime,  would  be  considered  adequate. 

The  subsoils  of  this  region  are  more  clayey  in  character,  and,  as  a  rule,  are  richer  than  their  soils.  A  few  cases 
only  occur  in  the  table  of  analyses  in  which  the  reverse  is  true. 

In  the  lauds  of  the  southern  part  of  the  state  there  is  a  general  deficiency  of  lime,  potash,  and  phosphoric  acid 
even  in  the  virgin  soils.  329 


64 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


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66 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


Determination  of  humus  and  analysis  of  its  ash  from  the  above  soils. 


Name. 

Locality. 

County. 

E 

1 

| 

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Mulatto  soil 

Cediirtown 

Polk.... 

Bartow  . 

..do 

Screven. 
Telfair  . 
Liberty . 

2.153 

1.  852 

1.774 

15.  913 
0.8311 

3.776 

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0.  COO       0.  010 

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0.027 

0.004 
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Near   Adairsvillo   (cultivated    100 

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1.204 
1.298 

0.127 

0.171 

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500     Sandy  pine  woods  soil 

SuEbury  

1 



1 

332 


PART    II 


AGRICULTURAL    DESCRIPTIONS 


COUNTIES  OF  GEORGIA. 


333 


AGRICULTURAL     DESCRIPTIONS 


COUNTIES    OF    GEORGIA. 

The  county  descriptions  comprised  in  this  portion  of  the  report  were  made  up  in  part  from  data  obtained  from 
the  state  geological  records,  in  part  from  reports  of  correspondents,  and  in  part  from  published  reports  of  the  state 
department  of  agriculture.  Errors  have  doubtless  crept  into  the  descriptions  because  of  imperfect  data,  but  in  the 
main  they  are  correct. 

The  county  headings,  with  the  exception  of  regional  areas,  are  from  the  census  returns  of  1880.  The  term 
woodland  has  reference  to  the  original  condition  of  the  country  without  respect  to  tilled  lands.  The  estimate  of 
the  product  per  acre  in  seed-cotton  and  in  lint  has  been  made  upon  the  basis  of  475  pounds  of  lint  per  bale,  reported 
by  a  number  of  cotton  merchants  in  Atlanta  and  Savannah  to  be  the  average  bale  of  the  season  of  1S79-'S0 ;  also 
upon  the  generally  accepted  ratio  of  1  pound  of  lint  to  3  pounds  of  seed-cotton. 

To  each  county  description  is  appended  an  abstract  showing  the  character  of  its  lands  as  reported  by 
correspondents,  except  for  a  few  counties,  from  which  no  answers  to  schedule  questions  were  received.  It  will  be 
noted  that  there  is  sometimes  a  discrepancy  between  the  statements  of  the  cotton  product  per  acre  and  that  reported 
as  the  actual  product  as  given  in  the  census  returns.  This  may  be  explained  in  several  ways.  Correspondents 
report,  that  which  would  be  an  average  yield  in  good  seasons  and  under  fair  culture.  It  naturally  happens  that  a 
large  number  of  planters  in  each  cotton  county  fail  to  give  fair  culture  to  the  crop,  and  the  result  is  a  diminished 
average  product  per  acre.  Again,  the  season  of  1879-'S0,  the  census  cotton  year,  was  one  of  dryness,  and  the  crop 
was  considered  short,  making  the  product  per  acre  smaller  than  it  would  otherwise  have  been. 

The  counties  are  arranged  with  regard  to  agricultural  regions,  the  names  of  all  comprised  in  each  region, 
either  wholly  or  in  part,  being  placed  at  the  first  and  in  the  order  in  which  they  appear.  Those  whose  descriptions 
are  given  in  other  regions  are  marked  by  an  asterisk  (*),'and  reference  is  made  to  the  region.  The  abridgment  of 
many  of  the  county  descriptions  is  made  necessary  for  the  following  reasons:  1.  Because  of  a  comparatively  small 
county  area,  which  precludes  much  variety  in  its  lands ;  2.  Because  of  the  great  similarity  of  counties  embraced 
within  large  regions,  such  as  the  metamorphic  and  pine  and  wire-grass  regions,  where  lands  of  the  same  character 
reach  over  a  large  territory ;  3.  Because  of  so  large  a  number  of  counties  in  the  state,  a  lull  and  detailed  description 
of  each  of  which  would  require  a  far  greater  space  than  can  be  spared  in  this  report,  besides  making  intolerable 
the  vast  amount  of  repetition  in  such  descriptions.  The  reader  is  therefore  generally  referred  to  Part  I  or  to  the 
abstract  which  may  accompany  the  county  for  detailed  descriptions  of  soils  and  other  features  of  each  region  that 
are  represented  in  a  county. 


NORTHWEST     GEORGIA.  («) 

(Embraces  the  following  counties  and  parts  of  counties,  Murray :  Whitfield,  Catoosa,  Walker,  Dade,  Chattooga, 
Gordon,  Floyd,  Polk,  Bartow,  and  a  small  part  of  Paulding.*) 

MURRAY. 

Population:  8,269.— White,  7,362;  colored,  907. 

Area:  420  square  miles. — Woodland,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  42,494  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  5,937  acres;  in  corn,  14,338  acres;  in  wheat,  S,178  acres; 
in  oats,  2,108  acres ;  in  rye,  128  acres. 

Cotton  production:  1,917  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.32  bale,  459  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  153 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

a  The  description  of  the  counties  of  Northwest  Georgia  are  by  A.  R.  McCu.tch.en,  special  agent. 

335 


70  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

About  20  per  cent,  of  the  surface  of  Murray  county  is  a  mountainous  region  belonging  to  the  Cohutta  range, 
and  is  confined  to  the  eastern  side  of  the  county  in  a  width  of  from  3  to  7  miles. 

The  coves  and  valleys  of  the  mountainous  area  afford  uniformly  productive  lauds,  and  the  soils  here  vary  much 
in  relation  to  the  proportions  of  sand,  lime,  and  clay,  but  may  generally  be  described  as  sandy  loams.  A  common 
feature  of  the  valleys  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  county  is  the  great  abundance  of  cobble-stones.  These  are  so  large 
and  so  numerous  in  some  localities  as  to  be  a  great  obstacle  in  the  cultivation  of  the  lands.  At  a  distance  of  2  or  3 
miles  west  of  the  mountains  there  are  good  bodies  of  rolling  uplands  with  red  calcareous  soils.  (See  general 
description.)  These  lands  are  bordered  on  the  west,  in  the  central  and  northern  parts  of  the  county,  by  ridges  with 
gray  gravelly  soils,  and  on  the  southwest  by  a  nearly  level  area  of  several  miles  in  extent,  which  has  a  poor  gravelly 
and  sandy  soil  and  is  known  as  the  "flatwoods".  (See  page  24.)  The  lands  between  the  above-mentioned  ridges 
and  the  Connasauga  river  have  a  brown  clay  soil,  underlaid  by  argillaceous  shales. 

Good  bodies  of  alluvial  lands  occur  on  all  the  streams  west  of  the  mountains,  the  most  important  in  extent 
being  that  of  the  Connasauga  and  the  Coosawattee  bottoms. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  WILLIAM  J.  JOHNSON,  OF  SPRING  PLACE. 

The  lands  cultivated  in  cotton  include  the  Mack  sandy  loams,  somewhat  elevated,  the  gray  sandy,  and  the  red  ormulatto  soils.  The 
chief  soil  is  commonly  designated  hickory  land,  and  cousists  of  a  coarse  sandy  and  gravelly  loam  varying  in  color  from  gray  to  blackish 
and  black,  and  is  6  inches  deep.  The  subsoil  is  a  clay  loam  of  a  reddish-yellow  color,  which  contains  all  kinds  of  gravel,  and  is  generally 
underlaid  by  soft,  slaty  rock  at  about  2  feet.  Tillage  of  this  land  is  difficult  in  wet  and  easy  in  dry  seasons.  The  average  size  of  the 
farms  is  200  acres,  and  one-fifth  of  the  cultivated  area  is  planted  in  cotton.  The  usual  and  most  productive  height  of  the  plant  is  from  :S 
to  4  feet,  which  in  wet,  warm  weather  inclines  to  run  to  weed,  and  can  only  be  remedied  by  topping.  Fresh  land  produces  from  800  to 
1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  No  cotton  is  planted  here  without  fertilizers  of  some  kind,  and  the  crop  is  improved  by  their 
uso.  On  old  land  the  staple  rates  one-eighth  of  a  cent  higher  per  pound  than  on  fresh  land.  Crab-grass  and  rag-weeds  are  most 
troublesome.  Five  per  cent,  of  this  land  originally  cultivated  now  lies  "turned  out",  but  it  improves  considerably  in  ten  years.  The 
slopes  are  not  much  damaged  by  washing  and  gullying,  while  the  valleys  are  improved  to  the  extent  of  20  per  cent,  or  more.  Successful 
efforts  have  been  made  to  check  the  damage  by  horizontaliziug,  hillside  ditching,  and  by  throwing  brush  and  other  rubbish  into  the  gullies. 

The  ijraij  soil  covers  one-half  of  the  region,  and  is  coextensive  with  the  hickory  land  just  described.  It  is  a  line  sandy  and  gravelly 
loam,  varying  in  color  from  whitish-gray  to  blackish,  and  is  4  inches  deep.  The  character  of  the  subsoil  and  the  tilling  qualities  of 
the  surface  soil  are  like  those  of  the  hickory  land.  The  soil  is  early  and  warm  if  well  drained,  but  late  and  cold  if  ill  drained.  One-half 
of  its  cultivated  area  is  planted  in  cotton.  The  usual  and  most  productive  height  of  the  plant  is  2  feet,  and  it  never  runs  to  weed.  The 
seed-cottou  product  per  acre  on  fresh  laud  is  500  pounds.  One-fifteenth  of  this  gray  soil  lies  "  turned  out",  which  improves  by  rest  nig, 
especially  if  it  grows  up  in  pino  bushes. 

The  third  quality  of  soil  is  called  red  or  mulatto  noil,  black-jack  or  slaty  land,  which  includes  one-fifth  of  the  region,  and  is  known  te 
extend  for  20  mites  in  each  direction.  The  soil  is  a  sandy  and  gravelly  loam  of  a  whitish-gray  color,  :!  inches  thick.  The  subsoil  is  a 
light  yellow  clay,  containing  a  variety  of  pebbles,  underlaid  by  slate- rock  at  one  foot.  Tillage  is  difficult  in  wet  and  easy  in  dry  seasons, 
and  the  soil  is  early  and  warm,  but  ill  drained.  The  chief  crops  are  wheat  and  cotton,  the  latter  occupying  about  one-fifth  of  the  filled 
lauds.  The  usual  and  most  productive  height  of  the  plant  is  from  2  to  2^  feet.  The  seed-cotton  product  per  acre  on  fresh  land  is  400 
pounds.  There  are  no  troublesome  weeds  on  this  soil  if  it  be  tolerably  cultivated.  About  one-fiflh  of  such  land  once  cultivated  now  lies 
"turned  out",  and  does  not  improve  much  while  in  that  condition.  The  slopes  wash  and  gully  a  little,  and  are  seriously  damaged, 
while  the  valleys  are  improved  by  the  washings.     No  efforts  have  been  made  to  check  the  gullying. 

The  balance,  or  about  one-tenth  of  the  land  of  this  region,  cousists  of  the  bottoms  of  rivers,  creeks,  and  smaller  streams.  It  is  of 
superior  quality,  and  produces  all  the  cereals,  grasses,  and  clover  to  perfection,  but  is  not  suitable  for  cotton,  because  the  latter  grows  too 
much  to  weed  and  does  not  open  many  of  its  bolls. 

Cotton  is  ginned  as  fast  as  picked,  and  is  sent  to  Dalton  by  wagon. 

WHITFIELD. 

Population:  11,900.— White,  9,689;  colored,  2,211. 

Area  :  330  square  miles. — Woodland,  till. 

Tilled  lands:  44,199  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  4,068  acres;  in  corn,  19,092  acres;  in  wheat,  8,103  acres;  in 
oats,  5,443  acres  ;  in  rye,  193  acres. 

Cotton  production:  1,240  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.30  bale,  43.5  pounds  seed  cotton,  or  145 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  mountains  altogether  cover  an  extent  within  Whitfield  county  of  about  40  square  miles,  the  northern  part 
of  the  county  being  divided  by  bands  of  low  ridges,  with  generally  narrow  intervening  valleys.  A  large  proportion 
of  the  surface  of  the  county  cousists  of  comparatively  level  areas,  and  this  is  especially  true  of  the  eastern  and 
southeastern  portions. 

Of  the  cultivated  lands  of  the  county  a  considerable  proportion  is  river  and  creek  alluvial  land.  The  most 
important  of  these  are  those  of  the  Connasauga  river  and  Cooohulla,  Mill,  East  Chickamauga,  and  Swamp  creeks.  The 
soil  of  the  Connasauga  bottoms  is  more  sandy  than  that  of  most  of  the  smaller  streams. 

The  finest  quality  of  uplands  is  found  in  Red  Clay  valley,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county.  This  valley  extends 
from  Tennessee,  a  distance  of  9  miles,  in  this  county,  with  an  average  width  of  about  1  mile.  The  lands  are 
generally  rolling,  and  have  a  durable  soil  that  is  easily  cultivated  and  almost  equally  well  adapted  to  all  crops. 
This  soil  is  calcareous  and  is  of  a  dark  red  color,  with  a  subsoil  of  a  somewhat  lighter  shade  than  the  virgin  soil, 
but  differing  in  appearance  but  little  after  a  few  years'  cultivation.  These  lands  are  found  also  at  Dalton  ;  also  on 
the  western  base  of  Chattoogata  and  Rocky  Face  mountains  and  on  the  eastern  side  of  Crow  valley.  The  lauds  of 
this  character  cover  an  extent  of  nearly  Llli  square  miles. 

The  uplands  of  greatest  extent  are  the  clay  lands,  amounting  to  125  square  miles.  These  belong  to  Dogwood 
valley,  on  the  west  of  Chattoogata  mountain,  to  Mime  narrow  valleys  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  and  to 
comparatively  broad  areas  in  the  eastern  and  southern  portions.  Some  of  these  on  the  southeast  are  nearly  level, 
33G 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  71 

and  are  rather  unproductive  from  imperfect  natural  drainage.  The  county  contains  ridge  lands,  with  a  gray  gravelly 
soil  amounting  to  about  100  square  miles.  These  lands,  except  along  the  borders  of  the  valleys,  are  but  little 
cultivated.  There  are  two  lowaud  narrow  ridges,  one  crossing  the  western  part  of  the  county  and  the  other  extending 
a  few  miles  into  the  southern  part,  with  unproductive  sandy  laud.  Cotton  crops  average  12.3  acres  per  square 
mile.     Dalton  is  the  principal  produce  market. 

CATOOSA. 

Population  :  4,739.— White,  4,127  ;  colored,  612. 

Area:  1G0  square  miles. — Woodland,  all. 

Tilled  lands :  21,000  acres. — Area  planted  iu  cotton,  307  acres ;  in  corn,  10,7S3  acres ;  in  wheat,  5,911  acres ;  in 
oats,  1,503  acres;  in  rye,  02  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  111  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.30  bale,  432  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  144  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

A  sandstone  ridge  of  500  or  GOO  feet  in  height,  known  as  Taylor's  ridge  south  of  Chickamauga  gap  and  as 
White  Oak  mountai  a  north  of  this  gap  to  its  terminus  in  Tennessee,  extends  nearly  north  and  south  through  Catoosa 
county.  Another  ridge  of  like  character,  but  of  a  somewhat  less  altitude,  known  as  Dick's  ridge,  runs  nearly 
parallel  with  this  on  the  east  at  a  distance  of  about  1  mile.  The  country  to  the  east  aud  west  of  Taylor's  aud 
Dick's  ridges  is  divided  up  by  belts  of  low  ridges,  with  intervening  valleys,  comparatively  broad  on  the  western 
aud  uaiTow  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  county.  The  drainage  is  toward  the  north,  except  in  the  northeastern  portion 
of  the  county,  where  the  tributaries  of  East  Chickamauga  creek  run  in  a  southwesterly  directiou. 

The  valley  of  West  Chickamauga,  and  also  that  immediately  west  of  Taylor's  ridge  and  White  Oak  mountain, 
contain  productive  brown  and  red  calcareous  lands.  The  two  valleys  cover  an  area  of  about  3G  square  miles,  and 
include  within  their  limits  about  half  of  the  cultivated  lands  of  the  county.  Nearly  one-fourth  of  this  extent  is 
covered  by  the  rich  alluvial  lands  of  West,  Middle,  and  East  Chickamauga  creeks.  Though  the  streams  often 
overflow  the  bottom  lands  during  the  heavy  winter  and  early  spring  rains,  they  are  not  generally  rapid,  and  such 
lands  are  seldom  injured  by  washing.  The  lauds  of  Peavine  valley  and  the  shale  valleys  east  of  Dick's  ridge,  with 
an  area  altogether  of  about  24  square  miles,  are  secoud  in  importance.  The  soil  contains  less  lime,  and  the  uplands 
are  somewhat  less  productive,  though  the  bottom  lauds  are  often  of  equally  good  quality,  that  of  Peavine  creek 
having  a  good  extent  for  the  size  of  the  stream,  being  from  one-fourth  to  half  a  mile  in  width  and  abcut  9  miles 
iu  length  within  the  county.  There  is  an  extent  of  about  45  square  miles,  with  a  gray  siliceous  gravelly  soil, 
belonging  to  four  lines  of  ridges  that  cross  the  county  parallel  with  Taylor's  ridge  and  White  Oak  mountain. 

Ringgold,  on  the  Western  aud  Atlantic  railroad,  aud  Chattanooga,  Tennessee,  are  the  principal  markets  for 
produce. 

ABSTRACT   FBOM   THE    BEPOET    OF   W.    J.    WHITSITT,    OF   ETNGGOLD. 

The  lowlands  consist  of  the  second  bottom  of  Ghickarnauga  creek ;  the  uplands  of  strips  of  rolling  lands,  separated  by  intervening 
level  valleys,  with  clay  subsoils. 

The  chief  soil  cultivated  in  cotton  is  commonly  designated  roVing  gravelly  land,  aud  includes  two-thirds  of  the  area  of  this  region, 
extending  20  miles  north,  50  south,  15  east,  and  from  12  to  15  miles  west.  This  soil  is  a  coarse  sandy  and  gravelly  loam  of  a  whitish-gray 
color,  varying  sometimes  to  mahogany  and  orange,  aud  is  4  inches  dee]).  The  subsoil  is  heavier  than  the  surface  soil,  aud  in  some  places 
is  red,  pulverizing  easily,  and  in  others  pale  in  color  and  inclined  to  be  tough,  aud  contains  flinty  white  gravel.  Tillage  of  the  soil  is 
easy,  especially  in  dry  seasons ;  but  iu  wet  weather  it  is  inclined  to  form  iu  clods.  It  is  moderately  early  aud  warm,  and  tolerably  well 
drained.  Corn,  oats,  wheat,  and  grasses  were  the  only  crops  until  1878,  since  which  year  cottou  production  has  been  rapidly  on  the  increase. 
The  rolling  lands  are  best  adapted  to  cotton,  and  the  valleys  a  ud  bottoms  to  corn  and  grasses.  One-third  of  the  cultivated  area  is  planted 
in  cotton.  The  usual  and  most  productive  height  attained  by  the  plant  is  2J  feet.  It  inclines  to  run  to  weed  on  very  rich  soils,  such  as 
those  of  the  bottoms,  which  is  restrained  and  boiling  favored  by  using  fertilizers  aud  planting'closer  in  the  drill. 

The  seed-cottou  product  is  1,000  pounds  per  acre,  rating  in  market  as  strictly  good  middling,  the  best  in  the  south.  After  live  years' 
cultivation  the  seed-cotton  product  per  acre  is  400  pounds,  but  its  original  production  is  maintained  even  at  twenty  years  by  the  use  of 
fertilizers.  The  ratio  of  seed  to  liut  is  the  same  as  iu  the  case  of  fresh  land,  aud  the  staple  is  as  long  but  not  so  fine,  and  rates  two  grades 
below  that  from  fresh  land.  The  most  troublesome  weeds  are  crab-grass  and  crowfoot.  Lands  which  were  formerly  "  turned  out "  as 
unprofitable  for  the  culture  of  corn  aud  wheat  are  now  being  taken  in  and  planted  in  cotton. 

The  soil  on  slopes  washes  and  gullies  readily,  but,  the  damage  done  to  the  slopes  is  not  irreparable,  and  the  valleys  are  slightly 
benefited  by  the  washings.     To  check  the  damage  hillside  ditching  has  been  recently  practiced  successfully. 

Cotton  is  shipped  as  soon  as  ginned,  by  railroad,  to  Eome. 

WALKEE. 

Population:  11,056.— White,  9,492;  colored,  1,564. 

Area:  440  square  miles. — Woodland,  all. 

Tilled  lands :  69,750  acres. — Area  planted  iu  cotton,  5,797  acres ;  iu  corn,  26,033  acres  ;  iu  wheat  15,115  acres  ; 
in  oats,  5,915  acres;  in  rye,  100  acres. 

Cotton  production :  2,009  bales ;  average  cottou  product  per  acre,  0.35  bale,  495  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  165 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Walker  county  presents  a  great  diversity  of  features,  having  table-land  mountains  on  the  west 
side  and  sharp-topped  mountains  on  the  east,  with  the  intermediate  country  subdivided  into  valleys,  knobbv  belts 
of  ridge  lands  of  varying  widths  and  narrow  sandstone  ridges  running  parallel  with  the  mountains  in  their  general 
directiou  or  encircling  the  ends  of  terminating  spurs. 

The  general  altitude  of  the  county  is  above  that  of  the  surrounding  country.     Its  water-courses  have  their 
sources  within  its  limits,  and  run  into  each  of  the  adjoining  counties  and  into  the  states  of  Alabama  and  Tennessee. 
The  valleys  range  from  800  to  1,200  feet  and  the  mountains  from  1,500  to  2,300  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
22  c  p— VOL.   II  337 


72  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

The  general  directions  of  the  drainage  from  a  water  divide  that  crosses  the  county  in  a  northeast  and  southwest 
direction  are  no  thwnrd  into  the  Tennessee  river  and  southward  to  the  Coosa  river. 

About  one-eighth  of  the  county  is  mountainous,  (a)  and,  including  with  this  the  steeper  portion  of  "the  ridges", 
about  one  fifth  of  its  surface  is  probably  too  steep  for  cultivation.  The  mountain  sides  an*  generally  rich,  and  are 
covered  w i t li  a  heavy  growth  of  timber.  The  lands  <>t  the  county  outside  of  the  table-lands  are  ail  more  or  less 
calcareous.  The  larger  portion  of  the  lands  of  MeLemore's  cove,  continuing  toward  the  north  .sit].*  of  the  county 
in  West  Cbickamauga  valley  and  for  several  milesin  Chattanooga  valley,  embrace  rich  calcareous  soils.  Thesam'e 
lands  are  also  found  in  Duck  and  Dry  Creek  valleys  continued  north  of  the  water-divide  in  Crawfish  valley,  and 
is  found  again  in  Dry  valley  and  at  the  western  base  of  Taylor's  ridge.  Lands  similar  to  these  in  character  of 
productiveness,  but  wiih  a  dark  ied  soil,  are  found  in  the  valleys  west  of  John's,  Horn's,  and  Cbattoogata 
mountains.  The  area  of  these  valleys  altogether  amounts  to  about  95  square  miles,  aboul  40  per  cent,  of  \\  hich  is 
cleared  and  under  cultivation.  These  valleys  have  fine  clover  lands,  and  have  been  devoted  mostly  to  corn,  wheat, 
ami  oals.  La  mis  having  a  In-own  loamy  poil,  containing  much  less  clay  ami  more  sand  than  I  hose  of  the  above-named 
valleys,  are  found  in  West  Armuchee  valley,  in  tin'  shinbone  valleys,  and  for  a  lew  miles  in  the  northern  part  of 
Mini  tanooga  valley.  T\  hese  lands  have  an  extent  of  ,~>7  square  miles,  with  7"»  iter  cent,  under  cultivation,  and  are 
■well  adapted  to  com,  wheat,  and  oals,  and  are  nearly  the  only  lands  on  which  cotton  has  been  grown  with  success 
wi  hout  fertilizers.  West  Armnchee  valley  is  nearly  the  only  locality  in  the  county  in  which  this  crop  was  grown 
to  much  extent  before  (tie  recent  general  use  of  commercial  fertilizers.  Tea  vine  ami  Chattooga  valleys  ami  a  part 
<»f  East  Armnchee  valley  afford  a  brown  clay  soil,  covering  an  area  of  35  square  miles,  with  40  per  cent,  under 
cultivation.     (See  analyses  of  soils,  pages  25  ami  1'7.) 

The  table-land,  wiih  a  sandy  soil,  has  an  extent  of  70  square  miles,  and  "the  ridges",  with  a  gray  gravelly 
soil,  occupy  i — i>  square  miles.  About 5  percent,  of  these  consist  of  cleared  lands,  and  perhaps  about  one-fourth  of  the 
entire  area  of  each  is  either  too  Steep  or  else  too  rocky  for  cultivation.  The  soils  of  the  alluvial  lands  are  generally 
argillaceous,  though  those  on  West  Armuchee  creek  and  portions  of  Chattanooga  and  Duck  creeks  are  somewhat 
sandy.  The  county  has  a  great  number  of  streams,  most  of  which  are  small ;  but  the  creek  bottoms  constitute  in 
the  aggregate  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  cultivated  lands. 

ABSTRACT  FROM   THE   REPORT   OF   J.   A.   CLEMENTS,  OF   VILLANOW. 

Cotton  is  late  in  maturing  on  lowlands  unless  they  are  dry  and  sandy;  hence  the  chief  soil  cultivated  in  cotton  is  the  ftavritj  or 
gravelly  and  more  or  less  calcareous  upland.  Thin  upland  is  rather  level,  covers  about  40  per  cent,  of  this  region,  and  consists  of  narrow 
valleys,  coves,  and  basins,  bordered  by  ridges  or  mountains.  Its  natural  growth  is  red  oak,  hickory,  walnut,  Spanish  oak,  chestnut,  etc. 
The-  soil  is  a  brown  aud  blackish  coarse  sandy  and  gravelly  loam  5  inches  thick.  The  subsoil  is  more  clayey  than  the  surface  soil,  is 
generally  deep  red,  sometimes  yellow,  and  does  not  require  artificial  drainage.  It  contains  flinty  concretions,  soft  "  black  gravel ",  and 
rounded  and  angular  pebbles,  and  is  underlaid  by  limestone  with  flinty  concretions  front  2  to  35  feet.  This  soil  is  generally  easily  tilled,  is 
early,  warm,  and  well  drained,  and  is  apparently  best  adapted  to  corn.  The  chief  crops  are  corn,  wheat,  oats,  and  cotton,  one-fourtb  of 
the  cultivated  area  being  planted  with  the  latter.  The  plant  attains  a  height  of  from  2  to  2$  feet,  and  is  most  productive  at  2  feet.  On 
dark,  rich  soil,  ami  in  wet  seasons  in  June  and  July,  the  plant  inclines  Jo  run  to  weed,  which  is  restrained  and  boiling  favored  by 
planting  closely  and  using  fertilizers. 

The  seed-cotton  product  per  acre  when  the  land  is  fresh  is  £00  pounds,  and  1,545  pounds  make  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint  which  rates 
in  the  market  as  low  middling.  After  15 years'  cultivation  the  product  is  500  pounds  per  acre,  1,030  pounds  making  a  475-pound  bale;  but 
the  staple  is  not  quite  so  good  as  that  from  fresh  land.  Crab-grass  is  the  most  troublesome  on  this  soil.  About  '■'•  per  cent,  of  such  land 
originally  cultivated  now  lies  "turned  out",  but  by  the  help  of  fertilizers  it  produces  well  when  again  cultivated.  Slopes  are  seriously 
damaged  by  washing  and  gullying,  and  the  valleys  are  also  slightly  injured  by  the  washings.  Horizontalizing  and  hillside  ditching 
are  practiced  to  check  the  damage,  and  with  good  success  when  properly  done. 

ABSTRACTS  FROM  REPORTS   OF   J.  A.  CLEMENTS  AND  W.  F.  TAPP,  OF   VALLEY   STORE   (CHATTOOGA   COUNTY),  AND 

F.   M.    YOUNG,  OF   GREENBUSII    (AR3VITJCHEE  VALLEY). 

Clay  and  slaty  rid  and  yellow  lands. — This  soil  covers  from  35  to  50  per  cent,  of  this  region,  and  extends  over  the  ten  counties  of  northwest 
Georgia.  The  soil  varies  from  a  clay  loam  to  clay,  and  in  color  from  gray  to  yellow,  brown,  and  blackish,  and  is  0  inches  deep.  Tho 
Bubsoil  is  usually  yellow,  but  sometimes  red,  heavier  than  the  surface  soil,  is  impervious  when  undisturbed,  and  improves  by  cultivation 
and  exposure  at  the  surface.  It  is  underlaid  at  from  1  foot  to  ~0  feet  by  soft,  red,  slaty  rock  or  shales,  and  in  places  by  Limestone. 
The  soil  is  easy  to  till  in  dry,  but  difficult  in  wet  seasons,  is  early,  warm,  and  well  drained,  and  is  apparently  bebt  adapted  to  wheat, 
corn,  em  ion,  and  oats.  One-third  of  it  is  planted  in  cotton.  The  usual  and  most  productive  height  of  the  plant  is  from  2A  to  3  feet.  Too 
much  rain  in  July  and  August  inclines  it  to  run  too  much  to  weed,  but  this  may  be  restrained  and  boiling  favored  by  shallow  cultivation, 
close  planting,  tupping,  and  the  use  of  highly  amnioniated  fertilizers.  The  product  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  of  fresh  laud  is  from  750  to 
1  ,ooo  pounds,  1,525  pounds  making  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint,  which  rates  in  the  market  as  middling.  After  twenty  yearn' cultivation 
the  product  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  is  400  pounds,  1,515  pounds  then  making  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint,  which  rates  lower  thai  that  from 
fresh  la,ml.  Crab-grass  is  the  most  troublesome  weed.  About  one-tenth  of  this  land  originally  cultivated  now  lies  "  turned  out ;',  and 
when  again  cultivated  does  not  produce  as  well  as  when  first  cleared.  Slopes  in  some  places  are  damaged  by  the  washing  and  gullying 
of  the  soil,  but  the  washings  damage  the  valleys  very  slightly  in  some  places  and  improve  them  considerably  in  others.  To  check  the 
damage  hillside  ditching,  horizontalizing,  and  deep  plowing  are  practiced,  with  good  success;  hillside  ditching  is  least  effectual. 

Bottom  lands. — The  creek  bottoms  form  about  one-hfteeuth  of  the  land  of  this  region.  They  bear  a  natural  growth  of  white  oak, 
hickory,  walnut,  poplar,  maple,  and  chestnut.  The  soil  is  a  dark-colored,  fiue  sandy  aud  gravelly  loam,  7  inches  thick.  The  soil  is 
apparently  best  adapted  to  cotton  and  corn,  but  one-half  of  it  is  planted  in  cotton.  The  plant  attains  the  height  of  from  3  to  4  feet,  and 
is  most  productive  at  'A  feet.  It  inclines  to  run  to  weed  iu  wet  seasons,  which  may  be  restrained  by  heavy  fertilizing,  close  planting,  and 
shallow  cultivation.  The  seed-cotton  product  per  acre  of  fresh  land  is  from  1,000  to  1,000  pounds,  1,485  pounds  making  a  475-pound  bale 
of  lint,  which  rates  in  the  market  as  middling.  Alter  from  fifteen  to  forty  years' cultivation  the  product  per  acre  is  1,000  pounds,  the  ratio 
of  seed  lo  lint  and  the  quality  ol  the  staple  being  about  the  same  as  in  the  ease  of  fresh  laud.  The  most  troublesome  weed  is  crab-grass. 
None  of  this  land  li«s  "  turned  out  ". 

a  I li  thi  table-lands  of  Lookout  and  Pigeon  mountains  the  escarpments  only  are  included  in  this  estimate. 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  73 

DADE. 

Population:  4.702.— White,  3,018;  colored,  1,084. 

Area:  ISO  square  miles. — Woodland,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  17,14S  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  32  acres;  in  corn,  8,336  acres;  in  wheat,  3,996  acres;  in 
oats,  2,999  acres. 

CoMon production :  12  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.3S  bale,  534  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  ITS  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Lookout  valley,  with  an  average  width  of  about  3  miles,  extends  across  Dade  county  in  a  northeasterly  and 
southwesterly  direction  between  the  table-laud  of  Lookout  mountain  on  the  east  and  that  of  Sand  mountain  on  the 
west.  The  altitude  varies  from  000  to  800  feet  above  sea-level,  while  the  tablelands  on  each  side  rise  from  800  to 
l,2d0  feet  above  the  valley.  Two  nearly  parallel  ridges  of  from  100  to  200  feet  in  height  subdivide  the  main  valley 
for  most  of  its  extent  into  three  divisions,  and  the  portions  lying  between  these  ridges  and  the  mountains  are  usually 
quite  narrow  and  trough-shaped,  and  are  known  as  the  "back  valleys".  A  large  portion  of  the  county  lies  on  the 
Lookout  and  Sand  mountain  table-lands. 

The  county  is  drained  northward  into  the  Tennessee  river  by  Lookout  creek  and  its  tributaries,  with  the 
exception  of  a  small  area  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  county. 

The.  valley  lands  are  not  surpassed  in  productiveness  by  any  of  equal  extent  in  the  state,  the  soils  being  all 
More  or  less  calcareous,  that  of  the  central  part  of  the  valley  being  especially  well  suited  to  cereals,  grasses,  and 
clover.  Some  of  these  lauds  are  nearly  level,  others  are  rolling,  while  toward  the  northern  terminus  of  the  valley 
they  become  quite  hilly  and  afford  a  better  yield  of  wheat.  The  soils  of  the  back  valleys  are  generally  somewhat 
sandy.     (For  a  description  of  the  table  lands  see  page  28.) 

Very  little  cotton  has  been  planted  in  this  county ;  but  from  the  present  rate  at  which  the  area  of  cotton  culture 
is  extending  in  the  adjoining  county  of  Walker  and  elsewhere  in  the  state,  where  neither  the  land  nor  the  climate 
can  be  better  suited,  it  may  be  inferred  that  this  crop  may  soon  become  an  important  production  of  the  county, 
especially  on  the  sandy  lands  of  the  back  valleys  and  on  Lookout  and  Sand  mountains. 

ABSTRACTS  FROM  THE  REPORTS  OF  T.  J.  LUMPKIN,  M.  D.,  OF  RISING  FAWN,  AND  W.  A.  CHAMBERS,  OF  MORGANVILLE. 

The  cotton-plant  grows  largo  and  bolls  well,  hut  it  is  rather  cold,  and  the  seasons  are  so  short  here  that  the  bolls  do  not  open  well 
unless  fertilizers  are  used.  The  chief  soil  cultivated  in  cotton  is  the  sandy  loam.,  iu  patches,  for  example,  on  the  second  bottom  of  Lookout 
creek,  near  Lookout  mountain,  which  covers  about  one-fifth  of  this  region,  and  extends  about  30  miles  north  and  much  farther  in  other 
directions.  It  bears  a  natural  growth  of  hickory,  oaks,  chestnut,  walnut,  poplar,  beech,  gums,  and  pine.  The  soil  varies  from  a  line  sandy 
to  a  gravelly  loam,  and  from  whitish-gray  to  yellow,  brown,  and  black  in  color,  and  has  a  depth  of  from  1  foot  to  4  feet.  The  subsoil  is 
a  heavy  mulatto  clay  hard-pan  (on  the  uplands  it  is  a  stiff,  reddish  clay),  contains  hard,  white,  rounded  gravel,  aud  is  underlaid  by  hard 
limestone  at  from  3  to  4«  feet.  Tillage  of  this  soil  is  difficult  in  wet  but  rather  easy  iu  dry  seasons,  aud  the  soil  is  early  and  warm  when 
well  drained. 

The  chief  crops  are  corn,  wheat,  and  oats,  but  the  soil  is  apparently  best  adapted  to  corn  and  wheat.  Not  more  thau  one-fiftieth 
of  the  cultivated  area  of  this  soil  is  planted  iu  cotton.  The  seed-cotton  product  per  acre  is  from  1,000  to  1,500  pounds  when  the  land  is 
fresh,  the  lint  rating  as  middling.  Old  laud  produces  from  500  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and  1,545  pounds  then  make  a 
475-pound  bale  of  lint,  which  is  a  little  shorter  than  that  from  fresh  land.  Crab-grass  is  the  worst  weed,  cocklebur  being  the  next. 
The  soil  on  slopes  washes  and  gullies  readily,  but  farmers  prevent  serious  damage  by  horizontalizing  and  hillside  ditching.  The  valleys 
are  damaged  only  to  a  very  limited  extent  by  the  washings. 

The  second  kind  of  laud  is  designated  as  black  lime  land,  and  extends  from  the  Tennessee  river  on  the  north  to  the  Coosa  river  on  the 
south.  The  soil  is  a  black  calcareous  loam  from  2  to  8  inches  deep,  underlaid  by  a  hard,  heavy  mulatto  subsoil,  which  is  again  underlaid 
by  limestone  at  from  8  to  40  feet.  Tillage  of  this  land  is  easy  in  dry  but  difficult  in  wet  seasons.  The  soil  is  late  and  cold,  but  well  drained, 
and  is  apparently  best  adapted  to  corn.     Very  little  cotton  is  planted  on  it. 

Dade  county  is  connected  with  Chattanooga  and  Rome  by  rail,  freight  being  from  50  cents  to  $1  per  bale. 

CHATTOOGA. 

Population  :  10,021.— White,  7,981 ;  colored,  2,040. 

Area:  400  square  miles. — Woodland,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  50,802  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  12,906  acres ;  in  corn,  20,078  acres ;  in  wheat,  7,930  acres ; 
in  oats,  0,044  acres;  iu  rye,  95  acres. 

Cotton  production :  5,247  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.41  bale,  579  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  193 
pounds  cotton  lint 

The  mountains  and  steep  sandstone  ridges  of  Chattooga  county  cover  altogether  about  08  square  miles,  and 
the  low,  nodular  ridges  110  square  miles.  Of  the  170  square  miles  of  comparatively  level  areas  about  30  are 
situated  on  table-lauds  of  Lookout  mountain,  ranging  iu  altitude  from  1,200  to  2,000  feet  above  the  sea,  and  the 
remaining  area  is  in  valleys  ranging  iu  altitude  from  700  to  800  feet.  Nearly  one-fourth  of  the  valley  lands  have  a 
brown-loam  soil,  embracing  mostly  those  on  the  east  of  Taylor's  ridge,  and  particularly  the  lauds  of  Dirt  Town  and 
Shinbone  valleys. 

Broom  Town  valley  and  Chattooga  valley  cross  the  county  between  Lookout  mountain  and  Taylor's  ridge  and 
are  parallel  with  them.  These  afford  good  clay  lands,  commonly  distinguished  here  as  mulatto  lands,  and  are 
uniformly  productive  where  there  is  a  good  depth  of  clay  or  subsoil  above  the  underlying  shales,  as  is  the  case  with 
most  of  the  extent  of  these  two  valleys.     The  area  is  about  45  square  miles. 

Of  the  more  calcareous  lands,  of  which  there  are  about  30  square  miles,  some  lying  next  to  Taylor's  ridge,  on 
the  west,  have  a  dark  red  soil;  and  that  of  Dry  valley,  and  some  of  the  lands  immediately  east  of  Shinbone  ridge, 
have  a  brown  and  sometimes  a  gray  soil,  with  an  intermixture  of  gravel,  derived  from  the  bordering  ridges. 

The  result  of  recent  trials  in  the  cultivation  of  cotton  with  fertilizers  on  the  sandy  lands  of  Lookout  mountain, 
is  very  favorable.     The  lower  average  temperature  ou  the  table-lauds  in  comparison  with  the  valleys  is  perhaps 

339 


74  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

more  than  counterbalanced  by  its  greater  uniformity,  there  being  but  little  difference  in  the  daily  minimum 
temperature,  and  by  the  general  absence  of  chilling  dews,  as  well  as  by  a  less  severity  and  a  longer  delay  of  frosts 
in  the  fall. 

The  gray  gravelly  lands  extend  over  nearly  one  third  of  the  surface  of  the  county.  The  improved  lands  of  this 
class,  of  which  then'  is  but  a  small  proportion,  are  confined  mainly  to  the  borders  of  the  ridges  to  which  they  belong. 

There  are  fine  bodies  of  alluvial  lands  along  the  Chattooga  river  and  many  of  the  smaller  .streams.  The  bottom 
lands  east  of  Taylor's  ridge,  and  those  of  some  of  the  streams  running  from  Lookout  mountain,  are  sandy  fo  some 
extent.     The  cotton  crop  is  sold  either  at  Triou  Factory,  in  this  county,  or  in  Rome. 

ABSTRACTS  FROM  THE  REPORTS  OF  A.  F.  ALLGOOD,  OF  TRION  FACTORY,  AND  C.  D.  HILL,  OF  RACCOON  MILLS. 

The  chief  soil  is  commonly  designated  gray  land,  which  includes  about  three- fourths  of  the  cultivated  laud  of  this  region  ami  extends 
throughout  the  county.  Its  chief  timber  is  oak  and  hiekory.  It  is  a  gravelly  clay  loam  of  a  gray  color  G  iuches  thick.  The  subsoil  is  red 
and  white  clay,  somewhat leachy,  which  contains  "  black  gravel "  ami  angular  white  pebbles,  In  some  places  it  is  underlaid  by  clay,  and  in  * 
others  by  limestone,  not  far  from  the  surface.  The  soil  is  rather  easily  tilled  in  dry  seasons,  is  somewhat  early  and  generally  well  drained, 
and  is  best  adapted  to  cotton,  corn,  and  oats,  which,  together  with  wheat,  potatoes,  and  sorghum,  are  the  chief  crops  of  this  region. 
About  two-fifths  of  this  soil  is  planted  in  cotton.  The  plant  attains  a  height  of  3  feet,  at  which  it  is  most  productive.  Wet,  hot  scasous 
and  deep  culture  incline  it  to  run  to  weed,  but  this  may  be  checked  and  boiling  favored  by  surface  cultivation  or  by  topping,  or  by  both. 

The  product  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  of  fresh  land  is  from  SUO  to  1,000  pounds,  1,450  pounds  being  required  for  a  47"<-pouud  bale  of  lint 
rating  as  middling.  After  five  years'  cultivation  the  product  is  from  300  to  600  pounds  of  seed-cotton,  and  1,500  pounds  make  a  475-pound 
bale  of  lint,  which  is  shorter,  but  otherwise  better  than  that  from  fresh  land.  The  troublesome  weeds  are  rag-weed  and  crab-grass. 
Some  of  this  laud  has  been  lying  out  only  because  the  fences  were  destroyed  during  the  late  civil  war  and  have  not  been  rebuilt  till 
recently  ;  such  are  now  the  best  cotton  lands  in  this  region.  Slopes  are  somewhat  injured  by  washing  and  gullying,  but  the  valleys  are 
improved  by  the  washings.     Horizontalizing  is  successfully  practiced  to  check  the  damage. 

Additional  descriptions  of  the  mulatto  and  botto)ti  lands,  by  C.  D,  Hill. 

The  mulatto  soil  forms  a  small  part  of  the  cultivated  area,  and  occurs  iu  patches  in  many  parts  of  tho  county.  Its  growth  is  oak, 
hickory,  chestnut,  poplar,  with  occasionally  walnut.  The  soil  is  a  mahogany-colored  loam  from  S  to  lynches  thick,  and  is  generally 
gravelly.  The  subsoil  is  a  very  red  clay,  free  from  gravel  or  grit,  and  excellent  for  making  brick;  in  some  places  it  contains  "black 
gravel''.  Limestone  underlies  it  at  various  depths.  The  soil  is  comparatively  easy  to  cultivate  in  wet  or  dry  seasons,  is  early  and 
moderately  well  drained,  and  is  apparently  best  adapted  to  corn  and  wheat.  Cotton  does  very  well  in  some  seasons,  but  iu  others  docs  uot 
opeu  well.  One-third  or  more  of  this  soil  is  planted  iu  cotton.  The  plant  attains  a  height  of  from  :i  to  4£  feet,  but  is  most  productive 
at  3  feet.     It  inclines  to  nm  to  weed  generally,  and  tho  tendency  is  increased  by  too  much  rain  and  by  deep  plowing. 

The  seed-cotton  product  per  acre  of  fresh  laud  varies  from  (100  to  1/200  pounds, about  1,485  pounds  making  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint, 
which  is  of  good  quality,  but  is  a  little  rough.  After  five  years'  cultivation  the  product  is  from  400  to  800  pounds  per  acre,  and  abont 
1,515  pounds  then  make  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint,  which  is  not  so  long,  hut  is  of  better  qualify  than  f  hat  from  fresh  land. 

Rag-  and  hog-weeds,  and  especially  crab-grass,  are  most  troublesome  on  this  soil.  Little  or  none  of  such  land  lies  ''turned  out  ",  as  it 
is  more  durable  than  the  gray  laud  and  has  a  better  subsoil.  The  slopes  are  not  so  much  damaged  by  washing  and  gullying  as  t  hose  of 
the  gray  laud.  The  bottoms,  varying  in  width  from  100  yards  to  half  a  mile,  are  as  long  as  the  streams,  and  bear  a  natural  growth  of 
poplar,  sweet  gum,  wild  cherry,  beech,  while  oak,  and  hickory.  The  soil  varies  from  brown  to  black,  is  from  2  to  3  feet  thick,  and 
is  composed  of  line  sill  ami  sand.  The  subsoil  is  fine  sandy,  and  makes  a  transition  into  leachy,  crawfishy  'day  below,  which  is  in  sumo 
places  underlaid  by  rock  at  from  10  to  20  feci  below  the  surface.  The  soil  is  easily  tilled  in  dry  seasons,  is  late,  cold,  ami  frequently  ill 
drained,  and  is  best  adapted  to  corn  and  clover.  Very  little  cotton  is  planted  on  it,  because  it  is  subject  to  rust.  The  plant  frequently 
grows  from  5  to  7  feet  high,  but  is  more  likely  to  bear  a  crop  when  from  3  to  4  feet  high,  yielding  from  000  to  1,200  pounds  of  seed-col  ion  per 
acre.  After  five  years'  cultivation  the  product  is  not  diminished  ;  the  rat  in  of  seed  to  lint  is  the  same,  the  staple  is  perhaps  Muoother,  and 
tin'  plant  is  less  inclined  to  run  to  weed.  The  most  troublesome  weeds  are  cocklebur,  Spanish  needle,  and  crab-grass.  None  of  this  land 
lies  turned  out. 

•     Shipments  are  mado  to  Rome,  by  wagon,  commencing  on  the  15th  of  October,  freight  being  §2  per  bale. 

GORDON. 

Population:  11,171.— White,  9,347;  colored,  1,824. 

Area:  360  square  miles. — Woodland,  all. 

Tilled  lands :  G>,407  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  8,008  acres  ;  in  corn,  22,001  acres  ;  in  wheat,  14,239  acres  j 
in  oats,  6,069  acres;  in  rye,  109  acres. 

Cotton  production;  3,301  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.38  bale,  513  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  181 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

There  are  two  ranges  of  mountains  in  Gordon  county  running  nearly  parallel,  Horn's  and  Salacoa,  respectively 
on  the  west  and  east  side  of  the  county.  The  intermediate  portion  of  nearly  20  miles'  width  is  subdivided  into 
narrow  valleys  by  bands  of  knobby  ridges. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  cultivated  area  is  of  the  alluvial  lands  of  the  Oostenaula  river  and  its  tributaries.  The 
large  streams  of  the  county  are  remarkably  crooked,  and  their  broad  bottom  lands  can  hardly  bo  excelled  in 
productiveness.  Between  Horn's  mountain  ami  the  Oostenaula  river  there  is  a  tine  body  of  rolling  uplands  with 
biown  loam  soils  (see  general  description).  The  lands  of  this  character  have  an  extent  of  25  square  miles.  Most  of 
the  valley  uplands  east  of  the  Oostenaula  river,  covering  90  square  miles,  are  brown  or  red  clay  lands  underlaid 
by  shales,  and  are  of  the  character  often  designated  as  "mulatto  lands".  The  gray  gravelly  lands  have  an  area  of 
nearly  70  square  miles,  in  two  sets  of  ridges  running  through  the  central  portion  of  the  county.  The  eastern  belt  of 
ridges  has  a  width  of  3  or  4  miles,  and  contains  some  sandy  land.  On  the  western  side  of  the  county  there  is  a 
section  of  several  miles  in  width,  extending  nearly  through  the  county,  covered  with  steep,  slaty  hills.  These 
lands  are  generally  poor  and  but  little  cultivated.  The  Oostenaula  and  the  Ooosawattee  rivers  are  navigable  for 
small  boats  for  a  part  of  the  year. 

340 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  75 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE   REFORT   OF  AARON  ROFF,   OF   CALHOUN. 

Tbo  river  lands  aro  sandy  and  earlier  than  the  valleys  of  the  uplands,  and  are  therefore  better  for  cotton.  The  lauds  cultivated  in 
cotton  are  the  gray  sandy,  the  chocolate-colored  calcareous,  and  the  red  soils.  The  gray  sandy  soil,  covering  one-fourth  of  the  area  of 
this  region,  is  known  to  extend  20  miles  in  each  direction,  and  bears  a  natural  growth  of  hickory,  walnut,  poplar,  pine,  and  oak.  The 
soil  is  a  line  sandy  and  gravelly  loam,  chiefly  of  a  gray  color,  and  is  u"  inches  deep.  The  subsoil  is  a  red  clay,  and  is  underlaid  by 
rock.  The  soil  is  late  and  cold,  and  is  difficult  to  cultivate  in  wet  seasons.  The  average  size  of  farms  is  oOO  acres,  and  the  chief  crops 
are  coru,  wheat,  oats,  and  cotton;  but  the  soil  is  apparently  best  adapted  to  cotton.  The  usual  and  most  productive  height  of  the  cotton- 
plant  is  3  feet.  Rainy  weather  or  excessive  manuring  inclines  the  plant  to  run  to  weed,  which  may  be  restrained  and  boiling  favored  by 
topping. 

The  seed-cotton  product  per  acre  of  fresh  lauds  is  800  pounds,  the  lint  rating  as  first  class.  After  five  years'  cultivation  the  product 
is  600  pounds  per  acre,  with  first-class  lint.  Hog-weeds  and  rag-weeds  are  most  troublesome.  No  land  of  this  kind  now  lies  "  turned 
out";  and  that  which  was  out  is  again  cultivated,  and  produces  as  well  as  originally,  and  iu  some  instances  better  than  at  first.  Slopes 
wash  and  gully  very  little,  and  are  not  seriously  damaged  in  this  way,  while  the  valleys  are  benefited  by  the  washings.  No  efforts  have 
been  made  to  check  the  damage. 

Shipments  are  made  as  fast  as  the  cotton  is  ginned,  by  the  Western  and  Atlantic  railroad,  to  Atlanta,  Rome,  and  Dalton,  rate  of 
freight  being  12£  cents  per  100  pounds. 

FLOYD. 

Population:  24,418.— White,  14,958;  colored,  9,460. 

Area:  540  square  miles. — Woodland,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  90,479  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  30,015  acres;  in  corn,  29,S72  acres;  in  wheat,  9,251  acres; 
in  oats,  8,413  acres;  in  rye,  52  acres. 

Cotton  production:  14,545  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.48  bale,  678  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  226 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Floyd  county  varies  from  nearly  level  to  hilly  and  mountainous,  the  principal  mountains  being 
in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  county.  The  valleys  in  this  portion  of  the  county  have  a  nearly  level  or  rolling 
surface,  and  are  not  generally  subdivided  by  ridges,  as  is  common  iu  most  of  the  country  to  the  north  and  west. 
The  eastern  side  of  the  county  is  "covered,  principally  with  cherty  ridges,  with  two  or  three  narrow  valleys 
extending  nearly  north  and  south.  The  southern  and  southwestern  portions  are  similarly  divided,  but  have  broader 
valleys  and  comparatively  narrow  ridges. 

The  large  streams  have  but  little  fall,  and  take  a  winding  course,  with  broad  bottoms  on  one  or  both  sides. 
The  soil  of  the  river  bottoms,  and  that  of  some  of  the  creeks,  particularly  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  county,  is 
sandy  in  such  proportion  as  to  promote  easy  culture.  These  sandy  bottoms  are  among  the  most  productive  for  all 
crops,  with  a  special  adaptation  to  the  growth  of  cotton,  yielding  from  000  to  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre 
without  fertilizers.  There  are  several  valleys  with  rich  calcareous  lands  in  the  southern  and  eastern  parts  of  the 
county.  Van's  valley  affords  the  largest  body  of  these  lands.  {For  description,  see  Cedar  valley,  Polk  county.) 
The  valleys  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  county  have  generally  a  brown  loam  soil,  witli  here  and  there,  next 
the  mountains,  a  gray  gravelly  or  rocky  soil.  The  gravelly  ridge  lands  cover  a  large  proportion  of  the  easteru  and 
southern  parts  of  the  county.  The  "flatwoods"  extend  through  the  county  near  the  Oostanaula  and  Coosa  rivers. 
These  land  are  generally  level,  are  about  50  feet  above  the  high  water  mark  of  these  rivers,  and  are  covered  with  a 
growth  of  short-leaf  pine  and  scrubby  red  and  post  oaks.  Cotton  is  grown  here  with  success  on  the  better  lands 
without  fertilizers,  and  is  one  of  the  chief  crops  on  all  cultivated  land. 

Home  is  the  chief  market.     The  Coosa  and  Oostanaula  rivers  are  navigable  for  small  boats. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  GEORG-E  S.  BLACK,  OF  ROME. 

The  seasons  are  rather  short  for  cotton.  It  is  considered  unsafe  to  plant  before  April  1T>,  and  killing  frosts  appear  early  in  Octoher ; 
besides  this,  there  are  long,  withering  droughts  through  July  and  August.  The  south  and  east  of  the  county  are  iu  the  freestone  region, 
the  north  and  west  in  the  limestone  region,  and  we  are  on  the  division  line.  The  soils  are  so  various  that  it  would  he  impossible  to 
obtain  a  100-acre  field  that  would  not  contain  two,  or  even  four,  qualities  or  colors  of  soil.  It  frequently  happens  that  a  small  brook, 
over  which  one  can  step,  divides  two  distinct  qualities  of  soil  iu  respect  both  to  color  and  to  production.  This  county  has  some  very 
productive  land,  but  it  is  scattered  about  in  patches. 

The  soils  cultivated  in  cotton  are  uplands,  valleys,  and  bottoms  of  rivers  and  creeks,  and  vary  iu  color  from  gray  to  brown, 
mahogany,  and  blackish,  and  are  composed  of  coarse  sand,  gravel,  and  clay,  in  varying  proportions,  in  different  places.  Very  sandy  soilia 
found  only  iu  narrow  strips  near  water- courses.  The  natural  timber  growth  is  oak,  hickory,  pine,  poplar,  walnut,  maple,  beech,  birch, 
ash,  cherry,  gum,  etc.  Such  soils  have  au  average  thickness  of  6  inches,  and  extend  ?i>  miles  west,  40  cast,  50  north,  and  100  miles 
south.  The  subsoils  are  heavier  than  the  surface  soils ;  those  of  river  bottoms  and  valleys  aro  red,  very  stiff  and  tenacious  clays,  and 
those  of  portions  of  creek  bottoms  and  fiat  uplands  are  yellow  clay  and  less  tenacious.  They  contain  "  black  gravel"  and  a  variety  of 
pebbles,  white  ones  excepted,  and  are  underlaid  by  gravel  and  rock  at  from  10  to  30  feet. 

The  soils  arc  difficult  to  till  in  wet  seasons,  and  are  early  aud  warm,  but  ill  drained.  The  chief  crops  of  this  region  are  corn,  cotton, 
oats,  pease,  potatoes,  -wheat,  barley,  rye,  etc.,  the  first  five  being  best  adapted  to  this  region.  Cotton  occupies  one-third  of  the  soil.  The 
plant  attains  the  height  of  from  3  to  6  feet,  the  higher  the  more  productive.  It  inclines  to  run  to  weed  on  rich  bottom  land,  and  elsewhere 
if  there  is  too  much  rain  ;  early  topping  will  check  it  and  favor  boiling. 

The  product  per  acre  of  fresh  laud  varies  from  600  to  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton,  1,485  pouuds  making  a.  475-pound  bale  of  liut,  which 
rates  in  the  market  as  middling.  After  teu  years'  cultivation  the  product  per  acre  is  400  to  500  pounds  ou  uplands  and  five-  to  a  even- tenths 
more  on  bottoms,  1,545  pounds  then  making  a  475- pound  bale  of  lint,  which  does  not  differ  in  quality  from  that  on  fresh  land. 

The  troublesome  weeds  aro  hog-,  rag-,  aud  smart-weeds,  and  crab-grass  is  worse  than  all  the  rest  combined.  Not  more  than  one- 
twentieth  of  the  arable  land  lies  "turned  out",  and  the  producing  capacity  of  it  has  not  again  been  tried.  Th<_-  slopes  wash  and  gully 
readily,  but  are  not  yet  seriously  damaged,  while  the  valleys  are  rather  improved  by  the  washings.  Some  slight  and  only  partially  successful 
efforts  have  beeu  made  to  check  the  washing  by  horizontal! zing,  hillsido  ditching,  and  terracing.  341 


76  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

ABSTRACT    FROM   THE   REPORT    OF   JOHN    H.    DENT,    OF    CAVE    SPRING. 

The  upland  red,  clayey  ham  includes  two-thirds  of  tbo  cultivated  lauds  for  10  miles  around,  and  bears  a  natural  growth  of  oak,  hickory, 
etc.  The  .soil  is  1G  inches  deep,  and  its  tillage  is  difficult  in  wet  seasous  ;  ii  is  late,  cold,  and  ill  drained.  It  is  apparently  equally  well 
adapted  to  cotton,  corn,  oats,  potatoes,  sorghum,  and  clover,  bul  cotton  occupies  half  its  area.  The  usual  aud  most  productive  height  of 
the  plant  is  about  1  feet;  it  inclines  to  weed  in  wet  seasons,  and  is  restrained  by  topping.  Fresh  laud  produces  1,200  pounds  of  seed- 
cotton  per  acre,  and  the  staple  rates  as  good  ordinary  ;  after  four  years'  cultivation  the  product  is  900  pounds,  and  the  staple  compares 
favorably  with  that  from  fresh  land.  The  most  troublesome  weed  is  rag-weed.  About  one-twentieth  of  this  laud  lies  "  turned  out",  hut 
produces  well  when  again  cultivated.  The  slopes  wash  and  gully  readily,  but  the  valleys  are  only  slightly  injured  by  the  washings.  To 
save  the  slopes,  hurizout alizing  and  hillside  ditching  are  successfully  practiced. 

The  time  for  shipping  cotton  is  from  the  1st  of  October  to  the  1st  of  January.  It  is  sent  to  Rome,  Savannah,  Charleston,  aud  New 
York,  the  rate  of  freight  being  from  $1  50  to  $2  per  bale. 

POLK. 

Population:   Ll,952.— White,  7,805;  colored,  4,147. 

Area:  330  square  miles. — Woodland,  all. 

Tilled  hi /ids:  54,233  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  10,774  acres;  in  corn,  10,331  acres;  in  wheat,  G,53S  acres; 
in  oats,  0,114  acres;  iu  rye,  2S  acres. 

Cotton  production:  S,126  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.48  bale,  GOO  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  280 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Polk  county  is  hilly  and  mountainous.  Dug  Down  mountain  extends  along  the  southern  and 
eastern  sides  of  the  county,  trending  east  and  west  on  the  south  side,  but  curving  around  to  the  northeast  on  the 
east  side  and  presenting  a  steep  escarpment  toward  the  north  and  northwest,  Three  bauds  of  nodular  ridges 
extend  from  the  north  side  of  the  county  nearly  to  Dug  Down  mountain,  leaving  narrow  valleys  next  to  this 
mountain,  which  connect  almost  at  right  angles  with  the  valleys  that  lie  between  the  ridges.  Cellar  valley  is  '.)  miles 
long'  and  from  1  mile  to  0  miles  wide,  and  is  a  hue  body  Of  undulating  upland,  with  a  rich  eah-ai  eons  soil  of  a  brOWIl 
or  red  color  and  a  red  subsoil.     Van's  and  Euharlee  valleys  are  similar.    (See  analysis  of  soils,  page  27.) 

The  valley  lands  on  the  western  side  of  the  eouniy  are  generally  sandy,  and  sand  rocks  ol  .small  sizes  are  often 
scattered  abundantly  over  the  surface,  especially  in  the  valleys  around  or  near  Indian  mountain.  The  valley  lands 
are  nearly  all  of  rhe  best  grade  of  uplands,  and,  taken  altogether,  they  embrace  within  the  county  about  one-fourth 
of  its  extent.  The  gravelly  gray  lauds,  belonging  mostly  to  i  idges,  cover  about  one-third  of  the  extent  of  t  he  county. 
In  the  central  portion  of  the  eastern  belt  the  lands  are  approximately  level  or  but  slightly  rolling,  and  arc  covered 
with  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine;  but  in  the  more  broken  areas,  as  elsewhere  in  lands  of  this  character,  the  prevailing 
growth  is  that  of  the  different  varieties  of  oak,  with  hickory,  chestnut,  and  short-leaf  pine.  Southeast  and  south 
of  Dug  Down  mountain  there  is  a.  limited  area  of  poor,  hilly  lands  with  a  gray  sandy  and  rocky  soil  and  a  growth 
principally  of  red  oak,  short  leaf  pine,  and  chestnut. 

In  relation  to  cotton  culture,  iu  comparison  with  other  portions  of  northwest  Georgia,  the  lands  of  this  county 
show  rather  the  best  average  yield  per  acre  for  this  crop.  This  is  owing  in  part  to  a  somewhat  more  favorable 
climate,  being  the  most  southern  county  in  this  part  of  the  state,  as  well  as  to  the  general  fertility  of  the  lands, 
which  will  bear  a  nearly  equally  favorable  comparison  iu  the  production  of  the  cereal  and  other  crops. 

ABSTRACTS  FROM  THE  REPORTS  OF  S.  H.  II.  BYRD,  OF  CEDARTOT7N,  AND  T.  J.  THOMPSON,  OF  ROCKMART. 

Lands  are  distinguished  as  bottom,  valley,  and  hill  lands.  Valley  and  lull  lands  are  best  for  cotton,  especially  the  slopes  facing  to  the 
south  ami  southeast.  The  bottom  lauds  are  cold  ami  late,  and  are  well  suited  to  corn,  but  not  to  cotton  unless  well  prepared  and  stimulated 
by  fertilizers.  The  bottom  lands  are  always  level,  and  lie  along  the  streams.  Tin/  valleys  are  from  2  to  10  miles  wide  ami  from  IU  to  30 
miles  long,  aud  are  rolling.  The  soil  of  the  valleys  and  hills  is  in  all  respects  very  much  alike.  Cotton  in  this  county  rates  high,  becoming 
inferior  on  old  lands  if  not  ferl  ilized.  The  mulatto  or  red  land  is  the  best  for  cotton.  Its  soil  is  a  red  or  brownish  claj  loam  from  6  to  13  inches 
deep;  the  subsoil  is  heavier,  and  has  the  color  of  chocolate  and  dark  red,  which  becomes  somewhat  impervious  to  water  as  the  cultivation 
of  1  lie  surface  soil  goes  on.  It  is  underlaid  by  iron  ore  and  limestone.  One-half  the  cultivated  laud  is  of  this  kiud ;  it  extends  about  20 
miles  eastward  and  westward  across  northern  Alabama.  Its  growth  is  post  oak.  red  oak,  aud  hickory.  The  best  lauds  are  brld  in  tracts  of 
from  400  to  2,000  acres;  poorer  lauds  in  smaller  divisions.  The  soil  is  easily  tilled  in  dry,  but  with  difficulty  in  wet  seasons;  it  is  early, 
warm,  easily  draiued,  ami  apparently  best  adapted  to  the  cereals.  The  chief  crops  of  the  region  are  cotton,  corn,  oats,  wheat,  sorghum, 
potatoes,  and  clover.  Cotton  comprises  half  the  crops  on  this  land.  The  plaut  grows  from  2  to  5  feet  high,  and  is  most  productive  at  5 
feet;  ou  fresh  laud  or  very  rich  spots  it  inclines  to  grow  to  weed,  which  may  be  resl  rained  by  using  non-ammoniated  phosphates.  The  seed- 
cotton  product  per  acre  of  fresh  laud  is  from  B00  to  1,000  pounds.  After  ten  years'  cultivation  the  product  is  from  500  to  GOO  pounds,  but 
it  takes  more  to  make  a  hale.  The  most  troublesome  weeds  are  hog-weed,  carrot-weed,  and  May-pop.  One-fourth  of  this  laud  (originally 
cultivated)  now  lies  "turned  out  "',  but  if  the  land  is  not  badly  gullied  and  washed  it  produces  well  when  again  cultivated.  The  slopes 
are  seriously  washed  and  gullied,  but  the  washings  rather  improve  the  valleys.  Horizontalizing  and  hillside  ditching  are  practiced,  and 
are  partially  successful  in  saving  the  soil  of  the  slopes. 

The  second  quality  of  soil  (as  described  by  Mr.  S.  M.  H.  Byrd)  is  designated  gray  land,  which  covers  three-eighths  of  the  cultivated 
laud,  and  extends  iu  the  same  directions  and  as  far  as  the  red  land  first  described.  Its  timber  is  hickory,  walnut,  white  oak,  and  ash. 
The  soil  is  a  whitish-gray  loam,  containing  gravel,  and  is  from  4  to  10  inches  deep.  The  subsoil  is  heavier,  has  a  pale  red  color,  and 
contains  flinty  rock  ami  white  angular  pebbles.  The  soil  is  easily  tilled  in  any  season,  but  the  rocks  and  gravel  are  troublesome.  It  is  a 
little  late  and  cold,  but  naturally  well  drained,  and  is  apparently  best  adapted  to  cotton,  with  which  one-half  its  area  is  planted.  The 
plant  grows  a  little  taller  on  this  than  on  red  land  while  fresh ;  on  very  rich  spots,  or  on  fresh  land,  it  inclines  to  run  to  weed,  which  may  be 
restrained  by  using  phosphates.  The  product  per  acre  of  fresh  or  of  old  land  is  as  given  in  the  case  of  red  land.  "When  this  soil  begiuB  to 
fail,  poverty- weeds  and  ciuquefoil  will  appear  on  it.  A  little  more  than  one-fourth  is  ''turned  out  " ;  it  produces  well  for  a  few  years 
when  again  cultivated. 

The  third  quality  of  soil,  as  given  by  Mr.  Byrd,  is  that  of  the  bottoms,  which  includes  one-eighth  of  the  cultivated  area,  and 
extends  as  far  as  the  red  and  gray  soils.  Its  natural  timber  is  white  oak,  ash,  beech,  birch,  walnut,  sycamore,  lmden,  poplar,  hickory, 
342 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  77 

elm,  and  maple.  The  soil  is  a  fine  silt  loam  of  a  whitish  color  when  old  or  blackish  when  freshly  cleared,  and  varies  from  6  to  24  inches 
in  depth.  The  subsoil  is  heavier,  aud  varies  from  a  good  yellow  clay  to  white  or  pipe-clay,  and  is  somewhat  impervious.  This  soil  is  difficult 
to  till  in  wet  seasons,  is  late  aud  cold,  and  is  best  adapted  to  corn.  Less  than  half  of  it  is  planted  in  cotton.  The  plant  attains  a  height  of 
from  3  to  7  feet,  and  is  most  productive  at  about  5  feet;  it  inclines  to  ruu  to  weed  in  ordinary  seasons,  and  many  believe  that  close  planting 
will  restrain  it  and  favor  boiling.  Dry  seasons  are  best  for  cotton  on  such  land.  The  seed-cotton  product  per  acre  of  fresh  land  is  from 
1,000  to  1,500  pounds,  and  the  production  does  not  decline  nearly  so  rapidly  as  on  rolling  lands  or  uplands.  The  most  troublesome  weeds  are 
cocklebur,  ra^-weed,  and  in  Borne  spots  smart- weed.  Excepting  pipe-clay  spots  that  never  were  rich,  very  little  of  this  land  lies  "  turned 
out". 

Pine  lands,  as  described  by  J.  T.  Thompson,  of  Ilockmart. 

The  pine  belt  is  10  miles  wide,  extends  into  Floyd  and  Bartow  counties,  and  is  the  most  densely  timbered  pine  land  in  northern  Georgia. 
Its  soil  is  variously  composed  of  fine  and  coarse  sand,  gravel,  and  clay  ;  its  color  varies  from  gray  to  brown  and  blackish,  and  reaches  3 
inches  below  the  surface.  The  subsoil  is  heavier ;  it  is  a  light  yellow,  coarse  sandy  loam ;  in  some  places  it  is  white  pipe-clay,  in  others 
red  clay.     It  is  generally  leachy,  contains  a  variety  of  gravel,  and  is  underlaid  by  saud,  gravel,  and  generally  much  rock. 

The  chief  difficulty  encountered  in  tillage  is  the  abundance  of  rock  at  the  surface.  The  soil  endures  drought  very  well.  It  is  early, 
warm,  and  well  drained,  and  is  apparently  best  adapted  to  cotton  and  oats.  The  land  is  poor  and  poorly  watered,  and  has  very  few  springs 
and  very  little  running  water.  It  is  hard  to  prevent  wells  from  caving  in ;  they  are  as  deep  as  80  feet,  at  which  depth  it  is  hard  to  fiud  water. 
Not  much  of  this  land  is  cultivated.  The  cotton-plant  attains  a  height  of  froni.18  to  38  inches,  the  higher  the  more  productive  ;  it  all 
opens  well,  and  does  not  run  to  weed.  The  soil  rather  needs  fertilizers,  In  ten  years  its  production  is  decreased  one-third,  without  any 
material  variation  of  the  quality  of  the  staple  or  ratio  of  seed  to  lint.  Product  per  acre  of  fresh  land  is  from  500  to  800  pounds  of  seed- 
cotton,  and  from  1,425  to  1,485  pounds  make  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint  as  good  as  any  in  market.  Crab-grass  is  the  chiefly  troublesome 
weed.  Only  a  small  amount  of  such  land  lies  "  turned  out".  Slopes  wash  and  gully  badly  if  tho  soil  is  not  held  by  gravel ;  the  damage 
is  not  serious,  and  the  valleys  are  slightly  benefited  by  the  washings.  To  save  the  slopes  a  very  little  hillside  ditching  and  horizontalizing 
is  done,  aud  with  very  good  success. 

Cotton  is  shipped,  by  railroad,  to  Cartersville  at  50  cents  per  bale,  or  to  Rome  at  $1  25  per  bale. 

BAETOW. 

Population:  1S,090.— White,  12,419 ;  colored,  0,271. 

Area;  "500  square  miles. — Woodland,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  88,331  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  21,969  acres;  in  corn,  26,874  acres;  in  wheat,  15,305  acres; 
in  oats,  9,852  acres;  in  rye,  164  acres. 

Cotton  production:  10,111  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.40  bale,  657  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  219 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Bartow  county  is  rolling  and  mountainous,  with  broad  valleys  of  excellent  lands.  The  mountains 
belong  to  the  western  escarpment  of  the  metamorphic  plateau  extending  into  the  east  and  southeast  portions  of 
the  county.  This  is  cat  through  by  the  Etowali  river  and  by  a  number  of  smaller  streams.  West  of  this  range  for 
several  miles  the  country  is  divided  up  without  regularity  of  outline  into  nearly  level  valleys  and  steep  slaty  hills. 
Etowah  river  crosses  the  county  from  east  to  west,  and  about  two-thirds  of  its  surface  is  drained  by  this  river  and 
its  tributaries. 

The  most  valuable  uplands  are  the  red  clay  lands,  commonly  distinguished  in  this  county  as  red  mulatto 
lands.  These  lands  are  found  around  Cartersville,  in  Pine  Log  valley,  and  in  various  other  localities,  forming  a 
large  proportion  of  the  cultivated  area.  The  production  is  from  25  to  30  bushels  of  corn,  from  8  to  15  bushels  of 
wheat,  and  from  750  to  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  the  acre,  fertilizers  being  used  only  with  cotton. 

Most  of  the  valley  land,  particularly  that  of  Oothcalooga  valley,  is  argillaceous  and  more  or  less  calcareous, 
and  is  cultivated  principally  in  corn,  wheat  and  oats.  The  soil  varies  in  color  here  from  a  light  red  to  a  dark 
brown. 

The  gray  gravelly  ridge  lands  cover  perhaps  one-third  of  the  surface  of  the  county.  In  the  southwestern  corner 
of  the  county  these  lands  are  nearly  level  and  somewhat  sandy,  and  are  covered  with  a  prevailing  growth  of  long- 
leaf  pine,  with  red  and  post  oaks.  There  are  some  gray  and  red  sandy  lauds  on  the  east  side  of  the  county  that 
have  not  been  cultivated  to  any  great  extent,  but  with  fertilizers  they  give  a  good  yield  of  cotton.  In  the 
southeastern  part  of  the  county  the  soil  is  of  a  light  red  color,  aud  loose  quartz-rocks  are  scattered  abundantly  over 
the  surface.  The  alluvial  lands  of  the  Etowah  river  are  somewhat  sandy  and  very  productive,  yielding  from  750  to 
800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  the  acre  without  fertilizers.  That  of  the  smaller  streams,  especially  of  all  on  the 
north  side  of  this  river,  is  more  argillaceous,  and  is  not  suited  to  the  cotton  crop.     (See  analyses  of  soils,  page  27.) 

ABSTRACTS   FROM   THE   REPORTS    OF   J.    O.    Sl'DANIEL,    OF    AJLLATOONA,    AND    A.   F.    WOOLLEY,    OF   KINGSTON. 

Both  latitude  and  altitude  make  the  season  rather  too  short  for  cotton,  but  by  the  use  of  stimulating  fertilizers  a  good  average 
yield  is  obtained.  The  upland  soils  vary  from  red  to  gray,  and  the  transition  is  often  very  abrupt.  On  the  bottoms  cotton  is  later  than 
on  the  uplands,  on  account  of  later  planting  and  coldness  of  the  soil ;  it  is  therefore  liable  to  be  prematurely  frost-killed. 

The  kinds  of  soil  cultivated  iu  cotton  are:  1.  Brown  sandy  loam  of  the  hilly,  rolling,  and  level  table-lands;  2.  Blackish  clay 
loam  of  the  low  bottoms;  3.  Gray  gravelly  clay  of  the  uplands.  The  brown  sandy  loam  of  the  table-lands,  from  (i  to  12  inches  thick, 
includes  half  the  arable  area  of  this  region,  and  extends  across  the  southern  part  of  the  county.  Its  timber  is  hickory,  walnut,  white 
oak,  ash,  poplar,  beech,  etc.  Its  red  subsoil  is  a  very  tough,  tenacious,  and  impervious  hard-pan,  containing  flinty,  hard,  rounded 
pebbles  in  small  patches,  but  otherwise  almost  free  from  stone,  underlaid  by  gravel  and  rock  at  from  15  to  20  feet.  The  soil  is 
easily  tilled  in  moderately  dry  seasons,  and  is  early  and  warm,  but  ill  drained.  The  chief  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat, 
oats,  clover,  pease,  potatoes,  and  sorghum.  This  soil  is  best  adapted  to  cotton,  which  occupies  from  one-half  to  two-thirds 
of  its  tilled  lands.  The  plant  usually  attains  a  height  of  30  inches,  but  is  more  productive  at  36  inches.  An  excess  of  rain 
inclines  it  to  run  to  weed;  the  remedy  consists  in  shallow  cultivation,  and  as  little  as  possible  of  it.  Fresh  land  produces  1,000 
pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.     After  thirty  years'  cultivation  the  product   is  600. pounds  per  acre,  about  1,485  pounds  making  a 

343 


78  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

475-pound  bale  of  liut,  which  is  shorter  than  and  inferior  to  that  from  fresh  land.  Rag-weeds,  hog-weeds,  and  crab-grass  are  most 
troublesome.  One-fortieth  of  this  land  lies  "  turned  out ".  When  again  cultivated  it  produces  as  well  as  when  fresh,  but  does  not  last  so 
long.  Slopes  do  not  readily  wash  or  gully,  but  in  some  instances  they  are  seriously  damaged.  Horizontalizing  aud  hillside  ditching  are 
successfully  practiced  to  check  1he  damage. 

The  blackish  clay  bottom  soil  includes  one-fourth  of  the  arable  laud  of  this  region.  The  soil  is  u'  inches  deep,  and  is  late,  cold,  ill  drained, 
and  ratlicr  difficult  to  till  in  wet  seasons.  The  subsoil  is  heavier,  aud  is  an  impervious,  yellowish  clay  hard-pan,  underlaid  by  gravel  and 
rock  at  from  15  to  20  feet.  The  soil  is  apparently  best  adapted  to  corn,  but  one-third  of  the  cultivated  area  is  planted  in  cotton.  The 
plant  attains  a  height  of  from  .1  to  C  feet,  but  is  most  productive  at  4  feet.  It  runs  to  weed  in  wet  weather,  for  which  there  is  no  remedy. 
The  seed-cotton  product  per  acre  is  from  1,000  to  1,500  pounds ;  after  thirty  years' cultivation  the  product  is  800  pounds.  About  1,425 
pounds  from  fresh  land  and  about  1,400  pounds  from  old  land  make  a  475-pound  bale.  The  staple  from  old  land  is  inferior  to  that  from 
new,  but  the  difference  is  hardly  appreciable.  The  most  txonblesoine  weeds  are  rag-weeds,  morning-glories,  and  grass.  None  of  this  land 
lies  "turned  out ". 

The  gray  gravelly  upland  clay  soil  includes  one-fourth  of  the  cultivated  area  of  this  region,  and  is  6  inches  deep.  It  in  known  to 
extend  10  miles  around,  aud  bears  a  natural  growth  of  post  oak,  red  oak,  pine,  black-jack  oak,  etc.  The  heavier  subsoil  is  a  light  yellow, 
very  stiff,  impervious  hard-pan,  containing  flinty,  hard,  angular  gravel  of  white  and  other  colors,  and  is  underlaid  by  rock  at  from  30  to 
50  feet.  The  soil  ia  early,  warm,  but  ill  drained,  aud  is  difficult  to  till  in  wet  seasons.  It  is  apparently  best  adapted  to  cotton,  with 
which  one-half  its  area  is  occupied.  The  plant  attains  a  height  of  from  2  to  :i  fret  ;  is  most  productive  at3  feet,  and  is  not  inclined  to  go 
to  weed.  The  seed-cotton  product  per  acre  of  fresh  land  is  from  400  to  600  pounds;  after  thirty  years' cultivation  it  is  no  less;  1,485 
pounds  from  fresh  land,  or  from  1,485  to  1,545  pounds  from  old  land,  make  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint.  The  staple  from  old  land  does  not 
differ  appreciably  from  that  of  new  laud  ;  both  are  good.  Crab-grass  is  the  most  troublesome  weed.  One-tenth  of  this  land  lies  "  turned 
out'',  and  after  a  long  rest  produces  very  well  again.  Slopes  are  seriously  damaged  by  the  washing, and  gullying  of  the  soil  upon  them  ; 
the  washings  also  injure  the  valleys  to  the  exteut  of  5  per  ceut.  To  check  the  damage  horizontaliziug  and  hillside  ditching  are  very 
successfully  practiced. 

Shipments  are  made,  assoou  as  the  cotton  is  ready,  by  rail,  to  Atlanta  at$l  per  bale. 


THE    BLUE    RIDGE    REGION    (METAMORPHIC). 

The  Blue  Ridge  region  embraces  all  of  the  counties  of  Rabun,  Towns,  Union,  Fannin,  Gilmer,  Pickens,  Dawson, 
Lumpkin,  White,  and  Hubersbam.  The  north  county -lines  of  the  latter  four  rest  on  the  crest  of  the  ridge.  The 
first  five  counties  are  out  of  the  cotton  region  proper,  and  but  a  brief  mention  is  necessary. 

RABUN. 

Population:  4,634.— White,  4,437 ;  colored,  107. 

Area:  400  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  18,209  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  45  acres;  in  corn,  8,810  acres;  in  oats,  455  acres ;  in  wheat, 
457  acres ;  in  rye,  1,075  acres. 

Cotton  production :  14  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.31  bale,  444  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  148  pounds 
cotton  liut. 

Rabun  county  occupies  the  extreme  northeastern  corner  of  the  state,  and  is  a  region  of  mountains  with 
comparatively  little  land  suitable  for  tillage.  It  is  well  timbered  (one-half  pine  on  the  mountains),  and  its  soils  are, 
chiefly  gray,  sandy,  and  gravelly,  with  clay  subsoils.  A  belt  of  red  land  enters  the  county  from  the  southwest 
and  reaches  to  Clayton,  the  county-seat.  (For  description  of  lands,  see  regional  part,  page  312.)  The  Atlantic  and 
Gulf  water-divide  passes  northward  through  the  western  part  of  the  county.  The  lands  of  the  Tennessee  valley 
(2,00(1  feet  above  the  sea)  are  generally  level  and  highly  productive,  and  here  also  are  situated  the  largest  farms. 
The  county  is  too  broken  and  transportation  to  railroad  stations  too  difficult  to  make  the  culture  of  cotton  very 
profitable. 

TOWNS. 

Population:  3,201. — White,  3,157  ;  colored,  104. 

Area:  ISO  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands  :  14.198  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  none;  in  corn,  7,001  acres;  in  oats,  830  acres;  in  wheat, 
2,055  acres;  in  rye,  1,339  acres. 

Cotton  production:  None. 

Towns  county  lies  on  the  north  side  of  the  Blue  Ridge  along  the  North  Carolina  line,  and  is  drained  by  the 
headwaters  of  the  Tennessee  river,  which  How  northwestward.  The  surface  is  broken  aud  well  timbered.  Its  soils 
are  gray,  sandy,  and  gravelly,  and  underlaid  by  clay  subsoils.     (See  regional  description,  page  32.) 

No  cotton  is  produced,  except,  perhaps,  in  small  patches  for  home  use.  Corn  is  the  chief  crop,  with  some  wheat 
and  rye  and  a  little  oats. 

Note  from  Howell  C.  Standridge,  of  Hiawassee. — The  soil,  as  a  general  tbing,  is  of  a  dark  gray  color,  though  all  varieties 
occur.  Dark  loamy  soils  are  found  on  or  near  the  mountains.  Cotton  in  this  county  grows  finoly  as  far  as  the  stalk  is  concerned,  but 
does  not  mature.    The  seasons  are  too  short  and  cold. 

UNION. 

Population:  6,431.— White,  6,321 ;  colored,  110. 
Area:  330  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  30,347  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  12  acres;  in  corn,  14,347  acres;  in  oats,  2,139  acres;  in 
■wheat,  4,612  acres;  in  rye,  1,934  acres. 
344 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  79 

Cotton  production :  5  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.42  bale,  594  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  198  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Union  county  lies  chiefly  on  the  north  side  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  Its  surface  is  mountainous  and  broken,  well 
timbered,  and  drained  by  streams  forming  in  part  the  headwaters  of  the  Tennessee  river.  Soils  are  mostly  gray, 
sandy,  and  gravelly,  with  clay  subsoils,  as  in  the  adjoining  couuties.  (See  regional  description,  page  32.)  The  chief 
crop  is  corn,  with  an  acreage  five  times  that  of  any  other  crop. 

Note  from  C.  J.  Wellborn,  of  Blairsville. — The  seasons  are  too  short,  aud  the  shade  is  too  great  in  this  county  for  the 
successful  production  of  cotton  for  market.  It  is  only  planted  in  patches,  and  while  the  plant  grows  luxuriantly  it  fails  to  mature  or  to 
■open  before  the  frosts  come.  The  red  clay  lands,  while  not  the  best  of  the  county,  are  the  only  ones  on  which  cotton  is  planted,  and  then 
fertilizers  are  used.  They  comprise  10  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  and  have  a  growth  of  all  varieties  of  oaks,  hickory,  walnut,  buckeye, 
white,  yellow,  and  spruce  pine,  cherry,  and  poplar. 

FANNIN. 

Population:  7,245.— White,  7,112 ;  colored,  133. 

Area:  390  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands :  27,197  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  none ;  in  corn,  14,220  acres ;  in  oats,  1,005  acres  ;  in  wheat, 
3,649  acres  ;  in  rye,  2,099  acres. 

Cotton  production :  None. 

Fannin  county,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  resembles  in  general  the  other  counties  of  the  region  in 
its  metamorphic  rocks,  sandy  and  red  clayey  soils  and  clay  subsoils,  and  in  its  timber  growth.  Its  drainage  is 
northward  to  the  Tennessee  river.     The  lands  are  described  in  the  following  abstract. 

Cotton  is  scarcely  planted,  except  in  small  patches. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  ADAM  DAVENPORT,  OF  MORGANTON. 

The  lands  of  the  county  vary  greatly  from  one  ridge  to  another,  being  in  patches  of  from  1  acre  to  20  acres  each.  They  may  he  classed 
as — 

Blade  sticky  uplands,  lying  mostly  on  southern  slopes,  and  hence  better  for  cotton  than  the  other  lands.  They  comprise  about  12  per 
cent,  of  the  lands  of  the  county,  and  have  a  growth  of  hickory,  oak,  walnut,  honey-locust,  mnlberry,  aud  spicewood.  The  soil  has  a 
depth  of  10  inches,  with  a  clay  subsoil.  The  chief  crops  are  corn,  wheat,  rye,  oats,  and  potatoes,  to  the  first  of  which  this  soil  is  best 
adapted.  Cotton  is  planted  only  in  a  few  small  patches  for  home  use,  and  yields  about  600  pounds  per  acre.  The  lands  are  early,  warm, 
■well  drained,  aud  difficult  to  cultivate  in  wet  seasons. 

The  heavy  mahogany-colored  clay  uplands,  having  eastern  or  southern  inclinations,  comprise  one-half  the  lands,  and  have  a  growth 
of  oak,  chestnut,  pine,  hickory,  and  black-jack.     They  are  best  adapted  to  wheat  or  corn. 

The  Bandy  bottom  lands  of  Toccoa  river  have  a  dark-gray  soil  2  feet  in  depth,  and  a  growth  of  walnut,  hickory,  far,  buckeye, 
maple,  etc.  These  are  best  adapted  to  corn  and  rye.  Cotton  grows  luxuriantly,  but  is  liable  to  be  killed  prematurely  by  frosts.  Under 
the  most  favorable  circumstances  only  about  100  pounds  of  lint  are  obtained  per  acre  from  these  lands. 

GILMER. 

Population:  8,386.— White,  8,258 ;  colored,  128. 

Area:  480  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  30,273  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  122  acres;  in  corn,  16,178  acres;  in  oats,  582  acres;  in 
wheat,  5,903  acres ;  in  rye,  950  acres. 

Cotton  production:  32  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.26  bale,  375  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  125  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Gilmer  county  lies  at  the  southwestern  termination  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  Its  surface  is  rolling  and  in  part 
mountainous,  is  well  limbered,  and  is  drained  westward  by  the  headwaters  of  the  Coosawattee  river.  In  general 
soil  features  it  resembles  the  region  already  described.  There  is,  however,  a  smaller  percentage  of  its  lands  under 
cultivation  (9.9  per  cent,  of  county  area)  than  in  any  county  of  the  region  excepting  Rabun.  Its  chief  crops  are 
corn,  wheat,  rye,  and  oats.     Scarcely  any  cotton  is  planted. 

PICKENS. 

Population:  6,790.— White,  6,645;  colored,  145. 

Area :  230  square  miles.     Woodland,  all ;  metamorphic,  nearly  ail. 

Tilled  lands :  26,834  acres,  or  18.2  per  cent,  of  county  area. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  2,210  acres ;  in  corn,  12,774 
acres;  in  wheat,  5,992  acres;  in  oats,  1,619  acres;  in  rye,  357  acres. 

Cotton  production :  734  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.33  bale,  474  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  158  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Pickens  county  is  divided  diagonally  by  the  continuation  of  the  Blue  Ridge  chain  passing  through  the  county 
from  northeast  to  southwest.  These  mountains  have  an  altitude  of  from  1,500  to  2,500  feet,  while  the  rest  of  the 
county  is  broken  and  hilly.  On  the  north  of  this  range  the  county  is  watered  by  Talking  Rock  creek  and  its 
tributaries,  flowing  northwestward  into  the  Coosawattee  river.  On  the  south  are  the  headwaters  of  Long  Swamp 
and  Stone  creeks,  flowing  southward,  tributaries  of  the  Etowah  river. 

The  various  schists  and  gneisses  are  found  over  the  greater  part  of  the  county,  forming  by  their  decomposition 
their  characteristic  sandy  and  mulatto  lands.  East  from  Jasper,  the  county-seat,  mica-schists  at  first  appear,  then 
a  wide  belt  of  sandstones,  and  finally  gneisses  at  the  county-line.  To  the  west  and  northwest  are  found  shales, 
sandstones,  and  mica-schists,  with  hornblendes  near  Talking  Rock,  and  the  lands  are  mostly  sandy,  with  red  and 
yellow  clay  subsoils.  Cotton  is  produced  only  in  patches.  Nineteen  per  cent,  of  the  county  area  is  too  mouutainous 
for  tillage,  and  of  the  remainder  33  per  cent,  has  been  cleared  and  is  partially  under  cultivation.     Wheat  yields  5 

145 


80  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

bushels,  corn  15  bushels,  and  outs  8  bushels  per  acre.  On  the  northwest,  where  the  Pine  Loj;-  range  of  mountains 
cross  the  county,  there  are  found  white  marbles  of  excellent  quality.  In  other  sections  gold  and  other  minerals 
exist. 

The  lands  under  tillage  comprise  18.2  per  cent,  of  the  county  area.  Of  this  8.1'  per  cent,  is  in  cotton,  averaging 
9.0  acres  per  square  mile. 

DAWSON. 

Population:  5,S37. — White,  5,479;  colored,  358. 

Area:  180  square  miles. — Woodland,  all:  metamorphic,  all. 

TilUil  lands:  24,95S  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  2,189  acres  ;  in  corn,  14,900  acres  ;  in  wheat,  4,049  acres  ; 
in  oats,  SS2  acres;  in  rye,  180  acres. 

Cotton  production:  850  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.39  bale,  552  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  184  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Dawson  county  touches  the  Blue  Ridge  chain  only  on  the  northwestern  coiner,  but  the  rest  of  the  country  is  hilly 
and  broken.  The  rocks  arc  highly  micaceous,  with  the  exception  of  an  area  of  sandstone  north  west  of  Dawsouville. 
There  is  a  belt  of  red  hornblcudic  lands  south  of  the  town,  but  the  lands  iu  general  are  gray  anil  sandy,  willi  clay 
subsoils.  The  Chattahoochee  and  the  Etowah  rivers  approach  very  near  each  other  on  the  northeast,  and  arc 
separated  only  by  a  low  ridge.  Twenty-one  and  seven  -tenths  per  cent,  of  the  county  area  is  under  tillage,  and  8.8 
per  cent,  of  this  is  in  cottou,  averaging  12,2  acres  per  square  mile.  Ten  per  cent,  of  the  county  is  too  mountainous 
for  tillage. 

LUMPKIX. 

Population:  0.520. — White,  0,075;  colored,  451. 

Area:  290  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  21,01!)  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  209  acres;  in  corn,  11,232  acres;  in  wheat,  2,781  acres; 
in  oats,  1,554  acres;  in  rye,  582  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  109  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  o.il  bale,  5,0  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  192  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Lumpkin  is  one  of  the  chief  gold-bearing  counties  of  the  state,  Dahloueo'a  being  tic  center  of  large  mining 
operations.  The  surface  of  the  county  is  lolly,  and  in  the  north  mountainous.  Tin-  principal  streams  are  the 
Etowah  river  and  the  Chestatee.  Twenty-live  per  cent,  of  the  county  is  too  mountainous  for  tillage,  'flic  soils  are 
of  the  graj  sandy  and  red  clayey  varieties,  with  clay  subsoils,  usual  to  the  lnetamorpliic  region.  (See  regional 
description,  page  •'!-.)  The  average  yields  are  12  bushels  of  com,  7  of  oats,  and  15  of  wheat  per  acre.  The  average 
of  cotton  product  per  acre  is  very  high  as  compared  with  that  of  other  counties  of  the  metamorphic  region,  'filled 
lands  comprise  11.3  per  cent,  of  the  county  area  ;  of  this  1.3  per  cent,  is  devoted  to  cotton,  which  averages  0.9  acres 
per  square  mile. 

Shipments  are  made  by  wagon  to  the  nearest  railroad  station,  and  there  mostly  sold  to  local  buyers. 

John  C.  Brittain,  of  Dahlonega,  says: 

The  altitude  of  this  county  is  tou  great  for  tlie  cultivation  of  cotton,  being  from  1,600  to  o",o00  feet  above  sea-level.  Consequently 
no  cotton,  except  a  little  for  home  use,  is  made  in  the  county. 

WHITE. 

Population:  5,341. — White,  4,751  ;  colored,  590. 

Area:  ISO  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  hinds:  19,889  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  228  acres;  in  corn,  11,097  acres  ;  in  oats,  2,228  acres;  in 
wheat,  2,319  acres;  in  rye,  489  acres. 

Cottttn  production:  68  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.30  bale,  420  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  142  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  White  county  is  rolling  and  broken,  largely  mountainous,  ami  well  timbered.  Tin-  fcopogi  aphical 
and  agricultural  features  arc  fully  given  in  the  following  abstract,  taken  from  the  unpublished  geological  report  on 
this  county  made  by  the  late  Professor  F.  II.  Bradley,  formerly  of  the  state  survey: 

Nearly  ball'  of  the  surface  of  White  county  is  occupied  by  the  spurs  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  along  whose  crest  lies  the  northern  boundary- 
lint'.  On  the  northeast  we  find  tie-  heavy  mass  of  Tray  mountain,  with  long,  high  spurs  acid  deep,  narrow  valleys,  including  such  small 
amounts  of  level  land  that,  all  hut  the  outermost  portions  are  destitute  of  houses  and  fields.  In  the  northwest,  on  tin-  contrary,  the  Horse 
range,  a  distmct  spur  of  the  Blue  Kidge,  and  running  at.  right  angles  to  its  general  trend  through  fully  half  the  length  of  the  county, 
furnishes  considerable  high,  flat  areas,  upon  which  arc  located  several  farms.  Between  this  and  Buzzard  mountain,  still  uorlhwest,  along 
Town's  creek,  a  narrow  belt  of  farms  follows  the  Tessentee  turnpike;  and  along  Spoiled  Cane  creek,  between  the  Horse  range  and  Tray 
mountain,  another  belt  follows  the  Unicoi  turnpike  far  toward  the  crest  of  the  divide.  The  valleys  at.  the  base  of  the  mountains  are  from  1,000 
to  1,700  feet  above  the  sea,  the  mountains  from  :i, 000  to4,4;!.Ti  feel.  Through  the  center  and  southern  portion  of  the  county  there  is  a  rather 
scattering  string  of  isolated  knobs,  of  which  Vonah  (3,10'H  feet  high)  is  the  most  prominent.  The  valleys  have  mostly  a  southerly  trend 
with  the  spurs  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  excepting  Nacoochee  valley,  which  lies  nearly  due  east  and  west  and  forms  a  sort  of  gathering  place 
or  "low-ground  "  for  all  the  smaller  streams,  which  here  form  the  Chattahoochee  river. 

The  valleys  have  generally  a  fertile  soil,  and  arc  mostly  cultivated,  producing  good  crops  of  coin  and  sorghum-cane,  with  smaller 
areas  devoted  to  rice,  hay,  and  pasturage.  The  second  bottoms  (or  terraces,  some  70  feet  above  stream-level)  and  lower  uplands  are 
mainly  cultivated  in  corn  and  wheat,  with  some  oats,  tobacco,  cotton,  potatoes,  etc.,  in  small  quantities  for  home  use.  Most  of  the 
bottom  lands  give  evidence,  by  graves,  pottery,  implements,  etc.,  of  having  been  under  cultivation  for  several  centuries.  While  the 
vegetable  portion  of  the  soil  has  often  recuperated  through  lying  fallow  for  years  and  through  having  crops  of  weeds  and  grasses  plowed. 
under,  yet  the  mineral  portion  has  not  thus  been  restored,  except  by  the  Hoods  which  occasionally  overllow  the  lowest  portions  of  the 
bottoms  and  deposit  sediment. 
346 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  81 

The  ridges  of  the  lower  half  of  the  county  are  dry  and  mostly  sandy.  At  the  southern  extremity  they  hear  considerable  areas  of 
good  yellow  pine  timber,  together  with  tracts  of  scrubby  oak,  hickory,  etc.  Passing  northward,  the  pine  rapidly  decreases  aDd  the  hard 
woods  increase  in  amount  and  variety.  In  the  northern  and  more  mountainous  portion  the  forests  have  been  less  cut  away,  and  the  ridges, 
aBwell  as  the  valleys,  are  therefore  more  abundantly  watered  aud  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  large  timber — white,  red,  and  Spanish 
oaks,  hickory,  black  walnut,  maple,  chestnut,  poplar,  locust,  cherry,  gum,  hemlock,  holly,  sassafras,  etc.  The  soil  here  is  mostly  a  black 
loam,  and  is  covered  with  a  scattering  undergrowth  of  sourwood,  etc.,  and  an  abundant  growth  of  pea-vines,  wild  grasses,  etc.,  thus 
making  this  a  favorite  pasture-ground. 

HABERSHAM. 

Population:  8,71S.— White,  7,357 ;  colored,  l,3fll. 

Area:  400  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metaraorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands :  -2S,305  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  1,702  acres ;  in  corn,  14,797  acres ;  in  wheat,  2,458  acres ; 
in  oats,  1,92).  acres;  in  rye,  002  acres. 

Cotton  production :  597  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.34  bale,  483  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  161  pounds 
cottou  lint. 

Habersham  county  has  for  its  most  prominent  feature  the  various  high  mountain  ranges  and  points,  all  well 
timbered.  The  Blue  Ridge  lies  on  the  northern  boundary,  Tallulah  mountain,  an  offshoot,  trending  southward 
to  the  Chattahoochee  ridge.  The-  surface  of  the  country,  exclusive  of  the  mountains,  is  rolling,  with  valleys  and 
uplands,  and  presents  large  areas  of  excellent  lands  for  cultivation.  Only  10  per  cent,  of  the  entire  county  is  too 
hilly  for  tillage. 

'  The  rocks  of  the  county  comprise  a  great  variety  of  the  metamorphic  series,  and  are  highly  siliceous.  A  belt 
of  magnesian  or  talcose  slates,  with  a  limestone  stratum  of  varying  thicknesses,  containing  some  galena,  passes 
several  miles  south  of  Clarksville  in  a  southwest  course.  The  belt  is  so  narrow  that  the  lands  on  either  side  are 
not  perceptibly  benefited  by  the  presence  of  the  limestone.  Liuie-kilus  have  been  in  operation  at  several  of  these 
limestone  exposures.  The  table-lands  on  the  northeast  have  a  sandy  soil,  derived  from  a  dark  sandstone  (the 
almost  exclusive  rock),  and  are  thinly  settled,  being  too  hilly  for  cultivation  to  any  great  extent. 

Large  areas  of  red-clay  land  occur  in  several  portions  of  the  county,  especially  on  the  north,  where  a  belt  2  or 
3  miles  wide  passes  north  of  Batesville.     (For  description  of  lands  and  analyses,  see  general  part,  page  33.) 

Tilled  lands  comprise  11.1  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  and  of  this  0.2  per  cent,  is  in  cotton,  averaging  4.4 
acres  per  square  mile. 

The  Raleigh  aud  Augusta  Air-Line  railroad  furnishes  transportation  to  market. 

ABSTRACT   FROM   THE  REPORT   OF   O.   H.   SUTTON,   OF   CLARKSVILLE. 

The  red  lands  are  the  only  ones  devoted  to  cotton,  and  comprise  the  largest  part  of  the  area  under  cultivation.  They  have  a  soil  6  inches 
deep  and  a  mica-clay  subsoil.  The  growth  is  pine,  oak,  hiekory,  chestnut,  ash,  etc.  Cotton  comprises  one-twentieth  of  the  crops,  and 
fertilizers  are  used  to  hasten  its  maturity.  The  yield  is  from  300  to  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton.  The  crops  are  troubled  most  with  rag-weeds, 
cocklebur,  Spanish  needles,  and  crab-grass.  The  uplands  wash  readily  if  there  is  much  mica-clay  in  the  soil,  otherwise  not.  But  little 
damage  is  done.     The  crops  of  the  county  are  corn,  wheat,  oats,  potatoes,  etc. 


MIDDLE    GEORGIA  (METAMORPHIC). 

This  region  embraces  the  counties  of  Franklin,  Hart,  Banks,  Hall,  Forsyth,  Milton,  Cherokee,  part  of  Bartow,* 
Haralson,  Paulding,  Cobb,  Fulton,  De  Kalb,  Gwinnett,  Jackson,  Madison,  Elbert,  Oglethorpe,  Clarke,  Oconee, 
Walton,  Rockdale,  Clayton,  Campbell,  Douglas,  Carroll,  Heard,  Coweta,  Fayette,  Spalding,  Henry,  Newton,  Morgan, 
Greene,  Taliaferro,  Wilkes,  Lincoln,  and  Columbia;  parts  of  McDuffie,  Warren,  and  Hancock;  Putnam,  parts  of 
Baldwin,  Jones,  Bibb,  and  Jasper;  Butts,  Monroe,  Pike,  Upson,  parts  of  Crawford,  Taylor,*  Talbot,  Meriwether, 
Troup,  Harris,  and  Muscogee. 

FRANKLIN. 

Population:  11,453.— White,  S,900;  colored,  2,517. 

Area  :   330  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands  :  61,117  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  16,901  acres  ;  in  corn,  20,523  acres  ;  in  wheat,  6,520  acres  ; 
in  oats,  4,627  acres  ;  in  rye,  15  acres. 

Cotton,  production  :  5,723  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.34  bale,  4S3  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  161 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Franklin  county  is  rolling  and  hilly,  5  per  cent,  being  too  much  so  for  tillage.  It  is  well  timbered, 
and  comprises  the  usual  gray,  sandy,  and  gravelly,  as  wed  as  red-clay  lands.  (See  regional  description,  page  34.) 
The  latter  chiefly  prevails,  a  wide  belt  of  a  deep  red  color,  derived  from  hornblendic  rocks,  passing  through  from 
northeast  to  southwest.  These  are  frequently  covered  by  thin  layers,  2  or  3  inches  deep,  of  sandy  soils,  which,  by 
intermixture  with  the  clays,  produce  a  mulatto  soil,  usually  dark  from  decayed  vegetation.  The  growth  is  hickory, 
dogwood,  and  various  oaks.  Twenty-eight  and  nine-tenths  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  the  county  is  under  tillage,  27.7 
per  cent,  of  these  lands,  averaging  51.2  acres  per  square  mile,  being  in  cotton.  Corn,  wheat,  and  oats  are  the  other 
chief  crops.  347 


82  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT   OF   O.    O.    \VYLY,   OF   CARNESVILLE. 

The  lands  of  tho  county  are  intermixed  very  generally,  and  comprise  the  red  and  the  gray  sandy  and  gravelly.  The  general  yield 
is  400  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  aero  on  fresh  lands,  and  an  increase  of  100  or  200  pounds  after  four  years'  cultivation.  Tho  lint  rates  as 
middling.  One-sixth  of  the  lauds  now  lies  out;  they  wash  readily,  doing  much  dauuige.  These  uld  lands  produce  cotton  finely,  and  are 
troubled  ehietly  with  crab-grass  and  hog-weed. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  by  the  Elberton  and  Air-Line  railroad,  or  by  wagon,  to  Athens,  at  f>0  cents  pel  100  pounds. 

HART. 

Population:  9,094.— "White,  6,212  ;  colored,  2,S82. 

Area:  330  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands.:  39,7.09  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  14,923  acres;  in  corn,  14,312  acres;  in  wheat,  4,G4G  acres; 
in  oats,  4,870  acres;  in  rye,  10  acres. 

Cotton  production:  5,094  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.34  bale,  480  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  102 
pounds  col  ton  lint. 

Hart  is  a  rolling,  timbered  county,  with  level  table  lands  between  the  streams.  Gray  sandy  lands,  from 
mica-schists,  cover  almost  the  entire  county  south  from  Hart  well  and  north  for  several  miles,  lied  lands  then 
prevail  to  the  Franklin  county  line,  formed  from  the  decomposed  hornblende  rocks.  (For  character  of  lands,  etc.,  see 
general  description,  page  29.)  All  of  the  lands  of  the  county  are  considered  tillable.  The  lands  under  cultivation 
comprise  18.8  per  cent,  of  the  county  area;  37.5  per  cent,  of  tilled  lands  is  planted  in  cotton,  averaging  45.2  acres 
per  square,  mile.     Its  yield  per  acre  is  a  little  more  than  the  average  for  the  region. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT   OF  C.  W.  SEIDELL,  OF  HARTWELL. 

The  graj'  lauds  aro  chiefly  devoted  to  cotton.  They  cover  two-thirds  of  tho  county,  lie  along  the  uplands  at  some  distance  from  the 
creeks  anil  rivers,  have  a  sandy  gray  upland  loam  soil  from  3  to  4  inches  in  depth,  with  generally  a  red-clay  subsoil,  and  contain  lunch 
quart/,  gravel.  Tho  growth  is  principally  pine,  with  some  oak,  hickory,  gums,  ash,  etc.  The  soil  is  early  and  easily  tilled,  producing 
cottou,  corn,  wheat,  rye,  oats,  and  potatoes.  Cotton  comprises  two-thirds  of  tho  crop,  grows  to  a  height  of  3  or  4  feet,  runs  to  weed  on 
very  rich  laud,  and  yields  about  250  pounds  of  seed-cotton  por  acre.  Cultivation  of  three  years  improves  it  and  increases  the  yield  to  375 
and  400  pounds.  Crab-grass  is  the  most  troublesome  weed.  Very  little  of  the  land  now  lies  out,  and  it  washes  but  slightly  on  slopes. 
The  bottoms  of  Savannah  river  are  rich  and  productive,  and  aro  best  adapted  to  corn.  In  this  county  tho  cotton  crops  aro  cut.  short  by 
early  frosts  in  the  fall,  but  this  is  obviated  by  the  use  of  fertilizers,  which  causes  cottou  to  open  in  time  to  prevent  damage. 

Shipments  aro  made  to  Augusta,  Charleston,  aud  Baltimore.  The  rates  of  freight  are  $3  25  to  Baltimore  and  $2  75  to  Charleston 
per  bale. 

BANKS. 

Population:  7,337.— White,  5,830 ;  colored,  1,507. 

Area:  320  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  31,201  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton.  8,251  acres;  in  corn,  11,789  acres;  in  wheat,  3,030  acres; 
in  oats,  2,022  acres ;  in  rye,  24  acres. 

Cotton  production:  2.900  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.30  bale,  510  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  170 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Banks  county,  with  its  northern  boundary  resting  on  the  Chattahoochee  ridge  at  an  elevation  of  a  little  over 
1,000  feet  above  the  sea,  gradually  declines  southward  from  the  foot  of  the  ridge,  the  general  elevation  being  then 
about  700  feet.  The  surface  of  the  country  is  hilly,  2  per  cent,  being  too  much  broken  for  successful  tillage.  Sixty- 
seven  per  cent,  of  the  entire  county  is  still  covered  with  its  original  timber-growth  of  oaks,  short-leaf  [line,  chestnut, 
hickory,  and  gum  on  the  uplands,  and  gum,  ash,  maple,  oak,  and  poplar  on  the  bottoms  and  lowlands.  The 
tributaries  of  Broad  river  flowing  southeast  into  the  Savannah  drain  the  surface  of  the  county. 

The  usual  variety  of  gray  sandy  and  red  clayey  soils,  with  their  clay  subsoils,  occur  throughout  the  county. 
(See  general  description,  page  34.) 

Bed  clay  hinds  cover  the  southern  portion  of  the  county,  and  a  narrow  belt  lying  0  miles  north  of  Homer 
extends  in  a  southwesterly  course  across  the  county.  These  red  lands  are  interspersed  throughout  with  gray  sandy 
soils,  while  the  rocks,  though  chiefly  liornblendie,  are  associated  with  gray  aud  micaceous  gneisses.  The  lands 
along  the  streams  are  sandy,  while  the  bottoms  are  narrow  and  present  but  small  areas  suitable  for  cultivation. 
The  lauds  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  cotton  are  the  uplands,  which  have  a  depth  of  from  0  to  10  inches  aud  a  red- 
clay  subsoil. 

The  cultivated  lands  comprise  15.3  per  cent,  of  the  county  area.  Cotton  is  the  second  crop  in  acreage,  and 
averages  25.8  acres  per  square  mile,  or  20.4  per  cent,  of  tilled  laud.  Its  average  product  per  acre  is  above  that  of 
the  region  at  large,  aud  also  of  the  state. 

ABSTRACT   FROM  THE   REPORT   OF   C.   C.   SANDERS,   OF   GAINESVILLE. 

This  county  is  too  near  the  mountains  to  produce  cotton  well.  The  cold  aud  late  springs  incident  to  the  high  elevation  above  Bea-levol 
retard  the  growth  of  cotton  in  early  spring  and  the  early  frosts  of  autumn  prevent  opening.  With  fertilizers  and  good  cultivation  the 
crops  since  the  war  have  generally  come  in  in  sufficient  time.     Several  classes  of  land  may  be  distinguished,  viz: 

1.  The  red,  gray,  aud  mulatto  uplands,  covering  three-fourths  of  the  county,  and  best  adapted  to  corn,  wheat,  oats,  and  potatoes, 
though  cottou  comprises  one-third  of  the  crops,  and  yields  on  fresh  lauds  S00  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  After  five  years'  cultivation 
(uumanurcd)  the  yield  is  only  from  300  to  500  pounds,  and  1,545  pounds  are  required  for  475  pounds  of  lint.  The  stalk  grows  to  an 
348 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  83 

average  height  of  3  feet,  is  most  productive  at  2-J  feet,  and  inclines  to  run  to  weed  in  wet  weather  after  a  drought.  Crab-grass  is  the- 
most  troublesome  enemy  to  contend  with.  While  these  uplands  wash  readily  on  slopes,  the  damage  done  is  hut  slight,  and  the  valleys 
arc  benefited  by  the  deposits  of  sand  and  clay. 

2.  The  light  sandy  lands  extend  but  2  or  3  miles  along  small  creeks,  are  1  foot  in  -depth,  and  have  a  heavy  clay  subsoil.  They  are  late, 
cold,  and  well  drained,  easy  to  cultivate,  yielding,  when  fresh,  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  After  five  years'  cultivation  the 
yield  is  from  GOO  to  900  pounds.  But  one-tenth  of  this  land  is  planted  in  cotton,  which  grows  to  a  height  of  about  4  feet,  but  is  most 
productive  at  3  feet. 

3.  The  high  and  dry  sandy  bottoms  of  the  creeks  comprise  but  a  small  area  for  several  miles  along  the  creeks,  and  have  a  growth  of  oak, 
gum,  poplar,  and  a  depth  of  18  inches.  They  are  earJy,  warm,  and  easy  to  cultivate  in  dry  weather,  and  but  very  little  cotton  is  planted  on 
them.  They  yield  from  1,000  to  1,500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  when  fresh,  and  from  800  to  1,000  pounds  after  five  years.  Very 
little,  if  any,  of  the  lands  of  the  county  is  turned  out  to  rest.     Shipments  of  produce  are  made  by  railroad  to  Gainesville. 

HALL. 

Population:  35,208.— White,  13,040;  colored,  2,258. 

Area :  540  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  04,081  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  12,245  acres;  in  corn,  26,632  acres;  in  'wheat,  8,771  acres; 
in  oats,  4,79S  acres ;  in  rye,  309  acres. 

Cotton  production:  5,133  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.42  bale,  597  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  199 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Hall  county  is  divided  by  the  Chattahoochee  river,  on  the  south  side  of  which,  at  a  distance  of  several  miles, 
is  a  ridge  forming'  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  divide.  The  surface  of  the  county  north  and  south  of  this  ridge  is  hilly 
and  broken.  On  the  north,  and  lying  near  the  railroad  line,  is  a  narrow  stratum  of  magnesian  limestone,  with 
associated  galena  iu  localities,  accompanied  by  magnesian  and  talcose  slates;  but  the  belt  of  these  is  not  wide 
enough  to  give  to  the  lands  any  marked  difference  from  those  of  the  other  rocks.  In  the  southern  part  of  the  county 
there  is  a  belt  of  red  lands  derived  from  decomposed  hornbleudic  rocks,  which  also  comprise  a  large  part  of  the  lands 
of  the  county,  though  the  gray  sandy  lands  are  most  abundant,  being  derived  from  gneisses  and  mica-schists  filled 
with  gold-bearing  quartz  veins.     (For  description  of  soils,  see  page  34.) 

Gold-mining  is  carried  on  exlensively  in  the  country  math  of  Gainesville.  Ten  per  cent,  of  the  county  is  too 
hilly  tor  tillage,  and  30  per  cent,  has  been  cleared.  The  crops  are  corn,  wheat,  oats,  cotton,  potatoes,  grapes,  and 
fruits.  The  percentage  of  comity  area  under  tillage  is  the  same  as  that  of  Hart  (18.8  per  cent.),  cotton  averaging 
22.7  acres  per  square  mile,  or  18.8  per  cent,  of  tilled  lands.  Cotton  has  been  planted  iu  this  county  since  1872,  and 
only  with  the  use  of  fertilizers. 

The  average  yield  of  the  county  per  acre  is  excellent,  there  being  but  nine  counties  in  the  state  with  a  greater 
percentage. 

ABSTRACT   FROM   THE   REPORT    OF   DR.    M.   F.    STEPHENSON,    OF    GAINESVILLE. 

Cotton  is  planted  equally  on  gray  sandy  and  red  uplands  and  on  alluvial  lowlands,  aud  comprises  one-fourth  of  the  crops.  The 
mulatto  and  red  lands  are  considered  the  best,  and  constitute  one-half  of  the  area  of  the  county.  The  soil  has  a  depth  of  2^  inches,  with 
a  reddish-brown  subsoil  and  a  growth  of  oak,  hickory,  walnut,  cherry,  poplar,  aud  pine.  It  is  easy  to  till,  and  is  early  and  well  drained, 
producing  half  a  bale,  or  700  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  binds.  It  is  improved  by  cultivation,  yielding  the  fifth  year  from  700 
to  900  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  The  stalk  is  most  productive  at  a  height  of  2  feet,  and  is  troubled  most  by  rag-weeds. .  One-tenth 
of  the  land  originally  under  cultivation  now  lies  out,  aud  when  taken  in  again  is  almost  as  productive  as  when  fresh,  and  fully  as  much 
so  if  deep  planting  is  practiced.     These  lands  wash  readily,  but  no  serious  damage  is  done. 

The  gray  sandy  lands  are  best  adapted  to  cotton  culture.  They  produce  from  300  to  700  pounds  of  seed-cotton  when  fresh,  but 
only  300  pounds  after  five  years'  cultivation.  ..The  growth  is  oak,  hickory,  dogwood,  and  poplar.  The  bottom  lands  have  a  flue,  sandy 
loam  soil  from  5  to  12  feet  deep,  yielding  from  400  to  600  pounds  of  seed-cottou  after  five  years'  cultivation. 

Under  the  old  system  of  farming  the  average  yield  was  of  wheat  from  7  to  10  bushels  per  acre ;  now,  under  the  new,  the  yield  is  from 
10  to  30,  and  sometimes  40  to  46  bushels.  Of  corn  cultivated  2i  inches  deep  without  manure  the  yield  ranged  from  10  to  15  bushels ;  now, 
by  turning  under  green  crops  in  the  fall,  with  lime  composted  with  ashes  aud  muck,  the  product  is  from  20  to  60  bushels,  with  promise  of  100 
and  more.  Clover  is  our  main  helper.  Sheep-raisiug  is  being  introduced  successfully.  Our  people  are  slow  to  adopt  modern  improvements ; 
only  14  farmers  in  the  whole  county  have  adopted  modern  systems,  and  they  more  than  double  their  crops  with  the  same  labor.  With  2^ 
feet  of  subsoiling  they  could  quadruple  their  products.  With  proper  tillage  we  can  make  2  bales  of  cotton  per  acre,  instead  of  half  a 
bale;  100  bushels  of  corn  instead  of  15  bushels,  and  50  bushels  of  wheat  instead  of  7. 

We  cling  to  the  old  and  ancieut  system  of  ' '  animalism  " — just  enough  to  live  on — and  let  science  go.  Nine-tenths  of  our  farmers  feed 
all  their  crops  with  the  same  manure,  without  respect  to  character  of  soil  or  wants  of  each  crop.  I  have  raised  427  bushels  of  Irish 
potatoes  from  one  acre,  highly  manured  with  ashes,  which  the  year  before  made  only  17  bushels.  It  is  the  kind  of  food,  and  not  the  quantity 
given  to  the  crops,  that  produces  best  yields. 

Shipments  of  cotton  and  other  produce  are  made  by  railroad. 

FOBSYTH. 

Population:  10,559.— White,  9,072 ;  colored,  1,4S7. 

Area  :  250  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands  :  53,042  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  12,121  acres ;  in  corn,  20,324  acres  ;  in  wheat,  7,797  acres ; 
in  oats,  0,040  acres  ;  in  rye,  74  acres. 

Cation  production:  5,044  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.42  bale,  594  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  19S 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  monotony  of  a  rolling  metamorphic  country  is  varied  in  Forsyth  county  by  Sawnee  mountain,  a  low  range 
of  hills  north  of  Cummins,  which  passes'at  first  in  an  easterly  direction,  connects  with  Coal  mountain,  and  turns 
northward  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  county,  terming  the  water-divide  between  the  Chattahoochee  and  Etowah 

349 


84  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

rivers.  The  highest  point  of  Sawnee  mountain  is  only  400  foot  above  the  surrounding  country  and  1,968  feet  above 
the  sea.  The  crest  of  the  ridge  is  sharp  and  the  sides  rather  steep,  a  micaceous  sandstone  (itacolumite) 
outcropping  along  the  summit.  Five  per  cent,  of  the  county  is  loo  hilly  and  broken  for  tillage,  and  one-half  of 
the  rest  has  been  cleared.  The  northern  part  lies  in  the  gold  belt,  and  its  lands  are  mostly  gray  sandy  and 
gravelly,  with  narrow  belts  of  red  clays. 

In  the  central  part  there  is  a  licit  of  red  and  mulatto  lands  0  or  IS  miles  wide,  from  mica-schists  and  some 
horubleudic  gneisses,  while  on  the  south  the  lands  are  again  gray  and  gravelly,  with  large  quartz  fragments  lying 
on  the  surface.  This  also  is  gold-bearing.  One-third  of  the  county  area  is  under  tillage,  and  of  this  22  !•  is  in 
cotton,  which  lias  an  average  of  4S.5  acres  per  square  mile.     The  soils  are  described  in  the  following  abstract: 

ABSTRACT    FROM    THE    REPORT    OF    II.    0.    KELLOGG,    OF   PLEASANT    GROVE. 

Tin'  lauds  may  In'  classed  as  follows:  lied  or  mulatto  upland.-:,  covering  three- fourl  hs  of  the  county,  with  a  sandy  clay  soil  from  6  to  18 
inches  deep  ami  a  subsoil  mostly  of  red  clay,  firm  at  <1  com  pact,  ami  which  drains  easily.  These  lands  are  besl  adapted  to  corn  and  wheat, 
though  of  la'e  years  (lie  cull  nre  id'  cottou  lias  increased  led  per  cent.,  and  it  now  comprises  oiic-l  Id  id  id'  the  ci  lips.  The  average  yield  on 
fresh  land,  and  also  on  land  ten  years  in  cultb  ation,  is  (inn  pounds  per  acre,  or  800  when  manured.  1,485  pounds  making  475  pounds  of 
"middling"  lint,  from  fresh  and  1,425  pounds  from  old  lands,  the  lint  then  rating  as  good  middling.  The  lands  are  found  to  produce 
cotton  better  when  old  than  when  fresh,  and  hence  only  in  percent,  of  the  lands  now  lie  out,  while  a  few  years  ago  there  was  20  por  cunt. 
Very  tilth-  damage  is  done  by  washing  of  the  hills.     Rag-weed  and  crab-grass  are  troublesome. 

The  gray  sandy  anil  gravelly  lands,  covering  one-fourth  of  the  county,  are  found  mostly  on  ridges,  and  have  a  light  red  or  yellow 
subsoil  ai  li  inches  depth.  Cotton  very  seldom  runs  to  weed  on  tins  land,  hut  grows  to  a  height  of  :'.  feet,  and  produces,  when  fresh  and 
after  four  years'  cultivation,  500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  the  staple  rating  the  same  as  on  red  lands.  These  old  lands  are  also 
considered  l>est  for  cotton. 

Cotton  is  shipped,  soon  after  ginuiug,  by  wagon,  to  the  railroad,  and  thence  to  Atlanta.  Rates  are  90  cents  for  40  mi  las,  and  si  for 
50  miles,  per  hale. 

MILTON. 

Population:  0,201.— White,  5,484;  colored,  777. 

Area:  110  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands  :  30,029  acres.— Area  planted  in  cottou,  'J,989  acres  ;  in  corn,  13,039  acres  ;  in  wheat,  4,1S7  acres ; 
in  oats,  3,025  acres;  in  rye,  113  acres. 

Cotton  production:  4,490  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.45  bale,  G42  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  214 
pounds  cottou  lint. 

The  surface  of  Milton  county  is  rough  and  broken,  the  water-divide  between  the  Chattahoochee  and  Etowah 
rivers  passing  through  it.  The  lands  tire  largely  gray  sandy  and  gravelly,  with  clay  subsoils,  and  their  surface  is 
coveted  with  quattz  fragments  from  the  many  large  veins  and  seams  (gold-bearing)  that  intersect  the  mica-schists 
and  gneisses,  in  some  localities  the  rocks  ate  highly  garnetiferous,  covering  the  soil  with  this  small  rounded 
material.     The  county  is  well  timbered  with  oak,  hickory,  and  pine,  and  a  variety  of  undergrowth. 

Ten  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  the  county  is  either  too  hilly  or  too  swampy  for  cultivation,  anil  about  111  per 
cent,  lias  been  cleared.     The  uplands  yield  15  bushels  of  corn  per  acre  when  cultivated. 

The  lands  are  similar  in  chaiacter,  aud  the  methods  of  culture  are  the  same  as  in  the  lower  part  of  Forsyth 
county,  and  43.5  per  cent,  of  the  cwunty  area  is  under  cultivation  ;  32.6  per  cent,  of  this  is  in  cotton,  the  average 
being  90.8  acres  per  square  mile.  The  average  yield  of  cotton  lor  the  county  is  excelled  but  by  five  counties  of  the 
state,  due  probably  in  part  to  the  rich  alluvial  valley  lands  of  the  Chattahoochee  river  ou  the  southern  border. 

Cotton  is  hauled  by  wagon  to  the  railroad,  and  thence  shipped  to  Atlanta. 

CHEROKEE. 

Population:  14,325.— White,  12,G99;  colored,  1,626. 

Area:  470  square  miles. — Woodland,  all  ;  northwestern,  11  square  miles;  metamorphic,  459  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands  :  03,289  acres. — Area  planted  iu  cotton,  13,739  acres  ;  in  corn,  26,330  acres ;  in  wheat,  10,283  acres; 
in  oats,  5,172  acres;  in  rye,  410  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  5,015  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.41  bale,  582  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  194 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  entire  surface  of  Cherokee  county  is  hilly,  15  per  cent,  being  too  broken  for  cultivation,  especially  in  the 
northwest  and  west,  where  the  Fine  Log  range  of  mountains  passes  through  the  county.  On  the  east  the  lands  are 
mote  level,  and  on  the  south,  along  Little  river,  they  are  undulating 

The  lands  embrace  the  usual  gray  sandy  and  gravelly  and  the  red  clayey  varieties  common  to  the  region.  (See 
general  descriptions,  page  32.)  A  lew  miles  south  of  Canton  small  common  garnets  cover  the  lands  in  great 
abundance. 

The  surface  of  the  county  is  well  timbered  with  oaks  and  hickory,  and  is  comparatively  spaisely  settled. 

The  dark  gray  gravelly  lands  predominate,  especially  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  and  tire  interspersed 
throughout  with  small  patches  of  red.  On  the  south  of  Canton  there  are  a  number  of  narrow  belts  of  red  lands 
derived  from  hornblendic  rocks.  The  largest  of  these  bells  has  a  width  of  several  miles.  Twenty-one  per  cent,  of 
the  county  area  is  under  tillage,  and  21.7  pet  cent,  of  these  tilled  lands  are  iu  cotton,  the  average  being  29.2  acres 
per  square  mile;  its  yield  per  acre  is  large. 

The  following  experiment  of  M.  S.  Fadeu,  of  Woodstock,  was  reported  to  the  state  department  of  agriculture: 

Soil,  gray  aud  sandy,  with  a  mulatto  subsoil,  was  cleared  about  thirty  years  ago.  Original  growth,  red  oak  and  black-jack,  with 
some  chestnut  and  pine.  The  land  had  been  lying  out  since  the  war.  and  had  grown  up  in  sassafras  and  young  pines.  When  again  cleared 
and  planted  the  yield  of  the  rows  was  about  245  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  Those  rows  having  200  pounds  of  fertilizers  pel'  acre 
freshly  applied  yielded  from  840  to  1,085  pounds  per  acre.  The  application  of  lime  alone  gave  a  yield  of  400  pounds  per  acre.  Eight 
different  brands  of  commercial  fertilizers  were  separately  used  in  this  experiment,  the  result  of  each  being  uoted. 
350 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  85 

ABSTRACTS  FROM  THE  REPORTS   OF  ELIAS   C.  FIELD,   OF   CANTON,  AND  M.  S.  PADEN,  OF  -WOODSTOCK,  NEAR  THE 

COBB    COUNTY-LINE. 

The  lands  of  the  county  are  :  1.  The  red  clay  or  mulatto  uplands,  considered  the  best  in  the  county,  though  comprising  but  one-fourth 
of  the  area  with  its  belts  and  patches.  Corn  succeeds  better  than  cotton  on  this  soil,  though  the  latter  comprises  one-half  of  the  crops. 
Six  hundred  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  are  raised  on  fresh  and  400  pounds  on  old  lands  of  ten  years'  cultivation.  Three  feet  is  the 
most  productive  height  of  the  stalk,  and  very  heavy  manuring  and  topping  are  practiced  to  prevcut  its  running  to  "weed  in  wet  weather. 
The  most  troublesome  weeds  are  cockiebur  and  bog-weeds.  The  cotton  rates  as  good  middling.  The  growth  on  the  uplands  is  post  oak, 
poplar,  hickory,  with  some  buckeye.  The  soil  is  6  inches  deep,  and  has  a  deep  red-clay  subsoil,  rather  free  from  sand,  which  bakes  very 
hard  when  first  exposed,  but^radually  partakes  of  the  nature  of  the  soil.  It  is  quite  impervious  when  undisturbed.  The  lands  formerly 
worn  out  are  now  considered  the  best  cotton  lands  of  the  uplands,  as  they  are  loose  and  sandy,  and  fertilizers  can  be  used  to  great 
advantage.  r 

2.  The  light  sandy  bottom  lands  are  thought  by  some  to  be  the  best  cotton  lands  of  the  county.  They  extend  along  the  streams 
in  small  patches  sometimes  for  miles,  and  have  a  growth  of  pine,  sweet  gum,  sourwood,  and  poplar.  The  depth  is  but  a  few  inches  to  a 
very  stiff  mulatto  subsoil,  which  is  underlaid  by  sand  and  gravel  at  2  feet.  Cotton  comprises  25  per  cent,  of  the  crops  on  these  lands. 
They  have  a  productiveness  equal  at  first  to  the  red  lands,  but  wear  out  more  rapidly.  In  ten  years  the  land  produces  but  200  pounds 
per  acre  without  the  aid  of  fertilizers,  and  as  a  consequence  about  one-half  of  this  laud  now  lies  out.  Sorrel  and  "  poor  Joe  "  are  the  most 
troublesome  weeds. 

3.  The  dark  sandy  second  bottoms  of  the  streams  comprise  but  a  small  proportion  of  the  lands  of  the  county,  and  differ  from  the  sandy 
first  bottoms  in  yielding  but  500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  at  first  and  300  after  ten  years'  cultivation,  and  in  having  as  troublesome 
weeds  the  Spanish  needles  aud  smart-weed,  One-fourth  of  this  laud  now  lies  out,  and  is  injured  one-fourth  by  the  washings  of  the  hills. 
The  growth  of  these  bottoms  is  beech,  birch,  willow,  and  sweet  and  black  gums. 

Cotton  on  the  low  and  flat  lauds  is  liable  to  be  late  and  is  more  subject  to  being  killed  by  frost  than  on  the  uplands,  and  hence  the 
latter  are  preferred  as  cotton  lands.  In  this  county  the  crops  are  slow  in  starting,  but  grow  very  rapidly  through  the  latter  part  of  May 
and  on  until  matured.  Before  the  late  civil  war  very  little  cottou  was  planted  in  this  county,  but  by  the  use  of  fertilizers  it  has  been 
brought  up  to  a  high  standard. 

As  soon  as  ready,  cotton  is  shipped  by  the  North  Georgia  narrow-gauge  railroad  to  Marietta  at  40  cents,  orto  Atlanta  for$l  per  bale. 

BARTOW. 

(See  "Northwest  Georgia" 

HAEALSON. 

Population:  5,974.— White,  5,821 ;  colored,  153. 

Area;  330  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metaniorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  28,225  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  4,800  acres;  in  corn,  13,048  acres;  in  wheat,  4,909  acres; 
in  oats,  2,730  acres  ;  in  rye,  88  acres. 

Cotton  production:  2,035  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.42  bale,  597  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  199 
pounds  cottou  lint. 

The  Dug  Down  mountains  of  Haralsnn  county  form  the  northern  limit  of  the  metamorphic  region  in  this  *part 
of  the  state.  Southward  from  the  mountains  the  surface  of  the  county  is  well  timbered,  broken,  and  hilly,  with 
mosty  the  dark-gray  sandy  lands  described  in  the  general  part,  page  32.  A  red  clay  belt  crosses  in  a  southwesterly 
course  into  Carroll  county.  Seven  and  one-half  per  cent,  of  the  surface  of  the  county  is  said  to  be  too  hilly  for 
cultivation,  aud  3  per  cent,  is  of  irreclaimable  swamp.  The  rocks  are  the  usual  metamorphic  gneisses  and  mica-schists, 
filled  with  gold-bearing  quartz  seams  and  veins. 

The  tilled  lands  embrace  13.4  per  cent,  of  the  county  area.  Of  these  17.2  is  in  cotton,  its  average  being  14.7 
acres  per  square  mile.     The  yield  per  acre  is  more  thau  that  of  the  region  or  of  the  state  at  large. 

ABSTRACT   FROM   THE   REPORT    OF   W.    0.    M'BRATER,    OF   DEAKETOWN. 

The  cotton  lands  of  ihe  county  may  be  classed  as  gray  uplands,  red  uplands,  and  white  piny  woods  soil. 

1.  The  gray  sandy  uplands,  wilh  oak  and  hickory  growth,  comprise  two-thirds  of  the  county  area,  and  are  best  adapted  to  corn, 
wheat,  and  oats,  though  00  per  cent,  is  planted  in  cotton.  The  yield  is  800  pouuds  of  seed-cotton  per>acre  on  fresh  lauds  aud  from  500  to  700 
pounds  after  five  years'  cultivation.  Rag-  and  bog-weeds  are  most  troublesome.  The  lands  wash  readily  after  three  or  four  years,  but 
the  damage  done  is  not  great.     Efforts  to  check  it  are  made  by  hillside  ditching  and  by  rock  dams. 

2.  The  red  lavds  extend  northeast  or  southwest  indefinitely,  and  are  from  3  to  10  miles  wide.  The  growth  is  hickory,  oak,  chestnut, 
poplar,  dogwood,  buckeye,  persimmon,  and  black  gum.     In  all  respects  these  lands  resemble  the  gray  saudy  lands  already  mentioned. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  to  Atlanta  and  Rome. 

PAULDING. 

Population:  10,887.— White,  9,903;  colored,  984. 

Area:  340  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  northwestern,  40  square  miles;  metamorphic,  294  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  52,054  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  16,158  acres;  in  corn,  21,953  acies;  in  wheat,  0,372  acres; 
in  oats,  0,1.01  acres;  in  rye,  110  acres. 

Cotton  production:  7,352  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.40  bale,  048  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  210 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  notthern  part  ef  Paulding  county,  perhaps  comprising  one-half  of  its  entire  area,  is  very  hilly  and  broken. 
The  Dug  Down  mountain  chain  covers  a  large  portion  of  it.  A  water  divide  also  comes  in  from  the  Lost  and 
Kennesaw  mountain  range  ou  the  east  and  turns  southwest  and  south  into  Carroll  county.     The  streams  are  thrown 

351 


8G  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

into  three  directi-ons  by  these  ridges,  those  on  the  north  emptying  into  the  Etowah  river,  those  on  the  southeast  into- 
tbe  Chattahoochee,  and  the  rest  into  the  Tallapoosa,  on  the  southwest.  On  the  south  the  country  is  rolling  but  nearly 
all  tillable.  The  entire  county  is  well  timbered,  and  about  53  per  cent,  is  said  to  be  cleared,-  8  per  cent,  being  too 
mountainous  or  rocky  for  tillage.  Gold  and  copper  ores  and  asbestus  are  found  in  the  county.  A  small  area  of 
the  county  mi  the  north  is  covered  by  the  conglomerates  and  sandstones  of  the  northwestern  region.  Its  lands 
are  sandy,  and  the  section  is  but  little  in  cultivation,  except  along  the  larger  streams. 

Over  the  rest  of  the  county  southward  the  red  clays  and  gray  sandy  soils  are  found  intermingled  throughout, 
but  all  have  yellow  or  red  clay  subsoils,  and  are  similar  to  other  lands  of  the  region  (see  pages  32,  33).  The  red 
lands  form  one  or  two  narrow  belts  across  the  county,  agreeing  in  course  with  their  accompanying  hornblendic  rocks, 
viz,  southwest  and  northeast. 

In  going  from  Dallas  to  Drake!  own,  on  the  southwest,  red  lands  are  found  to  predominate  for  the  first  1  miles; 
then  a  belt  of  1!  miles  of  gray  sandy  lands  is  crossed,  followed  by  three-fourths  of  a  mile  of  red  hi  mis  again.  Thus  they 
alternate  through  the  county.  On  the  southeast  they  alternate  in  belts  of  from  one-half  mile  to  one  mile  in  width. 
Granite  outcrops  are  abundant  in  this  southeast  section.  One  area  4  miles  south  of  Dallas  has  a  width  of  4  mile* 
and  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine.  Tilled  hinds  comprise  24.2  per  cent,  of  the  county  area.  Of  these  30.7  are  in  cotton,, 
with  an  average  of  47.5  acres  per  square  mile.     The  crops  of  the  county  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  oats,  and  potatoes. 

Cotton  is  one  of  the  principal  crops  of  the  county,  and  with  the  aid  of  fertilizers  the  average  yield  per  acre  is  high. 
But  four  counties  of  the  state  are  above  it  in  this  respect. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  J.  E.  PBEWETX,  OF  DALLAS. 

The  gray  sandy  and  the  reel  clay  lands  are  chiefly  devoted  to  cotton  culture.  The  yray  sandy  lands  eoinjiri.se  three-fifths  of  the  area  of 
the  county,  and  has  a  depth  of  4  inches,  a  y<  How -clay  subsoil,  and  a  growth  of  post,  white,  and  red  oaks,  hickory,  pine,  and  some  poplar. 
Cotton,  which  comprises  one -half  of  the  crops,  grows  to  a  height  of  from  3^  to  4  feet,  and  yields  900  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh 
land.  Ten  years'  cultivation  (nnmanured)  reduces  this  yield  to  450  pounds,  and  1,545  pounds  are  then  required  to  make  475  pounds  of  lint. 
Rag-weed  gives  cotton  crops  most  trouble.  One-fifteenth  of  these  lands  now  lies  out,  and  with  ten  or  fifteen  years'  rest  yield  aswcll  us  at 
first,  lioih  uplands  and  valleys  are  injured  to  some  extent  by  the  washing  away  of  the  soil  and  the  formation  of  gullies.  Some  farmers 
make  efforts  to  check  the  damage,  and  with  good  success. 

The  red  lands  have  a  growth  of  oak  and  hickory  and  an  orange-red  sandy  clay  loam  soil  0  inches  in  depth,  underlaid  by  red  clay. 
The  soil  is  early,  warm,  well  drained,  and  difficult  to  till  in  wet  seasons.  Cotton  comprises  one-third  of  the  crops,  grows  to  a  height 
of  3J  feet,  and  yields  0UU  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  land.  Ten  years'  cultivation  (uu  manured)  reduces  this  yield  to  300  pounds. 
Two  per  cent,  of  this  laud  now  lies  out,  and  unless  fertilized  does  not  yield  well  again.     The  uplands  do  not  wash  much. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  to  the  various  towns  along  the  railroad,  by  wagon,  at  40  cents  per  100  pounds. 

COBB. 

Population:  20,74S.— White,  14,7:14;  colored,  6,014. 

Area:  400  square  miles. — Woodbind,  all;  metainorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands :  88,578  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  27,250  acres ;  in  corn,  29,699  acres  ;  in  wheat,  10,147  acres; 
in  oats,  6,789  acres ;  in  rye,  85  acres. 

(Julian  production:  13,092  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.4S  bale,  684  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  228 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Cobb  county  is  rolling  and  hilly,  with  also  a  number  of  isolated  and  prominent  low  mountains. 
A  dividing  ridge,  or  water-divide,  passes  through  the  county,  Sweat  mountain  on  the  northeast,  Black  .lack  and 
Kennesaw  in  the  center,  and  Lost  mountain  on  the  west,  being  prominent  points  of  the  ridge,  without  which  it  would 
hardly  be  noticed,  on  account  of  the  slight  elevation. 

The  first  two  of  these  mountains  are  composed  of  quartz  rock  almost  exclusively,  and  are  situated  on  the 
southeastern  side  of  a  broad  belt  of  deep  red  lands  derived  chiefly  from  hornblendic  rocks.  (See  analysis,  page  35.) 
Kennesaw  and  Lost  mountains  are  composed  of  hornblendic  gneisses  and  schists,  and  are  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
red  belt  as  it  passes  westward  out  of  the  county.  Kennesaw  is  the  most  prominent  of  these  mountains,  slain  ling  out  so 
high  above  the  rolling  country  around  as  to  be  seen  from  a  great  distance.  All  of  these  mountains  havenarrow  summits 
and  abrupt  sides,  their  trends  following  the  course  of  the  red  belt  as  marked  on  the  ma]).  On  the  north  of  this 
water-divide  are  Allatoona  and 'Noonday  creeks,  flowing  northward  into  the  Etowah  river;  on  the  south  the 
drainage  of  tin'  streams  is  into  the  Chattahoochee  river.  On  the  north,  at  the  Cherokee  county-line,  the  red  belt  has  a 
width  of  only  3  or  4  miles,  which  increases  to  8  or  10  miles  after  it  reaches  the  middle  of  the  county  and  turns  westward. 
The  soil  is  deep  and  usually  quite  free  from  gravel.  In  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  county  the  country  is  rolling, 
with  a  gray  sandy  soil  full  of  quartz  gravel,  overlying  a  red  and  yellow  clay  subsoil  at  depths  of  from  0  to  12 
inches.     Some  red  land  is  found  in  this  section  also.     This  part  of  the  county  is  gold-bearing. 

On  the  south  of  the  red  belt  the  soils  are  very  changeable.  A  large  granite  area  lies  between  Marietta  and 
Powder  Springs  on  the  southwest,  the  soils  of  which  are  gray  and  deep  sandy.  Associated  with  it  are  gray  gneisses, 
with  biotite  mica  and  mica-schists.  This  last,  with  quartz  seams,  covers  nearly  all  the  eastern  and  southeastern 
portions  of  the  county,  which  is  rolling  and  hilly,  the  valleys  between  the  hills  being  chiefly  cultivated.  The  soil 
is  usually  gray  and  sandy,  though  occasional  red  spots  of  an  outcropping  syenite  or  decomposed  hornblendic  rock 
appear.  On  cultivation,  the  thin  sandy  soil  becomes  mixed  with  the  clay  subsoil,  and  a  reddish  or  mulatto  soil  is  the 
result. 

The  river  valleys  are  not  very  wide,  unless  at  some  turn  of  the  river  where  the  current  has  been  so  long  thrown 
against  the  opposite  bank  as  to  wearitaway  and  leave  an  alluvial  deposit  in  the  bend.  Some  of  these  are  subject 
to  overflow,  and  all  are  very  productive.  The  county  is  well  timbered,  and  34.6  per  cent,  of  its  area  is  under 
cultivation.  Of  the  tilled  lands  30.8  iter  cent,  is  in  cotton,  the  average  of  that  crop  being  68.1  acres  per  square  mile. 
Cobb  is  one  of  the  two  counties  of  the  state  having  the  highest  average  yield  of  cotton  per  acre,  almost  half  a  bale. 
35a 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  87 

'  Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  from  Marietta  to  Atlanta  by  railroad. 
J.  T.  Lindley,  of  Powder  Springs,  reports  to  the  department  of  agriculture,  the  results  of  an  experiment  on  the 
dark  mulatto  laud  that  has  been  under  cultivation  thirty-three  years : 

Fertilizers  occasionally  used;  original  growth,  oak,  hickory,  and  chestnut;  yield  without  fertilizers,  700  pounds  of  seed-cotton; 
yield  with  200  pounds  commercial  fertilizers  from  1,000  to  1,470  pounds  of  seed-cotton.  Another  experiment  with  300  pounds  of  fertilizers 
yielded  2,650  pounds  of  seed-cotton. 

ABSTRACTS  FEOM   THE   REPORTS  OF   H.  M.    IIAMMETT,  OF   MARIETTA,  AND    JAMES   ROSWELL   KING,  OF   ROSWELL. 

The  seasons  in  this  county  being  very  short,  it  is  found  necessary  to  use  fertilizers  to  hasten  the  maturity  of  cotton  crops.  A  sandy 
loamy  soil  is  best  adapted  to  the'  cultivation  of  cotton,  comprising  two-thirds  of  the  lauds  of  the  county,  and  having  a  growth  of  pine, 
post,  red,  and  white  oaks,  and  hickory,  poplar,  and  beech,  a  depth  of  10  inches,  and  a  grayish-red  clay  subsoil.  The  soil  contains  much 
quartz  gravel.  It  is  late,  ill  drained,  and  easy  to  till  in  wet  but  difficult  in  dry  seasons,  and  is  best  adapted  to  corn  ;  but  if  fertilized,  cotton 
grows  best.  Cotton  forms  one-third  of  the  crops,  grows  to  a  height  of  from  2  to  3  feet,  and  produces  from  500  to  700  pounds  per  acre 
en  fresh  lands.  Three  years'  cultivation  reduces  the  yield  to  300  pounds.  The  plant  is  inclined  to  run  to  weed  when  planted  too  close  on 
rich  land  in  wet  weather,  or  when  it  is  fertilized  by  strong  stable  manure.  The  usual  methods  of  restraining  it  are  topping  and  the  use 
of  commercial  fertilizers.  The  staple  rates  as  low  middling,  but  the  fiber  is  shorter  on  old  lands.  Rag-weeds  and  crab-grass  are  most 
troublesome  on  these  lands,  abont  10  per  ceat.  of  which  now  lie  out,  but  after  a  rest  they  produce  as  well  as  at  first.  They  wash  readily, 
doing  serious  damage  iu  some  places,  but  improving  the  valleys.  Hillside  ditching  is  employed  to  prevent  this,  and  with  satisfactory- 
results. 

The  red  day  lands,  interspersed  with  the  gray,  cover  about  one-fourth  of  the  county,  and  have  a  heavier  subsoil  at  a  depth  of  from  5  to 
10  inches,  containing  flinty  angular  pebbles.  The  growth  is  post  and  red  oaks,  hickory,  and  pine — more  hickory  than  on  the  sandy  lands. 
It  is  easily  tilled  in  dry  weather,  is  cold  and  ill  drained,  and  is  best  adapted  to  small  grain,  though  cotton  comprises  about  half  the  crops. 
The  height  usually  attained  by  cotton  on  this  soil  is  3  feet,  and  it  yields  from  250  to  500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,545  pounds 
being  required  for  475  pounds  of  lint,  rating  as  low  middling.  Three  years'  cultivation  reduces  this  yield  to  150  or  250  pounds  of  seed-cotton. 
Very  little  of  this  land  now  lies  out,  and  it  does  not  as  readily  wash  as  the  sandy  land. 

FULTON. 

Population:  49,137.— White,  28,295  ;  colored,  2U,842. 

Area  :  2(10  square  miles. — Woodland,  all  ;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  38,735  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  10,038  acres;  in  corn,  13,988  acres  ;  in  wheat,  2, S36  acres; 
in  oats,  3,009  acres;  in  rye,  24  acres. 

Cotton  production:  4,285  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.43  bale,  009  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  203 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Fulton  county  is  rolling  and  well  timbered,  and  mostly  suitable  for  tillage,  2i  per  cent,  being- 
said  to  be  too  broken. 

The  Atlantic  and  Gulf  water-divide,  entering  the  county  from  the  east,  turns  southward  at  Atlanta  to  East 
Point  and  into  Clayton  county.  The  altitude  of  Atlanta  is  1,050  feet  above  sea-level  and  288  feet  above  the 
Chattahoochee  river  where  crossed  by  the  Western  and  Atlantic  railroad. 

The  country  north  of  Atlanta  is  covered  with  a  gray  sandy,  gravelly  soil,  with  large  fragments  of  quartz-rock 
lying  upon  the  surface  and  thickly  deposited  in  many  places,  derived  from  somewhat  gold-bearing  quartz  seams  in 
the  mica-schists  and  gneisses  which  form  these  lands.  On  the  extreme  north,  near  the  river,  there  are  large  areas  of 
gray  lands,  and  these  are  also  found  on  the  west  of  the  city  toward  the  river. 

On  the  southwest  there  is  a  large  granitic  area,  with  many  abrupt  and  rounded  hills  and  huge  masses  of  granite, 
forming  a  rough  and  broken  country.  The  rocks  are  coarsely  crystalline,  and  are  accompanied  in  some  places  by 
hornblendic  material.  The  lands  are  gray,  sandy,  and  gravelly,  the  material  being  usually  coarse ;  the  subsoils  are 
yellow  and  red  clays,  which  sometimes  are  exposed  by  denudation.  Narrow  belts  of  red  lands  also  accompany  the 
hornblendic  outcrops  of  the  section.  Thecouutry  embraced  by  the  granite  is  bounded  by  Sandy  creek  on  the  north, 
while  the  Central  railroad  lies  a  little  to  the  east  of  it.  extends  into  Campbell  county  on  the  south,  and  on  the 
west  is  separated  from  the  river  by  a  narrow  belt  of  itacolumite  sandstone  and  mica-schists. 

The  southeastern  part  of  the  county  has  a  great  variety  of  soils,  derived  from  mica-schists,  hornblende,  gray 
gneisses,  and  steatites  (soapstone).  The  red  clay  soils  seem  to  predominate,  and  when  sandy  soils  exist  the.  red-clay 
subsoil  approaches  frequently  so  near  the  surface  as  to  be  turned  up  by  the  plow,  forming  with  the  gray  soil  a  red 
mulatto  land. 

A  prominent  ridge  of  soapstone  or  saponite,  with  asbestus  and  serpentine,  begins  3  miles  south  of  Atlanta,  and, 
passing  along  the  south  side  of  South  river  near  the  county-line,  enters  Be  Kalb  county.  The  valleys  formed 
in  the  bends  of  the  rivers  are  in  some  places  quite  broad,  and  have  a  rich  and  highly  productive  sandy  loam  soil. 
They  are,  however,  devoted  to  corn,  as  cotton  is  too  liable  to  injury  from  early  frosts  and  is  too  late  in  maturing.  The 
stalk  also  is  inclined  to  run  to  weed.  The  lauds  under  tillage  comprise  30.3  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  cotton 
being  the  chief  crop,  its  acreage  embracing  25.9  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  lands,  and  averaging  50.2  acres  per  square 
mile.  The  average  yield  is  comparatively  high,  the  county  rauking  ninth  in  the  state  in  its  cotton  product  per 
acre. 

The  city  of  Atlanta  is  the  market  for  the  cotton  product  of  many  of  the  counties,  a  large  cotton  factory  using 
much  of  that  brought  in;  but  the  greater  part,  after  being  reduced  in  bulk  at  the  Morse  steam  cotton-compress,  is 
shipped  to  northern  or  European  markets  over  the  many  railroad  lines  that  center  in  the  city.  The  rates  of  freight 
are  per  100  pounds. 

The  following  experimental  results  were  reported  by  Colonel  I.  W.  Avery,  of  Atlanta,  to  the  department  of 
agriculture: 

The  soil  was  an  ordinary  clay  land  with  a  clay  subsoil,  that  had  been  cleared  for  fifty  years  and  manured  the  previous  year.  The 
yield  in  1879  was  500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  without  fresh  manures:  with  200  pounds  of  commercial  fertilizers  of  various  brands, 
and  applied  alone  and  in  composts,  on  twenty-five  experimental  plats,  the  yield  varied  from  700  to  1,380  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acio, 
eighteen  of  the  plats  yielding  over  1,000  pounds  each  per  acre. 

23   0  P— VOL.   II  353 


88  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

ABSTRACTS  FROM  THE  REPORTS  OF  J.  C.  TUCKER,  OF  BEN.  HILL  P.,0.,  AND  THOMAS  MOORE,  OF  BOLTONVIL.LE. 

The  upland*,  with  their  gray  and  red  soils,  arc  the  cotton  lands  of  the  county,  one-third  of  the  urea  under  cultivation  being  do  voted 
to  that  crop.  The  growth  of  the  uplands  is  poplar,  hickory,  a  variety  of  oaks,  pine,  sweet  and  black  game,  and  occasionally  ash  and  dogwood. 
The  soil  has  usually  a  depth  of  6  inches  over  a  red  and  sometimes  yellow  subsoil,  which  bakes  in  the  sun  and  wind.  Thfl  laud  is  early, 
warm,  well  drained,  and  easy  to  till,  producing  crops  of  corn,  cotton,  wheat,  oats,  potatoes,  and  sorghum,  but  is  adapted  to  corn,  col  hut, 
and  oats. 

Cotton  grows  to  a  height  of  2  feel  in  dry  and  :i  feet  in  wet  seasons,  producing  <i00  pounds  of  seed-cotton  on  fresh  lands.  After  four 
years'  cultivation  this  yield  is  reduced  to  400  pounds,  and  in  ten  years  to  300  pounds.     The  staple  also  is  shorter  and  the  seed  lighter. 

About  one-half  of  this  land  now  lies  out  and  is  grown  up  in  sedge-gra^s  or  in  old-field  piucs  or  "  pine  orchards  ".  Tbe  latter  do  well 
when  taken  in  again,  but  lauds  covered  with  sedge-grass  remain  poor  for  a  year  or  two.  Most  of  the  fields  are  cut  up  by  the  washings  of  the 
land.  Hillside  ditching,  and  also  deep  plowing,  prevent  this  damage  to  a  great  extent.  Crab-grass  is  the  chief  enemy  to  crops  on  these 
uplands.     The  rag-weed  is  very  common. 

DE  KALB. 

Population:  14,497.— White,  9,9i4;  colored,  4,54:3. 

Area:  L'SO  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  00,023  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  111,318  acres;  in  corn,  21,034  acres;  in  wheat,  5,800  acres; 
in  oats,  5,974  acres ;  in  rye,  30  acres. 

Cotton  production :  8,008  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.41  bale,  591  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  197 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  De  Kalb  county  has  the  usual  undulating  character  of  the  metamorphic  region.  Stone 
mountain,  a  bald  mass  of  granite,  is  the  most  prominent  point  in  the  county,  and  the  village  near  its  foot,  Stone 
Mountain,  formerly  had  the  name  of  New  Gibraltar.  These  granites  extend  east  and  south  over  the  rest  of  the 
county,  covering  it  with  gray  sandy  and  gravelly  soils  and  yellow  clay  subsoils.  Over  the  rest  of  the  county  are 
found  the  usual  red  clay  and  gray  sandy  lands,  with  the  intermediate  grades  of  mulatto. 

A  red  belt,  and  the  only  one  of  any  extent,  passes  through  the  county,  via  Decatur,  from  Gwinnett,  into  Fulton 
county,  south  of  Atlanta,  and  has  a  general  width  of  about  5  miles.  North  of  this  the  lands  are  gray  and  gravelly, 
with  fragments  of  quartz  on  the  surface,  and  are  slightly  gold-bearing.  On  the  south  of  the  red  bell  tin'  county 
is  also  gray  sandy  until  the  ridge  of  soapstoue  or  sapouite  is  reached  in  the  southern  portion.  This  ridge  enters 
from  Fulton  county  with  an  easterly  trend,  but  is  not  continuous.  Asbestus  (short  liber)  is  associated  with  the 
rock.  The  lands  from  these  rocks  are  rather  red,  but  the  area  is  not  very  great,  and  the  magnesian  character  of 
the  material,  from  decomposition,  is  lost  in  the  soil  by  its  large  intermixture  with  other  constituents.  Seventy  live 
per  cent,  of  the  county  is  said  to  have  its  original  timber  growth. 

A  little  more  than  one-third  of  the  county  area  is  under  cultivation.  Cotton  acreage  is  less  than  thai  of  corn, 
but  comprises  32.2  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  lands,  and  averages  09  acres  per  square  mile.  Fertilizers  are  used  in  its 
culture,  and  the  yield  for  the  county  is  very  good.  There  are  but  fourteen  counties  of  the  state  having  a  greater 
average  jield. 

ABSTRACTS  FROM   THE   REPORTS   OF   1\   A.   RAGSDAXE,   OF  LITHOMA.    AND   T.   J.   FLAKE,  OF   PANTHERS  VIELE. 

The  soils  may  be  classed  as  bottom  ami  upland  gray,  red,  and  mulatto  lands.  There  is  but  little  bottom  laud  in  the  county,  and  it 
is  seldom  planted  in  cotton,  as  that  crop  runs  too  much  to  weed  and  matures  too  late  ;  corn  and  oats  alone  arc  planted.  The  uplands  are 
very  much  mixed.  The  mulatto  soil  is  best  for  all  crops,  the  red  next ;  but  the  gray  is  easier  cultivated,  and  the  increase  in  the  number 
of  acres  to  both  stock  and  hands  renders  the  gray  soil  pt"eferablo  for  cotton.  One  hand,  with  a  mule,  can  cultivate  so  much  more  of  tho 
"ray  lands  than  of  the  red  or  mulatto  that  the  result  is  a  greater  total  number  of  bales. 

Tho  gray  upland  soils  cover  about  two-thirds  of  the  county.  They  are  usually  gravelly  and  fine  sandy  to  a  depth  of  3  or  4  inches, 
and  have  a  stiff  clay  subsoil.  These  lands  are  moderately  well  drained  and  easy  to  till.  The  chief  crops  of  the  county  are  corn,  cotton, 
wheat,  oats,  and  sweet  potatoes,  but  this  land  is  best  adapted  to  cotton  and  oats.  The  former  grows  to  a  height  of  30  inches,  producing 
from  700  to  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  when  fresh,  or  from  300  to  400  pounds  after  six  years'  cultivation.  Crab-grass  and 
"  poor  Joe  "  are  most  troublesome  on  gray  soils.  One-fifth  of  these  lands  now  lie  out,  and  when  taken  in  again  yield  about  500  pounds 
of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  They  surfer  serious  damage  by  washing  on  slopes,  but  the  valleys  are  not  much  injured  by  it.  Hillside  ditching 
is  practiced  to  obviate  the  damage. 

The  red  upland*  are  not  continuous,  and  are  the  wheat  lands  of  the  county.  They  have  a  growth  of  oak  and  hickory  principally, 
with  some  chestnut,  poplar,  black-jack,  ash,  etc  The  soil  is  a  stiff  red  clay,  which,  when  exposed  to  the  sun,  bakes  and  becomes  very 
hard,  and  plowing  is  then  impossible.  It  has  a  depth  of  4  or  5  inches,  and  contaius  hard,  rounded,  and  angular  rocks.  When  well  drained 
it  is  earlier  than  the  gray  soil.  Cotton  grows  to  a  height  of  from  30  to  48  inches,  producing  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  when  fresh 
and  600  pounds  after  six  years'  cultivation.  About  10  per  cent,  of  this  land  now  lies  out,  but. after  a  rest  of  two  or  three  years  it  is 
equal  To  fresh  land. 

"  Ginacr-bread"  mulatto  soils  cover  about  one-sixth  of  the  county,  interspersed  with  the  red  and  the  gray.  The  growth  is  oak, 
hickory,  dogwood,  poplar,  etc.  Its  depth  is  5  or  fi  inches  over  a  heavier  subsoil,  which,  when  broken  up,  becomes  much  like  tho  surface 
soil.  It  is  easier  cultivated  than  the  red,  and  resembles  it  in  productiveness.  The  bottom  lauda  are  not  devoted  to  cotton,  as  it  usually 
runs  to  weed  too  readily  and  matures  too  late.  These  lands  are  therefore  given  up  to  corn  and  oats.  Near  the  creeks  and  rivers  the  crop 
ie  most  liable  to  be  killed  earlier  by  fall  frosts  than  a  few  miles  away,  on  the  ridges,  and  it  is  also  later  in  growing  oil'  in  the  spring. 

Fifteen  hundred  and  forty  pounds  of  seed-cotton  make  475  pounds  of  lint,  which,  when  clean,  rates  as  middling.     Shipments  are 
made  to  Atlanta  by  railroad  or  by  wagons. 
354 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  89 

GWINNETT. 

Population:  19,531.— White,  1G,01G  ;  colored,  3,515. 

Area. :  470  square,  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  90,583  acres. — Area  planted  iu  cotton,  27,549  acres;  in  corn,  30,568  acres;  in  wheat,  11,138  acres ; 
in  oats,  8.520  acres;  in  rye,  98  acres. 

Cotton  production :  11,810  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.43  bale,  012  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  204 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Gwinnett  county  is  rolling,  hilly,  and  in  places  somewhat  broken.  It  is  well  timbered. 
The  Atlantic  and  Gulf  water  divide  passes  southwestward  through  the  western  part  of  the  county  near  the 
Chattahoochee  river,  but  with  an  ascent  so  gradual  from  the  east  as  not  to  be  perceptible,  except  on  the  north, 
where  the  county  is  hilly  and  broken,  Hog  mountain  being  the  most  prominent  range  of  hills.  The  latter,  with  its 
unusual  southeast  trend,  forms  a  sharp  bend  in  the  "divide"  to  the  southeast.  The  summit  of  the  mountain  is 
narrow,  with  outcrops  of  itacoluuiite  sandstone.  A  belt  of  deep  red  lands  enters  the  county  at  the  southern 
terminus  of  Hog  mountain  and  passes  through  Lawrenceville  s6uthwest  into  De  Kalb  county.  It  has  a  width 
of  several  miles. 

Across  the  lower  part  of  the  county,  northeast  and  southwest,  and  to  within  'SI  miles  of  Lawrenceville,  is  a 
belt  of  granite,  a  continuation  of  the  Stone  Mountain  region,  with  "  flat  rocks  "  and  rounded  bowlders  and  a  level 
country  for-the  most  part.  Quartz  crystals  are  abundant  in  localities  along  the  granite  belt,  but  with  one  terminal 
only  complete. 

Along  the  river  there  are  some  valley  lands  having  a  sandy  loam  soil,  rich  and  very  productive,  but  not  very 
broad.  Cotton  on  these  lowlands  runs  too  much  to  weed  and  is  late ;  hence  the  uplands  are  preferred  for  that  crop. 
The  lowlands  are  devoted  to  corn. 

The  upland  country  along  the  river  is  very  broken  and  hilly  as  far  back  as  the  "  divide  ".  Of  the  entire  county 
5  per  cent,  is  said  to  be  too  broken  for  tillage. 

The  lands  under  cultivation  comprise  32.1  per  cent,  of  the  county  area.  Of  these,  28.5  per  cent,  is  iu  cotton, 
with  an  average  of  58.0  acres  per  square  mile.  In  its  cotton  product  per  acre  there  are  but  seven  counties  in  the 
state  that  rank  above  Gwinnett. 

ABSTRACT   FROM   THE    REPORT    OF   R.    D.    WINN,    OF   LAWRENCEVILLE. 

The  cotton  lands  of  the  county  embrace  the  light  gray  sandy,  the  red  clays  on  slopes  and  level  places,  and  the  chocolate  or  mulatto 
soils.  The  gray  sandy  soils,  with  their  tough  red-clay  subsoils,  cover  two-thirds  of  the  county,  and  have  a  growth  of  oaks  of  all  species, 
hickory,  chestnut,  ash,  beech,  etc.  They  are  well  adapted  to  all  crops  that  are  produced  iu  the  county,  viz,  corn,  wheat,  oats,  rye, 
cotton,  sweet  and  Irish  potatoes,  pease,  beans,  tobacco,  etc.  But  one-half  of  the  cultivated  land  is  devoted  to  cotton.  The  hillsides  and 
slopes  wash  readily,  doing  serious  damage  to  the  uplands,  but  very  little  to  the  valleys,  as  the  "  settlings  "  are  beneficial.  One-fifth  of  the 
area  originally  under  cultivation  now  lies  out.  When  grown  up  in  pines,  after  fifteen  or  twenty  years,  and  reclaimed  with  fertilizers,  the 
land  yields  as  well  as  ever. 

Fresh  lands  produce  from  500  to  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton,  or  one-third  this  weight  of  lint,  which  rates  as  good  middling. 
Cultivation  for  eight  years  reduces  this  to  300  or  400  pounds,  with  a  slightly  inferior  staple,  1,425  pounds  then  making  475  pounds  of  lint. 
Crab-grass  is  most  troublesome.  The  deep  red  clay  land,  after  twenty  years'  cultivation,  without  fertilizers,  yields  from  600  to  800  pounds 
of  seed-cotton  per  acre.     Its  growth  is  post  and  red  oaks  and  pine. 

Shipments  are  made  mostly  to  Atlanta. 

JACKSON. 

Population:  10,297.— White,  11,139;  colored,  5,158. 

Area:  300  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  landu:  07,109  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  24,874 acres;  iu  corn,  27,075  acres;  iu  wheat,  7,485  acres; 
in  oats,  7,355  acres  ;  in  rye,  34  acres. 

Cotton  production:  9,482  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.3S  bale,  543  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  1S1 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Jackson  county  is  rolling  or  undulating,  with  extensive  level  areas,  and  the  entire  couuty  was 
at  one  time  thickly  timbered  with  post  oak,  pine,  hickory,  poplar,  chestnut,  etc. 

A  broad  belt  of  red  lands  extends  from  Franklin  county  on  the.  northeast  through  the  center  of  this  county  to 
Jefferson  county.  Its  width  is  from  8  to  10  miles,  and  the  lauds  are  mostly  derived  from  hornblendic  rocks.  Gray 
lands  are  found  throughout  the  belt,  and  are  the  prominent  feature  of  the  northern  and  western  parts  of  the  couuty. 

The.  entire  county  is  considered  tillable,  the  lauds  under  cultivation  comprising  29.1  per  cent,  of  the  county 
area.  Corn  has  the  greatest  acreage,  that  of  cotton  averaging  09.1  acres  per  square  mile,  or  37.1  per  cent,  of  the 
tilled  lands. 

ABSTRACT    FROM   THE   REPORT    OF   E.    M.    THOMPSON,    OF   JEFFERSON. 

The  lands  under  cultivation  may  be  classed  as  the  red  and  gray  uplands,  the  dark  second-bottom  lands  of  branches,  creeks,  and 
rivers,  aud  the  alluvial  bottoms  of  Oconee  river.  The  uplands  arc  chiefly  the  cotton  lands,  as  the  crops  of  the  lowlands  arc  often  caught 
by  early  frosts,  and  the  stalk  is  inclined  to  run  to  weed.  The.  soil  is  sandy  and  gravelly  to  a  depth  of  1  or  2  inches,  and  has  a  hard  and  dark 
red-clay  subsoil  impervionsto  water,  which  is  easy  to  cultivate,  and  is  early  if  well  drained.  The  crops  of  the  couuty  are  corn,  cotton, 
wheat,  oats,  and  potatoes,  but  three-fifths  of  the  laud  is  planted  in  cotton.  Fresh  lands  yield  from  300  to  500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per 
acre,  rating  as  middling.  Hog-  and  rag-weeds  are  most  troublesome.  One-fourth  of  the  land  now  lies  out,  and  by  several  years'  rest  it 
produces  well  when  again  cultivated.  In  some  localities  it.  is  seriously  damaged  by  washings,  and  the  valleys  are  also  sometimes  injured 
to  a  small  extent.     Hillside  ditching  is  resorted  to  by  some  to  check  the  damage,  and  when  properly  done  is  successful. 

355 


'90  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

The  second  bottoms  of  the  creeks  and  rivers  cover  about  one-sixth  of  thn  county,  and  have  a  fine  sandy  clay  loam  soil  2  feet  in  depth 
and  a  dark  red-clay  subsoil  or  white  pipe-clay.  The  growth  is  chestnut  and  gum.  The  soil  is  difficult  to  till  in  wot  seasons,  but  easy  in 
dry.  Cotton  comprises  one-sixth  of  the  crops  011  these  bottoms,  grows  to  a  height  of  4  feet,  and  yields  from  800  to  1,000  pounds  of 
seed-cotton.     Cockleburs  and  rag-weeds  are  most  troublesome.     Very  little  of  this  land  now  lies  turned  out. 

The  bottom  lands  on  creeks  and  rivers  have  a  growth  of  maple,  poplar,  walnut,  and  beech,  and  a  clay  loam  soil  3  feet  in  depth, 
underlaid  by  a  white  pipe-clay.  The  soil  is  difficult  to  till,  and  only  a  very  small  percentage  of  cotton  is  planted  on  it,  although  it  sometimes 
yields  as  much  as  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  the  first  year;  but  000  or  800  pounds  is  the  yield  after  the  second  year.  The 
staple  rates  the  very  highest.     Rag-weeds  are  most  troublesome. 

Shipments  are  made  to  Athens  by  wagon,  and  to  Savannah  by  railroad. 

MADISON. 

Population:  7,078.— White,  5,392;  colored,  2,586. 

Area :  300  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  inetamorphie,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  51,710  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  13,029  acres;  in  corn,  14,471  acres;  iii  wheat,  G,10S  acres  j 
an  oats,  4,631  acres;  in  rye,  28  acres. 

Cotton  production:  4,918  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.38  bale,  537  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  179 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Madison  county  is  Lilly  and  broken  and  well  timbered.  A  north  and  south  dividing  ridge  on 
the  west  throws  nearly  all  of  the  waters  eastward  into  the  several  forks  of  Broad  river.  The  lauds  are  nearly  all 
gray  or  gravelly,  with  patches  of  mulatto  here  and  there,  and  are  derived  mostly  from  gray  biotite  gneisses  and 
mica-schists.     Five  per  cent,  of  the  county  is  said  to  be  too  hilly  for  cultivation,  and  1  per  cent,  too  swampy. 

On  the  northwest,  near  the  Banks  county -line,  is  a  belt  of  red  lands  from  horablendic  gneiss,  and  on  the  east 
occurs  an  exposure  of  soapstone  rocks. 

The  bottom  lands,  while  rich,  are  not  very  extensive,  and  are  chietly  devoted  to  corn.  The  lauds  under 
-cultivation  comprise  26.9  per  cent,  of  the  county  area.  Of  thesa  lands,  25.2  per  cent,  are  in  cotton,  its  average 
being  43.4  acres  per  square  mile.  The  average  yield  per  acre  is  not  as  great  as  in  some  of  the  adjoining  counties; 
it  is,  however,  over  the  u  third  of  a  bale  per  acre"  rule.  Fertilizers  are  used  extensively,  and  an  instance  of  the 
results  that  might  be  expected  from  them  when  properly  applied  is  shown. 

In  the  experimental  report  of  B.  F.  O'Kelley,  of  this  county,  both  the  red  and  the  gray  lands  were,  used: 

1.  Dark  red  soil  of  a  yellow,  loose  nature  and  clear  of  rocks;  bad  been  cleared  for  about  fifty  years  and  grown  up  in  old-field  pines; 
Tecleared  in  1S70  and  planted  in  sorghum,  corn,  and  wheat;  no  fertilizers  used.     Original  growth,  oak,  hickory,  dogwood,  and  pine.     In 

1879  it  yielded  without  fertilizers  390  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre:  with  '200  pounds  of  commercial  fertilizers  the  yield  was  from  1,020 
fto  1,270  pounds  per  acre. 

2.  Light  sandy  soil  with  gray  sub-soil ;  cleared  twenty  years,  and  no  fertilizers  ever  applied.  Original  growth  same  as  No.  1.  Yield 
490  pounds  of  seed-cotton  without  fertilizers  and  930  pounds  with  200  pounds  of  fertilizers.     The  season  of  1879  was  dry. 

ABSTRACT   FROM   THE   KEPORT   OF   R.   M.   MEKONEY,    OF  DANIELSVILLE. 

The  lasds  of  the  county  may  be  classed  as  gray  sandy,  comprising  one-half  of  the  area;  mulatto,  comprising  one-fourth;  and  gray 
gravelly,  nearly  the  same  amount.  The  gray  sandy  soils,  with  gravelly  gray  subsoils  at  a  depth  of  2  inches,  have  a  growth  of  pine,  oaks, 
hickory,  and  black-jack.  The  soil  is  easily  cultivated,  is  early,  warm,  aud  well  drained,  and  is  best  adapted  to  cotton,  which  comprises 
about  one-half  of  the  crops.  Cotton  grows  to  a  height  of  from  IS  to  40  inches,  and  yields  600  or  700  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on 
fresh  laud.  After  live  years'  cultivation  this  yield  is  ouly  from  200  to  400  pounds,  1,425  pounds  from  fresh  aud  1,485  pounds  from  old 
'laud  making  475  pounds  of  middling  lint.  One-fourth  of  the  soil  now  lies  out,  and  when  taken  in  again  produces  as  well  as  ever  for  a 
few  years,  and  when  fertilized  holds  its  own  afterward.  The  lands  are  much  injured  by  washing,  and  valleys  arc  damaged  10  per  cent. 
Some  efforts  have  been  made  to  check  it. 

The  red  or  mulatto  lands  are  considered  the  best  for  grain,  though  one-half  of  the  crops  consists  of  cotton.  The  sandy  surface  is  ouly  1  fr 
or  3  inches  deep.  The  subsoil  is  gravelly  and  somewhat  sandy,  and  the  growth  is  pine,  black,  red,  Spanish,  black-jack,  and  post  oaks, 
and  hickory.  These  lauds  arc  inclined  to  bake  hard  in  dry  weather.  Cotton  grows  from  2  to  4  feet  high  (most  productive  at  2+),  and 
yields  from  500  to  700  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  laud.  The  stalk  runs  to  weed  with  deep  cultivation,  to  prevent  which 
topping  and  shallow  cultivation  are  resorted  to.  After  five  years'  cultivation  the  yield  is  only  from  300  to  400  pounds,  aud,  while  the 
-staple  is  about  the  same,  a  little  more  seed-cotton  is  required  to  make  475  pounds  of  lint.  The  crops  are  troubled  most  with  hog-weed  and 
crab-grass.     About  one-fourth  of  tbis  land  now  lies  our, 

The  gravel!}/  soils,  with  coarse  gravelly  subsoils  at  2  inches  depth,  comprise  about  one-fourth  of  the  lauds  of  tbis  county,  and  are  not 
•considered  well  adapted  to  anything.  Very  little  cotton  is  planted  on  them,  as  its  yield  is  only  from  150  to  200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per 
acre,  aud  the  stalk  grows  to  a  height  of  ouly  10  or  15  inches  on  fresh  land.  Five  years'  cultivation  reduces  this  yield  to  50  or  100  pounds 
■of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  The  crop  is  much  troubled  with  poverty-weed  and  crab-grass.  One-half  of  this  land  now  lies  out,  and  is 
■worthless  afterward.     It  washes  badly,  aud  no  efforts  have  been  made  to  reclaim  it. 

This  latitude  is  rather  too  high  for  cotton  cultivation,  and  the  seasons  are  rather  short.  Cotton  is  frequently  killed  in  the  spring  or 
injured  hi  the  fall  by  frost.     In  the  latter  case  a  yellow  cotton  is  produced,  and  occasionally  the  bolls  are  prevented  from  opening. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  to  Athens  at  si  per  bale. 

ELBERT. 

Population:  112.957. — White,  0,085;  colored,  0,872. 

Area:  410  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  inetamorphie,  all. 

Tilled  lands :  79,400  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  25,S33  acres  :  in  corn,  20,369  acres  ;  in  wheat,  7,0SS  acres; 
in  oats,  5,552  acres;  in  rye,  50  acres. 

Cotton  production :  8,826  bales :  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.34  bale,  486  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  102 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

356 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  91 

Elbert  county  lies  along  the  Savannah  river,  and  is  bordered  by  Broad  river  on  the  west  and  south.  Its  surface 
is  mostly  rolling  and  somewhat  hilly,  and  is  well  timbered  with  oak,  hickory,  and  pine.  It  is  covered  chiefly  with 
gray  sandy  and  gravelly  soils,  underlaid  by  clays,  derived  from  granites  and  gneisses.  Areas  of  red  lands  occur 
throughout  the  county.  The  granite  around  Elberton  is  a  line-grained  siliceous  rock  with  small  particles  of  biotite 
mica,  but  not  in  sufficient  quantity  to  form  red  lands.  These  gray  sandy  granite  lands  extend  5  miles  south  of 
Elberton  to  a  narrow  strip  of  red  clay  derived  from  hornblendic  material.  South  of  this  is  a  flat  woods  belt,  from 
5  to  7  miles  in  width,  which  extends  from  the  Savannah  river  (north  of  the  mouth  of  Broad  river)  in  a  westerly- 
course  into  Oglethorpe  county.     Professor  D.  O.  Barrow  says  of  this  belt : 

The  surface  is  broad  and  level,  with  ponds  of  water  and  a  growth  of- stunted  black-jack  oaks.  The  laud  is  a  dark  pipe-clay  kind 
of  soil  with  coarse  gravel  in  places,  and  is  almost  useless  for  agricultural  purposes;  in  wet  weather  very  boggy,  and  in  dry  as  hard  as  av 
brick.  It  seems  to  have  been  at  oue  time  a  long  marshy  and  boggy  slough.  The  uuderlyiug  material  is  a  kind  of  siliceous  and  rough. 
clay-stone,  with  seams  of  angular  quartz. 

The  sandy  and  red  lands  are  similar  in  character  to  other  lands  of  the  region.  (See  regional  description,  page 
36.)  The  bottom  lauds  of  the  rivers  cover  but  a  small  area.  It  is  estimated  that  G5  per  cent,  of  the  county  is- 
cleared  land.  Tilled  lands  comprise  28.2  per  cent,  of  the  total  area,  the  population  averaging  29  persons  per 
square  mile.  Cotton  is  the  chief  crop,  its  acreage  being  58.7  acres  per  square  mile,  or  32.5  per  cent,  of  the  lands; 
under  cultivation. 

The' following  experiments  have  been  reported  to  the  state  department  of  agriculture  : 

Eugene  B.  Heard,  of  Elberton  :  Fresh  land,  soil  dark  ;  subsoil,  yellow  clay.  Growth,  hickory,  post  oak,  and  second  growth  of  pine- 
Without  fertilizers  the  yield  was  about  600  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre;  with  200  pounds  commercial  fertilizers  the  yield  on  four  plats 
ranged  from  1,050  to  1,230  pounds. 

A.  F.  Smith,  of  Coldwater :  Old  land,  soil  gray  and  gravelly,  with  yellow  subsoil.  Original  growth,  pine,  oak,  and  hickory- 
Was  turned  out  twelve  years  before  as  exhausted  upland,  and  was  covered  with  broom- sedge;  never  fertilized.  The  season  of  lS79was 
poor,  and  a  large  portion  of  the  crop  did  not  mature.  Without  fertilizers,  the  average  yield  was  70  pounds  of  eeed-cotton;  with  100 
pounds,  the  yield  was  about  297  ;  with  200  pounds,  about  355  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  ROBERT  HESTER,  OF  ELBERTON. 

Cotton,  which  comprises  one-half  of  the  crops  of  {he  county,  is  confined  to  the  gray  sandy  lands,  which  are  early,  warm,  well 
drained,  easy  to  till,  and  best  adapted  to  its  growth.  The  stalk  reaches  an  average  height  of  3  feet,  and  topping  is  done  to  prevent  its. 
running  to  weed  in  wet  weather  and  to  favor  boiling.  Crab-grass  is  the  most  troublesome.  The  uplands  wash  readily,  and  injury  is  done 
to  them  and  to  the  valleys  to  the  extent  of  25  per  cent.  One-half  of  the  area  formerly  under  cultivation  now  lies  out;  after  resting  it 
yields  very  well,  but  wears  out  again  in  three-fourths  of  the  time.  It  is  estimated  that  three  acres  will  on  an  average  produce  a  bale  of  450 
pounds.     The  staple  rates  as  middling.     The  gray  lands  cover  three-fourths  of  the  county  area. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made,  as  soon  as  baled,  to  Charleston,  Baltimore,  and  New  York,  by  rail. 

OGLETHORPE. 

Population:  15,400.— White,  5,469;  colored,  9,931. 

Area:  510  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metainorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  92,7713  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  35,300  acres ;  in  corn,  22,019  acres  ;  in  wheat,  7,1S4  acres  ; 
in  oats,  0,310  acres  ;  in  rye,  19  acres. 

Cotton  production :  12,330  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.35  bale.  498  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  100 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Oglethorpe  county  is  rolling  and  broken,  resembling  in  its  general  features  the  adjoining- 
counties.  The.  greater  part  is  drained  into  the  Savannah  river,  the  divide  between  it  and  the  Oconee  river  lying 
in  the  western  part  of  the  county;  on  the  south  another  dividing  ridge  gives  to  the  Ogeechee  river  some  of  the 
drainage  water.  In  the  middle  of  the  county  there  is  a  granitic  ridge,  extending  in  a  slight  northeasterly  course 
into  Elbert  county  and  dividing  the  tributaries  of  Broad  river  into  two  groups — those  on  the  north  flowing  directly 
into  Broad  river,  the  rest  emptying  first  into  Long  creek,  and  thence  northeast  into  Broad  river. 

The  granites  extend  south  to  Long  creek  and  southwest  into  the  upper  part  of  Greene  county,  the  hills  becoming- 
lower,  though  the  country  is  very  broken. 

In  the  southeastern  part  of  the  county  the  black-jack  flat  woods  pass  in  a  southward  course  to  the  red  belt  just 
south  of  Woodstock.  It  has  here  a  width  of  3  or  4  miles,  and  the  lands  are  more  sandy  than  in  Elbert  county., 
producing  cotton  for  a  few  years  only.  '  (See  description  in  Wilkes  county,  p.  102.)  On  the  north  of  the  granites 
the  red  lands  cover  the  rest  of  the  county,  with  mixtures  of  gray  sandy  areas.     (See  analysis  of  laud,  page  30.) 

The  soils  of  the  granitic  area  are  gray,  gravelly,  and  sandy,  with  red  mulatto  lands  intermixed.  Quartz  crystals 
are  found  in  abundance  in  various  sections,  and  include  some  large  and  beautiful  amethysts.  Of  the  county  area  3 
per  cent,  is  too  broken  for  cultivation.  The  crops  are  corn,  cotton,  wheat,  oats,  and  potatoes,  and  28.4  per  cent,  of  the 
county  area  is  under  cultivation.  Cotton  is  the  chief  crop,  its  acreage  comprising  38.1  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  lands, 
and  averaging  09.2  acres  per  square  mile. 

ABSTRACT  FEOM   THE   REPORT   OF  WILLIAM  L.   JOHNSON,   OF  STEPHENS. 

The  uplands  of  the  county  vary  from  sandy  to  red  stiff  mulatto  and  black-jack  soils  in  large  areas.  Cotton  on  the  lowlands  is  liable 
to  be  late  and  prematurely  frost-killed ;  henco  the  uplands  are  preferred  when  the  soil  is  fair. 

The  sandy  uplands,  lying  mostly  level  in  holds  of  from  10  to  20  acres,  comprise  one-half  of  the  tillable  lands  of  the  county.  The  growth 
is  oak,  piue,  ash,  gum,  and  hickory.  The  soil  has  a  depth  of  8  inches  or  more,  with  a  tough  yellow  clay  subsoil,  which  becomes  cloddy  at 
first,  but  changes  iu  a  short  time  by  cultivation  to  the  color  of  the  soil.  It  contains  coarse  gravel  and  sometimes  pebbles,  and  is  underlaid 
by  a  very  stiff'  clay.    The  soil  is  early  when  well  drained,  and  is  easy  to  till.    Cotton,  which  comprises  one-half  the  crops,  grows  to  a  height 

357 


92  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

of  3  feet,  and  yields  from  800  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  aero.  Crab-grass  gives  the  most  trouble  to  cotton  crops  ;  -weeds  follow 
grain  crops.  Lands  turned  out  thirty  years  ago  and  cleared  now  do  better  in  cotton  for  three  years  than  the  original  forest  lauds.  These 
uplands  are  much  injured  by  -washing  and  gullying,  and  the  valleys  are  often  greatly  injured.  Horizontalizing  and  hillside  ditching  are 
very  successful  in  checking  the  damage. 

Tin-  red  uplands,  comprising  one-third  of  the  lands  of  the  county,  have  the  same  growth  as  the  gray  sandy,  and  are  usually  rolling 
and  hilly.  The  soil  is  a  red  or  mixed  clay  loam,  10  inches  in  depth,  with  a  tough  yellow-clay  subsoil,  -which  pulverizes  quickly  and 
changes  color  on  being  exposed.  It  is  early  when  well  drained,  rather  difficult  to  till,  and  is  best  adapted  to  grain,  though  cotton 
comprises  one-half  the  crops.  Cotton  grows  to  a  greater  height  on  tins  laud  than  on  the  gray  sandy,  and  runs  to  weed  in  wet  weather 
unless  fertilizers  are  used,  which  prevent  it  and  favor  boiling.  In  other  respects  it  resembles  the  gray  sandy.  In  some  localities  a 
great  deal  of  this  laud  lies  turned  out,  and  when  reclaimed  it  does  not  produce  as  well  as  the  sandy  lands.  The  uplands  wash  readily, 
causing  serious  injury  to  the  valleys. 

The  bottom  lands  differ  in  character,  some  being  still'  anil  others  a  dark  sandy  loam.  The  soils  are  about  *2  feet  deep,  and  are 
underlaid  by  a  still'  pipe-clay  or  gravel.  They  arc  hard  and  cloddy  in  dry  seasons,  and  are  best  adapted  to  corn.  They  are  more  or  less 
liable  to  overtlow,  and  but  little  cottou  is  planted  on  Them.  The  plant  grows  usually  5  or  6  feet  high,  and  runs  to  weed  when  the  rows 
are  close  together,  or  in  wet  weather.     The  yield  is  from  1,000  to  1,500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre. 

Shipments  are  made  to  Augusta,  by  railroad,  at  $'2  per  bale. 

CLARKE.  • 

Population:  1.1,702.— White,  5,313;  colored,  0,380. 

Area:  180  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  23,337  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  8,020  acres;  in  corn,  7,394  acres;  in  wheat,  1,387  acres;  in 
oats,  1,755  acres;  in  rye,  30  acres. 

Cotton  production:  3,310  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.11  bale,  588  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  190 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Through  the  middle  and  western  sections  of  Clarke  county  flow  the  several  forks  of  the  Oconee  river,  separated 
on  the  east  from  the  tributaries  of  the  Broad  river  by  a  low  ridge  running  north  and  south,  which  is  also  a  part  of 
the  main  Oconee  and  Savannah  water-divide.  The  surface  of  the  county  is  very  hilly  and  broken,  being  deeply  cut 
by  the  various  streams.  The  county  was  once  heavily  timbered,  but  it  has  been  estimated  that  78  per  cent,  of  the 
original  forest  has  been  removed.  The  lands  of  the  county  present  the  usual  variety  of  the  red  clay  and  gray  sandy 
soils,  ino"re  or  less  gravelly,  that  are  found  over  the  entire  metamorphie  region,  ami  are  underlaid  by  clay  subsoils. 
They  occur  very  much  intermixed,  but,  as  in  other  counties,  there  are  large  areas  in  which  one  is  predominant. 

There  are  two  belts  of  red  (hornblendic)  lands  that  extend  across  the  county,  and  another  red  area  covers  the 
southern  portion.  Otherwise  the  lands  are  chiefly  gray  and  sandy.  They  are  described  in  the  accompanying 
abstract.  (See  also  analysis  on  page  33.)  The  bottom  lands  are  very  narrow,  the  uplands  often  approaching  to 
the  waters  edge  and  forming  high  bluffs. 

A  little  more  than  one-fifth  (20.3  per  cent.)  of  the  county  area  is  under  cultivation.  Cotton  is  the  chief  crop, 
its  acreage  comprising  34.4  per  cent,  of  tilled  land  and  averaging  41.0  acres  per  square  mile.  The  product  per 
acre  is  comparatively  high.     Athens  is  the  chief  market  for  the  county. 

The  following  experiment  was  reported  to  the  department  of  agriculture  by  Thomas  W.  Gean,  of  Athens: 

Soil  thtn,  with  red-clay  subsoil ;  lias  been  cleared  fifty  years;  part  of  the  time  an  old  Held.  Original  growth,  post  oak,  chestnut,  and 
short-leaf  [line.  No  manures  previously  used.  Yield,  without  fertilizers,  about  425  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  With  over  li00 
pounds  of  fertilizers  the  yield  varied  from  930  to  1,130  pounds  per  acre. 

Experimental  farm  of  the  University  of  Georgia. — Thin  gray  soil,  with  red-clay  subsoil;  not  cultivated  for  thirty  years. 
Original  growth,  pine  aud  oak.  Yield  of  non-fertilized  rows  averages  294  pounds;  with  200  pounds  of  various  fertilizers  the  yield  varies 
from  534  to  1,19:!  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  PROFESSOR  D.  C.  BARROW,  JR.,  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  GEORGIA,  ATHENS. 

The  lands  may  bo  classed  as  red  clays,  gray  sandy,  mulatto,  and  alluvial  bottom  soils.  The  red  clay  land*  cover  about  65  per  cent, 
of  the  county  area,  and  extend  ehieily  in  two  belts  across  the  county,  each  about  0  miles  wide.  The  dark  red  soil  1ms  a  depth  of  about  18 
inches,  with  a  tough  red-clay  subsoil,  which  is  excellent  for  bricks.  The  Boil  ia  fine  grained  and  compact,  retaining  moisture  for  a  long 
time,  having  little  sand  in  its  composition.  It  is  very  durable,  resisting  both  weathering  influences  and  the  taking  up  of  its  riches  by  the 
plants,  and  produces  crops  for  a  number  of  years  with  very  little  decrease  in  yield.  Its  growth  is  red,  Spanish,  black,  and  white  oaks, 
chestnut,  pine,  hickory,  dogwood,  and  some  walnut.  The  soil  is  cold  and  naturally  well  drained,  and  is  tolerably  easy  to  till  in  wet  seasons. 
It  is  best  adapted  to  corn,  clover,  and  wheat,  though  cotton  forms  GO  per  cent,  of  the  crops.  Fresh  lands  produce  from  900  to  1,000  pounds 
of  seed-cotton,  aud  this  yield  continues  for  a  number  of  years  without  any  apparent  diminution.  About  1,545  pounds  of  seed-cotton  are 
required  to  make  475  pounds  of  lint,  the  staple  rating  as  good  middling.  The  lauds  are  not  troubled  so  much  by  weeds  as  by  crab-grass. 
They  also  have  a  tendency  to  wash,  and  on  steep  hillsides  are  much  damaged  ;  the  valleys  are  also  injured  by  these  washings,  especially 
on  small  streams.     Hillside  ditching  is  practiced  with  good  success  in  checking  the  damage. 

The  (/ray  sandy  lands,  which  form  a  belt  3  miles  wide  in  the  middle  of  the  county,  comprise  30  per  ccut.  of  the  lands.  The  soil 
is  gray  and  more  or  less  sandy,  lb'  inches  deep,  and  is  underlaid  by  light  yellowish  or  reddish  clay,  much  less  tough  than  that  of  the  red 
lauds  and  much  less  retentive  of  moisture.  It  is  not  as  durable  as  the  red  lands,  is  generous  in  giving  up  its  plant-food,  and  is  more 
readily  washed  off  by  rains  than  is  the  red.  It  also  decreases  in  productiveness  more  readily.  The  growth  is  white,  red,  Spanish,  aud  post 
oaks,  hickory,  pine,  and  chestnut,  this  last  being  more  abuudant  than  on  red  lands.  Whenever  it  is  possible,  farmers  use  chestnut  rails 
for  fencing  purposes,  and  gray  lands  are  often  marked  by  chestnut  fences.  These  lands  are  best  adapted  to  cotton  and  oats,  75  per  cent. 
of  the  former  being  planted.  The  yield  is  from  1,000  to  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  While  the  soil  is  not  so  durable  as  the  red 
land,  it  recuperates  more  readily  aud  produces  very  well  for  a  few  years  after  a  rest. 

The  bottom  lands,  comprising  5  per  cent,  of  the  lauds  of  the  county,  are  variable  in  width,  and  are  never  very  wide.      The  growth 
is  birch,  hickory,  pine,  oak,  walnut,  and  frequently  considerable  white  oak.     The  soil  is  a  dark  alluvial  loam,  sometimes  underlaid  by  a 
tough  pipe-clay,  white  or  bluish  in  color.     The  laud  is  best  adapted  to  corn,  10  per  cent,  only  of  cotton  being  planted.     Coeklebur  and 
rag-weeds  arc  most  troublesome. 
359 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  93 

OCONEE. 

Population :  6,351.— White,  3,327 ;  colored,  3,024. 

Area  :  100  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metauiorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  3-1,223  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  12,303  acres;  in  corn,  9,930  acres;  in  wheat,  2,130  acres; 
in  oats,  2,215  acres;  in  rye,  29  acres. 

Cotton  production:  4,257  bales :  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.35  bale,  492  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  104 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Oconee  county  embraces  a  long  and  narrow  area  between  Barber  creek  and  the  Oconee  river  on  one  side  and 
the  Appalachee  river  on  the  west.  The  surface  is  hilly.  A  high  dividing  ridge  passes  longitudinally  through 
the  county,  the  streams  flowing  in  either  direction  being  very  short. 

The  southern  portion  of  the  county  is  covered  with  gray  sandy  lands,  which  extend  to  within  3  miles  of 
Watkinsville,  on  the  Union  Point  road;  the  rocks  are  micaceous  in  character,  with  garnets  and  feldspar. 

The  red  lands  form  a  belt  across  the  county  from  the  upper  portion  of  Clarke  southward  into  Morgan  county. 
Watkinsville  lies  within  this  belt,  the  lands  extending  1J  miles  west  and  3  miles  south.  Hor'nblendic  gneiss 
forms  the  prominent  rock  on  the  eastern  and  biotite  gneiss  on  the  western  half  of  the  belt.  Gray  lands  cover  the 
extreme  northwestern  section. 

The  subsoils  of  all  of  the  lauds  are  mostly  yellow  and  red  clays.  The  character  of  the  soils  and  methods  of 
cotton  culture  are  similar  to  those  of  Clarke  county.  The  timber  growth  is  chiefly  red  and  post  oaks,  hickory,  and 
short-leaf  pine,  and  it  is  estimated  that  58  per  cent,  of  the  growth  has  been  cut  away.  One-third  of  the  county 
area  is  under  cultivation,  and  of  this  30  per  cent,  is  in  cotton,  the  chief  crop  averaging  70.9  acres  per  square 
mile.  The  average  product  per  acre  is  much  less  than  that  of  Clarke  county,  though  greater  than  for  the  region 
or  state  at  large. 

Shipments  are  made  by  wagons  to  Athens,  where  most  of  the  cotton  is  sold. 

WALTON. 

Population:  15,622.— White,  9,321 ;  colored,  6,301. 

Area:  400  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  82.028  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  31,797  acres;  in  corn,  20,709  acres;  in  wheat,  9,418  acres;  in 
oats,  0,454;  in  rye,  97  acres. 

Cotton  production:  12,534  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.39  bale,  561  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  187 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Walton  county  is  largely  covered  with  red  clay  and  mulatto  lands.  This  is  especially  the  case  in  the  middle 
of  the  county,  where  the  belt  is  very  wide  and  extends  in  every  direction  from  Monroe. 

Narrow  areas  of  gray  sandy  lauds  are  found  on  both  sides  of  this  red  section,  and  in  the  extreme  west  appear 
the  granites  of  the  large  central  region.  The  difference  between  the  gray  sandy  and  the  granitic  lands  is  so  slight 
that  they  might  very  well  be  classed  together.  The  gneisses  also  are  granitic  in  character,  and  black  mica  enters 
largely  into  the  composition  of  both.  The  subsoils  are  very  generally  the  usual  red  and  yellow  clays  of  the 
metamorphic  region. 

The  surface  of  the  country  is  hilly  and  broken,  1^  per  cent,  being  too  much  so  for  successful  tillage.  There  are 
two  prominent  and  isolated  points  in  the  county,  viz,  Alcova  and  Jack's  mountains,  the  former  having  an  elevation 
of  1,088  feet  above  the  sea,  or  about  200  feet  above  Social  Circle.  They  are  formed  of  sandstone  or  quartzites,  and 
have  rounded  summits. 

Thirteen  per  ceut.  of  the  county  area  is  reported  to  be  of  irreclaimable  swamp.  Over  half  of  the  original 
timber  has  been  cleared  away.  The  lauds  under  cultivation  embrace  32.3  per  cent,  of  the  county  area.  Cotton  is 
the  chief  crop,  its  acreage  having  au  average  of  79.5  acres  per  square  mile,  or  38.5  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  lands. 
In  product  per  acre  the  county  ranks  well  amoug  the  counties  of  the  state. 

ABSTRACT   FBOjH   THE   EEPOKT    OF    K.    H.    CANNON,    OF   WALNUT    GEOVE. 

The  uplands  alone  are  planted  in  cotton,  and  may  be  classed  as  light  gray  and  red  lauds.  The  gray  sandy  lands  cover  about  80  per 
ceut.  of  the  county,  and  have  a  growth  of  piue,  oak,  hickory,  chestnut,  and  dogwood.  The  soil  is  3£  inches  deep;  the  subsoil  is  a  buff- 
colored  clay,  unproductive  when  not  mixed  with  the  soils.  The  crops  of  the  county  are  coftou,corn,  wheat,  potatoes,  and  oats.  Cotton 
comprises  half  of  these  crops,  and  yields  600  pounds  in  the  seed  per  acre  on  fresh  gray  lands.  Cultivation  of  five  years  reduces  the 
yield  to  450  pounds,  and  1,545  pounds  make  475  of  lint,  which  is  hardly  as  good  as  that  from  fresh  land.  Cutton  grows  from  30  to  45 
inches  high,  and  is  most  troubled  by  rag-weeds.  One-half  the  land  now  lies  turned  out,  and,  if  not  washed,  is,  after  resting,  as  good  as 
theorigimil.  Hillside  ditching  aud  horizontaiiziug  prevent  this  washing,  but  some  of  the  uplands  are  already  much  injured.  The  valleys 
do  not  suffer. 

The  red  lands  comprise  20  per  cent,  of  the  tillable  lands,  and  have  a  growth  of  pine,  oak,  hickory,  chestnut,  dogwood,  and  gum. 
The  subsoil  of  these  lands  is  hard  and  stiff,  and  is  inclined  to  bake  when  exposed  to  the  sun.  Cotton  comprises  half  the  crops,  grows  36 
to  50  inches  high,  and  yields  as  on  the  sandy  lands. 

Cotton  was  first  planted  in  this  county  about  the  year  1820,  but  for  several  years  was  raised  only  in  limited  quantity.  About  the  year 
1830  the  area  devoted  to  cotton  began  to  increase,  and  has  continued  to  increase  ever  since,  the  largest  crop  being  that  of  the  present  year. 
Commercial  fertilizers  were  first  used  here  in  186S. 

Cotton  is  sold  to  local  buyers  at  the  nearest  railroad  station,  and  thence  it  is  shipped  to  Augusta,  Atlanta,  or  Savaunah. 

359 


94  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

ROCKDALE. 

Population:  0,838.— White,  4,149 ;  colored,  2,6S0. 

Area:   120  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  33,520  acres. — Area  planted  in  eotton,  14,448  acres;  in  corn,  9,951  acres;  in  wheat,  3,208  acres  ; 
iu  oats,  2,401  acres  ;  in  rye,  25  acres. 

Cotton  production:  4,385  bales;  average  eotton  product  per  acre,  0.30  bale,  432  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  144 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Rockdale  is  covered  almost  entirely  by  granite  rocks  (in  bowlders  or  flat  rock)  and  granitic  soils  (see  general 
part,  page  35).     In  the  extreme  eastern  part  gray  sandy  soils,  derived  from  gneisses,  generally  prevail. 

The  surface  of  the  county  is  rolling  and  broken,  with  an  elevation  of  a  little  over  900  feet  above  the  sea.  It 
is  estimated  that  at  least  4.J  per  cent,  of  the  lands  are  too  rocky  for  cultivation,  and  that  G5  per  cent,  of  what  was 
once  well  timbered  have  already  been  cleared. 

The  crops  of  the  county  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  oats,  rye,  pease,  and  potatoes,  with  fruits,  viz,  peaches,  apples, 
pears,  grapes,  etc.  Tilled  lauds  comprise  43.7  per  cent,  of  the  county  area.  Cotton  has  by  far  the  greatest  acreage, 
its  average  being  120.4  acres  per  square  mile,  or  43.1  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  land.  In  the  former  regard  it  ranks  as 
sixth  in  the  state,  but  in  percentage  of  tilled  land  many  counties  are  above  it.     Its  product  per  aero  is  low. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  W.  L.  PEEK,  OF  CONYERS. 

Tfau  soils  may  be  classed  as  sandy,  with  red  snbsoil ;  red,  with  stiff  clay  subsoil;  and  sandy,  with  yellow  sandy  subsoil.  The  yray 
sandy  soils,  with  red  subsoils,  cover  half  of  the  county,  and  are  the  chief  cotton  lands.  They  extend  40  miles  east  and  west  and  10  north 
and  south,  and  have  a  growth  of  hickory,  red  and  post  oak,  pine,  aud  chestnut.  The  soil  is  only  from  1  inch  to  3  inches  deep,  aud  is 
underlaid  by  rock  at  from  1  foot  to  2  feet.  Twenty  per  cent,  of  the  lands  once  under  cultivation  now  lie  out.  They  wash  readily,  doing 
serious  damage  occasionally.  Cotton  grows  to  a  height  of  one-half  to  3  feet,  yielding  on  fresh  land  from  500  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton 
per  acre,  the  lint  rating  as  middling.  Cultivation  of  ten  years  reduces  this  yield  to  300  or  400  pounds,  the  staple  remaining  about  the 
same.     Crab-grass  is  most  troublesome. 

Cotton  comprises  one-half  the  crops,  and  shipments  are  made  by  railroad  to  Augusta  at  75  cents  per  bale,  and  to  Atlanta  at  50  cents. 

CLAYTON. 

Population:  8,027.— White,  4,938;  colored,  3,089. 

Area:  140  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands :  39,995  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  17,422  acres ;  in  corn,  11,458  acres;  in  wheat,  3,849  acres ; 
in  oats,  3,490  acres ;  in  rye,  24  acres. 

Cotton  production :  0,000  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.3S  bale,  540  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  ISO  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Clayton  county  is  almost  entirely  included  in  the  central  granite  area.  The  Atlantic  and  Gulf  water-divide 
passes  southward  through  it,  the  Central  railroad  marking  its  summit,  which  otherwise  is  not  prominent. 

The  northern  part  of  the  county  is  undulating  aud  hilly,  the  summits  of  the  ridges  being  rounded  or  often  flat, 
in  many  places  furnishing  areas  of  almost  level  lands,  well  suited  for  farms.  The  lower  portion  of  the  county  is 
not  so  hilly.  The  streams  have  low  banks  and  narrow,  sandy  bottom  lands.  The  soils  are  mostly  the  usual  gray 
sandy  or  gravelly,  peculiar  to  the  granites  (see  general  part,  page  35). 

One  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  the  county  is  said  to  be  too  broken  and  the  same  proportion  teo  swampy  for 
tillage.  The  character  of  the  soil  and  growth  and  methods  of  culture  are  similar  to  those  of  adjoining  granitic 
counties. 

.V  large  proportion  of  the  original  timber  growth  has  been  removed.  Lauds  under  cultivation  embrace  44.6 
per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  cotton  being  the  chief  crop,  its  acreage  averaging  124.4  acres  per  square  mile,  or  43.0 
per  cent,  of  the  tilled  lands.  In  the  former  regard  it  is  surpassed  only  by  the  counties  of  Pike,  Troup,  and 
Houston.     Cotton  is  shipped  by  railroad  either  to  Atlanta,  Macon,  or  Savannah. 

The  experiment  with  fertilizers,  by  J.  M.  Hull,  of  Jonesboro',  on  sandy  lauds  that  had  been  under  cultivation 
for  lifteen  years  aud  partially  manured,  gave  the  followingresults  : 

Tin-  yield  without  fresh  application  of  fertilizers  was  about  an  average  of  800  pounds  per  acre  of  seed-cotton.  "With  fertilizers  tho 
yield  varied  from  050  to  1,120  pounds  in  twenty-live  experiments  with  different  fertilizers.  The  season  was  unfavorable  for  cotton. 
With  coin,  the  application  of  fertilizers  increased  the  yield  from  13  to  18  bushels. 

•CAMPBELL. 

Population  ■.   9,970.— White,  0,085  ;  colored,  3,8S5. 

Area :  240  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands  :  01,411  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  21,448  acres;  in  corn,  14,056  acres  ;  in  wheat,  5,774  acres; 
in  oats,  5,209  acres ;  in  rye,  31  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  8,980  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.42  bale,  597  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  199 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Tin'  surface  of  Campbell  county  is  rolling,  broken,  and  hilly,  and  is  well  timbered.  The  Chattahoochee  river 
forms  its  northern  boundary,  receiving  the  drainage  from  a  large  portion  of  the  county.  On  the  southeast  tho 
streams  are  tributary  to  Flint  river. 

Granitic  lands  cover  the  largest  part  of  the  county  in  two  separate  areas,  which,  however,  unite  on  the  north. 
The  largest  of  these  covers  that  part  of  the  county  lying  east  of  the  Atlanta  and  West  Point  railroad,  and  forms  a 
300 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  9& 

portion  of  tbe  large  central  granite  region  of  the  state.  The  country  is  high  and  rolling,  with  some  broad  and 
level  tracts,  the  rock  appearing  both  as  outlying  bowlders  and  as  "flat  rock".  The  latter  is  seen  at  Palmetto,  where- 
it  forms  for  a  short  distance  the  bed  of  the  railroad.  Both  the  black  and  light  varieties  of  mica  enter  into  the  rock 
composition,  and  red  lands  are  found  occasionally,  though  the  soils  are  generally  gray  and  sandy. 

The  other  granite  area  forms  a  narrow  belt  near  to  and  parallel  with  the  Chattahoochee  river,  and  on  the 
southeast  side  of  it  is  a  strip  of  itacolumite  sandstone  with  mica-schists,  which  form  the  ridge  on  which  Oampbellton 
is  situated. 

The  granite  appears  in  large  bowlders,  and  these  on  the  southwest  are  very  numerous  and  "weather"  slowly. 
Between  the  two  granite  outcrops  or  sections  there  is  a  region  of  country  broken  and  hilly,  with  broad  level  areas, 
and  having  gray,  mulatto,  and  red  lands,  the  latter  forming  a  belt  which  extends  southwes'tward  into  Coweta  county. 
Some  trap-rocks  are  found  a  short  distance  west  of  Palmetto.  This  central  portion  is  comparatively  thinly  settled. 
Within  the  bends  of  the  Chattahoochee  river  there  are  large  tracts  of  alluvial  lands,  level,  highly  productive,  ami 
nearly,  if  not  quite,  all  in  cultivation.  Forty  per  ceut.  of  the  county  area  is  under  tillage,  the  chief  crops  being 
cotton,  corn,  oats,  and  some  wheat.  Cotton  has  the  largest  acreage,  comprising  34.9  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  lauds,  and 
averaging  89.4  acres  per  square  mile.     Its  yield  per  acre  is  high,  the  county  ranking  as  eleventh  in  the  state. 

Sliipments  are  chiefly  made  to  Atlanta. 

DOUGLAS. 

Population:  0,934.— White,  5,4(i3 ;  colored,  1,471. 

Area:  190  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  29,330  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  9,520  acres;  in  corn,  10,580 acres;  in  wheat,  3,521  acres; 
in  oats,  3,189  acres. 

Cotton  production:  4,099  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.43  bale,  615  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  205 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Douglas  county  is  hilly  and  broken,  and  10  per  cent,  is  thought  to  be  too  much  so  for  successful 
tillage.  The  drainage  is  all  to  the  Chattahoochee  river,  which  forms  the  southern  boundary.  There  are  two  belts 
of  granite  extending  across  the  county  in  an  easterly  course.  One  of  these,  in  the  northern  part,  forms  a  low  ridge, 
on  which  Dor.glasville,  the  county-seat,  is  situated,  and  extends  from  Pine  mountain,  near  Villa  Pica  on  the  west, 
to  Salt  Springs  on  the  east,  where  it  passes  northward  into  Cobb  county.  The  soil  of  this  ridge  is  gray  gravelly  and 
sandy,  and,  owing  to  its  narrow  and  rocky  area,  is  not  very  much  under  cultivation.  On  the  north  of  this  belt  the  red 
clay  lands  predominate,  derived  from  decomposed  hornblendic  material.  Some  of  the  lauds  have  a  thin  sandy  soil 
over  the  red  clays. 

The  other  narrow  granitic  belt  lies  in  the  middle  of  the  county  from  Crawfish  creek  eastward,  and  is  characterized 
by  a  level  country  and  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine.  The  soil  is  gray  sandy  and  rocky.  Between  these  granite  belts 
the  country  isrolliug  and  the  lands  are.  mostly  red  or  mulatto-colored  clays,  with  frequently  a  thin  sandy  soil. 

South  of  the  middle  granite  belt  the  country  is  at  first  but  slightly  hilly,  but  near  the  river  it  becomes  very  broken 
and  rough,  with  high  hills  facing  the  river  valley.  The  soil  is  very  gravelly,  from  the  innumerable  small  quartz  veins 
that  exist  in  the  underlying  and  outcropping  gneisses.  Garnefa  enter  largely  into  the  composition  of  these  rocks  in 
localities.    (See  analysis,  page  33.) 

The  river  valleys  are  in  this  county  wide  and  very  fertile,  and  are  largely  devoted  to  cotton  culture.  But  24.1 
per  cent,  of  the  county  area  is  under  cultivation,  the  acreage  of  corn  being  greater  than  that  of  any  other  crop. 
Cotton  has  an  average  of  50.1  acres  per  square  mile,  and  embraces  32.5  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  land.  In  its  cotton 
product  per  acre  the  county  ranks  with  Fulton  and  Gwinnett,  or  as  seventh  in  the  state. 

ABSTRACTS  FF.OM  THE  KEPOETS  OF  J.  E.  HENLEY,  M.  D.,  OF  OAMPBELLTON,  AND  F.  M.  DUNCAN,  OF  DOUGLASVILLE. 

Cotton  comprises  nearly  one-half  the  crops  of  the  uplands.  A  cold  and  wet  spring  usually  occurs,  which  is  injurious  to  the  cotton- 
plant,  and,  if  followed  by  a  dry  summer  and  wet  fall,  results  in  a  total  failure  of  the  crops. 

The  gray  lands  of  tho  uplands  cover  three-fifths  of  the  county,  and  have  a  growth  of  oak,  hickory,  chestnut,  black-jack,  and  pine. 
They  yield  from  700  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  when  fresh,  or  400  pounds  after  ten  years'  cultivation.  The  staple  rates  as  low 
middling,  but  from  old  lands  is  shorter  and  liner  than  at  first;  1,545  pounds  make  475  pounds  of  lint.  The  height  of  the  stalk  is  from  3 
to  5  feet,  running  to  weed  in  wet  places.     The  liberal  application  of  fertilizers  prevents  this  tendency. 

The  red  and  mulatto  lands  differ  from  the  gray  in  having  sometimes  walnut  and  but  little  pine.  They  are  best  adapted  to  wheat, 
though  producing  cotton  as  well  as  the  gray  lands.  Hog-  and  rag-weeds  and  crab-grass  are  very  troublesome  on  all  the  uplands.  About 
10  x>er  cent,  of  lands  once  cleared  now  lie  turned  out. 

The  river  valleys  are  in  many  places  in  this  county  quite  wide  and  rich,  and  furnish  tho  county  with  a  large  part  of  its  cultivated 
lands.  The  growth  is  sweet  gum ,  white  aud  red  oak,  hickory,  walnut,  poplar,  elm,  maple,  etc.  The  soil  is  a  dark,  fine  sandy  loam,  10  inches, 
in  depth,  over  a  red  clay.  It  is  best  adapted  to  cotton,  which  comprises  one-half  of  the  crops,  grows  to  a  height  of  from  3  to  5  feet,  and 
yields  1,000  pounds  of  seed-eottou  per  acre  when  fresh  and  800  after  twenty  years'  cultivation,  1,720  pounds  of  seed-cotton  making  475 
pounds  of  lint.  The  crops  are  most  troubled  with  rag-weeds,  and  especially  crab-grass.  To  prevent  these  bottom  crops  from  running  to 
weed  commercial  fertilizers  are  used.     One-tenth  of  the  lands  now  lies  turued  out,  being  much  benefited  by  rest. 

Shipments  are  made  about  the  1st  of  December  to  Atlanta,  by  rail,  at  $1  per  bale. 

CARROLL. 

Population:  10,901.— White,  14,591;  colored,  2,310. 

Area:  540  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  land* :  85,083  acres. — Area  plauted  in  cotton,  22,593  acres ;  in  corn,  28,904  acres ;  in  wheat,  10,414  acres  ; 
in  oats,  7,729  acres ;  in  rye,  134  acres. 

Cotton  production :  9,300  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.41  bale,  58S  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  190 
pounds  cotton  lint. 


96  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

Carroll  county  lias  a  rolling  surface,  and  is  covered  very  generally  with  gray  sandy  and  gravelly  soils.  Quartz 
fragments,  some  quite  large,  are  found  in  various  sections,  and  common  garnets  from  the  size  of  a  pea  to  an  inch 
or  two  in  diameter  are  often  associated  with  the  gneisses. 

Red  lands  from  hornblende  occur  in  small  and  large  areas  over  the  county,  but  the  most  prominent  are  on  the 
Tallapoosa  river,  northwest  of  Carrollton,  and  along  the  county-line  on  the  north.  The  county  is  well  timbered 
throughout  with  oak,  hickory,  short  leaf  pine,  etc.,  and  24.8  per  cent,  of  its  area  is  under  cultivation.  The  county 
properly  belongs  to  the  chief  gold  belt  of  the  state,  and  several  mines  are  worked.  Copper  ores  also  exist.  Corn  is 
the  chief  crop  of  the  county,  while  cotton  comprises  1JG.4  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  area,  and  averages  41.8  acres  per 
square  mile.  In  average  product  per  acre  it  ranks  as  seventeenth.  The  following  experiment  was  reported  to  the 
state  department  of  agriculture  by  G.  A.  McDauiel : 

The  yield  of  freshly-cleared  gray  sandy  land  without  fertilizers  is  300  pounds  per  acre;  the  same  with  200  pounds  of  commercial 
fertilizers,  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  On  hunt  nine  years  in  cultivation  and  previously  fertilized  the  yield  was  8G0  pounds 
per  acre;  the  same  with  a  fresh  application  of  200  pounds  gave  a  yield  of  from  1,067  to  1,330  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  Red  lands 
that  had  been  twenty-live  years  in  cultivation  and  partly  manured  gave  a  yield  of  800  pounds.  The  application  of  250  pounds  fertilizers 
produced  a  yield  of  1,200  pounds  per  acre. 

ABSTRACT   FROM  THE   REPORT   OF  R.   H.   SPRINGER,   OV   WHITESBUEG. 

The  uplands  vary  greatly  in  character,  from  good  to  those  worthless  except  for  timber.  They  are  preferred  to  the  bottom  lands, 
which  are  late  in  their  crops.  Three  varieties  or,  classes  of  soils  are  distinguished.  The  light  sandy  uplands,  with  pine,  oak,  and  hickory 
growth,  and  a  depth  of  6  inches  to  a  red  or  yellow  or  clay  subsoil,  is  early,  warm,  well  drained,  easy  to  till,  and  is  best  adapted  to  cotton, 
which  comprises  about  50  per  cent,  of  the  crops.  It  yields  when  fresh  about  600  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  or  200  pounds  of  lint, 
rating  as  first-class  low  middling.  Ten  years  reduces  this  yield  to  250  pounds  of  seed-cotton  and  the  staple  to  "ordinary'',  1,545  pounds 
being  required  to  make  475  pounds  of  lint.  The  plant  runs  to  weed  with  too  much  rain,  heavy  fertilizing  being  the  remedy.  Crab-grass 
aud  rag-weeds  are  most  troublesome  on  this  land.  Horizont alizing  is  used,  with  only  partial  success,  in  preventing  the  clay  washings 
from  hillsides,  which  cover  up  and  impoverish  the  valleys. 

The  red  lands,  with  their  heavy  red-clay  subsoils  and  growth  similar  to  that  of  the  gray  lands,  are  early,  warm,  and  easy  to  till. 
Cotton,  which  comprises  one-third  of  the  crops,  gro\v«  to  a  height  of  2  feet,  and  yields,  when  the  land  is  fresh,  700  pounds  of  seed-cotton 
per  acre,  1,43"'  pounds  making  475  pounds  of  lint.  The  land  rapidly  deteriorates,  and  in  ten  years  the  product  is  only  about  200  pounds 
of  seed-cotton,  1,545  pounds  being  required  for  475  pounds  of  lint. 

The  bottom  lands,  6  inches  deep,  with  red  and  yellow  clay  subsoils,  are  also  devoted  largely  to  cotton,  which  grows  4  feet  high  and 

yields  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  land,  the  lint  rating  as  first  class.     These  lands  also  rapidly  fail,  and  in  ten  years  the 

yield  is  only  300  pounds,  and  its  lint  rates  second  class. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made,  by  railroad,  to  Newnan,  aud  thence  to  Atlanta  and  other  points. 
t 

HEARD. 

Population :  8,769.— While,  5,(574 ;  colored,  3,005. 

Area:  200  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  metamorphie,  all. 

Tilled  land?  :  47,701  acres.— Area  planted  in  cotton,  17,348  acres  ;  in  corn,  17,209  acres  ;  in  wheat,  4,900  acres  ; 
in  oats,  3,092  acres ;  in  rye,  40  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  5,900  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.34  bale,  4S0  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  102 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  Chattahoochee  river  divides  Heard  county  into  two  sections.  On  the  east  side  there  is  a  granite  belt  or 
ridge  from  150  to  200  feet  above  the  river,  which  crosses  it  below  Franklin  and  extends  into  Alabama.  The  rest  of 
the  county  on  the  east  aud  southeast  is  rolling  and  broken,  the  ridges  being  broad  and  flat,  with  granites  aud  gray 
gneisses,  which  form  gray  sandy  and  gravelly  soils,  and  have  a  growth  of  oaks,  hickory,  and  chestnut  on  the  uplands, 
and  beech,  maple,  poplar,  and  sweet  and  black  gums  along  the  streams. 

The  country  west  of  the  river  is  rugged  and  mountainous,  rising  toward  the  northwest  to  an  elevation  of  000 
feet  above  the  river.  This  northwestern  portion  is  extremely  broken  and  hilly  and  rather  thinly  settled.  Black 
Jack  ridge  crosses  the  corner  of  the  county  from  Carroll  county  into  Alabama. 

The  ''Backbone"  ridge  lies  to  the  west,  having  in  its  formation  itacolnmite  sandstone,  and  niagnesian  rocks; 
but  to  the  northwest  the  formation  is  chiefly  composed  of  mica-schists  aud  gray  gneisses  full  of  small  quartz  veins, 
forming  soils  mostly  gray,  witli  the  usual  associated  red  clays  and  sands  in  patches  and  narrow  belts.  These  lands 
extend  southward  over  the  rest  of  the  county,  which  is  much  more  level.  The  growth  of  this  western  section  is 
tall  long-leaf  pine,  scrub  oak,  and  hickory,  and  on  uplands  some  small  areas  have  oak,  hickory,  and  chestnut 
exclusively.     On  the  banks  of  the  streams  are  poplars,  gum,  ironwood,  laurel,  and  wild  cucumber  trees. 

About  2  per  cent,  of  the  county  area  is  said  to  be  too  broken  for  tillage,  and  the  same  amount  is  of  irreclaimable 
swamp.  The  lands  under  cultivation  comprise  25.7  per  cent,  of  the  county  area.  Cotton  and  corn  have  nearly 
the  same  acreage,  the  former  having  an  average  of  59.8  acres  per  square  mile,  or  36.3  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  lands. 

The  effect  of  judicious  fertilization  on  both  gray  and  red  lands  is  shown  in  the  following  experiments  by  J.  C. 
Brewer,  of  Antioch,  on  three  plats  of  land : 

1.  Gray  sandy  soil,  red-clay  subsoil,  cultivated  six  years;  no  manure  previously  used.  Original  growth,  pine,  hickory,  post  oak.  and 
red  oak.     Yield  without  fertilizers,  ij'.lt)  pounds  id"  seed-cotton  per  acre;  yield  with  fertilizers,  from  DIG  to  1,111  pounds  of  seed-cotton. 

2.  Soil  aud  growth  same  as  No.  1 :  has  been  but  slightly  manured  previously,  and  has  beeu  in  cultivation  fifty  years.  Yield,  about 
COO  pounds  per  acre;  when  freshly  fertilized,  from  010  to  1,137  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre. 

3.  Stiff  red  clay  soil;  original  growth,  oak,  hickory,  poplar,  and  black  gum.  Cleared  in  1874,  and  well  fertilized  each  year.  Yield, 
1,500  pounds  per  acre;  yield  with  fresh  fertilizers,  from  1,010  to  1,077  pouuds  of  seed-cottou. 

In  this  last  plat  the  effect  of  yearly  fertilization   is   shown  by  the  large  yield  without  fresh  applications.     These  results  were 
corroborated  iu  the  nest  year  by  a  still  greater  yield. 
362 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  97 

ABSTRACT  FEOM  THE  EEPOET   OF   E.  H.  JACKSON,   OF  FRANKLIN. 

The  gray  sandy  lands  of  the  county  are  the  ones  chiefly  devoted  to  cotton.  The  gray  soils  of  the  river  bottoms  are  also  very  rich, 
have  a  depth  of  36  inches,  and  produce  cotton  very  well.  The  gray  lands  of  the  uplands  have  a  depth  of  from  2  to  8  inches,  with  a  red  or 
yellow  subsoil.  The  soil  is  easily  tilled,  and  produces  good  crops  of  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  and  oats,  but  is  best  adapted  to  cotton.  This 
grows  to  a  height  of  48  inches,  producing  from  800  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  the  lint  rating  as  good  ordinary.  After  a 
few  years'  cultivation  the  yield  is  diminished  from  300  to  GOO  pounds,  or,  if  manured,  from  500  to  1,000  pounds  per  acre,  and  1,660  pounds  are 
required  to  make  475  pounds  of  lint.  Rag-weeds  and  crab-grass  are  most  troublesome  to  these  crops.  One-twentieth  of  the  land  now 
lies  out,  due  probably  to  the  washing  and  gullying  to  which  the  soil  is  very  subject.  The  valleys  are  not  much  injured.  Hillside 
ditching,  when  well  done,  is  successful  in  checking  the  damage. 

Cotton,  when  baled,  is  hauled  to  La  Grange  in  wagons,  and  there  sold  to  merchants. 

COWETA. 

Population:  21,109.— White,  9,305;  colored,  11,804. 

Area:  440  square  miles — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  110,956  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  48,494  acres ;  in  corn,  28,980  acres ;  in  wheat,  9,392  acres ; 
in  oats,  10,385  acres;  in  rye,  7G  acres. 

Cotton  production:  10,282  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.34  bale,  477  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  159 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  general  elevation  of  Coweta  county  is  about  975  feet.  Its  surface  is  hilly  and  broken  on  the  east  and 
west,  and  higher,  though  quite  level  in  the  central  portion — the  water-divide.  The  lands  embrace  belts  of  gray  and 
Ted  soils  underlaid  by  clay  subsoils.  The  small  streams  are  tributary  in  part  to  the  Chattahoochee  river  on  the 
west  and  in  part  to  the  Flint  on  the  east. 

On  the  west  and  northwest  is  a  large  area  of  feldspathic  granites — a  very  broken  and  hilly  country  having  a 
gray  sandy  and  gritty  soil  with  quartz  gravel.  On  the  east  of  this  the  country  is  more  level,  with  a  belt  of  gneisses 
5  miles  in  width,  also  giving  a  gray  sandy  soil,  intermixed  with  some  red  lauds,  from  associated  mica-schists  and 
horubleudic  rocks.  Between  this  belt  and  Newnau  on  the  east,  a  distance  of  8  or  10  miles,  are  two  belts  of  red 
hornblendic  clay  lands,  extending  a  little  east  of  north  into  Campbell  county  and  southward  into  the  northwestern 
corner  of  Meriwether  county.  But  little  quartz  is  found  in  these  belts,  and  between  the  belts  are  found  the  gray 
feldspathic  soils.  East  of  Newnan  to  Sharpsburg  are  chiefly  red  soils,  derived  from  hornblendic  rocks  and 
mica-schists,  but  east  to  the  county-line  the  lands  are  chiefly  gray,  with  outcrops  of  feldspathic  gneisses  and  some 
granite.  These  latter  soils  are  characteristic  of  the  northeast,  east,  and  southeast  portions  of  the  county.  They 
contain  much  quartz  gravel,  aud  the  country  is  very  broken,  with  a  prominent  growth  of  long-  and  short-leaf  pine, 
and  oaks,  chestnut,  and  hickory.  The  largest  trap  dike  in  the  state  has  its  upper  limit  in  this  county  just  north 
of  Newnan,  and  passes  east  of  White  Oak  creek,  with  an  increasing  width  southward  into  Meriwether  county.  Its 
breadth  is  about  125  yards.  The  rocks  are  of  all  sizes,  very  hard  and  rounded,  the  weathered  aud  decomposed 
surface  forming  deep  yellow  soils;  its  area  is  not  tillable. 

The  lands  under  tillage  embrace  41.5  per  cent,  of  the  county  area.  The  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  small  grain, 
sorghum-cane,  aud  potatoes.  The  acreage  of  cotton  is  by  far  the  largest,  averaging  110.2  acres  per  square  mile, 
or  41.5  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  lands.  In  the  former  respect  the  county  ranks  as  tenth  in  the  state  and  as  fourth 
in  the  total  number  of  bales  produced. 

ABSTEACTS  FEOM  THE   EEPOETS   OF   A.   W.   STOKES  AND   BENJAMIN   LEIGH,   OF  NEWNAN. 

The  lands  of  the  county  may  be  classed  as — 

1.  Gray  sandy  or  pine-woods  lands,  covering  the  largest  part  of  the  county,  aud  having  gray  sandy  soils,  3  inches  deep,  sometimes  black 
in  the  pine  woods  from  decayed  vegetation.  The  subsoil  is  a  pale  red  clay,  compact  and  stiff,  changing  sometimes  to  a  pale  yellow,  and 
to  white  about  the  swamp,  baking  hard  when  exposed,  but  gradually  becoming  like  the  surface  soil  when  properly  cultivated.  The  soil  is 
easy  to  till  in  dry  seasons,  is  early  when  well  drained,  aud  is  best  for  cotton,  to  which  one-half  of  the  cultivated  soil  is  devoted.  The  plant 
usually  grows  18  inches  high,  aud  is  most  productive  at  24,  yielding  600  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  laud,  1,545  pounds  being 
required  to  make  475  pounds  of  lint.  After  five  years'  cultivation  the  yield  is  reduced  to  300  pounds,  and  1,0G0  pounds  make  475  pounds  of 
lint,  which  is  harsh,  short,  aud  dry,  and  generally  classed  one  grade  lower  than  that  from  fresh  land.  The  crops  are  troubled  with  rag-weed, 
-crab-grass,  and  "May-pop"  vines.  In  warm,  rainy  weather  the  plant  is  liable  to  run  to  weed  ;  toppiug  and  manuring  restrain  it.  One-half, 
and  in  some  parts  of  the  county  three-fourths  of  the  land  lies  out,  but  if  vegetable  matter  be  applied  it  yields  nearly  as  well  as  at  first.  The 
soil  washes  and  gullies  badly,  doing  serious  damage  to  the  valleys  below,  almost  destroying  their  fertility.  Horizontalizing  and  hillside 
ditching  are  resorted  to  with  success  in  checking  the  damage. 

2.  The  red  stiff  or  mulatto  lands  cover  about  one-fourth  of  the  county,  and  have  a  growth  of  post  and  red  oaks  and  hickory,  with  some 
chestnut,  poplar,  aud  pine.  The  soil  is  gravelly  in  places,  has  a  depth  of  from  4  to  8  inches  and  a  stiff,  tough  red-clay  subsoil,  that  bakes 
very  hard  when  worked  wet.  It  is  properly  called  hard-pan,  is  quite  impervious,  and  is  ruinous  when  mixed  with  the  soil.  The  soil  is  early 
if  well  drained  and  not  worked  too  wet.  It  is  best  adapted  to  wheat,  corn,  and  oats,  though  cotton  comprises  about  one-third  of  the  crops. 
This  latter  grows  to  a  height  of  2  feet,  producing,  when  fresh,  500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  with  long  and  strong  lint.  Five  years' 
cultivation  reduces  the  yield  to  300  pounds,  and  the  lint  is  shorter,  harsher,  and  rates  about  two  grades  lower  ;  1,660  or  1,720  pounds  are 
required  to  make  475  pounds  of  lint.  The  "May-pop  "  and  "  saw  briers  "  are  most  troublesome.  Two- thirds  of  this  laud  now  lies  turned 
out.     The  land  washes  badly,  ruining  the  valleys  below.     Terracing  the  uplands  and  leveling  the  valleys  are  found  to  be  beneficial. 

3.  The  bottom  lands  along  the  streams  are  very  narrow,  and,  while  extremely  rich,  are  not  as  much  esteemed  for  cottou  as  even  the 
indifferent  uplands.     The  stalk  runs  too  much  to  weed,  and  does  not  mature  soon  enough  to  produce  a  remunerative  crop  before  frost. 
Heavy  manuring  and  thick  planting  seem  to  obviate  this  difficulty,  especially  when  planted  with  an  early  variety  of  seed. 
Cottou  is  sold  at  Newnan,  the  county-seat. 

303 


98  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

FAYETTE. 

Population:  8,605.— "White,  5,742;  colored,  2,863. 

Area :  220  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  59,278  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  21,787  acres;  in  corn,  14,195  acres;  in  wheat,  4,259  acres; 
in  oats,  3,477  acres  ;  in  rye,  16  acres. 

Cotton  production:  7,131  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.33  bale,  465  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  155 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

A  prominent  feature  of  Fayette  county  is  the  prevalence  of  gray  granitic  soils  over  the  entire  county,  with  here 
aud  there  a  spot  of  red  land,  from  associated  hornblendic  rocks.  The  county  lies  in  the  fork  of  Flint  river  and  Line 
creek,  while  Whitewater  creek  flows  south  through  the  middle  portion.  The  granite  outcrops  are  not  as  prominent 
as  in  counties  north,  and  seem  to  have  been  disintegrated  more  fully. 

The  surface  of  the  country  is  slightly  hilly  anil  undulating,  but  all  of  it  is  probably  tillable.  Two  narrow  belts 
of  red  lands  occur  at  2i  aud  5  miles,  respectively,  south  from  Fayetteville,  each  with  a  width  of  from  one-half  to  three- 
fourths  of  a  mile.  One  half  of  the  county  is  said  to  have  been  cleared  of  its  timber  growth,  which  comprised  oak, 
hickory,  aud  pine;  but  near  Brook's  station  long- leaf  pine  forms  a  prominent  feature. 

The  tilled  lands  embrace  42.1  per  cent,  of  the  couuty  area.  Cotton  is  the  chief  crop,  and  has  an  average  of  99 
acres  per  square  mile,  or  36.8  per  cent,  of  the  lands  under  cultivation.  The  average  product  per  acre  is  low, 
although  fertilizers  are  used  more  or  less  in  cotton  culture. 

ABSTRACT   FROM  THE   REPORT   OF  ISAAC   G.  WOOLSEY,   M.  D.,  OF   FAYETTEVILLE. 

The  lauds  of  this  county  consist  of  creek  and  branch  bottoms,  and  uplands,  or  a  mixture  of  gray,  red,  or  mulatto  soils,  with  clay 
subsoils. 

The  uplands  are  devoted  chietly  to  cotton  culture,  the  gray  sandy  lands  being  better  than  the  red. 

The  gray  lands  cover  75  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  the  couuty,  and  have  a  growth  of  oaks  of  several  varieties,  pine,  chestnut,  and 
hickory.  The  soil  is  from  3  to  6  inches  deep,  and  has  a  clay  subsoil.  It  is  rather  late,  cold,  aud  ill  drained,  is  easy  to  cultivate,  and  is  best 
adapted  to  cotton.  The  crops  of  the  couuty  arc  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  oats,  potatoes,  etc.  Cotton  comprises  GO  per  cent,  of  these,  grows 
to  a  height  of  from  2  to  4  feet,  aud  yields  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  when  fresh.  By  a  cultivation  of  six  years  the  yield  is  reduced 
some  300  or  500  pounds,  aud  the  fiber  becomes  shorter;  1,545  pounds  make  475  pounds  of  lint.  Very  little  of  the  land  lies  out,  and  when  it  is 
again  taken  in  it  yields  almost  as  much  as  when  fresh.  It  is  very  much  injured  by  washing,  hut  this  is  readily  prevented  by  hillside  ditching 
and  rock  dams.  The  valleys  are  usually  improved  by  the  washings  of  the  uplands.  Crab-grass  is  the  chief  enemy  to  cotton  crops.  But 
little  cotton  is  planted  on  the  creek  bottoms,  as  it  is  liable  to  rust. 

Cotton  is  shipped  by  railroad  either  to  Atlanta  or  to  Savannah. 

SPALDING. 

Population:  12,585.— White,  5,439  ;  colored,  7,140. 

Area:  220  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands :  53,335  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  22,935  acres  ;  in  corn,  15,560  acres  ;  in  wheat,  4,084  acres ; 
in  oats,  3,132  acres  ;  in  rye,  18  acres. 

Cotton  production:  7,418  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.32  bale,  402  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  154 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Spalding  couuty  is  rolling  and  broken,  well  timbered,  and  is  about  equally  divided  betweeu  the 
gray  granitic  lauds  on  the  north  aud  the  red  and  gray  sandy  lands  on  the  south.  The  Central  railroad,  in  its 
southerly  course  through  the  couuty,  has  its  road-bed  along  the  top  of  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  water-divide,  a  low 
ridge  with  gradual  descents  eastward,  and  to  the  Flint  river  on  the  west.  Griffin,  which  is  situated  on  this  ridge, 
has  an  altitude  of  975  feet  above  the  sea.  The  granitic  lands,  with  their  gray  sandy  and  gravelly  soils,  cover  all  the 
northern  part  of  the  county  to  within  3  miles  north  of  Griffin,  the  region  also  extending  southward  through  the 
county  on  the  west.  Black  mica  enters  largely  into  the  composition  of  the  rock,  producing  in  some  localities  a 
red  soil. 

A  narrow  belt  of  red  land  is  found  3  miles  north  of  Griffin,  crossing  the  Newnan  railroad  4  miles  west  of  the 
town  and  covering  a  large  area  in  the  southern  part  of  the.  county.  On  the  southeast  both  gray  and  red  lands  are 
found  intermixed,  but  the  gray  predominates.  Three  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  is  said  to  be  too  swampy  and 
2h  per  cent,  loo  broken  for  cultivation.  Lands  under  cultivation  comprise  37.1  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  aud 
are  chietly  planted  in  cotton,  corn,  and  small  grain.  Cotton  has  the  greatest  acreage,  and  averages  104.3  acres  per 
square  mile,  or  43  per  cent,  of  tilled  lands. 

ABSTRACTS    FROM    THE    REPORTS    OF    J.    SI.    KELB,    S.    F.    GRAY,    AND    II.    T.    PATTERSON,    OF    SUNNY    SIDE. 

The  chief  cotton  lands  are  the  uplands,  with  their  variety  of  red,  gray,  and  mulatto  soils.  The  lowlands  have  but  a  small  area 
devoted  to  cotton  on  account  of  early  fall  frosts,  which  cut  off  the  crop. 

The  gray  land*,  with  their  sandy  soils,  from  3  to  12  inches  deep,  comprise  60  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  the  county.  Tho  subsoil  is  a 
red  and  yellow  clay,  gradually  mixing  with  the  surface  soil,  and  when  plowed  in  wet  weather  is  apt  to  bake.  The  growth  is  red, 
white,  post,  and  Spanish  oaks,  chestnut,  hickory,  piue,  poplar,  gum,  ash,  birch,  and  elm.  The  soil  is  best  adapted  to  cotton,  though  all 
crops  do  well,  and  the  peach  and  grape  are  profitably  cultivated.  Cotton,  comprising  50  per  ceut.  of  tho  crops,  grows  to  an  average  height 
of  3  feet,  and  yields  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  lands,  with  middling  lint.  After  six  years'  cultivation  the  product  is- 
304 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  99 

600  pounds  per  acre,  aud  1,545  pounds  are  required  for  475  pounds  of  lint.  Rag-weeds  and  crab-grass  are  most  troublesome.  Ten  per 
cent,  of  these  lands  now  lie  out,  and,  as  they  usually  grow  up  in  sedge-grass,  they  soon  are  as  good  as  when  fresh.  No  damage  is  done  by 
the  washiug  or  gullying  of  the  uplands. 

The  red  lands,  which  are  interspersed  with  the  gray  and  have  the  same  growth,  have  a  red-clay  loam  soil,  from  3  to  10  inches  in  depth, 
over  a  rod  and  stiff  clay  subsoil.  Cotton  is  planted  to  the  extent  of  50  per  cent.,  grows  to  3  feet  in  height,  and  yields  800  pounds  of 
seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  land  and  500  pounds  after  six  years'  cultivation.  Kag-weed,  crab-grass,  and  May-pop  vines  are  most 
troublesome.     Ten  per  cent,  of  these  lands  also  lie  out,  but  produce  finely  after  a  rest.     These  red  uplands  do  not  wash  much. 

The  mulatto  lands,  or  a  mixture  of  the  red  and  gray,  have  the  same  growth  as  above.  Cotton  grows  to  a  height  of  from  3  to  5  feet,  but 
is  most  productive  at  4  feet,  and  yields  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  laud  and  1,000  pounds  after  six  years'  cultivation. 
Five  per  cent,  of  these  lands  now  lies  out.     Cotton  is  sold,  as  soon  as  ginned,  at  Griffin  or  other  stations. 

HENRY. 

Population:  14,193.— White,  7,901  ;  colored,  6,232. 

Area:  400  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  73,583  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  35,730  acres ;  in  corn,  21,903  acres ;  in  wheat,  7,406  acres; 
in  oats,  5,321  acres;  in  rye,  44  acres. 

Cotton  production :  10,930  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.31  bale,  435  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  145 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Henry  county  is  rolling  and  hilly,  the  streams  all  flowing  eastward  from  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  water-divide, 
which  crosses  the  southwestern  corner  of  the  county.  The  lands  are  almost  entirely  granitic,  with  gray  sandy  and 
gravelly  soils,  associated  with  patches,  and  a  few  narrow  belts  of  red  saudy  clays  or  mulatto  lauds.  At  Locust 
Grove,  McDonough,  and  northward  are  found  areas  of  red  lands,  derived  largely  from  the  biotite  mica  of  the  rocks, 
while  over  the  rest  of  the  county  these  spots  are  abundant. 

Of  the  lands  of  the  county  1$  per  cent,  is  said  to  be  too  broken  and  3  per  cent,  too  swampy  for  tillage.  It  is 
thought  that  68  per  cent,  of  the  original  timber  growth  has  been  removed.  The  lauds  under  cultivation  embrace 
28.7  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  and  of  this  48.6  per  cent,  is  in  cotton,  the  chief  crop,  its  average  being  89.3  acres 
per  square  mile. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE   EEPOET   OF  J.   A.   C.   WYNN,   OF   WYNN'S  MILL. 

The  lands  of  the  couuty  may  b.e  classed  as  follows  :  Gray  sandy  and  red  uplands,  with  a  small  area  of  sandy  bottoms.  The  sandy  and 
gray  uplands,  comprising  one-half  of  the  county  area,  with  a  stiff  clay  subsoil  and  a  growth  of  red  and  post  oaks  and  hickory,  aro  best 
adapted  to  cotton  and  corn,  one-half  of  the  cultivated  lands  being  devoted  to  the  former.  The  uplands  wash  readily,  injuring  the  valleys 
slightly.  Very  little  of  the  laud  now  lies  idle,  as  the  old  lauds  are  found  to  produce  very  well  by  the  application  of  100  pounds  of  guano 
per  acre.  Fresh  lauds  yield  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  The  lint  rates  as  good  middling.  After  ten  years'  cultivation  the  yield 
is  500  pounds,  with  low  middling  staple ;  1,545  pounds  are  then  required  to  make  475  pounds  of  lint.     Rag-weeds  are  most  troublesome. 

The  bottom  lands  have  a  growth  of  poplar,  sweet  gum,  white  oak,  and  beech,  and  are  best  adapted  to  corn,  but  little  cotton  being 
planted  on  them. 

Cotton  is  sold  to  local  buyers. 

NEWTON. 

Population .-  13,623.— White,  6,740 ;  colored,  0,883. 

Area  :  200  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  metainorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  65,039  acres;  area  planted  in  cotton,  27,801  acres;  in  corn,  17,112  acres  ;  in  wheat,  4,892  acres;  in 
oats,  4,999  acres ;  in  rye,  36  acres. 

Cotton  production :  7,796  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.28  bale,  399  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  133 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Newton  couuty,  through  the  center  of  which  flows  the  Yellow  river  and  other  parallel  streams,  all  flowing 
southward  into  the  South  river,  has  a  slightly  rolling  surface. 

That  portion  of  the  county  east  of  Covington  to  within  4  miles  of  Rutledge  has  chiefly  sandy  red  clay  lauds, 
produced  from  the  decomposition  of  biotite  gneisses,  which  are  the  prevailing  rocks.  From  Covington  westward 
to  Rocky  Plains  a  gray  sandy  soil  predominates,  with  yellow  or  red  subsoils;  while  still  farther  westward  are 
gray  granitic  lands,  with  flat  outcrops  of  the  rock.  The  granite  is  fine  grained,  and  is  much  used  for  building 
purposes.   These  various  belts  extend  north  and  south  through  the  couuty  parallel  with  the  streams. 

There  are  in  the  county  cotton  and  woolen  mills,  and  flour,  corn,  aud  lumber  mills  are  abundant.  Sixty-three  per 
cent,  of  the  tillable  laud  is  said  to  have  been  cleared.  Of  the  total  area  39  per  cent,  is  under  tillage.  Cotton  is 
the  chief  crop,  with  an  average  of  100.9  acres  per  square  mile,  or  42.8  per  ceut.  of  the  tilled  lands.  Its  average 
product  per  acre  is  very  low. 

ABSTRACTS    FROM    THE    REPORT    OF    L.    F.    LIVINGSTON,    OF    COVINGTON,     AND    JESSE    W.    WALKER,    OF    SOCIAL 

CIRCLE. 

Cotton  is  not  grown  on  the  lowlands,  as  it  will  not  mature  aud  is  killed  by  frost.  The  soil  of  the  bottoms  is  a  black  loam,  underlaid 
by  whitish  clay. 

The  cotton  lauds  of  the  county  may  be  classed  as  (1)  a  stiff  red  clay  soil  aud  subsoil,  filled  with  gravel ;  (2)  a  light  saudy  soil,  with 
■clay  subsoil,  free  from  gravel;  (3)  a  mulatto  clay  soil,  free  from  gravel.  Of  these  the  red  day  uplands  aro  chiefly  devoted  to  cotton, 
which  comprises  half  of  the  crops.  They  have  a  coarse  gravelly  clay  soil,  3  iuches  deep,  a  red-clay  subsoil,  gravelly  and  very  productive 
when  turned  up  a  few  months  before  cultivation;  the  growth  is  post,  red,  and  black  oaks,  hickory,  aud  pine.  These  lands  extend 
from  Covington  60  miles  south,  70  miles  east,  aud  40  miles  north.  They  are  early,  warm,  and  well  drained,  easy  to  cultivate  in  dry  but 
-difficult  in  wet  weather,  and  are  best  adapted  to  cotton.     The  cotton-plant  grows  to  a  height  of  from  15  to  24  inches,  but  runs  to  weed  with 

305 


100  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

excessive  rains,  which  is  prevented  by  very  shallow  plowing  and  fertilizing  with  ammoniated  fertilizers.  Fresh  lands  yield  800  pounds  of 
seed-cotton  per  acre.  Its  lint  rates  as  middling.  Ten  years'  cultivation  without  rotation  or  care  of  the  soil  reduces  the  yield  to  400  pounds, 
l.til  with  a  better  staple.  The  older  the  laud  the  better  the  staple,  a  good  staple  requiring  a  slow  growth.  "Crop"  grass,  a  variety 
peculiar  to  this  soil,  is  most  troublesome  to  the  crops.  Hog-weeds  appear  after  crops  of  wheat  and  oats.  ''Poor  Peter"  is  also  a 
troublesome  weed.  But  very  little  red  land  now  lies  out;  all  is  reclaimed  and  in  cultivation.  The  uplands,  and  sometimes  the 
valleys,  are  seriously  injured  by  the  washing  and  gullying  of  the  soils,  but  some  valleys  arc  improved  50  per  cent.  Hillside  ditching 
and  horizon talizing  are  practiced  to  prevent  injury,  and  with  good  success  when  properly  done. 

The  sandy  gray  soils,  extending  west  from  Covington,  have  a  growth  of  oak,  chestnut,  ami  pine,  a  depth  of  5  inches,  and  an  orange- 
red  clay  subsoil,  not  productive  when  turned  up  with  the  soil.  The  soil  is  early,  warm,  and  well  drained,  easy  to  cultivate  in  dry  and  wet 
seasons,  and  is  best  adapted  to  cotton  and  potatoes.  About  one-half  the  cultivated  lands  is  devoted  to  cotton,  which  grows  to  a  height 
of  from  10  to  18  inches  and  yields  600  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  land.  Ten  years'  cultivation  reduces  this  to  300  pounds. 
The  land  is  injured  by  washings,  but  the  valleys  are  not  much  damaged. 

The  mulatto  lauds  cover  a  very  small  portion  of  the  county  in  a  narrow  belt  reaching  south,  with  a  growth  of  hickory  and  oak.  The 
brown  or  mulatto  clay  soil  has  a  depth  of  from  4  to  (i  feet,  and  is  best  adapted  to  cotton,  which  comprises  two-thirds  of  the  crops  and  grows 
to  a  height  of  from  '2  to  4  feet,  yielding  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  land  and  800  pounds  after  ten  years'  cultivation. 
Rag-weeds  are  most  troublesome.  One-eighth  of  these  lauds  now  lies  turned  out,  but  will  produce  well  when  again  taken  in.  They  do 
not  wash  or  gully  as  readily  as  the  gravelly  clay  lands. 

The  cultivation  of  cotton  in  this  county  has  increased  rapidly  in  the  past  ten  years,  owing  to  the  use  of  fertilizers  and  to  improved 
preparation  and  cultivation. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made-  from  Covington  to  Atlanta  and  to  Augusta. 

MORGAN. 

Population:  1.1,0.32.— White,  4,240  ;  colored,  9,783. 

Area:  40u  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands :  82,315  acres.— Area  planted  in  cotton,  35,243  acres;  in  corn,  22,510  acres;  in  wheat,  4,0S0  acres; 
iu  oats,  4,017  acres;  in  rye,  111  acres. 

Cotton  production :  7,35S  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.21  bale,  297  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  99 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Morgan  county  is  hilly,  and  has  a  gradual  fall  from  the  west  to  the  Oconee  river  on  the  southeast,  all  the  streams 
flowing  in  that  direction.     The  Georgia  railroad  passes  through  the  center  of  the  county  almost  east  and  west. 

A  broad  belt,  in  which  red  hinds  predominate,  passes  north  and  south,  extending  in  width  from  4  miles  east 
of  Rutledge  eastward  to  1J  miles  east  of  Madison,  where  gray  sandy  lands  appear.  Other  narrow  belts  are  found 
beyond  this,  and  over  the  southern  part  of  the  county  the  red  lands  are  very  prevalent.  These  lands  are  formed 
from  granites  in  which  biotite  gneiss  is  a  large  constituent,  and  which  gives  to  the  former  their  red  character. 

The  gray  lands  of  the  northeast  part  of  the  county,  and  also  on  the  east  of  Sugar  creek,  are  very  gravelly,  and 
abound  in  quartz  fragments,  differing  in  that  respect  from  the  gray  sandy  lands  on  the  west  and  south. 

It  is  estimated  that  5  per  cent,  of  the  county  area  is  too  hilly  for  successful  cultivation,  and  that  2  per  cent, 
consists  of  irreclaimable  swamp  lands.  Some  of  the  uplands  between  the  streams  present  broad  level  areas,  which 
are  choice  lands  for  cultivation;  G2J  per  cent,  of  the  original  forest  has  been  cleared.  The  crops  of  the  county  are 
cotton,  oats,  corn,  potatoes,  and  wheat. 

There  are  in  the  county  a  cotton  factory,  carriage  and  wagon  factories,  and  flour,  corn,  and  lumber  mills. 

Lands  under  tillage  embrace  32.2  percent,  of  the  county  area.  Cotton  has  an  average  of  88.1  acres  per  square 
mile,  or  42.8  per  cent,  of  tilled  lands.     The  average  product  per  acre  of  cotton  is  very  small. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  GRANT  D.  PERRY,  OF  MADISON. 

Tho  lands  vary  greatly  from  one  stream  to  another,  but  may  be  generally  classed  as  follows:  Park  red  loam,  4  inches  deep,  with  red 
subsoils,  and  covering  half  of  the  county  ;  graj"  sandy  lands,  3  inches  deep,  with  red  subsoils,  comprising  -JO  per  eent.  of  the  area ;  alluvial 
river  lands  or  bottoms,  comprising  10  per  cent,  of  the  area. 

The  red  lands  have  a  growth  of  oak,  hickory,  chestnut,  poplar,  gum,  ash,  and  persimmon.  Cotton  comprises  00  percent,  of  tho  crops 
on  this  soil,  grows  from  3  to  6  feet  high,  runs  to  weed  iu  wet  weather  unless  prevented  by  plowing  close  to  the  stalk,  and  yields  from  800 
to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  The  lint  rates  as  good  middling.  After  twenty  years'  cultivation  the  yield  is  diminished  1o  450 
pounds.  Crab-grass  is  most  troublesome.  Forty  per  cent,  of  these  lands  now  lie  turned  out  and  are  much  injured  by  washing,  which  also 
damages  some  of  the  valleys. 

The  gray  lands,  having  a  growth  of  oak,  hickory,  chestnut,  persimmon,  and  pine,  are  best  adapted  to  cotton  and  oats,  and  arc  late  and 
easy  to  cultivate.  Seventy  per  ceut.  of  cotton  is  planted  on  them.  It  grows  to  a  height  of  from  2  to  4  feet,  yielding  1,000  pounds  of 
seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  land  and  450  pounds  after  twenty  years'  cultivation. 

The  bottom  alluvial  lands  along  the  creeks  and  large  streams  have  a  width  of  from  100  to  (J00  yards  and  a  growth  of  gum,  willow,  alder, 
poplar,  and  oak.  They  have  a  clay  loam  soil  from  10  inches  to  10  feet  in  depth  and  a  blue  clay  subsoil.  The  soil  is  late  and  somewhat 
difficult  to  till  in  wet  seasons,  and  is  best  adapted  to  corn  and  oats.  Cottou  on  these  bottom  lands  is  liable  to  be  too  late  for  full  maturity. 
It  grows  to  a  height  of  from  4  to  7  feet,  is  most  productive  at  4  feet,  and  ruus  to  weed  iu  wet  weather,  which  is  prevented  by  plowing  near 
the  stalk  and  breaking  the  roots.  Its  yield  on  fresh  land  is  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and  after  twenty  years'  cultivation  the  yield 
is  GOO  pounds,  provided  the  uplands  have  not  washed  down  and  covered  up  the  good  soil  with  sand.  Crab-grass  gives  most  trouble  on  these 
bottoms.     About  30  per  ceut.  of  the  laud  lies  out,  but  it  produces  well  when  again  taken  in. 

Dry  weather  is  a  great  drawback  to  the  growth  of  upland  cotton.      The  land  is  so  poor  that  it  must  be  stimulated  with  commercial 
fertilizers,  which  add  so  much  to  the  coat  that  without  good  seasons  there  is  no  profit.     Shipments  are  made  by  railroad  to  Augusta. 
300 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  101 

GREENE. 

Population:  17,547.— White,  5,573  ;  colored,  11,974. 

Area:  340  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  91,224  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  40,037  acres;  in  corn,  25,827  acres;  in  wheat,  6,473  acres; 
in  oats,  6,074  acres;  in  rye,  92  acres. 

Cotton  production:  12,448  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.31  bale,  444  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  148 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Greene  county  along  the  Oconee  river  is  very  hilly,  with  steep  ascents  from  the  river,  but 
eastward  the  slopes  are  more  gentle. 

In  the  southeastern  part  of  the  county  there  is  a  large  granitic  area,  in  which  the  rocks  appear  in  immense 
bowlders,  having  coarse,  feldspar  crystals  and  forming  gray  gravelly  soils.  The  granitic  section  extends  westward 
to  Richland  creek,  northwest  to  within  one  mile  of  Greensboro',  and  thence  eastward. 

A  wide  belt  of  red  clay  lands  irom  horublendic  gneiss  borders  the  granitic  region,  passing  through  Union 
Point,  Greensboro',  and  thence  southward.  Westward  from  this  to  the  river  on  the  west,  and  northward  for 
several  miles,  are  gray  sandy  lands,  with  a  few  granite  outcrops,  interspersed  with  small  areas  of  red  lands. 
In  the  northern  part  of  the  county  the  red  lands  again  predominate.     (See  analyses  of  soils,  pages  33  and  35.) 

It  is  thought  that  58  per  cent,  of  the  county  (originally  timbered  with  oak,  hickory,  and  pine)  has  been  cleared. 
At  present,  however',  but  41.9  per  cent,  of  the  total  area  is  under  tillage.  Cotton  is  the  chief  crop,  and  averages  117.8. 
acres  per  square  mile,  or  44.9  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  land.  In  the  former  regard  the  county  ranks  as  seventh  in  the 
state,  but  in  product  per  acre  it  is  very  low. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF   J.  B.  Y.  WARNER,  OF    GREENSBORO'. 

The  gray  sandy  uplands,  covering  two-thirds  of  the  county,  are  the  chief  cotton  lands.  They  have  sometimes  a  whitish,  but  usually 
red  clay  subsoil.  The  cotton  stalk  grows  to  a  height  varying  from  6  inches  to  6  feet,  and  is  most  productive  at  2  or  3  feet.  It  runs  to  weed 
on  red  and  rich  lands  during  wet  weather.  Crab-grass,  rag- weed,  etc.,  give  the  crops  much  trouble.  The  lauds  produce  from  1,000  to  1,500 
pouuds  of  seed-cotton  wheu  fresh.  In  some  cases  the  yield  iu  teu  years  is  not  more  than  half  of  this.  About  one-half  of  the  lands 
originally  under  cultivation  now  lies  out,  and,  if  not  washed  much  before  turning  out,  yields  a  fair  crop  when  again  taken  in.  Some  of 
the  valleys  and  uplands  are  ruined  by  the  washing  of  the  latter ;  deep  plowing  is  iu  rare  instances  practiced  to  prevent  it,  and  with  good 
success.     The  growth  of  the  uplands  is  oak,  hickory,  chestnut,  poplar,  pine,  dogwood,  and  black  and  sweet  gums. 

Shipments  are  made,  via  Augusta,  to  Charleston  and  to  Savannah  by  rail. 

TALIAFERRO. 

Population:  7,034.— White,  2,312 ;  colored,  4,722. 

Area:  180  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands :  40,616  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  14,05S  acres ;  in  corn,  9,901  acres ;  in  wheat,  3,086  acres;  in 
oats,  4,305  acres ;  in  rye,  34  acres. 

Cotton  production:  4,758  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.34  bale,  4S3  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  101 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Through  Taliaferro  county  there,  passes  a  ridge  in  an  easterly  course,  dividing  the.  tributaries  of  the  Little  river 
and  of  the.  Ogeechee,  and  marked  by  the  Georgia  railroad.  Crawfordville,  situated  on  this  ridge,  has  an  elevation 
ef  618  feet  above  the  sea. 

The  general  surface  of  the  county  is  rolling,  with  granites  on  the  southwest,  center,  and  northeast,  clay-slates 
on  the  east  of  Crawfordville  toward  Raytown,  and  horublendic  rocks  on  the  north,  each  with  their  characteristic- 
gray  gravelly,  gray  clayey,  and  red  clay  or  mulatto  lands. 

The  crops  of  the  county  are.  corn,  cotton,  wheat,  oats,  and  sorghum.  The  entire  county  is  tillable,  and  50  per 
cent,  of  the  original  timber  growth  is  thought  to  have  been  removed.  The  tilled  lands  comprise  40.5  per  cent,  of 
the  total  area,  cotton  being  the  chief  crop,  with  an  average,  of  78.1  acres  per  square  mile. 

ABSTRACT   FROM    THE    REPORT    OF   LIONEL   L.  VEAZEY,  OF    CRAWFORDSVILLE. 

The  cotton  lauds  of  the  county  are  classed  as  red,  mulatto,  and  gray,  and  are  all  adapted  to  corn  and  cotton.  Cotton  comprises  half 
the  crops,  grows  to  a  height  of  from  3  to  5  feet,  and  yields  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  (sometimes  more)  on  fresh  land.  After 
three  years'  cultivation  the  yield  is  only  000  or  800  pounds  per  acre,  1,545  pounds  of  seed-cotton  making  475  pounds  of  lint,  which  rates  as. 
first-class  from  new  lands  and  a  little  lower  from  old.  Carrot-  and  hog-weeds  are  most  troublesome.  One-fourth  of  the  lands  now  lies, 
out ;  after  fifteen  or  twenty  years'  rest  they  produce  almost  as  well  as  fresh  lands.  The  uplands  wash  readily  and  are  seriously  damaged, 
but  the  valley  lands  are  rather  improved. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  to  Augusta. 

LINCOLN. 

Population:  6,412.— White,  2,254;  colored,  4,158. 

Area :  280  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  37,813  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  12,798  acres;  in  corn,  11,029  acres;  in  wheat,  2,125  acres; 
in  oats,  7,035  acres ;  in  rye,  13  acres. 

Cotton  production:  3,861  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.30  bale,  429  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  143 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

307 


102  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

The  surface  of  Lincoln  comity  is  rolling  and  hilly,  the  most  prominent  point  being  Graves'  mountain,  on  the  west. 
A  belt  of  granite  extends  through  Liucoluton  to  the  mountain,  and  another  outcrop  is  fouud  in  the  southwestern 
corner  of  the  county,  both  forming  gray  sandy  and  gravelly  soils.  Over  the  rest  of  the  county  the  red  clayey 
and  gray  sandy  lands  are  found  in  alternating  belts.  About  2i  per  cent,  of  the  area  is  too  hilly  or  broken  for 
cultivation.     (See  analysis  of  soil,  page  37.) 

Gold  is  being  mined  extensively.  Graves'  mountain  is  composed  of  a  soft,  friable  sandstone,  containing 
crystals  of  rutile.  etc. 

The  drainage  of  the  county  is  to  the  Savannah  river.  It  is  estimated  that  37  per  cent,  of  the  original  timber 
growth  has  been  cleared;  21.1  per  cent,  of  the  total  eouwty  area  is  under  cultivation  in  corn,  wheat,  cotton,  oats, 
and  potatoes.  Cotton  is  the  chief  crop,  with  an  average  of  45.7  acres  per  square  mile,  or  33.9  per  cent,  of  the  tilled 
lands. 

The  following  experiment  was  reported  by  J.  M.  Dill,  of  Clay  Hill,  to  the  Georgia  department  of  agriculture: 

The  land  was  a  sandy  loam,  with  clay  subsoil,  and  had  be6D  in  cultivation  sixty  years.  Tho  original  growth  was  white  and  red  oaks, 
h  jkory,  etc.;  had  been  lightly  manured  previous  to  1879.  Without  fertilizers  the  yield  was  o65  pounds  per  acre;  with  fertilizers  and 
.tfompost,  from  935  to  1,470  pounds  of  seed-cotton. 

Another  plat  in  the  same  field  the  following  year  gave,  without  additional  fertilizers,  GG5  pounds  average  per  acre;  with  fertilizers 
and  composts,  from  1,085  to  1,295  pounds  of  seed-eotton. 

ABSTRACTS   FROM    THE    REPORTS    OF    C.    E.    STROTIIER    AND    N.    A.    CRAWFORD,    OF    L1NCOLNTON. 

Cotton  is  planted  here  on  the  uplands  and  bottoms.  The  upland  is  the  surest  for  a  crop,  is  planted  earlier  and  matures  faster,  and  is 
.not  no  liable  to  rust  as  the  sandy  bottoms.  The  loamy  bottoms  with  favorable  seasons  sometimes  yield  1 ,500  pounds  of  seed-eotton  per  acre, 
but  because  of  the  better  yield  of  corn  on  these  lowlands  they  are  but  little  devoted  to  cotton.  From  one-third  to  one-half  of*  the  uplands 
under  cultivation  is  devoted  to  cotton. 

Of  the  uplands  the  gray  sandy  lands  having  red-clay  subsoils  are  best  for  cotton,  and  those  are  selected  which  are  on  soul  hern  slopes 
-of  hills,  beiug  more  exposed  to  the  rays  of  the  sun  in  the  spring  and  better  protected  from  frosts  and  cold  winds.  The  growth  of  these 
lands  is  post  oak,  black-jack,  and  hickory.  The  soil  has  a  depth  of  about  G  inches  to  a  stiff  red-clay  subsoil.  The  rocks  are  decomposed 
or  disintegrated  to  a  depth  of  20  or  30  feet.  The  soil  is  early,  warm,  well  drained,  aud  easy  to  till,  aud  is  best  adapted  to  cotton  aud  oats. 
The  former  grows  to  a  height  of  3  feet,  and  runs  to  weed  on  fresh  lands  in  wet  weather,  unless  prevented  by  using  stable  manure,  either 
in  drill  or  broadcast.  On  fresh  lands  the  yield  is  from  600  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  which  is  reduced  to  500  pounds  in  five 
years'  cultivation  if  not  alternated  with  wheat  or  oats,  1,425  pounds  from  fresh  and  1,545  from  old  lands  making  475  pounds  of  lint,  tho 
staple  in  the  former  sometimes  rating  higher  and  bringing  in  market  1  cent  more  per  pound.  Crab-gross  is  the  most  troublesome  on 
these  gray  lands.  Seven-tenths  of  these  lands  originally  in  cultivation  now  lie  out,  and  have  a  growth  of  old-field  pine.  They  do  not 
produce  well  when  taken  in  again  without  the  use  of  fertilizers.  The  valleys  would  be  injured  50  per  cent,  by  the  washing  and  gullying 
■  of  the  gray  uplands  if  a  system  of  ditching  or  draining  were  not  kept  up  by  the  best  class  of  farmers. 

Tho  red  clay  lands  also  have  a  growth  of  oak  and  hickory  and  a  subsoil  of  tough  red  clay,  mixed  with  yellow  streaks,  yielding  readily 
to  a  good  two-horse  subsoil  plow.  The  soil  is  early  wheu  well  drained,  aud  is  not  difficult  to  work  either  in  wet  or  iu  dry  seasons,  and  all 
tho  crops  succeed  well  if  they  receive  proper  attention.  Cotton  grows  to  a  height  of  30  inches,  yielding  1,000  pounds  per  acre  in  dry 
seasons.  In  these  clay  lands,  when  the  plant  is  inclined  to  run  too  much  to  weed,  the  use  of  superphosphates  seems  to  check  it  and  favor 
boiling.  After  five  years'  cultivation  the  yield  is  400  or  000  pounds,  the  lint  becoming  lighter  and  the  staple  not  so  long.  Rag-  and  hog- 
weeds  are  most  troublesome  on  these  clay  soils ;  other  varieties  are  easily  subdued.  About  one-third  of  these  lands  now  lies  out,  producing 
better  cotton  crops  than  when  fresh  when  again  taken  in. 

Gray  gravelly  eoih. — Interspersed  with  the  red  aud  gray  varieties  are  gray  sandy  soils  having  a  yellow  or  black  grave],  with  much 
quartz.  The  depth  is  3  or  4  inches,  with  a  yellowish-white  sand,  very  porous  aud  miry  iu  wet  weather.  This  is  underlaid  by  sand  and 
gravel.  This  soil  is  adapted  to  corn  and  oats;  cotton  grows  to  a  height  of  3  feet,  and  yields  700  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  when  fresh 
.and  300  or  less  after  live  years'  cultivation. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made,  by  wagon  and  by  boat,  to  Augusta  at  Sti  per  bale. 

WILKES. 

Population:  15,085.— White,  5,173;  colored,  10,812. 

Area:  400  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  88,770  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  30,801  acres;  iu  corn,  21,493  acres;  in  wheat,  4,287  acres; 
in  oats,  11,855  acres;  iu  rye,  403  acres. 

Cotton  production :  11,100  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.30  bale,  513  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  171 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  'Wilkes  county  is  undulating  and  broken,  the  dividing  granite  ridge  extending  east  and  west 
through  the  middle  of  the  county.  The  soil  of  this  ridge  is  gray  and  sandy,  and  reaches  southward  over  most  of  the 
county.  To  the  northward  there  is  a  belt  of  alternating  red  clays  and  sands,  the  former  apparently  predominating. 
This  belt  has  a  southward  course  from  Elbert  county,  and  a  width  of  but  a  few  miles.  Good  clay  subsoils  underlie 
.all  of  the  county  lands.  A  small  part  of  a  tlatwoods  belt  lies  still  northward,  on  the  county-line,  and  is  a  continuation 
of  the  tlatwoods  of  South  Carolina.  The  prominent  growth  of  this  belt  is  black-jack;  the  growth  elsewhere  is  oak, 
pine,  aud  hickory. 

The  bottom  lands  are  narrow  and  sandy,  and  where  above  overflow  are  devoted  chiefly  to  the  culture  of  corn, 
owing  to  the  liability  of  injury  to  cotton  crops  by  rot  and  frosts.  About  one-third  (30.2  per  cent.)  of  the  county  area 
is  now  under  cultivation,  and  20  per  cent,  is  said  to  consist  of  worn-out  lauds  now  lying  out  and  covered  with  a 
growth  of  old  field  pine.     A  small  percentage  also  consists  of  irreclaimable  swamp  and  of  lands  too  broken  for  tillage. 

Cotton  is  the  chief  crop,  comprising  34.8  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  lands,  and  averaging  07.2  acres  per  square  mile, 
its  product  per  acre  is  greater  than  that  of  either  the  region  or  state  at  large. 
36S 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  103 

ABSTRACT   FROM   THE   REPORT    OF   JOHN    T.    WING>FIELD?  OF    WASHINGTON. 

The  lands  are  cxuite  variable  within  very  short  distances,  and  "spotted"  might  be  a  good  term  to  apply  to  them,  as  very  fine  and  very 
poor  lauds  are  contiguous,  or  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  each  other.     They  may  be  classed  as  red,  gray,  and  sandy. 

The  red  clays  are  the  best  lands.  Their  soils  are  4  inches  deep,  with  a  red-clay  subsoil,  and  rock  at  10  feet.  The  lands  seem  to  be 
best  for  oats,  though  cotton  forms  two-thirds  of  the  crops.  Fresh  lands  yield  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  The  seeds  of  the  first 
picking  are  heavier  than  those  of  subsequent  ones,  and  hence  from  1,425  to  1,780  pounds  are  required  to  make  475  pounds  of  lint.  Cultivation 
often  years  (unmanured)  reduces  the  yield  to  200  pounds  of  seed-cotton,  and  the  staple  is  much  shorter.  Hog-weeds  are  most  troublesome. 
One-third  of  the  red  lands  originally  under  cultivation  now  lies  out.  These  lands  produce  freely  for  only  three  years  after  being  again 
taken  in,  but  wash  readily,  and  are  much  injured. 

The  gray  lands,  with  their  3  inches  of  fine  sandy  and  gravelly  soils  and  yellow  and  white  clay  subsoils,  are  the  chief  cotton  lauds  of 
the  county.  Cotton  planted  on  fresh  land  yields  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  Teu  years  of  cultivation  (unmanured)  reduces  this 
yield  to  300  pounds,  but  the  staple  is  longer,  thus  differing  from  that  of  the  red  lauds. 

The  Jlatwoods  of  the  upper  part  of  this  county  and  in  the  adjoining  counties  of  Elbert  and  Oglethorpe  have  a  black  soil  with  a  yellow- 
clay  subsoil,  producing  all  the  cereals  finely  and  continuously,  making  cotton  successfully  from  4  to  6  years  after  clearing,  but  after  that 
producing  a  sufficiency  of  weed  but  no  bolls,  and  being  ruined  by  rust. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  to  Augusta,  per  railroad,  at  32  cents  per  100  pounds; 

COLUMBIA. 

Population:  10,465.— White,  3,030 ;  colored,  7,435, 

Area:  290  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  sand  hills,  70  square  miles  ;  metamorphic,  220  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  54,362  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  25,302  acres ;  in  corn,  15,632  acres  ;  in  wheat,  1,095  acres  ; 
in  oats,  3,804. 

Cotton  production :  8,313  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.33  bale,  46S  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  156 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  face  of  Columbia  county  is  much  broken,  1  per  cent,  being  too  broken  for  successful  tillage;  2J  per  cent, 
is  of  irreclaimable  swamp,  and  of  the  rest  70  per  cent,  is  said  to  have  been  cleared.  On  the  south,  and  covering 
probably  one-fourth  of  the  county,  are  the  sandy  pine  hills  of  the  "  central  cotton  belt",  with  a  predominant  growth 
of  long-leaf  pine,  the  northern  limit  being  several  miles  north  of  Sawdust,  and  at  the  Biclimond  county-line  on  the 
southeast.     The  rest  of  the  county  lies  within  the  metamorphic  region. 

On  the  southeast,  and  extending  north  along  the  river  above  the  mouth  of  Kiokee  creek,  are  the  cold  clay  lands 
of  the  siliceous  "  clay-slate"  region,  a  continuation  westward  of  that  region  in  South  Carolina,  and  limited  by  the 
granite  lands  around  Appling,  the  county-seat.  These  latter  are  comprised  within  an  area  extending  3  miles 
north,  5  miles  southwest  and  northeast,  and  4  miles  south  of  the  town. 

Flat  exposures  are  common,  the  largest  being  reported  to  cover  125  acres.  Ked  clay  lands  are  found  north  of 
this  section,  forming  narrow  belts,  and  intermixed  with  the  dark  sandy  soils  of  feldspathic  gneisses.  The  lands 
under  cultivation  embrace  29.3  per  cent,  of  the  total  county  area,  and  of  these  46.5  per  cent,  are  in  cotton,  the 
average  of  this  crop  being  87.2  acres  per  square  mile.     Its  product  per  acre  is  that  of  the  region  at  large. 

ABSTRACT    FEOM   THE    REPORT    OF   HON.    H.    E.    CASEY,    M.    D.,    OF    APPLING. 

Cotton  is  cultivated  on  all  classes  of  laud,  but  experience  gives  the  preference  to  the  gray  or  light  sandy  and  mulatto,  which  has  a 
depth  of  3  or  5  inches  and  a  subsoil  varying  from  deep  red  clay  to  yellow  sandy  clays,  with  pipe-clay  in  small  spots.  The  growth  is 
oak  iu  its  varieties,  hickory,  walnut,  sassafras,  persimmon,  and  short-leaf  pine.  These  lands  being  warm,  early,  well  drained,  and 
-easiest  to  cultivate,  are  best  suited  to  cotton,  which  comprises  one-half  of  the  crops.  The  yield  is  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  the 
lint  rating  a8  good  middling.  Cultivation  of  five  years  reduces  the  yield  to  600  pounds,  but  otherwise  produces  no  change.  The  stalk 
grows  to  an  average  height  of  3  feet,  its  tendency  to  run  to  weed  when  crowded  and  in  wet  weather  being  checked  by  shallow 
cultivation  but  deep  preparation  of  the  land.  The  crops  are  troubled  with  hog-weed,  May-pop  vines,  sheep-sorrel,  crab-grass,  etc.  When 
the  lands  are  coarse  sandyr,  they  wash  very  readily  ;  otherwise  but  slightly.  Considerable  damage  is  done  to  the  hills  if  too  long  neglected, 
while  some  of  the  valleys  are  much  benefited  by  the  deposits. 

The  red  clay  lauds,  from  decomposed  hornbleudic  rocks,  cover  about  one-third  of  the  county.  The  growth  is  oak,  hickory,  walnut,  Bhort- 
leaf  pine,  dogwood,  and  cedar.  The  soil  is  several  feet  in  depth,  there  being  but  little  perceptible  difference  in  the  subsoil.  It  is  late  and  cold, 
and  difficult  to  till  iu  both  dry  aud  wet  seasons.  Its  product  on  fresh  land  is  700  pounds  of  seed-cotton,  and  it  fails  faster  than  gray  land. 
The  unstained  staple  rates  as  good  middling. 

The  light  sandy,  gravelly,  cravfishy  soils  cover  but  a  small  area,  and  have  a  growth  of  black-jack,  chincapin,  and  scrub  oak.  Cotton 
grows  to  a  height  of  only  from  6  inches  to  1  foot,  aud  yields  from  200  to  400  pounds  of  seed-cotton  on  fresh  land,  the  product  being 
:8ttll  less  after  a  few  years.     Small  grain  best  suits  these  lands. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  by  rail  or  by  wagon  to  Augusta. 

Mcduffie. 

Population :  9,449.— White,  3,430 ;  colored,  6,019. 

Area:  330  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  sand  hills,  107  square  miles ;  metamorphic,  223  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  54,381  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  24,819  acres;  in  corn,  13,935  acres;  iu  wheat,  2,779  acres; 
iu  oats,  5,016  acres ;  iu  rye,  10  acres. 

Cotton  production:  7,439  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.30  bale,  426  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  142 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

McDuffte  county  has  its  area  about  evenly  divided  between  the  metamorphic  and  the  pine-hills  regions,  the  line 
of  separation  passing  1  mile  or  2  miles  north  of  Thomson,  and  then  turning  southwestward  into  Warren  county. 

24   c  P— VOL.   II  3U8 


104  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

The  upper  or  northern  part  of  this  county  is  rolling,  with  outcropping  metamorphic  rocks,  which  are  tilled  with 
gold-bearing  quartz  veins  along  the  Little  river.  The  gray  sandy  lands  predominate,  the  red,  forming  large  areas, 
being  intermixed  with  them.  The  entire  county  was  once  thickly  timbered,  but  now  about  half  is  said  to  have  been 
cleared.  The  metamorphic  section  has  the  usual  oak  and  hickory  growth,  while  the  pine  bills  are  covered  with 
their  characteristic  long-leaf  pine,  black-jack,  and  sweet-gum  growth. 

The  crops  of  the  county  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  oats,  potatoes,  and  sugar-cane. 

Lands  under  tillage  comprise  25.7  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  and  of  these  45.6  per  cent,  are  in  cotton,  its 
average  being  75.2  acres  per  square  mile.     The  product  per  acre  of  the  county  is  below  that  of  the  region. 

In  comparing  the  enumeration  reports  of  production  of  cotton  in  this  county  it  is  found  that  the  largest  yield 
per  acre  is  in  the  militia  district  occupying  the  central  part.  The  results  are  as  follows:  The  northern  part  of  the 
county  averages  420  pounds  of  seed-cotton;  the  central  part,  510  pounds j  the  southwestern  part,  405  pounds;  the 
southeastern  part,  495  pounds  per  acre.  The  greater  productiveness  of  the  southeastern  pine  hills  over  the  gray 
sandy  lands  of  the  north  is  due,  apparently,  to"  the  liberal  use  of  fertilizers. 

ABSTRACT   FROM  THE  REPORT   OF   A.   E.   STURGIS,   OF  THOMSON. 

The  lands  of  the  county  may  be  classed  as  dark-gray  sandy,  with  clay  subsoil,  which  are  preferable  for  cotton  ;  mulatto  or  red  lands, 
also  well  adapted  to  cotton  ;  sandy  or  pine  lands,  inferior  to  either  of  the  others.  Crops  on  the  bottom  lands  are  liable  to  be  caught  by 
frosts,  and  are  also  more  subject  to  the  boll-worm,  to  rust,  and  to  rot  than  on  the  uplands;  hence  these  lands  are  but  little  under  cotton 
cultivation      These  lowlands  comprise  the  marshy,  sweet-gum,  and  gallberry  flats  of  the  pine-bills  region. 

The  dark-gray  soil*,  comprising  three-eighths  of  the  lands  of  MeDiiffic,  are  from  4  to  12  inches  deep,  with  a  tough,  yellow  clay 
subsoil  and  a  growth  of  post  oak,  big-bud  hickory,  and  dogwood,  with  some  red  oak.  One-third  is  planted  in  cotton.  The  plant  grows 
to  a  height  of  from  1  foot  to  4  feet,  but  is  most  productive  at  3  feet,  yielding  from  800  to  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  land. 
After  ten  years'  cultivation  the  yield  is  from  400  to  GOO  pounds.  From  fresh  lands  1,425  pounds  make  47;">  pounds  of  lint,  which  rates  as 
middling  to  good  middling;  from  old  lands  1,485  pounds  are  required  for  a  bale,  the  lint  rating  as  low  middling  to  middling.  The  crops 
are  troubled  most  with  crab-grass.  But  little  land  lies  our,  and  when  taken  in  again  it  produces  as  well  as  at  first.  The  gray  uplands  wash 
readily,  and  in  some  localities  serious  damage  is  done  to  them.  The  valleys,  too,  become  tilled  up  with  sand,  which  injures  their 
productiveness,     Ditching  is  practiced  with  success  in  preventing  this  washing. 

Tho  red  lands,  covering  one-third  of  the  county,  have  clay  loam  soils  1  foot  or  2  feet  deep,  a  red  clay,  putty-like  subsoil,  a  growth 
of  oak,  hickory,  dogwood,  poplar,  and  walnut,  and  are  best  adapted  to  wheat,  oats,  rye,  and  barley,  though  one-third  is  planted  in  cotton. 
The  stalk  of  the  latter  runs  to  weed  in  wet  weather  and  from  deep  plowing,  unless  restrained  by  topping  and  plowing  shallow  with  a 
sweep.  It  yields  on  fresh  land  from  1,000  to  1,500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and  from  600  to  800  after  ten  years'  cultivation 
unmanured.  Hog-weeds  are  most  troublesome.  Though  washing  readily,  but  little  serious  damage  is  doue  to  the  uplands,  and  none  to 
the  valleys. 

The  pine  lands  of  the  southern  part  of  tho  county  have  a  coarse  sandy  and  gravelly  soil  from  1  foot  to  2  feet  deep,  a  yellow  subsoil, 
underlaid  with  "  chalk  "  (white  pipe-clay)  10  feet  below,  and  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine,  black-jack,  and  sweet  gum,  with  black  gum  and 
poplar  on  the  swamps.  On  the  hills  are  red  ferruginous  pebbles.  The  lands  are  best  adapted  to  pease,  potatoes,  and  melons,  though 
one-eighth  is  planted  in  cotton.  Cotton  grows  to  a  height  of  2  feet,  and  yields  from  000  to  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  on  fresh  lands.  Ten 
years'  cultivation  reduces  this  to  200  pounds.  Crab-grass  is  most  troublesome.  A  small  proportion  of  these  lands  now  lies  out.  They 
wash  readily,  suffering  serious  damage  in  some  localities,  and  frequently  render  the  valleys  unfit  for  cultivation.  Hillside  ditching  is 
practiced  on  every  farm,  and  is  very  successful  in  preventing  damage. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  mado  to  Augusta  at  1.5  cents  per  pound  or  75  cents  per  bale. 

WARREN. 

Population:  10,SS5.— White,  4,0.39;   colored,  0,S40. 

Area:  290  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  sand  hills,  OS  square  miles;  metamorphic,  192  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  53,000  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  24,991  acres;  in  corn,  10,450  acres;  in  wheat,  3,049  acres; 
in  oats,  4,S85  acres. 

Cotton  production :  7,885  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.32  bale,  447  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  149 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Warren  county  lies  partly  in  the  metamorphic  and  partly  in  the  pine-  and  sand-hills  region,  the  two  divisions 
differing  greatly  in  surface  features.  The  water-divide  between  the  Savannah  and  Ogeechee  river  systems  passes 
slightly  northwestward  through  the  county. 

The  metamorphic  region  extends  southward  to  0  miles  beyond  Warrenton,  and  on  the  creeks  its  rocks  are 
exposed  much  farther  south.  The  red  and  gray  sandy  lands  occur  in  the  north  and  northwest,  granitic  (pink 
feldspar)  lands  at  Warrenton  and  southward,  and  gray  clay  lands  at  Camak. 

The  southern  part  of  the  county  is  covered  with  white  sands  and  clays  of  the  pine  hills,  and  has  a  growth  of 
long-leaf  pine  and  black-jack. 

The  surface  of  the  entire  county  is  well  timbered,  rolling,  and  broken,  but  all  considered  tillable,  and  29.1 
per  cent,  is  under  cultivation  in  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  oats,  potatoes,  etc. 

There  is  but  little  bottom  land  mi  the  creeks  of  tin?  northern  portion  of  the  county.  Cotton  is  the  chief  crop, 
and  lias  an  average  of  86.2  acres  per  square  mile,  or  40.3  percent,  of  the  tilled  lands. 

ABSTRACTS   FROM   THE   REPORTS    OF    JAMES    A.    SHIVERS    AND    JOHN    S.    JOHNSON,    OF   WARRENTON. 

The  soils  of  Warren  county  may  he  classed  as  red  clay  lands,  rocky  and  rolling;  light  gray  lands,  rolling,  and  with  a  clay  subsoil : 
and  line  sandy  table-lands  of  the  pine  hills. 

The  red  day  lands  are  considered  the  best  land  of  the  county  for  crops  in  general.     They  comprise  about  one-third  of  its  area  :  have  a 
depth  of  from  4  to  G  inches,  a  red  and  yellow  clay  subsoil,  very  tough,  but  when  properly  worked  in  season  are  easy  to  manage.     The  growth 
is  oak  and  hickory.     The  soil  is  difficult  to  till  in  wet  but  easy  in  dry  seasons.     One-third  of  the  soil  under  cultivation  is  devoted  to  cotton. 
370 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  105 

Tbe  plant  grows  to  a  height  of  from  12  to  36  inches,  and  runs  to  weed  with  too  much  rain  in  June  and  July.  It  yields  on  fresh  land  from 
800-ro  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  After  two  years  the  yield  is  1,200  pounds;  four  years,  from  TOO  to  1,000  ;  six  years,  from  600 
to  900;  and  after  ten  years,  from  500  to  800  pounds.  Hog- weeds  and  crab-grass  are  most  troublesome.  From  one-third  to  one-half  of  the 
land  lies  out.  When  again  taken  in  these  lands  make  better  cotton  for  a  few  years,  and  are  preferred,  as  they  are  earner  cultivated.  The 
uplands  are  seriously  damaged  by  washing,  but  the  valleys  are  improved  from  10  to  20  per  cent.  Horizontalizing  is  practiced  with 
success  in  checking  the  damage  and  in  reclaiming  old  hillsides. 

The  gray  lands,  with  red  subsoils  at  a  depth  of  from  4  to  18  iuches,  lie  away  from  the  water-courses,  and  have  a  growth  of  oak,  hickory, 
ash,  gum,  maple,  and  pine.  The  lands  are  best  adapted  to  cotton,  and  comprise  one-third  of  the  area  of  the  county.  The  average  height 
of  cotton,  is  24  inches,  and  it  yields  from  1,000  to  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  land.  Cultivation  of  cotton  for  four  years 
reduces  this  yield  to  1,000  pounds,  and  for  six  years  from  600  to  800  pounds. 

The  sandy  piny  woods  of  the  southern  part  of  the  county  cover  one-third  of  its  area,  and  have,  besides  the  pine,  a  growth  of  black- 
jack. The  soil  is  from  1  foot  to  10  feet  deep  to  a  white  clay.  It  is  easy  to  till,  early,  warm,  and  well  drained,  and  is  best  adapted  to  corn, 
wheat,  and  oats.  On  this  land  cotton  grows  to  a  height  of  4  feet,  and  yields  from  400  to  600  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  Cultivation 
of  two  years  reduces  this  to  300  or  400  ;  six  years,  to  200  or  300  pounds.  One-third  of  this  land  now  lies  turned  out,  and  is  greatly 
improved  by  rest.  These  light  and  sandy  uplands  wash  readily  and  do  serious  damage,  but  the  valleys  seem  to  be  improved  by  the 
deposit  of  sand. 

Fourteen  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds  of  seed-cotton  on  all  the  lands  of  the  county  make  475  pounds  of  lint,  exc^t  on  the  old 
lands  of  the  pine  hills,  where  1,545  pounds  of  seed-cotton  are  required. 

Shipments  are  made  to  Augusta  by  railroad  at  $1  20  per  bale. 

HANCOCK. 

Population:  10,9S9.— White,  5,044 ;  colored,  11,945. 

Area:  520  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  sand  bills,  132  square  miles;  metamorphic,  388  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  99,397  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  42,773  acres;  in  corn,  33,328  acres;  in  wheat,  5,913  acres; 
in  oats,  0,503  acres ;  in  rye,  120  acres. 

Cotton  production:  15,010  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.35  bale,  501  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  167 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Hancock  county  is  one  of  tbe  border  counties  whose  area  embraces  partly  metamorphic  and  partly  pine  and 
sand-hills  regions,  with  soils  of  greatly  different  character.  The  surface  is  mostly  rolling,  especially  in  the 
metamorphic  portion  of  the  county,  which  embraces  the  greater  area,  and  which  extends  in  width  from  the'nortbern 
county-line  to  several  miles  south  of  Sparta.  On  the  south  the  lands  are  more  level,  and  embrace  the  sandy  pine 
uplands.  The  Ogeechee  and  Oconee  water-divide  passes  northward  through  the  county,  these  two  streams  forming, 
respectively,  the  eastern  and  western  boundaries. 

Iu  the  metamorphic  or  northern  section  of  the  county  there  are  two  granitic  regions :  one  a  narrow  strip  on 
the  north,  next  to  Greene  county;  the  other,  of  the  piuk  feldspathic  variety,  in  the  region  of  Sparta,  exteuding  in  a 
belt  northeast  and  southwest.  Long-leaf  pine  is  a  prominent  growth  on  its  gray  sandy  lands.  Between  these  two 
granitic  regions  the  lands  are  gray  and  more  or  less  rocky,  a  red-clay  subsoil  usually  underlying  the  surface  at  G  to 
12  inches.     (See  analysis  of  soil,  page  37.) 

The  red  lands  pass  across  the  county  in  a  rather  narrow  northeasterly  belt  4  miles  north  of  Sparta  and  just 
south  of  the  northern  granite  area.     Its  growth  is  chiefly  oak  and  hickory. 

The  sand  and  pine  hills  of  the  southern  part  of  the  county  embrace  sandy  ridges  and  level  uplands,  with  often 
deep  sand  beds  covering  plastic  and  variegated  clays.  Long-leaf  pine  is  a  prominent  growth  of  this  region. 
The  entire  surface  of  the  county  is  considered  tillable,  and  it  is  thought  that  56  per  cent,  of  the  original  growth  has 
been  removed.  Tbe  tilled  lands  embrace  29.9  per  cent,  of  the  total  area,  and  are  chiefly  (43  per  cent.)  devoted  to 
cotton,  its  average  being  82.3  acres  per  square  mile.  The  county  ranks  aseleveutb  in  the  state  in  its  total  acreage 
of  cotton.     The  following  experiment  with  fertilizers  was  made  by  John  Turner,  of  Oulverton,  on  gray  sandy  land  : 

The  laud  has  been  iu  cultivation  about  sixty  years  and  has  been  manured.  The  original  growth  was  oak  aud  hickory.  The  yield 
without  fertilizers  was  595  pounds  of  seed-cottou  per  acre.  With  commercial  fertilizers  and  composts  it  ranged  from  1,015  to  1,'260  pounds 
of  seed-cotton. 

ABSTRACT    FROM   THE    REPORT    OF   TV.    J.    NORTHEX,    OF    SPARTA. 

The  culture  of  cotton  in  this  county  is  confined  almost  exclusively  to  the  uplands.  Cotton  fails  to  opeu  on  bottoms,  and  but  few 
persons  attempt  to  raise  it  on  such  land. 

The  uplands  may  be  classed  as  darkish  gray,  mulatto,  and  red  lands.  The  gray  land  is  the  chief  cotton  land,  aud  covers  one-third  of 
the  area  of  the  county ;  has  a  depth  of  4  or  5  iuches,  amulatto  or  red  subsoil,  and  a  growth  of  oak  and  hickory.  The  crops  of  the  county 
are  cotton,  corn,  oats,  wheat,  potatoes,  etc.  The  gray  land  is  chiefly  devoted  to  cotton,  the  red  to  small  graiu.  Three-fourths  of  the 
land  now  lies  out,  and  if  allowed  to  grow  up  in  pines  the  yield  for  a  few  years  is  equal  to  three-fourths  of  that  of  fresh  land.  The  sandy 
nature  of  the  land  is  favorable  to  the  rapid  washing  away  of  the  soil  on  hillsides,  by  which  serious  damage  is  done,  though  the  valleys 
are  usually  improved.     Owing  to  carelessness  in  opening  the  hillside  ditches  very  little  success  attends  the  attempts  to  check  the  damage. 

Cotton  comprises  one-half  the  crops,  freBh  lands  yielding  nearly  one  bale  per  acre.  The  height  to  which  the  plant  grows  varies  from 
6  inches  to  3  feet,  a  medium  being  most  productive.  The  use  of  fertilizers  favors  boiling  and  prevents  running  to  weed.  After  fifteen 
years'  cultivation  the  yield  is  about  400  pounds  of  seed-cottou  per  acre.     Indigo-  and  hog-weeds  are  most  troublesome. 

The  mulatto  soils  differ  but  little  in  character  from  the  gray.  Cotton  seems  to  come  to  maturity,  but  does  not  open  until  the  frosts 
crack  the  bolls,  and  it  is  then  too  much  damaged  to  bring  a  fair  price  in  market.  The  subsoil  is  a  heavy  clay,  and  the  land  is  hard  to 
cultivate. 

shipments  are  made  by  railroad,  via  Sparta,  to  Augusta,  immediately  upon  baling. 

371 


103  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

PUTNAM. 

Population  :  14,030.— White,  3,518;  colored,  11,021. 

Area  :  3G0  square  miles. — Woodland,  all:  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands  :  71', 06-4  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  35,81!)  acres  ;  iu  corn,  23,175  acres  ;  in  wheat,  2,S55  acres ; 
in  oats,  2,8S1  acres ;  in  rye,  93  acres. 

Cotton  production :  9,078  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.27  bale,  384  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  128 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Putnam  county  is  hilly  and  rolling.  Its  streams  all  flow  south  and  southeast,  and  unite  with  the  Oconee  river, 
which  forms  its  eastern  boundary. 

A  large  proportion  ol'  the,  land  is  of  a  red  clay  or  mulatto  character,  the,  gray  sandy  soils  being  found 
interspersed  in  huge  and  small  areas  throughout.  The  rocks  forming  these,  lands  are  mostly  biotite  gneisses,  with 
some  granites  and  mica-schists.     Hornbleudic  gneisses  occur  north  of  Dennis'  station. 

Very  little  of  the  surface  of  the  county  is  too  hilly  for  cultivation  ;  2J  per  cent,  is  too  swampy.  The  lauds  under 
cultivation,  comprising  31.5  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  arc  devoted  to  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  oats,  potatoes,  etc. 

Cotton  is  the  chief  crop,  its  acreage  being  49.3  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  lauds,  and  averaging  99.5  acres  per  square 
mile.     Its  average  product  per  acre  is  very  low. 

The  following  result  of  an  experiment  with  fertilizers  by  J.  T.  Dennis,  of  Eatonton,  is  reported : 

Mulatto  land  that  had  been  lying  turned  out  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  and  had  grown  up  in  old-field  pines  was  used.  Original 
growth,  oak  and  hickory.  Average  yield,  without  fertilizers,  46:t  pounds  per  acre  ;  yield  with  200  pounds  of  fertilizers,  per  acre,  from  630 
to  P10  pounds  of  seed-cotton. 

ABSTRACTS   FROM   THE   REPORTS    OF    ROBERT    C.    HUMBER    AND    J.    T.    DENNIS,    OF   EATONTON. 

The  lands  are  nearly  all  of  a  uniform  character,  comprising  deep-red  clay,  light  gray,  and  light  sandy  pine  lands. 

The  decp-rcd  day  lands  cover  from  three-fourths  to  four-fifths  of  the  surface  of  the  county,  and  extend  30  miles  north  and  20  south,  and 
across  the  county  cast  and  west.  The  soil  has  a  depth  of  2  feet,  and  has  a  heavier  red-clay  subsoil,  that  bakes  vory  hard  after  summer  rains 
and  is  very  clammy,  absorbing  moisture  readily  when  pulverized.  The  growth  is  oak,  hickory,  ash,  poplar,  and  pine  The  lands  are  best 
adapted  to  cereals,  though  fully  one-half  is  planted  in  cotton.  Too  much  rain  and  too  deep  plowing  cause  the  cotton-plant  to  run  to  weed. 
Its  average  height  is  24  feet.  It  yields  about  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  rior  acre  on  fresh  land,  and  500  pounds  after  ten  years'  cultivation. 
In  the  latterthe  staple  is  much  shorter,  and  1,665  pounds  of  seed-cotton  are  required  for  475  pounds  of  middling  lint.  Rag-  and  hog-weeds 
are  most  troublesome.  Fully  one-half  of  these  lauds  now  lies  out.  They  produce  well  for  the  first  two  or  three  years  when  again  taken 
in,  but  are  much  damaged  by  washiug  and  gullying,  and  the  valleys  aro  injured  to  a  considerable  extent.  Hillside  ditching  prevents 
damage,  but  the  quickest  and  surest  remedy  is  to  plant  Bermuda  grass  on  the  slopes. 

The  light  gray  lands  suffer  from  rust.  They  comprise  ouo-sixth  of  the  area  of  the  county,  and  have  a  growth  of  post  oak  and  hickory. 
The  subsoil  is  a  light  yellow  clay,  which  is  underlaid  by  clay.  The  greater  part  of  the  crops  is  of  cotton,  which  grows  to  a  height  of  3  foot, 
and  produces  from  1,500  to  2,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  land.  Ten  years'  cultivation  reduces  this  yield  to  600  pounds. 
One-half  or  the  land  now  lies  out,  being  much  damaged  by  washing  away  of  the  soil,  and  the  sand  damages  the  valleys  very  greatly.  Hillside 
ditching  meets  with  partial  success. 

The  light  sandy  pine  soils  cover  but  a  small  area  in  the  county.  They  aro  coarse  sandy  and  gravelly,  and  of  a  whitish  color.  The 
bottom  lands  are  sometimes  injured  by  early  frosts. 

Cotton  is  either  shipped  to  Savannah  by  railroad  at  45  cents  per  100  pounds,  or  to  Milledgeville  at  25  cents  per  100  pounds. 

BALDWIN. 

Population:  13,800.— White,  4,512;  colored,  9,294. 

Area:  240  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands,  12  square  miles;  sand  hills,  138 
square,  miles ;  metamorphic,  90  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  01,464  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  27,S32  acres;  in  corn,  17,599  acres;  iu  wheat,  1,007  acres; 
in  oats,  1,85S  acres;  in  rye,  73  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  7,921  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.28  bale,  405  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  135 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Baldwin  county,  one  of  the  counties  whose  area  embraces  in  part  the  metamorphic  region  on  the  north  and  iu 
part  the  pine  and  sand-hills  region  on  the  south,  has  a  rolling  and  hilly  surface,  drained  by  the  Oconee  river  and 
its  tributaries. 

The  metamorphic  regiou  reaches  northward  from  Milledgeville,  its  rocks  forming  belts  of  gray  sandy  and  red 
clay  lauds,  all  with  red  or  yellow  clay  subsoils.  A  granite  belt  (pink  feldspar)  with  gray  sandy  lands  occupies  its 
southern  border,  which  has  a  width  of  several  miles  and  extends  northeast  and  southwest,  lied  clay  lands,  from 
(black  mica)  gneisses,  cover  large  areas  4  miles  north  of  Milledgeville.  (See  analysis,  page  35.)  From  Milledgeville 
southward  the  pine  hills,  with  their  deep  sandy  soils  and  sand-beds,  rise  high  above  the  metamorphic,  and  are 
covered  with  long- and  short-leaf  pine  and  an  undergrowth  of  black-jack,  with  some  other  growth.  Underneath 
the  lands  are  heavy  beds  of  white  and  variegated  plastic  and  impervious  clays. 

It  is  thought  that  02  per  cent,  of  the  original  growth  of  the  county  has  been  removed.  Tilled  lands  now 
comprise  40  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  and  are  devoted  to  cotton,  corn,  small  grain,  potatoes,  etc.  Cotton  is  the 
chief  crop,  and  averages  116  acres  per  square  mile  (45.3  per  cent,  of  tilled  lands),  the  county  ranking  eighth  in 
the  state  iu  this  regard.  Its  product  per  acre  is,  however,  small.  There  is  a  large  cotton  factory  in  the  county. 
(For  experiment  of  Hon.  F.  C.  Furman  with  fertilizers  on  worn-out  land,  see  page  58.) 

The  following  description  of  the  region  around  Milledgeville  is  taken  from  "A  visit  to  the  United  States'',  bv 
Sir  Charles  Lyell,  1846  : 

]r  is  striking,  around  Milledgeville,  to  see  s«  many  large  detached  and  rounded  bowlders  of  granite  lying  on  the  surface  of  the  soil 
and  all  strictly  confined  within  tho  limits  of  the  granite  regiou.     One  of  these,  on  the  slope  of  a  hill  3  miles  from  the  town,  resting  on 
gneiss,  measured  12  feet  in  its  largest  diameter,  and  was  4  feet  high. 
37;; 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  107 

The  surprising  depth  of  soine  of  the  modern  ravines  in  the  neighborhood  of  Milledgeville  suggests  matter  of  curious  speculation. 
At  the  distance  of  ;H  miles  west  of  the  town  is  a  ravine.  Twenty  years  ago  it  had  no  existence,  but  wheu  the  trees  of  the  forest  were  cut 
down  cracks  3  feet  deep  were  caused  by  the  sun's  heat  in  the  clay ;  and  during  the  rains  a  sudden  rush  of  water  through  these  cracks 
caused  them  to  deepen  at  their  lower  extremities,  from  whence  the  excavating  power  worked  backward,  till,  in  the  course  of  twenty 
years,  a  chasm  measuring  no  less  than  55  feet  in  dopth,  300  yards  in  length,  and  varying  from  "20  to  ISO  feet  in  width  was  the  result.  In 
the  perpendicular  walls  of  this  great  chasm  appear  beds  of  clay  and  sand,  red,  white,  yellow,  aud  green,  produced  by  the  decomposition, 
in  situ,  of  Imrnblendic  gneiss,  with  layers  and  veins  of  quartz,  and  of  a  rock  consisting  of  quartz  and  feldspar. 

ABSTRACT  FROM   THE   REPORT   OP  JAMES  C.  "WHITAKER,   OF   MILLEDGEVILLE. 

The  lands  of  the  county  may  be  classed  as  light  sandy  uplands,  with  clay  subsoil,  and  light  isinglass  (mica)  lowland  soils. 

The  Hylit  sandy  soil  comprises  three-fourths  of  the  lands  of  the  county,  and  has  a  growth  of  pine,  with  scrub  black  oak  and  dogwood. 
The  crops  of  the  county,  besides  cotton,  are  oats,  corn,  and  wheat,  and  this  land  is  best  adapted  to  the  first  two.  Ten  per  cent,  of 
the  land  now  lies  out,  and  produces  well  when  taken  in  again  if  manure  is  used,  The  uplands  are  seriously  damaged  by  washing,  but  the 
valleys  are  not  injured.  But  few  efforts  are  made  to  check  the  damage,  hillside  ditching  meeting  with  poor  success.  One-half  of  the  crops 
is  of  cotton,  which  grows  to  a  height  of  3^  feet,  and  yields  700  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  or  an  average  of  200  pounds  of  lint,  which 
rates  as  middling.  After  ten  years'  cultivation  the  land  yields  only  500  pounds  of  seed-cotton,  the  staple  then  being  low  middling. 
Crab-grass  is  most  troublesome. 

The  botlom  lands  of  the  Oconee  river  are  narrow  in  the  upper  part  of  the  county,  but  widen  out  to  the  south,  with  a  heavy  growth 
of  cottonwood,  ash,  and  maple,  and  an  undergrowth  of  cane.  The  soil  is  a  light  sandy,  yellowish  loam  on  the  river  and  a  dark  mucky  sand 
on  the  creeks,  very  deep,  and  well  adapted  to  corn.  It  is  warm,  but  ill  drained,  and  is  easily  tilled.  Cotton  forms  one-half  of  the  crops, 
growing  to  a  height  of  from  5  to  6  feet,  producing  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  when  fresh.  It  is  improved  by  ten  years'  cultivation,  ita 
yield  increasing  to  1,500  pounds.  The  staple  is  not,  however,  as  good  as  on  fresh  land,  being  stained  by  lateness  of  the  seasons.  Burr- 
weeds  are  most  troublesomo  on  these  bottom  lands. 

Shipments  are  made,  as  fast  as  cotton  is  ginned,  to  Savannah,  by  rail,  at  40  cents  per  100  pounds. 

JONES. 

Population:   11,613. — White,  3,753 ;  colored,  7,SG0. 

Area:  470  square  miles! — Woodland,  all ;  sand  hills,  55  square  miles;  metamorphic,  415  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands .-  70,928  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  29,820  acres ;  in  corn,  22,401  acres ;  in  wheat,  2,085  acres ; 
in  oats,  3,010  acres ;  in  rye,  147  acres. 

Cotton  production :  8,297  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.28  bale,  390  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  132 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Jones  county  in  its  agricultural  features  belongs  in  part  to  the  metamorphic  and  in  part  to  the  pine  and  sand- 
hills region,  the  railroad  from  Macon  to  Milledgeville,  in  its  route  through  this  county,  nearly  marking  the  line  of 
separation  between  the  two  regions.  In  some  of  the  excavations  along  its  liue  the  white  kaolin  and  variegated  clays, 
as  well  as  fossil-shell  beds  (at  Smith's  summit)  of  the  central  cotton  belt,  are  exposed,  while  at  a  very  short  distance 
north  of  the  railroad,  and  sometimes  penetrated  by  it,  are  the  granites  and  gneisses,  either  as  solid  rock  or  in 
a  state  of  disintegration.  This  metamorphic  division  is  hilly,  2  per  cent,  being  said  to  be  too  broken  for  successful 
tillage.     Pink  feldspathic  granite  forms  a  belt,  in  the  lower  part  of  this  metamorphic  area. 

The  lauds  south  of  Clinton  are  very  generally  red  aud  clayey  from  horubleudic  gneisses.  Northward  the  gray 
sandy  soils,  with  their  clay  subsoils,  prevail,  covering  a  belt  several  miles  in  width.  Small  areas  of  red  lauds  are 
interspersed  throughout  the  section,  and  a  wide  belt  is  found  crossing  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  county. 

The  southeastern  portion  of  Jones,  covered  by  the  pine  hills  and  gray  sandy  lands,  is  underlaid  largely  by 
the  white  aud  variegated  clays. 

Smith's  summit,  a  high  point  on  the  railroad,  shows  the  following  section  in  the  railroad  cut:  12  feet,  red  sandy 
clay  under  the  soil ;  8  inches,  joint  clay ;  3  feet,  joint  clay,  with  fossil-shell  casts ;  6  feet,  joint  clay  containing  shells  and 
a  stratum  of  calcareous  nodules  filled  with  a  yellow  rotten  clay.     "  Quicksand"  is  found  below  this  at  G  feet  depth. 

The  hills  are  capped  with  red  clay,  and  a  few  miles  southeastward  is  found  the  siliceous  shell-rock  similar  to 
that  near  Macon. 

As  is  usual  in  the  metamorphic  region,  the  bottom  lands  along  the  streams  are  narrow,  though  very  rich. 
The  uplands  are  chiefly  devoted  to  cotton  culture.  One  per  cent,  of  the  county  is  said  to  be  irreclaimable  swamp, 
and  2  per  cent,  is  too  hilly  for  tillage.  The  lands  under  cultivation  in  this  county  embrace  23.G  per  cent,  of  its  area, 
and  are  devoted  to  cotton,  corn,  small  grain,  potatoes,  etc.  Cotton  is  the  chief  crop,  and  has  an  acreage  of  G3.4 
acres  per  square  mile,  or  42  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  lands. 

Macon  is  the  market  for  the  county,  cotton  being  hauled  in  wagons. 

BIBB. 

Population:  27,147.— White,  11,429  ;  colored,  15,718. 

Area:  240  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  sand  hills,  119  square  miles;  metamorphic,  121  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  52,179  acres.— Area  planted  in  cotton,  20,724  acres;  in  corn,  14,325  acres;  in  wheat,  748  acres  ; 
in  oats,  4,101  acres  ;  in  rye,  44  acres. 

Cotton  production:  5,858  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.28  bale,  405  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  135 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Bibb  county  is  divided  into  two  unequal  parts  by  the  Ocmulgee  river.  The  county  is  also  situated  on  the  line 
between  the  metamorphic  and  pine-hills  belts,  the  largest  area  being  in  the  latter. 

:!?3 


108  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

The  city  of  Macon  marks  the  northern  limit  of  navigation  on  the  river,  and  also  the  southern  limit  of  the 
inetamorphic  or  mineral  region  in  the  county.  Shoals  are  formed  in  the  bed  of  the  stream  here  by  the  outcropping 
rocks  of  the  last-named  region,  while  immediately  north  of  the  city  the  same  rocks  outcrop  on  the  uplands. 

East  Macon,  or  that  part  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  is  situated  on  the  clays  of  the  pine-hills  belt,  which  are 
also  found  northeastward  toward  Milledgeville.  The  siliceous  shell-rock  or  buhr-stone  of  the  lower  country  is 
found  in  this  section  at  Artape's  quarry,  and  white  coral  limestone  is  found  at  Brown's  mount  and  at  other  points. 

On  the  southwest  the  inetamorphic  line  extends  toward  Knoxville,  in  Crawford  county ;  and  southward  from 
this  line,  and  covering  the  largest  part  of  the  county,  are  the  pine  hills. 

The  inetamorphic  section  of  the  county  is  hilly  and  broken,  with  gray  gneiss  outcrops  for  a  few  miles  northwest 
of  Macon;  hornblendic  rock  and  a  little  trap  are  then  associated  with  it.  The  soils  of  this  northwestern  section 
are  red,  mixed  with  gray  sands  in  patches  and  small  areas.  The  red  often  caps  the  hills  and  covers  the  highlands, 
while  the  valleys  are  of  a  mulatto  color — a  mixture  of  the  gray  sandy  and  red  soils. 

The  southern  part  of  the  county  is  hilly,  and  is  covered  with  deposits  of  drift  sands  and  clays  with  rounded 
pebbles,  a  growth  of  large  pine,  and  an  undergrowth  of  blackjack  and  some  water  oak. 

Seven  miles  south  of  Macon  are  red  hills,  75  feet  above  the  valleys,  showing  25  feet  of  white  clays  under  the 
50  feet  of  red  clay.  The  bed  of  white  marl  lying  between  the  white  and  red  clays  in  Crawford  county  does  not 
appear  here. 

The  red-clay  hills  extend  northeast  through  the  county,  and  underlying  the  clays,  are  frequently  found  beds 
of  silicified  fossil  shells  (Tertiary).  It  is  thought  that  about  75  per  cent,  of  the  original  timber  growth  has  been 
removed,  and  that  10  per  cent,  is  of  irreclaimable  swamp.  Thirty-four  per  cent,  of  the  county  area  is  under 
cultivation  in  cotton,  corn,  oats,  wheat,  pease,  and  sweet  potatoes.  Cotton  is  the  chief  crop,  with  an  average  of  80.4 
acres  per  square  mile,  or  39  7  per  cent,  of  tilled  lands.     Its  average  product  per  acre  is  low. 

W.  D.  H.  Johnson,  of  Holstou,  reports  an  experiment  on  a  sandy  loam  soil  that  had  been  in  cultivation  for  40 
years : 

Soil,  12  inches  deep  with  a  red-clay  subsoil;  laud  well  supplied  with  humus.  Original  growth,  oak  aud  hickory.  The  results 
reported  ai'e  :  Yield,  without  fertilizers,  527  pounds  per  acre ;  with  200  pounds  commercial  fertilizers,  about  760  pounds  of  seed-cotton. 

Macon,  the  railroad  center  of  this  part  of  the  state,  is  the  market  for  many  of  the  adjoining  counties.  It 
contains  two  cotton  factories  which  consume  a  part  of  the  cotton  marketed  there. 

ABSTRACT  FROM   TIIE   REPORT   OF   W.   D.   H.   JOHNSON,(«)  OF  BOLINGBROKE. 

The  lands  of  the  county  may  be  classed  as  dark  mulatto,  gray  sandy,  and  red  clay. 

The  mulatto  and  red  lands  have  a  growth  of  oak  and  hickory.  The  soil  is  from  1  inch  to  10  inches  deep,  and  has  a  stiff  red-claj 
subsoil.  The  lands  are  early,  warm,  ill  drained,  and  easy  to  till,  producing  good  crops  of  corn,  cotton,  oats,  wheat,  pease,  anil  potatoes, 
but  are  best  adapted  to  cotton,  which  grows  to  a  height  of  3  feet,  running  to  weed  in  excessive  wet  weather  in  August.  The  plaut 
yields  on  fresh  land  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  but  only  700  pounds  after  5  years'  cultivation.  Crab-grass  aloue  is  troublesome. 
Two-thirds  of  this  laud  now  lies  out.  When  taken  in  again  it  is  as  good  as  new  for  the  first  three  or  four  years.  The  uplands  are 
much  injured  by  the  washing  of  the  soils,  but  the  valleys  are  benefited  50  per  cent.  Hillside  ditchiug  is  resorted  to  iu  order  to  check  the 
damage. 

The  gray  sandy  lands  have  also  a  growth  of  oak  and  hickory.  The  soil  has  a  depth  of  12  inches  over  a  yellow  gravelly  subsoil.  It  is 
late  and  warm,  easy  to  cultivate,  aud  is  best  adapted  to  cotton,  which  grows  to  a  height  of  2  or  3  feet,  aud  produces  1,200  pounds  of  seed- 
cotton  when  fresh  and  800  pouuds  after  5  years1  cultivation.  One-third  of  these  lauds  now  lies  out,  aud  does  not  produce  well  when  again 
taken  iuto  cultivation.  The  lands  wash  readily,  doing  serious  damage,  and  ruining  the  valleys  by  the  heavy  deposit  of  sand.  Hillside 
ditching  aud  borizontalizing  are  not  effectual  iu  checking  the  damage. 

Cotton  is  shipped,  as  fast  as  ginned,  by  wagon  to  Macon. 

JASPER. 

Population  :  11,851.— White,  4,258  ;  colored,  7,593. 

Area:  380  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  inetamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  87,203  acres. — Area  planted  in  cottou,  27, GOG  acres;  in  corn,  23,303  acres;  in  wheat,  4,649  acres; 
in  oats,  2,6S7  acres;  in  rye,  33  acres. 

Cotton  production:  G,741  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.24  bale,  348  pouuds  seed-cotton,  or  116  pounds 
cotton  Hut. 

Jasper  county  differs  but  little  from  the  counties  around  it.  The  country  is  undulating  on  the  north  and  rolling 
or  hilly  on  the  south,  a  dividing  ridge  between  the  Ocmulgee  and  Oconee  tributaries  lying  near  the  central  north 
aud  southern  portion  of  the  county. 

The  lauds  of  that  part  of  the  county  north  of  Monticello  are  mostly  dark  gray  and  sandy,  with  yellowish  clay 
subsoils,  aud  are  formed  from  mica-schists  and  gneisses,  the  former  having  quartz  seams  somewhat  gold-bearing. 
Mulatto  aud  red  lauds  are  interspersed  throughout  the  section.  These  uplands  are  generally  well  drained  iuto  the 
Ocmulgee  river  on  the  west  aud  the  Oconee  on  the  east.  The  lands  on  the  south  of  Mouticello  are  for  the  most 
part  a  red  clay,  the  soil  being  more  or  less  sandy.  They  extend  to  the  county-line  on  the  south,  aud  are  formed 
chiefly  from  hornblendic  rocks. 

Lands  uuder  tillage  embrace  39.5  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  and  3J  per  ceut.  are  said  to  be  too  broken  and 
1§  per  cent,  too  swampy  for  cultivation.  Cottou  is  the  chief  crop  (31.7  per  cent,  of  tilled  land),  with  an  acreage 
averaging  72.6  acres  per  square  mile.     The  average  product  per  acre  is  extremely  low. 

a  Secretary  of  the  Ocmulgee  Farmers'  Club. 
374 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  109 

ABSTRACTS  FKOM  THE  REPORTS  OF  WILLIS  NEWTON,  OF  SHADY  DALE,  AND  WILLIAM  D.  MADDOX,  OF  MONTICELLO. 

The  lands  may  be  classed  as  bottoms,  gray  sandy  glades,  and  red  and  mulatto.  On  bottom  lauds  the  cotton  is  late  in  growing,  inclines 
to  run  to  weed,  is  liable  to  rot  and  to  overflow,  and  is  late  in  maturing.  The  gray  or  mulatto  uplands  are  preferred,  as  on  them  cotton 
matures  quickly,  is  more  prolific,  and  retains  its  fruit,  and  it  is  not  subject  to  as  many  disasters  as  on  bottom  or  red  lands. 

The  gray  lands  are  of  two  classes,  viz,  a  dark  gray  sandy  loam  (principal  growth  post  oak)  with  a  stiff  clay  subsoil,  and  a  light  gTay 
soil  with  a  clay  subsoil,  not  so  productive.  The  first  of  these  is  the  chief  cotton  land  of  the  county,  two-thirds  of  the  crops  being 
•cotton.  The  soil  is  only  2f  or  3  inches  deep,  and  is  early  and  cold,  but  easy  to  till.  The  yield  on  fresh  land  is  about  1,000  pounds  of 
seed-cotton  per  acre,  or  800  pounds  after  ten  years'  cultivation,  1,485  pounds  from  either  making  475  pounds  of  lint.  Crab-grass  is  most 
troublesome.  The  growth  is  post,  red,  Spauish,  and  white  oaks,  hickory,  poplar,  i>iue,  dogwood,  haw,  and  gum.  One-third  of  the  land 
lies  out,  but  when  again  reclaimed  it  is  nearly  as  productive  as  at  first,  and  even  more  productive  if  fertilized.  Horizontalizing  is  practiced 
with  great  success  in  preventing  the  washing  of  the  hillsides,  from  which  these  gray  uplands  and  valleys  suffer. 

The  mulatto  or  chocolate  lands  are  the  next  in  importance  as  cotton  lauds,  and  are  also  well  adapted  to  grain.  They  are  found  in 
sections  containing  from  1,000  to  5,000  acres  each,  and  have  a  native  growth  of  oak,  hickory,  poplar,  and  pine.  The  soil,  a  clay  loam,  is  3J 
inches  deep,  has  a  stiff  gravelly  subsoil,  and  is  difficult  to  till  in  wet  weather.  In  all  other  respects,  including  productiveness,  it  resembles 
the  gray  lands. 

The  glade  lands,  also  covering  but  a  small  area,  hav*e  a  growth  of  black-jack,  post  oak,  aud  haw  bushes.  The  soil  is  a  coarse  gravelly 
«lay  loam,  2  inches  deep,  with  a  yellow  clay  subsoil,  and  is  best  adapted  to  corn,  though  one-half  is  planted  in  cotton,  and  its  yield  is  1,200 
pounds  on  fresh  lands  and  500  after  ten  years  (uninauured).  One-half  of  the  land  lies  out ;  it  washes  readily,  doing  serious  damage,  but  no 
■efforts  are  made  to  check  it. 

The  red  and  stiff  lands,  with  a  growth  chiefly  of  oak,  hickory,  chestnut,  poplar,  aud  pine,  have  a  depth  of  4  inches  and  a  red  or  yellow 
■subsoil.  The  soil  is  early  and  well-drained,  difficult  to  till  in  wet  and  easy  iu  dry  seasons,  and  is  best  adapted  to  grain.  Of  the  crops 
planted  on  this  land  one-half  is  cotton.  It  grows  to  a  height  of  3  feet,  aud  yields  on  fresh  land  about  800  or  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton 
per  acre,  1,545  pouuds  being  required  to  make  475  pounds  of  lint.  Ten  years'  cultivation  reduces  the  yield  to  500  or  700  pounds,  and  the 
staple  is  not  so  good.  Crab-grass  also  gives  much  trouble.  About  one-third  of  this  land  now  lies  out ;  it  does  not  recuperate  as  rapidly 
as  the  gray,  aud  wheu  fertilizers  are  used  it  yields  from  1100  to  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  These  uplands  wash  readily,  doing 
■serious  damage  and  injuring  the  valleys  25  per  cent.  Hillside  ditching  aud  horizontalizing  meet  with  only  partial  success  iu  checkiug 
the  damage. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  to  Madison  or  Eatonton  by  wagon,  aud  thence  by  railroad  to  Savannah  or  to  Augusta. 

BUTTS. 

Population:  8,311. — White,  4,1377 ;  colored,  4,034. 

Area:  ISO  square  miles Woodland,  all;  metainorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands :  49,090  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  20,755  acres ;  in  corn,  15,880  acres ;  in  wheat,  4,135  acres ; 
in  oats,  2,254  acres ;  in  rye,  37  acres. 

Cotton  production :  0,829  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.33  bale,  408  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  156 
pouuds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Butts  county  is  generally  rolling,  with  much  level  area.  Granitic  lauds  are  found  on  the 
northwest,  and  a  ridge  of  red  land  from  biotite  granite  extends  from  Flat  shoals,  on  the  Towaliga  river,  to  Key's 
ferry,  just  below  the  junction  of  the  South  river  with  the  Ocmulgee.  Another  ridge,  formed  from  masses  of  quartz- 
rock,  passes  from  High  falls  northeastward  to  aud  beyond  Indian  spriugs,  a  noted  place  of  summer  resort.  With 
the  exception  of  the  narrow  red  belt  mentioned  the  lands  are  almost  entirely  gray  aud  sandy. 

Iu  the  granitic  section  the  rocks  are  usually  fouud  in  fragments,  though  large  areas  are  sometimes  found 
covered  with  masses  of  granite  iu  which  the  feldspar  is  found  in  coarse  crystals.     The  ridges  are  often  very  sandy. 

One  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  the  county  is  said  to  be  too  broken  and  2  per  cent,  too  swampy  for  successful 
tillage.  Forty-five  per  cent,  of  the  original  timber  growth  is  thought  to  have  been  removed.  The  county  is 
drained  eastward  into  the  Ocmulgee  river,  the  eastern  boundary. 

Lands  under  tillage  embrace  42.G  per  cent,  of  the  area,  and  are  devoted  to  cotton,  corn,  small  grain,  potatoes, 
etc. ;  42.3  per  cent,  of  these  lauds  are  in  cotton,  which  averages  115.3  acres  per  square  mile,  the  county  ranking  as 
ninth  in  the  state  iu  this  regard. 

Cotton  is  hauled  to  Griffin  or  other  railroad  stations,  aud  thence  sent  to  market  or  sold  off  of  the  wagons  to  local 
buyers. 

MONROE. 

Population:  18,808.— White,  0,093  ;  colored,  12,115. 

Area:  470  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metainorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands :  106,673  acres. — Area  planted  iu  cotton,  44,979  acres ;  in  corn,  29,884  acres ;  in  wheat,  6,742 
acres;  in  oats,  6,765  acres;  in  rye,  246  acres. 

Cotton  production :  13,354  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.30  bale,  423  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  141 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Monroe  county  is  rolling,  but  not  too  much  so  for  successful  tillage.  It  gradually  falls  iu  elevation 
to  the  east  and  southeast,  having  an  altitude  of  875  feet  on  the  railroad  on  the  west,  735  feet  at  Forsyth,  and  025  feet 
at  Prattsville.  Its  drainage  is  to  the  Ocmulgee  river,  the  eastern  boundary.  A  broad  belt,  in  which  prevail  red  clay 
lauds,  from  hornbleudic  rocks  and  gneisses  having  black  mica,  passes  diagonally  through  the  central  portion  of  the 
county,  while  on  either  side  the  lands  are  chiefly  gray  and  sandy.  The  county  on  the  northwest  is  generally  granitic 
•in  character,  with  predominating  gray  lands,  though  there  are  large  areas  of  red  soils,  from  the  decomposition  of  the 
black  mica,  which  enters  largely  into  the  composition  of  the  rock.  Quartz  fragments  are  also  abundant  on  the 
surface.  On  the  southeast  hornblendic  gneiss,  associated  with  the  gray  gneisses,  occurs  abundantly,  aud  the  red 
.and  gray  lands  are  very  much  intermixed.     (See  analysis  of  soil,  page  35.) 

375 


110  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

The  lands  of  the  water-courses  have  a  rich,  dark,  chocolate-colored  soil,  and  are  well  timbered.  Tilled  lands 
embrace  33.5  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  and  of  these  42.2  per  cent,  are  devoted  to  cottou,  the  chief  crop.  Cotton 
thus  has  an  average  of  9.3.7  acres  per  square  mile,  though  in  actual  acreage  for  the  entire  county  (44,97  9)  the  county 
ranks  as  seventh  in  the  state.  Ou  the  other  hand,  in  product  per  acre  it  is  extremely  low  (4:23  pounds  of  seed-cotton), 
there  being  S3  counties  whose  average  each  is  greater. 

ABSTRACT  FR03I  THE  REPORT  OF  R.  C.  M'GOUGH,  OF  FOESYTH. 

There  are  in  this  county  many  varieties  of  upland  soil,  from  deep  stifl'  red  to  light  sandy  loam.  The  lowlands  (^unless  largely 
intermixed  with  sand)  are  not  well  adapted  to  cotton,  which  grows  luxuriantly  but  matures  very  slowly.  The  area  covered  by  these 
lands  is  very  limited,  and  is  usually  devoted  to  coru  or  oats.     The  uplands  seldom  fail  in  producing  good  crops. 

The  light  sandy  lauds  cover  one-half  the  county  area ;  soil,  G  inches  deep.  The  subsoil  is  a  very  tenacious  aud  impervious  red  clay, 
sometimes  yellow,  containing  hard,  white  gravel  and  rounded  pebbles  of  hardened  clay  or  sandstone,  and  underlaid  by  gravel  aud  quartz 
at  from  1  foot  to  15  feet.  The  lands  are  easily  tilled  in  wet  and  dry  weather  when  well  prepared  aud  manured.  They  are  late  and  cold 
unless  well  drained,  producing  crops  of  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  oats,  rye,  sweet  potatoes,  and  pease,  but  are  best  adapted  to  cotton,  oats,  and 
potatoes.  Cotton,  comprising  two-fifths  of  the  crops  planted,  grows  3  or  4  feet  high  when  manured,  aud  runs  to  weed  from  excessive  rains 
unless  prevented  by  the  use  of  superphosphates  aud  nitrogenous  manures.  The  yield  of  these  lands  when  fresh  is  from  GOO  to  1,000  pounds 
of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and  the  same  after  ton  years'  cultivation  if  any  care  has  becu  bestowed  on  them.  The  Btaple  is  the  same  on  both 
old  aud  fresh  land,  the  buyers  making  no  difference  in  prices.  Hog-,  carrot-,  or  rag-weeds,  and  especially  crab-grass,  aro  the  greatest 
source  of  trouble.  About  one-tenth  of  these  lauds  now  lies  out;  when  again  cultivated  it  produces  better  than  the  original  soil.  Tho 
lands  do  not  wash  readily,  except  iu  some  sections,  where  serious  damage  is  dono  to  hillsides,  and  the  valleys  are  improved.  By  deep 
plowing,  heavy  manuring,  aud  building  stone  dams  across  the  hollows,  the  damage  is  successfully  checked.  Tho  growth  of  these  gray 
lands  is  oak,  hickory,  short-leaf  pine,  chestnut,  poplar,  beech,  sweet  gum,  etc. 

The  red  lands,  comprising  somethiug  less  than  one-half  the  area  of  the  county,  have  a  growth  of  tho  various  kinds  of  oaks,  hickory, 
buckeye,  chestnut,  walnut,  etc.  Tho  soil  is  a  yellow  or  red  clay  loam,  with  sometimes  coarse,  red  sand  (alternating  with  gray),  from  a 
few  inches  to  several  feet  deep;  the  subsoil  is  much  the  same,  but  underlaid  at  a  depth  of  10  or  12  feet  by  a  thick  bed  of  loose,  gray 
earth,  with  no  adhesive  properties,  called  "well  dirt",  porous  and  leachy,  with  many  perennial  springs.  Tho  soil  contains  laTge  and 
small  pebbles,  from  the  disintegration  of  the  granite,  which  is  sometimes  found  at  a  depth  of  from  5  to  :10  feet.  The  land  is  difficult  to 
till,  in  wet  weather  being  sticky  and  in  dry  seasons  very  hard  and  compact.  It  is,  however,  early,  warm,  and  well  drained,  and  best 
adapted  to  corn  aud  wheat.  Oue-third  is  planted  in  cottou,  which  grows  to  a  height  of  from  1  foot  to  2  feet  without  manure,  tho  higher 
the  better,  aud  runs  to  weed  in  long,  continuous  wet  seasons.  Early  planting  with  nitrogenous  manures  and  rapid  work  facilitate  boiling. 
Crab-grass  and  poverty-weed,  or  stone-clover,  are  the  troublesome  weeds.  Three-fourths  of  the  red  lands  now  lie  out.  They  wash  so 
readily  and  so  much  damage  is  done  that  they  are  seldom  reclaimed.  The  yield  in  seed-cotton  is  1,000  pounds  ou  fresh  lauds,  and  from 
100  to  400  pounds  after  twenty-five  years'  cultivation.  About  1,500  pounds  are  required  to  make  475  pounds  of  lint,  and  no  difference  is 
made  in  tho  staple. 

There  is  a  light  sandy  loam,  10  inches  in  depth,  with  a  heavier  subsoil,  that  accompanies  tho  gray  lands,  but  occupies  very  narrow- 
limits.  It  has  more  poplar,  "big-bud"  hickory,  and  ash  than  is  found  on  other  soils.  Cotton  does  well  on  this  laud,  retaining  its  fruit 
better,  aud  yielding  from  800  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  Crab-grass  is  troublesome.  None  or  very  little  of  the  land  lies 
out,  and  is  not  much  injured  by  washing. 

Cottou  is  sold  iu  Forsyth  as  fast  as  ginned,  and  from  there  shipped  by  the  Central  railroad  to  Savannah  aud  to  Atlanta. 

PIKE. 

Population:   15,849.— White,  7,7SO;  colored,  8,009. 

Area:  290  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  93,020  acres. — Area  planted  in  cottou,  38,755  acres;  in  corn,  29,243  acres;  in  rice,  7  acres;  in 
oats,  5,590  acres;  in  wheat,  7,510  acres;  in  rye,  130  acres. 

Cotton  production:  12,431  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.32  bale,  450  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  152 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Pike  county  is  rolling  and  broken  in  places,  though  there  is  very  little  that  does  not  afford 
excellent  lands  for  cultivation.  It  is  well  watered  by  the  tributaries  of  Flint  river,  its  western  boundary,  and  by 
Big  Potato  creek,  which  flows  southward  through  the  county. 

The  greater  part  has  been  cleared,  and  now  more  than  one-half  of  the  entire  area  is  in  cultivation.  The  average 
of  lauds  under  tillage  is  322.8  acres  per  square  mile,  an  average  greater  than  in  any  other  county  of  the  state. 

The  lauds  are  the  usual  metarnorphic  varieties,  dependent  upon  the  character  of  the  rocks,  and  differing  from 
each  other  within  small  areas.  They  embrace  soils  more  or  less  clayey  and  red  to  great  depths  and  gray  sandy  or 
gravelly  soils,  the  subsoil  of  which  is  a  yellow  or  reddish  clay  at  a  depth  of  from  0  to  10  inches  from  the  surface. 
A  large  region  of  red  and  excellent  farming  lands,  derived  mostly  from  hornblendic  rocks,  occurs  on  the  west, 
between  Big  Potato  creek  and  Flint  river,  reaching  from  the  northern  part  of  the  county  south  through  Upson 
county.  It  is  largely  under  cultivation,  and  is  thought  to  be  best  adapted  to  grain,  though  a  large  percentage  is 
devoted  to  the  culture  of  cotton,  the  yield  in  good  seasons  being  from  G00  to  800  pounds. of  seed-cotton  per  acre. 

The  lauds  of  the  rest  of  the  county  are  mostly  gray  sandy  and  gravelly,  sometimes  very  rocky,  with 
reddish  clay  subsoils,  timbered  with  oak  and  hickory.  They  are  best  suited  to  cotton,  and  yield  an  average  of  a 
third  of  a  bale,  or  500  pounds  of  seed-cotton,  per  acre ;  but  in  good  seasons  the  yield  is  often  as  much  as  800 
pounds.  These  lauds  are  derived  from  granite  aud  gneisses,  the  former  being  the  prevailing  rock  on  the  northwest, 
■where  it  appears  in  numerous  outcrops,  giving  to  the  country  a  broken  aud  somewhat  hilly  character,  and  on  the 
northeast,  where  it  graduates  into  the  gneisses  of  the  rest  of  the  county,  the  surface  is  more  level.  Black  or  biotite 
mica  enters  largely  into  the  composition  of  these  rocks. 

The  c  hief  crops  of  the  county  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  and  oats.  Cotton  has  the  largest  acreage,  and  comprises 
41.4  per  cent,  of  the  lands  in  cultivation,  and  averages  133.0  acres  per  square  mile.  This  average  is  exceeded  in 
the  entire  list  of  counties  only  by  Troup,  which  has  153.9  acres  per  square  mile.  Its  corn  acreage  is  100  acres,  and 
its  wheat  about  20  acres  per  square  mile. 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  Ill 

UPSON. 

Population:  12,400.— White,  6,133  ;  colored,  6,267. 

Area:  310  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  72,475  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  30,551  acres  ;  in  com,  23,143  acres;  in  wheat,  6,751  acres; 
in  oats,  3,205  acres ;  in  rye,  23  acres. 

Cotton  production:  8,540  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.28  bale,  399  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  133 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Upsou  county  is  hilly  or  rolling  and  in  places  rather  undulating,  the  drainage  of  the  greater  part 
being  to  the  Flint  river,  on  the  western  boundary.  The  Flint  and  Ocmulgee  divide  passes  through  the  northeastern 
part  of  the  county.  There  are  low  ranges  of  mountains  on  the  northwest,  which  are  a  continuation  of  the  Pine  and 
Oak  mountains  of  Meriwether  and  Talbot  counties,  but  here  turn  northward,  their  sandstones  forming  gray  sandy 
lands.  Through  Thomaston  and  northeastward  along  the  line  of  the  railroad  the  level  uplands  are  formed  by 
granites.  The  lands  are  mostly  gray  on  this  upland,  while  between  it  and  the  mountains  red  lands  are  most 
prominent. 

Oh  the  south  from  Thomaston  there  is  a  large  area  of  sandy  pine  lands,  but  over  the  rest  of  the  county,  east 
and  southeast,  the  red  soils  form  the  largest  proportion  of  the  lauds,  interspersed  witli  gray  sandy  areas.  It  is  said 
that  2  per  cent,  of  the  county  area  is  too  hilly  for  tillage. 

Tilled  lauds  comprise  36.5  per  cent,  of  the  surface  of  the  county,  and  of  these  42.2  per  cent,  are  in  cotton,  the 
chief  crop,  averaging  98.6  acres  per  square  mile. 

ABSTRACTS   FROM   REPORTS   FROM  THOMAS  J.  MIDDLEBROOKS,  OF  BARNSVILLE,  AND  E.  W.  ROSE,  OF  ''THE  ROOK" 

POST-OFFIOE. 

The  gray  sandy  and  red  lands  of  the  county  are  devoted  chiefly  to  cotton,  the  red  soils  having  been  worn  greatly  by  previous 
cultivation  and  thus  fitted  for  its  successful  production.  The  crops  of  the  county  are  cotton,  wheat,  and  corn.  Both  uplands  and 
bottoms  may  be  planted  in  cotton  with  but  little  dauger  of  loss  by  frosts.  It  is,  however,  best  to  use  some  fertilizer  on  bottom  lands  for 
surety. 

The  gray  lands  have  a  growth  of  pine,  hickory,  black-jack,  post,  and  white  oaks.  The  soil  varies  from  a  fine  to  coarse  sandy  and 
gravelly,  from  4  to  10  inches  in  depth,  with  a  yellow  subsoil,  changing  to  a  fine  and  heavy  red  clay  below.  The  soil  is  late,  cold,  well 
drained,  and  easily  tilled,  and  is  best  adapted  to  cotton,  though  when  fresh  it  is  good  corn  land.  Of  all  the  lands  in  cultivation  one-half 
is  devoted  to  cotton.  This  grows  to  a  height  of  from  2  to  3  feet,  and  runs  to  weed  on  fresh  pine-woods  land,  which  is  checked  by  deep 
culture  and  the  use  of  ammoniacal  manures.  Its  yield  is  from  600  to  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  land,  and  from  400  to  500 
pounds  after  five  years'  cultivation  of  good  land.  The  staple  is  larger  and  better  from  fresh  land,  1,485  pounds  from  fresh  and  1,722 
pounds  from  old  lands  making  475  pounds  of  lint.  Rag-weeds  are  the  most  troublesome.  Not  more  than  10  per  cent,  of  these  gray  lands 
now  lie  out.  They  produce  well  when  taken  in  again  and  cultivated  with  fertilizers.  These  uplands  do  not  wash  readily,  and  but  little 
damage  is  done  either  to  them  or  to  the  valleys. 

The  red  lands  have  a  growth  of  oak,  hickory,  chestnut,  poplar,  etc.,  a  depth  of  from  8  to  10  iuches,  aud  a  fine  stiif  clay  subsoil, 
somewhat  impervious  to  water.  The  soil  is  early,  warm,  well  drained,  and  best  adapted  to  corn  and  wheat  unless  long  under  cultivation, 
when  cotton  does  well.  One-third  is  planted  in  cotton;  it  grows  to  a  height  of  2^  feet,  and  runs  to  weed  only  on  fresh  land.  It  yields 
from  000  to  800  pounds  of  seed-eotton  per  acre  on  fresh  lands,  aud  400  pounds  after  ten  years'  cultivation,  the  staple  then  being  inferior. 
Rag-  and  hog- weeds  are  most  troublesome.  About  10  per  cent,  of  the  red  land  now  lies  out,  and  after  a  few  years'  rest  produces 
moderately  well  if  gullying  is  prevented.  The  lands  do  not  wash  very  readily,  and  no  serious  damage  is  done  unless  neglected  aud 
allowed  to  gully  in  course  of  time.  The  valleys  and  bottoms  are  ruined  sometimes  by  the  washing  from  the  uplands.  We  have  an 
abundance  of  material  on  hand  to  fill  up  all  the  gullies,  aud  it  pays  to  use  it. 

Cotton  is  either  sold  at  Thomaston,  or  shipped  thence  to  Savannah. 

CRAWFORD. 

Population:  S,656.— White,  3,940 ;  colored,  4,716. 

Area:  340  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  sand  hills,  161  square  miles;  metamorphic,  179  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  53,531  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  24,754  acres;  in  corn,  16,737  acres;  in  wheat,  2,040  acres; 
in  oats,  2,688  acres  ;  in  rye,  46  acres. 

Cotton  production:  6,765  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.27  bale,  390  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  130 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Through  Crawford  county  passes  the  southern  limit  of  the  metamorphic  region  of  the  state,  Kuoxville,  the 
couuty  town,  being  on  this  line.  In  a  branch  in  the  southern  edge  of  the  town  is  an  outcrop  of  gray  gneiss.  From 
that  point  to  the  Houston  county-line  the  country  is  covered  with  the  sands  and  clays  of  the  piue  hills. 

The  entire  surface  is  hilly  aud  rolling,  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  water-divide  passing  in  a  southerly  course  through 
its  center.     Flint  river  forms  a  part  of  the  western  boundary. 

The  lands  of  the  metamorphic  area  of  the  couuty  are  gray  and  gravelly,  interspersed  with  red  clay  belts  and 
tracts,  and  underlaid  by  clay  subsoils.  A  belt  of  cold,  gray  clay  lands,  from  clay-slates,  occurs  along  the  border 
of  the  region,  forming  high  banks  on  the  east  side  of  Flint  river. 

The  red  clay  hills  of  the  central  cotton  belt  are  represented  in  the  county  by  a  small  area  at  Rich  Hill,  a  few 
miles  southeast  of  Kuoxville.  This  hill  has  an  elevation  of  100  or  more  feet  above  the  level  of  the  country,  its 
summit  being  of  red  sandy  clay,  50  feet  in  thickness.  Under  this  are  6  or  8  feet  of  joint  clay,  35  feet  of  white  coral 
limestone,  and  finally  a  white  joint  clay,  50  feet  of  which  is  exposed  in  a  deep  gully. 

The  rest  of  the  county  on  the  south  of  Kuoxville  is  covered  by  the  sauds  of  the  pine  lulls,  white  and  deep  on 
the  hill-tops,  with  gray  soils  in  the  lowlands,  in  which  the  underlying  white  clays  outcrop  occasionally.  Nearly  oue- 
fijurth  (24.6  per  cent.)  of  the  county  is  under  cultivation,  aud  40  per  cent,  is  said  to  have  been  cleared  of  its  original 
timber  growth.  Cotton,  corn,  wheat,  aud  oats  are  the  crops  of  the  county.  Cottou,  the  chief  crop,  has  an  average 
of  72. S  acres  per  square  mile,  or  46.2  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  lauds.     Its  product  per  acre  is  very  low. 


112  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

ABSTEACT  FKOM  THE  EEPOBT  OF  E.  LE  SNEUE,  OF  KNOXVILLE. 

The  following  soils  are  distinguished  iti  the  county,  viz  :  First  and  second  bottoms  on  the  river  and  other  streams;  (2)  red  and  yellow- 
lauds;  (3)  sandy  soils  of  the  pine  hills.  The  sandy  pine  hills  soil  is  the  chief  oue.  It  is  best  adapted  to  oats  as  a  general  thing, 
though  three-fifths  of  the  crops  are  of  cotton.  Two-fifths  of  the  county  is  of  this  sandy  land,  which  has  a  growth  of  shorts  and  long- 
leaf  pine,  red,  white,  water,  and  post  oaks,  hickory,  ash,  elm,  poplar,  etc.  The  depth  to  the  white  and  variegated  colored  clays  is  from 
3  inches  to  3  feet,  giving  lands  well  and  ill  drained  but  easy  to  cultivate.  Cotton  grows  to  a  height  of  from  1  foot  to  6  feet,  yielding 
at  4  feet  500  pounds  and  upward  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  lauds,  with  low  middling  lint.  Cultivation  of  ten  years  reduces  this 
yield  to  300  pouuds,  aud  in  some  localities  even  more  is  produced  without  manure.  Light  crops  have  resulted  usually  from  exhausted  and 
poor  lands  and  indifferent  cultivation. 

Both  valleys  and  uplands  are  injured  by  the  washiug  away  aud  gullying  of  the  latter,  and  hut  slight  efforts  have  been  made  to  check 
the  damage,  which  amounts  to  10  or  15  per  cent. 

One-third  of  the  lauds  now  lies  out.     The  crops  are  much  troubled  with  crab-grass,  morning-glory,  hog-weed,  rag-weed,  etc. 

Cotton  is  shipped  by  wagon  to  Macon  at  50  cents  per  100  pouuds. 

TAYLOE. 

(See  "Central  cotton  belt".) 

TALBOT. 

Population:  14,115.— White,  4,448  ;  colored,  9,067. 

Area:  360  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  sand  hills,  74  square  miles;  metainorphic,  286  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  74,037  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  36,310  acres;  in  corn,  25,606  acres;  in  wheat,  3,882  acres; 
in  oats,  3,652  acres ;  in  rye,  82  acres. 

Cotton,  production:  10,325  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.28  bale,  405  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  136 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Talbot,  county  has  for  its  most  prominent  features  a  mountainous  region  on  the  north,  a  rolling  and  broken 
county  with  gray  and  red  lands  southward  beyond  Talbotton,  the  pine-hills  region  on  the  south,  ami  through  the 
county  from  the  north  to  the  pine  hills  the  broad  trap  dike,  extending  in  a  direct  line  between  the  chalybeate 
springs  of  Meriwether  to  Talbotton  and  southward  to  a  point  not  far  from  Geneva. 

Pine  mountain,  on  the  north,  along  which  the  county-line  runs,  is  about  325  feet  above  the  valley  ;  Oak  mountain, 
lying  parallel,  is  135  feet  high.  Both  are  of  sandstone,  which  dips  in  opposite  directions  (anticlinal),  and  have 
narrow  summits.  Between  them  is  the  broad  valley  already  mentioned  in  Harris  county.  It  is  here  broader,  and 
with  perhaps  more  red  lands  than  in  Harris.  The  rocks  forming  the  soils  are  hornblendic  granites  (syenites)  with 
quartz  ridges  or  "burst-ups"  and  gneisses. 

South  of  Oak  mountain  there  are  hills  of  varying  heights,  which  give  to  the  county  a  rough  or  broken  character. 
On  the  east  the  lands  are  chiefly  red  clays,  from  decomposed  hornblendic  rocks  and  granites,  and  have  a  width  of 
about  3  miles,  and  lie  parallel  with  Oak  mouutaiu ;  but  on  the  west  aud  south  gray  sandy  or  mulatto  lands 
predominate.  These  lauds  have  the  usual  red  and  yellow  clay  subsoils.  Granite  accompanies  the  trap  dike 
throughout  in  this  section  south  of  the  mountains.  The  mass  of  trap-rocks  is  so  dense  as  to  leave  no  tillable  laud 
within  the  belt,  aud  the  rocks  are  used  largely  for  building  fences.     They  disintegrate  very  slowly. 

The  sands  and  variegated  clays  of  the  pine  hills,  besides  covering  all  the  lower  part  of  the  county,  form  low 
ridges  between  the  streams  northward  for  some  miles. 

On  the  hill  at  Geneva,  and  also  in  a  greater  mass  on  the  southeast  in  the  bed  of  a  creek,  is  found  a  cemented 
mass  of  gravel,  white  clay,  and  mica,  or  what  seems  to  be  a  granite  debris. 

Six  per  cent,  of  the  county  area  is  said  to  be  too  brokeu  and  2|  per  cent,  too  swampy  for  successful  tillage. 
Lands  under  tillage  embrace  32.1  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  though  70  per  cent,  of  the  original  timber  growth  is 
said  to  have  been  removed.  Cotton  is  the  chief  crop  (49  per  cent,  of  tilled  lauds),  having  an  average  of  100.9  acres 
per  square  mile,  the  county  ranking  as  seventeenth  in  the  state  in  this  regard. 

ABSTEACTS  FEOM  THE   EEPOETS   OF  W.  M.   GORMAN,  OF   GENEVA,  AND  WILLIAM  H.  ELLISON,  OF  SHILOH,  HAEEIS 

COUNTY. 

The  lauds  of  Talbot  county  may  be  classed  as  gray  post-oak  uplands,  red  lauds  (including  mulatto),  and  light  sandy  bottom. 

The  gray  lands  have  a  gravelly  soil  0  inches  deep,  a  bright-red  clay  subsoil,  crumbling  when  exposed  to  the  air  for  a  length  of  time, 
aud  a  growth  of  })OSt  oak,  hickory,  aud  poplar.  Cotton  comprises  half  the  crops,  grows  to  a  height  of  from  3  to  5  feet,  and  yields  from  800 
to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cottou  per  acre  on  fresh  land.  Ten  years'  cultivation  (uumauured)  reduces  this  to  300  or  500  pouDds,  1,545 
pounds  from  old  land  making  475  pounds  of  Hut,  rating  as  good  middliug  for  the  first,  but  inferior  for  the  last.  Crops  are  troubled  with 
rag- and  hog- weeds.  More  than  one-half  of  these  lauds  originally  under  cultivation  now  lies  out.  After  a  long  rest  they  product- very 
well  for  four  or  five  years.  The  uplands  and  valleys  are  both  much  injured  by  the  washiug  of  the  upland  soils  unless  well  ditched,  and 
even  this  is  only  partially  successful  in  checking  the  damage. 

The  red  lands  occur  iu  patches  sometimes  a  mile  or  two  in  extent,  aud  have  a  growth  of  hickory,  poplar,  red,  and  white  oak.  The  soil 
is  a  red  gravelly  clay  loam,  1-2  iuches  deep,  with  a  sticky  subsoil,  which  becomes  hard  wheu  exposed.  It  is  early  when  well  drained  and 
easy  to  cultivate  in  dry  weather,  and  isbest  adapted  to  grain,  though  cotton  is  largely  planted  on  it.  The  latter  crop  grows  to  a  height  of  from 
3  to  7  feet,  and  runs  to  weed  wheu  the  laud  is  uew  or  the  seasous  are  wet.  Fertilizing  aud  proper  cultivation  preveut  this.  It  yields  600  or 
800  pounds  of  seed-cottou  per  acre  ou  fresh  land  and  300  or  400  pouuds  after  ten  years'  cultivation.  One-third  of  the  laud  now  lies  out.  The 
uplands  and  valleys  are  both  injured  very  materially  by  the  washiug  of  the  upland  soil,  but  very  little  effort  is  made  to  check  the  damage. 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  113 

The  creek  bottoms  are  usually  very  narrow  and  not  much  in  cultivation.  The  growth  is  pjoplar,  ash,  white  oak,  willow,  etc.  The 
soil  is  a  dark  sandy  loam,  2  feet  in  depth,  and  has  a  tough,  yellow  clay  subsoil.  It  is  best  adapted  to  corn  and  cotton,  and  is  generally 
devoted  to  the  former.  There  is  not  sufficient  underdrainage  for  cotton,  and  therefore  frequent  rains,  especially  in  July  aud  August, 
■cause  it  to  shed  and  the  bolls  to  rot.  It  is  also  more  liable  to  the  boll-worm  and  to  be  injured  greatly  by  early  frosts.  It  is  only  with 
a  dry,  late  fall  that  the  lowlands  can  be  relied  on.  Cotton  grows  to  the  height  of  8  feet  on  fresh  laud,  and  yields  from  1,000  to  1,500 
pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and  the  same  after  ten  years'  cultivation.     The  lint  rates  as  good  middling. 

The  mulatto  lauds,  comprising  a  large  part  of  the  lands  of  the  county,  have  a  growth  of  various  oaks,  hickory,  chestnut,  poplar,  pine, 
gum,  and  walnut.  The  soil,  a  fine  sandy  clay  loam  of  various  colors,  has  a  depth  of  12  inches,  and  a  light  to  deep  stiff  red-clay  subsoil. 
It  is  best  adapted  to  grain,  though  one-half  of  the  crops  is  of  cotton.  It  yields  600  pounds  of  this  latter  crop  per  acre  when  fresh  and 
400  pounds  after  eight  years'  cultivation. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  to  Macon  and  to  Columbus  by  railroad. 

MERIWETHER. 

Population:  17,651. — White,  7,797  ;  colored,  9,854. 

Area:  490  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  rnetamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  124,118  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  49,676  acres;  in  corn  35,842  acres;  in  wheat,  8,026  acres; 
in  oats,  7,340  acres ;  in  rye,  209  acres. 

Cotton  production :  15,154  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.31  bale,  435  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  145 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Meriwether  county  on  the  southeast  is  especially  rough  and  hilly,  a  large  section  along  the  river  from  Pine 
mountain  northward,  via  Eed  Bone,  nearly  to  Woodbury,  known  as  "  the  cove",  being  uearly  impassable  to  wagons. 
Mineral  springs  occur  along  the  foot  of  Pine  mountain,  the  Chalybeate,  Warm,  and  White  Sulphur  (not  at  the 
foot)  being  noted  places  of  resort  for  the  people  of  Columbus  and  other  cities.  Flexible  sandstone  is  found  near 
Warm  Springs.    The  top  of  the  mountain  just  southward  has  a  very  broad  and  level  surface  and  a  sandy  soil. 

Northward  to  Greenville  the  county  is  rolling  and  broken,  the  lands  gray  and  sandy,  with  red  clay  soils  in  some 
places.     There  are  granite  outcrops  just  east  of  the  White  Sulphur  springs. 

Quartz  gravel  and  rock  in  large  quantities  exist  on  these  lands,  derived  from  veins  aud  seams  in  the  mica- 
schists,  which  occur  abundantly.  Northwest  of  Greenville  a  granite  belt  is  found  passing  westward  into  Troup 
couuty  at  Mountville,  aud  another  on  the  northeast,  occupying  the  section  between  Line  creek  and  the  wagon-road 
leading  from  Location,  in  Coweta  county,  south  to  Flat  Shoals.  The  rock  forms  large  bowlders  on  the  surface. 
Long-leaf  pine  is  a  prominent  growth  on  the  gray  gravelly  lauds  of  the  section. 

On  the  northwest  of  the  county  a  broad  area  or  belt  of  red  clay  lands  enters  from  Coweta  county  west  of 
Grantville,  and,  passing  in  a  southerly  course  to  within  6  or  7  miles  of  Mountville,  turns  westward  into  Troup 
county.     Hornblendic  gneiss  is  the  prevailing  rook  of  this  belt,  and  gold  has  been  mined  largely  just  east  of  it. 

While  the  general  surface  of  the  couuty  is  rolling  and  broken,  only  6  per  cent,  is  too  much  so  for  cultivation, 
and  large  areas  of  level  uplands  are  found  in  various  sections;  78  per  cent,  of  it  is  said  to  have  been  cleared. 

Lands  under  tillage  comprise  39.6  per  cent  of  the  area,  and  are  devoted  to  corn,  cotton,  wheat,  oats,  rye, 
barley,  potatoes,  etc.  Cotton  is  the  chief  crop  (40  per  cent,  of  tilled  land),  and  has  an  average  of  101.4  acres  per 
square  mile,  ranking  fifteenth  in  the  state  in  this  regard  and  fifth  in  the  total  number  of  acres  in  cotton. 

i 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  J.  E.  G.  TERRELL,  OF  GREENVILLE. 

The  soil  is  mostly  ridge  laud  or  upland,  and  produces  cotton  well,  aud  unless  the  early  frosts  are  unusually  severe  the  fruit  all  matures. 
The  stalk  is  generally  small,  hut  because  of  its  locality  it  fruits  and  matures  well.  The  flat  or  low  lands  are  in  considerable  amount  aud 
prodnce  cotton  well  if  a  good  fertilizer  is  used  to  make  the  bolls  open  well. 

The  sandy  and  light  uplands  comprise  at  least  two-thirds  of  the  area  of  the  county,  and  alternate  with  small  belts  of  red  lands 
for  10  miles  iu  every  direction.  The  soil  is  coarse,  sandy  aud  gravelly,  14  inches  deep,  with  a  clay  subsoil  aud  a  growth  of  oak,  hickory, 
and  pine.  Cotton  comprises  one-half  the  crops,  and  grows  3  feet  high.  It  runs  to  weed  in  wet  springs  and  summers  uuless  topped  early 
iu  July  and  fertilized  with  guano,  and  produces  from  600  to  700  pouuds  of  seed-cotton  ou  fresh  lauds  per  acre,  or  300  to  350  pouuds  after 
years  of  cuitivatiou,  with  a  shorter  and  more  brittle  staple,  and  is  most  troubled  with  rag- weeds,  "poor  Peter,"  and  May-pop  vines. 

One-fifth  of  the  land  now  lies  out,  hut  produces  well  for  three  years  when  reclaimed  with  fertilizers.  Much  damage  is  done  by  the 
washing  of  the  uplands,  and  the  valleys  are  sometimes  ruined.  Hillside  ditching  is  in  some  \) laces  a  satisfactory  means  of  preventing  or 
checking  the  damage. 

Cotton  is  hauled  to  La  Grange  and  to  other  poiuts  on  the  Atlanta  and  West  Point  railroad  for  sale  or  shipment. 

TROUP. 

Population:  20,565.— White,  6,595  ;  colored,  13,970. 

Area:  430  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  129,046  acres. — Area  planted  iu  cotton,  66,1S8  acres ;  in  corn,  38,677  acres;  iu  wheat,  7,342  acres  ; 
in  oats,  6,975  acres ;  iu  rye,  87  acres. 

Cotton  production :  18,655  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.28  bale,  402  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  134 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Chattahoochee  river  cuts  off  the  northwest  corner  of  Troup  county,  which  is  rough,  broken,  and  quite  hilly. 
Granites  occupy  the  extreme  corner,  while  southward  from  it  are  alternating  ridges  aud  belts  of  quartz,  gneisses, 
aud  hornblendic  rocks,  with  their  respective  rocky,  gravelly,  and  sandy  gray  and  red  lands,  the  latter  being 
prominent  as  far  south  as  the  road  leading  from  La  Grange  to  Fredonia,  Alabama. 

The  surface  of  the  country  is  broken  and  rolling,  a  line  of  narrow  quartz  ridges  having  a  southwest  trend 
occurring  east  of  West  Point  aud  terminating  iu  Alabama.  The  drainage  of  the  couuty  is  entirely  to  the 
■  Chattahoochee  river,  on  the  west. 

379 


114  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

The  most  prominent  feature  of  that  part  of  the  comity  east  of  the  river  is  the  deep  red-clay  land,  a  belt  of  which, 
several  miles  wide,  extends  from  the  northeast  to  and  a  little  beyond  La  Grange,  awother  small  area  lying  northeast 
from  West  Point. 

The  main  red  region  extends  to  Yellow  Jacket  creek,  on  the  north,  with  narrow  areas  of  gray  lauds.  Gray 
soils,  when  found,  are  usually  so  thin  that  in  plowing  a  mulatto  variety  is  produced  by  the  mixture  of  the  underclay 
with  them.  These  red  lands  are  formed  chiefly  from  hornblendic  gneisses  and  syenites,  the  latter  producing,  by 
decomposition,  the  more  clayey  and  deeper  red  soils.     (See  analysis,  page  30.) 

Along  the  southern  line  of  the  red  belt  there  are  outcrops  of  magnesian  rocks,  such  as  serpeutiue  and  soapstone. 
Near  Mountville,  on  the  cast,  these  are  accompanied  by  asbestus  and  chrome  iron  ore.  Two  miles  north  of  West 
Point  corundum  and  asbestus  are  found,  with  another  outcrop  of  soapstone.  Other  localities  of  soapstone  are  on 
the  west  side  of  the  river  from  La  Grange,  and  on  the  Heard  county  line  not  far  from  Ooriuth. 

On  the  north  of  this  belt  are  gray  sandy  hills,  from  the  washings  of  which  the  wide  bottom  of  Yellow  Jacket  creek 
has  been  covered  with  deep  sand.     They  extend  nearly  to  the  Heard  county-line,  where  red  lands  again  predominate. 

In  the  southeastern  part  of  the  county,  embracing  all  lying  south  of  a  line  from  3  miles  north  of  Mountville 
to  Flat  Shoals  creek,  near  West  Point,  the  lands  are  gray  sandy  and  gravelly,  and  are  formed  largely  from  gray 
biotite  gneisses.     Areas  of  rod  lands  occasionally  occur  in  this  section,  and  in  some  places  the  rocks  are  garnetiferous. 

Bordering  this  section  on  the  northward  is  a  belt  of  biotite  granites,  the  rocks  outcropping  frequently  in  bowlders 
of  very  coarse  material,  accompanied  by  black  tourmaline  crystals.  The  soil  is  coarse  and  sandy.  At  Mountville 
the  country  is  quite  level,  but  becomes  more  broken  on  the  southwest,  until  the  belt  terminates  apparently  with  the 
quartz  ridges  near  West  Point  already  mentioned. 

Tilled  lands  embrace  40.9  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  an  average  of  about  300  acres  per  square  mile.  It  has, 
next  to  Pike  and  Houston  counties,  the  largest  percentage  of  tilled  area  in  the  state.  Five  per  cent,  of  the  area  is 
said  to  be  swampy,  3J  per  cent,  too  broken  for  tillage,  and  75  per  cent  of  the  area  cleared  of  its  timber.  Cotton  is 
the  chief  crop,  its  average  being  153.9  acres  per  square  mile,  or  51.3  per  cent,  of  tilled  laud.  In  the  former  regard  it- 
ranks  first  in  the  state,  in  total  acreage  fourth,  and  in  total  bales  fourth.     Its  product  per  acre  is  low. 

ABSTRACTS   FROM  THE   REPORTS   OF   DE.    "WILLIAM  P.   BEASLEY   AND   0.   W.  MABRY,   OF  LA   GRANGE. 

The  soils  may  be  classed  as  red  clays,  gray,  or  mulatto,  and  are  all  planted  iu  cotton. 

The  red  lands  are  the  best,  and  cover  about  three-quarters  of  the  area  of  the  county,  and  especially  of  tho  uplands.  They  are 
interspersed  with  gray  and  mulatto  soils,  and  have  a  growth  of  oak,  pine,  hickory,  poplar,  ash,  black  gum,  buckeye,  and  chestnut.  The 
soil  has  a  depth  of  from  2  to  12  inches  and  a  red-clay  subsoil.  Cotton  comprises  two-thirds  of  the  crops,  which  grows  from  1  foot,  or 
"buniblo  bee  size",  to  5  feet  high,  and  is  incliued  to  run  to  weed  when  highly  fertilized  and  when  there  is  a  great  deal  of  rain  while  it  is 
putting  on  fruit.  It  may  be  dwarfed  or  restrained  by  plowing  close  to  the  plant  and  cutting  the  lateral  roots.  On  fresh  land  the  yield  is 
from  700  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre;  after  eight  to  ten  years'  cultivation  (unrnanured),  only  r>00  to  TOO,  and  after  thirty  years 
300  to  400  pounds.  The  Hut  from  old  land  is  not  as  long  as  that  from  fresh  laud,  but  the  seeds  arc  lighter.  The  staple  is  classed  as  middling. 
Crab-grass  is  most  troublesome  to  all  crops.  Old  lands  that  have  been  lying  out  for  a  few  years*aud  have  grown  up  in  pines  produce  well 
for  a  few  years  if  slightly  fertilized.  Tho  hills  are  subject  to  washing  or  gullying,  and  sometimes  the  damage  doue  is  very  serious  to  both 
uplands  and  valleys. 

Those  farmers  who  have  tried  terracing  the  hillsides  prefer  that  method  of  checking  the  damage  to  all  others.  Dr.  lieasley  says: 
"Cotton  production  has  greatly  decreased  within  the  last  few  years  in  this  immediate  section  in  spite  of  the  reclaiming  of  old  pine  fields 
and  the  increased  introduction  and  use  of  tho  various  commercial  fertilizers ;  and  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  less  and  less  will  be  produced 
here  annually  until  our  system  of  farming  is  radically  changed  and  the  soil  has  a  chance  to  recuperate  from  the  continued  production 
regardless  of  rotation  of  crops." 

Shipments  are  made  to  Atlanta,  Savannah,  and  to  New  York. 

HARRIS. 

Population:  15,758. — White,  0,450;  colored,  9,308. 

Area:  170  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  metamorphic,  all. 

Tilled  lands  :  91,989  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  43,203  acres;  iu  corn, 20,871  acres;  in  wheat,  5,549  acres; 
in  oats,  5,438  acres ;  in  rye,  23  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  12,077  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.29  bale,  417  pounds  of  seed-cotton,  or  139 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  chief  topographical  feature  of  Harris  county  is  Pine  mountain,  a  low  though  prominent  raDge  passing 
through  the  central  part  of  the  county  into  Alabama.  Oak  mountain  enters  on  the  east,  and  south  of  Pine  mountain, 
with  which  it  lies  nearly  parallel,  to  Hamilton,  its  terminal  being  on  the  eastern  edge  of  the  town. 

Pine  mountain,  the  higher  of  the  two,  has  an  elevation  of  375  feet  above  the  level  of  the  country.  Both  have 
narrow  summits,  on  which  sandstone,  dipping  in  opposite  (anticlinal )  directions,  is  fouud  outcropping.  Between  the 
two  mountains  there  is  a  fine  valley,  several  miles  wide,  of  red  and  gray  lands,  very  productive,  and  mostly  under 
cultivation. 

The  country  northwest  of  the  mountains  is  rolling,  with  lands  mostly  gray  and  sandy,  but  eastward  they  are  more 
level.  On  the  south  the  surface  of  the  country  is  very  similar,  except  from  Hamilton  westward  to  the  river,  which  is 
very  hilly  and  broken.  For  some  miles  south  of  the  mountain  the  lauds  are  gravelly  and  sandy,  with  a  prominent 
growth  of  long-leaf  pine  in  some  sections. 

On  the  south  and  southeast  of  Hamilton  the  lands  are  interspersed  with  red  clays  and  are  of  a  better  class. 
A  small  outcrop  of  soapstone  occurs  at  Kingsboro',  with  some  hornblendic  gneisses.  The  growth  here  is  oak, 
hickory,  pine,  and  a  few  cucumber  trees'. 

The  rocks  of  the  county  are  chiefly  gray  gueisses  with  biotite  mica  and  mica-schists.     Loose  fragments  of 
quartz  are  very  abundant  on  the  surface  in  some  sections. 
3S0 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  115 

Seven  per  cent,  of  tbe  county  area  is  said  to  be  too  hilly  for  successful  tillage,  and  75  per  cent,  has  been  cleared 
of  its  original  growth.  Tbe  streams  have  narrow  bottoms  of  a  rich,  dark,  loamy  soil,  but  are  not  devoted  to  cotton 
culture. 

Tilled  lands  comprise  30.0  per  cent,  of  tbe  county  area,  and  of  tbese  47  per  cent,  is  in  cotton,  the  chief  crop,  its 
average  being  91.9  acres  per  square  mile.    The  county  ranks  tenth  in  the  state  in  total  cotton  acreage. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  JAMES  M.  MOBLEY,  OF  HAMILTON. 

The  lands  of  tbe  couuty  are  very  lnuch  mixed,  gray  sandy,  red  sandy,  and  red  clays  occurring  often  within  the  same  Held. 

The  sandy  soils  are  best  for  cotton,  the  dark  clay  lands  being  best  adapted  to  wheat.  The  subsoil  is  generally  a  fine  red  or  yellow 
■clay.  The  crops  of  the  county  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  potatoes,  rye,  and  sugar-cane.  Cotton  grows  to  a  height  of  2J  or  3  feet,  and  is 
inclined  to  run  to  weed  in  rainy  seasons  and  on  red  or  dark  clay  lands.  A  little  less  plowing  and  more  guano  will  check  this  tendency 
and  favor  boiling.  The  yield  is  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  and  400  pounds  on  old  land,  1,485  pounds  on  the  last  making 
475  pounds  of  lint,  Ihe  staple  becoming  inferior.  Tbe  most  troublesome  weeds  are  hog-  and  coffee-weed,  bull-nettle,  Jamestown  weeds, 
and  May-pop  vines.  The  uplands  wash  readily,  doing  serious  damage  unless  checked,  which  is  usually  accomplished  by  ditching.  One- 
third  of  tbe  lands  now  lies  out.  When  again  taken  in  they  produce  very  well  for  a  few  years,  and  cotton  especially  does  well  when  the 
lands  are  level  and  without  gullies.  The  climate  is  mild  and  healthy  and  well  adapted  to  cotton  culture,  early  frosts  in  the  fall  alone 
being  injurious.     Tbe  frosts  of  April  aud  May  seldom  do  much  damage.     One-third  of  the  lands  under  cultivation  is  devoted  to  cotton. 

Shipments  are  made  to  Columbus. 

MUSCOGEE. 

Population:  19,322.— White,  8,995;  colored,  10,327. 

Area:  210  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  sand  bills,  123  square  miles;  raetamorphic,  87  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  44,718  acres,  or  33.3  per  cent,  of  county  area. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  11,625  acres;  in  corn, 
8,2G3  acres;  in  wheat,  310  acres;  in  oats,  2,071  acres;  in  rye,  31  acres. 

Cotton  'production:  3,208  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.28  bale,  402  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  134 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Muscogee  county  overlaps  the  granitic  aud  metamorpbic  region  on  the  north  and  tbe  sandy  long-leaf  pine  bills 
on  tbe  south,  tbe  Southwestern  railroad  almost  marking  the  line  of  separation  between  thein,  while  along  the  river 
is  a  broad  aud  level  valley  extending  nearly  to  Upatoi  creek. 

A  small  proportion  of  the  area  of  the  county  is  too  hilly  for  cultivation.  The  bottom  lauds  are  about  25  feet 
above  the  river,  and  are  not  subject  to  overflow.  Columbus  is  situated  in  this  level  valley,  and  at  the  foot  of  what 
here  is  a  metamorpbic  terrace,  which  for  some  distance  up  the  river  is  quite  level,  its  dark,  rich  sandy  loam  soil  being 
underlaid  at  a  few  feet  by  a  layer  of  large  water-worn  pebbles  and  agates,  in  some  places  4  feet  thick,  which 
become  smaller  eastward,  and  disappear  within  a  few  miles  of  the  river.  Underlying  these  uplands,  and  forming  the 
high  and  long  falls  across  the  river,  are  metamorpbic  rocks,  which  differ  in  character  from  the  more  common  varieties 
in  other  parts  of  the  state. 

Granites  outcrop  over  most  of  the  metamorpbic  section  of  this  county,  forming  generally  a  broken  country, 
aud  by  disintegration  a  sandy  and  gravelly  soil,  with  the  usual  red  lands.  The  feldspar  in  tbe  rock  is  frequently 
of  the  pink  variety  and  large.  The  rocks  that  form  the  falls  and  the  ifeunense  shoals  from  Columbus  northward 
are  highly  siliceous,  and  contain  biotite  and  some  coarse,  pink  feldspar,  which  is  also  fouud  below  the  falls.  This 
feldspar  by  its  decomposition  probably  gives  to  the  thick  beds  of  clays  below  the  falls  their  pinkish  and  variegated 
colors.     This  metamorpbic  outcrop  forms  the  limit  of  river  navigation  from  the  southward. 

The  pine  hills  of  the  country  south  of  tbe  metamorpbic  are  high  and  level,  having  an  altitude  of  about  200 
feet  above  the  creeks.  They  are  covered  with  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine,  black-jack,  with  some  oak.  The  soil  is 
sandy  and  often  deep,  aud  fragments  of  ferrngiuous  sandstone  lie  in  abundance  on  their  summits.  These  lands 
■extend  northward  for  some  distance  between  the  creeks  in  the  metamorpbic  section,  and  yield  an  average  of  only 
from  5  to  7  bushels  of  corn  or  300  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  The  clays  that  underlie  these  hills  are  exposed 
along  the  river  bluff,  and  uear  Upatoi  creek  are  overlaid  by  the  peculiar  sand,  mica,  and  kaolin  conglomerate  found 
iu  Taylor  county  near  Geneva.  Blue  clay  marls,  haviug  but  a  small  proportion  of  carbonate  of  lime  but  some  large 
fossil  shells,  outcrop  in  the  banks  of  Upatoi  creek  for  several  miles,  and  for  a  very  short  distance  north  on  the  river 
bluff. 

The  river  valley  lands  are  somewhat  open,  with  very  small  tracts  of  prairie.  Iu  the  metamoqihic  the  red 
lands,  while  most  dutiable,  are  best  for  small  grain,  the  gray  sandy  soils  being  preferred  for  cotton.  They  yield  12 
•  or- 15  bushels  of  corn  and  from  7  to  10  of  wheat  per  acre,  cotton  varying  from  500  to  800  pounds  on  the  red  to  800 
or  1,000  on  the  gray  land. 

One-third  of  the  county  area  is  under  tillage  in  cotton,  corn,  small  grain,  potatoes,  etc.  Cotton  is  the  chief 
crop,  though  it  comprises  but  20  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  lands,  its  average  being  55.4  acres  per  square  mile.  The 
product  per  acre  is  low. 

There  are  at  Columbus  and  above  on  the  river  many  large  cotton  factories,  which  consume  a  great  part  of  the 
cotton  of  this  part  of  the  state  as  well  as  of  the  adjoining  portion  of  Alabama. 

ABSTRACT   FROM  THE  REPORT   OF  JAMES   C.   OOOK,   OF   COLUMBUS. 

The  land  of  the  county  comprises  three  kiuds,  viz. :  River  and  creek  bottoms,  iqdand  red  and  gray  oak  aud  hickory  lands,  and  long-leaf 
pine  lands.  The  lowlands  are  preferred  for  cotton  when  the  seasons  are  not  wet,  but  the  uplands  are  chiefly  planted,  as  they  are  well 
drained,  and  on  them  cotton  matures  earlier. 

-The  uplands  of  the  meta morphia  section  nurth  of  Columbus  have  mostly  a  gray  sandy  soil,  though  these  aro  interspersed  with 
red  clays,  and  usually  have  a  red-clay  subsoil.     They  cover  about  one-half  of  the  county,  and  have  a  growth  of  oak,  hickory,  (logwood 

381 


116  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

and  ash,  interspersed  with  pine.  The  soil  varies  from  hue  io  coarse  sandy  and  gravelly,  and  has  a  depth  of  from  2  to  4  inches,  and  a  heavier 
subsoil,  which,  when  plowed  up,  becomes  lite  the  surface  soil,  and  is  best  adapted  to  cotton,  oats,  and  pease.  Cotton  comprises  one-half 
the  crops,  grows  to  a  height  of  4  feet,  and  produces  from  GOO  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  wheu  fresh  and  300  to  600  pounds  after  years  of 
cultivation.  From  1,350  to  1,660  pounds  will  usually  make  475  pounds  of  lint.  This,  as  well  as  the  sandy  hills  soil  of  the  southern 
section,  washes  readily,  and  would  do  serions  damage  but  for  hillside  ditching.  One-fourth  of  this  land  now  lies  out,  improving  very 
sensibly  by  rest. 

Tbe  dark  sandy  loam  and  day  lands,  comprising  about  one-fourth  of  tin-  county,  include  the  bottom  and  valley  lauds.  The  soil  is 
a  fine  sandy  clay  loam  from  5  to  12  inches  in  depth,  with  a  heavier  subsoil,  which  becomes  like  the  soil  by  cultivation.  It  is  early  when 
well  drained  and  generally  easy  to  cultivate.  The  clayey  areas  are  hard  to  break  when  dry.  Cotton,  comprising  one-half  the  crops, 
grows  to  a  height  of  from  4  to  6  feet,  and  is  most  productive  at  this  height,  yielding  from  1,000  to  1,500  pounds  of  seed-cot  ton  when  fresh. 
A  few  years'  cultivation  reduces  this  COO  or  1,000  pounds.  Cookleburs  and  morning-glory  vines  are  most  troublesome.  One-tenth  of  this 
land  now  lies  out,  producing  well  when  again  taken  in. 

The  southern  sandy  long-leaf  pine  region,  covering  one-fourth  of  the  county,  has  a  gray  sandy  soil  from  12  to  24  inches  in  depth,  a 
sandy  subsoil  of  a  yellow  or  red  color,  and  a  growth  of  piue  and  black-jack.  Sand  or  gravel  underlies  this  in  places.  The  soil  is  early 
when  well  drained,  otherwise  late;  easy  to  cultivate,  and  best  adapted  to  cotton  and  potatoes.  Cotton  comprises  two-thirds  of  the  crops, 
and  grows  to  a  height  of  from  3  to  4  feet,  but  runs  to  weed  in  wefc  weather  unless  topped,  and  yields  from  (100  to  800  pounds  of  seed-, 
cotton  x>er  acre  when  the  land  is  fresh.  After  a  few  years  this  yield  is  only  from  200  to  300  pounds.  One-fourth  of  this  soil  now  lies 
turned  out,  and  it  is  improved  by  rest. 

A  number  of  large  cotton  factories  are  located  along  the  Chattahoochee  river. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  to  Savannah  by  railroad. 


CENTRAL  COTTON    BELT. 

The  central  cotton  belt  includes,  in  whole  or  in  part,  the  counties  of  Columbia,*  Richmond,  Burke,  Screven,* 
Jefferson,  Glascock,  McDuffie,*  Warren,*  Hancock,*  Washington,  Johnson,*  Laurens,  Wilkinson,  Baldwin,* 
Bibb,*  Twiggs,  Pulaski,  Houston,  Crawford,*  Taylor,  Talbot,*  Marion,  Muscogee,*  Chattahoochee,  Stewart, 
Webster,  Schley,  Macon,  Dooly,*  Sumter,  Lee,  Terrell,  Randolph,  Quitman,  Clay,  Calhoun,  Dougherty,  Baker,* 
and  Early. 

COLUMBIA. 
(See  "Metamorphic  or  middle  Georgia  region''.) 

RICHMOND. 

Population:  31,065.— White,  17,185;  colored,  17, ISO. 

Area:  320  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands,  30  square  miles;  sand  hills,  200  square 
miles. 

Tilled  lands:  30,020  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  7,871  acres;  in  corn,  11,703  acres;  in  wheat,  1,549  acres; 
in  oats,  4,209  acres;  in  r,ve,  12  acres. 

Cotton  production :  2,712  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.35  bale,  105  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  105 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Richmond  county  is  situated  on  the  line  between  the  metamorphic  and  pine-hills  regions,  and  its  area  is  divided 
between  these,  though  by  far  the  largest  part  is  covered  by  the  sands  of  the  latter.  The  shoals  in  the  Savannah 
river  3  miles  north  of  Augusta,  formed  by  metamorphic  rocks,  mark  the  head  of  navigation  on  that  river.  A 
canal  150  feet  wide,  11  feet  deep,  and  0  miles  in  length  has  been  constructed  from  the  city  northward,  by  which 
small  boats  bearing  cotton  and  other  products  are  enabled  to  reach  the  market  from  the  up  counties. 

In  the  beds  of  the  streams  north  of  Augusta  the  rocks  of  the  metamorphic  are  exposed,  and  are  covered  on  the 
uplands  by  the  sands  and  other  material  of  the  pine  hills.  Still  northward  are  high  and  broken  hills  witli  red 
clay  soils  and  a  growth  of  oaks  and  short-leaf  pine.  The  lands  are  rocky,  and  are  known  as  "the  Red  Hills". 
South  from  Augusta  the  sandy  pine  lauds  are  more  level  until  the  red  hills  of  the  central  cotton  belt  are  reached. 
Over  the  western  part  of  the  county,  southward  from  a  mile  or  two  north  of  the  railroad,  are  the  pine  hills,  with 
their  sandy  soils  and  white  clay  subsoils  and  growth  of  long-  and  short-leaf  piue  and  stunted  black-jack  oak. 
Ferruginous  sandstone  is  found  on  these  hills. 

From  Augusta  west  to  Belair  the  county  rises  to  205  feet  above  the  river,  or  177  feet  above  the  city.  Berzelia, 
11  miles  westward  on  the  county-line,  is  103  feet  higher  than  Belair,  and  is  located  on  a  ridge  which  on  the  south 
forms  the  divide  between  the  tributaries  of  the  Savannah  river  and  Brier  creek. 

A  small  area  covered  by  the  red  hills  of  the  central  cotton  region  is  found  in  the  extreme  southern  section  ot 
the  county.  They  rise  135  feet  above  McBean's  creek,  and  pass  southward  into  Burke  county.  The  extensive 
valley  lands  of  the  river  south  from  Augusta  are  largely  under  cultivation  in  cotton.  But  a  small  percentage  (17.0) 
of  the  county  area  is  under  tillage,  and  of  these  lands  21.5  per  cent,  is  in  cotton.  Corn,  however,  is  the  chief  crop. 
Cotton  has  an  average  of  21.0  acres  per  square  mile;  but  5  per  cent,  of  the  county  area  is  said  to  be  irreclaimable 
swamp.  There  are  in  Augusta  four  large  cotton  factories,  two  fertilizer  manufactories,  one  cottonseed-oil  mill, 
besides  mills  of  other  kinds.  Much  of  the  cotton  of  the  surrounding  counties  is  used  here. 
3S-J 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  117 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  A.  H.  M'LAWS,  OF  AUGUSTA. 

The  farming  lands  may  be  classed  as  follows:  Overflowed  lands  of  the  river,  level  nine  lands,  with  pipe-clay  subsoil,  and  rolling 
uplands. 

The  river  lands,  comprising  20  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  the  county,  are  considered  the  best  for  cotton.  The  soil  is  a  fine,  silty  loam, 
2  to  3  feet  deep ;  the  subsoil  is  a  red,  micaceous,  putty-like  clay ;  and  the  growth  is  beech,  white  and  water  oaks,  hickory,  ash,  holly,  bay, 
birch,  walnut,  mulberry,  sycamore,  and  cottonwood.  These  lands  are  hard,  and  break  up  in  clods.  Cotton  comprises  one-half  the  crops, 
and  grows  5  or  6  feet  high,  or  3-J-  to  4  feet  in  rows  4  or  5  feet  apart,  running  to  weed  if  the  latter  are  too  narrow  or  the  land  is  thin  aud 
sandy.  These  valleys  are  improved  by  the  washings  of  the  uplands,  and  very  little  land  now  lies  out.  Cocklehurs,  butter- weed,  aud  joint- 
grass  (a  coarse,  bluish-gray  grass  with  two  or  three  seed  spikes)  are  most  troublesome.  The  yield  in  cotton  is  an  average  of  1,500  pounds 
of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  land.  After  three  years'  cultivation,  without  manure,  the  yield  is  one-third  less,  and  the  staple  becomes 
shorter  and  less  silky. 

The  red  lands  comprise  one-fifth  of  the  area  of  the  county  on  the  north  and  south.  The  soil  has  a  depth  of  10  inches,  with  a  sand  and 
clay  mixture,  and  contains  "Georgia  pills",  a  small  "  lenticular  clay  ironstone".  Ferruginous  sandstone  and  buhr-stone  are  found  in  tho 
southern  red  belt.  These  lands  are  early,  warm,  well  drained,  easy  to  till,  and  best  adapted  to  cotton,  corn,  grain  and  potatoes,  and  fruit 
of  all  kinds.  One-fifth  is  planted  in  cotton,  and  the  yield  is  from  500  to  600  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  when  fresh  and  from  300  to 
500  pounds  after  five  years'  cultivation.  Crab-grass  is  most  troublesome.  The  soil  washes  readily,  doing  some  damage  to  the  uplands, 
but  none  to  the  valleys.  Horizontalizing  checks  it  very  easily.  One-fourth  of  these  lands  now  lies  out,  being  much  improved  by  rest 
and  the  assimilation  of  vegetable  matter. 

The  flat  gray  lands,  with  a  depth  of  6  inches,  have  a  growth  of  long-  and  short-leaf  pine,  oak,  bay,  gum,  aud  some  hickory.  They 
comprise  only  one-tenth  of  tho  lands  of  the  county,  over  a  territory  6  miles  long  and  3  miles  wide  south  of  Augusta.  The  subsoil  is  a  hard- 
pan  or  pipe-clay,  impervious  to  water.  This  land  is  best  adapted  to  corn,  melons,  potatoes,  and  small  grain.  Richmond  is  the  great 
"  watermelon-producing  county".  Cotton  is  subject  to  black  or  humid  rnst,  but,  when  well  manured  on  the  surface,  yields  well.  Even 
on  fresh  land,  when  unmanured,  the  yield  is  only  one  bale  of  lint  (500  pounds)  to  five  acres.     One-fifth  of  the  crops  is  of  cotton. 

The  climate  in  this  county  is  not  subject  to  the  long  dry  spells  of  the  more  southern  counties,  and  the  seasons  are  generally  regular. 

Cotton  is  sold  iu  Augusta. 

BURKE. 

Population:  27,128.— White,  0,089  ;  colored,  21,030. 

Area:  1,030  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  lime-sink  (wire-grass)  region,  100  square  miles;  pine  barrens  (wire- 
grass),  106  square  miles ;  sand  bills,  04  square  miles ;  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands,  TOO  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  228,880  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  87,359  acres ;  in  corn,  08,131  acres;  in  wheat,  400  acres;. 
in  oats,  4,457  acres ;  in  rye,  29  acres. 

Cotton  production:  29,172  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.33  bale,  477  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  159 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Burke  county  is  rolling  and  broken  on  the  north,  but  becomes  more  and  more  level  to  the  south, 
gradually  falling  in  elevation.  Four  agricultural  divisions  are  represented  in  this  county,  viz :  sandy  pine  hills  on 
the  northwest  corner ;  red  lands  or  hills  just  south  of  them  ;  yellow  loam  iu  the,  middle  ;  and  the  pine  and  wire-grass 
on  the  southwest. . 

White  marls  and  limestones,  exposed  at  many  places,  underlie  almost  the  entire  county,  and  are  easily 
accessible,  and  when  used  as  stimulants  on  the  hinds  yield  valuable  results  after  the  first  year  or  two. 

Shell  bluff,  the  most  noted  exposure  of  these  marls,  is  composed  of  alternating  beds  of  shell  marl  and  clays. 
(See  page  14.) 

Buhr-stone  or  siliceous  shell-rock  occurs  in  abundance,  overlying  these  beds  or  in  fragments  on  the  surface.  By 
their  decomposition  a  fine  powder  is  produced,  in  which  are  found  the  siliceous  sponge  spicules  alluded  to  in  the 
description  of  this  part  of  the  central  cottou  belt  (page  44)  as  forming  in  some  of  the  dry  ponds  a  fine  dust  pernicious 
to  the  lungs.  The  soil  of  the  dry  ponds  is  very  black  from  decayed  vegetation,  is  about  10  inches  deep,  aud  overlies 
a  white  pipe-clay.  The  growth  is  chiefly  pine.  The  buhr-stone  or  shell-rock  at  Stone  bluff,  on  the  Savannah  river, 
is  10  feet  thick.  Lime-sinks  and  ponds  are  found  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  county.  The  oak,  hickory,  and 
pine  uplands  occupy  the  largest  area.  Their  sods  are  sandy,  several  inches  deep,  and  are  underlaid  by  a  yellow- 
clay  subsoil.  The  growth  is  red,  hickory,  and  black-jack  oak,  dogwood,  and  long-leaf  pine.  Yellow  and  brown 
ferruginous  pebbles  or  gravel  are  abundant  everywhere.  Along  the  Savannah  river  uplands  long-leaf  pine  is  most 
prominent,  with  an  undergrowth  of  black-jack  and  black  oak.  This  river  belt  extends  southward  through  Screven 
into  Effingham  county.  Short-leaf  pine  is  found  north  of  Waynesboro'  to  McBean's  station,  while  some  wire-grass 
appears  just  south  of  Alexander  and  in  patches  over  this  part  of  the  county. 

The  surface  of  the  country  on  the  north  is  high  and  broken,  135  feet  above  McBean's  creek.  The  red  lands 
cover  the  broken  country  on  the  west  from  Waynesboro'  and  McBean's,  but  between  these  two  points  and  eastward 
to  the  river  the  lands  are  a  yellow  sandy  loam.  At  the  foot  of  this  high  land,  at  Boggy  Gut  creek,  the  soft  white 
marls  outcrop  0  feet  thick,  aud  beds  of  iron  ore  are  found  in  these  clay  lauds  4  miles  northwest  of  Waynesboro'. 

Altogether,  these  red  lands  cover  about  one-third  of  the  area  of  the  county,  not  only  on  the  hills  of  the  north, 
but  along  the  slopes  of  the  uplands  near  the  streams.  They  have  the  general  character  of  the  entire  region  (see 
description,  page  39). 

The  wire-grass  region  of  the  southwestern  part  of  the  county  is  of  the  better  class,  having  clay  subsoils,  underlaid 
by  the  limestones  aud  marls,  with  numerous  lime-sinks  on  the  west,  and  extending  into  Jeft'erson  are  the  "  flatwoods'', 
a  very  level  country  with  yellow  loam  lands. 

Tilled  lands  comprise  34.7  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  and  of  these  38.2  are  in  cotton,  the  chief  crop,  which 
averages  84.8  acres  per  square,  mile.  In  the  total  acreage  and  bales  Burke  county,  because,  of  its  large  area,  ranks 
as  first  in  the  state. 

Sixty-two  per  cent,  of  the  lands  of  the  county  are  said  to  have  been  cleared,  and  5  per  cent,  is  too  swampy  for 
cultivation,  being  subject  to  overflows.        * 

The  pine  hills  of  the  northwestern  corner  are  covered  with  sands  and  variegated  clays  and  a  growth  of  pine 
and  black-jack.     The  lands  are  poor,  and  are  soon  exhausted  unless  highly  fertilized. 

383 


118  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

ABSTRACTS    FROM   THE    REPORTS   OF   W.  B.  AND    J.  B.  JONES,  OF    IIERNDON. 

The  lauds  of  the  county  may  be  placed  in  three  classes,  viz:  (1)  Gray,  light,  and  sandy  soils,  with  clay  subsoils;  (2)  reddish  or 
brown  soils  resembling  the  clay  subsoils  ou  which  they  rest;  (3)  a  dark  gray,  sometimes  nearly  black,  found  in  hummocks  and  flat  bay 
lauds  bordering  the  rivers,  creeks,  aud  branches.  The  subsoil  is  a  sand  or  white  pipe-clay.  Cotton  cannot  be  safely  grown  on  these 
hummocks  and  flat  lands  for  more  than  three  or  four  years  after  they  are  first  brought  into  cultivation,  as  they  are  then  liable  to  rust. 

The  gray  sandy  lands,  with  red  or  yellow  subsoils,  cover  two-thirds  or  more  of  the  county,  and  havo  a  growth  of  oak,  hickory,  and 
pine.  The  soils  are  from  3  to  9  inches  deep,  sometimes  contain  black  gravel,  aud  are  underlaid  by  shell-rock  at  from  1  foot  to  5  feet.  The 
crops  of  the  county  are  cotton,  corn,  oats,  wheat,  rye,  potatoes,  pease,  sugar-cane,  rice,  aud  varieties  of  millet.  Cotton  comprises  one- 
half  or  more  of  the  crops,  grows  from  2  to  4  feet  high,  and  runs  to  weed  with  too  much  rain,  or  when  there  is  a  deficiency  of  potash  in  the 
soil.  Ou  fresh  lands  the  yield  is  from  300  to  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  the  lint  rating  as  middling.  Cultivation  of  eight  years 
reduces  the  yield  to  600  pounds,  and  1,545  pounds  make  475  pounds  of  lint,  which  is  shorter  and  inferior  in  every  respect  to  that  of 
fresh  land,  and  rates  as  ordinary.  Crab-  and  crowfoot  grasses  and  hog-weeds  are  most  troublesome.  About  two-fifths  of  these  lands  now 
lie  turned  out,  but  when  reclaimed  they  yield  about  two-thirds  of  the  original  crop.  They  wash  readily,  and  somotimes  do  serious  damago 
to  the  slopes  ;  but  slight  injury  is  done  tho  valleys,  which  korizontalizing  and  hillside  ditching  are  quite  successful  in  cheeking. 

The  red  clay  lands  of  tho  upper  part  of  the  county  comprise  one-third  of  the  entire  area.  The  soil  is  usually  sand;  for  :!  inches,  but 
the  subsoil  is  a  tough,  tenacious,  aud  impervious  clay,  overlying  limestone  at  from  1  foot  to  40  feet.  The  laud  is  best  adapted  tocotton, 
corn,  and  wheat.  Two-thirds  of  the  land  under  cultivation  is  devoted  to  cotton,  which  grows  to  a  height  of  from  3  to  5  feet.  From  1,000  to 
1,400  pounds  of  seed-cotton  are  produced  on  this  soil  when  fresh,  but  after  seven  years'  cultivation  it  yields  only  800  pouuds,  1,544 
pounds  from  old  land  making  475  pounds  of  lint.  In  the  latter  case  the  fiber  is  shorter  and  lighter  in  color.  Hog-weeds  are  most 
troublesome.  One-third  of  this  land  now  lies  turned  out;  when  takon  into  cultivation  again,  after  ten  or  twelve  years'  rest,  it  produces 
from  one-half  to  three-fourths  as  well  as  when  fresh.  It  washes  readily  and  rapidly  on  slopes,  doing  serious  damage  also  to  the  valleys;  but 
little  or  no  effort  has  been  made  to  check  it. 

Hummock  lands. — These  comprise  about  one-tenth  of  the  lauds  of  the  county  bordering  the  streams,  the  sandy  subsoil  being  underlaid 
by  a  tough  pipe-clay  and  sand  and  gravel  at  from  5  to  10  feet.  These  lands  are  best  adapted  to  corn  and  oats,  and  very  little  cotton  is 
planted  on  them.  For  the  first  year  or  two  cotton  does  well,  growing  to  a  height  of  from  3  to  5  feet,  and  yielding  about  1,000  pounds  of  seed- 
cotton  por  acre;  but  after  three  years  this  yield  is  only  from  300  to  500  pounds.  Over  half  of  these  cultivated  lands  now  lies  out,  aud  when 
taken  in  again  only  produce  half  as  well  as  at  first.  The  seasons  in  this  county  are  not  extreme  as  to  drought  and  rain.  Tho  atmosphere 
is  humid,  aud  the  nights  in  the  latter  part  of  summer  are  attended  with  heavy  dews,  which  favor  cotton  and  all  fall  crops,  compensating 
in  a  measure  for  occasional  droughts.      The  growing  season  is  long,  extending  from  March  15  to  October  15. 

Cotton  is  shipped  from  September  to  March,  by  railroad,  to  Savannah  (mostly)  at  35  cents  per  100  pounds. 

SCKEVEN. 
(See  "Lime-sink  and  wire-grass  region".) 

JEFFERSON. 

Population:  15,071.— White,  5,581;  colored,  10,090. 

Area :  020  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands,  .328  square  miles;  pine  barrens  (wire- 
grass),  141  square  miles;  sand  hills,  151  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  123,924  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  41,307  acres;  in  corn,  42,335  acres;  in  wheat,  5,7S3  acres; 
in  oats,  0,140  acres;  in  rye,  307  acres. 

Cotton  production:  13,377  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.32  bale,  402  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  154 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Four  divisions  of  lands,  as  in  Burke,  are  represented  in  Jefferson  county.  Pine  and  sand  hills  lie  north  of 
Brushy  creek,  yellow  loam  with  red  lands  southward  across  the  creek  from  Louisville,  and  long-leaf  pine  and  wire- 
grass  over  the  southern  portion  of  the  county. 

Ogeechee  river  flows  southeast  through  the  comity,  Williamson's  Swamp  and  Rocky  creeks  uniting  with  it  on 
the  south.  Brier  creek  forms  a  part  of  the  northern  boundary.  The  surface  of  the  country  is  rolling  on  the  west 
and  north,  but  on  the  east  there  are  very  level  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  lands,  forming  the  greater  part  of  the  lands 
of  the  county. 

The  pine  and  sandy  hills  extend  to  within  11  miles  of  Louisville  ou  the  north,  and  resemble  the  same  belt  in 
Glascock  county.  The  underlying  limestone  aud  marl  outcrop  in  a  number  of  points,  and  on  the  river  south  of 
Louisville  the  exposure  in  the  bluffs  is  15  feet  thick  aud  extends  for  several  miles,  ibssiliferous  sandstone  overlying 
it  in  places.  Silicious  shell-rock  is  found  north  of  Louisville  in  abundance,  and  also  at  the  head  of  Spring  creek,  9 
miles  southeast,  where  a  quarry  was  at  one  time  established. 

Red  lands  occur  ou  some  of  the.  hills  in  the  county  north  and  east  of  Louisville,  tho  belt  crossing  in  an  easterly 
course.  (See  analysis,  page  40.)  In  the  northwestern  corner,  at  Fenn's  bridge,  these  clays  have  a  thickness  of  15 
to  25  feet,  and  contain  fossil  shells  {Ostrea). 

The  pine  and  wire-grass  lands  cover  but  a  small  area  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county.  Their  upper  limit 
is  found  1  mile  south  of  Williamson's  swamp,  near  Bartow  station.  The  country  is  very  open  aud  level,  pine  being 
almost  the  exclusive  timber. 

Lands  under  cultivation  comprise  31.2  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  and  are  chiefly  devoted  to  corn.  Six  per 
cent,  of  the  area  is  said  to  be  too  swampy  for  tillage.  Cotton  has  an  average  of  00.7  acres  per  square  mile,  and 
embraces  33.4  per  cent,  of  tilled  land. 

ABSTRACT    FROM   THE    REPORT    OF    A.    E.    TARVER,    OF   BARTOW. 

The  red  and  gray  la7ids  of  the  county  have  a  growth  of  pine,  oak,  and  hickory.     The  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  rye,  oats,  pease, 
potat#es,  and  sugar-cane,  and  all  do  well  when  well  manured  and  worked.    Cotton  grow,sG  feet  high,  bnt  runs  to  weed  on  fresh  laud  without 
manure,  a  good  fertilizer  being  all  that  is  needed  to  restrain  it.     From  500  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  are  obtained  from  froah 
384 


ARGICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  119 

lands,  1,545  pounds  being  needed  for  475  pounds  of  lint.  After  live  years'  cultivation  tbe  yield  is  reduced  to  300  pounds  of  seed-cotton, 
1,575  pounds  being  necessary  for  475  pounds  of  lint.  The  staple  from  fresh  land  is  good  and  long;  that  from  old  is  Bhort.  No  weeds 
trouble  much,  but  grass  is  troublesome.  About  one-tenth  of  the  lands  lies  turned  out,  and  when  again  taken  into  cultivation  they  yield 
well  for  four  or  five  years.  They  wash  readily  on  slopes,  doing  serious  damage,  the  valleys  also  being  injured  10  per  cent.  Some  little 
effort  has  been  made  to  check  this  damage  by  liorizontalizing,  hillside  ditching,  and  underdraining,  and  with  pretty  good  success. 
Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  to  Savannah  at  40  cents  per  100  pounds. 

GLASCOCK. 

Population:  3,577.— White,  2,506;  colored,  1,071. 

Area:  100  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  sand  bills,  nearly  all. 

Tilled  lands:  U5,124  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  8,175  acres;  in  corn,  10,742  acres;  in  wheat,  4,257  acres  ; 
in  oats,  1,070  acres;  in  rye,  54  acres. 

Cotton  production:  2,G35  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.32  bale,  450  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  153 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  small  countj^  of  Glascock  is  almost  entirely  within  the  pine-hills  region.  The  surface  of  the  county  is 
generally  hilly,  with  mostly  a  poor  sandy  upland  soil. 

There  is  a  little  red  oak  and  hickory  land,  with  also  some  river  and  creek  bottoms,  which  are  rich  and  productive; 
but  some  of  the  latter  are  irreclaimable,  owing  to  their  liability  to  overflow.  . 

A  number  of  large  ponds  in  the  county,  having  a  growth  of  oak,  hickory,  and  ash,  were  reclaimed  before  the 
late  civil  war,  and  now  produce  well. 

Granite  is  found  at  Ogeechee  shoals  and  near  the  county-line  north  of  Gibson,  but  southward  in  the  river  are 
the  clay  slates  with  quartz  veins  that  occur  so  frequently  along  the  lower  limit  of  the  metamorphic.  They  are, 
however,  here  covered  on  the  uplands  by  sands  of  the  pine  hills.  Two  miles  east  of  Gibson  there  is  quite  an  area 
covered  with  siliceous  claystones,  highly  fossiliferous,  but  the  lands  are  sandy. 

The  county  is  drained  almost  entirely  into  the  Ogeechee  river,  the  western  boundary. 

Lauds  under  tillage  embrace  39.3  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  and  are  chiefly  in  corn.  The  acreage  of  cotton 
is  32.5  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  land,  and  averages  81.8  acres  per  square  mile. 

ABSTRACT    FROM   THE   REPORT    OF  JAMES  L.  NEAL,  OF   WARBENTON. 

Every  kind  of  soil  except  the  low,  wet  bottoms  is  devoted  to  cotton,  hut  the  stiff  clay  lands  are  considered  best.  These  latter 
comprise  bat  10  per  cent,  of  the  lauds  of  the  county. 

The  growth  of  the  county  is  principally  long-leaf  pine,  but  is  moderately  interspersed  with  oak,  hickory,  etc.  The  soil  is  a  sand, 
3  inches  deep;  the  subsoil  is  generally  a  yellow  or  variegated-colored  saud,  the  best  varieties  having  a  red  or  yellow  clay.  The  crops  are 
cotton,  corn,  wheat,  and  oats.  The  lands  are  best  adapted  to  pease,  though  cotton  comprises  one-half  of  the  crops.  The  plant  grows  to 
a  height  of  from  1  foot  to  3  feet,  but  the  best  yield  is  obtained  from  a  height  of  from  15  to  20  inches.  The  height  depends  on  shallow  or 
deep  tillage,  the  former  producing  fruit  and  little  weed  (small  growth),  the  latter  but  little  fruit  and  tall  weed.  Running  to  weed  is 
prevented  by  early  and  careful  topping,  preceded  by  very  shallow  culture.  The  yield  is  500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  when  fresh, 
and  from  300  to  400  pounds  alter  five  years'  cultivation,  unrnanuivd.  Ten  years'  cultivation  still  further  reduces  this  product  to  100  or  200 
pounds  per  acre.  From  fresh  land  1,845  pounds  of  seed  cotton  make  475  pounds  of  lint ;  but  1,000  pounds  are  required  from  old  land,  and 
'the  staple  is  inferior.     Crab-grass  only  is  troublesome. 

About  25  per  cent,  of  the  originally  cultivated  lands  now  lie  out.  Five  per  cent,  annually  is  turned  out,  but  is  replaced  by  freshly 
cleared  land.     If  allowed  to  rest  twenty  or  thirty  years,  and  then  taken  in,  the  yield  for  five  years  is  better  than  when  fresh. 

Much  damage  is  done  by  washing,  and  valleys  also  are  injured  to  the  extent  of  from  5  to  10  per  cent,  annually.  Some  little  effort  has 
■been  made  to  check  it  by  hillside  ditching,  with  good  success  if  attended  to  after  all  the  heavy  rains. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  to  Warrentou  and  Augusta. 

Mcduffie. 

(See  "Metamornhic  or  middle  Georgia  region".) 

WARREN.  » 
(See  "Metamorphic  or  middle  Georgia  region".) 

HANCOCK. 
(See  "Metamorphic  or  middle  Georgia  region".) 

WASHINGTON. 

Population:  21,964.— White,  9,449;  colored,  12,515. 

Area:  680  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  sand  hills,  127  square  miles;  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands,  521 
square  miles;  pine  barrens  (wire-grass).  ,'52  square,  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  152,887  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  66,909  acres;  in  corn,  58,653  acres;  in  wheat,  7,464  acres; 
in  oats,  7,566  acres;  in  rye,  1,966  acres. 

Cotton  production:  23,058  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.34  bale,  492  pounds  seed  cotton,  or  164 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

25  c  P — VOL.  II  385 


120  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

Washington  county  between  the  Qgeeehee  and  Oconee  rivers  has  within  its  area  the  lands  of  four  of  the  general1 
divisions  or  regions,  viz:  the  sandy  pine  hills  on  the  north,  red  lands  and  yellow-loam  lands  in  the  center,  and 
long  leaf  pine  and  wire-grass  lands  on  the  extreme  south. 

The  entire  surface  of  the  county  is  hilly  and  rolling,  with  broad  and  level  areas,  especially  on  the  south.  The 
sandy  pine  lands  of  the  north  have  deep  sandy  soils,  and  the  subsoils  are  underlaid  by  pipe-clay  of  variegated  colors. 
They  are  timbered  with  pine  (both  long-  and  short  leaf )  and  black-jack  oak. 

Gneisses  and  granitic  rocks  appear  in  the  beds  of  some  of  the  streams,  as  at  Long's  bridge,  on  Buffalo  creek 
(on  the  county-line),  but  on  the  immediate  uplands  are  the  sands  and  clays.  Clay-slate  is  exposed  in  the  bed  of 
Tiger  creek,  2  miles  southwest  of  Long's  bridge.  This  sandy  pine-hills  region  lies  north  of  a  line  from  Wartben's 
store  to  Long's  bridge,  and  thence  southwest  to  the  mouth  of  Gum  creek. 

The  yellow-loam  lands  extend  from  these  pine  hills  to  the  Johnson  county-line,  on  the  southwest,  and  5  miles 
south  of  Sun  Hill,  on  Williamson's  Swamp  creek.  The  lauds  north  of  Tennille  are  rolling  and  sandy,  with  clay 
subsoils,  and  have,  a  growth  of  oak,  hickory,  and  pine.  South  from  Tennille  they  are  more  level,  and  long  leaf  pine 
is  more  prominent. 

Beds  of  white  marl  and  limestone,  with  very  many  clypeasters  and  other  fossils,  underlie  the  entire  region,  being 
e.vposed  at  a  number  of  points.  Analyses  of  this  marl  made  by  the  state  geological  survey  show  it  to  contain  of 
carbonate  of  lime,  89.08  per  cent. ;  phosphoric  acid,  0.7S  per  cent;  sand,  5.32  per  cent.  The  sample  was  taken  from 
a.  large  outcrop  near  Tennille,  in  which  are  many  fossil  bones. 

North  of  Sandersville  at  several  points  are  other  beds  of  a  soft  white  marl  (littering  in  character  from  this  but 
having  a  high  percentage  of  lime,  and  well  adapted  for  fertilizing  purposes.  Siliceous  rocks  containing  much  opal 
(both  common  and  tine  varieties)  occur  seven  miles  north  of  Sandersville  in  the  red  clay  lauds  and  in  other  localities 
in  the  county. 

lied  lands  of  the  Red  Hills  belt  cover  large  areas  in  this  yellow-loam  region,  and  perhaps  are  most  prominent 
along  Buffalo  and  Keg  creeks  and  the  Oconee  river  on  the  west.  The  surface  of  the  country  is  there  rolling,  with 
high  hills  rising  abruptly  from  the  edge  of  the  swamps  150  or  200  feet  and  heavily  timbered  on  the  slopes.  The 
red  clays  capping  the  hills  are  10  or  15  feet  deep,  and  frequently  contain  silicilied  shells.  Away  from  the  bluffs 
the  lands  are  more  level  and  sandy.  These  clay  lands  predominate  around  Sandersville  and  tor  ;i  miles  southwest, 
and  have  a  growth  of  post  and  white  aaks  and  hickory. 

The  wire-grass  section  comprises  bur  a  small  and  open  area  on  the  southeast,  the  growth  being  almost  exclusively 
long-leaf  pine  and  wire-grass,  with  some  black-jack.     The  soil  and  subsoil  are  sandy,  and  not  very  productive. 

Of  the  area  of  the  county,  3A  per  cent,  is  said  to  be  irreclaimable  swamp.  A  little  more  than  35  per  cent,  of 
the  county  area  is  under  tillage,  chiefly  in  cotton  and  corn.  The  former  is  the  chief  crop,  and  has  an  average  of 
98.4  acres  per  square,  mile,  embracing  43.8  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  lands.  Burke  is  the  only  county  in  the  state 
having  a  greater  total  number  of  bales,  but  in  its  average,  acres  per  square  mile  Washington  is  snrpasssed  by 
twenty-one  counties,  and  in  bales  per  square  mile  by  ten  counties. 

ABSTRACT   FROM   TIIE    REPORT    OF    II.    N.    HOLLIFIELD,    OF    SANDERSVILLE. 

The  lauds  of  the  northern  and  western  parts  of  the  county  are  stiff  red  clays,  while  on  the  south  and  east  they  are  thai  and  sandy. 
The  uplands  are  preferred  for  cotton,  as  it  matures  earlier  and  is  not  injured  by  the  early  frosts. 

The  stiff  red  elaij  lands,  comprising  30  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  the  county,  are  the  hest  for  cotton.  They  are  found  all  over  the 
western,  middle,  and  upper  parts  of  the  county,  and  have  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine,  oak,  and  hickory,  a  depth  of  16  inches,  and  are 
underlaid  by  a  deeper  red  clay.  These  lands  are  impervious  to  water  unless  well  plowed,  are  too  hard  to  plow  in  dry  seasons,  though 
early,  warm,  and  well  drained,  and  are  best,  adapterl  to  jcotton.  Cotton-  comprises  60  per  cent,  of  the  crops,  and  grows  from  2  to  (1  feet 
high,  but  is  most  productive  at  3  or  4,  and  runs  to  weed  when  the  ground  is  very  rich  and  highly  stimulated  unless  restrained  by 
topping.  Fresh  lands  yield  700  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  the  first  year  and  500  to  600  pounds  the  second:  1,485  pounds  make  47.". 
pounds  of  lint  the  second  year,  which  rates  as  middling.  May-pop  vines,  Bermuda  grass,  and  hog-weeds  are  most,  troublesome.  None  of 
the  land  lies  turned  out,  and  with  a  little  care  it  is  always  productive.  The  lands  wash  readily  on  slopes,  but  no  very  serious  damage  is 
done. 

The  brown  light  clays  or  chocolate  loams  comprise  25  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  and  have  a  growth  in  which  long-leaf  pine 
predominates.  The  soil  is  6  inches  deep,  and  the  subsoil  is  an  impervious  clay,  heavy  and  putty-like.  The  soil  is  easily  tilled  in  all 
seasons,  is  early,  warm,  well  drained,  and  is  best  adapted  to  corn  and  wheat.  Cotton  comprises  two-thirds  of  the  crop,  the  plant  growing 
from  IS  to  'Mi  inches  high,  and  yielding  from  400  to  500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  land  and  at  three  years'  cultivation.  After 
three  years  the  yield  decreases.  Hog-weeds  and  nettles  are  most  troublesome.  One-third  of  the  land  now  lies  out,  lint  after  ten  or 
twelve  years'  rest  it  yields  very  well.  The  lauds  wa.'th  readily,  and  are  sometimes  seriously  damaged.  The  valleys  also  suffer  injury. 
The  various  methods  of  horizontalizing,  hillside  ditching,  and  undcrdraining  arc  tried  with  success  in  checking  the  damage. 

The  light  sandy  and  gravelly  land  of  the  lowlands  comprises  about  20  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  the  county.  It  has  a  growth  of  pine, 
black-jack,  gum,  and  sassafras.  Its  color  varies  from  brown  to  black,  and  its  depth  is  from  4  to  12  inches.  Its  subsoil  is  cither  a  yellow- 
clay  or  a  line  sand,  containing  hard  gravel  and  pebbles.  The  soil  is  late,  cold,  and  ill  drained,  easy  to  till,  and  best  adapted  to  grain, 
although  cotton  comprises  one-third  of  the  crops.  Cotton  grows  to  a  height  of  from  0  to  IS  inches,  yielding  from  :100  to  400  pounds  of 
seed-cotton,  but  after  live  years  almost  nothing,  or  200  pounds  at  most.  One-half  of  this  land  now  lies  out,  anil  with  manure  will  produce 
tolerably  well.     It  washes  readily,  but  no  damage  is  done. 

Cotton  is  shipped,  as  soon  as  ginned,  to  Savannah  by  railroad  at  50  cents  per  100  pounds. 

JOHNSON. 

(See  "Pine  barrens  and  wire-grass  region".) 

LAURENS. 

Population:  10,053.— White,  5,702;  colored,  4,351. 

Area;  740  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands,  259  square  miles;  lime-sink  (wire- 
grass)  region,  74  square  miles  ;  pine  barrens  (wire-grass),  407  square  miles. 

386 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  121 

I 

Tilled  lands:  S9,S34  acres.— Area  planted  in  cotton,  20,080  acres;  in  corn,  25,563  acres;  in  wheat,  47$  aorta; 
in  oats,  4,745  acres ;  in  rye,  408  acres. 

Cotton  production:  6,S03  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.33  bale,  474  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  158 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  county  of  Laurens  is  divided  by  the  Oconee  river,  to  which  nearly  all  the  streams  m  the  county  are 
tributary.  The  surface  of  the  country  is  undulating,  the  northern  portion  being  covered  with  the  lands  and  growth 
of  the  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  region,' and  the  southern  by  wire-grass  and  long-leaf  pine,  occupying  the  largest 
part  of  the  county. 

The  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  region  has  its  lower  limit  one  mile  north  of  Dublin.  The  sandy  soil  and  yellow 
sandy  clay  subsoil  aie  underlaid  in  places  by  a  whitish  joint-clay  having  leaf  impressions  and  seams  of  lignite. 
The  "growth  of  this  section  is  pine,  oak,  and  hickory.  Red  clay  lands  are  found  in  some  parts  of  the  region. 
Sonic  siliceous  shell-rock  is  found  on  Turkey  creek,  on  the  northwest,  and  white  Limestone  underlies  the  entire  region. 

The  wire-grass  and  open  long-leaf  pine  region  comprises  in  this  county  both  of  its  subdivisions.  Ananow 
belt  of  the  lime-sink  (represented  here  by  its  accompanying  siliceous  shell-rock)  occupies  a  narrow  belt  on  its 
northern  border,  in  which  Dublin  is  situated.  On  the  river  at  this  place  masses  of  buhr-stoue  are  underlaid  by  a 
stiff  brownish  variegated  clay. 

The  surface  of  the  country  is  slightly  rolling.  South  of  this  belt  the  region  is  underlaid  by  an  argillaceous 
sandstone,  inclosing  ferruginous  spots.  The  country  is  but  slightly  rolling  or  undulating  and  very  open.  Tiie  soil 
is  dark  sandy  ;  the  subsoil  a  yellow  sand. 

Two  and  a  half  per  cent,  of  the  county  surface  is  said  to  be  too  swampy  for  tillage.  Cut  10  per  cent,  of  rlie 
county  area  is  under  cultivation,  though  probably  125  per  cent,  has  been  cleared.  Corn  has  the  greatest  aereage  ;  that 
of  cotton  is  next,  and  averages  28  acres  per  square  mile,  or  23  per  cent,  of  tilled  land.  Its  average  product  per  acre  is 
above  that  of  the  region.  Cotton  is  chiefly  raised  in  the  northern  and  middle  portions  of  the  county.  Lumbering 
is  a  prominent  pursuit  of  the  southern  part,  the  river  affording  a  means  of  transportation  in  rafts  to  the  coast. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  ROBERT  WAYNE,  OF  DUBLIN. 

The  lands  of  the  county  vary  greatly.  The  northwest  is  rolling,  with  forests  of  oak  and  hickory,  and  is  well  watered  by  large  creeks', 
and  the  south  and  southeast  is  level,  with  a  fine  growth  of  yellow  pine.     There  is  also  a  large  extent  of  swamp  lauds  iu  the  county. 

The  light  gray  soils,  with  clay  subsoils  {yellow  loam),  are  the  chief  cottou  lands,  aud  comprise  a  large  part  of  the  county  area.  The 
growth  is  oak  and  hickory.  The  soil  is  6  inches  deep ;  the  subsoil  bakes  after  hard  rains,  and  requires  a  harrow  to  pulverize  the  soils  tor 
thorough  cultivation.  The  lands  are  easy  to  till  at  all  times,  and  are  bes4-  adapted  to  cotton,  which  comprises  one-half  of  the  crops.  The 
yield  on  fresh  land  is  from  450  to  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre;  after  twenty  years'  cultivation,  it  is  from  200  to  300  pounds.  From 
1,425  to  1,545  pounds  of  the  former  make  475  pounds  of  lint.  The  seeds  of  the  first  picking  are  heavier,  aud  a  greater  weight  is  required 
for  a  bale  than  later  in  the  season.  The  later  the  cotton  the  better  is  the  yield  of  lint.  The  staple  rates  as  middling.  From  1,545  to 
1,GG5  pounds  are  required  for  475  pounds  of  liut  when  the  land*  are  old,  and  the  staple  is  shorter.  Cotton  grows  4  feet  high,  aud  is 
troubled  most  with  crab-grass  aud  crowfoot  grass.  About  one-tenth  of  these  lands  lies  turned  out,  and  yield  very  well  when  again  taken 
iu.     They  wash  only  ill  places,  and  but  little  damage  is  done. 

ABSTRACT   FROM   THE    R0PORT    OF   J.    T.    OHAPPELL,    M.  D.,  OF    LAURENS    HILL. 

The  lauds  are  of  three  classes:  (1)  red  clays  on  the  hillsides  bordering  creeks  and  rivers;  (S^gray  sandy  lauds  bordering  small 
branches  and  creeks;  (3)  high  uplands. 

The  red  clays  comprise  one-eighth  of  the  lands,  and  have  a  growth  of  oak  and  hickory.  It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  on  the  southwest 
sides  of  the  streams  the  land  is  red  aud  hilly,  and  on  the  opposite  less  broken  and  sandy  for  from  one-half  to  one  mile.  The  surface  soil  is  a 
brownish,  sandy,  gritty  loam,  6  inches  in  depth,  with  a  heavier  subsoil  of  a  lighter  red  color,  underlaid  at  1  foot  or  2  feet  by  a  fine  red 
clay.  The  crops  of  the  county  are  cottou,  corn,  and  oats.  These  red  lands  are  early,  warm,  well  drained,  aud  easily  tilled  in  all 
seasons,  and  are  best  adapted  to  cottou  and  oats.  Cotton  comprises  one-half  of  the  crops,  and  yields  1,000  pounds  iu  the  seed  ou  fresh 
laud  and  from  500  to  750  pounds  after  eight  years'  cultivation.  The  staple  from  old  land  is  shorter  and  more  brittle  than  from  fresh,  bill, 
this  is  obviated  by  manuring  the  lands.  Cotton  grows  to  a  height  of  from  4  to  0  feet,  produces  and  matures  best  at  3  feet,  and  runs  to  weed 
when  crowded  and  iu  wet  seasons,  the  remedy  being  to  give  good  distances  and  use  anunoniated  phosphates.  Cockleburs  aud  hog-weeds 
are  most  troublesome.  One-fourth  of  the  laud  lies  turned  out;  but  if  allowed  to  rest  twenty  years  its  product  for  two  years  after  being 
taken  in  again  is  about  75  per  cent,  of  that  of  the  virgin  soil.     Very  little  of  it  washes,  and  no  damage  is  done. 

The  gray  land,  with  its  light-yellow  clay  subsoil  and  growth  of  pine,  some  oak,  and  dogwood,  comprises  about  one-fourth  of  the  lauds. 
The  soil  is  coarse,  sandy,  and  gravelly  iu  character,  4  inches  deep,  underlaid  by  clay  at  2  feet,  and  is  best  adapted  to  corn  and  oats.  Cotton 
yields  on  fresh  lands  from  400  to  500  ponuds  per  acre  in  the  seed,  or  from  300  to  400  pounds  after  eight  years'  cultivation.  It  grows  to  a 
height  of  from  2  to  3  feet.  The  laud  washes  readily  and  covers  the  bottoms  with  sand  at  the  end  of  each  gully.  No  efforts  are  made  to 
check  the  damage. 

The  gravelly  lands  of  the  pine  woods  cover  Jive-eighths  of  the  couuty,  aud  extend  from  10  to  15  miles  southward.  The  soil  is  3  inches 
deep,  and  coutains  black  gravel;  the  subsoil  is  somewhat  heavier,  clay  underlying  it  at  1  foot.  Cottou  comprises  one-half  the  crops, 
grows  3  feet  high,  and  yields  500  pounds  per  acre  ou  fresh  land  aud  300  pounds  after  eight  years'  cultivation.  The  lauds  are  too  tevcl  J.o 
wash  much.  The  river  and  creek  swamps  have  not  been  put  into  cultivation,  as  cottou  is  there  more  subject  to  rust.  Fresh  lands  product' 
more  weed  but  less  trait  (in  proportion  to  the  weed)  than  old  land. 

Cottou  is  hauled  in  wagons  either  to  the  Macon  and  Brunswick  railroad,  at  Eastman  and  Cochran,  or  to  the  Central  railroad,  nt 
Toombsboro'  and  Tenuille,  for  shipment. 

3.J7 


122  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

WILKINSON. 

Population:  12,001.— White,  0,550;  colored,  5,511. 

Area:  440  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  sand  hills,  101  square  miles;  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands,  339 
square  miles. 

Tilled  lands  :  "01,04!)  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  2"i,42S  acres  ;  in  com,  32,394  acres;  in  wheat,  4,S72  acres; 
in  oats,  4,')'J7  acres  ;  in  rye,  1,404  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  7,900  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.01  bale,  447  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  149 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Wilkinson  county  is  separated  from  Washington  on  the  east  by  the  Oconee  river,  into  which  all  the  streams 
of  the  county  How.  A  belt  of  red  hills  passes  centrally  through  it,  presenting  a  rough  and  broken  section.  The 
ridges  between  the  creeks  are  very  narrow  and  high,  and  are  capped  with  red  clays  and  sands.  The  usual 
features  of  the  red  hills  are.  found  here,  viz  :  red  clays  25  to  50  feet  thick,  and  siliceous  fossiliferous  rocks  with 
underlying  white  limestone. 

The,  southern  and  eastern  slopes  of  the  hills  are  usually  abrupt  and  high,  with  red  loam  and  a  growth  of  oak, 
hickory,  etc.,  while  the  northern  and  western  slopes  are  more  gentle,  and  have  a  sandy  pine  land.  The  northern  limit 
of  this  belt  is  5  miles  north  of  Toombsboro',  thence  southwest  to  3  or  4  miles  north  of  Jeffersonville,  in  Twiggs 
county.  The  belt  is  narrow,  and  southward  to  Cedar  creek  the  country  becomes  more  sandy  and  level  and  the  red 
lands  appear  less  frequently.  Pine  forms  a  more  prominent  growth.  On  the  south  of  the  creek  the  country  is  again 
hilly  and  broken,  witli  some  red  loam  on  the  hills,  associated  with  siliceous  fossils  and  shell-rock.  Outcropping  in 
the  hills  arc  marls  and  clays,  the  former  with  beds  of  greensaiid,  and  the  whole,  underlaid  by  white  limestone. 
Along  tin;  bank  of  the  creek  the  rock  is  also  found.  The  growth  of  the  hills  is  oak,  hickory,  beach,  dogwood,  elm, 
black  and  sweet  gum,  maple,  etc.  On  the  southwest,  near  Cool  Spring,  is  a  small  "flatwoods"  area  of  yellow 
clayey  soil. 

In  the  red  hills  section  or  belt  small  bodies  of  black  prairie  land  occur  occasionally,  but  are,  hardly  worthy 
of  further  mention.  The  county  north  of  the  red  belt  is  level  and  sandy,  with  a  pine  and  scrub-oak  growth,  and 
belongs  to  the  pine-hills  belt  of  the  central  region,  with  its  underlying  white  pipeclays. 

The  lowlands  and  flats  along  the  river  are  extensive,  and  in  the  area  include.  Black  lake,  on  the  northeast. 
The  width  of  the  swam])  lands  is  3  miles  or  more  in  many  places. 

Tilled  lands  embrace.  35.9  per'cent.  of  the  county  area,  while  2.5  per  cent,  is  of  irreclaimable  swamp.  Corn 
has  the  largest  acreage,  that  of  cotton  being  next,  with  an  average  of  57.8  acres  per  square  mile,  or  25.2  per  cent, 
of  tilled  lauds. 

ABSTRACT    FR03I    THE    REPORT    OF    T.    N.    BEALL,    OF    IRWINTON. 

The  lands  of  the  comity  are  light  sandy  and  red  clayey,  slightly  mixed  with  sand,  and  extend  across  the  county  from  east  to  west. 
The  soil  has  a  depth  of  from  V2  to  18  inches,  with  a  subsoil  ot  red  clay  under  red  soils  and  yellow  sand  under  gray  lands.  Tho  red  clays  are 
impervious  to  water.  The  lauds  are  early,  warm,  ami  well  drained,  aud  easy  to  till  in  all  seasons.  The  chief  crops  are  cotton,  corn, 
wheat,  oats,  rye,  potatoes,  and  field-pease.  Cotton  comprises  one-third  tho  crops,  grows  from  2  to  3$  feet  high,  and  runs  to  weed  with  too 
much  rain,  to  prevent  which  topping  and  fertilizers  are  resorted  to.  The.  yield  on  fresh  lauds  is  COO  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  the 
lint  rating  as  middling  staple.  Laud  ten  years  in  cultivation  yields  fiom  1100  to  -100  pounds  per  acre,  and  1,545  pounds  are  then  required 
for  a  bale  of  lint,  the  staple  of  which  is  shorter.  Crab-grass  alone  is  troublesome.  One-fourth  of  tho  lands  onco  under  cultivation 
now  lies  out,  but  produce  very  well  for  a  f«w  years  when  again  taken  iu.  Tho  lands  wash  readily,  doiug  serious  damage  to  tho  uplands 
and  slightly  injuring  the  valleys.  Hillside  ditching  alone  is  depended  on  to  check  tho  damage,  and  with  but  little  success;  consequently 
very  little  effort  is  made  in  that  direction. 

Iu  October  and  November  cotton  is  sold  ami  shipped,  by  railroad,  to  Savannah  at  §"2  per  bale. 

BALDWIN. 
(See  "Metamorphic  or  middle  Georgia  region".) 

BIBB. 

(See  "Metamorphic  or  middle  Georgia  region".) 

TWIGGS. 

Population:  S,91S.— White,  2,844;  colored,  6,074. 

Area:  330  square  miles. — Woodland,  nearly  all;  sand  hills,  103  square  miles;  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands, 
227  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  07,050  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  29,071  acres;  in  corn,  23,732  acres;  in  wheat,  374  acres;  in 
oats,  1,176  acres;  in  rye,  502  acres. 

Cotton  production:  8,217  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.2S  bale,  396  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  132 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  county  of  Twiggs  embraces  a  somewhat  rolling  country,  bordered  on  the  west  by  the  Ocmulgee  river,  which 
receives  a  portion  of  the  drainage  waters,  those  on  the  east  flowing  into  the  Ocouee. 

Tin'  sand  aud  pine  hills  region  on  the  north  extends  from  the  county-line  to  within  3  miles  of  Jeffersonville, 
its  extensive  sandy  lands  being  diversified  with  red  clay  lands,  which  occupy  some  of  the  ridges.  The  road  leading 
from  Jeffersonville. to  Macon  lies  along  one  of  these,  and  the  underlying  red  and  yellow  clays  often  come  to  the 
surface. 

3S3 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  123 

At  Brown's  mount,  on  the  northwest,  a  siliceous  flinty  shell-rock  occurs,  forming  a  stratum  20  feet  thick, 
overlying  a  white  coral  limestone,  which  is  quarried  in  the  neighborhood. 

The  siliceous  shell-rock  occurs  at  a  number  of  points  in  this  section  of  the  county,  and  is  accompanied  by  red 
clay  hills.  On  the  east  of  the  "ridge  road"  the  lauds  are  usually  very  sandy,  and  are  covered  with  a  growth  of 
long-leaf  pine,  scrub  oak,  and  black-jack. 

The  red  hills  occupy  a  belt  extending  across  the  central  portion  of  the  county.  This  belt  is  widest  on  the 
southwest,  narrowing  northeastward  into  Wilkinson  county.  The  red  clays  cap  the  hills  and  ridges  of  this  rough 
and  broken  area  and  have  a  depth  of  15  or  20  feet,  with  usually  a  thin  sandy  soil  on  the  surface.  The  ridges  are 
frequently  very  narrow,  and  siliceous  shell-rock  is  associated  with  these  clays.  Underneath  are  white  joint-clays  with 
leaf  impressions,  and  finally  the  soft  white  limestone  (Claiborne)  with  fossil  clypeasters..  On  the  slopes  of  these 
hills  there  occasionally  occur  small  prairies  of  a  black  clayey  soil,  but  so  shallow  and  so  closely  underlaid  by  white 
joint-clays  as  to  be  unproductive. 

The  country  becomes  less  broken  on  the  southeast,  the  soils  more  sandy,  the  subsoils  a  yellowish  clay ;  the 
growth  is  pine,  oak,  and  hickory,  the  former  apparently  predominating.  A  small  area  of  "  flatwoods"  with  a  yellow 
clay  soil  occupies  the  ridge  from  2  miles  north  of  Twiggsville  southward  into  Pulaski  county.  The  growth  is  post 
oak,  red  oak,  black-jack,  and  hickory,  and  the  lands  are  productive. 

On  the  southwest,  between  Tarversville  aud  the  river,  the  country  is  very  hilly  and  broken,  the  hills  being  high 
and  covered  with  red  clays  and  a  growth  of  oak,  hickory,  walnut,  elm,  etc.  The  white  limestone  mentioned  above 
is  found  here  in  abundant  outcrops.     Ferruginous  sandstone  also  occurs  in  large  fragments  near  the  river. 

There  is  in  the  county  about  5  per  cent,  of  irreclaimable  swamp  lands,  aud  it  is  said  that  but  about  20  per 
cent,  of  the  original  forest  growth  still  remains.  Tilled  lauds  comprise  31.7  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  the  largest 
part  being  in  cotton,  whose  average  is  89.9  acres  per  square  mile. 

ABSTRACT  FBOM  THE  REPORT   OF  F.  D.  WIMBEELY,  JE.,  OF   TWIGGSVILLE. 

The  uplands  of  the  county  are  preferred  for  cotton  because  of  the  liability  on  the  lowlands  to  damage  by  both  frost  and  rust.  These 
lands  may  be  classed  as  the  red  upland,  the  sandy  gray  land  lying  in  both  the  oak  and  the  pine  woods,  and  the  black  prairie  lying  on 
slopes  in  patches. 

The  red  land  comprises  about  one-tenth  the  area  of  the  county,  and  extends  3  miles,  varying  in  width  from  100  yards  to  2  miles. 
The  growth  is  principally  oak  and  hickory.  The  soil  has  a  depth  ef  only  2-^  inches.  The  subsoil  is  a  stiff  red  clay,  very  hard  to  break, 
and  very  sticky ;  no  plow  yet  made  will  turn  it,  unless  under  most  favorable  circumstances.  It  is  impervious  to  rain,  drying  on' not  so 
readily  as  gray  lands;  is  gummy  in  wet  seasous,  and  rather  hard  to  till  in  dry,  but  early  and  well  drained.  The  crops  of  the  county  are 
cotton,  corn,  oats,  sweet  potatoes,  aud  ground-pease  (to  fatten  hogs  on).  The  soil  is  best  adapted  to  cotton  and  potatoes.  Cotton  yields 
on  fresh  lands  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  On  lauds  fifty  years  under  cultivation  the  yield  is  300  pounds,  and  l,GGo  pounds  are 
required  for  475  pounds  of  lint,  the  staple  being  longer  and  better  Jroin  fresh  land.  Cotton  grows  2  feet  high,  and  runs  to  weed  when 
seasons  are  favorable  unless  restrained  by  phosphate  manures,  and  topping  is  early  resorted  to.  Coffee-weed  is  most  troublesome,  but  hog- 
wTeed  and  "poor  Joe"  flourish.  About  one-half  the  lands  now  lies  turned  out,  but  the  amount  is  heiug  continuously  reduced  by  taking 
in.  They  then  yield  well  for  a  few  years.  The  uplands  are  badly  injured  by  washiug,  aud  also  by  the  efforts  made  years  ago  to  check 
the  damage  by  hillside  ditching.  The  valleys  are  injured  only  where  pipe-clay  is  washed  over  them.  Some  farmers  are  now  beginning 
to  grade  the  hillsides  for  protection. 

The  gray  lands  are  generally  of  a  coarse,  sandy  character,  some  underlaid  by  a  red-clay  subsoil  at  a  depth  of  5  or  6  inches.  These 
are  the  best.     The  others,  underlaid  by  a  mulatto  clay  at  a  depth  of  12  inches,  are  very  poor,  but  with  guano  pay  as  well  as  any. 

The  blade  prairie  lands  are  shallow,  and  are  underlaid  by  pipe-clay  and  more  or  less  shell-rock.  At  places  beds  of  coral  crop  out, 
which  are  very  rich  iu  lime,  but  contain  but  little  phosphoric  acid.  These  lands  rust  cotton  badly,  and  have  been  almost  wholly 
abandoned  for  cotton.  .    . 

As  fast  as  cotton  is  haled  it  is  shipped,  by  wagon  or  railroad,  to  Macon  at  20  cents  per  100  pounds. 

PULASKI. 

Population;  14,058.— White,  5,824;  colored,  8,234. 

Area:  470  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands,  313  square  miles;  lime-sink  (wire- 
grass)  region,  157  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands ;  83,702  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  32,074  acres;  in  corn,  28,505  acres;  in  wheat,  20S  acres ;  in 
oats,  3,370  acres ;  in  rye,  120  acres. 

Cotton  production:  9,805  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.31  bale,  435  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  145 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Pulaski  county  lies  on  each  side  of  the  Ocmulgee  river,  and  is  partly  in  the  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  region,  with 
red  lands  on  the  north,  and  partly  in  the  lime-sink  division  of  the  wire-grass  region. 

The  surface  of  the  country,  varying  with  each  of  these  regions,  is  hilly  on  (he  northwest,  rolling  in  the  central, 
east,  and  west  belt,  and  merely  undulating  or  level  from  Hawkinsvllle  southward. 

The  red  hills  cover  but  a  small  area,  and  are  about  100  feet  above  the  streams.  They  are  covered  with  sands 
and  clays,  and  have  a  growth  of  red  oak,  hickory,  aud  pine.  Buhr-stone  and  white  limestone  underlie  these  clays, 
as  shown  in  outcrops  in  the  gullies  and  sides  of  the  hills. 

The  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  region  covers  the  greater  part  of  the  county,  and  has  a  rolling  surface,  sandy  soils, 
clay  subsoils,  and  a  long  leaf-pine,  post  oak,  and  hickory  growth.  Lime-sinks  occur  frequently,  and  marls  and  white 
limestone  outcrop  in  many  places.  At  Hawkinsville  one  of  these  exposures  occurs  and  is  overlaid  by  siliceous  shell 
and  flint  rocks,  fragments  of  which  are  also  found  scattered  along  the  banks  of  the  river  and  over  the  surface  of 
the  country.  The  limestone  is  very  similar  in  composition  to  that  of  Houston  county,  and  would  produce  excellent 
results  on  the  lands. 

3S3 


124  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

The  wire-grass  region  begins  2  miles  south  of  Hawkinsville,  its  limit  extending  east  and  west  from  here  ami 
southward  over  the  rest  of  the  county.  The  country  is  very  open,  ami  the  growth  almost  exclusively  long-leaf  pine 
ami  wire-grass;  the  soil  a  fine  sandy  loam,  with  a  yellow  clayey  subsoil,  underlying  clays,  and  some  limestone. 

The  lands  of  the  county  are  all  considered  as  tillable  with  the  exception  of  4  per  cent,  of  irreclaimable  swamp. 
Lands  under  cultivation  comprise  27.S  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  though  45  per  cent,  is  thought  to  have  been 
cleared  of  its  timber  growth.  Cotton  is  the  chief  crop  (38.3  per  cent,  of  tilled  land),  and  has  an  average  of  68.2 
acres  per  square  mile. 

Lumber-mills  are  very  numerous,  and  it  is  estimated  that  two-thirds  of  the  timber  consists  of  pine  of  superior 
quality.  Ocmulgee  river,  which  flows  through  the  county,  affords  a  convenient  means  of  transportation  for  rafts  of 
lumber  to  the  coast.  The  railroad  from  Ilawkinsville  connecting  with  the  Macon  and  Brunswick  railroad  also 
furnishes  easy  transportation  of  all  products  to  the  various  markets. 

HOUSTON. 

Population:  22,414.— White, 6,024 ;  colored,  10,300. 

Area:  500  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  sand  bills,  94  square  miles;  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands,  466 
square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  100. S2T  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  72,611  acres;  in  corn,  48,785  acres;  in  wheat,  3,289  acres; 
in  oats,  1(1,570  acres;  in  rye,  223  acres. 

Cotton  production:  19,099  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.2G  bale,  375  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  125 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Houston  county  is  bounded  east  by  the  Ocmulgee  river,  into  which  all  the  streams  of  the  county  flow,  with  the 
exception  of  Hog  Crawl  creek,  on  the  extreme  southwest,  which  is  separated  from  the  rest  by  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf 
water-divide  and  empties  into  the  Flint  river. 

The  county  is  within  the  central  cotton  region,  and  the  three  divisions  or  belts,  viz,  sand  and  pine  hills,  oak, 
hickory,  and  pine  lands,  and  red  hills,  are  all  here  represented. 

From  Echaconnee  creek  (the  north  boundary)  southward  to  near  Sandy  Run  creek  and  Bushyvillc  the  pine- 
hills  country  is  quite  level  and  sandy  (see  analysis,  page  42),  the  wells  showing  underlying  clays  for  2b  feet  over 
coarse,  micaceous  sands  and  pebbles,  and  finally  white  clays.     Ferruginous  sandstones  and  gravel  and   sand 

congl erates  are  scattered  over  the  face  of  the  country.     The  growth  is  long-leaf  pine  and  scrub-oak  undergrowth. 

South  of  this  is  the  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  region,  with  its  sandy  soils  and  yellow-clay  subsoils,  which  extends  to 
Big  Indian  creek.  The  surface  of  the  country  is  somewhat  rolling,  the  ridges  are  broad  and  flat  or  gently 
undulating,  and  the  approaches  to  the  streams  are  abrupt  and  broken.  Variegated  pipe-clay  underlies  very  nearly 
all  of  these  lands,  and  ferruginous  sandstone  is  abundant  on  the  surface,  frequently  producing  red  sandy  lands. 

On  the  east  of  this  region  are  found  white  coral  limestones,  with  associated  clypensters  or  "petrified  Indian 
biscuits";  but  these  chiefly  underlie  the  red  hills  of  the  southern  part  of  the  county.  Siliceous  shell-rock 
fragments  are  also  found  nearby.  Fort  Valley,  on  the  west,  is  located  on  the  high  level  plateau  of  the  water-divide. 
The  lands  in  this  section  are  interspersed  with  spots  of  red  (day  loams,  but  all  are  underlaid  by  the  white  or 
variegated  pipe-clay. 

The  red  hills  comprise  that  part  of  the  county  lying  south  of  Fig  Indian  creek  and  across  from  east  to  west. 
These  hills  are  over  200  feet  above  the  streams,  are  usually  broad  and  level,  and  have  sandy  soils  in  the  interior  and 
red  clay  loams  on  the  borders  and  on  the  slopes.  Siliceous  shell-rock  or  buhr-stone  underlies  or  is  contained  in 
these  red  clays,  while  still  below  are  soft  friable  white  limestones,  or,  as  on  the  south  of  Ferry,  greensand  clays 
and  marls,  and  then  the  limestone. 

The  following  section  of  Boss  hill,  3  miles  south  of  Perry,  is  a  fair  representation  of  the  underlying  strata  : 

Reddish  loam,  15  feet. 

Stiff  white  clay,  with  silicified  shells,  etc.,  30  feet. 

Greensand  clay,  with  shell  impressions,  2  feet. 

White  pipe-clay,  with  beds  of  clayey  limestone,  40  feet. 

Semi-crystalline  limestone,  hard  and  compact  (Montezuma),  10  feet. 

White  marl  or  limestone,  12  feet. 

Yellow  joint-clay,  with  white  spots,  50  feet. 

The  greensand  clay  of  this  bluff  is  shown  by  analysis  to  contain  nearly  3  per  cent,  of  potash.  (For  analysis  ol 
white  marl,  see  page  40.)  A  few  spots  of  black  prairie  are  found  on  the  slopes  of  these  hills.  Tilled  lands 
embrace  47.4  per  cent.,  or  nearly  half  of  the  area  of  the  county,  though  04  percent,  is  said  to  have  been  cleared,  and 
2  per  cent,  is  of  irreclaimable  swamp.  Cotton  is  the  chief  crop,  and  has  an  acreage  of  129.7  acres  per  square  mile  ; 
a  number  surpassed  only  by  that  of  Troup  and  Pike,  comprising  42.S  per  cent,  of  the  lands  under  cultivation  ;  its 
acreage  is  above  20  per  cent,  of  the  county  area.  In  its  total  acreage  it  is  surpassed  only  by  Burke  county,  and  in 
bales  by  Burke  and  Washington.  Its  average  product  per  acre  is  very  low,  there  being  100  counties  whose 
rank  is  above  it. 

The  general  character  of  soils  and  methods  of  culture  are  the  same  as  in  the  adjoining  counties  of  Twiggs  and 
Macon. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  from  Terry  by  railroad  to  Fort  Valley,  and  thence  to  Savannah. 

CEAWFOED. 

(See  "  Metamorphic  or  middle  Georgia  region  ".) 

390 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  125 

TAYLOR. 

Population:  8,597.— White,  4,770 ;  colored,  3,S27. 

Area :  400  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  sand  bills,  308  square  miles ;  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands,  7  square 
miles ;  lnetatuorphic,  25  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  44,770  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  18,004  acres;  in  corn,  10,426  acres;  in  wheat,  3,079  acres; 
in  oats,  2,108  acres;  in  rye,  246  acres.  . 

Cation  production :  4,854  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.27  bale,  384  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  128 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  chief  feature  in  the  topography  of  Taylor  county  is  the  high  ridge,  covered  with  deep  white  sand  that  lies 
east  and  west  just  south  of  the  metam Orphic  region  and  between  Butler  and  Patsaliga  creek,  which  rises  abrupt  and 
high  above  the  nietanmrphic  on  its  northern  side,  but  gradually  falls  southward  to  the  county -line,  and  is  covered  with 
a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine.  It  is  about  175  feet  above  the  creek.  North  of  the  ridge  the  sands  continue  a  few  miles, 
but  under  them  are  found  the  metamorphic  rocks;  and  before  Daviston  and  Carsonville  are  reached  the  surface 
of  the  country  is  covered  with  the  gray  sandy  and  red-clay  lands  of  the  latter,  with  their  oak  and  hickory  growth. 
Clay-slates  form  a  bed  of  from  50  to  60  feet  in  this  part  of  the  county,  resting  on  biotite  gneisses,  as  seen  in  the  river 
bluffs,     Serpentine  is  exposed  in  the  beds  of  streams  with  an  apparent  thickness  of  several  hundred  feet. 

Lying  parallel  with  Flint  river,  in  the  upper  part  of  the  county,  north  of  Carsonville,  are  a  number  of  prominent 
and  rounded  clay  hills,  standing  isolated  125  feet  above  the  surrounding  level  country  and  covered  with  large 
rounded  quartz-rocks,  some  a  foot  in  diameter,  and  lying  mostly  on  the  river  side.  This  metamorphic  region  is 
hilly  and  broken,  especially  on  the  east  around  Grab  All  and  Gray's  ferry. 

The  pine-hills  region,  with  its  dee])  sandy  lands  and  growth  of  pine  and  scrubby  black-jack,  covers  most  of  the 
county.  Its  surface  is  undulating  southward  from  the  pine  ridge  mentioned.  Variegated  clays  underlie  the  land, 
and  ferruginous  sandstone  is  found  in  scattered  fragments  on  the  surface.  The  small  streams  have  usually  a  low, 
flat  sandy  bottom,  which  is  covered  with  a  growth  of  bays  and  gallberry  bushes.  Along  the  river  the  banks  are 
low  as  far  north  as  the  agency,  and  the  bottoms  wide  and  partly  irreclaimable. 

But  17.5  per  cent,  of  the  county  area  is  under  tillage,  mid  that  chiefly  in  cotton,  whose  acreage  comprises  40.4 
per  cent,  of  the  tilled  land,  and  averages  45.2  acres  per  square  mile. 

ABSTRACT   MOM   THE    REPORT    OF   JAMES    A.  ADAMS,    OF    REYNOLDS. 

The  chief  cotton  lands  of  the  county  have  a  sandy  loam  upland  soil  5  inches  deep,  with  clay  subsoil,  underlaid  by  a  brown  gravelly 
clay,  or,  in  some  places,  a  variegated  pipe-clay.  They  extend  8  miles  north  and  20  miles  south  of  Reynolds,  and  have  a  growth  of 
yellow  long-leaf  pine,  hickory,  red  oak,  round-leaf  black-jack,  and  some  dogwood.  The  crops  of  the  county  are  cotton,  oats,  wheat,  and 
potatoes.  Cotton  comprises  one-third  of  these,  and  yields  500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  land,  or  250  pounds  after  ten  years' 
cultivation  ;  1,485  pounds  make  475  pounds  of  lint,  rating  as  upland  middling.  Crab-grass,  and  what  is  known  as  poverty-weed,  are 
most  troublesome.     These  lands  have  so  few  steep  slopes  that  they  wash  but  little,  and  limited  damage  is  done. 

The  light  sandy  lands,  having  the  same  growth  as  that  mentioned,  and  with  a  yellow  sandy  clay  subsoil,  yield  only  400  pounds  of 
seed-cotton  per  acre  when  fresh  and  200  pounds  when  old  and  without  manure.     In  other  respects  there  is  no  difference  from  the  other. 

On  the  lowlands  cotton  is  subject  to  overflows  and  premature  frosts. 

Shipments  are  made  by  railroad  to  Columbus  or  to  Macon. 

TALBOT. 

(See  "Metamorphic  or  middle  Georgia  region".) 

MARIOS. 

Population:  8,598.— White,  4,294 ;  colored,  4,304. 

Area:  360  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  sand  hills,  174  square  miles;  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands,  18G  square 
miles. 

Tilled  lands :  77,951  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  21,579  acres ;  in  corn,  21,053  acres ;  in  wheat,  3,4S1  acres ; 
in  oats,  1,S89  acres ;  in  rye,  1,121  acres. 

Cotton  production :  6,109  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.29  bale,  408  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  136 
pounds  cotton  liut. 

Through  the  middle  of  Marion  county  there  is  a  dividing  ridge  separating  the  tributaries  of  the  Flint  and 
Chattahoochee  rivers.  That  portion  of  the  county  north  of  Buena  Vista  and  Glen  Alta  is  rolling  and  covered  with 
the  white  sands  and  pine  growth  of  the  sandy  pine-hills  region,  and  is  but  slightly  under  cultivation,  the  lands 
being  poor  and  unproductive.  Blue  micaceous  anil  shell  clays  are  found  underlying  these  hills  a  short  distance 
north  of  Tazewell,  and  also  on  Richland  creek,  north  of  Buena  Vista.  They  contain  scarcely  any  lime,  and  are 
not  a  profitable  fertilizing  element. 

Ferruginous  concretions  inclosing  sand  exist  in  abundance  on  the  hills.  The  hill  on  which  the  county-seat  is 
located  has  a  thick  covering  of  ferruginous  pebbles. 

Between  Buena  Vista  and  Kinchafoona  creek  (on  the  west)  there  are  deep  white-sand  beds,  which  extend 
southward  along  the  creek  ;  but  on  the  west  of  the  stream  there  are  red  clay  lands,  and  these  are  also  found 
over  the  southern  part  of  the  county. 

The  entire  surface  of  the  country  is  rolling  and  somewhat  hilly,  but  has  broad  areas  of  level  lands ;  5  per 
cent,  is  too  hilly  for  cultivation.  In  the  banks  of  the  creek  at  Pineville,  in  the  southwestern  corner  of  the  county, 
there  are  beds  of  yellow  and  blue  fossiliferons  Cretaceous  marl,  containing  more  lime  than  those  mentioned  above. 

There  is  1  per  cent,  of  irreclaimable  swamp  land  in  the  county. 


126  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

The,  lands  under  tillage  embrace  33.8  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  though  75  per  cent,  are  said  to  have  been  cleared 
of  their  original  timber  growth.  Of  these  lands,  27.7  per  cent,  is  in  cotton,  one  of  the  chief  crops  (corn  having 
nearly  the  same  acreage),  its  average  being  59.9  acres  per  square  mile. 

ABSTRACT    FKOM   THE    REPORT    OF   G.    YV.    C.    MUNRO,  OF   EUENA   VISTA. 

Soiiil'  oi'  the  uplands  arc  rolling  anil  sandy,  but  very  productive  ;  others  arc  level,  with  a  good  clay  subsoil,  but  of  poorer  quality. 
Upland  cotton  can  bo  planted  earlier  than  that  on  the  lowlands,  but  without  fertilizers  docs  not  grow  oil'  so  rapidly  as  on  the  latter  or 
produce  as  much.  The  proportion  of  lowlands  is  very  inconsiderable  'when  compared  to  the  uplands ;  but  as  a  general  thing  they  are 
level  and  last  well,  but  have  to  be  rotated  and  rested  in  order  to  retain  their  fertility. 

The  soils  devoted  to  cotton  culture  may  be  classed  as  clay  lauds,  or  those  having  a  good  clay  subsoil ;  sandy  lands,  or  those  whose 
subsoil  is  loose  and  several  feet  deep ;  and  hummock  lands. 

The  clay  lands  arc  the  best,  and  comprise  about  one-half  of  the  county,  covering  areas  sometimes  H  or  10  miles  long  and  2  or  ;l  wide. 
The  growth  is  pine,  with  an  undergrowth  of  black-jack,  and  some  hickory  aud  post  oak.  The  soil  is  a  (day  mixed  with  sand  and  decayed 
vegetable  matter,  pale  yellow  and  brown  in  places,  and  in  others  almost  white,  (i  inches  deep,  with  a  tolerably  still' subsoil,  red  in  color, 
and  containing  more  or  less  sand;  a  hard-pan,  quite  impervious  in  places,  and  should  be  broken  with  the  plow  or  crops  will  sutler  if  the 
Beasons  are  unfavorable.  The  lands  are  easily  tilled  in  all  seasons  when  well  broken  up  in  the  spring.  The  crops  of  the  county  aro 
cotton,  corn,  oats,  wheat,  rye,  potatoes,  sugar-cane,  ground-pease,  ektifas,  millet,  aud  Hungarian  grass,  and  thero  is  seldom  a  failure  to 
make  a  good  crop  when  well  fertilized.  Cotton  yields  from  700  to  1,000  pounds  per  acre  in  The  seed  on  fresh  lands,  the  lint  rating  high. 
Ten  years'  cultivation  reduces  the  yield  to  about  300  pounds.  The.  quantity  and  the  quality  of  the  staple  are  affected  principally  by  the 
seasons,  The  plant  grows  2k  feet  high  on  an  average,  but  from  3  1o  4  feet  is  best.  It  seldom  runs  to  weed,  and  superphosphates  favor 
fruiting.  Crab-grass  generally  and  hog-weeds  frequently  give  much  trouble,  and  on  badly  worn  soils  poverty-weed  grows  abundantly. 
About  one-twentieth  of  the  lauds  now  lies  turned  out,  caused  by  washing  and  gullying.  When  not  too  badly  washed  they  yield  pretty 
well  for  a  few  years  after  resting.  The  valleys  are  injured  to  such  an  extent  that  the  small  streams  that  flow  through  aud  drain  tbem 
arc  tilled  up  and  have  to  be  ditched.     Horizontaliziug  and  hillside  ditching  yield  satisfactory  results  when  rightly  done. 

The  sandy  lands  of  the  north  anil  east  of  the  county  cover  about  one-half  of  its  area,  and  have  a  growth  of  pine  principally  aud  au 
undergrowth  of  black-jack.  The  soil  is  a  tine  or  coarse  sandy  loaui  with  a  depth  of  1  foot  and  a  subsoil  of  sand,  with  a  little  clay  in  places 
and  coarse  sand  in  others.  It  is  late  and  cold,  easily  tilled,  and  can  be  plowed  in  wet  as  well  as  iu  any  season,  but  cannot  be  planted  as  early 
as  the  clay  lauds.  The  soil  is  best  adapted  to  cotton  and  corn  when  fresh,  but  when  old  and  worn  cotton  rusts  on  it  badly.  Cotton  grows 
2  feet  high,  and  yields  on  fresh  lands  from  000  to  1,000  pounds  per 'acre  iu  the  seed.  Ten  years'  cultivation  reduces  this  to  300  pounds. 
When  the  lauds  are  fresh,  rag-weeds,  but  when  old,  poverty-weeds,  are  the  most  troublesome.  The  lands  wash  readily,  and  serious 
damage  is  done.     One-twelfth  of  the  land  now  lies  out. 

The  hummocks  comprise  only  a  few  hundred  yards  in  the  county,  and  have  a  growth  of  white  oak,  beech,  maple,  walnut,  hickory,  ash, 
etc.  Tho  soil  is  a  fine  sandy  loam,  blackish  in  places,  10  incites  or  more  in  depth,  witb  a  yellow  clay  or  coarse  sandy  clayish  subsoil,  quite 
leacby  generally.  Fine  crops  of  sugar-cane,  corn,  and  cotton  are  produced  on  these  hinds,  cotton  growing  4  feet  high  and  yielding  about 
1,000  pounds  per  acre  on  fresh  land,  or  400  pounds  on  land  ten  years  in  cultivation  if  rolling  and  never  ditched.  Ilog-weeds  alone  are 
troublesome. 

From  The  15th  of  September  to  the  25th  of  December  cotton  is  shipped  by  wagon  to  Americus,  Sumter  county,  at  50  cents  per  100 
pounds. 

MUSCOGEE. 
(See  "  Metamorphie  or  middle  Georgia  region".) 

CHATTAHOOCHEE. 

Population:  5,670.— "White,  2,130;  colored,  3,540. 

Area  :  220  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  sand  hills,  76  square  miles ;  oak,  hickory,  aud  pine  uplands,  144  square- 
miles. 

Tilled  lands  :  38,457  acres. — Area  planted  iu  cotton,  15,442  acres;  iu  corn,  11,018  acres  ;  in  wheat,  740  acres  ^ 
in  oats,  1,774  acres  ;  in  rye,  390  acres. 

Cotton  production:  4,400  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.29  bale,  411  pounds  seed-cottou,  or  137 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Chattahoochee  is  a  rather  hilly  county,  and  is  separated  from  Alabama  by  the  Chattahoochee  river  anil  from 
Muscogee  county  by  Upatoi  creek.  The  greater  part  of  the  northern  portion  of  this  county  is  covered  with  white 
micaceous  sands  and  ferruginous  sandstones  of  the  sand-hills  region,  underlaid  by  variegated  clays.  In  some  places  ou 
the  northwest  heavy  beds  of  white  water-worn  pebbles  and  ferruginous  sand  and  pebble  conglomerates  are  exposed 
in  bluffs  or  hillsides.  In  the  southern  part  of  the  county  the  red  clays  approach  nearer  the  surface,  and  often,  by  the 
washing  away  of  the  sands,  are  exposed  on  the  hillsides  and  tops  anil  are  more  or  less  intermixed  with  the  sands. 
These  hills  are  embraced  in  the  yellow-loam  region  south  of  Glen  Alta  and  Cusseta.  They  are  often  100  or  150  feet 
above  the  streams,  and  their  lauds  wash  readily,  forming  great  gullies. 

The  lands  along  the  river  on  the  northwest  arc  generally  quite  level,  but  become  hilly  and  broken  northward. 
They  are  25  feet  above  low  water,  and  in  their  bluffs  there  is  exposed  under  the  sands  and  clays  is  loot  of  blue 
micaceous  and  gypseous  clay,  with  a  small  percentage  of  lime,  and  containing  a  few  Cretaceous  fossils.  A  white 
sand  underlies  the  bed.  These  marls  outcrop  along  Upatoi  creek  for  some  distance,  and  southward  along  the  river 
becomemore  fossiliferous  and  valuable.  An  analysis  of  a  specimen  taken  from  near  Cusseta  shows  only  about  10 
per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime  and  a  small  amount  of  potash  anil  phosphoric  acid.  For  fertilizing  uses  the  marl  is 
almost  worthless. 

The  growth  of  the  county  is  largely  pine  on  the  hills,  with  oak,  hickory,  etc.,  on  the  lower  and  better  lauds. 
The  gray  oak  and  hickory  lauds  are  considered  the  best,  and  will  yield  from  10  to  15  bushels  of  corn,  8  to  10  bushels  of 
wheat,  or  about  600  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.     Their  growth  is  red  and  post  oaks,  hickory,  and  poplar. 

The  mulatto  and  red  lands  have  also  a  red  and  post-oak  growth,  and  will  yield  from  8  to  10  bushels  of  corn  or  of 
wheat  or  000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.     Lands  under  tillage  embrace  27.3  per  cent,  of  the  couuiy  area, 
though  it  is  thought  that  00  per  cent,  has  been  cleared.     Of  these  40.2  per  cent,  is  in  cotton,  the  chief  crop,  its 
average  being  70.2  acres  per  square  mile. 
3D2 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  127 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT   OF   J.   H.   WOOLDRIDGE,   OF  JAMESTOWN. 

The  uplands  of  the  county  on  the  river  are  partly  Mack  prairie  and  partly  hog-wallow.  The  Boils  devoted  to  cotton  are  the  black 
uplauds,  lying  mostly  on  hills  and  branches,  alluvial  bottoms  adjacent  to  branches  and  small  streams  that  overflow  occasionally,  and  light 
sandy  bottoms  on  various  branches  of  creeks  aud  rivers. 

Tho  chief  land  is  that  of  the  alluvial  bottoms,  comprising  one-fourth  or  one-fifth  of  the  lands  of  the  region,  which  are  from  4  to  (Indies  in 
extent.  Its  growth  is  pine,  oak,  hickory,  sweet  gum,  chestnut,  elm,  dogwood,  chincapin,  willow,  and  persimmon.  The  soil  is  a  fine 
sandy  clay  loam,  from  yellow  to  red  in  color,  with  a  red  clay  or  yellow  sandy  subsoil.  The  crops  of  the  county  are  corn,  pease,  oats, 
wheat,  rye,  potatoes;  pinders  (ground-pease),  chufas,  and  cotton.  All  do  well  under  favorable  seasons  aud  good  culture.  Cotton  comprises 
one-half  of  the  crops,  and  yields  from  400  to  S00  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,545  pounds  of  which  make  475  pounds  of  lint,  rating  as 
middling.  The  plant  grows  from  1  foot  to  10  feet  high,  running  to  weed  by  late  planting  and  with  too  much  rain.  Morning-glory  vines, 
cocklebur,  crab-grass,  and  crowfoot  are  the  most  troublesome  wreeds.  One-half  the  lands  originally  cultivated  now  lies  turned  out,  and 
produces  moderately  well  for  a  few  years  when  again  cultivated.  Considerable  damage  is  done  to  slopes  and  valleys  by  the  ready  washing 
of  the  land.     Hillside  ditching  and  horizontalizing  are  successful  in  checking  the  injury. 

Cotton  is  shipped  to  Columbus  by  river  boats  at  50  cents  per  bale. 

STEWART. 

Population :  13,998.— White,  4,376 ;  colored,  9,022. 

Area :  440  square  utiles. — Woodland,  all ;  oak,  hickory,  aud  piue  uplands,  440  square  miles. 

Tilled  land*:  107,251  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  44,449  acres;  in  corn,  31,979  acres;  in  wheat,  2,052  acres; 
in  oats,  5,284  acres  ;  in  rye,  200  acres. 

Cotton  production:  12,653  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.28  bale,  405  pouuds  seed-cotton,  or  12'5 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Stewart  county,  separated  from  Alabama  by  the  Chattahoochee  river,  is  included  in  the  oak,  hickory,  and  long- 
leaf  pine,  region.  Its  general  surface  in  the  interior  is  hilly  and  broken,  but  there  are  broad,  level  valley  lands 
along"  the  river  a  mile  or  two  wide  and  level  uplands  on  the  east  around  Richland,  aud  also  south  of  Lumpkiu,  the 
county-seat.  The  banks  of  the  Chattahoochee  river  are  high,  and  along  their  bluffs  are  exposed  blue-shell  marls, 
and  also  greensand  marls  rich  in  potash.     The  lime  percentage  is  not  great. 

These  Cretaceous  marls  are  also  exposed  in  the  beds  of  Hitchetee,  Hannahatchie,  and  other  creeks  of  the 
county,  except  on  the  southeast,  where  the  country  is  higher  aud  of  a  different  character. 

The  southeastern  limit  of  the  blue  marl  region  is  found  5  miles  north  antVS  miles  west  of  Lumpkin.  At  the  former 
locality  the  blue  marl  is  overlaid  by  j  ellow  fossiliferous  clays,  the  hills  being  capped  with  red  clays  and  white  sands. 
These  hills  wash  readily,  aud  immense  gullies  and  ravines  have  been  formed  on  the  sides,  showing  heavy  beds  of 
clays  variegated  in  color,  and  known  as  "calico  clay".  The  same  is  true  of  the  hills  for  8  miles  on  the  west  of 
Lumpkin.  They  are  covered  in  many  instances  with  a  hematite  iron  ore  having  a  bright  surface.  Siliceous  shell- 
rock,  or  buhr-stoue  (Tertiary),  and  ferruginous  sandstone  is  also  abundant  in  places.  These  hills  are  about  450  feet 
above  the  river,  and,  while  very  saudy,  are  often  red,  from  the  exposure  of  the  red  clays  underlying  the  white  sands 
or  from  the  intermixture  of  the  two.  These  red  clays  occur  over  the  eastern  side  of  the  county  and  northward  into 
Chattahoochee. 

From  Lumpkin  southward  the  lands,  while  high,  are  more  level  and  the  sands  not  so  deep.  Red  soils  also  cover 
large  areas  (see  analysis,  page  40),  and  fragments  of  buhr-stone  are  found  on  the  surface.  In  these  latter  siliceous 
sponge  spicules  have  been  observed,  aud  the  rocks  seem  to  be  similar  to  those  found  in  Burke  county,  on  the  east 
of  the  state. 

The  lands  of  the  western  part  of  the  county  are  generally  quite  level,  except  aloug  the  small  streams.  From 
Florence  and  southward  the  valley  extends  eastward  several  miles,  the  soil  being  a  sandy  loam  and  the  subsoil  a  clay. 
The  lands  are  very  productive  and  have  been  long  in  cultivation. 

Of  the  county  area  2i  per  cent,  is  too  hilly  or  broken  for  cultivation  and  1  per  cent,  is  irreclaimable  swamp. 
Of  the  total  area  38.1  per  cent,  is  under  tillage,  chiefly  in  cotton  and  corn,  the  former  having  the  largest  acreage, 
and  averaging  101  acres  per  square  mile.  The  county  ranks  in  this  average  as  sixteenth  in  the  state  and  in  total 
acreage  as  eighth,  in  total  number  of  bales  as  thirteenth,  and  iu  bales  per  square  mile  as  twentieth. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  W.  H.  TATUM,  OF  HANNAHATCHIE. 

The  lands  of  the  county  have  an  oak  and  pine  growth,  aud  are  best  adapted  to  cotton  and  cane.  The  crops  are  corn,  cotton,  pease, 
and  sugar-cane.  Cotton  comprises  two-thirds  of  the  crops,  grows  from  'Z  to  0  feet  high,  runs  to  weed  iu  wet  summers  aud  with  excess  of 
rain,  and  yields  from  800  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  the  lint  rating  as  middling.  After  six  years'  cultivation  the  yield  is  from 
500  to  800  pounds,  and  1,665  pounds  make  475  pounds  of  lint,  the  staple  of  which  is  not  so  good  by  10  per  cent.  Hog-weeds  are  very 
troublesome.  One-fourth  of  the  lands  originally  cultivated  uow  lies  turned  out,  and  when  again  taker  in  produce  finely  for  three  or 
fonr  years.     When  not  ditched  the  lands  by  washing  are  greatly  damaged,  aud  the  valleys  are  also  injured. 

As  fast  as  ginned  cotton  is  shipped  to  Columbus  at  40  cents  per  100  pounds. 

WEBSTER. 

Population:  5,237. — White,  2,667;  colored,  2,570. 

Area:  230  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  43,762  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  17,235  acres;  in  corn,  16,121  acres;  in  wheat,  2,236  acres; 
in  oats,  2,809  acres ;  in  rye,  463  acres. 

Cotton  production:  4,642  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre, 0.27  bale,  3S4  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  128 
pouuds  cotton  lint. 

393 


128  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

Tbc  surface  of  Webster  comity  is  generally  hilly  and  rolling,  especially  on  the  north,  where  the  hills  are  covered 
with  white  sands  and  red  clays  over  variegated  clays  and  Cretaceous  marls  in  places.  Short-leaf  pine  forms  a 
prominent  growth. 

The  uplands  on  the  west  and  south  of  Preston,  the  county-seat,  are  quite  level,  but  the  many  small  streams 
give  the  entire  county  a  rolling  character.  Over  this  southern  portion  red-clay  hills,  more  or  less  sandy,  form  a 
prominent  feature,  and  ferruginous  sandstone,  often  a  hematite,  is  abundant.  Siliceous  shell  ruck,  or  lmhr-stone,  is 
found  in  fragments  over  the  country. 

Tilled  lands  embrace  29.7  per  cent,  of  the  comity  area;  irreclaimable  swamp,  1  per  cent.  Sixty  per  cent,  of  the 
entire  area  is  reported  to  be  cleared  of  original  timber  growth.  Cotton  has  a  larger  acreage  than  corn,  comprising 
39.4  per  cent,  of  tilled  land,  and  averaging  74.9  acres  per  square  mile. 

ABSTRACTS  FROM   THE   REPORTS   OF  JAMES   P.   WALKER   AND   JUBILEE   SMITH,    OF  PRESTON. 

The  lands  vary  materially  in  fertility  and  quality  of  soil.  Tbc  hills  are  mostly  coarse  sand;  the  level  lands  usually  have  a  clay 
subsoil  from  3  to  10  inches  under  the  surface.  About  three-fourths  of  the  uplands  are  billy  and  sandy,  with  sandy  subsoils;  the  rest  have 
a  clay  soil  or  a  clay  subsoil  under  3  inches  of  sand.  The  natural  growth  of  the  sandy  hills  is  piuo ;  that  of  the  sandy  love]  lands  black- jack 
and  scrub  pine.  Those  lands  having  a  clay  subsoil  have  a  growth  of  pine,  oak,  and  hickory.  The  clay  subsoil  hardens  somewhat  by 
exposure,  but  readily  intermixes  with  the  Burfaco  soil  by  cultivation,  readily  absorbing  moisture  and  quite  readily  yielding  it  to  the 
inllueuce  of  the  sun.  The  lands  areunder  laid  by  sand  and  rather  soft  lime-rock  at  4  feet.  Tillage  is  easy  and  pleasant  in  any  weather, 
requiring  hut  little  exertion. 

The  chief  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  oats,  rye,  pease,  potatoes,  sugar-cane,  sorghum,  and  rice.  Coltnn  succeeds  best,  though  all 
are,  remunerative  with  proper  cultivation.  Cotton  usually  comprises  about  three-fourths  of  the  crops,  and  yields  from  GOO  to  £00  pounds 
per  acre  in  the  seed  on  fresh  land  ;  from  1,425  to  1,545  pounds  of  this  make  '175  pounds  of  lin*.  On  land  four  years  under  cultivation  tho 
yield  is  from  300  to  500  pounds,  the  lint  being  shorter  and  (he.  liber  not  so  strong.  The  plant  grows  from  2J  to  6  feet  high,  yields  best  at 
3  feet,  and  runs  to  weed  on  new  ground  and  with  continuous  rains  in  tho  spring.  This  is  prevented  and  boiling  favored  by  tin 
extensive  use  of  home-made  and  commercial  fertilizers.  Hog-  and  poverty- weeds,  crab-  and  crowfoot-grasses  are  most  troublesome.  From 
one-eighth  to  one-fourth  of  the  land  once  under  cultivation  now  lies  out,  and  produces  about  three-fourths  of  a  crop  after  a  rest  of  three 
years.  The  uplands  are  much  damaged  by  the  washing  and  gullying  of  the  lands.  Before  the  late  civil  war  efforts  were  made  to  (heck 
this,  hut.  very  little  since.  When  horizontalizing  was  properly  executed  the  damage  was  successfully  cheeked.  The  valleys  aro  injured 
only  in  localities. 

The  swamp  lands  aro  from  200  to  600  yards  wide,  and  run  diagonally  through  the  county.  By  proper  drainage  they  could  be  made 
far  more  valuable  than  the  uplands. 

Cotton  to  succeed  well  on  sandy  land  must  be  planted  late,  its  cold  nature  in  spring  tending  greatly  to  kill  out  the  plants.  The  level 
or  clay  subsoil  lands  may  be  planted  twenty  days  earlier,  with  a  better  prospect  of  a  perfect  stand  and  certainty  of  a  moro  remunerative 
yield.     Sandy  soils  usually  produce  more  fruit  than  clay  soils  in  proportion  to  size  of  weed  and  contingencies  of  Beasons. 

As  soon  as  baled  cotton  is  hauled  by  wagon  to  Amerieus. 

SCOLET. 

Population  :  5,302.— White,  2,229  ;  colored,  3,073. 

Area  :  ISO  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  sand  hills,  S  square  miles  ;  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands,  172  square 
miles. 

Titled  lands:  38,931  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  19,143  acres;  in  corn,  15,845  acres;  in  wheat,  1,944  acres; 
in  oats,  1,447  acres ;  in  rye,  444  acres. 

Cotton  production :  4,945  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.2G  bale,  3G9  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  123 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  county  of  Schley  is  included  almost  entirely  within  the  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  region.  The  northern  part 
of  the  county  is  hilly  and  broken,  the  ridges  being  covered  with  deep  white  sands  and  red  and  yellow  clays  and  a 
heavy  growth  of  long-leaf  pine  and  scrub  oak.  These  extend  to  svithin  5  miles  of  Ellaville.  The  county  then  becomes 
level,  with  a  dark  clay  loam  soil  and  a  hard  red  ferruginous  clay  subsoil.  This  belt,  2  miles  wide,  crosses  the  county 
southeastward  into  Sumter  county.  Its  growth  is  red  and  post  oak,  short-leaf  pine,  and  hickory.  Blue  Cretaceous 
•clay  marls  are  found  at  50  and  00  feet  in  wells  in  this  section,  and  come  nearer  the  surface  5  miles  northwest  of 
Ellaville.  The  country  south  of  Ellaville  is  slightly  rolling,  with  a  dark  sandy  loam  soil  and  a  red  and  yellow  clay 
subsoil.     The  growth  is  long-leaf  pine,  interspersed  with  oak  and  black-jack. 

Limestone  and  siliceous  rocks  or  buhrstone  are  found  at  Quebec  on  the  southwest  and  under  the  clays  of  the 
hills. 

Eastward  from  Ellaville,  the  county-seat,  the  country  is  rather  broken  for  7  miles,  then  becomes  rolling,  with 
much  red  land  and  ferruginous  pebbles.  In  some  places  the  beds  of  red  sand  and  pebbles  are  several  feet  thick,  and 
are  underlaid  by  a  white  plastic  clay.  Long-leaf  pine  is  a  prominent  growth,  and  the  undergrowth  is  rather  open. 
Ferruginous  sandstone  often  occurs  in  fragments  on  the  surface. 

A  small  percentage  of  the  lands  of  the  county  are  too  hilly  or  swampy  for  tillage,  and  72  per  cent,  is  said  to  have 
been  cleared.  Tilled  lands  comprise  33.8  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  and  are  chiefly  in  cotton  and  corn,  the  acreage 
of  the  former  being  greater  and  comprising  49.2  per  cent,  of  tilled  land,  Troup  and  Putnam  counties  alone  having 
a  greater  proportion.     Its  average  per  square  mile  is  100.4  acres,  the  county  thus  ranking  as  thirteenth  in  the  state. 

ABSTRACT  FROM   THE  REPORT   OF  THOMAS  F.   EAINET,    SR.,   OF  ELLAVILLE. 

There  are  but  two  extensive  varieties  of  land  in  the  county,  viz,  dark  and  red  sandy  loams.  There  is  very  little  lowland,  some  of 
which  has  been  cleared  and  produces  well,  but  cotton  is  subject  to  rust  in  excessively  wet  seasons. 

The  7*cd  sandy  tartds  comprise  about  75  per  cent,  of  the  lands  of  the  county,  and  have  a  growth  principally  of  pine,  with  every 
description  of  oak.  The  soil  is  a  sandy  loam  6  in  ches  deep,  with  a  red  or  yellow  sandy  clay  subsoil,  underlaid  by  coarse  gravel  of  various 
colors.  The  land  is  easy  to  till  in  all  seasons,  is  early,  warm,  and  well  drained,  and  is  best  adapted  to  cotton,  though  corn,  wheat,  oats, 
394 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  129 

iryo,  sweet  potatoes,  aud  sugar-cane  do  well.  Cotton  comprises  about  half  of  the  crops,  yielding  from  COO  to  1,000  pounds  in  the  seed  per 
acre  on  fresh  land,  1,485  pounds  of  which  make  475  pounds  of  lint,  rating  as  good  middling.  On  land  five  years  under  cultivation 
the  yield  is  400  pounds.  Cotton  grows  from  2  to  4  feet  high,  and  runs  (o  weed  if  shaded  or  in  extreme  wet  weather.  The  most  troublesome 
weeds  arc  cockleburs,  Spanish  needles,  and  crab-grass.  About  one-fourth  of  the  land  now  lies  turned  out,  and  when  again  takeu  into 
cultiv.il  ion  produces  very  well,  and  if  fertilized  continues  to  do  so.  The  uplands  are  much  damaged  by  the  readily  washing  soils,  and 
the  valleys  are  injured  to  some  extent.  Hillside  ditching  and  horizontalizing  are  practiced  with  success  in  checking  the  damage. 
Cotton  is  hauled  to  Americus  on  wagons. 

MACON. 

Population,:  11,075.— White,  4,2SS;  colored,  7,387. 

Area :  300  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  sand  ltills,  103  square  miles ;  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands,  257 
square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  07,593  acres;  area  planted  in  cotton,  31,087  acres;  in  corn,  23,910  acres;  in  wheat,  2,702  acres; 
in  oats,  1,313  acres;  in  rye,  284  acres. 

Cotton  production:  8,331  "bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.26  bale,  375  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  125 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Macon  county  is  divided  by  Flint  river,  on  whose  banks  at  Montezuma  are  exposed  hard  fossiliferous  limestones 
(Tertiary)  5  feet  thick,  with  associated  beds  of  fossil  ostreas,  underlying  a  light  yellow  marl  and  a  bluish  clay  with 
concretions.  This  limestone  is  also  found  west  of  Oglethorpe  in  the  beds  of  the  creeks.  On  the  east  of  the  river 
there  is  a  high  table-land  lying  parallel  with  and  2(10  teet  above  the  river  on  the  north,  with  a  gradual  descent 
southward  to  Montezuma. 

The  lands  of  this  tableland  have  a  reddish  or  mulatto  soil,  a  reddish  clay  subsoil,  and  a  growth  of  pine,  oak, 
and  hickory. 

From  the  river  westward  the  county  is  not  so  high,  and  the  lands  are  quite  level  for  the  most  part,  becoming 
undulating  on  the  extreme  west,  with  sandstone  on  some  of  the  uplands  near  the  Schley  county-line. 

The  soil  is  usually  a  white  sand,  more  or  less  dark,  and  in  places  several  feet  deep,  over  a  red  clay. 
Ferruginous  pebble  and  gravel  are  plentiful  in  the  soil  in  many  places. 

Of  the  lands  of  the  county  10  per  cent,  is  irreclaimable  swamp ;  52  per  cent,  of  the  remainder  is  reported  to 
have  been  cleared.  The  county  is  well  timbered,  especially  on  the  west,  long-leaf  pine  entering  largely  into  the 
growth. 

Tilled  lands  embrace  29.3  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  and  of  these  40.9  per  cent,  are  in  cotton,  the.  chief  crop, 
■whose  average  is  88  acres  per  square  mile. 

ABSTRACT   FROM   THE   REPORT   OF    A.    J.    CHEVES,    OF   MONTEZUMA. 

The  lands  may  be  classed  as  gray  land,  gray  sandy  loam,  and  red  stiff  clay. 

The  rid  lands  are  considered  the  best  lor  cotton,  because  in  the  latter  part  of  July  or  August  a  dry  spell  is  apt  to  put  a  stop  to  the 
bearing  of  cotton  on  the  gray  lands.     The  hitler  are,  however,  much  quieter  m  maturing  as  well  as  in  fruiting. 

The  sandy  loam  comprises  about  75  per  cent,  of  the  lands  of  the  county,  and  extend  east  ?^  miles,  south  18  or  25  miles,  the  same  west, 
and  3  or  4  miles  north.  Its  depth  is  4  inches,  and  it  is  underlaid  by  sand  at  1  foot.  It  i6  early,  cold,  and  well  drained,  and  is  best  adapted 
^o  cotton.  The  crops  of  the  county  are  cotton,  corn,  pease,  potatoes,  ground-pease,  oats,  aud  chnfas.  Cotton  comprises  65  per  cent,  of 
the  crops,  grows  from  24  to  4  feet  high,  and  runs  to  weed  on  fresh  land  in  warm,  damp  weather  unless  restrained  by  fertilizers.  The  yield 
on  fresh  land  is  S00  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  of  which  1,665  pounds  make  475  pounds  of  lint.  On  land  five  years  in  cultivation  the 
yield  is  200  pounds,  aud  1,545  pounds  make  475  pounds  of  lint.     Crab-grass  is  most  troublesome. 

About  5  per  cent,  of  the  lauds  once  cultivated  now  lies  out ;  when  again  taken  in  these  lands  are  as  productive  as  ever,  but  are 
exhausted  sooner.     But  little  damage  is  done  by  the  washing  of  the  lauds. 

As  soon  as  baled,  cotton  is  shipped  by  railroad  to  .Savannah  at  ft3  50  per  bale. 

DOOLY. 

(See  "Lime-sink  and  wire-grass  region".) 

SUMTER. 

Population:  18,239.— White,  0,050 ;  colored,  12,189. 

Area:  520  square  miles.— Woodland,  all;  lime-sink  (wire-grass)  region,  G2  square  miles;  oak  and  hickory 
uplands,  45S  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  104,064  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  44,190  acres;  in  corn,  37,495  acres;  in  wheat,  1,984  acres; 
in  oats,  8,742  acres;  in  rye,  443  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  11,451  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.20  bale,  309  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  123 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Sumter  county  lies  on  the  west  side  of  Flint  river,  to  which  all  the  streams  of  the  county  are  tributary.  The 
surface  of  the  country  is  rolling  and  broken,  especially  on  the  north  aud  west,  where  the  uplands  are  covered 
with  white  sands  aud  underlaid  by  red  clays. 

The  lands  of  the  county  vary  greatly  in  character.  In  the  northeast  corner,  and  extending  to  Mountain  creek, 
the  clayey  subsoils  are  covered  with  white  sand,  underlaid  by  variegated  clays.  Long-leaf  pine  and  scrub  oak  is 
the  growth  of  this  section.     Southward  buhr  stone  is  found,  and  becomes  more  and  more  abundant. 

395 


130  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

South  of  the  area  described,  and  extending  across  tlie  county  east  and  west,  the  gray  sandy  lauds  become 
interspersed  with  red  liills  and  large  areas  of  red  clay  lauds.  Theeountry  is  nigh  aud  rolling,  underlaid  by  variegated 
aud  plastic  clays,  aud  has  a  growth  of  pine,  with  oak  and  hickory.     ( >pen  pine  lauds  occasionally  occur. 

On  the  west,  at  the  Plains  of  Dura,  the  country  is  very  level  over  a  large  area.  Around  Americas,  and  easl  ward 
nearly  to  Danville,  buhr-stone  or  siliceous  shell-rock  occurs  in  quantities,  and  the  fragments  are  frequently  studded 
with  tine  quartz  crystals,  'flic  sands  that  cover  the  northern  portion  of  the  county  are  here  not  so  deep,  and  red 
clays  prevail  over  this  and  the  southwestern  part.     Ferruginous  gravel  and  pebbles  are  abundant. 

Five,  or  uiore  miles  southeast  from  Americas  changes  again  occur,  aud  open  long-leaf  pine  growth,  wire-grass, 
and  cypress  ponds  cover  an  area  5  miles  wide,  extending  into  Lee  county  on  the  southwest.  The  surface  is  liat, 
the  soils  sandy  and  poor,  and  but  little  under  cultivation.  Still  to  the  southeast,  and  covering  the  rest  of  the 
county,  are  oak  and  hickory  lands,  quite  level,  underlaid  by  a  very  white  and  soft  friable  coral  limestone,  which 
frequently  comes  to  the  surface.     (See  analysis  of  soil,  page  40.) 

At  Danville,  on  the  river  (east  from  Americus),  there  is  a  bed  of  white  shell  marl,  with  greensand  beds  15  or  20 
feel  thick  under  20  feet  of  red  clay.     It  extends  up  the  river  a  number  of  miles,  but  seems  to  become  more  clayey. 

The  limestone  is  the  same  as  that  at  Albany,  which  shows  about  71  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime.  It  has  been 
used,  pulverized,  on  a  number  of  farms,  and  with  marked  aud  beneficial  results,  especially  after  the  first  year.  The 
growth  on  streams  where  this  limestone  outcrops  is  poplar,  magnolia,  black  and  sweet  gum,  white  oak,  swamp 
dogwood,  cypress,  water  oak,  sweet  bay,  ironwood,  wahoo,  ash,  sugar-maple,  alder,  aud  saw-palmetto. 

Tilled  lauds  embrace  31.4  per  cent,  of  the  county  area  ;  irreclaimable  swamp  lands  3  per  cent ;  aud  of  the  entire, 
county  it  is  thought  that  40  per  cent,  has  been  cleared.  Cotton  is  the  principal  crop  of  the  county,  averaging  85 
acres  per  square  mile,  and  embracing  42.13  per  cent,  of  tilled  laud.  The  county  ranks  as  ninth,  or  next  to  Stewart, 
in  its  total  cottou  acreage. 

ABSTRACTS  FROM  THE   EEPOETS   OF   S.   S.   BIRD,   II.  D.,   AND   C.   C.   SHEPHARD,   OF  AMERICUS. 

The  lands  of  the  county  are  about  equally  divided  between  the  red  mulatto  and  the  gray  .soils.  The  growth  of  the  gray  lands  is  pine; 
of  the  red,  pine  and  oak.  The  soils  are  from  5  to  10  inches  deep;  the  subsoils  usually  hard  and  tough  clays.  The  chief  crops  are  corn, 
cotton,  oats,  pease,  sweet  and  Irish  potatoes,  chufas,  ground-pease,  rye,  and  wheat.  On  good  land,  and  wilh  good  culture,  all  flourish  in 
seasonable  years.  On  the  gray  lands  in  wet  seasons  cottou  suffers  from  rust..  Cotton  comprises  about  half  the  crops,  aud  on  fresh  lands 
yields  from  400  to  700  or  oven  as  much  as  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cottou  per  acre.  On  lauds  ten  years  under  cult  ivaliou  the  yield  is  about  one- 
half  that  of  fresh  lauds,  and  over  1,600  pounds  are  required  for  475  pounds  of  lint.  Cotton  grows  from  :3  to  4  feet  high  on  red  land  aud  from 
1}  to  !U  feet  on  gray.  The  plant  runs  to  weed,  when  the  lly  stings  the  squares  and  they  fall  off.  Crab-grass  is  by  far  the  most  common  aud 
most  injurious  weed.     May-pop  vines  aud  coffee-weeds  are  also  troublesome. 

From  one-tenth  to  one-fifth  of  these  lands  now  lies  turned  out.  If  allowed  to  lie  out  long  enough  to  produce  a  second  growth  of  pines 
it  yields,  on  cultivation,  almost  as  well  for  a  few  years  as  when  new.  "Washing  and  gullying  are  the  most  fruitful  source  of  injury  to  the 
uplands;  the  valleys  are  generally  improved  by  the  deposit  of  fresh  soil,  and  marshes  and  swamps  are  frequently  so  filled  up  wilh  the  soil 
from  adjoining  hillsides  as  to  become  the  very  best  lands  of  the  county.     But  little  effort  is  made  to  check  this  washing. 

As  soon  as  cottou  is  ginned  and  baled  it  is  shipped  by  railroad  to  Savannah. 

LEE. 

Population:  10,577.— White,  1,739 ;  colored,  8,83S. 

Area:  300  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  lime-sink  (wire-grass)  region,  101  square  miles;  oak,  hickory,  and 
pine  uplands,  259  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  99,449  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  35,094  acres;  in  corn,  24,045  acres;  in  wheat,  307  acres;  in 
oats,  6,721  acres ;  in  rye,  149  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  9,143  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.20  bale,  300  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  122  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Lee  county  is  for  the  most  part  level  or  undulating,  and  is  timbered  with  pine,  oak,  and  hickory, 
with  a  more,  or  less  dense  undergrowth.  The  county  is  mostly  included  in  the  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  region,  and 
is  drained  into  Flint  river,  its  eastern  boundary. 

White  limestoue  aud  marl  (Eocene)  underlies  the  entire  county,  outcropping  along  the  streams,  and  often 
associated  with  siliceous  shell-rock  or  buhr-stone,  whose  fragments  are  also  found  lying  loose  on  the  surface, 
especially  on  the  northwest. 

A  cross  section  of  the  county  from  northwest  to  the  southeast  would  show  first  a  rather  open  and  level  country, 
in  which  long-leaf  pine  predominates,  with  some  undergrowth,  and  the  lauds  sandy  and  interspersed  with  a  few  red 
areas — a  continuation  of  the  belt  south  of  Americus,  in  Sumter  county.  Large  cypress  swamps  and  deep  beds  of 
white  sands  occasionally  occur.  The  soil  contains  ferruginous  pebble  and  gravel.  On  the  south  of  Adams  station, 
or  5  miles  from  Starksville,  is  a  bell  of  open  long-leaf  pine  aud  wire-grass  very  level,  and  having  a  width  of  about  2 
miles,  a  continuation  also  of  that  of  southeast  Sumter.  Oak  and  hickory  lauds  then  appear,  forming  a  somewhat 
rolling  northeast  aud  southwest  belt  across  the  county,  with  an  average  width  of  3  miles.  (See  analysis  of  soil, 
page  12.)  The  lands  are -red  sandy  clays  several  feet  deep,  the  underlying  limestone  coming  near  the  surface  and 
by  dissolution  from  underground  streams  producing  many  lime-sinks.  When  burnt  it  makes  an  excellent  quality  of 
lime.  It  is  associated  with  marls,  aud  their  application  to  the  lands  has  proved  highly  benetieial  wherever  tried. 
J.  Shep.  Green,  on  C'hocky  creek,  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  county,  reports  a  great  improvement  in  the  soil  and 
a  better  yield  of  seed-cotton.  The  marl  or  soft  limestoue  contains  about  SO  percent,  of  carbonate  of  lime  (see  analyses 
of  similar  mails,  page  46).  Buhr-stone  and  flint  overlie  this  limestoue,  aud  their  relative  position  is  well  seen  at 
Palmyra,  on  the  southwest.  1  he  rest  of  the  county  in  the  southeast  of  this  oak  and  hickory  belt  is  flat  and  open,  with 
a  tall  growth  of  long-leaf  piue,  aud  is  interspersed  with  many  ponds.  It  has  a  saudy  soil,  clay  subsoils,  and  limestoue 
at  30  feet.  Wire-grass  covers  the  region,  and  the  country  is  but  sparsely  settled.  The  lands  of  the  county  are 
almost  entirely  tillable,  and  one-half  has  been  cleared. 
300 


'    AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  131 

Tbe  lands  of  the  county  under  tillage  embrace  43.2  per  cent,  of  the  area,  and  are  largely  planted  in  cotton,  that 
crop  having  an  average  of  99.2  acres  and  25.4  bales  per  square  mile,  its  acreage  being  35.9  per  cent,  of  the  tilled 
lands. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  by  railroad  to  Albany,  and  thence  to  Savannah  or  northward  to  other  markets. 

TERRELL. 

Population:  10,451.— White,  4,208;  colored,  0,183. 

Area :  320  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  lands,  all. 

Tilled  lands :  5S,844  acres  ;  area  planted  in  cotton,  25,740  acres;  in  corn,  21,719  acres;  in  wheat,  1,928  acres  ; 
in  oats,  0,210  acres ;  in  rye,  240  acres. 

Cotton  production :  G,944  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.27  bale,  3S4  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  128 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Terrell  county  is  included  entirely  in  the  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  region.  Its  surface  is  undulating,  or  rather 
rolling;  its  growth,  oak,  hickory,  and  long-leaf  pine,  the  latter  being  very  prominent,  and  in  places  almost 
exclusive,  with  little  undergrowth,  and  giving  to  the  country  a  very  open  appearance. 

Soft  white  limestone  underlies  the  county  and  outcrops  in  some  of  the  streams,  furnishing  a  valuable  stimulant 
for  these  lands  when  properly  applied.  Buhr-stone  or  siliceous  shell-rock,  very  flinty  in  character,  occurs  in 
fragments  on  the  surface. 

The  lands  of  the  county,  part  clayey  and  part  sandy,  are  underlaid  by  red  and  yellow  clays,  and  contain  more 
or  less  ferruginous  gravel. 

The  surface  is  drained  southward  by  numerous  streams,  also  by  Kinchafoona  creek,  the  eastern  boundary  to 
Flint  river.     Cypress  swamps  are  abundant  in  the  county. 

Tilled  lands  embrace  28.7  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  and  are  chiefly  devoted  to  cotton  and  corn,  the  acreage 
of  the  former  being  43.7  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  lands,  and  averaging  80.4  acres  per  square  mile. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  by  railroad  to  either  Columbus  or  Macon,  though  most  of  the  crop  is  sold  from  the 
wagon  at  Dawson. 

RANDOLPH. 

Population:  13,341. — White,  5,545;  colored,  7,790. 

Area:  400  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  91,249  acres ;  area  planted  in  cotton,  34,204  acres ;  in  corn,  27,484  acres  ;  in  wheat,  2,790  acres ; 
in  oats,  0,770  acres ;  in  rye,  037  acres. 

Cotton  production:  S,407  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.25  bale,  354  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  118 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Randolph  county  is  generally  rolling,  and  is  broken  on  the  north,  but  more  level  on  the  south.  The 
lands  of  the  northern  half  are  partly  gray  sandy  and  partly  red  clayey  ;  the  subsoil  of  each  almost  entirely  a  red 
or  yellow  clay.  Some  of  the  uplands  have  large  level  areas,  and  are  largely  under  cultivation,  yielding  fair  crops 
of  corn  and  cotton. 

A  white  fossilif'erous  limestone  (Eocene),  having  occasionally  calcite  crystals,  underlies  the  section,  and  several 
large  caves  exist  on  the  northwest.  Siliceous  shell-rock  and  ferruginous  sandstone  are  abundant  on  the  surface, 
some  of  the  former  being  quite  large. 

The  lands  near  Cuthbert  and  southward,  as  well  as  west  for  some  miles,  are  much  more  level.  Along  some  of 
the  creeks  on  the  south  there  are  a  better  class  of  red  clay  soils  and  subsoils,  with  a  growth  of  oak,  hickory,  and 
pine;  but  the  rest  of  the  uplands  are  generally  sandy,  with  a  prominent  growth  of  long-leaf  pine,  interspersed 
with  oak  and  hickory.  The  lands  contain  ferruginous  pebbles  or  gravel,  and  siliceous  shell-rocks  are  found 
everywhere.  A  bed  of  this  several  feet  thick,  and  containing  quite  a  variety  of  well-preserved  fossils,  is  found  4 
miles  south  of  Cuthbert. 

Sixty  per  cent,  of  the  county  area  is  said  to  have  been  cleared  of  its  original  timber  growth,  but  only  35.6  per 
cent,  is  under  cultivation.  Eight  per  cent,  is  of  irreclaimable  swamps.  The  chief  crop  is  cotton,  its  average  being 
■85.5  acres  per  square  mile,  or  37.5  per  cent,  of  tilled  lands. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT   OF  M.   A.   M'NULTY,   OF   CUTHBERT. 

The  lands  on  the  Nochway  (on  the  southeast)  are  red  calcareous  clays,  with  some  undulating  sandy  ridges  ;  on  the  Pachitta  (south) 
generally  red  clay,  and  on  the  Pataula  sandy  ridges  r>revail. 

The  red  clay  lands  of  the  county,  in  some  places  strongly  impregnated  with  lime,  are  the  hest  cotton  lands.  They  cover  about  one- 
half  the  county  area,  and  have  a  growth  of  oak,  hickory,  and  pine.  The  soil  is  often  a  gray  sand,  4  inches  deep;  the  subsoil  a  red  clay, 
impervious  when  dry,  and  becoming  hard  when  not  disturbed,  but  good  cultivation  assimilates  it  to  the  surface  soil.  The  land  contains 
ferruginous  pebbles,  is  easily  tilled  in  wet  seasons,  is  early,  warm,  and  well  drained,  and  well  adapted,  when  fresh,  to  cotton,  corn,  wheat, 
oats,  sugar-cane,  and  sweet  and  Irish  potatoes.  Cotton  comprises  one-half  the  crops,  grows  2  feet  high,  and  is  prevented  from  running 
to  weed  by  the  use  of  marl,  which  is  abundant.  Fresh  lands  produce  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  ;  the  lint  is  a  fair  upland  staple. 
Lands  under  cultivation  five  years  yield  250  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  of  which  1,545  pounds  make  475  pounds  of  lint  of  inferior 
quality.  Crab-grass  and  hog-weed  are  most  troublesome.  One-half  of  the  lands  once  cultivated  now  lies  turned  out,  and  when  these 
lands  are  again  taken  in  they  produce  well  for  two  or  three  years.  The  valleys  are  ruined  and  uplands  seriously  damaged  by  the  washing 
and  gullying  of  these  lauds,  and  no  efforts  have  been  made  to  check  it. 

The  nandy  lands,  comprising  one-third  of  the  area,  extend  diagonally  across  the  county,  and  have  a  growth  of  pines.  The  soil 
is  of  a  dark  gray  and  fine  sandy  character,  10  inches  deep,  with  an  impervious  red  clay  or  sandy  subsoil.  The  lauds  are  late,  cold, 
well  drained,  and  are  best  adapted  to  cotton,  which  comprises  two-thirds  of  the  crops.  Fresh  lands  yield  800  pounds  of  soed-cotton 
per  acre ;  lands  cultivated  five  years  yield  only  200  pounds,  and  1,0(55  pounds  are  required  for  475  pounds  of  lint.  These  lands  also  wash 
as  readily  as  the  clay  soils,  and  as  much  damage  is  done. 

There  is  a  class  of  putty-like  land  occurring  in  spots  on  worn-out  hillsides  that  is  utterly  unproductive,  and  which  ruins  bottom 
lands  by  washing. 

As  soon  as  cotton  is  ginned  and  baled  it  is  shipped  by  railroad  to  Savannah  at  $3  50  per  bale. 


182  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

QUITMAN. 

Population:   1,302.— White,  1,773;  colored,  2,619. 

Area:  160  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  oak,  hickory,  and  nine  uplands,  all. 

Tilted  lands:  25,08-1  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  11,815  acres;  in  corn,  7,5'JG  acres;  in  wheat,  500  acres;  in: 
oats,  2,202  acres;  in  rye,  29  acres. 

Cotton  production:  3,103  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.27  bale,  381  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  127 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  small  county  of  Quitman  lies  on  the  Chattahoochee  river,  to  which  all  of  its  streams  are  tributary.  The 
surface  of  the  country  is  hilly  and  broken,  and  its  hills  are  covered  with  red  clays  and  white  sands.  The  former, 
occurring  principally  in  the  eastern  and  southern  part  of  the  county,  are  the  continuation  of  those  of  the  adjoining 
counties  of  Stewart  and  Randolph.  Along  the  river  at  a  number  of  points  are  level  valley  lands,  a,  mile  or  more 
wide,  having  a  dark  sandy  loam  soil.  The  bluffs  of  the  river  are  from  25  to  50  feet  high,  and  in  them,  under  a  heavy 
bed  of  clay,  is  exposed  the  blue  micaceous  clay  marls  full  of  very  well-preserved  Cretaceous  fossils  (1,'ipley  group). 
These  mails  are  found  also  in  the  beds  of  the  small  streams  that  empty  into  the  river.  The  most  easterly  outcrop  is 
in  a  railroad  cut  on  the  upland  at  Hatchie  station.     A  fossiliferous  limestone  forms  thin  layers  in  these  river  bluffs. 

The  sandy  hills  cover  the  largest  part  of  the  county,  and  have  a  prominent  growth  of  pine.  The  red  lands 
have,  a  timber  growth  of  oak  and  hickory;  the  bottoms,  oak,  hickory,  and  Cottonwood.  Ferruginous  sandstone  and 
pebbles  are  abundant  on  many  of  the  hills. 

Sixty-four  per  cent,  of  the  lauds  of  the  county  are  said  to  have  been  cleared,  .but  only  25  per  cent,  are  under 
tillage.  Cotton,  the  chief  crop,  has  an  average  of  73.S  acres  per  square  mile,  or  46.2  per  cent,  of  the  lauds  are 
under  cultivation. 

The  marls  of  the  county  are  not  very  rich.  An  analysis  of  a  sample  from  Hatchie  station  shows  the  presence 
of  not  more  than  1-1  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime,  the  rest  being  chieliy  sand  and  clay. 

ABSTRACT   FROM   THE   REPORT   OF   A.   OGLETREE,  OF   GEORGETOWN. 

The  lands  of  the  county  may  be  classed  as  gray,  red  or  still',  and  alluvial. 

The  coarse  gray  sandy  soils  comprise  two-thirds  of  the  lands  of  the  county.  They  are  frojn  4  to  8  inches  deep,  with  a  subsoil  of 
similar  character,  and  aro  best  adapted  to  cotton  and  oals.  Cotton  grows  '2\  feet  high,  the  larger  the  better,  and  yields  from  500  to  600 
pounds  in  tho  seed  per  acre  on  fresh  lands,  1,485  pounds  making  475  pounds  of  lint.  After  a  few  years'  cultivation  the  yield  is  about  :j"0 
pounds,  and  the  same  amount  is  needed  for  a  bale  of  lint.  Weeds  are  not  troublesome,  but  crab-grass  is  a  constant  trouble.  Of  the  lands 
once  under  cultivation  about  10  per  cent,  now  lies  turned  out.  Tin-  productiveness  when  again  taken  iit  depends  upon  the  length  of  lime 
it  has  rested;  if  long  enough,  it  yields  as  well  as  new.  These  lauds  are  injured  by  washing  and  gullying,  aud  the  valleys  are  somewhat 
damaged.     But  little  etfort  is  made  to  check  it. 

The  red  and  stiff  lands  have  also  a  stiff  clay  subsoil  and  a  growth  of  oak  and  hickory. 

From  September  to  January  cotton  is  shipped  by  railroad  to  Savannah. 

CLAY. 

Population:  0,050. — White,  2, 70S;  colored,  3,852. 

Area:  200  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  oak,  hickory,  aud  pine  uplands,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  53,952  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  21,539  acres;  in  corn,  14, SOS  acres;  iu  wheat,  150  acres; 
in  oats,  2,844  acres ;  in  rye  29  acres. 

Cotton  production:  4,570  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.21  bale,  303  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  101 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  small  county  of  Clay  is  separated  from  Alabama  by  the  Chattahoochee  river,  which  is  here  very  wide,  and 
is  lined  with  high  bluffs  along  nearly  the  whole  length.  The  county  is  included  in  the  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  and 
red  hills  regions.     Its  surface  is  hilly  and  broken  along  the  river,  but  more  level  on  the  east. 

On  the  extreme  north  the.  hills  are  covered  with  dark  sands,  underlaid  by  yellow  or  variegated  clays.  Ferruginous 
sandstone  ami  iron  ores  are  abundant  on  some  of  the  hills,  giving  their  soils  a  yellow  or  red  color.  The  river  valley 
here  is  wide,  level,  and  some  25  or  30  feet  above  the  river,  aud  is  generally  under  cultivation. 

In  the  bluffs  of  this  section  of  the  river  north  of  Fataula  creek,  and  in  those  of  the  creek  itself  for  a  short, 
distance,  are,  blue  micaceous  fossiliferous  clay  marls  (Cretaceous)  with  ledges  of  limestone.  These  are  well  exposed 
at  the  "Narrows",  a  beautiful  waterfall  over  one  of  these  rocky  ledges  into  the  soft  marl  bed  below.  These  blue 
marls  a  short  distance  below  the  mouth  of  the  creek  disappear  below  the  water's  surface,  and  are  replaced  or 
covered  iu  the  bluffs  by  white  marls  and  limestones  (Tertiary).  An  analysis  made  of  the,  I'ataula  creek  marl  shows 
but  about  8  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime,  the.  rest  of  the  ingredients  being  chiefly  sand  and  clay.     (See  page  45.) 

Southward  from  the  creek  the  country  is  slightly  rolling,  and  a  few  lime-sinks  occasionally  occur.  The  limestone 
underlying  the  land  shows  in  the  river  an  outcrop  of  at  least  20  feet,  and  is  hard  and  massive.  It  also  dips  under 
the  water,  and  is  covered  in  turn  by  a  white  friable  marl  (Claiborne),  which  still  southward  forms  high  bluffs, 
extending  into  the  Early  county  section  of  the  river. 

Fort  Gaines  is  situated  on  a  bluff  about  125  feet  above,  the  river.  (See  page  14.)  The  white  marl  here  rises  15 
feet  above  the  water,  and  is  covered  by  about  00  feet  of  alternate  strata  of  blue  fossiliferous  clays  and  blue  marls, 
and  on  top  of  this  50  feet  of  a  reddish  clay  loam.  These  blue  shelly  clays  have  been  used  with  advantage  on  the. 
sandy  lands  of  the  Alabama  side  of  the  river,  but  are  not  as  rich  as  the  white  friable  marls  aud  limestone  below 
them,  which  contain  over  80  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime. 

On  the  bluffs  large  fragments  of  silicifled  wood  are  frequently  found,  and  silicified  shells  aud  shell-rook  occur 
in  the  southern  red  hills  of  the  county. 
398 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  135 

The  growth  of  the  river  uplands  is  pine,  red  oak,  hickory,  and  black-jack. 

The  eastern  part  of  the  county  is  rather  open  and  undulating',  and  has  a  growth  chiefly  of  pine  and  a  sandy  soil,, 
with  ferruginous  pebbles  and  fragments  of  silicified  shell-rock.     (See  analysis  of  soil,  page  40.) 

All  of  the  lands  of  the  county  are  considered  tillable,  and  42.2  per  cent,  are  under  cultivation,  chiefly  in  cotton 
and  corn.  The  former  embraces  39.9  per  cent.,  and  averages  107.7  acres  per  square  mile,  the  county  in  this  regard 
ranking  as  eleventh  in  the  state.  The  average  product  per  acre  is  very  low,  there  being  but  eight  counties  having 
a  less  average.     Negroes  are  here,  as  elsewhere  in  the  region,  the  chief  cotton  producers. 

I 

ABSTRACT    FROM   THE    REPORT    OF    F.    It.    FREEMAN,    OF    FORT    GAINES. 

The  lowlands  are  not  preferred  for  cotton,  though  they  seem  to  vtroduce  more  fruit  to  the  plant.  The  uplands  vary  from  gray  and' 
light  to  dark-gray  sandy  soils,  with  red  clays  in  an  easterly  direction.  The  gray  sandy  lands  prevail,  with  clay  on  the  ridges  and  eastern 
slopes,  after  going  half  a  mile  east  from  the  river.  They  comprise  five-sixths  of  the  county  area ;  have  a  growth  of  yellow  pine,  cedar,  and 
"black-jack,  a  sandy,  gravelly  loam  soil,  0  inches  deep,  and  a  red  or  light-yellow  clay  subsoil. 

The  crops  of  the  county  are  corn,  oats,  sweet  potatoes,  and  cotton.  Cotton  on  fresh  land  yields  1,000  pounds  per  acre,  and  after  sis 
years'  cultivation  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton,  1,485  pounds  of  which  in  each  case  make  475  pounds  of  lint.  The  plant  grows  o  feet  high, 
and  runs  to  weed  on  bottom  lands  unless  restrained  by  fertilizers.  The  most  troublesome  weeds  are  coffee-weed,  coeklebur,  and  crab-grass. 
Very  little  land  once  cultivated  now  lies  out,  for,  by  the  application  of  manures,  they  produce  finely.  Serious  damage  is  done  by  the 
washing  of  the  soils,  and  the  valleys  are  injured  very  materially.  Only  feeble  attempts  are  made  to  check  the  damage,  but  the  results 
are  satisfactory. 

In  October,  November,  and  December  cotton  is  shipped,  by  railroad  and  by  river,  to  Savannah,  Columbus,  and  New  York,  the  rates 
being  50  cents  per  bale  to  Columbus  and  50  cents  per  100  pounds  to  Savannah. 

CALHOUN. 

Population:  7,024.— White,  2,354 ;  colored,  4,070. 

Area:  280  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  lime-sink  (wire-grass)  region,  3  square  miles;  oak,  hickory,  and  pine 
uplands,  277  square  miles. 

Titled  lands:  57,804  acres.— Area  planted  in  cotton,  24,429  acres ;  in  corn,  19,042  acres ;  in  wheat,  108  acres;  in 
oats,  5,526  acres  ;  in  rye,  12  acres. 

Cotton  production :  4,070  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.19  bale,  273  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  91  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Calhoun  county  is  well  timbered,  and  is  watered  by  the  Chickasawhatchie  and  ichawaynochaway  creeks  and 
their  tributaries.  The  surface  of  the  country  is  undulating  or  slightly  rolling,  and  the  lands  are  varied.  On  the 
north  are  the  -"oak  and  hickory  lands",  or  yellow  loam  and  red  clay  lands,  with  long-leaf  piue.  Southward  the 
latter  growth  becomes  more  and  more  abundant,  the  country  more  open,  and  lime-sinks  occur  frequently. 

On  the  extreme  south  wire  grass  and  very  open  long-leaf  pine  areas  extend  into  the  county  from  the  south. 

A  white  and  soft  limestone  underlies  the  entire  county,  through  which  underground  streams  have  cut  their 
passage,  appearing  frequently  for  short  distances  and  as  suddenly  disappearing. 

Buhr-stone  or  siliceous  shell-rock  and  flint  are  found  in  fragments  all  over  the  county.  Swamps  are  numerous, 
and  those  considered  as  irreclaimable  comprise  5  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  the  county. 

The  crops  embrace  corn,  cotton,  oats,  sugar-cane,  rice,  peanuts,  and  chufas.  Lands  under  tillage  comprise  32.3 
per  cent,  of  the  total  area.,  and  of  these  42.3  per  cent,  are  in  cotton,  the  chief  crop.  The  average  of  cotton  acreage 
is  87.2  acres  per  square  mile.  In  product  per  acre  the  county  is  very  low,  ranking  only  above  Baker,  Mitchell,  and 
Glynn  counties.  The  negro  population  here  is  about  double  that  of  the  whites,  while  as  laborers  the  proportion 
is  far  greater. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  W.  A.  BECKC03I,  OF  ARLINGTON. 

But  a  small  quantity  of  lowland  is  cultivated  in  this  county.  The  cotton  lands  may  he  classed  as  gray  sandy  uplands,  red  stiff 
uplands,  and  hlack  sandy  loam  or  hummock,  the  last  being  considered  the  hest  for  cotton. 

The  gray  sandy  lauds  eonrprise  two-thirds  of  the  area  of  the  county,  and  have  a  growth  chiefly  of  pine,  with  some  few  oaks.  The 
soil  is  ahont  5  inches  deep,  with  a  yellow,  then  red  clay  subsoil.  It  contains  much  soft,  rounded,  hlack  ferruginous  gravel.  The  land  is 
best  adapted  to  cotton  and  oats,  but  corn,  sugar-cane,  rice,  ground-pease,  and  chufas  are  produced.  Cotton  comprises  about  one-half 
the  crops,  grows  to  a  height  of  4  feet,  and  yields  about  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  when  fresh.  The  stalk  runs  to  weed  on  fresh 
and  rich  land  and  when  planted  too  close.  To  prevent  this  it  is  thinned  when  young  and  fertilizers  are  applied.  After  a  few  years7 
cultivation  the  yield  is  diminished  to  o00  or  500  pounds  of  seed-cottou  per  acre ;  1,545  pounds  make  475  pounds  of  Hut  from  both  fresh  and  old 
lauds,  hut  the  staple  on  the  latter  is  not  as  long  as  from  the  other.  Coffee-weeds  and  coeklebur  are  most  troublesome.  One-third  of  the 
lands  once  under  cultivation  uow  lies  out.  When  again  taken  into  cultivation  and  fertilized  it  makes  better  cotton  than  any  other 
land.    But  little  damage  is  done  to  uplands  or  valleys  by  the  washing  of  the  soils.     The  lowlauds,  when  well  drained,  are  the  hest. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  by  railroad  to  Savannah  at  80  cents,  and  to  New  York  at  $1  45  per  bale. 

DOUGHEETY. 

Population:  12,022.— White,  1,952  ;  colored,  10,070. 

Area:  340  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  lime-sink  (wire-grass)  region,  194  square  miles;  oak,  hickory,  and 
pine  uplands,  146  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands :  85,885  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  40,990  acres  ;  in  corn,  23,203  acres;  in  wheat,  110  acres; 

in  oats,  0,052  acres  ;  in  rye,  19  acres. 

'     '  '  J    '  399 


184  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

Cotton  production  :  9.736  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.24  bale,  339  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  113 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Dougherty  county  is  divided  into  two  equal  portions  by  Flint  river,  and  is  bounded  on  the  west  by 
Chickasawhatchie  creek.  It  is  a  roiling  country,  lying  partly  in  the  wire-grass  and  partly  in  the  oak  and  hickory 
region,  and  is  entirely  underlaid  by  white  limestone,  outcrops  of  which  occur  in  the  streams  and  also  furnish  large 
springs.  Blue  spring,  south  of  Albany,  the,  largest  of  these,  has  a  depth  of  25  or  30  feet,  and  the  water  is  very 
clear,  allowing  small  objects  to  be  distinctly  seen  at  the  bottom.     The  limestone  forms  the  walls  of  the  spring. 

Buhrstone  is  also  abundant,  occurring  often  in  large  masses.  Its  position  is  above  the  limestone,  as  shown  at 
the  mouth  of  Fowltown  creek  north  of  Albany,  where  it  shows  a  thickness  of  10  feet.  Lime-sinks  occur  frequently 
in  various  parts  of  the  county. 

The  wire-grass  region,  or  its  lime- sink  division,  covers  all  of  the  country  from  the  north  county -line  westward  2 
miles  beyond  Albany,  and  thence  southward  to  about  the  corner  of  the  county.  Long-leaf  pine  is  almost  the  only 
growth  on  the  uplands,  the  surface  of  the  county  being  very  open,  and  covered  with  wire-grass,  interspersed  with 
cypress  ponds.  The  lands  are  sandy,  with  clayey  subsoils,  and  are  rather  sparsely  settled  away  from  the  river  and 
from  Albany.  The  rest  of  the  county  on  the  west  of  this  region  is  of  the  yellow  loam  and  red  clay  uplands 
character.  The  region  begins  2  miles  west  of  Albany,  has  a  growth  of  oak  and  hickory,  with  much  long-leaf  pine, 
and  a  better  character  of  lands  than  on  the  east;  red  clay  lands  predominate,  though  they  have  often  a  thin 
covering  of  sand. 

The  irreclaimable  swamps  of  the  county  comprise  10  per  cent,  of  its  area  ;  of  the  rest,  75  per  cent,  has  probably 
been  cleared. 

Tilled  lands  embrace  39.5  percent,  of  the  total  area,  and  of  these  47.7  percent,  are  in  cotton.  Dougherty  is  one 
of  the  chief  cotton  counties  of  the  state  in  the  average  acreage  of  that  crop  (129.0  acres)  per  square  mile,  the 
county  ranking  as  fifth.  Its  low  product  per  acre,  however,  brings  the  number  of  bales  per  square  mile  (28.6)  also 
very  low. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  MESSRS.  WELCH  AND  BACON,  OF  ALBANY. 

The  lands  of  tho  county  are  classed  as  light  sandy  loam  and  red  mulatto. 

The  light  sand;/  soil  comprises  three-fourths  of  the  county,  and  extends  from  15  to  50  miles  east  and  only  a  few  miles  west  of  Albany. 
The  growth  is  pine.  The  soil  has  a  depth  of  7  inches,  with  mostly  a  sandy  hard  clay  subsoil.  Limestone  underlies  it  at  from  15  to  'JO 
foet.  The  soil  is  easily  tilled  at  all  seasons,  and  is  early,  warm,  and  well  drained  by  underground  lime-sinks  and  streams.  The  crops  of 
tho  county  are  cotton,  corn,  oats,  sugar-cane,  sweet  potatoes,  pease,  and  upland  rice.  Cotton,  to  which  the  lands  are  best  adapted, 
■comprises  five-eighths  of  tho  crops,  and  grows  3  feet  high,  runs  to  weed  iu  wet  seasous'unless  topped,  is  troubled  most  with  grass,  and 
yields  on  fresh  land  about  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  l.tiOO  pounds  making  J75  pounds  of  lint  rating  as  low  middling.  On  land 
fivo  years  iu  cultivation  the  yield  is  500  pounds,  the  lint  rating  as  strict  ordinary.  About  '25  per  cent,  of  theso  lands  now  lie  turned  out, 
and  improve  by  two  or  three  years  rest.     The  lauds  do  not  wash. 

The  red  mulatto  clay  lands,  comprising  one-fourth  of  the  county  area,  extend  15  or  20  miles  west  of  Albany,  and  have  a  growth  of  oak 
and  hickory.  The  soil  is  8  inches  deep,  with  a  heavy  impervious  red-clay  subsoil ;  it  is  early,  warm,  but  ill  drained,  and  easy  10  till,  and  is 
best  adapted  to  cotton  and  corn.  Cotton  comprises  five-eighths  of  the  crops,  grows  3  feet  high,  and  yields  1,000  pounds  of  seed-rot  ton  per 
acre  on  fresh  land;  it  rates  as  low  middling.  On  land  ten  years  in  cultivation  the  yield  is  700  pounds,  and  the  staple  is  strict  good  ordinary. 
About  10  per  cent,  of  this  land  lies  turned  out.  It  produces  better  by  rest  and  washes  but  little.  Gullying  is  easily  prevented  by 
liorizontalizing. 

Between  the  months  of  September  and  February  cotton  is  shipped  by  rail  to  Savannah  at  about  £3  per  bale. 

BAKER. 

(See  "  Lime-sink  and  wire-grass  region".) 

EARLY. 

Population:  7,011.— White,  3,015  ;  colored,  4,596. 

Area:  510  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands,  307  square  miles  ;  lime-sink  (wire- 
grass)  region,  293  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  42,276  acres;  area  planted  in  cotton,  20,552  acres;  iu  corn,  17,024  acres;  in  wheat,  39  acres;  in 
oats,  4,750  acres. 

Cotton  production:  4,270  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.21  bale,  297  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  99 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Early  comity  is  separated  from  Alabama  on  the  west  by  the  Chattahoochee  river.  The  surface  of  the  country  is 
rolling  on  the  north,  but  becomes  more  level  southward  to  the  wire-grass  region.  The  county  is  underlaid  by  limestone, 
and  lime-sinks  occur  frequently.  The  rock  outcrops  in  the  banks  of  the  river  as  far  south  as  Columbia,  and  also 
in  the  various  streams  west  of  Blakely.  Large  masses  of  flint  and  siliceous  shell-rocks  are  scattered  over  the  entire 
county,  but  are  most  abundant  in  the  southern  portion. 

The  red  clay  lands  extend  for  a  mile  or  two  into  Early,  on  the  northwest,  near  the  river.  South  to  Blakely, 
and  4  miles  beyond,  the  yellow-loam  lands  prevail.  The  soil  is  sandy,  with  a  yellowish  clayey  subsoil;  growth, 
chiefly  pine,  with  some  oak  and  hickory.  Cypress  ponds  are  interspersed  throughout.  The  limit  of  this  yellow- 
loam  region  extends  from  5  miles  south  of  Arlington  to  4  miles  south  of  Blakely,  and  on  to  a  few  miles  south  of 
Columbia,  on  the  Alabama  side  of  the  river.     The  growth  of  the  entire  country  is  very  open. 

The  lower  part  of  the  county  is  covered  with  wire-grass  and  long-leaf  pine,  interspersed  with  a  "  blue-jack" 
undergrowth,  the  surface  level,  and  the  roads  hard. 

The  swamps  and  lowlands  of  the  county  comprise  a  large  proportion.of  the  area,  those  irreclaimable  being 
5  per  cent,  of  the  surface. 

400 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  135 

The  country  is  sparsely  settled  (15  persons  per  square  mile)  and  well  timbered.  Thirteen  per  cent,  only  of  its 
area  is  under  cultivation,  and  but  tlO  per  cent,  in  all  is  said  to  have  been  cleared,  thus  leaving  80  per  cent,  of  the  original 
growth  still  standing'.  Cotton  and  corn  are  the  chief  crops,  the  former  embracing  4S.0  per  cent  of  the  tilled  lands, 
placing  the  county  as  fifth  in  the  state  In  this  regard. 

The  cotton  average  is  40.3  acres  per  square  mile,  and  its  product  per  acre  is  the  same  as  that  of  Clay,  Miller, 
and  Morgan,  and  only  above  five  other  counties  of  the  state. 

ABSTRACTS  FROM  THE  REPORTS  OF  J.  B.  MULLIGAN  AND  DENNIS  M.  WADE,  OF  BLAKELY. 

The  lands  of  the  county  are  generally  level,  but  sometimes  rolling,  and  are  classed  as  gray,  red  or  stiff,  and  lowland. 

The  gray  sandy  lands  comprise  fully  two-thirds  of  the  lands  of  the  county,  and  the  soil  is  5  inches  deep,  with  a  subsoil  of  red  stiff  or  soft 
yellow  clay.  These  lands  are  easy  to  cultivate  in  all  seasons,  are  early  and  well  drained,  and  have  a  growth  mostly  of  pine  and  wire- 
grass.  The  crops  of  the  county  are  corn,  cotton,  oats,  sweet  potatoes,  ground-pease,  chufas,  rice,  and  sugar-cane.  Cotton  comprises  one-half 
the  crops,  grows  2$  feet  high,  and  runs  to  weed  on  fresh  land  iu  wet  seasons  unless  restrained  by  a  liberal  use  of  fertilizers.  Fresh  lands 
yield  500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  After  cultivation  of  fifteen  years  the  yield  is  300  pounds,  and  the  lint  is  generally  shorter. 
Crab-grass  is  most  troublesome.  One-third  of  the  land  now  lies  turned  out,  and  after  resting  it  produces  better  than  originally.  It 
washes  readily,  but  no  damage  is  done. 

The  red  or  stiff  lands,  comprising  two-ninths  of  the  county  area,  have  a  growth  of  beech,  hickory,  oaks  of  all  kinds,  magnolia,  cedar 
poplar,  etc.  The  soil  is  G  inches  deep,  with  a  subsoil  more  or  less  hard,  as  indicated  by  the  growth.  It  is  early  and  well  drained,  and  is  best 
adapted  to  corn  and  wheat.  Cotton  comprises  one-third  of  the  crops,  grows  3  feet  high,  and  yields  GOO  pounds  of  seed-cotton  on  fresh 
laud  and  300  on  laud  fifteen  years  under  cultivation.  Crab-grass  is  most  troublesome.  One-fourth  of  the  fand  lies  turned  out,  which 
produces  as  well  when  again  cultivated. 

The  swam})  and  river  bottoms  comprise  one-ninth  of  the  lauds  of  the  county.  These  have  a  gum  aud  cypress  growth,  a  fine  sandy 
soil  from  18  to  36  inches  deep,  and  when  ditched  are  best  adapted  to  corn.  One-fourth  is  planted  in  cotton.  The  plant  grows  from  4  to 
G  feet  high,  aud  yields  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  when  fresh  and  after  fifteen  years'  cultivation.  One-fourth  of  the  land  now 
lies  turned  out,  which  produces  as  well  as  ever  when  again  taken  iu. 

Cotton  is  shipped,  as  soon  as  ready,  by  railroad  aud  by  river  to  Columbus  and  to  Savannah. 


SOUTHERN  OAK,   HICKORY,  AND  PINE  UPLANDS. 
(Embraces  parts  of  the  counties  of  Decatur,  Thomas,  and  Brooks.) 

DECATUE. 

Population:  19,072.— White, 8,889 ;  colored,  10,183. 

Area :  1,100  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  lime-sink  (wire-grass)  region,  833  square  miles;  southern  oak 
uplands,  327  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  79,219  acres;  area  planted  in  cotton,  29,509  acres;  in  corn,  30,817  acres;  in  wheat,  22  acres;  in 
oats,  9,282  acres  ;  in  rye,  6  acres. 

Cotton  production :  0,390  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.22  bale,  309  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  103 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Decatur  is  the  most  southwesterly  county  of  the  state  and  also  one  of  the  largest.  Chattahoochee  river 
separates  it  from  Florida  on  the  west,  while  Flint  river,  after  flowing  in  a  southeasterly  course  across  the  county, 
unites  with  the  former  river,  the  point  of  junction  being  the  western  terminus  of  the  southern  boundary-line  of  the 
state. 

The  county  is  well  timbered,  mostly  with  a  tall  growth  of  long-leaf  pine.  Limestone  underlies  the  entire  country, 
outcropping  in  many  places,  and  showing  its  presence  in  others  by  lime-sinks.  The  most  noted  of  the  latter  is  on 
the  northeasr.  It  has  a  depth  of  105  feet,  with  a  diameter  of  about  50  yards,  the  soft  white  limestone  being  exposed 
all  the  way  down.  A  stream  of  water  falls  into  it  from  the  surface  and  disappears.  A  large  cave  has  also  been 
formed  in  the  side  of  this  sink,  and  a  number  of  what  are  termed  "blowing  eaves"  occur  in  this  section.  Spring 
creek,  on  the  western  side  of  the  county,  derives  its  name  from  the  large  number  of  springs  that  supply  the  water. 
These  springs  come  up  through  the  limestone,  frequently  cover  large  areas,  and  are  very  deep. 

The  agricultural  regions  represented  in  this  county  are  the  wire-grass  (lime-sink  division)  and  southern  oak, 
hickory,  and  pine  uplands.  The  former  covers  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  extends  7  miles  south  of 
Bainbridge,  and  includes  two  classes  of  lands,  designated,  by  the  character  of  their  subsoils,  as  clay  lands  and  sandy 
lands.  The  clay  lands  cover  the  eastern  half  of  that  portion  of  the  county  lying  between  the  Flint  river  and 
the  Thomas  county-line,  and  extend  southward  to  the  railroad.  Another  area  is  on  the  west  of  Spring  creek, 
reaching  half  way  to  the  Chattahoochee  river.  Clay  underlies  it  at  depths  of  4  to  24  inches.  The  soil  is  sandy,  and 
covered  with  wire-grass  in  abundance,  and  the  country  is  very  open  and  undulating.  The  sandy  lands  of  this  upper 
section  lie  on  each  side  of  Flint  river  for  many  miles,  and  also  along  the  Chattahoochee  on  the  northwest.  They  are 
very  level  and  «pen,  and  are  interspersed  with  a  few  lime-sinks.and  cypress  ponds.  The  hummock  lands  are  extensive 
and  productive,  though  not  durable.     (See  analysis,  page  13.) 

Siliceous  shell-rock  is  found  in  abundance  along  the  river  banks  and  in  fragments  on  the  upland.     The  rock, 
on  decomposition,  forms  a  light  white  or  reddish  powder.     Limestone  (Vicksburg)  underlies  it  at  Bainbridge. 
20  c  r— vol.  ii  401 


1.36  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

Live-oak  trees  form  the  chief  growth  around  this  town,  and  southward  7  miles  to  the  hills  there  is  much  oak 
undergrowth. 

The  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands  occupy  a  high  ridge  across  the  county  from  near  Fowltown,  on  the 
Chattahoochee  river,  southward  to  the  mouth  of  Spring  creek,  thence  up  Flint  river  to  7  miles  south  of  Bainbridge, 
and  turning  cast  and  northeastward  to  and  beyond  Climax,  !l  miles  east  of  Bainbridge,  into  Thomas  county.  The 
elevation  of  this  ridge  is  315  feet  above  the  sea,  13(1  above  the  river,  or  75  above  the  pine  lands,  and  is  rather  abrupt 
oil  the  north. 

In  the  northern  part  of  this  southern  region  red  clays  form  a  portion  of  the  lands.  To  the  south  the  country 
becomes  more  sandy  and  broken,  and  long-leaf  pine  forms  a  very  prominent  growth.  The  soil  is  rather  thin,  over 
a  red  or  yellow  clay  subsoil  and  a  pipe-clay.  Limestone  containing  some  calc-spar  also  underlies  this,  outcropping 
in  the  banks  of  the  streams.  At  the  foot  of  the  ridge,  and  apparently  underlying  this  limestone,  is  found  the 
siliceous  shell-rock  of  the  wire-grass  counties. 

The.  following  abstracts  give  the  features  and  productiveness  of  these  various  lands.  Outside  of  the  town  of 
Bainbridge,  the  county  is  but  thinly  settled. 

One  per  cent,  of  the  lands  is  irreclaimable  swamp;  10.7  per  cent,  is  under  cultivation.  Of  these,  tilled  lands 
37.3  per  cent,  is  in  cotton,  which  has  an  average  of  1'5. -1  acres  per  square  mile.  The  average  product  per  acre  is 
very  low,  the  county  ranking  above  but  nine  counties  of  the  state  in  this  regard. 

ABSTRACT    FROM    THE    REPORT    OF   JOHN   E.    DICKENSON,    OF    BAINBRIDGE. 

The  cotton  lauds  of  the  county  arc  the  pine  lands,  river  lands,  creek  uuinmoek  lauds,  and  what  arc  generally  known  as  clay  lands. 
Beginning  on  the  northern  portion  of  the  eastern  side,  of  the  county,  these  lands  extend  westward  some  12  or  14  miles,  running  entirely 
across  the  county  north  and  south.  About  half  way  down  this  line,  18  miles  from  the  northeast  corner,  the  lands  widen  rapidly  until  1  hey 
reach  the  river,  and  extend  down  its  banks  to  the  lower  edge  of  the  county.  Inside  of  this  boundary-line  there  arc  spots  here  and  there  that 
are  sandy,  with  clay  from  4  to  12  inches  under  the  surface.  West,  of  Spring  creek,  between  Flint  and  Chattahoochee  rivers,  there  is  a  strip 
from  5  to  8  miles  wide  across  the  county.  Here  the  subsoil  of  clay  is  from  12  to  24  inches  below  the  surface.  Much  tin-  larger  portion  of 
these  clay  lands  has  a  piuo  growth. 

The  pine  lands,  with  their  line  sandy  soils  from  3  to  5  inches  deep,  cover  four-fifths  or  nine-tenths  of  the  county,  and  have  a  long-leaf 
pine  growth.  Tho  subsoil  is  generally  lighter  than  tho  soil.  The  crops  of  the  county  are  cotton,  corn,  oats,  pease,  potatoes,  and  sugar- 
cane. These  lands  are  easy  to  till,  early,  warm,  well  drained,  and  best  adapted  to  oats,  though  one-half  of  the  plowed  or  hoed  crops  is 
©f  cotton.  The  yield  in  seed-cotton  on  laud  four  years  under  cultivation  is  from  600  to  800  pounds  per  acre,  1,665  pounds  of  w  Inch  make 
475  pounds  of  lint.  Cotton  grows  from  2+  to  4  feet  high,  and  ruus  to  weed  on  fresh  land  in  very  wet  seasons.  Crab-grass  is  most 
troublesome. 

The  creek  and  hummock  lands  have  a  growth  of  oak,  hickory,  ash,  magnolia,  poplar,  and  various  undergrowth.  The  soil  is  a  line 
sandy  loam  from  white  to  yellow  and  mahogany  in  color,  and  has  a  depth  of  G  inches,  with  a  clay  subsoil.  These  lands  are  not  as  durable  -ns 
the  bottoms.  The  fresh  lands  are  good  for  tobacco  and  afterward  for  any  other  crop.  This  land  is  easy  to  till,  late,  cold,  and  ill  drained. 
Cotton  comprises  one-half  the  crops,  and  grows  to  a  height  of  5  or  6  feet,  producing  from  1,000  to  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre. 
Very  little  of  this  land  lies  out.    It  is  injured  in  some  places  by  washing,  which  can  bo  prevented  by  horizontalizing  and  hillside  ditching. 

Tho  river  bottoms  cover  but  a  small  proportion  of  the  county  in  a  narrow  strip  bordering  tho  rivers.  Tho  timber  is  oak,  hickory, 
walnut,  magnolia,  dogwood,  and  a  great  variety  of  smaller  growth.  The  soil  is  a  dark  and  line  loam,  1  foot  or  2  feet  in  depl  h,  underlaid 
by  a  clay.  It  is  early,  cold,  and  ill  drained,  and  good  for  any  crop.  Cotton  comprises  one-half  the  crops,  and  grows  from  6  to  7  feet 
high,  producing  from  1,200  to  1,800  pounds  in  the  seed  for  a  number  of  years;  1,545  pounds  aro  required  for  475  pounds  of  lint. 
Cockleburs  and  morning-glory  vines  are  most  troublesome.     Noue  of  tho  land  lies  turned  out. 

Cotton  on  all  wet  lands  is  late  and  subject  to  rust,  and  is  apt  to  shed  its  leaves  and  fruit. 

Planters  sell  their  cotton  to  local  merchants,  and  it  is  then  shipped  to  Savannah  by  railroad  at  75  cents  per  100  pounds. 

THOMAS. 

Population:  20,507.— White,  8,384 ;  colored,  12,213. 

Area:  780  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  lime-sink  (wire-grass)  region,  312  square  miles;  southern  oak, 
hickory,  and  pine  uplands,  46S  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands :  80,700  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  35,S05  acres;  in  corn,  35,830  acres ;  in  wheat,  34  acres ;  in 
oats,  1S,281  acres;  in  rye,  19  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  8,773  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.24  bale,  348  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  110 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Thomas  county  is  well  timbered  with  a  tall  growth  of  long-leaf  pine  on  the  uplands  and  magnolia,  bay,  oak. 
and  hickory  along  the  creeks  and  Ocklockony  river.  Limestone  underlies  theentire  county,  outcropping  in  numerous 
places,  and  producing  lime-sinks  over  the  northern  portion. 

Along  the  Florida  line  the  country  is  rolling,  and  the  ridges  are  covered  with  ferruginous  gravel.  The  soil  is  a 
red  sandy  clay  from  4  to  5  feet  deep,  with  underlying  light  or  variegated-colored  joint-clay.  The  growth  is  chiefly 
pine,  with  gum  and  white  oak  and  a  small  undergrowth  of  gum.  The  siliceous  shell-rocks  peculiar  to  the  lime-sink 
region  are  found  in  wells  40  feet  from  the  surface. 

Northward  to  Thomasville  the  pine  becomes  more  exclusive  and  larger,  and  black-jack  becomes  a  promineni 
feature  to  within  3  miles  of  town,  the  lands  being  saudy  and  filled  with  ferruginous  gravel  or  bog  ore.  (See 
analysis,  page  43.) 

North  from  Thomasville,  and  also  eastward,  are  the  comparatively  level  lands  of  the  wire-grass  region,  with  its 
clay  subsoils,  long-leaf  pine  growth,  "lime-sink"  depressions,  and  buhr-stouo  or  siliceous  shell-rock  fragments. 
The  position  of  the  latter  with  regard  to  the  limestone  is  there  shown.  On  the  river  4  miles  north  of  Thomasville. 
limestone,  12  feet  thick,  is  exposed  in  the  banks,  while  on  the  surface  the  flinty  shell-rocks  form  a  solid  stratum  some 
4  feet  thick.  Of  the  county  area  2  per  cent,  is  irreclaimable  swamp ;  18  per  cent,  is  under  cultivation  in  cotton  and 
corn,  with  a  slight  difference,  in  acreage  in  favor  of  the  former  crop.  Cotton  has  an  average  of  40  acres  per  square 
mile.  The  product  per  acre  is  low.  It  is  thought  that  33  per  cent,  of  the  lands  suitable  for  tillage  have,  from  time 
to  time,  been  cleared  of  their  original  timber  growth. 

402 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  137 

ABSTRACTS    FROM    THE    REPORTS    OF   R.   H.   HARDAWAY,   OF    THOMASVILLE,  AND   JAMES   II.   HAYES,   OF   CAIRO. 

Good  uplands  arc  much  preferred  for  cotton,  because  of  the  certainty  of  making  a  crop.  On  the  lowlands  cotton  matures  later,  and 
is  liable  to  overflow  and  also  to  the  boll-worm.  The  lauds  may  be  classed  as  gray  loam,  black  loam,  and  chocolate  lands,  all  with  impervious 
red-clay  subsoils. 

The  gray  sandy  and  gravelly  lands  comprise  two-thirds  of  the  county,  and  have  a  growth  of  yellow  pine,  with  hickory,  oak,  ash 
cherry,  maple,  magnolia,  cedar,  and  red  bay.  The  soil  has  a  deptli  of  from  12  to  15  inches,  is  easy  to  till  in  wTet  or  dry  seasons,  and  early, 
warm,  and  well  drained  (being  a  hilly  country).  The  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  rice,  sugar-cane,  potatoes,  oats,  wheat,  fruits,  and  melons. 
The  gray  lauds  are.  best  adapted  to  small  grain  and  cotton.  The  latter  comprises  one-half  the  crops,  and  yields  on  fresh  land  600  pounds 
in  the  seed  per  acre,  the  lint  rating  as  middling.  After  five  years'  cultivation  the  yield  is  from  300  to  400  pounds,  and  the  lint  is  not  so 
soft,  silky,  or  long.  Cotton  grows  from  2  to  7  feet  high,  but  is  most  productive  at  3  or  4  feet,  and  runs  to  weed  with  too  heavy  manuring  and 
too  much  rain.  Light  manuring,  early  planting,  and  topping  prevent  this  tendency  and  favor  boiling.  Cockleburs,  cofl'ee-weeds,  crab- 
grass,  or  crowfoot  are  most  troublesome.  One-third  of  the  land  now  lies  out,  and  when  again  taken  is  almost  equal  to  the  virgin  soil.  It 
washes  readily,  but  does  no  serious  damage  if  properly  ditched.  On  the  west  of  the  county  the  damage  is  serious,  and  the  valleys  are  also 
much  injured,  though  some  effort  has  been  made  to  check  it. 

Cotton  is  shipped  from  Thomasville  by  railroad  to  Savannah  at  $3  50  per  bale. 

BROOKS. 

Population:  11,727. — White,  5,670;  colored,  G,057. 

Area:  530  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  lime-sink  (wire-grass)  region,  293  square  miles;  southern  oak, 
hickory,  and  pine  uplands,  237  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  75,902  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  21,255  acres;  in  corn,  23,027  acres;  in  wheat,  46  acres;  in 
oats,  14,0S7  acres;  iu  rye,  101  acres. 

Cotton  production :  0,28S  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.30  bale,  423  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  141 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Brooks  county  lies  on  the  Florida  line,  is  well  timbered  with  long-leaf  pine,  oak,  and  hickory,  and  is,  with  the 
exception  of  the  northeastern  corner  and  a  strip  of  land  on  the  north,  included  in  the  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  region 
of  the  southwest  and  Florida.  Little  and  Withlaeooehee  rivers  and  Ocopilco  creek  are  the  chief  streams,  all  uniting 
on  the  east. 

The  oak  and  hickory  region  comprises  the  best  lauds  of  the  county.  Along  Mule  creek,  some  15  or  20  miles  north 
of  Quitman,  the  country  is  broken,  the  hills  being  some  50  feet  or  more  above  the  streams  and  covered  with  a  hard 
light-red  clay  soil  containing  ferruginous  gravel.  The  growth  of  these  hills  is  red,  white,  and  post  oak,  hickory, 
and  a  scrub-oak  undergrowth.  The  subsoil  is  a  yellowish  elay,  with  some  30  feet  of  a  "  calico  "  or  spotted  underclay. 
(See  analysis  of  soil  from  Ocopilco,  page  43.) 

These  hills  give  way  to  pine  and  level  lands  S  miles  north  of  Quitman,  which  extend  southward  for  some  distance. 
Three  .miles  north  of  Quitman  there  is  a  fall  of  some  50  feet  to  a  flat,  on  which  cypress  ponds  are  very  abundant; 
but  southward  to  the  Florida  line  the  county  again  becomes  rolling,  with  open  long-leaf  pine  growth,  some  oak  and 
hickory,  and  a  little  wire-grass.  Cypress  ponds  are  also  numerous,  and  their  white  sand  beds  are  covered  with  a 
muck  deposit  of  several  inches.  Ferns  grow  luxuriantly  on  these  lowlands.  The  lands  of  this  section  have  a  sandy  soil 
with  a  yellow-clay  subsoil.  Limestone  (Vicksburg)  underlies  the  region,  appearing  only  on  the  east  of  Quitman, 
at  Blue  or  Mineral  spring.  Here,  through  a  lime-sink,  the  clear  water  from  an  underground  stream  has  found  its 
way  upward  through  the  rock,  and  flows  off  in  a  regular  channel  into  the  river,  affording  6,000  gallons  per  minute. 

The  wire-grass  region  of  the  northern  part  of  the  county  is  of  the  better  class,  or  lime-sink  division.  The  soil  is 
sandy,  with  a  clay  subsoil,  the  country  somewhat  rolling,  especially  near  the  oak  and  hickory  region,  and  the  growth 
is  almost  exclusively  long-leaf  pine.  Cypress  ponds  occur  occasionally.  The  sand  flats  and  lowlands  are  covered 
with  a  dense  growth  of  saw-palmetto.  Of  the  county  area  10  per  ceut.  is  probably  irreclaimable  swamp  land;  22.4 
per  cent,  is  uuder  cultivation,  though  37  per  cent,  is  thought  to  have  been  cleared  of  its  original  growth.  Corn  is 
here  the  chief  crop,  its  average  being  43.4  acres,  and  that  of  cotton  40.1  acres  per  square  mile. 

ABSTRACT   FROM   THE   REPORT    OF    R.    I.    DENMARK,    OF    QTIITMAN. 

The  soils  cultivated  in  cotton  are  the  red  clay,  gray  and  sandy  hummock,  aud  pine  soils. 

The  chief  soil,  commonly  designated  as  red  clay  -soil,  is  a  gray  soil  with  a  red  clay  subsoil,  and  covers  about  30  per  cent,  of  the  county, 
extending  about  15  miles  north.  30  south,  10  east,  and  150  miles  west.  Its  natural  timber  is  red,  white,  and  post  oaks,  hickory,  and  other 
hard- wood  trees.  This  soil  varies  from  a  tine  sandy  to  a  gravelly  loam,  and  in  color  from  gray  to  yellow,  orange,  red,  and  blackish,  and  is 
IS  inches  thick.  The  subsoil  is  a  red  clay,  heavier  than  the  surface  soil,  aud  contains  soft  "black  gravel"  and  rounded  pebbles, 
underlaid  by  gravel,  and  sometimes  rock,  at  from  5  to  20  feet.  Tillage  is  easy  in  dry  seasons ;  the  soil  is  early  and  warm,  but  only  a 
portion  is  well  drained.  It  is  apparently  best  adapted  to  cotton  and  oats,  but  corn  is  also  raised.  About  one-third  of  the  cultivated  area 
of  this  soil  is  planted  ill  cotton.  The  plant  attains  a  height  of  from  3  to  7  feet,  but  is  most  productive  at  from  3J  to  4  feet ;  it  inclines 
1  o  run  to  weed  in  wet  seasons,  and  is  best  restrained  by  shallow  cultivation  aud  topping.  Tin'  seed-cotton  product  per  acre  of  this  soil, 
when  fresh,  is  from  1,000  to  1,500  pounds,  the  lint  rating  in  market  as  middling.  After  six  or  eight  years'  cultivation  (unmanured)  the 
product  is  from  500  to  600  pounds  of  seed-cotton,  of  which  about  1,545  pounds  make  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint,  which  rates  one  or  two  grades 
below  that  from  fresh  land.  The  must  troublesome  weeds  are  beggar-weed,  crab-grass,  and  in  localities  cockleburs.  Very  little  of  this 
land  now  lies  turned  out.  It  washes  badly  in  some  localities,  but.  no  serious  damage  is  done,  except  to  the  valleys,  which  are  injured  5  per 
cent.     Hillside  ditching  and  horizontalizing  are  very  successful  in  checking  this. 

The  second  quality  of  soil  bears  yellow  pine,  and  is  designated  as  pine  land.  It  extends  from  50  to  100  miles  to  the  north,  northeast,  aud 
northwest.     The  soil  is  a  due  sandy  loam,  varying  in  color  from  whitish-gray  to  yellow  and  brown,  and  is  from  3  to  6  inches  thick.    The 

403 


138  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

subsoil  is  heavier  than  the  surface  soil,  and  contains  soil  "black  gravel"  and  rounded  pebbles, underlaid  by  clay  ;it  from  1  foot  to  3  feet. 
This  pine  land  is  easily  tilled  in  any  season,  and  tbc  soil  is  early  and  warm,  but  ill  drained.  It  is  best  adapted  to  oats,  sweet  potatoes  and 
vegetables;  but  one-fourth  of  its  cleared  area  is  planted  in  cotton.  Tbo  plant  attains  a  height  of  from  3  to  4  feet,  and  the  seed-cotton  product 
per  acre  of  fresh  land  is  from  500  to  £00  pounds,  of  which  1,305  to  1,425  pounds  are  needed  to  make  a  -175-pound  bale  of  lint,  which  rates 
as  good  middling.  Alter  five  years'  cultivation  the  product  is  from  300  to  500  pounds, and  1,425  to  1,545  pounds  are  required  for  a 
475-pound  bale  of  lint,  the  staple  rating  one  or  two  grades  below  that  from  fresh  land.  The  most  troublesome  weed  is  crab  glass.  Very 
little  of  such  land  once  cultivated  now  lies  turned  out.  The  soil  does  not.  readily  wash  or  gully  on  slopes.  Washing  is  successfully  • 
cheeked  by  horizontalizing  anil  hillside  ditching.  This  pine  laud  is  now  attracting  attention,  and  will  ultimately  bo  brought  into 
cultivation. 

Cotton  is  shipped,  as  soon  as  ready,  by  rail  to  Savannah  at  £3  50  to  §4  per  bale. 


LONG-LEAF  PINE   AND   WIRE-GRASS   REGION   (LIME-SINK   DIVISION). 

(Counties  of  Screven,  Bulloch,*  Dodge,  Dooly,  Wilcox,*  Worth,  Lee,*  Dougherty,*  Baker,  Early,*  Miller,  Decatur,* 

Thomas,*  Mitchell,  Colquitt,  Brooks,*  and  Lowndes.) 

SCREVEN. 

Population:  12,780. — White,  6,173;  colored,  0,011!. 

Area  :  720  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands,  97  square  miles;  pine  barrens  (wire- 
grass),  5  square  miles;  lime-sink  (wire-grass)  region,  618  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  77,143  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  21,716  acres;  in  corn,  24,15-1  acres;  in  wheat,  09  acres ;  in 
oats,  3,502  acres;  iu  rye,  7  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  8,100  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.38  bale,  537  pounds  .seed-cotton,  or  179 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Screven  county,  lying  between  the  Savannah  and  Ogeechee  rivers,  has  a  surface  generally  rolling  or  undulating, 
though  somewhat  hilly  iu  places,  and  all  well  timbered.  The  sandy  lauds,  clay  subsoil,  and  long-leaf  pine  growth 
of  the  wire-grass  region  covers  nearly  the  entire  county.  Oak,  hickory,  and  pine  lands  occur  on  the  noil  beast  corner 
and  iu  a  narrow  offshoot  from  the  main  belt  on  the  northwest,  as  well  as  along  the  borders  of  the  creeks  and  rivers 
southward,  where  their  width  is  from  half  a  mile  to  one  mile.  The  growth  is  chiefly  long-leaf  pine,  with  some 
oak  and  hickory.  White  maris  and  limestone  underlie  the  entire  county,  and  over  this  northern  section  siliceous 
shell-rock,  buhr-stone,  and  flint  are  abundant  in  fragments  on  the  surface  or  in  beds  several  feet  thick. 

Lime-sinks  are  found  in  a  narrow  section  of  country  extending  from  Milieu  iu  a  northeast  course  to  Mill 
lluveu,  some  of  them  being  quite  large  and  deep. 

The  uplands  in  the  vicinity  of  the  rivers  and  Brier  creek  are  better  than  those  iu  the  interior;  the  growth  is 
also  better,  the  long-leaf  pine  not  being  so  prominent.  The  underlying  marls  outcrop  iu  the  high  bluffs  along  the 
streams  with  a  thickness  of  many  feet,  and  are  easily  reached  for  purposes  of  fertilization  of  the  laud  or  conversion 
into  slack  lime.  The  beds  of  red  and  yellow  clays  that  overlie  these  marls  are  in  many  places  uncovered  by  the 
gradual  slope  of  the  uplands,  and  afford,  by  their  admixture  with  the  sand  of  the  hills,  areas  of  good  farming  land. 
These  yellow-loam  uplands  extend  southward  in  broken  areas  along  the  Savannah  river  iuto  Effingham  county,  the 
growth  changing  somewhat. 

The  lands  of  the  greater  portion  of  the  county  are  of  the  better  class  of  pine  and  wire-grass  lauds,  with  usually 
yellow  clay  at  depths  of  from  0  to  18  inches,  though  quite  a  proportion  has  yellow  sandy  subsoils.  Long-leaf  pine 
is  almost  the  exclusive  upland  timber,  and  "  turpentine  farms"  have  largely  utilized  this  pitchy  growth.  The  trees 
stand  at  distances  of  from  50  to  100  or  200  feet  apart,  have  little  undergrowth,  and  the  "  turpentine  boxes  "  cut 
into  the  sides  of  the  tall  bare  trunks  can  be  seen  over  large  areas. 

On  the.  west,  near  the  Ogeechee  river,  is  a  prominent  point  (Parramore's  hill)  144  feet  above  the  river, 
composed  of  sandstone  (presumably  equivalent  to  the  Grand  Gulf  of  Mississippi).  The  rock  also  outcrops  in  the 
bank  of  the  river,  but  is  too  soft  for  building  purposes.  The  sample  of  soil  from  these  wire-grass  lands  taken  for 
analysis  (see  page  48)  does  not  represent  the  best  class. 

There  are  in  various  parts  of  the  county  hills  of  deep  white  sand,  very  unproductive,  and  fortunately  covering 
but  small  areas.  Sylvania.  the  county  seat,  is  situated  on  one  of  these  sand-hills,  which  also  is  part  of  the  ridge 
separating  the  tributaries  of  the  two  rivers.  Of  the  area  of  the  county  3.4  per  cent,  is  irreclaimable  swamp.  The 
bottom  lands  of  the  Savannah  and  Ogeechee  rivers  are  wide  and  very  rich,  but  more  or  less  subject  to  overflow. 
The  soil  is  a  dark  sandy  loam,  covered  with  a  dense  bottom  growth. 

Brier  creek,  in  its  lower  and  eastern  course,  lias  also  rich  valley  lands,  containing  a  very  large  amount  of 
decayed  vegetation  (.see  analysis,  page  49).  These  lands  are  largely  under  cultivation,  though  rather  .subject  to 
overflow.     The  water  of  the  creek  is  dark  and  blackish,  ;.s  is  also  that  of  the  smaller  streams  and  flats. 

A  number  of  the  ponds  of  the  northeastern  comer  of  the  county  were,  drained  aud  cleared  and  put  under 
cultivation  1m  fore  the  war.  Mobley's  pond,  the  most  noted  of  these,  is  7  miles  in  circumference,  and  was  put  in 
cultivation  at  a  cost  of  about  810,000.  Large  crops  were  produced  for  a  number  of  years,  but  it  was  abandoned  finally 
because  of  the  great  injury  done  to  the  lungs  of  laborers  by  the  fine  dust  of  the  soil,  apparently  formed  from  siliceous 
sponge  spicules,  as  explained  on  page  44  of  the  general  part. 

In  the  lower  half  of  the  county  there  are  abundant  small  flats  or  cypress  and  bay  ponds  having  other  low  swamp 
trees  and  gallberrv  bushes  along  the  margins.     The  noted  "Georgia  bark",  or  Pinckneya  pubens,  is  a  prominent 
growth  of  the  smaller  streams. 
404 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  139 

Screven  county  is  sparsely  settled  with  an  average  of  eighteen  persons  per  square  mile.  Lands  under  cultivation 
embrace  1G.7  per  cent,  of  the  total  county  area.  Coru  is  the  chief  crop,  its  average  being  33.5  acres,  while  that  of 
cotton  is  30.2  acres  per  square  mile,  or  2S.2  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  land.  The  average  product  per  acre  is  quite  high, 
far  above  the  counties  of  the  central  belt  and  the  majority  of  those  of  the  metamorphic  region,  the  county  ranking 
thirtieth  in  the  state. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OP  HON.  GEORGE  R.  BLACK,  OF  SYLVANIA. 

The  surface  of  the  country  is  partly  level,  partly  hilly,  partly  rolling,  the  soil  varying  from  sandy  to  stiff  pebbly,  with  clay  subsoil, 
and,  along  the  rivers,  stiff  clay  soil. 

The  bay  bottom  lands  produce  cotton  finely  for  three  or  four  years  after  clearing  and  first  cultivation,  but  afterward  the  cotton, 
growing  off  finely  ia  the  spring,  is  almost  certain  to  be  affected  with  rust  before  maturity.  The  sandy  lands  do  not  produce  well,  but  the 
more  generally  prevailing  stiffer  sandy  soils  with  clay  subsoils  produce  cotton  finely,  especially  when  fertilized.  All  are,  however,  at  times 
subject  to  rust,  but  never  so  badly  as  to  prevent  the  production  of  a  fair  crop.  The  cotton  lauds  of  the  county  may  be  classed  as  (1)  clay 
lauds  on  the  margin  of  the  rivers  and  clay  and  sand  mixed ;  (2)  stiff  sandy  lauds  with  clay  subsoil ;  ""(3)  sandy  lands  and  reclaimed  pond 
bottoms.  The  good  and  poor  lands  are  intermixed  throughout  the  county  in  bodies  of  from  10  to  100  acres,  though  some  soils,  in  general 
aspect  and  growth  of  timber,  extend  for  many  miles. 

The  stiff  sandy  lands  comprise  one-tenth  of  the  lands  of  the  county.  The  soil,  a  brownish  clay  loam,  is  1  foot  deep;  the  subsoil  is  a  clay 
without  intermixture  of  sand,  as  is  the  surface  soil,  and  is  underlaid  by  clay.  The  lands  contain  hard,  rounded  black  gravel.  The  growth 
is  red  oak,  hickory,  and  dogwood.  These  lands  are  easily  tilled  in  all  seasons,  are  early,  warm,  and  well  drained,  and  produce  crops  of 
corn,  cotton,  sweet  potatoes,  sugar-cane,  chufas,  oats,  rye,  pease,  and  rice.  Wheat  is  successfully  raised  here,  but  is  subject  to  rust. 
Cotton  comprises  one-half  the  crops,  grows  from  2  to  6  feet  high  (the  higher  the  better),  and  runs  to  weed  on  newly  cleared  laud  and  in  wet 
seasons.  Boiling  is  facilitated  by  the  use  of  fertilizers.  Fresh  lands  produce  from  500  to  750  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  the  lint  rating 
as  low  middliug.  Cultivation  of  eight  years  reduces  the  yield  to  400  pounds,  and  the  lint  is  not  quite  so  good.  The  staple  depends  upon 
the  seasons  and  the  variety  of  the  cotton.  Crab-grass  is  the  most  troublesome  weed.  One-third  of  the  land  once  under  cultivation  now 
lies  turned  out,  and  is  generally  thereby  recuperated.     These  clay  loam  lands  are  generally  so  level  that  they  do  not  wash. 

The  sandy,  and  in  some  places  gravelly,  pine  and  wire-grass  lands,  having  clayey  and  leachy  subsoils  at  from  1  foot  to  2  feet)  comprise 
about  75  per  cent,  of  the  lands  of  the  county.  They  contain  much  black  ferruginous  gravel,  are  underlaid  by  clay  indefinitely,  and 
are  best  adapted  to  corn,  cotton,  potatoes,  pease,  etc,  Cotton  grows  4  feet  high,  yields  500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  land 
and  350  pounds  after  eight  years'  cultivation,  the  lint  rating  as  low  middling  in  each  case.  With  200  or  400  pounds  of  guano  per  acre  the 
yield  with  good  management  is  1  or  2  bales  per  acre.  Ten  per  cent,  of  the  lands  now  lie  turned  out,  and  are  much  improved.  They  wash 
readily,  but  no  damage  is  done.     Hillside  ditching  is  practiced  successfully  to  a  limited  extent. 

The  white  sandy  uplands,  from  5  to  10  feet  deep  and  underlaid  by  clay,  comprise  but  10  per  cent,  of  the  county  lands,  and  are  found  in 
spots  of  not  more  than  a  mile  in  each  direction.  The  growth  is  black-jack  oak  and  pine.  The  soils  are  best  adapted  to  pease,  corn, 
chufas,  aud  potatoes,  though  10  per  cent,  of  the  crops  is  cotton,  which  grows  only  1  foot  or  2  feet  high.  The  yield  on  fresh  land  is  only 
400  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  or  300  pounds  after  eight  years'  cultivation,  the  lint  from  each  rating  as  good  ordinary. 

The  black  mucky  lands  of  Brier  creek  are  similar  to  the  bay  lands  already  mentioned  as  regards  cotton.  For  corn  they  are  famous, 
producing  very  fine  crops  for  a  long  series  of  continuous  years  without  fertilization.  They  are  from  1  foot  to  3  feet  deep,  underlaid  by  sand 
or  pipe-clay  ;  growth,  cypress  and  black  gum  chiefly. 

• 
ABSTRACT   PROM   THE    REPORT    OF    R.    D.    SHARPE,  OF    PARRAMORE?S    HILL. 

The  lands  of  the  county  may  be  classed  as  sandy  or  loamy,  with  stiff  or  clay  bottoms  and  red  gravel  land,  oaky  ridges  and  flats,  river 
bottoms,  and  drained  ponds. 

The  clay  subsoil  lands  comprise  60  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  with  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine,  j>ost  oak,  and  round-  and  pronged-leaf 
black-jack.  Red  gravel  is  abundant  in  the  soil.  The  land  is  best  adapted  to  cotton  and  corn.  Cotton  grows  4  feet  high,  and  is  most 
productive  at  5-A  feet,  but  runs  to  weed  in  wet  seasons  and  when  planted  late  unless  topped  in  full  moon  in  July  and  August,  and  yields  300 
pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  the  first  and  400  pounds  the  second  year,  1,365  pounds  of  the  second  year's  growth  making  475  pounds  of  lint, 
the  staple  then  rating  one  grade  higher,  viz,  low  middling.  One-third  of  this  land  now  lies  out.  It  washes  readily  on  slopes,  injuring 
the  valleys  40  per  cent.,  and  is  successfully  checked  by  horizontal  plowing,  though  only  a  few  farmers  attempt  it. 

The  sandy  lands,  with  a  growth  of  pine,  black-jack,  sweet  gum,  and  wire-grass,  comprise  50  per  centof  the  lands,  and  yield  300  pounds 
of  seed-cotton  per  acre  the  first  and  350  pounds  the  second  year,  1,395  pounds  from  the  latter  making  475  pounds  of  lint.  Hog-weeds  are 
most  troublesome.  Twenty  per  cent,  of  the  lands  originally  cultivated  now  lie  turned  out,  and  are  improved  25  per  cent,  over  original 
soil. 

The  river  bottoms,  comprising  10  per  cent,  of  the  lands  of  the  county,  have  a  growth  of  pine,  water  oak,  hickory,  black  gum,  maple, 
ash,  poplar,  and  cypress.  Cotton  on  this  land  comprises  20  per  cent,  of  the  crops,  grows  5  feet  high,  is  most  productive  at  4  feet,  and 
yields  500  pounds  of  seed'-cottou  per  acre  the  first  and  600  pounds  the  second  year,  1,544  pounds  of  the  first  and  1,485  pounds  of  the 
second  making  475  pounds  of  lint,  rating  respectively  as  good  ordinary  and  low  middling.  Crab-grass,  butter-weed,  and  crowfoot-grass 
are  most  troublesome.     Ten  per  cent,  of  the  lands  originally  cultivated  now  lie  out  and  are  much  improved. 

Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  to  Savannah,  as  fast  as  ginned,  either  by  Savannah  river  boats  or  by  railroad,  as  most  conveuient. 
Freight  by  boat  is  75  cents  per  bale;  by  railroad,  25  cents  per  100  pounds. 

BULLOCH. 

(See  "Wire-grass  and  pine  barrens  region".) 

405 


140  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

DODGE. 

Population:  5,35S.— White,  3,500  ;  colored,  1,852. 

Area:  580  square  miles. — Woodland,  all:  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands,  30  square  miles;  lime-sink  (wire- 
grass)  region,  417  square  miles  ;  pine  barrens  (wire-grass),  133  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands :  23,471  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  0,002  acres;  in  corn,  0,132  acres;  in  wheat,  23  acres;  in 
oats,  2,054  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  1,010  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre.  0.32  bale,  450  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  152 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Dodge  county  is  quite  level,  and  is  covered  entirely  with  long-leaf  pine  ami  wire-grass,  the  growth 
being  very  open  and  the  timber  tall,  furnishing  excellent  lumber.  The  drainage  of  the  county  is  to  the  Ocmulgee 
river,  the  western  boundary;  but  the  streams  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  county  do  not  unite  with  it  until  near  its 
junction  with  the  Oconee,  in  Telfair  county. 

Both  divisions  of  the  wire-grass  region  are  represented  in  this  county.  The  "lime-sink"  and  siliceous  shell- 
rock  division  comprise  the  lands  north  of  a  line  extending  from  near  the  southwest  corner  to  4  miles  northwest  of 
Eastman,  and  thence  to  the  northeast  corner.  Hard,  white  limestone  underlies  this  area,  and  is  exposed  in  I  he 
banks  of  the  various  streams  and  as  far  south  as  Abbeville,  on  the  river,  though  not  continuously.  Siliceous 
shell-rock  also  occurs  frequently.  The  surface  of  this  section  is  undulating,  and  the  soils  sandy  and  gray,  with 
clayey  subsoils.     Much  ferruginous  gravel  or  pebbles  is  intermingled  with  the  laud. 

On  the  southeast  of  this  area  the  soils  are  of  the  poorer  class  of  wire-grass  lauds,  and  are  underlaid  by  sandy 
subsoils  and  an  argillaceous  sandstone  a  foot  or  two  in  thickness.  This  latter  is  exposed  in  the  excavations  along 
the  railroad. 

The  county  is  very  sparsely  settled,  the  average  being  but  0  persons  per  square  mile.  It  is  thought  that  about 
15  per  cent,  of  the  county  area  has  been  cleared,  but  onlj-  0.3  per  cent,  is  now  under  cultivation,  and  is  chiefly 
devoted  to  corn.  Cotton  embraces  25.0  per  cent,  of  tilled  land,  and  averages  but  10.3  acres  and  .'1..'!  bales  per 
square  mile.  It  is  produced  more  generally  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  and  fertilizers  are  used  extensively 
to  increase,  the  yield.  Five  per  cent,  of  the  county  is  irreclaimable  swamp.  Lumber  and  turpentine  industries 
largely  occupy  the  attention  of  the  people. 

The  Macon  and  Brunswick  railroad  and  the  Ocmulgee  and  Altamaha  rivers  afford  easy  transportation  to  the 
coast  at  Brunswick  and  Darien. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  DAVID  SAPP,  OF  DUBOIS. 

The  lands  of  the  county  are  all  gray  and  sandy,  and  the  growth  pine  and  wire-grass.  The  crops  are  corn,  cotton,  sweet  potatoes,  and 
cane.  The  sandy  lands  are  best  for  potatoes  and  cane,  the  gravelly  for  cotton  and  corn.  Cotton  grows  from  2  to  4  feet  high,  and  when 
planted  without  fertilizers  it  grow-s  taller  but  yields  less.  The  yield  on  fresh  lands  is  from  500  to  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and 
that  from  land  three  years  in  cultivation  is  from  200  to  500  pounds,  the  staple  of  which  rates  as  low  middling.  That  from  fresh  land  rates 
as  middling,  aud  in  both  cases  l,4"2o  pounds  make  4~.r>  pouuds  of  liut.  Crab-grass  gives  the  only  trouble.  None  of  these  lauds  now  lie 
turned  out ;  they  wash  readily  on  slopes,  but  aro  too  level  to  bo  much  injured,  but  the  valleys  are  benefited. 

Cotton  is  shipped  by  railroad,  from  October  to  January,  to  Macou  and  to  Savannah  at  50  cents  per  100  pouuds. 

DOOLY. 

Population:  12,420.—  White,  0,592;  colored,  5,S2S. 

Area:  780  square  miles. — "Woodland,  all;  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands,  128  square  miles;  lime-sink  (wire- 
grass)  region,  052  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  117,113  acres. — Area  planted  iu  cotton,  38,405  acres;  in  corn,  40,334  acres  ;  in  wheat,  1,500  acres; 
in  oats,  0,522  acres ;  iu  rye,  122  acres. 

Cotton  production :  0,000  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.25  bale,  357  pounds  seed-ootton,  or  119 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Dooly  county  is  somewhat  rolling,  especially  on  the  west,  and  is  well  timbered  throughout.  The  water-shed 
between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Gulf  passes  through  the  county  in  a  southeasterly  course.  With  the  exception  of 
the  northwest  comer,  the  county  is  included  in  the  lime-sink  division  of  the  wire-grass  region.  This  region  extends 
north  to  within  2  miles  of  Henderson  and  10  miles  west  of  Vienna. 

Lumpkin's  creek,  flowing  from  Henderson,  in  the  south  of  Houston  county,  southwest  to  Flint  river  below 
Drayton,  very  nearly  marks  the  limit  of  the  region  in  this  section.  The  lands  of  the  yellow-loam  region  cover 
the  country  northwest  of  the  creek  from  Houston  to  Sumter  with  a  thin  growth  of  oak,  hickory,  and  pine. 

Along  the  river  outcrops  of  white  limestone  aud  marls  occur,  aud  the  same  rock  underlies  the  entire  county. 
It  is  overlaid  by  the  siliceous  shell-rocks,  whose  scattered  fragments  are  found  on  the  surface  throughout  the 
county.  The  lauds  of  this  western  yello-v-loain  region  are  the  best  in  the  county,  and  the  country  is  more  thickly 
settled  than  on  the  east. 

The  wire-grass  region  is  very  open,  its  growth  of  long-leaf  pine  having  but  little  undergrowth,  with  only 
scattered  patches  of  oak  and  hickory.  Its  sandy  soils  and  clay  subsoils  have  usually  the  brown  ferruginous 
pebble  or  gravel  which  occurs  frequently  over  the  southern  part  of  the  state,  and  which  is  indicative  of  a  better 
class  of  land. 

Cypress  swamps,  with  thin,  sandy,  and  mucky  soils,  anil  gallberry  flats  are  abundant.  Irreclaimable  swamps 
comprise  21  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  the  county,  and  only  28  per  cent,  of  tillable  lands  have  been  cleared.  Lumber 
interests  are  important.  Lands  under  tillage  embrace  23.5  percent,  of  the  county  area,  corn  and  cotton  being  the. 
chief  crops,  with  averages  respectively  of  51.7  and  49.4  acres  per  square  mile. 

400 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  141 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE   REPORT   OF  JOHN   H.  WHITSETT,  OF  VIENNA. 

The  lands  of  this  comity  have  a  sandy  loam  soil  oil  a  clay  subsoil,  with,  "cast-iron"  pebbles  interspersed  through  both  soil  and 
subsoil.  They  may  be  classed  as  dark  pebbly  or  rnrnply  soil,  having  a  red  clay  subsoil ;  gray  laud,  having  a  yellow  sandy  clay  subsoil; 
and  hummocks  on  Gum  creel;  with  gallberry  flats. 

The  darlc  pebbly  lands  comprise  about  half  of  the  county,  and  have  a  growth  of  piue,  oak,  and  hickory.  The  soil  is  a  fine  saudy  loam 
from  6  to  9  inches  deep,  and  the  red  subsoil  is  underlaid  at  several  feet  by  pipe-clay  and  sand.  Tho  land  is  easy  to  till  at  all  times,  is  early, 
warm,  and  well  drained,  aud  is  best  adapted  to  cottoc  The  crops  of  the  county  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  oats,  and  rice;  also  sugar-cane 
and  potatoes.  Cotton  comprises  one-third  of  these  crops,  and  yields  from  600  to  750  pounds  per  acre  on  fresh  land,  or  from  400  to  GOO  pounds 
on  land  cultivated  ten  years,  1,425  pounds  of  seed-cotton  making  475  pounds  of  lint,  rating  about  the  same  from  old  and  fresh  land,  only 
the  former  "motes1'  worse  in  ginning.  The  cotton  grows  from  3  to  6  feet  high,  and  runs  to  weed  during  wet  seasons  in  the  earlier  stages  of 
its  growth.  Deeper  cultivation  and  the  application  of  pbosphatic  manures  prevent  this  tendency  and  favor  boiling.  The  troublesome 
weeds  are  crab-grass  and  burdock.  The  lands  "turned  out"  comprise  but  a  small  proportion,  and  lie  only  on  the  long  slopes.  When 
again  taken  in  they  do  not  produce  remunerative  cro|>s  unless  rirecautions  are  taken  against  washing. 

The  gray  sandy  uplands  cover  about  one-fourth  of  the  county  and  have  only  a  piue  growth.  The  soil  is  a  whitish-gray,  fine  sandy  loam, 
from  4  to  6  inches  deep,  and  has  a  yellow  sandy  clay  subsoil.  These  lands  are  easy  to  till  in  all  seasons,  are  late,  cold,  and  ill  drained,  and 
best  adapted  to  oats,  though  one-third  of  the  crops  is  of  cotton.  Two  feet  is  the  usual  height  of  cotton,  which  produces  500  pounds  of  seed- 
cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  land,  or  300  pounds  on  lands  cultivated  ten  years.  The  lint  of  this  latter  is  not  as  long  as  from  fresh  land,  and  is 
"nappy"  and  productive  of  motes.  Crab-grass  is  most  troublesome.  Oue-fourth  of  this  land  now  lies  out.  It  washes  readily,  doing 
serious  damage,  and  injures  the  valleys  by  its  sand  floods  to  the  extent  of  20  per  cent.  Horizontalizing  and  hillside  ditching  meet  with 
moderate  success  in  checking  the  damage. 

The  erect  bottoms,  or  hummock  lauds,  have  a  small  area  in  this  county.  They  have  a  growth  of  oak,  hickory,  ash,  and  cypress.  The 
soil  is  a  fine  sandy  loam,  10  inches  deep,  over  a  yellowish  clay  and  sand;  is  easy  to  till,  late  and  cold  and  ill  drained,  and  is  best  adapted 
to  corn.  Very  little  cotton  is  planted  on  these  lands,  as  they  do  not  last  long,  though  producing  well  at  first.  Cotton  grows  to  a  height 
of  from  5  to  7  feet,  yielding  1,000  pouuds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  when  fresh,  but  after  three  years'  cultivation  from  300  to  500  pounds. 
The  laud  seems  to  sink  or  lose  its  friability.  The  staple  also  is  shorter,  and  the  seed  does  not  mature  well  on  old  lands.  Crab-grass  is 
the  chief  enemy  to  crops  on  this  land.  The  lands  gully  readily  on  slopes,  and  the  valleys  are  very  much  injured  by  the  washing, 
the  product  being  often  decreased  10  per  cent. 

Cotton  is  shipped  by  wagon  to  Hawkinsville,  aud  thence  to  Savannah  by  railroad  at  $1  80  per  bale. 

WILCOX. 

(See  "Wire-grass  and  pine  barrens  region".) 

WORTH. 

Population:  5,892.— White,  4,06S;  colored,  1,824. 

Area:  710  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  pine  barrens  (wire-grass),  40  square  wiles;  lime-sink  (wire-grass)  region, 
670  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  37,520  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  12,157  acres;  in  corn,  13,671  acres;  in  wheat,  101  acres; 
in  oats,  4,087  acres ;  in  rye,  7  acres. 

Cotton  production:  2,893  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.24  bale,  339  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  113 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Worth  is  a  well  timbered  and  open  county,  included  almost  entirely  in  the  lime-sink  division  of  the  wire-grass 
region,  and  having  its  characteristic  lands  and  growth.  The  surface  is  quite  level  on  the  east  and  rather  rolling 
or  undulating'  on  the  west,  and  is  drained  chiefly  by  the  headwaters  of  the  Withlacoochee  river.  White  limestone 
outcrops  on  Flint  river,  on  the  northwest ;  buhr-stone  in  fragments  and  in  masses  is  found  chiefly  on  the  western 
half;  while  on  the  east  there  are  occasional  beds  of  white  quartz  pebbles. 

Cypress  ponds  and  flats,  with  their  mucky  sands,  are  also  frequent  in  the  various  sections,  but  chiefly  on  the 
south  and  east.     The  irreclaimable  bottoms  and  swamps  comprise  over  1  per  cent,  of  the  county  area. 

But  about  one-fifth  of  the  county  has  been  cleared,  the  remainder  being  still  covered  with  a  forest   growth. 
The  county  is  sparsely  settled,  there  being  but  eight  persons  to  the  square  mile.     Lumber  interests  largely  absorb  . 
the  attention  of  the  people,  and  but  8.3  per  cent,  of  the  county  is  under  tillage,  or  but  little  over  6  acres  per  inhabitant. 
Corn  has  the  largest  acreage,  that  of  cotton  averaging  but  17.1  acres  per  square  mile,  or  32.4  per  cent,  of  tilled  land. 

ABSTBACT  FROM  THE   REPORT   OF  W.   A.   HARRIS,   OF   ISABELLA. 

The  county  is  covered  -with  a  light  gray  sandy  soil,  8  inches  deep,  -with  a  subsoil  of  red  clay  and  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine.  The 
soil  is  covered  with  black  ferruginous  gravel,  and  salamander  hills  are  seen  everywhere  over  the  surface. 

The  crops  of  the  county  arc  cotton,  corn,  oats,  sugar-cane,  rice,  potatoes,  and  tobacco.  Cotton  comprises  one-half  the  crops,  grows 
3  feet  high,  and  runs  to  weed  during  wet  spells  iu  July  and  August,  to  prevent  which  it  is  topped  about  the  first  of  August.  Fresh  lands 
yield  550  pounds  of*  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,54-5  pounds  of  which  make  475  pounds  of  lint,  the  staple  rating.as  middling.  Cultivation  of 
six  years  reduces  the  yield  to  350  pounds,  1,425  pounds  of  which,  if  ginned  clean,  make  475  pounds  of  lint,  the  staple  being  one  grade 
lower.  Hog-  or  rag-weeds  are  most  troublesome.  One-fourth  of  tho  land  now  lies  turned  out,  and  when  taken  in  again  it  yields  20  per 
cent,  less  than  when  fresh.  The  bottom  lauds  are  much  injured  by  the  sands  from  the  hills,  and  very  little  effort  is  made  to  check  the 
damage. 

As  fast  as  ginned  cotton  is  shipped  by  railroad  to  Albany. 


LEE. 

(See  "Ceutral  cotton  belt".) 


407 


142  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

■» 
DOUGHERTY. 
(See  "Central  cotton  belt".) 

BAKER. 

Population  :  7,307. — White,  1,742;  colored,  5,565. 

Area:  340  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands,  32  square  miles;  lime-sink  (wire-grass) 
region,  30S  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  00,707  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  2S,670  acres;  in  corn,  20,G0G  acres;  in  wheat,  08  acres;  in 
oats,  5,014  acres;  in  rye,  54  acres. 

Cotton  production :  4,870  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.17  bale,  243  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  81  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Baker  county  is  well  timbered,  and  drains  into  Flint  river,  its  eastern  border,  and  is  almost  entirely  covered 
with  wire-grass.  The  entire  county  is  underlaid  by  a  white  limestone  (Tertiary),  which  outcrops  in  a  number  of 
places.  Buhr-stone  or  siliceous  shell-rock  overlies  it,  and  is  found  in  fragments  on  the  surface.  The  surface  of  the 
country  is  very  open  and  level,  though  undulating  in  places,  and  is  interspersed  with  cypress  ponds  and  small  open 
lakes. 

On  the  north,  along  Kiokee  and  Ichawaynoehaway  creeks,  the  yellow-loam  region  extends  a  short  distance  into 
the  county;  but  the  county  is  generally  covered  by  the  sandy  soils  and  clayey  subsoils  of  the  lime-sink  division  of 
the  wire-grass  region,  with  much  ferruginous  brown  gravel. 

Of  the  area  of  the  county  7  per  cent,  is  irreclaimable  swamps,  49  per  cent,  is  said  to  have  been  cleared,  and  30.7 
per  cent  is  under  tillage,  chiefly  in  cotton,  which  averages  S4.3  acres  per  square  mile,  a  number  exceeded  by  but 
thirty-seven  counties  of  the  state.  Its  average  product  per  acre  is,  on  the  contrary,  extremely  low,  and  is,  with 
that  of  Glynn  county,  the  lowest  in  the  state. 

Cotton  is  shipped  either  by  boat  to  Albany,  Columbus,  or  Bainbridge,  or  hauled  to  Camilla  ami  shipped  by 
rail  to  market. 

ABSTRACT   FliOJl  THE  EEPOET   OP   J.   H.   HAND,  M.   D.,  OF  LEAEY,  CALHOUN  COUNTY. 

The  lowlands  of  the  county  comprise  first  bottoms  of  the  creeks  and  Fliut  river,  hummocks,  and  cypress  swamps,  interspersed  wil  h 
lagoons.  The  uplands  aro  principally  pine,  mixed  with  oak  lands,  with  generally  a  gray  sandy  soil  having  a  clay  subsoil,  red  or  yellow 
in  color  and  mixed  with  sand ;  some  of  it  is  porous,  light,  and  loose. 

The  summers  of  this  section  arc  long,  and  if  the  crop  is  planted  the  last  of  March  or  before  the  20th  of  April  and  well  cultivated  a 
good  crop  may  be  matured  by  the  20th  of  August. 

The  reddish  day  lands  are  best  for  cotton,  though  they  comprise  not  more  thau  one-tenth  of  the  lands.  The  growth  is  oak,  hickory, 
gum,  ash,  and  short-leaf  pine.  The  soil  is  a  tenacious  clay  loam,  10  inches  in  depth,  with  a  crawfishy  subsoil,  varying  from  red  to  yellow 
or  whitish.  It  contains  soft  black  gravel  and  rounded  and  angular  pebbles,  and  is  underlaid  by  limesto-ne  at  from  10  to  10  feet.  The 
land  is  early,  warm,  and  well  drained.  The  crops  of  the  county  are  cotton,  corn,  oats,  cauc,  potatoes,  pease,  and  rice.  Cotton  yields 
on  fresh  lands  from  400  to  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  or  from  300  to  GOO  pounds  after  ten  years1  cultivation.  In  the  latter  ease  the 
lint  is  lighter,  softer,  and  not  so  long.  Cotton  grows  from  24  to  00  inches,  is  most  productive  at  30,  and  runs  to  weed  on  new  land  in  wet 
summers,  which  tendency  is  restrained  by  deep  culture,  but  boiling  is  not  thereby  favored.  Crab-grass  is  most  troublesome :  ether  weeds 
are  coffee-weed,  beggar-weed,  and  cockle-burs.     One-tenth  of  these  red  lands  now  lies  turned  out. 

The  gray  sandy  pine  lands  cover  three-fourths  of  the  county.  The  soil  is  10  inches  deep,  with  a  heavier  clay  subsoil,  and  is  underlaid 
at  from  10  to  40  feet  by  limestone.  The  land  contains  ferruginous  gravel,  is  easy  to  till,  early  and  late,  and  colder  thau  tin-  red  land.  It 
is  best  adapted  to  oats,  corn,  pease,  and  potatoes,  though  one-third  is  planted  in  cetton.  The  latter  grows  from  2  to  4  feet  high,  and 
yields  from  500  to  700  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  when  the  lands  aro  fresh,  or  from  250  to  500  pounds  after  ten  years'  cultivation. 
About  one-fourth  of  this  land  now  lies  turned  out,  and  produces  nearly  as  well  as  when  fresh. 

EARLY. 
(See  '-Central  cotton  belt".) 

MILLER. 

Population:  3,720. — White,  2.327 ;  colored,  1,393. 

Area:  240  square  miles. — Woodland,  all:  lime-sink  (wire-grass)  region,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  23,527  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton.  8,980  acres;  in  corn,  9,229  acres;  in  oats,  4,188  acres;  in 
rye,  10  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  1,905  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.21  bale,  303  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  101 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Spring  creek,  flowing  through  the  center  of  Miller  county  southward,  is  the  principal  stream.  The  surface  of 
the  country  is  very  level,  open,  and  well  timbered,  with  an  almost  exclusive  growth  of  long-leaf  pine  and  wire-grass. 

Limestone  (Tertiary)  underlies  the  county,  as  shown  by  the  lime-sinks  which  occur  frequently,  and  by  the 
siliceous  shell  rocks  which  are  found  in  fragments  and  in  masses  over  the  surface.  These  latter  rocks  have  less 
of  the  flinty  character  that  belongs  to  those  of  counties  northward.  They  disintegrate  more  readily,  forming  a  fine, 
gritty  powder,  varying  from  white  to  red.  But  i't'w  fossil  shells  are  found  in  them,  their  former  presence  being 
usually  indicated  by  the  cavities  the}-  have  occupied,  which  show  the  surface  outlines  of  the  fossil.  Large  masses 
of  these  light  siliceous  rocks  occur  at  Colquitt,  the  county-seat,  both  on  the  ridge  in  an  old  excavation  for  a 

403 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  143 

piyposed  railway  and  ou  the  banks  and  in  the  bed  of  Spring  creek.  The  lands  of  the  county  have  generally  fine 
sandy  soils  and  clayey  subsoils,  and  the  roads  arc  hard  and  firm.  Cypress  swamps  are  abundant,  and  patches  of 
"  blue-jack  "  oak  occur  frequently  on  the  north.  Of  the  area  of  the  county  5  per  cent,  is  of  irreclaimable  swamp  and 
15.3  per  cent,  is  under  cultivation,  chiefly  in  corn  and  cotton,  the  average  of  the  latter  being  37.4  acres  per  square, 
mile,  about  the  same  as  in  Lowndes  county.  The  character  of  the  lauds  and  methods  of  culture  are  similar  to  that 
of  the  adjoining  counties. 

Cotton  is  hauled  in  wagons  to  Bainbridge,  in  Decatur  county. 

DECATUR 

(See  "Southern  oak  and  pine  uplands".) 

THOMAS. 

(See  "Southern  oak  aud  pine  uplands".) 

MITCHELL. 

Population.:  9,392.— White,  4,189 ;  colored,  5,203. 

Area:  500  square  iniles. —  Woodland,  all;  lime-sink  (wire-grass)  region,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  72,307  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  30,205  acres;  in  corn,  23,806  acres;  in  wheat,  51  acres;  in 
oats,  8,721  acres ;  in  rye,  17  acres. 

Cotton  production :  5,559  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.1S  bale  201  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  S7  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Mitchell  county  is  well  timbered,  and  is  very  generally  level  and  open,  its  surface  being  interspersed  with  lime- 
sinks,  cypress,  and  other  ponds.  Limestone  (Tertiary)  is  found  outcropping  in  a  number  of  places.  Good  lime  is 
made  of  this  rock  at  a  kiln  7  miles  south  of  Camilla.  Bubr-stone  fragments  also  abound,  though  not  as  plentiful 
as  in  counties  north  of  this. 

The  drainage  is  partly  to  the  Flint  river,  the  western  boundary,  and  partly  southward  with  the  headwaters  of 
Ocklockony  river. 

Eight  miles  east  of  Camilla  the  country  becomes  rolling,  with  a  yellow  ferruginous  gravel  in  the  soil.  The 
ridges  between  the  streams  are  rather  abrupt  on  the  west  side,  but  gradually  fall  to  the  east.  The  marshes  or  low 
grounds  have  here  a.  poor  sandy  laud,  as  indicated  by  the  dense  growth  of  the  pitcher-plant. 

The  counts  is  sparsely  settled.  Of  its  area  3  per  cent,  is  of  irreclaimable  swamp;  but  about  one-third  has  been 
cleared,  and  22.0  per  cent,  is  under  cultivation,  chiefly  in  cotton.  The  average  of  this  crop  is  60.5  acres  per  square 
mile,  and  it  embraces  41.S  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  hinds.  In  average  product  per  acre  the  county  ranks  very  low, 
and  only  above  two  counties  of  the  state. 

ABSTRACT    FROM   THE    EEPOKT    OF  W.  W.  SPEIN'CE,  OF    CAMILLA. 

The  lands  of  the  county  are  much  the  same  throughout,  and  comprise  level  pine  land,  with  light  sandy  soil  and  a  clay  subsoil.  There 
is  some  bottom  laud,  the  nature  of  which  varies  hut  slightly  from  the  above.  The  soil  of  the  uplands  is  G  inches  deep,  with  a  red  sandy 
clay  subsoil  and  very  little  gravel ;  is  easy  to  tilHu  all  seasons,  and  early,  warm,  and  well  drained.  The  crops  of  the  county  are  cotton,  corn, 
sweet  potatoes,  and  oats.  Cotton  comprises  half  of  these  crops,  and  yields  on  fresh  land  600  pounds  in  the  seed  per  acre.  On  laud  ten 
years  under  cultivation  the  yield  is  300  pounds.  Cotton  grows  3  feet  high,  and  runs  to  weed  in  wret  seasons,  to  avoid  which  it  is  best  to 
select  prolific  seed  and  manure  highly.  Crab-grass  interferes  most  with  growing  crops.  None  of  the  laud  lies  turned  out,  aud  no  washings 
occur  ou  these  level  lands. 

The  Savannah,  Florida,  and  Western  railroad  affords  means  of  transportation  of  cotton  to  Savannah  at  about  $2  50  per  bale. 

COLQUITT. 

Population:  2,527.— White,  2,422;  colored,  105. 

Area :  550  square  miles — Woodland,  all ;  pine  barrens  (wire-grass),  S  square  miles ;  lime-sink  (wire-grass)  region, 
542  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  13,906  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  2,958  acres;  in  corn,  4,375  acres;  in  wheat,  S  acres;  in  oats, 
2,19S  acres ;  in  rye,  12  acres. 

Cotton  production :  736  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.25  bale,  354  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  118  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Colquitt  county  is  entirely  within  the  wire-grass  region.  The  surface  is  undulating,  the  ridges  lying  usually 
north  and  south.     On  the  lowlands  and  between  the  ridges  saw-palmetto  is  often  more  abundant  than  wire-grass. 

Moultrie,  the  county-seat,  is  located  on  a  low  sandy  ridge  which  forms  the  divide  between  Ocklockony  and  Little 
rivers.  This  ridge  extends  3  miles  north  of  the  village,  and  has  an  undergrowth  of  black-jack.-  Ou  the  west  of  Moult  lie 
ferruginous  sandstone  and  gravel  occurs  on  the  ridges,  giving  to  some  of  the  hinds  a  reddish  character.  The  pitcher- 
plant  grows  luxuriantly  on  the  lowlands  of  this  section. 

The  irreclaimable  swamps  of  the  county  comprise  1  per  cent,  of  its  area.  The  country  is  very  sparsely  settled, 
and  has  an  average  of  but  5  persons  per  square  mile.  Its  tilled  lands  average  but  a  Utile  more  than  25  acres  per 
square  mile,  or  4  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  aud  of  these  21.3  per  cent,  is  in  cotton,  whose  average  is  5.4  acres 
per  square  mile,  or  a  little  more  than  1  acre  per  inhabitant.  Corn  has  a  larger  acreage,  its  average  being  8  acres 
per  square  mile.  ,4ua 


144  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

ABSTRACT   FROM    THE    REPORT    OF   .T.  B.  NORMAN,  OF    MOULTRIE.  f 

Tlie  lands  of  the  couuty  have  fine  sandy  noils,  18  inches  deep,  and  yellow  or  red  suhsoils.  The  growth  of  the  county  is  pine,  white 
oak,  ehincapin,  sweet  gum,  sumac,  and  grape-vines.  The  soil  contains  hrowu  pehhles,  and  is  underlaid  by  clay  at  from  3  to  6  feet.  The 
crops  are  cotton,  corn,  rice,  sweet  potatoes,  field-pease,  oats,  chufas,  etc.  Cotton  grows  from  2  to  5  feet  high,  and  is  most  productive  at  3$ 
or  4  feet.  It  runs  to  weed  on  rich  lauds  in  wet  seasons,  and  is  restrained  by  the  use  of  fertilizers.  Fresh  land  yields  501)  pounds  of  seed- 
cotton  per  acre,  1,425  pounds  of  which  make  -175  pounds  of  lint,  rating  from  ordinary  to  middling  fair.  After  five  years'  cultivation  thifl 
yield  is  from  300  to  400  pounds.  Crab-grass  and  cocklelmr  are  uiosl  troublesome.  Not  much  of  the  laud  now  lies  turned  out,  neither  dooa 
it  wash  much. 

As  fast  as  giuued  cotton  is  shipped  to  Thomasville  at  s2  per  hale. 

BROOKS. 
(See  "Southern  oak  and  pine  uplands".) 

LOWNDES. 

Population:  11,049.— White,  5J412;  colored,  f.,C37. 

Area :  47(1  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  pine  barrens  (wire-grass),  201  square  miles;  lime-sink  (wire-grass) 
region,  209  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  53,373  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  17,664  acres;  iu  corn,  20,010  acres;  in  wheat,  04  acres;  in 
oats,  9,945  acres;  iu  rye,  32  acres. 

Cotton  production :  4,981  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.28  bale,  402  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  134 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Lowndes  county  is  level,  or  in  places  undulating,  and  is  drained  by  the  Wlthlaeoocbee  and  the 
Allapaha  rivers,,  respectively  the  west  and  east  boundaries,  and  which  unite  with  the  Suwanee  iu  Florida.  The 
county  is  well  timbered,  and  the  view  for  great  distances  between  the  pine  trees  is  uninterrupted  by  undergrowth. 
The  country  north  of  Valdosta,  and  reaching  a  few  miles  south,  is  interspersed  with  many  cypress  swamps  and 
palmetto  flats,  while  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county  an  interesting  feature  is  a  limestone  region,  interspersed 
with  large  lakes  (Idling  probably  huge  lime  sinks)  upon  the  uplands.  Of  these  lakes  Ocean  pond  and  Long  pond 
are  the  largest.  This  region,  which  reaches  into  Florida  on  the  south,  is  uneven  in  its  surface,  due  probably  more 
to  the  lime-sink  and  lake  depressions  than  to  erosion,  for  its  altitude  is  apparently  not  above  that  of  the  country 
northward. 

The  fresh  and  clear  waters  of  the.  lakes  maintain  a  constant  level,  though  not  the  same  in  all,  that  of  Ocean  pond 
being  00  feet  above  that  of  Lake  pond.  In  two  or  three  instances  they  seem  to  be  connected  fly  underground 
passages.  Moss  and  aquatic  plants  abound  in  great  profusion,  often  making  it  difficult  to  propel  a  light  boat  through 
the  water.  There  is  very  little  swamp  laud  around  the  lakes,  the  sandy  uplands  extending  nearly  or  quite  to  the 
water's  edge,  iu  this  respect  resembling  the  lime-sinks.  A  few  of  what  were  once,  shallow  lakes  have  gradually  become 
dry,  their  dense  growth  of  water  moss,  etc.,  becoming  changed  by  decay  into  muck.  One  of  these  dry  muck  ponds 
covers  about  200  acres  with  a  depth  of  from  2  to  4  feet,  with  a  number  of  large  logs  buried  in  the  mass.  The  growth 
of  this  lake  region  embraces  a  very  large  variety,  occurring,  however,  only  iu  spots  on  the  uplands,  viz,  long-leaf 
pine  (everywhere  and  in  greatest  abundance),  red  oak,  hickory,  dogwood,  beech,  water  and  white  oaks,  magnolia, 
short-leaf  pine,  sweet  and  black  gum,  some  poplar,  red  bay,  scrub  live  oak,  small  post  oak,  narrow-leaf  and  round- 
leaf  white  oak,  persimmon,  cherry,  white  and  scrub  hickory,  black-jack,  sassafras,  black  haw,  "granny  graybeard," 
"queen's  delight",  sumac,  sweet  myrtle,  wild  mulberry,  wild  plum,  wahoo,  and  very  large  chincapins.  From  the 
lake  region  the  country  gradually  falls  eastward  to  the  river. 

On  the  Withlacoochee  river  the  outcropping  limestone  is  covered  by  10  feetof  siliceous  claystone,  with  quantities 
of  chalcedony  of  every  form  and  color.  Over  this  are  40  feet  of  clay  and  soils.  The  siliceous  rocks  are  found  also  at 
Troupville,  and  at  the  water's  edge  are  of  a  peculiar  and  apparently  semi-siliceous  character,  easily  cut,  and  hard 
on  drying.     The  rocks  on  the  bluff  are  flinty  in  character,  with  interior  white  concretions  (siliceous  Vieksburg). 

The  lands  of  the  southern  part  of  the  county  are  of  the  better  class  of  the  wire-grass  region,  viz,  the  "  lime-sink  " 
division.  The  soils  are  sandy,  the  subsoils  a  yellow  clay.  The  water  of  the  streams,  dark  or  often  nearly  black 
from  decayed  vegetation,  is  in  strong  contrast  to  that  of  the  ponds  or  lakes.  • 

The  lands  of  the  northern  part  of  the  county  are  less  fertile,  the  soils  and  subsoils  sandy,  and  belong  to  the 
wire-grass  region  proper.  Brown  or  yellow  ferruginous  pebbles  are  in  abundance  in  this  section  of  the  county,  and 
especially  on  the  low  water-divide  between  the  two  rivers. 

The  bottom  lauds  along  the  rivers  are  very  wide,  and  are  covered  with  a  luxuriant  growth  of  saw-palmetto. 
The  soils  are  sandy  and  dark  on  the  surface.  Of  the  county  area  1  per  cent,  is  irreclaimable  swamp,  and  17.7  per 
cent,  tilled  land,  chiefly  in  corn.  Cotton  comprises  33.1  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  land,  and  averages  37.0  acres  per 
square  mile. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  N.  B.  OUSLEY,  FORMERLY  OF  THIS  COUNTY,  BUT  NOW  OF  FORT  TALLEY, 

HOUSTON  COUNTY'. 

The  seasons  in  this  section  are  sufficiently  long  to  insure  a  crop.  The  lands  are  level  iu  some  parts  of  the  county,  in  others  rolling. 
The  lands  are  classed  as  follows :  (1)  Sandy  soils  and  clay  subsoils  at  from  G  to  12  inches ;  (2)  sandy  soils  and  clay  at  from  0  to  10  feet  from 
the  surface;  (3)  flat  lowlands,  not  swamps.  The  first  of  these  is  most  important,  and  is  called  "  clay  land'' ;  comprises  55  per  cent,  of  the 
area  of  the  county,  .and  has  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine.  The  subsoil  is  sometimes  of  a  yellowish,  sometimes  reddish  color.  "When  turned 
up  il  bakes  hard  ami  is  impervious  to  water.  The  land  contains  much  black  gravel,  and  is  inclined  to  bog  iu  wet  and  becomes  hard  iu 
dry  seasons,  but  is  early  and  warm.  The  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  oats,  sugar-caue,  and  sweet  potatoes.  These  lands  are  best  for  oatB. 
•110 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  145 

Fresh  laud  yields  from  500  to  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and  from  2.3  to  40  per  cent,  less  after  six  years'  cultivation.  The  amount 
required  for  475  pounds  of  lint  varies  ■with  the  kind  of  seed.  The  lint  is  finest  from  fresh  lands,  but  no  difference  in  price  is  made.  Only 
crab-grass  is  troublesome.  Very  little  land  now  lies  turned  out.  Old  lauds  lying  out  for  a  year  or  two  are  covered  with  dog-fennel,  and 
axe  as  good  as  when  first  cleared.  The  lands  do  not  wash  readily,  and  if  a  little  care  is  taken,  by  hillside  ditching  or  other  meaus,  no 
damage  results.     The  valleys  are  usually  benefited  by  the  washings  of  the  uplands. 

The  {/rail,  fine  sandy  and  gravelly  hinds,  from  0  to  10  feet  in  depth  to  a  clay  stratum,  comprise  about  30  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  the  county. 
Cotton  occupies  60  per  cent,  of  these  lands,  grows  from  iU  to  5  feet  high,  and  yields  from  400  to  600  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh 
lands,  and  from  30  to  50  per  cent,  less  after  sis  years'  cultivation. 

The  lowlands  of  the  flats  have  a  pine  timber  growth,  a  dark  sandy  soil  from  G  to  10  feet  deep,  with  an  underlying  clay.  From  000  to 
1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  is  the  product  on  fresh  lands,  and  from  500  to  1,000  pounds  after  six  years'  cultivation.  These  lauds  are 
on  a  dead  level,  and  no  washing  occurs. 

As  soon  as  cotton  is  ginned  and  baled  it  is  shipped  by  railroad  to  Savaunah  at  85  cents  per  100  pounds. 


WIRE-GRASS    AND    PINE    BARRENS    DIVISION. 

(Embraces  tlie  counties  of  Johnson,  Jefferson,*  Washington,*  Laurens,*  Montgomery,  Emanuel,  Bulloch,  Effingham, 
Tattnall,  Bryan,*  Liberty,*  Mcintosh,*  Wayne,  Appling,  Coffee,  Telfair,  Dodge,*  Wilcox,  Irwin,  Berrien, 
Lowndes,*  Ware,*  and  Pierce.) 

JOHNSON. 

Population:  4,S00.— White,  3,455 ;  colored,  1,345. 

Area:  200  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands,  50  square  miles;  pine  barrens  (wire- 
grass),  210  square  miles. 

Tilled  land:  39,762  acres.— Area  planted  in  cotton,  11,705  acres;  in  corn,  14,2SS  acres  ;  in  wheat,  404  acres; 
in  oats,  1,82G  acres;  in  rye,  107  acres. 

Cotton  production :  3,323  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.2S  bale,  405  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  135 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Johnson  county  lies  partly  in  the  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  upland  and  partly  in  the  wire-grass  and  lbug-leaf  pine 
region,  the  latter  covering  fully  three-fourths  of  its  area.  Oconee  river,  the  western  boundary,  and  other  streams 
which  flow  southward  to  the  Altamaha,  drain  the  surface. 

The  northern  and  western  portions  of  the  county  are  hilly  and  rolling,  and  belong  to  the  oak,  hickory,  and 
pine  region  (see  description,  page  41),  and  comprise  the  best  lands  of  the  county.  White  marl  is  found  some 
miles  west  of  Wrightsville,  the  county-seat,  and  in  other  places.     At  present  it  is  not  utilized. 

The  wire-grass  region  covers  all  that  portion  of  the  county  lying  east  and  south  of  Wrightsville,  and  extends 
5  miles  northward  toward  Sandersville  and  several  miles  west.  The  surface  is  underlaid  by  sandstone,  exposed  2 
feet  or  more  in  thickness  near  Wrightsville.  The  soils  are  of  the  usual  dark  sandy  character,  rather  stiff,  and  with 
sandy  subsoils. 

The  swamps  subject  to  overflow  and  irreclaimable  comprise  5  per  cent,  of  the  county. 

Lands  under  tillage  comprise  23.9  per  cent,  of  the  total  area,  and  are  chiefly  in  corn.  Cotton  embraces  29.4 
per  cent,  of  the  tilled  lands,  and  has  an  average  of  45  acres  per  square  mile. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE   REPORT   OF  JAMES   H.  HICKS,   OF  WRIGHTSVILLE. 

The  uplands  in  the  upper  part  of  the  county,  partly  of  gray  oak  and  pine  land  and  partly  inclined  to  red  clay,  are  all  productive. 
The  middle  and  lower  portions  (piny  woods)  have  a  light  gray  soil,  which  produces  well  wheu  fertilized.  Cotton  on  low-lands  is  subject  to 
rust,  in  fact  hardly  ever  escapes  it,  and  is  also  liable  to  be  killed  by  early  frosts  before  maturity.  The  light  gray  sandy  piny-woods  soils 
and  the  red  clay,  freely  intermingled  with  sand,  are  the  chief  cotton  lauds,  the  former  extending  cast,  south,  and  southwest  to  the 
county  limits. 

The  soil,  a  fine  sandy  loam,  is  20  inches  in  depth.  The  subsoil  is  of  rather  red  clay,  sometimes  mixed  with  gravel,  and  contains 
brownish,  hard,  rounded  pebbles  underlaid  by  joint  clay,  then  rock,  at  50  feet.  The  land  is  easily  tilled,  unless  in  very  dry  seasons,  and 
produces  corn,  cotton,  and  sweet  potatoes.  Oats  are  coming  into  prominence,  but  the  laud  is  best  adapted  to  oats,  potatoes,  and  corn. 
Cotton  comprises  two-fifths  of  the  crops,  grows  2-J-  feet  high,  and  yields  300  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  the  lint  rating  as  middling  to 
fair  on  fresh  and  good  ordinary  to  middling  on  old  lands.  Crab-grass  is  most  troublesome.  One-fourth  of  these  lands  now  lies  out,  and 
produces  pretty  well  for  two  or  three  years  when  again  cultivated.  These  lands  wash  readily,  suffering  serious  damage,  and  very  little 
effort  has  been  made  to  check  the  injury,  though  hillside  ditching  is  moderately  successful. 

The  red  clay  soils  of  the  northern  part  of  the  county  comprise  one-third  of  the  lands,  and  have  a  growth  of  oak,  hickory,  aud  pine. 

The  brownish  clay  loam  soil  has  a  thickness  of  2  feet  and  a  heavier  mahogany  clay  subsoil,  and  contains  hard  white  gTuvel  and  rounded 
pebbles.  It  is  early  when  well  drained,  and  rather  difficult  to  till  in  wet  weather.  Cotton  grows  to  a  height  of  2  feet,  runs  to  weed  with 
too  much  rain  and  manure,  and  yields  from  400  to  000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  the  lint  rating  as  strict  middling.  Cultivation  of 
six  years  reduces  this  yield  to  400  pounds,  and  the  staple  is  somewhat  shorter.  Crab-grass  anil  cockleburs  are  the  chief  enemies  to  the 
crop.  One-tenth  of  this  laud  now  lies  out,  but  after  a  rest  of  several  years  it  produces  very  well,  especially  if  fertilized.  It  is  seriously 
damaged  by  washing  and  gullying,  and  the  valleys  are  also  slightly  injured.     Hillside  ditching  meets  with  only  partial  success. 

Cotton  is  carried,  as  fast  as  ginned,  to  Tennille,  on  the  Central  railroad,  by  wagons,  and  is  thence  sent  to  Savaunah  at  40  cents  per 
.100  pounds.  411 


146  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

JEFFERSOX. 

(See  "Central  cotton  belt".) 

WASHINGTON. 

(See  "Central  cotton  belt".) 

LAURENS. 

(See  "Central  cotton  belt".) 

MONTGOMERY. 

Population:  5,381.— White,  3,510;  colored,  1,871. 

Area:  720  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  pine  barrens  (wire  grass),  all. 

Tilled  lands:  29,211  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  2,350  acres;  in  corn,  10,231  acres;  iu  wheat,  142  acres;  in 
oats,  1,904  acres;  in  rye,  9  acres. 

Cotton  production :  852  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.30  bale,  510  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  172  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Montgomery  county  is  divided  by  the  Oconee  river,  which  flows  southward  and  unites  with  the  Ocmulgee  on 
the  boundary-line,  forming  the  Altamaha  river.  The  surface  of  the  country  is  rolling  on  the  north  and  more  level 
southward. 

Along  the  eastern  side  of  some  of  the  streams  are  low  banks  or  ridges  of  white  sand  deposits  from  one-half  to 
a  mile  wide,  having  a  low  growth  of  scrub  oak  and  little  or  no  grass,  entirely  unproductive.  They  have  an  elevation 
of  about  50  feet  above  the  streams.  Over  a  large  portion  of  the  county  the  lands  are  a  dark  sand  loam  with  yellow 
sandy  subsoil,  quite  compact.  Saw-palmetto  is  prominent  on  the  lowlands.  In  some  places  the  subsoil  is  a  clay, 
but  this  is  rather  an  exception. 

The  uplands,  covered  with  the  yellow  ferruginous  gravel  or  pebbles  peculiar  to  southern  Georgia,  are  said  to  be 
the  most  productive.     Two  per  cent,  of  the  upland  area  is  too  broken  for  successful  cultivation. 

The  bottom  lands  on  the  Oconee  river  are  wide  and  densely  Covered  with  a  growth  of  hickory,  maple,  poplar, 
cypress,  etc.  The  trees  are  draped  with  the  long,  hanging  moss  (Tiiland.sia  usneoids).  These  lands  are  subject  to 
overflow,  and  are  not  much  under  cultivation.  The  soil  is  a  deep  black  sandy  loam,  rather  marshy.  From  these 
bottoms  there  is  a  rise  of  15  or  20  feet  to  the  uplands.  The  irreclaimable  swamp  lands  comprise  4  per  cent,  of  the 
county  area. 

The  country  is  sparsely  settled  (an  average  of  seven  persons  per  square  mile),  aud  the  country  people  devote  their 
attention  largely  to  the  cutting  and  shipment  of  pine  lumber  down  the  Oconee  and  Altamaha  rivers  to  Darien,  where 
it  is  sold  for  European  markets.     The  turpentine  industry  is  also  largely  followed. 

Lands  under  tillage  embrace  G.3  per  cent,  of  the  county  area,  and  are  very  largely  devoted  to  corn.  Cotton 
acreage  forms  but  8.1  per  cent,  of  the  whole,  aud  averages  3.3  acres  per  square  mile. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  EEI>OET   OF   E.   5l"RAE,   OF  MOUNT   VERNON. 

The  most  productive  lauds  of  the  county  are  the  stilF  river  swamps,  but  the  larger  portion  of  them  is  subject  to  overflow.  Cotton 
grows  very  well  on  the  pebbly  uplands,  but  uot  on  the  light  sandy  and  pine  lauds.  The  growth  of  the  level  uplands  is  invariably  long- 
leaf  pine.  The  crops  are  corn,  cottou,  sugar-cane,  sweet  potatoes,  oats,  and  a  little  wheat  and  rye.  The  uplands  are  best  adapted  to 
oats,  corn,  pease,  and  potatoes.  Cotton  comprises  only  one-eighth  of  the  crops  planted.  The  most  productive  height  of  the  cotton  stalk 
is  2£  and  3  feet.  It  runs  to  weed  iu  excessively  wet  weather  unless  topped  in  the  month  of  August.  The  yield  is  generally  from  700  to 
800  pounds  per  acre  on  fresh  lands  aud  200  after  ten  years'  cultivation.  From  old  lands  1,5  15  pounds  are  required  for  a  bale  of  475  pounds, 
the  staple  becoming  inferior.  One-tenth  of  the  land  now  lies  turned  out,  aud  the  greater  portion  is  growing  up  in  old-field  pine.  When 
agaiu  taken  iu,  this  land  produces  well  for  several  years.  The  lauds  do  not  gully  or  wash  much.  Crab-grass  is  most  troublesome.  Cotton 
has  not  been  cultivated  in  this  county  to  any  extent  heretofore  because  of  other  industries,  such  as  stock-raising  and  lumbering.  It  is 
now  on  the  increase,  aud  under  the  present  system  of  culture,  with  favorable  seasons,  is  fouud  to  lie  profitable. 

Shipments  are  made,  from  December  to  March,  generally  to  Savannah,  at  82  per  bale. 

EMAXUEL. 

Population  :  9,759.— White,  0,000  ;  colored,  3,099. 

Area:  1,040  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  pine  barrens  (wire-grass),  all. 

Tilled  landa:  40,439  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  10,749  acres;  in  corn,  24,300  acres;  in  wheat,  950  acres; 
in  oats,  3,957  acres ;  in  rye,  33  acres. 

Cotton  production :  3,009  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.34  bale,  480  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  102 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Emanuel,  one  of  the  large  counties  of  the  wire-grass  region,  is  rolling  and  open,  the  growth  of  the  uplands 
being  almost  exclusively  long-leaf  pine.  Swaiusboro',  the  county-seat  of  Emanuel  county,  is  on  a  low  divide 
between  the  tributaries  of  the  Ogeechee  and  Ohoopee  rivers.  In  the  western  and  southern  portions  of  the  county 
the  lands  are  underlaid  by  a  sandstone  outcropping  from  5  to  S  miles  west  of  Swainsboro'  in  a  bluff  trout  IS  to  25 
feet,  and  continuous  for  some  distance.  There  is  a  large  deposit  of  pebbles  near  this  place.  A  few  miles  south  of 
this  town  there  is  an  area  of  one-quarter  of  a  square  mile  covered  by  a  nou-fossiliferous  siliceous  rock,  which,  by 
decomposition,  yields  a  soft  white  porous  mass.  The  siliceous  rocks  are  also  found  in  other  places  in  the  northeru 
part  of  the  county. 
412 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  147 

The  soils  are  sandy  ami  dark  from  decayed  vegetation ;  the  subsoil  is  usually  a  yellow  sand.  Four  per  cent,  of 
'the  county  area  is  irreclaimable  swamp,  and  but  little  of  the  lowlands  is  under  cultivation.  The  couuty  is  thinly 
settled  (nine  persons  per  square  mile),  and  but  7  per  cent,  of  the  area  is  under  tillage.  The  lumber  and  turpentine 
industry  receives  largely  the  attention  of  the  people.  By  the  introduction  of  commercial  fertilizers  into  the  county 
the  acreage,  as  well  as  the  yield  of  cotton,  has  been  largely  increased  in  the  last  few  years. 

The  acreage  of  corn  is  more  than  double  that  of  cotton,  the  latter  having  an  average  of  but  10.3  acres  per  square 
mile. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  E.  H.  EDENFIELD,  OF  SWAINSBORO'. 

The  uplands  only  are  devoted  to  cottou,  40  per  cent,  being  planted  in  that  crop.  The  land  is  rolling  enough  to  be  well  drained,  the 
climate  is  mild,  and  the  summers  are  long,  allowing  the  crop  to  mature  before  frost.  The  growth  of  the  uplands  is  only  pine,  the  soil  a 
dark  gray,  coarse,  sandy  loam  from  G  to  10  inches  deep,  aud  the  subsoil  a  yellow  sand  from  6  inches  to  3  feet  deep,  underlaid  by  clay,  then 
sand-rock  at  from  10  to  40  feet.  The  lands  are  early,  warm,  and  well  drained,  and  easy  to  till  in  all  seasons,  producing  corn,  cotton,  and 
oats;  in  fact,  all  crops,  but  are  best  adapted  to  those  mentioned.  Cotton  grows  from  24.  to  3  feet  high,  and  yields  on  fresh  lands  500  pounds 
of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  Cultivation  of  five  years  reduces  the  yield  to  300  pounds,  aud  1,485  pounds  are  then  required  for  475  pounds  of 
lint.  The  staple  is  inferior  on  old  fields.  May-apple  and  poverty-weeds  are  most  troublesome.  Not  more  than  one  acre  iu  twenty  now 
lies  turned  out.     The  land  produces  well,  and  even  better  than  at  first  when  again  cultivated.     No  damage  is  done  by  washing. 

Shipments  are  made,  from  September  to  January,  by  the  Central  railroad  to  Savannah,  at  40  cents  per  100  pounds. 

BULLOCH. 

Population  :  8,053.— White,  5,797  ;  colored,  2,256. 

Area:  900  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  lime-sink  (wire-grass)  region,  21  square  miles;  pine  barrens  (wire- 
grass),  S79  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  35,626  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  9,140  acres;  in  corn,  15,394  acres;  in  wheat,  15  acres;  in 
oats,  7,661  acres ;  iu  rice,  S52  acres. 

Cotton  production ;  3,72-1  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.41  bale,  582  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  194 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Bulloch  county,  lying  between  the  Ogeechee  and  Cauoochee  rivers,  has  au  undulating  surface,  broken  and 
rolling  in  places,  and  lying  wholly  in  the  wire-grass  and  long-leaf  pine  region.  The  northern  portion  of  the  county 
is  embraced  in  the  "lime-sink"  subdivision,  the  underlying  limestone  making  the  lauds  superior  to  those  in  the 
southern  part.  Lime-sinks  are  of  frequent  occurrence  iu  this  section.  One  known  as  the  "watering  hole",  5  miles 
northwest  of  Statesboro',  the  county-seat,  is  full  of  water  to  within  5  feet  of  the  top  and  "has  no  bottom". 
Limestone  and  white  marl  occurs  on  the  Emanuel  county-line,  aud  might  be  profitably  used  on  these  sandy  lands. 
Siliceous  shell-rock,  or  buhr-stone,  is  found  in  many  places. 

Iu  this  lime-sink  section  the  prevailing  growth  of  long-leaf  pine  is  interspersed  in  places  with  oak  aud  hickory. 

The  soils  of  the  county  are  very  generally  dark  and  sandy,  with  some  clay  subsoils  in  the  northern  sections. 
The  clays  are,  however,  generally  several  feet  below  the  surface.  The  lands  of  the  lower  portion  of  the  county  are 
very  level,  and  the  growth  of  long-leaf  pine  very  open. 

The  bottom  lauds,  where  not  subject  to  overflow,  afford  excellent  farming  lands.  Gallberry  bushes,  cypress, 
and  a  low  swamp  growth  occurs  on  the  smaller  streams.  Six  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  the  couuty  is  irreclaimable  swamp. 
Of  land  suitable  for  tillage,  21  per  cent,  is  said  to  have  been  cleared. 

The  county  is  sparsely  settled,  with  an  average  of  9  persons  per  square  mile,  while  6.2  per  cent,  only  of  the 
area  is  under  tillage.  Corn  has  by  far  the  greatest  acreage,  that  of  cotton  averaging  10.2  acres  per  square  mile. 
Its  product  per  acre  is  far  above  that  of  the  other  counties,  of  the  southern  part  of  the  state. 

ABSTRACT   FROM   THE    REPORT    OF   J.    F.    BROWN,    OF    OGEECHEE. 

Most  of  the  lands  of  the  county  are  level,  but  occasionally  in  some  sections  they  are  hilly  and  broken. 

The  dark  or  black  alluvial  soils  comprise  one-fourth  of  the  lands  of  the  county,  aud  have  a  depth  of  12  inches  and  a  heavier  yellow  subsoil. 
The  land  is  easily  tilled  in  all  seasons,  is  early,  warm,  and  well  drained,  and  produces  cotton,  corn,  rice,  potatoes,  and  oats.  Cotton  comprises 
one-third  of  the  crops  planted,  grows  3  feet  high,  runs  to  weed  on  new  land,  boiling  being  favored  by  high  fertilization.  The  yield  iu 
seed-cotton  on  unfertilized  fresh  land  is  400  pounds  per  acre;  on  land  four  years  under  cultivation,  250  pounds.  In  both  cases  1,544 
pounds  are  required  for  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint,  and  the  staple  rates  as  good  middling.  Crab-grass  is  most  troublesome  during 
cultivation.     One-fourth  of  the  land  now  lies  turned  out,  but  it  produces  well  when  again  taken  in.     It  does  not  wash  or  gully. 

The  sandy  second  bottom  lands,  comprising  but  a  small  proportion  of  the  area,  extend  up  and  down  the  Ogeechee  river,  and  have  a 
growth  of  oak,  hickory,  aud  cypress.  The  soil  is  fine,  sandy,  and  gray,  and  is  2  feet  deep  ;  the  subsoil  is  lighter,  underlaid  by  sand  and  gravel 
at  several  feet.  The  land  is  early,  warm,  and  well  drained,  easy  to  till  iu  all  seasous,  and  best  adapted  to  corn  aud  grain,  only  one-tenth 
being  planted  in  cotton.  Cotton  grows  from  4  to  5  feet  high,  but  yields  only  200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  when  fresh,  or  250  pounds 
after  four  years'  cultivation.  Iu  the  latter  case  the  staple  is  inferior.  The  greater  part  of  these  lands  once  in  cultivation  now  lies  oat,  but 
produces  well  when  again  taken  in. 

The  gray  sandy  land,  covering  one-third  of  the  county,  has  a  growth  of  pine  and  post  oak,  is  a  fine  sandy,  gravelly  soil  6  inches  deep, 
and  has  a  lighter  subsoil.  It  contains  red  gravel,  is  easy  to  till,  early,  warm,  and  well  drained,  and  adapted  to  the  general  crops.  One-third 
is  planted  in  cotton,  which  grows  3  feet  high  and  yields  300  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  both  on  fresh  land  and  after  four  years' 
cultivation. 

Cotton,  as  fast  as  it  is  ginned  and  packed,  is  shipped  by  the  Central  railroad  to  Savannah,  at  30  cents  per  100  pounds. 

413 


148  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

EFFINGHAM. 

Population:  5,979.— White,  3,228;  colored, 2,751. 

Area:  420  square  miles. — Woodland, all ;  savanna,  70  square  miles;  pine  barrens  (wire-grass),  292  square  miles; 
lime-sink  (wire-grass)  region,  52  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  22,747  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  1,707  acres;  in  corn,  0,337  acres;  in  rice,  1,070  acres;  in  oats, 
2,090  acres;  in  rye,  11  acres. 

Cotton  production :  080  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.39  bale,  552  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  184  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Effingham  county  lies  between  the  Savannah  and  the  Ogecchee  rivers,  the  dividing  ridge  being  very  near  the 
latter,  and  is  well  timbered  with  long-leaf  pine,  the  surface  of  the  country  being  quite  level  and  open.  Along  the 
Savannah  river,  in  the  upper  part  of  the  county,  there  is  a  low  ridge,  the  soil  of  which  is  dark  gray  witli  a  clay 
subsoil,  on  which  the  pine  is  associated  with  a  black-jack  undergrowth.  This  belt  extends  to  Sister's  Ferry,  from  which 
place  northward  along  the  river  white  limestone  and  marls  outcrop  similar  in  many  respects  to  that  of  the  counties 
on  the,  north.  From  the  ferry  southward  along  the  river,  and  southwest  to  the  corner  of  the  county,  are  the  pine 
flats  of  the  coast  region,  with  bay  anil  cypress  swamps  interspersed  through  the  open  level  lands. 

The  sandy  wire-grass  lands  extend  from  Springfield  west  to  the  Ogeeehee  and  east  to  within  I  mile  of  the 
Savannah,  the  growth  of  which  is  very  open,  the  country  quite  level,  and  the  sod  sandy,  with  a  yellow  sandy  subsoil. 
On  the  northwest  are  the  better  class  of  wire-grass  lands,  with  thin  clay  subsoils  and  underlying  limestone. 

Ten  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  the  county  is  irreclaimable  swamp,  and  but  8.5  per  cent,  is  nnder  tillage,  chiefly 
in  corn.  Cotton  has  an  average  of  but  4.2  acres  per  square  mile.  The  marls  of  the  upper  part  of  the  count] 
show  the  following  composition:  Carbonate  of  lime,  28.4;  phosphoric  acid,  0.075  per  cent. 

Lumbering  is  a  prominent  industry,  as  the  rivers  furnish  easy  transportation  to  the  coast  by  rafts  or  by 
steamboats. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  O.  E.  SMITH,  OF  EGYPT. 

The  lands  of  the  couuty  are  classed  as  sandy  and  hummocks.  The  latter  are  found  near  tin-  rivers,  and  have  a  growth  of  red  oak, 
hickory,  and  walnut. 

The  sinitlij  lands,  interspersed  with  gallberry  flats  and  guru  ponds,  cover  nine-tenths  of  the  couuty,  aud  have  a  growth  of  long- 
leaf  piue  aud  black-jack.  The  soil  is  coarse  sandy,  4  inches  deep,  with  a  yellowish  sandy  subsoil,  somewhat  clayey.  Jt  is  easy  to 
cultivate,  early,  warm,  but  ill  drained,  aud  is  best  adapted  to  corn,  oats,  and  potatoes.  The  crops  of  the  county  are,  in  addition  to  i  hese, 
cotton,  uplaud  rice,  and  West  India  sugar-cane.  Cotton  comprises  one-tenth  of  the  crops,  grows  :u  teet  high,  runs  to  weed  in  very  wet 
seasous,  which  is  prevented  by  better  drainage,  aud  yields  GOO  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  land,  1,4H5  pounds  of  which  make  175 
pounds  of  lint  and  rates  as  middling.  Laud  ten  years  under  cultivation  yields  300  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  The  lint  is  thou  not 
so  good,  and  1,840  pounds  of  seed-cotton  are  required  for  475  pounds  of  lint.  Crab-grass  is  most  troublesome.  One-eighth  of  1  be  land  now 
lies  turned  out,  aud  after  a  rest  produces  well  for  a  few  years.     The  lauds  wash  readily,  but  no  damage  is  done. 

.Shipments  of  cotton  are  made  every  week  during  the  jacking  season  by  steamboat  to  Savannah  at  75  cents  per  bale. 

TATTNALL. 

Population  :  0,988.— White,  5,014;  colored,  1,974. 

Area  :  1,100  square  miles.- — Woodland,  all  ;  pine  barrens  (wire-grass),  all. 

Tilled  lands:  23,100  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  2,018  acres;  in  corn,  10,991  acres ;  in  wheat,  8  acres  ;  iu 
oats,  4,802  acres;  in  rice,  370  acres;  in  rye,  19  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  964  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.37  bale,  525  pounds  seed  cotton,  or  175  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Tattnall  county,  lying  between  the  Cauoochee  aud  Altamaha  rivers,  is  divided  diagonally  by  the  Great  Ohoopee 
river,  flowing  south  into  the  latter  river.  The  county  is  entirely  within  the  long-leaf  pine  ami  wire-grass  region,  and 
the  surface  of  the  country  is  quite  level  on  the  south,  but  rolling  on  the  north  and  middle,  lieidsville,  the  county- 
seat,  being  situated  on  a  high  sandy  hill. 

The  county  is  rather  sparsely  settled  (li  persons  per  square  mile),  and  the  people  are  not  apparently  much 
devoted  to  agriculture,  as  only  3.3  per  cent,  of  jts  area  is  under  tillage,  averaging  3.3  acres  per  person.  Corn 
and  oats  are  the  chief  crops,  the  acreage  of  cotton  beiug  11.3  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  lands,  aud  averaging  but 
2.4  acres  per  square  mile. 

Lumber  and  turpentine  industries  chiefly  occupy  the  attention  of  the  people,  the  rivers  affording  transportation 
to  the  Atlantic  coast  markets  by  rafts  and  by  steamboats. 

The  bottom  lands  have  sandy  soils  of  a  deep  black  color  on  the  surface,  from  decayed  vegetation.  In  many 
places  this  muck  is  quite  thick. 

B.  H.  Clifton,  of  Perry's  Mills,  says  of  these  uplands: 

Fresh  wire-grass  land  will  yield  about  200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  without  fertilizers,  and  after  a  few  years'  cultivation  will 
average  10  bushels  of  corn  per  acre  and  about  -00  bushels  of  potatoes. 

John  Hughey,  of  Eeidsville  : 

This  is  a  piue  woods  county,     The  land  is  sandy  aud  dark,  with  yellow  sand  subsoil,  and  is  best  adapted  to  sea-island  cotton. 
Cotton  comprises  one-third  of  the  crops,  and  yields  GOO  pounds  of  seed-cotton  the  first  and  second  years  after  clearing.     Shipments  are 
made  by  wagon  to  the  nearest  railroad  station,  or  by  boat  dowu  the  Altamaha  river. 
114 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  149 

BRYAN. 

(See  "Coast  region".) 

LIBERTY. 
(See  "  Coast  region".) 

Mcintosh. 

(See  "Coast  region".) 

WAYNE. 

Population:  5,980.— White,  4,060;  colored,  1,920. 

Area:  740  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  pine  barrens  (wire-grass),  239  square  miles;  pine  flats,  501  square 
miles. 

Tilled  lands:  8,760  acres. — Area  planted  iu  cotton,  331  acres;  in  corn,  4,243  acres;  in  oats,  2,1S8  acres. 

Cotton  production:  119  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.36  bale,  513  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  171  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

The  county  of  Wayne,  lying  between  the  Altamaha  and  Little  Satilla  rivers,  is  mostly  within  the  savanna  and 
pine-flat  region,  which  extends  as  far  north  as  the  Savannah  and  Gulf  railroad.  The  country  is  flat  and  iuterspersed 
with  many  bay  and  cypress  swamps  (saw-palmetto  flats),  the  better  part  having  sandy  lauds  and  an  open  long-leaf 
pine  growth.  North  of  the  railroad  the  country  is  higher  and  more  rolling  and  the  lands  are  better,  having  a 
sandy  clay  subsoil.     The  comity  is  sparsely  settled,  with  an  average  of  S  persons  per  square  mile. 

Ten  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  the  county  is  too  swampy  for  successful  tillage.  But  1.9  per  cent,  of  the  area  is 
under  tillage,  chiefly  in  corn,  oats,  and  wheat.  The  acreage  of  cotton  is  small,  averaging  but  0.4  acres  per  square 
mile.     Lumbering  is  one  of  the  chief  industries. 

G.  W.  Stansell,  of  Jessup,  thus  describes  the  county: 

The  lands  of  the  northern  part  are  rolling  and  sandy,  with  clay  subsoils,  and  produce  good  crops.  Cotton  is  raised  almost  entirely 
along  Big  and  Little  Goose  creeks,  and  fertilizers  are  largely  used.  The  short  upland  staple  alone  is  cultivated  in  this  sectiou.  Other 
crops  along  these  creeks  and  Satilla  river  do  equally  well  under  good  management,  8£  barrels  of  sugar  being  the  reported  product  from 
half  an  acre,  the  work  of  oue  man.  Fruits  do  well  on  these  uplands.  The  flat  country  south  of  the  railroad  is  suitable  only  for  rice, 
sugar-cane,  and  sea-island  cotton,  of  which  little  is  raised. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  JAMES  W.  HARPER,  OF  GARDI. 

The  litjllt  sandy  lauds  of  this  part  of  the  county  have  a  growth  of  yellow  pine,  oak,  hickory,  and  cypress.  The  soil  is  8  or  10  inches 
deep,  with  a  yellow  clay  subsoil,  which  becomes  like  the  surface  soil  when  cultivated,  and  contains  soft  gravel  and  sometimes  large 
pebbles.  The  crops  are  corn,  oats,  sweet  potatoes,  sugar-cane,  and  cotton.  The  land  is  early  when  well  drained,  and  produces  800  pounds 
of  seed-cotton  per  acre  when  fresh  and  400  pounds  after  four  years'  cultivation.  Cotton  comprises  one-fourth  of  the  crops,  grows  from 
3  to  4  feet  high,  and  is  troubled  most  with  "red-top"  weeds.  Fifteen  hundred  and  forty-live  pounds  of  seed-cotton  make  475  pounds  of 
lint.     On  rolling  lands  the  soil  washes  readily,  but  no  serious  damage  is  done. 

Cotton  is  shipped  by  railroad  in  November  to  Savannah  at  §1  50  per  bale. 

APrLING. 

Population:  5,276.— White,  4,084;  colored,  1,192. 

Area:  1,080  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  pine  barrens  (wire-grass),  all. 

Tilled  lands:  13,172  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  1,069  acres;  iu  corn,  6,816  acres;  in  oats,  4,097  acres ;  in 
rye,  8  acres. 

Cotton  production:  379  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.35  bale,  501  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  107  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

A  low  ridge  or  water-divide,  entering  Appling  county  from  the  west,  separates  the  tributaries  of  the  Altamaha 
on  the  north  from  those  of  the  Satilla  river  on  the  south. 

Appling  is  included  in  the  long-leaf  pine  and  wire-grass  region  proper,  with  its  characteristic  poor  sandy 
lands,  soil  and  subsoil.  Clay  sometimes  is  found  comprising  the  latter,  and  yellow  or  brown  ferruginous  pebbles 
are  also  abundant  on  the  surface  iu  some  localities. 

The  surface  of  the  country  is  rather  rolling  and  very  open,  the  undergrowth  being  chiefly  along  the  low  marshy 
places  and  on  streams.  The  county  is  but  sparsely  settled  (5  persons  per  square  mile),  and  the  people  give  their 
attention  largely  to  the  cutting  and  shipment  of  lumber  down  the  Altamaha  river  and  to  the  production  of 
turpentine  and  resin  from  the  yellow  pine  timber. 

But  1.9  per  cent,  of  the  county  area  is  under  cultivation,  mostly  in  corn  and  oats.  Six  per  cent,  is  said  to 
be  too  swampy  for  tillage.  The  average  of  cotton  is  but  one  acre  per  square  mile,  or  S.l  per  cent,  of  the  tilled 
area. 

J.  J.  Carter  reports  that  cotton  is  produced  chiefly  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  county,  where  the  laud  is 
rolling  and  somewhat  clayey.  415 


150  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

ABSTRACT   FROM   THE   REPORT   OF  BENJAMIN    MILIKIN,   OF   HOLMES VILLE.     * 

The  only  lands  devoted  to  cotton  in  this  county  are  the  gray  Bandy  ujdanda,  which  are  light,  friable,  early,  warm,  well  drained,  and 
easily  worked,  and  cover  the  entire  county,  except  in  crocks  and  branches.  Yellow  lung-leaf  pine  is  the  exclusive  growth.  The  soil  is 
from  4  to  G  inches  deep,  has  a  yellow  sandy  subsoil,  slightly  mixed  with  clay,  and  contains  sometimes  red  and  rough  clay-like  pebbles. 

The  crops  of  the  county  are  cotton,  corn,  oats,  sweet  potatoes,  sugar-cane,  pease,  rice,  melons,  and  all  kinds  of  vegetables  and  fruits. 
The  sea-island  or  black-seed  variety  of  cot  (on,  which  sells  for  two  or  three  times  as  much  as  the  short  staple  green-seed  or  upland  variety, 
succeeds  admirably.  The  sea  breezes  and  salt  dews  are  supposed  to  aid  in  its  growth.  The  short  Btaplo  does  well  also,  producing  about 
GOO  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  land  and  400  pounds  after  three  years'  cultivation,  the  lint  rating  as  middling  and  good  middling. 
The  short  staple  grows  IU  feet  high,  the  sea-island  4A  feet.  The  stalk  runs  to  weed  in  wet  seasons  and  when  too  highly  fertilized. 
This  is  prevented  by  applying  a  moderate  amount  of  manure,  and  also  by  topping.  The  staph-  from  either  new  or  old  lands  rates  equally 
well.     The  most  troublesome  weeds  are  erab-grass  and  a  small  sprangled  ] island  weed. 

One-tenth  of  the  land  originally  under  cultivation  now  lies  out,  and  when  again  taken  in  does  as  well  for  the  first  three  years  as 
wheu  new.  The  slopes  of  the  uplands  are  damaged  by  washing,  and  the  valleys  are  also  sometimes  injured  by  the  deposit  of  sand, 
though  in  most  eases  the  fresh  material  adds  to  the  fertility  of  the  valley  lands.     No  effort  is  made  to  cheek  the  damage. 

Shipments  are  made  by  railroad  in  February  and  March  to  Savannah,  the  freight  being  40  cents  per  100  pounds. 

COFFEE. 

Population:  5,070.— White,  4,028;  colored,  1,042. 

Area:  9S0  square  miles.— Woodland,  all;  pine  barrens  (wire-grass),  all. 

Tilled  lands:  17,018  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  1,825  acres;  in  corn,  6,925  acres;  in  oats,  5,450  acres;  in 
rye,  5  acres ;  in  rice,  525  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  501  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.32  bale,  402  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  154  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Coffee  county  lies  within  the  southern  wire-grass  region.  Its  surface  is  undulating,  slightly  rolling  in  places, 
on  the  north  of  the  Brunswick  and  Albany  railroad,  while  in  general  long-leaf  pine  is  the  exclusive  timber,  without 
undergrowth,  the  country  presenting  an  open  character. 

The  soil  is  a  gray  sandy  loam  with  much  ferruginous  gravel,  not  easily  washed  away,  and  forms  firm  and  level 
roads.  The  lowlands  have  a  dense  undergrowth  of  cypress  and  small  undergrowth,  are  usually  marshy  and 
almost  impenetrable,  and  the  water  black  and  mucky.  The  soil  is  covered  often  with  a  good  muck,  but  otherwise  it 
is  white,  sandy,  and  worthless. 

On  the  south  of  the  railroad  the  country  is  very  level  and  more  marshy,  and  saw-palmetto  is  abundant,  mixed 
with  sedge-grass  in  places.     A  blue  clay  is  found  at  9  feet,  but  above  this  there  is  little  else  than  sand. 

Sandstone  seems  to  underlie  the  upper  portion  of  the  county,  an  outcrop  4  feet  in  thickness  being  exposed  on 
the  river  bank  near  the  railroad  crossing  of  the  Satilla  river.  Twenty-live  per  cent,  of  the  county  area  is  said  to  be 
irreclaimable  swamp. 

The  county  is  sparsely  settled,  and  has  an  average  of  only  5  persons  per  square  mile.  The  tilled  lands  comprise 
but  2.8  per  cent,  of  the  urea,  and  are  devoted  mostly  to  corn  and  oats.  Cotton  acreage  is  small,  averaging  but  1.9 
acres  per  square  mile.  The  people  devote  much  attention  to  lumbering  and  turpentine  making.  The  Ocmulgee  and 
the  Altamaha  rivers  ou  the  north  furnish  easy  passage  for  large  rafts  to  Darieu,  while  the  Albany  and  Brunswick 
.railroad  carries  large  amounts  of  sawed  pine  lumber  from  the  many  mills  along  its  route. 

A.  M.  Fraser,  of  Uazlehurst,  writes: 

Most  of  the  cotton  of  the  county  is  produced  in  the  southwest  portion,  where  the  lands  are  naturally  more  productive.  In  the  upper 
•part,  bordering  on  the  Ocmulgee  river,  the  land  is  hilly  and  poor,  and  is  hest  adapted  to  orchards  and  vineyards  and  to  cattle  and  sheep 
raising.     In  the  swampsof  the  river,  where  alluvial  deposits  are  made  to  a  considerahlc  depth,  corn  yields  from  :10  to  40  bushels  per  acre. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE   REPORT   OF   TIMOTHY   FTJSSELL,   OF   KIRKXA-ND. 

The  upland  soil  does  not  vary  much  from  one  ridgo  to  another,  being  in  ridges  and  hills  of  from  1  acre  to  100  acres  each.  On  the 
lowlands  cotton  is  liable  to  go  too  much  to  weed,  and  the  climate  being  warm,  it  is  also  apt  to  shed  badly ;  hence  the  uplands  are  preferred 
when  the  land  is  fair. 

The  best  soils  are  the  clay  lands  of  the  hills,  which  lie  in  patches  and  large  bodies,  but  comprise  a  very  small  per  cent,  of  the  lands  of 
the  county.  The  growth  is  oak  and  yellow  long-leaf  pine.  The  depth  of  the  soil  is  2  feet,  with  a  heavy  buff  subsoil,  sometimes  hard  and 
rocky  and  quite  impervious.  Red  sandstone  underlies  ibis  at  from  10  to  20  feet.  The  soil  is  easily  tilled,  producing  coru  and  cotton.  The 
lowlauds  are  best  for  corn  and  the  uplands  for  cotton.  Cotton  comprises  one-third  of  the  crops,  and  grows  to  a  height  of  3  feet,  producing 
with  fertilizers  from  800  lo  1,000  liouuds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  but  after  seven  years'  cultivation  only  700  pounds  under  good  circumstances, 
rating  as  good  ordinary.  Cotton  from  fresh  laud  rates  as  middling;  1,544  pounds  from  old  lands  make  475  pounds  of  lint.  Crab-grass 
gives  the  most  trouble.  One-half  of  these  lands  formerly  under  cultivation  now  lies  out  only  because  of  lack  of  laborers.  Rest 
improves  it  very  much.     These  clay  lands  wash  readily,  doing  serious  damage  in  wet  seasons,  but  improving  the  valleys. 

The  open  pine  woods  have  a  sandy  soil  about  9  inches  deep,  and  but  little  in  cultivation,  cotton  comprising  one-tenth  of  the  crops,  and 
producing  from  400  to  500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  when  fresh,  but  only  400  pounds  the  second  year.  One-half  of  these  cultivated 
lauds  now  lies  out.     The  staple  from  old  land  is  not  as  good  as  from  fresh.     Crab-grass  is  tho  most  troublesome. 

Cotton  shipment  is  governed  by  the  market.  Transportation  is  by  the  Albany  and  Brunswick  railroad  to  Savannah  at  $4  per  bale. 
416 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  151 

TELFAIR. 

Population:  4,828.— White,  2,666;  colored,  2,162. 

Area:  420  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  lime-sink  (wire-grass)  region,  12  square  miles;  pine  barrens  (wire- 
grass),  408  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands :  14,124  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  2,228  acres;  in  corn,  6,302  acres;  in  oats,  2,032  acres. 

Cotton  production :  740  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.33  bale,  474  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  158 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Telfair  county,  lying  between  the  Little  Ocmulgee  and  Ocmulgee  rivers,  the  latter  forming  the  southern  boundary, 
has  a  somewhat  rolling  surface,  and  is  covered  with  an  open  and  exclusive  growth  of  long-leaf  pine  and  wire-grass, 
except  in  some  localities,  where  oak  and  hickory  occurs.  A  large  proportion  of  the  uplands  has  a  stiff,  sandy  soil 
with  an  abundance  of  rounded  ferruginous  pebbles,  forming  a  better  class  than  the  sandy  lands  with  their  thin  sandy 
subsoils.  Hills  of  white  sand  frequently  occur,  covered  only  with  an  undergrowth  of  scrubby  black-jack,  devoid 
of  wire-grass  and  unproductive. 

Specimens  of  soil  and  subsoil  were  selected  from  this  county  for  analysis  as  typical  of  the  lands  of  the  wire- 
grass  region  proper  (see  page  50).  The  yield  from  fresh  lands  is  given  by  many  practical  farmers  in  the  county 
at  500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre;  others  claim  more.    The  lands,  however,  are  not  durable. 

The  irreclaimable  swamp  lands,  with  their  heavy  growth  of  timber,  comprise  8  percent,  of  the  county  area,  and 
their  soils,  a  black  and  mucky  sand  or  loam,  are  deep.  The  waters  of  the  small  streams  are  also  very  dark  from 
decayed  vegetation. 

Only  about  17  per  cent,  of  the  lands  of  the  county  have  been  cleared,  the  country  being  rather  sparsely  settled 
(11  persons  per  square  mile),  and  the  lumber  industry  occupying  a  large  share  of  the  attention  of  the  people,  as  in 
other  counties  of  this  region.  The  Ocmulgee  and  Altamaha  rivers  furnish  easy  transportation  to  the  Atlantic 
coast  for  rafts,  while  river  steamboats  and  the  Macon  and  Brunswick  railroad  carry  sawed  lumber  and  other 
products  to  Macon,  Brunswick,  and  other  markets. 

But  5.3  per  cent,  of  its  area  is  under  tillage,  chiefly  in  corn,  cotton,  and  oats.  Cotton  averages  5.3  acres  per 
square  mile. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE   REPORT   OF  I.  F.  M'RAE,  OF  LUMBER   CITY. 

The  Bandit  lands  occupy  two-thirds  of  the  county  and  have  a  growth  of  pine  timber.  The  soil  is  3  inches  deep,  with  a  subsoil  varying 
from  stiff  to  rocky  and  sandy.  The  crops  of  the  county  are  corn,  sugar-cane,  sweet  potatoes,  cotton,  and  oats.  Cotton  comprises  one- 
fourth  of  the  crops,  grows  3  feet  high,  and  runs  to  weed  on  fresh,  moist  land  and  with-  heavy  fertilizing  unless  prevented  by  topping. 
The  yield  on  fresh  laud  is  900  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  or  500  pounds  after  five  years'  cultivation,  1,544  pounds  from  old  landH 
making  475  pounds  of  lint  rating  from  low  to  good  middling.  Hog-weeds  are  most  troublesome.  One-half  of  the  land  lies  turned  out. 
These  lands  yield  as  well  as  when  fresh  when  again  taken  into  cultivation,  and  w-ask  readily,  but  no  serious  damage  is  done. 

The  pine,  oak,  and  hickory  lands  yield  about  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton,  making  400  pounds  of  lint,  and  rating  as  low  middling  in 
market.  Cotton  comprises  one-third  of  the  crops  planted  on  these  lands.  Hog- weeds  are  most  troublesome.  One-half  the  lands  now  lies 
out,  increasing  in  productiveness  in  proportion  to  the  length  of  time  lying  out. 

Cotton  is  shipped,  between  October  and  January,  by  railroad  to  Savannah  at  31  cents  per  100  pounds. 

DODGE. 

(See  "Wire-grass  and  lime-sink  region".) 

WILCOX. 

Population:  3,109.— White,  2,411 ;  colored,  698. 

Area:  500  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  pine  barrens  (wire-grass),  110  square  miles;  lime-sink  (wire-grass) 
region,  390  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  18,229  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  5,278  acres;  in  corn,  7,804  acres;  in  wheat,  6  acres;  in 
oats,  3,OS0  acres. 

Cotton  production:  1,331  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.25  bale,  360  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  120 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Wilcox  county,  lying  along  the  west  side  of  the  Ocmulgee  river,  is  situated  on  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  water-divide, 
the  low  ridge  entering  from  Dooly  on  the  northwest  and  passing  southward  into  Irwin  county.  The  Gulf 
tributaries  (the  headwaters  of  the  Allapaha  river)  flow  in  a  southerly  course,  while  the  small  streams  emptying 
into  the  Ocmulgee  flow  eastward.  The  surface  of  the  country  is  on  the  north  and  middle  rather  rolling,  but  quite 
level  on  the  south. 

The  best  lands  are  found  along  the  streams  and  on  their  immediately  adjoining  uplands,  their  subsoil  being 
generally  a  clay  under  sandy  soils  of  varying  depths.  Shell  marls,  with  siliceous  strata  overlying,  are  found 
outcropping  in  the  river  bluff  4  miles  southeast  of  Abbeville,  the  county-seat,  and  a  few  lime-sinks  occur  on  the 
southwest  of  the  village  on  the  lowlands.  The  growth  is  largely  interspersed  with  post  oak  and  black-jack.  All  the 
uplands  away  from  the  streams  are  sandy,  with  ferruginous  gravel,  and  have  a  yellowish  sandy  subsoil,  though 
underlaid  by  clays.  Their  growth  is  long-leaf  pine  and  wire-grass,  with  some  scrubby  black-jack.  These  lands 
cover  the  largest  part  of  the  area  of  the  county. 

Two  and  one-half  per  cent,  of  the  county  is  said  to  be  too  broken  for  cultivation,  and  8  per  cent,  to  be  of 
irreclaimable  swamp.  The  county  is  thinly  settled  (6  persons  per  square,  mile),  and  but  about  5.7  per  cent,  of  its 
area  is  under  tillage.  The  lumber  industry  occupies  a  large  share  of  the  attention  of  the  population,  the  Ocmulgee 
river  affording  easy  transportation  for  rafts. 

Corn  and  cotton  are  the  chief  crops,  the  latter  having  an  average  of  10.6  acres  per  square  mile  and  a  lower 
product  per  acre  than  other  county  of  the  region. 

27   C  P — VOL.    II  417 


152  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  S.  D.  FULLER,  OF  HOUSE  CREEK. 

The  lands  of  the  county  may  be  classed  as  ash-colored  hummocks,  lying  mostly  on  rivers  and  creeks,  and  having  a  clay  subsoil;  dark 
gray  soils  nn  creeks,  and  having  red-clay  subsoils;  light  sandy  soils  with  iron-ore  pebbles  on  the  inland  uplands. 

The  hummocks  comprise  one-tenth  of  the  lands,  and  occur  along  very  nearly  the  whole  length  of  all  the  rivers  and  creeks.  The 
growth  is  pine,  with  some  oak.  In  the  swamps  themselves  oak,  hickory,  ash,  ami  other  valuable  timber  arc  found.  The  soil  of  these 
hummocks  is  a  dark  line  sandy  loam,  or  what  might  he  termed  a  mixed  soil.  12  inches  deep,  with  a  subsoil  of  stiff  red  or  yellow  clay  with 
pebbles,  becoming  soft  after  being  plowed  up  and  mixed  with  the  top  soil.  The  lands  are  early  and  warm  when  well  drained,  and  well 
adapted  to  cotton,  corn,  cane,  and  potatoes.  Cotton  comprises  one-third  of  the  crops,  grows  to  a  height  of  -1  feet,  and  yields  about  800 
pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  land.  It  also  runs  to  weed  on  fresh  lauds,  but  the  use  of  superphosphates  cheeks  1 1 .  This  land  yields 
from  U00  to  500  pounds  per  acre  after  ten  years' cultivation,  and  is  troubled  mostly  with  hog-weeds.  Lint  from  fresh  lands  rates  as 
middling;  that  from  old,  low  middling ;  in  each  case  1,425  pounds  of  seed-cotton  are  required  for -175  pounds  of  lint.  Very  little  of  this 
laud  now  lies  out,  as  it  produces  as  well  after  resting  as  at  first.     Very  little  damage  is  done  by  washing. 

The  darlc  gray  gravelly  and  sandy  sails  along  the  creeks  cover  one-fourth  of  the  area  of  the  county,  ami  have  a  growth  of  pine,  with 
some  oak  and  black-jack.  The  soil  has  a  depth  of  15  inches,  contains  pebbles,  and  has  an  impervious  yellow-clay  subsoil  that  becomes 
soft  after  being  plowed  up.  This  land  is  early  and  warm  when  -well  drained,  and  well  adapted  to  all  the  crops.  One-third  is  planted  in 
cotton,  which  grows  to  a  height  of  -1  feet,  yielding  600  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  laud  and  500  after  leu  years'  cultivation. 

The  light  sandy,  pebbly  soil  covers  a  large  proporl  ion  til'  the  county,  has  a  growth  of  pine  and  scrub  black-jack,  and  lies  mostly  off  from 
the  livers  and  creeks.  Its  depth  is  5  inches,  with  a  light  yellow  sandy  and  pebbly  clay  subsoil  underneath.  It  is  also  early  and  warm, 
and  well  adapted  to  all  crops.  Cotton  grows  to  a  height  of  2  feet,  yielding  400  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  land;  also 
after  ten  years  if  the  land  has  been  rested,  1,000  pounds  being  required  for  475  pouuds  of  lint.  The  laud  produces  well  after  a  rest,  and 
does  not  wash. 

Cotton  is  shipped,  from  September  to  January,  by  steamboat  to  Savannah  at  $2  per  hale. 

IRWIN. 

Population:  2,096. — White,  2,101 ;  colored,  535. 

Area:  080  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  lime-sink  (wire-grass)  region,  71  square  miles;  pine  barrens  (wire- 
grass),  009  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  11,058  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  1,800  acres;  in  corn,  4,049  acres;  in  oats,  3,319  acres. 

Cotton  production :  595  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.33  bale,  471  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  157  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Irwin  county  is  included  in  the  wire-grass  region.  The  surface  is  broken  or  slightly  rolling  on  the  north  and 
east,  but  falls  and  is  more  level  southward.  Long-leaf  pine  is  the  almost  exclusive  growth,  between  whose  tall 
and  bare  trunks  long  views  may  be  obtained,  broken  only  by  the  undergrowth  of  cypress  ponds  or  small  streams. 

On  the  east,  along  the  Ocmulgee  river,  there  are  some  good  lands,  but  over  the  county  generally  the  soils  and 
subsoils  are  sandy  and  unproductive  after  a  few  years'  cultivation. 

Sandstone  underlies  the  lauds  near  Irwinville,  and  ferruginous  gravel  is  abundant  in  many  places,  giving  rise 
to  a  better  class  of  soil. 

About  15  per  cent,  of  the  area  is  irreclaimable  swamp.  The  county  is  sparsely  populated  (4  persons  per  square 
mile).     Much  attention  is  given  to  cattle  and  sheep. 

Only  about  2.7  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  the  county  is  under  cultivation,  and  of  that  15.4  is  devoted  to  cotton, 
commercial  fertilizers  being  advantageous! y  used  in  its  culture. 

The  lands  are.  similar  in  character,  and  the  methods  of  culture  the  same  as  in  Coffee  and  Telfair  anil  other 
adjoining  counties.  The  Brunswick  and  Albany  railroad  affords  transportation  facilities  to  the  southern  pari  of 
the  county,  while  on  the  east  boats  ply  between  Macon  and  Darien  on  the  Ocmulgee,  which  also  bears  down  rafts 
of  lumber  to  the  coast. 

BERRIEN. 

Population:  0,019. — White,  5,783;  colored,  S30. 

Area:  700  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  lime-sink  (wire-grass)  region,  96  square  miles;  pine  barrens  (wire- 
grass),  004  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  26,214  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  5,583  acres;  in  corn,  8,429  acres;  in  wheat,  15  acres;  in 
oats,  S,199  acres;  in  rice,  398  acres. 

Cotton  production:  2,008  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.36  bale,  513  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  171 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Berrien  county,  lying  between  the  Allapalia  and  Little  rivers,  is  covered  by  an  open  growth  of  long-leaf  pine 
and  wire-grass.  The  surface  of  the  county  on  the  north  of  Nashville  is  rolling,  the  soils  containing  it  black  or  brown 
ferruginous  gravel.  On  the  south  the  country  is  quite  level,  its  flatness  being  broken  only  by  the  streams  and  the 
cypress  marshes  and  ponds.     A  feature  of  this  low  land  is  the  number  of  large  areas  of  tall  "pitcher-plants". 

The  waters  of  the  small  streams  are  slow  and  sluggish  in  motion,  and,  with  those  of  the  ponds,  are  colored 
black  from  decayed  vegetation.  The  soil  of  these  swamps  and  marshes  is  but  little  else  than  a  white  sand  filled 
with  rootlets  and  decayed  vegetation,  and  sometimes  covered  for  an  inch  or  two  with  muck.  These  lauds  are 
considered  worthless,  though  the  muck  might  be  profitably  used  on  the.  farms.  Fifteen  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  the 
county  is  reported  as  being  of  these  irreclaimable  swamp  lands.  The  growth  is  poplar,  cypress,  gum,  titi,  and  pine, 
with  occasionally  a  little  oak  and  hickory. 

But  5.4  per  cent,  of  the  county  area  is  under  tillage,  and  mostly  in  corn  and  oats,  cotton  being  third,  with  an 
average  of  7.3  acres  per  square  mile.     The  county  has  a  population  averaging  but  nine  persons  per  square  mile. 
413 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  153 

ABSTRACT   FROM    THE    REPORT    OF   HENRY    T.    PEOPLES,    OF   NASHVILLE. 

The  rolling  as  well  as  the  flat  lauds  of  the  county  are  well  adapted  to  the  culture  of  cotton,  but  are  all  thin.  The  lands  are  all 
sandy  and  dry  very  rapidly,  and  in  some  seasons  there  is  a  failure  to  get  a  stand  at  the  proper  time.  They  are  very  easily  cultivated,  and 
produce  remunerative  crops.  Manuring  and  fertilizing  add  greatly  to  the  production.  The  lands  may  be  classed  as  chocolate,  gravelly, 
or  pimply,  with  a  shallow  subsoil  shelving  to  the  south;  flat  sooty,  sandy  soil,  with  a  deej)  subsoil;  high  sandy  lands,  which  m  wet 
weather  produce  finely. 

The  chocolate  or  pimply  gravelly  lands  are  the  best  cotton  lands,  but  they  do  not  exceed  one-tweutieth  of  the  area  of  the  county.  They 
occur  in  all  the  piny  woods  of  the  state.  The  soil  is  a  fine  sandy  gray  loam  from  6  to  10  inches  deep,  underlaid  by  a  hard,  variegated  clay, 
red,  brown,  chalk-like,  and  sticky.  It  contains  red  ferruginous  gravel  or  concretions,  and  is  early,  warm,  ill  drained,  and  difficult  to> 
till  in  wet  but  easy  in  dry  weather.  The  chief  productions  are  cotton,  corn,  oats,  pease,  rice,  potatoes,  chufas,  peanuts,  and  turnips. 
Cotton  grows  to  a  height  of  from  2  to  6  feet,  is  most  productive  at  3  or  4  feet,  and  runs  to  weed  on  fresh  laud.  It  produces  on  fresh  land 
only  from  300  to  400  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  but  from  500  to  600  pounds  after  two  years.  The  lint  rates  as  low  middliug  from 
fresh  land,  and  one  grade  better  from  the  second  year's  crop.  "Dog-fennel"  and  "chicken-weed"  are  most  troublesome.  These  lands 
wash  but  slightly. 

The  sandy  "sooty"  hu.d,  with,  its  growth  of  long-leaf  pine  and  wire-grass,  ib  the  second-grade  cotton  soil  of  the  county,  covering 
two-fifths  of  its  area  and  extending  over  the  southern  portion  of  the  state.  It  has  a  depth  of  6  or  8  inches  and  a  subsoil  of  compact 
clay,  hard  and  variegated,  with  gravel  at  2  feet.  Its  growth  is  mostly  pine.  It  is  easily  cultivated,  is  early,  warm,  and  ill  drained,  producing 
from  400  to  600  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  when  fresh  and  from  500  to  800  pounds  after  two  years'  cultivation.  One-tenth  of  these  lands 
now  lies  out,  but  they  are  very  thrifty  when  again  cultivated.     They  wash  but  little. 

White  sandy  soil  occurs  in  localities  comprising  one-tenth  of  the  lands  of  the  county,  having  a  growth  of  pine,  scrub  oak,  and  black- 
jack. Its  depth  is  only  from  2  to  4  inches,  and  is  underlaid  by  a  stiff  clay  and  gravel  at  from  2  to  4  feet.  It  produces  from  200  to  400 
pounds  of  seed-cotton  x>er  acre  when  fresh  and  from  300  to  500  pounds  after  four  years'  cultivation.  One-tenth  of  this  land  lies  out, 
and  it  recuperates  very  slowly.     It  washes  readily,  doing  serious  damage  sometimes. 

Cotton  is  shipped,  as  fast  as  ginned,  by  the  Albany  and  Brunswick  and  other  railroads  to  Savannah. 

LOWNDES. 
(See  ''Wire-grass  and  lime-sink  region".) 

WARE. 
.  (See  "Pine  flats  and  coast  region".) 

PIEEOE. 

Population:  4,538.— White,  3,065 ;  colored,  1,473. 

Area:  540  square  miles. — Woodland,  all  ;  pine  barrens  (wire-grass),  200  square  miles;  pine  flats,  340  square 
miles. 

Tilled  lauds  :  9,496  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  994  acres  ;  in  corn,  4,105  acres ;  in  oats,  2,209  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  369  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.37  bale,  52S  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  176 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Pierce  county  resembles  Wayne  very  greatly  in  its  topographical  features  as  well  as  in  the  character  of  its 
lands.  On  the  southeast  the  country  is  level  and  covered  with  cypress  ponds  and  palmetto  and  gallberry  flats ; 
on  the  northwest  it  is  slightly  rolling  or  undulating,  and  the  lands  are  better.  The  soils  are  sandy,  contain 
ferruginous  gravel,  and  have  a  yellowish  subsoil  more  or  less  clayey.  The  growth  of  long-leaf  pine  is  very  open, 
with  but  little  undergrowth,  and  wire-grass  prevails  everywhere. 

Satilla,  Little  Satilla,  and  Hurricane  rivers  flow  through  the  county  in  an  east  and  southeast  course,  and  lumber 
and  turpentine  industries  absorb  largely  the  attention  of  the  people.  The  country  is  sparsely  settled  (8  persons 
per  square  mile),  and  but  2.7  per  cent,  of  the  lands  are  under  tillage,  chiefly  in  corn  and  oats.  The  average  of 
cotton  is  l.S  acres  per  square  mile. 

Irreclaimable  swamps  covei  about  7i  per  cent,  of  the  county.  Muck  is  very  abundant  on  all  the  lowlands  or 
swamps,  and  rests  usually  on  a  white  sandy  soil. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  HENRY  J  SMITH,  M.  D.,  OF  BLACKSHEAE. 

D 

The  lauds  of  the  county  are  very  much  the  same  everywhere,  with  the  exception  of  the  ponds  and  branch  bottoms.  The  soil  is 
universally  thin  and  sandy,  hut  capable  of  any  amount  of  improvement.  Very  little  lowland  is  in  cultivation,  and  the  little  that  has 
been  cleared  has  been  abandoned  as  being  very  uncertain  for  cotton,  making  too  much  foliage  and  causing  the  bolls  to  rot.  Even  for 
corn  and  rice  the  same  uncertainty  exists  because  of  a  worm  that  attacks  them.  Both  varieties,  upland  and  sea-island  cotton,  do  well  in 
the  uplauds,  except  wben  attacked  by  rust  and  the  caterpillar. 

The  lauds  suitable  for  cotton  hardly  exceed  one-fifth  of  the  lands  of  the  county,  and  do  not  occur  in  very  large  bodies.  The  fine 
sandy  loam  soil  is  from  10  to  20  inches  deep,  has  a.  yellowish  sandy  subsoil,  often  filled  with  brown  pebbles  (sand  held  by  iron),  and 
underlaid  by  an  impervious  clay  stratum  at  from  1  foot  to  3  feet.  The  crops  of  the  county  are  corn,  cotton,  sugar-cane,  pease,  potatoes, 
oats,  rice,  ground-pease,  and  chufas.  With  fertilizers  corn  yields  about  40  bushels  per  acre.  Cotton  comprises  hut  one-fourth  of  the 
crops,  yielding  on  fresh  land  possibly  300  pounds  per  acre  in  the  seed,  1,665  pounds  being  required  for  475  pounds  of  lint,  which  rates  as 
middling.     After  four  or  five  years'  cultivation  the  yield  would  be  almost  nothing  unless  fertilizers  were  used. 

41J 


154  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

Cottou  grows  tall  and  weedy  on  natural  lands,  but  does  not  fruit  well  without  manures.  Fertilizers  restrain  the  tendency  to  run  to 
weed  on  new  land  and  also  favor  boiling.  Crab-grass  alone  is  troublesome.  Old  lauds  are  generally  improved  by  rest  after  being;  worn 
out,  and  farmers  prefer  improving  them  than  to  taking  in  uew.  The  lands  are  too  level  to  suffer  by  washing  aud  gullying.  Oats  are  the 
favored  of  all  crops  on  this  land,  the  soil  being  too  light  and  friable  for  Buch  a  tender  plant  as  cotton,  unless  it  could  be  tilled  with 
humus  to  absorb  the  sun's  rays  in  summer  and  prevent  its  scorching  reflection  upon  a  growing  and  luxuriant  cotton-plant.  The  effect  of 
a  few  such  days  is  sufficient  to  cause  to  fall  every  bloom  and  form  from  the  plaut. 

Tho  lumber  and  turpentine  industries  are  much  more  remunerative,  and  the  higher  prices  ottered  to  laborers  by  those  engaged  in 
these  industries  make  it  almost  impossible  to  secure  farm  hands  at  fair  prices. 

The  railroads  furnish  means  of  transportation  of  cotton  to  Savannah,  and  shipments  are  made,  as  fast  as  ginned,  at  40  cents  per  100 
pounds. 


PINE    FLATS    AND    COAST    REGION. 

(Embraces  all  or  parts  of  the  counties  of  Ware,  Clinch,   Echols,   Charlton,  Camden,  Pierce,*  Wayne,"  Glynn, 

Mcintosh,  Liberty,  Bryan,  and  Chatham.) 

WAKE. 

Population:  4,159.— White,  3,015;  colored,  1,144. 

Area:  620  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  pine  barrens  (wire-grass),  151  square  miles;  pine  flats,  400  square 
miles. 

Tilled  lands:  8,332  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  524  acres;  in  corn,  3,388  acres;  in  rice,  5G5  acres;  in  oats, 
1,953  acres ;  in  rye,  8  acres. 

Cotton  production :  158  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.30  bale,  429  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  143  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

All  of  the  southern  portion  of  Ware  councy  is  included  in  the  Okefenokee  swamp  (see  page  51),  and  is  almost 
uninhabitable.  The  upper  portion  of  the  county  has  a  slightly  rolling  surface,  a  tall  open  growth  of  long-leaf  pine, 
and  a  carpet  of  wire-grass.  These  approach  to  within  a  short  distance  of  the  swamp,  when  broad  and  flat  areas 
of  saw-palmetto  appear,  largely  replacing  the  grass.  The  lands  of  the  wire-grass  region  are  stiff  and  sandy,  with 
ferruginous  gravel  and  sandy  subsoils.  Cypress  swamps  are  interspersed  throughout  the  area.  The  creeks  which 
flow  into  the  swamp  on  the  north  unite  and  form  Suwanee  river,  which  passes  "out  on  the  west  and  turns  southward. 

The  county  is  sparsely  settled  (7  persons  per  square  mile),  and  but  2.1  per  cent,  of  its  area  is  under  tillage, 
corn  aud  oats  being  the  chief  crops.     Cotton  has  an  average  of  eight-tenths  of  an  acre  per  square  mile. 

Two  railroads  cross  at  Waycross  and  furnish  the  means  of  transportation  direct  either  to  Savannah  or  to 
Brunswick. 

CLINCH. 

Population:  4,138.— White,  3,300;  colored,  S3S. 

Area:  900  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  pine  barrens  (wire-grass),  141  square  miles;  pine  flats,  759  square 
miles. 

Tilled  lands:  14,340  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  1,022  acres;  in  corn,  5,524  acres;  in  rice,  1,208  acres;  in 
oats,  3,359  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  511  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.32  bale,  450  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  150  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Clinch  county  is  very  level  and  flat,  and  is  covered  with  an  open  growth  of  long-leaf  pine,  saw- 
palmetto,  aud  some  wire-grass,  interspersed  with  cypress  ponds,  gallberry  flats,  and  small  swamps  of  cassino,  maple, 
titi,  water  oak,  tupelo  and  black  gums,  and  short-leaf  pine.  Eighteen  per  cent,  of  the  area  is  irreclaimable  swamp. 
The  streams  are  black  aud  very  sluggish.  Muck  is  abundant  on  the  lowlands,  and  is  several  inches  deep  over  a 
white  sand  bottom.  The  soils  and  subsoils  of  the  county  are  sandy,  and  but  15  per  cent,  of  the  lands  have  been 
cleared. 

The  yellow  long-leaf  pine  timber  affords  lumber  of  fine  quality.  The  county  has  an  average  population  of  but 
5  persons  per  square  mile,  and  but  2.5  per  cent,  of  its  area  is  under  tillage.  Corn  and  oats  are  chief  crops,  the 
average  of  cottou  being  l.S  acres  per  square  mile.  J.  Tomlinson,  of  Homerville,  reports  that  the  greater  part  of  the 
sea-island  cotton  is  produced  on  the  Allapaha  river  and  Suwanoocha  creek. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  P.  STOTESBURY,  OF  STOCKTON. 

The  surface  of  the  country  is  very  flat  aud  level,  and  is  not  strictly  uplands,  neither  is  it  what  is  known  as  lowlands.  It  is  drained  by 
creeks  emptying  into  the  Suwanee  and  Allapaha  rivers.  The  higher  lands  are  preferable  for  short  staple  and  the  lowlands  for  long  staple, 
"black-seed"  or  sea-island.  The  lands  are  interspersed  with  ponds  and  gallberry  flats.  The  growth  is  long-leaf  pine,  scrub  oaks,  saw- 
palmetto,  aud  wire-grass.  The  soil  is  from  2  to  3  iuches  deep;  the  subsoil  sandy,  leachy,  and  yellow.  The  higher  lands  contain  reddish- 
brown  pebbles.  The  crops  are  long  and  short  staple  cotton,  sugar-cane,  pease,  sweet  and  Irish  potatoes,  corn,  oats,  some  wheat,  rye, 
turnips,  etc.  This  is  the  best  oat-growing  section,  the  lands  being  especially  adapted  to  that  crop.  Cotton  comprises  one-fourth  of  the 
crops,  grows  from  3  to  5  feet  high,  aud  yields  from  600  to  600  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  lands.  After  five  years'  cultivation 
the  yield  is  from  300  to  400  pounds.     Crab-grass  alor.e  is  troublesome.     The  lands  do  not  wash,  aud  but  little  now  lies  turned  out. 

Sea-island  cotton  is  produced  chiefly  on  the  rivers  and  creeks.     The  average  weight  is  350  pounds  to  the  bale. 

Cotton  is  shipped  by  railroad  to  Savannah  from  October  to  January. 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  155 

ECHOLS. 

Population:  2,553.— White,  2,053  ;  colored,  500. 

Area:  400  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  pine  barrens  (wire-grass),  81  square  miles;  pine  flats,  319  square 
miles. 

Tilled  lands:  15,785  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  3,578  acres;  in  corn,  5,159  acres;  in  oats,  1,650  acres;  in 
rice,  106  acres. 

Cotton  production:  731  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.20  bale,  291  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  97  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Echols  county  is  drained  by  the  Suwanoochee  and  Allapaha  rivers,  both  flowing  southward.  The  lauds  along 
this  latter  river  and  in  this  section  of  the  comity  belonging  to  the  better  class  of  the  wire-grass  region  are  underlaid 
by  limestone,  and  have  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine,  with  some  red  oak  and  hickory.  The  surface  of  the  country  is 
very  level. 

On  the  east  cypress  ponds  and  palmetto  flats  become  abundant,  and  wire-grass  ceases  almost  entirely  as 
Okefenokee  swamp  is  approached.  The  surface  is  covered  with  a  tall  growth  of  long-leaf  pine.  The  lands  are  not 
as  fertile  as  on  the  west. 

Of  the  area  of  the  county,  one-third  is  irreclaimable  swamp.  The  population  averages  but  six  persons  per 
square  mile,  and  0.2  per  cent,  of  the  count3r  is  under  cultivatiou.  These  are  chiefly  in  the  western  part,  and  are 
devoted  to  corn,  cotton,  and  oats.     Cotton  has  an  average  of  8.9  acres  per  square  mile. 

Sea-island  cotton  is  chiefly  cultivated,  the  bales  being  about  350  pounds  weight.  This  variety  is  not  as  prolific 
as  the  short  staple,  and  hence  perhaps  the  low  productiveness  that  returns  show. 

ABSTRACT   FROM  THE   REPORT   OF  JOHN   HERNDON,  OF   STATENVILLE. 

The  gray  and  sandy  lands  are  the  hest  in  the  county.  The  growth  is  pine,  with  some  red  oak  and  hickory.  The  soil  is  15  inches 
deep,  and  produces  corn,  cotton,  oats,  sweet  and  Irish  potatoes,  and  ground  and  field-pease.  One-half  the  crops  is  of  cotton,  and  chiefly 
of  the  sea-island  or  long-staple  variety.  The  yield  is  from  800  to  1,000  pounds  per  acre  on  fresh  land  and  from  (100  to  700  pounds  after 
three  years'  cultivation.  The  lint  rates  as  middling  upland.  Short-staple  upland  cotton  grows  from  2  to  3  feet  high;  sea-island  from 
4  to  6  feet.  The  latter  should  he  topped  on  the  first  of  July  to  favor  holling.  The  weed  most  trouhlesome  is  "  dog-fennel ".  None  of  this 
land  lies  out  for  more  than  one  year,  as  even  that  short  time  greatly  improves  it.  No  damage  is  doue  by  the  small  amount  of  washing  to 
which  this  soil  is  liable. 

Cotton  is  shipped  as  early  as  the  first  of  November,  by  railroad,  to  Savannah  at  $3  per  bale. 

CHAKLTON. 

Population:  2,154. — White,  1,794;  colored,  360. 

Area:  1,060  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  all  in  pine  flats  region  and  Okefenokee  swamp. 

Tilled  lauds :  5,077  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  258  acres ;  in  corn,  1,980  acres ;  iu  oats,  684  acres  ;  in  sweet 
potatoes,  179  acres;  in  rice,  47  acres. 

Cotton  production:  62  bales;  average  product  per  acre,  0.24  bale,  342  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  114  pounds  lint. 

A  large  part  of  Charlton  county,  embracing  the  western  half,  is  included  iu  Okefenokee  swamp.  From  the 
eastern  edge  of  the  swamp  the  surface  of  the  county  rises  to  a  low  sandy  ridge,  about  20  feet  above  the  swamp  and 
about  IIS  above  tide-water  at  Trader's  Hill.  This  ridge,  the  Atlantic  ami  Gulf  water-divide,  slopes  rapidly  to 
eastward  and  passes  on  the  south  into  Florida.  The  lands  are  sandy,  often  a  deep  whitish  sand  bed,  and  is  timbered 
with  an  open  growth  of  long-leaf  piue.  The  two  rivers,  Saint  Mary's  and  Satilla,  flowing  respectively  from  the 
south  and  north,  approaching  each  other  to  within  a  few  miles,  and,  suddenly  and  abruptly  turning  to  the  coast, 
flow  between  high  banks  for  the  most  part,  Trader's  Hill  being  located  some  74  feet  above  tide-water.  A  bed  of 
white  marl  is  exposed  in  the  banks  of  the  Satilla  at  Burnt  Fort.  (For  further  description  of  the  region,  see  page 
50.)  Corn  and  oats  are  the  chief  crops ;  cotton  is  but  little  planted.  Lumbering,  and  especially  turpentine-making, 
are  the  chief  industries. 

Shipments  are  made  by  schooner  along  the  rivers  to  seaport  cities. 

CAMDEN. 

Population:  6,183— White,  2,091 ;  colored,  4,092. 

Area:  620  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  all  pine  flats,  savannas,  and  live-oak  and  coast  lands. 

Tilled  lands:  9,100  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  206  acres ;  in  corn,  3,195  acres;  in  oats,  138  acres;  in  sweet 
potatoes,  370  acres  ;  in  rice,  2,463  acres. 

Cotton  production:  68  bales;  average  product  per  acre,  0.33  bale,  471  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  157  pouuds  lint. 

Camden  county  embraces  a  belt  of  high  sandy  islands  covered  with  live-oak  timber,  low  coast  marsh  lands 
along  the  immediate  border  of  the  mainland,  and  a  belt  of  live-oak  and  higher  lands  reaching  inland  to  the  level 
savannas  region,  the  growth  also  fringing  the  streams  to  the  foot  of  the 'Atlantic  ami  Gulf  water-shed  iu  Charlton 
county.  The  savannas,  with  their  level  lands,  interspersed  with  palmetto  and  swampy  flats,  cover  the  greater 
part  of  the  county.  A  narrow  strip  of  the  county  surface  along  its  western  border  rests  upon  a  terrace  some  15 
or  20  feet  above  the  savannas.  (See  further  description  of  the  county  in  general  part,  page  51.)  Corn,  rice,  and 
vegetables  are  the  chief  crops,  cotton  having  an  average  of  but  three-tenths  of  an  acre  per  square  mile. 


156  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA 

ABSTRACTS  FROM  THE   REPORTS   OF   E.   A.    Ht'WHORTEB   AND   JOSEPH   SHEPARD,   OF  SAINT   MARY'S. 

All  of  the  lauds  are  level  ami  sandy,  Cotton  is  usually  planted  on  the  dry  Bandy  upland,  though  a  little  is  grown  on  reclaimed 
marshes.  Being  near  the  sea-coast  and  under  the  influence  of  the  salt  atmosphere,  the  sea-island  variety  alone  is  planted.  The  largest 
part  of  the  county  is  covered  with  pine  timber,  the  swamps  having  oak,  hickory,  beeeh,  gum,  cypress,  etc. 

The  fine  silly  soil  of  the  lowlands  is  devoted  almost  exclusively  to  rice;  the  sandy  uplands  produce  cotton,  potatoes,  and  sugar- 
cane.    The  subsoil  is  generally  a  sand,  though  red  and  yollow  clays  are  found  in  places.     The  crops  of  the  county  an rn,  rice,  cotton, 

sweet  potatoes,  sugar-cauo,  and  vegetables  of  all  kinds.  The  lands  produce,  from  10  to  15  bushels  of  com  per  acre,  and  from  400  to  500 
pounds  of  sea-island  seed-cotton,  or  300  pounds  after  four  years'  cultivation.  Cotton  grows  from  4  to  10  feel  high,  bul  is  must  productive 
at  from  4  to  8  feet.  Ruuniug  to  weed  is  prevented  by  planting  on  rich  natural  land  or  by  moderate  manuring.  The  troublesome  weeds 
are  tea-  and  bitter-weed,  cocklebur,  Jerusalem  oak,  dog-fennel,  and  crab-grass.  At  least  one-third  of  the  lands  now  lies  turned  out, 
but  produce  well  when  again  brought  into  cultivation.     They  are  all  too  level  to  wash  or  gully. 

Shipments  are  made  in  the  winter  by  coast  steamboats  to  Savannah. 

PIERCE. 

(See  "Wire-grass  ami  pine  barrens  region".) 

WAYNE. 

(Sec  "Wire-grass  and  pine  barrens  region".) 

GLYNN. 

Population  :  0,497.— White,  2,195  ;  colored,  4,302. 

Area:  430  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  all  coast  lauds,  live-oak  lauds,  and  savannas. 

Tilled  lands :  5,015  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  58  acres;  in  corn,  1,505  acres;  in  oats,  2-11  acres;  in  rice, 
2,749  acres. 

Cotton  production :  10  bales;  average  product  per  acre,  0.17  bale,  240  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  82  pounds  cotton 
lint, 

Glynn  county  resembles  the  adjoining  counties  iu  all  of  its  topographical  and  agricultural  features,  and  their 
repetition  is  unnecessary.  The  county,  outside  of  the  city  of  Brunswick,  is  very  sparsely  populated.  Corn,  oats, 
rice,  and  sweet  potatoes  are  the  chief  crops.  There  is  less  cotton  planted  here  than  in  any  other  county  of  the 
state  excepting  the  mountain  counties  of  the  extreme  north.  Sea-island  cotton  is  chiefly  raised,  its  product  per 
acre  being  low. 

Shipments  of  every  kind  are  mostly  made  by  ship  from  the  city  of  Brunswick',  which  is  also  connected  by 
railroad  with  Savannah  and  the  interior  cities. 

Mcintosh. 

Population:  0,241.— White,  1,540  ;  colored,  4,095. 

Area:  530  square  miles. — Woodland,  all ;  [line  barrens  (wire-grass),  153  square  miles;  pine  flats,  12  square 
miles ;  savanna,  170  square  miles;  live-oak,  marsh,  and  islands.  195  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  8,898  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  339  acres;  in  corn,  2,825  acres;  in  rice,  4,035  acres;  in  oats, 
354  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  104  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.3 1  bale,  438  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  1 ! 0  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Mcintosh  county  iu  its  general  features  resembles  the  adjoining  county  of  Liberty.  Along  the  coast  the  marsh 
and  live-oak  lands  extend  inland  for  several  miles,  while  up  the  Altamaha  river  tide-water  readies  10  miles  from 
the  marshes.     The  tide  swamp  lands  produce  a  great  abundance  of  rice  and  sugar-cane. 

The  savanna  aud  pine  fiat  region  covers  the  county  westward  from  these  marshes  to  the  pine  hills,  and  includes 
the  largest  part  of  its  area.  The  growth  of  long-leaf  pine  is  very  open,  as  in  other  counties,  and  palmetto  Hats  and 
cypress  or  gum  ponds  are  also  scattered  throughout  its  area.  The  slightly  rolling  pine  and  wire-grass  lands  are 
found  iu  the  uorthwest,  where  the  soil  contains  much  ferruginous  gravel. 

Irreclaimable  swamps  comprise  15  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  the  county.  The  soils  are  dark  or  white  sands, 
covered  with  several  inches  of  muck.  The  Altamaha  river  furnishes  the  means  of  transportation  for  immense 
quantities  of  timber  each  year  from  this  aud  the  counties  above  to  Darien. 

It  is  thought  that  30  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  the  county  has  been  cleared,  though  but  2.0  per  cent,  is  now  under 
cultivation.  Corn  and  oats  are  the  chief  crops.  The  cotton  acreage  is  small,  averaging  but  six-tenths  of  an  acre 
per  square  mile.  The  lands  are  best  suited  to  sea-island  cotton.  Lumbering  is  one  of  the  chief  industries  of  the 
county. 

Darien,  the  county-seat,  is  situated  4  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Altamaha  river  in  a  large  grove  of  live  oaks. 
It  is  the  chief  lumber  port  of  the  South  Atlantic  coast,  receiving  its  supplies  by  rafts  floated  down  the  river.  It 
is  not  properly  a  cotton  port,  as  its  only  means  of  communication  with  the  cotton-producing  counties  is  by  the  river 
steamboats. 

William  C.  Wylly,  of  Darien,  says: 

There  is  not  enough  cotton  made  in  this  district  to  justify  a  report.     Previous  to  1865  this  county  had  a  productive  interest  in  the 
sea-island  cotton  crop   but  this  has  not  as  yet  been  revived,  although  of  late  there  has  been  a  growing  iuterest   aud  belief  in  the 
re-establishment  of  the  old  industry. 
422 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  157 

LIBERTY. 

Population:  10,049. — White,  3,581;  colored,  7,008. 

Area:  720  square  miles.— Woodland,  all;  pine  barrens  (wire-grass),  420  square  miles;  savanna,  160  square 
miles  ;  live  oak,  marsb,  and  islands,  134  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  23,047  acres.— Area  planted  in  cotton,  2,084  acres;  in  corn,  8,505  acres;  in  rice,  4,211  acres;  in 
oats,  3,597  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  079  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.33  bale,  405  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  155  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Liberty  county  includes  in  its  area  Saint  Catherine  and  smaller  islands.  Four  agricultural  regions  are 
represented  in  the  county,  viz:  coast  marsh,  live-oak  lands,  savannas  or  pine  flats,  and  the  sandy  wire-grass  lands. 

The  lands  are  generally  level,  and  two  of  the  three  large  divisions  occupy  what  might  be  termed  terraces.  The 
marsh  lands  are  low  and  but  little  above  tide-water.  The  first  terrace,  15  feet  above  these,  is  a  level  plain  15 
miles  wide,  covered  by  the  savannas,  with  their  open  growth  of  long-leaf  pine  and  "carpet  of  flowers"  and  saw- 
palmetto.  The  live-oak  lands  borderthese  savannas  along  the  marsh  and  the  various  streams.  (For  description 
of  these  lands  by  Mr.  King,  and  for  analysis,  see  page  52.)  Another  terrace,  rising  quite  abruptly  10  or  15  feet 
above  this,  forms  a  north  and  south  line  across  the  county,  Hinesville  being  situated  on  and  Walthourville  below 
the  plain.  This  also  marks  the  southern  limit  of  the  wire-grass  region.  Its  surface  is  more  or  less  undulating,  and 
the  growth  of  long-leaf  pine  is  very  open,  with  very  little  undergrowth.  Near  Hinesville  the  terrace  is  covered  with 
deep  heavy  sands  and  gravel,  and  is  called  "  the  gravel  hills".  The  pine  and  wire-grass  lauds,  comprising  the  sandy 
soils  peculiar  to  the  entire  region,  have  a  coarse,  brown  gravel,  and  frequently  pebbles  oue  or  two  ounces  in  weight. 
It  is  reported  that  the  wire-grass  in  some  places  is  being  displaced  and  crowded  out  by  a  dog-fennel  weed. 

Of  the  county  area  5  per  cent,  is  under  cultivation,  chiefly  in  corn,  oats,  and  cotton,  the  latter  embracing  9 
per  cent,  of  the  tilled  lands  and  averaging  2.9  acres  per  square  mile. 

A  report  gives  the  sea-island  cotton  production  in  1879  as  5  per  cent,  of  the  entire  number  of  bales  raised  in 
the  county. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE   REPORT   OF   JAMES  A.  M.  KING,  OF   DORCHESTER. 

Tlie  yellow  sandy  soils,  from  4  to  S  inches  deep,  with  white  or  yellowish  sandy  subsoils,  are  the  best  for  cotton,  being  surest  against  rust. 
They  comprise.  1  per  cent,  of  the  lauds,  aud  extend  from  the  Savannah  to  the  Altamaha  river  and  adjoining  tide-water,  and  have  a  growth 
of  live  and  water  oaks,  chincapin,  hickory,  pine,  and  cedar.  The  soil  is  compact  and  leachy,  and  is  underlaid  by  sand  for  20  feet.  It  is  early, 
warm,  and  well  drained,  aud  is  best  adapted  to  corn  as  a  remunerative  crop.  Corn,  highlaud  rice,  and  potatoes  are  the  crops  of  the  county. 
Cotton  is  planted  only  in  small  patches.  Fresh  lauds  yield  GOO  pounds  of  sea-island  cotton,  in  the  seed,  per  acre,  and  400  pounds  after  six 
years' cultivation,  the  rule  being  to  rest  the  land  oue  year  in  throe.  From  fresh  land  1,425  pounds  if  ordinary  and  1,780  pounds,  if  fine,  make 
475  pounds  of  lint,  aud  the  lint  is  longer  and  more  silky  than  that  from  old, which  is  harsh.  Sea-island  cotton  grows  from  4  to  10  feet  high, 
and  is  most  productive  at  6  feet,  but  runs  to  weed  iu  wet  seasons  or  with  deep  cultivation,  the  remedy  being  "  wholesome  neglect "  or 
leaving  it  alone  until  as  large  as  desired,  when  it  must  be  cleaned.  Weeds  generally  termed  herbaceous  plants  are  not  troublesome.  The 
grasses,  crab,  Bermuda,  and  nut-grass,  are  hard  to  manage  in  wet  weather.  The  sea-island  cotton  lands  are  not  as  good  as  when  they 
were  abandoned  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  in  1861.     They  are  too  level  to  wash  any. 

The  gray,  fine  and  coarse  sandy  lands,  with  clay  subsoils,  are  the  second  best  in  quality,  but  with  too  much  rain,  while  growing,  the 
crops  suffer  from  rust.  They  are  the  savannas  or  piue  flats,  and  comprise  50  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  the  county.  The  growth  is  pine, 
water  oak,  cyx>ress,  gum,  etc.  The  lands  are  best  adapted  to  corn,  oats,  rice,  and  in  some  places  to  upland  cotton.  The  cotton  area  is 
very  small. 

The  swamp  lands  above  tide-water,  with  their  growth  of  cypress,  water  oak,  gum,  some  ash,  maple,  and  beech,  comprise  10  per  cent. 
of  the  area,  have  a  depth  of  from  1  foot  to  4  feet,  and  are  best  adapted  to  rice,  aud  when  safe  from  floods  yield  large  crops  of  uplaud 
cotton.     But  little  of  the  latter  crop  is  planted. 

The  choice  sea-island  cotton  lands  are  not  suited  to  upland  or  short-staple  cotton  ;  therefore  but  little  is  planted.  Labor  is  also  too 
unreliable.  I  am  manuring  our  cotton  lands  on  the  sea-coast  with  marsh  mud,  aud  hope  to  make  upland  cotton  of  the  most  productive 
kind  a  success  in  small  and  then  in  larger  areas. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  L.  B.  NORMAN,  OF  M'INTOSH. 

Th.o  fine  sandy  loam  lands  cover  two-thirds  of  the  county,  aud  have  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine,  oak,  aud  hickory.  The  soil  is  from 
3  to  9  inches  deep,  with  a  yellow  subsoil  near  the  surface  and  a  red  clay  below  at  from  2  to  5  feet.  The  crops  of  the  county  are  rice,  corn, 
potatoes,  cotton,  sugar-cane,  pease,  and  oats.  Cotton  grows  from  3  to  5  feet  high,  and  yields  ou  fresh  lands  900  pounds  of  seed-cotton 
per  acre,  which  makes  ' '  middling  "  lint.  Ten  years'  cultivation  reduces  this  to  200  pounds,  and  1,485  pounds  making  475  pounds  of  lint. 
Red-weed  or  horse-sorrel,  brown-sedge,  and  crab-grass  are  most  troublesome.     The  lauds  are  much  improved  by  lyiug  out. 

The  black  swamp  or  hummock  lands  are  found  in  occasional  strips  from  a  cpiarter  of  a  mile  to  2  miles  wide  along  the  streams.  They 
are  best  adapted  to  sea-island  cotton,  but  very  little  is  planted.  The  yield  on  fresh  land  is  1,500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,900 
pounds  making  475  pounds  of  lint.  Crab-grass  gives  the  most  trouble.  After  five  years'  cultivation  the  yield  is  1,900  pounds  of  seed- 
cotton,  and  the  staple  is  better. 

The  railroad  furnishes  convenient  transportation  to  Savannah. 

BRYAN. 

Population:  4,929.— White,  2,368;  colored,  2,561. 

Area:  400  square  miles.— Woodland,  all;  pine  barrens  (wire-grass),  228  square  miles;  savanna,  102  square 
miles;  live  oak,  marsh,  aud  islands,  70  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands :  15,588  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  764  acres;  in  corn,  5,000  acres;  in  rice,  4,999  acres;  in 
oats,  1,780  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  304  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.40  bale,  507  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  189  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

423 


158  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

In  Bryan  county,  on  the  coast,  the  marsh  and  live-oak  lands  cover  the  islands  and  extend  inland  for  several 
miles.  The  savannas  or  pine  flats  form  the  largest  part  of  the  county,  and  extend  inland  to  near  the  north  corner, 
the  northwestern  part  of  the  county  being  in  the  pine  and  wire-grass  country.  This  region  widens  out  as  it  passes 
northeastward  into  the  adjoining  counties  and  into  South  Carolina,  its  limit  forming  a  line  almost  north  from 
Hinesville,  in  Liberty  county,  through  Bryan. 

The  slightly  rolling  pine  and  wire-grass  lands  on  the  northwest  occupy  the  terrace  that  passes  southward 
from  Jenks'  bridge,  on  the  Ogeechee  river,  into  Liberty  county.  This  terrace  is  50  feet  above  the  savannas  on  the 
north,  but  only  about  20  feet  slbove  where  it  enters  Liberty  county.  It  does  not  present  a  regular  front,  but  is 
merely  a  low  and  broken  upland,  contrasting  strongly  with  the  low  and  flat  lands  of  the  savannas. 

The  lands  of  the  open  wire-grass  and  pine  regions  are  sandy,  and  contain  much  ferruginous  gravel.  The  county 
has  about  15  per  cent,  of  irreclaimable  swamp;  the  lowland  growth  is  pine,  magnolia,  red  bay,  live  oak,  cedar,  and 
cabbage  palmetto.  But  0.1  percent,  of  the  county  area  is  under  cultivation,  and  that  mostly  in  corn  and  oats. 
The  acreage  of  cotton  is  small,  averaging  but  1.9  acres  per  square  mile.  The  lands  are  well  adapted  to  sea-island 
cotton,  but  its  culture,  since  1801,  has  largely  ceased,  and  turpentine  making  and  lumbering  arc  now  the  chief 
industries. 

Tide-water  extends  about  10  miles  above  the  coast  marshes  on  the  Ogeechee  river,  and  the  tide  swamps  are 
largely  devoted  to  rice  culture. 

Transportation  is  furnished  by  means  of  the  railroad  to  Savannah,  or  by  boats  down  the  rivers  to  the.  coast. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  A.  G.  SMITH,  OF  MAXDEN  BRANCH. 

All  the  land  of  this  region  may  be  called  lowland.  With  the  exception  of  the  bottoms,  the  lands  are  higher  along  the  water-courses 
than  elsewhere.  Even  the  nine  lands  are  low  and  level,  and  much  is  sandy  and  poorly  drained.  The  cotton-plant,  though  very  line,  is 
often  scantily  fruited.     Summer  rains,  followed  by  hot  weather,  cause  shedding  of  bolls. 

The  chief  cotton  lands  are  the  hummocks  along  rivers  and  creeks  and  the  higher  bottom  lands.  They  are  commonly  designated 
pine  and  wire-grass  lands,  and  bear  a  natural  growth  of  pine  and  scrubby  oaks.  Ooo-fourth  of  the  region  is  of  this  kind.  The  soil  is  a 
fine  and  coarse  sandy  loam  of  a  brown  color,  and  is  8  inches  thick.  The  subsoil  is  like  the  surface  soil,  except  that  it  has  a  greater 
proportion  of  yellow  sand.  The  soil  is  warm  but  ill  drained,  and  is  easily  cultivated  if  not  too  wet.  The  chief  crops  of  tho  region  aro 
corn,  cotton,  and  rice.  The  soil  is  apparently  best  adapted  to  rice,  which  occupies  one-fourth  of  the  tilled  area.  The  cotton-plant 
grows  from  3  to  4  feet  high,  and  is  generally  most  productive  at  4  feet.  Too  much  rain  causes  it  to  run  to  weed,  the  remedy  consisting 
in  drainage.  From  (i00  to  800  pounds  is  the  product  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  of  fresh  land.  Old  land  produces  from  400  to  ('.oil  pounds  per 
acre,  and  the  amount  needed  for  a  475-pound  bale  varies  from  1,4-25  to  1,545  pounds.  There  is  no  observable  difference  in  the  quality  of 
staples  from  fresh  and  from  old  lands.  Crab-grass  iu  great  abundance  is  the  only  troublesome  weed.  One-tenth  of  such  land  originally 
cultivated  lies  "turned  out",  and  when  again  cultivated  produces  very  well  for  two  or  three  years. 
Cotton  is  shipped,  -when  ginned,  mostly  by  wagons  to  Savannah. 

CHATHAM. 

Population:  45,023.— White,  17,401;  colored,  27,529. 

Area:  400  square  miles. — Woodland,  all;  about  200  square  miles  of  savannas  and  200  square  miles  of  live- 
oak  and  coast  lands. 

Tilled  lands:  23,496  acres. — Area  planted  iu  cotton,  2S9  acres;  in  corn,  2,224  acres;  in  oats,  019  aeres;  in 
sweet  potatoes,  75S  acres ;  in  rice,  8,009  acres. 

Cotton  production:  05  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.22  bale, 321  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  107  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Chatham  county  lies  between  the  Savannah  and  Ogeechee  rivers,  and  reaches  the  immediate  coast.  It  is 
included  entirely  in  the  savanna  and  live-oak  regions,  the  latter  including  in  its  limits  the  city  of  Savannah, 
whose  parks  are  well  shaded  with  the  magnificent  live-oak  growth.  The  county  resembles  in  its  features  the  other 
counties  of  the  coast  belt,  and  a  repetition  is  not  necessary.     (See  general  description  and  analysis  of  soil,  page  52.) 

The  city  of  Savannah  has  several  cottonseed-oil  mills  and  cotton  compresses,  and  probably  receives,  for 
shipment  to  foreign  markets,  the  greater  part  of  the  cotton  production  of  the  state. 

ABSTRACT    FROM   THE    REPORT    OF    GEORGE    P.    HARRISON,    OF    SAVANNAH. 

The  fresh-water  overflowed  lands  of  this  county  are  very  fertile;  the  sea  islands  and  uplands  are  devoted  to  cotton  culture.  This 
soil  is  a  gray,  fine  sandy  loam,  6  inches  thick,  and  covers  about  one-fourth  of  this  region,  extending  100  miles  north  aud  south  and  20 
miles  east  and  west.  Its  natural  growth  is  live  and  other  oaks,  magnolia,  sweet  gum,  and  pine.  The  subsoil  is  an  impervious,  brownish 
clay  in  some  places,  in  others  it  is  a  leachy,  yellowish  sand;  in  either  case  the  same  kind  of  material  continues  to  greater  depths.  Tillage 
is  easy  at  any  time,  and  the  soil  is  early,  warm,  and  for  the  greater  part  well  drained.  Tho  chief  crops  are  rice  aud  garden  produce  for 
the  northern  markets.  The  lowlands  aro  apparently  best  adapted  to  rice,  the  sandy  lands  to  garden  produce.  The  most  productive  and 
usual  height  of  the  cotton-plant  is  5  feet.  The  tendency  to  run  to  weed,  whatever  the  cause  may  he,  is  a  peculiarity  of  the  coast  region, 
but  it  prevails  to  a  greater  degree  iu  wet  seasons.  The  remedy  consists  iu  topping.  Fresh  land  produces  475  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per 
acre.  The  production  of  old  land  varies  with  cultivation  aud  manuring.  There  is  little  or  no  difference  between  old  and  fresh  land  so 
far  as  the  quality  of  staple  and  ratio  of  seed  to  lint  are  concerned.  About  seven-tenths  of  such  laud  originally  cultivated  now  lies  "turned 
out",  but  with  a  little  manure  produces  very  well  when  again  cultivated.     Crab  and  Bermuda  grasses  are  the  most  troublesome  weeds. 

424 


PART    I  IT. 


CULTURAL    AND    ECONOMIC    DETAILS 


COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


159 
425 


REFERENCE  LIST 


NAMES  AND  ADDRESSES  OF  CORRESPONDENTS. 


NORTHWEST  GEORGIA. 


Murray. — William  J.  JOHNSON,  Spring  Place,  January  17,  18^0. 

Catoosa. — W\  ,1.  Whitsitt,  Ringgold,  February  10,  1881. 

Hade. — T.  J.  Lumpkin,  M.  D.,  Rising  Fawn,  March  25,  1879;  W.  A.  Chambers,  Morganville,  December  23,  1880. 

Walker.—  F.  M.  Young,  Greenbush,  January  19,  1880;  J.  A.  Clements,  Villanow,  December  23, 1879;  W.  F.  Tapp,  Valley  Store,  Chattooga 

county,  February  7,  1880. 
Chattooga.— A.  I'.  AlLGOOD,  Trion  Factory,  April  21,  1880;  C.  D.  Hill,  Raccoon  Mills,  January  4,  1880. 
Bartow. — A.  F.  Woolley,  Kingston,  January  25,  1880;  J.  O.  McDaniel,  Allatooua,  February  2,  1880. 
Floyd.— George  S.  Black,  Rome,  April  22,'1880;  John  II.  Dent,  Cave  Spring. 

Fulk.—T.  J.  Thompson,  Rockniart,  January  1.  1880;  ,S.  M.  II.  Byrd,  Cedartown,  December  16,  1879. 
Gordon. — Aaron  Roff,  Calhoun,  January  27,  1881. 

METAMORPIIIC  OR  BLUE  RIDGE  AND  MIDDLE  GEORGIA  REGION. 

Towns.— J.  W.  Holmes  and  Howell  C.  Standridge,  Hiawassce.     (No  details.) 

Fannin. — Adam  Davenport,  Morganton,  December  16,  1879. 

White.— J.  H.  Nichols,  Naeonehee.     (No  details.) 

Union. — C.  J.  Welborn,  Blairsville,  January  8,  1880. 

Lumpkin. — J.  C.  Brittain,  Dalilonega.     (No  details.) 

Habersham.— C.  H.  Sutton,  Clarksvillo,  December  15,  1879. 

Franklin. — O.  C.  Wyly,  Carnesville. 

Hart.— C.  W.  Seidell,  llartwell,  January  10,  1880. 

Bonks. — C.  C.  Sanders,  Gainesville,  Hall  county,  Juno  19,  1880. 

Hall. — Dr.  M.  F.  Stephenson,  Gainesville,  December  20,  1879. 

Forsyth. — H.  C.  Kellogg,  Pleasant  Grove,  January  8,  1880. 

Cherokee. — M.  S.  Paden,  Woodstock,  January  5.  1880;  Elias  C.  Field,  Canton,  July  5,  1880. 

Madison. — B.  M.  Merony,  Dauielsville,  February  14,  1880. 

Elbert.— Bobert  Hester,  Elberton. 

Jackson. — E.  M.  Thompson,  Jefferson,  February  6,  1880. 

Clarke. — Prof.  David  C.  Barrow,  jr.,  Athens,  September  29,  1880. 

Oglethorpe. — William  L.  Johnson,  Stephens,  February  10,  1880. 

Wilkes. — Jons  T,  Wixgfield, Washington,  Aprils,  1880. 

Lincoln. — C.  R.  Strotiier,  Lincolntou,  January  1,  1880:  N.  A.  Crawford,  Lincoluton,  January  15,  1880. 

Walton.— R.  H.  Cannon,  Walnut  Grove,  Novomber20,  1880. 

Gwinnett. — E.  D.  Winn,  Lawrencevillo,  December  25,  1879. 

Cobb.— James  Roswell  King,  Roawell,  March  20,  1880;  II.  M.  IIammett,  Marietta,  December  10,  1879. 

Paulding.— J.  R.  Prkwett.  Dallas,  July  8,  1880. 

Haralson. — W.  C.  McBkater,  Draketown,  July  8,  1880. 

Carroll. — R.  II,  Springer,  Whitesburg,  December  21,  1879. 

Douglas.— OF.  M.  Duncan,  Douglasville,  June  26,  1880;  J,  E.  Henley,  M.  D.,  Campbellton,  June  18,  1880. 

Fulton.— Thomas  Moore,  Boltonville,  December  22,  1879;  J.  C.  Tucker,  Ben  Hill  post-office,  January,  1880. 

De  Ealb.—T.  J.  Flake,  Panthersville,  December  26,  1879;  F.  A.  Ragsdale,  Lithonia,  January  22,  1880. 

Rockdale. — William  L.  Peek,  Couyers,  January  26, 1880. 

Neioton.— Jesse  W.  Walker.  Social  Circle,  Walton  county,  January  10,  1880;  Leonidas  F.  Livingston,  Covington,  July  1,  1880, 

Morgan. — Grant  D.  Perry,  Madison,  February  I,  1880. 

Greene. — J.  B.  Y.  Warner,  Greensboro',  February  12, 1880. 

Taliaferro. — Lionel  L.  Veazy.  Crawfordsville,  May  6, 1880. 

Columbia. — H.  R.  Casey,  Appling,  January  1,1880. 

McDuffie.—k.  E.  Sturgis,  Thomson,  March  29, 1880. 

160 

426 


CULTURAL  AND  ECONOMIC  DETAILS.  161 

Warren. — JonN  S.  Johnson,  Warrenton,  December  25,  1879;  James  A.  Shivers,  Warrenton,  December  29, 1879. 

Putnam.— J.  T.  Dennis,  Eaton  ton,  March  27,  1880;  Robert  C.  Humber,  Eatoutnn,  January  6,  18B0. 

Jasper.— William  D.  Maddox,  Monticello,  March  29,  1880;  Willis  Newton,  Shady  Dale,  December  15,  1879. 

Henry.— J.  A.  C.  Wynn,  Wynn's  Mills,  December  30,  1879. 

Fayette.— Isaac  G.  Woolsey,  M.  D.,  Fayotteville,  July  1,  1880. 

Spalding.— J.  M.  Kelb,  S.  F.  Gray,  and  H.  T.  Patterson,  Sunny  Side,  February  24,  1880. 

Coweta. — Benjamin  Leigh,  Newnan,  December,  1879;  Augustus  W.  Stokes,  Newnan,  January  1,  1830. 

Heard. — R.  H.  Jackson,  Franklin,  June  10,  1880. 

Troup.— William  P.  Beasley,  La  Grange ;  C.  W.  Mabry,  La  Grange,  Jauuary  1,  1880. 

Meriwether. — J.  E.  G.  Terrell,  Greenville. 

Baldwin.— James  C.  Whitaker,  Milledgeville,  March  5,  1880. 

Upson.—  E.  W.  Eose,  The  Rock,  Juno  19,1880;  Thomas  J.  Middlebrooks,  Barnesville,  Decembers!),  1879. 

Harris. — James  W.  Mobley,  Hamilton,  January  22,  1880. 

Talbot. — William  H.  Ellison,  Shiluh,  Harris  county,  January  5,  1880 ;  W.  M.  Gorman,  Geneva,  June  17,  1880. 

Crawford. — B.  Le  Sueur,  Knuxvillc,  April  20,  1880. 

Bibb.—  W.  D.  H.  Johnson,  Boliugbroke,  February  9,  1880. 

Muscogee. — James  C.  Cook,  Columbus,  Jauuary  5,  1880. 

Hancock.— W.  J.  Nortiien,  Sparta,  October  30, 1880. 

Monroe. — R.  C.  McGough,  Forsyth,  February  17,  1881. 

CENTRAL  COTTON  REGION. 

Richmond.— A.  H.  McLaws,  Augusta,  March  31,  1880. 

Burke. — J.  B.  Jones,  Herndon,  February  13,  1880;  W.  B.  Jones,  Herndon,  Jauuary  2,  1880. 

Jefferson.— A.  E.  Tarver,  Bartow,  March  12,  1880. 

Glascock. — James  L.  Neal,  Warrenton,  Warren  county,  .;  aly  12,  1880. 

Washington. — H.  N.  Hollifield,  Sandersville,  February,  1880. 

Wilkinson. — T.  N.  Beall,  Irwiuton,  Juuo  1,  1S80. 

Twiggs. — F.  D.  Wimberley,  jr.,  Twiggsville,  April  15,1880. 

Laurens.—  Robert  Wayne,  Dublin,  December  27, 1879;  J.  F.  Chappell,  M. D. , Laurens  Hill,  March  15,1880. 

Taylor. — James  A.Adams,  Reynolds.  January  30,  1880. 

Macon.—  A.  J.  Cheves,  Montezuma,  December  22,  1879. 

Schley.— Thomas  F.  Raney,  sr.,  Ellaville,  January  5,  1880. 

Marion. — George  W.  C.  Mukro,  Bnena  Vista,  March  30,  1880. 

Chattahoochee.— J.  A.  Wooldridue,  M.  D..  Jamestown,  March  9, 1880. 

Stewart.— W.  H.  Tatum,  Hannahatchoe,  June  23,  1880. 

Webster. — James  P.  Walker,  Preston,  August  21,  1880;  Jubilee  Smith,  Preston,  July  8,  1880. 

Sumter. — Samuel  S.  Bird,  M.  D.,  Americas;  C.  C.  S>;hpard,  Americus,  March  6,  1880. 

Quitman. — A.  Ogletree,  Georgetown,  March  4,  1880. 

Randolph.— M.  A.  McNulty,  Cuthbert,  July  1,  1880. 

Clay. — F.  K.  Freeman,  Fort  Gaines,  June  10.  1380. 

Calhoun.  —  W.  A.  Beckcom,  Arlington,  March  1,  1880. 

Dougherty. — Messrs.  Welch  and  Bacon,  Albany,  July  2,  1880. 

Marly.— John  B.  Mulligan.  Blakely  ;  Dennis  M.  Wadu,  Blalely,  February  23,  1880. 

LONG-LEAF  PINE  AND  WIRE-GRASS  REGION. 

Decatur. — John  E.  Dickerson,  Bainbridge,  December  22,  1879. 

Thomas.— R.  II.  Hakdaway,  Thomasville,  February  17, 1880;  James  H.  Hayes,  Cairo,  January  7,  1830. 

Brooks.— R.  I.  Denmark,  Quitman,  January  5,  1880. 

Screven.— Hon.  George  R.  Black,  Sylvania,  January  1,  1880;  R.  D.  Sharpe,  Parramore'a  Hill,  December  20,  1879. 

Johnson.— J ames  H.  Hicks,  Wrightsville,  January  23,  1880. 

Emanuel. — E.  H.  Edeneield,  Swainsboro',  June  19,  1880. 

Montgomery. — E.  McRae,  Mount  Vernon,  June  12   I860. 

Dodge.— Da:  :d  Sjpf,  Du  Bois,  July  9,  1880. 

Telfair.— D.  F.  McRae,  Sumter  City. 

Wilcox.— S.  D.  Filler,  House  Creek,  January  14,  1880. 

Dooly. — John  H.  Whitsett,  Vienna,  February  2,  1880. 

Worth. — William  A.  Harris,  Isabella,  May  1,  1880. 

Baker. — J.  H  Hand,  M.  D.,  Leary,  Calhoun  county,  February  14,  1880. 

Mitchell.— W.  W.  Spence,  Camilla,  March  21,  1880. 

Colquitt. — J.  B.  Norman,  Moultrie,  December  22,  1879. 

Lowndes. — N.  B.  Ousley  (late  of  Lowndes  county),  Fort  Valley,  Houston  county,  February  3,  1830. 

Berrien. — Henry  T.  Peeples,  Nashville,  December  Ss2,  1879. 

Coffee.—  Timothy  Fussell,  Kirkland,  February  15,  1880;  A.  M.  Fraser,  Hazlehurst. 

Appling. — Benjamin  Milikin,  Holmcsville,  July  7,  1880. 

Pierce— Henry  J.  Smith,  M.  D.,  Blackshcar,  December  13,  1879. 

Wayne.— James  W.  Harper,  Gardi,  July  1,  1880;  G.  W.  Stansell,  Jessup. 

Tattnall.— JOHN  Hughe y,  Re.idsville,  October  7,  1880;  B.  H.  Clifton,  Perry's  Mills. 

Bulloch.— J.  F.  Brown,  Ogeeohee,  October  16,  1880. 

Effingham.— O.  E.  Smith,  Egypt,  March  14,  1881. 


162 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


COAST  AND  PINE-FLAT  COUNTIES. 

Chatham. — George  P.  Harrison,  Savannah,  April  3,  1881. 

Bryan.— A.  G.  Smith,  Maiden  Branch,  March  28,  1881. 

Liberty.— h.  B.  Norman,  Mcintosh,  February  21,  1880 ;  James  A.  M.  King,  Dorchester,  January  24,  18S0. 

Mcintosh — William  C.  Wylly,  Darien. 

Clinch. — P.  Stotesbury,  Stockton,  January  30,  1830. 

Echols.—  John  Herndon,  Statenville,  May  12,  1880. 

Camden. — Joseph  Siiepard,  Saint  Mary's,  January  3,  1880;  E.  A.  McWhorter,  Saint  Mary's,  December  31,  1870. 

ADDITIONAL  NAMES. 


Appling. — J.  J.  Carter,  Baxloy. 
Brooks. — S.  M.  Griffin,  Quitman. 
Burke. — J.  H.  Daniel,  Millen. 
Clinch. — J.  Tomlinson,  Homorville. 
Coweta. — R.  F.  Miller,  Newnan. 
Dade. — A.  W.  Sherrill,  Rising  Fawn. 
Dodge. — J.  M.  Sapp,  Eastman. 
Elbert.— 3.  H.  Duncan,  Elberton. 
Forsyth. — F.  II.  Nichols,  Camming 


Glynn. — R.  M.  Tisox,  Jamaica. 
Liberty. — J.  E.  Sheppard,  Hinesville.      . 
Lowndes. — J.  S.  Barnett,  Valdosta. 
Morgan. — N.  E.  RlIODDY,  Rutledge. 
rutnam. — S.  C.  Prudden,  Eatonton. 
Rabun. — F.  A.  Bleckley,  Clayton. 
Troup.—  J.  F.  Jones,  Hogansville. 
Washington. — J    B.  Roberts,  Sandorsville. 


4<2S 


SUMMARY  OF  ANSWERS  TO  SCHEDULE  QUESTIONS. 


(■The  subject-matter  embraced  in  this  division  of  the  report  consists  simply  of  a  summary  of  the  answers  to 
schedule  questions  combined  in  such  a  manner  as  to  avoid  repetition  and  present  the  facts  as  concisely  and  clearly 
as  possible.  When  of  special  interest,  extracts  are  made  from  these  answers,  and  the  name  of  the  county  is  added 
in  parenthesis. 

There  are  one  hundred  and  twelve  counties  represented  in  these  answers,  nothing  having  been  heard  from 
parties  in  the  other  twenty-five  to  whom  questions  were  sent.) 


TILLAGE,  IMPROVEMENT,  ETC. 


1.  What  is  the  usual  depth  of  tillage  (measured  on  land-side  of  furrow)  and  draft  employed  in  breaking  up  V 


Northwest  Georgia:  5  to  6  inches  in  all  counties  except  Gordon, 
which  is  3  inches  ;  2  horses  or  mules  generally,  often  with  1. 

Metamorphic  region  :  2  inches  in  Madison  and  Greene,  3  inches 
in  sixteen  counties,  3^  inches  in  Douglas,  Putnam,  and  Harris, 
4  inches  in  seven,  5  inches  in  seven,  6  to  7  inches  in  eleven 
counties,  and  about  8  inches  in  Cobb  and  Taliaferro  counties; 
generally  with  1  and  exceptionally  with  2  horses  or  mules  in 
thirty-seven  counties,  with  1  or  2  horses  or  mules  in  seven 
counties,  and  with  2  horses  or  mules  in  two  counties  (Fannin 
and  Haralson). 


Central  cotton  belt:  2  inches  in  three  counties,  3  inches  in  nine 
counties,  4  inches  in  three  counties,  5  inches  in  seven  counties : 
6  inches  in  Schley,  and  10  inches  on  the  bottom  lands  of  Rich- 
mond; 2  horses  in  Richmond  and  Washington,  and  1  horse  or 
mule  generally,  and  2  exceptionally,  in  all  other  counties. 

Long-leaf  pine  and  coast  counties:  2  inches  in  Johnson  and 
Pier.ce,  3  to  4  inches  in  thirteen  counties,  5  to  6  inches  in 
fifteen  counties  ;  usually  with  1  horse  or  mule. 


Is  subsoiliug  practiced?     If  so,  with  what  implements,  and  with  what  results'? 


Northwestern  region:  All  of  the  counties  except  Dade  and 
Catoosa,  where  the  practice  is  said  to  be  general,  report  very 
little  snbsoiling,  though  on  the  increase  in  some.  The  imple- 
ments used  are  two-horse  plows,  long  scooters,  bull-tongue, 
colter  or  winged  colter  plows.  The  following  extracts  are 
given :  The  results  of  subsoiliug  are  good.  Besides  increasing 
production,  it  enables  crops  better  to  endure  excessive  wet  or 
dry  seasons  (Murray  and  Walker).  Equal  to  an  addition  of 
200  x>onnds  of  the  best  of  fertilizers  per  acre  (  Walker).  Does 
not  seem  to  benefit  the  crops  much,  but  makes  after-cultiva- 
tion easier  and  the  soil  less  liable  to  wash  (Folic). 

Metamorpiiic  region:  In  only  fourteen  of  the  counties  is  sub- 
soiling  practiced  to  any  great  extent.  The  implements  used 
are  the  same  as  in  the  northwestern  region,  with  the  addition 
of  the  Avery,  Brinley,  diamond  point,  and  square-pointed 
plows.  The  results  are  reported  good  in  all  counties  except 
Hancock.  The  production  is  increased  from  25  to  40  per  cent. 
(Warren  and  Hall).  Cultivation  made  easier  (Forsyth  and 
Upson).  It  so  breaks  the  clay  subsoil  that  the  roots  of  cotton 
may  go  deeper  and  better  endure  drought,  besides  increasing 


the  production  (JSrewton,  Troup,  Gwinnett,  McDuffie,  Heard 
and  Baldwin). 

Central  cotton  belt  :  Very  little  subsoiliug  is  practiced  in  this 
region,  in  nine  of  the  counties  there  being  none  at  all.  The 
implements  aTe  similar  to  those  used  in  the  metamorphic 
region.  With  four  exceptions  the  results  are  good.  "  It  does 
not  pay"  (Tiviggs  and  Laurens).  Not  very  favorable  (Schley). 
Doubtful  (Sumter).  On  stiff  and  hard-pan  lands  the  pro- 
duction is  increased  50  per  cent.  (Glascock).  Good  in  dry 
seasons  (Marion).  Satisfactory  where  the  subsoil  is  clayey, 
the  yield  being  greatly  increased  ( Webster).  Good  on  red 
lands  (Bandolph). 

Long-leaf  pine  region  and  coast  counties:  It  is  done  to  some 
extent  in  but  few  of  the  counties,  the  implements  being 
the  Avery,  Watt,  Brinley,  and  other  subsoil  plows.  If  the 
subsoil  is  pebbly,  the  results  are  good;  otherwise  it  is  injuri- 
ous (Pierce).  The  soil  is  injured  by  deep  plowing  (Liberty). 
The  soil  and  subsoil  are  both  sandy,  and  subsoiliug  is  unnec- 
essary (Appling). 

1G3 
429 


164 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


.'3.  Is  fall  plowing  practiced,  and  with  what  results'? 

Northwest  Georgia.:  Yes;  to  various  extents  in  all  the  counties 

except  Gordon.     It  is  not  believed  to  be  beneficial  to  cotton, 

and  is  not  practiced  for  cotton  in  Murray.     "A  little;  it  is  oi* 

little  benefit  to  crops,  and  it  makes  rolling  lands  more  liable 

to  wash"  (Folk).    All  others  report  results  as  very  satisfactory, 

especially  when  vegetation  is  turned  under.     Nearly  all  the 

deep  plowing  is  done  in  fall  and  wiuter  (Dad?).     It  makes 

after-cultivation  much  easier  (  Walker). 
Metamokiuik'  region:  It  is  practiced  but  little  generally,  and  not 

at  all  in  the  eouuties  of  Oglethorpe,  Walton,  Jasper,  Heard, 

Baldwin,  and  Hancock.      Results  are  reported  good  from  all 

other  counties,  especially  when  vegetation  is  turned  under. 

Stiff  clayey  lands  are  especially    benefited  by  freezes    and 

thaws  after  fall  plowing  {Cherokee,  Clark,  and  Muscogee).     It 

is  profitable,  but  few  can  spare  the  time  required  for  it  (Lin- 
coln).    It  would  be  generally  practiced  were  not  the  labor  all 

4.  Is  fallowing  practiced?     Is  tbe  laud  tilled  while  lying  fallow,  or  only  "turned  out",  and  with  what  results 
in  either  case? 


engaged  in  picking  cotton  (Columbia,  Fayette,  Gwinnett,  lYaup 
and  Upson).  It  adds  one-fourth  to  the  yields  (Fulton).  It 
cheeks  the  progress  of  weeds  by  turning  them  under  before 
their  seeds  ripen  (Newton  and  Monroe).  Results  are  unfavor- 
able only  whore  heavy  rains  wash  the  soil  (Morgan),  It  is 
indispensable  in  preparing  land  fur  wheat  or  rye  (Troup), 

Central  cotton  belt  and  long-leap  pine  region:  To  but  a 
small  extent  throughout  these  counties.  Only  when  prepar- 
ing to  sow  small  grain  (Lauren*.  Webster,  ami  Montgomery). 
It  is  good  for  level  elay  lands  (Marion). 

Coast  and  pine  flats:  It  is  practiced  in  seven  counties.  Results 
are  good  if  greeu  weeds  arc  turned  under  (Chatham).  It  checks 
damages  by  cut-worms  and  other  pesls  (  Wayne).  The  effect 
sometimes  equals  a  dressing  of  manure  (Pierce).  Only  in  pre- 
paring the  soil  for  oats  (Clinch). 


In  thirty-two  counties  of  the  stat^  it  is  not  done  at  all,  in  twenty 
'  counties  very  generally,  and  iu  the  remainder  to  some  extent. 
Sometimes  the  laud  is  tilled  while  lying  fallow,  and  in  nearly 
all  cases,  whether  tilled  or  "  turned  out",  a  marked  improve- 
ment is  observed.  "  If  the  land  lies  idle  one  year  after  a  crop 
of  wheat  or  oats  the  cotton  crop  is  increased  fully  10  per 
cent."  (  Warren).     In  the  exceptional  cases  of  fallowing,  land 


has  increased  in  production  25  per  cent,  in  live  years  (Han- 
cock). Merely  "turniugout"  does  not  improve  the  land  (  Web- 
ster). Tillage  while  "  lying  out"  consists  in  turning  under 
the  weeds  in  late,  summer  or  fall.  Iu  one  instance  the  yield 
was  increased  from  5  to  42  bushels  of  corn,  or  from  200  to 
2,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  The  land  had  lain  fal- 
low nine  years  (Fierce). 


5.  Is  rotation  of  crops  practiced  ? 

results  *? 

Northwest  Georgia  :  Yes ;  generally  with  cotton,  corn,  small 
cereals,  sweet  potatoes,  and  clover,  in  courses  usually  of  two 
years,  and  in  no  special  order  of  crops.  In  Murray  tin*  course 
is  four  years,  the  order  being  cotton,  corn,  oats,  and  wheat  or 
rye.  In  other  counties  smal^cereals  usually  follow  corn  or 
cotton.  The  results  are  reported  to  be  "favorable",  except 
hi  Walker  county,  wrhere  it  is  claimed  "rotation  is  fast  wear- 
ing out  our  lauds".  "  Even  hillsides  protected  against  wash- 
ings would  long  maintain  fertility  if  rotation  were  thus 
practiced  in  their  cultivation"  (Bartow).  Everything  does 
better,  corn  is  sounder,  and  the  soil  does  not  wash  so  badly 
(I'olk). 

Metamorpiiic  region:  Yes;  very  generally  in  all  the  counties  ex- 
cept Greene,  Putnam,  arid  Heard,  where  the  correspondents 
report  the  system  but  little  practiced.  The  usual  course 
comprises  three  years,  anil  mostly  iu  the  order  of  cotton, 
corn,  and  wheat  or  oats.  In  Forsyth,  Cherokee,  Madison, 
Wilkes,  Walton,  Cobb,  Warren,  and  Troup  cotton  is  reported 
as  planted  for  several  successive  years  before  any  other  crop 
takes  its  place.  Iu  Warren  and  Jasper  the  land  is  allowed 
forest  every  fourth  year.  In  Haralson  and  Newton  "four 
years  of  rotation"  is  practiced,  oats  following  wheat.  It  is 
very  generally  stated  that  cotton  is  more  productive  when  it 
is  planted  after  a  crop  of  wheat.  The  system  of  rotation  is 
not  regular,  and  seems  to  be  resorted  to  as  a  relief  to  the  soil 
after  an  exhaustive  cotton  crop;  and  in  Oglethorpe  county 
only  on  small  farms.  Good  results  iu  increased  crops  are 
universally  reported.  "  Land  is  kept  more  free  from  weeds,  and 
fertility  is  longer  maintained"  (Fannin,  Lincoln,  and  Putnam). 
It  is  believed  to  be  most  profitable  always  to  keep  some  of 
the  laud  in  cotton  ( Cherokee  and  Newton).  Lands  are  improv- 
ing in  fertility  at  the  rate  of  10  per  cent,  every  four  years 
(Fulton).  After  the  wheat  harvest,  pease  are  sown  and  the 
vines  turned  under  in  the  fall,  thus  improving  the  lands  by 
the  addition  of  vegetable  matter  (McDuffte).  If  rotation  were 
practiced,  and  the  soil  allowed  a  year's  rest  after  the  wheat 
crop,  the  cotton  yield  would  be  increased  10  per  cent.  ( War- 
ren).    The  w*ashing  of  the  soil  is  greatly  diminished  (  Upson). 

Central  cotton  belt:  The  counties  of  Richmond,  Burke,  Jef- 
ferson, Glascock,  Washington,  Laurens,  Talbot,  Taylor, 
430 


If  so,  of  how  many  years'  course,  in  what  order  of  crops,  and  with  what 


Marion,  Quitman,  Randolph,  and  Dougherty  answer  "yes", 
other  counties  "to  a  limited  extent  ",  and  with  no  general  sys- 
tem of  rotation.  A  three  years'  course  in  rotation  is  very 
general  throughout  the  region,  and  the  several  crops  of  corn, 
oats,  potatoes,  etc..  are  used.  In  Richmond  and  Stewart 
cotton  is  planted  every  second  year,  alternating  with  other 
crops.  Iu  Washington  and  Schley  cotton  is  succeeded  by 
corn,  wheat,  or  oats,  and  then  the  land  is  allowed  to  rest  for  a 
year,  while  in  other  counties  no  rest  is  given.  Laurens,  Tal- 
bot, and  Webster  report  the  order  to  lie  corn,  cotton,  and  small 
cereals,  while  Sumter  claims  that  "no  advantage  is  observed 
by  planting  cotton  after  corn".  In  Calhoun  "  wheat,  rusts  so 
badly  that  it  does  not  pay  to  sow  it  ".  Rotation  enables  the 
soil  to  maintain  its  productiveness  longer  (Burke).  If  the 
land  is  not  manured  the  crops  must  be  changed  each  y<*ar 
(Glascock).  Land  improved  and  production  increased  (Tal- 
bot). Where  the  change  is  from  shallow  to  deep-rooted  plants, 
or  rice  versa,  the  results  are  good  (Marion).  To  produee  wheat 
the  laud  is  manured  as  much  as  possible  with  compost  and 
cotton-seed  ;  as  a  result,  double  the  usual  yield  is  sometimes 
produced  (  H'ebsicr). 

Long- leaf  pine  and  wire-grass  region:  "Yes;  to  some  extent," 
in  all  of  the  counties  except  Telfair  and  Wilcox,  where  either 
resting  or  planting  in  wheat  is  practiced  every  fourth  year; 
and  in  Screven,  Brooks,  Dodge,  and  Coffee,  where  corn,  sweet 
potatoes,  and  oats  alternate  with  cotton.  The  usual  course 
is  three  years,  aud  in  the  order  of  cotton,  corn,  and  oats  or 
wheat  in  most  of  the  counties.  In  Lowndes  some  of  the  farm- 
ers use  fertilizers  and  never  vary  from  continuous  cotton 
planting.  The  results  of  rotation  are  always  reported  "ex- 
cellent". Crops  are  increased  20  per  cent.  (Screven),  The 
land  improves  and  production  increases  (Appling,  Berrien,  aud 
Worth). 

Coast  and  pine-fi.ats  region:  "Not  generally"  in  Bryan  and 
Wayne;  "sometimes"  in  Liberty  and  Pierce,  aud  "yes"  in 
other  counties,  but  with  no  regular  system.  Cotton,  corn,  and 
oats  ;  cotton  never  follows  pease  or  sweet  potatoes,  because  it 
is  then  subject  to  rust  if  that  disease  prevails  (Liberty).  After 
a  dressing  of  cow-pen  mauure,  corn  or  sugar-cane  isplanV-d, 
then  cotton  or  sweet  potatoes. 


CULTURAL  AND  ECONOMIC  DETAILS. 


165 


G.  What  fertilizers  or  other  direct  means  of  improving  the  soil  are  used?     Is  green  manuring  practiced? 
What  are  the  results  in  either  case? 


Northwest  Georgia:  Fertilizers  are  scarcely  used  in  the  northern 
counties  of  Dade,  Walker,  and  Catoosa,  and  then  only  with 
cotton  crops.  In  other  counties  the  use  of  commercial  brands 
aud  composts  of  these  with  manure  and  cotton-seed  is  becom- 
ing very  general.  But  little  green  manuring  is  practiced, 
though  with  cow-pease  and  clover  the  results  are  acknowl- 
edged to  be  good.  Extracts :  Commercial  or  other  fertilizers 
are  invariably  used  in  the  production  of  cotton;  withoutthem, 
not  more  than  half  the  bolls  would  open.  The  slaty  black- 
jack lands  would  produce  almost  nothing  without  fertilizers. 
For  other  crops  than  cotton  barnyard  manure  is  applied,  and 
green  manuring  with  cow-pease  is  practiced,  always  with  good 
results  (Murray).  Production  is  increased  one-sixth  to  one- 
fourth  (Dade).  Production  increased  50  per  cent.  The  hrst 
and  second  crops,  after  manuring,  are  improved  (2  Walker). 
Will  add,  in  a  good  season,  50  to  100  per  cent,  to  the  yield 
when  properly  applied  (Bartow).  Has  stimulated  and  in- 
creased the  production  of  cotton  in  this  region ;  they  increase 
the  yield  one-third  (Floyd),  Green  manuring  results  in  an 
increase  of  the  following  crop  only  (Folic). 

Metamorphic  region:  Commercial  fertilizers  are  used  very  gen- 
erally in  all  of  the  counties,  either  alone  or  in  composts,  and 
an  increase  of  production  is  reported  varyiug  from  35  to  75 
per  cent.  Composts  of  barnyard  manure,  pine  straw,  leaves, 
and  the  like,  with  commercial  fertilizers,  are  coming  into  gen- 
eral favor.  In  eighteen  of  the  .counties  green  manuring  is 
reported  to  be  in  practice,  while  in  all  of  the  others  very  little 
is  done.  Cow-pease  alone  are  turned  under,  except  in  the 
northern  counties.  The  following  results  are  reported :  Green 
manuring  improves  succeeding  crops  (  Union).  The  land  im- 
proves more  by  lyiug  fallow  than  by  green  manuring  (Elbert). 
It  is  considered  by  some  to  be  the  best  and  most  economical 
method  of  maintaining  the  fertility  of  the  soil  ( Wilkes).  It  is 
for  wheat  the  cheapest  of  all  manures.  Some  planters  sow 
cow-pease  in  the  corn-field  while  the  corn  is  being  laid  by, 
then  plow  them  under  while  sowing  wheat;  the  effect  on  the 
wheat  is  good  (Fulton).  Green  manuring  makes  cultivation 
easy  and  improves  the  crops  (Neivton).  It  improves  the  land 
and  crops  for  several  years  (HcDuffit).  It  doubles  the  small 
cereal  crops  (1  Warren).  Wonderful  results  are  obtained  by 
turning  under  one  crop  of  cow-pease ;  it  is  equal  to  a  dressing 
of  bone  fertilizer  (1  Putnam).  The  results  of  the  use  of  fertil- 
izers are  thus  given:  They  make  a  climate  (Hall),  The  best 
farmers  use  them  and  would  not  be  without  them  (Clarke). 
Farmers  arc  compelled  to  use  them  to  make  good  yields  (2 
Cobb).  The  home-made  manures  are  more  durable  in  their 
effects  than  the  others  (2  Douglas).  The  composts  are  pre- 
ferred (2  Fulton).  They  are  used  for  the  beneht  of  the  crops, 
and  not  for  any  lasting  addition  to  the  soil  (1  De  Kalb).  The 
use  of  commercial  fertilizers  is  now  declining,  and  farmers 
are  beginning  to  use  barnyard  manure  and  composts  made  at 
home  (1  Newton).     They  double  the  production  of  the  unaided 


soil  (2  Newton).  They  increase  the  crops  but  not  the  net 
profits  of  farming  (Columbia).  Results  are  best  from  composts 
(Fayette).  They  make  farmers  of  this  region  poorer  each  year 
(1  Troup). 

Central  cotton  belt:  Commercial  fertilizers  are  used  in  all  of 
the  counties.  Composts,  made  by  combining  other  material 
with  them,  are  also  in  general  favor,  some  correspondents 
claiming  a  better  yield.  Green  manuring  is  but  seldom  prac- 
ticed, though  the  results  are  admitted  to  be  good,  especially 
to  the  succeeding  crop).  The  following  results  are  given  re- 
garding the  use  of  fertilizers  :  Commercial  fertilizers  cause 
cotton  to  mature  mucli  earlier,  and  are  especially  advanta- 
geous on  river  lands.  Green  manuring  is  practiced  with  cow- 
pease  ;  a  few  farmers  sow  grain  without  first  turning  under 
the  pease,  and  the  latter  die  and  rot  on  the  surface ;  the  grain 
comes  up  well  and  the  practice  is  growing  in  favor  (Pick- 
mond).  Fertility  of  the  soil  is  maintained  (Jefferson).  Crops 
are  improved  50  per  cent.  (Glascock).  Crops  are  increased  25 
percent.  (Macon).  Results  uncertain  (Chattahoochee).  Pro- 
duction increased  10  to  25  per  cent.  (Stewart  and  1  Webster). 
Increased  production  from  100  to  200  per  cent.  (2  Webster). 

Long-leap  pine  and  wire-grass  region:  Commercial  fertilizers 
and  composts  are  very  generally  used  in  all  of  the  counties 
of  this  region,  and  always  with  excellent  results.  Green 
manuring  is  not  practiced  in  Dooly  and  Baker,  and  but  sel- 
dom in  other  counties,  except  Brooks  and  Telfair,  where  it 
seems  to  be  rmpular.  Xhe  effects  are  always  "excellent" 
where  it  is  properly  done.  The  following  replies  are  given: 
The  barnyard  compost  is  always  a  success;  the  others  are 
variable.  In  green  manuring  the  uative  weeds  have  done 
better  than  pease  (Lowndes).  Some  favorable  and  some  unfa- 
vorable results  have  been  obtained  with  fertilizers,  and  fine 
results  from  green  manuring  (Brooks).  Crops  are  increased 
50  to  75  per  cent,  by  the  use  of  fertilizers  (2  Thomas).  Re- 
sults depend  much  on  the  seasons  (Decatur).  Fertilizers  in- 
crease production  50  per  cent. ;  green  manuring,  20  per  cent. 
(2  Sci-even).  Green  manuring  is  equal  to  the  addition  of  50 
pounds  of  guano  per  acre  ( Telfair).  Cow-pease  are  turned  un- 
der in  the  fall  for  the  benefit  of  the  succeeding  crop  (Berrien). 

Coast  and  pine  flat  region  :  Fertilizers  are  in  general  use,  both 
commercial  and  home-made,  the  latter  being  preferred. 
Green  manuring  is  practiced  in  all  of  the  counties  to  some 
extent,  except  Bryan  and  Wayne.  The  following  extracts 
are  given :  Composts  and  marsh  muck  are  used  ;  more  and 
better  lint  is  the  result,  and  cotton-plants  are  more  free  from 
diseases.  Muck  is  the  most  durable,  its  effects  being  observed 
for  years.  Green  manuring  is  followed  with  only  moderate 
results  on  the  sandy  lands  (2  Liberty).  Chiefly  those  found 
locally,  such  as  pond  muck  and  cotton-seed  (  Wayne).  Com- 
posts pay  from  50  to  100  per  cent.  (Clinch).  Composts  of 
manure  and  leaves  and  straw  are  used  (2  Camden). 


7.  How  is  cotton-seed  disposed  of?     If  sold,  on  what  terms  and  at  what  price? 


Little,  if  any,  cotton-seed  leaves  the  state,  but  is  very  generally 
used  for  fertilizing  purposes,  both  alone  and  in  composts. 
It  is  also  largely  fed  to  stock,  especially  in  the  northern 
counties,  where  its  value  to  the  soil  has  not  as  yet  been  felt. 
Prices  vary  from  8  to  12  cents,  and  depend  usually  upon  the 
market  price  of  cotton,  a  pound  of  lint  and  a  bushel  of  seed 
being  considered  of  the  same  value.  For  planting  purposes 
the  price  is  sometimes  as  much  as  25  cents  (for  sea  island 
variety).  The  following  extracts  are  given:  The  farmers  here 
are  beginning  to  realize  the  importance  of  utilizing  their 
cotton-seed  as  a  fertilizer,  and  but  little  is  now  allowed  to  be 
removed  from  the  farm  where  it  is  produced.  Intelligent  and 
advanced  farmers  estimate  cotton-seed  to  be  cheaper,  even 
at  20  cents  per  bushel,  than  any  commercial  fertilizer  in  the 
market.  The  most  popular  mode  of  using  it  is  to  sow  broad- 
cast, at  the  rate  of  about  25  or  30  bushels  per  acre,  and  plow 


it  in  with  wheat  or  oats.  For  growing  corn  or  cotton  it  is 
composted  with  stable  or  barnyard  manure  and  acid  phos- 
phate, and  this  is  perhaps  the  most  economical  method  of 
using  cotton-seed  (Floyd).  Many  owners  now  furnish  tenants 
and  share -laborers  with  cotton-seed  as  manure  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  season,  and  retain  all  that  is  produced  in  the  fall. 
This  method  works  well  (Polk).  The  cheapest  and  easiest 
way  of  maintaining  the  fertility  of  the  soil  is  by  sowing  cot- 
ton-seed with  wheat  or  oats,  then,  without  pasturing,  turn 
under  the  green  crop  (Neivton).  It  is  generally  thrown  out 
of  the  gin-house  to  rot,  and  then  hauled  out  as  manure.  A 
few  planters  apply  it  to  corn  land  without  rotting  (Baker). 
Nearest  oil-mill  :  The  only  oil-mills  in  the  state  are  located  in 
Savannah  and  in  Augusta.  There  are  others  in  Montgomery 
and  Selma,  Alabama,  and  in  New  Orleans. 

431 


166 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


8.  Is  cottonseed -cake  used  with  you  for  feed  ?     Is  it  used  for  manure,  alone  or  composted,  and  for  what 
crops? 

It  is  not  used  at  all  in  sixty-two  counties  of  the  state.     In  the  others  scarce,  then  it  is  fed  to  cows  after  boiling  and  soaking.     It 

it  is  to  some  extent  made  to  serve  purposes  both  of  feed  and  is  used  for  manure,  either  aloue  or  mixed  with  muck,  pino 

of  manure.     Two   bushels  of  it   mixed  with   one  of   corn-  straw,  fence-corner  scrapings,  and  trash  of  all  kinds,  chiefly 

meal  makes  a  good  feed  (  Webster).     Not  unless  cotton-seed  is  for  growing  corn  (Pierce). 


PLANTING  AND  CULTIVATION  OF  COTTON. 


9.  What  preparation  is  usually  given  to  cotton  laud 

Northwest  Georgia:  Fall  plowing  on  stubble  land  in  all  of  the 
counties  except  Gordon  and  Chattooga,  where  no  preparation 
is  given.  Fallow  land  is  turned  over  in  the  fall;  in  other 
cases  the  laud  is  generally  "well  broken  before  bedding  up 
(Murray).  Fall  plowing  to  turn  under  stubble;  otherwise 
spring  plowing  and  harrowing  (3  Walker),  None;  generally 
a  furrow  is  opened,  into  which  manure  is  distributed,  and 
upon  which  the  bed  is  formed  just  before  planting  (2 
Chattooga).  Fall  plowing  with  2  horses  on  stubble  land,  or 
spring  plowing  with  1  horse  on  clean  laud  before  bedding  up 
(Bartow). 

Metamorpiiic  region:  Fall  plowing  in  Jackson  aud  Wilkes  (with 
2-horse  plows)  and  Coweta  (on  stubble  laud),  and  occasionally 
in  other  counties.  Spring  plowing  usually  in  all  of  the 
counties,  unless  the  previous  crop  was  cotton,  when  in  Hall, 
Lincoln,  Clarke,  Morgan,  Greene,  Columbia,  Henry,  Crawford, 
Talbot,  Harris,  Bibb,  Hancock,  and  Monroe  the  laud  is  simply 
bedded.  Bedding  up  is  preceded  by  deep  plowing  (  Warren). 
The  surface  is  cleared  of  rubbish  ;  the  row  furrows  are  opened 
with  shovel-plows,  guano  distributed  in  them  at  200  pounds 
per  acre,  and  this  is  bedded  upon  (Troup).  Thorough  plow- 
ing close  and  deep  in  the  fall  or  spring  (Baldwin).  Broadcast 
plowing  in  winter  chiefly  (Upson).  Knocking  down  stalks 
and  plowing  in  spring  (Muscogee).  Farmers  are  too  busy  to 
plow  in  the  fall  (Monroe).  First  locate  the  beds  by  running 
off  furrows  4  feet  apart  with  a  shovel-plow  as  deep  as  it  can 
he  done,  and  into  these  furrows  another  is  put  with  a  bull- 
touguo  plow,  aud  also  on  each  side.  Fertilizers  are  put  into 
these  rows,  and  the  laud  bedded  over  them  with  a  larger  turn- 
plow  (2  Lincoln). 

10.  Do  you  plant  in  ridges,  and  liovr  far  apart  ? 

Plauting  in  ridges  is  the  prevailing  custom  throughout  the  state, 
a  few  counties  only  reporting  otherwise,  or  preferring  sim- 
ple drills.    The  distance  allowed  between  the  rows  is  from 

11.  What  is  your  usual  planting  time? 

The  earliest  dates  given  are  March  10  in  Hart;  March  15  iu  Rich- 
mond, Calhoun,  Dougherty,  Baker,  Thomas,  Colquitt,  Pierce, 
Clinch,  and  Camden ;  April  1  in  Union,  Hall,  Carroll,  Newton, 
Troup,  Meriwether,  Burke,  Wilkinson,  Macon,  Schley,  Web- 
ster, Sumter,  Quitman,  Clay,  Early,  Liberty,  Wayne,  and 
Echols;  April  5  in  Bartow,  Polk,  Cherokee,  Haralson,  and 

12.  What  variety  of  seed  do  you  prefer? 

The  following  varieties  of  short-staple  cotton  are  given,  aud  the  num- 
ber of  times  each  is  mentioned:  Dixon's  Cluster  or  Prolific,  (51 
times;  Simpson,  12;  Boyd's  Prolific, -1 ;  Peeler,  3;  Petit  Gulf,  3; 
Hurlong,  5 ;  Cheatham,  3.  Others  are  simply  given  as  prolific 
or  cluster  varieties.  The  sea-island  or  black  seed  is  used  in  the 
coast  counties.  Varieties  from  a  more  southern  climate  (Banks). 
Dixon's  limby  cotton  does  not  shed  as  readily  as  the  cluster 
variety  in  times  of  drought  (Rockdale),     The  small  seed  Ya- 

13.  How  much  seed  is  used  per  acre? 

The  amounts  vary  greatly  throughout  tbe  state,  from  one-half  a 
bushel  to  4  bushels.  Except  with  choice  seed,  or  with  the  uso 
of  "  planters",  no  care  is  taken  to  prevent  waste.     Tin-  seed  is 

14.  What  implements  do  you  use  iu  planting  2 

Cottonseed-planters  are  used  in  Catoosa.  Walker,  Bartow,  and  Gor- 
don of  northwest  Georgia,  nineteen  counties  of  the  metamor- 
phic  region,  nine  of  the  central  cotton  belt,  and  ten  of  the 
long-leaf  pine  and  coast  counties.     In  all  others  the  furrows 
43-2 


before  bedding  up? 

Central  cotton  belt:  No  preparation  is  given  in  Richmond,  Ma- 
con, Chattahoochee,  Stewart,  Sumter,  Quitman,  Clay,  Early, 
aud  Dougherty  (rarely),  spring  plowing  usually  in  others. 
Land  broken  broadcast  iu  winter  (Jefferson).  Five  percent,  of 
the  lands  are  plowed  in  the  fall  and  50  per  cent,  in  spring,  and 
45 per  cent,  is  bedded  up  without  plowing  (Glascock).  Spring 
plowing  if  the  preceding  crop  was  corn  or  small  grain  ;  but  if 
cotton,  the  old  rows  are  simply  barred  off  (  Twiggs).  Two  fur- 
rows are  thrown  together  with  turning  plows  in  the  spring 
(Laurens).  Some  break  the  land  before  bedding  up;  others 
simply  relied  the  land  of  the  previous  season  ( Taylor).  Chiefly 
deep,  broadcast  plowing  in  the  spring  (  Warren).  About  April 
1  the  land  is  marked  oil'  in  rows  "2\  or  3  feet  apart,  and  guano 
drilled  in  at  the  rate  of  100  to  '200  pounds  per  acre  (  Webster), 

Long-leaf  pine  and  wire-grass  region  :  No  preparation  in 
Baker,  Mitchell,  Colquitt,  Brooks,  Emanuel,  Montgomery, 
Appling,  and  Berrien  ;  spring  plowing  in  most  of  the  other 
counth-s.  Fall  plowing  rarely;  spring  plowing  sometimes, 
first  broadcast,  but  generally  ridging  originally  (Screven). 
Stubble  land  is  plowed;  where  cotton  is  again  planted  the 
laud  is  simply  rebedded  (Lowndes).  Thorough  plowing 
(Dodge).     Breaking  down  the  stalks  and  plowing  (  Wilcex). 

Coast  and  pine-flat  region:  No  preparation  in  Bryan,  Wayne, 
Echols,  and  Camden.  Fall  plowing  iu  Chatham,  sometimes 
iu  Pierce,  to  turn  under  grasses  arid  weeds.  Breaking  down 
weeds  and  spring  plowing;  fall  plowiug  supposed  to  be  one 
cause  of  rust  (Liberty).  Stalks  pulled  up  and  burned  (  Wayne). 
Stalks,  if  small,  knocked  down;  if  large,  burned.  Spring 
plowing  diagonally  (Clinch). 


30  to  48  inches,  and  varies  with  the  character  of  land,  5  aud 


Upson;  April  10  aud  15  in  all  other  counties  of  the  State, 
except  Dade,  where  planting  is  done  from  May  1  to  May  20. 
June  10  is  the  latest  limit  of  the  planting  season  in  McDuQle 
and  Appling.  Iu  other  counties  from  May  10  to  May  15, 
except  on  the  coast,  where  April  30  is  tho  date  given. 


riety  does  not  drop  out  as  easily  and  yields  as  much  per  acr<-; 
the  staple  is  equal  to  other  varieties,  and  has  a  larger  propor- 
tion of  lint  (  Websicr).  Early  varieties  are  sought  for,  for  the 
purpose  of  having  the  crops  matured  before  the  appearance  of 
the  caterpillar  (Dougherty).  Green-seed  or  upland  short- 
staple  can  be  profitably  planted  on  compact  soils  on  the  coast 
(Liberty).  Sea-island  produces  better  and  seems  best  adapted 
to  the  coast  region  (Camden), 

scattered  thickly  iu  the  drills  either  by  hand  or  through  a 
tin  funnel,  and  when  up  the  plants  are  thinned  old. 


are  opened  with  a  small  plow,  and  planting  is  done  mostly  by 
hand.  The  seed  is  theu  covered  with  a  board,  scraper,  or 
harrow.  "  A  plow  to  each  trace  laying  off  two  rows  at  once, 
aud  a  stout  board  with  shafts  covering  two  rows"  (Twiggs). 


CULTURAL  AND  ECONOMIC  DETAILS. 


167 


15.  Are  "cottonseed-planters"  used  in  your  region? 

Northwest  GEORGIA  :  They  are  used  and  commended  to  some  ex- 
tent in  all  tbe  counties  except  Dade,  where  but  little  cotton 
js  planted.  In  Walker  "they  are  almost  indispensable''  and 
"  an  advantage  every  way  ".  In  Chattooga  and  Bartow  they 
are  regarded  as  "efficient,  convenient,  and  labor-saving  ma- 
chines; they  make  after-cultivation  convenient,  but  they  are 
best  on  smooth  land"'.  Some  find  fault  with  them  in  Polk, 
but  they  are  approved  generally  by  those  who  use  them. 

Metamorphic  region  :  They  are  used  to  some  extent  in  all  the 
counties  except  Baldwin,  Heard,  Carroll,  Haralson,  Gwinnett, 
Walton,  Union,  and  Habersham.  Good  ones  are  approved 
for  light  soils  of  smooth,  stumpless,  rockless,  level  lands. 
They  are  efficient  only  in  skilled  and  careful  hands,  and  make 
the  rows  more  uniform  and  use  less  seed  than  in  the  old  way. 
They  are  worthless  in  Carroll,  where  the  laud  is  rocky  and 
rooty,  and  are  being  abandoned  in  Cherokee. 

Central  cotton  belt:  They  are  everywhere  used,  but  to  a  very 
limited  extent  only.  They  are  highly  approved  generally, 
hut  are  good  only  on  smooth,  stunrpless  lands.     Iu  Webster 

10.  How  long  usually  before  the  seed  comes  up? 

Northwest  Georgia  :  From  live  to  seveu  days  in  Walker  aud  Gor- 
don; from  seveu  to  ten  in  Murray,  Floyd,  and  Polk  ;  from  ten 
to  fifteen  iu  Catoosa,  Chattooga,  and  Bartow  ;  fourteen  to 
twenty-eight  in  Dade. 

Metamorphic  region:  1  Newton,  two  to  three  days,  with  swollen 
seed  and  good  seasons;  Columbia,  Henry,  and  Carroll,  three 
to  six,  conditions  being  good;  thirty-one  counties,  seven 
to  ten  days;  seventeen  counties,  ten  to  fifteen  days;  Jackson 
and  Crawford,  fifteen  to  twenty.  The  time  depends  upon  the 
nature  of  the  land  (Clarke).  Teu  days  if  planted  late,  four- 
teen to  twenty-one  if  planted  early  (2  Cobb).  The  later  the 
planting  the  quicker  it  comes  up  (Fulton).  Depends  on  the 
weather  and  condition  of  the  soil  (Troup). 


What  opinion  is  held  of  their  efficacy  or  convenience? 

and  Sumter  the  Dowlaw  planter  is  considered  a  success,  and 
is  used  by  the  majority.  Iu  Glascock  and  Laurens  they  are 
reported  as  seed-  and  labor-saving,  efficient  and  convenient, 
making  rows  easy  for  plowing  aud  hoeing. 

Long-leaf  pine  and  wire-grass  region  :  They  are  used  and 
generally  approved  in  all  the  counties  heard  from  except 
Telfair,  Effingham,  Appling,  Emauuel,  and  Montgomery.  In 
Lowudesthey  are  not  approved,  because  trees  and  stumps  are 
too  numerous  for  their  successful  use.  They  are  used  almost 
exclusively  in  Brooks,  and  are  elsewhere  considered  indispen- 
sable, especially  on  large  cotton  farms  in  Worth.  They  make 
better  stands  in  Baker  ;  are  always  approved  when  once  prop- 
erly used  iu  Johnson. 

Coast  and  pine-flat  region:  They  are  cousidered  indispensable 
in  Chatham;  in  Liberty  and  Clinch  a  few  in  the  hands  of  the 
white  man  reduce  the  labor  of  planting  to  one-sixth  of  that 
by  hand.  In  Pierce  ''according  to  experience,  the  Dowlaw 
planter  will  not  work  in  the  light  soils  except  sometimes  when 
packed  down  by  raius''. 


Central  cotton  belt:  Iu  Laurens,  eight  days  iu  warm  aud  four- 
teen in  cold,  wet  weather;  Glascock,  Talbot,  aud  Sumter,  from 
six  to  fifteen  days ;  all  other  counties  from  four  to  ten  days. 

Long-leaf  pine  and  wire-grass  region:  2  Screven,  three  days; 
Montgomery,  four  to  five  days,  conditions  being  lair;  Eman- 
uel, Brooks,  2  Thomas  (if  the  soil  is  moist),  Dodge,  and 
Worth,  from  five  to  eight  days ;  Appling,  three  to  thirty  days, 
depending  upon  whether  planting  is  followed  by  rain  or  not; 
in  other  counties  from  eight  to  teu  days. 

Coast  and  pine-flat  region*  :  Early  planting  requires  longer  time 
to  come  up ;  Chatham,  seven  to  fourteen  days,  according  to 
weather;  1  Camden,  fourteen  to  twenty, sometimes  earlier; 
all  other  counties  from  seven  to  teu  days. 


17.  At  what  stage  of  growth  do  you  thin  out  your  "  stand",  aud  how  far  apart? 


When  three  or  four  weeks  old  in  Polk,  Catoosa,  Jasper,  Carroll, 
Putnam,  Talbot,  Quitman,  Colquitt,  Dodge,  Echols,  and 
Bryau  ;  in  other  counties  wheu  3  or  4  iuches  high,  or  when 
the  plant  has  from  three  to  five  leaves.  The  ]dants  are 
"chopped  out"  with  hoes,  leaving  bunches  at  distances  of 
usually  the  boe'swidth.  This  in  Hall,  Cobb.  Banks,  Paulding, 
and  Rockdale  counties  is  from  6  to  8  inches;  in  Polk,  Doug- 
las, Spalding,  Heard,  Screven,  Emanuel,  Montgomery,  Dodge, 

IS.  Is  your  cotton  liable  to  .suffer  from  li yore-shin"? 
,  in  Catoosa,  Hall,  Baldwin,  Wilkinson,  Emanuel,  and  Effing- 
ham;   ''Yes,"  in  all  other  counties.     But  little  in  twenty- 
eight  counties.     "  Only  when  the  plant  is  wounded  by  instru- 
ments during   cultivation"  (Bartow,  Bibb,  Muscogee,   Burke, 


'Nov 


19.  What  after-cultivation  do  you  give,  and  with  what  implements  ? 


Wilcox,  Bullock,  and  Effingham,  and  coast  counties,  from  12 
to  15  inches;  in  Crawford  and  other  counties  of  the  state, 
usually  from  8  to  12  inches,  but  from  18  to  24  on  rich  lauds. 
Sea-island  cotton,  30  inches.  "When  rows  are  3  feet  apart 
the  plants  are  thinued  out  to  8  inches;  3^-feet  rows  from  12 
to  24  inches;  4-feet  rows  from  12  to  18  inches"  (Glascock). 
A  second  "thinning  out"  removes  the  extra  stalks  from  each 
hill,  leaving  two  or  three  of  the  most  promising. 

Baker,   Lowmles,   Houtgomei-y,  AppHutj,    Coffee,   aud   Liberty) ; 
if  cultivated  during  cool  and  wet  spring  seasons  {thirty-four 
counties).     When  not  thinned  out  (Newton  and  Bullock).     A 
disease  natural  to  the  plant  (Coweta). 
8 


Northwest  Geokgia  :  In  Murray,  Bartow,  aud  Walker  "  throw  the 
dirt  from  both  sides  of  the  row  "with  a  twistiug  shovel-plow, 
then  to  the  row  with  sweeps  ;  then  use  side  barrows  or  hoes." 
"  First,  side  with  a  scooter  or  bar  off  with  a  turning  shovel 
plow  and  chop  out  the  crop  to  bunches  with  tbe  hoe;  second, 
side  with  a  scooter  and  scrape  thin  to  a  stand;  continue  to 
use  the  scooter  and  scrape,  and  hoe  out  the  weeds  and  grass 
(2  Polk).  "Harrowing  chiefly,  and  hoeing  to  keep  down 
grass  (Dade).  Other  counties  cultivate  with  scrapes,  sweeps, 
and  hoes;  the  methods  in  practice  are  various". 

Metamorphic  region  :  In  Clarke,  Gwinnett,  and  Cobb,  first  plow 
out  the  middles  with  the.  scooter,  then  cultivate  with  shovel- 
plows,  and  finally  with  the  sweep;  the  crop  is  usually  hoed 
three  times.  In  Cherokee,  Rockdale,  Coweta,  Troup,  Upson, 
Carroll,  and  Meriwether,  before  thinning  out,  plow  close  to 
the  row  with  long,  narrow  plows  and  break  out  the  mid- 
dles with  shovel-plows ;  the  third  plowing  is  done  with 
sweeps.  In  De  Kalb,  Fulton,  Douglas,  Payette,  Henry,  Haral- 
son, and  Spalding,  double -too  ted  stock  plows  are  used  first,  then 
scrapes  and  hoes.  In  Jackson,  Lincoln,  and  Newton,  with 
the  harrow  first,  scrapes  aftcrwaid;  sometimes  shovels  and 
scooters  are  used.  Iu  Hancock,  Crawford,  Talbot,  Putnam, 
28  C  V — VOL.   TI 


Columbia,  Greene,  Morgan,  Paulding.  Walton,  Lincoln,  and 
Hart,  three  or  four  very  shallow  plowings  with  the  sweep 
and  two  or  three  .hoeings.  Oiher  counties  use  the  same  im- 
plements. 

Central  cotton  belt  :  In  Laurens,  Sumter,  Randolph,  Calhouu, 
and  Clay,  first  side  or  bar  off  with  a  gopher  plow,  and  after 
thinning  out  cultivate  with  shallow  running  plows  or  sweeps, 
hoeing  iu  the  meantime  to  keep  grass  down.  In  Burke,  Rich- 
mond, Jefferson,  Twiggs,  Taylor,  Marion,  Schley,  Chattahoo- 
chee, Webster,  Quitman,  Dougherty,  aud  Early,  shallow  culti- 
vation with  sweeps  and  hoes.  In  Washington  and  Wilkin- 
son, first  hoeing,  then  shallow  plowing  repeated  several  times. 

Long-leaf  pine  and  wire-grass  region:  In  Thomas  "side  with 
a  small  solid  sweep  or  scooter,  break  out  the  middle  with 
larger  sweeps;  three  plowings".  Other  counties,  "shallow 
cultivation  with  sweeps  and  hoes." 

Coast  and  pine-flat  region:  In  Bryan  and  Chatham  "  the  crop 
is  barred  off,  hoed  and  thinned,  alter  which  plows  and  culti- 
vators are  used  ".  In  Liberty  "the  sides  and  spaces  between 
the  plants  are  hoed  and  the  sides  and  alleys  are  swept  three  or 
four  times,  giving  a  little  earth  each  time".  Other  counties 
plow  several  tunes,  and  hoe  as  often.  433 


168 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


20.  What  is  the  height  usually  attained  by  your 
Northwest  Georgia  :  Murray :  24  inches.    Catoosa :  24  to  30  inches. 

Dade:  24  to  36  inches.  Walker:  12  to  18  inches.  Chat- 
tooga: 16  to  24  inches.  Bartow:  8  to 20  inches.  Floyd:  16  to 
24  inches,     Poll;:  5  to  15  inches.     Gordon:  IS  inches. 

Metamorphic  region:  Hart  and  Union:  36  to  48  inches.  Frank- 
lin, Heard,  Madison,  Meriwether,  Putnam,  and  Upson:  10  to 
18  inches.  Banks,  Cherokee,  Elbert,  Jackson,  Cobl>,  Henry, 
Spalding,  Crawford,  and  Muscogee:  18  to  36  inches.  Clarke, 
Morgan,  Columbia,  McDuflie,  Warren,  Jasper,  Baldwin,  and 
Hancock:  4  to  10  inches.  Troup:  10  to  36  inches.  The  re- 
mainder of  the  counties  report  from  12  to  24  inches. 

Central  cotton  belt. — Richmond,  Wilkinson,   Talbot,   Marion, 

21.  When  do  you  usually  see  the  first  blooms? 
Northwest  Georgia:  Polk,  Bartow,  Chattooga,  and  Floyd:  June 

18  to  Juno  30.     Catoosa,  Dade,  and  Gordon  :  July  1.     Murray 

and  Walker:  July  1  to  July  10. 
Metamorphic  region  :    MeDuflio :  As  early  as  May  15  to  May  20. 

Muscogee,  Upson,  Newton,  and  Crawford:  June  1  to  June  5. 

Lincoln,   Morgan,   Putnam,  Jasper,   Fayette,   Baldwin,   and 

Harris :  Juno  10  to  Juno  15.     Union,  Hart,  Cherokee,  Walton, 

Paulding,  Fulton,  Do  Kalb,  Meriwether,  Bibb,  and  Monroe: 

July  1  to  July  4.     June  15  to  June  20  the  blooms  are  white 

the  first  day  aud  red  the  next,  a  fact  observed  by  but  few 

planters  (Troup).     The  extreme  limit  given  is  August  1  to 

August  20  in  Hall  county.     In  tho  remainder  of  the  counties 

the  date  varies  from  June  15  to  June  30. 
Central  cotton  celt  :   Webster :    Late  in  May  and  early  in  June, 

22.  When  do  the  bolls  first  open? 

Northwest  Georgia:   In  Walker  as  early  as  July  15.     Murray, 

Catoosa,  and  Chattooga,  August  15.     Dade,  Bartow,  Floyd, 

and  Polk,  August  15  to  August  31.     Gordon.  September  1. 
Metamorphic   region:    In  Coweta,  fifty-one  days  from  time  of 

blooming.     Troup,  as   early   as  July   1.     Haralson,  Carroll, 

Warren,  Upson,  and  Muscogee,  July  15  to  August  1.     Twenty 

counties  report  the  date  as  varying  from  August  1  to  August 

15.     In  twenty-two  counties  the  time  varies  from  August  15 

to  September  1.     The  extreme  limit,  September  15,  is  reached 

in  Hart  county. 
Central  cotton  belt  :  In  Chattahoochee  and  Calhoun  as  early  as 

June  30.     Macon  and  Dougherty,  July  15.     Burke,  Laurens, 

Taylor,  Webster,  Sumter,  Quitman,  and  Randolph,  July  15  to 

August  1.     Richmond,  Jefferson,  Glascock,  Washington,  Wil- 

23.  Wheu  do  you  begin  your  first  picking? 

Northwest  Georgia:  About  August  25  in  Murray;  September  1 

in  Walker,  Catoosa,  and  Gordon  ;  September  10  in  Chattooga, 

Bartow,  Floyd,  and  Polk. 
Metamorphic   region:   Picking  begins  as  soon  as  laborers  can 

find  enough  (40  to  50  pouuds  of  seed-cotton  per  day)  to  make 

it  profitable;  tho  time  varies  with  seasons  and  location.     It 

may  begin   as  early  as  July  20  in  Troup.     It  begins  about 

August    1    in  Carroll,   August  10   in    Elbert,  August   15   in 

Haralson  and  Harris,  August  20  in  six  counties,  August  25 

in  three  counties,  September  1  in  eighteen  counties,  Sep- 
tember 10  in  five  counties,  September  15  in  i\\e  counties,  and 

September  20  in  three  counties. 

24.  How  many  pickiugs  do  you  usually  make,  and  when?     Do  you  ordinarily  pick  all  your  cotton? 
The  greatest  number  of  counties  report  three  pickings,  usually  made 

as  fast  as  the  cotton  has  opened  sufficiently.  It  often  happens 
that  as  many  as  four  aud  even  five  are  made,  especially  in 
the  middle  counties  of  the  state.  Cotton  is  all  picked  in  all  of 
the    counties  of  the    state,  but  generally  with   hired  help. 

25.  At  what  date  does  picking  usually  close? 

About  November  1  in  Morgan, Telfair,  Appling,  Liberty,  and  Wayne; 
December  1   in  nineteen  comities  of  northwest  and  middle 
Georgia;  in  five  counties  of  the  central  cotton  belt,  and  ten 
434 


cotton  before  blooming? 

Randolph,  and  Early:  18  to  2-1  inches.  Burke,  Jefferson,  Glas- 
cock, Washington,  Taylor,  Stewart,  Quitman,  Clay,  Calhoun, 
and  Dougherty:  12  to  24  inches.  Twiggs,  Laurens,  Macon, 
Schley,  Chattahoochee,  Webster,  and  Sumter:  6  to  18  inches. 

Long-leaf  pine  axd  wire-grass  REGION  :  Dooly,  Thomas,  Telfair, 
and  Coffee:  21  t * >  3G  inches.  Mitchell,  Lowndes,  Screven, 
Johnson,  Emanuel,  Montgomery,  Dodge,  Wilcox,  Worth, 
Bulloch,  and  Effingham:  12  to  24  inches.  Baker.  Colquitt, 
Brooks,  Decatur,  Appling,  and  Berrien:  8  to  15  inches. 

Coast  and  pine-flat  REGION:  Pierce:  36  to  48  inches.  Liberty: 
12  to  36  inches.  Chatham,  Wayne,  Clinch,  Echols,  and  Cam- 
den :  12  to  30  inches. 


when  land  is  fertilized.  Burke,  Chattahoochee,  Sumter,  Cal- 
houn, Dougherty,  Macon,  Glascock,  Jeiierson,  Marion,  Quit- 
man, and  Early:  May  30  to  June  10.  Richmond,  Wasbing- 
ton,  Wilkinson,  Twiggs,  Laurens,  Talbot,  Taylor,  Stewart, 
Randolph,  and  Clay :  June  10  to  June  30. 

Lime-sink  and  wire-grass  region:  Lowndes  and  Appling:  May 
15  to  May  31.  Screven,  Dooly,  Mitchell,  Brooks,  Emanuel, 
Dodge,  and  Wilcox :  June  1  to  June  10.  Colquitt,  Baker,  and 
Decatur:  Late  in  May.  Thomas,  Johnson,  Montgomery, 
Telfair,  Worth,  Berrien,  Bulloch,  aud  Effingham  :  June  10  to 
June  20.     The  latest  is  July,  in  Coffee  county. 

Coast  and  pine-flat  region:  Camden:  Early  in  May.  Liberty 
and  Pierce:  Late  in  May.  Wayne:  June  1.  Clinch  and 
Echols:  Late  in  June. 


kinson,  Talbot,  Schley,  Clay,  and  Early,  August  1  to  August 
15.  Twiggs,  Laurens,  and  Dooly  about  the  20th  of  August. 
The  21st  of  September  is  the  extreme  limit,  and  this  is  re- 
ported from  Stewart  county. 

Long-leaf  pine  and  "wire-grass  region:  In  Screven  as  early  :is 
July  15.  Baker,  forty  days  after  the  first  blooms.  Colquitt, 
Lowndes,  Brooks,  Thomas,  Telfair,  Appling,  and  Worth,. July 
15  to  July  31.  Mitchell,  Decatur,  Dodge,  Wilcox,  Bulloch, 
Coffee,  and  Berrien,  August  1  to  August  15.  Dooly,  John- 
sou,  Emanuel,  Effingham,  and  Montgomery,  August  15  to 
August  31. 

Coast  and  pine-flat  region:  In  Chatham  as  early  as  July  25. 
Liberty,  Wayne,  aud  Camden,  late  in  July  or  early  in  August. 
Pierce,  Clinch,  and  Echols,  August  1  to  August  15. 


Central  cotton  belt:  August  1  in  Taylor,  Macon,  and  Colquitt; 
August  10  in  Randolph;  August  15  in  five  counties;  August 
20  in  four  counties;  August  25  in  three  counties;  September 
1  in  six  counties;  September  10  in  Chattahoochee  county. 

Long-leaf  pine  and  wire-grass  region:  About  July  25  in  Baker; 
August  1  in  Screven.  Colquitt,  aud  Worth  ;  August  15  in  four 
counties;  August  20  in  three  counties;  September  1  in  eleven 
counties. 

Coast  and  pine-flat  region  :  About  August  15  in  Liberty,  Wayne, 
and  Pierce;  August  25  in  Chatham  and  Bryan  ;  September  1 
in  Camden ;  September  20  in  Clinch,  and  October  1  iu  Echols. 


Two  hands  aud  one  mule  will  make  more  than  they  can  gather 
(Putnam).  When  there  remains  a  little,  very  much  scattered, 
it  does  not  pay  to  pick  it  (Hancock).  Excepting  that  which  is 
damaged  sometimes  by  frost  (Coffee). 


counties  of  the  long-leaf  pine  and  coast  regions.  In  all  other 
counties,  from  December  10  to  25.  The  time  dcpendF  on  Ibo 
appearance  of  the  first  severe  frost. 


CULTURAL  AND  ECONOMIC  DETAILS. 


169 


26.  At  what  time  do  you  expect  the  first  "  black  fr- 

Northwest  Georgia  :  About  October  15  in  Murray,  Catoosa, 
Walker,  and  Polk  ;  October  20  in  Dade  and  Bartow  ;  Novem- 
ber 1  in  Floyd  and  Gordon,  and  November  15  in  Chattooga 
county. 

Metamorphic  region:  About  October  1  in  Union  and  Elbert; 
October  10  in  Madison,  Gwinnett,  Morgan,  and  Upson  ;  Octo- 
ber 15  in  eight  counties;  October  20  in  twelve  counties; 
October  25  in  Cherokee,  Columbia,  Spalding,  and  Muscogee  ; 
November  I  in  fourteen  counties;  November  5  in  Warren; 
November  10  in  Taliaferro;  November  15  in  Fayette  and 
Troup,  and  November  20  in  Monroe  county. 

Central  cotton  belt:  About  October  1  in  Chattahoochee  ;  Octo- 
ber 10  in  Washington,  Stewart,  and  Webster;  October  15  in 

27.  Do  you  pen  your  seed-cotton  in  the  field  or  gin 
The  greatest  number  of  counties  report  "ginning  as  picking  pro- 
gresses", or  as  fast  as  "  a  sufficient  amount  has  been  picked  to 
make  a  bale  or  two  of  lint".  In  seventeen  counties  many 
house  the  seed-cotton  either  in  the  held  or  in  the  gin-bouse, 
and  in  some  instances  it  is  guarded  until  ready  for  the  gin. 
In  Webster  tenants  pen  in  the  field,  while  owners  house  the 


©St  "  "I 

three  counties ;  October  20  in  five  counties ;  November  1  in 
seven  counties;  November  15  in  Early;  November  20  in 
Dougherty,  and  December  20  in  Randolph. 

Long-leaf  pine  and  wire-grass  region:  About  October  15  in 
three  counties;  October  25  in  three  couuties;  November  1  in 
Appling ;  November  15  in  nine  counties ;  November  20  in  five 
counties,  and  December  1  in  Thomas  county. 

Coast  and  pine-flat  region:  About  November  1  in  Echols; 
November  15  in  Bryan,  Wayne,  and  Clinch  ;  December  1  in 
Pierce;  December  10  in  Liberty  ;  December  20  in  Chatham  ; 
usually  none  in  Camden;  none  up  to  January  30,  in  the 
winter  of  1879-60,  in  Liberty  and  Clinch  counties. 

as  the  picking  progresses? 

cotton  securely.  In  Lincoln  and  Warren  "  it  is  locked  up  and 
ginned  during  wet  days  or  when  it  is  desired  to  sell  a  quan- 
tity". Comparatively  few  fanners  own  gins,  and  in  many  of 
the  counties  "public  gins"  do  the  work  for  large  regions.  In 
the  coast  counties  much  of  the  cotton  is  sold  in  the  seed. 


GINNING,  BALING,  AND  SHIPPING. 


2S.  What  gin  do  you  use'?     How  many  saws?     Wh 

"  power  "  arrangement  do  you  prefer  ?     How  much  clean  ] 

Brown's  gin  is  mentioned  in  thirty-one  counties,  Winship's  in 
twenty-three,  Gullott's  in  eighteen,  Griswold's  in  fifteen, 
Pratt's  and  Massey's  each  in  ten,  Taylor's  in  five,  Hall's  in 
four,  Hammock's  in  three  ;  Centennial,  Findley's,  and  Emery's 
condenser,  two  each  ;  Sawyer's,  Carver's,  Orr  &,  Hampton's, 
Whitney's,  Van  Winkle,  Niblett's,  Goodrich,  and  Webb,  one 
each.  McCarthy's  (roller  gin  for  sea-island  cotton)  in  four 
counties.  The  number  of  saws  are  usually  from  forty  to  sixty  ; 
sometimes,  though  rarely,  as  many  as  one  hundred  and  twenty. 
The  motive  power  is  either  mules  and  horses  or  steam-engines  ; 
sometimes  water-power  is  employed,  especially  in  the  meta- 
morphic region,  where  the  streams  are  capable  of  furnishing 
it  to  an  almost  unlimited  extent.  When  mules  or  horses  are 
used,  the  power  arrangement  is  usually  the  "old  style  shaft 
and  driving-wheel,  trnudle  on  horizontal  shaft". 

The  number  of  pounds  of  lint  ginned  per  day  depends,  of  course, 
upon  the  number  of  saws  and  the  power  by  which  they  are 
run.  "  With  steam  the  general  estimate  is  10  pounds  of  lint 
per  hour  for  every  ten  saws,  while  with  horses  or  mules  it  is 
about  one-half  that  amount". 

The  following  summary  from  the  reports  from  the  different  coun- 
ties gives  the  ginning  capacity  of  each  gin  with  reference  to 
number  of  saws  and  motive  power  ;  the  time  is  ten  hours : 

BROWN'S  GIN:  Pounds. 

*  120  saws,  by  steam-power 5,  000 

80  saws,  by  water-power 3,750 

60  saws,  by  steam 5,  000 

60  saws,  by  water 3,000 

50  saws,  by  steam 3,  000 

50  saws,  by  water 2,  000 

50  saws,  by  mules 1,  600 

40  saws,  by  steam 1,  800 

Winship's  gin: 

60  saws,  by  water 4, 000 

50  saws,  by  steam 4,  500 

40  or  45  saws,  by  steam 2,  000 

40  or  45  saws,  by  mules 1, 100 

Gullett's  gin: 

80  saws,  by  steam 5, 000 

45  or  E0  saws,  by  steam 3,  000 

45  or  50  saws,  by  4  mules 1,  000 

40  saws,  by  water Si,  000 


it  motive  power?     If  mules  and  horses,  what  mechanical 
int  do  you  make  in  a  day's  run? 

Griswold's  gin:  Pound*.. 

50  saws,  by  steam 2,  500 

50  saws,  by  4  mules 1 ,  000 

40  saws,  by  mules 1 ,  000 

Pratt's  gin: 

60  saws,  by  steam 4,  500 

60  saws,  by  6  mules 3,  000 

40  saws,  by  mules 1, 000 

Massey's  gin: 

50  saws,  by  steam 3,000 

50  saws,  by  mules 1, 500 

30  saws,  by  steam 2,  000 

Taylor's  gin  : 

50  saws,  by  mules 1, 250 

45  saws,  by  mules - 1,  000 

40  saws,  by  water 1,  800 

Hall's  gin: 

40  saws,  by  water-power 2,000 

Hammock's  gin: 

45  saws,  by  mules 1,000  to  2,000 

Centennial  gin: 

60  saws,  by  steam 3,500 

45  saws,  by  mules 1,000  to  1,200 

Findley's  gin: 

60  saws,  by  steam 4,000 

40  saws,  by  steam 2,000 

40  saws,  by  mules 1,000 

Emery's  condenser  gin: 

60  saws,  by  steam 3,  COO 

Carver's  gin: 

CO  saws,  by  steam 5,  000 

Orr  &  Hampton's  gin  : 

50  saws,  by  mules  1,250  to  1,500 

WHITNEY'S  GIN: 

42  saws,  by  steam 2,  000 

Van  Winkle  gin: 

50  saws,  by  steam 3,  000 

Webb's  gin: 

45  saws,  by  water 1, 200  to  2,  000 


The  capacity  of  other  gins  were  not  given. 


435 


170 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


"Before  the  civil  war  every  considerable  planter  kept  a  gin  of  bis 
own.  Many  of  these  gins  have  now  fallen  into  disuse,  and 
much  of  the  ginning  is  done  by  those  who  make  a  business  of 
it,  and  whose  gins  are  run  by  water-  or  by  steam-power. 
Farmers  who  care  little  to  encourage  labor  (under  the  share 
system)  generally  have  their  cotton  ginned  by  these  public 
gins.  A  steam-engine  now  only  costs  about  double  the  price 
of  the  old-fashioned  'running  gear';  then,  taking  into  ac- 
count the  speed  with  which  cotton  is  ginned  by  steam,  steam 
is  the  cheaper.  Some  still  gin  their  crops  with  the  old  mule- 
power,  notwithstanding  a  half  dozen  engincsare  heard  around 
them  every  dny,  ginning  the  crops  of  the  neigh) lorhood. 
These  steam-gins  separate  2, 000  to  0,000  pounds  of  lint  per 
day,  and  charge  one-twentieth  of  seed-cotton  for  ginning.     It 


is  almost  or  quite  as  much  work  for  the  men  and  teams  to 
haul  the  cotton  to  these  gins  and  the  seed  back  as  it  would 
be  to  gin  at  home"  (2  Polk). 
Steam-gins  are  used  by  the  wealthier  farinew,  to  whom  others  of 
the  neighborhood  haul  their  seed-cotton  to  be  ginned.  The 
usual  charges  are  50  cents  per  100  pounds  of  lint,  ginned  and 
packed,  or  the  seed  from  that  lint.  This  practice,  both  in 
this  and  surrounding  counties,  was  made  necessary  by  the 
great  increase  of  small  farms  {Clarice).  There  are  in  this 
county  about  30  public  gins,  run  by  steam-  am'  horse-power, 
which  gin  at  least  one-half  the  cotton  of  the  county  at  4<> 
nuts  per  100  pounds  of  lint  ginned  and  packed.  .Strain-, 
water-,  and  horse-powers  are  used  in  all  of  the  counties 
{Washington). 


29.  How  much  seed-cotton  on  an  average  is  required  for  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint  ? 

The  amount  varies  from  1,425  to  1,780  pounds.  This  difference  is  the  land,  have  their  effect  upon  the  weight.  The  rule  geu- 
dne  largely  to  the  fact  that  the  time  that  elapses  between  orally  is  that  "seed-cotton  will  third  itself  in  lint  ".  Forty- 
picking  and  ginning  is  not  the  same.  When  ginned  immedi-  one  counties  report  1,425  pounds  J  twenty  counties,  1,485  ;  fif- 
ately  the  seeds  are  green  and  heavy,  and  more  is  necessarily  teen  counties,  1,545;  the  highest,  1.900  pounds,  is  reported 
required  for  the  same  amount  of  lint  than  if  allowed  to  dry.  from  Randolph. 
Other  causes  also,  such  as  variety  of  seed  and  the  character  of 

30.  What  press  do  you  use  for  baling,  and  what  is  its  capacity? 

Findley's  in  seven  counties;  by  water-power,  12  to  15  bales,  or  with 

4  men,  20  bales. 
Ailum's  in  seven  counties;  with  4  men  and  2  mules,  20  bales. 
Wright's  in  seven  counties;  Utloy's,  Cole's,  and  Atkinson's  in  four 

each;  Van  Winkle's  and  Ncsbit's  in  three  each;  Stokes'  and 


There  are  presses  of  thirty-seven  different  patents  or  names  men- 
tioned iu  the  county  reports,  while  inmost  of  the  countiesthe 
old-style  wooden  screw  is  still  in  use  to  some  extent.  The 
following  is  a  list  of  the  patented  presses  and  the  capacity  of 
each,  as  reported : 

Scofield's  in  twenty  counties;  with  4  men  audi  horse,  or  7  men,  it 
will  press  15  bales  per  day  ;  with  2  boys,  8  bales  ;  with  0  men 
and  2  horses,  20  bales  of  ii00  pounds  each. 

Brooks'  in  eighteen  counties;  with  3  men  and  1  horse,  12  to  20  bales. 

Winship's  in  eleven  counties ;  with  2  men  and  water-power,  20  bales. 

Smith's  in  seven  counties  ;  with  4  men,  15  bales. 


31.  Do  you  use  rope  or  iron  ties  for  baling 


Bullock's  in  twoeach;  and  the  following  in  one  county  each: 
Dixie,  Ingersoll, Grange,  Southern  Standard,  IVndleton,  Board- 
man,  Wilson,  Taylor,  Athens,  Poor  Man's,  Griffin,  Craig,  Bines, 
Packard,  Neal,  Eclipse,  Helm's,  Bankman's,  Templetou,  At- 
kinson, Kouudtree,  Bloodworth,  and  Gleason.  All  have  about 
the  same  capacity. 

if  the  latter,  what  fastening  do  you  prefer? 


Iron  ties  are  used  exclusively  everywhere  throughout  the  state  ex- 
cept where  sea-island  cotton  is  produced,  which  is  simply 
put  in  bags.  The  "arrow  fastening"  is  generally  preferred, 
though  there  are  various  other  fastenings  in  use  in  all  of  the 

32.  What  kind  of  bagging-  ig  used  in  your  region  ? 

Gunny  is  reported  by  39  correspondents,  hemp  by  32,  jute  by  20, 

"all  kinds"  by  G,  Anchor   brands   by  5,  Dixie   brand   by  4, 

the  best  obtainable  by  4,  common  bagging  by  2,  manila  by  2, 

Greenleaf  bagging   by  1,  and   New  Orleans  bagging    by  1. 


counties,  and  fifteen  correspondents  claim  that  "all  are 
equally  good".  Correspondents  from  nine  counties  prefer 
the  hook  variety.  The  Dunn,  in  Glascock;  Harper,  in  Put- 
nam; and  Hay  den,  in  Chattooga. 


Bagging  of  2  or  2A  pounds'  weight  by  seven  counties.  The 
best  and  heaviest  seem  to  be  preferred,  as  necessary  to 
endure  the  rough  handling  with  hooks  to  which  hales  are 
subjected  during  transportation. 


33.  What  weight  do  you  aim  to  give  your  bales?     Have  transportation  companies  imposed  any  conditions  in 

this  respect1? 


Five  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  is  reported  from  Bibb.  Three  cor- 
respondents report  525  pounds  ;  seventy-six  report  500  pounds ; 
sixteen  report  475  pounds;  thirty-three  report  450  pounds; 
two  report  400  pounds.  Sea-island  lint  is  put  up  in  bags  of 
250  to  350  pounds  each  in  Camden  and  other  coast  counties. 
Twenty-two  counties  report  that  "  no  conditions  are  imposed 
except  by  cotton  buyers.  These  fix  the  minimum  weight  per 
bale  and  deduct  §1  to  §2  from  the  market  value  of  each  bale 
below".  Two  report  the  minimum  to  be  250  pounds;  twelve 
report  300  pounds  :  one  reports  310  pounds ;  four  report  350 


pounds,  and  five  report  400  pounds.  "Competition  of  buyers 
has  abolished  this  condition"  (Polk).  "Railroad  companies 
charge  per  100  pounds  for  carrying  ;  river  carriers  charge  per 
bale  regardless  of  weight.  In  either  case,  if  cotton  is  lost  in 
transit  or  by  fire  at  destination  or  elsewhere,  it  is  paid  for  by 
carriers  and  insurance  companies  at  the  rate  of  450  pounds 
per  bale"  (Laurens).  Since  all  expenses  are  per  bale,  the  ag- 
gregate is  comparatively  less  on  heavy  than  on  light  bales 
(Clinch). 


DISEASES,  INSECT  ENEMIES,  ETC. 


34.  By  what  accidents  of  weather,  diseases,  or  insect 
At  -what  dates  do  these  several  pests  or  diseases  usually  mal 
attributed  by  your  farmers? 

IsOltTHWEST  Geokgia  :  The  caterpillar  and  boll-worm  are  reported 
from  all  the  counties  except  Murray  and  Catoosa,  appearing, 
however,  rarely  in  Walker,  Dade,  Chattooga,  Floyd  and  Polk. 
The  time  of  their  coming  varies  from  August  to  October. 
The  army-worm  is  reported  from  Walker.  It  sometimes  in- 
jures the  crops,  but  when  it  appears  late  in  the  6tason  it  is 
436 


pests  is  your  cotton  crop  most  liable  to  be  injured '? 
ce  their  appearance,  and  to  what  cause  is  the  trouble 


by  some  believed  to  benefit  the  crop  by  hastening  i  he  opening  of 
the  bolls.  Aphides  (plant  lice)  and  lleas,  in  May  and  June,  are 
of  common  occurrence  in  Walker  and  Bartow,  and  are  attrib- 
uted to  cool  nights  in  the  spring.  The  cut-worm  is  reported 
from  Polk,  appearing  in  May  and  June.  Kust,  shedding,  and 
rot  of  bolls  in  summer  and  early  fall  are  prevalent  in  all  the 


CULTURAL  AND  ECONOMIC  DETAILS. 


171 


counties  excepting  Murray  and  Catoosa,  owing  to  too  much 
rain,  very  dry  seasons  following  excessively  wet  ones,  and 
sudden  changes  of  weather.  Rust  occurs  in  Polk,  generally 
on  fresh  or  very  old  lands,  and  is  attributed  to  a  very  small 
louse  or  mite. 

Metamokthic  region  :  The  caterpillar  and  holl-worm  appear  in 
the  following  counties:  Habersham,  Cherokee,  Oglethorpe, 
Wilkes,  Douglas,  Newton,  Taliaferro,  McDuffie,  Jasper, 
Coweta,  Heard,  Troup,  Upson,  Crawford,  and  Muscogee.  The 
caterpillar  alone  is  reported  from  Baldwin,  Hairis,  and  Han- 
cock, and  appears  to  some  extent  in  Forsyth.  The  boll-worm 
alone  in  Clarke,  Walton,  Fulton,  He  Kalb,  Columbia,  and  in 
Putnam  to  a  slight  extent.  Aphides  are  of  common  occurrence 
in  Cherokee,  Lincoln,  Douglas,  and  Fulton;  none  reported  in 
the  remainder  of  the  counties.  The  cut-worm  appears  only 
in  Warren  and  Crawford  as  far  as  reported.  No  pests  of  any 
kind  are  reported  in  Hall  county.  Rust  and  shedding  are  of 
common  occurrence  in  almost  every  county  of  this  region, 
caused  by  extreme  states  of  the  weather,  either  wet  or  dry, 
and  by  warm  dry  seasons  following  very  wet  ones. 

Central  cotton  belt  :  The  caterpillar  is  reported  in  all  of  the 
counties  except  Richmond,  Wilkinson,  Johnson,  and  Eman- 
uel, appearing  usually  in  August  or  September;  the  boll- 
worm  in  all  of  the  counties  except  Richmond,  Wilkinson, 
Twiggs,  Laurens,  Macon,  and  Randolph.  The  cut-worm  ap- 
pears in  only  Richmond  and  Burke  as  far  as  reported,  and 
aphides  in  Laurens,  Schley,  Chattahoochee,  and  Quitman. 
Other  diseases  arc  prevalent  in  all  of  the  counties,  and  are 
attributed  generally  to  extreme  conditions  of  weather;  rot  of 


bolls  usually  to  "  wet  weather,  when  the  foliage  of  the  plant 
is  dense". 
Long-leaf  pine  and  coast  counties  :  The  caterpillar  is  reported 
from  all  of  the  counties  except  Johnson  and  Emaunel,  appcar- 
iug,  however,  rarely  in  Screven  and  Clinch.  It  usually  comes 
in  August  or  September;  in  Coffee  county  "so  late  as  to  do 
but  little  damage".  The  boll- worm  is  reported  by  but  15 
counties,  and  in  Dodge  "is  not  kuown  at  all".  Shedding 
and  rust,  as  well  as  rot  of  bolls,  are  common  to  nearly  all  of 
the  counties,  and  are  attributed  mostly  to  extremes  of  weather 
or  to  sudden  chauges  from  one  extreme  to  another.  "  Rot  of 
bolls  appears  in  wet  weather  only  when  the  plants  stand  too 
thick  in  the  row.  When  the  root  strikes  the  poorer  subsoil 
and  the  side  roots  have  exhausted  the  surface  soil  rust  is  apt 
to  appear,  and  may  be  induced  either  by  drought  or  by  other 
cause.  An  abundant  supply  of  manure  to  the  surface  and 
subsoil  will  prevent  rust,  hut  the  remedy  is  impracticable  on 
the  large  scale"  (1  Screven).  "Twelve  or  tifteen  years  ago 
the  caterpillar  appeared  in  the  cotton-tit  Ids  only  once  in  two, 
three,  or  sometimes  four  years  ;  but  later  its  ravages  have  in- 
creased, and  it  seems  to  be  a  fixture,  coming  now  regularly 
each  year  and  apparently  defying  all  efforts  to  check  it.  The 
farmers  regard  it  with  dread,  for  when  it  makes  its  appearance 
earlier  than  usual,  as  is  sometimes  the  case,  it  does  much  dam- 
age, especially  to  late  cotton.  As  a  rule,  the  farmers  try  to 
push  their  cotton  by  manuring  and  using  early  varieties  of 
seed,  that  the  crop  may  mature  as  far  as  possible  before  the 
caterpillar  arrives"  (Decatur). 


35.  What  efforts  have  been  made  to  obviate  the  trouble,  and  with  what  .success! 


No  special  efforts  are  reported  in  the  greatest  number  of  counties. 
The  following  have  been  made  with  some  degree  of  success: 
"Deej>  plowing"  in  Chattooga,  Polk,  Putnam,  Newton,  Bald- 
win, Gwinnett,  Dooly,  Worth,  and  Berrien  against  shedding, 
rust,  etc.;  continued  surface  cultivation  in  Lincoln  and  Baker; 
fertilizers  and  drainage  to  prevent  rust  in  McDuffie,  Monroe, 
Taylor,  Early,  Talbot,  and  Marion;  "the  use  of  wood  ashes"  (S 
Lincoln  and  Paulding);  "rotation  of  crops  (1  Douglas),  the 
application  of  salt  for  rust  {Carroll  and  1  Putnam  );  but  this 
meets  with  poor  .success  in  Wilkinson,  Webster,  and  Sumter. 

30.  Is  rust  or  blight  prevalent  chiefly  on  heavy  or 
eool  or  hot  seasons, and  on  which  soil  described  by  you? 

On  both  heavy  and  ill-drained  soils,  in  all  of  the  counties  throughout 
the  state.  That  they  prevail  chiefly  in  extreme  conditions 
of  the  weather  is  reported  by  six  counties;  in  wet  seasons, 
forty-five  counties;  dry  seasons,  seven  counties;  cool  weather, 
eighteen  counties;  hot  weather,  tweuty  counties,  where  hot 
and  dry  follows  excessive  wet  seasons.  On  sandy  lauds, 
twenty-four  counties  of  the  northwest  and  met  amorphic  re- 
gions, and  nearly  all  of  those  of  southern  Georgia.  Other 
counties  report  the  prevalence  of  these  diseases  on  all  lands. 
"Those  sx>ots  that  suffer  most  from  rust  in  wet  periods  are  the 
same  that  suffered  must  from  drought  in  the  period  preceding" 
(1  roll').     "Rust  is  rarely  seen,  on  red  clay  lands"  (Lincoln, 


Forthedestructiouof  insects  and  moths  lamp- and  water-traps 
have  been  used  in  Webster  and  Thomas,  but  with  uncertain 
success.  "A  water-furrow  is  left  between  rows  after  the 
final  cultivation.  The  soil  is  not  stirred  when  wet,  otherwise 
rust  and  blight  surely  follow.  This  is  sometimes  apparent 
when  parts  of  the  same  field  are  treated  in  these  two  different 
ways"  (2  Liberty).  "The  prohibition  of  the  indiscriminate 
slaughter  of  insectiverous  birds  is  of  more  economic  import- 
ance and  practical  utility  than  all  the  chemical  insect  poisons 
combined"  (1  Webster), 

ill-drained  soils?     Do  they  prevail  chiefly  in  wet  or  dry, 


Troup,  and  McDuffie).  "Most  common  when  outcroppings  of 
impervious  clays  occur"  {Monroe).  "In  the  flats  of  piny 
woods  and  sweet-gum  bottoms"  {Warren).  "On  the  small 
black  prairies"  (Twit/ys).  "Old  lauds  seem  to  suffer  most" 
(Richmond,  Afarton,  Webster,  Doohj.  and  Clinch).  "The  black 
or  humid  rust  prevails  chiefly  in  the  flats  and  pipe-clay  lands. 
Manure  is  put  deep  in  furrows  on  such  lands,  and  when 
the  plant  roots  become  submerged  during  rains  the  bolls 
turn  black  and  drop  off'.  Other  rusts  appear  on  sandy  and 
old  soils"  (Richmond).  "Red  rust  is  most  common  in  dry 
weather;  black  rust,  the  worst  of  the  two,  in  wet  seasons" 
(Lowndes). 


37.  Is  Paris  green  used  as  a  remedy  against  the  caterpillar?     If  so,  how,  and  with  what  effectl 


It  has  been  used  only  in  the  counties  of  McDuffie,  Putnam,  Harris, 
Talbot,  Muscogee,  Buike,  Schley,  Stewart,  Webster,  Quit- 
man, Calhoun,  Dougherty,  Baker,  Mitchell,  Brooks,  Thomas, 
Screven,  Dodge,  Worth,  and  Effingham,  and,  owing  to  its 
expense,  the  danger  attending  it  to  men  and  animals,  as  well 
as  to  its  hut  partial  success  in  destroying  the  caterpillar,  it 
has  been  very  generally  abandoned.  It  is  usually  applied  to 
the  plant  in  solution  by  means  of  a  sprinkling  pot.  "In  the 
form  of  powder,  mixed  with  flour  and  resin,  with  fair  suc- 
cess ;  but  it  is  too  expensive  for  most  planters.  A  less  effica- 
cious but  cheaper  poiscn  than  Paris  green  or  London  purple 


is  a  solutiou  of  one  pound  of  arsenic  in  a  barrel  of  water. 
This  is  applied  by  sprinkling  pots,  or,  better,  by  Mountain 
pumps.'  This  is  the  cheapest  and  most  easily  applied  poison 
for  the  purpose,  and  it  destroys  the  caterpillar  for  ten  to 
fifteen  days,  or  until  the  poison  disappears  from  the  plant, 
when  the  application  must  be  renewed  if  the  pest  continues. 
Planters  who  have  used  poisons  with  care  and  judgment  are 
pleased  with  the  results.  Many  try  them  when  too  late,  or 
they  leave  the  application  to  careless  and  unintelligent  labor- 
ers, and  the  results  are  not  good''  (Dougherty). 

437 


172 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


LABOR  AND  SYSTEM  OF  FARMING. 


3S.  What  is  the  average  size  of  farms'? 

From  150  to  200  acres  (or  sometimes  300)  in  northwest  Georgia ;  from 

20  to  100  acres  in  tbo  Blue  Ridge  region;  from  50  to  200  acres 

in  the  northern  counties,  and  from  200  to  500  acres  in  the 

southern  counties  of  middle  Georgia,  and  sometimes  as  much 


as  from  1,000  to  2,000  in  Cherokee,  McDufhe,  and  Troup;  from 
50  to  150  or  sometimes  200  acres  in  the  central  cotton  belt  and 
the  long-leaf  pine  region,  and  from  50  to  100  acres  in  the  coast 
counties. 


30.  Is  the  prevalent  practice  a mixed  farming;"  or  planting?     Are  supplies  raised  at  home  or  imported?     If 
the  latter,  where  from  *?     Is  the  tendency  toward  raising  home  supplies  increasing  or  decreasing? 


'Planting"  is  the  prevalent  practice  in  Morgan,  Greene,  Bibb, 
Muscogee,  Hancock,  Quitman,  and  Decatur  counties.  In  all 
the  rest  of  the  state  "mixed  farming"  prevails.  The  coun- 
ties which  raise  their  own  supplies  are  Murray,  Catoosa, 
Dade,  Gordon,  Fannin,  Union,  Hart,  Marion,  Dooly,  Mitchell, 
Colquitt,  Brooks,  Dodge,  Telfair,  Coffee,  Berrien,  Bulloch, 
Tatnall,  Effingham,  Tierce,  and  Echols.  In  75  counties  most 
of  the  supplies  are  produced  at  home,  some  of  the  bacon  and 
flour  being    brought   from  the  northwestern  states.      Other 


counties  obtain  the  greater  part  of  corn.  Hour,  and  meat  from 
Saint  Louis,  Chicago,  Louisville,  and  Cincinnati.  The  ten- 
dency toward  home  supplies  is  decreasing  in  Walker  ('■be- 
muse the  cotton  area  is  increasing ''),  Chattooga,  Gordon, 
Forsyth,  Haralson,  Greene,  Troup,  and  Efhngham  :  is  unva- 
rying in  Bartow,  Polk,  Cherokee,  Elbert,  Cobb,  Do  Kalb, 
Coweta,  Jefferson,  Glascock,  and  Emanuel,  and  is  increasing 
in  all  other  counties.  "  Raising  of  home  supplies  varies  in- 
versely as  the  price  of  cotton  "  (Laurena). 


40.  Who  are  your  laborers  chiefly?     How  and  when  are  their  wages  payable? 


NORTHWEST  GEORGIA:  Native  whites  and  negroes.  "Wages  arc  50 
cents  per  day,  £8  to  §10  per  month  with  board,  or  $12  to  $14 
without  board, or  §100  to  $150  \wt  year,  payable,  according 
to  contract,  as  they  require  it,  or  at  the  cud  of  the  season. 

METAMORPHIC  iikgiox:  In  Fannin,  Europeans,  chiefly  English  and 
Irish;  towns,  9d  per  cent,  white.  Jackson,  1  per  cent. 
Chinese.  Mostly  whites  in  Union,  Habersham,  Hart,  Banks, 
Hall,  Forsyth,  Gwinnett,  Cobb,  Paulding,  Haralson,  and 
Heard;  whites  and  negroes  in  Madison,  Carroll,  Rockdale, 
Taliaferro,  Spalding,  and  Meriwether;  mostly  negroes  in  the 
oilier  thirty-three  counties.  In  eighteen  counties  wages  paid 
are  from  $75  to  $90  per  year,  or  $6  to  $8  per  month,  In  other 
counties  the  average  is  about  $100  per  year,  or  £8  to  $10  per 
month,  in  all  cases  with  board.  In  Fulton  $100  is  paid  with 
board,  or  $Ei0  to  $140  without  board.     Day  laborers  receive 

41.  Are  cotton  farms  worked  on  shares,  and  on  what  terms 

The  share  system  is  practiced  in  all  of  the  counties  of  the  state  to 
a  greater  or  less  extent,  except  in  Dade  and  Union  on  the 
north,  and  Colquitt,  Berrien,  Chatham,  Bryan,  Wayne,  and 
Pierce  on  the  south. 

The  owner  receives  one-fourth  the  cotton  and  one-third  of  the 
corn  for  use  of  laud  alone,  or  one-half  the  crop  for  the  use 
of  land,  implements,  and  teams,  the  laborer  boarding  him- 
self. If  board  is  also  furnished,  the  owner  receives  two- 
thirds  of  the  crop.  In  northwest  Georgia,  if  the  laborer 
liases  new  land,  In-  takes  off  all  timber  of  less  than  one  foot 
diameter,  incloses  the  land  with  a  good  ten-rail  fence,  and 

•12.  Does  your  system  of  labor  give  satisfaction? 
or  improve  under  it? 

Northwest  Georgia:  The  system  of  shares  very  generally  gives 
satisfaction  in  all  of  the  counties,  except  Gordon,  where 
"laborers  are  not  reliable".  The  staple  is  not  materially 
affected j  except  in  Chattooga,  "Walker,  and  Bartow,  where  it 
is  claimed  to  be  "  freer  from  trash  than  when  picked  by  hired 
labor  ".  In  all  but  Murray,  Catoosa,  and  Bartow,  the  share 
system  is  said  to  injure  the  soil. 

METAMOltrinc  REGION  :  Not  entire  satisfaction  in  Fannin,  Frank- 
lin, Madison,  Oglethorpe,  Wilkes,  Lincoln,  Fulton,  Morgan, 
Taliaferro,  Columbia,  Putnam,  Jasper,  Spalding,  Coweta, 
Heard,  Upson,  Talbot,  Crawford,  Bibb,  Muscogee,  and  Han- 
cock. "To  the  tenant  and  not  to  the  owner"  (Gicinnett, 
Haralson,  Cobb,  and  JVarrm).  Very  general  satisfaction  in 
other  counties.  "It  is  not  as  satisfactory  to  the  owner  as  the 
\\;ii;<s  and  renting  system  "  {Lincoln,  Haralson,  and  Upson).  It 
is  generally  thought  that  the  staple  is  not  affected,  except  in 
Wilkes,  Lincoln,  Walton,  Troup,  Baldwin,  Talbot,  Crawford, 
and  Hancock,  where  it  is  claimed  that  the  cotton  is  trashy 
because  of  careless  picking.  Some  counties  claim  a  better 
grade  than  where  picked  by  hired  labor.  "The  quality  is  oli- 
438 


from  40  to  75  cents  per  day,  and  are  paid  weekly  or  daily, 
the  latter  dining  the  busy  season  of  the  year.  Payments  are 
made  according  to  contract,  or  when  the  laborer  needs  the 
money,  final  settlements  being  made  at  the  end  of  the  year 
when  crops  are  sold. 
Central  cotton  belt— Long-leaf  pine  and  coast  regions. — 
Except  in  Glascock,  Colquitt,  and  Berrien  counties  the  labor- 
ers are  chiefly  negroes.  The  men  receive  from  $5  to  $10  per 
month  or  $60  to  $100  per  year ;  the  women  from  $4  to  §0  per 
month  or  §40  to  $60  per  year.  Day  laborers  are  paid  usually 
50  cents  per  day.  Board  is  also  furnished  with  the  above 
wages,  which  are  paid,  according  to  contract,  usually  at  the 
end  of  the  year.  "They  have  the  free  use  of  laud,  team, 
and  implements  on  Saturday  (a  day  they  claim  and  will 
have)  for  raising  crops  of  their  own"  {Twiggs). 

Are  supplies  furnished  by  the  owners  ? 

has  the  use  of  it  for  three  years,  or,  if  bottom  land,  for  four 
years.  In  some  counties  of  middle  Georgia  the  cost  of 
fertilizers,  ginning,  and  baling  is  shared  equally.  In  some 
eases  tenants  pay  ty'O  500-ponnd  bales,  delivered  in  Augusta, 
for  the  use  of  as  mueh  land  as  they  can  cultivate  with  one 
horse  or  mule  ;  such  tenants  have  their  own  plow  teams, 
eat  tie,  and  hogs,  sell  their  own  produce,  do  their  own  trading, 
and  disburse  their  own  funds  (Columbia).  Labor  is  consid- 
ered equivalent  to  one-third  of  the  crop,  land  to  one-third, 
and  the  stock,  feed,  and  implements  to  one-third  [Appling"). 


Ilow  tines  it  affect  the  staple,  and  does  the  soil  deteriorate 

served  to  depend  to  some  extent  upon  the  intelligence  of  the 
labor  by  which  it  is  produced*'  (Columbia).  The  soil  improves 
under  tlie  system  (Hart,  '2  Cherokee,  Ogletliorpe,  Gwinnett,  1  War- 
ren, and  Fayette).  In  all  other  counties  it  is  said  to  deteriorate. 
"  The  plan  of  di  vhling  crops  under  the  share  system  is  an  equi- 
table one,  and  if  it  were  properly  carried  out  there  could  be 
no  cause  for  complaint ;  but  the  owner,  in  nine  cases  out  of 
ten,  has  not  onlyT  to  furnish  his  farm,  but  to  supply  all  the 
needs  of  the  tenant,  without  Jiaving  any  control  over  the  time 
or  acts  of  the  tenant,  who  is  often  seen  idling  and  loitering 
when  his  crop  requires  his  immediate  attention.  Tenants 
owe  the  owners  for  provisions,  clothing,  tobacco,  etc.,  and  in 
many  cases  they  are  indifferent  as  to  whether  they  produce 
enough  to  pay  the  owners  these  advances  made  during  the 
season.  Thus  the  landlords  annually  lose  largely  by  this 
system  of  shares,  simply  because  they  have  all  the  risks  and 
no  corresponding  control"  (DcKalb). 
Central  cotton  belt:  Yes;  in  all  counties  except  Burke,  Glas- 
cock, Laurens,  Schley,  Stewart,  Webster,  Clay,  and  Calhoun. 
A  few  report  an  inferior  staple  because  of  trash  and  carelcw 


CULTURAL  AND  ECONOMIC  DETAILS. 


173 


gathering.  "Under  the  share  or  rent  system  the  quality  of 
the  staple  is  better,  because  there  are  more  of  tho  croppers 
and  renters  (their  families)  to  pick  a  given  amount  of  cotton, 
which  is  therefore  gathered  sooner  than  under  the  wages 
system  (Twiggs).  The  soil  is  said  to  deteriorate  in  all  of  the 
counties,  except  Jefferson  and  Early.  The  deterioration  of 
the  soil  is  almost  entirely  attributable  to  the  carelessness  or 
mismanagement  of  owners.  The  laborer  is  generally  ready 
to  follow  the  suggestions  and  directions  of  the  owner,  and  not 
one  has  yet  been  found  (by  the  writer)  who  refused  to  aid 
in  necessary  repairs  or  invest  in  commercial  fertilizers  when 
requested  to  do  so.  The  result  is,  that  land  cultivated  under 
the  share  or  tenant  system  has  continued  to  improve  in  value 
and  fertility  equal  to  that  cultivated  under  the  wage  sys- 
tem (1  Webster). 
Long-leaf  pine  and  wire-grass  region :  Yes;  except  in  Screven 
and  Baker,  where  the  satisfaction  is  but  partial.  In  Dooly, 
Colquitt,  and  Berrien  the  wages  system  generally  prevails  and 
gives  satisfaction  ;  "cotton  is  picked  more  promptly,  and  is 
therefore  better"  (Dooly).  The  staple  is  thought  to  be  un- 
affected by  the  share  system  except  in  Baker  and  Worth, 
■where  trash  and  stains  are  complained  of,  and  "by  not  being 
gathered  in  time"  (2  Screven).  "  It  is  not  always  as  good  as 
under  the  share  system"  (Brooks).  "Tho  soil  is  not  affected, 
and  improves  if  properly  managed"  (Johnson,  Emanuel,  Mont- 
gomery. Telfair,  Wilcox,  Effingham).  In  other  counties  it  dete- 
riorates, except  where  the  wage  system  is  adopted,  which 


places  the  land  under  the  supervision  of  the  owner.  "The 
tenant  system  of  renting  to  negroes  is  quite  popular;  usu- 
ally the  landlord  receives  a  500-pound  bale  of  middling  lint 
cotton  for  the  use  of  a  one-mule  farm,  or  30  to  40  acres,  the 
tenant  furnishing  all  requisites,  and  keeping  fences,  etc., 
in  repair.  Sometimes  the  tenant  rents  a  mule  from  the  owner 
for  from  §2o  to  §30  per  year ;  most  of  them  own  each  a  mule. 
Most  of  these  tenants  make  money,  especially  where  the  owner 
lives  on  the  plantations  with  them  and  gives  them  a  general 
supervision.  Those  do  best  who  do  not  aspire  to  more  than 
a  two-mule  farm.  Many  instances  are  known  where  negroes 
have  kept  enlarging  the  scale  of  their  fanning  until  they 
owned  a  lot  of  mules  and  employed  a  lot  of  hands,  and'  then 
failed;  they  cannot  manage  many  of  their  own  kind.  Some 
negroes  in  this  locality  have  bought  and  paid  for  small  farms, 
and  are  almost  invariably  doing  well ;  they  are  of  the  better- 
class,  and  have  their  wives  and  children  to  help  them.  There 
is  no  existiug  local  prejudice  against  such  negroes"  (Dough- 
erty). 
Coast  and  pinf -flat  region:  Yes;  except  in  Liberty  and  Camden. 
The  staple  is  not  affected,  but  the  soil  deteriorates,  except  in 
Bryau  and  Cliuch,  where  "all  the  lands  improve  when  cul- 
tivated in  cotton".  Some  farmers  are  only  satisfied  with  the 
plan  of  hiring  and  controlling  the  labor,  tho  negro  being  too 
easily  satisfied  with  a  little  of  a  poor  quality  to  strive  to  raise 
much  of  a  good  quality.  The  share  and  renting  systems  are 
ruinous  to  the  soil  (2  Liberty). 


43.  "Which  system  (wage  or  share)  is  the  better  for  the  laborer,  and  why 


In  answer  to  this  question  sixty-one  counties  report  in  favor  of  the 
wage  and  thirty-two  of  the  share  system.  The  reasons  are 
very  numerous  and  varied. 

For  wages:  "He  is  sure  of  his  earnings,  and  takes  no  risk  of 
crop  failures  when  he  receives  wages"  (twenty-two  counties). 
Laborers  usually  are  too  poor  to  provide  implements  (ten 
counties).  He  is  better  and  more  surely  paid,  knows  what  he 
is  to  receive,  and  avoids  trouble  and  division  of  crops  (other 
counties).     He  is  altogether  too  improvident  and  deficient  in 

44.  What, is  the  condition  of  the  laborer  ? 

Northwest  Georgia:  "Generally  poor  and  dependent,  though 
comfortable  ",  is  reported  by  three  counties.  "As  good  as 
could  be  expected  ;  they  save  none  of  their  earnings  "  (Bar- 
tow). Good  in  five  counties.  "  They  have  plenty,  and  are  con- 
tent; the  average  laborer  of  the  county  makes  a  support  by 
working  half  his  time"  (  Walker).  "Before  the  war  the  poorer 
whites  owned  and  occupied  small,  poor  places  and  produced 
nearly  all  they  used  of  both  food  and  clothing;  but  they  pro- 
duced very  little  cotton.  Negro  slaves  cultivated  all  of  the 
best  and  largest  plantations.  Now  the  poorer  whites  have 
abandoned  their  poor  farms  and  work  for  shares  on  the  larger 
and  better  farms,  under  the  general  direction  of  land  owu- 
ers.  As  cotton  is  the  profitable  crop,  these  poor  people  pro- 
duce cotton  almost  exclusively,  and  with  it  buy  everything 
they  need,  except  bread,  and  some  even  buy  that.  Families 
who  in  ante-bellum  days  only  produced  from  2  to  3  bales  of  cot- 
ton now  produce  from  5  to  20.  Many  of  the  negroes  are  still 
sticking  to  the  large  farms,  while  others,  from  their  own  choice, 
are  going  to  the  poorer  places,  where  they  can  never  thrive, 
As  producers  of  cotton  whites  can  be  just  as  efficient  as 
negroes  in  this  part  of  the  country.  They  need  only  to  work 
under  the  direction  of  the  most  intelligent  farmers,  who,  as 
a  rule,  own  most  of  the  good  lands.  If  Polk  county  were 
depri  ved  of  every  negro  in  it  there  would  after  a  few  years  be 
no  change  either  in  the  quality  or  quantity  of  its  products; 
whites  would  do  all  the  negroes  are  now  doing.  All  who  will 
work  can  do  well.  The  average  share  laborer  works  but  little 
over  half  the  year  and  yet  lives  well  "  (2  Polk). 

Metamorphic  region:  In  eleven  counties  it  is  said  to  he  poor  and 
the  laborer  largely  dependent  Upon  his  employer.     "They  are 


business  and  managing  capabilities  to  succeed  under  the 
share  system.  Morally,  the  share  system  has  greatly  injured 
the  negro  race  in  the  southern  states  (Richmond,  Washington, 
and  other  counties). 
FOR  share  system  :  Because  shares  exceed  wages  if  the  laborer  is 
industrious;  the  laborer  can  employ  his  family  profitably, 
feels  more  free  and  independent,  and  takes  a  greater  interest 
in  his  crops  (many  counties). 


indolent  and  poor"  (  Walton).  "  Sometimes  without  bread  for 
their  families"  (Greene).  In  a  destitute  condition  (1  Jasper). 
Many  are  in  a  worse  condition  than  they  were  during  slavery 
(1  Troup),  Generally  bad  (Hancock).  In  thirty-seven  other 
counties  the  laborer  is  said  to  be  in  comfortable  circumstances, 
especially  when  industrious.  "Making  money  and  rising" 
(Jackson).  Thrifty  and  happy  (Elbert).  "  Well  fed  and  clothed, 
hut  have  little  else  "(1  Lincoln).  Improving  each  year  (Fulton). 
Generally  out  of  debt  (Bockdale).  The  old  are  industrious, 
the  young  are  indolent  (McDujfic). 

Central  cotton  belt:  "Generally  poor  and  dependent"  is 
reported  from  C>  counties.  "They  live  up  to  each  day's 
income"  (Jefferson  and  Sumter).  It  is  not  so  good  as  hereto- 
fore; not  so  good  as  would  he  expected  from  their  experience. 
They  are  poor  and  do  not  care  to  improve  (Stewart).  Eleveu 
counties  report  their  condition  usually  good  and  very  good. 
"Good  under  the  wage  system"  (Glascock).  Tliose  who  work 
with  honest  employers  are  happy  (2  Lam-ens).  Good  when  they 
are  industrious  and  economical  (Schley,  Marion,  Chattahoochee, 
and  Calhoun).     They  are  improving  (Quitman.) 

Long-leaf  pine  and  wire-grass  region:  Six  counties  report 
their  condition  generally  poor  and  dependent.  "  Hardly 
comfortable  "  (  Worth).  Good  as  could  be  expected  under  the 
circumstances  (Coffee).  Fifteen  counties  report  the  condition 
good  or  very  good.  "  It  is  daily  improving"  (Berrien).  They 
have  plenty  to  eat  and  wear,  and  are  satisfied  (Decatur). 

Coast  and  pine-flat  region  :  "It  has  not  improved  in  the  main  " 
(Chatham).  They  are  directly  dependent  on  their  earnings 
(  Wayne).  It  is  reported  good  in  the  other  counties.  "  When 
they  are  industrious"  (Liberty).  439 


174 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


45.  What  proportion  of  negro  laborers  own  the  land  or  the  houses  in  which  they  live  1 


Northwest  Georgia:  Five  counties  report  "not  more  tbau  1  in 
20".  "One  in  10"  (Catoosa  aa&  Floyd).  "  One  in  4  or  5"  (Chat- 
tooga and  Bartow). 

Metamorphxc  REGION:  Twenty  counties  report  that  very  few  (not 
more  than  1  in  100)  own  their  farms,  Five  counties,  "1  in 
00";  fifteen  comities,  "  1  in  '25";  other  counties,  "1  in  10,'' 
or  a  larger  proportion.  "Nine  in  10"  (Bibb).  "One  in  100 
owns  land,  1  in  10  a  mule,  and  about  one-half  of  the  laborers 
own  a  cow  and  four  or  live  hogs  each"  (1  Talbot).  "Many  own 
lots  in  villages  and  cities,  but  few  own  farms"  (Do  Kalb,  Mon- 
roe, and  Coweta). 


Central  cotton  belt;  Thirteen  counties  report  not  more  than 
"1  in  100";  five  counties,  "1  in  50";  three  counties,  "1  in 
20";  Richmond  and  Jefferson,  a  larger  proportion,  or*  "1  in 
5M.     A  few  about  towns  own  their  own  houses  and  huts. 

Long-leaf  pine  and  coast  counties  :  Seven  counties  only  re- 
port "  very  few";  seven  counties  report  "1  in  10  or  20";  and 
seven  counties  from  "one-fourth  to  one-half".  "Most  of  the 
negro  laborers  own  land"  (Appling  and  Mitchell).  "  The  num- 
ber is  large  and  increases"  (1  Thomas). 


46.  What  is  the  market  value  of  the  land  described  in  your  county,  and  what  rent  is  paid  for  such  land  I 

The  rents 


In  Northwest  Georgia  the  best  of  lands  are  valued  at  high  prices, 
in  some  instances  as  much  as  §50  per  acre,  though  the  usual 
price  for  good  lands  is  from  §8  to  $20.  "  Laud  that  produces 
1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  is  valued  at  $40,  and  rents 
at§2  50  per  acre".  The  usual  rent  is  not  in  cash, but  one- 
third  of  the  grain  and  one-fourth  of  the  cotton  produced 
on  it. 

In  the  metamorphic  or  Middle  Georgia  region,  including  also 
the  Blue  Ridge,  the  prices  vary  from  §5  to  $15,  and  even 
more,  the  rents  being  one-third  of  the  grain  and  one-fourth 
of  the  cotton,  <>r  two  bales  of  cotton  for  a  thirty-five  or  forty- 
acre  farm. 


to  $10,  with,  of  coarse,  extra  ones  fur  extra  lands. 

are  the  usual  proportion  of  the  crops,  or  $1  50  to  $3  per  aero. 

In  the  lime-SINIC  division,  or  Screven  and  the  counties  of  tho 
southwestern  part  of  the  state,  the  prices  of  tho  best  lauds 
are  from  $5  to  $10  per  acre,  and  of  the  rest  SI  to  $5.  The  rent 
is  one  500-pound  halo  for  a  ono-mulo  farm,  or  the  usual  pro- 
portion of  the,  crop. 

In  the  pine  barrens  and  coast  counties  the  prices  are  50  cents 
for  unimproved  and  $3  to  $5  for  improved  lands;  the  rents, 
one-third  to  one-fourth  of  the  crops,  and  sometimes  only  25 
or  50  cents  per  acre.  For  rice  lands  the  rent  is  seven  bushels 
of  rice  per  acre. 


In  the  central  cotton  region  the  prices  are  lower,  or  from  $3 

47.  How  many  acres  or  400-pound  bales,  per  hand,  is  your  customary  estimate  .' 

In  the  southern  half  of  tl 


In  the  northwestern  and  metamorphic  regions  the  usual  esti- 
mate is  14  or  15  acres,  or  from  5  to  8  bales  per  hand.  If  also  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  supplies  is  produced  for  a  one-mule 
farm,  tho  estimate  is  three  bales  in  Murray  and  jive  in  eight 
other  counties.     A  few  of  the  counties  have  a  higher  estimate. 

4S.  To  what  extent  does  the  system  of  credits  or 
region  ? 

Northwest  GEORGIA:  Not  to  any  extent  in  Catoosa  nnd  Gordon. 
Provisions  to  tenants  in  Murray  and  Chattooga,  and  "to  a 
very  great  extent"  in  other  counties.  "  .Since  the  late  war  the 
great  majority  of  the  people  have  been  in  debt,  and  hence 
tho  system  of  credits  and  advances"  (2  Bartow). 

Metamorphic  regton  :  In  all  of  the  counties.  To  a  small  extent  in 
Union,  Hart,  Banks,  Haralson,  anil  Fulton;  but  in  all  other 
counties  to  the  extent  of  one-half  or  three-fourths  of  the 
value  of  the  crop.  "The  laws  of  the  state  do  not  allow  a 
lien  on  the  crop,  but  credit  is  usually  given  by  merchants" 
(Lincoln,  Dc  Kalb,  and  Bockdale).  The  system  is  decreasing 
in  Banks,  Cherokee,  Clarke,  Lincoln,  Fulton,  Newton,  Mc- 
Duine,  "Warren,  and  Troup. 


to  the  estimated  acreage  is 

about  -JO  per  hand,  and  a  yield  of  .1  or  5  bales,  or  8  to  in  (500- 
ponnils)  bales  to  each  "one-horse  farm  of  40  acres,  requiring 
also  two  men."  "Three  hands  with  one  mule  will  cultivate 
*J0  acres  iu  cotton  and  'JO  in  corn"  (Effingham). 

cotton  crop  prevail  iu  your 


advances  upon  the  growing 


Central  cotton  belt:  In  all  of  the  counties,  but  to  ;i  limited  ex- 
tent in  Marion  county.  Advances  are  obtained  by  about  one- 
half  of  the  farmers  to  the  extent  of  from  one-half  to  three- 
fourths  of  the  value  of  the  emp  for  provision,  supplies,  aud 
clothing. 

Long-leaf  pine  and  coast  region  :  To  no  extent  in  Camden 
county;  limited  in  Appling,  Coffee,  Berrien,  Montgomery, 
Wilcox,  Chatham,  Liberty,  "Wayne,  Clinch,  and  Echols.  In 
other  counties  it  prevails  to  a  very  great  extent,  one-half  or 
more  of  the  fanners  obtaining  advances  to  tho  value  of  ;t 
large  part  -of  their  crops.  The  system  is  declining  in  Brooks, 
Montgomery  (liens  only  on  live  stock),  Telfair,  Coffee,  and 
Clinch. 


40.  At  what  stage  of  its  production  is  the  cotton  crop  usually  covered  by  insurance  ? 


Northwest  Georgia:  Not  at  all  in  most  of  the  counties  while  iu 

possession  of  the  fanner.     "Not  until  it  is  in  the  gin-house, 

and  not  often  then''  (1  Floyd). 
Metamorphic  region:  The  growing  crop  is  not  insured.    "Wilkes, 

Columbia,   Putnam,    Coweta,   Upson,  ami    Crawford    report 

insurance  on  gin-houses  in  which  cotton  is  stored. 
Central  cotton  belt  :  "Often  as  soon  as  the  seed  is  planted  ;  tho 

practice  is  not  general"  (1  Webster).     In  all  other  counties 

cotton   is  not  insured  while  growing:  and  only  Richmond, 

50.  AY  hat  are  merchants'  commissions  and  charges  for  storing1,  handling,  shipping,  insurance,  etc: 
what  is  the  total  amount  of  these  charges  against  the  farmer  per  pound  or  per  bale  ? 


Laurens,  Chattahoochee,  aud  Sumter  report  insurance  on 
gin-houses  by  a  few  of  their  owners  when  the  picking  season 
comes. 
Long-leaf  pine  and  coast  regions:  "In  some  cases  as  soon  as 
the  seed  is  planted"  ("  Thomas. 2  Screven).  Assoonas  itisup, 
sometimes  curlier  (Worth).  '•When  it  reaches  the  gin"  (Tel- 
fair). Not  at  all  in  all  other  counties,  or  while  in  the  hands 
of  the  planter. 


and 


Merchants'  commissions  vary  from  50  cents  per  bale  to  as  much  as 
2A-  per  cent,  of  the  selling  price;  storage,  'J5  to  CO  eents  per 
month  (whieh  in  some  cases  covers  also  the  weigher's  fee) ; 
insurance,  from  10  to  -Jo  rents  per  month  ;  weighing,  usually 
25  cents,  sometimes  in.  the  total  amount,  with  cost  of  trans- 
portion,  being  from  i  to  1  cent  per  pound  of  lint,  or  from 
$2  DO  to  go  per  bale  of  500  pounds.  Planters  very  generally 
440 


sell  their  cotton  from  their  wagons  to  local  buyers  at  the 
nearest  railroad  station,  escape  all  charges  other  than  that 
for  weighing,  and  receive  quotation  prices  af  the  nearest 
general  or  city  market,  less  the  cost  of  transportation.  In 
northwest  Georgia  the  cost  of  transportation  to  aud  sale  in 
New  York  is  from  $1  10  to  §1  20  per  bale. 


CULTURAL  AND  ECONOMIC  DETAILS. 


175 


51.  What  is  your  estimate  of  the  cost  of  production 
soil  and  management? 

In  answer  to  this,  forty-six  counties  report  an  estimate  of  8  cents 
per  pound,  thirty-one  counties  from  8  to  10  cents,  twelve 
counties  7  and  7-J  cents,  and  thirteen  counties  5  to  6  cents. 
"Not  more  than  from  3  to  6  cents  per  pound,  if  necessary  sup- 
plies are  raised  with  it  and  all  under  good  management" 
(Richmond,  Hart,  and  Laurens);  "8  cents  if  provisions  are 
raised  at  home,  10  cents  otherwise"  (1  Screven  and  Marion), 
Sea-island  cotton  can  be  raised  profitably  for  25  cents  per 
pound  for  common  and  50  cents  for  fine  staple  (2  Liberty). 
"With  cotton  at  10  and  11  cents  per  pound,  and  the  cost  of 
production  at  from  8  to  9-J  cents  per  pound,  the  farmer  about 


in  your  region,  exclusive  of  such  charges,  and  with  fair 

makes  a  living  if  he  raises  his  own  provisions,  but  lays  up 
no  money.  The  intensive  system,  that  is,  the  culture  of  fewer 
acres,  highly  fertilized  and  cultivated  with  improved  labor- 
saving  implements,  combined  with  the  production  of  an 
abundant  supply  of  provisions,  arising  from  diversified  crops, 
is  the  policy  to  bo  adopted.  Our  hills  and  valleys  will  then 
become  clothed  with  flocks  and  covered  with  corn,  and  the 
husbandman  can  sit  beneath  his  vine  and  iig  tree  aud  smoke 
his  pipe  with  composure  amid  plenty  and  contentment 
(Muscogee) . 


Cost  of  each  item  of  labor  and  material  expended  in  the  cultivation  of  an  acre  of  cotton 


Polk  county. 


Fulton  county. 


"Walton  Lincoln  Monroe 

county.  county.       I       county. 


Muscogee 

county 


Screven 

county. 


Rent 

Fencing,  repairs,  aud  interest  . 

Knocking  stalks 

Other  cleaning  up 

Listiug    ' 


$2  00      to  $2  2.") 


Creaking  up 

Earring  old  beds 

Reversing 

Laying  off 

Manuring,  commercial" 
Manuring,  liouic-niade .  . 

Applying  manures 

Bedding  up 

Splitting  middles . 

Planting,  opening 

dropping 

covering 

Boed 

Thinning 

Number  of  plowinga 

Number  of  hoeings 


2  50 

0  50 

0  50 

0  G5 

to 

0  75 

0  30 

to 

0  50 

4  00 


0  25 

1  00 

0  25 
0  25 
0  25 

0  25 

1  00 
1  00 
0  75 


Total  . 


10  50 


Other  expenses. 

Picking,  per  hundred-weight 

Hauling  to  gin 

Ginning,  per  hundred-weight 

Management 

Other  items 


0  50 
0  50 


0  25 
4  00 


0  40 

0  30 


0  25 
0  50 
2  00 
2  00 


or    1  50 

to  0  50 
0  30 
0  40 
to  0  20  I 
to  0  35 
to  0  35 
to  0  60  I 
to    2  50 


to 


50 


10  25    to     10  00 


0  371     to     0  40 

0  50 

5  lbs.  lint 

0  40  to  0  50 
0  80 


0  50    3 


0  20 
4  50 


0  10 

1  00 


0  20 
0  10 
0  20 
0  15 

0  50 

1  50 

2  00 


0  50  | 
0  50 
0  14  I 


4  00 
6  00 


1  00 

1  55  1 


3  00 
0  20 


0  50 
0  50 


0  50 
0  20 
5  00 
2  00 
0  50 
0  50 
0  25 
0  20 
0  16 
0  20 
0  50 
0  60 


0  40 
0  10 
0  50 


0  15 

0  15 


0  75  I  J 


0  40 
0  50 
3  00 
2  50 


17  55 


0  40 

1  00 

0  10 

1  50 


0  35 
0  25 


1  25 

0  45 

1  25 

0  30 

3  00 

5  00- 

0  10 
0  10 
0  10 
0  15 


0  50 

0  50 
0  15 

0  50 

1  CO 


REMARKS. 


2  Polk  county:  The  renter  does  not  usually  pay  for  repairs  of  fencing,  etc.  Ginning  costs  one-twentieth  of  the  lint  ginned. 
Estimates  of  the  cost  of  raising  an  acre  of  cotton  vary  from  §12  to  $15. 

1  Fulton  county  :  The  old  stalks  are,  as  a  part  of  the  compost  heap,  worth  the  trouble  of  clearing  them  from  the  field.  Preparatory 
to  planting,  the  cotton-seed  is  rolled  iu  strong  lye  from  the  compost  heap. 

2  Lincoln  county:  In  the  list  of  items  of  expense  the  cost  of  home-made  manure  and  application  is  put  at  $6.  It  may  also  bo  added 
that  twenty  bushels  of  cotton-seed,  applied  as  manure  to  an  acre,  cost  §2  50  ;  but,  considering  only  commercial  fertilizers  (as  they  are  chiefly 
used),  the  cost  of  raising  an  acre  of  cotton  (830  pounds  of  seed-cotton  or  half  a  bale  of  lint)  and  delivering  in  Augusta  is  §15  50.  At  the  prices 
of  1879  and  1880  the  lint  will  bring  §25,  and  the  seed,  at  10  cents  per  bushel,  §1  80;  together,  §20  SO,  leaving  a  profit  to  the  producer  of  $11  30. 
Estimates,  of  course,  vary  with  seasons,  manner  of  cultivation,  soil,  etc.  Cotton  culture  can  be  much  more  profitably  carried  on  by  less 
acreage,  moTe  manuring,  and  better  preparation  of  the  soil.  More  cotton  from  less  acreage  and  a  greater  acreage  of  cereals,  sorghum, 
potatoes,  etc.,  will  materially  lessen  the  cost  of  cotton  production.  This  greater  yield  of  cotton  can  easily  be  obtained  by  green 
manuring  with  cow-pease  and  returning  to  the  soil  all  cotton-seed,  together  with  acid  phosphate.  Such  soil  improvement  would  also 
check  the  tendency  to  rust,  "which  evil  is  yearly  increasing.  One  serious  hinderance  to  such  advances  in  methods  of  cultivation  is  the- 
tenacious  adherence  of  the  negro  to  the  old  ante-bellum  usages;  ho  loves  to  cultivate  cotton,  and  loves  the  old  methods,  and  to  adhere 
to  them  seems  to  be  with  him  a  constitutional  habit.  But  the  negro  cannot  be  dispensed  with;  the  white  laborer,  native  or  foreign, 
cannot  compete  with  him  as  a  cotton  raiser,  and  cotton  must  for  many  years  continue  to  be  the  chief  crop,  the  only  one  that  yields  cash, 
returns. 

There  is  profit  in  cotton  crops  if  food  enough  for  man  and  beast  is  raised  at  home.  Ten  years  ago  these  profits  were  swallowed  up 
by  the  cost  of  corn  and  bacon.  The  year  1879  was  an  unusually  profitable  one  for  the  cotton-planter  of  Georgia,  although  the  price  was 
lower  than  hitherto.  441 


176  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 

Rent  hero  is  about  30  pounds  of  lint  per  acre  ;  this  amounts  to  about  $2.  Rails  are  used  exclusively  for  fencing,  old-field  pine  rails, 
•when  split  and  "  put  up  ",  costing  55  to  65  cents  per  hundred  ;  of  oak  or  other  good  timber,  GO  to  75  cents  per  hundred.  The  pine  rails 
last  two  years;  oak  will  last  eight  or  ten  years.  It  costs  §5  per  acre  to  fence  a50-acre  field  with  pine  rails  for  ton  years,  or  about  $3  with 
oak  rails;  but  as  the  fencing  is  never  done  as  it  should  be,  the  actual  costs  are  about  $2  to  $2  50  with  pine,  or  $1  with  oak  per  acre, 
yearly,  on  50-acrc  fields. 

When  stubble  is  very  heavy  it  is  sometimes  burned  in  dry  weather,  and  rubbish  is  sometimes  cleared  from  fresh  iields;  otherwise  stalks 
and  stubble  are  generally  plowed  under.     But  in  any  case  a  high  average  rate  per  acre  for  all  such  clearing  off  would  be  50  cents. 

In  preparing  cotton  land,  my  own  operations  consist  in  first  locating  the  beds  by  laying  oil'  furrows  -1  feet  apart  with  a  shovel-plow 
as  deep  as  it  can  be  done.  Into  these  furrows  I  put  another  with  a  bull-tongue  plow.  I  next  put  a  small  turning-plow  on  each  side  of 
this  with  the  same  bull-tongue  plow,  and  then  bed  out  the  rows  with  a  larger  turning-plow.     The  laud  is  then  ready  for  planting. 

Tun  plows  can  bed  up  1^  acres  per  day.  The  hire  of  hands  per  day  is  30  cents,  their  board  25  cents,  and  the  horses  3D  cents  per  day; 
cost  of  gear  and  wear  and  tear  will  make  the  day's  plowing  worth  about  81-  The  two  will  plow,  in  stubble  laud,  1A  acres,  making  the 
whole  cost  about  75  ceuts  per  acre  for  the  plowing  in  the-  preparation  of  an  acre  for  planting. 

Manuring. — It  is  the  common  practice  here  to  open  the  top  of  the  bed  with  two  furrows,  one  in  the  other,  then  with  a  tin  tube  3j 
feet  long,  having  a  funnel-shaped  mouth,  distribute  about  oue  hundred  pounds  of  commercial  fertilizers  to  the  acre.  This  can  bo  done  by 
one  hand  at  the  rate  of  an  aero  per  hour.  A  great  many,  instead  of  opening  the  middle  of  the  bed,  put  their  fertilizers  in  the  water  furrow 
and  vebed  back.  My  plan  is  to  put  the  fertilizers  in  at  the  first  bedding  up;  if  it  is  cotton-seed  or  stable  manure,  to  bed  upon  it,  and  open 
and  plant  afterward ;  if  it  be  a  commercial  fertilizer,  I  frequently  put  it  in  with  the  seed  aud  cover  both  with  a  block  or  double-footed 
plow,  and  board  it  off  afterward  if  the  ground  i.-;  rough. 

The  whole  process  with  commercial  fertilizer  will  require  three  hours  with  horse  and  plow  and  one  hour  witli  the  horn,  or  the  same 
time  to  distribute  cotton-seed  to  each  acre  manured;  but  where  stable  manure  or  compost  is  used  it  will  require  four  hours  to  distribute 
it  over  an  acre  as  it  .should  lie.  The  cost  of  applying  commercial  fertilizers  or  cottou-seed  per  acre  is  50  cents;  of  home-made  manure,  75 
cents. 

The  usual  cost  of  planting  is  25  cents  per  acre;  it  costs  me  35  cents.  I  use  a  double-footed  plow  first  with  a  board  or  harrow  behind, 
I  usually  plant  cottou  on  stubble  land  and  exercise  great  care  to  obtain  a  stand.  I  never  replant  cotton,  and  it  is  rarely  done  in  this 
locality.  If  the  stand  is  insufficient,  farmers  prefer  to  plow  up  aud  plant  again  even  as  lato  as  May  15.  In  after-cultivation,  a  plow  will 
cultivate  three  acres  per  day  of  rows  three  feet  apart,  or  four  acres  of  rows  four  feet  apart.  The  day's  plowing  being  worth  75  cents,  the 
cost  per  acre  is  25  cents  for  3-foot  rows,  or  about  20  cents  for  4-foot  rows. 

Cotton  should  always  have  four  plowings  if  it  takes  till  the  middle  of  August.  In  very  wet  seasons  the  cost  of  cultivation  is 
doubled  and  the  turning-plow  is  used  exclusively.  Hoeing  is  the  most  expensive  part  of  cotton  culture,  especially  in  wet  or  even  in 
average  seasons.  The  first  use  of  the  hoe  consists  in  chopping  out  the  row  of  young  cotton  tobuuehesof  from  two  to  six  plants.  A  good  hand 
can  chop  out  an  acre  a  day  ;  this  is  worth  50  cents.  The  next  hoeing  is  to  bring  cotton  to  a  stand;  this  requires  one  anil  one-half  days, 
and  costs  75  cents.  The  next  hoeing  is  comparatively  easy  if  the  weather  is  not  rainy,  and  costs  about  30  cents.  The  second,  or  June, 
hoeing  is  much  the  most  tedious  and  costly  if  wet  weather  prevail.  A  first-rate  baud  may  only  hoe  a  quarter  of  an  acre  per  day  with 
hard  work,  aud  leave  a  bad  stand.     In  a  favorable  season  the  hoeing  amounts  to  §1  55  per  acre,  or  twice  as  much  in  a  wet  season. 

For  picking,  hands  receive  30  cents  per  100  pounds  of  seed-cotton  and  their  board,  or  45  cents  without  board.  The  so-called  outside 
bauds  do  more  than  half  the  picking.  That  picked  by  the  regular  hands  costs  about  20  cents  per  100  pounds  ;  the  average  cost  of  picking 
is  therefore  about  25  cents  per  100  pounds,  or  !?2  per  acre  of  800  pounds. 

Very  little  seed-cotton  is  hauled  to  gins  except  by  a  few  small  farmers.  The  cost  of  giuning  an  acre  of  seed-cotton  (800  pounds) 
is  about  §1 ;  steam  gins  do  it  for  less,  but  in  that  case  occurs  the  expense  of  hauliug  to  them.  The  costs  of  wear  and  tear  of  gin  and 
press  amount  at  least  to  25  cents  per  800  pounds;  this  makes  the  cost  of  ginniug  an  acre  $1  25. 

Monroe  COUNTY:  Stalks,  etc.,  arc  plowed  under.  The  estimates  are  based  upon  a  good  season  for  crops;  some  of  them  are  too  low 
when  there  is  much  rain  in  the  spring. 

Muscogef.  county  :  The  estimates  are  based  upon  a  yield  of  000  pounds  of  Beed-col  ton  per  acre. 

1  Screven  COUNTY:  The  estimates  assume  a  yield  of  1300  pounds  per  acre,  aud  that  the  land  produced  cottou  the  preceding  season. 

•    In  this  section  pulling  and  burning  stalks,  bedding  up  with  hoes  ^a  good  practice),  and  harrowing  before  planting  arc  not  usually 

practiced.     The  after-cultivation  consists  of  four  plowings  ami  three  hoeings,  each  estimated  at  50  cents  per  acre.     The  estimates  are 

based  upon  reasonable  and  ordinary  rates;  and  in  many  instances,  even  in  this  section,  much  more  work  is  done  than  is  above  accounted 

for,  both  in  the  preparation  and  in  the  subsequent  cultivation  of  cotton  laud.     The  seed  is  sometimes  given  for  ginning. 

Troup  County:  Lauds  cannot  be  made  too  rich  for  cotton.  Prepare  them  well,  keep  the  inauure  as  near  tin?  surface  as  possible, 
plant  shallow,  do  not  plant  too  thick,  cultivate  fast  and  shallow,  and  if  a  growth  of  2  feet  is  obtained  by  July  15  a  good  crop  is  assured 
if  the  seasons  are  favorable  (./.  F.  Jones). 

COST  OF  PICKING, 

Cottou  picking  season  is  a  noted  time  among  the  rural  population,  but  especially  among  the  idlers  around  the  towns.  "  Two  hands 
and  one  mule  can  make  more  than  they  can  pick",  and  but  for  extra  labor  much  of  the  crop  would  probably  remain  in  the  fields.  The 
price  paid  for  picking  varies  but  little  throughout  the  state,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  answers: 

J.  H.  Duncan,  ICJbert  county ;  J.  li.  Roberts,  Washington  comity ;       R.  F.  Miller,  Coweta  county:  "When  cotton  begins  to  open  laborers 

J.  II.  Daniel,  Burke  county;  S.  M.  Griffin,  Brooks  county ;  are  paid  40  cents  per  100  poundB.    As  the  season  advances 

and  S.   C.    Prudden,   Putnam  county:    The  price    paid    for  more  is  paid.     When  a  field  is  all  open,  and  danger  from  rain 

picking  cotton  is  from  40  to  50  ceuts  per  100  pounds  of  seed-  storms  apprehended,  as  high  as  75  cents  per  100  pounds  is  paid, 

cotton,  with  board,  or  75  cents  without,  for  day  laborers.  Fifty  cents  per  100  is  Ihe  average  price,  and  the  picker  feeds 

F.  H.  Nichols,  Forsyth  county  :  It  is  customary  to  pay  50  cents  per  himself.     Very  few  will  work  by  the  day  picking  cotton.     A 
100  pounds.     The  picking  is  usually  weighed  every  night  and  sorry  hand  will  demand  as  much  as  a  good  one,  and  an  ex- 
laborers  paid  in  money.     In  some  instancestheproducerpays  pert   can    make   from  $1  25  to   £2   per  day  in  a  good  field 
as  high  as  75  cents,  the  laborer  hoarding  himself;  but  this  de-  when  picking  by  the  100  pounds. 
pends  upon  the  condition,  stand,  and  other  items  dependent 
upon  gathering  the  crop  at  the  time. 
442 


INDEX    TO    OOTTON    PRODUCTION    IN    GEORGIA. 


A. 

Page. 

Abstracts  of  the  reports  of  correspondents 70-159 

Accidents  of  weather  as  affecting  the  cotton  crop 170, 171 

Acreage  and  production  of  cotton  (tables) 3-8 

leading  crops  (table) 6-8 

Acres  of  cotton  per  hand 174 

Adams,  J.  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 125 

Addresses  and  names  of  correspondents,  list  of 100-162 

Advances  made  on  growing  crops 174 

After-cultivation  of  cotton 167 

Agricultural  descriptions  of  the  counties 67-lo8 

divisions  of  the  state,  enumeration  of 17, 18 

regions  of  northwest  Georgia,  enumeration  of- . .         23 

Aleova  mountain,  elevation  of 30 

Allgood,  A.  P.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 74 

Alluvial  lands  of  northwest  Georgia,  description  and  analy- 
ses of 28, 29 

Amount  of  charges  against  the  farmer  in  sales  of  cotton 174 

Analyses  and  descriptions  of  soils  and  subsoils,  with  discus- 
sion    25-06 

by  whom  made 64-66 

of  alluvial  lands 29 

ash  of  pine  straw 02 

blue  marls 45 

Brier  Creek  bottom  land 49 

brown  and  red  loams ~7 

cherty  ridge  lauds 25 

fertilizers,  laws  and  the  report  of  the  commis- 
sioner of  agriculture  regarding 59,  60 

granitic  lands *37 

gray  sandy  metamorphic  lands 33 

lands  of  the  southern  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  re- 
gion           43 

live-oak  land 52 

long-leaf  pine  land 48 

oak,  hickory,  and  pine  uplands 42-44 

pine  barrens  and  wire-grasslands 50 

red  and.  brown  loams 27 

hill  lands ...27,40,41 

lands  of  the  metamorphic 35 

rice  or  swamp  land , 53 

soils  and  subsoils  (general  table) 64-66 

swamp  muck 61 

white  marls 1 46 

Answers  to  schedule  questions,  summary  of 163-176 

Aphides  (lice),  appearance  of 170,171 

Appling  county,  statistics  and  description  of 149, 150 

Area  and  extent  of  the  state 11 

of  the  central  cotton  belt 3fi 

coast  region 51 

gray  sandy  lands  of  the  metamorphic  region 32 

lime-sink  region 47 

metamorphic  region 29 


rac;o, 

Area  of  the  mountain  lands  of  northwest  Georgia 19 

northwest  Georgia 19 

oak,  hickory,  and  long-leaf  pine-hills  region 41 

pine  barrens 49 

river  basins 16 

sand-  and  pine-hills  region 38 

southern  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  region 43 

population,  tilled  lands,  and  cotton  production  of  the 

counties  (table) 3-5 

Arnmchee  Valley  land,  analysis  of 27 

Army-worm,  appearance  of 170 

Asbestus,  occurrence  of 80-88 

Atlanta,  elevation  of,  above  the  sea  30 

Average  population  per  square  mile  (table) 3-5 

size  of  farms  or  plantations 172 

Avery,  Col.  I,  W.,  experiment  of,  with  fertilizers 87 

It. 

Bacon  and  Welch,  Messrs.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 134 

Bagging  used  in  baling  cotton  . 170 

Baker  county,  statistics  and  description  of 142 

Baldwin  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 35 

statistics  and  description  of 106,  107 

Bale,  amount  of  seed-cotton  required  to  make  a  (see  abstracts 

in  county  descriptions) 70-158,  170 

Bales,  number  of,  in  regions  (table) 54 

per  acre  in  counties,  product  of  (table) 3-5 

hand,  usual  working  estimate  of 174 

square  mile  in  counties  (table) 3-5 

weight  of 170 

Baling  cotton,  kinds  of  presses  used  iu 170 

Banks  county,  statistics  and  description  of 82,  83 

Banner  counties,  having  highest  total  cotton  production  and 

product  per  acre  (table) 55 

in  the  state  in  regard  to  cotton  production  .  56,  57 

i  auk  of,  in  other  regards 55 

Barrow,  Professor  D.  C,  description  by,  and  abstract  of  tin- 
report  of 91 ,  92 

Bartow  county,  analyses  of  soils  and  subsoils  of 27, 29 

statistics  and  description  of 77,  78 

Beall,  T.  N.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 122 

Beasley,  Dr.  W.  P.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 114 

Beckeom,  W.  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 133 

Berrien  county,  statistics  and  description  of 152,  153 

Bibb  county,  statistics  and  description  of 107, 108 

Bird,  Dr.  S.  S.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 130 

Black  frost, first  appearance  of 169 

Black,  G.  S.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 75 

Black,  Hon.  G.R.,  remarks  aud  abstract  of  the  report  of 40,  139 

Blight  or  rust  as  affecting  cotton,  and  how  obviated 171 

Blooms  first  appear,  when 168 

Blowing  caves,  occurrence  of T 135 

Blue  clay  in  the  pine-Hats  region 51 

177 
443 


178 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


Page. 

Blue  marls,  analyses  of 45 

Ridge,  geological  features  of 12 

region,  cotton  production  in 56 

county  descriptions  of 78-81 

general  description  of 29, 130 

lauds  of,  under  cultivation 37 

Boiling  favored  and  the  cotton-plant  restrained  from  run- 
ning to  weed  by : 

deep  preparation  of  the  land 103,  111,  141,  142 

drainage 148,156 

early  planting 110, 137 

giving  proper  distance  between  plants 121 

planting  closer  in  the  drill 71,  7^,  77 

plowing  near  the  plant  and  breaking  lateral  roots  .100, 114 

shallow  cultivation 72,  74, 77, 90, 100, 103, 104, 119, 137 

thick  planting 97 

topping.  .70, 7-,',  74-70, 85, 67, 90, 91, 97, 104, 113, 110. 119-123, 
134, 137-139, 141, 140, 150, 151, 155, 158 

use  of  an  early  variety  of  .seed 97 

ferl  ilizers  . . .  .71, 72,  70,  85,  87,  92, 95,  97, 100, 102, 105, 

110, 113,  115, 118, 121-123, 120, 128, 129, 133, 135,  137, 

139,147, 150, 152, 154, 15G 

marl 131 

prolific  seed 143 

wholesome  neglect  of  tho  crox> 157 

Bulling  not  favored  by  deep  culture 142 

Bolls  first  open,  when 166 

Boll- worm,  appearance  of 171 

Bottom  lands  of  the  lime-sink  region,  character  aud  analysis 

of 48,49   ! 

Bradley,  Professor  F.  H. ,  abstract  of  description  by 80,81   ! 

Brewer,  J.  C,  experiment  of,  with  fertilizers 90  j 

Brit  tain,  J.  C,  remarks  of 80   [ 

Brooks  county,  analyses  of  soil  and  subsoil  of 43 

statistics  and  description  of 137, 138   | 

Brown-  and  red-loam  region  of  northwest  Georgia,  extent, 

general  character,  and  analyses  of  soils  of 25-28 

Brown,  J.  F.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 147 

Bryan  county,  statistics  and  description  of 157,  158 

Buhrstone,  occurrence  of 41,  42 

Bulloch  county,  statistics  and  description  of 147 

Burke  county,  analysis  of  marl  of 40 

statistics  and  description  of 117, 118 

Butts  county,  statistics  aud  description  of 109 

Byrd,  8.  M.  Jl.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 70, 77 

€. 

Calcedony,  occurrence  of 15 

Calciferous  formation,  flat  woods  lands  of 21 

Calhoun  county,  statistics  and  description  of 133 

Camden  county,  statistics  and  description  of 155,  150 

Campbell  county,  statistics  and  description  of 94,95 

Cannon,  R.  H.  abstract  of  the  report  of 93 

Carboniferous  formation,  beds  and  thicknesses  of 21,22 

topography  aud  lands  of 28 

Carroll  county,  statistics  and  description  of 95,  90 

Carter,  J.  J.,  remark  of 149 

Casey,  Dr.  H.  R.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 103 

Caterpillar,  appearance  of,  and  how  destroyed 170, 171 

Catoosa  county,  statistics  and  description  of 71 

Caves,  blowing,  occurrence  of J  35 

Cedar  valley,  description  of 70 

Central  cotton  belt,  area,  subdivisions,  general  character,  and 

analyses  of 38-46 

cotton  production  in 55,56 

county  descriptions  of 110-135 

Chambers,  \V.  A. ,  abstract  of  the  report  of 73 

Ch.ippell,  Dr.  J.  T.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 121 

Charges  for  storing,  handling,  and  shipping  cotton 174 

Charltou  county,  statistics  and  description  of 155 

Chatham  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 53 

statistics  and  description  of 158 

Chattahoochee  basin,  area  and  description  of 16 

444 


Page. 

Chattahoochee  county,  analysis  of  marl  of 45 

statistics  and  description  of 126, 127 

river,  alluvial  lands  of  (see  al»o  under  Soils)..         44 

greensand  marl  bed  and  banks  of 45 

Chattooga  county,  statistics  and  description  of 73,74 

valley 73 

Chattooga t a  mountain  range 19 

Chazy  and  Trenton  formations,  lands  derived  from 25,26 

Cherokee  county,  statistics  aud  description  of 84,85 

Cherty  ridge  lauds,  timber  growth  and  character  and  analysis 

of  soil  of 24,25 

Cheves,  A.  J.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 129 

Cincinnati  formation,  rocks  and  soils  of 28 

Clarke  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 33 

statistics  and  description  of 92 

Clay  county,  analysis  of  soil  and  subsoil  of 40 

analysis  of  marl  of 45 

statistics  and  description  of * 132, 133 

slates,  occurrence  of I  3 

Clayton  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 37 

statistics  and  description  of 94 

Clements,  J.  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 72 

Clifton,  B.  IT.,  remarks  by  148 

Climate  of  the  state 11,20,21 

Cliuch  county,  statistics  and  description  of 154 

Clinton  formation,  rocks  and  soils  of 28 

Close  of  cotton-picking  season 108 

Coal  Measures,  beds  and  thickness  of 22 

Coast  region,  area  aud  general  description  of 51-53 

cotton  production  in  the 5G 

couuty  descriptions  of  the     .• 154-158 

Cobb  couuty,  analysis  of  soil  of 35 

statistics  and  description  of 86,  87 

Coffee  county,  statistics  and  description  of 150 

Cohutta  mountains,  met  amorphic  character  of 19,21 

Colby,  G.  E.T  soils  analyzed  by 64-00 

Colquitt  county,  statistics  and  description  of 143,  144 

Columbia  county,  statistics  and  description  of 103 

Commissions  of  merchants  in  sales  of  cotton 174 

Compost  recommended  in  intensive  cotton  culture  by  F.  C. 

Furman 58,59 

Composts,  use  of 166- 

Condition  and  nationality  of  laborers 173 

Conditions  imposed  by  transportation  companies 170 

Cook,  J.  C.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 115,110 

Corn,  acreage  and  production  of  (table ) 6-8 

Correspondents,  names  and  addresses  of 160-102 

Cory,  Chappell,  soils  analyzed  by 01,64 

Cotton,  acreage  and  production  of  (tables) 3-8 

per  square  mile  (table) 3-5 

cultivation,  methods  of 57,58 

culture,  intensive  system  of 58,  59, 175 

itemized  cost  of,  and  remarks  concerning  . .  175, 176 

lint  made  by  gius  in  a  day's  run  of  ten  hours 109, 170 

ratio  of,  to  seed 56 

picking,  cost  of 170 

pickings,  when  begun,  and  how  many  made 168 

plant,  running  to  weed  of  the,  a  peculiarity  of  tho 

coast  region 158 

production,  cost  of,  per  pound 58, 175 

cultural  and  economic  details  of 159-170 

distribution  of,  among  the  several  regions 

(tables) 54,55 

curly  history  of 53,54 

in  each  county  (sre  county  descriptions) .07-158 

region  (table) 54 

per  acre  (see  county  descriptions  for  each 

region ) 07-158 

per  capita  in  the  regions 55,56 

percentage  of  state's  total,  in  each  region 

(table) M 

remarks  on 53-61 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


179 


Page. 

■Cotton  product  per  acre  in  counties  (table) 3-5 

regions,    and    maximum    of,    in 

counties  (table) 54,55 

the  regions,  remarks  on 56 

of  alluvial  lauds 44 

brown-    and    red-loam    lands    of 

northwest  Georgia 2G 

cherty  ridge  lands  of  northwest 

Georgia 25 

coast  lauds 52, 53 

granitic  lands 36 

gray  sandy   met  amorphic    lands, 
with  and  without  fertilizers...         33 

lime-sink  lands 48 

oak,  hickory,  and  long-leaf  pine 

lauds 41,42 

pine-barrens  lands 50 

red-clay  lauds  of  northwest  Geor- 
gia           24 

red   lands   of  the   central   cotton 

belt 40 

metamorphic  lands 34,  35 

southern  oak,  hickory,  and  pine 

lands 43 

on  any  soil   and   on   fresh  and  old 
lands  (see  abstracts  in  county  de- 
scriptions)   70-158 

sea-island  variety  of 52,  53 

shipments  (see  county  descriptions) 67-158 

the  most  exhaustive,  crop  unless  the  seed  bo  returned 

to  the  soil GO 

total  of  lint  and  seed,  in  tons,  in  each  region  (table).         54 

Cottonseed-cake  used  for  feed  and  manure 166 

disposal  and  price  of 165 

oil,  small  percentage  of  plant-food  in 60, 61 

planters,  use  of 167 

ratio  of,  to  lint 56 

varieties  of,  and  amount  used  per  acre 57,58, 166 

Counties,  agricultural  descriptions  of 67-158 

area,  population,  tilled  lands,  and  cotton  produc- 
tion of  (table) 3-5 

having  highest  cotton  production  per  acre  in  the 

state  and  in  each  region 56,57 

in  each  region  having  highest  cotton  production 

(table) 55 

Coweta  county,  statistics  and  description  of 97 

Crawford  county,  statistics  and  description  of Ill,  112 

Crawford,  N.  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 102 

Cretaceous  formation,  remarks  on 13, 14 

fossils 126-128, 132 

Crop,  advances  made  on  growing 174 

Crops,  acres  of,  in  each  county  (see  county  descriptions) 07-158 

best  suited  to  the  soil  (see  abstracts  iu  county  descrip- 
tions)   70-158 

leading,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) 6-8 

of  the  metamorphic  region 38 

soil-ingredients  withdrawn  by 60,  61 

Cultivation  and  planting  of  cotton,  details  of 166-169 

Cultural  and  economic  details  of  cotton  jiroduction 159-176 

Cut-worm,  appearance  of 170, 171 

O. 

Dade  county,  statistics  and  description  of 73 

Daniel.  J.  H.,  estimate  of,  as  to  the  cost  of  picking  cotton. . .  176 

Davenport,  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 79 

Dawsou  county,  statistics  and  description  of 60 

Decatur  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 43 

statistics  and  description  of 135, 136 

Decomposition  of  metamorphic  rocks,  depth  to  which  it  ex- 
tends, and  material  derived  from 31 

De  Kalb  county,  statistics  and  description  of 88 


Page. 

Denmark,  R.  I.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 137, 138 

Dennis,  J.  T.,  abstract  of  tho  report  of 106 

experiments  of,  with  fertilizers 106 

Dent,  J.  H.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 76 

Depth  of  tillage  usual  in  cotton  production 163 

Details,  cultural  and  economic,  of  cotton  x>roduction 159-176 

Devonian  formation,  beds  and  thickness  of 21 

Dickenson,  J.  E.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 136 

Dill,  J.  M.j  experiment  of,  with  fertilizers 102 

Dips  of  the  strata  of  northwest  Georgia 22 

Dirt  Town  valley,  lands  of 73 

Diseases,  insect  enemies,  etc.,  of  cotton 170, 171 

Disposal  of  cottonseed 165 

Distribution  of  cotton  production  among  the  several  agricul- 
tural regions 56,57 

Dodge  county,  statistics  and  description  of 140 

Dooly  county,  statistics  and  descriptioij  of 1-10, 141 

Dougherty  county,  analysis  of  marl  of 46 

swamp  muck  of 01 

statistics  aud  description  of    133, 134 

Douglas  county,  analyses  of  soil  and  subsoil  of 33 

statistics  and  description  of 95 

Draft  employed  in  breaking  up  land 163 

Drainage  systems  of  the  state 16, 17 

Duncan,  J.  H.,  remarks  of,  on  cost  of  cotton  picking 176 

Duncan,  F.  SI.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 95 

Dnrrett,  J.  B.,  soils  analyzed  by 64,65 

E. 

Early  county,  statistics  and  description  of 134, 135 

Echols  county,  statistics  and  description  of 155 

Economic  and  cultural  details  of  cotton  production 159-176 

Edenfield,  E.  H.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 117 

Effect  of  the  share  system  on  the  soil  and  staple 172, 173 

Effingham  county,  analysis  of  marl  of 46 

statistics  and  description  of 148 

Efforts  made  to  obviate  insect  pests  and  diseases  of  cotton- 
plant  171 

Elbert  county,  analyses  of  soil  and  subsoil  of 35 

statistics  and  description  of 90,91 

Elevation,  average,  of  the  state 11 

Elevations  of  mountains  and  valleys  of  northwest  Georgia..         19 

in  the  Blue  Ridge  regiou 30 

Ellison,  W.  H.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 112,113 

Emauuel  county,  statistics  and  description  of 146, 147 

Enumeration,  tabulated  results  of  the 1-8 

Eoeeue  formation,  extent  and  material  of 14, 16 

Erosion,  strata  removed  by,  in  northwest  Georgia 20 

Estimate  of  the  cost  of  cotton  production  175 

number  of  bales  of  cotton  per  hand 174 

Etowah  river,  alluvial  lands  of 77 

Experimental  farm  of  the  University  of  Georgia 92 

F. 

Fallowing  and  fall  plowing,  results  of 164 

Fannin  county,  statistics  and  description  of 79 

Farming  and  labor,  system  of 172-176 

Farms,  size  of 172 

Fastenings  used  in  haling  cotton,  varieties  of 58,170 

Fayette  county,  statistics  and  description  of 98 

Features,  geueral,  of  the  state 18, 19 

Feed,  cottonseed- cake  used  as 166 

Feldspar,  occurrence  of  piuk  variety  of 36 

Fertilizers,  experiments  with 84 ,  87, 90, 92, 94, 96, 102, 106, 10.3 

method  of  distribution  of,  to  the  soil 57 

natural,  occurring  in  Georgia,  remarks  regarding.  61,62 
use  of,  and  laws  concerning  inspection  aud  per- 
centage composition  of 59,60 

Fertilizing  and  green-mauuriug 165 

remarks  on 176 

Field,  E.  C,  abstract  of  the  report  of  85 

Flake,  T.  J.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 88 

445 


ISO 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


Page. 

Flat  woods,  extent,  rocks,  and  soils  of 24 

of  the  met  amorphic  region,  general  character  of  .         37 

Fleas,  appearance  of,  in  cotton  crops 170 

Flint  river,  rounded  quartz  rocks  of 125 

Floyd  county,  statistics  and  description  of 75, 70 

Forsyth  county,  statistics  and  description  of 83,  84 

Fort  Gaines,  section  of  bluff  at 14 

Fossil  l.eds 107,108 

Franklin  county,  statistics  and  description  of 81,  82 

Fraser,  A.  M.,  remarks  by,  in  relation  to  Coffee  county 150 

Freeman,  F.  K.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 133 

Freight,  rates  of  shipment  of  (ace  county  descriptions) 67-158 

Frosts,  appearauee  of 1 1 ,  21  I 

Fuller,  S.  D.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 152 

Full  on  county,  statistics  and  description  of 87,  88 

Furman,  F.  C,  remarks  by,  on  intensive  cotton  culture 58,59 

Fussell,  T.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 150 

G. 

Geau,  T.  "W.,  experiment  of,  with  fertilizers 92 

General  description  of  the  .state 11 

Geological  features  of  northwest  Georgia 21-2)! 

the  state   11-10 

forma  lions,  soils  derived  from  rocks  of 24-20 

Gilmer  county,  statistics  and  description  of ?;t 

Ginning,  baling,  and  shipping  cotton 169, 170 

Gins,  cotton,  list  and  capacity  of 169,  170 

Glascock  county,  statistics  and  description  of 119 

Glauconitic  shales,  belt  and  lands  of 24 

Glynn  county,  statistics  and  description  of 156 

Gneisses,  occurrence  of,  and  soils  derived  from 31-33 

Gold  belt  of  Georgia 12 

Gordon  county,  statistics  and  description  of 74, 75 

Gorman,  W.  M-,  abstract  of  the  report  of 112,  113 

Grand  Gulf  formation,  occurrence  and  extent  of 15,  138 

Granite  region,  outline  of 12 

occurrence  of,  and  soils  derived  from. 31,35,36 

37 


Granitic  lands,  analyses  of 

area,  locality,  general  character 

ses  of 

central  region  of 

Graves  mountain,  character  of 

Gray,  S.  F. ,  abstract  of  the  report  of 

Gray  sandy  lands,  analyses  of 

of  the  inetamorphic  region,  an; 

and  analyses  of 

siliceous  soil  of  the  ridges  of  northwest  Georgia,  area, 

rocks  from  which  derived,  and  general  character  of. .  24,  25 

Gieeue  county,  analyses  of  soils  and  subsoils  of 33,  35 

stat  isties  and  description  of 101 

Green-manuring  and  fertilizing 165 

Greensand  clays,  occurrence  of 14,  -1G 


ud  analv 


,  character. 


marls,  occurrence  of 

Griffin,  S.  M 

Gwinnett  county,  statistics  and  description  of  . 


.44-46,12 


,130 

176 

89 


Habersham  county,  analyses  of  soil  and  subsoil  of 33 

statistics  and  description  of 81 

Hall  county,  statistics  and  description  of 83 

Hammett,  H.  M.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 87 

Hancock  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 37 

statistics  and  description  of 105 

Haud-book  of  Georgia  quoted 17 

Hand,  Dr.  J.  H.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 142 

Haralson  county,  statistics  and  description  of 85 

Harda  way,  R,  H.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 137 

Harper,  J.  W.,  abstract  of  the  report  of - 149 

Harris  county,  statistics  and  description  of 114, 115 

Harris,  W.  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of ■- Ill 

Harrison,  G-  P.,  abstract  of  th<-  report  of 158 

Hart  county,  statistics  and  description  of 82 

44U 


35-37 
30 
30 

98,99  j| 

33   1 1 

31-33   r 


Paeo. 

Hayes,  J.  H.,  abstract  of  the  report  of U17 

Ibad  rights,  laws  regarding 17 

Heard  county,  statistics  and  description  of 90,97 

Ibard,  E.  B  ,  experiment  of,  with  fertilizers 91 

Ib-ight  attained  by  cotton  before  blooming 168 

of  cotton-plant  (see  abstracts  in  county  descriptions)  .70-158 

Henley,  Dr.  J.  E.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 95 

Henry  county,  statistics  and  description  of 99 

Herndon,  J.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 155 

Hestor,  I'.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 01 

Hicks,  J.  II.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 1  15 

Hilgard, Prof.  E.  W., quoted. 60,62 

Hill,  C.  I).,  abstract  of  the  report  of 71 

Hollitield,  II.  N.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 120 

Home  supplies 172 

Ilorizontalizing  to  arrest  washing  of  the  soil  |  see  abstracts  in 

county  descriptions) 70-158 

Hornblende,  occurrence  of  and  soils  derived  from 31.  33-35 

1  [ouston  county,  analyses  of  soil  and  subsoil  of 12 

analysis  of  mnrl  of 10 

section  of  Ross  Hill  in 124 

statistics  and  description  of 124 

Hughey,  J.,  remarks  of,  in  relation  to  Tattnall  county 148 

Hull,  J.  M.,  experiment  by,  with  fertilizers 94 

Ilumber.  K.  (.'.,  abstract  of  the  report,  of 100 

Hummock  lands,  character  and  analyses  of 4:1,44,48,  51 

Humus,  table  showing  percentage  of,  in  soils 00 

i. 

Implements  employed  in  subsoiling 103 

used  in  after-cultivation  of  eolton 167 

planting  cotton 100 

Improvements,  tillage,  etc.,  details  of 163-166 

Indian  treaties,  lands  acquired  by 17 

Information  for  this  report,  sources  of iii,iv 

Insect  enemies,  diseases,  etc.,  of  cotton 170,  171 

Insuring  cotton,  practice  of  and  charges  for 174 

Intensive  cotton  culture,  remarks  on 58,  59 

Irwin  county,  statistics  and  description  of .       152 

Islands  of  the  coast,  area,  character  and  growth  of 53 

Itacolnmite,  occurrence  of 31, 113 

J. 

Jackson  county,  statistics  and  description  of 89,90 

Jaeksou,  R.  H.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 97 

Jasper  county,  statistics  and  description  of 108, 1U9 

Jefferson  county,  anah  s«s  of  soil  and  subsoil  of i!7 

statistics  and  description  of 118,  119 

Johnson  county,  statistics  and  description  of 145 

Johnson,  J.  8.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 101, 105 

Johnson,  W.  D.  H.,  abstract  of  the  report  of,  and  experiment 

of,  witli  fertilizers 108 

Johnson,  W.  J.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 70 

Johnson,  W.  L.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 91,92 

Jones  county,  statistics  and  description  of 107 

Jones,  J.  B.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 118 

Jones,  J.  F.,  remarks  of 170 

Jones,  W.  11,  ahstract  of  the  report  of 118 

K. 

Kelh,  J.  M.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 9H,99 

Kellogg,  H.  C,  abstract  of  the  report  of 84 

Kennesaw,  Lost,  Sweat,  and  Black  Jack  mountains,  rocks  of.  80 
King,  J.  A.  M.,  remarks  by,  and  abstract  of  the  report  of.  ..52, 157 

King,  J.  R,,  abstract  of  the  report  of ^7 

I,. 

Labor  and  system  of  farming,  details  of 172-170 

Laborers,  condition  of  and  best  system  for 173 

nationality  of ■ 172 

owning  houses  or  land ■. 174 

remarks  concerning 57 

wages  paid  to 172 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


181 


Pnge. 
Lakes  or  ponds  of  south  Georgia 144 

Laud  divisions  of  the  state 17 

Lauds  cultivated  100  years,  analyses  of 27 

lying  "turned  out",  proportion  of  (see    abstracts  in 

county  descriptions) 70-158 

market  value  of  and  rent  paid  for 174 

of  metamorphie  regions  under  cultivation  37,38 

southern  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  region,  analyses  of.         43 

preparation  given  to,  before  planting  cotton -.  . .        166 

proportion  of,  in  cotton  for  each  soil  (see  abstracts  in 

comity  descriptions) 70-108 

Laurens  county,  statistics  and  description  of 120, 121 

Lee  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 42 

statistics  and  description  of 130, 131 

Leigh,  B.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 97 

Le  Sneur,  R.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 112 

Letters  of  transmittal -. iii,  iv 

Liberty  county,  analyses  of  soil  and  subsoil  of 52 

statisl  ics  and  description  of 157 

Lime-sink  region,  area  and  description  of 47-49 

cotton  product  on  iu 55,  56 

county  descriptions  of 13S-145 

Lime-sinks,  nature,  occurrence,  and  character  of 42,  48 

Limestone  belt  of  the  metamorphie 81 

Lincoln  county,  analyses  of  soil  and  subsoil  of 37 

statistics  and  description  of 101,  102 

Liudley,  J.  T.,  experiment  of,  with  fertilizers 87 

Lint  per  acre  in  counties  (tabic) 3-5 

proportion  of,  to  seed-cotton 5G 

tons  of,  in  state  and  regions  (table) 54 

List  of  uames  and  addresses  of  correspondents 100-102 

Little,  Dr.  George,  courtesy  of iii 

Live-oak  and  coast  lands,  description  and  analyses  of 52 

of  the  coast  region,  nature  of 52 

Livingston,  L.  F.,  abstract  of  tbe  report  of 99, 100 

Locke,  C.  A.,  information  obtained  from iii 

Long-leaf  pine  and  wire-grass  region,  area,  subdivisions,  analy- 
ses, audgeneraldescrip- 

tion  of 46-51 

county  descriptionsof .  .138-154 

region,  cotton  production  in 55,56 

Lonko  <t  mountain,  height  of 19 

valley,  description  of 73 

Lottei  ics,  lands  acquired  by 1? 

Lower  Quebec  formation,  character  of  rocks  and  soils  of 24 

Lowlands  of  the  central  cotton  belt,  description  of 44 

Lowndes  county,  statistics  and  description  of 144, 145 

Lumpkin  county,  statistics  and  description  of SO 

Lumpkin,  Dr.  T.  J.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 73 

Lycll,  Sir  Charles,  quoted 100, 107 

M. 

McBrayer,  \V.  C,  abstract  of  the  report  of 85 

McCalley,  H.,  soils  analyzed  by 64,65 

McCutchen,  A.  R.,  description  of  northwest  Georgia  and  of 

its  counties  by 19-29,69-78 

remarks  of,  regarding  climate 20 

special  agent  for  northwest  Georgia iv 

McDaniel,  G.  A.,  experiment  of,  with  fertilizers 90 

J.  O.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 77,  78 

McDuthe  county,  statistics  and  description  of 103, 104 

McGough,  R.  C,  abstract  of  the  report  of 110 

Mcintosh  county,  statistics  and  description  of 156 

McLaws,  A.  II.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 117 

McNulty,  M.  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 131 

McRae,  K.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 146 

McRae,  I.  F.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 151 

McYVhorter,  E.  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 156 

Mabry,  C.W.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 114 

Macon  couuty,  analysis  of  marl  of 46 

statistics  and  description  of 129 


Pas* 

Maddox,  W.  D.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 10'J 

Madison  couuty, statistics  and  description  of 90 

Magnesian  rocks,  occurrence  and  composition  of 31 

Manure,  cottonseed- cake  used  as 166 

Marion  county,  statistics  and  description  of 125.  120 

Marl  beds,  occurrence  of 41-13,115,117-132 

Marls  and  limestones  of  central  cotton  belt,  occurrence,  char- 
acter, and  aualyses  of 44-46 

result  of  applicat  ion  of,  to  the  lands 130 

Marsh  lauds,  absence  of,  on  the  coast r. 53 

Merchants'  commissions  on  sales  of  cot  ion 174 

Meriwether  county,  statistics  and  description  of 113 

Meroney,  R.  M. ,  abstract  of  the  report  of 90 

Metamorphie,  border  region  of  the 13 

formation,  general  remarks  on 12, 13,21 

region,  area,  extent,  timber,  growth,  and  general 

description  of  29-38 

cotton  production  in 55, 56 

county  descriptions  of 78-116 

lands  of,  under  cultivation 37, 38 

rocks,  mineral  constituents  and  general  charac- 
ter of,  and  soils  derived  from 24,  30-32 

Methods  of  cotton  cultivation,  remarks  on 57,  58 

Mica,  occurrence  and  composition  of 30, 31 

schist,  occurrence  and  character  of  31 

Middbbrook,  T.  .1.,  abstract  of  the  report  of Ill 

Middle  Georgia,  county  descriptions  of 81-110 

general  description  of 30 

lauds  under  cultivation  in 38 

MilikiUj  B.j  abstract  of  the  renort  of 150 

Miller  county,  statistics  and  description  of 142, 143 

Miller,  R.  F.,  remarks  by,  ou  cost  of  cotton  picking 176 

Milton  county,  st  a  list  ics  and  description  of 84 

Mineral  constituents  of  metamorphie  rocks 30,31 

Miocene  formation,  occurrence  and  extent  of 15 

Mitchell  county,  statistics  aud  description  of 1  13 

Mixed  fanning  or  planting 172 

Mobley,  J.  M.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 115 

Monroe  county,  aualyses  of  soil  and  subsoil  of 35 

statistics  and  description  of 109,  1 10 

Montgomery  county,  statistics  and  description  of 116 

Moore,  T.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 68 

Morgan  county,  statistics  and  description  of. 100 

Mountain  lauds  of  northwest  Georgia,  area  of 19 

summits  of  northwest  Georgia,  sandy  lands  of 28 

Mountains  of  the  Blue  Ridge  region 29,30 

Muck,  occurrence  and  analysis  of 61 

Mulligan,  J.  B..  abstract  of  the  report  of 135 

Munro,  G.  W.  C,  abstract  of  tbe  report  of 126 

Murray  county,  statistics  and  description  of 69,  70 

Muscogee  county,  statistics  aud  description  of 115, 116 

IV. 

Narrows  of  Clay  county  .   132 

Nationality  of  laborers 172 

Navigation  of  the  principal  streams 17 

Neal,  J.  L.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 119 

Negroes,  condition  of,  and  lands  owned  by 173, 174 

habits  of,  and  value  of  property  in  the  state  owned 

by 57 

Newton  county,  statistics  and  description  of .•...99, 100 

Newton,  W.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 109 

Nichols,  F.  H.,  remarks  of,  regarding  cost  of  cotton-picking  .       176 

Norman,  J.  B.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 144 

Norman,  L.  B.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 157 

Northeu,  W.  J.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 105 

Northwest  Georgia,  cotton  production  in 55-57 

description  of 19-29 

region,  county  descriptions  of 69-78 

special  agent  appointed  for iv 

Number  of  cotton-pickings  made „_.       168 

447      * 


182 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


O. 

Pago. 

Oak,  hickory,  and  long-leaf  pine  bills,  area,  general  descrip- 
tion and  analyses  of 41-43 

Oats,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) G-rf 

Oconee  enmity,  statistics  and  description  of 93 

Oglethorpe  county,  statistics  and  description  of 91,92 

Ogletree,  A.,  abstracl  of  the  report  of 132 

Oil-mills,  localities  of , Ifi5 

Okefenokee  swamp,  area,  character,  and  description  of 15,51 

O'Kelley,  B.  F.,  experiments  of,  with  fertilizers 00 

Oothcaloga  Valley  land,  analyses  of 27 

Onsley,  N.  It.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 144,1-15 

P. 

Pad.  on,  M.  S.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 84,85 

Palaeozoic  formation,  extent  and  thickness  of  beds  of 21 

Paramore's  bill,  sandstone  of 15 

Paris  green  as  a  remedy  against  the  caterpillar 172 

Patterson,  II.  T.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 98,99 

I 'a  aiding  county,  statistics  and  description  of 65, 80 

Perk,  W.L.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 94 

Pceples,  H.  T.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 153 

Perry,  G.  It.,  abstracl  of  the  report  of 100 

Phosphoric  acid  withdrawn  from  the  soil  by  various  crops  ..  G0,G1 

Pickens  county,  stat  is  tics  and  description  of 79,80 

Picking  of  cotton  begins  and  closes,  when 108 

price  paid  for 176 

Pierre  county,  statistics  and  description  of 153,  154 

Pike  county,  statistics  and  description  of lid 

Pine  and  oak  mountains,  geological  features  of Pi 

palmetto  Hats  region,  general  description  of 50,  51 

barrens  or  sandy  wire-grass  region,  area  and  character  of.  49-51 

region,  cotton  production  in 55,5(3 

Hats  and  coast  region,  county  descriptions  of 154-158 

Log  Valley  land,  analysis  of 27 

straw,  analysis  of,  and  its  value  as  a  fertilizer 62 

Planting  and  cultivation  of  cotton,  details  of 1C6-169 

cotton,  time  of 1C0 

Pliocene  formation,  occurrence  of 1(1 

Polk  county,  analyses  of  soils  and  subsoil  of 27 

statistics  and  description  of 71),  77 

Population,  average,  per  square  mile  (table) :!-5 

in  regions  (table) 54 

of  the  state  and  counties  (table) 3-5 

Potash  withdrawn  from  the  soil  by  various  crops GO,  Gl 

Potsdam  formation,  tl at  woods  lands  of 24 

Power  nsed  in  ginning  cotton    169,  I7u 

Prairie  land,  patches  of,  in  the  red-bills  region 39 

Preparation  given  to  cotton  lands 166 

Press  used  in  baling  cotton  - 170 

Prevalence  of  the  credit  system 171 

Prew.tt,  J,  R.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 86 

Price  paid  for  cottonseed 105 

Prod  net  ion  and  acreage  of  leading  crops  (table) 6-8 

Proport  ion  of  negro  laborers  owning  bind  or  bouses 174 

Pruddcu,  S.  ('.,  remarks  of,  on  cost  of  cotton-picking 170 

Pulaski  county,  statistics  and  description  of 123, 124 

Putnam  county,  statistics  and  description  of 106 

Q. 

Quartz  veins,  gold-bearing  character  of 32 

Quaternary  or  Southern  Drift,  occurrence  and  beds  of 10 

Questions,  summary  of  answers  to  schedule 163-176 

Quitman  county,  analysis  of  nnirl  of 45 

statistics  and  description  of 132 

It. 

Rabun  county,  statistics  and  description  of 78 

Raccoon  Creek  valley  land,  analysis  of 27 

Ragsdale,  F.  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 88 

Railroad  transportation  facilities  (we  county  descriptions)  .  .67-158 

Rainey.^r.,  T.  F.,   abstract  of  the  report  of 128,129 

448 


Page. 

Rainfall  in  nor; h west  Georgia 20 

of  the  state ii 

Randolph  county,  statistics  and  description  of 131 

Rates  of  transportation  (see  abstracts  iu  county  descriptions). 70-158 
Paling  of  the  cotton  staple  (.sec  abstracts  in  county  descrip- 
tions)   70-158 

Ped-  and   brown-   loam   region  of  northwtst  Georgia,  extent, 

general  character,  and  analyses  of  soi Is  of 25-28 

clay  icgion,  area,  locks,  soils,  and  general  character  of..         24 
Ped  Clay  valley,  description  of 70 

bills  region,  extent,  general  character,  and  analyses  of  .  39-41 

land-  of  the  central  cotton  bell,  thickness  of 39 

metanioi  phie  region   belts,  general   charac- 
ter and  analyses  of 33-35 

Reference  table  of  reports  received 1G0-1G2 

Region,  areas  of  each,  in  counties  (see  county  descriptions  I.  .G7-1C8 

Regions,  agricultural,  en  itineration  of 17,  Id 

comparison  of  cotton  acreage  ami  production  of .'5-50 

Regions,  general  description  of: 

Central  col  ton  belt    38-40 

oak,  hickory,  ami  pine  uplands -11—13 

red  clay  hills  39-41 

sand  and  pine  hills 3-,  39 

Coast  region 51-53 

live-oak  ami  coast  lands 52 

savanna  lauds 51 

Long- leaf  pine  and  wire-grass  regiou 40-51 

lime-sinks  and  clay  lands 47-49 

pine  and  palmetto  Hats 50,51 

sandy  pine  barrens 49-51 

Metamorphic,  or  Blue  Ridge  and  Middle  Georgia 29-38 

Northwest  Georgia 19-29 

Remarks  on  cotton  production 53-Gl 

Rent  paid  for  land 174 

Report,  plan  of iv 

Reports  received  from  counties,  reference  table  of 10"-]02 

Rice  or  swamp  laud,  analysis  of .'3 

Richmond  county,  statistics  and  description  of 110, 117 

Rivers,  navigation  and  extent  of  basins  of 16, 17 

Roberts,  ,1.  P.,  remarks  of,  on  cost  of  cotton  picking 170 

Rockdale  county,  statistics  and  description  of 94 

Rocks,  decomposition  of _ 31 

Roflf,  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 75 

Rose,  E.  W.,  abstract  of  the  report  of ill 

Potation  of  crops 104 

Pot  oi'  Onlls,  occurrence  of,  and  bow  obviated 170, 171 

Running  to  weed,  bow  obviated.     (See  under  Boiling. ) 

t.f  the  cotton-plant  a  peculiarity  of  the  coast 

region 108 

Rust  or  blight,  occurrence  of,  on   heavy  or  ill-drained   soils, 

in  what  seasons,  and  how  obviated 171 

S. 

Sand  and  pine  hills  region,  area  and  general  character  of 3-,  3'.) 

Sanders,  C.  (_'..  abstract  of  the  report  of 82,83 

Sand- bills  belt,  materials,  width,  and  general  character  of..         13 

Sandstone  ridges  of  northwest  Georgia 19 

Sandy  lands  of  the  mountain  summits,  extent  aud  description 

of." 28 

Sapp,  ]).,  abstracl  of  the  report  of 140 

Savannah  river,  alluvial  lands  of 44 

Savannas,  extent  and  character  of. 51 

Schedule  questions,  summary  of  answers  to 103-170 

Schley  county,  statistics  and  dcscripiion  of 128, 129 

Screven  county,  analyses  of  soils  and  subsoils  of 48,  49 

analysis  of  marl  of 40 

statistics  and  description  of 138, 139 

Sea-island  cotton 52,  53 

Section  at  Shell  bluff,  Burke  county 14 

of  bluff  at  Fort  Gaines,  Clay  county 14 

showing  elevations  across  the  state 18 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


183 


Page. 

Section  showing  marl  beds  in  Houston  county 124 

Seidell,  C.  W.,  abstract  of  the  report  of...: 82 

Seed-cotton,  amount  of,  required  for  a  bale  of  lint 70-158, 170 

penned,  or  how  protected 169 

product  per  acre  (see  county  descriptions) 67-158 

Share  system,  cotton  farms  worited  on,  and  effect  of,  on  the 

soil 172,173 

reasons  in  favor  of 173 

Sharpe,  R.  D. ,  abstract  of  the  report  of 139 

Shedding,  occurrence  of,  and  how  obviated 170, 171 

Shell  bluff,  section  at 14 

Shepard,  J.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 156 

Shephard,  C.  C. ,  abstract  of  the  report  of 130 

Shipping,  baling,  and  ginning  cotton,  details  of 169, 170 

charges  for  (see  abstracts  in  county  descriptions).  .70-158 

rates  of  (see  county  descriptions) 67-158 

Shivers,  J.  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 104, 105 

Siliceous  formation,  extent  and  character  of 15 

Silurian  formation,  groups,  strata,  and  thicknesses  of 21 

Singleton,  M.  T.,  quoted 14,15 

Smith,  A.  F.,  experiment  of,  with  fertilizers 91 

Stni  th,  A.  G. ,  abstract  of  the  report  of 158 

Smith,  Dr.  H.  J.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 153,154 

Smith,  Jubilee,  abstract  of  the  report  of 128 

Smith,  O.  E.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 148 

Smith's  summit,  section  of,  showing  fossil  beds 107 

Snows,  appearance  of,  iu  northwest  Georgia 11,20 

Soil  exhaustion,  remarks  concerning 60  61 

ingredients  withdrawn  by  various  crops 60, 61 

Soils  and  subsoils,  analyses  and  description  of  (tables) 25-66 

derived  from  metaraorphic  rocks 31-37 

Paleozoic  rocks  24-28 

general  comparison  of - 62, 63 

of  the  central  cetton  belt 38-46 

lime-sink  region 48 

metamorphic  region 31-38 

pine-barrens  regien 49-51 

ponds  of  central  cotton  belt  injurious  to  the  throats 

of  workmen 44 

red-hills  region 39-41 

sand-  and  pine-hills  region 38,  39 

tilling  qualities,  character,  and  productiveness,  etc., 
of: 

blackish  clay  bottom 78 

black  lime-land 73 

prairie  lands 123 

sticky  uplands 79 

brown  light  clay  loams 120, 145 

calcareous  upland 72 

Chattahoochee  River  lands 95, 127, 135, 136 

chocolate  or  pimply  gravelly  lands 153 

clay  and  pine  lands 144, 150 

coast  swamp  lands  above  tide-water 157 

creek  bottoms . . .  .72-76, 83, 85, 90, 96-100, 113, 139, 141 

flatwoods 103 

Flint  River  lands 136 

glade  lands 109 

gray  gravelly  upland  clay 78, 82, 100, 104, 113, 115 

sandy  and  gravelly  lands. .  70-77, 83, 84, 90, 95, 98, 

100-112,  117,  152 

uplands..  85-1 02, 105, 108, 115-121,132-135 

hummock  lands 118, 126, 136, 152, 157 

Oconee  river 107 

Ogeechee  River  lands 147 

pebbly  lands 141,146,152 

pine-land  belt 77, 104 

pine,  oak,  and  hickory  lands 151 

red-clay  lands 72, 76, 79, 87, 99-100, 118-126, 131, 

134, 137, 142, 145 

lands 81, 82, 96-100, 104, 109-117, 128, 129, 135 

or  mulatto 70, 74, 76, 83, 84, 88, 90, 99, 100, 

105, 108, 113 

2<J   0  P— VOL.  II 


Pnge. 
Soils,  tilling  qualities,  character,  and  productiveness,  etc., 
of — Continued. 

rolling  gravelly  land 71 

sandy  bottom  lauds 79 

loam  .  ..73-77, 87, 110, 116, 125, 145, 153, 156, 158 

pine 112, 126^-131, 134-153, 156-158 

Savannah  River  lands 117, 139 

stiff  sandy  lands 139 

tide-water  lands 157 

white  sandy  upland 139, 153 

Sore-shin  on  cotton-plants.. 167 

Southern  Drift,  or  Quatenary,  extent  of 16 

oak,  hickory,  and  pine  region  area,  general  charac- 
ter and  analyses  of 43,44 

uplands,  county  descriptions 

of 135-138 

Spaces  between  ridges  in  cotton  planting 166 

Spalding  county,  statistics  and  description  of 98, 99 

Spence,  W.  W.,  abstract)  of  the  repert  of 143 

Springer,  R.  H.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 96 

Standridge,  H.  C,  note  by 78 

Stansell,  G.  W.,  description  of  Wayne  county  by 149 

Stephenson,  Dr.  M.  F. ,  abstract  of  the  report  of 83 

Stewart  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 40 

statistics  and  description  of 127 

Stokas,  A.  W. ,  abstract  of  the  report  of 97 

Stoue  mountain,  elevation  of  and  area  oceupied  by 30,  'Ai> 

Storing  cotton,  charges  for 174 

Stotesbury,  P.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 154 

Streams  of  the  long- leaf  pine  region 47 

Strothcr,  C.  R.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 102 

Sturgis,  A.  E.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 104 

Sub-Carboniferous  formation,  brown-loam  lands  of 26 

Subsoiling,  and  implements  used  in 163 

Subsoils,    character   of    (see    abstracts    in    county    descrip- 
tions)     70-158 

Summary  of  answers  to  schedule  questions 163-176 

Sumter  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 40 

statistics  and  description  of 129, 130 

Supplies  raised  at  home  or  imported  172 

Sutton,  C.  H.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 81 

Swamp  muck,  analysis  of 61 

Sweet  potatoes,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) 6-8, 

T. 

Table  showing  acreage  and  production  of  leading  crops 6-8 

area,  population,  tilled  land,  and  cotton  pro- 
duction in  the  counties 3-5 

counties  ranking  highest  in  total  cotton  pro- 
duction and  product  per  acre 55 

geological  formations,  lithological  groups,  and 
thicknesses  of  beds  east  and  west  of  Tay- 
lor's ridgo 23 

population  and  cotton  production  in  regions . .         54 

Tables,  general,  of  analyses  of  soils  and  subsoils 64-66 

showing  population,  cotton  production,  and  banner 

counties  iu  agricultural  regions 54,  55 

Tabulated  results  of  the  enumeration 1-8 

Talbot,  county,  statistics  and  description  of 112, 113 

Taliaferro  county,  statistics  and  description  of 101 

Tapp,  W.  F. ,  abstract  of  the  report  of 72 

Tarver,  A.E.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 118,119 

Tattnall  county,  statistics  and  description  of 148 

Tatum,  W.  H. ,  abstract  of  the  report  of 127 

Taylor  county,  statistics  aud  description  of 125 

Telfair  county,  analyses  of  soil  and  subsoil  of 50 

statistics  aud  description  of 151 

Temperature  of  the  state 11,20 

Tennessee  basin,  area  and  description  of 16 

Terraces  of  the  coast 15, 16, 49, 51, 53, 157, 158 

Terrell  county,  statistics  and  description  of 131 

Terrell,  J.  E.  G.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 113 

449 


184 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  GEORGIA. 


Page. 
Tertiary  formation,  extent  and  subdivisions  of  and  remarks 

on  14-16 

Thinning  out  cotton-plants 167 

Thomas  county,  analyses  of  soils  of 43 

statistics  and  description  of 136, 137 

Thompson,  E.  M.,  abstract  of  the,  report  of 89, 90 

Thompson,  T.  J.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 76,77 

Tide-water  swamp  lands,  character  and  analysis  of 52,  53 

Tillage,  improvements,  etc.,  details  of 163-166 

Tilled  lands,  acres  of  (table),  (see  alno  details  of) 3-5 

percentage  of  area  devoted  to  cotton  (table).. .       3-5 
Tilling  qualities  of  lands.     (See  under  Soils.) 
Timber  growth  of  the  alluvial  lands  of  the  central  cotton 

belt 44 

gray  sandy  nietamorphic  lands 32 

metamorphic  region 29 

pond  region  of  south  Georgia 144 

red  metamorphic  lands 34 

Timber  growth  of  the  sand-  and  pine-hills  region 39 

Time,  length  of,  before  cottonseed  comes  up 167 

of  first  black  frost .__ 169 

thinning  out  cotton-plants 167 

when  bolls  first  open 168 

cotton  picking  begins  and  closes 168 

the  first  cotton-blooms  appear 168 

Toll  required  for  ginning  cotton 175 

Tomliuson,  J.,  statement  of,  regarding  sea-island  cotton  in 

Clinch  county 154 

Topography  of  the  state 11,19 

Towns  county,  statistics  and  description  of 78 

Transmittal,  letters  of iii,iv 

Transportation  companies,  conditions  imposed  by 170 

facilities   for   and  rates  of  (see  abstracts   in 

county  descriptions) 70-158 

rates,  remarks  on 59 

Trap-dike,  occurrence  of  33. 34,97,  112 

Trenton  and  Chazy  formations,  lands  derived  from  the 95, 26 

Triassic  formation,  remarks  on 13 

Troup  county,  analyses  of  soil  and  subsoil  of 35 

statistics  and  description  of 113, 114 

Tucker,  J.  C,  abstract  of  the  report  of 88 

Turner,  J.,  experiment  of,  with  fertilizers 105 

Turpentine  farms 47 

Twiggs  county,  statistics  and  description  of 122, 123 

U. 

Union  county,  statistics  and  description  of 78,79 

Upper  Quebec  formation,  rocks,  soils,  and  general  character 

of 24,25 

Upson  county,  statistics  and  description  of Ill 

v. 

Valley  lands  of  northwest  Georgia 19 

Value  of  land 174 

Van's  Valley  soils,  analyses  of 27 

Varieties  of  cottonseed  preferred 166 

Veazey,  L.  L.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 101 

Vegetation,  time  of  appearance  of,  in  northwest  Georgia 20 

450 


Pa  co- 
Wade,  D.  M.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 135 

Wages  paid  to  laborers 172 

system,  reasons  in  favor  of 173 

Walker  county,  analysis  of  eherty  ridge-land  of 95 

mulatto  soil  of 97 

statistics  and  description  of 71,72 

Walker,  J.  P.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 198 

Walker,  J.  W.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 99, 100 

Walton  county,  statistics  and  description  of 93 

Ware  county,  statistics  and  description  of 154 

Warner,  J.  B.  Y.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 101 

Warren  county,  statistics  and  description  of 104, 105 

Washing  of  soils,  how  prevented  (see  abstracts  in  county  de- 
scriptions)   70-158 

Washington  county,  analysis  of  marl  of 46 

statistics  and  description  of 119, 120 

Water-divide  of  northwest  Georgia,  remarks  on 20 

the  state  between  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf 16 

Wayne  county,  statistics  and  description  of 149 

Wayne,  R.,  abstract  of  the  report,  of 121 

Webster  county,  statistics  and  description  of 197,  198 

Weed,  running  to,  of  the  cotton-plant,  and  how  prevented. 

(See  under  Boiling,  etc.) 
Weeds  troublesome  on  any  soils.     {See  under  Soils,  character 
and  tilling  qualities  of.) 

Welch  and  Bacon,  Messrs.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 134 

Wellborn,  C.  J.,  note  from 79 

West  Armuchee  valley,  character  of 72 

Wheat,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) 6-8 

Whitaker,  J.  C,  abstract  of  the  report  of 107 

White  county,  statistics  and  description  of 80, 81 

marls,  analyses  of 46 

Whitfield  county,  statistics  and  description  of 70,71 

Whitsctt,  J.  H.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 141 

Whitsitt,  W.  J.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 71 

Wilcox  county,  statistics  and  description  of 151, 159 

Wilkes  eon nly,  statistics  and  description  of 109, 103 

Wilkinson  county,  statistics  and  description  of 199 

Wimberly,,jr.,F.  D.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 123 

Wiugfield,  J.  T.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 103 

Winn,  R.  D.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 89 

Wire-grass  and  pine-barrens  region,  county  descriptions  of  .145-154 

nature  of 47 

region,  description  of 46-51 

Woodland,  proportion  of  (set-  county  descriptions) 67-158 

Wooldridge,  J.  H.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 127 

Woolley,  A.  F.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 77,78 

Woolsey,  Dr.  I.  G.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 98 

Worth  county,  statistics  and  description  of 141 

Wylly,  W.C.,  remarks  of,  as  to  cotton  crop  in  Mcintosh  county      156 

Wyly,  O.  C,  abstract  of  the  report  of 82 

Wyun,  J.  A.  C,  abstract  of  the  report  of 99 

V. 

Yellow  clay  soils  of  northwest  Georgia,  extent  and  descrip- 
tion of 28 

Young,  F.  M.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 72 


REPORT 


ON  THE 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  OF  THE  STATE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA, 


WITH  A  DISCUSSION  OF 


THE  GENERAL  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  STATE. 


BY 


SPECIAL    AG-K3STT. 

1 
451 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Page. 

Letters  of  Transmittal v,  vi 

Tabulated  Results  of  the  Enumeration 1-4 

Table    I. — Area,  Population,  Tilled  Land,  and  Cotton  Production < , 3 

Table  II. — Acreage  and  Production  of  Leading  Crops 4 

Physico-Gbographical  and  Agricultural  Fb-atures  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina 5-48 

Outline  of  the  Physical  and  Agricultural  Features  of  the  State. 7-48 

General  Topography 7 

Rivera 7-0 

Geological  Features 9-12 

Cretaceous 10 

Tertiary 10 

Sand  Hills 10,11 

Buhr-stone -■ 11 

Phosphate  Rock 11, 12 

Agricultural  Divisions  or  Regions 12, 13 

Agricultural  Retrospect 13-15 

Indigo 14 

Indian  Corn 14 

Cotton 14 

Sea-Island  Cotton 14,15 

The  Coast  Region 15-21 

Surface  Features j 16 

Climate 16-18 

Health 18 

Soils  of  the  Coast 18,19 

Produetious 19 

Variations  of  Cot*6n .' 19-21 

History  and  Appearance  of  Long-Steple  Cotton 20,21 

Statistics 21 

The  Lower  Pine  Belt,  or  Savanna  Region 22-25 

Surface  Features 22 

Timfber  Growth 22 

Climate 22 

Soils : 23 

Swamp  Lands 23 

Productions 23,24 

Statistics 24,25 

The  Upper  Pine  Belt 25-30 

Surface  Features 25, 26 

Timber  Grewth. 26 

Climate ; 26 

Soils 26-29 

Productions  ,  29 

Statistics 29,30 

The  Red-Hills  Region 30-32 

Timber  Growth - 30 

Climate 31 

Soils 31,32 

Statistics 32 

The  Sand-Hills  Region 33-36 

Surfa«e  Features *3 

Timber  Growth „ 33 

Climate  33,34 

Sella  34,35 

Statistics 35,36 

iii 
453 


iv  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Physico-Geographical  and  Agricultural  Features  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina—  Continued. 

The  Metamorphic  Region  _ £6-44 

Surface  Features 36 

Timber  Growth 36,37 

Climate 37, 38 

Soils 38 

Granitie  Lands 36-40 

Clay-Slate  Lands 40 

Trappean  Lauds 41,42 

Productions 42,43 

Statistics 43, 44 

The  Piedmont  Region 45-47 

Surface  Features 45 

Geology 45,46 

Timber  Growth 46 

Climate -16 

Agricultural  Features '..  46,47 

Statistics 47 

Table  of  Analyses  of  Soils  and  Subsoils  48 

Cultural  and  Economic  Details  of  Cotton  Production 49-66 

Reference  List  of  Names  and  Addresses  of  Correspondents 50 

Cultural  and  Economic  Details 51-436 

Tillage,  Improvements,  etc 51-54 

Planting  and  Cultivation  of  Cotton 54-58 

Ginning,  Baling,  and  Shipping 58 

Diseases,  Insect  Enemies,  etc - 59, 60 

Labor  and  System  of  Farming 60-66 

MAPS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Agricultural  Map  of  the  State 7 

Map  showing  Relative  Cotton  Acreage - 14 

Section  showing  Elevations  and  Geological  and  Topographical  Features  of  the  State 8 

454 


LETTERS    OF    TRANSMITTAL. 


Berkeley,  California,  September  26,  1882. 
To  the  Superintendent  of  Census. 

Dear  Sir  :  I  transmit  herewith  a  report  on  the  cotton  production  and  agricultural  features  of  the  state  of 
South  Carolina,  by  Harry  Hammond,  esq.,  of  Beech  Island,  South  Carolina,  special  agent  of  the  census. 

Mr.  Hammond's  report  differs  somewhat  in  plan  and  tenor  from  those  that  have  been  made  of  other  states, 
in  the  especial  attention  bestowed  by  him  upon  the  historic,  statistical,  economic,  and  commercial  sides  of  the  subject 
of  cotton  production,  as  well  as  of  general  agriculture,  which  are  treated  with  great  fullness  and  ability,  thus 
forming  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  industrial  history  not  only  of  South  Carolina,  but  of  the  Atlantic  cotton 
states  generally. 

While  the  general  descriptions  of  the  agricultural  regions  are  as  full  aud  graphic  as  could  be  desired,  I  have 

to  regret  the  omission  of  the  descriptions  of  individual  counties,  with  abstracts  of  answered  schedules,  that  form 

Part  II  of  the  reports  on  the  other  cotton  states,  and  are  especially  designed  to  furnish,  in  compact  and  convenient 

form,  the  information  usually  desired  by  immigrants.     Mr.  Hammond  desired  to  substitute  therefor  the  descriptions 

of  individual  townships,  as  abstracted  from  answered  schedules  and  from  reports  made  to  the  commissioner  of 

agriculture  of  the  state.     But  as  these  townships  are  units  unknown  to  all  but  the  most  special  state  maps,  such 

substitution  does  not  appear  to  me  to  convey  information  of  a  character  sufficiently  definite  to  justify  their 

publication  in  this  work,  the  more  as  not  nearly  all  the  townships  of  each  county  were  thus  represented. 

Very  respectfully, 

E.  W.  HILGABD, 

Special  Agent  in  charge  of  Cotton  Production. 


Beech  Island,  South  Carolina,  May  25,  1882. 
Professor  Eugene  W.  Hilgard, 

Special  Agent  in  charge  of  Cotton  Production,  Berkeley,  California. 
Dear  Sir:  I  inclose  herewith  the  report  of  cotton  culture  in  South  Carolina.     The  report  embraces  a  sketch 
of  the  geography  of  the  state,  and  its  division  into  seven  agricultural  regions.    These  regions  are  distinguished 
by  the  diversity  of  their  physical  and  geological  features,  their  forest  growth,  climate,  soils,  difference  of  elevation 
above  the  sea-level,  and  to  a  large  extent  by  the  pursuits  of  the  inhabitants. 

In  addition  to  the  information  furnished  by  the  Census  Office,  or  derived  from  personal  travel  under  its  auspices, 
this  compilation  includes — 

1.  Answers  to  schedules  of  questions  touching  soils  and  details  of  cotton  culture,  issued  by  you  through  the 
Census  Office. 

2.  Answers  to  circulars  sent  by  A.  P.  Butler,  commissioner  of  agriculture  of  South  Carolina,  to  each  township 
in  the  state,  touching  its  soils  aud  resources. 

V 

455 


vi  LETTERS  OF  TRANSMITTAL. 

3.  Besides  numerous  pamphlets  and  reports  ou  the  earlier  explorations  of  Carolina,  valuable  information  lias 
been  obtained  from  the  following  publications:  Proceedings  of  the  State  Agricultural  Society,  4  volumes;  Mills' 
Statistics  of  South  Carolina,  1820;  Report  of  the  Agricultural  Survey  of  South  Carolina,  by  Edmund  Euffin,  1845; 
Report  of  the  Agricultural  and  Geological  Surrey  of  South  Carolina,  by  M.  Tuomey,  1844;  Geology  o/'  South  Carolina, 
by  M.  Tuomey,  1849;  and  Reports  on  the  Oeognostic  Survey  of  South  Carolina,  by  O.  M.  Lieber,  4  volumes,  1856-'59. 

Although  no  material  change  has  been  made  in  the  boundary  lines  of  the  state  since  the  surveys  of  1764  and 
1772,  its  area  has  been  variously  estimated  on  different  occasions;  in  18#2  Governor  Drayton  estimates  it  at 24,080 
square  miles;  in  1826  Mills  makes  it  30,213  square  miles;  in  1870  the  estimate  of  the  Ninth  Census,  based  on  the 
topographical  sheets  of  the  Coast  Survey  of  1865,  places  it  at  34,000  square  miles ;  the  estimate  »f  the  Teuth  Census, 
published  some  time  after  this  report  was  commenced,  places  it  at  30,570  square  miles. 

Cotton  culture  in  South  Carolina  so  much  predominates  over  other  pursuits,  and  monopolizes  to  so  large  an 
extent  the  resources  of  the  state,  that  a  fnll  account  of  it  would  amount  almost  to  a  full  account  of  the  entire 
industrial  and  economic  relations  of  the  state.  The  valuation  of  the  total  real  and  personal  property  in  the  census 
year  was  something  over  $120,000,000,  as  shown  on  the  books  of  the  comptroller-general ;  the  cotton  crop  of  that 
year  sold  for  at  least  $25,0110,000,  and  this  was  about  60  per  cent,  of  the  value  of  all  the  agricultural  productions 
of  that  year  throughout  the  state.  The  attempt,  and  especially  a  first  attempt,  to  portray  concisely  such  an  industry 
can  only  claim  to  be  an  approximation  to  correctness ;  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  omissions,  deficiencies,  and 
inaccuracies  in  the  accompanying  report  will  not  mislead  in  the  preparation  of  more  accurate  accounts  which  the 
subject  merits,  and  which  will  be  given  of  it  doubtless  in  the  not  remote  future. 

The  pivotal  questions  affecting  the  prosperity  and  profitableness  of  agricultural  pursuits  in  South  Carolina 
are,  as  elsewhere,  the  fundamental  ones  relating  to  labor  and  land.  Loosened,  as  agriculture  *i  this  state  is,  from 
all  ancient  moorings  on  these  points,  nowhere  are  more  earnest  and  varied  experiments  being  made  as  to  the 
methods  of  organizing  and  co-regulating  these  factors  of  wealth.  The  remarkable  advances  made  in  material 
prosperity,  as  shown  by  this  report,  in  the  decade  from  1870  to  1880,  encourage  the  hope  that  a  nearer  approach 
to  a  correct  system  in  these  regards  is  being  made. 
Very  respectfully, 
m  HAEBT  HAMMOND. 


TABULATED  RESULTS  OF  THE  ENUMERATION. 


Table    I.— AREA,  POPULATION,  TILLED  LAND,  AND  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 
Table  II.— ACREAGE  AND  PRODUCTION  OF  LEADING  CROPS. 


l 
457 


TABULATED  RESULTS  OF  THE  ENUMERATION. 


Table  I.— AREA,  POPULATION,  TILLED  LAND,  AND  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


The  State 

Abbeville 

Aiken 

Anderson 

Barnwell 

Beaufort 

Charleston 

Chester 

Chesterfield  — 

Clarendon 

Colleton 

Darlington 

Edgefield 

Fairfield 

Georgetown 

Greenville 

Hampton 

Horry 

Kershaw 

Lancaster 

Laurens 

Lexington 

Marion 

Marlborough  — 

Newberry 

Oconee , 

Orangeburgh  .. 

Pickens 

Richland 

Spartanbnrgh  .. 
Sumter 

Union 

Wiliiamsbuigh  . 
Tork    


Sq.  mis . 
30, 170 


720 

760 

1,300 

1,100 

2,000 


720 
1,900 

900 
1,200 
900 
900 
690 

800 
1,100 
900 
600 
65Q 

1,100 

1,100 

540 

020 

550 

1,400 
510 
620 
950 
900 


POPULATION. 


40,815 
28, 112 
33,  612 
39,  857 


490,  408 


505,160  391,105 


20,  060 
13,  854 
16,  573 
10,  942 


30, 176  I  14,  602 


102,  800 
24, 153 
10,  345 
19, 190 
30,  386 

34,  485 
45,844 

27,  765 

19,  613 
37,  496 

18, 741 

15,  574 
21, 538 

16,  903 
29,444 

18,  504 
34, 107 

20,  598 
26,  497 
16,  256 

41,395 
14, 389 

28,  573 
40,  409 
37,  037 


24, 110 
30,  713 


49, 117 
11,  853 
8,006 
9,600 
18,  262 

17, 130 
23,  006 

13,  714 
9,496 

18,  512 

9,434 
7,802 
10,  645 
8,416 

14,  604 

9,116 
16,  793 
10,  214 
13,  001 


Female.1  White.  Color'd.     "g 


20,  755 
14, 258 
17,  039 
19,  915 
15,  574 

53,  683 
12,  300 
8,339 
9,590 
18, 124 


004, 472 


10, 117 
18,984 

9,307 

7,772 
10,  893 

8,487 
14,  840 

9,448 
17,  314 
10,384 
13, 436 


7,  879   8,  377 


20,  583 
7,146 
13,845 
19,  781 
18,  342 

11,  870 
11,  936 
16,214 


20,  812 
7,243 
14,  728 
20,623 
18,  695 

12,  210 
12, 174 
15, 499 


13, 172 
12, 936 
18, 747 
13,  853 
2,442 

30,  922 
7,635 
9,498 
6,282 

12, 184 


17,  355 

22,  838  16,  018 

14,  051   6,  885 


3,466 
22,  983 

6,286 
10,  632 
7,892 
7,935 
11,756 

11,096 
15,  881 
8,026 
8,236 
11, 955 

12,  942 
10,  673 

9,185 
26,  372 

9,979 

10,  516 
7,758 
14,  033 


27,643 
15, 176 
14,  865 

26,  004 

27,  734 

71,  878 

16,  518 
6,847 

12,  908 
24,  202 

21,  556 
29,  820 
20,  880 
16, 147 
14,  513 

12,  455 
4,942 

13,640 
8,968 

17,  688 


18,  226 
12,  572 

18,  261 
4,301 

28,  453 
3,710 

19,  388 
14,  037 
27,058 

13,564 
16, 352 
16,  680 


TILLED  LAND. 


3,  730,  090     0. 19 


209,  465 
97,  618 
159, 153 
230,  706 
49,  022 

102, 727 
120,  060 
60,  852 
82,293 
94,  436 


87, 780 
132,  513 

87,  429 
126,  378 


108,  577 
64,085 
159,  901 


0.34 
0.21 
0.33 
0.28 
0.07 

0.08 
0.32 
0.12 
0.18 
0.08 


147, 100 
234, 141 
173,  899 

22, 154  |  0. 04 

130, 140  '  0. 29 

68,438  |  0.13 

29, 141  I  0. 04 

68,  628  I  0. 12 

82,858  I  0.22 

126,  700  I  0.  30 


0.12 
0.19 
0.25 
0.32 


55,  834     0. 16 

199, 025  0. 22 

66, 529  0. 20 

68, 872  0. 17 

148,  741  I  0.  24 

134, 895  0. 23 


0.24 
0.10 
0.35 


COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


0.37    1,364,249    522,548 


0.40 
0.38 
(.38 
0.35 
0.24 

0.24 
0.44 
0.30 
0.32 
0.12 

0.41 
0.40 
0.40 
0.02 
0.35 

0.32 
0.06 
0.42 
0.31 
0.50 

0.26 
0.34 
0.47 
0.45 
0.24 

0.31 
0.28 
0.41 
0.41 
0.43 

0.50 
0.25 
0.37 


37,  018 
61,  060 
83, 463 
11,  570 

24,  802 
52,  324 
18, 480 
26,  687 
11, 447 

60,  404 
93, 797 
69,  807 

362 
45,  572 

21,624 
1,773 
28,  978 
30,  744 
63,  956 

22,  871 
45,  520 
41,  251 
57,  447 
13,  595 

61,354 
18,  463 
28,  343 

61,  337 
57,  958 

54,  260 
15,  898 
58,546 


19,  605 
5,627 
23,  523 


459 


4 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


Table  II.— ACREAGE  AND  PRODUCTION  OF  THE  LEADING  CROPS. 


The  State 

Abbeville 

Aiken 

Anderson 

Barnwell 

Beaufort 

Charleston 

Chester 

Chesterfield  ... 

Clarendon 

Colleton 

Darlington 

Edg/jfiold 

Fairfield 

Georgetown 

Greenville 

Hampton 

Ilorry 

Kershaw  

Lancaster 

Laurens 

Lexington 

Marion 

Marlborough  . . 

Newberry 

Oconee  

Orangeburgh  . . 

Pickens  

Richland 

Sjtartanburgh  . 
Sumter 

Union 

"Willianisburgh 
York 


83.538 
37,  018 
01,060 
83.403 
11,670 

24,802 
62,324 
18,480 
26,687  | 
11,  447  ] 

60,404 
93,  797 
69,  807 
302 
45,  572  I 

21,  624 
1,773 

28,978 
30,  744 
63,  956 

22,  871 
45,  520 
41,  251 
57,447 
13,  595 

61,354 
18,  463 
28,343 
61,  337 
57,  958 

64,260 
15,808 
(8,546 


14,  334 
21,  897 
28,764 
2.  740 

9,303 
19,  051 
7,733 
8,589 
4,869 

23,946 
35,894 
25,  729 
160 
17,  064 

7,711 
809 
11,  289 
12, 677 
24,  484 

9,050 
21,748 

23,  785 
24, 155 

3,818 

24,  452 
5,756 

10,  958 
24, 188 


19,605 
5,627 
23,523 


INDIAN   COBN. 


1,  393,  4«4 


11,707,099 


51.569 
61,481 
49,956 
84,108 
14,735 


32,810 
43,  544 

53,  557 
67,  825 
40,274 
4,389 
52,  599 

30,  825 
13,391 
21,  891 

26,  622 
45,  066 

35,  760  ; 
55, 183 
33,773  j 
34,605 
23  224  i 

00,  419 

27,  070 
19,431 
56,225 
51,  876 

3»,  710 
30,  291 
61,  5S2 


471.955 
377,  922 
492,  040 
607,  610 
135,  755 

279,  908 
357,  308 
247,  430 
222,  274 
376,  532 

440,  892 
559,  086 
367,  930 
44. 101 
582,  150 

227,  884 
103.  895 
210, 957 
294,  939 
381,  933 

304,  5«9 
470, 745 
338,  527 
315,  803 
208,  899 

529,  259 
314,  004 
171,  040 
693, 454 
442,  300 

379,  336 
220,  311 
020,  605 


23,  544 
3,545 
12,776 
10,  808 
213 

1,773 
10,  440 
4,040 
2,345 
5,931 

8,317 
30,  432 

7,581 
205 


5,325 
107 
2,849 
6,697 
15,  860 

10,237 
6,784 
4,727 

13,994 
4, 127 

9,727 
2,882 
2,158 
11,2* 
5,886 

5,562 
.  1,  070 
13,824 


219,  981 
54,339 
94,013 

140,150 
2,901 

23,  900 
87,  583 
41,046 
28,  777 
66,  097 

88,210 
415,  243 
80,  566 
3,741 
62,  073 

58,  595 
1,  057 
34,  402 
48,  385 
149,410 

121,  290 
69,  Oil 
03, 180 

177,  962 
39,  392 

140, 473 
23,  087 
30,004 
74,  672 
64,581 

42,040 

9,860 

119,882 


Acres.       Bushels. 


170,902  ,     902,358 


14,390 
0,527 

16.754 
3,778 


107,  008 
22,684 

101.950 
18.  057' 


10 
7,342 
2,549 

125  ' 
186 

I 
2,503 

11,323  , 

4,012 


3,529 

4,994 

514 

14,808 

460 


198 

35,  708 

10,  320 

624 

805 

13, 453 
67,841 
24,511 


1,569  0,355 

3, 777  j  10,  852 

9,861  !  62,243 

12, 155  48, 167 

1,  081  9, 131 

2,436  20,077 

0,  258  '  04,  136 

4,  265  !  26,  017 


15,  635 
31,663 

3,916 
79,991 

2,644 


6,  710         33,  951 

78  !  409 

14, 176         75, 173 


SWEET  POTATOES. 


2, 189,  622 


474 
1,064 

620 
1,737 
4,323 

3,821  I 
163 
938 

1,  237  j 
1,738 

1,917 

1,085  j 

034  ' 

590 

448 

■  827  I 
2,177 

772 

247  I 
369 

1,671 

2,928 

1.115 

513 

171 

1,  176 
251 
726 
340 

2,191 

329 

1,773 

548 


31, 123 
81,  895 
36,550 
102,649 
100,  030 

170,534 
7,005 
27, 199 
59, 196 

117,825 

116,096 
70,  756 
53,  855 
49,  674 
34,132 

84,250 
155,  880 
39,  802 
14,117 
24,207 

62,  557 
187,  103 
61,410 

38,  437 
11,331 

65,  674 
20,088 

39,  816 
22,168 
90,396 

21,386 
91,414 
84,155 


Acres.      Pounds. 


16 
043 
63 


1,828 
16.  057 


1,090 

3 

5 

11,665 


3,083 

1,781 

629 


1 

233 

3,149 

126 


6,245 

28 

233 

6 

1,952 


3,428 

1 


52,  077,  515 


8,865 

490,  012 

33,857 

742,  633 

10,  599,  601 

8,  063,  196 


5,155 

691,  357 

11,136,056 

453,  764 

MO 

3,620 

10,  027, 889 

13,  793 

1,  407,  380 
747,  680 
126,  482 


720 

128,  818 

1,  623,  072 

30,004 


2,  052,  240 

30,460 

104, 121 

3,358 

669,  592 


1,  459, 410 
640 


460 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES 


STATE   OF   SOUTH   CAROLINA. 


icur: 


OUTLINE    OF    THE    PHYSICAL    AND    AGRICULTURAL 

FEATURES 

OF   THE 

STATE    OF    SOUTH    CAEOLINA. 


The  state  of  South  Carolina  lies  between  north  latitude  32°  4'  30"  and  35°  12'  and  longitude  west  from 
Washington  1°  30'  and  6°  54'.  Its  total  area  is  estimated  at  30,570  square  miles,  embracing  30,170  of  land  and 
400  of  water  surface,  being  about  three-fifths  the  size  of  England  and  Wales.  Of  this  area,  some  7,500  square  miles 
consist  of  improved  lands;  the  remaining  22,670  square  miles  are  in  forests,  swamps,  and  marsh,  almost  all  of 
which  may  be  easily  reclaimed  and  improved,  most  of  it  being  naturally  by  far  the  most  fertile  land  in  the  state. 

The  state  approaches  in  shape  the  form  of  an  isosceles  triangle,  the  equal  sides  being  on  the  north,  the 
boundary  line  of  North  Carolina,  and  the  Savannah  river  separating  it  on  the  south  and  west  from  Georgia.  The 
apex  of  the  triangle  rests  upon  the  summits  of  the  Blue  Kidge  mountains.  The  base,  sweeping  with  a  gentle 
S -shaped  curve  from  the  southwest  to  the,  northeast,  forms  part  of  the  great  Atlantic  shore  line  of  North  America. 
This  line  is  parallel,  or  nearly  so,  with  about  one-half  the  coast  lines  of  the  continents  of  the  earth. 

Parallel  with  this  coast  line  also  trend  the  divisions  between  the  various  geological  formations  of  the  state.  First, 
extending  not  more  than  teu  miles  inland,  we  have  the  strata  of  the  post-Pliocene  resting  on  the  formations  of  the 
Eocene.  These,  with  here  and  there  a  patch  of  the  Miocene  and  of  the  Cretaceous,  stretch  back  into  the  interior 
about  one  hundred  miles,  until  they  reach  the  crystalline  rocks,  whose  well-marked  line  has,  during  the  entire  past 
history  of  the  state,  divided  it  socially,  politically,  and  industrially,  as  well  as  physically,  into  what  has  always 
been  known  as  the  "  up-country "  and  the  "low  country"  of  Carolina.  This  division  of  the  state  by  the  line 
bounding  the  southern  margin  of  the  crystalline  rocks  trending  northeast  and  southwest  across  its  central  portion 
is  strongly  marked  in  everything — in  the  hills  and  highlands  of  the  up-country  with  their  heavy  red-clay  soils,  and 
in  the  gentle  slopes  or  wide  flats  of  lighter-colored  sandy  loam  of  the  low  country;  in  the  rapid,  turbid  water- 
courses of  the  one,  and  in  the  slow,  clear  currents  of  the  other;  in  the  vegetable  growth,  the  chestnut,  the 
deciduous  oaks,  and  the  short  leaf  pine  occupying  the  up-country,  and  the  long-leaf  pine,  the  magnolia,  and  the 
evergreen  oaks,  with  the  long  gray  moss  ( Till and sia),  marking  the  low  country;  and  lastly,  in  the  manners, 
character,  ancestry,  and  even  in  the  very  tones  of  voice  of  the  inhabitants.  Passing  beyond  the  lower  margin  of 
the  crystalline  rocks  and  proceeding  toward  the  mountains  we  find  in  all  the  various  strata,  in  the  order  of  their 
superposition — one  above  the  other,  the  limestone,  the  itaeolumite,  the  clay  talc  aud  mica  slates,  the  gneiss,  and 
the  granite — that  the  same  parallelism  is  maintained  throughout,  the  prevailing  strike  in  all  being  N.  20°  to  30° 
E.  If  we  regard  the  movements  of  the  atmosphere,  we  find  here  also  that  the  predominating  currents  of  the  air 
move  in  a  northeast  and  southwest  direction. 

Kivers. — Perpendicular  to  this  direction — that  is  to  say,  in  a  southeasterly  course — the  four  great  rivers,  with 
their  numerous  tributaries  that  drain  and  irrigate  South  Carolina,  make  their  way  from  the  mountains  to  the  sea. 
Before  leaving  the  crystalline  rocks — the  point  that  marks  their  lower  falls  and  the  head  of  steam  navigation — the 
rivers  have  received  the  rapid  currents  of  nearly  all  tbeir  affluents.  Thereafter  their  stately  flow  proceeds  more 
slowly,  passing  the  great  inland  swamps  of  the  low  country  as  if  the  waters  still  remembered  when  they  found 
issuance  through  these  ancient  deltas.  As  each  river  leaves  the  region  of  rocks  to  enter  the  borders  of  the  low 
country,  it  makes  a  sudden  and  well-marked  detour  eastward,  except  the  Savannah,  which  seems  to  have  had  its 
bed  shifted  westward  at  this  line  of  demarkation. 

Again,  on  the  near  approach  of  the  rivers  to  the  sea,  some  of  them  show  a  deflection  westward.  But  the 
parallelism  previously  noticed  does  not  obtain  in  this  case.  In  some,  as  in  the  Pedee,  the  westward  bend  is 
well  marked.    In  others,  as  in  the  Edisto,  the  river  is  merely  turned  from  an  eastward  to  a  north  and  south  course ; 

7 
463 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


while  the  Sautee  seems  scarcely  at  all  diverted  from  its  eastward 
course.  It  would  not  seem,  therefore,  as  if  this  change  had  resulted 
from  the  action  of  any  single  cause,  but  rather  that  it  was  the 
resultant  of  opposing  forces  operating  with  varying  intensities.  Suck 
forces  would  be  found  in  the  southeasterly  currents  of  the  streams 
themselves  opposed  by  that  southwesterly  ocean  current,  a  recurrent 
of  the  Gulf  Stream,  that  sweeps  along  the  Carolina  coast.  Where  a 
river  current  was  strong,  and  loaded  with  a  wealth  of  detritus  from 
the  drainage  of  an  extensive  back  country,  it  would  hold  its  own. 
against  the  ocean  current,  dam  it  out,  and  establish  for  itself  the 
direction  of  its  outlet.  Hence  the  Santee  piles  up  its  banks  and 
carries  the  shore-line  out  beyond  cape  Saint  Komain,  and  all  the  coast 
southwest  of  it,  the  site  of  ancient  and  of  actual  deltas,  is  lined  with 
the  islands.  Short  aiid  sluggish  streams,  however,  supported  by  the- 
detritus  of  no  great  water-shed,  as  the  Waccamaw  and  Pedee  rivers,, 
would  yield  readily  to  the  action  of  the  ocean  currents,  conform  to 
their  direction,  establish  no  nests  of  islands  at  their  delta,  but  leave 
the  sea  to  make  a  smooth,  bare  sand  beach ;  such  as  the  curving 
shore  from  Georgetown  entrance  to  the  North  Carolina  line,  where,  for  • 
twenty  miles  on  a  stretch,  a  carriage  may  roll  along  the  beach  at  low 
water,  leaving  in  the  hard  sands  not  the  slightest  impress  of  its 
wheels.  The  westward  shifting  of  the  channels  of  these  streams  is. 
still  going  on,  and  is  clearly  recognizable  on  the  charts  of  the  Coast 
Survey  in  the,  deposition  of  sediment  taking  place  at  the  mouths  of 
all  the  rivers  on  this  coast.  The  ship  channels  all  lie  to  the  south  of 
the,  entrance  to  the  harbors. 

Crossing  the  crystalline  rocks  nearly  at  right  angles,  the  waters 
in  their  course  through  the  up-country  encounter  a  series  of  natural 
dams,  which,  while  it  renders  them  easily  available  as  water-powers, 
seriously  obstructs  navigation.  The  passage  of  boats  of,  say,  two- 
hundred  tons  burden,  as  a  rule,  reaches  inland  but  very  little  further 
than  the  remarkable  belt  of  high  and  healthy  sand  hills  which  lie 
along  the  lower  borders  of  these  rocks.  But  through  the  virgin, 
forests  of  pine  that  cover  the  slopes  and  summits  of  these  hills  a. 
water-power,  measurable  only  by  hundreds  of  thousands  of  horse- 
power, wastes  itself  away,  unsubjected  to  the  uses  of  man. 

The  tortuous  courses  into  which  the  streams  have  been  forced  by 
the  causes  already  stated,  after  entering  the  low  country,  while  it  has- 
increased  the  navigable  waters  of  the  state,  (giving,  "apart  from 
creeks  and  inlets  of  the  sea,  an  inland  navigation  of  i!,400  miles,") 
has  seriously  impeded  the  drainage  of  the  low  country,  creating 
there  some  5,500  square  miles  of  swamp  lands,  which,  though  natu- 
rally, when  reclaimed,  of  almost  inexhaustible  fertility,  remain  to  this 
day  for  the  most  part  waste,  the  prolific  source  of  the  miasms  so 
deleterious  to  the  health  of  this  region.  Numerous  suggestions  to 
remedy  this  evil  have  been  made;  but  as  yet  nothing  has  been 
attempted  on  a  scale  commensurate  with  the  importance  of  the  under- 
taking. The  legislature  even  refused,  in  1840,  to  grant  a  charter  to 
a  company  proposing  to  prolong  the  channel  of  the  Edisto  in  a  direct 
line  through  TVassamassaw  swamp  to  the  Ashley  river;  and  a  sugges- 
tion of  a  similar  character  made  by  Governor  Seabrook,  in  1848,  for 
straightening  the  Sautee  through  to  the  Cooper  river  and  draining 
thereby  Biggin,  Fair  Forest,  Walleye,  and  the  numerous  adjacent 
swamps,  met  with  no  response.  Such  works  would  have  reclaimed 
for  the  plow  large  bodies  of  soil,  consisting  of  fine,  mud  and  decom- 
posing vegetable  matter  resting  at  a  depth  of  5  to  10  feet  on  marl  or 
gravel,  and  would  have  restored  the  adjoining  uplands  to  remunera- 
tive culture,  and  established  on  a  secure  foundation  the  healthfulness. 
of  the  entire  region. 


464 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  9 

The  Savannah  river  is  now  navigable  for  pole-boats  carrying  5©  bales  of  cotton  for  154  miles  above  Augusta. 
The  report  of  the  Chief  Engineer  states  that  for  an  outlay  of  $188,000  a  permanent  channel  3  feet  deep  and  GO  feet 
■wide,  of  safe  and  easy  navigation  for  such  boats,  could  be  made.  For  $97,(100  in  addition  to  the  above  114  miles 
could  be  made  into  a  steamboat  channel  90  feet  wide  and  3  feet  deep. 

The  Saluda  river  is  navigable  for  the  same  class  of  boats  for  84  miles  above  Columbia  where  it  unites  with  the 
Broad  to  form  the  Congaree  river. 

The  Broad  river  is  navigable  for  this  class  of  boats  for  113  miles  in  South  Carolina,  and  28  miles  in  North 
Carolina  ahove  Columbia.     It  has  a  total  length  of  175  miles. 

The  Catawba  river  has  a  fall  of  325  feet  in  the  55  miles  of  its  course  in  South  Carolina.  Its  banks  are  from 
300  to  3,000  feet  apart,  and  from  10  to  100  feet  high.  Above  Bocky  mount,  in  Chester,  there  is  a  fall  at  one  point* 
of  50  feet  in  400  yards.  The  river  has  a  total  length  of  272  miles,  and  its  source  is  2,500  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea. 

The  data  above  given  were  obtained  by  surveys  made  in  the  driest  season  of  a  very  dry  year,  and  therefore 
represent  these  streams  at  extreme  low  water.  This  low  stage  of  the  water  prevails  during  October  and  November. 
At  other  seasons  the  volume  of  water  would  be  on  the  average  two  or  three  times  as  great.  The  rivers  are  subject 
to  freshets  rising  from  20  to  30  feet  above  low-water  mark,  this  rise  being  greatest  where  they  issue  from  the 
metamorphic  region.  Together,  these  streams  furnish  a  navigable  highw  ay  of  405  miles  which  might  be  greatly  and 
permanently  improved  and  much  increased  for  a  moiety  of  what  the  same  length  of  railroad  would  cost. 

Geological  pbatukes. — The  rocks  of  the  upper  country  of  South  Carolina  are  a  continuation  of  and  similar 
to  those  of  middle  North  Carolina,  identified  by  the  geologist  of  that  state,  Frofessor  W.  C.  Kerr,  as  belonging  to  the 
Laurentian  and  Huronian  formations,  disclosing  in  themselves  no  evidence,  free  from  question,  that  any  living  things 
existed  at  the  period  when  they  were  formed.  It  is  upon  their  flanks,  and  largely  from  material  furnished  by  their 
disintegration,  that  the  whole  series  of  formations  composing  the  surface  of  the  earth  and  marking  the  different 
geological  eras  of  its  history  has  been  built  up.  In  South  Carolina  these  oldest  rooks  appear  among  the  sands  of 
the  Tertiary,  one  of  the  most  recent  geological  ages.     The  records  of  the  intervening  ages  have  disappeared. 

The  granites  are  among  the  oldest  of  these  rocks,  and  have  their  outcrop  in  Carolina  along  three  nearly  parallel 
lines,  as  follows : 

1.  On  the  most  southern  of  these  lines  the  granite  shows  itself  among  the  sand  hills  at  Graniteville,  on  Horse 
creek,  Aiken  county,  and  thence  at  various  points  in  a  northeasterly  direction  to  Columbia.  Notable  quarries  for 
building  materials  are  worked  at  Graniteville  and  at  Granby,  below  Columbia. 

2.  The  second  line  of  outcrop  extends  from  the  neighborhood  of  Huns  creek,  Edgefield  county,  across  Newberry, 
Fairfield,  and  Kershaw  counties,  to  the  northwestern  corner  of  Chesterfield.  In  Edgefield,  Newberry,  and  Fairfield 
the  granite  is  associated  with  beds  of  horublendic  rock,  and  forms  the  substratum  of  a  heavy  dark-red  clay  loam, 
which  is  one  of  the  best  and  strongest  soils  in  the  state.  Here  also  quarries  of  excellent  granite,  fine  grained  and 
splitting  easily,  have  been  opened,  especially  in  "Newberry  and  Fairfield  counties,  where  inexhaustible  quantities 
of  the  best  building  granite  are  found.  There  is  a  beautiful  flesh-colored  porphyritic  granite  in  Kershaw.  In 
Chesterfield  and  Lancaster  it  becomes  coarser  and  syenitic  in  character. 

3.  The  third  line  of  outcrop  stretches  through  Laurens,  Union,  and  York  counties.  In  the  vicinity  of  Union 
Court-House  the  granite  is  exceedingly  fine  grained  and  well  adapted  for  architectural  purposes ;  but  the  most  of 
it  on  this  line  is  characterized  by  a  coarse  porphyried  structure,  and  is  mostly  decomposed. 

Oneiss,  or  laminated  granite,  forms  by  far  the  larger  portion  of  the  rock  underlying  tliis  region.  No  strict  line 
of  demarcation  between  it  and  the  granite  has  been  established.  In  mineral  constituents,  color,  and  grain  they  are 
alike,  and  seem  to  shale  off  insensibly  into  each  other.  This  explains  why,  in  nearly  every  township,  the  occurrence 
of  rock,  well  adapted  for  building  and  called  granite,  is  reported  in  greater  or  less  quantities.  The  most  marked 
difference  is  that,  where  the  stratiform  character  of  the  gneiss  is  most  marked,  the  hornblendic  beds,  which  are 
associated  with  the  granite  and  of  such  high  value  as  a  soil-maker,  disappear.  Although  traversed  by  numerous 
veins,  this  rock  has  so  far  furnished  nothing  of  importance  to  the  miner  in  this  state.  Its  general  dip  is  slight  and 
to  the  southeast.  On  its  southern  border,  however,  the  gneiss  rock  is  found  with  a  vertical  dip,  as  at  Edgefield 
Court-House.  South  of  the  Saluda  river,  in  Lexington,  it  is  found  between  the  granite  and  the  clay  slates,  dipping 
northeast  80°.  In  Newberry,  a  coarse  feldspathic  gneiss,  alternating  with  hornblende  slate,  forms  an  anticlinal 
ridge,  dipping  southeast  on  its  southern  and  northwest  on  its  northern  slope. 

Immediately  overlying  the  gneiss  are  exposed  belts  of  hornblende  slate  of  no  great  breadth,  and  having  nowhere 
an  ascertained  thickness  exceeding  25  feet.  These  belts  of  hornblende  generally  surround  isolated  areas  of  mica- 
schists  which  overlie  them.  They  are  found  chiefly  toward  the  north  along  the  base  of  the  triangle  formed  by  the 
affluents  of  the  Santee,  or  to  the  west  of  this  river  system  in  Abbeville,  Anderson,  Greenville,  and  Fickens  counties. 
They  occupy  the  summit  of  ridges,  as  King's  mountain,  in  York.  On  the  water-courses  they  give  place  first  to  the 
hornblende  slate  and  then  to  the  gneiss,  which  forms  almost  everywhere  the  beds, of  the  streams.  They  have  an 
ascertained  thickness  exceeding  in  no  single  locality  100  feet.  Shafts  sunk  in  them  have  in  several  instances 
penetrated  to  the  underlying  gneiss.  Mica  thus  occurs  as  large  islands,  the  remnants  perhaps  of  what  may  once 
have  been  a  succession  of  wave  like  parallel  folds,  dipping  gently  with  the  Atlantic  slope  to  the  southeast,  and  once 

30  C   P — VOL.    II  465 


10  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

covering  the  entire;  surface,  but  worn  away  long  ago  under  tin-  erosive  action  of  the  present  river  system  of  tho 
state.  Numerous  gold  mines,  and  veins  bearing  copper,  lead,  and  silver,  have  been  found  in  these  rocks  and,  to  a 
limited  extent,  worked.  The  iron  furnaces  of  Cowpens  and  Hurricane  Shoals  are  also  located  in  this  formation. 
Mica  of  excellent  quality  has  been  mined  in  Dark  Corner  township,  Anderson  county,  and  in  Abbeville.  In  the 
former  locality  beryl  and  copper  are  also  found.  Corundum  and  zircons  are  found  in  Hall  township,  Abbeville 
county,  and  in  other  localities.  Asbestus  occurs  near  Glenn  Springs,  Spartauburgh  county,  a  noted  health  resort, 
the  curative  virtues  of  whose  waters,  with  those  of  many  other  similar  springs  in  this  region,  are  due  to  the  minerals 
dissolved  from  these  mica-schists. 

Next  in  the  order  of  superposition  above  the  mica  slates  occur  extensive  areas  of  talc  slate.  These  rocks  seem 
to  have  yielded  even  more  completely  to  the  erosive  action  of  the  rivers.  They  scarcely  appear  at  all  in  the  angle 
inclosed  between  the  Catawba  and  the  Saluda.  Their  largest  outcrops  are  east  of  the  Catawba,  in  Lancaster  and 
Chesterfield  counties,  and  separated  from  these  by  the  whole  width  of  the  river  system  of  the  state,  SO  miles  to  the 
southwest,  across  the  Saluda,  in  Edgefield,  and  Abbeville  counties.  These  two  localities  arc  the  great  gold-bearing 
regions  of  the  state. 

On  Broad  river,  near  the  northern  boundary,  where  the  counties  of  Union,  York,  and  Spartauburgh  corner,  an 
interesting  series  of  rocks  occur,  the  most  peculiar  of  which  is  a  flexible  sandstone,  the  itacolumite  or  diamond- 
bearing  rock  that  gives  its  name  to  the  group  under  the  designation  of  the  itacolumitic  series.  Thus  far  only  one 
diamond  has  been  found  in  South  Carolina,  though  several  have,  been  obtained  from  the  continuation  of  these  rocks 
both  in  Georgia  and  iu  North  Carolina. 

South  of  the  rocks  above  mentioned,  and  extending  along  the  edge  of  the  Tertiary  from  Edgefield  to  Chesterfield, 
a  broad  belt  of  clay  slates  occur.  On  their  southern  border  among  the  sands  of  Lexington  and  Chesterfield 
counties,  or  just  north  of  the  granite  in  Kershaw,  Richland,  and  Edgefield,  these  clay  slates  dip  from  14°  to  18° 
northwest.  This  angle  increases  further  north  until  the  slates  stand  vertically ;  still  further  on  1he  dip  changes 
to  the  southeast. 

The  trappean  rocks  are  found  chiefly  on  two  lines.  The  principal  one  is  the  most  southerly,  and  extends  from 
Edgefield  across  to  where  the  Catawba  river  enters  the  state.  Their  trend  is  a  little  more  to  the  north  of  cast  than 
that  of  the  other  strata,  which  they  therefore  cross  at  an  angle.  Their  greatest  development  is  in  Chester  and  York, 
where  they  form  the  substratum  of  a  large  body  of  very  peculiar  lauds  known  as  the  "black-jack"  lands.  These 
trappean  rocks  show  themselves  along  another  line  parallel  with  this  one  and  to  the  north  of  it,  stretching  from 
Calhoun's  Mills,  in  Abbeville,  to  the  Lockhart  shoals  on  Broad  river,  in  Union.  Here  they  also  give  rise  to  a  peculiar 
body  of  lands  known  as  the  "  tlatwoods"  of  Abbeville,  and  the  "  meadow  lauds"  of  Union. 

Cretaceous. — Outcrops  of  the.  rocks  of  the.  Cretaceous  formation  occur  east  of  the  Santee  river  in  numerous 
localities  in  the  lower  pine  belt  of  South  Carolina.  Commencing  at  Little  river,  in  the  southeastern  corner  of 
Horry  county,  Professor  Tuomey  followed  these  rocks  to  Mars  bluff,  on  the  Great  Pedee,  and  to  points  as  far  north 
as  Darlington  Court-House.  They  make  their  appearance  on  Lynch's  river  in  about  the  same  latitude,  and  were 
traced  by  Mr.  Kuffin  as  far  west  as  Kingstree,  the  county-seat  of  Williamshurgh.  They  consist  of  a  soft  marl,  of  a 
dark-gray  color,  containing,  as  at  Mars  bluff,  tlio  remains  of  Bclemnites  in  great  number.  This  marl  averages 
about  34  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime,  and  rests  on  a  stratum  of  hard  lime  or  marl-stone,  which  yields  75  per  cent, 
of  carbonate  of  lime.     This  marl-stone  rests  on  a  black  shale  of  laminated  clay,  which  overlies  beds  of  sand. 

Tertiary. — The  several  divisions  of  this  formation  are  represented  in  the  state,  the  lowest — Eocene — being  the 
most  extensive,  and  may  also  be  subdivided  into  several  groups,  viz,  sand  hills,  with  clays  and  recomposed  granites, 
buhr-stonc,  Santee  marls,  and  Ashley  and  Cooper  marls. 

Sand  hills. — On  the  south  of  the  metamorphic  there  is  a  belt  of  sand  hills  that  form  a  dividing  ridge  between 
the  more  recent  formations  of  the  low  country  and  the  very  ancient  formations  of  the  upper  country.  Their  southern 
aspect  overlooks  the  Tertiary  plain  descending  to  the  seashore  of  the  Atlantic.  On  the  north  they  reach  the  clay 
slates  (themselves  dipping  north  of  Edgefield,  Lexington,  Richland,  and  Chesterfield  counties)  and  the  granite  and 
gneiss  rocks  of  Kershaw  county.     Outcrops  of  these  most  ancient  rocks  also  occur  among  the  sand  hills  themselves. 

Above  the  granite  on  Horse  creek,  in  Aiken  county,  is  found  a  sandstone  composed  of  the  ruins  of  granite 
consolidated  into  a  pretty  hard  rock,  thick  ledges  of  which  occur  on  the  tops  of  the  ridges  in  a  number  of  localities. 
On  Second  creek,  in  Lexington  county,  Professor  Tuomey  found  fragments  of  bones  embedded  in  this  sandstone, 
and  recognized  fossil  shells  belonging  to  the  Eocene  formation. 

Interstratilied  with  this  sandstone  are  beds  of  loose,  sand,  kaolin  clay,  and  other  variously  colored  clays  having 
a  vertical  thickness  estimated  by  Tuomey  at  150  to  200  feet.  P.eds  of  pure  white  quartzose  sand,  well  adapted  for 
the  manufacture  of  glass,  occur.  Quarries  in  the  beds  of  kaolin  have  been  opeued  in  Aiken  county  and  worked 
with  much  profit,  both  for  the  manufacture  of  porcelain  and  as  an  article  shipped  in  quantities  to  northern  markets. 

Superimposed  on  the  beds  of  loose  sand  and  clay,  in  which  no  fossils  are  reported,  is  a  siliceous  rock,  varying 
from  a,  laminated  siliceous  clay  to  a  hard  rock  having  a  jointed  structure,  breaking  with  a  couchoidal  fracture  and 
resembling  menilite.  This  curious  rock  has  been  traced  from  Aiken  Court-House  to  the  northern  part  of  Clarendon 
county — where  it  is  known  as  fuller's  earth — nearly  encircling  the  Charleston  basin.  On  Congaree  creek  it  is  sawed 
into  blocks,  fashioned  with  an  ax,  and  used  in  building  chimneys.     It  hardens  on  exposure,  resists  disintegration 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  11 

well,  and  its  extreme  lightness  facilitates  its  carriage  and  handling.  On  this  rock  rest  beds  of  silicified  shells  and 
masses  of  buhr-stone  rock  belonging  to  the  earlier  Eocene.  Over  all  are  spread  beds  of  fine  sand,  covered  here 
and  there  by  beds  of  iron  ore  or  ferruginous  sandstone  sometimes  from  3  to  6  feet  in  thickness. 

The  region  of  red  hills,  which  lies  south  of  the  sand  hills,  belongs  to  the  buhr-stone  formation  of  the  Eocene.  A 
sienna-colored  clay  loam  forms  the  subsoil  of  this  region.  It  rests  on  strata  of  siliceous  clay  and  silicified  shells. 
The  clay  rarely  exceeds  20  feet  in  thickness  and  is  underlaid  by  beds  of  coarse  sand,  gravel,  buhr-stone,  and  kaolin 
clays.  These  kaolin  clays  appear  at  the  surface  in  the  sand-hill  region,  resting  on  beds  of  sandstone  and  grit,, 
that  cover  the  Horse  creek  granites,  which  extend,  with  the  sand  hills  north  of  the  region  under  consideration, 
from   Graniteville  to  Columbia. 

The  buhr-stone  is  the  lower  and  underlying  member  of  the  series  of  calcareous  rocks  forming  the  Chaileston 
basin.  It  has  been  altered  where  it  stands  by  the  removal  of  the  lime  from  the  shells  of  which  it  is  composed, 
and  by  the  substitution  of  silica  in  its  stead.  Not  only  has  the  buhr-stone  been  traced  by  Professor  Tuomey  under 
the  Sautee  marls,  but  the  shells  characteristic  of  these  marls  have  been  found  in  numerous  localities  in  process  of 
petrifaction. 

No  Eocene  marl  is  found  north  of  this  ancient  sea  beach  represented  by  the  lower  line  of  the  buhr-stone 
formation.  Masses  of  buhr-stone  occur  in  numerous  localities,  sometimes  showing  a  thickness  of  30  feet.  Quarries 
for  millstones  (said  to  equal  the  best  French  buhr-stone)  have  been  opened  and  worked  in  these  rocks.  In 
Orangeburgh  county,  between  the  laminae  of  clay,  very  distinct  impressions  of  the  leaves  of  the  oak,  beech,  and 
willow  are  found.  Petrified  wood,  frequently,  as  the  trunks  of  large  trees  in  considerable  numbers,  is  found 
imbedded  in  the  branches  of  this  region.  In  Aiken  and  Chesterfield  counties  beds  of  lignite  are  known.  They  are 
underlaid  by  a  clay  shale,  pronounced  by  Lieber  equal  to  the  best  Stunbridge  clay  for  fire-proof  crucibles. 

The  body  of  the  lower  pine  belt  is  underlaid  by  marl  belonging  to  that  portion  of  the  Eocene  formation  of  the 
Tertiary  designated  by  Mr.  Puffin  the  Great  Carolinian  Belt.  These  marl-beds  are  divided  into  two  well-marked 
groups,  known  as  the  Sautee  marls  and  as  the  Ashley  and  Cooper  river  marls.  The  Santee  marls  are  the  older, 
lower,  and  more  extensive  formation.  Peaching  from  Mazyek's  ferry,  on  the  Santee  river,  in  Charleston  county,  to 
Vance's  ferry,  on  that  river,  in  Orangeburgh  county,  and  underlying  nearly  the  whole  of  Clarendon  county,  they 
have  been  traced  along  Potato  creek  as  far  north  as  Sumter  county.  Westward  they  extend  through  Colleton 
Orangeburgh,  Hampton,  and  Barnwell  counties  to  the  Savannah  river,  reaching  as  high  up  on  that  stream  as  Shell 
Bluff,  a  noted  locality  in  Burke  county,  Georgia. 

West  of  the  Black  river,  in  Sumter  county,  the  line  where  the  buhr  stone  formation  passes  under  the  Sautes 
marls  traverses  the  center  of  the  upper  pine  belt.  North  of  it  occur  the  silicified  shells  of  the  buhr-stone,  south 
of  it  the  coralline  marls,  both  belonging  to  the  Eocene  Tertiary.  West  of  the  stream  named,  and  in  the  direction 
of  Darlington  Court-House,  occur  numerous  outcroppings  of  the  Miocene  marls,  in  Sumter  and  Darlington  counties. 

The  Santee  marl-bed  forms  the  lowest  member  of  the  calcareous  strata  of  the  Charleston  basin,  and  was 
designated  by  Professor  Tuomey  "the  coralline  bed  of  the  Charleston  basin",  being  composed  of  the  remains  of 
corals  and  gigantic  oyster  shells.  It  consists  of  strata  of  soft  marl,  marlstone,  and  greensand,  and  is  very  rich  in 
carbonate  of  lime,  averaging  90  per  cent,  of  that  valuable  ingredient  of  the  soil.  The  greensand  marls,  intercalated 
with  them,  contain  30  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime  and  22  per  cent,  of  greensand. 

The  marls  of  Sumter  and  Darlington  examined  by  Professor  Tuomey  were  found  to  contain  from  00  to  70  per 
cent,  of  carbonate  with  traces  of  phosphate  of  lime. 

Eesting  on  the  Santee  marls,  and  passing  out  with  them  beneath  the  Pliocene  and  post-Pliocene  of  the  coast 
under  the  sea  to  a  great  depth,  are  the  Ashley  and  Cooper  marls.  Unlike  the  Santee  marls,  they  contain  neither 
corals  nor  oyster  shells,  but  are  composed  of  minute  many-chambered  shells  (Potythalamia  and  Foraminifera). 
These  marls  are  of  a  dark  gray  color  and  granular  texture,  sometimes  so  compact  as  to  render  the  material  suitable 
for  building  purposes.  They  are  not  so  rich  as  the  Santee  marls,  and  average  only  about  60  per  cent,  of  carbonate 
of  lime.  They  have  long  been  known,  however,  to  contain  a  notable  quantity  of  phosphate  of  lime,  and  a  great 
interest  attaches  to  them,  as  they  are  the  source  of  the  nodules  rich  in  phosphate  of  lime  known  as  phosphate  rod;. 

Phosphate  rode. — The  deposits  of  phosphate  rock  occur  over  a  wide  range  of  country,  reaching  from  North 
Carolina  to  Florida,  and  extending  in  some  instances  as  much  as  00  miles  inland.  Vertically,  so  far  as  their 
occurrence  in  quantities  of  value  economically  is  concerned,  their  distribution  is  confined  within  narrow  limits. 
They  are  found  at  the  bottom  of  rivers  at  a  depth  of  from  20  to  30  feet,  and  on  land  they  occur  at  an  elevation  but 
slightly  above  mean  high  tide,  so  that  the  tides  of  the  existing  sea,  supplemented  in  a  few  instances  perhaps  by 
the  action  of  storms,  are  sufficient  to  account  for  any  movements  that  these  water-worn  nodules  have  undergone. 
The  rock  of  commerce  occurs  always  above  the  marl,  and  is  known  as  the  land  or  water  rock,  according  as  it  is 
found  in  the  one  element  or  the  other.  The  water  rock  is  darker  in  color  and  harder  than  the  land  rock,  and  is 
frequently  found  in  a  layer  or  sheet  of  cemented  or  tightly-compacted  nodules  overlying  the  marl  at  the  bottom  of 
the  rivers  and  creeks,  where  it  either  forms  the  bottom  itself  or  is  overlaid  by  a  deposit  of  mud  of  greater  or  less 
depth.  It  has  been  seldom 'dredged  for  at  a  depth  exceeding  20  feet.  The  laud  rock  is  found  at  a  depth  of  from 
2  to  10  feet  (and  more  under  elevations)  below  the  surface  of  the  soil,  but  is  not  mined  at  a  depth  exceeding  from 

467 


12  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

■5  to  7  feet.  It  is  found  iu  masses  or  nodules  varying  from  the  size  of  a  potate  to  several  feet  in  diameter.  These 
nodules  are  rounded,  rough,  indented,  and  frequently  perforated  with  irregular  cavities.  They  vary  in  color  from 
olive  or  bluish  black  to  a  yellowish  or  grayish  white.  The  specific  gravity  is  from  2.2  to  2.5;  the  hardness  from  3.5 
to  i.    The  fragments  of  rock  give  off  a  peculiar  foe  ted  odor  on  friction.     By  analysis  it  is  found  to  contain — 

Per  cent. 

Phosphate  of  lime 55  to  61 

Carbonate  of  lime 5  to  10 

Organic  matter  and  water 2  tu  10 

with  small  quantities  of  fluorine,  iron,  magnesia,  alumina,  and  sulphuric  acid,  beside  sand.  The  land  rock  is  found  in 
a  loose  layer  varying  from  a  few  inches  to  30  in  depth,  averaging  about  8  inches.  It  occurs  iu  sand,  mud,  clay,  or 
peat,  and  is  often  intermingled  with  numerous  remains  of  land  and  marine  animals.  Among  the  former  are  the 
remains  of  the  mastodon,  elephant,  tapir,  deer,  and  of  our  domestic  animals  the  horse,  the  cow,  and  the  hog;  thus 
showing  that  these  very  animals,  which  were  imported  by  (he  first  white  settlers,  had  once  inhabited  this  region, 
from  which  they  had  disappeared,  so  far  as  tradition  informs  us,  before  the  advent  of  man,  furnishing  Professor 
Agassiz  with  one  of  his  strongest  arguments  in  favor  of  "independent  centers  of  creation".  The  remains  of  these 
land  animals  are  found  intermingled  with,  but  never  imbedded  in,  the  phosphate  rocks,  giving  no  evidence  that 
there  was  any  community  of  origin  between  them.  So  abundant  arc  the  remains  of  marine  animals  that  Professor 
Tuomey  named  this  formation  the  "Ashley  fish  bed".  Most  striking  among  these  remains  arc  beautifully  preserved 
teeth  of  sharks  from  2  to  4  inches  in  length. 

As  to  the  origin  of  the  phosphate  rock,  the  identity  of  the  fossil  shells  it  contains  with  those  of  the  underlying 
marl  make  it  certain  that  it  consists  of  fragments  broken  from  the  irregular  surface  of  the.  marl,  and  that  its 
rounded  and  nodular  form  was  imparted  to  it  by  the  action  of  the  waves  and  currents  to  which  it  was  subsequently 
subjected.  The  important  question  of  how  a  marl  containing  originally  60  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime  and  from  2 
to  4  per  cent,  of  phosphate  of  lime,  has  been  changed  into  one  containing  from  5  to  10  per  cent,  of  carbonate  and 
from  50  to  00  per  cent,  of  phosphate  of  lime  remains  lor  consideration,  and  several  theories  have  been  advanced. 
.Layers  of  phosphate  rock  have  been  found  at  a  depth  of  300  feet  in  artesian  borings,  and  the  causes  may  be  still 
iu  progress  as  the  dredging  work  of  the  United- States  Coast  Survey  shows  that  the  marls  are  accumulating  at  a 
•depth  of  200  fathoms  on  the  floor  of  the  Gulf  stream  betweeu  Florida  and  Cuba,  and  contain  a  considerable 
percentage  of  phosphate  of  lime. 

No  systematic  survey,  determining  the  extent  of  these  deposits,  has  yet  beep  attempted.  The  only  inJormation  on  tins  head  conies 
^■om  prospectors  seeking  easily  accessible  rock  in  localities  convenient  for  shipment.  Widely-varying  estimates  as  to  the  quantity  of  the 
rock  have  been  ventured.  Some  have  placed  it  as  high  as  500,000,000  of  tons,  and  others  as  low  as  5,000,000.  ,  The  latter  is  the  estimate,  of 
Professor  Shcpard,  who  has  prepared  a  map  of  the  region.  He  traced  the  deposit  over  340,000  acres,  and  roughly  estimates  the  accessible 
rock  as  covering  only  about  10,000  acres.  Even  this  estimated  area,  at  800  tons  per  acre,  which  lie  gives  as  an  average,  should  yield 
8,000,000  tons.  But  if  we  examine  a  single  mining  region,  as  that  for  instance  occupied  by  the  Coosaw  Company,  we  must  conclude  that 
he  has  very  greatly  underestimated  the  amount.  This  company  has  the  exclusive  right  to  a  territory  of  about  0,000  acres  on  Coosaw 
river,  beside  the  adjacent  marshes  yet  unexplored.  Everywhere  the  river  bottom  is  covered  with  rock,  which  for  the  most  part  forms  a 
solid  sheet,  varying  from  8  inches  to  11  feet  in  thickness.  Taking  the  lesser  thickness,  we  have,  with  a  specific  gravity  of  2.5,  after 
subtracting  25  per  cent,  for  loss  in  washing  and  drying,  something  over  1,700  torn,  to  the  acre,  which  would  give  for  the  river  territory 
alone  belonging  to  this  one  company  something  more  than  10,000,000  of  tons.  It  seems  remarkable  that  while  coal  mining  at  great  depths 
is  found  profitable,  when  the  product  sells  at  $'.i  per  ton,  capital  has  not  more  eagerly  sought  employment  iu  these  superficial  deposits 
worth  never  less  than  $5  and  now  §9  per  ton. 

There  are  ten  companies  engaged  in  land  mining.  The  land  either  belongs  to  them  or  is  leased  by  them  for  a  term  of  yearn. 
Parallel  ditches  two  yards  wide  are  sunk  through  the  soft  soil  to  a  depth  of  from  4  to  7  feet  to  the  stratum  of  sand  or  mud  in  which  the 
loose  layer  of  phosphate  nodules  is  found.  The  rock  is  shoveled  out,  thrown  into  heaps,  and  transported  by  rail  to  the  washers 
.situated  on  the  wharves,  whence  it  is  shipped.  A  commou  laborer  will  raise  a  ton  a  day,  for  which  he  is  paid  81  75.  The  product  of  the 
land  rock  is  about  100,000  tons  a  year,  and  most  of  it  is  ground  and  manufactured  into  acid  phosphates  and  other  fertilizers  by  the  eight 
manufacturing  companies  within  the  state. 

The  river  miners  work  under  charters  from  the  state,  which  grants  them  a  general  right  to  work  a  specified  territory  with  any  other 
•comers,  or  exclusive  right  to  such  territory.  In  either  case  they  pay  a  royalty  to  the  state  of  §1  for  every  ton  of  rock  raised.  The  river 
■works  yield  about  100.000  tons  of  rock  per  annum.  Being  harder,  and  therefore  more  difficult  to  grind,  it  has  been  mostly  shipped  to 
foreign  or  northern  ports  to  lie  manufactured.  Labor  receives  good  wages  at  this  work.  Divers,  raising  the  rock  from  a  depth  of  10  or 
12  feet,  paid  by  the  amount  raised,  working  one  and  a  half  hours  on  the  ebb  aud  one  and  a  half  on  the  flood  tide,  earn  as  much  as 
$18  a  week.  This  work  is  neither  dangerous  nor  unhealthy,  and  those  engaged  in  it  seem  to  enjoy  their  aquatic  exercise.  It  is  thought 
that  large  quantities  of  rock  underlie  the  salt  marshes  between  the  high-  and  low-water  mark.  So  far  very  little  work  and  no  thorough 
exploration  has  been  made  in  this  direction.  The  total  amount  of  rock  raised  from  the  1st  of  June,  1874,  to  the  1st  of  June,  1880,  is  given 
as  1,078,995  tons. 

Agricultural  divisions  or  regions. — In  addition  to  the  two  grand  divisions  of  South  Carolina  already 
dwelt  upon,  i.  e.,  the  "up-country"'  and  "low  country",  it  will  facilitate  the  consideration  of  the  agricultural 
characteristics  of  the  state  to  treat  of  them  under  certain  minor,  natural,  and  parallel  subdivisions,  which  are  quite 
well  marked.     These  are  as  follows  : 

I.  The  coast  region. — It  coincides  very  nearly  with  the  post-Pliocene  formation,  rarely  extending  inland  more 
than  10  miles  from  the  shore-line.     It  consists  of — 

(1)  The  sea  islands  lying  south  of  Sautee  river,  and  containing  about  S00  square  miles. 
468 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPIIICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  13 

(2)  The  salt  marshes  uncovered  at  low  tide,  bordering  and  intercalating  with  the  sea  islands,  capable  of  being- 
reclaimed,  and  embracing  COO  square  miles. 

(3)  The  continuous  shore-line  north  of  Santee  river  and  Georgetown  entrance,  300  square  miles  in  extent. 

II.  The  lower  pine  belt  or  Savanna  region,  lying  inland  and  parallel  with  the  coast  region. — It  has  a.  width  of  about 
50  miles,  attains  a  maximum  elevation  above  the  sea  of  130  feet,  and  covers  7,000  square  miles.  It  is  underlaid  by 
the  Eocene  formation,  and  includes  the  Charleston  basin,  consisting  of  the  marls  of  Santee  and  Ashley  rivers.  It 
may  be  divided  into — 

(1)  The  region  below  the  influence  of  the  tides,  the  rice  fields  of  S#uth  Carolina. 

(2)  The  region  above  tide-water,  notable  for  its  turpentine  farms  and  its  great  cattle  ranges. 

III.  The  upper  pine  belt  or  central  cotton  belt,  having  a  width  of  130  to  40  miles,  embracing  4,500  square,  miles,  and 
covered  tcith  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine,  mixed  with  oak  and  hickory,— The  soil  consists  of  a  light  sandy  loam,  underlaid 
by  red  and  yellow  clays.     It  has  an  elevation  above  the  sea  of  from  130  to  250  feet. 

IV.  The  alluvial  lands. — Large  inland  swamps,  bays,  and  river  bottoms  of  unsurpassed  fertility,  covering  5,500 
square  miles,  interspersed  among  the  two  regions  last  named. 

V.  The  sand-hills  region,  lying  immediately  north  of  No.  III.— A  remarkable  chain  of  sand  hills,  attaining  an 
elevation  above  the  sea  of  from  GOO  to  700  feet,  and  extending  across  the.  state  from  Aiken  to  Chesterfield  counties. 
These  sand  hills,  with  their  heavy  pine  forests,  and  tcrebinthinate  atmosphere,  so  much  sought  after  as  a  specific 
for  lung  diseases,  cover  4.060  square  miles,  and  embrace  two  other  formations  of  much  interest  agriculturally,  viz : 

1st.  The  red  hills,  lying,  if  anything,  below  the  sand-hill  belt,  having  a  heavy  oak  growth  and  a  red  clay  soil, 
with  an  elevation  above  the  sea  of  from  500  to  600  feet,  and  covering  some  1,200  square  miles. 

2d.  The  ridge  lands,  north  and  west  of  the  sandhill  belt,  and  lying  higher;  soil,  a  gray  sandy  loam  on  clay 
subsoil ;  area,  400  square,  miles. 

This  formation  belongs  to  the  Eocene  buhr-stone,  with  here  and  there  outlyers  of  granite  rock;  its  northern 
margin  rests  on  the.  metamorphic  rocks. 

VI.  The  region  of  the  metamorphic  rocks  is  next  reached.  It  includes  that  portion  of  the  state  known  as  the 
upper  country,  covers  some  11,000  square  miles,  and  has  a  mean  elevation  above  the  sea-level  of  from  600  to  800 
feet.     Its  soils  are: 

1.  The  cold  gray  lands  overlying  chiefly  the  clay  slates. 

2.  The  gray  sandy  soils  from  the  decomposition  of  granite  and  gueiss. 

3.  The  red  lands. 

4.  The  trappeau  soils,  known  as  flatwoods,  meadow,  or  black-jack  lands,  in  various  sections. 

VII.  The  Piedmont  belt  is  the  extreme  northwestern  extension  of  the  rocks  and  soils  of  the  region  just 
mentioned,  differing  from  the  former  by  its  more  broken  and  mountainous  character,  and  by  its  greater  elevation, 
ranging  from  000  to  3,430  feet  at  mount  Pinnacle,  near  Pickens  Court-House,  the  highest  point  in  the  state.  It 
includes  about  1,250  square  miles. 

Agricultural  retrospect. — The  first  permanent  settlers  established  themselves  on  the  sea-coast  of  South 
Carolina  in  1670 ;  bringing  with  them  the  traditions  of  a  husbandry  that  must  have  been  very  rnde  at  a  period 
so  long  antedating  the  Tullian  era  of  culture,  and  adapted  solely  to  the  requirements  of  colder  latitudes.  They 
met  with  such  poor  success  in  the  cultivation  of  European  cereals  that  they  soon  found  it  would  be  more  profitable, 
to  employ  themselves  in  collecting  and  exporting  the  products  of  the  great  forests  that  surrounded  them.  In 
return  for  the  necessaries  of  life,  they  exported  to  the  mother  country  and  her  colonies  oranges,  tar,  turpentine, 
rosin,  masts,  potashes,  cedar,  cypress,  and  pine  lumber,  walnut  timber,  staves,  shingles,  canes,  deer  and  beaver 
skins,  etc.  (a)  With  the  settlement  of  the  up-country  the  culture  of  small  grain  became  more  successful,  and  when 
Joseph  Kershaw  established  his  large  flouriug-mills  near  Camden,  in  1760,  flour  of  excellent  quality  was  produced 
in  such  abundance  as  to  become  an  article,  of  export  of  considerable  consequence.  In  1S02,  flouriug-mills  had  proven 
so  profitable  that  quite  a  number  were  established  in  the  counties  of  Laurens,  Greenville,  and  elsewhere.  About 
that  time,  however,  the  attractions  of  the  cotton  crop  became  so  great  as  to  divert  attention  from  every  other;  and 
the  cereals  lost  ground  until  the  low  prices  of  cotton  prevailing  between  1S40  and  1S50  prepared  the  way  for  a 
greater  diversity  of  agricultural  industries,  and  the  small-grain  crop  of  1850  exceeded  4,000,000  bushels.  Since 
then  cereal  crops  have  declined,  and  seem  likely  to  continue  to  do  so  unless  the  promise  held  out  by  the  recent 
introduction  of  the  red  rust-proof  oat  should  be  fulfilled,  ajid  restore  them  to  prominence. 

In  1093,  Langrave  Thomas  Smith — of  whose  descendants  mote  than  500  were  living  iu  the  state  in  1808  (a 
number  doubtless  largely  increased  since) — introduced  the.  culture  of  rice  into  South  Carolina.  The  seed  came 
from  the  island  of  Madagascar,  in  a  vessel  that  put  into  Charleston  harbor  iu  distress.  This  proved  a  great  success; 
and  as  early  as  1754  the  colony,  besides  supplying  an  abundance  of  rice  for  its  own  use,  exported  104, 6S2  barrels. 
Great  improvements  in  the  grain  were  made  by  a  careful  selection  of  the  seed.  Water  culture  was  introduced  in 
1784  by  Gideon  Dupont  and  General  Pinckney,  rendering  its  production  less  dependent  on  the  labor  of  man  or 

a  In  I860  there  was  exported  from  Charleston  311,000  barrels  of  naval  stores,  and  14,500,000  feet  of  lumber,  besides  the  large  exports 
of  these  articles  from  Port  Royal  and  Georgetown. 

4CJ 


14 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


beast  than  that  of  any  other  cultivated  crop.  In  1778,  Mr.  Lucas  established  on  the  Santee  river  the  first  water- 
power  mill  ever  adapted  to  cleaning  and  preparing  rice  for  market — the  model  to  which  all  subsequent  improvements 
were  due — greatly  diminishing  the  cost  of  this  work.  In  1828,  175,019  tierces  were  exported,  and  the  crop  of  1850 
exceeded  250,000  tiereea.  That  of  1800  was  something  less;  and  in  1870  the  product  tumbled  headlong  to  51.000 
tierces. 

Indigo. — In  1742,  George  Lucas,  governor  of  Antigua,  sent  the  first  seeds  of  the  indigo  plant  to  Carolina,  to  his 
daughter  Miss  Eliza  Lucas  (afterward  the  mother  of  Charles  Cotesworth  Piuckney).  With  much  perseverance, 
after  several  disappointments,  she  succeeded*]  n  growing  the  plant  and  extracting  the  indigo  from  it.  Parliament 
shortly  after  placed  a  bounty  on  the  production  of  indigo  in  British  possessions;  and  this  crop  attained  a  rapid 
development  in  Carolina.  In  1754,  210,924  pounds,  and  in  1775  1,107.000  pounds  were  produced.  But  the  war  with 
the  mother  country,  the  competition  of  indigo  culture  in  the  East  Indies,  the  unpleasant  odor  emitted,  and  the 
swarms  of  Hies  attracted  by  the  fermentation  of  the  weeds  in  the  vats,  but  above  all  the  absorbing  interest  in  the 
cotton  crop,  caused  its  rapid  decline;  and  in  the  early  part  of  this  century  it  had  ceased  to  be  a  staple  product, 
although  it  was  cultivated  in  remote  places  as  late  as  1848. 

Indian  coin. — Indian  corn,  the  grain  which,  "  next  to  rice,  supplies  food  to  the  largest  number  of  the  human 
race,"  "the  most  valuable  gift  of  the  new  world  to  the  old,"  but  a  plant  unknown  to  European  culture,  and  in 
ill-repute  as  the  food  of  the  ever  hostile  red  man,  received  little  attention  from  the  early  settlers.  Nevertheless, 
with  the  steadiness  that  marks  true  merit,  it  worked  its  way  to  the  trout  rank  among  the  crops  grown  in  the  state. 
As  early  as  1739  it  had  become  an  important  article  of  export,  and  continued  such  until  after  1792,  in  which  year 
99,985  bushels  were  exported.  About  this  time,  in  consequence  of  the  absorption  by  cotton  of  all  surplus  energy, 
it  fell  from  the,  list  of  exports  and  shortly  after  entered  that  of  imports,  among  which  to-day — taken  in  all  its  forms — it. 
stands  by  far  the  largest.  But  its  culture  was  by  no  means  abandoned;  on  the  contrary,  the  crop  grew  in  size  with  the 
increase  of  the  population.  In  1850  more  than  10,000,000  bushels  were  produced.  In  consequence  of  the  higher 
prices  of  cotton,  the  crop  was  reduced  in  1800  by  1,000,000  bushels;  in  1870  it  had  gone  down  one-hall,  having 
fallen  to  a  little  over  7,500,000  bushels. 

Cotton. — Cotton  is  mentioned  in  the  records  of  the  colony  as  early  as  1004,  and  in  1747  seven  bags  appear  on 
the  list  of  exports  from  Charleston.  In  1787,  Samuel  Maverick  and  one  Jeffrey  shipped  three  bags  of  100  pounds 
each  of  seed-cotton  from  Charleston  to  England  as  an  experiment,  and  were  informed  for  their  pains  by  the  consignees 
that  it  was  not  worth  producing,  as  it  could  not  be  separated  from  the  seed.  In  1790,  a  manufactory  of  cotton 
homespuns  was  established  by  some  Irish  in  Williamsburgh  county,  the  lint  used  being  picked  from  the  seed  by 
hand,  a  task  of  4  pounds  of  lint  per  week  being  required  of  the  field  laborers  in  addition  to  their  ordinary  woik. 
All  this  speedily  changed  with  the  invention  of  the  saw  gin  by  Eli  Whitney,  in  1794.  The  first  gin  moved  by  water- 
power  was  erected  on  Mill  creek,  near  Monticello,  in  Fairfield,  by  Captain  James  Kincaid,  in  1795.  General  Wade 
Hanqiton  erected  another  near  Columbia,  in  1797,  and  the  following  year  gathered  from  GOO  acres  000  bales  of 
cotton,  and  cotton  planting  became  the  leading  industry  iu  nearly  every  county  in  the  state.  The  crop  steadily 
increased  in  size  until  1800,  when  the  350,000  bales  produced  iu  the  state  were  worth  something  over  $14,000,000. 
From  this  date  to  1870  there  was  a  great  decline,  the  crop  of  that  year  being  more  than  one-third  less  than  the  crop 
of  ten  years  previous,  and  reaching  only  224,500  bales.  The  course  of  this  crop  may  be  seen  from  the  following 
table  showing  the  crops  of  South  Carolina  : 


Tear. 

Bales. 

Weight  of 
bale. 

roumln  of  Hot 
cotton. 

1830 

•185,106 
ISC.  COO 
300.  301 
353,  412 
224,  500 
622,  548 

341 
394 
429 
477 
442 
475 

03,  446,  60C 
01.710,274 
128,  829,  129 
168,577,524 
90.  229,  000 
248,210,300    ] 

Sea-Island  cotton. — The  first  crop  of  sea-island  cotton  was  raised  on  Hilton  Head,  in  1790,  by  William  Elliott. 
This  crop  reached  its  year  of  maximum  production  iu  ^27,  when  15,140,798  pounds  of  long  staple  cotton  were 
exported  from  the  state;  in  1841  it  had  fallen  to  6,400,000  pounds.  Since  1SG5-'0G  this  crop  has  fluctuated  from  a 
minimum,  in  18G7-'G8,  of  4,577  to  a  maximum,  in  1872,  of  13,18G  bales.  The  crop,  including  the  long-staple  Mains 
and  Santees,  is  set  down  at  9,9GG  bales,  averagiug  331  pounds,  for  the  year  1880. 

Even  in  so  brief  a  summary  as  this,  the  attention  of  the  reader  must  be  called  to  the  remarkable  influence 
exerted  on  the  three  great  crops,  corn,  cotton,  and  rice,  by  their  culture  on  the  South  Carolina  coast. 

The  finest,  as  food  for  man,  of  all  the  known  varieties  of  corn  is  the  white  flint  corn,  a  product  peculiar  to  the 
sea  islands. 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  15 

The  finest  cottou  ever  known  to  have  been  produced  is  the  long-staple  cotton  of  Edisto  island,  which  has  sold 
for  $2  per  pound  when  other  cottons  were  bringing  only  9  cents. 

Carolina  rice  heads  the  list  in  the  quotations  of  that  article  in  all  the  markets  of  the  world.  Not  only  have  its 
yield  and  culture  been  brought-  to  the  highest  perfection  here,  but  mankind  are  indebted  to  the  planters  of  this 
coast  for  the  mechanical  inventions  by  which  the  preparation  of  this  great  foodstuff,  instead  of  being  the  most 
costly  and  laborious,  is  made  one  of  the  easiest  and  cheapest. 


THE    COAST    REGION. 

The  coast  of  Carolina,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Savannah  river  to  that  of  Little  river  on  the  North  Carolina  line, 
is  about  190  miles  in  length.  East  of  the  outlets  of  the  rivers,  that  is,  northeast  of  Wiuyaw  bay,  the  coast-line 
curves  inland,  there  are  no  islands,  and  the  smooth  hard  beach  that  forms  the  continuous  shore-line — noted  for  its 
delightful  seaside  residences  during  the  summer  months — is  of  little  interest  agriculturally.  South  of  Winyaw  bay, 
whence  issue  the  waters  of  Black  and  Lynches  river,  and  of  the  Great  and  Little  Pedee  with  the  Waccamaw, 
the  Santee  river,  with  its  great  watershed  in  North  and  South  Carolina,  draining  an  extensive  region  stretching  to 
the  highest  elevations  of  the  Appalachian  range,  dikes  out  its  delta  into  the  waters  of  the  ocean ;  the  shore-line 
swells  out  toward  the  sea  and  becomes  lined  with  numerous  islands.  From  the  point  indicated  to  Charleston 
harbor,  however,  the  islands,  though  numerous,  are  small  and  low;  and  in  this  distance  of  more  than  50  miles,  not 
more  than  700  acres  are  planted  in  cotton,  yielding  about  275  bales  of  long  staple.  South  of  Charleston  harbor  the 
islands  increase  rapidly  in  size  and  number  to  the  waters  of  Port  Koyal,  where  they  line  the  shore  in  tiers  three  and 
four  deep.  They  attain  their  maximum  development  around  Broad  river  and  diminish  again  in  size  and  number, 
more  rapidly  even  than  they  had  increased,  as  they  approach  the  Georgia  line  at  the  mouth  of  the  Savannah  river. 

The  coast  region  corresponds  almost  exactly  with  the  area  underlaid  by  post-Pliocene  formation.  It  embraces 
nearly  all  of  Beaufort  county,  comparatively  small  portions  of  Colleton  and  Charleston,  and  but  very  narrow 
strips  of  Georgetown  and' Horry  counties.  Its  strata  of  sand,  clay,  and  mud  have  an  estimated  thickness  of  about 
00  feet,  stretching  inland  some  10  miles,  and  thinning  out  at  a  slight  elevation  above  tide-water.  They  rest  in 
Horry  and  Georgetown  on  the  Pliocene,  and  for  the  remainder  of  the  coast  an  the  Eocene,  in  which  occur  the 
phosphate  deposits  of  the  Ashley,  the  Cooper,  and  the  Coosaw  rivers. 

The  origin  and  formation  of  the  sea  islands  may  be  accounted  for  by  one  of  four  possible  suppositions  : 

1.  By  the  subsidence  of  the  coast,  resulting  in  the  submergence  of  the  lower  lands.  This  explanation  was 
offered  by  Sir  Charles  Lyell. 

2.  By  the  erosive  action  of  the  tides  and  currents  of  the  sea  cutting  into  the  shore  and  detaching  portions  of 
the,  mainland;  a  theory  broached  by  Professor  Shaler. 

3.  By  an  outgrowth  of  the  land  into  the  sea,  resulting  from  the  deposition  at  the  mouths  of  the  rivers  of  the 
detritus  brought  down  by  their  currents  from  the  interior. 

Professor  Tuomey  shows  in  detail  that  the  instances  of  the  submergence  of  live-oak,  pine,  and  cypress  trees 
and  of  other  landmarks  occur  in  localities  of  restricted  area;  that  encroachments  of  a  purely  local  character  by  the 
sea  after  storms  explains  the  phenomena;  and  that  if  it  were  admitted  that  the  submerged  live-oak  and  pine 
stumps  near  Little  River,  or  the  dead  cedars  and  cypress  of  the  "church  flats"  at  Wadmalaw,  was  evidence  of  a 
settling  down  of  the  coast,  the  rate  at  which  this  is  progressing  according  to  these  data  is  so  rapid,  that  on  this 
low-lying  shore  sea- water  would  long  since  have  been  admitted  to  the  rice  plantations,  totally  destroying  them. 

That  the  sea  islands  have  not  resulted  from  the  erosive  action  of  the  sea  is  proved  by  the  fact,  however,  that 
there  is  not  a  single  island  on  the  incurving  line  of  eroded  coast  north  of  Winyaw  bay.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  only 
where  the  laud  bellies  out  into  the  sea  near  where  the  large  rivers  deliver  their  detritus  to  its  waves  that  the  sea 
islands  make  their  appearance.  At  this  point — namely,  at  Georgetown  entrance — we  look  in  vain  for  evidences 
of  erosion.  The  records  all  point  the  other  way,  that  is,  to  a  gradual  encroachment  of  the,  land  upon  the  sea. 
Thus,  in  the  year  1700,  the  Kising  Sun,  a  large  vessel  with  340  passengers,  that  could  not  cross  the  Charleston  bar, 
made  its  way  without  a  pilot  to  the  present  site  of  Georgetown,  a"  thing  utterly  impossible  during  the  last  100 
years.  Moreover,  a  comparison  of  the  soundings  on  chart  No.  42S  of  United  States  Coast  Survey  of  1877,  with  a 
chart  of  the  same  locality  published  in  Drayton's  View  of  South  Carolina  in  1S02,  shows  that,  instead  of  any  scouring 
out  or  erosion,  there  has  been  a  great  filling  up  in  the  integral.  Seaward  from  Georgetown  light-house,  Drayton 
gives  depths  of  from  9  to  30  feet,  where  Captain  Boutelle  only  found  from  0J  to  19  feet  of  water.  Inside  the  entrance, 
•where  the  water  once  was  from  30  to  30  feet,  the  mean  level  of  low  tide  now  only  gives  a  depth  of  trom  9  to  31  feet. 
Ten  soundings  taken  off  South  island  average  now  7£  feet,  while  ten  soundings  in  the  same  locality  on  Drayton's 
chart  average  IS  feet. 

It  would  seem  then  that  the  sea  islands  were  an  outgrowth  of  the  land  into  the  sea,  and  that  this  is  but  a 
continuation  of  that  long  process  by  which  the  Tertiary  plain  itself,  reaching  inland  to  the  chain  of  the  Appalachians, 
Wits  formed.     The  broadest  portion  of  this  plain  lies  under  the  vestiges  of  the  loftiest  of  these  mountains,  whose 

471 


16  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

denudation  has  furnished  the  most  abundant  material  for  its  formation.  Northward,  under  lesser  elevations  that 
could  only  furnish  less  material,  the  plain  wedges  out  and  the  sea  approaches  the  rocks.  The  slow  uniformity  of 
this  process  of  growth  is  shown  by  the  gentle  and  uniform  slope  with  which  this  plain  approaches  the  sea.  Nor 
does  it  end  abruptly  there.  For  100  miles  or  more  the.  sea  scarcely  exceeds  in  depth  100  fathoms,  and  then 
suddenly  deepens  to  2,000  fathoms  under  the  Gulf  stream.  The  sea  islands  are  not  isolated  phenomena,  but  only 
the  successors  to  that  stage  of  growth  which  was  in  progress  in  the  interior  long  ago.  There  an  intricate  network 
of  swamps  and  bays  corresponds  with  the  present  inlets,  creeks,  and  rivers  of  the  coast,  representing  the  old  channels 
and  deltas  of  the  rivers  when  the  pine  flats  and  ridges  now  resting  in  the  meshes  of  this  network  were  themselves 
veritable  sea  islands. 

Professor  Tuomey  refers  to  Murphy's  island,  south  of  S.  Sautee  inlet,  as  furnishing  a  typical  illustration  of  the 
manner  in  which  this  occurs.     He  says: 

A  bar  is  formed  at  the  month  of  the  river  by  the  aetiou  of  tbe  ocean.  Breakers  rna-ko  their  appearance  seaward,  and  gradually  pusb 
forward  the  sand  as  they  approach  the  shore.  When  the  sand  rises  above  tbe  Burfaco  tbe  water  becomes  too  shallow  to  produce  breakers; 
they  disappear  and  commence  again  off  the  shore  and  further  south.  An  eddy  is  formed  between  tbe  sand-bar  and  the  shore,  in  which  the 
river  deposits  its  sediment;  from  an  eddy  it  is  changed,  first,  into  a  lagoon,  and  then  into  a  mud-flat,  which  increases  until  I  he  level  of 
high  water  is  reached.  It  then  becomes  a  marsh  and  is  taken  possession  of  by  tbo  marsh  reed,  to  be  succeeded  when  the  dt!brin  collected 
by  their  growth  has  raised  tbe  locality  above  high  water,  by  tufts  of  rushes.  Meanwhile  seaward,  the  sands,  first  pushed  up  against  the 
outflowing  current  of  the  river  hy  the  ocean,  are  dried  by  the  sun  and  then  blown  forward  and  heaped  into  hills  and  ridges,  forming  a 
protection  against  the  encroachments  of  tbo  waters  wbenee  they  same.  Every  breeze  blowing  landward  carries  along  with  it  particles  of 
fine  sand,  till  they  meet  with  a  log  or  bush  or  other  obstacles,  when  they  begin  to  accumulate  in  proportion  to  the  velocity  of  tbo  wind, 
sometimes  with  extraordinary  rapidity — piling  up  and  running  over  the  top,  rising  in  ridges  and  hills  to  the  height  of  30  or  even  of  40  feet. 
The  prevailing  winds  of  this  region,  the  southwest  and  northeast,  are  indicated  by  valleys  running  in  this  direction  through  these  bills. 

In  the  manner  thus  described,  the  salt  water  of  the  ocean  being  excluded,  the  surgent  island  is  prepared  for  the 
growth  of  fresh- water  plants,  such  as  the  cypress  and  other  swamp  trees,  while  pines  and  palmettos — the  advanced 
guard,  as  it  were,  of  the  vegetable  kingdom — establish  outposts  wherever  a  few  inches  of  intervening  sand  renders 
them  safe  from  immediate  contact  with  sea- water.  This  theory  of  the  origin  and  formation  of  the  sea  island  furnishes 
explanations  of  some  facts  pretty  generally  observed,  as  the  following:  The  borders  of  these  islands  are  usually  the 
highest  lands  on  them,  showing  their  liuviatile  origin  ;  the  prevailing  shape  of  the  islands  is  triangular,  the  apex 
always  directed  to  the  southwest ;  the  marshes  are  principally  found  at  the  southwest  extremities  of  these  triangles ; 
the  long  slopes  are  west  and  south,  the  short  slopes  are  east  and  north.  This  last  peculiarity  prevails  far  back  into 
the  interior  of  the  country,  the  bluffs  being  on  the  west  and  south  of  the  streams  and  the  swamps  on  the  north  and 
east. 

Surface  features. — In  approaching  the  coast  from  the  sea,  about  the  time  the  white  caps  of  the  firs^ 
breakers  are  seen,  a  loug  low  line  of  smooth,  hard,  sandy  beach,  fur  the  most  part  of  a  snowy  whiteness,  makes  its 
appearance.  Immediately  inlaud  from  the  beach  swell  the  undulating  ridges  of  drifting  saud,  ripple-marked  by 
the  action  of  the  wind  in  striking  similarity  to  the  wave-marks  of  water. 

Here  the  palmetto  meets  you,  standing  often  solitary  and  alone,  a  conspicuous  landmark  in  the  picture. 
Beyond  rise  the  dark-green  turrets  of  the  pine,  beneath  which  a  tangled  growth  of  myrtles  and  vines  is  found. 
Sometimes  more  than  one  ridge  of  sand  hills,  with  an  average  elevation  of  10  or  15  feet,  must  be  traversed  before 
the  border  of  the  salt  marsh  is  reached.  The  salt  marshes,  their  stiff  green  reeds  rising  out  of  the  black  ooze  visible 
at  low  tide,  and  at  the  flood  apparently  floating  on  the  water,  with  here  and  there  a  stray  palmetto  or  a  group  of 
undersized  live-oaks,  their  limbs  covered  with  the  long  gray  moss,  form  the  scarcely  varying  frame-work  of  all 
landscapes  among  the  sea  islands.  Everywhere  these  marshes  are  penetrated  by  salt  rivers  and  creeks  of  greater 
or  less  width  and  depth,  and  surround  islands  which  vary  from  a  few  acres  to  many  square  miles  in  area.  These 
islands  attain  a  height  of  from  10  to  15  feet— rarely  of  25  or  30 — above  high  tide.  The  mean  rise  and  fall  of  the  tides 
is  0.9  feet  at  the  mouth  of  the  Savannah  river,  0.7  feet  at  Port  Royal,  5.1  feet  at  Charleston  harbor,  and  .3.5  feet  at 
Georgetown  entrance,  showing  a  marked  diminution  as  you  advance  northeast  along  the  coast.  The  influence  of 
the  tide  exteuds  to  a  distance  of  30  miles  iu  a  direct  line  from  the  sea  up  the  Savannah  river  and  about  15  miles 
up  the  Sautee.  Salt  water,  however,  usually  ascends  the  Santee  river  only  about  2  miles,  and  even  when  the 
current  of  the  river  is  diminished  in  seasons  of  great  drought,  not  more  than  4  miles.  Up  Georgetown  bay  it 
reaches  farther,  and  is  sometimes  injurious  to- the  crops  at  a  distance  of  14  miles.  What  has  been  said  of  the 
Santee  is  true  to  nearly  the  same  extent  of  the  Savannah  river. 

Climate. — Notwithstanding  their  proximity  to  the  mainland,  the  sea  islands  enjoy  iu  a  high  degree  tho 
equable  climate  peculiar  to  islands  generally.  The  extremes  of  temperature  are,  as  might  be  expected,  greatest 
in  the  direction  of  low  temperature,  and  the  cold,  wuicSh  is  sometimes  injurious  to  the  orange  and  the  olive  trees 
destroys  also  the  germs  of  many  insects  inimical  to  vegetation,  as  of  the  cotton  caterpillar,  and  of  more  importance 
still,  it  destroys  the  germs  of  disease,  as  of  the  yellow  fever  and  of  numerous  skin  diseases  that  flourish  in  similar 
regions  elsewhere,  preventing  them  from  becoming  indigenous  and  keepiug  them  exotics,  forever  requiring  yearly 
renewal  from  without. 

The  following  table  presents  the  leading  features  of  the  coast  climate,  as  preserved  in  the  records  of 
meteorological  observations  made  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina: 

■172 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


17 


Abstract  of  meteorological  observations  in  South  Carolina. 

[Recorded  by  Br.  Lionel  Chalmers  from  1752  to  17S9;  by  John  Drayton  from  1791  to  1801;  in  Tuomey's  Geological  Report  of  South  Carolina  from  1816  to  1846;  in> 
official  returns  of  Charleston  city  registrars  from  1800  to  1872;  in  office  of  "United  States  Signal  Service  bureau  from  1873  to  1880.] 


THERMOMETER. 

RAINFALL  IN  IiNCHKS. 

BAROMETER. 

FIIOSTS. 

t 

a 
'3 
£ 

a 
o 

Tear. 

a 
3 

a 

1 

bo 

H 

1 

o 
hi 

a 

a 

a 

u 
•o 

a 
Is 

m 

to 

% 
o 

i 

a 
p. 

a 
a 

© 
to 

a 

1 

■i 

o 

a 
a 
•4 

■3 

•A 

I 

| 

a 

a 

a 
a 
A 

i 

a 
a 

s 

"a 
a 

a 
a 

If 

n 

1 
o 
hi 

e 

o 
S 

o 
1 

■°.s 

O  1- 

*■§ 

.a  3. 

a> 

58 
58 
60 
53 
56 
57 
53 
53 

83 
82 
86 
SO 
84 
79 
84 
81 

18 
28 

27 
26 
25 
29 
28 

76 
75 
75 
73 
74 
76 
76 
77 

101 
91 
91 
90 
96 
90 
94 
93 

49 
42 

12 
40 
40 
45 
35 
55 

46.49 
40.  93 
37.64 
44.14 
33.70 
40.17 
31.95 
34.51 

1.90 
2.59 
3.50 
7.13 
8.93 
8.47 
2.48 
0.49 

10.70 
18.87 
11.71 
15.92 

8.21 
18.31 
10.92 

8.74 

27.16 
17.41 
13.  88 
13.21 
10.07 
11.31 
12.  92 
10.15 

6.47 
5.06 
8.  55 
7.88 
6.55 
2.61 
5.63 
3.73 



90 
S3 
89 
91 

92 
87 
81 
88 

28 
30 
30 
34 
29 
17 
22 
31 

71.00 
58.00 
55.0* 
48.00 
75.00 
51.00 
42.00 

% 

66 
65 
64 
67 
67 

s.  w. 

S."VP. 

s.  w. 
s.  w. 

76 



Oct.      5 

77 

74 

09 

89 
91 
94 
89 
100 
94 
90 

19 
24 
28 
16 
22 
20 
2 

64 
63 

54 

... 

74 

1835 

1 

N.E. 
S.  W. 

34 

1842 

48.6 
30.00 
46.5 
36.69 
30.64 
01.00 
61.22 
43.04 
4S.27 
50.88 
43.51 
61.90 
62.9 
50.97 
7S.4. 
80.14 
77.44 
50.00 
40.67 

1844 

s.-w. 
s.  w. 

55 

84 

20 

74 

96 

41 

9.44 

19.13 

8.40 

8.47 

30.13 

30.58 

29.50 



55 
54 
56 
54 
58 
51 
54 
58 
55 
55 
57 
56 
51 
05 

77 
73 
77 
77 
73 
74 
78 
79 
74 
75 
79.9 
75.8 
77 
76 
77 

0.15 
11.27 
12.35 

9.37 
11.28 
12.41 
12.13 

9.09 
11.9 
19.44 
11.  24 
20.57 
17.34 
11.09 

0.50 

14.10 
22.  31 ' 
19.70 

9.88 
13.  49 

7.74 

9.22 
20.20 
23.00 

0.  11 
31.34 
22.73 
28.20 
15.50 
11.02 

11.84 
20.09 
15.84 
9.81 
10.92 
24.23 
14.73 
15.30 
10.62 
11.40 
20.91 
19.17 
15.  44 
10.34 
19.  58 

4.49 
7.39 
13.23 
13.97 
12.59 
6.49 
7.43 
11.34 
17.4 
13.36 
8.91 
11.65 
16.36 
7.30 
9.53 

30.  359 
30.  794 
30.  670 
30.  694 
30.  668 
30.  514 
30. 400 
30.  .730 
30. 730 
30.  657 
30.  659 
30. 534 
30.  314 
30.  009 
30.  586 

29.  026 

27.  464 
29.  530 

28.  812 

29.  612 
29.614 
29.  560 

E. 
S."W. 
S.W. 
S."W. 

s.w. 
s.  w. 
s.w. 
s.  w. 

S.  W. 

8. 
S.  TV. 

S. 
S."W. 

s.-w. 

S.W. 

08 

95 
96 
96 
97 
100 
97 
104 
100 

19 
29 
29 
23 
36 
25 
23 
13 

30.  083 
30. 104 
30.  095 
30. 096 
30.  096 
30.  057 
30. 100 
30. 107 

Apr.  30 
Apr.   19 

Mar.  22 
Mar.   11 
Feb.     6 
Apr.     5 

29. 119  ,    Hot.  30 

65 
65 
66 
07 
67 
67 

.... 

29.  449 
29.  257 
29. 442 
29.  382 
29.  562 

Oct.      2 
Not.  11 
Not.  27 
Xov.  21 
Not.  26 

1877 

150 

105 

14T 

65 

54 

76 

50.77 

9.96 

15.97 

15.53 

8.99 

30.  097 

s.w. 

86 

Number  years 

L5 

23 

23 

25 

9 

9 

25 

9  |     9 

35 

24 

24 

24 

24 

9 

10 

16 

9 

6 

25 

22 

473 


18  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

Notwithstanding  tin?  amount  of  rainfall  and  proximity  to  the  sea,  the  climate  is  not  excessively  moist.  There 
is  a  large  number  of  clear  days,  averaging  about  23u  during  the  year,  against  an  average  of  8G  days  in  which  rain 
falls,  and  44  cloudy  and  rainless  days.  Fogs  are  of  very  infrequent  occurrence.  Vegetation  is  usually  checked  by 
cold  for  not  more  than  six  weeks  in  the  year,  from  the  middle  of  December  to  the  first  of  February.  Nature  does 
not  allow  the  inhabitants  of  higher  latitudes  to  become  purely  agricultural  in  their  pursuits,  forcing  them,  during 
the  snows  and  ice  of  winter,  to  seek  occupation  in  other  arts  and  industries.  But  here  she  bares  her  bosom  the 
year  round  to  furnish  food  and  work  for  man,  and  seed-time  and  harvest  occur  in  every  month. 

Healtii. — Death  and  ill-health  in  South  Carolina  cannot  be  attributed  to  the  preponderance  of  any  climatic 
or  local  causes,  but  supervene  from  such  causes  as  may  and  must  exist  everywhere.  This  negative  conclusion  may 
be  safely  accepted  as  descriptive  of  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  state  at  large.  There  has  been,  however,  and 
not  without  some  foundation,  an  idea  prevalent  regarding  the  unhealthfulness  of  the  coast  region,  arising  from 
malarial  causes,  which  requires  mention,  especially  as  occurrences  of  recent  date  have  greatly  modified  it.  The 
sand  ridges  between  the  rivers  have,  always  been  esteemed  healthy;  the  well-kept  vital  statistics  of  the.  city  (a)  of 
Charleston  show  that  its  health  record  will  compare  favorably  with  that  of  other  cities;  and  numerous  localities 
along  the  coast,  as  Mount  Pleasant,  Sullivan's  island,  and  Beaufort,  and  many  other  places,  have  been  much 
frequented  as  health  resorts  during  the  summer  months,  even  by  people  from  the  up-country.  It  was  confidently 
predicted  at  the  commencement  of  the  late  war  that  no  picket  line  along  the  coast  between  the  armies  could  be 
maintained  during  the  summer  and  autumn  months.  To  the  surprise  of  nearly  every  one,  however,  such  ilid  not 
prove  to  bo  the  case.  Climatic  influences  interfered  in  no  way  with  the  vigorous  prosecution  of  hostilities,  and 
it  was  demonstrated  that  large  bodies  of  white  men,  under  proper  hygienic  regulations,  with  the  use  of  quinine 
as  a  preventive,  might  be  safely  counted  on  to  endure  unusual  exposure  and  toil  on  these  shores  (luring  the 
heat  of  summer.  Since  the  war  numerous  white  families,  who  formerly  removed  to  the  north  or  to  the  up-country 
during  summer,  have  remained  upon  their  farms  the  year  round  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  usual  health.  By 
the  census  enumeration  of  June,  18S0,  the  death  rate  among  the  rural  population  of  the  entire  sea-island  district 
was  14  per  1,000  for  the  preceding  year.  Of  the  23  white  men  who  were  enumerators  of  the  Tenth  Census  on 
the  sea  islands  during  the  mouths  of  June  and  July,  1SS0,  there  was  no  day  lost  from  work  on  account  of 
sickness,  though  many  of  them  were  unaccustomed  to  the  exposures  which  the  work  necessitated.  Doubtless 
the  prophylactic  use  of  quinine  has  had  something  to  do  with  the  apparently  increased  heallhfulness  of  this 
section,  but  it  is  also  true  that  the  danger  to  health  was  formerly  greatly  overestimated.  With  thorough  drainage 
and  careful  attention  to  the  rules  of  health,  aud  especially  to  securing  pure  drinking  water,  there  is  no  question 
that  fevers  might  be  expelled  here  as  completely  as  they  were  from  the  fens  of  Cambridgeshire,  in  England, 
where  they  once  prevailed  but  have  since  yielded  to  the  above  methods.  During  the  excessively  hot  and  dry 
summer  of  1728,  "yellow  fever"  made  its  first  appearance  in  Charleston.  At  greater  or  less  intervals  of  time  it 
has  since  visited  the  city  during  the  autumn  months.  After  1748  it  did  not  make  its  appearance  during  a  period 
of  forty-four  years.  John  Drayton  writes  in  1801  to  the  natives  aud  old  inhabitants  of  the  city,  "it  has  not  yet 
been  injurious."  The  germs  of  this  disease  have,  never  been  naturalized  on  this  coast,  and  require,  a  fresh  importation 
every  year.  An  epidemic  occurring  in  Charleston  during  the  war  was  clearly  traced  to  a  vessel  from  Havana  that 
had  run  the  blockade,  and,  as  Mr.  Drayton  describes  it,  it  still  remains  restricted  to  certain  localities,  within  a  h-w 
miles  of  which  perfect  immunity  from  it  may  be  enjoyed.  This  was  clearly  shown  in  the  very  fatal  epidemic  imported 
into  Port.  Koyal  in  1870,  causing  a  number  of  deaths  there,  while  no  case,  originated  in  the  town  of  Beaufort,  4  miles 
distant,  to  which  place,  however,  patients  suffering  from  the  disease  in  Port  Koyal  were  carried  for  treatment. 

Soils  of  the  coast  region. — The  soil  of  the  sea  island  consists,  for  the  greater  part,  of  a  fine,  sandy  loam. 
This  soil  rests  on  a  subsoil  of  yellow  sand  or  yellow  clay  of  fine  texture,  and  deepening  in  color  sometimes  to  red. 
These  clays  give  a  yellow  hue  to  the  otherwise  gray  surface,  which  is  noticed  by  Mr,  Seabrook  as  indicating  lands 
peculiarly  adapted  for  the  production  of  the  silky  fiber  of  long-staple  cotton.  Beside  these  lands  there  are  numerous 
flats  or  fresh-water  swamps,  known  as  bays.  Here  and  there  a  few  of  these  have  been  reclaimed  by  drainage.  The 
soil  is  a  black  vegetable  mould  of  great  fertility,  resting  on  fine  blue  mud  and  marl.  To  a  very  limited  extent  the  salt 
marsh  has  also  been  reclaimed,  but  as  yet  agriculture  has  availed  itself  so  little,  of  the  vast  possibilities  in  this  line, 
that  the  chief  value  of  the  salt  marsh  attaches  to  its  use  in  furnishing  forage  and  litter  for  stock,  and  inexhaustible 
material  for  the  compost  heap.  Low  as  these  lauds  lie  they  are  susceptible  of  easy  drainage.  The  following  analyses 
will  indicate  more  in  detail  the  character  of  these  soils.  . 

No.  6.  Sandy  soil  from  the  northeast  end  of  James  island,  taken  12  inches  deep,  and  analyzed  for  the  Census 
Office.  This  soil  may  be  considered  a  specimen  of  the  less  sandy  soils  of  the,  sea  islands.  Such  lauds  will  yield 
about  300  pounds  of  long-staple  lint  one  year  with  another. 

No.  12.  Soil  from  J.  J.  Mikell's  place  on  Edisto  island,  famous  for  having  long  and  profitably  produced  the 
finest  grade  of  sea-island  cotton.  It  may  be  considered  a  representative  soil,  and  was  analyzed  by  Professor  C.  U. 
Shepard. 

No.  13.  Soil  of  the  salt  marsh,  air-dried;  analyzed  by  Professor  Shepard. 

a  The  official  report  of  the  board  of  health  of  the  city  of  Charleston  for  the  year  1880  shows  500  deaths  for  22,712  of  white  population, 
or  22  deaths  per  1,000,  and  1,121  deaths  for  27,287  of  colored  population,  or  41  deaths  per  1,000. 
471 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


19 


Soils  of  the  sea  islands  and  marshes. 


James  island  soil.  Edisto  island  soil.        Harsh  land 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Potash 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Bnmn  oxide  of  manganese  . 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

Carbonic  acid 

Water  and  organic  matter  . . 


80.  3G8  ; 
2.  062 ; 


91.430 

0.131 
0.077 
0.038 
0.154 
0.077 
0.508 
2.845 
0.200 
0.154 


02.  480  i 
0.  425  i 


I.  200  I 


0.1 
Tra 


:.  400  5 


Total  . 


Hygroscopic  moisture  . 
absorbed  at 


U0  \  58.  4,8 
328* 

0.190 

1.470 

0.  420 

0.317 


1.860 
1.131 
0.062 
0.422 
0.840 
44.  805 


110.021 


By  the  above  analyses,  we  find  an  average  of  more  than  one-tenth  of  one  per  cent,  of  phosphoric  acid,  and  one- 
sixth  of  one  per  cent,  of  potash.  Allowing  a  cubic  foot  of  earth  to  weigh  100  pounds,  we  would  have  on  an  acre 
to  the  depth  of  one  foot  4,356,000  pounds,  of  which  one-tenth  of  one  per  cent,  would  be  4,350  pounds,  showing  nearly 
2  long  tons  of  phosphoric  acid  instead  of  15  pounds  to  the  acre.  The  potash,  by  the  same  calculation,  would  amount 
to  7,200  pounds,  instead  of  20  pounds  to  the  acre.  Thus,  in  the  place  of  being  barren  for  lack  of  these  ingredients, 
each  acre  of  the  sea  islands  possesses  an  amount  of  them  which,  if  rendered  available  to  plant  growth,  would  suffice 
for  the  production  of  over  8,080,000  pounds  of  lint  cotton,  as  they  do  not,  by  Jackson's  and  Shepard's  analyses, 
constitute  the  one-twentieth  per  cent,  of  cotton  fiber.  Besides,  the  salt-marsh  materials  for  maintaining  and 
developing  the  fertility  of  the  soil  abound  throughout  the  coast  region.  There  are  numerous  deposits  of  post-Pliocene 
marl  on  the  islands,  as  at  Daton's  swamp,  on  Johnson's  island,  at  Stono  creek,  at  Edisto  island,  at  James  Seabrook's 
island,  at  Distant  island,  near  Beaufort,  and  elsewhere.  The  banks  of  "Raccoon  oyster"  shells,  peculiar  to 
this  latitude,  are  found  in  abundance  on  this  coast,  and  furnish  excellent  and  easily  accessible  stores  of  lime. 
Here,  also,  in  the  Stono,  Edisto,  Coosaw,  Bull,  Morgan,  Johnson's,  Beaufort,  and  Broad  rivers,  and  in  other  creeks, 
etc.,  is  found  and  largely  exported  as  a  fertilizer  to  foreign  lands  the  phosphate  rock.  Experiments  have  also 
demonstrated  that  the  fish,  so  numerous  in  these  waters,  may  be  caught  and  used  for  manure. 

Productions. — The  olive  and  the  orange  tree  bring  their  fruit  to  full  perfection  on  the  South  Carolina  coast. 
Once  only  during  a  period  of  sixteen  years  previous  to  1880  were  the  orange  trees  injured  by  frost,  at  which  time  the 
tops  of  about  one-fourth  were  killed,  while  the  roots  put  out  fresh  shoots;  the  fruit  from  singletrees  in  theueighborhood 
of  Beaufort  has  for  a  series  of  years  sold  for  $150  to  $250.  Even  the  banana,  with  a  not  expensive  winter  protection, 
has  been  made  to  ripen  its  fruits.  Two  date  palms  are  growing  in  the  open  air  in  Charleston,  one  of  them  having 
a  height  of  30  feet.  Fig  trees  of  every  variety,  with  little  or  no  attention,  grow  everywhere  and  produce,  several 
abundant  crops  yearly;  so  that  could  some  process  similar  to  the  Alden  process  for  drying  fruit  be  adapted  to  them 
they  might  become  an  important  staple  of  export.  Every  variety  of  garden  produce  does  well,  as  witness  the 
extensive  truck  gardens  on  Charleston  Neck,  which  furnish  distaut  markets  large  supplies  of  fruits  and  vegetables  of 
the  finest  quality.  The  wild  grapes,  which  attracted  the  notice  of  the  first  French  colonists  in  1502,  still  abound, 
<ind  a  grape-vine  near  Sheldon  Church,  Beaufort  county,  is  18  inches  in  diameter.  Hay  made  of  Bermuda  grass, 
ranking  in  the  market  with  the  best  imported  hay,  has  been  profitably  grown.  Five  acres  at  the  Atlantic  farm 
have  for  a  series  of  years  yielded  9,000  ponnds  per  acre  yearly;  and  on  the  Stono  farm  two  tons  one  year,  and  four 
and  a  half  another,  have  been  made  to  the  acre.  Winter  vetches  grow  wild,  and  the  vine  of  the  cow-pea  furnishes 
i\n  abundant  forage  besides  increasing  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  The  red  rustproof  oat,  recently  introduced,  is 
peculiarly  adapted  to  the  mild  winters  of  this  region,  yielding  readily  and  with  great  certainty  from  30  to  50  bushels 
per  acre.  Should  an  increase  of  the  population  call  for  a  larger  food  supply,  the  sweet  potato  would  furnish  it  to  an 
extent  practically  unlimited.  Indigo,  rice,  hemp,  beans,  peanuts,  the  castor-oil  bean,  the  sugar  cane,  and  many 
other  subtropical  fruits  and  vegetables  have  been  successfully  cultivated  as  field  crops.  Indian  corn,  of  the  white 
flint  variety,  yields  in  the  coast  counties  a  little  more  per  acre  than  the  average  yield  of  the  same  crop  throughout 
the  state.  Nevertheless,  only  a  very  limited  attention  is  bestowed  on  the  culture  of  any  of  these  articles,  the 
leading  crop  being  long  staple  cotton  to  the  exclusion  or  dwarfing  of  all  others. 

Variations  of  cotton. — In  a  handful  of  ordinary  cottonseed  three  varieties  may  often  be  recognized,  presenting 
well  marked  differences.  The  largest  of  these  is  covered  with  a  green  down;  another  smaller  and  much  more 
numerous  seed  is  covered  with  a  white  or  grayish  down;  the  third  variety  is  naked,  smooth,  and  black.     It  may 


20  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

not  be  possible  to  say  whether  these  three  sorts  of  seed  correspond  to  three  classes  under  which  the  numerous 
varieties  of  cotton  are  arranged,  that  is,  1st,  the  green  seed,  with  the  Gomiium  hirsutum,  or  shrub  cotton,  attaining 
a  lieightof  from  10  to  12  feet,  a  native  of  Mexico,  and  varying  as  an  annual,  biennial,  or  perennial,  according  to  the 
climate  in  which  it  is  grown;  2d,  the  white  seed,  with  the  Oossypium  herbaceum,  or  herbaceous  cotton',  an  annual, 
attaining  a  height  of  11  feet,  native  of  the  Ooromandel  coast  and  the  Nilgeherries ;  3d,  the  black  seed,  with  Oossypium 
arboreum,  or  tree  cotton,  a  native  of  the  Indian  peninsula,  but.  attaining  a  height  of  100  feet  on  the  Guinea  coast, 
and  producing  a  silky  cotton.  The  black  seed,  however,  is  not  distinguishable  from  the  seed  of  the  long  staple  or 
sea-island  cotton.  If  selected  from  among  the  other  varieties  of  upland  cottonseed,  it  will  in  a  scries  of  years 
produce  a-  finer,  silkier,  and  stronger  fiber  than  ordinary  uplands. 

If  the  best  and  purest  sea-island  cottonseed  be  planted  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  upland  or  short  staple  cotton, 
they  will  readily  hybridize.  Among  the  numerous  varieties  of  hybrids  thus  produced  there  will  prominently  appear 
a  vigorous  plant  with  very  large  green  seed.  The  staple  of  these  green-seed  plants  varies  greatly,  in  some  instances 
being  very  short  and  coarse,  in  others  longer  and  finer  even  than  the  best  sea  island.  The  most  marked 
characteristics,  however,  of  these  hybrids,  will  be  the  size  and  vigor  of  the  plants,  the  size  of  the  seed,  and  the  very 
small  amount  of  lint  they  yield.  A  noticeable  feature,  too,  is  the  large  number  of  vigorous  growing  but  unfruitful 
plants  that  these  green-seed  hybrids  produce,  their  large,  glossy  leaves  rising  above  the  other  plants,  but  bearing 
neil  her  bud  nor  blossom  through  the  season.  Possibly  such  plauts  merely  resume  the  biennial  character  of  the  tree 
or  shrub  cotton,  and  would  be  fruitful  the  second  season. 

History  of  long-staple  cotton. — It  would  be  a  matter  of  much  interest  to  determine  the  origin  and  history  of 
the  varieties  of  cotton  now  iu  cultivation.  The  difficulties  of  doing  this  are  much  increased  by  the  very  wide 
geographical  range  occupied  by  the  plant.  The  earliest  explorers,  Columbus,  Magellan,  Drake,  Captain  Cook, 
and  others,  seem  to  have  found  it  almost  everywhere  in  the  broad  belt  extending  from  the  equator  to  30°  south 
and  to  40°  and  45°  north  latitude,  where  it  now  grows.  Although  it  is  not  found  among  those  oldest  of  vestments, 
the  wrappings  of  Egyptian  mummies,  its  use  was  known  to  man  in  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  America,  and  the  outlying 
islands  of  the  sea,  in  the  remote  past,  far  beyond  the  historic  age.  Its  very  name  itself  bears  evidence  to  this, 
occurring  as  it  does  in  many  and  in  the  most  ancient  languages.  • 

Nevertheless  nothing  can  show  more  clearly  the  importance  of  tracing  and  understanding  the  history  of  plants 
under  cultivation  than  the  variation  and  improvements  iu  black  seed  cotton  since  its  introduction  on  the  Carolina 
coast.  It  is  known  that  the  first  bale  of  long-staple  cotton,  exported  from  America  in  178S,  was  grown  on  Saint 
Simon's  island,  Georgia,  by  a  Mr.  Bissell,  from  seed  that  came  from  either  the  Bahama  or  the  Barbadoes  islands- 
Singularly  enough  the  authorities  leave  this  matter  in  doubt,  the  Hon.  William  Elliott  saying  it  came  from 
Anguilla,  one  of  the  Bahamas,  and  Signor  Filippo  Partatori  (Florence,  1866)  saying  it  came  from  Cat  island,  one 
of  the  Barbadoes.  But  as  Anguilla  is  one  of  the  Barbadoes  and  Cat  island  one  of  the  Bahamas,  it  would  seem 
difficult  to  decide  to  which  group  of  islands  we  are  indebted  for  these  seed.  However,  as  Mr.  Thomas  Spalding,  of 
Sapelo  island,  says,  in  a  letter  to  Governor  Seabrook  in  1844,  that  three  parcels  of  long-staple  cottonseed  were,  to- 
his  knowledge,  brought  in  17S5-'8G  from  the  Bahamas  to  a  gentleman  in  Georgia,  it  would  seem  certain  that  the  seed 
reached  our  coast  from  those  islands.  There  it  was  known  as  Oossypium  barbadense,  as  coming  from  the  Barbadoes. 
In  the  Barbadoes  it  was  called  Persian  cotton,  the  seed  having  been  brought  from  that  country.  In  this  manner 
its  descent  from  the  O.  arboreum  of  India  is  traced. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  Mrs.  Kinsey  Burden,  Burden  Island,  Colleton  county,  South  Carolina,  obtained  some  of 
these  seeds  from  Georgia  and  planted  them.  This  crop  failed  to  mature,  and  the  first  successful  crop  of  long-staple 
cottou  grown  iu  South  Carolina  was  planted  in  1700,  by  William  Elliott,  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Hilton  Head,  on 
the  exact  spot  where  Jean  Bibault  landed  the  first  colonists  and  erected  a  column  of  stone,  claiming  the  territory 
for  France  a  century  before  the  English  settled  on  the  coast.  Mr.  Elliott's  crop  sold  for  lOJd.  per  pound.  Other 
planters  made  use  of  this  seed,  but  it  was  not  until  Kinsey  Burden,  sr.,  of  Colleton  county,  began  his  selections  of 
seed,  about  the  year  180o,  that  attention  was  strongly  called  to  the.  long  staple.  Mr.  Burden  sold  his  crop  of  that 
year  for  25  cents  per  pound  more  than  did  any  of  his  neighbors.  He  continued  to  make  selections  of  seed  and  to- 
improve  his  staple,  and  in  1825  he  sold  a  crop  of  sixty  bales  at  $1  10  per  pound.  The  year  subsequent  his  crop  sold 
for  SI  25,  and  in  1S28  he  sold  two  bales  of  extra  fine  cottou  at  82  per  pound,  a  price  not  often  exceeded  since.  The 
legislature  was  on  the  point  of  ottering  Mr.  Burden  $200,000  for  his  method  of  improving  the.  staple  of  cotton,  and 
Mr.  William  Seabrook,  of  Edisto,  was  prepared  to  pay  him  $50,000  for  his  secret,  when  it  was  discovered  that  the 
fine  cotton  was  due  wholly  to  improvements  made  in  the  seed  by  careful  and  skillful  selections.  Since  then  tbe 
greatest  care  has  been  bestowed  upon  the  selection  of  the  seed,  and  to  such  perfection  was  the  staple  brought  by 
this  means  that  the  crops  of  some  planters  were  sold,  not  by  sample,  but  by  the  brand  on  the  bale,  as  are  the  finest 
wines. 

During  the  war,  the  cultivation  of  the  finest  varieties  being  abandoned  on  the  islands,  the  seed  removed  to 
the  interior  greatly  deteriorated  iu  quality.  So  scarce,  on  this  account,  was  good  seed  directly  after  the  war, 
that  J.  T.  Dill,  a  cotton  merchant  in  Charleston,  at  one  time  had,  in  an  ordinary  letter  envelope,  the  seed  from  which 
all  the  better  qualities  of  long  staple  now  cultivated  is  derived.  Xor  have  the  improvements  made  by  careful 
selection  of  the  seed  ceased  in  later  years.     The  staple  has  kept  fully  up  to  the  best  grades  of  former  days,  aud 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


21 


tbe  proportion  of  lint  to  seed-cotton  has  been  increased.  Formerly  one  pound  of  lint  cotton  from  five  pounds  of 
seed-cotton  of  the  fine  varieties  was  considered  satisfactory.  Thanks  to  the  efforts  of  Mr.  E.  M.  Clark,  a  cotton 
has  been  recently  found  which  yields  one  pound  of  lint  to  three  and  a  half  of  seed-cotton,  preserving  at  the  same 
time  the  length,  strength,  and  evenness  of  fiber  characteristic  of  the  best  varieties. 

Appearance  of  the  plant. — The  sea.Tislftnd  cotton-plant  is  a  larger  and  more  vigorous  grower  than  the  upland 
plant.  It  withstands  the  vicissitudes  of  heat  and  cold  better,  and  it  is  less  subject  to  disease;  blight  and  rust 
do  not  affect  it  as  readily  as  they  do  the  upland,  nor  does  it  shed  its  "forms"  and  bolls  to  anything  like  the  same 
extent  as  the  short-staple  cotton  does.  These  remarks  as  to  rust  apply  also  to  those  varieties  of  uplands  in  which 
the  length  of  the  staple  has  been  improved  by  selection  of  the  seed,  and  rows  of  this  are  often  seen  healthy  and 
vigorous,  while  the  short-staple  uplands  around  are  withered  with  the  rust.  The  early  growth  of  the  sea-island 
plant  is  so  vigorous  that  it  maintains  itself  in  fields  infested  with  Bermuda  and  nut  grass,  as  the  uplands  cotton 
could  not  do.  The  leaves  are  larger,  smoother,  and  of  a  brighter  green  than  those  of  the  uplands  varieties,  and  the 
flowers  are  larger,  handsomer,  and  of  a  more  golden  yellow.  But  the  bolls  are  smaller,  and,  instead  of  being  five- 
lobed,  are  only  three-lobed — these  lobes  being  so  sharp-pointed  as  to  prick  the  fingers  to  the  serious  inconvenience 
of  pickers  not  accustomed  to  gather  it.  Of  course,  the  small  size  of  the  bolls,  requiring  so  many  to  make  a  pound, 
adds  much  to  the  tediousness  and  expense  of  harvesting  the  crop.  The  fiber  of  the  lint  is  much  finer,  stronger, 
smoother,  and  silkier  than  the  uplands  cotton ;  and  while  the  latter  is  only  one-half  to  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in 
length,  the  sea  island  will  measure  1£  to  2i  inches.  The  color,  too,  has  a  cast  of  creamy  yellowness  not  observed  in 
uplands  cotton. 

Statistics. — The  population  of  the  coast  region,  excluding  the  city  of  Charleston,  is  07,132.  Of  this  number 
83  per  cent,  are  colored.  This  percentage  was  90  according  to  the  census  of  1870.  The  decrease  of  7  per  cent, 
results  in  part  from  an  influx  of  whites,  in  part  from  the  removal  of  negroes — as  will  be  shown  further  on — to  the 
upper  country,  and  in  part  also  to  the  more  rapid  natural  increase  of  the  more  thrifty  and  vigorous  race.  This 
gives  a  population  of  39  to  the  square,  mile,  against  an  average  for  the  whole  state  of  33.  Although  this  population 
is  almost  exclusively  agricultural,  the  amount  of  land  tilled  per  capita  is  only  14  acres  against  an  average  for  the 
whole  state  of  3.8  acres  per  capita.  There  are  only  62  acres  of  improved  land  pef  square  mile,  while  for  the  whole 
state  the  average  is  135  acres  to  the  square  mile.  There  is  no  deficit  of  work  stock,  there  being  one  work  animal 
to  every  13  acres  of  tilled  land,  while  the  average  for  the  state  is  only  one  to  24  acres  of  tilled  land.  Nor  is  there 
any  lack  of  small  farms,  the  coast  farms  averaging  18  acres  of  tilled  land,  while  the  state  averages  40  acres  to  the 
farm. 

The  amount  of  grain  produced  per  capita,  including  rice,  is  11  bushels,  scarcely  the  yearly  rations  for  a  man, 
and  the  minimum  produced  in  any  region  of  the  state;  and  this,  too,  while  the  product  of  grain  per  acre — as  has 
been  said — is  above  the  average  product  of  the  state.  The  product  of  lint  cotton  per  capita  is  42  pounds,  the  whole 
state  averaging  249  pounds.  The  yield  of  lint  cotton  per  acre  cultivated  in  cotton  is  92  pounds,  about  half  the 
average  of  the  state,  which  is  181  pounds.  The  live  stock  is  1  to  1 J  of  the  population,  being  about  half  the  average 
of  the  state,  which  is  1J  of  live  stock  to  1  of  population. 

From  these  data  it  appears  that,  in  this  more  closely  populated  section,  with  lands  of  easy  tillage,  that  yield, 
.as  will  be  shown  by  what  follows,  as  great  or  greater  a  remuneration  to  agriculture  as  elsewhere  in  the  state,  with 
more  than  its  proportion  of  work  stock,  and  a  greater  average  of  small  land-holdings,  the  amount  of  land  improved 
is  less  than  elsewhere,  and  the  actual  production — whether  among  crops  like  cotton,  or  a  subsistence  crop  like 
grain,  or  the  live  stock,  that  indispensable  adjunct  to  successful  agriculture,  be  considered — falls  far  below  the 
general  average  of  the  state.  Statistics  may  not  decide  whether  this  be  due  to  that  indolence  which  sometimes 
results  from  the  ease  with  which  human  beings  subsist  in  regions  of  such  tropical  abundance,  or  to  the  overwhelming 
preponderance  of  the  negro  race,  or  to  the  minute  subdivisions  of  the  farms.  The  following  table  will  present  the 
.data  in  regard  to  the  last-mentioned  cause: 

Table  showing  graphically  the  relation  of  the  size  of  farms  and  number  of  ivorlc  stock  to  cotton  production. 


Locality. 

Average  nnmher  of  acres  of  tilled  land 
to  each  farm. 

Acres  in  cotton  to  each 
hale  produced. 

Work  stock  to  the  acres 
of  tilled  laDd. 

61 

1.4 
2.  4 
2.  C 

itn:io 

1  to  30 
1  to  18 
ltu44 
ltol7 

Christ  Church 

""      "" 

1G 

Wadnialaw  

18 

3 

15 
13 

3.2 
4.2 

1  to  13 

477 


22  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


THE  LOWER   PINK    BELT,   <  >R  SAVANNA  REGION. 

Contiguous  to  and  immediately  inland  from  the  coast  region  lies  the  lower  pine  belt  or  savanna  region  of 
South  Carolina.  This  section  includes  the  southern  and  eastern  part  0/  Hampton  county,  nearly  all  of  Colleton, 
two  townships  in  Orangeburgh,  all  but  the  northwest  corner  of  Clarendon,  the  southwest  portion  of  Marion,  the 
whole  of  Williamsburgli,  and  all  Charleston,  Georgetown,  and  Horry  counties  not  lying  on  the  coast,  and  comprises 
nearly  one-fourth  of  the  entire  state. 

SURFACE  FEATURES. — The  surface  features  of  the  lower  pine  belt  bear  a  striking  analogy  to  those  of  the 
coast  region.  The  uplands,  the  so-called  "pine  barrens",  represent  the  sea  islands.  Numerous  large  fresh-water 
rivers  replace  the  great  salt-water  inlets  and  arms  of  the  sea  along  the  coast,  and  the  interminable  network  of 
extensive  swamps  and  bays  recall  the.  salt  marshes  of  the  coast.  Eight  large  rivers,  receiving  all  the  water  that 
falls  in  South  Carolina  and  a  large  proportion  from  the  water-shed  of  North  Carolina,  besides  several  smaller 
rivers  and  innumerable  lesser  streams,  traverse  this  region,  and  furnish  more  than  1,000  miles  of  navigable  waters. 
The  general  appearance  of  the  country  is  low  and  Hat.  The  uniform  level  of  the  surface  is  scarcely  broken 
anywhere,  except  here  and  there  on  the  banks  of  the  streams  by  the  occurrence  of  slightly  rolling  lands.  Its 
maximum  elevation  above  tide-water,  134  feet,  is  reached  at  the  village  of  Branchville,  on  the  South  Carolina 
railroad.  From  the  data  furnished  by  the  surveys  of  the  railroads  traversing  this  region, (a)  the  Port  Royal, 
South  Carolina,  and  Wilmington  roads,  it  appears  that  the  average  slope  is  about  3J  feet  per  mile.  This  slope, 
however,  seems  to  be  much  more  rapid  in  the  western  and  narrower  part  than  it  is  in  the  eastern  and  broader 
portion  of  the  belt.  Alt-mans,  on  the  Port  Eoyal  railroad,  is  105  feet  above  mean  high  tide  at  the  head  of  Broad  river, 
IS  miles  distant  in  a  direct  line,  giving  a  fall  of  5.8  feet  per  mile.  Branchville  is  134  feet  above  the  sea,  which,  at 
North  Edisto  inlet  near  Jehossee  island,  is  48  miles  distant,  making  the  tall  ii.8  feet  per  mile.  In  the  east  the  railroad 
bridge  of  the  Great  Pedee,  is  513  miles  from  the  sea,  and  has  an  elevation  above  it  of  only  about  50  feet,  or  but 
little  more  than  one  foot  to  the  mile.  This  fall  would,  with  skillful  engineering,  be  sufficient  tor  thorough  drainage 
as  well  as  for  irrigation.  Left  as  it  is,  however,  wholly  to  the  operations  of  nature,  this  desirable  object  is  far  from 
being  accomplished,  and  the  broad  but  slow  currents  of  the  tortuous  streams  never  free  the  swamps  and  lowlands 
of  their  superfluous  water.  In  connection  with  drainage  aud  the  embankment  of  the  rivers,  the  assertion  is  frequently 
made,  that  such  works  are  less  practicable  now  than  formerly,  in  consequence  of  the  increased  size  and  frequency 
of  freshets,  resulting  from  clearing  the  forests,  the  chief  obstructions  to  the  rapid  passage  of  rainwater  into  the 
streams.  In  the.  absence  of  records  giving  exact  data  on  this  point,  this  assertion  rests  on  the  apparent  nature,  of 
the  case  rather  than  on  ascertained  facts.  On  the  contrary,  nothing  can  be  more  certain  than  that  no  subsequent 
freshet  has  attained  the  height  aud  extent  of  the  great  flood  of  1700,  known  as  the  Yazoo  freshet. 

Timber  UECWTH. — The  characteristic  timber  growth  of  the  uplands  is  the  long-leaf  pine,  extending  in  open 
pine  woods  over  the  wide  plain,  with  scarcely  any  undergrowth  except  here  aud  there  the  scrub  oak  and  grasses  of 
the  genus  Aristida  and  Sporobolus,  the  wire  aud  drop-seed  grass.  The  palmetto  reaches  only  a  i'w  miles  inland 
from  salt  water,  but  the  live-oak  is  found  as  much  as  GO  miles  from  the  shore-line.  The.  magnolia,  tulip  tree,  sweet 
and  black  gum,  white  and  red  bays,  white  oak,  black  walnut,  elm,  hickory,  and  cypress  are  among  the  largest  aud 
most  conspicuous  trees  of  the  swamps,  the  dense  undergrowth  commencing  with  a  fringe  of  gall-berry  (Prinos 
glabcr)  on  the  margin  of  the  swamps,  and  consisting  of  a  great  variety  of  grape,  brier,  and  other  vines,  myrtles,  etc. 

Climate. — In  the  absence  of  weather  records,  it  is  difficult  to  express  the,  difference  between  the  climate  of 
the  lower  pine  belt  aud  that  of  the  sea-coast,  already  described,  more  definitely  than  to  say  that  it  is  such  difference 
as  is  to  be  found  between  the  conditions  favorable  for  the  growth  of  the  cabbage  palmetto  which  barely  touches 
the  southern  border  of  the  belt,  and  of  the  live-oak  that  just  extends  to  its  northern  or  inland  margin.  A  low,  Hat 
country  intersected  by  numerous  swamps  might  naturally  be  thought  very  sickly.  This  region,  however,  has  one 
advantage  :  almost  everywhere  there  are  found  small  tracts,  islands  as  it  were,  of  dry,  sandy  soil,  heavily  timbered 
with  the  long-leaf  pine,  which  is  a  barrier  to  the  invasion  of  malaria.  These  retreats  furnish  places  of  residence  as 
healthy  as  are  to  be  found  anywhere  ;  such  a  place  is  the  village,  of  Summerville,  on  the  South  Carolina  railroad, 
a  health  resort  that  divides  with  Sullivan's  island  the  patronage  of  the  citizens  of  Charleston  during  the  warm 
weather.  McPhersonville,  in  Hampton,  and  Piueville,  in  Georgetown  county,  are  villages  of  the  same  character, 
and  there  is  scarcely  a  neighborhood  that  has  not  some  such  healthy  spot  as  a  place  of  residence  during  summer. 
The  dread  of  malaria  is  much  less  than  it  was,  when  the  opinion  that  the  colored  race  was  exempt  from  such 
influences  was  adduced  as  an  argument  to  show  the  providential  nature  of  their  location  here,  to  develop  these 
fertile  lands.  The  reverses  of  fortune,  sustained  as  a  result  of  the  war,  have  forced  many  white  families  to  reside 
the  summer  long  where  it  was  once  thought  fatal  to  do  so,  and  the  experiment  has  been  successful,  thus  exploding 
the  extravagant  idea  that  white  people  could  not  enjoy  health  here  during  the  summer  mouths.  Replies  from 
twenty -three  townships  state,  without  exception,  that  the  inhabitants  enjoy  good  health,  and  that  a  considerable 
proportion  of  the  tield  work  is  performed  by  whites,  a  great  change,  since  the  war.  The  census  returns  give  15 
deaths  per  1,000  population  in  the  portions  of  Charleston  and  Colleton  counties  lying  in  this  region,  for  the  year  1S80. 


a  The  Charleston  ami  Savannah  road  runs  near  to  aud  parallel  witli  the  coast,  aud  the  surveys  of  the  Northeastern  road  have  been 
destroyed. 

478 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHIOAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


23 


Soils. — The  7,000  square  miles  of  uplands  in  tbe  lower  pine  belt  comprise  three  leading  varieties  of  soil :  1st. 
A  sandy  loam  with  a  white  sandy  subsoil.  2d.  A  sandy  loam  with  a  yellow  subsoil.  3d.  A  sandy  loam  with  a  elay 
subsoil ;  the  latter  is  generally  yellow,  but  sometimes  it  is  red.  The  surface  soil  is  lighter  or  darker,  in  proportion 
to  the  varying  quantities  of  vegetable  matter  it  contains,  and  where  the  clay  subsoil  approaches  to  the  surface  it 
assumes,  on  cultivation,  a  mulatto  color.  These  soils  bear  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  sea-island  soil,  with  the 
advantage  that  they  are  very  generally  underlaid  by  easily  accessible  beds  of  marl  richer  in  lime  than  those  of  sea 
islands.  In  drainage,  however,  they  compare  unfavorably  with  the  sea  islands.  For  the  scouring  effect  of  the  rise 
and  fall  of  the  tide  which  keeps  the  water  ways  around  the  islands  open  is  not  only  not  experienced  in  this  belt, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  the  luxuriant  water  growth  that  flourishes  here  has  filled  up  the  channels,  converting  them 
into  swamps  through  which  scarcely  any  current  passes.  This,  in  connection  with  the  level  character  of  the  country 
renders  the  body  of  these  lands  wet.  But  for  this,  the  good  mechanical  constitution  of  the  soil,  being  light  and 
easily  tilled  and  at  the  same  time  (except  in  the  case  of  white  sandy  subsoil)  sufficiently  compact  to  be  retentive  of 
manures  and  moisture,  together  with  the  abundance  of  marl,  and  of  peat  and  muck  at  hand  as  improvers  of  the 
virgin  soil,  would  have  made  them  most  desirable  lands  for  tillage.  As  it  is,  not  more  than  1  acre  in  22  is  under 
cultivation,  and  the  prices  of  lands  are  from  $5  down  to  50  cents  per  acre. 

The  following  partial  analyses  from  Tuomey's  report  give  an  idea  of  the  constitution  of  some  of  the  poorer  soils 
of  this  region,  classed  as  pine  barren.  Localities  are  not  given.  1.  Close,  sandy  soil.  2.  Dark  gray  soil.  3.  Very 
light  sandy  soil.     4.  Close  yellow  sandy  soil : 


Silica 

Alumina 

Peroxide  of  iron,  with  a  feebly  trace  of  carbonate  and  phosphate  of  lime 
Water  of  absorption  anu  organic  matter 

Total 


1 

•-' 

3 

4 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent 

92.57 

01.04 

04.  00 

93.00 

1,70 

1.70 

0.04 

0.  61 

0.70 

0.  50 

0.50 

1.20 

5.03 

(1,10 

4.56 

4.99 

100.  00 

100.  00 

100.  00 

100.  00 

Dr.  J.  L.  Smith  furnishes,  in  the  report  cited,  the  following  partial  mechanical  analyses  of  cotton  lauds  in  this 
section,  near  the  headwaters  of  Cooper  river: 

Pine  barren  lands. 


SOMERSET. 

PINEOPOLIB. 

OFHIK. 

CHAPEL  HILL. 

Soil. 

Subsoil. 

Soil. 

Soil. 

Snbsoil. 

Soil. 

Subsoil. 

Per  cent. 
76.0 
14.0 
3.0 

7.0 

Per  cent. 
80.0 
15.5 
2.5 
2.0 

Per  cent. 
90.0 
0.2 
0.8 
3.0 

Per  cent. 
80.0 
16.6 
1.2 
2.  2 

Per  cent. 

85.0 

12.2 

13 

1.5 

Per  cent. 
68.0 
27.0 
2.0 
3.0 

Per  cent. 

70.0 

25.2 

1.8 

3.0 

Moisture 

100.0 

100.0 

100.  (1 

100.0 

100.0 

Swamp  lands. — The  4,500  square  miles  of  overflowed  lauds  in  the  savanna  region  presents  quite  a  variety  of 
swamp  lauds.  The  most  elevated  of  these  are  cypress  ponds,  being  shallow  flats  with  an  impervious  clay  bottom, 
thickly  grown  in  small  cypress;  some  of  them  contain  a  thick  deposit  of  vegetable  matter,  and  when  drained  have 
proved  very  productive.  Next  in  order  come  the  almost  impenetrable  "bays",  thickly  set  with  a  growth  of  bay,, 
gum,  and  tulip  trees,  and  a  dense  undergrowth  of  vines  and  bushes.  The  soil  is  peat  or  muck,  resting  on  blue  mud 
and  underlaid  by  marl  and  sand.  Then  come  the  open  savannas  and  the  river  bottoms,  a  rich,  tough,  loamy  soil,, 
having  at  times  a  depth  of  60  feet,  derived  from  the.  denudation  of  the  upper  country,  whose  "richest  possessions 
are  found  in  well  sifted  purity  in  these  vast  swamps".  These  are  the  rice  lands  of  Carolina.  Taken  all  in  all, 
whether  we  consider  the  physical  character  of  the  soil,  the  amount  of  organic  matter  it  contains,  or  the  subtropical 
climate  of  the  locality,  with  the  facilities  for  irrigation,  either  for  culture  or  to  renew  the  surface  fertility,  they  are, 
perhaps,  excelled  in  productiveness  by  few  lands  in  the  world. 

Productions. — The  staple  productions  of  the  lower  pine  belt  are  rice  and  cotton.  Of  these  two,  the  most 
characteristic,  if  not  the  most  important,  is  the  rice  crop,  which  will  therefore  be  first  considered. 

Rice  culture. — The  methods  of  rice  culture  fall  under  two  heads,  viz,  the  dry  and  the  wet. 

The  dry  culture  is  pursued  on  uplands  and  on  low  grounds  not  susceptible  of  irrigation.  Kice  is  cultivated, 
very  much  like  cotton,  planted  in  drills  from  2J  to  3£  feet,  and  in  hills  from  18  to  24  inches  apart,  from  20  to  30  seed 
being  dropped  in  the  hills.  The  ground  is  afterwards  kept  clean  and  stirred  by  the  use  of  the  plow  and  hoe, 
with  one  hand  picking  off  the  grass  in  the  hills,  when  the  rice  is  about  0  inches  high.  The  yield  varies  with  the 
soil  and  culture  from  15  to  50  bushels  to  the  acre.  This  rice  sometimes  commands  a  fancy  price,  as  seed  rice, 
being  free  from  the  seed  of  the  red  rice  that  springs  up  as  a  volunteer  in  the  fields  under  water  culture. 


24  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

The  water  culture  of  rice  is  conducted  on  three  sorts  of  low  grounds:  1st.  Flats  which  may  be  irrigated  from 
ponds  or  water  "reserves"  lying  at  high  level.  2d.  River  swamps  into  which  water  may  be  conducted  by  canals 
running  from  the  river  above,  and  returned  to  it  again  at  a  lower  level;  such  lands  may  be  found  anywhere  in  the 
state.  3d.  The  tidewater  lands,  which  are  only  found  near  the  coast.  These  lauds  lie  in  such  a  position  on  the 
lower  course  of  the  rivers,  that  while  they  are  subject  to  a  sufficient  "pitch  of  the  tide"  to  irrigate  them  on  the 
tlood  and  to  drain  them  on  the  ebb,  they  are  free  from  the  invasion  of  salt-water  below  and  from  the  freshets  that, 
occur  higher  up  on  the  streams.  By  taking  in  the  fresh  water  from  the  rivers  above  and  letting  it  out  below  at 
low  tide,  these  lands  have  been  reclaimed  as  low  down  as  the  salt  marshes.  They  are  of  limited  area  ami  of 
inexhaustible  fertility,  the  waste  of  cultivation  being  constantly  restored  by  the  rich  deposits  from  the  turbid 
streams  that  irrigate  them.  Formerly  their  value  was  estimated  in  hundreds  of  dollars  per  acre.  .Since  the  war 
the  difficulty  of  obtaining  labor  has  changed  this,  many  of  the  .finest  plantations  remain  uncultivated,  or  only 
partially  cultivated,  and  lands  once  worth  from  $200  to  $300  per  acre  may  now  be  bought  at  from  $20  to  $30,  or 
less.  There  are  more  than  2,000,000  of  acres  of  land  consisting  of  inland  and  river  swamps  and  of  fresh  water  and 
of  salt  marshes,  admirably  adapted  to  rice  culture,  now  lying  unused  in  this  section  of  the  state,  most  of  it  in  its 
original  wilderness. 

There  are  numinous  methods  employed  iu  the  water  culture  of  rice,  from  that  known  as  dry  culture,  when  water 
is  sparingly  used,  to  that  known  as  the  "all-water  culture",  where  the  crop  is  only  dried  once  or  twice  during 
the  season  for  the  purpose  of  weeding  it.  Usually  it  is  "  flowed"  four  times,  the  floodings  being  severally  known 
;is  the  "sprout  How ",  to  perfect  the  germination;  the  "point  flow",  to  stretch  up  the  young  plant;  the  "long 
flow",  when  the  plant  is  six  to  eight  inches  high,  after  the  first  and  second  hoeings;  ami  the  "lay-by  How", 
utter  the  third  hoeing  and  until  harvest.  The  fine  mud  and  decomposed  vegetable  matter  composing  these  soils 
is  so  soft  that  a  horse  will  readily  bog  in  it,  and  therefore  horse-power  has  been  little  used  in  their  cultivation  ;  an 
objection  that,  with  the  solid  cross-dams  at  short  distances,  would  not  apply  to  the  plow  moved  by  steam-power. 
Horsepower  has,  however,  been  used  so  far  as  to  show  that  seed  drills  for  planting  and  the  mowing  machine  for 
harvesting  may  be  successfully  employed  in  rice  culture.  Under  these  circumstances,  taking  into  consideration 
the  amount  and  certainty  of  the  yield  (from  10  to  80  bushels  per  acre),  and  the  improved  machinery  for  thrashing 
and  hulling,  there  is  perhaps  no  food  crop  so  entirely  under  the  control  of  mechanical  inventions,  and  so  little 
subject  either  to  the  vicissitudes  of  season  or  the  uncertainties  of  human  labor  as  the  rice  crop.  The  stem  is  much 
superior  as  forage  to  that  of  any  of  the  small  grain,  and,  except  the  hulls  of  the  grain,  there  is  no-waste  in  the  crop  ; 
the  very  dust  from  the  pounding,  known  as  rice  flour,  being  most  nutritious  food  for  stock. 

Although  80  bushels  per  acre  is  generally  given  as  a  large  field  crop,  the  possibilities  of  the  product  are  much 
greater.  The  rice  crop  for  the  whole  state  averages  20  bushels  to  the  acre.  This  means  600  pouuds  of  merchantable 
rice  worth,  say,  $.'30;  400  pounds  of  straw,  worth  £2.80 ;  and  100  pounds  of  flour,  $1.50;  in  all,  $35.30,  Cotton  gives 
an  average  of  181  pounds  per  acre,  which,  at  10  cents,  would  be  only  $18.10,  or  a  little  over  half  the  gross  yield  of 
rice.  Why- is  it,  then,  thafr  rice  culture  is  in  so  depressed  a  condition,  and  cotton  culture  so  flourishing.'  In  answer 
to  this  question,  the  reason  may  be  briefly  stated  to  be  that  condition  of  industry  which  favors  small  enterprises 
and  discourages  the  cumulation  of  capital  in  large  investments  and  the  organization  of  labor  into  large  masses, 
which  the  embankment,  drainage,  and  irrigation  of  a  rice-field  requires. 

The  allurement  of  the  ready  money  realized  by  collecting  the  products  of  the  forest,  and  by  rice  and  by  cotton 
culture,  has  diverted  attention  from  other  crops  in  this  section.  The  culture  of  corn  as  a  market  crop  would  be 
profitable ;  the  red  rust-proof  oat  is  admirably  adapted  to  this  climate,  and  is  one  of  the  most  certain  crops,  yielding 
readily  from  30  to  50  bushels  to  the  acre.  Although  New  England  and  even  European  hay  lias  for  many  years  been 
purchased  to  subsist,  in  part,  the  work  stock  in  this  section,  .Mr.  Euffin,  who  came  from  the  clover-fields  of  Virgiuia, 
says  iu  his  official  report  on  the  agriculture  of  the  lower  and  middle  parts  of  South  Carolina:  "Few  countries 
possess  greater  natural  facilities,  or  which  are  more  improvable  by  industry,  for  producing  in  abundance  grasses, 
hay,  and  live  stock  and  their  products  of  meat,  butter,  and  milk,  all  of  which  are  now  so  deplorably  deficient." 

Statistics.— The  lower  pine  belt  contains  about  7,210  square  miles,  of  which  4,500  are  alluvial  or  swamp  lands, 
either  covered  with  water  or  subject  to  overflow.  The  tilled  laud  is  35S,533  acres,  by  the  census  returns  of  1880, 
which  is  30  per  cent.,  or  171,300  acres  less  than  the  number  given  by  the  census  of  1870.  There  are  1.0  farms  and  . 
to  acres  of  tilled  land  per  square  mile,  or  20  acres  of  tilled  and  400  acres  of  unfilled  land  to  the  farm.  Something 
less  than  1  per  cent,  of  the  total  area,  or  6.4  acres  per  square  mile,  is  planted  in  cotton;  there  is  in  grain  of  all 
kinds  15.8  acres,  and  in  other  crops  and  fallow  13  acres  per  square  mile,  with  1.8  head  of  work  stock  and  23  head 
of  all  live  stock.  These  figures  represent  the  minimum  (the  area  in  other  crops  and  fallow  alone  excepted)  to  be 
found  anywhere  in  the  state.  -Notwithstanding  the  small  proportion  of  stock  to  area,  the  people  here  are  the 
staunchest  adherents  of  the  fence  law,  and  claim  entire  freedom  of  range  for  their  cattle.  This,  too,  while  the 
number  of  stock  of  all  sorts  is  only  1.15  per  capita,  being  less  than  in  any  part  of  the  state,  except  upon  the  coast. 

The  population  numbers  203,748  (including  49,099  in  the  city  of  Charleston),  or  28  per  square  mile,  which  is 
less  than  in  any  part  of  the  state,  the  sand  hills  excepted,  where  the  number  is  11.7.  The  ratio  of  colored  to  white 
is  greater  than  elsewhere  except  upon  the  coast,  and  is  09  per  cent.,  the  same  that  it  was  given  at  in  1870. 

4P0 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHlCAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  25 

The  tilled  land  is  1.7  acres  per  capita;  0.2  acres  more  than  on  the  coast.  This  is  not  quite  one-half  the 
average  for  the  whole  state,  and  is  owing,  1st,  to  the  large  area  of  unreclaimed  swamps ;  2d,  to  the  number  of  the 
population  engaged  in  the  turpentine  and  lumber  business.  The  large  bodies  of  land  held  solely  for  the  forest 
products  they  yield,  as  turpentine,  lumber,  shingles,  staves,  .etc.,  accounts  for  the  fact  that  while  the  number  of 
farms  to  the  square  mile  is  few,  the  number  in  proportion  to  the  population  is  as  great,  even  as  among  the  small 
farms  on  the  coast,  being  1  to  every  12J  of  the  population.  Nevertheless  the  amount  of  laud  tilled  per  capita  has 
decreased  38  per  cent,  since  1870,  showing  that  the  forest  industries  are  gaining  on  agriculture. 

Although  the  lower  pine  belt  comprises  nearly  one-fourth  of  the  state,  it  produces  only  a  fraction  over  5  per  cent, 
of  the  cotton  crop.  The  percentage  of  the  total  area  planted  iu  cotton  is  less  than  one-tenth  of  one  per  cent,  in  the 
southeastern  third  of  Charleston,  in  the  whole  of  Georgetown,  and  iu  the  greater  portion  of  Horry  county.  From 
one-tenth  to  one  per  cent,  of  the  area  is  planted  iu  cotton  in  the  lower  half  of  Hampton,  in  Colleton,  in  the 
northeastern  portion  of  Charleston,  in  the  southern  third  of  Williamsburgh,  and  in  portions  of  Horry  county.  From 
1  to  5  per  cent,  of  the  area  is  planted  iu  cotton  iu  the  northeastern  corner  of  Colleton,  in  the  northeastern  part  of 
Charleston,  in  the  upper  two-thirds  of  Williamsburgh,  in  the  lower  one-fourth  of  Marion,  and  in  Clarendon  county. 

In  point  of  production  we  have  2.7  bales  of  cotton  per  square  mile  against  1.9  in  1S70,  an  increase  of  42  per  cent., 
but  still  less  than  half  the  minimum  produced  elsewhere  except  on  the  coast.  Per  capita  the  yield  is  only  OS  pounds 
of  lint,  but  per  acre  plauted  in  cotton  it  is  171  pounds,  showing  that  in  this  little  cultivated  region  the  yield  of  the 
land  plauted  is  but  little  below  the  average  of  the  state.  So,  too,  of  the  grain  crop,  while  it  was  only  7  bushels  in 
1870,  and  iu  1SS0  only  11  bushels  per  capita,  and  only  23G  bushels  to  the  square  mile,  it  averages  over  15  bushels 
to  every  acre  planted,  which  is  nearly  50  per  cent,  above  the  average  of  the  state.  The  iucrease  in  the  amount  of 
grain  produced  has  been  S2  per  cent,  on  the  crop  of  1870.  The  work  stock  during  the  same  period  has  increased 
50  per  cent.,  and  the  live  stock  70  per  cent. 

The  explanation  of  these  seemingly  paradoxical  facts  is  that  this  fertile  but  thinly-peopled  region  is  scarcely 
reclaimed  at  all  from  the  dominion  of  the  waters  for  man's  uses;  there  being  neither  capital  nor  organized  labor 
commensurate  with  this  undertaking,  what  of  either  of  these  forces  is  to  bo  found  employs  itself  iu  cultivating  the 
poorer  but  more  easily  tilled  land,  or  in  the  more  tempting  occupation  still  of  gathering  the  products  of  the 
forest,  which  nature  with  lavish  hand  offers  in  abundance. 


THE    UPPER    PINE    BELT. 

The  upper  pine  belt  of  South  Carolina  is  sometimes  called  the  "middle  country",  as  distinguished  from  the 
"upper  country"  and  the  "low  country",  between  which  it  lies.  It  has  also  been  known  as  the  central  cotton 
region  of  Carolina,  having  formerly  led,  as  it  still  does  in  some  respects,  in  the  culture  of  that  staple.  It  may  be 
defined  as  that  portion  of  the  state  lying  at  an  elevation  above  the  sea  of  between  130  and  250  feet.  It  crosses  the 
state  iu  a  northeast  direction,  from  the  Savannah  river  to  the  North  Carolina  line.  To  the  south  it  is  bounded 
by  the  lower  pine  belt,  where  the  flat  open  pine  woods,  with  an  uudergrowth  of  coarse  grasses,  gradually  give 
place  to  higher  and  more  rolling  (line  lands,  with  an  undergrowth  of  oak  and  hickory.  To  the  north  the  upper 
piue  belt  sweeps  round  the  base  of  the  interrupted  range  of  high  red  hills  which  traverse  the  state,  or  rises,  in  the 
intervals  of  this  range,  into  the  still  more  eleTated  sand  hills.  It  comprises  generally  the  counties  of  Baynwell, 
Orangeburgh,  Sumter,  Darlington,  Marlborough,  and  Marion,  the  northern  half  of  Hampton,  and  the  northwest 
corner  of  Colleton.  Along  the  rivers  it  penetrates  northward  beyond  the  limits  of  the  counties  named.  As 
uplands  on  the  first  level  above  the  swamps  it  extends,  iu  Aiken  county,  as  high  up  the  Savannah  as  Old  Fort 
Moore,  at  Sand  Bar  ferry;  iu  Richland  it  reaches  along  the  Congaree  nearly  to  Columbia,  embracing  the  wide 
level  area  of  Lower  township, lying  between  that  river  and  the  sand  hills;  along  the  Wateree,  between  the  swamps 
-and  the  high  hills  of  Santee,  it  passes  into  Kershaw  county,  and  along  the  Great  Pedee  it  passes  up  among  the 
sand  hills  of  Chesterfield. 

Surface  features. — The  land  is  level  without  being  flat,  and  is  sufficiently  rolling  to  insure  good  drainage 
for  the  most  part.  While  the  general  slope  follows  the  southeasterly  course  of  the  rivers,  the  land  rises  more 
rapidly  iu  the  west,  which  gives  the  region  a  marked  easterly  slope  iu  addition  to  its  southeastern  inclination. 
Thus,  in  the  west,  Appleton,  on  the  Port  Koyal  railroad,  40  miles  distant  from  tide-water,  has  an  elevation  of  259 
feet,  while  Orangeburgh,  on  the  South  Carolina  railroad,  05  miles  from  tide-water,  has  ouly  the  same  elevation,  and 
Wedgefield,  on  the  Manchester  and  Wilmington  road,  75  miles  from  tide-water,  has  an  elevation  of  only  236  feet, 
these  being  the  highest  points  on  the  respective  roads. 

The  water  courses  rising  in  this  region,  or  in  the  sand  hill  region  above,  are  clear  and  rapid,  while  the  larger 
livers  passiug  through  it,  that  come  from  the  mountains,  are  turbid.  The  latter  furnish  this  region  with  valuable 
facilities  for  the  transportation  of  produce.  On  the  western  side,  the  Savannah  is  navigable,  to  Augusta  for 
steamboats  of  from  200  to  300  tons  burden.  The  Salkehatchie  river,  rising  in  Barnwell  county,  might  be  rendered 
navigable  to  the  county-seat  by  removing  logs.  The  two  Fdistos  might  be  rendered  navigable  for  small  steamboats, 
and  if  the  contemplated  canal  connecting  those  streams  with  Ashley  river  were  opened  it  would  become  an 
31   c  P — VOL.   n  431 


26  cotton  Production  in  south  Carolina. 

important  avenue  for  the  cheap  transportation  of  produce.  Steamboats  carrying  from  800  to  1,000  bales  of  cottou 
Lave  passed  up  the  Santee  and  its  confluents,  the  Congaree  and  Wateree,  as  far  as  Granby  (2  miles  below  Columbia), 
and  to  Camden.  In  the  east  the  Great  i'edee  is  navigated  by  steamers  to  Cheraw,  120  miles  in  an  air  line  from  the 
sea;  for  smaller  craft  Lynches  river  (the  Kaddipah)  and  Black  creek  were  navigable,  the  one  80  and  the  other  30 
miles  from  where  they  join  the  Great  Pedee.  The  Little  I'edee  is  also  navigable  for  vessels  of  considerable  burden. 
Beside  the  large  streams  mentioned  there  are  numerous  smaller  ones  in  this  region,  flowing  with  a  rapid  current 
through  healthy  localities  heavily  timbered  with  pine,  and  capable  of  furnishing  water-powers  sufficient  for  the 
largest  factories.  On  the  ridge  between  the  North  and  South  Bdisto,inOrangeburgh  county,  springs  of  fine  drinking 
water  furnish  a  water-power,  sufficient  for  grinding  and  ginning,  a  few  hundred  feet  from  the  spot  whence  they 
issue  from  the  earth.  There  are  numerous  small  lakes,  chiefly  in  the  swamps,  but  sometimes  on  the  uplands;  in 
Barnwell  then-  is  one,  a,  beautiful  sheet  of  clear  water,  2  miles  in  circumference,  with  a  beach-like  shore  affording  a 
fine  drive,  and  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  high  and  healthy  pine  uplands. 

Wells. — Shallow  '-sweep''  wells  (the  bucket  being  attached  to  a  pole  fastened  to  a  long  lever  balanced  near  its 
middle)  are  characteristic  of  this  region  ;  generally  they  are  from  10  to  20  feet  in  depth,  with  only  a  short  wooden 
curb  on  top,  for  the  rest  uncurbed,  being  dug  through  a  fine  compact  yellow  or  red  clay  to  a  stratum  of  quicksand, 
in  which  an  abundant  supply  of  pure  and  cool  water  is  found. 

Timber  growth.— The  region  is  covered  with  a  rather  sparse  growth  of  large  long-leaf  or  yellow  pine,  with  an 
undergrowth  of  oaks  and  hickories.  Among  the  eight  or  ten  species  of  oaks,  the  live  oak  does  not  appear,  except 
as  a  planted  tree;  the  water  oak,  however,  attains  perfection,  covering  with  its  evergreen  foliage,  not  unfrequently, 
an  area  of  half  an  acre,  and  measuring  from  8  to  10  feet  through  at  the  root.  Of  the  upland  oaks,  I  mention  the 
forked-leaf  black -jack,  indicative  here  of  a  dry  anil  thirsty  soil;  and  the  round -leaf  black-jack,  showing  a  moisferand 
more  fruitful  soil.  Dogwood  is  also  common.  Here  is  the  northern  limit  of  the  magnolia  in  its  wild  state,  and  of 
the  gray  moss  (Tillandsia).  The  swamp  woods  are  cypress,  white  oak,  gum,  ash,  hickory,  beach,  elm,  ami  black 
walnut. 

The  early  settlers  in  this  region  were  stock  raisers,  and  kept-  up  the  Indian  practice  of  burning  oil'  the  woods 
during  the  winter.  The  destruction  of  the  undergrowth  by  this  means  favored  the  growth  of  grasses,  and  numerous 
herds  of  almost  wild  cattle  and  horses  found  abundant  pasturage  chiefly  upon  what  was  kuown  as  the  wild  oat, 
aud  the  wild  pea  vine.  The  cattle  were  sometimes  slaughtered  for  their  hide  and  tallow.  The  names  of  many 
townships  and  neighborhoods  still  testify  to  this  primitive  industry,  as  Steer  Pen,  Steerpoint,  Horse  Pen,  and  Pen 
Corner.  The  uplands  were  covered,  as  they  still  are,  with  a  large  growth  of  yellow  pine,  and  a  deer  might  have 
been  seen  in  the  vistas,  made  by  their  smooth  steins,  a  distance  of  half  a  mile;  where  now,  since  the  discontinuance 
of  the  spring  and  autumn  fires,  it  could  not  be  seen  15  paces,  because  of  the  thick  growth  of  oak  and  hickory  that 
has  taken  the  land. 

Climate. — The  upper  pine  belt  is  a  peculiarly  healthy  region,  and  throughout  its  extent  a  remarkable  number 
of  instances  of  unusual  longevity  are  reported.  There  are  no  prevailing  diseases,  unless  it  be  a  mild  type  of 
malarial  fever,  during  autumn,  along  the  river  swamps.  The  upland  swamps  not  being  subject  to  overflow,  and 
resting  on  sand,  are  not  troubled  with  these  complaints.  The  seasons  most  favorable  for  cotton  are  those  in  which 
there  is  a  dry,  cold  winter  to  facilitate  the  preparation  of  the  land;  light  showers  in  April  to  insure  germination; 
a  dry  and  warm  May  and  June,  not  only  to  render  the  destruction  of  the  grass  easy,  but,  as  the  cotton  planters 
term  it,  to  "cook  the  cotton-plant",  hot  weather,  aud  even  drought  at  this  stage  of  growth,  increasing  its 
productiveness ;  in  July  and  August  hot  and  seasonable  showers  to  keep  up  the  strength  of  the  plant  and  promote 
fructification  ;  and  a  dry  fall  for  picking.  The  length  of  time  between  the  latest  frost  in  the  spring  and  the  earliest 
frost  in  autumn  has  an  important  bearing  on  the  crop. 

Although  the  planting  of  cotton  during  these  years  was  sometimes  completed  as  early  as  the  30th  of  March, 
irreparable  injury  to  the  stand  was  only  inflicted  once,  iu  1840,  when  snow  fell  on  the  15th  of  April,  and  was 
succeeded  by  cold  weather.  Nor  do  the  autumn  frosts  always  destroy  tiie  plant  completely  ;  blossoms  at  Christmas 
and  New  Year  are  not  unfrequently  seen,  and  there  are  occasionally  winters  of  such  mildness  that  the  old  cotton 
roots  throw  out  fresh  shoots  in  the  spring;  aud  there  are  rare  instances  where  fields  lying  out  have,  thus  borne  a 
crop  the  second  year  that  was  worth  gathering. 

Soils. — The  upper  pine  belt  contains  something  over  6,000  square  miles,  about  one-sixth  of  which  is  swamp 
and  the  remainder  uplands,  'the  uplands  consist  of  a  tine,  light  gray,  sandy  loam,  resting  on  a  subsoil  of  red  or 
yellow  clay.  In  the  east,  in  Marlborough  and  Marion,  the  clay  is  usually  found  at  only  from  3  to  4  inches.  In  the 
west  it  is  often  deeper,  and  a  subsoil  of  yellow  or  red  sand  intervenes  between  it  and  the  surface  soil;  even  here 
the  depth  today  is  seldom  as  much  as  2  feet. 

The  following  are  the  analyses  of  these  soils,  made  for  the  Tenth  Census: 

No.  ■>.  Sanely  soil,  cultivated;  field  of  C.  S.  McCall,  near  Bennettsville,  Marlborough  county;  taken  12  inches; 
original  growth,  long-leaf  pine,  with  undergrowth  of  oak  and  dogwood;  has  been  planted  for  two  or  three 
generations:  yield  for  several  years  past,  one  bale  of  cotton  per  acre. 

No.  7.  Sandy  mulatto  soil,  cultivated;  taken  from  Governor  Hagood's  plantation  near  Barnwell  Court  House: 

original  growth,  long-leaf  pine,  with  oak  and  hickory  undergrowth;  yield,  704  pounds  seed-cotton,  average  for  ten 

years  on  140  acres. 
482 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


27 


No.  S.  Sandy  soil,  cultivated,  taken  near  the  Savannah  river,  from  the  Johnson  field  on  the  Cathwood  plantation 
of  P.  F.  Hammond,  in  Aiken  county,  the  soil  being  taken  uniformly  to  the  depth  of  12  inches.  The  original 
growth  was  long-leaf  pine,  with  an  undergrowth  of  post  oak  and  black-jack  runners.  The  land  was  cleared  in  1835, 
and  has  been  planted  continuously  in  cotton  for  the  last  thirteen  years,  yielding  an  average  of  from  1,000  to  1,200 
pounds  seed-cotton  on  200  acres,  the  cotton  being  a  long-staple  variety  of  uplands,  selling  for  2  to  5  cents  per 
pound  above  ordinary  uplands,  and  not  very  prolific. 

No.  9.  Virgin  forest  soil  from  red  clay  ridge  near  Marion  and  Marlborough  line,  on  the  Douohoe  plantation  of  W. 
D.  Johnson;  growth,  large  hickory,  oak,  and  pine;  similar  land  under  present  culture  averages,  for  large  fields,  a 
bale  of  cotton  to  the  acre  one  year  with  another,  when  planted  for  a  succession  of  years  in  the  same  crop. 

Soils  of  the  tipper  pine  belt. 


CULTIVATED  SOILS. 

VIRGIN   BOIL. 

Marlborough 
county. 

Barnwell  county.    Aiken  county. 

Marion  county. 

No.  3. 

No.  7.                      No.  8. 

No.  9. 

96.  000  ) 

!  8(1,  050 
0.  950  i 

0.  040 

0.027 

0.052 

1 
,  91.  230  )                     93.  690  > 

5  9.'!.  719                       [95.178 
L>.  489  i                         1.  483  > 

0.  092                            0.  076 

0.  0+7                            0.  000 

0. 091                            0.114 

84.  754  ] 
4.435  \m'm 
0.192 
0.069 
0.068 
0.294 
0.  036 
1.997 
4.854 
0.022 
0.236 
3.  312 

Lime 

0.  504 

0.  441 
0.064 
0.063 

1.  561 

0.  760                            0.  737 

0.  159 
0. 160 
3.091 

0.036 
0.100 
1.771 

Water  and  organic  matter 

99.845 

100. 700 

100. 140 

100.  209 

1.441 

28C.° 

2.245 

25  C.° 

2.  512 
14.5C.° 

4.518 
14.  5  C.° 

[According  to  these  analyses,  these  soils  are  of  a  very  light  character,  especially  as  regards  Nos.  3,  7,  and  8, 
in  which,  also,  potash  is  cprite  low;  and  in  3  and  8,  as  well  as  in  9,  phosphoric  acid  is  deficient.  Their  fair 
productiveness,  as  stated  in  the  text,  must  be  due  to  the  nature  of  the  subsoil,  of  which  no  specimens  were  furnished 
for  analysis.  Doubtless  the  duration  of  productiveness  will  be  found  sensibly  proportional  to  the  closeness  of  the 
red  clay  subsoil  to  the  inferior  surface  soil.  The  moisture  coefficient  of  Nos.  3  and  7  is  also  very  low,  rendering 
them  subject  to  drought  unless  quite  deeply  tilled,  so  as  to  intermingle  them  with  the  more  retentive  subsoil. 
Deep  culture  is,  therefore,  to  be  especially  recommended,  and  phosphate  fertilizers  will  be  first  needed  in  Nos.  7, 
8,  and  9.— E.  W.  H.] 

The  following  analyses  were  made,  by  Professor  Shepard,  and  were  published  in  Tuomey's  Agricultural  Survey 
of  South  Carolina,  in  184S: 

No.  14.  Cultivated  soil  from  the  cotton  lands  south  of  Columbia,  Richland  county. 

No.  15.  Cultivated  soil,  taken  near  Bennettsville,  Marlborough  county. 

Cultivated  cotton  lands  of  Pedee  river. 


RICHLAND 

COUNTY. 

MARLDORQUGH 
COUNTY. 

Soil. 

Soil. 

No.  14. 

No.  15. 

76.50 
Trace. 
1.00 
0.50 
2.40 
6.  CO 
9.  (10 
4.00 

77.30 
0.00 
11.80 
1.00 
5.  00 
4.80 
5.  40 
5.70 

Lime  

Magnesia 

Iron 

Organic  matter 

Total  

100.  00 

100.  00 

[Little  can  be  learned  from  these  analyses,  except  that  the  soils  are  moderately  clayey  and  retentive  and  contain 
a  high  percentage  of  lime,  a  notable  advantage  over  the  upland  soils,  and  rarely  unaccompanied  by  an  adequate 
supply  (if  other  ingredients  of  plant  food. — E.  W.  H.]  483 


23 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


The  Peclee  lands  were  little  esteemed  formerly,  and  seventy-five  years  ago  many  of  tliem  were  considered 
so  impoverished  by  cultivation  as  to  have  been  abandoned  by  their  owners  for  the  fresh  lands  of  Alabama.  Under 
the  present  system  of  culture  they  are  the  most  productive  and  certain  in  the  state.  Their  great  productiveness 
must  be  largely  attributed  to  their  excellent  and  judicious  management,  by  which  lands  naturally  yielding  only 
from  300  to  400  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  are  made  to  give  a  bale  of  cotton,  one  year  with  another.  A  good, 
though  not  a  thorough  drainage  by  open  ditches  has  lowered  the  water  level  in  these  lands  at  least  4  feet,  'She 
physical  properties  of  the  soil  lend  themselves  readily  to  improvement.  The  sandy  surface  soil,  although  thin,  is 
very  fine,  and  the  clay  is  of  so  fine  a  texture  as  to  be  usually  described  as  floury.  It  is  noteworthy,  also,  that,  fresh 
laud  of  a  grayish  color,  or  where  the  plow  turns  up  the  subsoil  of  a  yellowish  or  reddish  cast,  blackens  on  exposure, 
and  becomes  darker  year  by  year  as  they  are  cultivated.  The  exemption  from  drought,  which  these,  lands  in  large 
measure  enjoy,  while  greatly  due  to  their  drainage  and  good  tilth,  may  depend  somewhat,  on  the  body  of  live  water 
in  the  quicksand,  which  underlies  them  at  a  depth  of  from  15  to  25  feet,  and  whose  ascent  in  hot  dry  seasons 
through  the  fine  texture  of  the  intervening  clays  is  not  unlikely. 

Swamps.— The  swamps,  covering  1,000  square  miles  of  this  region,  are  of  two  descriptions: 

1.  The  river  swamps. — The  soil  is  of  a  mulatto  or  mahogany  color,  and  is  a  heavy  alluvial  loam,  rendered 
lighter  sometimes  by  an  admixture  of  fine  sand  and  mica,  when  they  are  called  "isinglass  lauds".  Such  swamps 
are  found  on  the  banks  of  the  Savannah,  the  Sautee,  the  Congaree,  Wateree,  and  Pedee  rivers,  varying  from 
narrow  strips  to  broad  bottoms  C  and  S  miles  in  breadth. 

The  following  analysis  of  the  alluvial  soil  of  Savannah  river  at  Edgefield  was  made  for  the.  Patent  Office  by 
C.  T.  Jackson,  M.  D.,  in  1857: 

Upper  alluvial  lands  of  Savannah  river. 


Insoluble  mutter 

Potash 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Manganese  oxide  i 
Peroxide  of  iron     J 

Alumina    

Phosphoric,  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

Chlorine 

Hnmic  acid 

Insoluble  vegetable  matter 

Total 


73. 000 
1.000 
O.730 
n.  200 
0.200 


■1  850 

10.040 

0.310 

Trace. 

0.  050 

0.400 

4.300 

[If  the  methods  used  in  making  this  analysis  were  such  as  to  render  it  comparable  with  those  made  in 
connection  with  the  census  work,  it,  shows  this  soil  to  be  very  unusually  rich  in  potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  and 
fairly  supplied  with  lime.  Prom  the  high  percentage  of  alumina,  it  weuld  seem  to  be  a  very  heavy  soil.  If, 
however,  the  methods  used  were  such  as  to  give  the  ultimate  composition  (as  seems  likely  from  the  high  percentage 
of  soda),  no  information  of  practical  value  is  conveyed  by  it. — E.  W.  H.] 

The  body  of  these  swamps  lies  below  the  point  where  the  above  sample  was  obtained,  and  its  lands  are  probably 
more  fertile.  Such  soil,  well  cultivated,  yields,  without  manure,  from  1,200  to  1,500  pounds  of  seed-cotton,  and  from 
40  to  75  bushels  of  corn  per  acre.  These  lands  were  being  rapidly  cleared  and  cultivated  anterior  to  the  war;  but 
since  then  they  have,  been  to  a  great  extent  abandoned  for  the  higher  and  more  easily  tilled  uplands.  The  freshet 
of  1865  broke  the  dams  on  the  Great  Pedee  that  excluded  the  freshets,  and  they  have  never  been  repaired. 
These  lands  are  subject  to  overflow,  and  the  erection  of  levees  for  protection  has  been  only  practiced  here  and  there 
by  large  planters.  In  the  absence,  of  records  showing  the  risk  from  freshets  to  these  lands,  the  following  extract 
from  a  plantation  record  kept  by  James  H.  Hammond  is  taken.  The  island  field  is  at  Silver  bluff,  on  Savannah 
river,  and  lies  rather  lower  than  the  average  of  the  Savannah  river  swamps.  It  received  no  manure,  and  being 
small  and  of  little  moment,  in  the  larger  operations  of  the  plantation,  it  had  hardly  average  care  bestowed  upon  it. 
It  was  planted  continuously  in  corn  and  pumpkins  (no  record  kept  of  the  latter  crop,  which  was  always  abundant). 
The  years  not,  entered  are  due  to  the  absence  of  the  proprietor,  the  land  being  planted  as  usual: 


Tear. 

Acres 
planted. 

Crop. 

Tear. 

Acres   J       *-,.„.. 
planted.  ,       tr°P' 

Year. 

Acres           «_-„ 
planted.        LnV- 

25 
25 
15 
20 

20 

Bushels. 

925 
950 
450 
675 
2,075 
895 

Bushels. 
25                  850 
25                   500 
10                  832 
25                    074 
25                1, 000 
25                    250 

BujthcU. 

1830 

1840 

1854 

1855 

1859 

1800 

30 
30 
30 
25 

1848 

1849 

1843   

600 

4S4 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


29 


During  these  twenty-three  years  only  one  crop  was  seriously  damaged  by  freshets,  viz,  the  great  August  freshet 
of  1S52,  which  injured  one-third  of  the  crop,  so  that  it  could  only  be  fed  to  hogs.  The  average  yield  was  35  bushels 
per  acre;  fluctuations  of  yield  from  8  to  85  bushels  were  due  to  the  seasons  to  a  very  small  extent,  and  resulted 
chiefly  from  neglect  of  this  field  for  larger  interests. 

2.  Bays,  or  upland  swamp  and  creel;  bottoms. — These  occur  on  the  smaller  streams,  and  rarely  exceed  2  miles 
in  width;  they  are  also  found  in  bodies  of  several  thousand  acres  in  the  pine  lands,  on  the  second  levels  from  the 
rivers — probably  ancient  lakes  choked  up  with  water  girowth.  The  soil  is  bhick,  consisting  largely  of  decomposed 
vegetable  matter,  with  a  depth  of  from  3  to  15  feet,  resting  usually  on  white  sand. 

The  following  analysis  of  a  sample  taken  from  the  swamp  of  South  Edisto  river,  was  made  by  Professor 

Shepard : 

South  Edisto  swamp-land  soil. 


So.  17. 

60.  000 
Trace. 
0.500 
2.400 
4.000 

28.  000 
5.100 

100.  000 

From  1845  to  1860  much  in  the  way  of  clearing  these  lands  was  done.  Since  then  they,  of  necessity,  have 
been  much  neglected,  and  are  relapsiug  into  their  original  state.  They  are  not  suitable  for  cotton,  but  produce 
large  crops  of  corn.  The  Cowden  plantation  gave  for  twelve  years,  without  manure  of  any  sort,  an  average  yield  of 
35  bushels  of  corn  per  acre,  on  a  field  of  from  600  to  900  acres.  In  one  year  600  acres  gave  an  average  of  62J  bushels 
of  corn  per  acre,  but  now  it  does  not  produce  corn  enough  to  feed  the  stock  of  the  negro  renters,  who  are  cultivating 
patches  of  cotton  on  its  margin,  owing  to  the  abandonment  of  all  care  for  the  drainage. 

Under  the  system  of  agriculture  at  present  pursued,  the  chief  attention  is  paid  to  the  more  easily  tilled  but 
less  fertile  uplands.  Nevertheless,  there  is  in  the  upper  pine  belt  a  body  of  000,000  acres  of  productive  corn  land, 
now  almost  wholly  neglected,  but  once  cultivated  with  great  profit  (when  corn  was  worth  only  50  or  60  cents  a 
bushel),  and  capable  of  yielding  50  per  cent,  more  than  the  entire  corn  crop  of  the  state. 

Productions. — The  staple  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  oats,  rye  (the  southern  variety),  wheat  (to  a  limited  extent), 
peanuts  (yielding  an  average  of  40  bushels  per  acre),  sweet  potatoes,  and  rice.  The  culture  of  indigo  and  tobacco 
has  been  abandoned,  though  once  found  profitable.  The  olive,  the  Italian  chestnut  and  pine,  the  varieties  of 
mulberry,  the  fig,  peaches,  apples,  pears,  pomegranates,  plums,  pecan  nuts,  English  walnuts,  grapes,  etc.,  are 
successfully  grown. 

Considerable  attention  is  paid  in  some  localities  to  forest  products,  turpentine,  pine  timber,  cypress  shingles, 
and  white-oak  staves,  aud  but  little  to  stock  raising.  From  90  to  95  per  cent,  of  the  work  stock,  oxen  excepted, 
are  imported.  Cattle,  hogs,  and  sheep  depend  almost  entirely  for  their  support  upon  such  food  as  the  range 
furnishes,  with  as  little  looking  after  as  the  first  settlers  bestowed  on  their  wild  herds.  Mills  gives  the'stock  in 
Orangeburgh  county  in  1825  as  follows :  Cattle,  25,000  ;  sheep,  10,000  ;  swine,  50,000.  In  the  census  of  18S0  there 
were  reported :  Cattle,  16,447  ;  sheep,  3,758  ;  swine,  37,150 — a  decline  in  the  total  of  over  20,000,  notwithstanding  the 
population  has  increased  from  15,503  at  that  time  to  41,395  in  18S0,  agriculture  remaining  still  their  chief  pursuit. 
Beside  clay  for  bricks  and  marl  (except  a  deposit  of  iron  ore  near  High  Hill  creek,  Orangeburgh),  no  minerals  of 
value  have  been  discovered  in  this  region.  The  Pedee  is  the  last  river  to  the  south  where  herring  are  caught  in  large 
numbers.  Shad  in  the  spring  aud  sturgeon  and  rock-fish  in  the  summer  and  autumn  ascend  all  the  rivers  in  this 
region,  except  that  shad  never  enter  the  waters  of  the  Little  Pedee,  although  they  are  clear  and  deep  like  those  of 
the  Edisto. 

Statistics. — The  upper  pine  belt  covers  about  4,030  square  miles,  and  has  a  population  of  221,409,  or  47.S  to 
the  square  mile,  bearing  in  this  regard  about  the  same  proportion  to  the  other  regions  of  the  state  that  it  did  in 
the  enumeration  of  1870.     The  percentage  of  colored  population  is  60,  against  63  in  1870. 

The  area  of  tilled  land  is  948,521  acres,  being  205  acres  to  the  square  mile,  or  nearly  one-third  of  the  entire 
surface.  This  is  an  increase  of  167,497  acres  over  the  enumeration  of  1870,  and  by  no  means  proportionate  to.  the 
increase  in  the  population  since  that  date. 

The  lands  under  cultivation  average  4.2  acres  per  capita  of  population,  and  21  acres  per  head  of  live  stocks 
Being  of  easy  tillage  it  not  infrequently  happens  that  45  acres  (exclusive  of  small-grain  acreage)  is  well  cultivated 
with  each  mule.  The  acreage  devoted  to  the  culture  of  cotton  is  358,505,  and  comprises  more  than  one-third  of  the 
tilled  lauds,  20  per  cent,  of  the  total  cotton  acreage  of  the  state,  or  9:\  of  the  area  of  the  region,  the  average  being 
1}  acres  per  capita  of  population,  or  10  acres  per  work-animal;    41S,417  acres  are  in  grain  crops  of  all  kinds, 


30  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

including  corn,  .small  grain,  and  rice ;  169,790  acres  are  in  fallow,  and  in  other  crops.  As  fallowing  is  not  regularly 
practiced  in  the  husbandry  here  pursued,  and  as  the  other  crops  include  only  sugarcane,  potatoes,  orchards  and 
gardens,  almost  exclusively  for  local  use,  and  consequently  small,  this  figure  includes  some  of  the  corn  lands  whose 
culture  has  been  so  largely  abandoned. 

The  farms  number  19,(149,  averaging  nearly  50  acres  of  tilled  land  to  the  farm,  which  is  the  largest  average  in 
the  state.  Their  relation,  however,  to  the  population  remains  about  the  same  a.s  in  the  regions  south  of  this,  viz, 
one  farm  to  12J  of  the  population  :  northward,  the  number  of  farms  increase  in  proportion  to  the  population. 

The  production  of  cotton  in  1879  was  148,050  bales  against  83,210  in  1869,  an  increase  of  70  per  cent.,  and 
comprises  2S  per  cent,  of  the  total  production  for  the  state.  The  average  yield  per  capita  is  983  pounds  of  seed- 
cotton,  the  largest,  except  in  the  comparatively  small  red-hill  region,  where  it  is  1,044  pounds.  The  yield  per  acre 
is  606  pounds  seed-cotton,  which  is  also  larger  than  elsewhere,  except  for  the  small  crop  of  the  lower  pine  belt. 
In  Marlborough  county  the  yield  per  acre  averages  828  pounds  seed-cotton,  and  the  yield  per  capita  1,608  pounds. 
This  is  the  maximum  product  in  the  state,  and  entitles  the  region  to  its  designation  as  the  central  cotton  belt  of 
Carolina. 

The  grain  crop  is  3,031,302  bushels,  an  increase  of  1,500,000  bushels  on  the  returns  of  1870.  This  includes 
corn,  small  grain,  and  rice,  and  constitutes  21  per  cent,  of  the  grain  crop  of  the  state.  The  average  is  Hi  bushels 
per  capita  of  the  population,  and  8.0  bushels  per  acre.  Allowing  80  bushels  a  year  to  the  head  of  work  stock,  the 
35,409  head  in  this  region  would  leave  less  than  800,000  bushels  for  the  population,  3J  bushels  per  capita  with 
nothing  for  the  other  live,  stock.  The  maximum  average  product  is  attained  in  Marlborough,  lnj  bushels  per  acre, 
20$  bushels  per  capita  of  population. 

The  live  stock  number  313,811,  which  is  an  average  of  1  to  every  9  acres,  10  to  each  farm.  1.4  head  to  each 
one  of  the  population,  2  to  the  bale  of  cotton,  and  1  to  every  1  1  bushels  grain  produced. 


RED-HII.JLS    REGION. 

The  very  gentle  ascent  of  the  upper  pine  belt  attains  on  its  northern  margin  an  elevation  of  from  200  to  250  feet 
above  the  sea-level,  and  an  irregular  and  interrupted  line,  of  hills  is  then  encountered.  These  hills  rise  200  or  300 
feet  above  the  plain  south  of  them,  and  this  greater  elevation  is  not  unfrequently  reached  in  traversing  a  few 
hundred  yards.  From  their  tops  extended  views  of  the  gentle  and  regular  slope  of  the  ''lower  country"  are 
exposed  to  the  south  and  east.  To  the  north  and  west  a  sort  of  tableland,  broken  on  the  streams,  si  retches  back, 
gradually  thinning  out  on  the  higher  and  more  rolling  sand-hill  region  of  the  state. 

The  general  trend  of  these  hills  corresponds  pretty  nearly  with  that  of  the  other  regions  of  the  slate,  being 
northeast  and  southwest.  Starting  above  Hamburg,  on  the  Savannah  river,  they  sweep  northward  and  eastward 
across  the  western  part  of  Aiken  and  the  northern  part  of  Barnwell  county.  Following  the  northern  line  of 
Oraugeburgh  county  they  attain  their  greatest  breadth  on  the  Santee  river  Just  below  the  junction  of  the  Congaree 
and  Wateree  rivers.  AVest  of  the  Santee  river  their  course  is  more  northerly,  and  they  form  here  thai  remarkable 
line  of  hills  traversing  Sumter  county  long  known  as  the  '•  high  hills  of  Santee". 

While  the  rejd  hills  form  a  well-marked  belt  across  the  state  below  the  sand  hills  proper,  from  the  western  part 
of  Aiken  to  the  northeastern  corner  of  Sumter  county,  they  are  not  continuous,  but  are  interrupted  at  greater  or 
less  intervals  by  the  intrusion  of  the  sand  hills  from  above.  Mills'  description  of  the  high  hills  of  Santee  gives  a 
clear  idea  of  this.     He  says: 

They  take  their  rise  about  0  miles  north  of  Nelson's  terry  (on  the  Santee  river)  and  form  that  line  body  of  "  briek  mould''  land  in 
the  Richardson  settlement.  After  continuing  about  s  miles  they  suddenly  become  sand  hills.  At  the  end  of  11  miles  they  become  red 
laud  again,  which  continues  to  Buck  creek,  above  Statcsburg  (i>  miles).  These  hills  up  to  this  point  appear  to  hang  over  the  Wateree 
swam]i ;  but  now  they  diverge  ami  turn  to  the  northeast,  with  one  ridge  in  the  middle  forming  a  backbone,  breaking  oil"  into  steep  hills 
toward  lie  Wateree  and  sloping  off  gradually  toward  Black  river.  At  Buck  creek  the  hills  again  become  sandy,  which  gradually 
increases  to  Bradford  springs  (15  or  111  miles).     A  little  above  this  place  they  join  the  sand  bills  of  the  "middle  country''. 

The  ridge  lauds  along  the  southern  line  of  Edgefield  county  have  been  included  in  this  legion;  liu  although 
they  lie  above  the  lower  outcropping  of  the  granitic  rocks  and  between  these  and  the  clay  slates  on  the  north,  they 
so  closely  resemble  the  red  lands,  here  mentioned,  in  soil,  growth,  elevation,  and  physical  features  generally,  that 
the,  same  description  will  cover  both. 

TniBEK  growth. — The  long-leaf  pine  thins  out  on  these  hills,  and  is  even  replaced  sometimes  by  short-leaf 
pine  of  large  growth.  The  characteristic  timber  growth,  however,  is  large  oak  and  hickory.  All  the  oaks  of  this 
section  attain  here  an  unusual  size,  including  the   post  ami  the  black-jack,  but  the  red  oak  surpasses  them  all, 

measuring  sometimes  as  much  as  7  feet  in  diameter,  while  trees  4  and  5  feet  through  are  not  uncommon. 

436 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


31 


Climate. — The  differences  between  the  climate  of  the  red  hills  and  of  the  region  south  of  them  is  due  almost 
entirely  to  the  difference  of  elevation.  Being  from  200  to  800  feet  higher,  they  enjoy  a  drier,  more  bracing,  aud  in 
some  regards  a  warmer  atmosphere.  While  these  heights  are  not  more  subject  to  the  severer  influence  of  storm- 
winds  than  the,  surrounding  country,  the  ordinary  movements  of  the  air  are  more  constant  and  perceptible  there 
than  elsewhere.  During  the  extreme  heats  of  summer  there  is  scarcely  a  night  when  these  hills  are  not  visited  by 
refreshing  south  winds.  In  ascending  them  in  the  cool  evenings  of  autumn,  at  a  certain  point  you  pass  suddenly 
from  a  cold  air  into  one  several  degrees  wanner,  the  difference  being  strikingly  perceptible. 

Killing  frosts  are  generally  a  week  or  two  later  in  fall,  aud  not  so  late  by  the  same  period  in  spring  as  in  the 
plain  below.  These  advantages  made  this  region  at  one  time  famous  for  its  fruits.  The  long-staple  sea-island 
cotton  has  been  tried  here  and  found  to  mature  well,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  with  the  same  nice  care  and 
attention  that  is  given  to  this  crop  on  the  sea  islands  it-  might  be  successfully  grown  here.  Such  was  Governor 
Seabrook's  opinion.  These  hills,  and  especially  the  high  hills  of  Santee,  were  formerly  much  frequented  by  planters 
from  all  parts  of  Carolina,  and  even  of  other  southern  states,  as  health  resorts  during  the  summer  months.  The 
whole  region  is  remarkably  healthy  and  free  from  epidemics  of  all  sorts.  During  the  severest  winter  of  the  last 
half  century,  the  banana  and  the  sago  palm,  standing  in  the  open  ground  aud  protected  by  only  a  few  handfuls  of 
cottonseed  around  their  roots,  though  killed  down,  preserved  sufficient  vitality  to  throw  up  vigorous  shoots  in  the 
ensuing  spring. 

Soils. — The  soils  of  this  region  are  yellowish  red  loams,  similar  in  appearance  to  the  mulatto  soils  derived  from 
the  hornblende  rocks  in  the  "  upper  country,"  but  not  so  tenacious  or  waxy.  They  become  hard  in  dry  weather, 
but  in  wet  weather,  owing  to  the  amount  of  sand  they  contain,  the  intervals  when  they  cannot  be  worked  are  short. 
Vegetable  matter  rots  rapidly  in  them,  aud  for  this  reason  long  manures  from  the  stable  and  barn-yard  are  better 
adapted  to  them  than  commercial  fertilizers,  which  latter  (especially  the  ammoniated  guano)  pay  better  on  the  sandy 
soils.  Stable  manure  is  well'retained  by  these  soils,  and  they  are  capable  of  great  improvement  by  its  use.  Worked 
without  manure  the  soils  rapidly  become  unproductive. 

The  following  analyses  of  typical  soils  in  this  region  were  made  for  the  Census  Office : 

No.  1.  Virgin  soil  of  red  lands,  from  the  table-land  on  the  place  of  J.  Peterkin,  3  miles  below  the.  junction 
of  the  Wateree  and  Congaree  rivers,  Orangeburgh  county;  taken  12  inches  deep;  timber  growth,  large  red  oak, 
hickory,  dogwood,  and  a  few  very  large  short-leaf  pines. 

No.  2.  Soil  of  the  red  lands,  near  the  above.  It  has  been  cultivated  more  than  100  years,  having  been  an  old 
Indian  field.  It  contains  375  acres,  and  in  1S79  produced  250  bales  of  cotton.  When  the  sample  of  soil  was  taken 
there  was  a  crop  on  it  estimated  at  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  the  acre.  The  field  had  only  received  cottonseed 
and  some  commercial  fertilizer  as  manure  for  a  number  of  years  previously. 

Bed  lands  soils. 


ORAKGEBURGH    COUNTY. 

Soil    cultivated 
Virgin  soil.      1      100  years  (fer- 
;      tilized). 

No.  1.                        No.  2. 

SS.  060  )                       89.  340  > 

92.  015                       !  92. 187 
3.  055  )                         2.  847  J 

(1.  115                            0.  138 

0.  050                            0.  003 

0.  002     ;                       0.  077 

Soda 

Lime  

0.  0118 
1.250 
3.979 
0.  09S 
0-047 
2.  021 

0.096 

1.559 
3.  000 
0.087 
0.038 
'       1. 608 

Water  aud  orgu  uic  matter 

Total 

100.  301 

99.  640 

1.982 
26.0C-' 

1.444 
20.  6C.° 

4«7 


32 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


The  following  analyses  have  been  taken  from  Professor  Tuomey's  report  of  the  survey  of  South  Carolina, 
published  iu  1848: 

jSTo.  18.  lied  soil  from  near  Orangeburgh  village,  about  the  line  of  junction  of  the  buhr-stone  and  Santee  marls, 
Orangeburgh  county. 

No.  19.  lied  soil  from  Lang  Syne,  near  Fort  Motte,  Orangeburgh  county. 

No.  -0.  Red  soil  from  the  high  hills  of  Santee,  neai'  Statesburg,  Sumter  county. 


ORA.NGEliUUCH  COUNTY. 

t          I. 

8UMTER  COUNTY. 

Soil.                         Soil. 

Soil. 

No.  18. 

No.  19. 

No.  28. 

66.  DO 
Trace. 

2.  00 
0.51) 

71.00 
0.50 
1.56 
1.00 

80.30 

Potash  ami  soda 

0.90 

Trace. 

3.70 

6.00 

5.00 
9.40 

7.00 
0.  44 

4.4(1 
4.10 

Total 

loo.  oo 

100.00 

100.00 

[These  two  sets  of  analyses  exhibit  wide  differences  in  the  composition  of  the  soils  of  the  region.  The 
prominence  of  lime  in  Nos.  18,  ID,  and  20  furnish  a  presumption  of  high  and  permanent  productiveness,  while  Nos. 
1  and  ii  would  appear  very  much  inferior  in  both  respects,  and  their  productiveness  is  probably  due  to  their 
subsoils.— E.  W.  H.] 

Statistics. — The  red-hills  region  contains  about  1,620  square  miles,  and  has  a  population  of  41,81(1,  being  27.0 
persons  to  the  square  mile;  50  per  cent,  are  colored.  The  area  of  tilled  land  is  234,082  acres,  being  144  acres  per 
square  mile,  or  22  per  cent,  of  the  entire  surface,  and  5  acres  per  capita  of  the  population.  The  number  of  farms  is 
4,508,  being  2.8  per  square  mile,  a  farm  to  every  10  persons,  averaging  228  acres,  50  of  which  is  under  cultivation  to 
the  farm,  the  remaining  178  acres  being  uncleared,  and  for  the  most  part  yielding  no  return  whatever.  The  crops 
are  cotton,  corn,  and  small  grain.  Cotton,  in  which  S4,939  acres  were  planted  in  1S70,  yielded  34,240  bales.  The 
average  yield  per  acre  was  192  pounds  lint,  and  per  capita  303  pounds  lint,  the  largest  yield  per  capita  of  any  region 
of  the  state.  This  is  a  little  more  than  0  per  cent,  of  the  whole  area  planted  in  cotton  in  the  state,  and  the  yield 
0.0  per  cent,  the  total  yield  of  the  state.  In  grain  of  all  kinds  114,425  acres  were  planted,  yielding  804,443  bushels,  a 
little  over  7  bushels  per  acre  and  17  bushels  per  capita  of  the  population.  This  area  is  a  little  over  0  per  cent,  of 
the  total  area  planted  in  grain  iu  the  state,  and  the  crop  is  i-fa  of  the  crop  of  the  state.  This  yield  is  wholly 
disproportionate  to  the  capabilities  of  the  soil,  which  is  particularly  adapted  to  small  grain.  Kice,  the  most  productive 
grain  crop  iu  the  state,  is  little  planted,  aud  this  in  part  accounts  for  the  falling  off;  but  lands  which  in  1825  (see 
Mills,  p.  000)  made  an  average  of  from  8  to  12  bushels,  and  when  manured  34  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre,  and  an 
average  of  from  10  to  25  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre,  and  still  more  when  sown  in  rye  and  oats,  are  far  below  their 
normal  production  when  yielding  as  above  indicated.  In  other  crops  aud  fallow  there  are  35,318  acres,  nearly  15 
per  cent,  of  the  tilled  land.  The  culture  of  much  of  this  land  is  abandoned  as  a  consequence  of  the  disaster,  incident 
to  the  late  war,  to  the  rich  planters  who  formerly  lived  here. 

The  work  stock  numbers  7,003,  not  quite  5  to  the  square  mile ;  1  to  every  30  acres  of  tilled  land,  and  I  to  every 
6  of  the  population. 

The  live  stock  is  01,509,  chiefly  hogs;  being  38  to  the  square  mile,  and  nearly  1  to  every  4  acres  of  cultivated 
laud.  The  larger  portion  of  them  are  the  property  of  persons  owning  no  land  and  planting  little  grain.  They  are 
thus  almost  wholly  dependent  for  subsistence  on  the  range,  or  on  depredations  on  the  growing  crops,  and  yield 
little  in  meat  or  manure  in  return.  It  yet  remains  to  organize  a  stock  husbandry  for  this  as  well  as  for  most 
other  sections  of  the  state. 

488 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  33 

THE    SAND-HILLS   REGION. 

The  belt  of  sand  hills  stretches  across  the  state  from  a  point  opposite  Augusta,  Georgia,  to  the  intersection  of 
the  North  Carolina  line  by  the  great  Pedee  river.  The  average  distance  of  its  lower  border  from  the  sea  is  95 
miles.  Its  length  is  155  miles;  its  width  is  variable,  the  maximum  in  Lexington  county  being  30  miles,  and  the 
average  about  20  miles.  In  the  central  part  of  the  state,  along  the  Congaree  river,  the  granite  rocks  on  which 
Columbia  stands,  outcrop  down  the  stream  until  they  touch  the  broad  flats  of  the  upper  pine  belt  that  extend  out 
from  the  eastern  bank,  so  that  at  this  point  the  sand  hills  disappear,  and  the  region  is  divided  into  an  eastern  and 
a  western  portion.  It  occupies  the  larger  portion  of  the  five  central  counties  of  the  state,  viz,  Aiken,  Lexington, 
Richland,  Kershaw,  and  Chesterfield.  Sand  hills,  similar  in  every  respect  to  the  typical  sand  hills  of  this  region, 
appear  in  restricted  localities  in  several  other  parts  of  the  state,  as  iu  Barnwell  and  Clarendon  counties,  and,  what 
is  more  remarkable,  among  the  reeky  hills  of  the  "  upper  country",  as  iu  Lancaster  and  Abbeville.  In  the  latter 
county,  near  Dorn's  gald  miue,  there  is,  for  instance,  a  tract  of  sand-hill  land  not  more  than  six  acres  in  extent, 
where  the  coarse  white  sand  supports  the  characteristic  growth  of  long-leaf  pine  and  forked-leaf  black-jack  oak, 
no  specimen  of  which  is  to  be  met  with  in  a  day's  ride  of  40  or  more  miles  in  any  direction  from  this  spot. 

Surface  features. — The  surface  features  of  the  region  are  of  a  monotony  aptly  characterized  by  the  term 
"pine  barren"  which  is  applied  to  it.  The  sand  hills  rising  from  the  Savannah  river  attain  at  the  village  of  Aiken 
an  elevation  of  600  feet  above  the  sea,  and  there  is  a  slight  incline  to  the  valley  of  the  South  Edisto  river. 
Between  the  two  Edistos  there  is  a  high  sand  ridge.  Beyond  the  North  Edisto  a  gradual  ascent  is  resumed,  until 
an  elevation  exceeding  700  feet  is  reached  in  Piatt  Springs  township,  in  eastern  Lexington.  Hence  there  is  a  rapid 
descent  of  more  than  500  feet  to  the  Congaree  river.  East  of  the  Congaree  the  rise  is  again  gradual,  and  the 
maximum  elevation  is  attained  on  the  further  border  of  Richland  county,  where  the  hills  once  more  descend  abruptly 
to  the  Wateree  river.  Beyond  this  river  there  are  no  data  as  to  levels,  except  that  on  the  water-shed  of  the  Great 
Pedee  river  there  is  evidence  that  the  surface  has  suffered  denudation  to  the  depth  of  150  feet  or  more.  This 
evidence  is  furnished  by  a  small  conical  hill,  known  as  Sugar- Loaf  mountain,  rising  in  central  Chesterfield,  150 
feet  above  the  surrounding  country.  The  hill  is  composed  of  strata  of  sand  and  kaolin,  similar  to  the  general  sand- 
hill formation,  and  has  been  preserved  from  denudation  by  blocks  of  ferruginous  sandstone  covering  its  top  and 
sides,  identical  in  character  with  the  same  sandstone  found  on  the  surface  at  many  places  among  the  sand  hills. 

As  already  stated  elsewhere,  the  long  slopes  face  southwest,  and  the  short  slopes  face  northeast,  and,  in  general, 
the  elevation  of  the  western  portion  of  the  state  is  greater  than  the  eastern.  The  spring  branches,  and  even  streams 
®f  considerable  size,  sink  into  the  sands  of  this  region  and  are  lost  or  reappear  at  distant  points  in  the  form  of  springs, 
called  "  boiling  springs",  which  issue  from  the  earth  with  considerable  force,  throwing  out  no  inconsiderable  amount 
of  fine  sand  to  be  conveyed  onward  by  the  streams.  It  is  to  the  undermining  action  thus  carried  on  by  these 
underground  drains  that  Professor  Tuomey  attributed  the  occurrence  of  numerous  circular  depressions  of  the  surface, 
met  with  on  the  elevated  flats  of  this  region  and  holding  ponds  of  water  during  a  considerable  part  of  the  year. 
Another  curious  phenomenon,  doubtless  connected  with  these  streams,  is,  that  where  wells  have  been  bored  through 
these  loose  sands,  sometimes  to  a  depth  much  exceeding  100  feet  before  reaching  water,  it  has  been  found  that  a 
current  of  air  ascends  from  the  well.  This  current  varies  in  force,  and  in  one  well  of  six-inch  bore  at  Mr.  R.  H. 
Hankinson's,  in  Afkin  county,  it  would  blow  with  such  force  for  some  hours  previous  to  a  storm,  as  to  be  heard  at  a 
distance  of  several  yards,  and  was  able  to  throw  a  felt  hat,  placed  over  the  orifice,  with  some  force  into  the  air. 
But  notwithstanding  the  great  dryness  of  these  pine  barrens,  they  are  well  watered,  being  crossed  by  seven  rivers 
of  considerable  size,  having  an  aggregate  length  of  more  than  200  miles  among  the  hills.  Of  creeks,  not  counting 
smaller  streams  and  branches,  there  is  an  aggregate  length  of  1,200  miles  capable  of  furnishing  abundant  water- 
power.  For  instance,  Horse  creek,  an  average  stream  out  of  78  of  like  character,  furnishes  in  the  single  township 
of  Gregg,  in  Aiken  county,  motive  power  for  three  large  cotton  factories,  besides  a  large  paper-mill  and  other 
mills,  aggregating  1,150  horse-power,  and  moving  10,720  spindles  without  having  its  entire  capacity  employed. 
The  waters  of  these  creeks  are  of  great  purity,  being  as  clear  and  sweet  as  the  best  spring  water.  On  the  margins 
of  these  streams  there  are  more  than  100,000  acres  of  bottom  lauds,  for  the  most  part  uncleared,  but  capable  of 
being  rendered  productive  in  the  highest  degree  by  drainage  and  irrigation. 

Timber  growth. — The  long-leaf  pine  here  attains  its  highest  perfection,  trees  6  and  7  feet  in  circumference 
being  of  not  unusual  occurrence.  The  wood  is  also  of  better  quality,  having  less  sap  and  more  heart,  the  latter  being- 
more  resinous  than  elsewhere,  and  the  names  of  creeks,  springs,  and  neighborhoods  are  often  derived  from  it,  as 
"  lightwood",  "lightwood-knot,"  referring  to  its  valuable  qualities  as  fuel.  But  even  this  tree  becomes  stunted  on 
the  higher  and  finer  sand  ridges  and  gives  its  place  to  the  New  Jersey  tea-plant  (Oeanothus  americanus),  which  alone 
covers  the  dazzling  whiteness  of  the  sand.  There  is  an  undergrowth  of  forked-leaf  black-jack  oak,  and,  wherever 
there  is  any  underlying  clay  or  suspicion  of  moisture,  of  the  round-leaf  blackjack  oak.  The  annual  fires  check 
this  growth,  which  would  otherwise  successfully  contest  the  soil  with  the  pine  and  thereby  add  largely  to  its  fertility. 
The  juniper  is  abundant  in  some  localities,  and  is  manufactured  into  buckets  and  tubs.  On  the  hillsides,  where 
there  is  an  outcropping  of  pipe  clay,  masses  of  kalmia  add  a  pleasing  variety  to  the  monotony  of  the  pine  growth. 

Climate. — The  climate  of  the  sand  hills  is  dry,  tonic,  sunny,  and  stimulating,  and  entirely  free  from  malarial 
influences.     The  region  has  long  been   a  notable  health  resort  during  winter  for  consumptives  from  nvtlieru 


34 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


latitudes,  and  during  summer  for  persons  from  the  lower  country  .seeking  fresher  and  purer  air,  free  from  every 
taint  of  malaria.  The  inhabitants  themselves  enjoy  an  unusual  degree  of  health,  and  cases  of  longevity  are  common. 
The  death  rate  is  low;  e.g.,  in  Piatt  Springs  township,  Lexington  county,  in  a  population  of  S53,  there  were  two 
deaths  in  1879,  and  in  1880,  four  deaths,  three  of  which  were  of  persons  over  eighty  years  of  age. 

The  mean  annual  temperature  is  02.50°  P.;  the  winter  mean,  48.53°  F.;  the  spring  mean,  55°  P.;  the  summer 
mean, 75°  P.;  the  autumn  mean, 71°;  but,  excluding  August  (the  hottest  month  of  the  year),  the  mean  for  autumn, 
i.  e.,  for  September  and  October,  is  CS°  F.  The  average  diurnal  range  of  temperatures  is  12.03°  F.,  and  unsurpassed 
in  point  of  equability  by  any  of  the  important  health  resorts  in  the  United  States,  except  San  Diego,  California.  Frosts 
may  be  considered  as  over  after  the  middle  of  March,  though  sometimes  a  straggling  frost  has  taken  vegetation  by 
surprise  even  as  late  as  the  20th  of  April.  The  period  of  the  year  without  frost  has  an  average  duration  of  from 
200  to  225  days,  and  even  during  mid-winter  frosts  are  not  of  frequent  occurrence. 

The  elevation,  and  the  porous  subsoil  of  land,  in  which  water  rests  only  at  a  depth  of  from  SO  to  150  feet,  renders 
this  a  remarkably  dry  climate.  Steel  instruments  may  be  exposed  for  months  without  rusting,  matches  left  open 
never  miss  tire,  moth  and  mold  are  rarely  seen,  and  the.  Cryptogamotis  plants  are  feebly  represented.  Observations 
at  Aiken  show  that  the  relative  humidity  of  the  air  is  04.04  per  cent.,  being  less  than  at  any  of  the  celebrated 
health  resorts  of  Europe,  Ilyeres  and  Cannes  excepted.  Heavy  dews  never  occur;  fogs  are  still  rarer.  The 
number  of  days  on  which  rain  falls  varies  from  20  to  45;  of  the  remainder,  from  210  to  239  are  clear,  leaving  from 
84  to  107  days  as  cloudy  or  partially  cloudy. 

Daring  sixteen  years  the  rainfall  at  Aiken  averaged  46.70  inches,  varying  from  U;J.87  to  56.49  inches.  The  average  tall  in  winter  i.s 
9.02  inches;  in  spring,  14.44  inches.  The  heaviest  monthly  rainfall  of  the  year — viz,  0.04  inches — occurs  in  April,  which  usually  lias  a 
larger  proportion  of  bright  clear  weather  than  any  "tier  period.  In  summer  the  average  rainfall  is  12.°.;!  inches;  in  the  fall,  10.711  inches. 
During  live  yrears  six  falls  of  snow  were  recorded,  but  as  a  rule  there  were  only  a  few  flakes,  that  melted  on  touching  the-  earth.  Sleet  is 
more  frequent  than  snow,  hut  disappears  on  a  few  hours'  exposure  to  the  sun. 

The  prevailing  winds  are  from  the  south  and  southwest.  The  drinking-water,  filtered  through  great  thicknesses  of  sand,  is 
transparently  clear  and  of  exceptional  purity.  The  temperature  of  wells  and  springs  varies  from  62°  to  64c  F.  (Climate  and  Topography 
of  Aiken,  E.  S.  Gaillard,  51.  D.,Eichmond,Va. ;  and  Aiken  as  a  Health  Station,  by  W.  II.  Geddings,  M.  D. ) 

It  must  be  remembered  that  this  description  applies  to  no  restricted  locality,  but  refers  to  an  area  of  more  I  lian 
2,000  square  miles,  where  the  sanitary  conditions  alluded  to  are  present  with  the  healing  and  terebinthiuate  odors  of 
the  great  pine  forest. 

Soils. — The  characteristic  ingredient  of  the  soil  of  this  region  is  the  loose  rounded  sand  which  forms  its 
chief  constituent, and  which  sometimes  reaches  to  a  depth  of  from  100  to  150  feet  without  change,  as  shown  in  wells. 
Subsoils  of  yellow  sand  are  frequently  met,  and  on  the  hillsides  there  arc  outcrops  of  clay,  white  or  mottled  and 
variegated  in  color,  the  hues  ranging  through  yellow,  buff,  red,  and  purple.  There  are  hills  of  sand  of  great  fineness 
and  exceeding  whiteness  and  purity,  but  generally  the  sand  is  coarse;  the  ridges  and  hilltops  are  very  barren. 
The  high  tlats  are  more  productive,  and  the  less  elevated  flats  are  often  quite  productive,  being  cultivated  with 
great  ease,  and  "continuing  to  produce  as  long  as  there  is  a  particle  left  of  anything  that  can  sustain  a  plant". — 
(Tuomey).  The  organic  matter  in  the  surface  soil  consists  largely  of  minute  fragments  of  charcoal,  a  residuum 
of  the  pine  straw  (leaves]  left  by  the  forest  Ores,  which  it  is  still  the  bad  practice  to  set  out  yearly,  in  order  to 
sweep  off  all  undergrowth  for  the  sake  of  the  very  scanty  pasturage  upon  which  the  stock,  ranging  at  large,  subsists. 

The  following  analyses  of  these  soils  were  made  by  Professor  C.  U.  Shepard,  sr.,  in  1S4G: 

No.  21.    Virgin  Handy  soil  from  near  Aiken,  Aiken  county. 

No.  22.  Sandy  subsoil  of  No.  21. 

No.  23.   Cultivated  sandy  soil  from  Piatt  Springs,  Lexington  county. 


Soils  of  the  sand-hills  region. 


AIKEN    COLNIV. 

1 
LEXINGTON 
COUNTY. 

Soil. 

Subsoil. 

Soil. 

No.  21. 

No.  J-'. 

No.  23. 

iDwoIiiblf  residue  and  silica, 

77.  000 
0.  050 

Trace. 
4.005 
5.000 

Trace. 
8.500 
:..  500 

81.  000 
0.400 

Trace. 
3.500 
0.500 

80.  000 
0.600 

Trace. 
3.000 
5.000 

Trace. 
C.  500 
4.300 

Alumina  

Phosphates 

9.000 

;00.  055 

100.000 

100.  000 

[These  analyses  seem  to  show  a  soil  extremely  poor  in  the  ingredients  of  plant  food,  but  redeemed  from  sterility 
by  relatively  large  supplies  of  lime  and  organic  matter.  Their  proportion  of  clay  also  seems  to  be  larger  than  is 
indicated  by  the  description,  thus  rendering  them  remarkably  retentive. — E.  W.  H.] 


400 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  35 

Since  the  introduction  of  commercial  fertilizers,  especially  the  ammo-mated  fertilizers,  good  crops  have  been 
produced  on  lands  of  this  character,  formerly  considered  of  little  value.  As  a  consequence,  some  of  these  lands 
near  the  railroad,  which  were  sold  in  185S  at  $3  an  acre,  have  recently  brought  as  much  as  830  and  even  $4(1  an 
acre.  Throughout  this  region  there  are  thousands  of  acres  of  laud  equal  aud  superior  to  these,  but  remote  from 
the  lines  of  railroad,  for  sale  at  from  $1  to  $5  an  acre.  Even  the  more  barren  soils  of  this  region  have  been  made 
to  yield  remunerative  crops  by  good  culture  and  manuring. 

On  the  apparently  barren  hilltops  of  this  vicinity  there  once  flourished  a  most  remunerative  culture  of  the 
peach.  Grapes,  tigs,  and  all  early  fruits  do  well,  and  these  are  the  soils  adapted  above  all  others  to  the  culture  of 
the  watermelon.  Many  years  ago  these  soils,  in  Lexington  and  Kershaw  counties,  were  considered  as  peculiarly 
suited  to  the  culture  of  the  castor  bean.  A  crop  of  150  gallons  of  oil  per  acre  was  obtained  with  the  crude 
processes  then  employed  for  its  extraction.  Sorghum  also  makes  a  larger  yield  of  a  better  quality  of  sirup  on 
these  lands  than  it  does  on  lands  much  more  productive  for  other  crops. 

Statistics. — The  area  of  the  sand-hill  region  is  estimated  at  2,440  square  miles.  The  population  is  28,612,  being 
12  persons  to  the  square  mile,  a  little  over  one  third  of  the  average  of  the  state,  aud  less  than  in  any  other  region. 
Fifty-nine  per  cent,  of  the  population  is  colored.  The  area  of  tilled  land  is  151,359  acres,  and  is  62  acres  to  the  square 
mile,  or  about  one-tenth  of  the  entire  surface.  This  is  considerably  below  the  average  of  the  state  and  less  than  in  any 
other  region  except  in  the  lower  pine  belt,  where  it  is  only  49  acres  per  square  mile.  But  it  is  5J  acres  per  capita 
of  the  population,  the  largest  proportion,  in  the  state;  this  is  due  to  the  small  number  of  towns  and  railroads  in 
this  region,  leaving  the  rural  population  more  exclusively  to  agricultural  pursuits. 

The  tilled  laud  is  divided  among  4,238  farms  giving  35  acres  of  tilled  laud  to  the  farm;  this  is  5  acres  less 
than  the  average  of  the  state.  The  number  of  farms  iu  proportion  to  the  population  is  greater  than  anywhere 
else,  being  a  farm  to  every  7  of  the  population.  More  farms  here  are  worked  by  their  owners  and  fewer  by  renters 
than  elsewhere  in  the  state.  Thus  in  Kershaw  and  Chesterfield  counties  CO  per  cent,  of  the  farms  in  the  sand  hills 
are  worked  by  the  owners,  while  in  the  portions  of  these  same  districts  embraced  iu  the  upper  pine  belt,  and  the 
metamorphic  region,  only  44  per  cent,  of  the  farms  are  worked  by  owners,  the  remainder  being  rented.  The 
predominance  here  of  this  independent  small  proprietary  has  exercised  an  influence  on  the  agricultural  policy  of 
the  state ;  the  long  opposition  to  any  change  in  the  onerous  fence  law  has  beeu  largely  due  to  them.  The  abundant 
timber  made  fencing  cheap,  and  the  extensive  areas  of  wood  land  offered  a  wide  range  (although  a  scanty  pasturage) 
for  the.  live  stock.  Of  the  crops  cotton  embraces  35,433  acres,  2  per  cent,  of  the  entire  surface.  The  yield  is 
15,055  bales,  tVs  bales  per  square  mile,  11  bales  less  than  the  average  of  the  state,  and  less  than  elsewhere  except 
in  the  lower  pine  belt  and  in  the  coast,  region.  The  yield  of  lint  is  about.  193  pounds  per  acre  in  cotton,  113  pounds 
above  the  average  of  the  state,  and  is  due  to  the  large  area  from  which  the  small  number  of  acres  planted  is 
selected,  rather  than  to  any  superiority  of  soil  or  culture.  The  yield  per  capita  is  only  239  pounds  of  lint ;  less 
than  elsewhere  in  the  state  north  of  the  lower  pine  belt  and  south  of  the  Piedmont  region. 

Corn  and  other  grain  crops  embrace  93.2S3  acres.  The  yield  is  920,444  bushels,  a  fraction  less  than  10  bushels 
per  acre,  but  32  bushels  per  capita  of  the  population,  nearly  double  the  average  of  the  state,  and  12  bushels  per 
capita  more  than  the  yield  in  the  next  highest — the  Piedmont — region.  This  is  another  result  of  an  independent 
small  proprietary,  and  of  a  rural  population  remote  from  the  thoroughfares  of  travel  aud  of  trade,  and  relying  on 
their  own  resources  for  subsistence.  Iu  all  other  crops  and  fallow  there  are  22,643  acres,  most  of  which  is  in 
orchards  and  gardens. 

The  number  of  work  stock  is  8,518,  being  3.5  per  square,  mile.  This  is  less  than  in  any  other  region  of  the 
state,  except  among  the  extensive  unimproved  forests  of  the  lower  pine  belt,  where  the  proportion  is  only  a  little 
more  than  half  the  above.  The.  ratio  of  work  stock  is  0.29  to  one  of  the  population.  This  is  nearly  double  the 
average  of  the  state,  and  is  owing,  partly,  to  the  larger  proportion  of  the  rural  population,  and,  consequently, 
of  fanners  employing  work  stock ;  partly  to  the  small  independent  farm  holdings,  separated  by  wide  tracts  of 
unimproved  land,  precluding  co-operation  in  the  matter  of  farm  animals;  partly  to  the  small  proportion  of  crops 
worked  by  hand — such  as  cotton  and  rice— aud  the  larger  proportion  of  land  in  corn  and  other  grain  cultivated 
chiefly  by  horse-power;  and,  also,  to  (he  greater  facility  and  cheapness  of  keeping  stock  on  home-raised  supplies 
than  on  corn  and  hay  purchased  from  the  north  and  west.  These  same  reasons  will  also  account  for  the  rather 
extravagant  use  of  work  stock,  there  being  only  17  acres  of  tilled  land  to  the  head,  which  is  7  acres  less  than  the 
average,  of  the  state,  although  the  lands  are  light  and  of  very  easy  culture. 

There  are  70,901  head  of  live  stock  of  all  kinds,  being  only  29  to  the  square  mile,  which  is  8  less  than  the 
average  for  the  state,  aud  less  than  anywhere  else  in  the.  state  except  upon  the  coast  and  in  the  lower  pine  belt, 
although  the.  farmers  of  this  region  esteem  stock-raising  as  their  most  important  pursuit.  Their  opinion  is, 
however,  justified  by  the  additional  fact  that  there  is  here  2.47  head  of  stock  to  each  one.  of  the  population,  which 
is  nearly  double  the  average  of  the  state.  This  agrees  entirely  with  the  rule  clearly  demonstrated  iu  the  tables  on 
page  44.  that  the  number  aud  value  of  livestock  increases  directly  as  the  area  of  cultivated  land  increases.  The 
conditions  of  stock-raising  have  entirely  changed  since  the  first  German  settlers  of  Saxegotha  township  (now 
Piatt  Springs,  Lexington  county)  were  "cow-pen  keepers"  here,  and  who,  as  De  B  rah  in  writes,  "determine  the 
number  of  their  flocks  by  the  number  of  calves,  which  they  mark  every  spring  and  fall.     If  one  marks  300  calves 

491 


36  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA 

per  annum  he  reckons  his  stock  to  consist  of  400  heifers,  500  cows,  and  300  steers — 1 ,500  head  in  all,  besides 
horses." — (PMlosphioo  Historico  Kydrogeography  of  South  Carolina,  1771).  Davyd  Ingram  wrote  of  these  regions, 
15GK-'G9:  "There  is  alsoe  great  plentye  of  Buffes,  beares,  horses,  Kyne,  wolves,  foxes,  deare,  goates,  sheope,  hares, 
and  conyes;  the  moste  pte  beinge  wylde,  the  Hydes  &  Skinues  of  them  are  good  mchaundize." 

What  has  been  said  in  regard  to  the  general  management  of  the  soil,  and  the  culture  of  crops,  and  the  wages  of 
labor  in  the  upper  pine  belt  applies  to  the  sand-hills  region.  The  only  noteworthy  difference  here  is  that  agriculture 
is  more  self-sustaining,  fewer  supplies  are  purchased,  the  lien  business  is  very  small,  less  land  is  rented,  and  more  of 
it  is  cultivated  by  the  proprietors  of  the  soil,  the  field  work  to  a  large  extent  being  done  by  them.  The  population 
is  simple,  frugal,  healthy,  and  industrious,  and  are  more  employed  in  small  handicraft  than  elsewhere.  The  region, 
although  crossing  the  central  portion  of  the  state,  is  not  traversed  by  any  of  the  lines  of  railway,  and  retains 
unaltered  much  of  its  primitive  customs  and  methods. 


THE  METAMORPHIC  REGION. 

The  metamorphic  region  of  South  Carolina  coincides  very  nearly  with  what  is  known  as  the  "upper  country" 
of  the  state.  It  includes  the  whole  of  the  eight  counties  of  Abbeville,  Anderson,  Newberry,  Laurens,  Union, 
Fairfield,  Chester,  and  Lancaster,  and  also  embraces  the  northern  portion  of  Edgefield  and  Lexington  and  the 
northwestern  portions  of  Richland,  Kershaw,  and  Chesterfield.  The  southern  parts  of  Oconee  and  Pickens,  and 
the  southern  and  larger  portions  of  Greenville,  Spartauburgh,  and  York  are  within  its  limits.  A  line  drawn  from 
a  point  on  the  Savannah  river,  3  miles  above  Hamburg,  to  Columbia,  and  curving  thence  northeast  to  where  the 
Great  Pedee  river  crosses  from  North  Carolina  into  South  Carolina,  defines  in  a  general  way  its  southern  border. 
Its  northern  boundary  follows  in  the  main  the  direction  of  the  Atlanta  and  Charlotte  Air-Line  railroad,  which  lies 
in  the  Piedmont  region  just  north  of  the  one  under  consideration. 

Surface  features. — The  surface  features  of  this  division  of  the  state,  however,  entitle  it  to  the  name  of  the 
Piedmont  region.  Its  rocks  are  so  similar  to  those  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  mountains,  that  though  they  have  been 
broken  down,  leveled  off,  and  worn  away  by  exposure,  during  countless  ages,  through  the  vicissitudes  of  the  seasons, 
they  are  and  always  have  been  the  foot  hills  of  the  Appalachian  range;  while  the  broken  and  mountainous  region 
to  the  north  usually  spoken  of  as  the  Piedmont  country  might  be  better  called  tire  Alpine  or  sub- Alpine  region  of 
the  state. 

The  elevation  of  31  points  in  the  metamorphic  region,  varying  from  a  minimum  of  179.5  feet  on  the  granite 
rocks  at  the  Congaree  bridge,  below  Columbia,  to  a  maximum  of  SS0  feet  at  Belton,  on  the  Greenville  railroad, 
give  a  mean  elevation  above  the  sea  of  590  feet.  The  mean  elevation  of  the  Columbia,  and  Augusta  railroad,  where 
it  passes  along  the  southern  border  of  the  region,  is  575  feet ;  that  of  the  Air-Line  railroad,  in  South  Carolina,  lying 
to  the  north  of  it,  and  almost  wholly  within  the  Piedmont  region,  is  910  feet.  Between  these  two  lines,  therefore,  a 
distance  of  some  90  miles,  there  is  a  general  rise  of  the  surface  of  335  feet,  or  less  than  4  feet  to  the  mile.  This  is 
a  gentler  slope  than  that  of  the  Tertiary  plain  or  low  country,  the  distance  from  the  sea  to  its  northern  border 
being  about  100  miles,  and  the  difference  in  elevation  something  more  than  500  feet,  or  over  5  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  face  of  the  country  presents  a  gently  undulating  plain,  which  becomes  more  rolling  as  it  approaches  the 
rivers  and  larger  streams,  and  is  finally  hilly  and  broken  above  the  bottoms  and  narrow  low  grounds,  through 
which  the  numerous  water-courses  find  their  passage. 

The  Savannah  river,  on  the  western  boundary  of  the  state,  passes  through  the  metamorphic  rocks  for  more 
than  100  miles,  and  although  it  receives  many  affluents,  and  some  of  them  quite  large,  on  its  eastern  bank,  they 
join  it  at  such  an  acute  angle  as  to  make  its  eastern  water-shed  very  narrow,  scarcely  anywhere  exceeding  20  miles- 
in  width,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  state  Lynch's  river  passes  through  this  region  for  about  12  miles,  its  western 
water-shed  not  exceeding  5  miles.  Between  these  two  narrow  water-sheds  in  the  east  and  west  there  is  an  interval 
of  about  100  miles.  The  numerous  streams  traversing  this  interval  belong  to  one  river  system,  and  unite  shortly 
after  entering  the  Tertiary  plain  to  form  the  Sautee  river,  which  has  been  called  the  river  of  South  Carolina. 

Timber  growth. — Remarkable  changes  have  occurred  in  the  timber  growth  of  the  "upper  country"  since  its 
settlement  during  the  middle  and  earlier  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  The  "  long  drawn  beautiful  valleys  and 
glorious  highlands",  spoken  of  by  Lord  Cornwallis,  were  then  interspersed  with  "forests,  prairies,  and  vast  brakes 
of  cane,  the  latter  often  stretching  in  unbroken  lines  of  evergreen  for  hundreds  of  miles". — {Logan.)  On  the  highlands 
the  oak,  hickory,  and  chestnut  were  of  large  growth,  standing  so  wide  apart  that  a  buffalo  or  a  deer  could  be  seen 
by  the  pioneer  hunters  for  a  long  distance.  There  was  no  underbrush,  and  "the  woodlands  were  carpeted  with 
grass  and  the  wild  pea- vine,  the  latter  growing  as  high  as  a  horse's  back.  The  cane  growth  was  the  standard  by 
which  the  early  settlers  estimated  the  value  of  the  land.  If  it  grew  only  to  the  height  of  a  man's  head  the  land 
>vas  esteemed  ordinary,  but  a  growth  of  20  or  30  feet  indicated  the  highest  fertility.  This  cane  growth  not  only 
filled  the  bottoms,  but  extended  up  the  slopes  to  the  tops  of  the  highest  hills.     Thus  it  was  designed  to  place  the 

402 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  37 

first  house  built  on  the  present  site  of  the  town  of  Abbeville  on  the  summit  of  the  hill,  but  afterward,  when  the  tall 
cane  that  covered  the  whole  place  was  cleared  away,  au  error  of  more  than  50  yards  was  discovered".  The  trappean 
soils  around  Ninety-six,  the  '■Hat-woods"  of  Abbeville,  the  meadow-woods  of  Union,  and  the  black-jack  lauds 
of  York  and  Chester  were  prairies  with  no  growth  of  trees,  but  covered  for  the  most  part  with  maiden  cane.  Upper 
Carolina  was  theu  not  inferior  to  any  portion  of  the  great  west  as  a  grazing  country.  Buffalo  and  deer  in  great 
numbers  roamed  through  these  luxuriant  pastures.  Henry  Foster,  a  pioneer  settler  on  the  Saluda,  in  Edgefield, 
counted  one  hundred  buffalo  grazing  at  one  time  on  a  single  acre  of  ground  in  Abbeville  county.  The  original  forest 
has  disappeared  almost  altogether,  and  has  been  replaced  by  younger  oaks  of  small  growth,  by  underbrush,  and  by 
the  loblolly  pines  of  the  abandoned  fields.  The  cane  has  gone  likewise.  The  wild  pea-vine  is  no  longer  known, 
though  since  the,  stock  has  been  penned  under  the  new  fence  law  a  plant,  supposed  to  be  this  pea-vine,  has  appeared 
in  the  open  woodlands,  with  several  grasses  not  observed  before.  The  prairies  have  become  covered  with  a 
growth  of  heavy-bodied  post  and  black -jack-oaks;  the  latter  in  turn  is  now  giving  place  to  the  cedar  in  Chester. 
The  chestnut  has  been  dying  out  for  fifty  years;  in  some  localities  where  it  once  flourished  it  has  entirely  gone,  and 
in  others  large  dead  stems  and  stumps  arc  the  only  vestige  of  this  valuable  and  stately  tree.  The  chincapin  and  the 
chestnut-oak  are  also  sickening  and  dying.  During  some,  years  past  somewhat  similar  symptoms  of  disease  have 
appeared  in  the  red  and  black  oak,  and  fears  on  their  account  have  been  entertained. 

The  distinctive  growth  of  the  region  is  the  short-leaf  pine,  with  a  large  variety  of  oaks  and  hickories.  On  the 
water-courses  willow,  beech,  birch,  black  walnut,  ash,  poplar,  and  gum  abound.  The  sycamore  sometimes  attains 
a  great  size,  one  in  York  being  28  feet  in  girth  ;  the  tulip  tree  also  is  often  very  large.  The  sugar  maple  is  found, 
and  another  maple  of  larger  growth,  and  yielding  a  superior  sugar,  as  to  both  quantity  and  quality,  is  known  in 
Lancaster  uuder  the  name  of  sugar  tree. 

Climate. — The  shorter  seasons  and  lower  temperatures  of  the  metamorphic  region,  as  compared  with  those 
lying  immediately  south  of  it,  are  but  slightly  attributable  to  differences  of  elevation  or  of  latitude,  these 
differences  being  themselves  slight.  They  result  perhaps  from  greater  nearness  to  the  mountains,  and,  as 
affecting  agriculture,  still  more  perhaps  from  the  heavier  clay  soils  and  subsoils,  which  are  more  retentive  of 
moisture,  and  are  therefore  colder  and  later  in  spring  than  the  lighter  sandy  loams  of  the  lower  country.  Cotton 
planting  is  about  ten  days  later  than  in  the  upper  pine  belt ;  cotton  also  blooms  later,  but  by  a  shorter  period, 
and  the  same  is  true  of  the  opening  and  picking  season  of  the  plant,  showing  that  with  a  later  start  it  grows 
faster,  passing  more  rapidly  through  its  various  stages  to  maturity.  Killing  frost  occurs  from  the  15th  of  October 
to  the  1st  of  December.  This  region,  however,  does  not  seem  to  be  much  affected  by  that  variability  of 
temperature  common  to  localities  in  proximity  with  mountain  ranges.  This  is  shown  by  the  singular  exemption 
of  certain  localities  here  from  the  injurious  effects  of  late  spring  frosts.  Thus  on  Rich  Hill,  a  ridge  G  miles  broad, 
between  the  Pacolett  and  Fair  Forest  rivers,  in  Pacolett  township,  Spartauburgh  couuty,  fruit  has  been  injured  by 
late  frosts  but  once  in  forty  years.  Localities  in  Union  also  enjoy  this  immunity  in  nearly  the  same  degree.  In  the 
absence  of  other  records  some  idea  of  the  temperature  may  be  formed  by  ©bservations  on  the  temperatures  of 
springs,  assuming  that  this  temperature  approximates  the  annual  mean.  Lieber  states  as  the  result  of  a  uumbei 
of  observations  that  the  springs  of  the  Piedmont  region  have  a  temperature  of  from  55°  to  58°  F.,  those  on  a  line 
passing  through  the  center  of  the  rnetamorphic  region  one  of  from  58°  to  61.5°  F.,  and  below  this  line  one  of  from 
61.5°  to  GG°  F.  The  only  accessible  records  of  rainfall  are  those  published  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  May,  1881. 
They  give  au  average  annual  rainfall  in  this  region  of  52.34  inches,  varying  from  44.05  to  GO. 12  inches.  This  gives  a 
greater  annual  rainfall  for  this  region  than  for  those  south  of  it,  and  places  it  in  this  regard  next  to  the  areas  of 
greatest  annual  precipitation  in  the  United  States.  The  spriug  rains  vary  from  12  to  15  inches,  and  in  this  regard 
it  holds  the  same  relations  as  in  the  former  to  the  regions  south  of  it  and  to  the  United  States.  The  summer  rains 
are  from  10  to  14  inches  less  than  in  the  regions  south  of  it.  aud  third  or  midway  between  the  areas  of  greatest  and 
of  least  summer  precipitation  in  the  United  States.  The  autumn  rains  are  from  8  to  10  inches,  and  in  the  counties 
east  of  Broad  river  they  are  from  10  to  12  inches,  being  about  the  same  as  in  the  regions  to  the  south,  aud  midway 
between  the  areas  of  greatest  and  least  autumn  precipitation  in  the  United  States.  The  winter  rains  are  from  10  to 
14  inches,  something  more  than  in  the  lower  country,  and  a  little  above  midway  between  the  areas  of  greatest  and  of 
least  winter  precipitation  in  the  United  States.  For  the  whole  year,  and  in  each  season  of  the  year,  the  rainfall  is 
less  than  in  the  Piedmont  or  alpine  region  north  of  it.  It  has  been  thought  that  the  synclinal  axis,  running  northeast 
near  Allston  on  the  Greenville  railroad,  has  been,  during  some  years  past,  a  line  of  demarkation  between  areas 
suffering  from  drought  to  the  south  of  it  and  those  having  seasonable  rains  to  the  north  of  it,  the  first  occupying 
surfaces  under  which  the  rocks  dip  northwest,  and  the  latter  one  under  which  they  dip  southeast. 

In  point  of  healthfnlness  this  region  leaves  little  to  be  desired.  When  first  settled  the  country  was  entirely 
free  from  all  malarial  influences.  Subsequently,  during  the  period  when  the  first  clearing  of  the  forests  was  in 
active  progress,  the  hitherto  clean  bordered  channels  of  the  streams  became  obstructed,  in  part  with  fallen  timber 
and  brush  from  the  clearings,  and  in  part  by  the  washings  of  the  hillsides.  Under  the  injudicious  use  of  the  plow 
these  washings  occurred  to  such  an  extent  as  to  alter  the  original  level  of  the  surface  and  to  pile  the  dirt  up  around 
the  trees  in  the  bottoms  until  they  were  killed.  This  was  attended  by  the  prevalence  of  malarial  fevers.  Later, 
the  uplands  having  been  cleared  and  partly  exhausted,  attention  was  directed  to  the  drainage  and  reclaiming  of 

493 


38  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

the  low  grounds  for  agricultural  purposes,  and  the  healthfulness  of  the  locality  was  restored.  1 t  has  thus  happened 
that  with  the  extension  of  the  settlements  n  belt  of  malarial  influences  has  moved  forward  with  them,  vanishing 
below  and  advancing  above  until  it  reached  the  very  mountains  before  disappearing. 

Soils. — The  area  of  land  in  the  metainorpbic  region,,  whose  culture  is  impeded  by  the  rocks  prevalent  there, 
is  comparatively  insignificant.  This  is  due  to  the  rather  remarkable  extent  and  depth  of  the  disintegration  of  these 
rocks.  It  is  a  not  uncommon  occurrence  that  wells  sunk  through  granite  to  a  depth  of  30  or  1(1  feet  require  for 
their  excavation  no  other  implement  than  a  spade.  Frequently  so  thorough  is  the  decomposition  that  the  sides  of 
railroad  cuts  and  of  mines  might  be  mistaken  for  a  heap  of  transported  materials,  did  not  the  existence  of  seams 
and  quarry  veins,  which  may  be  always  traced  on  the  fresh  surfaces,  make  it  certain  that  the  rock  had  rotted 
where  it  stood.  The  chief  impediments  to  culture  are  the  masses  of  quartz  rocks  once  forming  these  veins,  but  now 
scattered  broadcast  over  the  surface  in  consequence  of  the  rotting  and  denudation  of  the  strata  that  contained 
them.  This  is  especially  the  case  among  the  clay  slates,  and  often  the  first  indication  which  the  traveler  has  that 
he  has  entered  the  metamorphic  region  is  the  sight  of  fields  and  woods  covered  with  angular  fragments  of  these 
white  quartz  rocks.  The  inclination  of  the  country  rocks  favors  drainage  along  their  edges,  and  even  where  the 
rock  is  near  the  surface  water  seldom  collects  above  them  to  an  injurious  extent. 

<  )wing  to  the  frequent  transportation  and  intermixture  by  mud  of  the  debris  from  the  different  rocks,  the  areas 
of  the  soils  derived  from  each  can  be  characterized  with  much  less  distinctness  than  the  areas  occupied  by  the 
underlying  rocks  themselves.     Nevertheless  these  leading  varieties  of  soil  may  be  traced  with  much  clearness,  viz,  - 
the  granitic,  the  clay  slate,  and  the  trappean  soils. 

Granitic  lands. 

The  granitic  soils  occupy  by  far  the  largest  area,  as  under  this  head  is  comprised  the  soils  whose  substratum  is 
granite  and  gneiss,  and  also  those  resting  on  the  hornblende  tale  and  mica-schists.  These  soils  are  characterized  by 
two  distinct  names:  1st,  the  gray  sandy  soils;  2d,  the  red  clay  soils. 

The  gray  sandy  soils  occupy  the  ridges  and  levels,  and  have  been  formed  by  the  gradual  separation  of  the 
siliceous  and  argillaceous  materials  found  in  the  debris  of  the  decomposing  rocks  that  underlie  them.  This  ban 
been  effected  by  a  process  of  lixiviatiou,  during  which  the  rainwater,  not  running  off,  owing  to  the  level  nature  of 
the  land,  sank  directly  into  the  earth,  carrying  down  with  it  the  fiuer  particles  of  the  clay  through  the  interstices 
of  the  larger  particles  of  sand.  This  gives  a  light,  loose,  warm,  sandy  loam,  varying  in  depth  from  '■<  to  18  inches, 
and  fine  or  coarse  according  to  the  grain  of  the  rock  from  which  it  is  derived.  The  subsoil  is  red  or  yellow  clay. 
Such  soils  are  of  easy  culture,  respond  readily  to  the  use  of  commercial  fertilizers,  and  are  well  adapted  for  cotton;. 
For  these  reasons  they  are  much  more  highly  esteemed  now  than  formerly.  The  following  analyses  of  them  arc 
taken  from  Tuomey's  report : 

No.  2±.  Gray  sandy  soil  from  hills  near  Grindall  shoals,  Pinkney  township,  Union  county. 

No.  25.   Gray  sandy  soil  from  Saluda,  near  Mely's  ferry,  Waterloo  township,  Laurens  county. 

No.  20.  Gray  sandy  soil  from  Tumbling  shoals,  Sullivan  township,  Laurens  county. 

No.  27.  Gray  sandy  soil,  on  Saluda,  Donaldsville  township,  Abbeville  county. 

Gray  sandy  granitic  lands. 


union  COUNTY. 

LAUBESB 

COUNTT. 

AUHEVILLE 
COUNTY. 

Soil. 

Soil. 

Soil. 

Soil. 

No.  21. 

No.  25. 

No.  20. 

NO.  27. 

84.30 
II.  50 
U.  50 
0.40 
2.00 
5.  SO 
3.02 
2.  88 

80.00 
0.60 

80.00 
0.50 
0.02 

1.  00 
3.00 
T.JO 
2  00 
5.  40 

4.00 
TOO 
3.00 
5.48 

loll.  0" 

5.40 

Water  noil  loss 

7.05 

Total 

100.  00" 

100.  00 

100.  00 

The  red  clay  loams  are  the  prevailing  soils  of  the  hilly  and  broken  country,  and  occupy  slopes  of  greater 
or  less  declivity.  The  washing  of  these  hills  is  not  so  destructive  of  their  fertility  as  it  would  have  been  if  the 
soil  were  not  formed  from  rucks  rotting  in  situ,  thus  including  at  every  depth  all  the  varied  elements  of  the  parent 
rocks.  Thus  it  happens  here  that  the  earth  from  the  bottom  of  deep  wells,  usually  barren  elsewhere,  has  been 
found,  when  spread  over  the  surface,  to  increase  notably  the  fertility  of  fields.  Gullied  spots  deprived  of  all  humus 
■104 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


39 


and  every  trace  of  organic  matter  are,  of  course,  barren  for  a  time,  but  even  their  nakedness  is  soon  covered  by  the 
okf-lleld  pine  and  their  thriftiness  is  restored.  As  might  be  expected,  with  the  clearing  of  the  lands  and  the 
washing  down  of  the  ridges,  the  amount  of  gray  lands  is  diminishing  and  the  amount  of  red  lands  is  increasing. 
Tuomey  gives  the  following  analyses  of  these  soils  in  his  report : 

No.  20.  Red-clay  soil  from  Liberty  Hill,  Kershaw  county. 

No.  30.  Red-clay  soil  from  Yorkville,  York  county. 

No.  31.  Red-clay  soil  from  North  of  Pendleton,  Anderson  county. 

Red-clay  lands. 


KERSHAW 
COUNTY. 

YORK   COUNTY. 

ANDERSON 
COUNTY. 

Soil. 

Soil. 

Soil. 

No.  29. 

No.  30. 

No.  31. 

74.00 

Trace. 

1.00 

0.40 

3.50 

10.00 
2.18 
8.92 

71.60 
0.06 
1.40 
0.50 
3.70 
9.40 
4.50 
8.81 

70.00 
0.60 
0.90 
1.00 
2.40 

10.00 
8.00 
7.10 

Organic  matter 

100.  00 

100.  00 

100.  00 

The  following  analyses  are  of  a  soil  and  a  subsoil  of  the  same  character,  from  near  Spartanburgh,  Spartanburgh 
county.    They  were  collected  by  Professor  W.  O.  Kerr,  of  North  Carolina,  and  analyzed  for  the  Census  Office. 

No.  10.  Yellowish  red  soil,  taken  5  inches  deep ;  timber  growth,  post,  white,  and  black  oaks,  short-leaf  pine, 
and  hickory. 

No.  11.  Red-clay  subsoil,  taken  from  5  to  20  inches. 


Red-clay  lands  of  Spartanburgh. 


Soil. 

Subsoil. 

No.  10. 

No.  11. 

77.  800  ) 

f  79.  650 
1.  790  i 

0.092 

0.041 

0.036 

0.070 

0.056 

5.646 

7.  538 

0.082 

0.058 

6.167 

43.740  i 

[  49.  610 
5.  870  ! 

0.214 

0.087 

0.003 

0.  212 

0.010 

11.700 

26.  536 

0.134 

0.009 

11.  660 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  acid  

99.  436 

100. 175 

Hygroscopic  moisture 

4.685 

21.8  C.° 

11.210     j 
21.  8C.° 

[The  wide  discrepancies  between  the  older  and  later  analyses,  here  given,  leaves  their  general  character 
somewhat  in  doubt.  While  the  former  are  indefinite  as  regards  the  important  elements,  potash  and  phosphoric 
acid,  they  show  a  very  high  lime  percentage,  always  indicative  of  great  thriftiness  in  granitic  soils.  In  this  respect 
the  North  Carolina  soil  shows  the  exact  reverse,  viz,  a  deficiency  of  lime  with  fair  percentages  of  potash  and 
phosphoric  acid  in  the  subsoil,  which  would  seem  to  indicate  a  rather  unthrifty  soil.  The  extraordinary  amounts  of 
iron  and  alumina  dissolved  in  this  subsoil  render  it  worthy  of  further  investigation  as  to  the  form  in  which  the 
alumina  exists. — E.  W.  H.] 

The  liornhlendic  soils  are  a  variety  of  these  red  clay  soils  derived  from  granite  and  gneiss  rock  traversed  by 
seams  of  hornblende.     They  are  dark  in  color  and  of  a  more  brilliant  red.     They  occur  in  Edgefield,  about  Horns 

406 


40 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


creek,  and  most  extensively  in  Newberry,  especially  between  the  court-bouse  and  Asheford's  terry,  extending  thence 
into  Fairfield.  They  form  excellent  cotton  lands,  and  are  well  suited  to  the  culture  of  all  the  grains.  The  following 
analyses  of  them  are  from  Tnomey's  Geological  Report : 

No.  32.  Red  sail  from  hornblende  rock,  Newberry  county. 

No.  33.  Red  soil  from  hornblende  rocks,  Monticello,  Fairfield  county. 

lied  honiblendic  lands. 


NEWBERRY  COl  vrv* 

FAinFIELD  COUNTr. 

Soil. 

Soil. 

No.  32. 

No.  33. 

79.30 
0.00 
0  04 

80.00 
0.  30 
1.00 
0.00 
2.  30 
C.  30 
Trace. 
7.00 
3.70 

1.75 
:..  20 

( Irganic  matter 

0.20 
7.  47. 

lini.OO 

100.00 

[The  soil  from  Newberry  county  is  probably  very  similar  to  soil  No.  10  from  North  Carolina,  in  the  preceding 
table,  making  allowance  for  the  failure  to  determine  the  phosphoric  acid  in  the  older  analysis.  The  Fairfield 
county  soil,  on  the  other  hand,  agrees  more  nearly  with  Nos.  29  to  31  in  the  large  lime  percentage. — E.  W.  II.] 

The  mica  slates,  where  underlaid  by,  or  alternate  with  gneiss,  as  in  Abbeville,  give  rise  to  good  soils.  In  most 
places,  however,  the  slate  contains  lenticular  quartz  grains  coated  with  mica,  which  being  indestructible,  occupy  the 
surface  as  the  rook  disintegrates  and  give  rise  to  poor  soils. 

Olay  slate  lands. 

The  sand  of  the  talcose  slate  is  '-exceedingly  tine  and  packs  very  closely".  SaysLieber,  in  speaking  of  cleaning 
out  a  spring,  "at  a  depth  of  0  inches  below  the  bed  of  the  stream  the  sand  was  as  dry  as  ashes,  showing  that  the 
water  had  never  penetrated  to  that  depth,  affording  an  explanation  of  the  serious  effects  produced  by  drought  in 
these  parts." 

Olay  slates  underlie  a  soil  that  is  characterized  as  a  cold  gray  soil,  varying  in  color  from  gray  to  yellow  ami 
brown ;  the  subsoil  is  for  the  most  part  of  yellow  clay,  but  sometimes  it  is  reddish.  These  soils  are  better  adapted 
for  small  grain,  and  more  especially  for  oats  than  for  cotton.  They  cover  an  extensive  area  in  Edgefield  county 
and  reach  along  the.  uothern  border  of  the  Tertiary,  thence  to  Chesterfield.  The  clay  slate  soils  in  the  last  named 
county  contain  less  silica  than  those  of  Edgefield;  instead  of  being  gray  they  are  reddish,  and  are  altogether  better 
soils.     The  following  analyses  are  given  in  Tuomey's  report  : 

No.  34.  Soil  from  Stevens  creek,  Edgefield  county. 

No.  35.  Foil  from  near  the  Saluda,  Lexington  county. 

No.  30.  Sail  from  north  of  Columbia,  Richland  county. 


Noils/row  clay  slates. 


496 


ED  LIE  FIE  1,1)                  LEXINGTON                    UICHLANT) 
COUNTV.                        COUNTY.                        COUNTY. 

Soil. 

Soil.                        Soil. 

"No.  34. 

3fn.  35.                      No.  36. 

so,  7L' 
Truce. 
Tram 

0,  ii.-, 

1.  GO 

70.30                       80.30 
0.  40                              0.  30 
1.00                              0.50 

o.  50                   Trace. 

2.  00                              2.  40 
10.  40                              0.  00 
0.  70                              5.  00 
2.70                              1.00 

100.00                          100. 00 

Organic  matter  

,33 
100.00 

Total 

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


41 


Trappean  lands. 

The  trappean  soils  overlie  extensive  dikes  of  inelaphyre  and  aphanitie  porphyry  traversing  York  and 
Chester  counties  in  a  northeasterly  direction,  coinciding  very  nearly  with  that  of  the  Charlotte  and  Columbia 
railroad.  They  give  rise  to  a  distinctly-marked  body  of  lands  known  as  the  ''rolling  black-jack  lands"  and  as 
"black-jack  flats".  The  latter  are  the  most  extensive  and  better  defined  in  their  characters.  The  lands  are  level 
the  streams  slow  and  tortuous,  with  low  banks,  notwithstanding  that  the  general  elevation  is  little  less  than  that 
of  the  surrounding  country.  The  soil  is  of  a  rich  dark-brown  chocolate  color,  sometimes  jet  black ;  the  subsoil,  a 
yellow  waxy  clay,  exceedingly  tenacious,  and  where  the  rocks  are  not  thoroughly  decomposed  it  assumes  an 
olive-green  color.  Beneath  it  the  decomposed,  and  lower  down  the  undecomposed  rock  is  found,  called  here  "iron 
rock"  or  "nigger  head".  The  level  configuration  of  the  surface  and  the  impervious  nature  of  the  subsoil  interfere 
naturally  with  drainage,  an  interference,  however,  not  at  all  beyond  the  remedy  of  art,  as  the  fall  is  ample  for 
properly  constructed  drains  and  outlets.  But  for  this  reason  little  attention  has  been  bestowed  upon  these  lands, 
which,  from  their  general  appearance  and  from  the  chemical  analysis,  would  be  ranked  as  among  the  very  best  in 
the  state.  Corn  and  cotton  planted  in  them  turns  yellow — "parches,"  as  it  is  termed.  When,  however,  thorough 
drainage  has  been  effected,  and  stable  manure  used,  they  have  proved  very  productive  and  enduring.  Such 
treatment  is  exceedingly  circumscribed,  the  demand  of  the  present  system  of  agriculture  being  for  light  lands  of 
easy  tillage,  whose  defects  of  constitution  may  be  at  once  supplied  by  the  purchase  of  chemical  fertilizers  for  the 
exigencies  of  the  growing  crop  with  no  view  to  permanent  improvement.  The  "rolling  black-jack  lands",  as 
might  be  inferred  from  their  name,  have  a  better  natural  drainage,  and  have  long  been  highly  prized  for  their 
productiveness.     The  foNowing  analyses  of  these  soils  have  been  made  for  the  Census  Office. 

No.  4.  Soil  from  an  inclosed  black-jack  flat,  a  short  distance  east  of  Chester  Court-House,  Chester  county,  and 
considered  worthless;  timber  growth,  forked-leaf  black-jack  and  short -leaf  pine;  taken  12  inches  deep. 

No.  5.  Soil  from  a  cultivated  field  of  J.  B.  Stokes,  southeast  of  Chester  Court-House,  Chester  county.     The  land 
is  rolling,  and  had  on  it  a  crop  of  about  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre. 

Lands  of  blackjack  flats  (over  trappean  rocks),  Chester  county. 


Virgin  soil. 

Cultivated  soil. 

No.  4. 

No.  5. 

80.  340  ;                 |     83. 145  > 
„  ,,.  (89.454           „  .„_  f  86.  730 

0.135 
8.070 

0.126 
8.060 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese 

0.210 
1.895 
4.622 
8.079 
9.150 
2.068 

0.185 
3.774 
4.045 
0.106 
0.170 
4.185 

Phosphoric  acid 

Total 

99.  341 

100  021 

3. 967     '                     8.  392 

[While  the  percentages  of  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  in  these  soils  are  not  high,  the  presence  of  a  relatively 
large  amount  of  lime  and,  in  No.  5  especially,  of  organic  matter  would  render  them  fairly  productive  under  good 
tillage  and  drainage,  but  probably  potash  would  soon  have  to  be  supplied.  The  analyses  do  not  seem  to  indicate  a 
very  large  percentage  of  clay  in  these  soils,  and  it  is  probable  that  marling  or  liming  would  promptly  improve  their 
tilling  qualities. — E.  W.  II.] 

The  dioritic  and  feldsitic  porphyries  of  Abbeville  county  produce  a  soil  known  as  the  "flatwoods",  and  are 
found  in  the  townships  of  Calhoun's  Mills,  Magnolia,  Abbeville,  Ninety-six,  and  Smithville.  They  are  said  to  have 
a  warm  deep  brown  color,  and  are  very  uniform  in  character.  Formerly  when  more  capital  and  skill  were  employed 
in  agriculture,  these  lands  were  very  highly  esteemed,  but  since  a  cheap  and  easy,  not  to  say  thriftless,  culture 
has  superseded  other  husbandry  they  are  neglected.  Mr.  Tuomey  gives  the  following  analyses  of  these  soils  in  his 
survey  report : 

No.  37.  Soil  from  a  well-cultivated  place  north  of  Calhoun's  Mills,  Abbeville  county. 

No.  38.  Soil  from  a  cultivated  field  near  Ninety-six,  Abbeville  county. 

No.  39.  Soil  from  abandoned  lands  in  the  meadow  woods  of  Union  county. 

$2,  c  p— vol.  n  497 


42 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


Cultivated  lands  of  the  Hatiroexh. 


ABBEVILLE  COUNTY. 

UNION  COUNTY. 

Cultivated  Boil. 

Abandoned  land. 

No.  37.                     No.  38. 

No.  39. 

1 
52.  00     i                     48.  30 

0.  40     !                       0.  90 

2.  50                             4.  00 

53.00 
Trace. 
1.80 
0.50 
14.10 
19.30 

0.  00     '                         8.  40 
22.  10                            19,  30 

9.  20     ,                       10.  03 

4.M                           8. 89 

3.40 
7.90 

109.  00     1                   100.  00 

100.  00 

[These  soils  differ  strikingly  from  those  of  the  preceding  table,  both  in  the  large  percentages  of  alkalies  and 
lime  and  in  the  extraordinary  amounts  of  alumina  dissolved  in  analysis.  Coupled  with  the  large  amount  of  organic 
matter,  these  characters  constitute  them  a  strict  analogue  of  the  prairies  of  the  west.  The  deficiency  in  phosphates 
is  probably  only  apparent  and  due  to  imperfect  methods  of  determination.  The  high  iron  percentage  would  tend 
to  render  these  soils  very  unsafe  if  not  well  drained,  an  improvement  of  which  their  durability  would  seem  to  render 
them  well  worthy.  Deep  and  thorough  tillage  are  pre-eminently  necessary  to  render  their  cultivation  profitable. 
The  apparent  increase  in  iron  in  the  abandoned  land  is  probably  due  to  the  removal  of  the  surface  soil,  the  sample 
representing  a  more  highly  ferruginous  subsoil. — E.  W.  II.] 

These  analyses  are  indicative  of  the  chemical  changes  that  affect  the  productiveness  of  these  soils.  The 
abandoned  field  in  Onion  shows  a  great  falling  off  in  organic  matter,  lime,  and  potash,  due  to  insufficient  drainage 
and  a  shal.ow  culture. 

The  large  amount  of  lime  in  all  these  trappean  soils  will  be.  noted  ;  it  has  induced  some  writers  to  classify  them 
as  calcareous  soils,  and  adapts  them  peculiarly  for  the  growth  of  pea-vines  and  clover,  which  thrive  almost 
spontaneously  upon  them. 

In  addition  to  the  soils  above  mentioned  there  is  a  large  amount  of  bottom  lands  scattered  along  the  numerous 
rivers,  creeks,  and  branches  that  everywhere  traverse  this  well-watered  region.  Though  rarely  of  any  great  width, 
they  are  for  the  most  part  of  great  fertility  and  are  highly  valued.  In  some  sections  these  lands  have  brought  as 
high  as  $100  an  acre,  the  adjacent  ridge  lands  being  thrown  in  at  a  nominal  price,  just  as  the  pine  barrens  are  in 
the  sales  of  the  low  country  rice  lands. 

Productions. — The  skins  and  furs  of  wild  animals  were  the  earliest  productions  which  the  upper  country 
gave  to  commerce.  About  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  "cow-pen  keepers"  and  the  "cow-drivers", 
led  thither  by  the  representations  of  the  trappers,  hunters,  and  Indian  traders,  built  their  cabins  among  these 
pastures  and  made  large  inclosures,  into  which  their  numerous  herds  were  driven  for  marking,  handling,  etc.  The 
business  was  a  large  one,  and  numbers  of  neat-cattle  were  driven  annually  to  the  markets  of  Charleston, 
Philadelphia,  and  New  York.  Horse- raising  also  was  largely  engaged  in,  and  so  highly  were  the  qualities  of  the 
Carolina  horse  of  that  early  day  esteemed  that  a  statute  of  the  provincial  legislature  forbids  the  introduction  of 
the  inferior  horses  of  Virginia  and  of  other  northern  plantations.  Around  the  "  cow-pens"  of  the  stock-drivers  the 
first  agricultural  settlers  appeared.  Their  crops  of  wheat  and  Indian  corn  formed  for  many  years  a  considerable 
item  of  export  from  the  province.  Hemp  was  largely  cultivated,  particularly  between  the  Broad  and  the  Saluda 
rivers,  and  De  Brahm  says  it  was  the  finest  and  most  durable  grown  anywhere  in  the  world  for  the  cordage  of 
vessels.  The  culture  of  tobacco  was  engaged  in,  but  was  restricted  by  the  difficulty  of  bringing  so  bulky  an 
article  to  market  in  the  then  condition  of  the  country  roads.  It  was  packed  in  casks,  trunnions  fastened  to  each 
head,  shafts  attached,  and  drawn  as  a  large  roller  by  a  horse  several  days'  journey  to  market.  Silk  was  grown 
and  the  vine  successfully  cultivated  by  the  early  settlers  of  ISTew  Bordeaux,  in  Abbeville  district.  It  is  noteworthy 
that  within  the  last  few  years,  since  the  French  vineyards  have  suffered  from  the  phylloxera,  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  cuttings  of  the  Warren  grape,  native  here,  besides  the  scuppernong  roots,  have  been  ordered  by  gi ape-growers 
in  France,  and  being  planted  there  they  have  yielded  a  wine  of  excellent  quality. 

The  lauds  produce  fine  crops  of  hay,  nearly  three  tons  of  clover  per  acre  or  the  same  of  Bermuda  grass  having 
been  cut  in  one  season.  Takiug  the  value  of  the  lands  into  consideration,  it  is  claimed  that  forage  can  be  obtaiued 
here  more  cheaply  than  in  the  famous  blue  grass  region  of  Kentucky.  The  cost  of  German  millet  is  placed  at  80 
per  ton.  Lucerne  has  long  been  established  in  this  town,  and  there  are  stools  of  this  valuable  forage  plant  known 
to  bo  fifty  years  old  still  in  regions.  In  the  same  town  one  planter  sowed  in  lucerne,  in  1S74,  a  half  acre  of  red 
laud,  an  old  worn-out  field  infested  with  nut  grass.  In  1S75  he  got  one  cutting,  and  from  that  date  to  1880  from  4 
to  10  cuttings  each  year.  The  ten  cuttings  were  obtaiued  in  ISTiS.  The'lucerne  averaged  'J&  feet  in  height  at  every 
498 


PHYSICO-GEOQRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  43 

cutting,  making  a  total  growth  for  the  season  of  25  feet.  By  actual  weighing  each  cutting  averaged  4,1S9  pounds 
from  this  one-half  acre,  which  was  also  carefully  measured,  giving  a  total  of  204  tons,  or  at  the  rate  of  41  tons  per 
acre.  Since  the  invention  of  the  cotton-gin  the  culture  of  cotton  has  so  superseded  all  other  agricultural  pursuits 
that  it  might  well  be  thought  that  nothing  else  could  be  grown  here.  Cotton  planting  has  become  so  easy  and 
simple,  it  requires  so  little  individual  thought  and  effort,  the  money  returns  are  so  certain  and  direct,  or  the  crop 
may  be  so  cheaply  stored  and  preserved  from  injury  for  such  an  indefinite  time,  every  business,  trade,  and  industry 
accessory  to  the  work  of  the  farmer,  from  bankers  and  railroads  to  implement  and  fertilizer  manufactures,  have 
become  so  thoroughly  systematized  and  organized  in  unison  with  this  pursuit  that  any  change  is  difficult,  and, 
as  a  consequence,  the  other  manifold  resources  of  the  country  are  neglected  and  undeveloped. 

Statistics. — The  metamorphie  region  embraces  about  11,320  square  miles,  or  over  one-third  of  the  entire 
state.  The  population  numbers  305,043,  the  increase  since  the  census  of  1870  being  30  per  cent.  The  density  of 
population  per  square  mile  varies  from  28  to  31  persons  in  Lancaster  and  Fairfield,  and  from  45  to  54  in  Laurens  and 
Greenville,  the  average  being  31.4  per  square  mile,  which  makes  it  the  most  thickly  peopled  portion  of  the  state, 
except  the  sea  islands,  which  have  39.4  persons  to  the  square  mile.  The  percentage  of  colored  population  varies 
greatly  in  the  different  counties,  being  as  high  as  70  in  Fairfield  and  as  low  as  34  in  Spartanburgh ;  the  average 
is  57  per  cent.  Of  the  7,244,800  acres  of  land  in  this  region  50  per  cent,  is  in  woodlands,  22  per  cent,  is  in  old 
fields,  and  28  per  cent,  is  tilled. 

Farm-holdings. — There  are  38,501  farms.  This  is  an  increase  of  at  least  80  per  cent,  since  1870  and  of  180  per 
cent,  since  18G0,  while  the  increase  in  the  decade  preceding  that,  a  time  of  much  prosperity,  did  not  much  exceed 
1  per  cent.  Fifty-six  per  cent,  of  the  farms  are  worked  by  renters  and  44  per  cent,  by  owners.  This  is  nearly  6 
per  cent,  more  of  farms  rented  than  in  the  state  at  large,  or  10  per  cent,  more  than  in  the  other  parts  of  the  state. 
The  maximum  number  of  farms  rented  is  67  per  cent,  in  Fairfield  and  the  minimum  is  42  per  cent,  in  Laurens. 
Forty-five  per  cent,  of  the  farms  are  under  50  acres,  but  71  per  cent,  of  the  rented  farms  are  under  50  acres,  while 
only  13  per  cent,  of  those  worked  by  owners  are  under  50  acres.  Tlfe  farms  under  50  acres  worked  by  owners 
constitute  only  G  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of  farms  in  this  region;  thus,  notwithstanding  the  great  subdivision 
of  farm-holding  that  has  been  and  still  is  taking  place,  it  cannot  be  said  that  land  is  here  in  the  hands  of  a  small 
proprietary,  as  it  is  on  some  of  the  sea  islands. 

Tilted  land. — The  tilled  land  is  1,801,902  acres,  an  increase  of  51  per  cent,  since  1870.  This  gives  an  average  of 
4.7  acres  per  capita,  or  nearly  one  acre  above  the  average  lor  the  state  and  one-half  more  than  in  1870.  Of  it  48 
per  cent,  is  in  grain  of  all  kinds,  40  per  cent,  is  in  cotton,  and  12  per  cent,  is  in  other  crops,  gardens,  orchards, 
fallows,  etc.  The  proportion  in  cotton  varies  from  a  maximum  of  50  per  cent,  in  Laurens  and  Union  to  a  minimum 
of  30  per  cent,  in  Lancaster. 

Crops. — Cotton. — The  production  of  cotton  in  1879  was  274,318  bales  'against  93,494  in  1870,  an  increase  of 
193  per  cent.,  or  more  than  six  times  as  great  as  that  of  the  population  within  the  same  period.  It  constitutes  53  per 
cent,  of  the  cotton  crop  of  the  state,  or  a  little  more  than  one-third  of  its  area.  The  average  number  of  bales  per 
square  mile  is  24,  and  varies  from  21  bales  in  Lancaster  to  39  in  Newberry  county.  In  many  of  the  townships  the 
number  of  bales  grown  per  square  mile  is  much  greater.  In  Fairfield  county,  township  No.  3  produces  40  bales  per 
square  mile;  in  Newberry  county,  Floyd's  township  produces 47;  in  Chester  county,  Chester  township  produces  59; 
in  York  county,  Fort  Mill  township  produces  84.  These  facts  indicate  that  the  establishment  of  enlarged  and 
improved  gin  houses  for  the  better  preparation  of  the  staple  is  practicable  in  many  places  now,  as  they  show  that  the 
main  obstacle  in  the  way  of  such  establishment,  the  distance  over  which  a  sufficient  quantity  of  seed-cotton  would 
have  to  be  hauled,  is  greatly  lessening.  The  yield  of  lint  cotton  per  acre  varies  from  200  pounds  in  Newberry 
to  152  pounds  in  Abbeville  county,  the  average  for  the  region  being  100  pounds  of  lint  per  acre,  which  gives 
it  rank  as  fifth  in  the  state  in  point  of  production  per  acre.  The  yield  of  lint  cotton  per  capita  of  population 
varies  from  440  pounds  in  Fairfield  to  210  pounds  in  Greenville;  the  average  is  31G  pounds,  being  less  than  in  the 
red-hills  region  but  more  than  it  is  elsewhere  in  the  state. 

Grain  crop. — The  grain  crop  is  7,731,52S  bushels,  an  increase  of  139  per  cent,  on  the  crop  of  1870.  The  average 
yield  for  the  whole  region  is  9  bushels  per  acre,  and  it  varies  from  a  maximum  average  of  13  bushels  per  acre  in 
York  to  a  minimum  of  8  bushels  in  Laurens  county,  these  variations  depending  more  on  the  amount  of  attention 
bestowed  on  this  class  of  crops  than  on  differences  in  the  productive  capacity  of  the  soil.  The  yield  per  capita  of  the 
population  is  19  bushels,  which  is  4  bushels  more  than  in  1870.  If  this  were  all  corn  or  its  equivalent,  and  were  fed 
to  the.  population  at  the  rate  of  10  bushels  per  capita  yearly,  and  the  work  stock  at  the  rate  of  70  bushels  a  head,  it 
would  leave,  counting  nothing  for  the  supply  of  other  live  stock,  a  deficiency  of  1,091,000  bushels,  or  about  14  per 
cent.  Estimated  in  the  same  manner,  this  deficiency  was  31  percent,  in  1870.  Compared  with  the  other  regions  of 
the  state,  the  yield  per  capita  is  below  that  of  the  sand  hills,  which  is  32  bushels,  and  that  of  the  Piedmont  region, 
which  is  20  bushels,  but  above  that  of  each  of  the  four  others. 

Work  stock. — The  work  stock  is  one  to  every  27  acres  of  tilled  laud,  the  average  for  the  whole  state  being  1  to 
25.  More  land  is  tilled  here  to  the  head  of  work  stock  than  elsewhere  in  the  state,  except  in  the  red-hill  region.  As 
the  lands  themselves  are  not  lighter  or  of  easier  tillage,  this  is  chiefly  due  to  a  more  economical  use  of  this  power. 

The  live  stock  number  473, 180.  This  gives  42  to  the  square  mile  against  an  average  for  the  state  of  36.  Although 
this  region  ranks  third  in  its  proportion  of  live  stock  to  area,  it  was  here  that  the  first  movements  in  favor  of  the 

409 


44 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


law  requiring  the  inclosing  of  stock  took  place.  It  is  also  noteworthy  that  the  counties  here  in  which  the  inclosure 
of  stock  has  been  enforced  by  law  for  a  few  years  support  50  head  of  live  stock  to  the  square  mile,  while  the  four 
counties  in  which  the  stock  have  enjoyed  the  freedom  of  ranging  wherever  they  could  support  only  30  head  to  the 
square  mile. 

Farm  values  ami  productions. — The  total  of  values  invested  in  farms  in  this  region  (obtained  as  the  sum  of  the 
values  entered  in  the  Tenth  United  States  Census  for  lands  and  improvements,  for  farm  implements  and  machinery, 
and  for  live  stock),  amounts  to  $3(1,000,000,  which  does  not  differ  very  widely  from  the  valuation  of  the  same 
property  on  the  tax  leturns  of  these  counties.  The  value  of  farm  productions  annually  is  $19,250,000,  or  40  per 
cent,  on  the  above,  investment.  This  percentage  varies  in  the  different  counties  from  30  per  cent,  in  Greenville  to  71 
per  cent,  in  Laurens.  It  may  not  be  possible  to  ascertain,  even  approximately,  how  the  profits  of  this  production 
are.  distributed,  how  much  of  it  rests  with  the  farmer  and  laborer,  and  how  much  goes  to  merchants,  bankers,  and 
railroads.  Nevertheless,  whoever  gets  the  net  profits,  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  these  values  represent  in  a  general 
way  the  productiveness  of  agriculture  in  this  region,  (a)  Here  are  twelve  adjacent  counties,  between  whose  soil, 
climate,  population,  social,  political,  and  industrial  system  there  is  very  great  similarity.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are 
very  wide  variations  among  these  same  counties  on  four  points  frequently  and  earnestly  discussed  as  affecting 
fundamentally  southern  agriculture.     These  are — 

1.  The  ratio  between  the  area  planted  in  cotton  and  that  planted  in  other  crops. 

2.  The  ratio  of  large  and  small  farm-holdings. 

3.  The  proportion  of  farms  rented  to  those  worked  by  their  owners. 

4.  The  proportion  of  the  white  to  the  colored  population. 

The  following  table  will  show  the  relations  of  these  couuties  in  these  four  respects  to  the  percentage  of  farm 
production  on  farm  values  in  each: 


Names  of  COUDtiel 


Percentile'-  of 

tilled    land 

in  cotton. 


Newberry  ... 

Lancaster 

York 

Lumens 

Spartnnburgh 
Edgefield  .... 

Chester 

Greenville 

Union 

Fairfield    .... 

Anderson 

Abbeville.... 


45 
31 
37 
50 
41 
40 
44 
35 
50 
40 
38 


Percentage  of 
farms  of  50 

acres  and  over. 


P_,„ e     Pereentace  of 
erccntace  ot  ,  _  *-, 

farms  rented.      ,«£&* 


Percentage  of 

value  of 
farm  produc- 
tions on  farm 
values. 


47 
57 
47 
46 
45 


56 
56 
45 


60 
53 


52 
54 
60 
34 
65 
68 
38 
56 
75 
44 
68 


40 
60 
46 
57 
41 
49 
54 
38 
50 


Considered  wholly  within  the  limits  of  the  above  data,  and  bearing  in  mind  that  they  can  give  only  a  bare 
approximation  to  the  truth,  Professor  B.  Sloau,  of  the  University  of  South  Carolina,  states  the  arithmetical 
conclusions  to  be  obtained  from  this  table  as  follows: 

Per  cont. 

An  increase  of  10  per  cent,  of  the  tilled  land  in  cotton  increases  the  values  produced  by  71 

An  increase  of  10  per  cent,  of  farms  over  50  acres  increases  the  values  produced  by 5 

An  increase  of  10  per  cent,  of  farms  rented  increases  the  values  produced  by 1 

An  increase  of  in  per  cent,  of  colored  population  increases  the  values  produced  by '.\\ 

Such  conclusions  are  liable  to  material  modifications  when  viewed  in  relation  with  the  numerous  conditions 
that  complicate  such  a  problem.  For  instance,  the  increase  in  the  colored  population  does  not.  necessarily  show 
that  the  proportion  of  colored  farm  laborers  is  increased  in  the  same  ratio.  Nevertheless,  if  these  facts  only  show 
in  which  direction  the.  answer  lies,  it  follows  that  these  answers  are  opposed  to  the  generally  received  teachings 
and  theories  on  these  points;  (li)  and  tit  the.  same  time  that 'these  answers  are  in  accord  with  the.  persistent  and 
prevailing  practice  of  those  whose  decision  is  paramount  in  the  matter,  viz,  the  land  owners  and  the  laborers. 

a  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  in  the  above  estimate  of  profits  and  investments,  the  assessed  values  for  purposes  of  taxation  are 
taken  as  a  basis.  It  is  well  understood  that  lhe.se  values  arc  far  below  the  actual  market  value  of  the  properties  in  ordinary  business 
transactions,  and  represent  more  nearly  the  minimum  that  might  be  realized  at  forced  sales. — E.  YV.  II. 

b  Since  the  year  1808,  the  teachings  and  theories  regarding  agriculture  in  South  Carolina  (as  expressed  in  agricultural  periodicals, 
in  the  proceedings  of  agricultural  societies,  and  in  the  addresses  and  essays  of  planters)  were: 

1.  That  a  decrease  of  the  area  of  tilltd  laud  in  cotton  will  add  to  the  value  of  farm  productions.  (Here  I4iis  does  not  seem  to  be  the  case, 
from  the  fact  that  10  per  cent,  more  cotton  increases  the  value  71  per  cent.) 

2.  The  farms  should  be  small.     (Hero  large  farms  appear  to  do  better. ) 

3.  The  negro  is  indispensable  to  the  production  of  cotton.  (Here  the  crop  does  not  appear  to  increase.  pa-;i  passu  with  the  increase  of 
negro  population.) 

4.  me  prevailing  practice  in  the  state  should  be  to  rent  lands.  (Here  it  appears  that  the  increase  of  rented  farms  does  not  increase 
production.) 

500 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  45 

THE    PIEDMONT    REGION. 

The  Piedmont  region  of  South  Carolina  occupies  the  extreme  northwestern  border  of  the  state.  Commencing 
at  King's  mountain,  in  York  county,  it  extends  westward  through  Spartanburgh,  Greenville,  Pickens,  and  Oconee 
counties,  widening  in  the  three  last  named  until  it  embraces  a  tier  of  the  most  northern  townships,  two  to  three 
■deep.     This  wedged-shaped  area  has  a  length  of  114  miles,  and  a  width  varying  from  8  to  21  miles. 

The  surface  of  this  region  presents  a  rolling  tableland,  broken  and  hilly  on  the  margin  of  the  streams,  but 
scarcely  anywhere  inaccessible  to  the  plow.  It  has  a  general  elevation  above  the  sea-level  of  1,000  to  1,500  feet. 
This  gently  undulating  surface  extends  to  the  mountaius,  whose  rocky  walls  often  rise  suddenly  to  their  greatest 
height ;  the  southeastern  face  of  King's  mountain  rises  perpendicularly  500  feet  above  the  plain,  and  its 
northwestern  slope  descends  gently  toward  the  Blue  Ridge  mountains.  Table  Rock  also  rises  S00  feet  vertically, 
or  a  little  overhanging,  above  the  southeastern  terrace  at  its  base,  which  is  formed  of  the  loose  fragments  that  in  the 
course  of  ages  have  fallen  from  above.  The  steep  ascent  of  these  mountains  from  their  South  Carolina  or  southeastern 
face,  and  their  gradual  slope  to  the  northwest,  where  the  mountains  of  North  Carolina  rise  apparently  from  a  level 
country,  is  the  reverse  of  the  prevailing  rule  on  the  Atlantic  slope,  which  is,  that  the  short,  steep  sides  face  northwest, 
and  the  long  gentle  slopes  face  southeast.  Lieber  thinks  that  these  mountain  cliffs  indicate  the  occurrence  here, 
in  the  remote  past,  of  a  great  fissure  or  crevasse  in  the  earth's  crust,  a  gigantic  fault,  when  the  southern  slopes  fell 
down  hundreds  of  feet,  and  exposed  the  precipitous  rock  walls  that  now  face  the  southeast. 

The  boundary  line  of  South  Carolina  reaches  the  most  easterly  chain  of  the  Appalachian  mountains,  known 
here  as  the  Saluda  mountains,  near  the  corner  of  Greenville  and  Spartanburgh  counties,  and  follows  the  summit 
of  the  ridge  for  50  miles  (30  miles  in  an  air  line)  until  it  intersects  the  old  Cherokee  Indian  boundary  line.  From 
this  point  the  mountain  ehain,  here  called  the  Blue  Ridge,  turning  slightly  to  the  north  passes  out  of  the  State, 
and  the  boundary  line  pursues  a  more  southerly  and  straight  course,  to  where  the  east  branch  of  the  Chattooga 
river  intersects  the  thirty-fifth  degree  of  north  latitude.  The  Chattooga  flowing  westward  to  its  junction  with  the 
Tugaloo  river,  which  in  turn  becomes  the  Savannah  river,  flowing  to  the  southeast,  is  the  northwestern  and'the 
Savannah  the  western  boundary  of  the  state.  The  mountain  chain  divides  the  waters  of  the  state  flowing  to  the 
Atlantic  ocean  from  those  flowing  northward,  which  eventually  finds  issuance  t»  the  southwest  through  the 
Tennessee  and  Mississippi  rivers  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Considering  the  water-shed  of  South  Carolina  alone, 
the  culminating  point  whence  the  rivers  of  this  section  flow  is  to  be  found  in  the  horseshoe  curve  of  the  mountain 
chain  north  of  the  straight  boundary  line  referred  to  as  uniting  the  Chattooga  and  the  Blue  Ridge.  Hence  the 
numerous  sources  of  the  Keowee  river,  White  water,  Toxaway,  Jocassee  and  other  creeks,  take  their  rise  and  flow 
nearly  due  south  ;  the  main  stream  of  the  Saluda  sweeps  away  to  the  east,  and  the  Chattooga  hurries  westward. 

It  was  from  a  noted  summit  of  this  range,  AVhitesides,  that  Mr.  James  B.  Calhoun  observed  as  early  as  1825  that 
the  "  character  of  the  mountains  ahange  from  an  unbroken  chain  to  isolated  masses  toward  the  south".  Such 
isolated  masses  form  a  striking  feature  of  the  mountains  of  South  Carolina,  and  they  make  their  appearance  over  a 
wide  area  of  the  state,  extending  west  and  east  from  Stumphouse  mountaius,  near  Walhalla,  in  Oconee  county,  to  past 
Paris  mountain  in  Greenville,  Gilkis  mountain  in  Union  to  King's  mountain  and  Henry's  Knob  in  York ;  southward 
they  reach  to  Bird's  mountain  in  Laurens,  Parson's  mouutain  in  Abbeville,  and  Ruff's  mountain  on  the  Newberry 
and  Lexington  line.  The  narrow  mountain  ridge  that  divides  the  river  system  of  the  Mississippi  from  that  of  the 
Atlantic  slope,  and,  as  it  were,  the  interdigitation,  of  the  sources  of  the  Hiawassee  and  the  Tennessee  with  those  of 
the  Savannah,  have  long  suggested  to  engineers  the  possibility  of  establishing  an  interflow  between  these  waters. 
A  canal,  Mr.  Calhoun  says,  across  Rabun  gap,  would  pour  35  miles  of  smooth  water  from  the  Little  Tennessee  into 
the  Tugaloo  river,  while  the  Chattooga,  the  Hiawassee,  the  Tomro,  aud  the  innumerable  mouutain  streams  of  this 
well-watered  region,  would  serve  as  feeders  to  maintain  the  water  suppl3r  iu  any  desired  quantity.  In  1873  water 
was  drawn  from  Black  creek,  an  affluent  of  the  Tennessee,  across  this  gap  to  Iyell's  mills  on  Chicken  creek,  an 
affluent  of  the  Savannah. 

The  elevations  above  the  mean  level  of  the  sea  of  the  following  points  in  northwestern  South  Carolina,  were 
determined  by  the  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey:  King's  mountain,  1,692  feet;  Paris  mountain,  near 
Greenville,  2,054  feet;  Cassar's  head,  3,118  feet;  mount  Pinnacle,  near  Pickens  (the  highest  point  in  South 
Carolina),  3,430  feet. 

The  bracing  and  healthy  climate  of  this  region,  its  beautiful  scenery,  the  bold  mountain  outlines,  the  rich 
luxuriance  of  every  growth,  no  stunted  plant  on  mountain  side  or  summit,  every  part,  even  the  crevasses  of  the 
rocks  covered  with  trees  and  shrubs  of  some  kind,  all  full  of  life  and  vigor,  the  clear,  swift  streams  that  everywhere 
leap  in  a  succession  of  cascades  from  crag  and  cliff  and  sparkle  in  their  course  along  the  narrow  but  fertile  valleys, 
have  made  it  for  generations  a  resort  for  health  and  for  pleasure  during  summer. 

Geology. — The  geological  features  of  this  region  are  very  similar  to  those  of  the  one  lying  immediately  south 
of  it.  The  prevailing  rock  is  gneiss,  sometimes  changing  into  granite  of  good  building  qualities,  and  sometimes 
slaty,  furnishing  superior  flagging-stones,  a  remarkable  locality  of  which  occurs  8  miles  south  of  Pickens  Court- 
House  on  the  Greenville  road.     For  the  most  part  the  rock  is  found  at  a  depth  of  from  30  to  50  feet  beneath  the  surface 

501 


46  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

in  a  state  of  greater  or  less  decomposition.  Above  the  gneiss,  whose  outcrops  are,  much  confined  to  the  beds  of 
streams,  islands  of  mica  slate,  occupying  the  more  elevated  lands,  are  found.  The  largest  of  these  isolated  bodies 
extends  for  a  considerable  width  along  the  ridges  above  the  Chattooga  river.  The  proportion  of  mica  slate  is  greater 
here  than  elsewhere  in  the  state.  Between  it  and  the  gneiss,  and  cropping  out  almost  everywhere  around  the 
edges  of  the  first-named  rock,  are  extensive  seams  of  hornblende  rock,  and  its  decomposition  adds  largely  to  the 
fertility,  especially  of  the  creek  and  river  bottoms  of  this  section.  Above  the  mica  slate,  in  the  large  body  of 
rock  on  the  Chattooga,  some  talc  slate  is  found.  This  underlies  a  considerable  area  of  itacolumitic  sandstones,  that 
in  turn  support  several  bodies  of  limestone  rock.     A  number  of  lime  kilns  have  been  in  operation  here. 

Of  the  useful  ores  and  minerals  of  this  section  it  may  be  stated  that  there  are  numerous  gold  deposits,  at  some 
of  which  washings  have  been  carried  on  with  much  profit.  Vein  mining,  in  spite  of  many  promising  indications, 
has  not  beeu  regularly  undertaken. 

Indian  and  revolutionary  traditions  tell  of  lead  mines,  which  in  former  times  furnished  belligerents  with  an 
ample  supply  of  this  necessary  metal.  Unfortunately  these  traditions  have  not  preserved  the  knowledge  of  their 
locality.  At  the  Cheohee  gold  deposit  mine  on  the  headwaters  of  Little  river,  in  Oconee  county,  Lieber  examined 
a  very  promising  vein  of  argentiferous  galena  which  he  thought  might  be  profitably  developed.  Traces  of  copper 
were  observed  by  Lieber  on  Tiger  river,  in  Spartanburgh,  near  the  galena  mine  above  mentioned,  and  in  some  mill 
runs  in  southern  Pickens  and  Greenville.  Graphite  is  found  on  Paris  mountain,  and  also  in  Oconee  county. 
Manganese  and  iron  occur,  but  have  not  been  explored.  Valuable  soap-stone  quarries  have  beeu  worked  to  a 
limited  extent  iu  Pickens.  Large  sheets  of  transparent  mica  have  been  found  near  Walhalla,  and  asbestus  of  good 
quality  is  reported  as  occurring  near  Seneca  city. 

Timber  growth. — The  prevailing  growth  is  oak,  chestnut,  and  short-leaf  pine.  Proceeding  toward  the 
mountains,  the  following  trees  mark  the  ascent  in  the  order  here  named:  Rock  chestnut  oak  (Quercus  prinus 
montieola),  cucumber  tree  (Magnolia  acuminata),  mountain  laurel  (Rhododendron  maximum),  white  pine  (Finns  strolus), 
hemlock  or  spruce  pine  (Alien  Canadensis).  The  forest  products  are  shingles,  tan-bark,  and  dogwood,  with  other 
hard  woods,  besides  abundant  timber  for  building  purposes.  The  Indians  once  gained  their  chief  livelihood  here 
by  gathering  and  disposing  of  medicinal  herbs,  such  as  pink  root  (Spigelia  Marylandica),  ginseng,  and  snake  root, 
which  are  to  be  found  in  great  abundance. 

Climate. — According  to  the  physical  charts  of  the  Ninth  United  States  Census  and  the  rain  charts  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institute,  second  edition,  1877,  this  region  has  a  mean  annual  temperature  corresponding  with  that  of 
Kansas  or  of  New  Jersey.  The  more  mountainous  portions  have,  however,  a  mean  annual  temperature  that 
corresponds  with  that  of  Montana  or  the  lower  region  of  the  great  lakes.  The  mean  of  the  hottest  week  of  1872, 
taken  at  4L  35™  p.  in.,  was  90"  F.     The  mean  of  the  coldest  week  of  1872  and  1873,  taken  at  7b  35™  a.  m.,  was  25°  F.' 

The  prevailing  winds  are  from  the  southeast,  and  the  mean  velocity  of  the  movement  of  the  atmosphere  is 
much  below  the  average  for  the  United  States  at  large.  In  the  frequency  with  which  this  region  is  traversed  by 
storm  areas  of  about  50  miles  in  diameter,  it  ranks  with  the  lowest  in  the  United  States.  With  the  more  extensive 
region  south  of  it,  it  is  peculiarly  exempt  from  destructive  storms. 

Blessed  with  an  unusual  number  of  clear  days  aud  a  large  amount  of  sunshine  the  fig  tree  thrives  here  without 
protection  at  an  elevation  of  1,500  feet  above  the  sea.  "  The  climate  is  less  subject  to  sudden  changes  than  in  the 
plain  below.  Vegetation  is  late,  but  when  once  fairly  begun  is  seldom  destroyed  by  subsequent  frosts.  Neither 
arc  there  any  marks  of  trees  being  struck  by  lightning,  or  blown  up  by  storms." — (Darid  Ramsey,  History  South 
Carolina.) 

The  annual  fall  of  water  is  over  00  inches,  which  places  this  among  the  regions  of  heaviest  precipitation  in  the 
United  States.  For  spring  it  is  over  IS  inches,  and  for  autumn  it  is  12  inches,  which  are  also  the  maxima  in  the 
eastern  United  States.  In  winter  the  rainfall  is  10  inches,  which  is  less  than  the  maximum,  and  in  summer  it  is 
14  inches,  which  places  it  third  in  a  series  of  five,  or  just  medium.  Dewless  nights  rarely  occur,  and  the  luxuriaut 
vegetation  of  this  region  does  not  in  consequence  suffer  from  the  rigor  of  extreme  droughts  so  frequent  elsewhere. 

The  following  observations  on  the  temperature  of  springs  in  this  region  were  made  by  Lieber : 


Locality. 

Time  of  observation. 

TEMPERATURE. 

Atmosphere. 

Water. 

Poinsett's  spring  in  Greenville-,  near 
the  North  Carolina  lino. 

Juno    7,    7£  a.  m 

0 

72.  or. 

o 
56.80 

Spring  on  Jones'  Gap  mad,  nearturn- 
piko  gate. 

Juno  l(i,   2    p.m 

75.74 

57.56 

Colo"  sprinc  "»  Carsar's  head 

June  'JO,    9£  a.  m 

80.60 

55.40 

June  29,  10*  a.  m 

78.80 

57.  56 

Agricultural  features.  — The  soils  are  similar  to  those  found  elsewhere  in  the  met  aw  orphic  region  where 
gneiss  rock  prevails.  On  the  more  level  uplands  a  gray  sandy  loam  predominates;  a  red  and  sometimes  yellowish 
soil  with  white  clay  on  the  mica  slates,  and  a  stiff  red  clay  on  the  hillsides.     In  the  bottoms  a  still  darker  aud  more 

502 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  47 

fertile  loam  is  found.  These  bottom  lands  have  long  been  highly  esteemed  as  yielding  abundant  crops  of  corn,  the 
small  grains  and  the  grasses.  Little  thought  or  attention  was  bestowed  on  the  uplands  previous  to  the  attempts, 
so  successfully  made  within  the  last  few  years,  to  introduce  upon  them  the  culture  of  cotton. 

Statistics. — The  Piedmont  region  of  South  Carolina  embraces  an  area  of  1,250  square  miles,  and  is  therefore 
the  smallest  division  of  the  state  here  treated  of.  The  population  numbers  34,496,  an  increase  of  66  per  cent,  since 
the  census  of  1S70 ;  this  gives  the  density  of  population  as  27  per  square  mile,  which  is  below  the  average  of  the 
state  and  less  than  in  other  regions,  the  sand  hills  and  the  lower  pine  belt  alone  excepted.  Twenty-six  per  cent,  of 
the  population  is  colored. 

Eighty  per  cent,  of  the  land  is  woodland  and  forest;  17  per  cent,  is  tilled,  and  3  per  cent,  is  in  old  fields.  The 
area  of  tilled  land  has  more  than  doubled  since  1870,  being  now  132,791  acres,  and  then  only  64,802  acres.  This  is 
3.8  acres  per  capita  of  population  against  3.1  acres  in  1870,  showing  that  improvement  has  more  than  kept  pace 
with  the  increase  of  the  population. 

The  number  of  farms  is  4,646,  which  gives  an  average  of  28  acres  of  improved  laud  to  the  farm.  Of  this 
number  43  per  cent,  are  under  60  acres,  and  may  be  considered  as  in  the  hands  of  small  farmers.  Nevertheless 
there  are  some  large  landholders  in  this  region.  Of  the  farms,  45  per  cent,  are  rented,  and  of  these  74  per  cent,  are 
under  50  acres,  showing  that  the  renters  are  farmers  on  a  small  scale.  Of  the  55  per  cent,  worked  by  their  owners 
only  15  per  cent,  are  under  50  acres.  Of  bona  fide  small  proprietors  (if  landholders  of  under  50  acres  who  till  their 
own  land  may  be  termed  such)  the  number  is  small,  being  only  7  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of  farm  holders. 
By  far  the  larger  number  of  farms  are  rented  for  a  portion  of  the  crop,  very  few  being  rented  at  a  fixed  money 
rental ;  for  instance,  in  five  adjacent  townships  in  Greenville,  where  there  are  631  farms  rented,  only  one  is  reported 
as  rented  at  a  fixed  money  rental. 

Of  the  tilled  land,  88,766  acres,  or  65  per  cent.,  is  in  grain  of  all  kinds;  25,740  acres,  or  20  per  cent.,  is  in  cotton; 
and  18,2S5  acres,  or  15  per  cent.,  in  fallow  and  all  other  crops,  including  gardens,  orchards,  and  vineyards,  and  a 
small  area  in  tobacco. 

The  average  yield  of  grain  is  only  a  little  over  8  bushels  to  the  acre,  and  does  net  express  the  capability  of  this 
section  for  the  production  of  this  article.  Fields  of  corn  on  bottom  lands  averaging  from  40  to  CO  bushels  are  not 
uncommon,  and  the  minimum  calculation  of  the  crop  for  uplands  without  manure  is  from  10  to  12  bushels  per  acre, 
while  from  20  to  30  bushels  are  obtained  by  good  culture.  Eice  has  given  here,  without  manure,  over  100  bushels  to 
the  acre,  though  very  little  of  it  is  planted.  The  yield  of  grain  per  capita  is  20  bushels,  and  is  greater  than  elsewhere 
in  the  state,  except  in  the  sand-hills  regions. 

The  average  product  of  cotton  to  the  square  mile  is  6.3  bales,  an  increase  of  over  600  per  cent,  since  1870.  This 
is  more  than  upon  the  coast,  in  the  lower  pine  belt,  and  in  the  sand-hills  region,  but  much  less  than  elsewhere  in  the 
state.  The  average  yield  of  lint  per  acre  planted  in  cotton  is  141  pounds,  which  is  53  per  cent,  more  than  the  yield 
on  the  coast,  but  less  than  elsewhere  in  the  state.  The  product  per  capita  is  105  pounds  of  lint  against  14  pounds 
in  1870.  This  is  150  per  cent,  more  than  the  product  on  the  coast,  and  54  per  cent,  more  than  in  the  extensive  lower 
pine  belt.     Still,  it  is  not  one-half  of  product  in  the  remainder  of  the  state. 

The  work  stock  uumber  5,798  against  4,096  in  1870.  This  is  4.6  to  the  square  mile,  the  average  for  the  state 
being  5.  The  ratio  of  work  stock  to  the  population  is  less  than  elsewhere  in  the  upper  country,  but  more  than  in 
the  regions  below  the  red  hills.  There  are  22  acres  of  tilled  land  to  the  head  of  work  stock,  which  is  more  than 
elsewhere  in  the  state,  except  in  the  red  hills  and  the  metamorphic  region. 

Other  live  stock  numbers  66,035,  being  more  per  square  mile  than  elsewhere  in  the  state,  and  more  per  capita 
of  the  population,  except  only  among  the  sand  hills.  503 


48 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


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CULTURAL    AND    ECONOMIC    DETAILS 


COTTON   PRODUCTION. 


49 
505 


REFERENCE  LIST 

UP 

NAMES  AND  ADDRESSES  OF  CORRESPONDENTS. 


COAST  REGION. 


Charleston. — A.  B.  Rose,  Chitrlestou,  February  1G,  1660;  W.  G.  Hinson,  James  island,  February  10,  1880 j   Elias  S.  Rivers,  James- 
island,  February  16,  I860;  W.  Edlngs  Fripp,  John's  island,  June  30,  1S80;  J.  Jenkins  Mikkll,  Edisto  island,  June  14,  1880. 

LOWER  PINE  BELT. 
Hampton. — Homer  H.  Peeples,  Peoples,  June  28,  1860. 

Colleton.— James  W.  Graw,  Walterboro',  January  18,  1880;  G.  Varn,  Folk's  Store,  August  18,  1880. 
Williamsburgh. — James  M'Cutchen,  Kingstree,  March  20,  1880;  W.  H.  B.  Taylor,  Black  Mingo,  Juno  22,  1880. 
Clarendon.— SI.  M.  Benbow,  Wright's  Bluff,  March  12,  1880. 
Horry.— Thomas  W.  Beaty-,  Couwayboro',  July  20,  1680. 

UPPER  PINE  BELT. 
Aiken.— P.  F.  Hammond,  Beech  Island,  May  9,  1880. 
Barnwell. — Johnson  Hagood,  Columbia ;  James  C.  Brown,  Millett,  January  8,  1880  ;  John  S.  Stonky,  Allendale ;  William  B.  Rice, 

Bamberg. 
Richland.— Thomas  W.  Tayxor,  Columbia. 
Orangeburgil— O.  N.  Bowman,  Rowesvillc,  June  5,  1880. 
Kershaw.— W.  M.  Shannan,  Camden,  June  21,  1880. 

Darlington.— J.  J.  Lucas,  Society  Hill,  March  13,  1880;  Ed.  E.  Evans,  Society  Hill. 
Chesterfield. — Henry-  P.  Duvall,  Cheraw,  June  24,  1880. 

Marlborough. — C.  S.  McCall,  Benuettsville,  September  4,  1880;  E.  T.  Stackhouse,  Little  Rock,  April  13,  1880. 
Marion.— W.  D.  Johnson,  Marion  Court-House,  August  28,  1880. 

RED-HILL  REGION.  , 

Aiken. — T.  W.  Whatley',  Aiken  Court-House,  July  17,  1880. 
Orangeburgil — J.  E.  Knotts,  Knotts'  Mills,  March  1, 1880. 

SAND-HILL  REGION. 

Chesterfield. — S.  G.  Godfrey,  Cheraw,  January  2,  1880. 

METAMOEPHIC  REGION. 

Laurens.— Joseph  B.  Humbert,  Tumbling  Shoals,  June  14,  1880 ;  G.  W.  Sullivan,  Tumbling  Shoals,  December  25,  1879. 

Chester.— John  C.  Flenniken,  Chester  Court-House,  June  18,  18b0;  J.  M.  Ivy',  Rock  Hill,  July  2,  1880. 

Abbeville.  — W.  K.  Bradley,  Long  Cane,  August  10, 1880. 

Greenville. — W.  L.  Donaldson,  Greenville,  January  15,  1880. 

Fairfield.— G.  H.  McMaster,  Wiunsboro',  June  10,  1880;  James  Pagan,  Winnsboro',  March  9,  1880. 

Newberry.— Milton  A.  Carlisle,  Newberry. 

Spartanburgh.— S.  C  Means,  Spartanburgh,  March  13,  1880. 

York.— Iredell  Jones,  Rock  Hill,  February  8,  1880. 

Lexington.— F.  J.  Harman,  Lexington  Court-House,  July  27,  1880;  J.  A.  Summer,  Pemaria,  April  6,  1880. 

PIEDMONT  REGION. 

Oconee.— A.  R.  Broyles,  Townville,  May  1,  1880;  L.  B.  Johnson,  Walhalla,  January  1,1880. 
Pickens.— S.  W.  Clayton,  Central,  June  1,  1880. 
50 
606 


CULTURAL  AND  ECONOMIC  DETAILS. 

[Compiled  in  part  from  flcnodnles  of  questions  on  cotton  culture  as  answered  by  correspondents  in  the  various  counties. 


TILLAGE,  IMPROVEMENTS,  ETC. 

Coast  region. — The  sea  islands  have  enjoyed  since  1SCC  the  advantages  of  a  law  special  to  their  locality 
requiring  the  owners  of  stock  to  keep  them  inclosed.  Owing  to  this  and  to  the  numerous  creeks  and  marshes  that 
intersect  these  islands  aud  winch  serve  as  natural  divisions  between  the  different  fields  when  required,  fences  are 
not  a  burden  on  the  agriculture  of  the  coast  lands,  and  there  is  comparatively  little  fencing. 

Drainage,  although  said  by  Governor  Seabrook  to  be  so  little  attended  to  on  the  sea  islands  as  to  be  scarcely 
worthy  of  being  considered  a  regular  agricultural  operation,  has  of  necessity  always  been  practiced  to  some  extent. 
The  remarkably  high  beds  on  which  cotton  is  planted  here,  being  from  18  inches  to  2  feet  high,  subserve  this 
purpose.  The  best  planters  have  long  had  open  drains  through  their  fieids.  These  were  generally  made  by  running 
two  furrows  with  a  plow  and  afterwards  hauling  out  the  loose  dirt  with  a  hoe,  thus  leaving  an  open  ditch,  if  it  may 
be  so  termed,  a  foot  or  more  in  depth.  In  recent  years  the  enterprising  farmers  on  James  island  have  made  deeper 
ditches  and  placed  plank  drains  in  them.  Seeing  the  great  benefit  resulting  from  this,  they  subsequently  replaced 
the  plank  with  regular  drainage  tile.  In  this  way  they  have  reclaimed  a  good  deal  of  land,  besides  adding  largely 
to  the  value  of  that  already  in  cultivation.  The  outlets  open  to  the  sea  at  the  low-water  mark,  and  the  pressure  of 
the  water  in  the  pipes  preserves  a  constant  outflow  even  at  high  tide,  so  that  land  only  a  foot  or  two  above  high- 
water  mark  is  susceptible  of  thorough  drainage  to  the  depth  of  i  or  even  5  feet.  The  borders  of  these  islands 
being  usually  their  highest  parts,  and  their  interior  often  quite  low,  a  wide  field  for  improvement  is  offered  in  this 
direction.  In  the  early  part  of  the  century,  when  agriculture  had  so  far  developed  the  value  of  these  lands  as  to 
make  $00  an  acre  for  planting  land  not  an  unlisual  price,  the  use  of  the  plow  was  entirely  unknown  here,  and  all 
the  operations  of  tillage  were  performed  by  hand  with  the  hoe  alone.  This  continued  to  be  the  usual  practice  until 
the  war.     Since  then  plows  have  come  more  and  more  into  use,  until  their  employment  is  now  quite  general. 

Fallowing  is  practiced  to  the  extent  that  land  planted  in  cotton  one  year  is  pastured  by  cattle  and  sheep,  not 
hogs.  It  is  claimed  that  great  benefit  is  derived  by  having  the  loose  soil  of  the  islands  trodden  by  stock  during 
the  year  they  lie  fallow.  The  rapid  growth  of  bushes,  briers,  and  weeds  is  kept  down  by  the  stock,  and  the  dried 
stems  of  the  cotton  stalks  of  the  previous  year  are  broken  up  and  tramped  down.  If  care  be  taken  "that  the 
grass  is  not  eaten  so  close  as  to  expose  the  soil  on  the  tops  of  the  beds  to  the  summer  sun",  it  is  found  when  the 
stock  are  turned  off  in  November  to  range  through  the  fields  that  the  pasture  "is  in  exactly  the  right  condition 
for  the  coming  season's  cotton  fields,  with  no  cotton  stalks  or  troublesome  growth  to  be  got  off  or  under  the  laud 
and  make  it  too  husky".  About  one-half  of  the  land  formerly  cultivated  is  reported  as  "turned  out"  on  John's 
island,  and  the  same  or  a  larger  proportion  on  Wadmalaw.  On  the  other  islands  less  land  has  passed  out  of 
cultivation,  but  nowhere  has  the  acreage  under  cultivation  increased. 

Lower  pine  belt. — In  Colleton  county  one-quarter  to  one-half  of  the  swamp  lands  are  reported  as  thrown 
out  of  cultivation,  but  none  of  the  lighter  uplands;  in  Williamsburgh  from  10  to  30  per  cent.  In  Clarendon  at 
least  one-third  of  the  cultivated  lands  have  been  turned  out  since  the  war;  in  Horry  very  little.  These  lands  all 
produce  as  well  as  virgin  soil  when  reclaimed  and  again  brought  under  cultivation. 

The  depth  of  plowing  is  usually  4  inches  with  a  single- horse  plow;  sometimes  a  double-horse  plow  is  used,  and 
a  depth  of  from  6  to  7  inches  attained. 

Subsoiling  is  little  practiced.  Fall  plowing  is  especially  adapted  to  these  light  soils  that  are  not  run  together 
and  packed  by  the  winter  rains,  and  is  not  generally  practiced,  only  because  the  weak  force  on  the  farms  are  scarcely 
ever  sufficiently  up  with  the  work  to  afford  the  time. 

Fallowing  is  only  practiced  to  the  extent  of  letting  fields  lie  idle  during  summer,  which  it  is  found  greatly 
benefits  them. 

A  rotation  of  crops  is  attempted  so  far  as  the  exigencies  of  the  cotton  crop  allow,  by  following  cotton  with  corn, 
and  that  in  the  same  year  with  oats,  sowing  pease  on  the  stubble  and  following  with  cotton  again  the  next  spring. 

51 
607 


52  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

Homemade  manures  are  used  so  far  as  they  go,  with  excellent  results.  Composts  of  muck  and  stable  manures 
are  coming  more  into  use,  and  the  field  pea,  either  turned  under  green  or  allowed  to  wither  on  the  surface,  adds 
largely  to  the  fertility;  and  by  these  weans  almost  any  of  the  uplands  are  made  to  produce  a  bale  of  cotton  to 
the  acre.  The  limited  means  at  the  disposal  of  the  farmers  in  these  respects,  in  a  section  where  little  attention  is 
paid  to  corn  and  cattle,  is  largely  supplemented  by  the  purchase  of  commercial  fertilizers,  especially  the.  Charleston 
phosphates.  In  Clarendon  these  are  used  almost  exclusively,  but  in  Colleton  they  are  coming  somewhat  into 
disfavor,  and  the  preference  is  given  to  the  potash  salts.  Cottonseed,  which  was  once  thought  to  be  only  valuable 
as  a  manure  for  corn,  is  now  applied  with  great  benefit  to  cotton,  and  with  the  exception  of  a  very  small  amount 
fed  to  stock,  it  is  all  employed  in  this  manner;  selling  at  from  10  to  15  cents  a  bushel. 

Upper  pine  belt. — Inclosures,  under  the  colonial  laws,  that  have  not  been  changed,  are  required  (o  be  cattle 
proof.  The  fences  are  built  of  pine  rails  10  feet  in  length,  running  about  100  to  the  cord,  worth  usually  50  cents  a 
cord,  and  are  split  for  50  cents  per  hundred,  making  the  cost  $1  per  hundred  in  the,  woods.  Fourteen  rails  make 
eight  feet  in  length  of  worm  fence,  or  9,240  rails  per  mile,  lasting  on  an  average  five,  years.  A  recent  act  of  the 
legislature  allows  each  township  to  determine  by  vote  whether  the  crops  or  the  stock  shall  be  inclosed ;  if  the 
latter,  the  township  to  tax  itself  for  the  fences  necessary  to  protect  it.  from  the  stock  of  the  adjoining  townships. 
To  this  date  few  townships  in  this  belt  have  availed  themselves  of  this  law. 

Drainage  is  little  practiced  in  this  region,  the  culture  of  the  swamps  being  generally  abandoned,  and  the 
uplands  being  thought  not  to  require  it.  In  Marlborough  and  Marion,  however,  great  benefit  results  from  a  system 
of  open  ditches  very  generally  adopted  (see  regional  description).  Little  or  nothing  is  required  in  the  way  of  hillside 
ditches  on  these  comparatively  level  lands,  where  little  injury  is  experienced  from  washing. 

The  former  practice  of  allowing  fields  to  lie  fallow,  for  the  benefit  of  the  growth  of  weeds,  which  increased  the 
vegetable,  matter  in  the  soil,  and  which  killed  by  their  shade  the  grasses  that  were  especially  troublesome  on 
cultivated  lands,  has  been  almost  wholly  abandoned. 

Nor  is  there  any  regular  or  general  system  of  rotation  of  crops.  Cotton  lands  especially  are  planted  year 
after  year  in  the  same  crop,  and  if  properly  manured  are  thought  to  improve.  Rotation,  when  practiced,  is  two 
years  in  cotton  and  one  year  in  corn;  small  grain  is  planted  in  the  fall  after  the  corn  is  gathered,  and  the  next 
summer  a  crop  of  corn  or  cow-pease  is  grown  on  the  stubble,  to  be  followed  the  next  spring  by  cotton.  In 
Marlborough  county  lands  planted  in  cotton  for  fourteen  successive  years,  without  additional  manure  except  the 
cottonseed  from  the  larger  crops,  produce  double  what  they  did  at  first. 

The  fall  plowing  of  cotton  and  corn  lands,  once  much  practiced,  has  been  very  generally  abandoned  ;  some 
still  think  it  pays  to  break  the  land  S  or  10  inches  deep  in  the  fall  about  every  fourth  year,  otherwise  it  is  only  done 
to  turn  under  weeds  on  land  that,  has  been  resting. 

The  depth  of  tillage  varies  from  2J  to  0  inches  measured  on  the  land  side,  of  the  furrow,  and  it  is  very  rare  to 
see  more  than  one  animal  used  in  plowing.  It  is  only  the  larger  fargiers  (who  are  becoming  scarcer)  who  use  two- 
horse  plows  occasionally. 

The  amount  of  land  once  cultivated  that  has  been  abandoned  is  stated  to  be  very  little  in  Hampton  county  ; 
from  10  to  20  per  cent,  in  Barnwell  ;  10  to  15  per  cent,  in  Orangeburgh ;  25  per  cent,  in  Darlington,  and,  excluding 
swamps,  nothing  in  Marion  and  Marlborough.  When  the  uplands  are  turned  out  in  this  region,  they  grow  up  first 
in  broom-sedge,  which  is  succeeded  by  short  leaf  pine,  beneath  which,  in  time,  all  grass  and  undergrowth  disappears. 
When  again  taken  in,  they  yield  well  with  manuring,  but  without  good  treatment  they  deteriorate  more  rapidly 
than  virgin  soil.  (It  is  a  question,  on  which  there  is  a  diversity  of  opinion,  whether  the  second  growth  of  pines 
is  a  benefit  or  an  injury  to  land;  in  the  lower  country  it  is  thought  to  be  injurious,  supporting  the  view  that 
narrow-leaved  growths  do  not  improve  the  soil.  In  the  upper  country  the  opinion  is,  however,  decided  that  the 
soil  improves  under  the  old  field-pine.  With  some  other  growths  there  is  no  question  in  this  regard  ;  for  instance, 
the  persimmon  always  improves  lands,  and  seems  to  exert  no  bad  influence  even  on  the  growing  crops  in  cultivated 
fields,  it  being  often  remarked  that  the  tallest  cotton  is  found  under  such  trees,  while  it  is  dwarfed  by  the.  proximity 
of  a  pine  or  a  post  oak.  Certain  other  forest  trees  seem  to  favor  particular  growths  here,  as  the  sugar-berry,  under 
which  verdant  patches  of  blue  grass  are  often  seen  when  found  nowhere  else.) 

Green  manuring,  especially  with  the  cow-pea,  is  regarded  favorably,  although  it  is  not  practiced  as  a  system. 
Sown  broadcast,  manured  with  the  "ash  element"  (a  cheap  fertilizer  composed  chiefly  of  lime  and  potash)  and 
turned  under  after  the  vines  are  wilted  by  frost,  remarkable  results  have  been  attained.  Colonel  Thomas  Taylor  says 
that  lauds  subject  to  rust,  and  never  yielding  more  than  7  bushels  of  wheat,  have  given  26  bushels  under  this 
treatment.  After  the  cotton  is  laid  by,  a  furrow  is  sometimes  run  in  the  alley,  and  cow-pease  are  drilled  in.  forming 
the  basis  on  which  the  next  year's  cotton  bed  is  to  be  constructed.  Pease  grown  among  corn  are  esteemed  highly 
for  the  beneficial  influence  they  exert  on  the  soil,  as  well  as  for  the  crop  they  yield. 

The  limited  amount  of  stable  and  lot  manure,  furnished  chiefly  by  the  work  stock,  other  cattle  being  rarely  fed 
or  penned  systematically,  is  much  valued. 

Cottonseed  is  wholly  used  for  manure,  either  alone  or  composted  with  woods-mold  and  litter,  or  the 
superphosphates,  a>nd  its  use  has  much  increased.  These  means  of  maintaining  the  fertility  of  the  land  are  largely 
supplemented  by  the  use  of  guanos  and  other  fertilizers.     In  Marlborough  county  the  general  rule  is  to  return  to  the 

508 


CULTURAL  AND  ECONOMIC  DETAILS.  53 

land  all  the  cottonseed  produced  on  it,  and  in  addition  one  sack  of  Guanappe  guano,  or  half  a  sack  of  it,  with  100 
pounds  of  superphosphates,  and  if  rust  is  apprehended  100  pounds  of  kainit.  Lands  so  treated  are  counted  on 
with  much  certainty  to  give  a  bale  of  cotton  to  the  acre  one  year  with  another.  This  may  be  taken  as  the  best 
established  and  most  successful  practice  regarding  manures.  There  are  wide  variations  from  it.  A  very  few,  but 
not  the  least  successful  farmers,  purchase  no  commercial  fertilizers,  and  rely  wholly  on  cottonseed,  composts  of 
woods-mold  and  leaves,  and  stable  manure.  The  use  of  fertilizers  is  very  generally  deprecated  as  unthrifty  and 
extravagant,  but  the  facility  with  which  they  may  be  obtained  and  used  makes  their  employment  the  general 
practice. 

Red-hills  region. — Fencing  to  protect  growing  crops  from  the  depredations  of  cattle  running  at  large  is 
now  a  heavy  burden  on  the  agriculture  of  this  region.  But  public  opinion  is  advancing  so  rapidly  against  the 
existing  laws  on  this  subject,  especially  in  the  upper  country,  that  the  present  laws  probably  will  be  repealed. 
And  while  the  right  of  pasturage  in  common  on  uuinclosed  and  waste  lands  will  be  maintained,  it  will  not  be 
required  to  protect  growing  crops  against  cattle  at  large. 

Drainage  on  these  high  lands  is  not  practiced  except  occasionally  where  hillside  ditches  are  required  to  protect 
very  rapid  slopes  from  washing. 

Fallowing  was  formerly  practiced  in  so  far  that  a  portion  of  each  plantation  "rested",  that  is,  lay  uncultivated 
every  second  or  third  year.  Such  practice  now  is  the  result  rather  of  accident  than  of  any  settled  economy  of  the 
farm,  though  it  is  still  believed  that  land  allowed  to  grow  up  in  weeds  or  sowed  in  pease  to  be  turned  under  is  greatly 
benefited  thereby. 

The  rotation  of  crops  is  also  almost  entirely  neglected.  Whenever  and  wherever  a  cotton  crop  can  be  planted, 
it  is  planted  regardless  of  all  system  and  rule.  It  is  well  known  that  a  corn  crop,  followed  by  oats  the  same  fall, 
with  pease  on  the  stubble  the  next  summer,  is  excellent  preparation  for  a  cotton  crop  the  season  following ;  and  also 
that,  when  these  red  lands  are  in  good  heart  and  well  tilled,  that  is,  when  they  are  in  condition  to  yield  from  1,000  to 
1 ,500  pounds  of  seed-cotton,  they  will  with  great  certainty  produce  from  20  to  40  bushels  of  corn,  30  or  40  bushels  of 
oats,  as  much  as  100  bushels  having  been  gathered  more  than  once,  and  two  tons  of  pea-vines,  or  without  the  pease, 
and  will  yield  spontaneously  in  good  seasons  two  cuttings,  and  in  bad  seasons  one  cutting  of  excellent  crab-grass 
hay;  all  this,  too,  at  a  cost  less  than  the  culture  of  a  crop  of  cotton  necessitates  and  with  advantage  to  the  land. 
Nevertheless,  these  being  crops  mostly  consumed  at  home  and  not  considered  as  market  crops,  it  is  seldom  a  farmer 
is  found  willing  to  cultivate  them  and  forego  the  yearly  revenue  in  ready  cash  of  his  cotton  crop. 

Metamorphic  region. — The  usual  depth  of  tillage  is  4  inches  on  the  land  side  of  the  furrow.  In  Abbeville, 
Spartanburgh,  and  portions  of  Chester,  it  is  generally  only  3  inches;  in  parts  of  Fairfield  it  is  only  2  inches;  but  in 
some  portions  of  Chester  it  is  from  6  to  8  inches.  The  draft  employed  is  almost  always  one  horse,  but  in  a  very 
few  instances  two  horses  are  used.  Subsoiling  has  only  been  practiced  on  a  small  scale,  chiefly  as  an  experiment, 
generally  with  excellent  results.  . 

Fall  plowing  is  very  little  practiced ;  it  is  opposed  to  what  is  known  as  the  "  David  Dickson  method  of  culture", 
which  is  the  prevalent  one,  the  opinion  beinar  that  lands  broken  up  in  the  fall  become  tightly  packed  by  the  winter 
rains ;  an  evil  not  counterbalanced  by  the  disintegrating  influence  of  frosts  in  this  mild  climate.  The  additional 
expense  is  also  a  consideration.  To  the  limited  extent  to  which  it  is  done  five  reports  give  the  results  as  good,  and 
in  York  and  portions  of  Chester  it  is  reported  as  greatly  on  the  iucrease;  five  other  reports  state  that  it  is  of 
doubtful  or  of  no  advantage. 

Rotation  of  crops  is  nowhere  reduced  to  a  system.  With  a  moderate  use  of  manures  and  careful  culture  the  same 
lands  are  planted  for  years  in  cotton,  as  it  is  thought  not  only  without  deterioration  but  with  actual  improvement. 
The  ratio  which  the  price  of  cotton  bears  to  that  of  meat  and  corn  affects  the  succession  of  crops  more  than  anything 
else.  Nevertheless  there  is  but  one  opinion  as  to  the  beneficial  influence  of  a  rotation  of  crops  as  a  cheap  means  of 
preserving  the  thriftiness  of  the  soil.  The  succession  of  crops,  as  elsewhere  in  the  state,  is  cottou,  corn,  and  small 
grain.  The  clean  culture  of  cotton  leaves  the  land  in  good  order  for  any  crop,  and  the  small  grain  is  planted  in  the 
same  year  after  the  corn  is  gathered.  Usually  the  land  is  kept  in  cotton  for  from  three  to  five  years,  and  after  one 
crop  of  corn  and  small  grain  is  taken  from  it  the  culture  of  cottou  is  resumed. 

Fallowing  forms  no  part  of  the  system  of  culture,  and  it  is  thought  that  the  exposure  of  the  soil  by  tillage  to 
the  summer  sun  is  injurious.  The  fallows  consist  chiefly  of  the  lands  lying  out  after  the  small  grain  is  gathered  in 
May  and  June,  and  even  then  are  generally  used  as  pastures  for  stock. 

The  old  fields  are  preferred  in  many  instances  to  other  wood  lands,  and  they  are  being  cleared  of  the  short-leaf 
pine  that  covers  them,  and  replanted.  They  produce  well  with  fertilizers,  and  under  careful  treatment  are  thought 
equal  to  any  of  the  laud.  One  of  the  principal  reasons  for  abandoning  these  lands,  in  the  first  instance,  was  the  washes 
and  gullies  produced  by  the  unskillful  use  of  the  plow.  Efforts  to  remedy  this  by  horizontal  culture  and,  hillside 
ditches  where  intelligently  made,  especially  where  the  plumb  or  the  level  has  been  used  to  lay  off  the  runs  or  the 
ditches,  have  been  very  successful.  Unskillfolly  made  ditches,  however,  often  do  more  harm  than  good.  Filling  the 
gullies  with  brush  is  a  safer  and  a  very  effective  practice,  but  no  attempts  at  underdrainage  to  remedy  washing 
has  been  made.  The  damage  is  mainly  to  the  hillsides,  and  it  is  seldom  that  the  bottoms  are  injured  by  the 
detritus  they  receive. 


54  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA 

Manuring  has  for  its  basis  cottonseed.  About  1,000  pounds  of  cottonseed  is  obtained  from  each  bale  of  cotton, 
■which  makes  137,00  >  tons  the  supply  of  this  region.  Of  this  25,000  tons,  at  2  bushels  per  acre,  is  used  for  planting, 
and  a  small  amount  is  fed  to  stock.  None  is  carried  to  the  oil-mills,  and  very  little  is  sold,  the  price  being  from  10  to 
15  cents  a  bushel,  the  balance,  about  100,000  tons,  being  returned  to  the  soil  as  manure.  For  small  grain.it  is  sown 
broadcast  and  plowed  in  with  the  seed  in  the  fall ;  for  corn,  it  is  killed  by  heating  and  applied  in  the  hill ;  for 
cotton,  it  is  becoming  the  practice  to  compost  it  with  acid  phosphate  and  stable  manure,  sometimes  with  the 
addition  of  other  litter  and  lime.  It-  is  applied  in  the  drill  at  the  rate  of  a  ton  to  from  two  to  four  acres.  This  leaves 
a  large  portion  of  tilled  land  to  be  supplied  with  manure  from  other  sources.  Corn  rarely  receives  any  manure,  and 
the  deficiency  for  the  cotton  lands,  when  the  cotton-seed  and  stable  manures  are  exhausted,  is  supplied  by  the  purchase 
of  commercial  fertilizers.  The  amount  purchased  in  this  region  reaches  an  aggregate  cost  of  nearly  81, 500,000,  or 
SI  OS  for  each  acre  planted  in  cotton.  It  varies  from  a  maximum  of  33  .33  per  acre  in  cotton  in  Spartanburgh  to  a 
minimum  of  02  cents  in  Abbeville.  It  is  used  most  extensively  in  Spartanburgh,  Greenville,  York,  and  Anderson 
to  stimulate  the  growth  and  maturity  of  the  cotton-plant  in  these  counties,  which,  being  more  elevated  and  nearer 
the  mountains,  have  a  shorter  growing  season.  In  Newberry,  the  county  of  the  region  most  productive  in  cotton, 
the  average  is  81  02  per  acre  in  cotton.  Green  manuring  has  been  practiced  only  as  an  experiment!  Such 
experiments  with  pea-vines  have  had  a  very  promising  success,  but  it  has  been  found  better  to  allow  the  vines  to 
wither  before  turning  them  under. 

Piedmont  begion. — One-horse  plows  are  generally  used,  very  rarely  two  horses.  The,  depth  of  the  furrow  on 
the  land  side  varies  from  3  to  4  inches. 

Subsoiling  is  not  practiced.  Occasionally  lands  lie  fallow,  and  the  result  is  beneficial  if  stock  are  not  allowed 
to  destroy  the  crop  of  grass  and  weeds.     Cultivated  fallows  are  unknown. 

There  is  no  system  in  the  rotation  of  crops.  After  land  has  been  planted  two  or  three  years  in  cotton  it  is  planted 
one  or  two  years  in  wheat,  corn,  or  oats;  the  results  of  such  a  change  are  excellent  if  stock  is  kept  off  the  stubble. 

Fall  plowing  is  little  practiced ;  it  has  been  found  of  advantage  where  stubble,  grass,  or  weeds  cover  the  land  to 
turn  them  under  at  this  time.  The  amount  of  land  in  old  fields  is  not  great.  Such  fields,  after  lying  out  eight  or 
ten  years,  have  been  found  to  produce  as  well  as  ever,  and  most  of  them  have  been  brought  into  cultivation  again. 

The  washing  of  hillsides  does  not  amount  to  a  serious  evil,  and  it  is  reported  as  easily  prevented  and  effectually 
checked  by  hillside  ditching  where  necessary. 

The  use  of  commercial  fertilizers  has  largely  increased  with  the  facility  of  obtaining  them  by  railroad,  and  the 
practical  demonstration  of  their  value  is  in  the  culture  of  cotton. 

Cottonseed  is  worth  from  10  to  15  cents  a  bushel ;  little  of  it  is  sold ;  it  is  applied  green  and  broadcast  as  manure 
for  wheat,  and  composted  with  stable  manure  and  fertilizer  for  cotton.     A  portion  is  fed  to  stock. 

PLANTING  AND   CULTIVATION  OF  COTTON. 

COAST  region. — A  mule  can  do  the  plowing  required  in  the  cultivation  of  30  acres  in  sea-island  cotton,  and  can, 
in  addition,  cultivate  a  sufficiency  of  land  to  supply  corn  for  its  own  feed,  perhaps  something  over.  The  first  step 
in  the  preparation  of  the  land  is  to  hoe  off  the  weeds  ("hurricane"),  cut  up  the  cotton-stalks,  and  pile  and  burn 
this  litter.  This  costs  40  cents  per  acre.  Bashes  are  grubbed  up  at  a  cost  of  7  cents  per  acre.  The  land  is  not 
broken  up  broadcast  with  the  plow,  but  early  in  February  two  furrows  of  a  single-horse  turning-plow  are  run  in 
the  old  alleys,  making  a  trench  7  or  8  inches  deep.  In  this  furrow  a  subsoil  plow  may  or  may  not  be  run,  according 
to  the  character  of  the.  subsoil.  Wherever  underdrainage  is  practiced,  as  on  James  island,  this  furrow  is  generally 
used.  Before  plows  came  into  use  this  trench  was  never  made,  and  even  now  it  is  omitted  by  some  of  the  most 
successful  planters.  Into  this  trench,  or  into  the  middle  of  the  alley  where  there  is  no  trench,  the  manure  is  placed. 
This  consists  usually  of  about  20  cart-loads  of  marsh  mud  and  from  1,000  to  1,400  pounds  of  cottonseed.  Stable  and 
lot  manure,  together  with  composts  of  marsh  mud  and  rushes,  are  also  applied  in  this  furrow  at  the  rate  of  40  cart- 
loads per  acre  on  such  a  portion  of  the  land  as  the  limited  number  of  stock  enables  the  farmer  to  treat  in  this 
method.  On  the  lines  of  manure  thus  laid  down  a  certain  quantity  of  commercial  fertilizer  is  drilled.  This 
practice,  wholly  unknown  formerly,  is  very  common  now,  even  the  smallest  negro  farmers  often  going  heavily  in 
debt  to  obtain  these  fertilizers  from  the  storekeepers.  They  are  handy,  obviate  the  labor  and  care  of  stock,  and 
the  forethought  and  toil  of  collecting  and  manipulating  composts.  On  James'  island  and  John's  island  a  mixture 
consisting  of  250  pounds, acid  phosphate,  200  pounds  kainit  (German  potash  salt)  and  200  pounds  calcined  marl  is 
applied  per  acre.  On  Edisto  island  they  use  200  pounds  fish  scrap  (half  dry  in  barrels),  200  pounds  kainit.  and  200 
pounds  acid  phosphate  per  acre.  On  Saint  Helena  island  little  fertilizer  is  used.  Cottonseed  is  worth  from  815  to 
820  per  ton,  and  the  commercial  fertilizers  from  815  to  830,  which  would  make  315  an  acre  the  cost  of  manures 
among  the  best  farmers. 

The  land  is  now  ready  for  listing,  which  is  done  by  hauling  on  to  the  manure  with  a  hoe  the  soil  from  the,  tops 

and  sides  of  the  old  bed.     A  more  recent  practice  is  to  lap  in  with  two  furrows  with  a  turning-plow  on  the  manure. 

This  costs  only  17i  cents  per  acre,  while  the  listing  with  the  hoe  costs  80  cents,  although  the  latter  has  the  great 

advantage  of  bringing  all  the  vegetable  mold  and  humus  directly  to  the  spot  where  the  roots  of  the  plants  are  to 

610 


CULTURAL  AND  ECONOMIC  DETAILS.  ~5 

grow.  Over  the  mass  of  dirt,  weeds,  manure,  etc.,  thus  collected  in  the  old  alley,  a  double  roller,  5  feet  from  center 
to  center,  and  weighing  about  800  pounds,  is  passed  to  press  together  and  compact  the  whole,  completing  two  rows 
at  a  time.  All  this  should  be  completed  by  the  1st  to  the  middle  of  March,  and  the  bed  is  then  built  up  by  lapping 
in  two  furrows  on  a  side,  with  a  single-  or  double-horse  turning  plow,  on  the  manure. 

The  land  is  now  ready  for  planting,  which  may  begin  any  time  after  the  20th  of  March  ;  but  from  the  1st  to  the 
10th  of  April  is  the  time  preferred.  Cotton  planters  are  not  used.  Three  hands  do  this  work ;  the  one  in  front  chops 
a  hole  with  a  hoe  on  the  top  of  the  bed  at  intervals  of  from  12  to  IS  inches  ;  another  hand  drops  S  or  10  seed  in  each 
hole,  and  the  third  follows  and  covers  carefully  with  the  hoe.  Three  to  four  peeks  of  seed  are  used  to  the  acre. 
The  seed  makes  its  appearance  above  ground  in  from  8  to  12  days  after  being  planted,  and  the  stand  is  perfected 
from  the  second  week  in  April  to  the  first  week  in  May. 

Hoeing  begins  about  the  1st  of  May.  The  second  hoeing  takes  place  the  last  of  May.  The  plows  then  break 
out  the  middles  (the  spaces  between  the  new  beds  where  the  old  beds  stood).  The  hoe  hands  follow  and  pull  up 
the  loose  dirt  left  by  the  plow  to  the  foot  of  the  cotton.  This  is  called  hauling;  by  it  the  new  bed  is  completed,  the 
cotton  is  kept  from  "flagging"  (falling  down),  and  the  grass  is  kept  under.     It  costs  80  cents  per  acre. 

At  the  second  hoeing  some  stalks  are  thinned  from  the  bunch  in  which  the  seed  breaks  the  ground,  and  at  each 
succeeding  hoeing  and  hauling  other  stalks  are  removed,  until  in  July  only  one  stalk  of  each  bunch  is  left.  There 
are  four  hoeings  and  four  haulings  by  the  last  week  in  July,  one  or  more  furrows  with  a  sweep-plow  being  run 
through  the  middles  previous  to  each  hauling.  By  the  last  of  July  the  culture  is  completed,  except  to  run  a  furrow 
with  the  sweep  between  the  rows  in  August  to  destroy  grass  and  keep  the  cotton  growing. 

The  first  blooms  appear  about  the  middle  of  June,  when  the  cotton  is  15  inches  high,  and  the  bolls  open 
toward  the  end  of  August,  when  the  plants  have  attained  a  growth  of  4  or  5  feet. 

Cotton  picking  commences  from  the  last  week  in  August  to  the  second  week  in  September.  For  the  first 
picking,  while  tlte  cotton  is  thin,  li  cents  per  pound  seed-cotton  is  paid.  Subsequently  the  price  is  1  cent  per 
pound — never  less  until  the  last  of  November,  when  it  rises  again  to  1J  to  2  cents.  By  the  loth  December  the 
crop  is  gathered. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Fripp,  a  progressive  planter  on  John's  island,  remarks,  in  concluding  his  report:  "No  improved 
implements  are  used  or  needed  in  sea-island  cotton  culture."  "Any  one  hand,  with  ordinary  implements  and 
management,  can  make  four  times  as  much  cotton  as  he  can  gather."  Naturally  this  suggests  the  reflection,  what 
is  to  be  done  in  a  region  devoted  almost  exclusively  to  cotton  culture  with  the  three  hands  not  needed  during  the 
cultivation  of  the  crop,  but  of  paramount  importance  during  the  picking  season.  What  industries  can  be  introduced 
to  give  them  employment?  It  would  seem  whatever  they  are,  they  must  be  of  such  a  character  as  is  suited  not  only 
to  cheap  labor,  but  to  cheapen  labor.  Already  the  cotton  picker  pockets  one-sixth  of  the  gross  value  of  the  ciop, 
and  is  a  heavy  burden  on  the  producer.  At  $7  50  per  bale,  which  is  below  the  actual  cost  of  picking,  it  requires 
an  expenditure  of  $40,000,000  or  $45,000,000  to  gather  the  crops  now  made.  This  large  sum  is  paid  out  in  the  space 
of  two  mouths  for  work  in  which  the  most  unskilled  and  least  robust  laborers  excel.  Just  here  there  is  a  gorge  in 
the  industry  of  the  cotton  belt  piling  up  a  vast  reserve  of  stagnant  energies  to  surmount  the  obstacles  of  cotton 
picking.  Should  it  ever  be  removed,  and  machinery  be  invented  to  reduce  the  cost  of  this  work,  improvements  in 
culture  would  follow  so  rapidly,  and  the  product  of  cotton  could  be  so*greatly  increased,  that  besides  being  used 
for  clothing  it  might  become  one  of  the  cheapest  materials  for  building  purposes.  Everywhere,  in  the  production 
of  this  staple,  improvements  are  possible  to  an  indefinite  exteut ;  but  when  cotton  picking  is  reached,  there,  as  in 
gold  digging,  the  only  resource  left  is  manual  labor. 

Lower  pine  belt. — Under  the  best  system  the  land  is  broken  up  broadcast  with  single  or  double  plows,  in 
the  winter  or  early  spring ;  but  the  prevailing  practice  is  simply  to  turn  the  old  beds  into  the  alleys  by  running  the 
bar  of  a  single-horse  plow  to  them,  making  two  to  four  furrows  to  the  bed,  the  usual  width  of  the  rows  being  3J 
feet.  This  leaves  an  open  furrow  in  the  center  of  the  old  bed,  in  which  the  manure  is  deposited  as  early  as 
practicable  in  February  and  March.  The  furrows  are  then  re-covered  and  the  dirt  thrown  up  on  the  manure,  the 
bed  built  up  again,  and  the  land  is  ready  for  planting. 

The  seed  used  belongs  to  the  more  prolific  and  improved  varieties  of  short  staple,  and  passes  under  the  names 
of  Dickson's  or  Herloug's  improved,  select,  or  cluster  cotton.     From  one  to  three  bushels  are  sown  to  the  acre. 

Cotton-planters  are  much  used,  a  cheap  machine  drawn  by  a  mule,  rolling  on  a  wheel  similar  to  that  of  a 
wheelbarrow,  by  the  rotation  of  which  motion  is  imparted  to  fingers  that  keep  the  seed  moving  in  a  hopper 
containing  them,  and  from  which  they  fall  into  the  furrow;  a  plow  in  front  of  the  hopper  op^ns  a  trench  to  receive 
the  seed,  and  a  board  follows  and  covers.  There  is  an  arrangement  to  regulate  the  amount  of  seed  sown,  and  a  good 
hand  and  mule  will  easily  plant  six  acres  a  day,  and  do  it  in  the  best  manner.  The  only  objection  to  the  use  of 
the  machine  is  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  a  careful  hand  to  work  it;  simple  and  easy  as  it  is,  practically  it  is  found 
they  allow  the  seed  to  give  out,  plant  them  too  deep,  or  neglect  to  cover  them — such  carelessness,  which  may  escape 
notice  at  the  time,  resulting  as  irreparable  loss,  in  injury  to  the  stand.  On  this  account  much  seed  is  sown  in  a 
trench  opened  on  the  top  of  the  bed,  made  with  a  plow  or  some  implement  devised  for  the  purpose,  or  in  holes 
chopped  at  proper  intervals  with  a  hoe.  The  latter  method  has  the  advantage  of  spacing  the  plants  more  accurately 
than  can  be  done  after  they  come  up,  by  chopping  them  out  with  a  hoe. 

Bit 


56  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

Planting  takes  place  about  the  lftth  of  April.  The  seedlings  appear  above  ground  in  five  to  ten  days,  although 
when  late  planted,  in  a  dry  time,  they  may  remain  in  the  ground  for  four  weeks,  and  when  the  rain  conies  still  give 
a  good  stand.  The  work  of  chopping  out  the  plants  in  a  drill  to  a  stand  from  12  to  15  inches  apart  is  commenced 
as  soon  as  they  are  firmly  set ;  that  is,  when  they  have  a  height  of  5  inches  and  the  third  or  first  true  leaf  makes  its 
appearance.  It  is  desirable  to  complete  the  thinning  early  in  June,  in  order  that  the  plants  may  spread  when  the 
forms  or  squares  are  making  their  appearauce. 

The  after-cultivation  consists,  usually,  of  four  hoeings  and  four  plowings,  to  keep  the  plant  free  from  grass  and 
the  surface  soil  light  and  porous.     These  are  completed  from  the  last  of  July  to  the  1st  of  August. 

The  plant  attains  a  height  of  from  10  to  15  inches  before  blooming,  and  the  first  blooms  make  their  appearance 
from  the  1st  to  the  20th  of  June.    The  first  open  bolls  are  seen  from  the  last  of  July  to  the  middle  of  August. 

Picking  commences  from  the  middle  of  August  to  the  1st  of  September.  By  the  10th  of  November  the  cotton 
is  generally  all  inched. 

Black  frost  occurs  sometimes  as  early  as  the  20th  of  October,  but  is  not  counted  on  until  the  middle  of  November, 
and  it  is  sometimes  deferred  as  late  as  the  middle  or  end  of  December. 

Cotton  attains  a  height  of  from  2  to  4  feet,  and  is  most  productive  at  3  feet.  Fresh  upland,  unmanured,  yields 
from  300  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton,  the  average  being  safely  set  at  000  pounds.  Under  good  cultivation,  even 
without  manure,  five,  crops  may  be  taken  without  diminishing  the  yield;  1,425  pounds  of  seed-cotton  is  thought,  on 
an  average,  to  yield  a  bale  of  475  pounds  of  lint,  and  the  estimates  of  the  amount  required  for  this  purpose  range 
from  1,100  to  1,540  pounds.  It  is  thought  by  some  that  the  staple  on  old  is  shorter  than  tba4  on  fresh  land,  but  so 
nice  a  point  is  difficult  to  decide,  and  there  is  no  general  opinion  on  the  subject. 

Upper  pine  belt. — The  first  step  in  preparation  for  planting  cotton  is  to  dispose  of  the  old  stalks;  if  small 
they  are  not  attended  to ;  ordinarily  they  are  knocked  to  pieces  by  hand  with  a  club.  Machines  have  been  devised 
for  this  purpose,  but  have  not  proved  successful,  thus  leaving  afield  open  to  inventors.  When  the  stalks  are  very 
large,  say  from  4  to  5  feet  high,  they  have  to  be  pulled  up,  and  sometimes  to  be  burned.  Some  planters  pull  up  the 
stalks  and  lay  them  in  the  furrow  on  which  the  bed  is  to  be  made  ;  it  is  objected  to  this  practice  that  the  plow  in 
cultivation  strikes  the  buried  stalks  and  destroys  the  young  cotton. 

The  furrow  of  the  bed  is  either  run  in  the  alley  between  the  rows  or  the  old  bed  is  barred  oft'  and  the  furrow 
run  through  its  center.  The  first  practice  alternates  the  cotton  rows  every  year,  the  second  plants  on  the  same  spot. 
The  rows  are  rarely  less  than  3  feet  3  inches  apart;  they  average  3i,  and  are  sometimes  4  and  even  5  feet  on  land 
making  a  large  growth.  The  manure  is  placed  in  the  furrow  and  the  bed  is  built  up  in  February  and  March,  the 
object  being  to  get  cottonseed  in  and  covered  as  early  as  possible  to  prevent  its  sprouting  and  heating  after  planting, 
which  is  injurious  to  the  stand.  In  Marlborough  the  fertilizers  are  not  applied  with  the  cottonseed,  but  a  furrow 
is  run  through  the  bed  just  before  planting,  and  the  fertilizer  put  into  it  then.  The  usual  practice  has  been  to  put 
the  manure  in  as  deeply  as  possible  ;  a  practical  difficulty  in  accomplishing  this  arises  from  the  settling  of  the  finely 
pulverized  and  lightly  thrown  up  beds;  the  finer  and  specifically  heavier  particles  of  the  soil  pass  through  and 
under  the  coarser  and  lighter  cottonseed,  compost  or  stable  manure.  So  that  even  after  the  greatest  care  has 
been  taken  to  cover  them  deeply  they  disappoint  the  planter  by  appearing  at  or  near  the  surface  during 
planting  or  the  subsequent  cultivation  of  the  crop.  A  very  successful  practice  in  Aiken  and  Barnwell  counties  has 
been  to  put  the  manure  in  a  shallow  furrow,  but  to  finish  the  bed  by  splitting  with  a  double-horse  shovel-plow 
running  to  the  depth  of  14  inches.  This  leaves  the  sides  of  the  beds  and  the  alley  light  and  loose,  and  it  is  kept  so 
by  after-cultivation.  The  sweep  runs  shallow  in  the  harder  soil  near  the  plants,  and  deeper  in  the  looser  soil  of 
the  alley,  aud  can  thus  skim  the  surface  and  destroy  weeds  near  the  plant  without  cutting  the  roots;  the  drainage 
of  the  bed  is  increased,  and  loose  earth  is  provided,  where  it  alone  can  be  maintained  during  cultivation  in  the  alley, 
to  absorb  atmospheric  moisture,  and  to  dirt  the  plant  or  the  manure. 

Planting  occurs  during  the  month  of  April,  from  the  first  to  the  30th.  Early  planting  runs  the  risk  of  frost, 
late  planting  the  risk  of  a  dry  spell,  which  not  unfrequently  prevents  cotton  planted  the  last  of  April  from  coming 
up  before  the  first  of  June. 

Bancroft's  or  Dickson's  improved  cluster  cottonseed  is  generally  used  ;  a  prolific  cotton,  making  a  good  yield 
of  lint,  being  sought  after,  without  regard  to  the  quality  of  the  staple.  Improved  staples  have  been  produced,  aud 
are  profitably  cultivated  by  the  larger  planters  who  ship  it  themselves  to  the  north  or  to  Europe.  Smaller  fanners, 
confined  to  the  home  markets,  cannot  sell  such  staple  to  advantage,  and  therefore  neglect  it. 

The  quantity  of  seed  used  depends  on  the  method  of  planting ;  in  drilling  by  hand,  the  most  common  practice, 
3  bushels  are  required  ;  with  the  planter,  which  is  coming  more  into  use,  1  to  1 J  bushels  answers  ;  with  the  dibble,  a 
two-wheeled  implement,  drawn  by  a  horse,  the  wheels  rnnuing  on  the  beds  and  making  the  holes  for  the  seed  by 
blocks  fastened  on  the  tires,  a  half  bushel  will  do. 

The  seed  comes  up,  according  to  the  greater  or  less  favorableuess  of  the  season,  in  from  four  to  ten  days  after 
planting.  The  young  plants  are  thinned  out  to  hills  from  8  to  12  inches  apart,  sometimes  to  18  inches ;  usually 
only  one  stalk  is  left,  some  prefer  to  have  two.  Thinning  occurs  from  four  to  six  weeks  after  planting,  from  the  time 
that  the  third  to  the  sixth  leaf  makes  its  appearance,  and  is  completed  early  in  June. 


CULTURAL  AND  ECONOMIC  DETAILS.  57 

The  after-cultivation  of  the'crop  consists  of  four  or  five  plowings  with  tbe  sweep  and  three  or  four  hoeings, 
and  is  completed  from  the  last  of  July  to  the  last  of  August. 

Blooms  first  appear  when  the  plant  is  from  0  to  12  inches  high,  from  the  10th  to  the  20th  of  June.  Bolls  open 
from  forty-two  to  forty-five  days  after  the  bloom,  in  the  latter  part  of  July  and  first  of  August. 

In  favorable  seasons  picking  has  commenced  before  the  12th  of  August ;  ordinarily  not  until  the  20th.  The 
cotton  is  picked  and  ginned  as  fast  as  it  opens  and  the  work  can  be  done,  the  best  planters  estimating  the  loss  of 
leaving  it  in  the  field  for  a  few  weeks,  even  during  good  weather,  as  very  heavy.  All  the  crop  is  picked  by  the 
1st  to  the  15th  of  December,  and  by  far  the  most  of  it  is  in  the  market  before  Christmas. 

Bed-hills  region. — The  culture  of  cotton  differs  in  no  regard  here  from  the  methods  pursued  in  the  upper 
pine  belt,  except  that  the  lands  being  stiffer  here,  the  use  of  the  sweep  plow  is  sometimes  replaced  by  using  the 
shovel  or  the  turning-plow  in  the  cultivation  of  the  crop. 

The  plant  is  subject  to  the  same  enemies  and  diseases  here  as  in  the  upper  pine  belt,  and  the  practices  for 
overcoming  them  are  also  the  same.  Among  their  enemies  grass  is  chiefest.  Of  the  grasses  nut-grass  is  the 
worst,  although  it  is  less  feared  here  on  stiffer  land  than  on  the  lower  soil  of  the  lower  country,  where  the  hoeing 
necessary  for  its  extermination  often  injures  the  stand  by  causing  the  dirt  to  fall  away  from  the  plant,  and  the 
plant  itself  to  fall  down  and  die.  The  ardor  with  which  the  war  against  grass  in  the  cotton-field  has  been  waged, 
and  the  persistency  of  some  grasses,  especially  of  the  crab-grass  and  the  crowfoot,  in  spite  thereof,  has  induced 
some  farmers  to  conclude  that  the  true  method  of  making  hay  on  these  lands  is  by  summer  cultivation.  They 
have  found  by  experiment  that  if  these  lauds  are  kept  loose  and  free  from  weeds  until  a  good  season  of  rain  causes 
them  to  be  well  set  in  these  grasses,  a  good  mowing  can  be  obtained  with  great  certainty. 

Cotton  picking  in  this  region  commences  from  the  12th  to  the  25th  of  August,  varying  in  different  years  with  the 
character  of  the  seasons.  It  is  fully  under  way  by  the  1st  of  September.  Half  the  crop  is  usually  gathered  by  the 
1st  of  October,  and  picking  is  concluded  from  the  25th  of  November  to  the  10th  of  December.  Formerly  it  was  not 
unusual  to  see  fields  white  with  cotton  at  Christmas  time,  a  thing  not  known  now.  This  may  be  due  in  part  to  a 
selection  of  seed  that  opens  more  fully  at  one  time,  and  to  assisting  this  by  the  use  of  fertilizers  that  favor  an  early 
and  complete  maturity  of  the  plant.  Also  to  the  general  withdrawal  of  negro  women  from  all  farm  work  except 
cotton  picking,  thereby  increasing  the  number  of  pickers  in  proportion  to  the  producers  of  the  staple. 

Metamorphic  region.— Fallow  lands,  or  lands  that  have  been  in  other  crops,  and  sometimes  the  heavy  red 
lands  are  broken  up  broadcast  during  winter  and  spring.  The  great  body  of  the  lands,  however,  being  planted 
year  after  year  in  cotton,  the  usual  method  is  to  lay  off  in  the  alley  with  a  shovel-plow,  drill  in  the  manure  and 
bed  to  it  with  a  turning-plow.  Three  to  five  furrows  complete  the  bed,  and  the  land  is  ready  for  planting.  On  the 
thinnest  lands  the  rows  are  2A  feet  apart,  generally  they  are  from  3  feet  to  34  feet,  and  on  the  strongest  lands  they 
are  4  feet. 

Planting  commences  on  and  after  the  10th  of  April,  and  is  completed  on  or  before  the  10th  of  May.  The  seed 
used  is  the  short-limbed  cluster  variety  of  cotton  known  under  the  name  of  Dickson's  improved  or  Boyd's  prolific 
Petit-Gulf.     It  is  rather  a  delicate  plant,  a  prolific  bearer  of  early  maturity,  and  a  short  staple. 

Carefully  sown  1  bushel  of  seed  will  plant  an  acre,  though  as  much  as  3  and  sometimes  5  bushels  is  used ;  with 
a  planter  2  bushels  answers,  and  2  to  2J  may  be  taken  as  the  average.  Most  of  the  seed  is  sown  by  hand  in  a 
furrow  opeued  by  a  small  plow  and  covered  by  various  devices  of  boards  propelled  by  hand  or  by  a  horse.  On 
smooth,  well-prepared,  laud,  planters,  especially  the  Dowlaw,  are  much  used,  and  well  thought  of. 

The  seed  comes  up  in  from  four  to  teu  days  in  favorable  seasous ;  late  plantings  in  dry  seasons  are  longer  in 
appearing  and  may  not  come  up  for  a  month,  and  then  give  a  good  stand;  this  occurrence  is  always  a  misfortune, 
as  it  not  only  retards  the  crop,  but  allows  the  grass  a  chance  to  overtake  it. 

As  soon  as  the  stand  is  perfected,  thinning  commences,  and  the  cotton  is  chopped  out  with  a  hoe  to  spaces 
varying  from  G  inches  on  thin  lands  to  18  inches  on  the  strongest,  usually  to  from  9  to  12  inches. 

The  after-cultivation  consists  in  keeping  the  ground  light  and  loose  by  the  use  of  the  plow,  and  in  keeping  the 
grass  out  of  the  row  with  the  hoe.  A  great  variety  of  plows  are  used  for  this  purpose,  twisters,  turn-plows,  shovels, 
and  harrows  ;  the  later  workings,  when  the  plant  is  fruiting,  are  usually  given  by  passing  twice  through  the  row 
with  a  sweep  which  skims  the  surface.  Generally  there  are  four  plowings  and  four  hoeings,  but  sometimes  three 
plowings  are  sufficient. 

When  the  plant  is  from  10  to  15  inches  high,  usually  about  the  1st  of  July,  it  begins  to  bloom,  though  blooms 
are  sometimes  noticed  as  early  as  the  15th  of  June. 

Open  bolls  appear  about  the  middle  of  August ;  in  favorable  seasons  they  are  sometimes  seen  the  last  of  July, 
and  at  other  times  not  until  the  1st  of  September.  Although  in  some  instances  the  plant  grows  as  high  as  4  or  5 
feet,  the  height  at  which  it  is  thought  to  be  most  productive  here  is  from  2  to  3  feet. 

Picking  may  commence  about  the  25th  of  August,  but  it  is  not  in  full  blast  until  from  the  1st  to  the  20th  of 
September.  The  crop  is  gone  over  three  or  four  times,  and  it  is  all  out  of  the  field  by  Christmas,  sometimes  as 
early  as  the  20th  of  November. 

Piedmont  region. — Cotton  culture  was  a  leading  industry  in  the  upper  counties  of  South  Carolina  previous 
to  1820'.     The  crop  varied  from  120  to  200  pounds  of  lint  per  acre  in  the  four  most  northerly  counties,  and  averaged 
33  o  p — vol.  ii  r13 


58  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

145  pounds.  At  that  date,  however,  and  for  long  afterward,  probably  not  au  acre  of  cotton  was  planted  in 
the  region  now  under  consideration.  The  opening  of  the  Air-Line  railroad  having  reduced  the  cost  of  fertilizers, 
attention  was  drawn  to  the  large  bodies  of  gray  sandy  lands,  hitherto  little  considered,  and  experiments  in  cotton 
growing  by  their  aid  proved  so  successful  that  the  culture  was  largely  increased.  It  has  extended  over  the  table 
lands  and  even  up  the  mountain  slopes,  and  is  now  grown  in  every  township  of  the  region  except  one,  Chattooga 
township  in  Oconee  county,  already  referred  to  as  the  culminating  point  of  the  river  system.  It  has  been  found 
that  while  the  season  is  shorter  the  stimulation  of  the  growth  by  the  use  of  fertilizers  compensates  for  this. 

The  same  tillage  as  is  given  further  south  expended  here,  in  a  shorter  period  of  time,  has  a  like  effect  in  pushing 
the  plant  to  maturity.  With  slave  labor  this  was  inconvenient,  if  not  impracticable.  It  has  been  further  found 
that  the  growth  of  the  plant  is  steadier  here;  it  does  not  suffer  from  those  checks  daring  long  dewless  intervals 
which  retard  its  progress  in  hotter  and  drier  sections.  The  claim  is  also  intide  that  better  cotton  is  grown  here 
than  further  south.  Experienced  cotton  buyers  have  long  given  the  preference  to  staples  of  both  long  and  .short 
cottons  grown  toward  the  northern  limits,  respectively,  of  their  culture.  It  is  said  that  the  fibers  are  stronger  and 
of  more  equal  and  uniform  length,  admirable  qualities,  which  might  naturally  be  expected  from  a  short,  steady,  and 
continuous  growth.  For  all  these  reasons,  together  with  the  improvements  in  the  selection  of  seed,  by  which  the 
period  of  growth  is  lessened,  and  an  earlier  and  more  simultaneous  ripening  of  the  fruit  is  obtained,  it  is  expected 
that  what  has  been  already  done  is  only  the  commencement  of  a  much  wider  extension  toward  lie1  mountains  of 
the  growth  of  the  cotton-plant. 

No  peculiarities  of  cotton  culture  are  to  be  noted  in  this  region.  Little  or  no  previous  preparation  is  given  to 
the  soil  until  it  is  thrown  into  ridges  from  2J  to  4  feet  apart,  according  to  the  strength  of  the  land  just  before 
planting.  The  seed  is  planted  from  the  10th  to  the  20th  of  April,  commencing  on  the  same  date  as  in  the  region 
below,  but  concluding  earlier  by  from  10  to  20  days. 

About  two  bushels  of  seed  are  used  to  the  acre,  and  it  is  for  the  most  part  sown  by  hand,  the  outlay  of  812 
for  a  planter  being  generally  considered  too  great  for  the  advantage  gained,  especially  by  small  renters,  who  hold 
their  farms  only  for  the  crop  season. 

The  seed  comes  up  in  from  o'  to  15  (lays.  The  variety  preferred  is  some  of  the  cluster  cottons,  prolific  bearers 
of  early  maturity. 

In  two  weeks  after  planting  the  cotton  is  chopped  out  with  a  hoe  to  about  12  inches  apart,  sometimes  to  only 
0  inches,  and  on  very  strong  land  intervals  of  IS  inches  between  the  plants  may  be  left.  If  the  soil  be  well  stirred 
with  the  plow  and  kept  clean  in  the  drill  with  the  hoe  the  cotton  will  have  attained  a  height  of  from  S  to  18  inches 
by  the  1st  to  the  10th  of  July,  when  blooms  will  appear. 

The  first  blooms  are  now  looked  for  the  latter  part  of  June,  but  until  the  last  year  or  two  they  were  never 
expected  before  the  4th  of  July,  and  even  that  was  thought  early.  Open  bolls  are  seen  from  the  25th  of  August  to 
the  1st  of  September. 

Picking  commences  from  the  10th  to  the  15th  of  September.  The  growing  season  ends  with  the  first  black  frost, 
which  occurs  abott  the  15th  of  October  or  the  1st  of  November.  The  crop  is  gathered  by  the  15th  to  the  .'list  of 
December. 

The  plant  is  considered  most  productive  when  it  attains  a  height  of  2  feet.  Fresh  lands  yield  from  TOO  to  1,200 
pounds  of  seed-cotton.  The  same  lands  after  from  two  to  ten  years'  culture  without  manure  yield  from  400  to  000 
pounds  of  seed-cotton;  with  moderate  manuring  and  fairly  good  culture  they  improve.  It  is  estimated  thai  il 
requires  here  au  average  of  1,455  pounds  of  seed-cotton  to  produce,  a  bale  of  475  pounds. 

GINNING,  BALING,  AND  SHIPPING.* 

Ginning  presents  no  peculiar  features  in  the  state.  Sixteen  different  saw-gin  patents  are  mentioned  lor  I  In; 
short-staple  cotton,  while  for  the  sea-island  long-Staple  variety  the  McCarthy  roller-gin  is  used.  Steam,  water, 
and  horse  powers  are  used,  and  the  amount  of  lint  made  in  a  day's  run  varies  with  the  number  of  saws  in  the  gin 
and  the  power  employed. 

The  roller-gin,  with  steam  power,  makes  from  400  to  000  pounds  of  lint  in  a  10  hours'  run  ;  this  lint  is  packed, 
by  hand  pressure,  in  round  bags  7A  feet  long,  or,  as  the  correspondent  from  John's  island  expresses  it,  "the  press 
used  is  a  hole  in  the  floor,  hung  bag,  iron  pestle,  and  a  negro."  Three  bags  per  day  can  be  thus  pressed.  The 
weight  given  these  bags  of  long  staple  is  about  350  pounds;  1,000  of  the  seed-cotton  is  required  for  400  of  lint. 
They  are  not  bound  with  ties  as  are  the  bales  of  short  staple. 

Upland  cotton  is  put  up  in  bales  of  from  425  to  550  pounds,  as  repotted.  Lather  more  than  half  the  reports 
gn  e  500  pounds  as  the  weight  of  a  bale.     Iron  ties  are  used  exclusively. 

The  tendency  of  custom  and  of  legislation  is  toward  charging  freight  by  weight,  but  reports  vary  greatly  as 
to  local  practice.  One  line  is  reported  as  charging  by  measurement  of  space  occupied;  some  lines  are  reported  as 
charging  by  weight;  some  as  charging  by  the  bale,  without  regard  to  size;  some  as  charging  by  the  bale,  but  for 
all  excess  over  certain  weight,  which  weight  is  reported  iu  different  cases  as  400,  450.  and  500  pounds. 


*  The  matter  wider  tbis  head  has  been  compiled  directly  from  the  schedules. — E.  YV.  II. 


CULTURAL  AND  ECONOMIC  DETAILS.  59 

DISEASES,  INSECT  ENEMIES,  ETC. 

Coast  region. — As  has  been  already  stated,  the  long-staple  cotton  is  a  more  vigorous  grower  and  less  subject 
to  disease  than  upland  cotton.  ^Neither  sore-shin,  blight,  rust,  or  the  shedding  of  fruit  in  unfavorable  seasons  seems 
to  affect  it  to  the  same  extent.  Its  enemies  are  in  the  vegetable  kingdom,  weeds  and  grass,  especially  the  nut-grass 
and  the  Bermuda,  and  against  these  the  constant  and  skillful  use  of  the  hoe  and  plow  are  the  only  safeguards.  The 
most  dreaded  enemy  of  the  crop  is  the  cotton  caterpillar,  which  makes  its  appearance  in  warm  wet  spells  in  the 
latter  part  of  summer,  and  speedily  consumes  the  foliage.  At  one  time  so  great  and  constant  were  the  depredations 
of  these  worms,  that  it  was  feared  that  they  would,  as  they  did  for  some  years,  put  a  stop  to  the  profitable  culture 
of  this  crop.  5To\v,  however,  by  the  use  of  Paris  green  the  planter  counts  securely  on  contending  successfully  with 
them,  and  no  crop  has  been  lost  in  late  years  where  it  has  been  used  in  season. 

A  mixture  of  1  pound  of  Paris  green,  1  pound  of  rosin,  and  40  pounds  of  flour  is  dusted  by  hand  over  the 
leaves  on  the  first  appearance  of  the,  worm,  and  this  inexpensive  process  secures  exemption  from  their  ravages 
even  when  they  come  in  such  numbers  and  work  with  such  rapidity  that  the  portion  of  a  field  not  treated  to 
the  mixture,  in  consequence  of  the  intervention  of  Sunday,  is  consumed  beyond  remedy. 

Lower  pine  belt. — It  may  be  safely  said  that  more  injury  is  done  to  cotton  in  this  section  by  grass  than 
by  anything  else,  and  the  only  remedy  that  can  be  devised  against  this  is  hoeing  ami  plowing.  Crab-grass 
(Diyitaria  sanguintdis)  is  the  chief  intruder.  In  warm  and  wet  seasons  the  cotton-plant  sometimes  grows  too  much 
to  weed  when  heavily  manured.  Topping  is  tried  as  a  remedy,  but  it  is  thought  that  linderdrainage  would  be 
more  effective. 

"Sore  shin  "is  supposed  to  result  from  bruising'  the  plant  by  careless  hoeing,  and  is  not  a  trouble  of  much 
consequence  here. 

Shedding  occurs  in  extremes  of  heat  and  cold.  Bust  and  blight  make  their  appearance  late  in  July  and  August; 
they  are  attributed  to  the  exhaustion  of  some  elements  of  the  soil,  and  potash  is  very  popular  as  a  remedy;  they 
arc  likely  to  occur  on  coarse,  sandy,  ill-drained  soil. 

The  caterpillar  is  seldom  hurtful,  and  Paris  green  has  been  used  successfully  for  its  destruction. 

Upper  pine  belt. — There  are  few  crops  grown  anywhere  more  certain  of  success  than  the  cotton  crop  in 
the  upper  pine  belt.  A  complete  failure  never  occurs,  and  a  reduction  of  20  per  cent,  in  the  yield  is  an  unusual 
occurrence.  The  greatest  variations  have  been  in  an  increase  of  product  under  better  cultivation,  and  it  is  believed 
that  a  wide  field  for  development  lies  in  this  direction.  The  principal  obstruction  to  the  growth  of  the  plant  is  the 
crab-grass,  necessitating  constant  labor  and  vigilance,  or  resulting  in  fatal  injury  to  the  crop.  Usually  the  task  is 
one  acre  in  hoeing,  which  is  completed  by  dinner  time;  but  most  frequently  it  is  far  from  being  thoroughly  done. 
In  Marlborough,  where  the  work  is  well  done,  and  perhaps  on  this  account,  two  acres  is  the  task,  and  it  is  usually 
completed  by  4  p.  m. 

Drought  is  very  seldom  injurious  except  during  the  fruiting  season  in  July  and  August.  Sore-shin,  except  as 
resulting  from  bad  hoeing,  is  not  known. 

Lice,  a  minute  aphid,  appears  on  the  under  side  of  the  leaves  in  May  and  later,  and  gives  them  a  curled,  but  at 
the  same  time  a  deeper  green  appearance.  Dry  weather  is  favorable  to  them,  and  in  good  seasons  they  are  not 
thought  to  injure  the  plant.  Some  say  they  promote  fruitfulness.  In  bad  season,  i.  e.,  excessive  drought,  during 
fruiting,  rust  appears  earliest  and  is  most  injurious  where  they  have  been  most  numerous. 

Bust  and  blight  affect  the  crop  especially  during  the  fruiting  season;  it  is  most  injurious  to'the  prolific  short- 
limbed  cluster  cotton .  Under  favorable  conditions  the  plant  will  take  on  a  heavy  crop  of  fruit  in  from  four  to  six  weeks, 
any  time  from  the  middle  of  June  to  the  middle  of  September.  At  such  a  period  it  will  cease  to  grow,  the  leaves 
will  pale  and  turn  red,  all  the  energies  of  the  plant  being  devoted  to  reproductive  efforts.  Commercial  fertilizers 
promote  this  crisis  by  contributing  more  to  the  fruitfulness  than  to  the  growth  of  the  plant.  Any  vicissitude  of  the 
weather,  heat  or  cold,  wet  or  drought,  will  seriously  enfeeble' or  even  kill  the  plant  in  this,  its  term  of  labor, 
especially  on  poor,  sandy,  or  ill-drained  soils.  A  crop  will  have  been  made,  the  utmost,  that  the  soil,  the  variety  of 
seed,  and  the  seasons  admit  of,  but  the  future  growth  and  fruitfulness  of  the  plant  is  checked  or  destroyed.  This 
is  what  is  equally  termed  rust  or  blight.  The  remedies  are,  varieties  of  the  plant  that  are  more  vigorous  growers, 
those  of  longer  limb,  and  less  given  to  excessive  fruiting;  stable  manure  in  the  place  of  fertilizers;  the  potash  salts, 
which  are  used  with  marked  benefit;  and  thorough  drainage. 

Cotton  sheds  by  far  the  largest  portion  of  the  "forms"  which  come  on  it,  and  the  closest  observers  state  that  in 
the  great  mass  of  our  cotton  lands  the  cotton-plant  will  not  in  the  best  of  seasons  mature  into  open  bolls  one  in 
five,  of  the  blossoms  that  appear,  generally  not  one  in  ten.  Remedies  for  this  are  being  sought  in  the  selection  of 
seed,  and  in  various  methods  of  culture,  but  nothing  decided  has  been  thus  far  obtained. 

When  the  early  season  is  wet  and  warm,  the  plant  may  run  too  much  to  weed.  Some  attribute  this  in  part  to 
late  thinning  and  deep  cultivation ;  others  think  it  may  be  checked  by  running  a  deep,  narrow  furrow,  closing  after 
the  plow,  close  to  the  cotton.  Short-limbed  varieties  of  cotton,  and  cottonseed,  and  phosphates  as  fertilizers  are 
recommended  as  remedies. 

Although  the  cotton  caterpillar  moth  is  frequently  met  with,  even  during  the  severest  winters,  the  worm  rarely 
makes  its  appearance  before  September,  and  hardly  ever  does  any  damage. 

515 


60  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

Metamoephic  region. — In  its  early  growth,  unless  in  exceptionally  windy  and  cold  seasons,  or  through  bad 
hoeing,  cotton  does  not  suffer  hero  at  all  from  "  sore-shin".  Nor  does  it  often  run  to  weed,  though  in  unusually 
warm  and  wet  seasons  or  on  strong  fresh  laud  this  may  occur  ;  cultivation  and  manuring  are  thought  to  cheek 
excessive  growth  and  to  promote  fruiting. 

Worms  are  rarely  seen  in  this  region  and  are  not  at  all  feared.  Shedding  and  rust  are  often  injurious.  The  hist, 
is  likely  to  occur  during  alternations  of  dry  and  wet  weather. 

Black  rust  is  confined  to  ill-drained  soils,  especially  to  those  of  the  trap-rocks.  Wet  weather  is  more  likely  to 
affect  the  cotton-plant  injuriously  here  than  dry  and  hot  weather. 

No  crop  grown  anywhere  over  so  extensive  an  area  is  more  certain  than  is  the  cotton  crop  in  this  region. 
Drainage  arid  stable  manure  with  fairly  good  culture  are  unfailing  remedies  for  such  diseases  as  have  as  yet  affected 
it.  The  enemy  most  dreaded  and  most  certain  to  require  the  best  efforts  of  the.  farmer  to  hold  it  in  check  is  grass, 
and  with  one  consent  the  species  is  known  as  "crab-grass"  (Digitaria  sanguinalis),  a  corruption,  John  Drayton 
says,  of  crop-grass,  as  it  was  unknown  until  the  land  was  cultivated.     De  Brahm,  writing  of  Carolina  in  1 752,  ••;i\  s: 

By  cause  new  land  produces  scarse  any  grass,  &  once  honing  will  do  for  the  season,  but  the  grass  comes  &  increases  in  such  a  manner 
that  sometimes  three  bouings  are  scarae  sufficient  in  one  season  ;  and  when  tins  comes  to  be  the  case  the  plan  tens  relimiuisb  these  fields  lor 
pastures  *.V  clear  new  ground  of  its  wood. 

This  grass  makes  an  excellent  hay,  attaining  a  height  of  from  2  to  5  feet,  and  yielding  from  1  to  -I  tons  to  the  acre, 
according  to  the,  land  and  the  season.  Next  to  cotton  picking,  however,  it  is  the  chief  source  of  trouble  and  expense 
in  the  culture  of  this  crop. 

Piedmont  region. — Diseases  and  enemies  are  restricted  here,  almost  exclusively  to  one,  viz,  frost.  Caterpillar  is 
unknown.  A  little  rust  and  shedding  occur  on  ill-drained  soils,  but  there  is  no  general  complaint  regarding  them. 
The  vegetable,  enemy  of  the  plant  is  crab-grass,  with  now  ami  thi  u  complaints  of  rag-weed  and  may-pop  vines. 

LABOR  AND  SYSTEM  OF  FARMING. 

Coast  REGION. — On  the,  sea  islands  of  Carolina  held  labor  is  performed  almost  exclusively  by  negroes. 
Nearly  all  of  them  are  engaged  in  farming  on  their  own  account;  a  large  number  own  farms;  a  still  larger  number 
rent  lands  for  cultivation,  and  even  the  laborers  are  paid  most  generally  by  granting  them  the  use  of  a  certain 
number  of  acres  of  land  for  certain  stipulated  services. 

The  total  number  of  farms  on  the  islands  is  stated  to  be  5,453,  but  the,  number  probably  exceeds  6,000,  the 
enumerators  having  had  the  lauds  and  crops  cultivated  by  reuters  returned  by  the  land-owners,  and  consolidating 
them  as  being  under  one  management  when,  they  were,  in  reality,  entirely  independent — an  error  very  likely  to 
occur,  and  sometimes  quite  difficult  to  avoid. 

The  largest  number  of  acres  of  sea-island  cotton  planted  under  one  management  nowhere  exceeds  100  acres. 
The  largest  white  planters  do  not  probably  average  more  than  30  acres,  and  this  necessitates  that  he  should 
be  a  landlord  of  considerable  estate.  For  as  the  laborers  are  frequently  given  from  5  to  7  acres  for  two  days' 
work  in  the  week,  and  as  this  time  does  not  suffice  for  the,  cultivation  of  more  than  4  acres,  to  cultivate  30  acres  of 
cotton  under  this  system  requires  75  acres  of  land ;  add  to  this  the  amount  usually  planted  in  corn  and  other  crops, 
and  we  will  have  120  acres.  As  under  the  best  system  the  land  lies  fallow  every  other  year,  the  planter  of  30  acres 
of  cotton  will  require  240  acres  of  open  land;  and  as  scarcely  one-fifth  of  the  land  is  under  cultivation,  such  a 
planter  will  probably  own  some  1,200  acres.  Thus  there  is  no  proportion  between  the  size  of  the  farm  actually 
cultivated  and  the  land  holdings — the  first  being  quite  small  and  the  last  large.  This  state  of  tilings  is  owing  to 
absence  of  capital  and  the  low  price  of  laud  and  labor;  lands  which  were  worth  from  350  to  SCO  an  acre  more  than 
half  a  century  ago  (Mills'  Statistics  of  Smith  Carolina,  pp.  372  and  472),  and  which  increased  in  value  down  to  1800, 
being  until  quite  recently  either  wholly  unsalable  or  selling  at  810  per  acre  or  less. 

On  James  island,  which  at  this  time  is  perhaps  under  a  more  progressive  system  of  culture  than  the  other  sea 
islands,  laborers  are  paid  cash  for  their  work  at  the  rate  of  50  cents  per  diem  and  $10  per  month  with  board,  the 
latter  beinga  ration  of  3  pounds  of  bacon  and  1  peck  of  grits  a  week,  with  shelter  and  fuel.  The  soil  and  the  condition 
of  the  laborers  are  reported  as  improving,  and  cash  wages  are  considered  preferable  to  the  share  or  the  land  system 
of  payment. 

Arable,  land  reuts  here  at  82  an  acre  per  annum.  The  price  of  land  is  from  815  to  830  an  acre.  A  few  laborers 
own  their  houses,  but  very  few  own  any  farming  land. 

On  John's  island  cash  wages  are  from  88  to  810  a  month  with  board.  Most  of  the  laborers,  however,  are 
engaged  for  two  days'  work  a  week  by  allowing  them  a  house,  fuel,  and  G  or  7  acres  of  land  free  of  rent;  but  the 
report  is  that  the  system  is  not  satisfactory.  The  laud  worked  by  the  landlords  is  improving;  that  worked  by  the 
laborers  on  their  own  account  is  deteriorating  rapidly.  The  labor  is  not  so  ea-sily  controlled  as  when  cash  wages 
are  paid. 

The  lands  vary  greatly  in  price,  prices  ranging  from  82  50  to  820  per  acre,  with  some  lands  valued  recently  still 
higher.  Kent  is  higher  than  on  James  island,  in  consequence  of  a  system  that  increases  the  demand  by  multiplying 
small  farmers,  and  it  is  about  83  per  acre  per  annum. 

510 


CULTURAL  AND  ECONOMIC  DETAILS  61 

On  Edisto  island  the  two-day  system  prevails.  The  laborer  gives  the  landlord  two  days'  work  in  every  week 
during  ten  months  of  the  year,  and  receives  in  return  a  house,  fuel,  and  6  acres  of  arable  land,  which,  together  with 
such  other  laud  as  he  may  rent,  he  cultivates  on  his  own  account  during  the  remainder  of  the  weelc.  When  extra  work 
is  required  on  the  farm,  these  laboring  tenants  are  employed  at  50  cents  per  day.  The  system  is  reported  as  being 
quite  unsatisfactory,  these  two-day  hands  not  cultivating  more  than  two  acres  as  an  average  for  the  proprietor,  and 
burdening  his  estate  with  the  support  of  a  much  larger  population  than  necessary  to  its  cultivation.  By  means  of 
this,  however,  a  large  amount  of  resident  labor  is  secured  on  the  place,  which  is  of  prime  importance  during  the 
cottonpick'ng  season.  The  laborers  themselves  prefer  this  system,  having  four  days  out  of  the  week  for  themselves; 
they  are  more  independent,  and  can  make  any  day  they  choose  a  holiday.  As  a  rule,  they  are  in  comfortable 
circumstances,  and  about  7  per  cent,  are  reported  as  owning  homes  of  their  own  and  some  land. 

The  laud  for  which  they  pay  rent  service  generally  deteriorates  in  value.  The  lands  worked  by  the  proprietors 
are  among  the  very  best  on  the  sea-coast,  and  are  improving. 

The  average  yield  of  cotton  on  the  whole  island  is  a  bale  to  2.6  acres  ;  for  the  six  largest  planters  it  is  a  bale  to 
1.7  acres.  Considering  the  quality  of  the  staple  produced,  it  may  be  safely  said  that  the  larger  farms  yield  between 
two  and  three  times  as  much  as  the  small  ones. 

Lands  here  are  worth  from  $10  to  $25  per  acre;  formerly  they  were  worth  from  $50  to  $70  per  acre.  Small 
tracts  rent  for  about  $4  per  acre  per  annum,  larger  tracts  tor  less;  and  there  is  a  state  of  things  which  tends  to 
reduce  the  salable  value  of  lauds  while  it  increases  the  rental  value  of  it. 

West  of  Saint  Helena  sound  land  is  almost  without  exception  in  the  hands  of  small  negro  farmers,  either  as 
tenants  or  proprietors.  Much  cf  this  laud,  valued  formerly  at  from  $40  to  $00  an  acre,  was  confiscated  as  a  war 
measure  by  the  United  States  government.  A  good  deal  of  it  was  purchased  by  negroes  at  the  government  sales 
at  $1  25  an  acre,  on  credit,  and  is  still  owned  by  them.  These  small  negro  farmers  have  enjoyed  many  advantages. 
They  bought  their  lands  on  easy  terms,  at  from  one-thirtieth  to  one-fiftieth  of  their  value,  and  had  the  benefit  of  the 
famine  prices  of  cotton  during  the  war  for  their  staple  product. 

The  size  of  the  landholdings  is  from  1  to  20  acres,  and  nowhere  are  more  than  15  acres  of  cotton  cultivated 
under  one  management.  Much  of  the  land  is  uncultivated,  and  the  remainder  is  planted  in  small  patches,  varying 
from  i  of  an  acre  ami  less  to  3  acres  in  size,  consisting  of  corn,  cotton,  ami  sweet  potatoes,  curiously  intermingled. 

Nowhere  in  the  state,  not  even  among  the  gardens  on  Charleston  Neck,  is  the  system  of  small  culture  so 
strikingly  illustrated.  The  farmers  usually  own  a  cow,  a  mule,  or  a  horse,  and  the  work  stock  is  sufficiently 
numerous,  though  of  a  very  inferior  quality.  Farm  fixtures  are  of  the  simplest  and  cheapest  description.  There 
is  seldom  any  shelter  for  the  stock,  the  cabin  of  the  proprietor  being  generally  the  only  house  on  the  premises. 
The  stock  is  fed  on  marsh-grass,  with  a  little  corn,  and  is  in  a  large  measure  subsisted  by  being  picketed  out,  when 
not  at  work,  to  graze  on  such  weeds  as  the  fallow  spontaneously  furnishes. 

Plows  are  numerous  enough,  but  the  chief  reliance  is  upon  the  hoe,  which  for  several  generations  was  the 
only  implement  known  to  agriculturalists  on  this  coast. 

Since  the  war  the  industries  connected  with  the  working  of  the  phosphate  rock  in  the  rivers  and  on  the  mainland 
adjacent  to  them  have  furnished  the  men  with  employment  at  higher  wages  than  could  be  obtained  elsewhere  in  the 
state.  The  opening  of  the  railway'  to  Port  Royal  harbor  has  also  made  a  demand  for  labor  in  loading  and  unloading 
vessels  at  a  better  per  diem  than  was  elsewhere  obtainable. 

Graded  schools  were  early  established  here,  and  have  been  maintained  on  a  large  scale  uninterruptedly  for 
many  years.     Fish,  oysters,  and  game  abouud;  and  poultry,  as  chickens,  ducks  aud  turkeys,  does  particularly  well. 

The  laborers  live  comfortably,  happily,  and  peacefully.  All  the  larger  houses  and  buildings  about  the  old 
farmsteads  have  rotted  down  or  have  been  burned  down,  and  have  been  replaced  by  small  cabins,  and  a  few  country 
stores,  where  the  traders,  invariably  white  men,  who  take  no  part  in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  collect  and  dispose 
of  the  crop  aud  supply  the  community  with  such  articles  of  food  aud  dress  as  are  required.  Most  of  the  meu  are 
engaged  at  the  phosphate  works  or  on  the  wharves  at  Port  Royal,  and  the  bulk  of  the  farm  work  is  performed  by 
the  women  and  children.     Land  is  worth  from  $10  to  $15  an  acre. 

Purchasiug  supplies  on  a  credit  prevails  to  a  considerable  extent,  especially  among  the  small  farmers.  The 
exact  rate  at  which  these  advauces  are  made  cannot  be  given,  as  it  is  not  charged  as  interest,  but  is  included  in  an 
increased  price  asked  for  supplies  purchased  on  a  credit.  It  varies  from  20  to  100  per  cent,  above  the  market  value 
of  the  goods,  according  to  the  amount  of  competition  among  the  storekeepers,  who  here,  as  elsewhere  in  the  state, 
are  by  far  the  most  prosperous  class  of  the  community,  in  proportion  to  the  skill  and  capital  employed.  The  better 
class  of  farmers  do  not  approve  of  this  credit  system.  It  furnishes  facilities  to  small  farmers,  encouraging  them  to 
undertake  operations  they  cannot  make  remunerative  to  themselves ;  it  reduces  the  number  of  laborers,  aud 
precludes  high  culture.  The  rental  value  of  land  is  thus  increased,  and  land  which  could  uot  be  sold  for  810  may 
be  rented  for  $5. 

The  thriftless  culture  resulting  from  the  small  farms,  unduly  multiplied  by  this  unhealthy  stimulus  of  credit, 
causes  many  acres  to  be  thrown  yearly  out  of  cultivation.  Thus  the  increasing  demand  to  rent  land,  in  consequence 
of  the  increasing  facilities  for  credit  to  small  farmers  and  the  constantly  diminishing  area  of  arable  land  resulting 

51? 


62  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

from  the  very  imperfect  system  of  culture  their  lack  of  menus  forces  them  to  adopt,  create  high  rents  injurious  to 
the  small  fanner,  ami  impoverishes  the  landlord  by  deteriorating  the  quality  of  his  land,  as  well  as  by  abstracting 
the  labor  he  would  employ  in  remunerative  culture. 

Lower  pine  belt. — Iu  Colleton  county  the  farms  on  which  cotton  is  planted  vary  in  size  from  50  to  200 
acres,  and  are,  in  some  instances,  as  much  as  400  acres.  A  system  of  mixed  farming  is  pursued;  food  supplies 
mostly,  and  in  an  increasing  degree,  are  raised  at  home.  Bacon  for  the  laborers,  however,  is  usually  bought  in 
Charleston.  There  are  a  few  white  laborers,  but  the  labor  is  chiefly  performed  by  negroes.  Wages  vary  from  80  a 
month  to  $120  and  $150  a  year.  Very  few  farms  are  worked  on  shares;  when  it  is  done,  the  landholder  usually 
furnishes  all  supplies,  and  takes  one-third  of  the  cotton  and  one  hall'  the  provision  crop.  The  share  system  is  not 
entirely  satisfactory.  The  quality  of  the  staple  is  not  affected  by  il.  but  the  quantity  produced  is  small,  and  the  laud 
deteriorates.  Money  wages  are  preferred,  because  it  places  the  management  under  intelligent  control,  enables  the 
laborer  to  meet  his  current  expenses,  and  preserves  bis  independence  from  debt.  The  condition  of  l  lie  laborers  is 
good,  and  about  2  per  cent,  of  the  negro  laborers  own  some  land  or  the  houses  in  which  they  live,  The  maiket 
value  of  land  is  from  $2  to  85.  The  rent  is  from  81  50  to  $3  an  acre.  The  system  of  receiving  advances  on  the 
growing  cotton  crop  is  diminishing. 

In  Williamsburgh  county  the  farms  on  which  cotton  is  planted  vary  from  100  to  COO  acres  in  size.  Mixed 
farming  is  practiced;  the  family  supplies  of  the  landlord  being  usually  raised  at  home,  those  of  the  laborer  purchased 
in  Charleston;  the  tendency  to  raise  supplies  is  increasing.  There  are  some  white  laborers,  but  generally  negroes 
are  employed ;  wages,  averaging  88  a  month,  are  paid  monthly  or  oftener.  A  few  cotton  farms  are  winked  on 
shares — the  terms  being  a  net  one-quarter  of  all  the  crops  for  the  landlord,  he  for  the  uiosl  pari  advancing  all 
supplies.  Land  deteriorates  under  the  share  and  improves  under  the  wage  system,  which  latter  is  better  for  the 
laborer,  his  energies  being  more  intelligently  directed  his  labor  is  more  productive  and  worth  more,  besides  it 
induces  economy,  enables  him  to  understand  fully  his  financial  condition,  and  he.  is  more  satisfied  at  the  end  of  the 
year  than  when  there  is  a  settlement  of  accounts,  the  run  of  which  he  cannot  keep.  There  is  little  demand  lot  land  ; 
the  price  ranges  from  82  to  $15  per  acre.  It  rents  for  from  81  to  82  an  acre;  more  generally  for  one-quarter  or  one 
third  of  the  crop.  The  system  of  credits  and  advances  on  the  growing  cotton  crop  prevails  largely,  from  one-hall  to 
three-quarters  of  the  farmers,  black  and  white,  receiving  such  assistance. 

In  Clarendon  county  the  usual  size  of  a.cottou  farm  is  SO  acres.  Mixed  farming  is  practiced,  but  much  of  the 
supplies  consumed  is  purchased  iu  Charleston,  though  the  tendency  to  raise  them  at  home  is  increasing.  The  field 
labor  is  performed  by  native  whites  and  negroes.  Laborers  are  usually  contracted  with  by  the  year,  and  the 
settlement  takes  place  at  its  close.  One-third  net  of  the  crop  to  the  landlord  is  the  usual  rate,  where  cotton  farms 
are  worked  on  shares,  he  advancing  all  supplies.  The  share  system  is  preferred  to  wages.  The  condition  of  tin- 
laborers  is  good,  and  about  5  per  cent,  of  them  own  houses  and  lands.  Land  is  worth  from  83  to  $5  an  acre,  and 
rents  for  $1  per  acre.  The  liens  for  advances  on  the  growing  crops  recorded  in  the  clerk  of  court's  office  for  the 
year  number  2,710,  or  one  to  every  farm  save  nine,  and  aggregate  82S3.317  IS. 

In  Horry  county  the  farms  average  50  acres  and  run  from  10  acres  to  200  acres  in  size.  All  supplies  an* 
made  at  home.  The  laborers  are  largely  white  natives,  but  there  are  some  negroes.  Wages,  from  >}'>  to  810  by  the 
month — from  $50  to  $125  by  the  year.  No  cotton  farms  are  worked  on  shares.  The  soil  improves  under  culture. 
The  wage  system  is  preferred.  The  condition  of  the  laborers  is  good,  and  about  12  per  cent,  of  the  negroes  own 
houses  and  land.  Unimproved  land  sells  for  from  $1  to  82  an  acre;  very  few  advances  on  the  crop,  and  those 
wholly  for  fertilizers.  The  liens  on  the  growing  crop  recorded  in  the  clerk's  office  number  27.  and  aggregate 
$1,170  SO. 

Upper  tine  belt. — A  mixed  system  of  farming  is  pursued  in  the  upper  pine  belt,  and  the  attempt  is  made 
to  raise  at  least  a  portion  of  the  necessary  supplies.  They  are  not  raised,  however,  to  the  extent  they  were  formerly, 
and  although  the  reports  all  state  that  the  tendency  to  raise  them  is  now  increasing,  the  deficiency  still  remains 
very  great,  as  the  number  of  liens  given  for  provisions  and  recorded  against  the  growing  crop  show. 

In  Barnwell  there  were  2,020  liens,  averaging  8125,  being  8S  SO  per  bale  of  cotton  produced;  in  Orangeburgh 
there  were  2,170,  liens,  averaging  800,  being  $0  ,S7  per  bale ;  in  Darlington  there  were  3,025  liens,  averaging  8100, 
being  810  40  per  bale  ;  in  Marlborough  there  were  1,183  liens,  averaging  $110,  being  85  -10  per  bale  ;  in  Marion  there 
were  1,200  liens,  averaging  8100,  being  $5  50  per  bale.  The  number  of  liens  for  1880  show  an  increase  on  those 
given  above  for  1S70.  This  does  not  indicate  a  diminution  in  the  amount  of  supplies  raised  by  farmers,  but  only 
shows  an  iucrease  iu  the  number  of  laborers  who  are  seeking  a  credit,  to  enable  them  to  do  business  on  their  own 
account  as  tenant  farmers.  It  is  by  this  class  chiefly  that  the  liens  are  given,  mostly  for  provisions,  next  for 
fertilizers,  and  to  some  extent  for  mules  and  farm  implements.  It  is  the  general  experience  that  these  small  tenant- 
farmers,  mostly  negroes,  meet  their  obligations  to  the  best  of  their  ability;  nevertheless,  a  mortgage  given  in 
January  or  February  ini  a  crop  not  to  be  planted  until  April,  is  not  taken  as  a  first-class  commercial  security. 
and  consequently  the  charges  on  the  advances  are  heavy;  for  instance,  when  the  cash  price  of  corn  is  75  cents, 
the  credit  price  is  not  unfrequently  81  25  and  upward. 

513 


CULTURAL  AND  ECONOMIC  DETAILS.  63 

West  of  the  Sautee  and  Wateree  rivers,  in  this  region,  the  average  acreage  in  cotton  to  the  farm  is  14  acres ; 
on  only  one  farm  is  there  over  400  acres  in  cotton ;  in  17  townships  the  maximum  acreage  is  under  100  acres ;  in 
20  townships  it  is  from  100  to  200 ;    in  5  townships  it  is  from  200  to  300 ;  in  2  townships  it  is  from  300  to  400. 

East  of  the  rivers  named  there  are  farms  having  over  GOO  acres  in  cotton,  the  average  acreage  in  cotton  to  the 
farm  is  1G  acres.  Here  4G  per  cent,  of  the  farms  are  rented,  and  54  per  cent,  worked  by  the  owners.  Of  the  rented 
farms,  13  per  cent,  contain  over  50  acres,  while  of  those  worked  by  the  owners  the  area  of  only  20  per  cent,  are 
below  that  figure. 

The  laborers  are  chiefly  negroes,  but  the  number  of  whites  engaged  in  field  labor  is  largely  increasing  in  some 
localities,  especially  east  of  the  Pedee,  where  from  one-third  to  one-half  the  field  labor  is  performed  by  whites.  The 
general  price  of  day  labor  is  50  cents  (and  food),  though  it  fluctuates  from  40  cents  to  75  cents.  This  class  of 
laborers  is  also  largely  increasing,  being  recruited  from  the  increasing  class  of  tenant  farmers,  who  supplement 
their  earnings  by  hiring  out  when  not  busy  with  their  own  crops,  or  when  pressed  for  ready  cash.  Contract  laborers 
are  becoming  much  fewer ;  the  general  wages  is  $10  a  month  and  rations,  but  in  some  localities  it  is  as  low  as  from 
$0  to  $S,  and  in  others  as  high  as  from  $12  to  $15,  the  higher  prices  prevailing  in  the  northeast,  the  lower  to  the 
southwest,  being  less  where  the  percentage  of  negroes  is  greatest,  and  vice  versa.  Hands  hired  by  the  year  receive 
from  S00  to  8120,  with  rations,  shelter,  firewood,  and  truck  patches ;  but  they  have  always  preferred,  when  contracting 
for  a  year's  work,  to  have  some  interest  in  the  crop,  and  this  desire  has  steadily  increased  so  as  to  have  made  this 
by  far  the  most  general  practice.  This  has  been  arranged  in  so  many  and  in  such  complicated  ways  as  to  preclude 
any  general  description. 

For  instance,  a  widely  adopted  system  is  one  proposed  as  early  as  1SGG  by  a  negro  laborer  in  Silverton  township. 
The  laborer  works  5  days  in  the  week  for  the  land  owner,  and  has  a  house,  rations,  and  three  acres  of  land,  with 
a  mule  and  plow  every  other  Saturday  to  work  it  when  necessary,  and  $16  in  money  at  the  end  of  the  year.  Had 
he  worked  4J  days  per  week  for  the  land  owner  and  1A  for  himself,  this  would  have  been  equivalent  to  one-fourth 
of  the  crop  and  his  food.  The  $16  was  intended  to  cover  the  52  half  days  more  than  that  in  which  he  worked  for 
his  employer,  amounting  in  all  to  one  month.  This  system  proved  very  successful,  and  the  second  year  a  number 
of  laborers  proposed  to  work  only  4  days,  feed  themselves,  and  take  double  the  laud  and  mule  work,  without  the 
money.  The  third  year  three-day  hands  came  in,  furnishing  in  part  their  own  work  stock  ;  and  as  some  hands  paid 
the  rent  for  a  house  and  an  acre  of  land  by  giving  2  days  work  a  week,  there  were  found  various  classes  of  hands 
on  the  same,  places  working  from  2  to  6  days  in  the  week. 

The  share  system  is  practiced  more  largely  in  Barnwell  than  in  Hampton,  and  still  more  in  Darlington  and 
Marlborough.  The  terms  are  generally  the  same,  the  employer  furnishing  land,  teams,  and  implements,  the  laborer 
feeding  himself  and  getting  from  one-third  to  one-half  of  the  crop,  after  paying  his  pro  rata  for  bagging,  ties,  and 
fertilizers.    Chancellor  Johnson  (Marlborough  county)  says: 

I  have  a  good  many  tenants,  white  and  black.  I  furnish  the  stock,  food  for  it,  pay  one-half  the  blacksmith,  fertilizer,  bagging, 
and  ties  accounts,  and  furnish  ginning  facilities.  The  tenant  (has  his  garden  and  potato  patch  free)  does  all  the  work,  from  repairing  fences 
and  ditches  to  preparing  the  crop  for  market.  My  advances  are  repaid,  and  the  crop  is  equally  divided.  The  tenants  generally  get  at 
the  rate  of  from  8  to  10  bales  for  each  mule  they  work,  grain  for  their  family  supplies  and  to  make  their  meat.  I  get  the  same  amount  of 
cotton  and  more  than  grain  enough  for  the  next  year's  crop.     I  have  had  some  tenants  for  over  ten  years. 

He  prefers  hired  labor  where  the  plantation  is  not  too  large — that  is,  about  eight  plows.  The  advantage  of 
either  system  depends  upon  the  character  of  the  individual,  good  tenants  being  sometimes  poor  laborers,  and  vice 
versa.     Each  locality  reports  favorably  of  the  system  pursued  there. 

In  Hampton  the  wage  system  is  preferred,  the  laborers  run  no  risks,  the  soil  is  improving,  condition  of  the 
laborers  good,  very  few  of  them  own  house  or  land.  Lands  sell  for  from  $1  to  $25  per  acre,  and  rent  for  from  $1  to 
$3  in  small  patches;  little  land  is  rented. 

In  Barnwell  the  laborer  decides  under  which  system  he  will  work.  Share'hands  and  renters  pick  cotton  cleaner 
than  wage  hands.  The  wage  system  is  preferred  by  the  planters ;  the  laborer  runs  no  risks,  his  pay  is  net  money,  he 
spends  it  and  lives  and  works  better,  and  the  land  improves.  The  condition  of  the  laborer  is  good  and  improving; 
quite  a  number  own  houses  and  lands.  The  market  value  of  laud  is  from  83  to  $10  an  acre,  including  improved 
and  unimproved.  The  rent  is  from$l  to  $3  in  money,  or  in  produce  it  is  75  pounds  of  lint  cotton  per  acre,  or  1,000 
pounds  of  lint  for  a  40-acre  farm,  or  a  500-pound  bale  for  from  15  to  20  acres. 

In  the  lower  part  of  Orangeburgh  year  hands  receive  monthly  $6 ;  the  share  system  is  also  practiced  there;  no 
preference  expressed  between  the  two.  The  condition  of  the  laborers  is  reported  as  good.  The  market  value  of 
land  is  from  82  to  $10,  and  a  good  deal  is  rented  lrom  $2  to  $4  per  acre. 

In  Darlington  wages  by  the  year  are  $120  for  men,  $90  for  women,  with  house,  rations,  fuel,  and  truck  patches. 
The  share  system  and  tenant  system  are  largely  practiced;  the  laborers  do  not  work  so  well,  nor  do  they  realize  so 
much,  but  they  prefer  less  with  independence  of  control;  their  condition  is  good,  and  2  per  cent,  own  houses  and 
land.     The  market  value  of  laud  is  $10  per  acre,  and  the  rental  yields  about  7  per  cent,  on  the  investment. 

In  Marlborough  and  Marion  a  considerable  part  of  the  field  labor  is  performed  by  whites;  day  wages  are  from 
30  to  GO  cents,  by  the  month  from  $G  to  $12,  and  the  same  when  engaged  for  the  year;  in  all  cases  with  board. 

519 


64  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

The  share  and  tenant  systems  are  largely  practiced.  (See  above  for  terms,  etc.)  The  condition  of  the  laborers  is 
good,  they  are  contented  and  happy,  and  from  3  to  5  per  cent,  of  the  negroes  own  land  or  a  house.  The  market 
value  of  land  is  from  $10  to  850  per  acre,  and  rents  are  from  $3  to  $15  per  acre. 

From  the  southwest  of  Aiken  county  it  is  reported  that  the  tendency  to  raise  supplies  fluctuates  with  the  price 
of  cotton,  being  increased  by  low,  and  diminished  by  high  juices.  The  share  system  is  largely  practiced,  the  laborer 
having  one-third  when  he  feeds  himself,  one-fourth  when  he  is  fed;  the  land  owner  advances  everything,  and  the 
laborer's  proportion  of  the  expenses  is  taken  out  of  the  crop.  The  share  system  is  not  generally  satisfactory  ;  it  is 
difficult  to  get  cotton  cleanly  handled;  laud  worked  under  the  supervision  of  the  proprietor  generally  improves; 
when  rented,  especially  to  negro  tenants,  it  rapidly  deteriorates;  5  per  cent,  of  the  negro  laborers  own  land  or  their 
house;  those  who  work  steadily  are  prosperous,  the  proportion  that  do  this  is  not,  however,  large.  The  market 
value  of  land  is  from  $4  to  $15  per  acre,  including  woodland;  tilled  laud  rents  for  from  $1  to  $5  per  acre. 

The  following  comparison,  in  some  of  the  regards  above  treated  of,  between  Darlington  and  Marlborough 
counties  is  offered,  because  in  1.S70  Darlington  led  all  the  counties  in  the  state  in  the  production  of  cotton,  nearly 
doubling  the  crop  of  the  county  nest  in  rank;  now  it  stands  eighth  in  total  production,  and  Marlborough  stands 
highest  in  the  yield  per  capita  and  per  acre;  the  counties  lie  side  by  side ; 

Comparative  statement. 


Darlington         Marlborough 
county.  county. 


Yield  in  lini  cotton: 

Pounds  per  capita 

Pound  s  per  acre 

Amount  of  liens  for  each  bale  of  cotton  produced  in  1879  . 
Percentage  of  farms: 

Worked  by  owners 

Worked  by  renters 

Under  50  acres,  worked  by  owners  

Over  50  acres,  worked  by  owners 

Under  50  acres,  worked  by  renters  

Over  50  acres,  worked  bj  renters  , . 


330 

:a« 

100 

207 

$10  411 

$:.  40 

■13 

55 

57 

45 

17 

12 

83 

88 

85 

60 

15 

•M 

Red-hills  region. — Although  a  system  of  "mixed  farming"  is  claimed  as  the  usual  practice  here,  about 
one-fourth  of  the  corn,  one-third  of  the  bacon,  and  one-half  of  the  flour  consumed  on  the  farm  is,  under  the  most 
favorable  circumstances,  purchased;  ordinarily  a  much  larger  proportion  is  bought.  These  supplies  are  for  the 
most  part  brought  from  the  northwest  by  railroads,  and  are  chiefly  sold  to  the  farmers,  especially  the  smaller 
farmers,  who  are  mostly  renters,  on  credit,  the  larger  holdings  being  more  generally  worked  by  their  owners.  The 
payment  for  these  advances  is  secured  by  what  is  known  as  alien. 

The  lien  is  a  bond  for  the  payment  of  a  specified  amount — usually  about  $100 — given  to  the  storekeeper  by  the 
farmer,  and  pledging  the  growing  crop  as  collateral  security.  On  this  acknowledgment  of  indebtedness — which  by 
act  of  the  legislature  covers  the  entire  crop  of  the  party  giving  it — the  farmer  receives  from  time  to  time  during  the 
crop  season  such  supplies  as  may  be  agreed  on  between  him  and  the  storekeeper.  These  liens,  bonds,  or  mortgages 
on  the  growing  crop  are  recorded  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the  court,  the  names  of  the  parties  with  the  amount 
of  the  debt  and  the  date  of  the  transaction  alone  being  entered  in  a  single  line,  in  a  book  kept  for  the  purpose,  at 
the  cheap  rate  of  10  cents  an  entry.  This  record  gives  these  debts  precedence  of  other  indebtedness.  The  collection 
of  these  liens  is  equally  simple,  cheap,  and  prompt.  On  affidavit  of  the  lien  holder  that  he  believes  his  debtor 
means  to  avoid  payment,  the  clerk  of  the  court  orders  the  sheriff  to  seize  the  crop,  aud  sell  the  whole,  or  so  much 
of  it  as  will  pay  the  debt  with  costs,  and  to  devote  the  proceeds  to  those  purposes;  while  the  lien  nominally 
covers  the  entire  crop,  the  parties  making  advances  depend  almost  exclusively  on  the  cotton  crop,  because  of  its 
easy  convertibility  into  money.  This  greatly  encourages  the  culture  of  cotton  among  the  necessitous  small  farmers. 
This  class  of  fanners  have  been  steadily  on  the  increase,  and  the  farms  which  compare  in  size  with  those  of  former 
days  are  so  few  that  they  might  lie  readily  enumerated.  In  this  entire  region  only  S  can  be  counted,  where  the 
acreage  in  cotton  under  one  management  exceeds  loo  acres.  It  must  be  mentioned,  however,  that  in  the 
neighborhood  of  large  farms,  the  product  per  acre,  the  rate  of  wages,  and  the  value  of  lands  are  greater  than  where 
there  are  only  small  farms.  Thus  near  Wedgefield,  in  Sumter  county,  Mr.  Ayeock  purchased  a  large  body  of  these 
red  lands  a  few  years  since,  at.  from  $f  to  $0  an  acre,  and  commenced  planting  on  a  large  scale.  Three  years 
afterward  similar  lands  in  the  Wedgefield  neighborhood  were  selling  al  825  an  acre,  while  the  very  same  character 
of  land  in  adjacent  townships,  aud  indeed  in  most  localities  in  this  region,  may  be  bought  still  at  from  $3  to  $6  an 
acre. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  healthfulness  of  this  region,  the  larger  portion  of  the  field  work  is  performed  by 
negroes.  In  some  localities,  however,  as  at  Wedgefield,  white  immigration  has  commenced.  Where,  the  custom  is  to 
pay  money  wages,  the  rate  for  a  full  hand  is  $120  for  the  year,  with  shelter,  fuel,  and  food;  for  the  month,  from 
520 


CULTURAL  AND  ECONOMIC  DETAILS.  65 

$S  to  $10,  and  by  the  day,  from  50  to  75  cents.  Where  the  share  system  or  renting  prevails,  as  in  portions  of 
Orangeburgh,  wages  are  somewhat  less,  being  about  $75  for  the  year,  $8  a  month,  and  50  cents  a  day,  in  the  latter 
case  without  rations.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  where  lands  are  rented  labor  is  so  uncertain  that  employes  cannot 
count  on  it  and  withdraw  from  hiring,  thus  diminishing  the  demand  for  labor  more  rapidly  than  the  conversion  of 
laborers  into  renters  diminishes  the  supply.  Beside,  these  renters  working  on  a  credit  have  constant  necessity 
for  cash,  which  they  can  only  obtain  by  hiring  out  as  day  laborers,  and  so  large  is  the  number  forced  to  do  this 
that  the  market  for  day  labor  is  overstocked  and  wages  are  reduced  as  a  consequence. 

Where  labor  is  engaged  by  the  year  it  is  the  universal  practice  to  make  contracts  at  Christmas  time.  Indeed, 
very  little  work  is  obtained  from  year  hands  after  the  November  frosts  until  new  arrangements  are  perfected 
during  January  for  the  coming  season.  Much  loss  in  time  and  in  the  horse-power  of  the  farm  (which  remains  idle 
as  a  consequence)  results.     Thus  fall  plowing  has  to  be  abandoned  chiefly  on  this  account. 

The  condition  of  the  laborers  is  comfortable.  They  are  not  advancing  in  the  accumulation  of  property,  for 
which  they  show  little  of  the  necessary  "effective  desire",  but  they  are  subjected  to  no  hardships  or  privations 
sufficient  in  any  way  to  check  their  rapid  multiplication  by  natural  increase.  Before  renting  became  so  general, 
and  as  hired  laborers,  many  of  them  acquired  houses  and  land.  This  number  is  not  increasing  now,  but  from  5  to 
25  per  cent,  of  the  field  laborers,  according  to  the  locality,  own  houses,  with  more  or  less  land. 

Metamorphic  region. — The  larger  portion  of  the  lands  are  held  in  tracts  of  from  200  to  500  acres.  On  three- 
fourths  of  the  farms  mixed  husbandry  is  practiced,  and  on  the  remaining  fourth  attention  is  bestowed  almost 
exclusively  to  cotton.  The  attempt  to  raise  farm. supplies  is,  therefore,  pretty  general,  and  is  reported  as  increasing 
except  in  Laurens,  where  it  remains  the  same,  and  in  Abbeville,  where  it  is  decreasing.  Usually  this  attempt  is  in 
so  far  successful  as  to  provide  a  considerable  portion  of  the  subsistence  for  farm  hands  and  stock.  Bacon  is  largely 
imported  from  the  north  and  west,  and  sometimes  hay  and  corn  also,  for  farm  use.  In  two  instances  these  supplies 
are  reported  as  brought  from  North  Carolina.  The  amount  of  provisions  raised  for  sale  is  everywhere  inconsiderable. 
The  facilities  offered  by  railroads  have  largely  contributed  to  this.  For  instance,  in  Chester  the  country  mills,  which 
were  formerly  numerous  and  flourishing,  have  been  to  a  large  extent  abandoned,  since  it  has  been  found  easier  to 
get  meal  by  rail  each  week  as  required  from  the  merchant  mills  in  Augusta,  Georgia,  and  there  is  an  increasing- 
tendency,  under  the  low  rates  of  through  freights,  to  supersede  the  Augusta  mills  by  the  product  of  the  northwestern 
mills. 

The  system  of  credits  and  advances  prevails  to  a  large  extent,  consuming  from  one-third  to  three-fifths  of  the 
crop  before  it  is  harvested.  The  statement  is  general  that  this  is  on  the  decrease,  and  is  correct  in  so  far  that  a 
larger  amount  of  supplies  is  being  produced  at  home  and  a  larger  number  of  purchases  for  cash  are  being  made  by 
farmers  since  1S75.  On  the  other  hand,  the  number  of  farmers  having  largely  increased  in  the  same  period,  the 
number  working  on  advances,  especially  among  the  smaller  farmers,  has  largely  increased  also.  The  records  of 
the  courts  show  that  the  number  of  liens  on  the  growing  crop  is  greatly  on  the  increase,  the  rate  of  increase  being 
23  per  cent,  per  annum  for  the  last  two  years.  The  number  of  such  liens  on  record  in  11  of  the  counties  under 
consideration  is  (there  being  no  return  from  Union)  30,205,  a  number  nearly  equal  to  the  number  of  farms;  but  as 
two  or  more  liens  are  not  unfrequently  recorded  against  the  same  crop,  probably  not  more  than  half  of  the  growing 
crops  are  under  lien.  The  aggregate  value  of  these  liens  is  $2,354,956,  an  average  to  the  lien  of  $77.  It  appears  that 
the  five  counties  lowest  in  the  ratio  of  farm  productions  to  farm  values  have  a  larger  amount  in  liens  by  13  per  cent, 
than  the  five  counties  standing  highest  in  this  ratio.  In  the  former  the  recorded  indebtedness  is  $4  28  for  each  acre 
in  cotton,  on  which  crop  alone  liens  are  taken.  In  the  latter  it  is  $2  84  per  acre  in  cotton.  As  may  be  inferred  from 
the  number  and  average  amount  of  these  liens,  they  are  mostly  taken  from  the  smaller  farmers,  usually  renters,  for 
advances  made  by  the  landlord,  or  more  frequently  by  the  storekeeper. 

There  has  grown  up  in  this  region  a  system  of  banks,  at  the  county-seats,  for  the  accommodation  of  farmers. 
The  National  Bank  of  Newberry  was  the  first  to  be  established.  Three-fourths  of  its  accounts  are  with  farmers,  in 
amounts  from  $40  upward.  Only  05  of  them,  however,  reach  or  exceed  $1,000.  The  loans  during  the  crop  season 
aggregate  $324,000,  and  are  made  purely  on  personal  security  or  on  collaterals;  liens  or  mortgages  are  not  asked  for 
or  given. 

Field  labor  is  performed  exclusively  by  natives,  and  chiefly  by  colored  laborers.  In  Spartanburgh  two-thirds 
of  the  field  labor  is  performed  by  whites  ;  even  where  the  colored  population  largely  preponderates  a  considerable 
amount  of  it  is  done  by  whites,  not  unfreqneutly  a  much  larger  proportion  than  one  would  infer  from  the  ratio 
between  the  races. 

The  laborers  are  healthy,  easily  managed,  work  moderately,  and  live  easily.  Their  condition  is  reported  as 
good  in  8  localties ;  as  improving  in  2,  and  as  poor,  but  contented  and  happy,  in  one.  Very  few  negro  laborers 
own  land  or  houses  in  Newberry,  York,  and  Abbeville.  Sixteen  per  cent,  own  a  house  or  land  in  Greenville,  and  5 
per  cent,  in  Spartanburgh,  Fairfield,  Chester,  and  Laurens. 

The  prevailing  wages  of  field  labor  is  $S  by  the  month,  or  $100  by  the  year.  In  Greenville  it  is  $7,  and  in 
Laurens  it  is  from  $8  to  $12  by  the  month.  In  portions  of  Fairfield  it  is  $75  for  the  year.  In  all  cases  the  laborer 
is  furnished  with  shelter,  rations,  and  firewood,  and  almost  invariably  with  a  garden,  and  the  privilege  of  raising 
poultry  and  some  stock,  a  cow  or  a  hog.     The  farm  work  is  light,  and  the  extreme  care  formerly  given  to  preserving 

521 


66  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

the  health  of  the  slaves  has  bequeathed  regulations  regarding  labor  not  customary  elsewhere.  Work  commences 
at  sunrise  and  is  over  with  at  sunset,  no  night  work  of  any  kind  being  required ;  the  time  allowed  for  meals  varies, 
for  dinner  it  is  from  one  to  three  hours,  according  to  the  length  of  the  days.  All  exposure  to  rain  or  bad  weather, 
even  in  pressing  exigencies,  is  scrupulously  avoided,  and  during  exceptionally  chilly  weather  little  work  is  obtained 
or  expected  from  negro  laborers. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  land  is  worked  on  shares.  When  the  landlord  furnishes  the  tools,  stock,  and 
stock-feed,  he  takes  one-half  the  crop  iu  Laurens,  Chester,  Abbeville,  and  York,  and  in  portions  of  Fairfield  ami 
Spartauburgh  counties.  Iu  Greenville  and  in  portions  of  the  counties  last  named  the  laborer  takes  one-third 
and  the  landlord  two-thirds  under  the  above,  conditions.  In  Greenville,  also,  the  laborer  takes  two-thirds  if  he 
furnishes  tools,  stock  and  feed  for  it.  The  portion  paid  for  land  alone  varies  from  one-third  to  one-fourth  of  the 
crop,  the  latter  rate  being  the  most  general  one.  In  Laurens,  Newberry,  and  Spartauburgh,  and  in  portions  of 
Fairfield  and  Chester,  wages  are  preferred,  the  laborer  running  no  risks  of  the  seasons,  faring  better,  and  working 
better  in  consequence.  In  Abbeville  and  York  the  share  system  is  preferred  and  is  the  prevailing  practice,  the 
demands  on  the  care  and  attention  of  the  landlord  is  less,  and  the  independence  of  control  and  freedom  from  steady 
work  it  affords  the  laborer  is  highly  prized  by  him.  In  Greenville  laborers  owning  stock,  tools,  and  provisions  find 
the  share  system  most  profitable,  otherwise  they  prefer  wages. 

Tolerable  satisfaction  with  the  system  prevailing  in  each  locality  is  expressed,  but  the  feeling  is  general  that 
the  relations  of  labor  and  capital  are.  in  a  transition  stage,  and  either  that  those  now  existing  need  perfecting,  or 
that  better  ones  would  be  preferred.  Eight  out  of  nine  correspondents  report  that  under  the  present  system  the 
lauds  are  not  improving,  but  deteriorating,  especially  those  rented  and  worked  on  shares;  the  ninth  only  qualities 
the  general  verdict  by  the  expression  that  with  care  it  improves.  Though  there  may  be  much  sad  reality  iu  these 
statements,  they  are  considered  iu  connection  with  the  facts  above  given,  which  show  that  within  the  last  decade 
the  two  leading  crops  in  this  region  have  increased,  one  by  172,  and  the  other  by  130  per  cent. 

Statements  regarding  the  average  market  value  of  land  vary  with  every  locality;  they  are.  for  Greenville 
and  Laurens  from  $G  to  $10  an  acre,  for  York  80,  for  Abbeville  and  Spartauburgh  810,  for  Newberry  from  §G  to 
$25,  for  Fairfield  from  $3  to  815,  and  for  Chester  from  87  to  81S.  There  is  little  laud  for  sale,  but  nearly  all 
of  it  is  for  rent.  Only  3  out  of  11  correspondents  state  the  rental  of  land  in  money;  it  is  put  in  York  aud  Chester 
at  $2,  and  in  Laurens  at  from  83  to  84.  Three  state  that  no  land  is  rented  for  money;  in  these  cases  one-fourth 
to  one-third  of  the  crop — estimated  in  Fairfield  at  an  average  of  85  an  acre — is  given,  or  a  larger  proportion  where 
stock  and  other  supplies  are  furnished.  In  Abbeville  the  average  rent  is  given  as  3  bales  of  cotton  for  so  much 
laud  as  one  plow  can  cultivate ;  in  Fairfield  it  is  000  pounds,  and  iu  Chester  as  much  as  1,200  pounds  of  lint ;  or, 
in  other  words,  something  over  1,000  pounds  of  lint  cotton,  worth  8100,  for  the  rent  of  30  acres  of  laud.  This 
would  be  $3  33  rental  per  acre,  which  is  the  interest  at  7  per  cent,  ou  capital  of  817  50  ;  taking  7  per  cent,  as  the 
standard  rate  of  interest,  this  may  be  taken  as  the  intrinsic  value  at  present  of  the  arable  lauds  of  this  region. 
As,  however,  only  28  per  cent,  of  the  lands  are  under  the  plow,  this  amounts  only  to  an  average  minimum  valuation 
of  813  30  per  acre  for  all  the  land  tilled  and  unfilled. 

As  stated  in  the  returns  of  the  Tenth  United  States  Census,  which  may  be  considered  as  fairly  up  to  the  actual 
average  market  values,  the  lauds  frith  all  faim  improvements  are  put  at  an  average  of  $4  87  an  acre.  At  this 
valuation,  placed  upon  them  by  their  owners,  these  lauds  are  paying  dividends  not  less  than  23  per  cent,  per 
annum,  not  taking  into  account  that  more  than  two-thirds  of  these  values  are  wholly  unemployed,  and  that  the 
remaining  one-third  is  operated  mainly  by  the  poorest  and  most  ignorant  class  of  the  community,  where  want  of 
means  alone  would  prevent  them  from  obtaining  such  returns  as  good  culture  would  give. 

Piedmont  region. — The  farms  are  very  rarely  larger  than  can  be  worked  by  four  horses.  The  landholdings 
average  from  150  to  300  acres,  including  wood  lands.  The  larger  portion  of  the  farm  supplies  are  raised  at  home, 
but  near  the  towns  and  along  the  Air-Line  railroad  supplies  from  the  west  are  largely  purchased;  the  system  of 
credits  aud  advances  to  the  smaller  farmers  prevails,  absorbing,  with  rents,  not  unfrequently  seven-eighths  of  the 
entire  crop.  Most  of  the  land  is  rented  or  worked  on  shares.  The  cash" rental  varies  from  82  50  to  81  an  acre: 
the  usual  terms  ure  one-fourth  the  cotton,  and  one-third  of  the  grain;  where  stock  and  implements  are  furnished 
by  the  landlord  he  gets  one-half  the  crop.  The  average  market  value  of  the  lands  is  stated  at  85  an  acre ;  improved 
lands  sell  at  from  80  to  $10  per  acre.  About  one-half  the  field  laborers  are  negroes,  aud  since  the  extension  given 
to  cotton  culture  they  are  on  the  increase.  Wages  are  50  cents  a  day;  from  $0  to  $8  a  month  with  board;  $75  a 
year  with  board.  The  condition  of  industrious  laborers  is  good.  The  number  of  negro  laborers  owning  houses  or 
laud  varies  from  1  to  5  per  cent.,  according  to  the  locality. 

Cost  of  cotton  production. — The  estimated  cost  of  production  of  the  sea-island  variety  is  from  15  to  20 
cents  per  pound ;  that  of  the  upland  or  short  staple  is  from  7  to  9  cents,  though  a  few  correspondents  place  the 
estimate  at  5  or  0  cents,  and  others  at  10  cents. 


INDEX    TO    COTTON    PRODUCTION    IN    SOUTH 

OAEOLINA. 


A. 

Page. 

Abbeville  county,  analyses  of  soils  of 38, 42 

Accidents  of  weather  as  affecting  cotton  cropB 59,60 

Acreage  and  production  of  leading  crops  (table) 4 

Acres  cultivated,  estimated  number  of,  per  hand _  60-62 

Addresses  and  names  of  correspondents,  list  of 50 

Advances  on  the  growing  cotton  crop 61-66 

After-cultivation  of  cotton 55-58 

Agricultural  regions,  area  and  enumeration  of 12, 13 

retrospect 13-15 

Aiken  county,  analyses  of  soils  and  subsoil  of 27,34 

Alluvial  lands,  analysis  of 28 

general  area  of 13 

Analyses  of  cultivated  cotton  lands  of  Pedee  river...-. 27 

flatwoods  lauds ' 42 

gray  saudy  granitic  lands 3S 

lands  of  black-jack  flats 41 

pine-barrens  lands 23 

red-clay  lands 39 

hornblendic  lands 40 

lands  soil 31,  32 

Savannah  River  alluvial  lauds 28 

soils  and  subsoils  (general  table) 48 

from  clay-slates 40 

of  coast  region 18, 19 

lower  pine  belt 23 

sand-hill  region 34 

sea  islands  and  marshes 19 

upper  pine  belt 27 

Analysis  of  marsh  soils. 23 

phosphate  rock 12 

South  Edisto  swamp  land 29 

Anderson  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 39 

Aphides  (lice)  on  cotton-plant 59 

Area  and  elevation  of  the  different  regions  of  the  state 12, 13 

of  the  alluvial  lauds 13, 23 

coast  lands 12 

improved  lands 7 

lower  pine  belt 13,24 

metamorphic  region 13, 43 

Piedmont  region  13, 47 

red-hills  region -. 13,  32 

salt  marshes 13 

sand-hills  region 13, 35 

sea  islands 12 

state  according  to  different  estimates iv,  7 

swamp  lands 8 

upper  pine  belt 13, 29 

population,  titled  lands,  and  cotton  production  of  the 

counties  (table) 3 

Asbestus,  occurrence  of 10, 46 

Ashley  imiTls,  occurrence  of 11 

K. 

Bale  of  lint,  amount  of  seed-cotton  required  for  a 54-58 

eea-island  cotton,  weight  and  size  of 58 


Page, 

Bales  per  acre  in  counties,  product  of  (table) 

square  mile  (table) 3 

Baling  of  cottou,  details  of 58 

ginning,  and  shipping  cotton,  details  of 58 

Banana,  growth  of  the 31 

Banks,  system  of,  in  the  metamorphic  region 65 

Barnwell  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 27 

Bay  swamps,  character  aud  analysis  of  soil  of 29 

Black  frost,  first  appearance  of 56, 58 

Black-jack  lands,  character  aud  aualyses  of 41 

derived  from  trappean  rocks 10 

Blight,  occurrence  of,  and  how  obviated 57,59, 60 

Blooms  appear  on  cotton-plant,  when 55-58 

Boiling  springs  of  the  sand-hills  region 33 

Boiling  favored  and  cotton-plant  prevented  from  running  to 
weed  by : 

application  of  fertilizers 59, 60 

planting  short-limbed  varieties  of  cotton 59 

plowing  close  to  the  plant 59 

topping 59 

underdrainage 59 

Bolls  first  opeu  on  cotton-plant,  when 55-58 

Broad  river,  length  and  navigation  of 9 

Buhr-stone,  region  and  character  of 11 

Butler,  A.  P.,  commissioner  of  agriculture,  information  ob- 
tained from iii 

C. 

Cane-growth  a  standard  for  estimating  fertility  of  land 36 

Castor  bean,  growth  and  yield  of 35 

Catawba  river,  length,  fall,  and  navigation  of 9 

Caterpillar,  appearance  of 59 

Charleston,  population  of 24 

Chester  county,  aualyses  of  soils  of 41 

Clarendon  county,  farms  and  labor  system  of 62 

Clay-slate  lands,  character  and  analyses  of 40 

Climate  of  the  coast  region 16-18 

lower  pine  belt 22 

metarnorjihic  region 37, 38 

Piedmont  region 46 

red-hills  region 31 

sand-hills  region 33, 34 

upper  pine  belt 26 

Close  of  the  cotton-picking  season 55-58 

Coast,  appearance  of,  when  approached  from  the  sea 16 

length  of ,15 

region,  cultural  aud  economic  details  of 51,54,55,58-61 

extent,  surface,  features,  climate,  health,  soils, 

and  productions  of 15-21 

Colby,  George,  soils  analyzed  by 48 

Colleton  county,  farms  and  labor  system  of . 62 

Composts,  use  of 52-54,56 

Condition  of  laborers '. 60-66 

Conditions  imposed  by  transportation  companies 58 

Cooper  Paver  marls,  occurrence  of 11 

67 
523 


68 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


Pngo. 

Corn,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) 4 

history  of  culture  of 1-1 

product  ou  Savannah  River  lands  from  1838  to  1860 28,29 

Correspondents'  names  and  addresses,  list  of 50 

Corundum,  occurrence  of 10 

Cory,  Chappell,  soils  analyzed  by 48 

Cost  of  cotton  production  per  pound (36 

Cotton  acreage  and  bales  per  square  mile,  in  counties  (table).  3 

blooms  first  appear,  when   55-58 

boiling  of,  bow  favored 57,  59,  60 

bolls  lirst  open,  when 55-58 

culture,  statistics  regarding  .21,  24,  25,  'J'.'.  3'1,  32,  35, 43,  44,  47 

diseases,  insect  enemies,  etc.,  of  ... 59, 60 

history  of 14 

lint,  amount  of,  made  in  a  day's  run 58 

picking  begins,  when  55-58 

plant,  height  of,  before  blooming 55-57 

running  in  weed  of,  how  prevented 59, 60 

sea-island,  history  and  appearance  of  the 20, 21 

planting  aud  cultivation 54-58 

season  of,  in  the  upper  piue  belt 26 

production,  acres  anil  bales,  in  each  county  (table)...  3 

cost  of 66 

cultural  and  economic  details  of 49-66 

of  the  coast  region 19-21 

lower  pine  belt 24, 25 

metamorphic  region 43 

Piedmont  region 47 

red-hills  region 32 

saud-hills  region 35 

state,  remarks  on 14, 15 

upper  pine  belt   29,  30 

relation  of  negroes  to 44 

product  per  acre  in  lower  piue  belt 56 

Piediuout  region 57 

tin*  upper  piue  belt 26, 27,  30 

of  coast  lauds 18 

Pedee  River  lauds 28 

red  bills  soils 31 

Savannah  River  lands 28 

the  sea  islands 61 

seasons  most  favorable  for 26 

staple  affected  by  t  he  share  system 62,  64,  65 

variations  of 19, 20 

Cottonseed  as  a  fertilizer,  method  of  application  of 52-54 

feed  or  manure 52-54 

how  disposed  of  and  price  of 52-54 

]  dan  ted  with  the  dibble 56 

planters,  use  of 55 

value  of,  as  a  fertilizer 52 

variety  and  amount  of,  used  per  acre 55-58 

Counties,  reason  for  omission  of  descriptions  of iii 

Credit  system  on  growing  crop 62,  64,  65 

Cretaceous  formation,  outcrop  and  material  of 10 

Crops,  acreage  and  production  of  leading  (table) 4 

statistics  regarding 21, 24, 2ft,  29, 30, 32, 35,  43,  47 

Cultivation  and  planting  of  cotton,  details  of 54-58 

Cultural  and  economic  details  of  cotton  production 49-66 

f). 

Date  palm,  growth  of 19 

De  Brahm  cited ■  60   | 

Deltas  of  rivers,  formation  of 8 

Depth  of  tillage 51-54 

Details,  cultural  and  economic,  of  cotton  production 49-66 

Differences  in  surface  features,  streams,  and  inhabitants  of 

the  two  divisions  of  the  state 7 

Diseases,  insect  enemies,  etc.,  of  cotton 59,60 

Draft  employed  iu  breaking  up  lands 51-54 

Drainage,  met  boil  of,  in  the  coast  region 51-54 

Drayton,  John,  quoted 15, 18,60 

Durrett,  J.  B.,  soils  analyzed  by 48 

524 


E. 

Pat:o. 

Economic  and  cultural  details  of  cotton  production 49-66 

Edgefield  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 40 

Ediato  island,  labor  system  on 61 

river,  course,  navigation,  and  bordering  hauls  of 7,8 

Efforts  made  to  obviate  diseases  of  the  cotton-plant 59, 60 

Eb- vat  ions  in  the  lower  pine  belt 22 

metamorphic  region 36 

Piedmont  region 15 

sand-bills  region 33 

upper  pine  belt 25 

Enumeration,  tabulated  results  of  the 1-4 

Estimate  of  cost  of  cotton  production 66 

F. 

Fairfield  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 40 

Fallowing,  details  id' 51, 53 

FalJ  plowing,  results  of 51-54 

Panning  and  labor,  system  of 60-456 

Farms,  size  of 60-66 

statistics  regarding 21, 24,  30,  32,  35,  43,  44,  47 

Farm  values  and  productions,  theories  regarding 44 

Feed,  cottonseed-cake  used  as 52, 54 

Fences,  height  of 52 

Fertilizers,  commercial,  aggregate  cost  of,  in  the  metamorphic 

region 54 

improvement  of  lands  by  the  use  of 35 

manufactured  from  phosphate  rock 12 

natural,  of  the  coast  region 19 

use  of,  on  red  lands 31 

Fertilizing  and  green-manuring 52-54 

Flatwoods  lands  derived  from  trappean  rocks 10 

of  the   metamorphic   region,    character   and   an- 
alyses of 41,  42 

Fripp,  W.  E-,  remarks  of 55 

Frost,  appearance  of,  in  the  metamorphic  region 37 

upper  pine  belt 26 

first  appearance  of 56,  5s 

Frosts  of  the  red-hills  region 31 

Fruits  of  the  coast  region 19 

sand-bills  region  35 

<3. 

Gaillard,  Dr.  E.  S.,  quoted 34 

Geddings,  Dr.  W.  H.,  quoted 34 

Geological  features  of  the  state 9-1 1 

Geology  of  the  Piedmont  region 45,  46 

Ginning,  baling,  and  shipping  cotton,  details  of 58 

Gins,  cotton,  list  and  capacity  of 53 

Gold-bearing  regions 10 

Gneiss,  character  and  occurrence  of 9 

Granites,  occurrence  of 0 

Granitic  lands,  character  and  analyses  of 38 

Great  Pedee  river,  navigation  of 26 

Greeu-mauuriug  ami  fertilizing 52,54 

Greensand  marls,  occurrence  and  composition  of 11 

II. 

Health  of  the  coast  region,  remarks  on 18 

Height  attained  by  cotton-plant  before  blooming 55-58 

Hilgard,  Professor  E.  W.,  discussions  of  soils  by 27,32,34,39-42 

Hillside  ditching  and  horizon taliziug  to  prevent  washing  of 

soils 52,  53 

Hornblende,  belts  of 9 

Home  supplies 62,64,65 

Hornblendic  lands,  character  and  analyses  of 39,40 

Horry  county,  farms  and  labor  system  of 62 

I. 

Implements  employed  in  snbsoiling  and  planting  cotton 55-58 

used  iu  after-cultivation  of  cotton 55-58 

Improvements,  tillage,  etc.,  details  of 51-54 

Indigo,  history  of  culture  of 14 

Information,  sources  of iii,  iv 

Ingram,  Davyd,  quoted  ( 15C6) 36 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


69 


Page. 

Insect  enemies,  diseases,  etc.,  of  cotton 59, 60 

Islands,  cotton  production  of 60,  61 

Itacolumite,  or  diamond-bearing  rocks,  occurrence  of 10 

J. 

Jackson,  Dr.  C.  T.,  analysis  made  by 28 

James  island,  labor  system  on 00 

John's  island,  labor  system  on. 00 

Johnson,  Chancellor,  remarks  of 63 

K. 

Kaolin,  occurrence  of 10, 11 

Kerr,  Professor  W.  C,  cited  regarding  geology  of  the  state  ..  9 

Kershaw  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 39 

Labor  and  system  of  farming 60-66 

Laborers,  best  system  for 60-66 

condition  and  nationality  of 60-66 

day  system  for 61 

owning  houses  or  laud 60-66 

rations  of,  on  the  islands 60 

wages  paid  to 60-66 

Loud,  effect  of  system  of  labor  on 60-66 

holdings,  system  of 61-66 

improved,  area  of 7 

Lands  bordering  the  rivers,  extent  and  nature  of 8 

fertility  of,  indicated  by  cane  growth 30 

market  value  of  and  rent  paid  for 60-66 

preparation  given  to,  before  planting  cotton 54-58 

proportion  of,  turned  out 51,52 

tilled,  in  counties  (table) 3 

Laurens  county,  analyses  of  soils  of 38 

Letters  of  transmittal iii,  iv 

Lexington  county,  analyses  of  soils  of 34,40 

Liens,  character  of _ G4 

for  advances  on  growing  crops 62-66 

Lint  per  acre,  in  counties  (table) 3 

Listing,  method  and  cost  of,  in  cotton  planting 54,55 

List  of  correspondents'  names  and  addresses 50 

Little  Pedee  river,  navigation  of 26 

Low-country  division,  extent  and  character  of 7 

Lower  pine  belt,  cultural  and  economic  details  of 51,52,55,56, 

58, 59, 62 
or  savanna  region,  area,  width,  and   eleva- 
tion of 13 

surface  features,  timber 
growth,  climate,  and 

soils  of 22-25 

Lyell,  Sir  Charles,  theory  of,  regarding  the  formation  of  sea 

islands 15 

Manuring,  cottonseed  used  in,  and  rfiethod  of  application  of.         54 

Marion  county,  analysis  of  soil  of , 27 

Marlborough  county,  aualysis  of  soil  of 27 

Marl  of  the  upper  pine  bolt 29 

Marls  and  marl-stone,  occurrence  and  composition  of 10 

of  the  lower  pine  belt 23 

Marsh  soils,  analyses  of 19 

Meuilite,  uatdre  and  occurrence  of 10, 11 

Metamorphic  region,  area,  elevation,  aud  lands  of 13 

cultural  and  economic  details  of 53,  54,57, 

58, 60,  65, 66 

early  settlers  and  industries  of 42 

extent,  surface  features,  climate,  soils, 

and  productions  of 36-44 

Mica,  occurrence  of 9, 10 

Mills'  History  of  South  Carolina  quoted 30,37,60 

Mixed  farming  or  planting,  practice  of 62,64,65 

Mountains  of  the  Piedmont  region 45 

iv. 

Names  and  addresses  of  correspondents,  list  of 50 

Nationality  of  laborers 60-66 


Navigation  of  the  rivers,  extent  of 

Negroes,  condition  of,  and  lands  owned  by 

relation  of,  to  cotton  production 

the  exclusive  laborers  of  the  sea  islauds. 

Newberry  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 

Number  of  cotton-pickings  made 


Oats,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) 

Orangehurgh  county,  analyses  of  soils  of 

Outline  of  the  physical  aud  agricultural  features  of  the  state. 

P. 

Pnris-green  as  a  remedy  against  the  caterpillar 

Pedee  river,  analyses  of  cultivated  cottou  lands  of 

character  of  lands  of 

course,  navigation,  and  bordering  lands  of 

Phosphate  rock,  deposits,  distribution,  form,  composition,  and 

details  regarding  manufacture  of,  into  fertilizers 

Picking  of  cotton  begins,  when 

price  paid  for 

Piedmont  region,  area  and  elevation  of 

cotton  production  in 

Piedmont  region,  cultural  and  economic  details  of  .  .54, 57, 58, 

extent,  surface  features,  geology,  climate, 

timber  growth,  soils,  and  statistics  of  ..  . 

Pine  barrens  lands,  analysis  of 

Planting  and  cultivation  of  cotton,  details  of 

cotton ,  time  of 26, 

Population  of  the  state  and  counties  (table  ) 

statistics  regarding 21, 24, 29, 32, 35, 

Power  used  in  ginning  cotton 

Prairies  of  the  fiatwoods  of  the  metamorphic  region 

Preparation  given  to  cotton  lands 

Presses  used  in  baling  sea-is!and  cotton,  kind  of 

Prevalence  of  credit  system 

Price  paid  for  cottonseed 

Production  and  acreage  of  leading  crops  (table) 

Productions  of  the  coast  region 

lower  pine  belt 

metamorphic  region 

upper  pine  belt 

Proportion  of  negro  laborers  owning  land  or  houses 


Pflge. 
8,9 

60-66 
44 
60 
40 
57 

4 
31,32 

7-48 

59 

27 

28 

7,8 

11, 12 
55-58 
55 
13 
57,58 
60,66 

45-47 

23 

54-58 

55-58 

3 

43,47 

58 

37 
54-58 

58 
60-66 

54 
4 

19 
23,24 
42,43 

29 
60-66 

34 

17,18 
37,46 

46 
38,39 
64,65 


Rainfall  at  Aiken 

of  the  coast  region 

metamorphic  and  Piedmont  regions 

Ramsey,  David,  cited   regarding  climate   of  the   Piedmont 

region 

Red-clay  loam,  character  aud  analyses  of 

hiils  region,  cultural  aud  economic  details  of 53,  57, 

extent,  timber  growth,  climate,  soils,  and 

productions  of 30-32 

hornbleudic  land,  analysis  of 40 

Reference  table  of  reports  received 50 

Regions,  description  of: 

coast 15-21 

lower  pine  belt 22-25 

metamorphic 36-44 

Piedmont  45-47 

upper  piue  belt 25-30 

Rent  paid  for  land 60,61,62,63,66 

Report,  sources  of  information  for iii,  iv 

Rice,  acreage  and  production  of  (table)  4 

history  and  methods  of  culture  of 13, 14, 23,  24 

Richland  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 27,40 

Rivers,  deltas  of,  and  cause  of  their  formation 7,8 

the  courses,  waterfalls,  navigation,    and   bordering 

lands  of 7-9 

River  swamp  lands,  description  and  aualysis  of 28 

Rocks,  character  of,  and  soils  derived  from 9-11 

Rotation  of  crops,  good  results  from 51-54 

Rot  of  bolls,  occurrence  of,  and  how  obviated 59 

525 


70 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


Page. 

Rust  or  blight,  occurrence  of,  on  heavy  or  ill-drained  soils, 

in  what  seasons,  and  how  obviated 59,  60 

S. 

Sage  palm,  growth  tit'  31 

Salt  marshes,  area  of -- 13 

Sal  in  I  a  river,  navigation  of 9 

Sand-hills  region,  area,  elevation,  and  soils  of. 13 

extent,  surface  features,  climate,  soils,  an- 
alyses, and  prod vict ions  of 10,  11,33-36 

Sandstone  formed  of  disintegrated  granite 10 

San  lee  hills,  description  of 30 

marls,  occurrence  of 11 

river,  course,  navigation,  and  bordering  lands  of 7,8, 26 

Savannah  River  alluvial  lands,  analyses  and  description  of..         28 

navigation  of 9,25 

Savanna  region,  general  character  of 22 

Schedule  questions,  summary  of  answers  to 51-60 

Seabrook,  Governor,  quoted ..8, 18, 20, 51 

Sea-island  cotton,  geographical  range  of 20 

history  and  appearance  of 20,  21 

less  subject  to  disease  than  the  short-staple        59 

method  of  packing 58 

when  first  introduced 14 

Sea-islands  and  marshy  soils,  analyses  of 19 

area,  character,  and  elevation  of,  above  the  sea..    12, 16 

origin  and  formation  of 15, 16 

Seasons  most  favorable  to  cotton  culture 26 

Section  showing  topographical  and  geological  features  of  the 

state 8 

Seed-cotton,  amount  of,  required  for  a '175-pound  bah- of  lint.         58 

product  per  acre,  in  counties  (table) 3 

Shaler,  Professor,  theory  of,  regarding  the  formation  of  sea 

islands ,. 15 

Share  system,  farms  worked  on,  and  effect  of,  on  the  soil 62-66 

reasons  in  favor  of 63,  66 

Shedding,  occurrence  of,  and  how  obviated 50,60 

Shepard,  Professor  C.  U.,  analysis  made  by 18,27,29,34 

Shipping,  baling,  and  ginning  cotton,  details  of 56 

Sloan,  Professor  B.,  quoted  regarding  farm  values  and    pro- 
ductions   44 

Smith,  Dr.  J.  L.,  analysis  made  by 23 

Soils,  analyst's  and  descriptions  of  ( tables) 15-48 

analyzed  by  whom 48 

general  table  of  analyses  of 48 

of  the  coast  region,  character  and  analyses  of 18,19 

lower  pine  belt,  character  and  partial  analysis 

of 23 

niet amorphic    region,    character,    variety,    and 

analyses  of 38-42 

Piedmont  region,  character  of 46,  47 

red-hills  region,  analyses  and  description  of 31,32 

sand-hills  region,  description  and  analyses  of..  .  34,35 

upper  pine  belt,  character  and  analyses  of 26-29 

Sore-shin  on  cotton-plants 59 

Spaces  between  ridges  in  cotton  planting 55-56 

Spartauburgh  county,  analyses  of  soil  and  subsoil  of 39 

Subsoil iug  and  its  results 51-54 

Summary  of  answers  to  schedule  questions 51-66 

Sumter  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 32 

Supplies  raised  at  home  or  imported 62,  64,65 

Surface  features  and  statistics  of  coast  region 16,21 

lower  pine  belt 22,24,25 

metamorphic  region 36,  43, 44 

Piedmont  region 45,  47 

sand-hills  region 33,35,36 

upper  pine  belt 25,26,29,30 

Swamp  lands  of  the  lower  pine  belt,  area  and  character  of. ..         23 
Swamps  of  the  upper  pine  belt,  area,  descriptions,  and  analy- 
ses of  28, 29 

Sweet  potatoes,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) 4 

526 


T. 

Tuge. 

Table  showing  acreage  and  production  of  leading  crops 4 

area,  population,  tilled  land,  and  cotton  pro- 
duction in  the  counties 3 

meteorological    observations    at    Charleston 

from  1752  to  L8rt0 17 

the  relative  size  of  farms  and  the  number  of 

work-stock  to  rot  ion  production 21 

Tabulated  results  of  the  enumeration. I— I 

Taylor,  Colonel  Thomas,  quoted 52 

Tertiary  formation,  occurrence  and  subdivisions  of 10,  11 

Thinning  out  cotton-plants    55-58 

Tides,  rise  and  fall  of 16 

Tillage  improvements,  etc.,  details  of 51-54 

Tilled  lands,  acres  of  (table)  (.sec  aUo  details  of) 3 

devoted    to  cotton   and    percentage  of  area  of 

(table) 3 

st  at  isfics  regarding ^1 ,  24,  25,  29,  30,  32,  35,  43,  44,  47 

Timber  growth  of  the  lower  pine  belt 22 

metamorphic  region 36,  37 

Piedmont  region 46 

red-hills  region 30 

sand-hills  region 33 

upper  pine  belt , 26 

Time,  length  of,  before  cottonseed  comes  up 55,58 

of  first  black  frost 56,5b 

planting  cotton,  etc.,  in  the  metamorphic  region  ...         37 

upper  pine  belt 26 

thinning  out  cotton-plants 55-58 

when  cotton-ljolls  first  open,  picking  begins  and  closes, 

and  when  the  first  cotton-blooms  appear 55-58 

Tobacco,  early  culture  and  method  of  Transportation  of 42 

Topography  of  tin.-  state 7 

Transmittal,  letters  of iii,  iv 

Transportation  companies,  conditions  imposed  by 58 

Trappean  lands,  character  and  analyses  of ..    41,42 

rocks,  occurrence  and  lands  of 10 

Tuomey,  Professor  M.,  theory  of,  regarding  the  formation  of 
sea  islands 15, 16 

V. 

Union  county,  analyses  of  soils  of 3*,  42 

Up-country  division,  extent  and  character  of 7 

Upper  pine  belt,  area,  width,  and  elevation  of 13 

cultural  and  economic  details  of 52,53,56-59, 

62-64 

soil,  analysis  of 27 

Upper  pine  belt,  surface  features,  timber  growth,  climate, 

soils,  and  productions  of 25-30 

V. 

Value  of  land % 60-66 

Varieties  of  cottonseed  preferred 55-58 

Vegetation  of  the  metamorphic  region,  change  in  the,  since 

the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century 36,37 

ir. 

WageB  paid  in  the  working  of  phosphate  rock 12 

to  laborers - ^- 60-66 

Bystem,  reasons  in  favor  of 60-66 

Washing  of  hillsides 52-54 

Water-power,  extent  of 33 

supply  and  wells  of  the  upper  pine  belt 26 

Weed,  running  to,  of  the  cotton-plant. 59,60 

Weeds  troublesome  in  cotton-fields 57,  60 

Wheat,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) 4 

Williamsburgh  county,  farms  and  labor  system  of 62 

Work-stock,  statistics  regarding 21,24,29,32,35,43,47 

V. 

York  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 39 


REPORT 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  OF  THE  STATE  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA, 


WITn  A  DISCUSSION   OF 


THE  GENERAL  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  STATE. 


BY 


W.  O.  KERR,  Ph.  ID., 

STATE    GEOLOGIST,    AND    SPECIAL    CEKSUS    AGEJIT. 


527 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 


Page. 

Letters  of  Transmittal v 

Tabulated  Results  of  the  Enumeration 1-G 

Table    I. — Area,  Population,  Tilled  Land,  aud  Cotton  Production 3,4 

Table  II. — Acreage  and  Production  of  Leading  Crops  5,6 

PART  I. 

Ph ysico-Geographical  and  Agricultural  Description  of  North  Carolina 7-25 

Outlines  of  the  Physical  Geography  of  the  State 9-25 

General  Topography 9 

Topographical  Divisions 9, 10 

Eastern  Division - 10 

Midland  Division 10 

Piedmont  Division 10 

Mountain  Division 10 

Climate 10,11 

Geological  Features 11, 12 

Agricultural  Regions 12 

The  Sea-hoard  Region 1 2-15 

The  Long-Leaf  Pine  Region 1 5-13 

Sand  Pine  Barrens 10 

Level  and  Rolling  Upland  Piny  Woods - 16 

Pine  Flats , 16 

Oak  Uplands  Region 18-20 

Trail sniontane  Region 20 

General  Remarks  on  Cotton  Production  in  North  Carolina 21-23 

Table  III. — Population  and  Cotton  Production  in  each  Agricultural  Region  of  the  State 21 

Table  IV. — "  Banner  Counties,"  as  regards  Total  Production  and  Product  Per  Acre,  in  each  Agricultural  Region 21 

Comparison  of  the  Agricultural  Regions 21,22 

Fertilizers , 22, 23 

Table  of  Analyses  of  Soils  and  Subsoils 24,25 

PART  II. 

Agricultural  Descriptions  of  the  Counties  of  North  Carolina 27-70 

Sea-board  Region 29-38 

Long-leaf  Pine  Region 39-49 

Oak  Uplands  or  Metamorphic  Region 50-65 

Transmontane  Region 65-70 

PART  III. 

Cultural  and  Economic  Details  of  Cotton  Production 71-78 

Reference  List  of  Names  and  Addresses  of  Correspondents 72 

Summary  of  Answers  to  Schedule  Questions 73-78 

Tillage,  Improvement,  etc 73 

Planting  and  Cultivation  of  Cotton 74,75 

Ginning,  Baling,  and  Shipping 75 

Diseases,  Insect  Enemies,  etc 76 

Labor  and  System  of  Farming 76-78 

MAPS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Agricultural  Map  of  North  Carolina 9 

Map  showing  the  Relation  Between  Area  Planted  in  Cotton  and  the  Total  Area 21 

Section  from  State  Line  at  French  Broad  Water-Gap  to  Sea-Level  at  New  Berne  9 

iii 
34  C  P— VOL.  II  529 


LETTERS    OF    TRANSMITTAL. 


Berkeley,  California,  May  31,  18S3. 
To  the  Superintendent  of  Census. 

Dear  Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  a  report  on  the  cotton  production  and  agricultural  features 
of  the  state  of  North  Carolina,  by  Professor  W.  C.  Kerr^  special  agent  in  charge  of  the  subject  for  the  state. 

Professor  Kerr's  long-continued  connection  with  the  geological  and  agricultural  survey,  as  well  as  with  the 

agricultural  experiment  station  and  board  of  agriculture  of  his  state,  imparts  to  his  presentation  of  its  natural 

features  and  most  important  agricultural  industry  an  unusually  authoritative  character,  from  a  thoroughness  of 

personal  knowledge  that  also  finds  expression  in  the  brevity  and  terseness  of  his  descriptions.     While  a  portion  of 

the  matter  has  already  bees  given  to  the  public  in  state  publications,  yet  in  its  present  complete  and  unified  form 

this  report  will  convey  so  many  more  definite  and  connected  impressions  of  the  natural  and  industrial  characteristics 

of  North  Carolina  as  to  render  it  of  great  interest  both  to  the  general  reader,  the  student,  and  to  those  directly 

interested  in  industrial  pursuits. 

Very  respectfully, 

EUG.  W.  HILGARD, 

Special  Agent  in  charge  of  Cotton  Production. 


Professor  Eugene  W.  Hilgard, 

Special  Agent  in  charge  of  Cotton  Production. 
Dear  Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  my  report  on  the  cotton  production  of  North  Carolina.     Yon 
will  observe  that  I  have  followed  closely  the  model  of  your  Louisiana  report,  giving: 

(1)  Tables  of  acreage  and  production  of  leading  crops. 

(2)  A  description  of  the  physical  geography. 

(3)  A  description  of  the  agricultural  regions. 

(4)  General  discussion  of  cotton  production  and  culture. 

(5)  Description  of  the  counties  in  the  several  agricultural  regions. 

(6)  Abstracts  of  the  schedules  of  cotton  production  appended  to  each  description. 

(7)  Abstracts  of  schedule  answers  to  questions  regarding  cultivation,  markets,  diseases,  etc. 
The  sources  of  information  for  this  paper  are — 

(1)  For  the  topography  and  geology,  personal  notes  of  observations  throughout  the  state. 

(2)  For  climate,  tri-daily  observations  made  under  the  direction  of  the  state  geological  survey  at  about  thirty 
stations  during  the  last  twelve  years,  and  publications  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  of  the  signal  service. 

(3)  For  soils,  forests,  and  other  agricultural  data :  first,  personal  notes  of  observations  in  prosecution  of  the 
geological  survey  iu  every  county  of  the.  state,  Puffin's  Sketches  of  Eastern  North  Carolina,  and  Emmons'  Swamp 
Lands;  second,  maps  of  the  state  laud  surveys,  chiefly  of  the  public  swamp  lands;  third,  unpublished  maps  of 
numerous  railroad  surveys;  and  fourth,  the  answered  schedules  of  questions,  from  which  some  details  have  been 
obtained  for  parts  of  a  few  counties. 

The  analyses  of  soils  given  in  the  text  were  made  in  part  for  the  Census  Office  by  Messrs.  J.  B.  Durrett,  C. 

Cory,  H.  McCalley,  and  P.  H.  Loughridge  at  the  University  of  Alabama,  and  in  part  for  the  state  geological  survey 

by  Messrs.  C.  H.  Bogardus,  of  the  New  Jersey  survey,  and  G.  B.  Hanna,  assayer  of  the  United  States  mint  at 

Charleston. 

Very  respectfully,  yours, 

VV.  C.  KERR. 

V 

531 


TABULATED  RESULTS  OF  THE  ENUMERATION. 


Table    I.— AEEA,  POPULATION,  TILLED  LAND,  AND  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 
Table  II.— ACREAGE  AND  PRODUCTION  OF  LEADING  CROPS. 


1 

533 


TABULATED  RESULTS  OF  THE  ENUMERATION.  3 

Table  I.— AREA,  POPULATION,  TILLED  LAND,  AND  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


OAK  LPLAXD8  REGION. 

"Warren 

Franklin 

Granville 

"Wak. 

Oraiif;o 

C  balb  am 

Montgomery 

Anson 

Union 

Stanley 

Davidson 

Rowfin 


4  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Table  I.— AREA,  POPULATION,  TILLED  LAND,  AND  COTTON  PRODUCTION— Continued. 


OAK  tTLA.\D8  REGION'— Cont'd. 

Cabarrna 

Mecklenburg 

Iredell 

Catawba 

Lincoln 

Gaston 

Cleavekind 

Iiutherford 

Randolph 

Guilford 

Alamance 

Person 

Caswell 

Rookingham  

Stokes 

Forsyth 

Davie  

Yadkin 

Surry   

Wilkes 

Alexander 

Caldwell   

Burke  

McDowell 

Polk 

Total 

TRANSMON'TANE  REGION. 

Alleghany  

Ashe 

Watansn 

Mitchell 

Yancey  

Madison 

Buncombe 

Henderson  

Transylvania 

Hay  v,  nod 

Jackson    

Macon 

Swain 

Graham  

Clay 

Cherokee 

Total 

536 


POPULATION. 


Male.   Female. 


18,  667  059,  832  ] 322,  604  337,  388 


White. 


S,  849 
17,  922 

16,  752 
12,469 

8,180 
10,188 
13,700 
11,910 

17,  758 

16,  885 
9,997 
7,206 
7,  109 

12,431 
11,730 
13,441 
7,770 
10,  876 
13  227 

17,  257 
7,458 
8,691 

10,  088 
7,939 
3,918 


430. 915 


4,967 
13,  471 
7,746 
8,932 
7,369 
12,  351 
18,  422 
8,893 
4,  823 
9,787. 
6,591 
7,395 
3,234 
2, 123 
3,175 
7,796 


5, 115 
10,253 
5,923 
2,  477 
2,881 
4,000 
2,671 
3,288 
3,078 
0,  700 
4,010  ' 
0,  513  , 
10,650  I 
9,313  ! 
3,023  | 
4,629 
3,326 
1,544 
2,075 
1,924 
897 
1,600 
2,  721 
1,897 
1,144 


'2;i,  H77 


519 
966 
414 
503 
325 
459 
3,487 
1,388 
517 
484 
752 
009 
550 
212 
141 
386 


09,  006     09,  841    127,  075  |  11,  772  | 

I 


T1I.LEH  LANIJ. 


80, 439 
134,  028 
101,018 
75,  350 
53,  571 
59,  569 
85,  752 
63,  825 
91,093 
120,  722 
72,621 
71,  034 
83,545 
77, 439 
53,  309 
59, 157 
59,  272 
52,816 
69, 011 
80,  512 
41,572 
41,512 
42,545 
34,  798 
21,  027 


40, 198 
70.  207 
44, 753 

31,  975 
34,703 
57,  490 
77,  628 
38,  595 
17,  967 
40, 474 
28, 006 

32,  030 
13,  828 

8,212 
15,  003 


23.  90 
30.85 
11.49 
7.00 
13.89 
18.38 
22.43 
15.10 
0.65 
0.22 
0.29 


0.01 
0.01 
0.02 
0.03 
1.33 
0.16 


0.13 
1.49 
0.07 
1.78 
0.07 
7.83 


11.79 


0.02 
0.05 


0.02 
0.03 


33.97 
36.30 
26.  53 
26.40 
28.37 
25.  57 
28.88 
19.18 
20.44 
28.10 
25.  50 
27.91 
32.07 
20.79 
17.52 
25.30 
32.05 
23.51 
22.05 
20.10 
20.51 
13.  10 
13.59 
9.98 
12.78 


24.  21 


26.15 

29.65 

18.89 

12.46 

19.65 

19.06 

19.75 

17.18 

7.35 

10.87 

8.40 

9.40 

4.80 

4.18 

12.45 

9.51 


13.95 


COTTON  PRODUCTION*. 


19,  224 
11,343 

11,003 

5,175 

7,442 

10, 949 

19,  238 

9,679 

595 

283 

211 


13 
10 
700 


475  Hit. 

7,  407 

10,  129 

4,657 

2,012 

2,  915 

4.588 

6,126 

2,070 

295 

114 

91 

1 

4 

.') 

7 

10 

302 


29 
182 

12 

301 

0 

362 


Average  per  acre. 


0.39 
0.40 
n.  40 
0.30 
0.40 
0.42 
0.32 
0.21 
0.50 
0.40 
0.43 
0.  50 
0.07 
0.60 
0.54 
0.63 
0.38 
0.30 
0.33 
0.27 
0.29 
0.40 
0.48 
0.39 
0.22 


143,  546 


0.42 


0.30 
0.40 


4      0.33 



4      0.40 


Lbs. 

000 
573 

564 
597 
453 
306 
708 
573 
015 
711 
051 
855 
708 
891 
540 
420 
474 
387 
420 
570 
684 
558 
312 


Lbs. 
181 
220 
101 
185 
188 
199 
151 
102 
230 


429        143 
570        190 


ti- 
ts 


51.00 
71.78 
10.  50 
11.03 

30.08 
11.40 
18.01 
0.85 
0. 12 
0.  17 


0.03 

0.  04 
2,73 
0.  25 


O.06 
1.51 

0.  01 
0.40 

18.28 


o.  03 
0.  01 


0.03 
0.03 


TABULATED  RESULTS  OF  THE  ENUMERATION. 
Table  II.— ACREAGE  AND  PRODUCTION  OF  LEADING  CROPS. 


The  State 

SEA1IOARI)  REGION. 

CuiTitlK'k 

Camden 

Pasquotank 

Perquimans 

Chowan 

Dare 

Tyrrell  

Washington 

Hyde 

Beaufort 

Pamlico 

Craven  

Carteret 

Jones -  - 

Onslow 

Pender  

New  Hanover 

Brunswick 

Columbus 

Total 

LONG-LEAF  PINE  REGION 

Gates 

Hertford 

Eertio 

Northampton 

Halifax 

Nash 

Edgecombe 

Pitt 

Greene  

Martin 

"Wilson 

Johnston  

Wayne 

Lenoir 

Duplin 

Sampson 

Cumberland 

Harncl  t 

Mooio 

Richmond 

Robeson    

Bladen  

Total 

OAK  UPLANDS  REGION. 

Warren 

Franklin 

Granville 

Wake 

Orange    

Chatham 

Montgomery 

Anson 

Union 

Stanley 

Davidson 

Rowan 

Cabarrus 

Mecklenburg 

Iredell , 


310 
!,670 
:,004 
',025 
1,047 


9, '■ 
9,5 
8,1 
25,] 
21,  ( 
1,< 


466,  367 


21,  603 
30, 274 

6,559 
59,  916 

5,290 
13,  478 

0,519 
28,  296 
19,  090 

5,878 

3,779 
10,645 
19,  224 
41,  343 
11,603 


Bales 

(475  lbs.) 


139 
823 

.,181 


718 
i,  021 

t,  782 

,014 

:,  078 

1,841 

835 

66 

244 

930 


1,846 
683 


7,778 

12, 938 
2,  535 

30,115 
1,919 
5,858 
2,989 

11,  857 
8,336 
2,  475 
1,553 
4,381 
7,467 

19, 129 
4,657 


Acres.      Pounds. 


,759 
118 

1,941 
230 

1,323 
141 


484 
216 
12 

10 
465 


400 
398 


685 

517 

5, 263 

1,520 

2,  732 

303 

250 

730 

690 


2,  502 
3,860 


102, 
13, 


992,  250 

58,  932 

I,  606,  358 

94,354 

.,  178,  732 

49,  837 

14,  370 

4,880 

3,467 

1,735 

260,  538 

1 15,  251 

3,239 

2,291 

242,  714 


Acres.         Bushels. 


23,310 
23,  663 
28,  525 
21,910 
13,  877 
956 
8,300 

15,  824 
21,632 
20,  225 

6,381 
19,  001 

5,150 
19,  425 
23,  259 

16,  550 
2,008 
4,915 

15,  723 


21,946 
25,  521 
37,  735 
45, 224 

44,  790 
32,  490 
46,  235 
46,  482 
25, 148 
24,  209 
27,  288 

45,  045 
44,  469 
29,  838 
36,813 
53,  951 
32,  677 
21,244 
27,  934 
29,  502 
49,  961 
21,  556 


770, 058 


28,  457 
32,  642 

42,  608 
53, 172 
28,  542 

43,  087 
18,  090 
29,121 
28,  877 
22,  426 
36,  983 

38,  963 
26,  831 
41,  285 

39,  264 


324,  819 
295,  447 
348,  119 
292,  850 
143, 156 
11,205 
108,  839 

217,  031 
243,  623 
286,211 
107,  959 

218.  250 
41,458 

ISO,  954 
185,  019 
159,  004 
15,  937 
46,  329 
136,  546 


170,  042 
236,  088 
345,  091 
431,581 
437,  321 
295,  019 
433,  214 
458,  106 
173,  421 
227,  445 
299,  957 
428,  996 
466, 432 
274,  010 
330,  437 
486,  768 
282,  423 
180, 458 
302,196 
277,  974 
300, 128 
188,  208 


7,  080,  575 


293,  773 
338,  239 
515, 159 
612, 869 
360,  040 
558,  281 
210,  521 
305, 139 
338,  520 
271,  877 
549,  900 
597,519 
381,321 
539,  385 
588,  220 


SWEET  POTATOES. 


Acres.      Bushels. 


50.  603 


377 
291 
850 
723 
293 
400 
479 
201 

1,693 
783 

1,323 
834 
435 
705 

1,522 
310 

1,523 

2,242 


1 5,  032 


972 

483 

890 

590 

543 

848 

623 

1,171 

429 

829 

525 

1,916 

1,347 

584 

1,842 

1,997 

1,110 

902 

716  I 

750 

1,  825  I 

1,554 

22,  718 


42,  902 
20,  823 
22,  751 
99,  498 
02,  247 

19,  717 
31, 739 
48,  429 

20,  236 
188,  507 

65,  807 
115,538 
01,  469 
38,  267 
67,  980 
116,  559 
23, 138 
111,779 
186,  300 


07, 
52, 
93, 
80, 
82, 
3', 
92, 
58: 
210: 
120, 
50, 
169, 
214, 
91, 


494 
439 
473 
858 
709 
997 
033 
334 
660 
913 
336 
456 
081 
995 
044 
596 
355 
i,  118 
i,  018 
1,374 


383 
493 
680 
1,797 
261 
622 
231 


113 
390 

277 
120 
281 
182 


2,198,046 


28,  782 
48,684 
52, 307 
155,  260 
22,  360 
53,  334 
21,849 
39,  645 
19,  218 
10, 376 
30,  665 

25,  452 
11,241 

26,  393 
11,601 


Acres.       Pounds. 


503 

87 

1,010 

979 

394 

438 

413 

321 

159 

392 

315 

1,489 

1,201 


11 
6 

36 
567 
208 
629 
441 


38 
303 
473 


7,727 

16,  861 

810 

2,090 


2,780 
237,  515 
60,  873 
304,  671 
502,  676 
276, 174 
251, 108 
200,  965 
118,  777 
92,  565 
.  248, 622 
260,  068 
1, 163,  852 
462,  042 


4,  210,  176 


2,901 

110,  067 

19,  214 

3,150 

1,800 

19,  672 

294,  201 

95,  559 

300,  203 

240,  080 

19,  963 

830 


17,  460 
118.  393 
140,  340 


Acres,        Bushels. 


267 

1,008 

1,930 

1,222 

791 

17 

781 

1,065 

1,354 

1,395 

378 

333 

107 

455 

96 

183 

80 

240 

207 


11,975 


1,210 
1,800 
2,403 
4,805 
4,497 
3,875 
9,589 
3,301 
1,738 
1,447 
1,590 
3,170 
1,779 
1,060 
433 
054 
1,  509 
1,202 
7,924 
3,571 
2,814 
362 


00,  739 


5,559 
5,560 
14,344 

13,  948 
12,  243 
19,  861 

7,852 
8,999 

14,  357 
10,  975 

16,  924 

17,  701 
7,592 

12,  949 
17,488 


2,734- 
8,854 

17,  488 
13,  921 

6,888 

230 

7,022 

13,  427 

18,  400 
18,  430 

4,  845 
4,420 
1,122 

5,  420 
1,280 
2,209 

000. 
2,262 
2.517 


10,010 
14,  512 
20,  517 
45,  709 
41,771 
30, 135 
94,021 
29,  400 
16,  772 
11,  229' 
13,682 
29,  95S 
18.  000 
12,217 

6,132 

0,297 
13,  791 

7,040 
48,  744 
82,  279 
22,  845 

3,795 


530,  128 


40,  990 
45.812 

110,  090 
98,  962 
86,  208 

120,341 
50,  248 
72,454 

101,719- 
72,  223 

122,  063- 

142,  121 
54,  513' 
94,356" 

126,  42lf 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 
Table  II.— ACREAGE  AXD  PRODUCTION  OF  LEADING  CROPS— Continued. 


COT 

rox. 

TOBACCO. 

CORS. 

SWEET  POI  ITOE6. 

RICE. 

OATS. 

Counties. 

Acres. 

Dales 

(475  lbs.). 

Acres. 

I'lUUuls. 

Acres. 

Busliels. 

Aires. 

BushelB. 

Acros.      Pounds. 

Acres. 

Bushels. 

oak  uplands  iif.gion— continued. 

5. 175 

7,442 

10,949 

19,  238 

9,079 

,-,9.-| 

283 

211 

0 
5 
13 
10 
790 
87 
3 
107 
017 
30 

23 
1,046 

2,  012 

2,  945 

4,  5S8 

0,120 

2.  079 

295 

114 

111 

1 

s 

; 

10 
302 

20 
1 

29 
182 

12 
301 

ri 

302 

49 

1 

: 

45 

910 

1,688 

5,868 

11),  174 

0,  332 

4,090 

1.003 

1,205 

425 

2. 130 

110 

58 

100 

4 

26,  380 
0.  085 
2,  180 

12,908 

11.101 

422,710 

695,  013 

3,  (112,  387 

4,330,064 

4,341,259 

2,131,101 

822,  788 

033,  339 

177,  595 

905,  250 

33,211 

11,799 

25,384 

20,  079 

30,  541 

931 

21,248 
19,338 
24,  078 

31,  339 

32,  783 
35,  338 
39,  790 

24,  028 
19,  372 

25,  663 
25,175 

19,  969 

20,  920 
22, 125 
21,735 
25.  334 
34,  865 

16,  789 
17,315 
22.  013 

17,  075 
10,  032 

358.210 
313.  907 
373, 472 
390,  281 

304,  002 
477,  108 
519, 185 

305,  874 
241,  523 
301,  641 
392,  767 
338,  781 
335, 164 
438,  595 
343,  070 
397, 143 
480,  089 
212,  382 
274,495 
325,  656 
iv,-,,  834 
139, 315 

205 
120 
187 
399 
343 
257 
188 
139 
152 
409 
273 
334 
227 

05 
102 
407 
268 

92 
210 
138 
11.-. 

9(1 

7,  600 

0,313 

0,609 

10,  959 

0,  100 

13,  521 

20,  774 

0,018 

D.621 

14,441 

15,  200 

8,408 

11,780 

XI,  300 

11.289 

9, 199 

8,240 

7,  503 

3,  880 

3,455 

1,090 

877 

19,179 

19,  290 
35,  834 
28,  226 
19,809 

20,  302 

12,  S43 
24,  029 
27,911 
19,  800 
18,447 
0,231 
8,  206 
24,  609 
22,  255 
9,237 

21,  071 
11,858 
1 2,  707 

5,110 

1  1             1,230 

1 
1 

835 
009 

Rutherford 

Randolph 

31.971 

" 

48,  809 

79,443 

-Caldwell    ---- 

2               1,0411 

8  '               4,  30h 
2                      545 

30,592 

McDowell.... 

13,111 

341,166 

143.  546 

03,  454 

25,  292,  847 

1,039,072 

14,  140,  083 

11,546 

957, 4S4 

15 

9.170 

387, 176 

TKANSMONTANF.  ItEGlON. 

8 

00 

23 

77 

S4 

1,020 

947 

29 

HI 

100 

21 

40 

11 

4 

42 

2,  049 
11,004 
7,210 
29,  647 
33,  S98 
807,911 
475,  42S 
4,  087 
3.S53 
39,  516 
4,801 
9, 154 
1,160 
1,095 
5,771 
8,411 

7.201 
15.616 

8,227 
11,894 
11.200 
17.816 
29, 108 
10,  407 

9,762 
17.254 
12,  793 
14,423 

6,809 

7,810 
14,  507 

122,  587 
277, 027 
148,  204 
209, 131 
205,  659 
348,858 
490,544 
227,411 
154,  769 
314, 446 
188,521 
222,  855 
100,  543 
06,  092 
113,462 
227,  650 

3 
4 

35 
26 

87 
40 
34 
36 
131 
102 
21 
89 
109 
158 

285 
411 
709 
2,001 
2,  113 
1,704 
5,  872 
2,027 
3.440 
2,405 
10,278 
11,214 
2,154 
6,460 
7.058 
■     11,789 

1,933 
3,357 
1,828 
3,990 
3.  657 
4,238 
6,967 
2,  90S 

4,099 
1,  521 
1,621 
757 
628 
1,230 
1,534 

19,  305 

Asln' 

10 

15 

3 

0 

23, 205 

Mitchell 

! 

12 

4 

10 

4 

i 

10 

0 

" 

Cluv 

Total 

63 

23 

3,113 

1,  445,  001 

205,  049 

3,  417,  759 

907 

70,306 

40,525 

377,41! 

538 


PAET     T. 


PHYSICOGEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTION 


OF 


NORTH   CAROLINA. 


7 
539 


\f£l 


II    THE    INI  ■     • 


/ED1;1'-'  AA  ;A'  A  TllR  UM.i.TEiJ  STATES 


Ni  i        "T        {     i  -r      -      ^       /  —   t   ■      .-' 


~r'~'iA  v^~'  ^—  I  y  -  -     '  < f>     *n> 


• 


OUTLINES    OF    THE    PHYSICAL    GEOGRAPHY 

OF   THE 

STATE    OF    NORTH    CAROLINA. 


North  Carolina  lies  east  and  west  across  the  Atlantic  slope  of  the  Appalachians  in  a  long,  narrow,  rudely  triangular 
belt,  its  narrow  western  end  resting  on  the  highest  plateau  and  summit  of  that  continental  system  of  mountains, 
and  its  eastern  broader  end  spread  out  iu  a  low,  level,  and  gently  undulating  plain  on  the  sea-coast.  Its  length  east 
and  west  is  500  miles  ;  its  mean  breadth  about  100  miles,  the  western  extremity  being  only  15  miles  wide,  while  its 
broadest  part,  near  the  sea-coast,  iu  the  meridian  of  Wilmington  and  Cape  Fear  river,  reaches  a  breadth  of  187i 
miles.  This  state  is  situated  between  the  meridians  of  75°  27'  and  84°  20'  west  longitude  and  33°  50'  and  36° 
33J;'  north  latitude,  aud  about  midway  between  the  great  lakes  of  the  north  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  If  on  a  map 
of  the  United  States  the  map  of  this  state  was  detached,  and  its  western  end  swung  northward  on  its  easternmost 
point  as  a  pivot,  the  western  extremity  would  touch  the  north  shore  of  lake  Ontario ;  swung  southward  it  would 
reach  the  Gulf. 

The  area  of  the  state  is  52,250  square  miles,  of  which  3,670  is  water  surface,  leaving  a  land  surface  of  48,580 
.square  miles. 

Topography.— The  ascent  of  the  Atlantic  slope  from  the  sea  is  very  gradual  in  the  latitude  of  this  state, 
more  so  than  iu  the  states  north  and  south.  The  obvious  reason  is  that  the  greater  elevation  of  the  mountains 
here  is  more  than  compensated  by  the  notable  protrusion  of  the  coast-line  of  this  state  into  the  sea.  If  on  a  map  of 
the  United  States  a  straight  line  be  drawn  from  Saint  Augustine,  Florida,  to  Sandy  Hook,  it  will  pass  more  than 
100  miles  west  of  the  eastern  cape  of  North  Carolina.  If,  then,  the  ascent  of  this  slope  be  followed  westward  from 
the  easternmost  point  of  the  coast-line  along  a  median  parallel,  it  will  be  found  that  for  the  first  100  miles  the  rise 
is  but  little  more  than  half  a  foot  to  the  mile;  for  the  second  100  miles  it  is  only  3J  feet;  for  the  third  100  miles 
5  feet ;  and  for  the  last  75  miles,  to  the  foot  of  the  Blue  Kidge,  8  feet  per  mile ;  aggregating  1,500  feet  in  375  miles- 
If  the  steepest  ascent  be  taken  in  a  northwest  direction  at  right  angles  to  the  trend  of  the  coast  and  of  the 
Appalachians  (which  is  about  N.  60°  E.)  the  first  hundred  miles  give  a  rise  of  200  feet,  or  nearly  2  feet  to  the  mile,  and 
the  acclivity  for  the  next  130  miles,  to  the  foot  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  is  10  feet  per  mile,  making  1,500  feet  iu  250  miles. 

The  cismontane  plateau  rises  from  an  elevation  of  1,000  feet  on  the  east  to  1,500  feet  along  its  western  border, 
where  it  is  quite  rough  and  mountainous.  The  Blue  Bidge  is  an  escarpment  of  from  1,500  to  2,000  feet  average 
elevation  above  the  plateau  at  its  base,  rising  in  some  of  its  peaks  to  nearly  6,000  feet  of  absolute  elevation.  The 
region  west  of  this  chain  is  a  long,  narrow,  elevated  mountainous  plateau,  bounded  westward  by  the  high  and 
massive  range  of  the  Smoky  mountains. 


SECTION  FROM  STATE  LINE  AT  FRENCH  BROAD  WATER  GAP  TO  SEA  LEVEL  AT  NEW  BERNE. 

A,  granite;  B,  gneiss  and  schist;  C,  metamorriliic  slates;  D,  Triassic  sandstones;  E,  Cretaceous  greensand;  F,  Tertiary  sands,  clays,  and  limestones;  G, 
Quaternary  sands  and  clays. 

Topographical  divisions.— From  the  preceding  statement  it  is  obvious  that,  topographically,  the  state  is 
naturally  divided  into  four  regions,  or  zones,  parallel  to  each  other  and  to  the  Appalachian  axis  and  the  coast, 
viz,  Eastern,  Midland,  Piedmont,  and  Mountain  divisions. 

9 
541 


10  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

The  Eastern  division. — This  division  extends  from  110  to  125  miles  inland  from  the  coast  to  the  lower  falls  of  the 
rivers,  rising  very  gradually  to  about  200  feet  along  its  northwestern  border,  a  little  less  toward  the  north,  and  a 
little  more  to  the  southward.  This  boundary  is  clearly  enough  defined  by  a  straight  line  from  Weldon,  on  the  Roanoke 
liver,  to  the  point  where  the  Yadkin  (or  Pedee)  river  crosses  the  southern  border  of  the  state.  The  total  area 
is  nearly  24,000  square  miles;  land  surface,  20,000  square  miles;  and  it  maybe  described  summarily  in  a  single 
word  as  one  broad  ehwmpaign.  Its  surface  is  nearly  level  or  slightly  undulating,  except  along  the  river  courses,  on 
the  upper  reaches  of  which  are  found  bluffs  and  hills.  The  rivers  from  the  interior  cross  it  in  a  transverse  direction, 
dividing  it  into  half  a  dozen  broad,  flat  swells,  which  sink  down  toward  the  coast  to  within  a  few  feet  of  tide-level. 
The  region  is  further  characterized  by  numerous  and  large  sounds,  bays,  and  wide  tidal  rivers,  by  extensive 
swamps  and  marshes,  and  by  wide  tracts  of  alluvial  and  peaty  soils,  with  extensive  cypress  and  juniper  forests 
near  the  coast,  and  of  sandy  soils  inland  having  vast  forests  of  long-leaf  pine. 

The  Midland  division  rises  toward  its  western  limit  to  about  1,000  feet,  and  has  an  average  elevation  of  about 
650  feet.  Its  breadth  is  nearly  100  miles,  and  its  area  some  15,0(10  square  miles.  The  surface  is  generally  hilly  and 
rolling,  and  sometimes  quite  rough  near  the  larger  rivers,  which  have  cut  their  valleys  in  a  southeasterly  course 
across  it  often  to  depths  of  200,  300,  and  400  feet  below  the  level  of  the  broad-backed  swells  or  table-lands  between 
them.     This  and  the  two  following  divisions  are  regions  of  oak  forests  and  granitic  soils. 

The  Piedmont  division. — This  plateau  slopes  up  from  1,000  to  1,200  and  1,500  feet  at  the  foot  of  the  Blue  Ridge, 
having  an  average  elevation  of  near  1,200  feet.  It  is  from  O'O  to  70  miles  wide,  and  has  an  area  of  about  7.000  square 
miles.  Its  surface  is  generally  hilly,  and  often  rugged,  especially  toward  the  western  side,  where  numerous  high 
and  precipitous  spurs  project  eastward  and  southward  from  the  Dine  Ridge.  Two  of  these,  the  South  mountains  and 
the  Brushy  mountains,  traverse  almost  its  entire  breadth  in  a  nearly  east  direction,  that  is,  diagonally,  and  throw 
off  many  secondary  spurs  and  ridges,  thus  carrying  its  mountainous  features  to  the  borders  of  the  midland  division. 
These  spurs  frequently  rise  to  an  elevation  of  1,000  and  1,500  feet  and  more  above  the  intervening  valleys.  In  this 
region  rise  most  of  the  great  rivers  already  referred  to,  whose  waters  have  so  profoundly  modified  the  topography 
of  the  two  preceding  divisions. 

The  Mountain  division. -AThis  is  a  high  plateau,  bounded  eastward  by  the  straggling,  irregular,  knobby  chain  of 
-  tfie  Blue  Ridge,  which  attains  its  greatest  elevation  of  almost  0,000  feet  midway  of  the  state.  Its  average  elevation 
is  nearly  4.000  feet,  most  of  its  gaps  being  above  3,000  feet;  but  toward  the  southern  and  northern  borders  of  the 
state  it  drops  to  an  altitude  of  near  3,000  feet,  its  lower  gaps  being  but  little  above  2,000  feet.  Seen  from  the  east,  this 
chain  presents  the  aspect  of  a  steep  and  rugged  escarpment  springing  suddenly  from  the  Piedmont  plateau  to  au 
altitude  of  2,000  and  3,000  feet  and  more  above  it,  while  from  the  west  it  appears  as  a  low  and  very  ill-defined  range 
of  scattered  and  irregular  knobs  and  ridges  of  the  moderate  elevation  of  1,(100  or  2,000  feet  above  that  plateau, 
which  itself  has  an  average  altitude  of  about  2,700  feet,  its  valleys  being  2,000  feet,  and  its  higher  tables  and 
benches  reaching  3,500  and  4,000  feet.  The  western  boundary  of  this  division  is  that  of  the  state  ;  that  is,  the 
Smoky  mountains.  The  area  of  this  division  is  5,700  square  miles.  These  two  parallel  boundiug  chains  are 
separated  by  from  30  to  50  miles,  but  at  the  Grandfather  plateau  they  approach  within  10  miles,  diverging  again 
northward. 

This  plateau  is  the  culminating  region  of  the  Appalachian  system,  and  contains  not  only  its  heaviest  masses, 
but  its  highest  summits,  Mitchell's  peak,  in  the  Black  mountains,  being  400  feet  higher  than  Mount  Washington, 
and  a  dozen  other  peaks  surpassing  that  summit  of  the  White  mountains,  and  it  is  therefore  the  most  elevated 
region  of  the  United  States  east  of  the  Mississippi  river.  It  is  traversed  north  and  south  by  half  a  dozen  cross 
chains,  which  are  in  some  cases  higher  than  either  of  the  principal  ranges,  some  of  them  being  more  than  6,000 
feet,  the  Black,  with  Mitchell's  peak,  6,68S  feet,  being  one  of  these  cross  chains. 

The  plateau  is  thus  subdivided  into  a  number  of  smaller  plateaus  or  basins,  bounded  on  all  sides  by  high 
mountains,  having  each  its  own  independent  system  of  drainage.  The  Blue  Ridge  being  the  divide  between  the 
waters  of  the  Atlantic  and  the  Mississippi,  all  the  rivers  of  this  region,  except  those  which  rise  north  of  the 
Grandfather  plateau,  flow  northwestward  into  the  Tennessee  river,  the  Xew  river  (Kanawha)  flowing  northeastward 
and  reaching  the  Mississippi  by  way  of  the  Ohio. 

Climate. — The  geographical  position  of  this  state,  together  with  its  topographical  features,  give  at  once  the 
controlling  conditions  of  its  climate.  Its  situation  would  give  a  middle  temperate  climate.  The  position  of  its 
eastern  end  on  the  Atlantic,  and  the  projection  of  this  end  southward  along  the  coast  below  the  parallel  of  34°, 
together  with  its  near  approach  to  the  Gulf  Stream,  which  hugs  the  shore  closely  at  this  point,  give  this  part  of  the 
state  a  subtropical  character.  The  isotherm  of  this  southern  angle  is  GG°,  the  same  as  that  of  southern  Alabama, 
middle  Mississippi,  and  middle  Texas,  while  the  great  elevation  and  inland  recession  of  the  western  section 
bring  its  climate  within  the  cold  temperate  zone,  the  isotherm  for  this  region  corresponding  to  that  of  middle  2sew 
England  and  Upper  Canada,  although  it  is  not  subject  to  the  same  extremes  of  either  heat  or  cold,  the  range  of 
temperature  being  less  by  fiom  5°  to  12°.  The  average  ineau  annual  temperature  for  the  state  is  59°;  for  the 
eastern  region,  01° ;  the  middle,  58° ;  the  western,  52°.  The  summer  temperatures  are,  respectively,  77°  for  the  • 
state,  and  79°,  77°,  and  70°  for  the  several  regions  ;  the  winter  temperatures  for  the  state,  43°,  and  for  the  regions,  . 
46°,  44°,  3S°.  respectively.     The  hottest  month  is  July,  and  the  coldest  December. 

542  » 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  11 

The  average  annual  rainfall  for  the  whole  state  is  52  inches ;  for  the  east,  middle,  and  western  portions,  GO, 
45,  and  58  inches,  respectively.  This  rainfall  is  distributed  pretty  uniformly  through  the  year,  except  that  August 
shows  a  considerable  excess  of  precipitation  in  the  eastern  and  middle  regions  and  February  in  the  western ;  and 
the  summer  rainfall  exceeds  that  of  the  other  seasons  considerably  in  the  eastern  and  very  slightly  in  the  middle, 
while  the  amounts  for  the  winter  and  summer  are  nearly  equal  in  the  west,  autumn  being  the  driest  season  in  all 
sections. 

The  prevalent  winds  in  all  sections  of  the  state  are  from  the  west,  but  most  notably  in  the  western  section  ; 
and  of  the  westerly  winds,  the  southwest  is  the  more  common  in  the  eastern  division,  the  northwest  in  the  middle 
division,  and  the  west  in  the  mountain  region.  The  next  in  order  of  importance,  except  in  the  western  division 
of  the  state,  is  the  northeast  wind.  The  east  wind  has  no  prominence  iu  any  quarter  of  the  state,  nor  has  the 
southeast  wind,  except  on  the  immediate  coast,  and  the  south  wind,  except  iu  the  eastern  section,  is  equally 
unimportant. 

The  winds  which  bring  rain  are  mostly  southwesterly.  Thunderstorms  come  generally  from  the  west,  winter 
rains  frequently  from  the  northeast,  and  in  all  seasons  occasional  rains,  and  sometimes  very  heavy  ones,  come  from 
the  east  and  southeast.  These  statements  will  need  modification  for  special  localities,  particularly  in  inclosed 
mountain  valleys,  where  the  direction  of  the  rain-bearing  winds  is  governed  by  the  local  topography.  In  some  of 
these  the  west  is  the  rainy  quarter ;  in  others  the  east ;  and  in  still  others  the  southeast. 

The  average  annual  snowfall  is  5  inches  iu  the  middle  region,  2  inches  in  the  east,  and  14  inches  in  the  west. 
The  snow-clouds  come  generally  from  the  northeast,  sometimes  from  the  north,  and  rarely  from  the  southwest. 

Geological  features. — The  eastern  topographical  division  is  mantled  over  with  a  thin  covering  of  Quaternary 
gravels,  sands,  and  clays,  having  a  thickness  of  one,  two,  or  three  score  feet,  being  entirely  removed  in  many 
places,  and  thinning  out  toward  its  northwestern  margin.  Underneath  this  formation  is  the  Tertiary,  of  no  greater 
thickness  or  persistence.  Miocene  clays,  sands,  and  shell-beds  (the  so-called  marls)  crop  out  in  the  depressions  and 
along  the  streams  over  nearly  the  whole  breadth  of  the  division,  and  in  the  southern  half  of  it  Eocene  calcareous 
clays,  chalk-beds,  aud  shell  limestones  show  themselves  in  the  river  beds  and  bluffs,  occasionally  coming  to  the 
surface  elsewhere  in  the  lower  levels  of  the  region.  As  we  ascend  the  courses  of  the  rivers,  Cape  Fear  for  example, 
the  Eocene  is  represented  by  beds  of  lignitic  clay,  and  then  of  sand  and  gravel  and  of  purple  and  white  kaolin 
clays.  This  formation  is  limited  in  thickness  like  the  preceding,  and  thins  out  toward  the  coast,  as  well  as 
inland. 

The  Cretaceous  is  seen  only  in  the  beds  of  a  few  of  the  larger  rivers  south  of  the  Neiise,  and  usually  only  in  the 
lower  parts  of  the  bluffs  at  low  water.  This  formation  is  represented  by  loose  and  half-compacted  greensands,  with 
occasional  shell-beds.  Toward  the  northwestern  limit  of  the  division  the  upturned  edges  of  the  Arclnean  rocks, 
gneisses,  slates,  and  quartzites  appear  in  the  beds  and  banks  of  the  rivers  from  the  Roanoke  to  the  Pedee,  and 
occasionally  project  above  the  sands  and  gravels  at  other  points  between.  Along  this  margin  of  the  division, 
and  touching  it  near  the  Pedee,  on  the  southern  border  of  the  state,  and  again  at  the  forks  of  the  Cape  Fear,  lies  a 
narrow  strip  of  Triassie  rocks,  red  and  gray  sandstones,  clays  and  conglomerates,  with  several  seams  of  bituminous 
coal,  one  of  them  0  feet  thick  and  of  good  quality.  These  rocks  are  tilted  toward  the  southeast  at  an  angle  of  from  10° 
to  30°.  The  average  breadth  of  the  belt  is  5  or  6  miles,  which  widens  to  12  miles  between  Raleigh  and  the  University 
and  thins  out  toward  the  northern  border  of  the  state.  The  coal  outcrop  follows  the  course  of  Deep  river  about  30 
miles.  These  rocks  lie  in  a  trough  along  the  eroded  edges  of  the  nearly  vertical  Archaean  slates  and  schists.  This 
Triassie  terrane  is  repeated  in  all  its  features  along  the  northern  border  of  the  state,  occupying  a  similar  trough  of 
from  2  to  4  milesin  width  along  the  upper  valley  of  Dan  river,  extending  from  a  point  near  Danville  to  40  miles  west. 
The  dips  here  are  reversed,  beiug  northward,  and  are  much  steeper — from  30°  to  50°  and  70°.  The  coal  of  this  terrane 
is  semi-bituminous,  and  the  longer  bed  is  only  half  as  thick  as  that  of  the  Deep  Fiver  belt.  Over  the  whole  surface  of  the 
state  west  of  the  Quaternary,  except  these  two  Triassie  tracts  of  less  than  1,000  square  miles  and  two  or  three  small 
patches  of  primordial  on  the  western  border,  the  Arohcean  rocks  alone  have  place.  As  the  covering  of  sand  and  gravel 
disappears  a  zone  of  gneisses  and  schists  is  uncovered  in  the  region  of  Kaleigh,  which  is  exposed  from  the  northern 
border  of  the  state,  on  the  Roanoke  river,  southwestward  to  the  Cape  Fear,  beyond  which  it  is  overlaid  by  the 
Quaternary.  The  dips  are  still  easterly,  as  in  the  outcrops  through  the  sand.  A  few  miles  west  of  Ealeigh,  and 
at  the  forks  of  the  Cape  Fear  and  the  point  where  the  Pedee  crosses  the  southern  border,  the  great  central  slate 
belt  succeeds  with  its  steep  regular  westerly  dips.  This  is  one  of  the  most  extensive,  conspicuous,  aud  well 
characterized  terranes  in  the  state,  and  occupies  a  regular  broad  zone  quite  across  the  middle  of  the  state,  its 
breadth  varying  from  25  to  40  miles.  These  rocks  consist  of  a  variety  of  slates — argillite,  chlorite,  quartzite, 
conglomerate,  graphite,  and  pyrophyl  lite.  West  of  this  conies  a zone  of  granites  and  gneisses,  with  obscure  and  confused 
structure  and  stratification,  but  with  easterly  dips.  Beyond  this  granite  belt  the  whole  western  region  of  the  state 
is  occupied  by  a  great  body  of  gneisses  and  mica-schists,  interrupted  by  three  narrow  belts  of  slates  and  quartzites 
and  limestones:  one,  irregular  and  broken,  near  the  eastern  border  of  the  terrane  (e.  g.,  King's  mountain);  the 
second  along  the  Blue  Eidge;  the  third  along  the  Smoky  mountains  ou  the  western  border.  The  dip  of  the  first  belt 
rs  west ;  of  the  second,  east ;  of  the  third,  east  and  west.  The  rocks  of  this  zone  are  much  broken  and  disturbed,  and 
the  dips  very  variable  in  amount,  but  almost  uniformly  east.     West  of  the  Blue  Ridge  the  gneisses  are  coarser, 

543 


12  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

more  massive,  and  thick-bedded,  and  also  more  tilted  and  broken.  They  are  conspicuously  characterized  by 
numerous  and  very  large  veins  or  dikes  of  very  coarse  granite,  in  which  have  been  opened  many  valuable  mica 
mines. 

The  whole  Archa?an  formation  in  the  state  is  metalliferous,  containing  large  bodies  of  magnetic  iron  ore  and 
hematites,  and  gold  and  copper  ores  in  all  its  zones  from  east  to  west.  They  have  yielded  also  a  notable  number 
of  gems,  and  the  species  of  minerals,  many  of  them  of  great  rarity,  number  180. 

Agricultural  regions. — The  agricultural  regions  do  not  correspond  with  the  topographical  divisions.  The 
eastern  division  is  subdivided  agriculturally  into  two  subordinate  regions.  That  which  lies  next  the  coast  may  be 
denominated  the  seaboard  region.  This  is  a  region  of  swamps  and  savannas  and  wide  alluvial  tracts  and  semi- 
swamps,  as  also  of  oak,  pine,  anil  beech  Hats.  Its  elevation  above  tide  is  limited  to  5  or  10  feet  for  the  most  part,  only 
occasionally  rising  to  15  or  20  feet.  It  includes  also  tracts  of  marsh  on  the  shores  of  the  sounds  and  the  margins  of 
long  leaf  pine  ridges,  and  the  sea-shore  is  formed  by  a  narrow  fringe  of  sand  islands,  which  separate  the  sounds 
from  the  sea. 

The  second  region,  which  lies  next  westward,  may  be  described  as  the  long-leaf  pine  region.  The  soils  of  this 
region  are  predominantly  sandy.  It  includes  the  soils  characterized  as  "sand-hills  or  pine  barrens"  and  the  level 
"upland  piny-woods  soils",  the  growth  of  the  former  being  almost  exclusively  long-leaf  pine,  with  a  scrub  growth 
of  black-jack  oak  and  scattered  tufts  of  wire-grass,  and  that  of  the  latter  long-leaf  pine,  mingled  with  the  short- 
leaf  species  (Finns  tevda  and  F.  scrotina),  oaks,  hickory,  dogwood,  etc.,  its  soil  being  a  gray  sandy  loam.  There  are 
also  large  tracts  of  long-leaf  pine  flats  and  mixed  long-  and  short-leaf  pine  and  oak  flats  with  similar  soils,  but  of 
finer  and  closer  texture. 

The  two  next  topographical  divisions  (Midland  and  Piedmont)  may  be  included  in  one  agricultural  region,  viz, 
the  oak  uplands  region,  and  the  western  division  will  be  called  the  transmonlane  region.  From  the  description  before 
given  of  the  geology  of  these  two  regions  of  the  state  it  is  evident  that  the  soils  are  of  every  variety  of  texture  and 
composition,  corresponding  to  the  whole  wide  range  of  the  metamorphic  or  Archaean  rocks.  They  may  be  grouped 
in  a  general  description  under  the  designation  of  gray  and  yellow  sandy  and  gravelly  loams  and  red-clay  soils. 
The  subsoil,  generally  yellow  or  red  clay,  is  occasionally  gray  sandy  or  gravelly  loam,  and  in  the  bottoms  often 
pipe-clay.  In  general,  it  may  be  stated  that  wherever  the  underlying  rocks  are  hornblendic,  composed  of  syenite, 
hornblende  schist,  or  trap,  the  soils  are  red  or  mulatto  or  chocolate-colored  and  clayey. 

THE  SEABOARD  REGION. 

This  region  abounds  in  lakes,  bays,  rivers,  and  sounds.  Its  water  surface  covers  upward  of  3,000  square  miles. 
That  ]>ortiou  which  lies  between  the  two  great  sounds,  Albemarle  and  Pamlico,  covers  an  area  of  above  2,000 
square  miles,  ouly  a  small  part  of  which  rises  more  than  10  feet  above  tide,  a  large  portion  being  below  5  feet.  The 
major  part  of  this  intersound  tract,  formerly  called  Alligator  swamp,  is  swamp,  peat,  and  marsh  land.  There  are 
several  lakes  in  the  interior  of  this  swamp  which  are  bordered  by  narrow  fringes  of  rich  black-loam  soil  of  inexhaustible 
fertility.  These  lakes  are,  or  were,  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  gum  (tupelo),  cypress,  ash,  maple,  etc.  The  more 
peaty  and  untillable  tracts  abound  in  cypress  and  juniper,  and  have  long  furnished  the  markets  of  the  continent  with 
these  timbers,  while  those  lying  next  the  sounds  and  rivers  are  frequently  semi-swamps  or  oak,  beech,  and  pine  flats, 
and  have  a  rich  gray  or  ash-colored  clay -loam  soil.  That  portion  of  the  seaboard  region  which  lies  northward  of 
Albemarle  sound  consists  mainly  of  low-lying,  level,  clay-loam  lauds  or  semi-swamps,  which  are  heavily  timbered 
with  oaks,  hickory,  ash,  maple,  and  short-leaf  pine  (Finns  tada),  often  passing  into  cypress  and  juniper  swam]>s 
along  the  rivers  and  into  the  great  Dismal  swamp,  which  lies  partly  in  this  state. 

These  lands,  when  cleared  and  drained,  resemble  the  prairie  lands  of  the  northwest,  and  equal  them  in  fertility. 
Along  the  ridges  or  swells  between  the  bay-like  rivers  of  this  section  are  narrow  tracts  of  sandy  soil  with  long-leaf 
pine  growth.  A  large  part  of  this  Albemarle  section  also  lies  below  the  level  of  10  feet  above  tide.  Similar  tracts 
to  those  above  described,  that  is  to  say,  oak  and  pine  flats,  are  found  lying  also  near  the  bays  and  water-courses 
aud  fringing  the  swamps  in  the  southern  parts  of  the  seaboard  region  along  the  coast  to  the  South  Carolina  line. 

The  tops  of  the  higher  swells  of  land  between  the  great  rivers  of  this  region,  and  sometimes  the  slopes  and 
lower  levels,  are  frequently  occupied  by  the  description  of  swamp  land  known  as  "pocoson".  These  have  for  the 
most  part  a  close,  impervious,  fine  sandy,  gray  or  ash-colored  soil,  with  patches  of  cold,  stiff  brick-clay  and  of 
black  soil  composed  of  coarse  sand  aud  vegetable  matter.  The  subsoil  is  of  the  same  texture,  with  a  little  clay, 
and  is  of  a  yellowish  color.  The  pocoson  is  commonly  covered  with  a  scattered  or  clumpy  growth  of  scrub  pine  (pond 
pine,  P.  scrotina),  with  clumps  of  white  bay  or  with  copses  of  gallberry  bushes  and  bramble  vines  and  tufts  of 
wire-grass  and  broom-sedge,  and  an  occasional  loblolly  pine  (P.  taida),  and  are  quite  valueless.  The  pocoson  lands 
occupying  this  topographical  position  are  the  sources  of  the  tributaries  of  the  rivers,  and  are  flat  aud  covered 
with  water  more  than  half  the  year,  but  are  dry  and  cracked  in  summer.  They  are  usually  fringed  about  with 
narrow,  irregular  strips  of  canebrake  or  gum  and  cypress  swamps  of  dark  loamy  soils,  and  with  oak  flats,  which 
have  gray  clay-loam  soils.     These  border  tracts  are  very  fertile. 

544 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  13 

The  savanna  is  another  type  of  soil,  and  is  found  here  and  there  among  the  pocosons  and  pine  flats  in  patches 
of  from  a  few  hundred  acres  to  3  or  4  square  miles  in  extent.  These  savannas  are  very  flat  and  treeless,  and  are 
covered  with  grass.  The  soil  is  wet,  cold,  close,  fine  sandy,  often  black  with  humus;  the  subsoil  is  yellowish,  with 
more  clay. 

On  or  near  the  highest  parts  of  the  divides  or  water-sheds  are  frequently  found  small  lakes  of  3  or  4  to  15  or  20 
square  miles.  In  this  case  there  is  commonly  a  margin,  of  varying  width,  of  rich  swamp  (gum  and  cypress)  lands 
next  the  lakes.  There  are  also  here  and  there  throughout  the  region  narrow  belts  of  long-leaf  pine  and  sandy  land, 
which  frequently  reach  the  coast  south  of  Pamlico. 

A  most  notable  fea.ture  of  the  region  is  the  fringe  of  linear  sand  islands,  called  "The  Banks",  that  wall' 
off  the  Atlantic  along  the  entire  coast.  These  constitute,  in  fact,  an  almost  continuous  sand-dune,  broken  here 
and  there  by  narrow  inlets,  having  a  breadth  of  from  a  few  rods  to  a  half  mile  or  more,  narrowing  occasionally  to  a 
mere  low  beach,  over  which  the  waves  break  into  the  sound,  and  again  widening  to  1  or  2  miles,  as  at  Hatteras,  and  to 
3  or  4  miles  opposite  Albemarle  sound.  This  dune,  orsand  wave,  is  moving  inland,  the  fine  particles  being  continually 
carried  over  iuto  the  sounds,  converting  their  outer  inargius  into  marsh,  and  gradually  adding  these  to  their  own 
breadth.  The  average  elevation  of  the  crests  of  these  islands,  which  are  generally  next  to  the  sounds,  is  only  a 
few  feet  or  yards  above  high  tide,  but  they  are  commonly  broken  into  rounded  hillocks  25,  30,  and  40  feet  high. 
Opposite  Boanoke  island  these  hillocks  rise  to  a  height  of  75  and  90  feet,  and  in  front  of  Albemarle  sound  they  exceed 
100  feet.  Here  they  are  quite  bare,  and  rise  in  great  waves,  which  are  continually  shifting  their  places,  moving 
in  a  southwest  direction  at  the  rate  of  from  1  to  3  feet  per  annum.  These  islands  were  originally,  and  are  still 
here  and  there,  covered  with  forests  of  small  oaks,  hickory,  short-leaf  pine,  dogwood,  etc.,  and  in  many  parts  with 
red  cedar  and  live  oak  and  the  noted  evergreen  shrub,  cassena,  or  yaupon.  The  dwarf  palmetto  is  found  in  the 
white-oak  fiats  south  of  Pamlico  and  in  the  region  of  the  Cape  Fear,  and  as  far  up  as  Hatteras  the  larger  species 
(sabal  palmetto)  thrives. 

A  very  small  proportion  of  the  area  of  the  seaboard  region  is  adapted  to  cotton,  not  more  than  100  bales 
being  produced  in  some  counties,  and  the  whole  product  of  the  region  does  not  reach  37,000  bales.  The  chief  crops 
are  corn,  wheat,  sweet  potatoes,  peanuts,  and  rice,  and  latterly,  in  many  sections,  vegetables  and  Irish  potatoes  for 
the  northern  market.  Lumbering  in  pine,  cypress,  and  juniper  and  turpentine-getting  have  long  been  among  the 
most  important  industries.  The  shad  and  herring  fisheries  are  conducted  on  an  immense  scale,  often  with  seines 
1J  miles  long  worked  by  steam,  and  the  taking  of  other  species  of  fish  carries  this  form  of  industry  through  nearly 
the  whole  year.     The  region  abounds  in  natural  pasturage,  and  is  well  adapted  to  cattle  and  sheep  raising. 

The  following  analyses,  made  for  the  North  Carolina  geological  survey  by  Messrs.  Bogardus  and  Hanna,  are 
given  of  samples  of  the  different  classes  of  soils  of  the  seaboard  region  : 

1.  Soils  of  gum  and  cypbess  swamps. — All  these  are  fine  corn  soils,  but  will  not  grow  cotton,  as  it  runs 
to  weed  and  never  matures: 

No.  21.  Bark  mucky,  porous  soil  ou  the  southern  margin  of  Mattamuskeet  lake,  in  Hyde  county ;  6  feet  deep. 
The  mineral  matter  is  in  a  state  of  very  fine  comminution.  Timber  growth,  gum  (tupelo),  cypress,  ash,  poplar 
(Biriodendron),  etc.     The  land  produces  from  50  to  60  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre  (Emmons). 

No.  22.  Bark  mucky,  porous  soil  from  the  north  side  of  Mattamuskeet  lake,  Hyde  county ;  same  depth,  growth, 
etc.  Fields  alongside  those  from  which  the  samples  were  taken  have  produced  from  50  to  60  bushels  of  corn  to  the 
acre  for  more  than  100  years  without  manure  or  change  of  crop  (Emmons). 

No.  23.  Bark  mucky,  porous  soil,  3  to  4  feet  deep,  with  same  growth,  from  a  large  swamp  on  Blount's  creek,  on 
the  south  side  of  Pamlico  river,  12  miles  from  Washington,  Beaufort  county ;  sample  taken  1  foot  deep. 

No.  24.  Bark  muck  and  porous  soil,  2  feet  deep,  from  Bear  swamp,  in  Pamlico  county. 

No.  25.  Cypress  and  gum  swamp  soil,  near  the  southern  border  of  White  Oak  swamp,  Jones  county,  2  to  4  feet 
deep.     Produces  50  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre. 

No.  26.  Black  mucky  soil,  5  to  10  and  15  feet  deep,  from  Big  swamp,  on  the  border  of  Bladen  and  Bobeson 
counties;  a  tract  of  30,000  acres.    Timber  growth  same  as  No.  21. 

No.  27.  Black  and  mucky  soil  from  swamp  on  Eagle's  island,  across  the  Cape  Fear  river  from  Wilmington, 
Brunswick  county,  of  many  fathoms  depth.     Growth,  gum,  cypress,  cane;  an  inexhaustible  rice  soil. 

No.  28.  Black  and  mucky  soil  from  a  field  cultivated  in  rice  100  years,  which  borders  No.  27. 

2.  Soils  of  semi-swamps,  and  of  oak,  beech,  and  pine  flats. 

No.  29.  Bark  gray  soil  (semi-swamp)  from  margin  of  Bear  swamp,  Pamlico  county ;  depth,  2  feet ;  the  subsoil  is 
lighter  colored  and  sandy.  Growth,  gum,  (tupelo  and  sweet),  poplar,  maple,  and  ash.  This  is  a  good  cotton  land, 
and  much  of  it  occurs  in  this  county  and  region. 

No.  30.  Baric  gray  and  gravelly  loam  from  beech  flat  at  Stonewall,  south  side  of  Bay  river,  Pamlico  county. 
Growth,  beech,  gum,  maple,  and  oak.  This  is  an  excellent  cotton  and  corn  land,  and  makes  a  bale  to  the  acre. 
Large'bodies  of  this  description  of  land  occur  in  the  county. 

No.  31.  Bight-gray  to  ash-colored  soil  from  a  white  oak  flat  half  a  mile  wide  at  the  head  of  North  river,  on  the 
southern  border  of  Open  Ground  Prairie  swamp,  in  Carteret  county.  Growth,  white  oak,  gum,  maple,  short-leaf 
pine  (P.  twda),  and  dwarf  palmetto.  This  soil  represents  extensive  bodies  of  land  on  the  borders  of  this  and  all  the 
great  swamps  south  and  west  of  this  point,  and  is  a  good  corn  and  cotton  land. 

35  c  p — vol.  ii  545 


14 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


No.  32.  Gray  light  loamy  soil  from  semi-swamp  near  Morehead  City,  Carteret  county.  Growth  same  as  in  No. 
29,  and  like  that  in  appearance  and  adaptations 

No.  33.  Gray  gravelly  .soil  of  oak  flat  near  Whiteville,  Columbus  county,  taken  1  foot  deep.  Growth,  willow 
oak,  ash,  sweet  and  black  gums,  poplar,  and  maple.  This  soil  represents  a  great  area  of  laud  in  the  region  on  the 
borders  of  the  swamp,  and  is  a  good  cotton  and  corn  soil. 

No.  34.  Baric-gray  and  ash-colored  soil  of  Dover  pocoson,  flat  and  wet,  Craven  county;  dark  gray  and  ash- 
colored,  and  has  a  growth  of  scrubby  pine,  wire-grass,  and  low  thicketty  brush.  This  soil  has  a  close,  fine  texture, 
and  is  as  impervious  as  clay.  This  is  a  common  type  of  pocoson,  but  often  the  sand  is  coarse  and  the  vegetable 
matter  runs  up  to  SO  and  90  per  cent.,  in  which  case  the  growth  is  gallberry  and  scrub  pine,  with  clumps  of  white 
bay  bushes  and  brambles. 

No.  35.  Savanna  soil,  Beaufort  county,  near  Pungo  river,  a  level  prairie  of  -i  or  5  square  miles,  flat,  treeless, 
and  covered  with  grass.  This  soil  is  gray  to  yellowish  in  color,  has  a  close,  fiue  texture,  aud  is  almost  impervious  to 
water. 

No.  30.  Soil  of  Burgaw  savanna,  in  Pender  county,  25  miles  north  of  Wilmington.  This  soil  is  like  the  last, 
and  is  nearly  as  extensive.  It  is  dark  colored,  with  a  yellowish,  more  clayey  subsoil.  Both  this  and  No.  35  are 
fail'  soils  when  drained. 

Gum  and  cypress  swamp  lands. 


Hyde  county. 

Beaufort 

COUNTY. 

Pamlico 

COUNTY. 

Jones  county. 

Bladen 

COUNTY. 

BBUN6WICK  COUNTY. 

LAKE  MATTAMU6KEET. 

BLOUNT  CITEEK 
SWAMP. 

BEAR  SWAMP. 

WniTE    OAK 
SWAMP. 

1310  SWAMP. 

South  side. 

North  side. 

Soil 

Soil. 

Soil. 

SoU. 

Soil. 

Soil. 

Soil. 

Cultivated 
soil. 

No.  21. 

No.  22. 

No.  23. 

No.  24. 

No.  25. 

No.  26. 

No.  27. 

No.  28. 

43.  00  ) 

5  43.  03 
0.  03) 

0.16 

0.18 

0.12 

0.12 

6.40 

0.30 
0.04 
47.10 

71.30) 

5  77.20 
5.90) 

0.08 

64.74  » 

568.34 
3.60) 

0.05 

0.02 

0.10 

0.29 

0.30 

3.33 

0.06 

0.21 

22.80 

4.20 

52.20 

.    0:60 

32.36 

0.96 
0.20 
0.50 

5  35.00    1             "  J  01.  10 
0.40  >                      1.86  J 

0. 18    !                     0.  70 

62.22 

0.40 

Lime 

0.27 

0.27 

t                  3.70 

(                    5.10 

1.02 
1.08 

j                 13. 78 

0.12 

0.13 

r                  1.39 

(                    1.23 

0.00 

1.10 
0.55 

|                  0.09 

0.34 
0.65 

|                38.41 

4.92 

0.45 
1.30 

59.19 

20.35 

0.12 

0.22 
20.80 

33.80 

12.  30 

17.  50 
2.30 

12.43 

97.45 

95.84 

100.  08 

100.  01 

99.70 

100.  00 

100.  00 

97.46 

Semi-swamps,  oak,  beech,  and  pine  flats. 


Pamlico  county. 

Carteret  county. 

Columbus 
county. 

BEAR  SWAMP. 

BAY  RIVER. 

PRAIRIE  SWAMP. 

NEAR  MOREnEAD. 

NEAR  WHITE- 
VILLE. 

Soil. 

Soil. 

Soil. 

Sod. 

Soil. 

No.  29. 

No.  30. 

No.  31. 

No.  32. 

No.  33. 

C2C4|06.50 
3.  SO  ) 

0.90 

0.08 

0.68 

0.58 

69.  28  ) 

■  81.  33 
12.05  > 

0.24 

*"  }84.54 
3.70) 

0.07 

0.02 

0.44 

0.22 

1.18 

69.  07  ) 

5  75.  87 
0.80  > 

0.07 

85.15, 

5  86.  72 
1.57) 

Trace. 

0.45 

1.67 

0.38 

|                    5.  12 

0.02 
0.03 
4.41 
1.32 

0.29 
0.09 
1.16 

0.20 
0.07 

\li"iiesia 

5                  10.30     1) 

2.  69                           4.  25 
0.  08     ,                      0. 13 
0.  00                           0.  08 
7.  70                         13.  00 
2.  00                           4.  80 

Trace. 
0.43 

I                 19. 00 

0.04 

0.03 

f                      9.00 

(                      2.11) 

Total 

100. 12 

Mi; 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


15 


Pocoson  and  savanna  soils. 


Craven  county. 

Beaufort 

COUNTY. 

Pender  county. 

DOVER  POCOSON. 

PUNGO  6AVANNA. 

BURC.AW  SA- 
VANNA. 

Soil. 

SoU. 

SoU. 

No.  34. 

No.  35. 

No.  36. 

|                  70. 50 

(     86. 89  ) 

!                  f  90.  94 

0.02 
0.17 
0.20 
0.11 
,                    1.10 
i                      2.77 
0.11 

92.66 

0.80 
0.34 
0.22 
0.40 

}                    1.31 

0.12 
0.  M 

^                    4.88 

Lime 

0.01 

|                    0. 70 

25.20 
2.70 

4.55 
0.53 

99.17 

100.58 

180.  92 

[Soils  Nos.  21  to  28  inclusive  represent  a  class  in  which  great  depth  is  an  important  factor  in  determining  the 
degree  and  duration  of  productiveness.  In  some  cases,  as  in  Nos.  21,  24,  and  25,  the  plant-food  percentages  are  quite 
low ;  yet,  being  distributed  through  an  easily  penetrable  soil  stratum  of  unusual  thickness,  and  containing  a  relatively 
large  proportion  of  lime,  there  is  cause  for  their  high  productiveness  when  fresh.  But  this  evidently  caunot  endure 
long.  In  the  cases  of  Nos.  22, 20,  27,  and  probably  No.  23,  the  plant-food  percentages  are  such  as  would  be  accounted 
from  fair  to  very  high,  and,  taking  the  depth  into  consideration,  such  soils  as  Nos.  26  and  27  are  of  extraordinary 
fertility.  If  the  comparison  between  Nos.  27  and  28 — the  former  fresh,  the  other  cultivated  in  rice  for  a  century — 
be  a  fair  one,  the  influence  of  cultivation  in  diminishing  the  prominent  ingredients,  potash  and  phosphoric  acid, 
is  here  very  strikingly  shown  by  the  analysis ;  but  the  great  difference  in  the  respective  amounts  of  humus  and 
insoluble  matter  renders  the  strict  comparability  somewhat  doubtful. 

Soil  No.  29,  said  to  be  from  the  margin  of  Bear  swamp,  seems  to  differ  only  in  depth  from  that  of  the  lower 
lands  (Nos.  23,  26,  and  27),  and  resembles  them  in  the  large  amount  of  vegetable  matter  and  potash.  Soil  No.  24 
differs  so  widely  from  this,  and  iu  such  a  manner,  as  to  induce  a  suspicion  that  the  specimens  were  exchanged, 
and  that  No.  29  is  the  true  representative  of  the  low  land  of  Bear  swamp.  Both  are  alike  poor  in  phosphoric  acid. 
Of  soils  Nos.  30  to  33,  the  first  only  has  a  fair  percentage  of  potash  The  rest  are  low  in  this  respect,  No  33  being 
apparently  very  deficient,  but  its  very  high  percentage  of  lime  ekes  out  for  a  time  this  deficiency  as  well  as  that 
in  phosphoric  acid.  It  must  be  of  considerable  depth  to  be  at  all  durable.  No.  32  has  a  good  supply  of  phosphates, 
with  only  a  moderate  amount  of  lime,  while  in  Nos.  31  and  30  a  relatively  large  lime-percentage  offsets  a  lower  one 
of  phosphates. 

The  analysis  of  the  pocoson  soil  is  too  incomplete  to  determine  its  character  definitely ;  yet  the  very  small 
percentages  of  lime  and  alumina  are  instructive.  Its  defects  are  probably  chiefly  mechanical,  in  that  it  is  a  fine 
silt  with  very  little  clay,  without  enough  lime  to  prevent  its  being  acid  or  to  give  it  a  tendency  to  tilth.  The 
inference  is  that,  first  of  all,  it  should  be  heavily  limed  or  marled  and  deeply  tilled.  Whether  or  not  it  is  otherwise 
deficient  in  plant-food  does  not  appear,  but  lime  is  iu  any  case  its  first  need.  Its  extensive  occurrence  renders 
this  experiment  of  great  interest. 

Of  the  savanna  soils,  No.  36  can  owe  any  difficulties  in  cultivation  to  its  mechanical  composition  only,  it  being 
high  in  potash  and  fair  in  lime  and  phosphoric  acid,  while  No.  35  is  markedly  deficient  in  potash.  Liming  or  marling 
would  also  doubtless  greatly  improve  these  two  soils.  It  is  noteworthy  that,  on  the  whole,  these  seaboard  swamp 
and  savanna  soils  of  North  Carolina  are  fairly  and  sometimes  highly  supplied  with  lime;  an  ingredient  so  notably 
deficient  in  most  of  the  lands  bordering  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  west  of  the  peninsula  of  Florida.  The  latter  are  mostly 
acid,  and  their  vegetable  matter  is  washed  away  in  the  drainage,  while  on  the  above  soils  humus  is  formed  and 
retained  under  the  influence  of  lime. — E.  W.  H.l 


THE  LONG-LEAF  PINE  REGION. 

The  second  division,  or  long-leaf  pine  region,  covers  a  large  part  of  the  state,  roughly  estimated  at  15,000  square 
miles,  and  includes  within  its  area  all  or  parts  of  forty  or  more  counties  lying  between  the  metamorphic  or  oak 
uplands  region  and  the  sea-coast. 

This  region  it  may  be  subdivided  into  three  classes,  viz:  Sandy  pine  barrens,  level  and  rolling  upland  piny  woods, 
and  pine  flats,  iu  all  of  which  the  long  leaf  species  of  pine  is  predominant.  The  entire  region  is  characterized,  as 
stated,  by  gray  and  yellow  sandy  loams  and  sandy  soils. 


547 


I 


16  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Handy  pine  barrens. — Those  portions  of  this  region  which  are  properly  characterized  by  the  term  "sand-hills", 
or  "pine  barrens",  lie  for  the  most  part  in  the  southern  half  of  the  belt.  The  rivers  which  traverse  and  the 
watercourses  which  rise  in  it  are  frequently  bordered  by  wide  tracts  of  from  1  to  3  and  5  miles'  breadth  of  cypress 
swamp,  which  is  characterized  by  a  deep  black  peaty  soil,  and  by  a  growth  of  cypress,  gum,  ash,  and  maple, 
and  often  of  cane.  These  soils,  when  drained,  are  of  the  greatest  fertility  and  durability.  The  soils  of  the  sand- 
hills are  almost  pure  sand,  and  are  of  extreme  infertility.  This  description  of  soil  occupies  a  comparatively  small 
proportion  of  the  whole  area. 

The  sandy  soil  is  generally  only  from  a  few  inches  to  1  or  2  feet  dee]),  occasionally  3  or  4  feet,  and  is  commonly 
underlaid  by  a  yellow  or  brown  sandy  or  gravelly  subsoil ;  but  sometimes  there  are  mere  alternations  of  beds  of 
different  colored  sands  to  unknown  depths,  and  in  other  cases,  at  a  depth  of  8  or  10  feet  or  more,  arc  half  compacted 
sandy  and  gravelly  earths,  gray  and  yellow,  in  which  the  channels  of  the  streams  are  cut  with  steep,  canal-like, 
often  vertical  banks. 

The  forests  are  usually  open  and  park-like,  with  tufts  of  wire-grass  and  occasional  patches  of  tufted  broom-sedge 
(andropogon);  but  often  there  is  an  undergrowth  of  small  black-jack  and  other  worthless  species  of  oak. 

In  the  midst  of  the  largest  bodies  of  sand-hill  lands  there  are  occasional  tracts  of  a  fair  grade  of  cultivable 
laud,  generally  found  on  or  near  the  water-courses.  The  sand-hill  soils  proper  will  produce  almost  nothing;  they 
furnish,  however,  a  scanty  pasturage  in  the  swampy  tracts  which  abound  along  the  numerous  sluggish  streams. 
The  yaupon  and  the  scuppernong  grape  flourish  even  inthese  sand  wastes. 

Nearly  all  the  lands  of  this  description  are  found  on  the  waters  of  the  Cape  Fear  south  of  the  Neusc,  and  in 
the  southern  half  of  the  belt.     Only  a  few  small  tracts  lie  north  of  this  section. 

The  cotton  product  of  this  pine-hill  or  sand-hill  section  proper  is  very  small,  not  exceeding  2(1,000  bales.  The 
rivers  and  creeks  of  this  region  often  have  wide  tracts  of  bottom  laud,  or  are  flanked  by  swamps  or  oak  and  pine 
flats,  ami  on  these  are  made  crops  of  corn,  potatoes,  and  rice.  Cotton  is  grown  on  the  better  class  of  uplands  of 
mixed  oaks  and  pines,  which  are  interspersed  among  the  sandy  tracts. 

Level  and  rolling  upland  piny  u-oods. — The  common  type  of  land  of  the  long-leaf  pine  region  may  be 
characterized  as  level  and  rolling  piny  uplands,  the  soil  being  a  gray  to  yellow  sandy  loam,  sometimes  clayey  or 
silty,  with  a  forest  growth  of  long-  and  short-leaf  pines,  oaks,  hickory,  dogwood,  etc.  These  lands  are  of  medium 
fertility,  easily  drained  and  cultivated,  and  constitute  the  great  body  of  the  most  valuable  cotton  lands  of  the 
state.  Most  of  the  long-leaf  pine  belt  north  of  the  Neuse  is  of  this  character,  and  here  one-half  of  the  cotton  of 
the  state  is  made — one-third  of  it  in  a  dozen  counties. 

The  subsoil  is  commonly  a  yellow  sandy  or  gravelly  clay,  which  is  found  at  a  depth  of  from  5  to  8  or  10,  and 
sometimes  20  inches  or  more.  The  growth,  as  stated,  is  composed  of  long-leaf  pines  as  the  predominant  element 
of  the  forests,  generally  mixed  with  short-leaf  pines  (which  sometimes  almost  or  quite  replace  them)  and  with  a 
subordinate  oak  forest,  which  changes  its  character  with  the  changing  topography  and  texture  of  the  soil.  In  the 
better  grades  of  rolling  and  yellow-loam  lands  hickory  and  dogwood  enter  largely,  and  on  the.  flatter  tracts,  with 
their  close  ash-colored  soil,  sweet  gum,  maple,  and  elm  become  prominent. 

Pine  flats. — In  some  portions  of  this  region,  chiefly  in  the  section  lyiug  north  of  the  Neuse  river  and  parallel  to 
it,  there  are  wide  stretches  of  open  long-leaf  pine  woods,  with  a  few  scattered  oaks  of  small  size  and  stunted  gums 
and  low  huckleberry  bushes,  wire-grass,  and  broom-sedge.  The  surface  is  very  level,  and  is  interspersed  with  frequent 
swampy  patches,  having  a  scrubby  growth  of  bay,  maple,  gallberry,  myrtle,  and  other  swamp  jungle.  The  soil  is  an 
ash-colored  silty  clay,  with  alternating  patches  of  sandy  soil,  underlaid  by  a  gray  stiff  clay  or  fine  sand  and  clay  equally 
impervious.  These  fiats  are  very  unproductive,  and  are  valuable  only  for  turpentine  and  lumber.  North  of  the 
Roanoke,  lyiug  partly  in  Bertie  and  partly  in  Hertford  counties,  there  is  another  large  body  of  land  of  the  same 
character. 

Another  class  of  pine  fiats,  more  properly  pine  and  oak  flats,  differs  from  the  ordinary  level  pine  woods  in  having 
a  more  clayey  soil,  commonly  ash-colored,  with  a  clay  subsoil,  and  a  frequent  large  admixture  of  short-leaf  (slash) 
pine,  with  post  oak  and  white  oak,  and  are  usually  more  productive  and  more  durable.  These  tracts  generally  lie 
near  water-courses.  A  good  example  of  this  description  of  land  is  found  in  Scotland  Neck,  Halifax  county,  on 
Ivehukee  creek.  The  typical  pine  flats,  however,  have  a  forest  growth  almost  exclusively  of  long  leaf  pine, 
sometimes  with  a  few  scattered  small  oaks,  post  oak  and  black  oak,  or  a  scattered  scrubby  undergrowth,  with  a  soil 
and  subsoil  as  above  described.  These  lauds  are  of  fair  quality,  and  produce  well  when  properly  drained.  A  good 
example  may  be  seen  about  Selma  and  eastward  in  Johnston  county,  and  also  on  Six  Buns  creek,  in  Sampson  county. 

The  following  analyses  (made  for  the  Census  Office)  are  given  of  samples  of  the  lands  of  this  region  : 

No.  11.  Light  gray  soil  from  near  Sparta,  Edgecombe  county.  Depth  taken,  3  inches;  growth,  long-leaf  pine, 
small  oaks,  and  dogwood.  This  is  a  fair  type  of  the  "piny-woods  cotton  land",  is  easily  cultivated,  and  is  naturally 
poor,  but  by  composting  will  produce  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre. 

No.  12.  Subsoil  of  the.  above,  light  yellowish  in  color,  from  10  to  15  inches  deep,  and  underlaid  by  a  brick  clay. 

No.  13.  Gray  sandy  loam  soil  from  Penny  Hill,  Pitt  county,  taken  11  inches.     Growth,  long-leaf  pine,  oak, 

hickory,  and  dogwood ;  the  trees  are  tall  and  straight.     This  is  the  best  cotton  land  ->f  the  level  piny  woods,  aud 

"  stands  well,  wet  or  dry." 

No.  14.  Subsoil  of  the  above,  a  tenacious  clay. 
543  '  J 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


17 


No.  15.  Gray  sandy  loam  of  the  level  piny  woods  5  miles  north  of  Princeton,  Johnston  county,  taken  7  inches. 
Growth,  long-leaf  pine,  small  post  and  black-jack  oaks,  and  wire-grass.    This  is  the  "  ordinary  piny  woodscotton  land". 

No.  16.  Subsoil  of  the  above,  a  yellow  sandy  loam,  taken  from  7  to  20  inches  deep. 

No.  17.  Gray  sandy  loam  soil,  taken  3  miles  from  the  upland  level  piny  woods  near  Weldoii,  Halifax  county, 
depth  1  inch.  Growth,  short-leaf  pine,  oaks,  a  little  hickory,  and  dogwood.  The  soil  is  "  light  and  dry,  miry  in  wet, 
and  bakes  in  dry  weather  after  much  rain  ". 

No.  18.  Subsoil  of  the  above,  a  light-yellowish  loam. 

No.  19.  Soil  from  the  level  upland  pine  woods  near  Wilson  Court-House,  Wilson  county. 

No.  20.  Subsoil  of  "Lousin  swamp"  lands,  7  miles  north  of  Kingston,  Lenoir  county,  taken  from  15  to  20  inches. 
The  soil  is  a  dark  loam  with  much  more  vegetable  matter  and  less  of  all  the  other  elements,  notably  of  lime  and 
magnesia.  Growth,  willow  oak,  sweet  and  black  gum,  maple,  and  short-leaf  pine,  scattered  and  large;  a  good  cotton 
and  corn  soil. 

No.  37.  Light  gray  pine  flats  soil  from  a  tract  of  pine  flat  lands  in  Johnston  county  near  the  town  of  Selnia, 
around  which  such  lands  extend  several  miles ;  taken  12  inches  deep.  Growth,  long-leaf  pine,  small  oaks,  and  sweet 
and  black  gum.  This  soil  is  somewhat  lumpy  and  clay-like  in  appearance,  but  is  a  fair  type  of  the  better  quality  of 
pine  flats.     (Analysis  was  made  by  Messrs.  Bogardus  and  Hanna.) 

Soils  of  the  level  upland  piny  woods. 


Edgecombe  couNTr. 

Pitt  county. 

Johnston  county. 

SPARTA. 

PENNY  HILL. 

PRINCETON. 

Soil. 

Subsoil. 

Soil. 

Subsoil. 

Soil. 

Subsoil. 

No.  11. 

No.  12. 

No.  13. 

No.  14. 

No.  15. 

No.  16. 

91. 488  i 

J    94.384 
2.  951  i 

0.093 

0.033 

0.  0.12 
0.  006 
0.031 
0.753 
1.559 
0.0C1 
0.  034 
2.704 

91.  842  ) 
3.514}   9535C 
0.087 
0.029 

0.  010 
0.025 
0.029 
1.700 
1.563 
0.101 
0.  040 
1.175 

77.735)    „     „., 
5   81.751 
4.016  1 

0.204 

0.109 

0.177 

0.073 

0.  091 

4.786 

7.398 

0.143 

0.154 

5.760 

77.  520  ) 

f    83.435 
5.  915  ) 

0.226 

0.090 

0.125 

0.042 

0.090 

3.815 

8.003 

0.126 

0.178 

3.097 

94.810  ) 

{    06.093 
1.  283  > 

0.085 

0.037 

0.045 

0.030 

0.101 

0.368 

1.314 

0.071 

0.048 

2.406 

93.  276  1 

J     96. 843 

0.060 

0.012 

0.037 

0.018 

0.035 

0.564 

1.038 

0.049 

0.634 

99.  700 

100. 190 

100.  046 

100. 427 

100.  598 

2.391 
21.8C.= 

2.190 
21.8C.° 

0.710 
20.  5  C.° 

5.847 
19.40.° 

1.876 
25.  5  C.o 

Halifax  county. 

Wilson  county. 

Lenoir  county. 

Johnston  county. 

THREE  MILES  FROM  WELDOX. 

NEAR  WILSON  COURT- 
HOUSE. 

"LOUSIN  SWAMP" 
NORTH  OF  KINGSTON. 

NEAR  SELMA. 

Soil. 

Subsoil. 

Soil. 

Soil. 

Pine-flat  soil. 

No.  17. 

No.  IS. 

No.  10. 

No.  20. 

No.  37. 

91.  500  ) 

!    93.  080 
1.  580  S 

0.135 

0.047 

0.123 

0.  04S 
0.111 

1.  580 
2.900 
0.117 
0.  040 
1.078 

72.  058  ) 

J    81.937 
9.  879  5 

0.447 

0.253 

0.068 

0.  101 

0.11O 

5.  244 

8.  583 

0.100 

0.013 

3.347 

93.343. 

S    04.964 
1.  621  5 

0.049 

0.022 

0.028 

0.052 

0.  006 

1.056 

1.624 

0.  Of.7 

0.037 

2.048 

91.818; 

J   94.370 
2.  552  > 

0.  051 

0.  050 

0.  OSO 

0.051 

0.  009 

0.484 

3.740 

0.  087 

0.031 

1.000 

'       f     93.80 

■  '3 

0.45 

Peroxide  of  iron 

1.48 

Phosphoric  acid 

Trace. 

"Water  and  organic  matter 

Total 

99.  859 

100.  329 

99.  953 

100.  643 

99.47 

2.344 

5.953 

1.552 

0.140 

absorbed  at 

549 


18  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

[The  extremely  sandy  ami  droughty  soil  (Nos.  11  and  12)  shows,  on  the  whole,  a  higher  phosphate  percentage 
than  might  lie  looked  for;  but  the  low  percentages  of  potash  and  lime  and  their  decrease  (instead  of  the  usual 
increase)  downward  speaks  of  little  durability.  Nevertheless,  the  application  of  some  lime  or  marl  would  here 
also  be  followed  by  good  results.     Potash  manures  would  probably  also  help  at  once. 

The  surface  soil  from  Pitt  county  (No.  13)  is  of  good  composition  as  regards  the  chiefly  important  elements; 
but  the  subsoil  of  tenacious  gray  clay,  poorer  than  the  surface  soil  in  lime  and  phosphates,  is  against  it,  and  shows 
the  need  of  liming  and  the  use  of  the  subsoil  plow. 

The  land  represented  by  Nos.  15  and  1G  is  a  degree  below  No.  11,  and  like  it  suffers  a  decrease  of  plant-food 
as  the  depth  increases,  even  as  to  phosphates.  Potash  and  lime  are  very  low,  the  phosphates  relatively  more 
abundant.  The  use  of  lime  or  marl  is  here  again  the  first  improvement  called  for;  then  manure  in  the  widest 
sense. 

In  the  case  of  Nos.  17  and  IS,  the  depth  of  the  material  designated  as  subsoil  not  being  given,  the  arable 
stratum  would  appear  to  be  of  good  composition,  except  as  regards  lime,  which,  relatively  to  potash  and  phosphoric 
acid,  is  very  deficient.     Liming  ought  to  increase  greatly  the.  production  of  this  soil,  which  promises  fair  durability. 

The  Wilson  county  soil  (No.  19)  appears  exceptionally  poor,  especially  iu  lime,  it  being  probably  droughty  and 
shallow,  its  quality  decreasing  downward. 

The  Lousin  swamp  soil  is  exceptionally  poor  in  potash,  but,  being  doubtless  of  considerable  depth,  has  a  relatively 
large  proportion  of  lime  and  phosphoric  acid  for  so  sandy  a  soil. 

The  pine-flat  soil  (No.  37),  if  the  analysis  represents  it  correctly,  stands  only  in  need  of  a  dressing  of  super- 
phosphate to  render  it  fairly  productive,  lime  being  abundant  and  potash  in  adequate  supply,  while  phosphoric 
acid  is  very  deficient. — E.  W.  H.] 

Toward  the  western  limit  of  the  long-leaf  pine  belt,  where  it  rises  to  an  elevation  of  150  and  200  feet,  especially 
near  the  streams,  the  surface  is  frequently  broken  and  hilly,  and  has  a  larger  intermixture  of  short-leaf  pine,  oaks, 
and  hickory  in  its  forests.  Its  soils  are  also  of  a  more  open  and  gravelly  texture,  and  on  the  slopes  near  the  water- 
courses is  a  brown  or  yellow  clay  loam,  having  a  predominant  growth  of  oaks,  so  that  this  narrow,  irregular  border 
tract  furnishes  a  zone  of  passage  from  the  features  of  the  long-leaf  pine  region  into  those  of  the  oak  uplands. 

Besides  the  prevalent  characteristic  forest  trees  above  mentioned  there  are  found,  both  in  the  long-leaf  pino 
and  seaboard  regions,  magnolia  graudiflora,  several  species  of  elm,  and,  near  the  southeast  shore,  live  oak  and  two 
species  of  palmetto. 

It  remains  to  mention  that  almost  the  whole  of  the  long-leaf  pine  belt  and  a  large  part  of  the  seaboard  region 
are  underlaid  by  deposits  of  shell  marl,  and  the  southern  half  by  chalk  marl  and  greensand,  which  crop  out  in 
the  river  banks  aud  in  the  ravines,  and  are  often  reached  by  the  farm  ditches.  These  deposits  are  highly  calcareous, 
and  contain  valuable  percentages  of  phosphates  and  alkalies,  and  are  commonly  uncompacted ;  and  being  thus 
widely  distributed,  are  of  immense  value  to  the  agriculture  of  the  region.  So  obvious  is  their  utility  that  the 
advancement  of  agriculture  and  the  cotton  product  in  the  several  counties  may  be  measured  by  the  number  of  tons 
of  marl  used. 

Besides  its  large  crops  of  cotton  this  long-leaf  pine  region  produces  on  a  large  scale  corn,  pease,  and  sweet 
potatoes,  and  in  a  few  counties  rice  and  tobacco. 

THE  OAK  UPLANDS  REGION,  (a) 

The  third  agricultural  subdivision,  the  oak  uplands  region,  extending  from  the  western  limit  of  the  pine  belt 
to  the  Blue  Ridge,  contains,  as  before  stated,  every  imaginable  variety  of  soil. 

The  different  descriptions  of  soils  usually  lie  in  narrow'  parallel  northeast  and  southwest  belts  or  zones 
conformable  to  the  geological  structure  of  the  country.  Those  of  this  part  of  the  state  may  be  characterized 
generally  as  gray,  yellow,  and  brown  loams,  the  higher  levels  and  ridges  having  more  commonly  sandy  and  gravelly 
loam  soils,  gray,  yellow,  or  brown,  and  there  are  interspersed  throughout  the  region  belts  and  patches  of  red-clay 
lands  wherever  hornblendic  or  trap  rocks  outcrop.  These  are  generally  among  the  best  soils,  both  as  to  fertility 
and  durability,  and  are  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  oaks,  hickory,  walnut,  etc.,  pines  being  absent.  The 
growth  of  the  region  generally  eastward  of  the  Blue  Ridge  consists  of  a  great  variety  of  oaks,  and  hickory,  maple, 
poplar,  dogwood,  sourwood,  and  sassafras,  with  occasional  belts  of  chestnut  and  chestnut  oak  on  the  higher  ridges 
and  white  pine  and  hemlock  iu  the  foot-hills  of  the  mountains  and  iu  the  higher  coves  and  gorges.  Along  the 
rivers,  as  well  as  along  the  smaller  streams,  even  to  the  smallest  brook,  are  found  patches,  and  often  extensive  tracts, 
of  "bottom  lauds"  of  fine  alluvial  soils,  which  constitute  the  meadow  lands,  as  well  as  the  most  productive  and 
reliable  corn  lands  of  the  region.  These  bottom  lands  constitute  probably  one-tenth  of  the  cultivated  area  of  most  of 
the  counties  throughout  the  region.  The  second  bottoms  and  higher  benches  or  terraces  along  many  of  the  larger 
rivers  are  sometimes  of  considerable  extent,  aud  are  very  productive;  but  they  are  more  sandy  and  less  durable 
than  the  bottoms  proper. 


crn  a  Corresponds  to  the  Metamorphic  of  the  Georgia  report. 

5G0 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


19 


The  agriculture  of  this  portion  of  the  oak  uplands  region  from  the  pine  belt  to  the  Blue  Ridge  is  divided 
.between  cotton  and  grain  crops  in  the  southern  half  and  tobacco  and  grain  in  the  northern  half.     Fruits  in  great 
variety  and  the  vine  flourish  throughout  the  region,  the  western  or  Piedmont  section  being  especially  adapted  to 
the  grape.     Cattle  and  sheep-raising  are  also  very  profitable  wherever  intelligently  pursued. 
"—  The  following  analyses  (made  for  the  Census  Office)  are  given  of  samples  of  the  lands  of  this  region : 

No.  1.  Dark  gray  soil  from  near  Raleigh,  Wake  county;  depth  taken,  5  inches.  An  open,  coarse,  gravelly, 
and  sandy  loam,  which  does  not  bake  or  clod,  and  is  easily  tilled.  Timber  growth,  black,  post,  and  white  oaks, 
dogwood,  and  hickory. 

No.  2.  Light  yellow  subsoil  of  the  above,  coarse,  gravelly,  arnd  sandy,  and  with  but  little  clay,  taken  at  a  depth 
of  from  5  to  20  inches. 

No.  3.  Dark  gray  gravelly  soil  from  a  high,  dry,  pebbly,  gravelly,  and  broad-backed  ridge  or  plateau  near 
Raleigh,  Wake  county,  taken  0  inches.  Growth,  long-  and  short-leaf  pines,  post,  white,  and  small  black  oaks, 
and  hickory.     Produces  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre. 

No.  4.   Yellowish  red  clay  subsoil  of  the  above;  depth  taken,  from  G  to  20  inches. 

No.  5.  Light  gray  gravelly  and  sandy  loam  from  one  mile  east  of  Spartanburgh,  South  Carolina,  near  the  mineral 
spring,  depth  taken,  G  inches.  Growth,  short-leaf  pine,  post,  white,  and  black  oaks,  and  hickory.  This  is  an 
average  cotton  soil  of  the  region,  and  will  produce  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre. 

No.  6.  Yellowish  brown  stibsoil  of  the  above,  a  clay  loam  that  does  not  bake  and  is  easily  tilled,  taken  from 
6  to  20  inches. 

No.  7.  Gray  gravelly  loam  soil  from  one  mile  northeast  of  Charlotte,  Mecklenburg  county.  Depth  taken,  6 
inches;  growth,  black,  white,  red,  ajid  Spanish  oaks,  and  hickory.  This  soil  will  bake,  but  is  a  good  cotton  and 
wheat  soil,  producing  from  1,200  to  1,500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre. 

No.  8.  Subsoil  of  the  above,  a  reddish-brown  clay  loam. 

No.  9.  Gray,  gravelly  clay  loam  soil  from  near  Concord,  Cabarrus  county.  Depth  taken,  7  inches;  growth,  white, 
black,  and  post  oaks,  and  hickory.     A  common  cotton  soil. 

No.  10.   Yellow  subsoil  of  the  above. 

Gray  sandy  soils,  oak  and  hickory  uplands. 


Wake  county. 

Spartanbubgh  county, 
South  Carolina. 

MECKLENBUBG  COUNTY. 

CABARRUB  COUNTY. 

HEAB  BALEIOH. 

PLATEAU  LAND  NEAR 
BALEIOH. 

ONE  MILE  EABT  OF  BPAR- 
TANBUBGH. 

ONE  MILE  NORTnEAST  OF 
CHARLOTTE. 

NEAR  CONCOBD. 

SoU. 

SnbsotL 

Soil. 

Sobsoil. 

Soil. 

Subsoil. 

Soil. 

Subsoil. 

Soil. 

Subsoil. 

No.  1. 

No.  2. 

Ho.  3. 

No.  4. 

No.  6. 

No.  6. 

No.  7. 

No.  8. 

No.  9. 

No.  10. 

87.200, 

S90.342 
3.142$ 

0.101 

0.023 

0.1>0|) 

0.023 

6.074 

2.780 

3.094 

0.056 

0.095 

3.140 

85.600) 

0.117 
0.025 
0.070 
0.022 
0.087 
2.818 
3.797 
0.051 
0.104 
2.417 

80.340) 

„  -J81-280 
0.940S 

0.089 

0.619 

0.082 

0.083 

0.050 

11.040 

3.154 

0.039 

0.030 

4.569 

70.840) 
„    „  S72.930 
2.090) 

0.248 

0.069 

0.016 

0.137 

0.215 

15.334 

5.840 

0.130 

0.067 

5.646 

77MO;,oo,<, 

1.790* 

0.092 
0.041 
0.036 
0.070 
0.056 
S.646 
7.538 
0.082 
0.058 
6.IG7 

43.740) 

=  „-„H9  61° 

5.870) 

0.214 
0.087 
0.003 
0.212 
0.010 
11.700 
26.536 
0.134 
0.009 
11.660 

J83.419 
2. 359) 

0.141 

0.063 

0.065 

0.036 

0.091 

3.427 

5.096 

0.206 

0.118 

7.251 

72280'.73.341 
1.06li 

0.145 

0.038 

0.059 

0.043 

0.081 

9.705 

9.853 

0.227 

0.043 

7.080 

78.786)             i79  507) 
„,„.!86.1M     „„„„{  83.360 

0.012 
0.335 

Lime 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese 

0.052  j                  0.084 
4.987  i                6.520 

0.130                  0.330 

Water  and  organic  matter — 

3.870 

2.546 

Total  

99.788 

99.829 

100.435 

100.641 

99.436 

100.175 

99.913 

100.615 

100.130 

100.011 

2.592 
17.0  C.° 

1.950 
17.7  C.» 

3.573 

6.858 
19.4  C.o 

4.685  1             11.210 

4.952 
21.1  C.° 

7.123 
21.1  C.° 

3.346 
21.8  C.o 

3.749 

21.8  C.o 

f 

[The  gray  sandy  ridge  soil  of  the  neighborhood  of  Raleigh  (Nos.  1  and  2)  shows  low  percentages  of  potash,  lime, 
and  phosphoric  acid,  but  seems  to  be  of  almost  identical  composition  to  the  depth  of  20  inches,  and  probably 
more.  Being  at  the  same  time  very  easily  penetrable,  it  may  afford  to  deep-rooted  plants  for  a  time  a  fair  supply 
of  plant-food,  but  will  soon  give  out.     Phosphates  are  the  fertilizers  chiefly  indicated. 

551 


20  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

The  highly  ferruginous  plateau  soil  from  near  Raleigh  (Nos.  3  and  4)  shows  in  its  subsoil  a  considerable 
superiority  over  the  gray  soils  as  to  potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  but  is  notably  deficient  in  lime,  dressiugs  of 
■which,  or  of  marl,  would  doubtless  act  very  favorably  in  connection  with  deep  tillage.  The  deficiency  in  lime  is 
here,  as  elsewhere,  indicated  by  the  prevalence  of  pine. 

The  Spartanburgh  soil  and  subsoil  (Nos.  5  and  C)  are  again  remarkable  for  deficiency  in  lime,  and  are  evidently 
closely  related  to  the  plateau  soil  (Nos.  3  and  4)  from  near  Raleigh,  the  chief  difference  being  the  higher  percentage 
of  phosphoric  acid  in  the  surface  soil.  But  here  again  limiug  or  marling  is  indicated  as  the  first  improvement 
needed.  , 

The  soil  from  near  Charlotte  (Nos.  7  and  8)  shows  a  remarkable  superiority  over  the  preceding  in  the  percentages 
of  phosphates,  which  are  high  in  both  soil  and  subsoil  and  show  ample  cause  for  the  higher  production,  which 
could  doubtless,  however,  be  increased  by  liming  or  marling,  lime  being  still  deficient  for  a  soil  of  this  character. 

The  soil  from  Cabarrus  (Nos.  9  and  10)  also  (taking  soil  and  subsoil  together)  shows  a  high  phosphate 
percentage ;  and,  being  associated  with  a  good  supply  of  lime,  the  soil  should  be  both  productive  and  durable  with 
deep  and  thorough  tillage. 

In  all  of  these  soils  potash  is  rather  low. — E.  W.  II. J 

THE  TRANSMONTANE  REGION. 

The  western  division  of  the  state  beyond  the  Blue  Ridge  is  entitled  to  be  considered  and  described  as  a 
separate  agricultural  region,  on  account  of  the  marked  difference  of  clima^p  which  distinguishes  it  from  the 
cismontane  divisions,  inasmuch  as  its  agricultural  features  and  capabilities  are  differentiated  strongly  from  those 
of  the  other  divisions  by  its  climate,  although  there  is  no  difference  in  the  soils,  either  as  to  origin  or  physical  and 
chemical  qualities.  On  the  high  table-land  between  the  Blue  Ridge  and  the  Smoky,  in  addition  In  the  growth  of 
oak,  poplar,  maple,  etc.,  there  is  a  large  intermixture  of  white  pine,  hemlock,  walnut,  cherry,  linn  (  Tilia  Americana), 
chestnut,  buckeye,  magnolia  of  several  species,  sugar  maple,  and  black  locust;  and  the  summits  of  the  higher 
ranges  above  the  level  of  5,000  feet,  as  the  Black,  the  Balsam,  and  the  highest  parts  of  the  Smoky  mountains,  are 
frequently  mantled  over  with  a  dense  growth  of  spruce  and  fir.  The  soils  of  this  region  extend  over  the  summits 
of  the  higher  mountains,  and  are  often  of  the  greatest  fertility  quite  to  their  tops,  which  are  consequently  heavily 
•wooded.  The  flatfish  or  domelike  summits  of  a  few  of  the  higher  and  more  massive  mountains  are  bare  of  trees, 
and  are  covered  with  grass;  are,  in  fact,  natural  meadows  or  prairies.  A  marked  feature  of  the  forests  (if  this 
region  is  the  occurrence  of  extensive  thickets  or  jungles  of  laurel  (Rhododendron),  both  on  the  valley  flats  and  the 
mountain  benches  and  slopes,  and  even  on  the  summits  (if  some  of  the  highest  ranges,  as  the  Roan  and  Craggy, 
■where  these  thickets  cover  many  square  miles.  The  "ivy"  (Kalmia  latifolia)  is  cum  mi  inly  associated  with  the  laurel, 
and  sometimes  replaces  it.  These  shrubs  attain  here  the  size  of  forest  trees,  being  often  10  and  even  15  inches  in 
diameter  and  from  15  to  20  feet  high. 

The  valleys  or  troughs  between  the  cross-chains  are  generally  deep  and  narrow,  but  in  some  eases  they  open 
out  into  broad  stretches  of  hilly  and  rolling  country,  with  occasional  tracts  of  river  bottoms  and  benches  or  terraces, 
sometimes  three  or  four,  rising  one  above  another  and  shouldering  back  against  the  flanking  river  hills.  The  soils 
of  the  bottoms  are  usually  ash-colored  or  gray  clays  or  loams,  and  are  very  productive,  while  the  higher  terraces  are 
more  sandy  and  less  durable.  This  description  applies  especially  to  valley  plateaus  of  the  upper  French  Broad  and 
of  Valley  river.  Most  of  these  basius  are  deep  and  narrow,  and  their  surfaces  are  broken  by  projections  of 
the  inclosing  mountains,  so  that  but  a  small  proportion  of  the  surface  of  many  of  these  transmontane  counties  is 
arable.  The  slopes  and  spurs  of  the  mountains,  however,  and  generally  even  their  summits,  produce  crops  of  native 
grasses,  and  timothy  and  blue-grass  and  other  cultivated  varieties  catch  easily  and  become  naturalized  and  self- 
propagating. 

The  proper  agriculture,  therefore,  for  the  region  is  stock-raising,  to  which,  indeed,  nine-tenths  of  it  had  been 
devoted  until  the  war.  Large  crops  of  corn  are  grown  on  the  river  bottoms,  while  wheat,  oats,  rye,  and  buckwheat 
is  grown  on  the  hills  and  mountain  sides.  This  region  is  the  natural  home  of  the  vine,  of  which  it  has  furnished 
several  valuable  native  varieties.  The  apple,  pear,  and  peach  also  flourish  with  remarkable  vigor  and  vitality.  The 
culture  of  the  gold  leaf  tobacco  has  been  domesticated  in  several  of  these  transmontane  counties  within  the  past 
decade,  and  one  of  them,  Madison,  already  markets  a  million  pounds  per  annum.  The  timber  of  the  region  also 
furnishes  the  basis  of  considerable  commerce,  which  is  rapidly  increasing  with  the  recent  penetration  of  several 
lines  of  railway.  Immense  quantities  of  walnut,  as  well  as  of  black  locust  and  cherry,  are  already  finding  their 
way  to  market. 

552 


].;; 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION 


21 


GENERAL  REMARKS  ON  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Among  the  cotton  states  North  Carolina  is  seventh  in  population,  eighth  in  cotton  production  (389,598  bales), 
and  eighth  in  bales  per  acre  (0.44).    The  product  in  1870  was  144,935,  and  in  18G0  145,514  bales. 
The  following  tables  give  various  data  relating  to  cotton  production : 
Table  III.— SHOWING  POPULATION  AND  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  EACH  AGRICULTURAL  REGION  OF  THE  STATE. 


POPULATION. 

COTTON  PltODUCTION. 

Total. 

Wliito. 

Colored. 

P 

■Sri 
«o 

S  5 
V.  O 

Ji 

s 

Ph 

Acres. 

Bales. 

Average  per  acre. 

Total  in  tons. 

3 

o 

_w  a 
©a 

S.9 
o.2 

a  p 

a  — 
u 

© 

rt 

£  . 

O  © 

Agricultural  regions. 

"a 

.3 
rt 

O 

a 
o 

u 

1 

a 

o 

o 
o 

Lint. 

Seed. 

5  £ 
©  c 

P    Ui 

bf  u 

rt  a. 
p 

1,  399.  750 

867,  242 

532,  508 

15.07 

893, 153 

389,  598 

0.44 

Lbs. 
021 

Lbs. 
207 

Lbs. 
414 

92,  530 

185,  000 

100 

18.39 

193, 268 
407,  C43 
798,  839 

102,  275 
200,  977 
503,  990 

90,  993 
206.  000 
234,  849 

13.34 

25.84 
9.80 

85,  557 
466,  367 
341,  229 

36,554 
209. 475 
143,  569 

0.43 
0.45 
0.42 

009 
039 
597 

203 
213 
199 

400 
420 
398 

8,682 
49,  750 
34,  098 

17,  304 
99,  500 
68, 190 

9 
54 
37 

9.6 

Long-leaf  pine  region 

32.4 
13.5 

Table  IV.— SHOWING 


'BANNER  COUNTIES",  AS  REGARDS  TOTAL   PRODUCTION   AND   PRODUCT  PER  ACRE,  IN  EACH 
AGRICULTURAL  REGION. 


<4H 

o 

© 
1- 

COUNTIES  HAVING  HIGHEST  TOTAL  PRODUCTION. 

COUNTIES  HAVING  HIGHEST  PRODUCT  PER 

ACRE. 

j^ 

CD 

«D 

^ 

ss 

P. 

© 

-a 

"rt 

Ph 

.Regions  according  toprodnct  per  acre. 

Counties  in  each  region 

°  "to 

O  P 

© 

rt 

a 

,0 
1 

Counties  in  each  region 

a  . 

© 

a 

,G 

© 

T3    * 

a? 

having  highest   total 

£."3 

3 

£ 

having  highest  prod- 

rt © 

rt 

a 

rt 

bid 

production. 

-.a 

o 

Ph 

p- 

uct  per  acre. 

?5 

a  a 

5 

a 

~3 

O 

P. 

ft 

fc- 

p  rt 

rt 

-a 

M 
a 

3 

n3 

a  a 

<1 

M 

U 

H 

Ph 

Ph 

u 

H 

Ph 

w 

51,  8S0 

2(5,  250 

9 

0.43 
0.42 

4 

7 

11,  785 
59,  91G 

6,021 
30, 115 

0.51 
0.50 

62 

1 

385 
59,  916 

244 
30, 115 

0.63 
0.50 

In  making  estimates  for  this  table  all  counties  are  excluded  whose  total  production  is  less  than  100  bales: 
County  in  the  state  having  highest  total  cotton  production:  Wake,  30,115  bales;  county  in  the  state  having 
highest  product  per  acre:  Brunswick,  0.03  bale,  or  903  pounds  of  seed-cotton;  county  in  the  state  having  highest 
cotton  acreage  per  square  mile :  Edgecombe,  91.50  acres. 

Comparison  of  the  agricultural  regions. — It  will  be  seen  by  an  inspection  of  Table  III  that  the  long-leaf 
pine  region  is  the  cotton  region  of  the  state,  producing  209,475  bales,  or  54  per  cent,  of  the  total  product,  and  also 
showing  the  largest  product  per  acre,  0.45  of  abale  (the  average  for  the  state  being  0.44),  the  largest  cotton  acreage 
per  square  mile,  32  acres  (that  for  the  cotton  region  being  IS  acres),  and  the  largest  cotton  acreage  per  capita,  1.14 
(the  average  being  0.G4  acres).  With  an  area  of  14,401  square  miles  and  1,804,900  acres  of  tilled  laud,  it  has  20 
per  cent,  of  the  latter  in  cotton. 

Of  the  other  two  regions  the  oak  uplands  take  precedence  in  acreage  of  cotton  per  square  mile,  13.5  (to  9.6 
in  the  other),  and  iu  total  production,  143,509  bales,  as  against  30,554  bales  for  the  seaboard  region.  The  acreage  per 
capita  is  about  equal,  0.43  and  0.44  respectively,  and  in  product  per  acre  the  latter  has  also  slightly  the  advantage, 
0.43  to  0.42. 

The  seaboard  region  has  an  area  of  S,95l  square  miles,  041,580  acres  of  tilled  land,  of  which  a  little  over  13  per 
cent,  is  devoted  to  cotton.  The  oak  uplands  region  has  an  area  of  25,228  square  miles,  of  .which  3,479,007  acres  are 
in  cultivation,  and  a  little  less  than  10  per  cent,  of  the  latter  in  cotton. 

The  precedence  of  the  long-leaf  pine  region  is  still  more  apparent  from  some  other  points  of  view.  Of  the  22 
counties,  16  produce  more  than  5,000  bales,  9  more  than  10,000  bales,  and  the  product  of  3  exceeds  15,000  bales 
each.  In  the  seaboard  region  there  are  only  2  counties  whose  product  exceeds  5,000  bales  ;  and  in  the  oak  uplands  8 
counties  produce  more  than  5,000  bales,  4  exceed  10.000  bales,  and  2  pass  15,000  bales,  and  the  average  product  per 
county  in  each  region  is  respectively  21,000,  2,1 00,  and  5,500  (including  only  the  counties  whose  product  exceeds  100) 
bales.  But  although  the  lead  of  the  long  leaf  pine  region  in  most  respects  is  so  decided,  yet  the  county  having  the 
largest  yield,  and  much  the  largest  in  the  state  (Wake),  is  found  in  the  oak  uplands  region,  producing  30,115  bales, 

553 


22 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


while  the  largest  yield  of  a  single  county  in  the  former  region,  that  of  Edgecombe,  is  26,250  bales;  and  the  county 
having  the  highest  product  per  acre  is  found  in  the  seaboard  region,  Brunswick,  producing  0.C3  of  a  bale,  the 
highest  product  of  the  long-leaf  pine  region  being  0.55  of  a  bale,  in  Wilson. 

In  the  long-leaf  pine  region,  and  also  the  seaboard  region,  the  white  and  colored  population  are  nearly  equal ; 
and  in  the  oak  uplands,  which  produces  37  per  cent,  of  the  crops,  the  white  population  outnumbers  the  colored  in 
the  proportion  of  2.4  to  1. 

When  the  crops  of  the  different  regions  for  1S70  and  1S80  are  compared,  several  notable  changes  w>ill  lie 
observed.  While  the  total  cotton  product  of  the  state  has  increased  nearly  threefold  (2.7  to  1),  the  seaboard  region 
has  increased  its  product  in  nearly  that  average  ratio  (2.S  to  1),  that  of  the,  long-leaf  pine  region  has  about 
doubled,  and  the  oak  uplands  region  has  enlarged  its  product  in  the  ratio  of  1.5  to  1.  If  the  subject  be  examined 
geographically,  it  will  be  found  that  in  the  latter  region  the  cotton  area  has  widened  northward,  taking  into  the 
zone  of  cotton  culture  aa  additional  tier  of  counties,  and  toward  the  western  part  of  the  midland  section  and  across 
the  Piedmont  as  much  as  two  tiers,  making  a  breadth  of  fully  50  miles;  so  that  a  number  of  counties  which  in  1S70 
were  not  counted  as  cotton  counties,  their  product  being  only  a  few  score,  or  at  most  a  few  hundred  bales,  now 
produce  as  many  thousand  bales,  as  Granville,  Stanley,  Rowan,  Iredell,  Lincoln,  Catawba, Oleaveland,  and  Rutherford. 
This  remarkable  result  is  "due,  in  large  part,  to  the  introduction  and  general  use  of  commercial  fertilizers,  which  not. 
only  increase  the  crop,  but  hasten  its  maturity  from  two  to  three  weeks,  and  so  bring  into  the  cotton  belt  a  strip  of 
plateau  country  whose  elevation  of  from  S00  to  1,200  feet  had  placed  it  just  beyond  the  climatic  range  of  the  cotton- 
plant.  This  region,  which  in  1870  produced  but  little  more  in  aggregate  of  bales  than  the  yield  of  its  banner 
county  in  1880  (and  much  less  than  that  in  1800),  now  produces  as  much  as  the  whole  state  did  at  the  last  two 
enumerations.  That  this  change  is  in  no  respect  due  to  the  altered  relations  of  labor  is  obvious  from  several 
considerations,  but  sufficiently  from  this:  that  the  product  in  1800  and  in  1870  was  not  only  the  same  in  total 
amount,  but  was  distributed  among  the  three  regions  in  about  the  same  proportions. 

Fertilizers. — The  use  of  commercial  fertilizers  is  almost  universal  in  the  cotton  counties,  and  composts  of  stable 
manure,  cotton-seed,  muck,  woods-mold,  and  marl  are  also  largely  used  in  the  best  farming  sections  (the  eastern 
regions),  the  first  two  being  also  used  in  the  oak  uplands.  As  has  been  already  stated,  the  use  of  commercial 
fertilizers  has  increased  very  rapidly;  indeed,  has  revolutionized  the  whole  cotton  industry  of  the  state  in  the  past 
decade,  and  the  end  is  not  reached.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  crop  of  the  long-leaf  pine  region  was  doubled  in  that 
time,  and  that  of  the  other  regions  increased  in  a  still  larger  ratio,  and  this  not  only  through  the  increased  acreage, 
but  also  an  enlarged  product  per  acre.  An  unfortunate  result  of  theenlarged  use  of  these  mtinures  is  the  diminished 
use  of  the  marls,  which  abouud  in  the  eastern  regions,  and  are  accessible  to  almost  every  neighborhood.  These 
marls  are  found  in  the  ravines  and  the  banks  of  streams  and  in  the  farm  ditches  in  most  of  the  eastern  counties. 
Their  value  has  been  thoroughly  tested  on  a  hundred  farms,  and  is  admitted  by  all  intelligent  farmers  to  ba  very 
great.  They  increase  the  yield  two  and  three  fold,  and  are  the  most  durable  in  their  effect  of  all  manures.  A  few 
analyses  will  sufficiently  show  the  reason  of  their  utility. 

Analyses  of  marls  of  North  Carolina. 

[Made  by  E.  H.  Bogardue,  chemiBt  to  New  Jersey  survey,  and  G.  B.  Hanna,  United  States  assaycr.] 


Insoluble  matter.. 

rotasli 

Soda 

Lime   

Magnesia 

Peroxide  of  iron  .. 

Alumina 

rhosphoric  acid.. 
Sulphuric  acid  — 

Caibonic  acid 

Organic,  matter  ... 
Water 

5M 


GLAUCONITIC  (CUBTA- 
CEOUS). 


I1 


S3 

&  a 


20,21 

7.59 
Trace. 


it 


99.99 

70.63 
0.51 
0.11 
9.19 
0.30 

4,23 

0.73 
1.83 
0.00 

0.46 


68.91 
0.62 


0.24 
4.21 
5.76 

0.26 


WHITE  CHALK  MARLS  (EOCENE). 


3.54 
1.28 
0.30 
51.74 
0.50 


0.35 

0.49 
40.61 

0.10 


1.3 
aa 

at  d 


I 


i ' 


7.27 
1.06 
0.00 
48.55 
1.39 

6.23 

«.  10 
0.20 
39.35 

0.45 


101.39 

4.88 
1.37 
0.42 
50.80 
0.67 

1.60  j 

0.45 
0.33 
40.60 

0.27 


100.  00 

4.50 
Trace. 
0.14 
50.04 
1.72 


1.62 

0.34 
0.45 
40.55 

0.58 


IU.CE  MARLS  (MIOCENE). 


6.07 
0.37 
0.15 
47.62 
1.03 

0.86 

0.19 

0.41 
38. 15 

4.25 


'E  a 

n 

i*2 


37.  24 
1.  CO 
0.34 

30.45 

1.88 

2.09 

0.38 
1.10 
25.10 


■g  gs 

u  P  M 


26.  35 
0.91 
0.02 

33.  03 
0.  50 

5,47 

1.67 
0.28 
24.89 

6.89 


38.  23 
0.75 
0.04 

29.19 
0.58 

5.15 

1.40 
1.57 
21.41 

1.68 


a 


■a 


24.70 
0.02 
0.24 

34,07 
2.20 

6.01 

0.32 
1.08 
29.06 

0,44 


63.47 
0.48 
0.21 

12.  99  , 
2.87 

4.  IS 

0.38 
0.01 
12.68 

2.13 


if 


li  a 

III 
sis 


49.66 
0,37 
0.34 

20.25 
0.37 


3.75 
2.02 
11.72 

6.48 


0.P3 

0.70 
14.60 

0,  41 

3.02 

0.18 
2.82 
10.  23 

0.S7 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION.  23 

These  marls  belong  to  three  classes :  the  first  three  are  greensand,  or  Cretaceous ;  the  next  four,  Eocene-Tertiary; 
the  others,  Miocene-Tertiary.  No.  1  represents  the  greensand  marl  of  the  Gape  Fear  River  section  ;  the  sample  is 
from  the  river  bluff  at  Wilmington.  No.  2  is  from  a  stream  near  Kinston,  and  represents  that  of  the  Neuse  River 
section.  No.  3  is  from  a  point  about  15  miles  farther  north,  near  the  upper  limit  of  the  Cretaceous.  These  marls 
are  not  much  used,  because  they  contain  too  small  percentages  of  lime  and  too  large  proportions  of  sand  for 
sandy  soils,  and  especially  because  so  large  quantities  are  required  (500  bushels  and  upward  to  the  acre),  but  they 
are  used  with  very  good  results  on  clay  soils. 

The  Eocene  or  chalk  marls  are  very  rich  in  lime,  being,  in  fact,  generally  but  uncompacted  limestones  or 
comminuted  shells.     Their  content  of  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  is  often  of  considerable  value. 

No.  4  is  from  Wilmington,  where  marls  of  this  description  are  abundant  and  near  the  surface.  No.  6,  from 
near  Kinston,  represents  the  Eocene  marls  of  the  Neuse  river;  they  extend  from  Goldsboro'  to  New  Berne,  and 
underlie  the  whole  country  to  the  Cape  Fear.  These  are  valuable  fertilizers,  and  are  used  by  the  better  class  of 
farmers  with  very  great  advantage. 

But  the  blue  marls  are  more  widely  distributed  than  the  others,  and  more  accessible,  and  are  much  more 
extensively  used.  There  are  few  counties  of  the  long-leaf  pine  and  seaboard  regions  iu  which  these  marls  are  not 
found.  Forty  or  fifty  years  ago  their  introduction  under  the  teaching  of  Mr.  Edmund  Ruffin,  of  Virginia, 
revolutionized  the  agriculture  of  Edgecombe  and  the  adjoining  counties.  The  marl  is  used  iu  the  compost  heap  or 
alone,  and  is  distributed  in  the  furrow  or  broadcast. 

These  samples  fairly  represent  the  marls  and  their  distribution,  and  were  taken  from  open  pits  which  had 
been  extensively  used,  in  all  cases  with  marked  and  permanent  benefit.  The  marvel  is  they  are  not  universally 
used,  a  hundred  tons  for  every  one. 

Muck  and  peat  beds  are  found  in  vast  quantities  in  every  section  of  the  east,  and  these  are  also  used  in  the 
compost  heap,  as  are  also  marsh  mud  and  sea- weed  and  fish  and  fish-scrap  on  the  sea-ceast  and  sound. 

555 


24 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


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PAET    II 


AGRICULTURAL    DESCRIPTIONS 


OF   THE 


COUNTIES  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


37 

859 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS 

OF   THE 

COUNTIES    OF    NORTH    CAEOLINA. 


The  counties  are  here  grouped  under  the  heads  of  the  several  agricultural  regions  previously  described  to 
which  each  predominantly  belongs,  or,  in  some  cases,  under  that  to  which  it  is  popularly  assigned.  Each  county 
is  described  as  a  whole. 

The  regional  groups  of  counties  are  placed  in  the  same  order  as  that  in  which  the  regional  descriptions 
themselves  are  given.  The  statements  of  areas  of  woodland,  etc.,  refer  to  the  original  state  of  things,  irrespective 
of  tilled  or  otherwise  improved  lands. 

Appended  to  the  description  of  each  county  from  which  a  report  or  reports  have  been  received  is  an  abstract 
of  the  main  points  of  such  reports,  so  far  as  they  refer  to  natural  features,  production,  and  communication.  Those 
portions  of  the  reports  referring  to  agricultural  and  commercial  practice  are  placed  in  a  separate  division  (Part 
III)  following  that  of  county  descriptions.  In  making  the  abstracts  of  reports  it  has  in  most  cases  been  necessary 
to  change  somewhat  the  language  of  the  reporter,  while  preserving  the  sense. 


SEABOARD   REGION. 

(Embraces  the  counties  of  Currituck,  Camden,  Pasquotank,  Perquimans,  Chowan,  Dare,  Tyrrell,  Washington, 
Hyde,  Beaufort,  Pamlico,  Craven,  Carteret,  Jones,  Onslow,  Pender,  jSTe\v  Hanover,  Brunswick,  Columbus.) 

CURRITUCK. 

Population  :  6,470. — White,  4,495 ;  colored,  1,981. 

Area:  2S2  square  miles. — Woodland,  41,119  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  40,455  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  310  acres;  in  corn,  23,310  acres;  in  wheat,  101  acres;  in 
oats,  267  acres. 

Cotton  production :  139  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.44  bale,  027  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  209  pounds 
<  otton  lint. 

Currituck  county  is  bounded  northward  by  Virginia,  eastward  by  the  Atlantic  ocean,  and  southward  mainly  by 
Albemarle  sound,  and  is  traversed  north  and  south  by  Currituck  sound,  which  occupies  about  one-third  of  its 
territory.  Between  this  sound  and  the  Atlantic  ocean  lies  a  narrow  strip  of  sandy  soil,  which  in  its  origin  is  a 
sand-dune  of  the  breadth  of  from  1  to  3  miles,  rising  in  some  of  its  higher  hillocks  to  nearly  one  hundred  feet,  covered 
generally  with  a  small  growth  of  pine,  oak,  hickory,  dogwood,  etc.  The  body  of  the  county,  particularly  the 
northern  section,  is  quite  level,  and  has  a  growth  of  oaks,  hickory,  and  short-leaf  pine  and  a  clay  loam  soil,  but 
becomes  swampy  near  the  streams.  There  is  a  narrow  belt  of  oak  and  pine  lauds  also  in  the  middle  section.  The 
narrow  southern  promontory  which  projects  into  Albemarle  sound  is  for  the  most  part  sandy,  and  except  along 
the  margin  of  the  sounds,  where  it  is  more  or  less  swampy,  has  a  growth  of  long-leaf  pine.  With  the  exception  ot 
the  dune  hills,  nearly  the  whole  county  lies  below  the  level  of  10  feet  above  tide. 

The  soils  of  this  county  are  much  better  adapted  to  corn  and  rice  than  to  cotton.  The  stalk  of  the  latter 
grows  luxuriantly,  but  does  not  fruit  well.  Fishing  is  also  naturally  a  leading  industry;  and  the  county  has  great 
facilities  for  truck  farming,  which  is  rapidly  acquiring  importance.  Of  the  county  area,  22.41  per  cent,  is  tilled 
land,  of  which  0.78  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

The  most  abundant  facilities  exist  for  shipping  by  the  sounds  and  canals  and  by  rail. 

£9 
36  C  P — VOL.  II  Sgj 


30  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

CAMDEN. 

Population  :  6,274.— White,  .'5,701  ;  colored,  2,483. 

Area  :  21-1  square  miles. — Woodland,  05,729  acres. 

Tilled  lands :  35,870  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  2,070  acres;  in  corn,  23,GG3  acres;  in  wheat,  401  acres;  in 
oats,  1,008  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  823  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.31  bale,  438  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  140  pounds 
cotton  lint.  , 

Camden  county  is  a  long  narrow  strip  of  territory  parallel  to  Currituck.  Northwestward  it  reaches  the  Dismal 
swamp  and  southward  Albemarle  sound,  and  lies  between  two  of  its  projecting  arms,  Pasquotank  river  and  North  river. 
The  northern  and  larger  portion  of  this  county  belongs  to  the  description  of  semi-swamp  or  oak  flats,  and  along  the 
main  rivers,  and  frequently  for  a  mile  or  two  from  their  margins,  are  gum  and  cypress  swamps.  At  a  distance  from 
the  streams  these  lands,  as  in  the  preceding  county,  are  characterized  by  a  heavy  growth  of  oak,  hickory,  short-leaf 
pine,  etc.  The  middle  portion  of  the  southern  end  of  this  county,  along  the  divide  between  its  two  bounding 
water-courses,  has  a  narrow  zone  of  sandy  loam  soil  with  long  leaf  pine  forests.  The  main  crops  are  corn  and 
cotton,  with  some  small  grains  ;  but  fishing  and  truck-farming  are  also  among  the  common  and  profitable  industries, 
and  several  thousand  bushels  of  flaxseed  are  annually  exported.  Of  the  county  area,  20.110  per  cent,  is  tilled  land, 
of  which  7.44  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

Shipments  are  made  to  Norfolk  by  l he  Dismal  Swamp  canal  and  by  rail. 

PASQUOTANK. 

Population  :  10,300.— White,  4,855  ;  colored,  5,514. 

Area:  232  square  miles. — Woodland,  44,345  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  51,400  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  4,004  acres;  in  corn,  28,525  acres;  in  wheat,  3,300  acres; 
in  oats,  1,930  acres. 

Cotton  product  ion :  1,181  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.29  bale,  420  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  140  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Pasquotank  is  a  long,  narrow  strip  of  territory  parallel  to  Camden  county,  and  is  of  similar  topographical 
situation  and  agricultural  features.  It  is  bordered  eastward  and  westward  by  two  bay-like  arms  of  the  sound, 
Pasquotank  river  and  Little  river,  both  of  which  take  their  rise  in  the  Great  Dismal  swamp.  The  upper  and 
middle  portions,  therefore,  belong  to  the  general  description  of  swampy  land  and  semi-swamps.  Near  the  streams 
there  are  generally  strips  of  swamp  proper,  with  gum,  cypress,  and  juniper  forests,  but  farther  from  them  are  semi- 
swamps  and  oak  and  pine  flats,  with  oak,  hickory,  short-leaf  pine,  ash,  maple,  black  gum,  and  holly.  These  lands 
are  of  great  fertility.  The  southern  end  of  the  peninsula  on  the  sound  is,  as  usual,  sandy,  piny  woods.  The  industries 
of  the  county  are  the  same  as  those  of  Camden.  More  cotton  is  produced,  and  lumbering  still  constitutes  an  item 
of  consequence,  as  also  in  all  these  Albemarle  counties.  Truck  farming  is  also  assuming  large  proportions,  and 
the  raising  of  early  potatoes  for  the  northern  market  has  recently  become  one  of  the  most  profitable  industries. 
Of  the  county  area,  34.02  percent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  7.70  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton.  All  these  Albemarle 
counties  have  unlimited  facilities  of  transportation  through  their  numerous  bays,  rivers,  and  sounds,  which  are 
connected  with  Norfolk  harbor  through  the  Dismal  swamp  and  the  Currituck  canals,  and  also  by  railway. 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE   REPORT    OP    C.    W.    HALLOWELL,    OF   ELIZABETH   CITY. 

There  is  a  considerable  variety  of  soil  and  a  limited  area  of  good  cotton  lands  in  scattered  patches  of  from  20  to  ItOO  acres,  the  lower 
lands  being  generally  dark  alluvial  and  wet,  and  not  at  all  adapted  to  cotton.  The  higher  lands,  being  drier,  are  better  adapted  to 
cotton.  Only  one  year  in  several  may  be  said  to  be  a  good  cotton  year.  The  early  spring  is  apt  to  be  cold  and  wet,  which  necessitates 
late  planting;  again,  some  of  the  moister  soils  will  not.  mature  the  crops  before  the  coming  of  early  frosts.  For  these  causes  the  ''sure" 
cotton  lands  of  this  region  are  of  very  limited  area.  The  soil  may  be  divided,  first,  into  the  gTay  loam,  with  stiff  foundation,  and 
secondly  into  sandy  ridges. 

The  chief  soil  is  the  gray  loam.  The  proportion  of  the  lands  of  the  region  of  this  kind  does  not  exceed  one-twentieth  of  the  acreage, 
and  its  natural  timber  is  beech,  ash,  white  oak,  poplar,  sweet  gum,  and  hickory.  The  average  depth  is  ti  inches,  when  its  color  changes  into 
that  of  the  subsoil,  which  is  a  yellow  Band  mixed  with  clay.  Near  the  water-courses  the  subsoil  is  yellow  and  sometimes  bluish  clay, 
and  that  of  the  dark  lands  is  hard  and  crumbly.  The  chief  crops  are  corn,  wheat,  cotton,  oats,  pease,  potatoes,  aud  flaxseed,  hut  the  soil 
is  apparently  best  adapted  to  corn  and  flax.  Three  feet  is  the  average  height,  of  the  cotton-plant,  which  inclines  to  run  to  weed  in  wet 
summers.  Topping  has  been  tried,  but  without  good  effect.  Fresh  land  produces  in  favorable  seasons  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per 
acre,  and  1,425  pounds  are  needed  for  a  475-pound  bale,  which,  when  clean,  rates  in  the  market  as  middling  and  low  middling.  After 
seven  years'  cultivation  the  land  produces  GOO  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  Crab-  and  water-grass  are  troublesome.  The  proportion  of 
tand  originally  cultivated  now  turned  out  is  very  small. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made,  from  October  to  January,  by  steamboats  and  sail  vessels  to  Baltimore  and  Norfolk.  Rates  of  freight 
per  bale  are  75  cents  to  Norfolk  and  SI  '25  to  Baltimore. 

PEEQUIMANS. 

Population  :  9,400. — White,  4,795;  colored,  4,071. 
Area  :  245  square  miles. — Woodland,  01,482  acres. 

Tilled  lands  :  53,544  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  7,025  acres;  in  corn,  21,910  acres;  in  wheat,  2,957  acres; 
in  oats,  1,222  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  2,778  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.40  bale,  504  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  18S  pounds 
'  cotton  lint. 

562 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  31 

Perquimans  county  is  in  every  respect  twin  to  the  preceding,  and  northward  it  extends  into  the  Great  Dismal 
swamp.  A  considerable  percentage  of  the  surface  of  Perquimans  is  occupied  by  what  is  commonly  called  swamp 
land,  though  for  the  most  part  it  is  drainable  and  cultivable.  These  swamp  lands,  which  are  better  described  as 
semi-swamps  and  oak  and  pine  flats,  are  a  repetition  of  those  before  described,  and  have  a  similar  soil,  which  varies 
from  a  fine  gray  loam  to  a  dark  mucky  soil  of  high  fertility.  Along  the  Perquimans  river,  which  is  an  arm  of 
Albemarle  sound,  lie  in  a  southeasterly  drection  narrow  zones  of  cypress  swamps,  beyond  which,  northward  and 
southward,  are  narrow  tracts  of  sandy  soil,  with  forests  mainly  of  long-leaf  pine.  These  long-leaf  pine  tracts, 
which  occupy  the  divides  between  the  streams,  project  in  the  form  of  promontories  into  the  margin  of  the  sound. 
Of  the  county  area,  34.15  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  13.12  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton.  Shipments  are  by 
sound  and  canal  steamers  and  by  rail  to  Norfolk. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE   REPORT   OF  WILLIAM  NIXON,  OF  WINFALL. 

This  county,  divided  nearly  in  halt'  by  the  Perquimans  river,  has  a  sound  i'ront  of  fifteen  miles,  which  iB  not  subject  to  overflow,  is 
level,  aud  has  different  soils,  principally  clay,  sandy,  and  black.  Cotton  is  slow  in  getting  off  in  the  spring,  and  is  liable  to  injury  (shedding) 
from  heavy  rains  in  August. 

About  one-half  of  the  county  is  what  is  designated  stiff  land,  which  extends  20  miles  north  aud  15  miles  east  from  the  sound.  The 
natural  timber  growth  is  sweet  gum,  oak,  pine,  poplar,  ash.,  beech,  hickory,  holly,  and  dogwood.  The  land  is  a  gray  clay  .oarn,  about 
G"  inches  deep  ;  the  subsoil  is  heaver  than  the  surface  soil,  and  is  mixed  with  some  very  tine  sand.  Corn,  cotton,  wheat,  oats,  and  potatoes 
are  the  chief  crops.  The  soil  is  best  adapted  to  corn  aud  wheat,  but  one-fourth  of  the  improved  land  is  occupied  by  cotton.  The  plant  is 
most  productive  when  3  feet  high  ;  but  it  grows  from  2  to  5  feet  in  height,  and  is  apt  to  run  to  weed  in  hot,  wet  weather.  Fourteen  hundred 
and  twenty-five  pounds  of  seed-cotton  are  required  to  make  a  475-pound  bale,  rating  in  the  market  as  middling.  About  5  per  cent,  of  the 
land  originally  cultivated  now  lies  turned  out,  but  does  well  when  again  cultivated. 

The  sandy  soil,  occupying  about  three-tenths  of  the  land  in  this  region,  and  extending  from  S  to  10  miles  north  by  7  miles  across  tho 
county,  is  timbered  with  pine,  poplar,  oak,  and  hickory.  The  soil  is  whitish  yellow  to  the  depth  of  8  inches,  when  it  changes  into  that  of 
the  subsoil,  which  is  heavier  than  the  surface  soil,  and  is  a  clay  mixed  with  sand.  It  is  early,  warm,  and  well  drained,  and  is  best  adapted 
to  corn,  cottou,  and  sweet  potatoes. 

The  blade  soil  extends  10  miles  north  by  from  2  to  4  miles  east  and  west,  and  occupies  about  two-tenths  of  the  lands.  It  is  a  blackish 
loam  to  the  depth  of  1  foot.     The  subsoil  is  clay  aud  sand,  underlaid  with  blue  mud  at  the  depth  of  10  feet,  and  is  best  adapted  to  corn. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made,  from  November  1  to  January  1,  by  steamboat  to  Norfolk  and  Baltimore.  Rates  of  freight  per  bale  are: 
to  Norfolk,  $1 ;  to  Baltimore,  $1  50. 

CHOWAN. 

Population:  7,900.— White,  3,633 ;  colored,  4,267. 

Area :  150  square  miles. — Woodland,  44,446  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  35,234  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  6,047  acres;  in  corn,  13,877  acres;  in  wheat,  622  acres;  in 
oats,  791  acres. 

Cotton  production:  2,223  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.37  bale,  525  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  175  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Chowan  county  lies  in  the  angle  of  the  Chowan  river  and  Albemarle  sound.  Northward  it  consists  of  sandy, 
upland  piny  woods,  except  narrow  tracts  along  the  river  and  some  of  its  tributaries,  where  cypress  swamps  of 
considerable  extent  are  found ;  and  there  are  also  large  areas  of  oak  fiats.  The  southern  portion  of  the  county,  lying 
near  the  sound  and  south  of  the  Yeopim  river,  is  characterized  by  a  gray  elay-loain  soil  and  a  mixed  oak  and  pine  forest 
growth,  and  is  for  the  most  part  very  productive.  Bear  swamp,  which  crosses  the  county  in  a  northeast  aud  southwest 
direction,  is  more  properly  a  semi-swamp  from  3  to  5  miles  wide,  very  level,  with  a  gray  silty  soil,  and  the  characteristic 
growth  of  such  lauds  comprises  short-leaf  pine,  oaks,  maple,  ash,  dogwood,  occasionally  cypress  and  gum,  aud 
frequently  a  large  admixture  of  holly,  which  here  attains  the  size  of  oaks  and  furnishes  a  superior  cabinet  wood.  The 
agriculture  of  the  county,  as  well  as  its  other  industries,  is  quite  like  that  of  Gates.  Its  fisheries  are  amoug  the 
largest  and  most  profitable  in  the  country.  Of  the  county  area,  36.72  per  cent,  is  tilled  laud,  of  which  17.16  per 
cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton.  Being  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  navigable  waters  and  crossed  by  a  line  of 
railway,  the  county  has  abundant  means  of  transportation. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  REPORT  OF  L.  W.  PARKER,  OF  SMALL'S  CROSS-ROADS. 

About  one-half  of  the  lands  in  this  region  is  what  is  designated  as  "Albemarle  sound  bank  or  level ",  about  one-half  being  cultivated  in 
cotton.  This  region  is  twenty  miles  in  length  aud  ten  miles  wide.  Its  natural  timber  is  oak,  gum,  maple,  and  pine.  The  soil  is  black  in 
the  bottoms  and  a  white  sand  on  the  hills,  the  average  depth  in  the  former  being  2  feet.  The  subsoil  is  heavier  than  the  surface  soil,  being 
in  the  bottoms  a  blue  mud  of  a  putty-like  nature  aud  on  the  hills  yellow  aud  Bandy.  Cotton,  corn,  potatoes,  pease,  and  peanuts  are  the 
chief  crops  ;  but  the  soil  seems  best  adapted  to  cotton,  aud  50  per  cent,  of  the  improved  land  is  given  to  this  crop,  which  is  most  productive 
when  3  feet  high,  and  is  inclined  to  run  to  weed  in  wet  seasons  when  planted  too  deep,  the  remedy  for  which  is  manuring  aud  good  aud 
early  cultivation.  In  fresh  land  the  seed-cotton  product  is  1,500  pounds  per  acre,  ol  which  1,425  pounds  make  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint, 
Tating  as  middling  staple.  After  five  years'  cultivation  the  product  is  750  pounds  per  acre,  and  1,540  pouuds  are  needed  to  make  a  bale, 
the  lint  rating  as  low  to  middling.  The  carrot  and  hog-weed  are  most  troublesome.  About  25  per  cent,  of  land  once  in  cultivation  now 
lies  turned  out,  and  when  again  taken  in  it  produces  finely  for  two  or  three  years.  It  washes  and  gullies  on  the  slopes,  but  the  damage 
is  not  serious ;  but  in  most  cases  the  valleys  are  improved  by  these  washings  of  the  uplands. 

The  sandi/  ridge  occupies  about  one-third  of  the  lands  in  this  section,  extends  20  miles  in  length  by  fi  miles  in  width,  and  is  timbered 
with  yellow  pine.  The  soil  is  a  white  sand  to  the  depth  of  8  inches,  with  a  subsoil  of  yellow  sand  heavier  than  the  surface  soil.  It  is  early, 
warm,  well-drained,  and  easy  to  till  in  dry  seasons,  and  is  apparently  best  adapted  to  wheat,  pease,  or  cotton,  aud  one-half  is  occupied  by 
the  latter  crop.  The  cotton-plant  attains  the  height  of  from  3  to  4  feet,  but  is  most  productive  when  3  feet  high.  It  is  inclined  to  run 
to  weed  in  wet  seasons,  and  topping  is  practiced  to  stop  this  tendency.  In  fresh  lauds  1,425  pouuds  of  seed-cotton  is  necessary  for  a  475- 
pouud  bale,  which  rates  in  the  market  as  middling.  After  five  years' cultivation  the  product  ranges  from  500  to  000  pounds  per  acre,  and 
rates  as  low  middling.     Crab-grass  is  the  most  troublesome  weed.     About  10  per  cent,  of  the  land  once  iu  cultivation  now  lies  turned  out. 

5G3 


32  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

The  "black  swamps  or  bottoms  extend  in  miles  square,  and  occupy  one-fourth  of  the  land  in  this  region.  The  soil  is  a  prairie,  putty-like 
loam,  blaclt  in  color  to  the  depth  of  3  feet,  when  it  changes  into  that  of  the  subsoil,  a  blue  mud,  intermixed  with  some  gravel.  It  is  late, 
cold,  ill-drained,  and  best  adapted  to  emu  and  oats,  but  one-tenth  of  the  improved  land  is  occupied  by  cotton.  The  latter  crop  is  most 
productive  at  the  height  of  3  feet,  but  grows  from  4  to  8  feet  high,  and  is  inclined  to  run  to  weed  under  all  circumstances.  Fertilizing 
will  favor  bulling.     The  staple  rates  as  low  middling.     The  cosl  of  production  is  about  6  cents  per  pound. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made  as  soon  as  ginned  to  Norfolk  or  Baltimore,  Hates  of  freight  per  bale  are:  to  Norfolk,  $1 :  to  Baltimore, 
$1  25. 

DAEE. 

Population:  3,243.— White,  2,875;  colored,  368. 

Ana:  382  square,  miles. — Woodland,  19,996  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  2,094  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  16  acres;  in  corn,  950  acres;  in  wheat,  25  acres;  in  oats,  17 
acres. 

Colton  production  :  S  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.50  bale,  711  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  IMS  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

The  surface  of  Dare  county  is  mainly  water,  (lie  land,  made  up  of  a  succession  of  long,  narrow  islands  and 
peninsulas,  being  interpenetrated  throughout  by  great  bays,  sounds,  and  navigable  bayous.  The  county  is  bounded 
eastward  by  the  Atlantic  ocean,  westward  by  Alligator  river,  and  southward  by  Pamlico  sound.  The  larger 
portion,  on  the  mainland,  is  a  swamp,  which  lies  but  a  lew  feet  above  tide-level.  Around  the  margins  of  tiiis  portion, 
next  the  sound,  are  narrow  tracts  of  a  few  miles,  in  places,  of  drainable,  cultivable  land  belonging  to  the  general 
description  of  oak  flats,  having  a  gray-loam  soil  of  a  close  texture.  It  is  also  fringed  by  considerable  bodies  of  marsh 
land  next  the  sound,  from  which  large  crops  of  cranberries  are  gathered.  Roanoke  island,  a  part  of  this  county,  lies 
within  the  upper  portion  of  Pamlico  sound,  and  is  a  narrow  tract,  twelve  miles  in  length  and  from  two  to  three  miles 
in  width.  The  upper  portion  is  for  the  most  part  sandy,  with  a  short-leaf  pine  growth,  intermixed  with  oaks,  and  the 
southern  half  is  mainly  swamp  and  marsh.  The  easternmost  part  of  the  county,  like  the  corresponding  portion  of 
Currituck,  is  a  narrow  fringe  of  sand  reef,  properly  a  dune,  which,  as  in  the  former  case,  was  originally  covered  with 
a  Iciest  of  short-leal  pine,  oaks,  hickories,  dogwood,  etc.,  with  abundance  of  grape-vines.  These  have  for  the  most 
part  disappeared,  leaving  a  tract  of  sand  waves,  which  are  moving,  under  the  impact  of  the  trade  winds,  constantly 
toward  the  southwest  into  the  sound,  and  sometimes  rise  to  a  height  of  more  than  100  feet.  There  is  very  little 
tillable  land  in  the  county.  Its  chief  industry  is,  of  course,  fishing.  Of  the  county  area,  only  0.80  per  cent,  is  tilled 
land,  of  which  7.03  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

TYKRBLL. 

Papulation  :  4,545.— White,  3,110  ;  colored,  1,435. 

Area:  370  square  miles. — Woodland,  57,282  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  19,225  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  3,4S1  acres;  in  corn,  8,300  acres;  in  wheat,  201  acres;  in 
oats,  781  acres. 

Cotton  production:  1,123  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.32  bale,  459  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  153  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

The  description  of  Tyrrell  county  may  be  given  by  simply  repeating  that  of  Washington,  except  that  the 
great  intersound  swamp  extends  over  a  larger  part  of  the  county.  Its  northern  tlrird,  lying  on  Albemarle  sound, 
resembles  in  all  its  features  the  corresponding  portion  of  Washington.  No  part  of  it  rises  20  feet  above  sea-level.  It 
is  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  great  projection  from  Albemarle  sound  known  as  Alligator  river,  which  has  a  depth 
nearly  equal  to  that  of  the  sound  and  a  breadth  of  from  3  to  5  miles.  Apportion  of  the  rich  border  laud  of  lake 
Phelps  lies  within  this  county.  In  the  southeastern  corner,  along  Alligator  river  and  its  tributaries,  and  on  the 
western  side,  these  lauds  are  semi-swamps  and  oak  flats,  and  have  a  gray  silt  and  clay  loam  soil.  Of  the  county 
area,  7.98  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  18.11  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  EEPORT  OF  EPH.  LEIGH,  OF  FORT  LANDING. 

The  uplands,  or  tillable  lauds  of  our  creeks  and  rivers,  are  skirted  lt^ gum,  cypress,  and  juniper  swamps.  The  black  or  deep-soil 
lands  are  rather  of  a  cold  nature ;  hence  cotton  starts  slowly  iu  the  early  season,  anil  when  it  does  start  it  grows  too  rapidly  and  late,  and 
consequently  is  cut  oft'  by  frost.  In  our  lighter  lauds  the  soil  is  warmer  and  the  plant  matures  early,  and  so  we  have  but  very  little 
stained  cotton. 

The  chief  soil  is  a  light,  fine  sandy  loam  of  a  whitish-gray  color,  with  a  subsoil  of  tough  yellow  clay,  very  stiff,  which  in  places  looks 
nearly  blue.  Its  natural  timber  is  gum,  poplar,  ash,  and  pine.  This  soil  is  easy  to  till  iu  good  seasons,  and  is  well-drained,  early,  and 
warm.  Corn,  cottou,  wheat,  oats,  rice,  and  potatoes  aro  the  leadiug  crops.  The  proportion  of  cotton  planted  is  about  one-third,  and 
usually  attains  the  height  of  from  2^  to  5  feet,  about  3  feet  being  .the  most  productive.  Too  much  tain  makes  it  run  to  weed,  and  topping 
will  help  to  make  it  boll ;  1,425  pounds  is  needed  to  make  a  bale.  The  most  troublesome  weeds  are  crab-grass  and  morning-glory.  We 
are  not  troubled  with  gullies  on  the  slopes. 

The  black  noil  forms  about  one-third  of  the  lauds,  and  is  timbered  with  gum,  poplar,  cypress,  ash,  and  oak.  This  soil  is  best  adapted 
to  rice,  corn,  pease,  and  potatoes.  The  proportion  of  cotton  planted  is  probably  one-tenth,  l,liC0  pounds  of  seed-cotton  being  necessaty  for 
a  475-pound  bale. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made,  from  November  to  the  middle  of  Januaty,  by  steamboats  and  sailing  vessels  to  Norfolk  and  Baltimore. 
Kates  of  freight  are  from  T5  ceuts  to  SI  25  per  bale. 

WASHINGTON. 

Population:  8,928.— White,  4,554  ;  colored,  4,374. 
Area:  382  square  miles. — Woodland,  75,810  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  30,711  acres. — Area  planted  iu  cotton,  8,117  acres;  in  corn,  15,824  acres;  in  wheat,  647  acres;  in 
oats,  1,005  acres. 
GC4 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  33 

Cotton  production :  3,524  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.43  bale,  CIS  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  200  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Washington  county  lies  on  the  southern  shore  of  Albemarle  sound  and  Roanoke  river,  and  extends  southward 
into  the.  great  intersound,  or  Alligator  swamp.  Only  about  one-half  its  territory,  nest  to  Albemarle  sound,  lias 
been  brought  into  cultivation  to  any  extent,  the  southern  half  remaining'  in  its  original  condition.  The  cultivable 
portion  consists  mainly  of  oak  flats,  having  a  close  gray  clay  loam  soil  and  a  growth  of  oak,  hickory,  beech,  maple, 
and  short-leaf  pine,  with  flatfish  ridges  here  and  there  which  have  an  intermixture  of  long-  and  short-leaf  pine 
and  sandy  loam  soils.  -  The  former  are  generally  quite  fertile.  The  southern  portion  of  the  county  is  swampy,  and  is 
characterized  by  the  presence  of  two  considerable  lakes,  Phelps  and  Pungo,  which  occupy  the  highest  portions  of 
the  swamp,  and  from  which  many  of  the  streams  of  the  county  take  their  rise.  Around  the.  margins  of  these 
lakes  are  narrow  belts  or  ridges  of  swampy,  mucky  land,  which  were  originally  covered  by  heavy  forests  of  gum, 
ash,  maple,  cypress,  poplar,  etc.  The  soils  are  of  great  depth  and  indefinite  fertility.  Much  of  the  swamp  land 
of  this  portion  of  the  county  is  peaty  and  worthless,  except  for  timber.  The  southwestern  section  consists  partly 
of  semi-swamps,  with  gray  fertile  loams,  and  partly,  in  the  "Longacre"  country,  of  poeosons,  with  a.  small  growth 
of  pine  and  scrub  oaks,  very  flat,  with  an  ashen  soil  of  close  texture,  siliceous,  but  as  impervious  as  clay.  Of  the 
county  area,  12.50  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  20.43  percent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE   REPORT    OF   J.  1'.  NEWBERRY,  OF   PLYMOUTH. 

Cotton  in  the  lowlands  is  invariably  late,  and  is  apt  to  grow  too  much  weed.  The  high  and  sandy  soil  is  preferred.  .The  soils 
cultivated  in  cotton  are:  first,  the  light  and  sandy;  second,  the  dark  clay,  the  chief  soil,  the  litjkt  and  sandy,  occupying  five-eighths  of  the 
lands  in  this  region.  Its  natural  timber  is  cypress,  pine,  gum,  ash,  and  poplar.  The  average  thickness  of  the  upland  soil  is  3  inches ;  of 
the  lowland,  18  inches.  The  subsoil  is  heavier,  and  is  described  as  a  clay  and  gravel  mixed,  underlaid  by  sand  and  gravel  at  8  feet,  which 
is  rather  difficult  of  tillage  in  wet  seasons.  Cotton,  corn,  and  potatoes  form  the  principal  crops.  The  soil  is  best  adapted  to  cotton  ou  the 
upland  and  corn  on  the  lowland.  The  proportion  of  cotton  planted  is  one-half,  which  is  most  productive  at  the  height  of  21  feet.  On 
rich  soils  in  wet  seasons  it  is  inclined  to  run  to  weed,  but  topping  in  July  and  August  help  to  prevent  it.  Fresh  land  produces  from 
1,000  to  1,-00  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,425  pounds  being  needed  for  a  475-pound  bale,  which,  when  clean,  rates  in  the  market  as 
good  middling.  After  live  years'  cultivation  the  yield  is  from  500  to  (300  pounds  per  acre,  and  1,425  pounds  is  then  needed  to  make  a  bale, 
but  it  does  not  rate  as  well  in  the  market.     Crab-grass  is  the  most  troublesome  weed.    The  slopes  are  but  little  subject  to  gullies. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made  in  November  and  December  by  steamboat  to  Norfolk  and  Baltimore.     Rates  xier  bale  are  ftl  25  and  §1  40. 

HYDE. 

Population:  7,705. — White,  4,424  ;  colored,  3,341. 

Area:  557  square  miles. — Woodlaud,  41,247  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  32,107  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  2,513  acres ;  in  corn,  21,032  acres;  in  wheat,  1,079  acres  ; 
in  oats,  1,354  acres. 

Cotton  production :  718  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.29  bale,  40S  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  130  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Hyde  county  is  enveloped  by  sounds  and  great  bay-like  rivers,  and  its  middle  portion  is  occupied  by  a  large  lake, 
Mattamnskeet,  20  miles  in  length  and  0  miles  wide,  with  two  other  lakes  in  its  northern  portion.  Two-thirds  of  its 
land-surface  is  occupied  by  the  great  Alligator  swamp.  A  narrow  fringe  of  from  1  to  2  miles'  width  around  the 
central  lake  is  the  highest  portion  of  the  county,  and  is  from  0  to  10  feet  above  tide.  It  was  originally  covered  with 
a  heavy  swamp  growth  of  cypress,  gu^F(tupelo),  maple,  ash,  etc.  These  lands  have  been  cultivated  for  a  century, 
and  still  produce.  50  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre  without  manure  or  rotation.  This  ridge  slopes  off  in  every  direction 
from  the.  lake — eastward  into  a  tract  of  oak  fiats,  which  extends  to  the  sound.  The  southwestern  portion  of  the 
county  within  the  projecting  arms  of  Pungo  river  and  other  bays  from  Pamlico  sound  may  also  be  described  as  oak 
flats,  with  a  soil  which,  in  general  terms,  is  a  gray  silly  loam — an  admirable  wheat  soil.  The  northern  portion  of 
this  county,  throughout  its  whole  extent  from  east  to  west,  is  alow-lying  savanna  or  peaty  cypress  and  juniper 
swamp,  like  the  Great  Dismal,  called  Alligator  swamp.  Of  the.  county  area,  9.02  per  cent,  is  tilled  laud,  of  which 
7.81  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton.  The  productions  of  this  county  are  chiefly  corn  and  wheat,  to  which  has 
been  recently  added  rice.     Lumbering  and  fishing  complete  the  list  of  its  industries. 

BEAUFORT. 

Population:  17,474.— White,  10,022;  colored,  7,452. 

Area:   020   square   miles. — Woodland,  224,330  acres. 

Tilled  lands :  43,025  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  11,785  acres;  in  com,  20,225  acres;  in  wheat,  374  acres; 
in  oats,  1 ,395  acres. 

Cotton  production :  0,021  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.51  bale,  729  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  243  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Beaufort' county  lies  south  of  "Washington  county  on  both  sides  of  the  Pamlico  river,  which  in  this  part  of  its 
course  is  an  arm  of  the  sound  of  the  same  name,  from  2  to  0  miles  wide,  and  throws  off  several  wide  projections  or 
bays  into  the  county  on  both  sides.  It  is  bounded  on  the  east  by  Pungo  river,  another  broad  arm  of  Pamlico  sound, 
whose  waters  also  penetrate  the  county  in  numerous  wide  navigable  bayous.  A  considerable  proportion  of  the 
county  is  occupied  by  swamp  lauds.  In  the  northern  section,  and  across  its  whole,  breadth,  lies  the  western 
extremity  of  the  great  intersound  swamp,  which  attains  its  greatest  elevation  here  of  40  feet  above  tide.  In  this 
culminating'  swell  between  the  Roanoke  and  Pamlico  rivers  rise  numerous  tributaries  of  these  rivers  and  of  the 
sounds.  The  central  portion  of  this  part  of  the  swamp  belongs  to  that  class  of  soils  described  as  "  poeoson  ",  and  is 
of  very  low  fertility.  Along  the  courses  of  the  streams  as  they  flow  out  from  this  swell  are  considerable  marginal 
tracts  of  semi-swamp  and  oak  flats,  which  are  very  productive.     There  are  also  belts  of  cypress  swamp  near  Pamlico 

505 


34  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

river  and  the  other  streams  on  both  sides,  and  south  of  the  swamp,  in  the  middle  as  well  as  along  the  western 
edge  of  the  county,  the  land  is  mostly  a  level  piny  woods  with  a  light  sandy  soil.  In  the  eastern  portion  of  the  county, 
and  on  both  sides  of  the  Pamlico  river,  both  along  the  banks  of  this  river  and  of  the  before-mentioned  projections,  are 
large  tracts  of  oak  flats  and  semi-swamp,  which  are  anions  the  most  productive  soils  of  the  region.  Near  the  mouth 
of  Pun  go  river  occurs  one  of  the  largest  prairies  or  natural  meadows,  savannas,  in  the  state,  embracing  an  area  of 
1,200  or  1,500  acres.  It  is  treeless  and  fringed  by  short-leaf  pine  and  oak  forests,  and  has  a  fine,  close,  gray  sandy 
soil,  as  impervious  as  clay.  Jts  subsoil  is  of  the  same  character,  but  is  more  clayey,  and  is  of  a  slightly  yellowish 
color.  Marl  is  found  in  various  parts  of  the  county,  but  is  little  used.  Of  the  county  area,  10.99  per  cent,  is  tilled 
land,  of  which  27.01  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

ABSTRACT  OF   THE   REPORT   OF   R.  W.  WHARTON,  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Sandy  loams  ami  clay  soils  arc  in  about  equal  proportions)  and  near  the  rivers  are  lliin  sandy  Loams  and  clays.  All  arc  good  for 
cotton,  but  loams  are  preferred.     On  heavy  black  bottom  lands,  as  also  on  heavy  clay  upland,  cotton  is  liable  to  be  prematurely  frost-killed. 

The  sandy  loam  is  the  chief  soil,  aud  occupies  one-half  of  the  lands  in  this  region.  Its  natural  timber  on  the  uplands  is  pine, 
intermixed  with  oak;  on  the  bottoms  the  growth  is  gum,  cypress,  ash,  and  poplar.  The  average  thickness  of  the  soil  is  2  fool  on  the 
bolt  on  is  and  1  foot  on  the  uplands.  The  subsoil  is  heavier,  and  is  usually  yellow  or  grayish  under  the  loam  or  clay  soil  and  a  coarse  yellow 
sand  under  the  sandy  soil.  Cotton,  corn,  oats,  wheat,  sweet  and  Irish  potatoes,  peanuts,  aud  field  pease  are  tin-  chief  crops.  Tin- soil  is  well 
adapted  to  all  the  above  crops  except  wheat,  which  requires  heavy  manuring.  The  proportion  of  land  planted  in  cotton  is  one-third,  which 
is  most  productive  when  3^  feet  high.  It  inclines  to  run  to  weed  on  rich  lands  if  the  seasons  are  very  warm  aud  wet,  for  which  early 
planting  and  the  use  of  phosphatic  manures  are  beneficial.  Fresh  land  produces  from  'J00  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,425 
pounds  ordinarily  making  a  475-pound  bale,  which,  when  clean,  rates  in  the  market  as  low  middling  and  middling  ;  bui  much  depends  ou 
ginning  and  handling.  After  six  years'  cultivation  the  laud  will  produce  600  pounds  per  acre  if  proper  rotation  is  observed,  otherwise 
from  300  to  400  pounds,  from  1,485  to  1,540  pounds  being  needed  to  make  a  bah-,  which  rates  two  grades  lower  than  staple  from  fresh 
land.  (.'  rab-grass  and  ten  ml  are  the  most  troublesome  weeds.  One-twentieth  of  this  laud  now  lies  turned  0»t,  but  when  again  taken  iu  it 
product's  for  two  or  three  years  as  well  as  original  soil.  The  soil  readily  washes  or  gullies  on  the  slopes,  but  no  great  damage  is  done, 
and  efforts  have  been  made,  with  good  success,  to  check  it  by  horizontalizing. 

Shipments  are  made,  from  the  20th  of  September  to  the  1st  of  February,  by  steamers  to  Norfolk,  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  and  New 
York.     Rates  of  freight  arc:  to  Norfolk,  $lj  to  New  York,  $2  per  bale. 

PAMLICO. 

Population:  6,323.— White,  4,207;  colored,  2,110. 

Area  :  470  square  miles. — Woodland,  86,574  acres. 

Tilled  lands  :  10,989  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  -1,585  acres  ;  in  com,  0,381  acres ;  in  wheat,  285  acres  j  in 
oats,  378  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  2,220  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.49  bale,  G93  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  231  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Pamlico  county  is  bounded  on  the  east  by  Pamlico  sound,  and  is  enveloped  by  two  of  its  great  arms,  Pamlico 
ami  Keuse  rivers.  Another  of  these  arms,  Pay  river,  with  its  numerous  bayous,  penetrates  the  central  portion 
of  the  county,  and  nearly  its  whole  bonier  is  deeply  indented  by  smaller  projections  from  the  sound.  A  large  part 
of  the  county  consists  of  swamp  lands  with  extensive  oak  and  beech  flats.  These  soils  are  very  rich.  Cotton  is  a 
leading  crop  in  this  county.  There  is  a  narrow  belt  of  sandy,  piny  woods  crossing  the  county  diagonally  from  the 
southeastern  angle  at  Wilkinson's  point  to  Durham's  creek  in  the  northwestern  corner.  Of  the  county  area,  only 
5.05  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  25.20  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cottonW 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE  REPORT   OF  J.   S.  LANE,  OF   STONED" ALL. 

All  our  lands  are  low  aud  mostly  bottoms.  The  chief  soil  is  the  stiff  or  clay  land,  which  forms  one-third  of  the  lauds,  and  exteuds  at 
intervals  over  the  whole  comity.  Its  natural  timber  is  pine,  cypress,  juniper,  cedar,  poplar,  maple,  ash,  oak,  holly,  and  black  and  sweet 
gum.  The  soil  is  grayish  iu  color  to  the  depth  of  from  6  to  12  inches.  The  subsoil  is  considerably  more  compact  than  the  surface  soil, 
aud  is  impervious  to  water.  We  have  surface  drains  ou  all  our  .stiff  lauds.  The  chief  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  rice,  sweet  aDd  Irish 
potatoes,  wheat,  and  oats,  and  the  soil  is  well  adapted  to  all.  Cotton  occupies  about  two-fifths  of  the  cleared  land  and  usually  attains  ;i 
height  of  from  3  to  5  feet,  but  is  most  productive  at  3  or  4  feet;  it  inclines  to  ruu  to  weed  when  we  have  morning  rains  about  fruiting 
time,  which  causes  the  fruit  to  drop  aud  the  stalk  to  continue  to  grow.  Fresh  laud  produces  from  1,500  to  2,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per 
acre,  aud  1,485  pounds  will  make  a  475-pound  bale,  which  rates  iu  the  market  as  good  ordinary  to  low  middling.  After  eight  years' 
cultivation  the  yield  is  1,000  pounds,  and  1,485  pounds  are  needed  to  make  a  bale,  the  grade  being  about  the  same  as  that  from  fres';  bud. 
The  most  troublesome  weeds  are  rag-weed,  dog-fennel,  and  Spanish  needle.  No  land  now  lies  turned  out,  and  it  is  not  subject  to  wash,  as 
our  land  is  level. 

About  one-half  of  the  lands  in  this  region  are  the  black  alluvial  soils,  which  extend  throughout  a  large  portion  of  the  adjoining 
counties,  and  are  timbered  with  oak,  ash,  pine,  poplar,  beech,  maple,  holly,  elm,  juniper,  and  cypress.  This  soil  produces  well  while 
fresh,  but  becomes  worthless  for  cotton  by  long  cultivation  unless  well  marled  or  limed.  The  cost  of  cotton  production  is  10  cents  per 
pound. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made,  from  October  to  March,  to  Norfolk,  New  Berne,  and  Baltimore.  Rates  of  freight  per  bale  are:  to  Norfolk, 
$1  50;  to  New  Berne.,  50  cents. 

• 

CRAVEN. 

Population:  39,729.— White,  G,0G4;  colored,  13,005. 
Area:  S20  square  miles. — Woodland,  197,13.5  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  50,853  acres.— Area  planted  in  cotton,  12,838  acres;  in  corn,  19,001  acres;  in  wheat,  235  acres; 
in  oats,  333  acres. 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  35 

Cotton  production :  5,782  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.45  bale,  G42  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  214  pounds 
cottou  lint. 

Craven  is  a  large,  straggling  county,  stretching  60  miles  along  the  lower  reaches  of  the  Neuse  river,  which  passes 
through  its  center  and  drains  its  entire  area.  The  physical  description  of  its  territory,  especially  the  southern  and 
eastern  sections,  is  identical  with  that  of  the  two  preceding  counties.  It  consists  largely  of  swamps,  pocosou,  and 
oak  flats.  The  section  lying  north  of  the  Keuse  river  belongs  for  the  most  part  in  its  agricultural  features  to  the 
second  subdivision,  or  long- leaf  pine  belt,  having  considerable  tracts  of  pine  flats  and  long-leaf  pine  ridges,  with  a 
soil  often  very  sandy  and  unproductive.  Near  its  upper  margin  it  is  penetrated  by  considerable  tracts  of  swamp 
and  semi-swamp  lands,  which  project  southward  from  Pamlico  liver  and  form  properly  the  western  extension  of 
Bay  Kiver  swamp.  Along  the  southern  shore  of  Neuse  river  the  soil  is  mainly  a  close  gray  loam.  The  great  Dover 
pocoson,  occupying  more,  than  100  square  miles  in  its  southwestern  angle,  is  elevated  00  feet  above  tide  in  its  central 
part,  and  is  very  flat  and  sterile  for  the  most  part,  but  has  strips  of  oak  and  pine  flats  radiating  in  all  directions  from 
the  center  along  the  numerous  streams.  Of  the  county  area,  9.0S  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  25.25  per  cent, 
is  cultivated  in  cottou. 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE   REPORTS   OF    CHARLES   DITFFY,  JR.,  AND   JOHN   HUMPHREY,  OF   NEW   BERNE. 

There  is  not  a  great  deal  of  rolling  laud  in  this  vicinity, and  the  kinds  of  soil  cultivated  in  cotton  are:  brown  lands,  with  fine  clay 
subsoils ;  lowlands  of  the  great  swamp  ;  and  last,  the  light  sandy  soil  ou  the  banks  of  the  Neuse  river. 

The  hroicn  uplands  are  the  best  for  cotton,  and  a  large  proportion  of  the  region  is  of  this  kind.  The  soil  is  timbered  with  pine,  gum, 
holly,  hickory,  and  dogwood,  and  its  thickness  is  from  3  to  6  inches.  The  subsoil  is  heavier,  and  is  usually  a  clay,  underlaid  at  a  depth 
of  from  fa'  to  20  feet  with  shell  marl,  and  in  some  places  by  hard-pan,  which  is  leachy  and  impervious  to  water.  Cottou,  corn,  oats,  rye, 
pease,  and  potatoes  are  the  leading  crops,  but  the  soil  seems  best  adapted  to  corn  and  cotton,  and  the  latter  occupies  probably  20  per  cent, 
of  the  cultivated  land.  Cotton  attains  the  height  of  from  18  to  3fa  inches,  but  inclines  to  run  to  weed  in  wet  seasons,  to  prevent  which 
we  use  marling  and  thorough  draining.  The  yield  is  from  1,000  to  1,500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  from  1,425  to  1,540  pounds  being 
required  for  a  475-pound  bale,  which,  when  clean,  rates  as  middling  to  good  middling.  After  ten  years'  successive  cultivation  the  yield 
is  from  300  to  500  pounds  per  acre,  and  then  from  1,485  to  1,000  pounds  is  needed  to  make  a  bale,  which  rates  a  grade  or  two  lower  than 
that  from  fresh  land.  The  most  troublesome  weeds  are  dog-fenuel,  bog-  and  carrot-weed.  About  10  per  cent,  of  the  land  originally 
cultivated  now  lies  turned  out,  but  when  taken  in  cultivation  again  it  does  admirably.  Some  damage  is  done  by  gullies  and  washes  on 
slopes. 

The  swamp  land  occupies  about  10  per  cent,  of  the  lands  in  this  region.  Its  natural  timber  is  gums,  cypress,  oak,  poplar,  and  large 
pines  (short-leaf).  The  average  thickness  of  the  soil  is  from  1  to  3  feet,  when  it  changes  into  subsoil,  which  is  heavier  than  the  soil,  and 
is  usually  a  clay  resting  on  sand  aud  pebbles,  and  theu  on  marl  or  rock.  The  soil  is  early  and  warm  when  well  drained,  and  is  apparently 
best  adapted  to  corn,  but  makes  good  cotton.  The  proportion  of  cotton  planted  is  5  per  cent,  which  usually  attains  and  is  most  productive 
at  the  height  of  3  feet.  Fresh  land  produces  from  1,000  to  2,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,425  pounds  being  needed  for  a  475-pound 
bale,  which  rates  the  same  in  the  market  as  that  from  the  brown  uplands.  It  produces  after  ten  years'  cultivation  from  1,000  to  1,500 
pounds  per  acre,  1,425  pounds  being  required  to  make  a  bale.  The  staple  is  usually  better  than  that  from  fresh  land.  The  soil  is  but 
little  subject  to  gullies;  no  damage  is  done. 

The  light  sandy  soil  also  occupies  about  10  per  ceut.  of  the  lands  in  this  region,  and  has  a  growth  of  oak,  hickory,  pine,  and  dogwood. 
The  color  is  a  whitish  gray  to  the  depth  of  6  inches,  when  it  changes  to  that  of  the  subsoil,  which  is  a  yellow  sand  and  clay,  never  difficult 
to  till.  This  soil  is  admirably  adapted  to  truck-farming,  and  with  proper  fertilizers  many  early  vegetables  of  the  finest  quality  can  be 
produced,     Cottou  inclines  to  run  to  weed  on  this  soil  in  very  dry  seasons.     The  staple  from  the  fresh  land  rates,  when  clean,  as  middling. 

.Shipments  are  made,  from  October  1  to  January  1,  by  steamboat  to  Norfolk,  New  York,  and  Boston.  Rates  of  freight  per  bale  are 
$2  aud  $3. 

CARTERET. 

Population :  9,7S4. — White,  7,107  ;  colored,  2,G77. 

Area:  407  square  miles. — Woodland,  07,211  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  17,9S4  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  2,030  acres;  in  corn,  5,156  acres ;  in  wheat,  41S  acres; 
in  oats,  107  acres. 

Cotton  production :  1,014  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.35  bale,  492  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  164  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Carteret  county  occupies  a  long  strip  of  country  south  of  Craven  county  and  of  Pamlico  sound,  and  is  bounded 
southward  by  the  Atlantic  ocean.  It  is  traversed  east  and  west  through  the  middle  by  a  succession  of  swamps,  the 
largest  of  which,  occupying  its  eastern  peninsular  projection,  is  called  the  Open  Ground  Prairie  swamp.  This  is  a 
peat  swamp,  quite  barren  in  its  middle  parts,  but  fringed  around  its  margin  with  oak  flats  and  gray  silty  soil.  There 
is  also  aline  of  sand  islands  (sand  dunes)  along  the  coast,  and  inland,  parallel  to  the  coast,  are  several  ridges  of 
long  leaf  pine  sandy  lauds.  The  highest  part  of  the  county  is  only  37  feet  above  tide.  Carteret  has  the  advantage 
of  1  lie  best  harbor  on  the  coast  of  this  state.  Of  the  county  area,  6.90  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  10.33  per 
cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE   REPORT    OF   A.  OAKSMITH,  OF   HOLLYWOOD  (J.  H.  BECTON    ALSO   FURNISHED  A   REPORT). 

The  soils  on  ridges,  as  also  on  the  high  banks  bordering  ou  Bogue  sound,  we  term  the  uplands.  In  seasons  of  drought  our  lowland  cotton 
lands  do  the  best;  in  ordinary  seasons,  upon  an  average,  the  uplands  are  most  reliable. 

The  chief  soil  cultivated  in  cotton  is  a  light  sandy  loam,  which  occupies  the  larger  portion  of  the  lauds  in  this  region,  embracing  all  the 
uplands,  plains,  and  ridges,  and  is  timbered  mostly  with  the  different  varieties  of  pine,  with  some  oak.  The  soil  is  a  fine  and  coarse 
sandy  loam  of  a  mixed  gray,  buff,  and  brown  color  to  the  depth  of  20  inches,  when  it  changes  into  that  of  the  subsoil,  which  is  heavier 
than  the  soil,  and  varies  at  different  places,  being  in  some  places  a  strong  bluish  clay,  iu  others  a  species  of  marl  aud  a  black  peculiar 
rocky  substance. 

567 


36  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Tho  chief  crops  arc  cotton,  corn,  rye,  oats,  wheat,  sorghum,  Irish  and  sweet  potatoes,  and  truck,  hut  the  soil  is  apparently  best  adapted 
to  cotton,  corn,  sorghum,  and  sweet  potatoes.  Cotton  attains  the  average  height  oT  ii  feet,  ami  runs  to  weed  in  wet.  weather.  Fresh 
land  produces  about  800  pounds  of  seed-cottou  per  acre,  about  1,425  pounds  mating  a  475-pound  bale,  which  rates  as  middling  when 
clean.  After  two  years'  cultivation  tho  product,  is  from  GOO  to  700  pounds  per  acre,  about  1,540  pounds  bring  needed  to  make  a  bale,  tho 
staple  rating  as  low  middling.  Jerusalem  oak  and  dog-fennel  are  the  most  troublesome  weeds.  About  one-third  of  land  once  cultivated 
now  lies  turned  out. 

The  bottom  lands  of  Newport  river  aro  black  prairie,  with  a  darker  heavy  sandy  loam  soil. 

In  the  lowlands  are  alluvial  deposits  and  black  swamp  lands.     Very  little  cotton  is  planted  on  these  last  two  soils. 

Cotton  shipments  arc  made  in  November  by  rail  to  New  Berne  at  75  cents  per  bale. 

JONES. 

Population:  7,491. — White,  3,212  ;  colored,  4,279. 

Area:  3S9  square  miles. — Woodland,  134,598  acres. 

Tilled  land:  53,458  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  8,403  acres;  in  corn,  19,425  acres;  in  wheat,  129  acres;  in 
rye,  245  acres;  in  oats,  455  acres. 

Cotton  production :  4,07S  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.4S  bale,  6S7  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  229  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

The  great,  tract  of  swamp  laud  which  lies  between  the  Neuse  river  and  the  Atlantic  ocean  and  extends  I  hrough  a. 
considerable  portion  of  the  two  preceding  counties  projects  westward  into  Jones  county,  where  it  reaches  its  highest 
elevation  of  40  feet,  and  is  crowned  by  a  chain  of  small  lakes  of  from  1  to  3  or  4  miles  diameter  on  the  summit,  on 
the  border  of  Jones  and  Carteret,  counties.  The  northern  border  of  the  county  is  occupied  by  a  portion  of  the  great 
Dover  pocosou,  which  projects  into  it  from  Craven.  In  its  middle  and  southern  sections  lies  a  great  part  of  the 
great  White  Oak  swamp,  the  central  portion  of  which  is  also  a  pocoson;  but  it  is  margined  about  with  fringes  of 
cauebrake  lands,  white-oak  flats,  and  cranberry  marshes,  as  well  as  by  considerable  tracts  of  swamp  lands  covered 
with  oak,  cypress,  gum,  poplar,  ash,  etc.  Trent  river  flows  through  the  center  and,  with  its  tributaries,  drains  almost 
its  entire  area.  Along  this  river  on  both  sides  are  considerable  bodies  of  long-leaf  pine  sandy  lands.  There  are  also 
along  the  main  river,  as  well  as  its  tributaries,  narrow  strips  of  oak  flats  and  occasional  gum  and  cypress  swamps. 
The  county  resembles,  therefore,  very  closely  the  two  last  described  in  physical  features  and  in  products  and 
industries.     Of  the  county  area,  21.47  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  15. S3  percent,  is  cultivated  in  col  ton. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE   REPORT   OF   H.  C.  FOSCTJE,  OF  POLLOCKSVILLE. 

On  the  Trent  river,  for  a  mile  on  each  side,  there  is  a  level  tract  of  laud  with  a  light  soil;  then  we  have  a  gray  land  with  stiff  clay 
subsoil.  The  stiff  soils  are  most,  generally  used  for  cotton,  but  fair  crops  are  made  on  the  light  soil.  Our  best  is  the  light  mil  having 
a  clay  subsoil.  This  soil  is  more  easily  drained  and  cultivated,  and  the  cotton  matures  better,  and  makes  the  best  yield.  It.  occupies  about 
one-eighth  of  the  land  in  this  region,  and  is  found  in  a  belt  along  the  Trent  river  between  the  very  light  lands  and  tiiose  with  very  heavy 
clay  subsoils.  The  timber  is  oak,  hickory,  poplar,  and  dogwood.  The  average  thickness  of  tho  soil  before  its  color  changes  into  that  of 
the  subsoil  is  from  0  to  18  inches.  The  subsoil  is  clay,  but  not  close  pipe-clay.  Cotton  is  the  market  crop,  nearly  all  other  crops  baiug 
raised  for  home  consumption,  but  corn  is  perhaps  best  adapted  to  the  soil.  The  proportion  of  cotton  planted  is  one-third.  It  is  most 
productive  at  the  height,  of  3  feet,  aud  is  inclined  to  run  to  weed  when  planted  late  or  in  ill-drained  land;  but  efforts  are  made  to  restrain 
this  by  draining  aud  the  use  of  lime.  Fresh  laud  produces  700  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,425  pounds  being  needed  for  a  475-pound 
bale,  which,  wheu  clean,  rates  in  the  market  as  middling.  After  five  years'  cultivation  it  produces  about  300  pounds  per  acre,  and  from 
1,485  to  1,540  pouuds  are.  needed  for  a  475-pound  bale.  The  lint  is  much  shorter  and  not.  so  strong  as  that  from  fresh  land.  Hog-weed  is 
the  most  troublesome  weed.  The  proportion  of  land  once  cultivated  now  lying  out  is  very  small ;  it  washes  and  gullies  on  the  slopes,  but 
the  damage  is  not  great.  The  valleys  are  injured  by  tho  washings  to  a  small  extent,  and  efforts  have  been  made  to  check  it  by 
horizontalizing  with  good  success. 

The  stiff  laud,  of  which  two-thirds  is  planted  in  cottou,  extends  from  5  to  10  miles  back  from  the  river,  and  is  timbered  with  pine 
and  has  an  undergrowth  of  gallberry.  The  soil  is  best,  adapted  to  cotton,  aud  is  a  gray  clay  loam  to  the  depth  of  from  1  to  2  feet.  Cotton 
occupies  two-thirds  of  the  land  that  is  cleared.  The  stalk  grows  to  the  height  of  4  feet,  but  is  most  productive  at  3  feet.  In  wet 
seasons,  and  when  planted  late,  the  cotton  incliues  to  ruu  to  weed,  but,  by  drainage  and  lime  this  tendency  can  be  checked.  The  land,  when 
fresh,  will  yield  from  500  to  700  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  1,425  pouuds  making  a  475-pound  bale.  This  staple  rates  in  the  market  as 
middling  when  clean.  After  five  years'  cultivation  the  soil  yields  300  pounds  per  acre,  and  then  1,485  pounds  make  a  bale.  The  staple  is 
much  shorter  than  that  from  fresh  land.  About  one-tenth  of  this  loDd  once  cultivated  now  lies  turned  out,  and  when  token  into  cultivation 
again  it.  does  not  do  so  "well  for  the  first  year,  as  it  is  then  sour. 

Cotton  is  shipped  to  New  Berne.     Rates  of  freight  per  bale  are  from  40  to  75  ceuts. 

ONSLOW. 

Population:  9,829.— White,  0,000;  colored,  3,229. 

Area:  045  square  miles. — Woodland,  212,800  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  50,120  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  0,05S  acres;  in  corn,  23,259  acres;  in  oats,  90  acres. 

Cotton  production:  2,841  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.43  bale,  009  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  203  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

The  identical  terms  used  in  the  description  of  the  preceding  county  might  be  repeated  for  Onslow.  Nearly  one- 
half  of  the  White  Oak  swamp  lies  in  its  northern  section,  and  from  it  flow  most  of  the  streams  by  which  the  county 
is  drained.  The  best  agricultural  lands  of  the  county  lie  along  the  margin  of  this  swamp.  A  great  part  of  it  is 
drained  southward  into  New  river,  which  traverses  the  entire,  length  of  the  county  from  north  to  south.  This  river 
for  one-half  of  its  length  is  a  broad,  navigable  bay,  from  1  to  2  miles  wide,  and  is  famous  for  its  fine  oysters  and  fish. 
On  both  sides  of  it  are  large  tracts  of  upland  piny  woods,  with  a  gray  sandy  soil,  which  are  admirably  adapted  to  the 
563 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  37 

production  of  cotton.  Nearer  the.  sea-coast  and  its  fringe  of  sounds  the  soils  are  more  sandy,  and1  are  covered  with 
long-leaf  pines  as  their  principal  growth,  a  similar  large  tract  occupying  its  northwestern  section.  There  are 
numerous  narrow  fringes  of  cypress  swamps  along  the  various  streams.  A  portion  of  the  southwestern  side  of  this 
county  is  penetraterl  by  the  Holly  Shelter  pocoson.  The  productions  of  this  county  are  similar  to  those  of  the 
preceding.  Of  the  county  area,  13.59  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  11.80  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton.- 
Shippiug  is  done  by  way  of  New  river,  which  is  navigable  to  the  middle  of  the  county. 

PENDER. 

Population:  12,468.— White,  5,509 ;  colored,  0,959. 

Area:  S89  square  miles. — Woodland,  287,700  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  38,150  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  1,4G3  acres;  in  corn,  10,550  acres;  in  wheat,  7  acres;  in 
oats,  183  acres. 

Ootton  production :  S35  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.57  bale,  S13  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  271  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Pender  county,  like  the  preceding,  is  bounded  in  part  on  the  south  by  the  Atlantic  ocean,  with  its  fringe  of 
■  sounds,  marshes,  and  dunes,  and  is  drained  southward  by  the  waters  of  the  Northeast  Cape  Fear  river.  Ilolly 
Shelter  pocoson  occupies  a  large  part  of  the  southeastern  section,  and  from  it  flow  numerous  creeks  into  the  above- 
mentioned  river,  while  others  flow  directly  into  the  Atlantic.  The  central  portion  and  larger  part  of  this  great  pocoson, 
which  contains  about  100  square  miles,  is  quite  barren,  but  around  its  margin,  especially  toward  the  river,  are 
considerable  tracts  of  white-oak  flats,  canebrake,  and  swamp  lands,  with  their  characteristic  growths  and  soils. 
In  the  northeastern  section  lies  the  half  of  another  similar  pocoson  nearly  as  large,  called  Angola  bay,  and  in  the 
center  of  the  western  half  of  the  county  is  a  third  but  much  smaller  swamp  of  the  same  general  character.  The 
western  side  of  the  county  for  the  breadth  of  from  6  to  8  miles  belongs  to  the  region  of  upland  piny  woods,  the 
principal  growth  being  long-leaf  pines,  with  an  undergrowth  of  oaks,  hickory,  dogwood,  etc.,  and  a  sandy  soil ;  but 
some  of  it  approaches  the  character  of  the  regular  "  sand-hills",  with  pine  and  oak  flats  here  and  there.  Along  the 
streams  are  generally  alluvial  belts  or  swamps  and  oak  flats,  which  are  the  corn  lands  of  the  county.  A  savanna 
of  several  square  miles  is  found  in  the  upper  end  of  the  county,  which  merges  northward  into  a  barren  pocoson  of 
still  greater  extent.  Marl  abounds  in  all  parts  of  the  county,  and  Eocene  limestone  is  found  along  the  principal  river 
above  named.     These  add  greatly  to  its  agricultural  advantages. 

The  cotton  product  is  inconsiderable;  the  remaining  products  are  corn,  rice,  potatoes,  lumber,  and  naval  stores. 

Of  the  county  area,  0.71  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  3.S3  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

Cotton  and  other  products  are  shipped  to  Wilmington  and  Norfolk  by  rail,  or  to  the  former  by  the  two  Cape 
Fear  rivers,  which  form  the  boundaries  east  and  west. 

NEW  HANOVER. 

Population:  21,370.— White,  S,159;  colored,  13,217. 

Area  :  182  square  miles — Woodland,  39,003  acres. 

Tilled  lands  :  7,396  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  142  acres;  in  corn,  2,008  acres;  in  oats,  S6  acres. 

Cotton  production :  00  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.46  bale,  003  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  221  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

New  Hanover  is  one  of  the  smallest  counties  in  the  state,  and  consists  of  a  narrow  triangular  wedge  between 
the  Cape  Fear  river  on  the  west  and  the  Atlantic  coast  on  the  cast,  with  its  narrow  fringe  of  sounds,  marshes,  and 
dunes.  The  margins  of  the  streams  and  sounds  are  bordered  in  many  places  by  narrow  strips  of  oak  and  pine 
flats  with  a  gray  silty  soil.  The  central  portion  of  the  couuty,  as  well  as  the  dunes  along  the  shore,  are  sandy  and 
unproductive;  but  thore  are  tracts  of  alluvial  and  swamp  land  river  bottoms  along  the  Cape  Fear  which  produce 
large  crops  of  rice.  The  county  contains  the  largest  city  in  the  state,  Wilmington  (population  nearly  20,000).  It 
is  also  the  most  important  seaport,  and  has  a  large  foreign  as  well  as  inland  trade  in  lumber,  naval  stores,  and 
cotton,  both  by  means  of  its  railways  and  navigable  rivers.  Of  the  county  area,  0.35  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of 
which  1.92  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  EEPOET  OP  A.  E.  BLACK,  OF  WILMINGTON. 

Cypress  swamps  are  not,  but  sard  flats  (pocosons)  are,  very  extensive  in  this  county.  Very  good  alluvial  lauds  are  to  be  found 
on  both  branches  of  the  Cape  Fear  river,  and  sandy  loams  abound  near  these  rivers  and  along  the  coast.  The  kinds  of  soils  cultivated  in 
cotton  niepine,  oak,  and  hickory  flats,  "with  clay  subsoils  which  are  inclined  to  be  stiff.  The  proportion  of  the  lauds  in  the  region  of  this  kind  is 
very  small,  not  exceeding  3  per  cent.  The  cotton  lands  are  generally  found  near  the  streams  and  interspersed  along  the  coast,  and  are 
timbered  principally  with  long-leaf  pine,  with  some  short-leaf  pine,  hickory,  dogwood,  red  oak,  chiucapin,  and  sweet  gum.  The  average 
thickness  of  the  soil  is  from  4  toll  inches,  with  a  subsoil  of  clay,  mixed  more  or  less  with  sand,  under  cotton  lauds.  The  chief  crops  are  peanuts, 
corn,  rice,  sweet  and  Irish  potatoes,  and  garden  truck,  but  the  6oil  is  best  adapted  to  peanuts  and  rice.  Theproportiou  of  cotton  planted  is  not 
one  acre  in  one  bundled.  The  height  usually  attained  by  the  cotton-plant  is  3  feet,  and  it  is  most  productive  at  that  height.  It  inclines 
to  run  to  weed  when  planted  in  swamp  lauds,  but  guano  or  manure  favors  boiling.  Fresh  land  produces  from  500  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed- 
cotton  per  acre,  about  1,510  pounds  making  a  475-pound  bale,  the  staple  rating  as  middling  when  clean.  After  several  year.V  cultivation 
the  product  rangesarom  400  to  800  pounds  per  acre,  the  staple  rating  the  same  as  that  from  fresh  land.  Crab-grass  is  the  most  troublesome. 
About  5  per  cent,  of  land  once  cultivated  no%v  lies  turned  out. 

Cotton  is  generally  hauled  to  Wilmington  during  November  by  river  aud  rail. 

5«'J 


38  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

BKUXSWICK. 

Population:  9,389. — White,  5,337  ;  colored,  4,052. 

Area:  814  square  miles. — Woodland, 304,722  acres. 

Tilled  hinds:  18,000  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  385  acres  ;  in  corn,  4,915  acres  ;  in  wheat,  8  acres ;  in  oats, 
240  acres. 

Cotton  production:  244  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.03  bale,  903  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  301  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Brunswick  county  lies  on  the  west  side  of  the  Cape  Fear  river,  and  touches  the  Atlantic  on  the  south.  Its 
central  and  western  portion  is  occupied  by  the  great  pocoson  known  as  Green  swamp,  which,  with  its  many  projections, 
covers  nearly  hall'  of  the  territory  of  the  county.  This  swamp  is  bordered  by  wide  tracts  of  cinebrakes,  and 
contains  extensive  areas  of  gum,  cypress,  and  juniper  swamps,  which  have  been  for  half  a  century  the  center  of  a 
large  lumber  trade.  The  various  streams  which  flow  from  this  swamp  to  all  points  of  the  compass  are  bordered  by 
oak  flats,  tracts  of  semi-swamp,  and  often  by  canebrakes,  and  in  the  body  of  it  are  numerous  hummocks  or  Hat 
ridges  having  a  silty  soil  and  a  growth  of  short-leaf  pine  and  small  oaks.  Between  the  arms  of  the.  swamp,  on  the 
narrow  divides,  and  particularly  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  county,  near  the  sea-shore,  are  patches  of  long-leaf 
pine  lands  with  sandy  soils,  and  elsewhere  of  level  piny  woods,  valuable  for  lumber  and  naval  stores.  Along  the 
Cape  Bear  are  large  bodies  of  alluvial  lands  of  unsurpassed  fertility,  which  are  among  the  best  rice  soils  in  this 
country.  Waccamaw  lake  occupies  the  highest  part  of  Green  swamp,  and  covers  an  area  of  about  40  square  miles. 
Naval  stores  and  lumber  are,  of  course,  the  principal  interests,  agriculture  being  of  subordinate  importance,  and 
limited  mainly  to  the  cultivation  of  rice,  of  which  its  product  is  more  than  double  that  of  any  other  county  in 
the  state.     Of  the  county  area,  3.40  percent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  2.14  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  EEPOKT  OF  TV.  G.  CUKTIS,  OF  SMITHVLLLE. 

The  chief  soil  cultivated  iu  cotton  is  a  fine  sandy  loam,  and  the  most  of  the  laud  in  this  region  is  of  this  description,  extending  fifty 
miles  in  each  direction.  Its  natural  timber  is  pine,  intermixed  with  black-jack  and  other  varieties  of  oak.  The  soil  is  gray  to  the 
depth  of  ti  inches,  but  the  subsoil  is  heavier,  being  a  clay  intermixed  with  sand.  The  chief  crops  are  corn,  sweet  potatoes,  cotton,  and 
rice,  and  the  soil  is  about  equally  adapted  to  all,  except  that  sweet  potatoes  will  grow  on  poorer  land  than  the  others.  The  height 
usually  attained  by  cotton  is  from  2}  to  3  feet,  and  it  is  most  productive  at  that  height.  When  planted  on  very  rich  lowlands,  or  on  soils 
having  a  sandy  subsoil,  the  cotton-plant  is  inclined  to  run  to  weed.  Fresh  land  produces  900  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,425  pounds 
making  a  475-pound  bale,  which,  when  clean,  rates  as  low  middling  and  middling.  After  years  of  cultivation  it  rapidly  depreciates, 
unless  kept  up  by  manuring,  and  1.6G0  pounds  are  then  needed  for  a  475-pound  bale.  The  staple  is  much  shorter  than  that  from  fresh 
land.  Crab- and.  cane-grass  are  troublesome.  Very  little  of  such  land  originally  cultivated  now  lies  ''turned  out".  It  does  very  well 
after  resting  a  year  or  two,  but  it  is  subject  to  gullying,  and  the  damage  is  serious.  The  valleys  are  benefited  by  the  washings  of  the 
uplands. 

Shipments  are  made  by  rail  and  river,  in  December  and  January,  to  Wilmington;  rate  of  freight  per  bale,  40  cents. 

COLUMBUS. 

Population:  14,430.— White,  S,02G;  00101-0(1,5,513. 

Area  :  S95  square  miles. — Woodland,  357,014  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  38,203  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  2.113  acres;  in  corn,  15,723  acres;  in  wheat,  38  acres;  in 
oats,  267  acres. 

Cotton  production :  030  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.44  bale,  G27  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  200  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Columbus  county  lies  farther  inland  and  contains  a  larger  proportion  of  upland  piny  woods  soil  than 
Brunswick.  It  is  penetrated  through  all  its  parts  by  narrow  belts  of  gum  and  cypress  swamp  and  considerable  tracts 
oi'  oak  and  pine  Hats.  The  average  soil  of  its  upland  piny  woods  is  of  moderate  fertility,  well  adapted  to  the  growth 
of  cotton,  but  the  richer  swamp  and  gray  loam  lands  are  devoted  principally  to  corn.  Brown  marsh  and  White  marsh 
are  two  large  bodies  of  swamp  in  the  eastern  sideof  the  county,  aud  Gum  swamp  ami  others  of  less  extent  are  found 
in  the  south  and  west.  The  production  of  cotton,  potatoes,  and  rice  divides  with  lumber  and  naval  stores  the 
interest  of  its  people.  Marl  is  found  iu  several  parts  of  the  county.  Of  the  county  area  G.G0  per  cent,  is  tilled 
land,  of  which  5.52  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

ABSTRACT   OP   THE  REPORT   OF  D.  S.  COWA>',  OF   ROBESON. 

The  <>ak  and  hickory  ridges  have  a  light  loam  soil  and  a  clay  subsoil.  The  pine  lands  are  stiff  and  heavy,  and  have  a  clay  subsoil, 
generally  underlaid  with  hard-pan.  Mail  underlies  this  whole  region.  Cotton  in  the  lowlands  runs  to  weed,  and  does  not  fruit  well.  The 
kinds  of  soils  cultivated  in  cotton  are:  first,  the  oak  and  hickory  ridges;  second,  the  lowlands  of  Livingston  creek  above  overflow;  third, 
the  cypress  swamps,  reclaimed.  The  oal;  and  hickory  is  the  chief  soil,  the  proportion  of  this  kind  of  land  being  about  40  per  cent.  Its 
natural  timber  is  pine,  oak,  hickory,  dogwood,  maple,  holly,  walnut,  and  chincapin.  The  soil  is  a  light  clay  loam,  prairie-like,  the  color 
being  brown  or  orange  red,  which  does  not  bake  or  become  sticky,  and  the  average  thickness  9  inches.  The  subsoil  is  heavier,  the  color 
being  generally  a  light  red,  sometimes  gray,  and  sometimes  underlaid  with  hard-pan,  which  is  quite  impervious,  and  contains  a  limy 
subsi  ance,  uoderlaid  by  clay  at  from  1  foot  to  3  feet.  The  chief  crops  are  corn,  potatoes,  cotton,  pease,  oats,  rye,  and  vegetables  of  every 
description,  the  soil  suiting  them  all  remarkably  well.  The  proportion  of  cotton  planted  is  one-tenth,  which  is  moat  productive  at  '.fy  feet, 
but  in  very  wet  weather  it  is  apt  to  run  to  weed.  Fresh  land  produces  800  pounds  of  seed-cottou  per  acre,  1,400  pounds  making  a 
475-pound  bale,  which,  when  clean,  rates  as  good  middling.  After  four  years'  cultivation  the  yield  is  500  pounds  per  acre,  and  then 
1,425  pounds  are  needed  to  make  a  bale,  but  it  does  not  compare  favorably  with  that  from  fresh  land.  C'ocklebur  and  hog-weed  are  most 
troublesome.  About  5  per  cent,  of  such  land  originally  cultivated  lies  turned  out,  and  when  again  taken  in,  if  marled,  it  does  well. 
It  in  subject  to  gullying  on  the  slopes,  but  the  damage  is  not  serious. 

The  soil  of  the  level  pine  lands  (pine  flats)  is  heavy,  black,  and  smooth,  with  no  sand  in  it,  and  forms  about  20  per  cent,  of  the  lands. 
The  average  thickuess  of  the  soil  is  2  inches.  The  subsoil  is  a  sticky,  fine  clay,  sometimes  pure  white,  resembliug  kaolin,  with  hard-i>au 
underneath,  and  impervious;  it  is  difficult  to  till  in  w.ct  and  in  dry  seasons,  and  is  too  flat  to  drain  cheaply.  Native  grasses  for  pasturing 
are  apparently  best  adapted  to  this  soil. 

Cotton  shipments  are  mvio  :n  December  by  rail  to  Wilmington;  freight,  $1  per  bale. 

Lull 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  39 


LONG-LEAF    PINE    REGION. 

(Embraces  the  following  counties  and  parts  of  counties  :  Gates,  Hertford,  Bertie,  Northampton,  Halifax,  Kash, 
Edgecombe.  Pitt,  Greene,  Martin,  Wilson,  Johnston,  Wayne,  Lenoir,  Duplin,  Sampson,  Cumberland,  Harnett, 
Moore,  Richmond,  Robeson,  and  Bladen.) 

GATES. 

Population:  8,897.— White,  4,973  j  colored,  3,924. 

Area  :  339  square  miles. — Woodland,  101,010  acres. 

Tilled  lands  ;  48,821  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  5,707  acres ;  in  corn,  21,940  acres  ;  in  wheat,  70S  acres;  in 
oats,  1,210  acres. 

Cotton  production :  l,803«bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.33  bale,  405  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  155  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Gates  county  lies  between  the  Chowan  river  and  the  Dismal  swamp,  of  which  it  includes  a  considerable  section. 
The  body  of  the  county  consists  of  level  piny  uplands,  with  a  sandy  loam  soil.  It  has  a  narrow  strip  of  very  sandy, 
long-leaf  pine  land  near  the  Chowan  river,  and  also  in  the  southeastern  corner  of  the  county.  Along  the  Chowan 
river  and  its  tributaries  are  tracts  of  cypress  swamp  from  1  to  2  and  3  miles  wide.  Near  the  smaller  streams  are 
narrow  tracts  of  pine  and  oak  flats  having  a  gray  clay  loam  soil.  (For  details  see  very  full  account  below,  by  Mr. 
Gatling.)  Marl  is  found  in  the  banks  of  the  Chowan  river  and  in  the  southern  end  of  the  county.  Of  the  county 
area,  22.50  per  cent,  is  under  tillage,  of  which  11.09  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  REPORT  OF  J.  J.  GATLING,  OF  GATLINGTON. 

The  following  kiuds  of  soils  are  cultivated  iu  cotton:  No.  1,  light  soil,  with  red-clay  foundation;  No.  2,  sandy  soil,  with  saudy 
foundation ;  No.  3,  clayey  and  stiff  soils,  with  pipe-clay  foundation.  The  chief  one  is  a  light  soil,  which  forme  about  one-fourth  of  the  lands 
in  this  region,  and  extends  a  considerable  distance  north,  west,  and  east.  Its  natural  timber  is  a  mixed  growth — pine,  oak,  dogwood, 
maple,  holly,  and  sweet  gum.  The  soil  is  a  whitish  gray  or  black,  according  to  location,  to  the  depth,  of  from  6  to  8  inches.  The  subsoil 
is  heavier  than  the  surface  soil,  being  a  red  clay,  which  in  some  places  is  mixed  with  sand,  and  is  sometimes  impervious,  but  not  generally  so. 
Corn,  cotton,  sweet  and  Irish  potatoes,  wheat,  oats,  pease,  and  peanuts  are  the  chief  crops.  The  laud  tills  easily  in  dry  seasons,  is  early  and 
warm  where  it  is  well  drained,  and  the  soil  is  well  adapted  to  all  of  the  above-named  crops.  The  height  usually  attained  by  the  cotton- 
plant  is  about  3  feet,  and  it  is  most  productive  at  that  height;  but  it  is  inclined  to  rim  to  weed  on  low,  wetlands  and  iu  wet  seasons,  and  efforts 
have  been  made  to  restrain  it  and  to  favor  boiling  through  underdraining  and  high  fertilization.  Fresh  land  produces  about  GOO  pounds  of 
seed-cotton  per  acre,  and  about  1,425  pounds  are  needed  for  a  475-pound  bale,  which,  when  clean,  rates  in  the  market  as  low  middling.  After 
ten  years'  cultivation  the  yield  is  from  400  to  500  pounds  per  acre,  and  about  1,000  pouuds  are  needed  to  make  a  bale,  which  rates  nearly  as 
good  as  that  from  fresh  land.  Dog-fennel,  hog-weed,  crab-  and  wire-grass,  and  in  some  places  nut-grass,  are  very  troublesome.  About 
one-half  of  the  soil  now  lies  turned  out,  and  will  do  very  well  when  again  cultivated.  In  some  places  it  gullies  readily  on  slopes,  serious 
damage  being  done,  and  the  valleys  are  injured  to  a  considerable  extent  by  washings  of  the  uplands.  Efforts  have  been  made,  with  very 
good  success,  to  cheek  the  damage  by  hillside  ditching  and  undeidraining. 

The  sandy  soil  is  timbered  with  long-leaf  pine,  oak,  beech,  and  black-jack.  It  is  a  whitish-gray  fine  silt,  with  an  average  thickness  of 
G  inches  before  its  color  changes  into  that  of  the  subsoil,  which  isslighter  than  the  surface  soil,  being  a  yellow  mixture  of  sand  and  clay, 
not  impervious,  but  absorbs  freely,  and  contains  black  and  white  gravel,  underlaid  by  sand.  As  to  tilling  qualities,  it  is  heavy  in  wet 
and  light  iu  dry  seasons,  and  is  early,  warm,  and  generally  well  drained.  This  soil  is  best  adapted  to  corn,  sweet  and  Irish  potatoes, 
pease,  and  peanuts.  Cotton  is  most  productive  at  the  height  of  3  feet,  and  is  apt  to  run  to  weed  in  very  wet  weather,  for  which  high 
manuring,  good  culture,  and  curly  planting  are  used  as  a  remedy.  Fresh  laud  produces  about  700  pouuds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and 
about.  1,540  pounds  will  make  a  475-pound  bale,  and  when  clean  the  staple  rates  in  the  market  as  strict  low  middling.  After  ten  years' 
cultivation  the  yield  is  300  pounds  per  acre,  and  about  1,540  pounds  are  then  needed  to  make  a  bale,  but  its  staple  rates  as  good  as  that 
from  fresh  land.  Crab-  and  nut-grass  are  the  most  troublesome  weeds.  A  considerable  portion  of  the  laud  originally  cultivated  now  lies 
turned  out;  rest  improves  it  very  much  for  a  short  time,  say  three  years.  No  damage  is  done  by  washing  ou  the  slopes,  but  the  valleys 
are  perceptibly  improved  by  the  washings  of  the  uplands. 

Stiff  land  and  clay  soils  constitute  about  one-third  of  the  lands  of  the  county,  extending  about  6  miles  north  and  south,  aud  are 
timbered  with  heavy  oak,  large  yellow  pine,  ash,  poplar,  beech,  aud  holly.  It  is  a  whitish  gray  and  black  (varying  in  different  sections) 
heavy  clay  loam  to  the  depth  of  from  4  to  6  inches,  when  it  changes  into  the  subsoil,  which  is  heavier  than  tho  surface  soil  described  as 
a  white  clay;  it  is  very  sticky  when  wet  and  hard  and  brittle  when  dry,  aud  is  underlaid  by  gravel  and  rock  iu  some  places  at  G  feet. 
The  soil  is  difficult  to  till  in  wet  and  hard  in  dry  seasons,  and  is  best  adapted  to  wheat,  oats,  and  other  small  grain.  A  very  small 
proportion  of  cotton  is  planted  on  these  soils,  and  the  plant  is  most  productive  at  the  height  of  3  feet.  Thorough  draining,  good  culture, 
and  high  fertilization  are  used  to  restrain  it  from  running  to  weed  and  to  favor  boiling.  Fresh  land  produces  from  GOO  to  700  pounds  of 
seed-cotton  per  acre,  about  1,425  pounds  being  needed  to  make  a  475-pound  bale.  After  ten  years'  cultivation  it  produces  very  little, 
and  it  does  not  pay  to  cultivate  it  when  worn  down.  Cotton  ou  lowlands  is  more  liable  to  disea.se,  such  as  blight,  sore-shin,  rust,  runs 
too  much  to  weed,  grows  too  late,  and  is  liable  to  be  killed  by  frost.  Hence  we  rirefer  upland  for  cotton  where  the  soil  is  good  and  red 
clay  lies  near  the  surface.  Such  land  is  more  susceptible  of  improvement,  is  more  easily  cultivated,  cau  be  planted  ten  or  fifteen  days 
sooner,  yields  a  better  quality  of  lint,  aud  yields  better  every  way. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made  to  Norfolk,  by  rail  and  by  steamboat.     Rate  of  freight  per  bale,  $1. 

571 


40  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

HERTFORD. 

Population:  11,843.— While,  5,122;  colored,  0,721. 

Area:  370  square  miles. — Woodland,  110,330  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  53,625  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  14,005  acres;  in  corn,  25,521  acres;  in  wheat,  S17  acres; 
in  oats,  1,800  acres. 

Cotton  production :  0,300  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.44  bale,  021  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  207  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Hertford  county  lies  on  the  northern  border  of  the  state,  and  is  bounded  eastward  by  the  Chowan  river.  The 
soils  are  for  the  most  part  of  the  general  region  of  upland  piny  woods  lands,  but  near  the  water-courses  there  are 
considerable  tracts  of  oak  and  pine  Hats  and  alluvial  land.  Along  the  margin  of  the  Chowan  and  some  of  the  other 
water-courses  are  fringes  of  gum  and  cypress  swamp.  Marl  in  abundance  underlies  the  surface.  Resides  the 
culture  of  cotton  and  corn,  there  are  the  fish,  lumber,  and  naval-stores  industries.  Of  the  county  area,  22. 28  per 
cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  27.24  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton.  Cotton,  lumber,  and  other  products  are  shipped 
by  steamer  and  rail  to  Norfolk.  # 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE    REPORT    OF   .JUDGE   DAVID   A.    BARNES,  OF   ITURFREESBORO'. 

The  soils  of  most,  importance  are  the  sandy  uplands,  ■which  Lave  clay  subsoils  and  a  timber  gTOwth  of  oak.  dogwood,  and  pine;  thickness 
from  3  to  4  inches.  The  chief  crops  are  corn,  cotton,  pease,  and  sweet  potatoes.  The  proportion  of  cotton  planted  is  one-third,  which  runs 
to  weed  in  wet  seasons,  the  remedy  for  which  is  a  free  use  of  fertilizers,  especially  dissolved  bone.  Fresh  land  pr<  duces  800  or  900  pounds 
of  seed-cotton  per  aero,  from  l^'-'S  to  1,540  pounds  making  a  bale.  Crab-grass  is  the  most  troublesome  pest  in  cotton  cultivation.  About 
one-third  of  this  land  once  cultivated  lies  turned  out.     It  washes  on  slopes,  doing  somo  damage,  while  I  he  valleys  are  improved. 

RERTIE. 

Population:  10,390.— White,  0,815;  colored,  9,584. 

Area:  689  square  miles. — Woodland,  1S4,070  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  82,377  acres. — Area  planted  in  cottou,  19,-455  acres;  in  corn,  37,735  acres;  in  wheat,  309  acres; 
in  oats,  2,403  acres. 

Cotton  production :  7,290  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.37  bale,  534  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  178  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Rertie  county  lies  south  of  Hertford,  in  the  angle  between  the  Roanoke  and  Chowan  rivers,  and  consists  for  the 
most  part  of  level  piny  uplands,  having  a  sandy  loam  soil;  but  the  northern  part  of  it  is  largely  pine  Hats,  having 
an  infertile  ash-colored,  fine  sandy  soil.  The  southern  part,  near  the  Roanoke  river,  and  along  its  chief  tributary, 
the  Cashie,  are  wide  tracts  of  level  oak  and  pine  lands,  which  are  very  productive.  The  Roanoke  river  through 
almost  the  whole  length  of  this  county  is  bordered  by  a  tract  of  alluvial  lands  from  3  to  0  miles  wide,  subject  to 
annual  overflows,  and  covered  with  heavy  forests  of  cypress,  maple,  ash,  etc.,  which  are  among  the  most  fertile 
of  the  continent.  In  the  middle  region,  on  and  near  the  Cashie  and  its  tributaries,  are  considerable  bodies  of 
valuable,  swamp  and  semi-swamp  lands.  Cotton,  corn,  potatoes,  fish,  and  lumber  make  up  the  list  of  industries  of 
this  county.  Marl  is  found  in  the  southern  and  middle  sections.  Of  the  county  area,  1S.08  per  cent,  is  in  tilled 
land,  of  which  23.02  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

■ 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE  REPORTS   OF  E.  E.  ETIXERIDGE,   OF   COLERAIN,   AND  J.   I!.    CHERRY,    OF   WINDSOR. 

Cotton  is  generally  planted  on  the  uplands,  which  are  light,  having  clay  bottoms.  These  form  the  larger  portion  of  the  cotton 
lands,  and  extend  all  over  the  county.  The  timber  is  mostly  pine.  The  subsoil  is  heavier,  beiug  a  red.  yellow,  or  white  clay.  The  chief 
crops  are  corn,  cotton,  oats,  and  Irish  and  sweet  potatoes,  but  the  soil  is  best  adapted  to  corn  and  potatoes.  Cotton  occupies  about  ono- 
third  of  tho  tilled  land,  and  grows  to  34  feet  in  height.  It  inclines  to  run  to  weed  in  warm,  moist  weather,  which  indicates  a  bad  crop, 
and  topping  is  the  only  remedy  used  to  restrain  it.  Fresh  land  produces  C50  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,465  pounds  being  needed 
for  a  475-pound  bale,  which  grades  as  low  middling.  After  years  of  cultivation  tho  soil  makes  very  poor  cottou.  Crab-grass  is  tho 
most  troublesome  weed.  A  considerable  amount  of  land  once  cultivated  now  lies  turned  out.  It  washes  and  gullies  very  readily  on 
the  slopes,  and  the  valleys  are  injured  to  a  considerable  extent  by  tho  washings  of  the  uplands. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made  in  October  and  November,  by  steamboat,  to  Norfolk  and  Baltimore.  Rates  of  freight  are  81  to  $1  25  per 
hale. 

NORTHAMPTON. 

Population:  20,032.— White,  7,987;  colored.  12,045. 

Area:  557  square  miles. — Woodland,  144,779  acres. 

Tilled  lands :  90,505  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  30,219  acres;  in  tobacco,  30  acres;  in  corn,  45,224  acres  ; 
in  wheat,  1,725  acres;  in  oats,  4,805  acres. 

Cotton  production :  13,010  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.38  bale,  537  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  179 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Northampton  county  is  situated  between  the  Virginia  border  and  the  Roanoke  river.  Its  soils  belong  to  tho 
general  region  of  level  piny  uplands,  merging  toward  the  western  limit  into  oak  uplands  and  a  more  hilly  surface, 
with  an  elevation  of  150  feet  above  sea-level.  Its  numerous  streams  have  general  fringes  of  oak  flats,  alluvions,  or 
gum  and  cypress  swamps,  and  the  Roanoke  river  has  in  its  extensive  "bottoms"  some  of  the  best  corn  lands  in 
the  state.  Of  the,  county  area,  27.09  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  37.51  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton.  For 
further  details,  reference  may  be  had  to  the  report  of  J.  R.  Macrae. 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  41 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  REPORT  OF  J.  B.  MACRAE,  OF  JACKSON. 

The  low  "rounds  alluvial  soils  of  the  Roanoke  river,  are  cultivated  only  in  corn.  The  next  body  of  land  is  4  feet  above  the  highest 
■water  mark  of  freshets,  and  about  25  feet  above  the  low  grounds.     Then  comes  the  section  of  the  county  known  as  "  piny  woods  ". 

The  best  land  in  this  section  for  cotton  is  a  peculiar  gray  soil  having  a  hard  red-clay  subsoil,  and  commonly  designated  "piny  woods", 
which  occupies  two-thirds  of  the  county  and  is  timbered  with  short-leaf  pine  and  red  or  black  oak.  The  color  before  it  changes  into  that 
of  the  subsoil  is  whitish  gray  to  the  depth  of  6  inches.  The  chief  crops  are  cotton  and  corn,  and  the  soil  is  well  adapted  to  both.  Three- 
fourths  of  the  tilled  land  is  planted  in  cotton.  The  plant  is  most  productive  when  2*  feet  high,  and  inclines  to  run  to  weed  when  there 
is  an  unusual  quantity  of  rain.  Fresh  land  produces  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  aud  1,465  pounds  are  needed  for  a  475-pound 
bale  of  lint  which  rates  as  middling  when  clean.  After  three  years'  cultivation  the  product  is  500  pounds  per  acre,  and  the  staple  is  much 
shorter  than  that  from  fresh  land.  Crab-grass  gives  most  trouble  in  cultivation,  especially  in  damp,  warm  weather.  One-fourth  of  the 
land  once  cultivated  no\y  lies  turned  out.  Cotton  shipments  are  made  from  the  1st  of  October  by  rail  to  Norfolk ;  the  rate  of  freight  is 
$2  25  per  bale. 

HALIFAX. 

Population:  30,300.— White,  9,137  ;  colored,  21, 1C3. 

Area:  682  square  miles. — Woodland,  178,508  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  130,21!)  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  43,206  acres ;  in  corn,  44,790  acres ;  in  wheat,  1,300  acres  ; 
in  oats,  4,497  acres. 

Cotton  production :  16,061  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.39  bale,  549  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  183 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Halifax  county  lies  between  the  Roanoke  river  on  the  north  and  Fishing  creek,  one  of  the  confluents  of  the  Tar 
river,  on  the  south.  The  eastern  aud  larger  part  of  this  county  belongs  to  the  normal  type  of  upland  piny  woods, 
the  western  third  to  the  oak  uplands.  Long-leaf  and  short  leaf  pines  are  commonly  mingled  with  a  subordinate 
growth  of  oaks,  hickory,  dogwood,  etc.  The  surface  is  generally  level  or  a  little  rolling,  with  small,  often  abrupt, 
hills  aud  ravines  near  the  streams.  The  soil  is  a  gray,  sandy  loam,  with  a  yellow  to  brown  subsoil.  The  creeks 
and  larger  streams  nearly  al!  flow  southward  into  the  Tar  river,  the  water-shed,  according  to  a  curious  topographical 
law  previously  referred  to,  lying  quite  close  to  the  south  bank  of  the  Roanoke.  The  western  section  belongs  in 
large  part  to  the  oak  uplands  region,  having  its  characteristic  gray,  yellow,  aud  reddish  clay  loam  and  sandy  loam 
soils  aud  rolling  surface  and  predominant  oak  forests,  with  an  intermixture  of  short-leaf  pine.  The  crops  of  this 
section  are  largely  grains  (corn,  wheat,  etc.)  and  tobacco.  The  bulk  of  the  cotton  product  is  made  in  the  eastern 
section. 

The  streams  in  the  eastern  section  have  often  narrow,  swampy  tracts  of  gum  aud  cypress  along  their  margins, 
but  there  are  extensive  alluvial  areas  or  bottoms  on  the  larger  rivers,  especially  the  Roanoke,  whose  bottoms  are  of 
unsurpassed  fertility.  In  the  great  bend  of  Scotland  Neck  are  some  of  the  finest  cotton  lands  of  the  state.  Marl  is 
abundant  in  the  middle  and  eastern  sections.  Halifax  is  one  of  the  most  prosperous  cotton  counties,  and  produces 
very  large  crops  of  grains  besides,  chiefly  of  corn,  of  ,/hich  the  product  is  nearly  half  a  million  bushels.  Of  the 
county  area,  32.12  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  33.18  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

ABSTRACT   OF  THE   REPORT   OF  R.   H.   SMITH,  OF   SCOTLAND   NECK. 
(Messrs.  J.  H.  Parker,  of  Enfield,  and  J.  N.  Sruitli,  of  Scotland  Neck,  also  furnished  repoits.) 

The  upland  soils  vary  greatly  from  a  light  sandy  soil  to  a  stiff  clay,  and  are  found  in  patches  of  from  20  to  200  acres.  The  climate  for 
cotton  being  a  short  one,  the  plants  on  the  bottom  lands  grow  too  much  to  weed  and  too  late,  subjecting  the  crop  to  damage  from  early  frost. 
The  uplands,  with  suitable  soils  and  proper  fertilizers,  are  esteemed  the  best  for  cotton ;  but  old  lands  are  generally  preferable  to  new 
when  well  manured. 

The  chief  soil  is  a  fine  clay  loam  from  8  to  12  inches  deep,  the  color  of  "which  is  brown,  and  the  subsoil  is  a  red  and  yellow  clay.  This 
class  of  land  constitutes  one-lifth  of  the  arable  uplands,  and  has  a  growth  of  red  oak,  holly,  hickory,  poplar,  etc.  The  crops  are  corn, 
cotton,  oats,  wheat,  and  pease,  but  the  soil  is  best  adapted  to  cotton  and  wheat.  Cotton  is  planted  on  two-fifths  of  the  uplands,  and  is 
most  productive  when  31  feet  in  height.  It  inclines  to  run  to  weed  iu  a  wet  August  and  September,  and  topping  favors  boiling.  Fresh 
land  produces  from  800  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,485  pounds  making  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint,  rating  as  low  middling. 
After  ten  years'  cultivation  the  product  is  400  pounds  per  acre,  the  staple,  when  clean,  rating  about  the  same  as  that  from  fresh  land, 
sometimes  better.     Crab-grass  and  hog-wced  are  most  troublesome.     No  serious  damage  is  done  by  gullies  on  the  slopes. 

The  sandy  loam  of  the  creek  uplands  has  a  gray  color  to  the  depth  of  10  inches  and  a  subsoil  of  red,  white,  and  yellow  clay.  It  is  easy 
to  till,  early,  warm,  and  well  drained,  and  is  best  adapted  to  cotton,  corn,  aud  pease,  about  one-fifth  of  the  uplands  being  planted  iu  the 
former.  Cotton  is  most  productive  at  the  height  of  3  feet.  The  product  from  fresh  land  ranges  from  800  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cottou 
per  acre,  from  1,485  to  1,540  pounds  being  required  to  make  a  475-pound  bale,  which  rates,  when  clean,  as  low  middling.  After  ten  years 
cultivation  the  yield  is  400  pounds  per  acre,  the  staple  being  quite  as  good  as  that  from  fresh  land. 

A  light  gravelly  loam  occupies  oue-fifth  of  the  lands  in  this  region.  It  is  gray  iu  color  to  the  depth  of  8  inches,  when  it  changes 
into  that  of  the  subsoil,  a  yellow  sand  for  2  or  3  feet,  then  red  aud  yellow  clay.     Its  natural  timber  growth  is  pine,  oak,  and  dogwood. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made  in  October,  November,  and  December,  by  steamboat  aud  rail,  to  Norfolk  and  Baltimore.  Kates  of  freight 
per  bale  are  SI  50  to  Norfolk  and  §2  to  Baltimore. 

The  report  of  Mr.  J.  N.  Smith,  of  Scotland  Neck,  agrees  substantially  with  the  preceding. 

The  report  of  Mr.  Parker  adds  several  points  :  That  the  eastern  half  of  the  county  is  level  and  rolling  and  well  adapted  to  cotton, 
but  the  western  half,  being  hilly,  is  not  suitable  for  cotton  culture.  The  chief  soil,  a  gray  upland,  extends  20  miles  north,  CO  miles  south, 
80  east,  and  15  west.  Tarboro'  is  the  center  of  a  flue  cottou  section  with  a  radius  of  50  or  (10  miles,  the  natural  growth  being  long-  aud 
short-leaf  pine,  oak,  hickory,  dogwood,  sweet  gum,  etc.  The  soil  is  a  fine  sandy  loam  12  inches  deep.  Iu  the  eastern  section  two-thirds 
of  the  tilled  land  is  in  cotton ;  in  the  western,  from  one-third  to  one-half. 

573 


42  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

FASH. 

Population  :  17,731.— White,  9,417  ;  .colored,  8,314. 

Area:  595  square  miles. — Woodland,  193,247  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  82,238  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  25,70S  acres;  in  tobacco,  27  acres;  in  corn,  32,490  acres; 
in  wheat,  3,7.87  acres;  in  oats,  3,87.5  acres. 

Cotton  production:  12,567  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.49  bale,  090  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  232 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  general  topographical  and  agricultural  features  of  Nash  county  correspond  quite  closely  to  those  of  Halifax, 
to  which  its  situation  is  similar.  It  lies  south  of  that  county,  and  also  on  the  borders  of  the  oak  uplands,  to  which 
the  western  part  of  it  belongs.  It  is  drained  for  the  most  part  by  the  Tar  river  and  its  numerous  tributaries,  along 
which  are  narrow  strips  of  alluvial  soil  with  oak  forests  and  occasional  cypress  swamps.  The  divides  between 
these  streams  through  the  middle  and  eastern  portions  of  the  county  belong  to  the  region  of  level  upland  piny 
woods,  the  growth  being  a  mixture  of  long-leaf  and  short-leaf  pine,  with  oak,  hickory,  dogwood,  etc.  These  soils 
are  well  adapted  to  the  culture  of  cotton,  and  are  of  average  fertility.  The  soils  in  many  places  in  the  western 
section  are  red  or  yellowish  clay  loams.  This  county  lies  largely  within  the  area  of  the  most  productive  cotton  sect  inn 
of  the  state ;  the  corn  and  potato  crops  are  also  important.  Marl  is  abundant  in  the  eastern  part,  but  has  not  been 
extensively  used.     Of  the  county  area  21.00  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  31.33  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  col  ton. 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE    REPORT    OF   J.    M.    MAYO,    OF    WniTAKER. 

The  uplands  are  preferable  for  cotton,  as  it  grows  too  lato  on  the  lowlands  and  is  liablo  to  be  killed  l>y  early  frosts.  Tbo  chief  soil 
is  light  gray,  having  a  clay  subsoil,  three-fourths  of  the  uplands  being  of  this  description,  and  is  timbered  with  oak,  pine,  poplar,  sweet 
gum,  and  dogwood.  The  chief  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  rye,  and  sweet  and  Irish  potatoes,  and  it  seems  well  adapted  to  all ;  but  tin: 
proportion  of  cotton  planted  is  at  least  half  of  the  cultivated  lands.  The  plant  inclines  to  ran  to  weed  in  wet  weather,  the  only  remedy 
for  which  is  to  plant  as  early  as  practicable  and  cultivate  rapidly.  The  product  from  fresh  lands  ranges  from  1,200  to  1,500  pounds  of  seed- 
cotton  per  acre,  and  1,4'25  pounds  will  make  a  bale  ;  clean  staple  rates  as  middling.  After  three  years'  cultivation  the  yield  is  about.  -100 
pounds  per  acre.  Rag-  and  hog-  weed  and  crab-grass  are  most  troublesome.  About  one-third  of  the  land  once  cultivated  now  lies  turned 
out,  and  rest  improves  it.  The  soil  on  the  slopes  in  the  light  lands  is  subject  to  wash  or  gully,  and  efforts  are  made  to  remedy  this  by 
horizontalizing  and  hillside  ditching  with  good  success,  but  it  requires  constant  attention. 

The  stiff  bottom  lauds  are  found  only  on  the  creeks,  rivers,  branches,  and  swamps,  and  cover  a  small  portion  of  the  county.  They  are 
timbered  with  gum,  oak,  dogwood,  beech,  elm,  and  poplar.  The  soil  is  a  blackish  or  brown  heavy  clay  alluvium;  the  subsoil  a  bluish 
clay,  sometimes  a  white  sand,  or  yellow  sand  and  yellow  clay.     Very  little  cotton  is  planted  on  this  soil. 

The  Tar  river  bottoms  occupy  a  very  small  portion  of  the  lands.  They  are  timbered,  and  are  of  the  same  character  as  the  stiff 
bottom  lands. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made  by  rail  to  Norfolk,  Petersburg,  Baltimore,  and  New  York,  and  the  rates  of  freight  per  halo  are  from 
$1  95  to  S3  SO. 

EDGECOMBE. 

Population  :  26,181.— White,  7,968  ;  colored,  1S,213. 

Area:  567  square  miles. — Woodland,  125,083  acres. 

Tilled  lands :  132,S75  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  51,8S0  acres ;  in  corn,  40,235  acres ;  in  wheat,  2,422  acres; 
in  oats,  9,589  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  20,250  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.51  bale,  720  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  240 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Edgecombe,  is  a  typical  county  of  the  long-leaf  pine  region.  It  is  traversed  through  its  middle,  portion  by  the 
Tar  river,  and  is  drained  by  its  numerous  tributaries.  The  soils  are  characteristically  gray,  sandy  loams,  with  a 
yellow  to  brown  subsoil,  and  belong  to  the  region  of  level  piny  uplands.  Along  the  borders  of  the  various  streams 
are  frequent  and  exteusive  tracts  of  alluvial  lands,  and  on  some  of  them  occur  cypress  and  gum  swamps.  This  is 
one  of  the  leading  cotton  counties  of  the  state,  and  on  the  percentage  cotton  map  it  will  be  seen  to  occupy  the.  center 
of  one  of  the  zones  of  greatest  production.  It  stands  second  among  the  counties  of  the  state  in  its  product  of 
cotton,  and  its  corn  crop  is  also  among  the  largest.  The  long-leaf  pines,  which  were  once  found  abundant  over 
the  whole  surface  of  this  county  (and  region),  have  been  thinned  until  they  are.  a  subordinate  element,  so  that, 
the  remaining  forests  are  mainly  of  short-leaf  pine  and  oak. 

Both  commercial  fertilizers  and  the  native  marls  have  been  more  largely  used  than  elsewhere  in  the  state,  and, 
in  connection  with  compost,  most  effectively,  so  that  Edgecombe  has  long  been  foremost  in  this  special  agriculture  of 
the  east.  Of  the  county  area,  30.02  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  39.27  per  cent,  of  the  latter  being  cultivated  in  cotton. 
It  has  the  advantage  of  both  river  and  railroad  transportation. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  REPORTS  OF  MESSRS.  ELIAS  CARR,  OF  OLD  SPARTA,  AND  .1.  L.  BRIDGES,  OF  TAKBOKO'. 

The  chief  soil  cultivated  in  cotton  is  what  is  designated  as  "piny  wood  land",  which  occupies  from  three-fourths  to  four-fifths  of  the 
and  in  this  region,  and  extends  40  miles  north,  east,  and  west,  and  south  to  the  South  Carolina  line.  The  natural  timber  is  long- 
and  short  -leaf  pine,  oak,  gum,  hickory,  and  dogwood.  The  color  of  the  soil  is  blackish  when  new,  wearing  white  with  age.  The  average 
thickness  of  the  surface  soil  is  4  inches,  when  it  changes  into  that  of  the  subsoil,  which  is  generally  a  yellow  sand,  with  a  very  8  -  all 
percentage  of  clay.  The  soil  is  easy  to  till  at  all  seasons.  The  chief  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  and  oats,  but  the  proportion  of  cotton 
planted  is  about  one-half  of  the  whole  acreage.  The  plant  is  most  productive  when  3  feet,  high,  and  only  inclines  to  run  to  weed  on  fresh  and 
ill-drained  land,  but  it,  is  improved  by  draining  and  marling.  Fresh  land  produces  from  400  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  from 
1,400  to  1,540  pounds  of  cotton  being  required  to  make  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint,  which  rates  as  low  middling  when  clean.  After  ten  years* 
cultivation  the  yield  is  almost  nothing.  We  manure  from  the  beginning.  Crab-grass  is  the  most  troublesome  weed. 
074 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  43 

The  quantity  of  cotton  grown  on  otber  soils  is  insignificant.  Bottom  lands  have  a  growth  of  gum,  cypress,  etc.,  and  they  are  best 
adapted  to  corn  and  oats. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made  in  November  and  December,  by  water,  to  Norfolk  and  New  York.  Rates  of  freight  are  $1  40  to  the  former 
and  $2  35  to  the  latter  per  bale. 

The  reports  of  Messrs.  J.  J.  Battle,  of  Rocky  Mount,  and  W.  G.  Lewis,  of  Tarboro',  agree  in  most  points  with 
he  above.  They  add  that  the  spring  is  too  late  and  the  fall  too  early  to  realize  full  crops.  Cotton  runs  to  weed  from 
overmanuring  and  excessive  moisture  in  August,  especially  after  a  dry  June  and  July,  and  the  most  troublesome 
weeds  are  hog-weed  and  crab-grass. 

PITT. 

Population:  21,794— White,  10,704;  colored,  11,090. 

Area:  657  square  miles. — Woodland,  217,222  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  103,302  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  31,147  acres;  in  corn,  40,482  acres;  in  wheat,  3,7S7 ;  in 
rye,  284  acres ;  in  oats,  3,301  acres. 

Cotton  production :  14,879  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.48  bale,  0S1  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  227 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

The  description  of  Edgecombe  county  applies,  with  scarcely  a  change,  to  this  county  also.  The  only  meutionable 
difference  is  that  it  contains  perhaps  a  larger  proportion  of  swampy  lands,  both  along  the  Tar  river  and  its  main 
tributaries  aud  the  two  Ootentneys.  The  body  of  its  area  is  the  normal  level,  upland,  piny  woods,  with  their  usual 
soils  and  forests.  It  is  also  one  of  the  best  cotton  counties,  and  its  grain  crop  is  larger  in  proportion  than  that  of 
most  of  the  cotton  counties,  exceeding  500,000  bushels.  Its  product  of  rice  aud  potatoes  is  also  of  considerable 
importance.  Marl  is  abundant,  and  is  used  with  the  best  results,  as  in  Edgecombe.  Of  the  county  area,  24.57  per 
cent,  is  tilled  land,  and  30.15  per  cent,  of  the  latter  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

ABSTRACT   OP   THE  REPORTS   OF  W.  M.  B.  BROWN,  OF  GREENVILLE,  AND  JAMES  JOTNER,   OP  MARLBORO'. 

The  uplands  are  known  as  "piny  wood  lands" — the  very  best  lands  for  improvement — intersected  by  small  streams  just  sufficient 
for  drainage.  On  the  lowlands  cotton  is  prone  to  grow  too  late  and  be  caught  by  frost ;  hence  uplands  are  preferred  for  cotton,  and  as 
we  are  in  the  marl  belt,  a  great  abundance  of  whieh  is  found  convenient  to  almost  every  farm,  the  use  of  this  as  a  fertilizer  we  find  to 
be  especially  valuable  for  all  crops  when  used  on  the  piny  woods. 

The  chief  soil  cultivated  in  cotton  is  the  piny  woods,  which  occupies  from  three-fourths  to  four-fifths  of  the  lands  in  the  region  and 
embraces  the  whole  of  Greenville  township,  except  the  bottoms  of  the  river  and  the  swamps.  Its  natural  timber  is  pines,  with  oak, 
hickory,  gum,  and  maple.  The  surface  soil,  from  6  to  8  inches  deep,  is  of  a  gray  yellow  color,  blackish  iu  swamp  and  river  bottoms.  The 
piny  woods  are  almost  always  underlaid  with  red  or  yellowish  clay,  with  marl  in  the  branches  or  small  streams.  This  soil  is  best  adapted 
to  cotton,  corn,  and  small  grain,  the  bottoms  being  best  adapted  to  corn,  the  sandy  belt  to  small  grain.  Cotton  occupies  one-half  of  all 
cultivated  land,  and  generally  attains  a  height  of  3  feet,  but  it  is  inclined  to  run  to  weed  in  wet  seasons.  Fresh  land  produces  from  1,000 
to  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,425  pounds  being  required  to  make  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint, which  rates  as  low  middling  when 
clean.  After  five  years'  cultivation  the  product  is  400  pounds  per  acre,  but  the  staple  rates  the  same.  Crab-grass  gives  most  trouble. 
Not  much  land  once  in  cultivation  now  lies  turned  out. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made  by  steamboat  to  Norfolk  and  New  York.     The  rato  of  freight  is  §1  35  to  Norfolk,  and  $2  50  to  New  York. 

GKEEXE. 

Population:  10,037.— White,  4,652;  colored,  5,385. 

Area:  257  square  miles. — Woodland,  82,432  acres. 

Tilled  lands :  75,084  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  16,988  acres ;  in  corn,  25,148  acres ;  in  wheat,  3,638  acres ; 
in  rye,  394  acres ;  in  oats,  1,738  acres. 

Cotton  production :  S,020  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.47  bale,  672  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  224  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

The  small  county  of  Greene,  adjoining  Pitt  on  the  south,  and  drained  by  the  Coteutney  (which  crosses  it  through 
the  middle)  and  its  numerous  tributaries,  has  the  same  general  features,  both  as  to  its  natural  characteristics 
and  as  to  the  development  of  its  agriculture,  as  Edgecombe  county,  but  there  are  considerable  areas  of  sandy  pine 
lands  and  pine  flats  in  the  eastern  angle  and  in  the  southern  section.  Its  streams  are  also  for  the  most  part 
bordered  by  narrow  fringes  of  alluvial  land  and  of  gum  and  cypress  swamps.  It  has  also  along  the  courses  of 
some  of  its  tributaries  considerable  tracts  of  semi-swamp  land,  characterized  by  a  dark  gray  loam  of  great  fertility, 
notably  Lousin  swamp,  near  the  southern  border.  Like  the  preceding  counties,  Greene  finds  marl  and  compost 
essential  to  successful  cotton  farming.  There  are  still  considerable  areas  of  pine  and  cypress  timber  in  the 
county.    Of  the  county  area,  45.65  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  22.63  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

ABSTRACT    OP    THE    REPORTS    OF   W.    P.    GRIMSLEY   AND    "W.    E.    BEST,    OF    SNOW   HILL. 

About  oue-third  of  the  land  in  this  region  is  what  is  termed  very  santh/,  one-fourth  of  which  is  plauted  in  cotton.  Its  natural  timber 
is  pine,  oak,  and  hickory.  The  soil  is  whitish-gray  in  color  to  the  depth  of  5  inches,  when  it  changes  into  that  of  the  subsoil,  which  is  heavier 
than  the  surface  soil,  aud  is  of  a  yellowish  color.  The  chief  crops  are  corn,  cotton,  wheat,  rye,  oats,  and  sweet  and  Irish  potatoes.  Cotton 
usually  attains  a  height  of  from  20  to  30  inches,  is  generally  most  productive  when  24  inches  high,  and  is  not  inclined  to  run  to  weed  on 
this  soil,  fresh  land  produces  from  600  to  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,425  pounds  making  a  475-pound  bale.  After  two  years' 
cultivation  the  product  is  600  pounds  per  acre,  1,485  pounds  being  required  to  make  a  bale.  Carrot  and  crab-grass  are  most  troublesome. 
About  one-tenth  of  such  land  once  cultivated  now  lies  turned  out. 


44  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IX  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

The  sandy  loam,  with  a  clay  subsoil,  occupies  nearly  two-thirds  of  tho  land,  one-half  of  which  is  planted  in  cotton,  its  natural  timber 
being*  nine,  oak,  and  hickory.  The  average  thickness  of  tho  surface  soil  is  5  inches,  which  is  easy  to  till,  and  is  best  adapted  to  cotton, 
corn,  wheat,  and  oats.  Cotton  grows  from  3  to  4  feet  in  height,  but  is  most  productive  when  4  feet  high.  The  product  from  fresh  land 
ranges  from  1,000  to  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and  after  two  years'  cultivation  from  bOO  to  900  pounds,  but  there  is  no 
difference  in  the  staple.     About  one-tenth  of  the  land  once  cultivated  now  lies  turned  out,  hut  when  again  taken  in  it  does  well. 

The  swamps  or  lowlands  occupy  one-twentieth  of  the  lauds  iu  this  region,  and  arc  timbered  with  gum,  poplar,  ash,  maple,  and  bay. 
This  soil  is  best  adapted  to  corn,  very  little  cotton  being  planted. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made  by  flat-boats  to  New  Berne  at  SI  per  bale. 

Population:   13,140.— White,  6,001;  colored,  0,-170. 

Area:  182  square  miles. — Woodland,  175,110  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  50,377  acres. — Area  planted  iu  cotton.  13,144  acres;  iu  corn,  24,209  acres;  iu  wheat,  910  acres; 
in  oats,  1,417  acres. 

Cotton  production :  0,383  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.17  bale,  07S  pouuds  seed-cotton,  or  226  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Martin  county  is  bordered  on  the  north  by  the  very  tortuous  course  of  the  Roanoke  river,  tho  tributary  waters 
of  which  for  the  most  part  drain  it  northward  into  that  river.  The  larger  part  of  its  territory  belongs  to  the 
region  of  level  piny  uplands,  having  a  gray  sandy  loam  soil.  The  higher  ridge  land,  near  the  south  bank  of  the 
Roanoke  river,  has  a  soil  lighter  aud  more  sandy,  and  is  characterized  by  a  considerable  admixture  of  long-leaf 
pine,  and  the  average  proportion  of  oaks  and  short-leaf  pine,  etc.  Along  the  Roanoke  and  some  of  its  tributaries 
there  are  extensive  bottoms  or  alluvial  lands,  and  about  the  head  streams  of  its  tributaries  considerable  tracts  of 
swamp  land. 

The  agriculture  of  the  county  correspouds  iu  its  main  features  to  that  of  Edgecombe  and  the  adjacent  counties, 
but  its  soils  are  less  productive,  and  its  agriculture  is  less  advanced,  partly  because  of  its  large  and  profitable  lumber 
industry  in  the  great  cypress  swamps  of  the  Roanoke.  Marl  is  abundant,  and  is  used  to  a  moderate  extent.  Of 
the  county  area,  18.2S  per  ceut.  is  tilled  laud,  of  which  23.07  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE   REPORTS   OF   J.   R.  LANIER  AND  WILLIAM  SLADE,   OF   WILLIAMSTON. 

Our  uplands  are  much  better  suited  to  cotton  culture  than  the  bottoms  or  lowlands,  as  wo  have  barely  season  enough  to  grow 
cotton  to  perfection.     We  cannot  get  an  early  start  on  the  bottom  lands  in  the  spring. 

The  common  desiguation  of  the  chief  soil  is  piny  wood  levels,  three-fourths  or  more  of  the  county  being  of  this  kind,  extending  all 
through  this  and  many  of  the  adjoining  counties.  Its  timber  is  mostly  long-leaf  or  pitch  pine,  short-leaf  pine,  oak,  aud  dogwood.  Tho 
average  thickness  of  the  surface  soil  is  from  (i  to  20  inches,  when  it  changes  into  the  subsoil,  which  is  mostly  of  a  pale  red  or  yellowish  color. 
The  chief  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  oats,  and  sweet  potatoes,  aud  the  soil,  when  well  fertilized,  is  well  adapted  to  all.  The  proportion 
of  cotton  planted  is  about  one-fourth  or  three-sevenths  of  this  soil.  It  attains  a  height  of  from  2*  to  3  feet,  at  which  it  is  most  productive. 
It  incliues  to  run  to  weed  when  planted  late  on  cold,  rich  bottom  laud,  aud  iu  wet  seasons,  the  best  remedy  for  which  is  kainit.  Fresh 
land  produces  in  a  good  season  from  1,000  to  1,500  pounds  of  seed-eottou  per  acre,  1,425  pounds  making  a  bale  of  lint.  After  two  years' 
cultivation  tho  product  rauges  from  600  to  &00  pounds  per  acre,  the  same  number  of  pounds  being  required  for  a  bale.  Carrot-  aud  hog- 
weeds  are  most  troublesome.     Considerable  damage  is  doue  in  places  by  wash  or  gullies  on  the  slopes. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made  by  steamboat  to  Norfolk,  Baltimore,  and  New  York,  at  the  rates  of  $1  to  Norfolk,  $1  50  to  Baltimore,  and 
$2  to  New  York. 

WILSON. 

Population:  16,001.— White,  8,055 ;  colored,  7,109. 

Area:  376  square  miles. — Woodland,  111,530  acres. 

Tilled  lands :  05,255  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  23,700  acres ;  iu  corn,  27,2S8  acres ;  in  wheat,  2,S01  acres : 
in  oats,  1,590  acres.  • 

Cotton  production:  13,019  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.55  bale,  7S3  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  201 
pounds  cotton  liut. 

Wilson  county  lies  ou  the  western  border  of  the  long-leaf  jiiue  belt,  and  its  soils  belong  almost  exclusively  to 
the  region  of  level  upland  piny  woods,  and  correspond  to  those  of  Edgecombe.  This  county  is  traversed  by 
numerous  streams,  the  most  notable  of  which  is  the  Coteutney,  along  which,  as  well  as  its  tributaries,  are  found 
considerable  tracts  of  alluvial  land  and  swamps  (gum  aud  cypress).  In  all  respects  the  agriculture  of  this  county 
repeats  that  of  Edgecombe  both  as  to  practice  and  as  to  results,  it  will  be  seen,  by  reference  to  the  cotton  percentage 
map  that  this  territory  also  belongs  to  the  region  of  highest  production.  Marl  is  found  in  the  easter  half  of  tho 
county.     Of  the  county  area,  27.12  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  36.33  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

JOHNSTOX. 

Population:    23,161.— White,  15,996  ;  colored,  7,165. 

Area  :  6S9  square  miles. — Woodlaud,  29,906  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  101,107  acres. — Area  planted  iu  cotton,  32,193  acres;  in  tobacco,  36  acres;  iu  corn,  15,015  acres; 
iu  wheat,  3,711  acres;  in  rye,  321  acres  ;  in  oats,  3,176  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  15,151  bales;  average  cotton   product  per  acre,  0.47  bale,  072  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  224 
pounds  cotton  lint. 
576 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  45 

Johnston  county  lies  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Neuse  river  and  its  larger  tributaries,  which  traverse  it  in  a 
southeast  direction,  and  consists  for  the  most  part  of  level  and  gently  rolling  piny  uplands,  with  a  few  small  bodies 
of  more  sandy  and  barren  pine  lands.  It  lies  on  the  western  margin  of  the  long-leaf  pine  region,  its  southeastern 
half  being  characterized  in  its  general  features  by  the  same  soils  and  growth  as  the  average  of  that  belt,  while  along 
the  northwestern  margin  the  lands  are  more  hilly  and  the  piny  belts  are  alternated  along  the  streams  and  more 
hilly  portions  with  oak  and  pine  forests  and  gravelly  loam  soils.  There  are  tracts  of  quite  sandy  soil  in  the  eastern 
section,  while  in  the  middle  section  are  large  bodies  of  pine  flats.  Johnston  is  one  of  the  most  prosperous  counties, 
as  besides  its  large  cotton  crops  the  grain  product  reaches  nearly  500,000  bushels,  and  its  crop  of  potatoes  exceeds 
200,000  bushels.     Of  the  county  area,  23.08  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  30.83  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  REPORT  OF  E.  J.  HOLT,  OF  PRINCETON. 

The  chief  soil  cultivated  in  cotton  is  the  pine  lands,  which  have  a  gray  sandy  soil,  occupy  about  one-half  of  all  the  upland,  and  extend 
40  miles  west,  20  miles  south,  about  50  miles  east,  and  north  to  the  Virginia  line,  about  100  miles.  Its  natural  timber  is  pitch-pine,  oak, 
hickory,  etc.  The  average  thickness  of  the  surface  soil  is  from  4  to  6  inches  before  its  color  changes  into  that  of  the  subsoil,  which  is  a 
yellow  clay,  mixed  with  sand. 

The  chief  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  oats,  potatoes,  pease,  and  wheat,  but  the  soil  is  apparently  best  adapted  to  cotton,  which  crop 
occupies  about  one-third  of  all  the  cultivated  lands.  Cotton  grows  from  2  to  5  feet,  but  is  most  productive  when  4  feet  high.  It  inclines 
to  rnu  to  weed  in  wet  and  warm  weather.  Fresh  land  produces  from  600  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,425  pounds  being  required 
to  make  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint,  which  rates  iu  the  market  as  low  middling  when  clean.  After  ten  years'  cultivation  the  product  ranges 
from  300  to  500  pounds  per  acre,  the  staple  rating  about  the  same  as  that  from  fresh  land.  Crab-grass  and  Jamestown  weed  are  most 
troublesome. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made  as  fast  as  baled  by  rail  to  Goldsboro'  at  60  cents  per  bale. 

WAYNE. 

Population:  24,951.— White,  12,827;  colored,  12,124. 

Area:  601  square  miles. — Woodland,  188,130  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  122,102  acres. — Area  planted  iu  cotton,  32,103  acres;  in  tobacco,  198  acres;  in  corn,  44,469  acres; 
in  wheat,  7,041  acres;  in  rye,  819  acres;  in  oats,  1,779  acres. 

Cotton  production :  14,558  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.45  bale,  645  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  215 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Wayne  county  lies  eastward  of  the  Johnston  county,  south  of  Wilson  county,  and  west  of  Greene,  on  the  waters 
of  the  Neuse,  which  crosses  its  middle  portion  and  drains  almost  the  whole  of  it  directly  and  by  its  tributaries. 
This  county  resembles  in  all  respects  the  adjoining  counties  already  described.  Along  the  Neuse  river  and  some  of 
the  other  streams  are  considerable  bodies  of  alluvial  land  and  semi-swamp,  and  not  infrequently  fringes  of  cypress 
and  gum  swamp.  Along  the  south  bank  of  the  Neuse  is  a  narrow  zone  of  pine  barrens,  conforming  in  its  general 
trend  to  the  curves  of  that  river,  and  having  a  breadth  of  from  1  to  3  miles.  Both  this  county  and  Johnston  have 
still  considerable  areas  of  turpentine  and  timber  lands. 

The  cotton  and  grain  products  of  Wayne  county  are  large,  and  those  of  rice  and  potatoes  are  considerable. 
There  is  an  abundance  of  marl,  and  it  has  been  used  very  profitably  yi  former  years;  but  latterly,  as  iu  the  cotton 
region  generally,  commercial  fertilizers  have  usurped  the  place  of  nearly  all  others.  Of  the  county  area,  31.74  per 
cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  26.29  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE    REPORT    OF   J.  ROBINSON,  OF    GOLDSBORO'. 

The  uplands  vary  but  little  from  one  ridge  to  another,  lying  in  tracts  of  from  100  to  2,500  acres  each.  Cotton  on  the  lowlands  is  liable 
rto  be  late,  and  therefore  uplands  are  preferred. 

The  chief  cotton  soil  is  a  fine  gray,  sandy  Joaw,  underlaid  with  clay,  which  occupies  about  three-eighths  of  the  lands  iu  this  region 
and  extends  all  over  the  county.  It  is  timbered  with  oak  and  piues.  The  leading  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  pease,  and  oats,  and 
the  soil  seems  well  adapted  to  all.  About  one-fourth  of  the  soil  is  planted  in  cotton,  which  attains  the  average  height  of  3  feet,  but  is 
most  productive  when  2^  feet  high,  and  is  apt  to  run  to  weed  in  excessive  rainy,  hot  weather.  Thorough  draining  and  deep  plowing  will 
remedy  this.  Fresh  land  produces  about  600  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,425  pounds  making  a  bale  of  lint,  which,  when  clean,  rates 
in  the  market  as  strict  good  ordinary.  After  three  years'  cultivation  the  product  is  600  pounds  per  acre,  1,425  pounds  making  abate,  the 
staple  rating  lower  than  that  from  fresh  land.  Crab-grass  and  carrot-weed  are  most  troublesome.  About  one-eighth  of  land  once 
cultivated  now  lies  turned  out.     The  other  soils  are  a  fine,  stiff,  brown  soil  and  a  light  sandy  river  soil. 

Cotton  is  shipped  by  rail  to  New  York  at  S2  50  per  bale.  ~ 

LENOIR, 

Population:  15,344. — White,  7,277;  colored,  8,007. 

Area:  457  square  miles. — Woodland,  122,571  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  83,943  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  19,150  acres;  in  corn,  29,S3S  acres;  iu  wheat,  5,067  acres; 
in  rye,  085  acres;  in  oats,  1,000  acres. 

Cotton  production :  8,235  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.43  bale,  612  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  204  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Lenoir  county  lies  on  the  lower  course,  of  the  Neuse,  east  of  Wayne.  The  northern  half  consists  of  level  piny 
uplands  of  the  same  character  as  those  of  the  counties  adjoining  it  on  the  north,  having  narrow  tracts  of  swamp 
land  along  its  water-courses,  while  in  its  western  and  northern  parts  there  are  wide  tracts  of  level  semi-swamp 
37  c  p — VOL.   II  577 


46  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

lands,  which  are  characterized  by  a  dark,  fine  gray  loam  of  great  fertility.  The  southern  half  of  the  county,  south 
of  the  Neuse,  is  characterized  generally  by  a  more  sandy  soil,  and  on  the  higher  divides  between  the  streams  by  narrow 
zones  of  pine  barrens.  The  water-courses  in  this  half  of  the  county  are  also  bordered  by  cypress  and  gum  swamps, 
and  to  some  extent  by  oak  and  pine  flats.  Shell  marl  (blue),  chalk  marl,  and  greensanil  are  all  found  in  tiiis 
county,  one  or  the  other  in  almost  every  neighborhood.  Of  the  county  area,  28.72  per  cent,  is  tilled  laud,  of  which 
22.82  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton.  Means  of  transportation  are  furnished  by  steamboat  and  railroad  to  New 
Berne,  Wilmington,  and  Norfolk. 

DUPLIN. 

Population:  18,773. — White,  10,587;  colored,  S,18C. 

Area:  832  square  miles. — Woodland,  288,505  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  09,314  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  9,054:  acres;  in  corn,  30,813  acres;  in  wheat,  1,031  acres;, 
in  rye,  432  acres ;  in  oats,  433  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  4,499  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.47  bale,  003  poundsseed-cotton,  or  221  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Duplin  county  lies  southward  of  the  two  preceding  counties,  and  partakes  of  their  general  topographical  and 
agricultural  features.  It  is  drained  by  the  Northeast  Cape  Fear  river,  which  flows  southward  through  its  middle 
section,  and  both  this  and  the  numerous  tributaries  are  bordered  by  belts  of  alluvial  and  often  swampy  lauds.  Near  its 
northern  and  eastern  borders  are  two  small  pocosons,  and  within  its  southern  section  lies  one-half  of  the  great  Angola 
Bay  pocoson,  an  almost  impenetrable  jungle  of  the  average  character  of  pocoson  lands,  with  fringes  of  rich  swamp 
lands  on  the  streams  that  issue  from  it.  This  pocoson  is  flanked  on  the  westward  toward  the  Northeast  Cape  Fear 
river  03T  a  fringe  of  fertile  white-oak  flats  and  semi-swamplands.  Between  the  tributaries  of  the  river,  on  the 
divides,  are  several  tracts  of  sandy  pine  hills,  which  are  very  unproductive.  The  col  ton  lands,  which  are  of  limited 
extent,  are  the  level  piny  woods  of  the  usual  description  ;  but  corn  is  a  more  valuable  crop,  and  the  product  of 
potatoes  and  rice  are  of  considerable  importance.  The  county  has  still  valuable  resources  in  timber  and  turpentine 
lands.  Marl  (blue  and  white)  is  abundant,  though  but  little  used.  Of  the  county  area,  13.02  per  cent,  is  tilled 
laud,  of  which  13.93  per  cent,  is  in  cotton. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE  REPORT   OF   J.   A.   BRYAN,  OF   KENANSVILLE. 
(J.  B.  Oliver,  of  Mount  Olive,  also  furninheu  a  report.) 

The  uplands  of  the  county,  comprising  all  kinds  of  soils,  after  being  fertilized,  are  planted  in  cotton  to  a  small) extent.  These 
uplands  are  all  sandy,  but  vary  in  color  and  quality.  Drought  in  May  retards  tbo  cotton  growth  and  rentiers  it  too  late  to  make  a  full 
crop,  and  excessive  rains,  with  cold  weather  during  the  month  of  May  and  early  in  June,  affect  the  plant.  Excessive  drought  in  July 
and  August  induces  rust  sometimes  where  the  soil  is  not  manured  heavily,  but  otherwise  the  cotton-plant  will  thrive  under  as  unfavorable 
weather  as  corn  or  the  other  crops  usually  raised  in  this  county. 

The  soil  principally  cultivated  in  cotton  is  the  stiff  upland  or  loamy  mil.  About  one-third  of  the  land  in  this  region  is  of  this  kind, 
and  it  occurs  in  all  parts  of  the  county  in  areas  of  from  5  to  1,000  acres  each.  Its  timber  growth  is  long-  and  short-leaf  pine,  black  and 
sweet  gums,  oak,  hickory,  and  black-jack.  The  soil  is  a  tine  sandy  loam,  which  varies  in  color  from  a  gray  to  bull,  yellow,  blown,  black, 
and  chocolate.  The  average  thickness  of  the  surface  soil  is  from  10  to  12  inches,  with  a  subsoil  that  is  heavier  and  is  of  a  yellow  or  red 
clay,  that  bakes  hard  when  exposed  to  the  sun.  These  clays  have  from  50  to  75  percent,  of  sand  in  their  composition.  Tbo  soil  ia  easy  to 
till.  Corn,  pease,  sweet  potatoes,  wheat,  and  cotton  are  the  chief  crops  of  the  region,  but  the  soil  is  best  adapted  to  corn,  cotton,  and 
sweet  potatoes.  The  most  productive  height  of  the  cotton-plant  is  4  feet,  but,  it  ruus  to  weed  on  alluvial  or  creek  bottoms  where  there  is 
an  excess  of  moisture  and  organic  matter.  Fresh  lands  produce  300  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and  1,5-15  pounds  will  make  a  bale  of 
lint.  After  four  years'  cultivation  the  product  falls  off,  but  the  staple  rates  about  the  same.  Crab-grass  is  the  most  troublesome  weed. 
Vory  little  land  once  cultivated  now  lies  turned  out. 

The  naturally  drained  land,  or  sandy  upland,  occupies  one-third  of  this  region,  and  extends  '20  miles  through  the  central  portion  of 
the  county,  not  entirely  uninterrupted,  and  is  timbered  with  pine,  black-jack,  red  oak,  chincapin,  hickory,  and  sourwood.  The  average 
thickness  of  the  surface  soil  is  6  inches  before  its  color  changes  into  that  of  the  subsoil,  which  varies  from  a  red  to  yellow  clay,  while 
in  places  a  brown  sand  intervenes  between  the  soil  and  clay.  It  is  easy  to  till,  and  is  early,  warm,  ami  well-drained.  The  proportion  of 
cotton  planted  is  about  one-twentieth  of  the  area  under  cultivation.  Fresh  laud  produces  about  '200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,515 
pounds  of  which  make  a  bale  of  lint,  rating  as  middling  when  clean. 

Gallberry  land*  occupy  one-thirtieth  part  of  the  county,  but  are  located  mostly  in  the  southeastern  part,  and  are  timbered  with  pine, 
gum,  maple,  etc. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made  by  rail  to  Wilmington  at  si  25  per  bale  of  450  pounds. 

Mr.  J.  B.  Oliver,  of  Mount  Olive,  divides  the  soils  into  fine  sandy  upland*,  with  red  oak,  short-leaf  pine,  hickory,  and  dogw 1, 

amounting  to  one-eiflhth  of  the  laud,  and  having  a  soil  0  inches  deep,  one-fourth  of  its  surface  being  planted  in  cotton;  and  pine  upland*, 
with  a  long-leaf  pine  growth,  making  one-fourth  of  the  lands  in  the  section,  one-fourth  of  which  is  in  cotton.  Another  kind  of  land — 
second  pocoson — timbered  with  water  oak,  white  oak,  overeup  oak,  rosemary  ])iue  (P.  trt'rfa),and  sweet  and  blue  gam,  has  a  clay-loam  soil 
4  feet  deep  and  a  subseU  of  whitish,  sticky  clay.  Very  little  of  this  soil  is  planted  in  cotton,  as  it  is  better  for  corn.  The  troublesome 
weeds  are  hog-weed,  yellow-top,  and  crab-grass.     The  seasons  are  short  between  late  and  early  killing  frosts,  April  '20  and  October  20. 

SAMPSON. 

Population:  22,894.— White,  13,347;  colored.  9.547. 

Area:  904  square  miles. — Woodland,  374,570  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  110,S92  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  15,340  acres;  in  tobacco,  2S  acres;  in  corn,  53,954  acres; 
in  wheat,  1,249  acres;  in  rye,  409  acres;  in  oats,  054  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  0,291  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.41  bale,  5.85  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  195  pounds 
cotton  lint. 
578 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  47 

Sampson  county  lies  in  the  middle  of  the  long-leaf  pine  belt,  and  much  the  larger  part  of  its  territory  represents 
the  average  character  of  the  soils  and  forests  of  that  belt.  It  is  drained  by  South  river,  one  of  the  principal 
tributaries  of  the  Cape  Fear,  whose  streams  divide  its  territory  into  north-  and  south  lying  belts  or  zones — nattish 
swells  the  higher  portions  of  which  are  characterized  by  sandy  soils  and  forests  predominantly  of  long-leaf  pine. 
In  places  near  the  southern  and  western  margins,  and  again  near  the  northern  end,  there  are  tracts  which  are  quite 
sandy  and  approach  the  character  of  pine  barrens.  There  are  also  extensive  pine  flats,  especially  on  the  waters  of 
Six  Runs,  with  here  and  there  considerable  bodies  of  pine  and  oak  flats. 

The  corn  crop  of  the  county  is  much  more  important  than  that  of  cotton,  reaching  nearly  500,0(10  bushels,  and 
the  crops  of  potatoes  and  rice  are  both  unusually  large.  There  are  also  large  bodies  of  virgin  pine  timber,  still 
valuable  both  for  turpentine  and  for  lumber.  Marl  is  abundant,  and  is  used  with  the  best  results  in  some  sections, 
chiefly  the  northern.  Of  the  county  area,  18.95  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  13.13  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in 
cotton. 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE    REPORT    OF    A.    A.    Jl'KAY,    OF    CLINTON. 

Cotton  depends  very  much  upon  a  warm  spring,  so  that  it  can  start  up  sufficiently  to  get  out  of  the  way  of  the  grass.  Since 
commercial  fertilizers  have  come  into  use,  the  cotton  has  heen  so  pushed  that  the  frost  in  tho  fall  scarcely  ever  catches  it,  ox  at  least  few 
green  holla  are  affected.  The  kinds  of  soils  cultivated  in  cotton  are  generally  a  soil  that  is  stiff,  caused  by  the  clay  being  near  tho 
surface,  and  the  rich  saudy  loams. 

The  chief  soil  is  a  daijcij  and  sandy  loam,  which  occupies  about  two-thirds  of  the  lands  in  this  region,  and  is  timbered  principally 
with  long-leaf  pine;  many  oak  ridges  have  a  growth  of  riiaple,  poplar,  black  and  sweet  gum,  elm,  hickory,  cypress,  juniper,  ash,  beech, 
holl  v,  dogwood,  and  cedar.  The  chief  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  pease,  sweet  potatoes,  wheat,  rye,  oats,  tobacco,  etc. ,  but  the  soil  is  best  adapted 
to  corn  and  cotton,  and  about  one-fourth  of  every  farm  is  planted  in  cotton.  The  plant  usually  attains  a  height  of  from  3^  to  4  feet,  and 
is  most  productive  at  that  height.  It  does  not  incline  to  run  to  weed,  except  on  alluvial  lands  or  lands  very  highly  manured;  topping 
favors  boiling. 

Fresh  laud  produces  about  750  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  about  1,425  pounds  making  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint,  which,  when, 
clean,  rates  in  the  market  as  low  middling.  After  ten  years'  cultivation  the  yield  per  acre  is  300  pounds.  Cocklebur  is  the  most 
troublesome  weed.  About  two-fifths  of  land  once  cultivated  now  lies  turned  out,  and  when  again  taken  in  produces  better  than  if 
cultivated  every  year.  Tho  valleys  are  improved  by  the  washings  of  the  slopes.  Efforts  have  been  made  to  cheek  the  damage  done  to. 
the  slopes,  by  plowing  in  curved  lines  and  by  hillside  ditching,  with  profit  to  the  lands  and  to  the  crops. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made  in  November  by  rail  to  Wilmington.  The  rates  of  freight  are  50  cents  per  bale  to  Wilmington  and  §2  50 
to  New  York.     Most  of  the  cotton  in  the  county  is  sold  to  merchants  in  Clinton,  the  county-seat. 

CUMBERLAND. 

Population:  23,830.— White,  12,594;  colored,  11,242. 
Area  :  082  square  miles. — Woodland,  204,178  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  51,238  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  9,210  acres;  in  corn,  32,077  acres;  in  wheat,  1,141  acres; 
in  rye,  1,513  acres ;  in  oats,  1,500  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  3,905  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.42  bale,  003  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  201  pounds 
cotton  lint- 
Through  the,  middle  of  Cumberland  county,  from  its  western  margin,  on  the  Moore  county-line,  to  the  Cape 
Fear  river,  which  crosses  the  eastern  side  of  the  county,  lies  a  broad,  irregular  zoue  of  pine  barrens  with  a  very 
sandy  and  unproductive,  soil  and  an  almost  exclusive  growth  of  long-leaf  pine.  On  both  sides  of  this  zoue,  along  the 
northern  and  southern  sections  of  the  county,  with  unimportant  exceptions,  and  in  the  section  eastward  of  the 
Cape  Fear  river,  the  soils  belong  to  the  class  of  gray  sandy  loams  of  the  average  upland  piny  woods.  Near  the 
river,  on  both  sides,  are  large  tracts  of  semi-swamp  and  oak  and  pine  flats,  which  are  very  productive.  Many  of  the 
streams  which  flow  from  the  central  pine  barrens  of  the  county  contain  narrow  fringes  of  gum  and  cypress  swamp, 
and  the  swampy  tracts  along  the  river  often  contain  a  considerable  percentage  of  cypress.  The  turpentine,  and 
lumber  interests  are  still  important.  Of  the  county  area,  8.03  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  10.98  per  ceut.  is 
cultivated  in  cotton. 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE    REPORT    OF    O.   EVANS,    OF    IDAHO. 

The  uplands  are  much  better  for  cotton  than  the  lowlands,  but  if  the  fall  is  late  the  lowlands  are  the  best.  The  kinds  of  soil  cultivated 
in  cotton  are  sandy  and  clay  loams.  The  clay  soil  is  the  chief,  and  occupies  two-thirds  of  the  land  in  this  region,  two-thirds  of  which  is 
planted  in  cotton.  It  is  timbered  with  sweet  gum,  pine,  oak,  etc."  The  chief  crops  are  cotton  and  corn,  but  the  soil  is  apparently  best 
adapted  to  cotton.  The  plant  is  most,  productive  when  2  feet  high,  and  runs  to  weed  in  rich,  damp  lands.  Fresh  lauds  produce  1,000 
pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and  1,425  pounds  will  make  a  475-pound  hale  of  lint.  After  five  years'  cultivation  the  product  is  000 
pounds  per  acre,  the  staple  comparing  favorably  with  that  from  fresh  land.  Cocklebur  is  the  most  troublesome  weed.  About  one-fifth 
of  the  laud  once  cultivated  now  lies  turned  out. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made  in  November  and  December,  by  rail  and  steamboat,  to  Wilmington  and  New  York,  and  the  rates  of 
freight  are  from  75  cents  to  %l  50  per  bale. 

HARNETT. 

Population:  10,802.— White,  7,092;  colored,  3,770. 

Area :  001  square  miles. — Woodland,  175,090  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  42,173  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  9,281  acres;  in  tobacco,  32  acres;  in  corn,  21,244  acres;  in 
wheat,  2,393  acres;  in  rye,  489  acres;  in  oats,  1,202  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  3,027  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.39  bale,  558  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  180  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Harnett  county  lies  on  both  sides  of  the  Cape  Fear  river,  on  the  northwestern  margin  of  the  long-leaf  pine  belt. 
Near  the  river,  and  for  several  miles  on  both  sides,  its  surface  is  quite  hilly  in  its  upper  portion,  and  here  the  soil 
is  of  the  intermediate  character  described  on  page  10  as  oak  and  pine  sandy  and  gravelly  hills.     On  the  tops  of  the 

579 


48  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

ridges  and  liver  hills  llie.se  soils  are  gray,  sandy  loams;  but  on  the  slopes  they  approach  the  character  of  clay  loams, 
and  are  covered  mainly  with  forests  of  oak  and  short-leaf  pine.  The  body  of  the  county  belongs  strictly  to  the  long- 
leaf  pine  belt,  and  has  the  general  characteristics  of  that  region.  The  western  section,  as  well  as  a  narrow  belt  in  the 
middle  near  the  south  bank  of  the  river  and  some  portions  of  the  south  side,  partakes  in  part  of  the  character  of 
the  pine  barrens.  Near  the  river,  and  along  its  principal  tributaries  from  the  west,  and  in  (he  angles  between  these 
and  the  river,  are  wide  tracts  of  gray,  clayey,  silty  lands  (oak  and  pine  Hats)  and  occasional  narrow  strips  of  gum 
and  cypress  swamp.  Cotton  production  is  the  principal  industry  of  the  county,  but  grain,  lumber,  and  turpentine 
are  also  important  products.  Of  the  county  area,  10.96  per  cent,  is  tilled  land, 'of  which  22.0]  percent,  is  cultivated 
in  cotton. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE   REPORT   OF  H.   0.    M'NEILL,  OF  LILLINGTON. 

The  upland  soil  tines  not  vary  mucb,  anil  the  only  difference  in  the  first  two  described  is  that  there  is  some  sand  in  one  and  none  or 
very  little  in  the  other.     Tho  cotton  in  the  lowlands  is  late  and  runs  too  much  to  weed,  and  is  liable  to  be  prematurely  killed  by  frost. 

Tire  gray  upland  soil  is  a  mixture  of  putty-like  land  and  coarse  sand,  and  such  is  nearly  all  tho  land  between  the  Cape  Fear  and  Lit  tit- 
rivers  for  several  miles  before  they  unite.  Its  natural  timber  is  oak,  dogwood,  sweet  gum,  hickory,  and  pine.  The  average  thickness 
of  the  surface  soil  is  18  inches,  and  tho  subsoil  is  a  clay  or  yellow  loam,  becoming  by  cultivation  like  surface  soil.  The  chief  crops  arc 
cotton,  corn,  wheat,  ami  oats,  but  the  soil  is  best  adapted  to  cotton  and  corn.  The  proportion  of  cotton  planted  is  one-half  of  the  land 
cultivated:  it  attains  Ihe  height  of  from  1  to  4  feet,  and  is  most  productive  when  from  2}  to  3  feet  high.  On  new  laud,  and  in.  wet  weather, 
it  inclines  to  run  to  weed.  Fresh  land  produces  from  GOO  to  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,480  pounds  making  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint. 
Alter  ten  years'  cultivation  the  product  is  from  300  to  400  pounds  per  acre.     Hog-weed  is  the  most,  troublesome. 

The  gray  upland  dark-loam  soil,  with  very  little  or  no  sand,  occupies  about  one-third  of  the  lands  in  this  region.  It  joins  the  Cape 
Tear  bottoms,  and  extends  about  10  miles.  The  thickness  of  the  surface  soil  is  12  inches,  over  a  subsoil  of  yellow  clay,  one-half  of  which 
is  planted  in  cotton. 

The  yellow-loam  mil,  which  runs  alongside  of  the  Cape  Fear  river,  is  to  some  extent  subject  to  overflow.  The  proportion  of  cotton 
planted  is  very  small,  and  the  natural  timber  is  heavy  oaks  and  gums  of  both  kinds.  The  subsoil  is  a  red  clay,  becoming  very  hard  when 
exposed,  but  like  the  surface  soil  when  under  cultivation.  The  cotton-plant  inclines  to  run  to  weed  under  all  circumstances.  Guano 
favors  boiling,  and  causes  the.  cotton  to  open  better.     Iron-weed  is  thickall  over  this  land. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made  by  rail  to  Fayetteville  and  Raleigh.     Kate  of  freight  per  bale,  $1  25. 

MOORE. 

Population:  16,821.— White,  11,485;  colored,  5,336. 

Area:  807  square  miles. — Woodland,  281,934  acres. 

Tilled  hinds:  08,780  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  8,SS2  acres;  in  tobacco,  70  acres;  in  corn,  27,934  acres;  in 
wheat,  11,242  acres;  in  rye,  1,512  acres;  in  oats,  7,924  acres. 

Cotton  production :  3,988  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.45  bale,  039  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  213 pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Moore  county  lies  on  the  western  margin  of  the  long-leaf  pine  belt.  Its  middle  and  southern  portion  belongs 
hugely  to  1  lie  class  of  lands  called  pine  barrens  or  "sand  hills".  The  northern  part  of  this  triangular  territory 
partakes  more  of  the  character  of  the  oak  uplands  agricultural  division,  being  very  hilly  and  broken,  with  sandy 
and  gravelly  soil  on  the  higher  ridges,  having  a  mixed  oak  and  pine  growth,  and  on  the  slopes  of  the  hills  partaking 
of  the  character  of  clay  loams. 

Near  the  middle  (a  little  north  of  east),  as  well  as  in  the  southwestern  region,  and  in  the  eastern  one,  are 
considerable  bodies  of  level  and  rolling  upland  piny  woods.  These  are  the  best  cotton  soils.  The  tributaries  of  the. 
Cape  Fear,  which  rise  along  the  southeastern  section  of  the  county,  are  fringed  with  gum,  cypress,  and  juniper 
swamps,  and  on  many  of  the  streams,  large  and  small,  are  patches,  and  sometimes  considerable  tracts,  of  alluvial 
•'bottom"  lands.  The  agriculture  of  the  county  is  divided  between  cotton  and  grain  crops;  but  the  lumber  and 
turpentine  interests  are  quite  important,  and  there  arc  yet  large  turpentine  forests  untouched. 

Of  the  county  area,  13. 32  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  12.91  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE   REPORTS  OF   J.  31.  JOY,  OF  JONESBOEO',  AND  DR.  J.  C.  CAMPBELL,  OF   CARTHAGE. 

The  bottoms  of  Deep  river  and  its  tributaries  are  our  most  valuable  corn  soils,  and  arc  not  cultivated  in  cotton.  They  are  estimated 
to  form  one-twentieth  of  the  whole. 

About  four-fifths  of  the  land  in  this  region  embraces  what  is  termed  "Handy  aoiV,  and  extends  to  the  Atlantic  coast  on  the  south. 
The  timber  is  pine,  oak,  hickory,  black-jack,  chincapin,  and  dogwood.  The  color  of  the  soil  varies  from  a  whitish-gray  to  a  yellowish- 
brown  and  blackish  to  the  depth  of  G  inches,  when  it  changes  into  that  of  the  subsoil,  which  in  some  places  is  soft  sand,  in  others  red  or 
yellow  clay.     The  soil  is  early,  warm,  and  well  drained.     The  chief  crops  arc  corn,  cotton,  "wheat,  oats,  potatoes,  and  pease. 

The  proportion  of  cotton  planted  is  about  one-fifth,  and  usually  grows  from  1  to  4  feet  in  height,  3  feet,  being  the  most  productive 
height.  It  inclines  to  run  to  weed  when  grown  on  fresh  or  damp  land.  Fresh  land  produces  about  600  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre, 
1.  100  pounds  making  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint,  the  staple,  when  clean,  rating  as  middling.  After  ten  years'  cultivation  the  product  is  400 
pounds  per  acre,  and  the  staple  is  shorter  than  that  from  fresh  land.  Crab-grass  is  the  most  troublesome.  About  one-fourth  of  the  land 
once  cultivated  now  lies  turned  out.     No  great  damage  is  done  by  washing  or  gullying  ou  the  slopes. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made  by  rail  to  Raleigh  at  SI  25,  anfi  [0  Fayetteville  at  75  cents  per  bale. 

EICHMOXD. 

Population  :  18,245.— White,  8,141;  colored,  10,104. 
Area  :  826  square  miles. — Woodland.  216,096  acres. 

Tilled  hinds  :  75,268  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  25,198  acres  ;  in  corn,  29,502  acres;  in  wheat,  3,751  acres; 
in  rye,  942  acres ;  in  oats,  3,571  acres. 

680 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  49 

Cotton  production  :  12,754  bales;  average  cottou  product  per  acre,  0.01  bale,  720  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  210 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Richmond  county  also  lies  on  the  border  of  the  long-leaf  pine  belt,  its  eastern  and  southern  portions,  forming  not 
less  than  three-fourths  of  its  territory,  belonging  to  the  latter,  while  its  western  and  northern  parts,  lying  along  and 
near  the  Great  Pedee  river,  belong  more  properly  in  their  agricultural  features  to  the  zone  of  oak  and  pine  sandy 
hills  being  quite  hilly,  and  in  some  places  rugged.  The  slopes  of  the  hills  on  the  river  front  and  its  tributaries 
are  quite  steep  and  broken,  and  have  a  clay  loam  soil,  which  is  covered  by  oak  and  short-leaf  pine  forests.  In  the 
northwestern  corner,  on  the  Pedee  and  its  tributaries,  are  wide  tracts  of  level  gray  loam  soils,  originally  covered 
with  heavy  oak  forests.  Through  the  eastern  portion  of  the  county,  in  a  north  and  south  direction,  lies  a  considerable 
tract  of  pine  barrens,  which  is  very  sandy  and  unproductive.  The  streams  which  drain  the  southeastern  section  of 
the  county  (one- third  of  its  territory)  flow  into  Lumber  river,  and  are  margined  through  their  whole  course  by  alluvial 
tracts  and  cypress  swamps,  the  divides  between  these  parallel  and  south  flowing  streams  being  occupied  by  level 
upland  piny-woods  tracts  having  a  gray  sandy  loam  soil  of  fair  productiveness.  Cotton  is  the  chief  single  interest, 
but  the  product  of  grain  is  large,  and  the  turpentine  and  lumber  interests  are  still  important.  Of  the  county  area, 
14.21  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  33.48  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cottou. 

ROBESON. 

Population:  23,8S(). — White,  11,042;  colored,  11,038. 

Area:  1,039  square  miles. — Woodland,  383,093  acres. 

Tilled  lands  :  103,0,5.3  acres. — Area  planted  in  cottou,  21,607  acres ;  in  corn,  49,961  acres ;  in  wheat,  S75  acres; 
in  rye,  1,548  acres ;  in  oats,  2,814  acres. 

Cotton  production :  8,846  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.41  bale,  5S2  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  194  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

The  soils  of  Robeson  county  are  mainly  those  of  the  ordinary  level  piny  woods,  but  there  are  belts  of  gum  and 
cypress  swam])  along  nearly  all  of  its  water-courses,  those  on  the  two  main  streams  being  quite  large.  The  county 
is  drained  by  the,  upper  waters  of  Lumber  river,  which  enters  the  Atlantic  through  the  state  of  South  Carolina  at 
Georgetown.  On  the  higher  divides  between  the  streams  the  soil  is  sometimes  quite  sandy,  in  some  places  reaching 
the  character  of  pine  barrens.  The  lands  are  chiefly  devoted  to  the  culture  of  cottou  and  corn,  but,  the  value  of  the 
potato  and  rice  crops  is  quite  considerable.  Turpentine  and  lumber  are  also  large  interests.  Marl  is  found 
abundantly  in  the  lower  half  of  the  county.  Of  the  county  area,  15.50  per  cent,  is  tilled  laud,  of  which  20.96  per 
cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton.     Shipments  are  made  by  rail  to  Wilmington. 

BLADEX. 

Population:  10,158. — White,  7,59S;  colored,  8,t>60. 

Area  :  1,026  square  miles. — Woodland,  297,237  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  37,990  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  1,018  acres;  in  corn,  21,556  acres;  in  wheat,  109  acres;  in 
oats,  362  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  683  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.42  bale,  603  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  201  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Bladen  county  lies  south  of  Cumberland,  and,  like  it,  on  both  sides  of  the  Cape  Fear  river.  It  has  narrow  zones 
of  pine  barrens  running  parallel  to  the  river  courses  nearly  the  whole  length  of  the  county,  and  it  also  abounds  in 
cypress  swamps  and  alluvial  "  bottoms  "-along  its  streams.  There  are  also  large  bodies  of  level  piny  woods.  Marl 
is  found  in  the,  bluffs  of  the  river.  On  many  of  the  streams  are  extensive  bodies  of  gum  and  cypress  swamps.  This 
county  has  a  very  limited  agriculture,  the  chief  crop  being  corn ;  and  very  little  cotton  is  produced,  turpentine  and 
lumber  being  still  among  the  chief  interests.  Of  the  county  area,  only  5.70  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  4.20  per 
cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

ABSTRACT    OF   THE   REPORT    OF   D.    A.    LAMONT,    OF    BRINKXAND. 

The  upland  soils  vary  greatly  in  appearance  and  quality,  and  may  be  fouud  iu  spots  and  patches  of  from  1  to  300  acres.  Cottou 
in  the  lowlands  will  not  mature,  and  is  subject  to  be  hilled  by  frost ;  therefore  the  uplands  are  always  preferred. 

Three  kinds  of  soils  may  be  distinguished  : 

(1.)  The  gray  gravelly  soil,  with  clay  subsoil,  forming  about  one-third  of  the  land  in  this  region.  Its  natural  timber  is  cypress,  oak, 
poplar,  ash,  hickory,  gum,  pine,  and  walnut.  The  crops  are  corn,  cottou,  and  small  grain,  but  the  soil  is  best  adapted  to  cotton,  corn, 
and  oats.  The  cottou  crop  occupies  about  one-fourth  of  the  lands,  and  is  most,  productive  when  3  feet  high.  It  is  inclined  to  run  to  weed 
in  the  richest  land  and  in  wet  seasons,  and  eiforts  are  made  to  restrain  this  tendency  by  topping  and  by  usiug  less  heating  manures.  The 
product  from  fresh  land  ranges  from  1,200  to  1,500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,425  pounds  making  a  475-pound  bale,  which  rates  in  the 
market  as  good  middling.  After  three  years'  cultivation  the  land  yields  from  800  to  1,000  pounds  per  acre,  from  1,4-25  to  1,540  pounds 
being  required  to  make  a  bale,  which  rates  as  low  middling.  Rag- weed  and  hog-weed  are  most  troublesome.  About  one-third  of  the  laud 
once  cultivated  now  lies  turned  out,  hut  when  it  is  again  taken  iu  it  is  found  to  be  much  improved.  The  valleys  are  considerably 
improved  by  the  washings  of  the  uplands. 

(2.)  Chocolate-colored  soil,  rich  by  deposits,  occupies  one-sixth  of  the.  lands  in  a  belt  one-half  a  mile  wide  by  from  12  to  15  miles  long. 
The  average  thickness  is  2  feet  before  changing  into  that  of  the  subsoil,  which  is  heavier  and  sticky.  This  soil  is  best  adapted  to  corn, 
wheat,  and  oats.     Cotton  runs  to  weed  under  all  circumstances. 

(3.)  Black  soil,  mixed  with  coarse  and  line  sand,  occupies  one-half  as  much  surface,  and  is  about  10  miles  loug  by  2  miles  wide.     This 

soil  is  timbered  with  pine,  bay,  black  gum,  and  gallherry.     The  subsoil  contains  pipe-clay,  and  is  adapted  to  corn,  potatoes,  and  cotton  ; 

but  one-fifteenth  of  this  soil  is  planted  in  the  latter  crop.     Fresh  land  produces  from  600  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cottou  per  acre,  which 

rates  in  the  market  as  middling. 

Cottou  shipments  are  made  by  steamboat  to  "Wilmington.     Rates  of  freight,  per  bale,  50  cents. 

5S1 


50  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


OAK    UPLANDS,   OR   METAMOEPHIC    REGION. 

(This  region  embraces  the  following  counties  and  parts  of  counties:  Warren,  Franklin,  Granville,  Wake,  Orange, 
Chatham,  Montgomery,  Anson,  Union,  Stanley,  Davidson,  Rowan,  Cabarrus,  Mecklenburg,  Iredell,  Catawba, 
Lincoln,  Gaston,  Cleavcland,  Rutherford,  Randolph,  Guilford,  Alamance,  Person,  Caswell,  Rockingham,  Stokes, 
Forsyth,  Davie,  Yadkin,  Surry,  Wilkes,  Alexander,  Caldwell,  Burke,  McDowell,  and  Polk.) 

WARREK 

Population:  22,619.— White,  0,386;  colored,  16,233. 

Area:  507  square  miles. — Woodland,  140,528  acres. 

Tilled  lands :  83,804  acres  ;  area  planted  in  cotton,  21,003  acres;  in  tobacco,  1,759  acres;  in  corn,  28,457  acres; 
in  wheat,  5,098  acres  ;  in  oats.  5,55!)  acres. 

Gotton  production :  7,778  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre.  0.36  bale,  513  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  1  71  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Warren  county  lies  on  the  northern  border  of  the  state,  and  is  bounded  in  part  by  the  Roanoke  river,  the 
tributaries  of  which  drain  about  one-half  of  its  territory,  the  southern  half  being  drained  by  the  Tar  river.  Through 
the  middle  of  the  county,  along  the  divide  between  these  rivers,  lies  a  wide,  level,  and  undulating  tract,  with  forests 
of  oak  and  short-leaf  pine,  hickory,  dogwood,  etc.,  having  generally  a  soil  of  the  class  of  gray  and  yellowish 
gravelly  and  sandy  loam,  and  frequently  belts  of  red-clay  loam.  Northward  and  southward  the  land  becomes  more 
hilly,  and  near  the  streams  the  soil  is  more  clayey  and  often  reddish  in  color.  Many  of  these  streams  are  bordered 
by  narrow  strips  of  level  bottom  land.  The  tributaries  of  the  Tar  on  the  southern  side  are  separated  by  wide 
tracts  of  nearly  level  oak  uplands,  and  are  bordered  by  extensive  bottoms.  This  portion  of  the  county  is  also  less 
broken  than  the  northern.  The  agriculture  of  the  county  is  divided  between  the  production  of  cotton,  tobacco, 
and  tin'  cereals;  but  the  vine  and  the  peach  flourish,  especially  in  the  northern  and  western  sections  lying  within 
the  hill  country.  The  western  border  of  the  county  rises  to  an  elevation  of  500  feet,  so  that  there  is  abundant  water 
power  developed  by  the  fall  of  its  numerous  streams,  many  of  which  leave  its  territory  at  an  elevation  of  less  than 
200  feet.  Gold  mining  has  been  a  profitable  industry  in  the  southern  corner  of  the  county  and  the  neighboring 
parts  of  Halifax,  Nash,  and  Franklin. 

Of  the  county  area,  25,84  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  25.76  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton.  Transportation 
to  market  is  furnished  by  railroad  to  Raleigh,  Norfolk,  and  New  York. 

FRANKLIN. 

Population:  20,829.— White,  0,470;  colored,  11,353. 

Area:  520  square  miles. — Woodland,  140,004  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  87,402  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  30,274  acres  ;  in  tobacco,  118  acres  ;  in  corn,  32,642  acres; 
in  wheat,  8,302  acres:  in  oats,  5.500  acres. 

Cotton  production:  12,938  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.43  bale,  009  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  203 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Franklin  county  lies  south  of  Warren,  and  corresponds  very  nearly  in  all  its  agricultural  and  topographical 
features  with  the  description  of  that  county.  The  eastern,  and  especially  the  southeastern  sections  contain  a 
considerable  proportion  of  long-leaf  pine  as  a  constituent  of  the  forests.  This  county  is  drained  by  the  Tar  river 
and  its  tributaries.  The  middle  portion  belongs  to  the  region  of  oak  and  pine  gravelly  and  sandy  hills,  and  the 
western  end  rises  into  the  oak  uplands.  The  large  cotton  product  of  this  county  is  of  recent  date,  but  here  and 
in  the  adjoining  counties  it  has  greatly  increased  in  (lie  last  dozen  years.  The  western  half  is  largely  devoted  to 
the  culture  of  tobacco.  Of  the  county  area,  25.99  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  34.00  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in 
cotton. 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE    REPORT    OF    BLAIR   BURVYELL,  OF   LOUISBFEG. 

'tin-  kinds  of  soils  cultivated  in  cotton  are  as  follows:  (1)  Sandy  soil,  with  yellow-clay  subsoil;  (2)  sandy  soil,  with  red-clay 
subsoil ;  (3)  Mack  sandy  soil,  with  close  black  subsoil, 

The  chief  soil  is  the  sandy,  which  forms  about  two-thirds  of  the  land  in  this  region,  and  is  the  leading  soil  in  the  counter,  with 
nowr  and  then  soil  No.  2  iu  the  northern  part  of  the  county  and  occasionally  soil  No.  ::  in  the  east  and  south.  Its  chief  natural  timber  is 
short-leaf  pine,  with  some  long-leaf  pine  in  the  southeast.  The  average  thickness  of  the  surface  soil  before  its  color  changes  is  from  :'  to 
6'  inches.  Cotton  and  corn  are  the  chief  crops,  but  the  soil  seems  best  adapted  to  cotton,  winch  occupies  about  one- third  of  the  cultivated 
acreage.  The  plant  is  most  productive  at  Qi  feet,  but  reaches  from  H  to  3^  feet.  Wet  weather  in  June  or  July  makes  it  run  to  weed,  and 
topping  succeeds  partially  in  making  it  boll.  Fresh  land  produces  500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  1,425  pounds  making  a  475-pound  bale, 
which,  when  clean,  rates  in  tie-  market  as  middling.  After  three  years'  cultivation  the  yield  is  from  400  to  600  pounds  per  acre,  and  1,425 
pounds  make  a  bale,  which  rates  the  same  as  the  fresh.  Wire-  and  crab-grass  are  most  troublesome.  About  one-third  of  the  land 
originally  cultivated  now  lies  turned  out,  but  when  again  taken  in  it  produces  a  fair  yield.  It  gullies  readily  on  the  slopes,  but  no 
serious  damage  is  done.  The  valleys  are  often  injured  by  the  washings  of  the  uplands,  and  efforts  have  been  made,  with  fair  success, 
to  check  the  damage  by  horizontalizing. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made  by  rail  to  Norfolk  and  Raleigh,  and  the  rates  of  freight  per  halo  are  to  Norfolk  S2  25,  and  to  Raleigh  75 
cents. 

6S2 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  51 

GBANVILLE. 

Population:  31,286.— White,  1.3,003;  colored,  17,083. 

Area:  095  square  miles. — Woodland,  161,089  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  145,030  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  0,559  acres;  in  tobacco,  8,941  acres;  in  corn,  42,008  acres; 
in  wheat,  14,428  acres ;  in  oats,  14,344  acres. 

Cotton  production :  2,535  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.39  bale,  552  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  184  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Granville  county  lies  on  the  Virginia  border  west  of  the  two  preceding  counties,  and  is  drained  partly  toward 
the  north  by  the  tributaries  of  the  Roanoke  and  partly  (in  its  middle  region)  by  the  Tar,  and  in  its  southern  portions 
by  the  Neuse.  In  its  central  and  higher  portions,  where  it  is  500  feet  above  tide,  it  is  comparatively  level  and 
rolling,  and  has,  for  the  most  part,  a  gray  gravelly  loam  soil,  with  here  and  there  small  tracts  of  red  clay.  Among 
the  most  productive  soils  is  a  level  body  of  oak  and  hickory  land  in  the  northern  section  with  a  dark  gravelly -loam 
soil.  Smaller  tracts  of  similar  character  occur  near  the  middle,  and  also  on  the  southern  border.  The  southern 
portion  of  the  county,  along  the  divide,  between  the  waters  of  the  Tar  and  Neuse  rivers,  is  another  comparatively 
level  bench  of  land,  belonging  mainly  to  the  class  of  gray  sandy  loams,  derived  in  large  part  from  the  underlying 
Triassie  rocks  (red  sandstone).  These  alternate  with  gray  gravelly  loams.  The  forests  are  of  oaks,  hickory,  and 
dogwood,  intermingled  with  short-leaf  pine.  The  principal  agricultural  product  of  this  county  is  the  gold-leaf 
tobacco,  which  is  the  largest  crop  in  the  state — more  than  4,500,000  pounds. 

The  gray  and  light  colored  granite  soils  of  the  eastern,  middle,  and  western  sections,  as  well  as  the  last-named 
(Triassie)  soils,  are  noted  tor  the  high  grade  of  tobacco  which  they  produce.  This  is  also  a  large  grain-growing 
county,  its  aggregate  reaching  nearly  750,000  bushels.  Of  the  county  area  32.01  per  cent,  is  under  tillage,  of  which 
4.52  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE    REPORTS    OF    J.   Vv\   HUNTER,    OF  KITTRELL,    AND    S.    P.    J.    HARRIS,    OF   HENDERSON. 

The  uplands  are  rolling,  partly  sandy  and  partly  mulatto,  and  the  soil  is  generally  uniform,  with  no  great  change  of  soil  or  surface 
in  the  southern  part.  The  springs  are  generally  late  and  frosts  early.  The  former  prevents  planting  as  early  as  we  would  like,  and  the 
latter  often  cuts  off  the  yield  sometimes  as  much  as  25  per  cent. ;  but  otherwise  our  climate  is  good  for  the  growth  of  cotton. 

The  soils  cultivated  in  cotton  are,  first,  a  light  sandy  and  gravelly  soil ;  second,  mulatto  and  red  lands;  and  third,  a  red,  stiff  clay. 
The  chief  soil  is  the  sandy  soil,  about  one-half  of  the  lands  being  of  this  kind.  Its  natural  timber  is  pine,  oak,  hickory,  gum,  and  black- 
jack. The  soil  varies  from  a  hue  sandy  to  a  gravelly  loam  of  a  gray  color,  and  has  a  depth  of  6  inches.  The  subsoil  is  mostly  a  red,  firm 
clay,  which  mixes  well  with  the  surface  when  plowed  deeply.  The  chief  crops  are  tobacco,  cotton,  wheat,  and  oats,  but  the  soil  is 
apparently  best  adapted  to  the  production  of  tobacco  and  wheat. 

Iu  the  year  1861)  one-half  of  the  land  was  in  cotton,  but  in  1H79  only  one-eighth.  The  plant  generally  attains  a  height  of  3  feet,  but 
is  most  productive  when  2  feet  high.  It  tends  to  run  to  weed  in  very  wet  seasons,  and  topping  is  resorted  to  as  a  preventive.  Fresh-land 
staple  rates  in  the  market  as  middling.  The  most  troublesome  weeds  are  crab-grass,  hog-weed,  and  water-weed.  Perhaps  about  one- 
fourth  of  such  land  now  lies  turned  out,  and  these  are  now  the  most  valuable  for  bright  tobacco ;  but  when  again  taken  into  cultivation 
it  will  do  finely. 

The  mulatto  or  hglit-rt'd  laud  constitutes  but  a  small  proportion  of  the  lan'd  in  this  region.  Its  color  is  a  brown  mahogany,  and  it  has  a 
red-clay  subsoil,  underlaid  at  2  feet  by  rock.  The  red  stiff  and  pipe  clay,  extending  chieOy  around  Oxford,  is  timbered  with  oak,  hickory, 
and  black-jack,  and  is  best  adapted  to  tobacco,  wheat,  and  grapes. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made  by  railroad  to  Norfolk  and  Raleigh.     Eates  of  freight  per  bale  are :  to  Norfolk,  $2  65  ;  to  Ealeigh,  $1  25. 

WAKE. 

Population:  47,939.— White,  24,2S9;  colored,  23,G50. 

Area:  932  square  miles. — Woodland.  240,004  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  150,899  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  59,910  acres;  in  tobacco,  230  acres;  in  corn,  53,172  acres; 
in  wheat,  14,7S3  acres;  in  rye,  211  acres;  in  oats,  13,948  acres. 

Cotton  production:  30,115  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.50  bale,  717  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  239 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Wake  county,  in  which  the  capital  of  the  state  is  situated,  is  one,  of  the  largest  counties  iu  the  state,  and  shows 
the  largest  product  of  cotton.  It  is  drained  by  the  tributaries  of  the  Neuse,  and  lies  on  the  eastern  margin  of  the 
oak  uplands,  its  southern  and  eastern  sections  partaking  of  the  agricultural  features  of  the  oak  and  pine  gravelly 
hills,  the  forests  being  made  up  of  long-leaf  and  short-leaf  pines,  oaks,  hickories,  dogwoods,  etc.  The  northern  portion 
of  the  county,  as  well  as  the  western,  is  quite  hilly  and  broken  in  surface,  especially  along  the  streams,  and  the  soils 
are  predominantly  gray  and  yellow  sandy  and  gravelly  loams,  with  occasional  areas  of  red-clay  soils.  Cotton  is  the 
chief  crop  of  the  county,  but  the  northwestern  section  adds  to  this  industry  the  production  of  tobacco.  The  culture 
of  corn  is  also  a  large,  feature  in  its  agriculture,  and  in  this  crop  Wake  also  stands  first,  exceeding  000,000  bushels, 
"which,  with  the  small  grains  added,  would  nearly  reach  800,000  bushels.  In  elevation  and  surface  features  Wake 
resembles  the  eountiesMast  described,  the  levels  ranging  between  300  and  500  feet  above  the  sea. 

The  product  of  cotton  has  greatly  increased  in  this  county  (more  than  fourfold),  as  well  as  throughout  rhis  region 
and  the  state,  in  the  last  decade,  and  the  fact  is  mainly  due  here,  as  elsewhere,  to  the  increased  consumption  of 
•commercial  fertilizers.  Of  the  county  area,  20.30  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  38.19  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in 
cotton. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  REPORT  OF  O.  W.    SHAFFER,  OF  RALEIGH. 

The  kinds  of  soils  cultivated  iu  cotton  are:  (1)  mulatto  or  chocolate  land,  a  very  deep  red  clayey  loam;  (2)  sandy  soil  and  sandy  loam, 
light  and  easy  to  till,  but  not  rich;  (:i)  clay  with  sand  and  mica.  The  chief  soil  is  the  "miilntto  lands",  and  the  proportion  oflands  of  this 
kind  in  this  region  is  very  small,  say  1  in  50,  but  is  much  greater  in  other  townships.    Its  timber  is  pine,  oak,  poplar,  maple,  elm,  hickory, 

5S3 


52  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

cedar,  sweet  and  black  gum,  and  dogwood.  The  soil  is  a  heavy  clay  loam,  which  grows  darker  with  cultivation  and  manure.  The  leading 
crops  an-  cotton,  corn,  oats,  wheat,  cow-pease,  etc.  That  portion  planted  in  cotton  forms  at  least  one-half  of  all  the  lands  in  cultivation, 
and  attains  ;i  height  of  from  3  to  ;H  feet,  the  latter  being  most  productive  if  the  season  is  favorable  and  long;  but  it  inclines  to  run  to 
weed  in  warm,  wet  weather  and  on  very  rich  land. 

Fresh  land  produces  SCO  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,425  pounds  being  needed  for  a  bale,  which,  when  clean,  rates  in  the  market 
as  middling.  After  six  years'  cultivation  the  production  is  from  loo  to  500  pounds  per  acre,  from  1,425  to  l,6G0  pounds  being  needed  for  a 
bale,  and  the  staple  is  shorter  and  lighter  than  thai  from  fresh  land.  June  grass  is  most  troublesome.  Tho  valleys  are.  injured  by  the 
washings  of  the  uplands,  ami  efforts  are  made  to  check  the  damage  by  hillside  surface  ditches,  with  very  good  smrr^. 

The  light  sandy  loam  occupies  two-thirds  of  the  lauds,  three-fourths  of  which  is  planted  in  cotton.  This  soil,  which  extends  all  over 
the  county,  is  sometimes  underlaid  with  a  clay  subsoil  at  from  3  to  8  inches,  and  can  be  properly  described  as  a  whitish  gray  to  brown  line 
sandy  loam.  Its  natural  timber  is  pine,  poplar,  maple,  scrub  oaks,  elm,  and  gum.  The  subsoil  is  heavier  than  the  surface  soil,  and  is  a 
clay  mixed  with  sand;  it  is  best  adapted  to  cotton  and  pease.  Cotton  grows  to  a  heighl  of  from  2  to  2$  feet,  the  larger  being  the  more 
productive  in  good  seasons.    Fresh  land  produces  400  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and  1,660  pounds  make  a  bale,  which  rales  as  middling. 

The  day  lands  extend  throughout  the  county  in  patches,  and  the  timber  is  the  same  as  that  of  soil  No.  1.  The  color  varies  almost 
indefinitely.     The  average  thickness  of  the  surface  soil  is  from  4  to  C  inches. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made  by  wagon  to  Raleigh. 

OlIANGE. 

Population:  23,698. — White,  14,555;  colored, !),  14.'!. 

Area:  652  square  miles. —  Woodland,  130,549  acres. 

Tilled  lands :  82,007  acres. — Area  planted  iu  cotton,  5,290  acres ;  in  tobacco,  2,323  acres;  in  corn,  28,542  acres; 
ill  wheat,  18,358  acres;  in  oats,  12,243  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  1,919  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.30  bale,  510  pounds  seed-col  (on,  or  172  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Cotton  is  beginning'  to  enter  largely  into  the  agricultural  interests  of  Orange  county,  and  the  product  now  is  live 
times  as  large  as  it  was  in  1870.  The  upper  half  of  this  county  is  devoted,  in  large  part,  to  the  culture  of  tobacco, 
and  the  whole  of  it  to  the  production  of  grain  crops,  of  which  the  aggregate  exceeds  550,000  bushels.  It  is  traversed 
in  a  northeast  and  southwest  direction  through  its  middle  region  by  chains  of  slate  hills.  Its  levels  lie  between  400 
and  800  feet  above  sea-level,  the  average  elevation  being  about  that  of  the  state,  viz,  040  feet.  Its  southeastern 
section  is  drained  by  the  tributaries  of  the  Cape  Fear  river,  and  has  a  low,  undulating  tract  of  land,  with  gray  and 
yellow  sandy  and  clay  loam  soils  and  mixed  oak  and  pine  forests.  The  larger  part  of  this  county  is  characterized 
by  oak  forests  and  red-clay  soils,  with  an  intermixture  in  the  poorer  sections  anil  on  the  slaty  hiils  of  short-leaf  pine. 
The  region  described  as  slate  hills  is  characterized  mainly  by  a  gray  gravelly  loam  soil.  Of  the  county  area,  19.81 
per  cent,  is  under  tillage,  of  which  0.40  per  cent,  is  devoted  to  cotton.     The  university  is  located  in  this  county. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  REPORT  OF  C.  W.  JOHNSTON,  OF  CHAPEL  HILL. 

The  principal  soil  is  saDcly,  and  occupies  one-fourth  of  tho  lands  of  this  county  with  an  average  thickness  of  5  inches.  The  growth 
is  oak  and  hickory.  The  chief  crops  are  corn,  wheat,  and  oats.  The  proportion  of  cotton  planted  is  not  more  than  one-sixth  ;  its  usual 
height  is  :t  feet,  and  it  produces  host  at  2£  feet,  hut  ruus  to  weed  from  too  much  wet.  The  product  of  seed-cotton  on  fresh  land  is  from  GOO 
to  800  pounds,  and  1,660  pounds  make  a  bale.  Crab-grass  is  the  most  troublesome  pest.  About  one-half  of  such  land  originally  cultivated 
lies  turned  out,  but  wheu  taken  into  cultivation  it  produces  well  if  manured.     This  land  does  not  easily  wash. 

Shipments  are  tuade  by  rail  to  Raleigh. 

CHATHAM. 

Population:  23,453.— White,  15,500;  colored,  7,053. 

Area  :  820  square  miles. — Woodland,  212,212  acres. 

Tilled  landx:  110,185  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  13,478  acres;  in  tobacco,  141  acres;  iu  corn,  43,087 
acres  ;  in  wheat,  28,930  acres ;  in  oats,  19,801  acres. 

Cotton  production :  5,858  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.43  bale,  018  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  200  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Chatham  county  lies  contiguous  to  the  long-leaf  pine  belt,  and  includes  a  small  strip  of  it  along  the  southern 
edge.  It  is  drained  by  the  waters  of  the  Cape  Fear  river,  the  main  affluents  of  which  unite  near  its  southeast 
corner.  The  principal  of  these,  Deep  river,  has  on  both  sides  extensive  bottom  lauds,  covered  with  oak  and  short- 
leaf  pine  forests,  which  are  very  productive.  A  large  part  of  its  surface  is  hillj  and  broken,  especially  near  the 
rivers,  and  in  the  middle  and  northeastern  sections  these  hills  rise  to  an  elevation  of  from  000  to  700  feet  above  the 
sea,  attaining  in  a  few  cases  the  elevation  and  designation  of  small  mountains  ;  the  average  elevation  is  500  feet.  The 
soils  are  for  the  most  part  those  of  the  oak  uplands,  generally  sandy,  gray  to  yellow  loams,  alternating  here  and  there 
with  bells  of  red -clay  soil.  Toward  the  southern  borders  occur  the  sandy  and  gravelly  oak  and  pine  hills.  With 
the  exceptions  noted,  the  forests  consist  mostly  of  oak,  hickory,  etc.  Along  the  eastern  margin  of  the  county  is  a 
wide,  level  tract  of  oak  and  pine  lands,  with  a  gray  clay  loam  soil  of  Triassic  origin.  Only  a  minor  portion  of  Chatham, 
in  the  southern  and  eastern  parts,  is  devoted  to  the  culture  of  cotton,  grain  crops  constituting  its  predominant 
agricultural  interest.  Its  corn  product  exceeds  550.000  bushels,  and  the  tidal  gram  crop  exceeds  800,000  bushels. 
Its  facilities  lor  manufacturing  are  unsurpassed.  Two  large  and  two  other  considerable  rivers  cross  its  territory 
with  a  fall  of  from  300  to  400  feet,  and  develop  a  force  id'  inure  than  40,000  horse-power.  Of  the  county  area,  22.55 
per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  11.30  per  cent,  is  cultivated  iu  cotton. 

facilities  for  transportation  are  ample,  both  by  railway  and  river. 

584 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  53 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE    REPORT    OF   R.   J.    POWELL,    OF    PITTSBORO'. 

East  of  the  Haw  river  the  lands  are  generally  sandy,  with  some  red  clay.  West  of  the  river  the  gray,  gravelly  lands  are  suited  best, 
for  cotton  ;  there  is  but  little  sandy  laud  on  the  west  side.  Cotton  matures  much  better  where  there  is  sand  in  the  soil,  and  is  rarely  planted 
in  lowlands.  In  damp  locations  it  is  subject  to  rust ;  henee  the  entire  cottou  crop  is  raised  on  rolling  laud.  The  stiff  red-clay  soil  produces 
a  hu"-e  orowth  of  stalk,  but  it  continues  green  till  checked  by  frost,  and  does  not  mature  the  fruit ;  at  least  one-third  of  the  cotton  fruit 
on  such  soil  never  matures. 

The  dark  sandy  loam  east  of  the  Haw  river  extends  to  the  Orange  and  Wake  county-lines,  covering  about  one-third  of  the  county,  aud 
the  river  is  the  dividing  line  between  the  stiff  clay  aud  sandy  loam  lauds.  The  timber  is  oaks,  hickory,  dogwood,  and  pine.  The  soil  is  a 
whitish-gray  and  blackish,  hue  sandy  and  coarse  sandy  and  gravelly  loam,  having  a  thickness  of  from  3  to  6  inches,  aud  a  subsoil  of 
tough  red  and  yellow  clay.  The  chief  crops  are  cotton  on  the  east  side  and  cereals  and  grass  on  the  west  side  of  the  Haw  river.  Cotton 
usually  attaius  a  height  of  from  2  to  5  feet,  but  is  most  productive  when  from  3  to  34  feet  high.  It  is  incliued  to  run  to  weed  when  too 
thick  iu  the  drill  in  very  wet  seasons,  and  thinning  and  topping  restrain  it  and  favor  boiling.  Fresh  land  produces  (without  fertilizers) 
400  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and  1,425  pounds  will  make  a  475- pound  bale,  which,  when  clean,  rates  as  middling  in  the  market.  After 
three  years'  cultivation  the  product  is  150  pounds  per  acre,  1,545  pounds  making  a  bale,  but  the  staple  does  not  rate  as  good  as  that  from 
fresh  land.  Crab-grass  is  the  most  troublesome  weed.  About  one-fourth  of  the  land  once  in  cultivation  now  lies  turned  out.  Old-field 
pines  and  cedars  reclaim  our  lands  very  fast  when  not  so  rolling  as  to  wash  awray,  and  in  a  few  years  they  produce  as  well  as  ever. 

Cottou  shipments  are  made  iu  October,  by  wagon,  to  Raleigh. 

The  report  of  Mr.  J.  F.  Rives,  of  Pedlar's  nil],  agrees  in  the  main  with  the  above.  He  mentions,  however, 
among  the  chief  crops,  besides  cotton  and  corn,  sorghum,  wheat,  oats,  and  potatoes,  and  among  the  troublespme 
weeds  Spanish  needles  and  hog-weed.     He  considers  shallow  cultivation  favorable  to  boiling. 

Mr.  J.  W.  Scott  describes  one-half  the  lands  in  his  township — Haywood,  about  the  forks  of  Cape  Fear  river — as 
a  sandy,  gravelly  loam,  having  a  growth  of  short-leaf  pine,  oaks,  hickory,  gum,  poplar,  elm,  etc.,  about  one-quarter 
of  which  is  planted  in  cotton.  The  chief  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  oats,  pease,  sorghum,  peanuts,  and  tobacco. 
Cotton  reaches  a  height  of  from  3  to  0  feet,  and  rims  to  weed  in  wet  summers  on  rich  clay  soils,  but  is  restrained 
by  early  topping.  The  product  of  seed-cotton  per  acre  on  fresh  land  is  from  000  to  1,200  pounds,  from  1,425  to  1,545 
pounds  making  a  bale  of  lint,  early  pickings  grading  as  middling.  After  3  or  5  years  the  yield  is  from  300  to  500 
pounds  per  acre,  the  same,  amount  being  required  for  a  bale,  and  the  staple  being  as  good  as  that  from  fresh  land. 

MONTGOMERY. 

Population  :  9,374. — White,  C,S57  ;  colored,  2,517. 

Area:  489  square  miles. — Woodland,  179,473  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  40,209  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  0,519  acres;  in  tobacco,  54  acres;  in  corn,  18,090  acres;  in 
wheat,  9,197  acres;  in  oats,  7,852  acres. 

Cotton  production :  2,989  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.40  bale,  054  pounds  seed-cotton,  or218  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

In  its  topographical  features  Montgomery  county  may  be  described  in  nearly  the.  same  terms  as  the  Chatham. 
Several  low  chains  of  mountains  or  high  ranges  of  slate  hills  cross  its  territory  in  a  direction  nearly  north  and  south. 
The  county  is  drained  by  the  Yadkin  river  and  two  of  its  chief  tributaries,  the  Uharie  and  Little  rivers.  Its  territory, 
therefore,  is  quite  broken  in  surface.  Its  soils  are  mostly  sandy  and  gravell,\  loams,  with  occasional  tracts  of  red 
clays.  Along  its  eastern  border,  and  particularly  in  its  southeastern  corner,  there  are  large  bodies  of  valuable, 
timber,  as  it  here  touches  the  long-leaf  pine  belt;  the  lands  are  of  the  common  character  of  this  border  region, 
and  its  soils  aie  generally  lean.  Cotton  is  quite  a  subordinate,  interest  iu  comparison  with  grains.  Of  the  county 
area,  14.77  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  14.11  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton.  The  water  power  of  its  rivers 
is  very  great,  the  Yadkin  having  a  fall  within  the  county  of  more  than  200  feet  and  a  force  per  foot  of  above  350 
horse-power.     There  are  many  valuable  gold  mines,  both  vein  aud  placer. 

ANSON. 

Population:  17,994.— White,  8,790 ;  colored,  9,204. 

Area :  545  square  miles. —  Woodland,  149,000  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  88,293  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  28,290  acres ;  in  corn,  29,121  acres;  in  wheat,  5,969  acres; 
in  oats,  8,'.  99  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  11,857  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.42  bale,  597  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  199  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Anson  county  lies  on  the  southern  border  of  the  state,  and  is  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Pedee  river.  About 
one-third  of  its  territory,  in  the  southeastern  portion,  belongs  to  the  long-leaf  pine  belt,  with  its  characteristic  soils 
and  forests.  The  northwestern  and  northern  sections  of  the  county  consist  of  slate  soils  (gray,  gravelly  clays), 
occupied  by  forests  of  oak,  short-leaf  piue,  hickory,  dogwood,  etc.  The.  river  hills  near  the  Pedee  have  a  sandy 
and  gravelly  loam,  becoming  more  red  and  clayey  on  the  lower  slopes.  There  lies  across  the  middle,  in  a  northeast 
and  southwest,  direction,  a  low,  nearly  level  tract,  5  or  0  miles  wide,  of  brown,  yellow,  and  gray  sandy  aud  clay  loam 
soils,  derived  from  the  clays  and  sandstones  of  the  Trias.  These  lands  are  naturally  qnite  productive,  but  are 
much  worn,  and  have  been  devoted  mainly  to  the  culture  of  cottou,  which  is  the  most  important  industry  of  the 
county,  although  the  corn  crops  are  quite  large.  Of  the  county  area,  25.31  per  cent,  is  under  tillage,  of  which  32.05 
per  cent,  is  in  cotton. 

585 


54  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE   REPORT   OF   W.   A.   LILES,   OF  WADESBOEO\ 

T1ij>  chief  soil  cultivated  in  cotton  is  a  sandy  ftoil,  which  occupies  three-fifths  of  the  lands  in  the  region,  and  is  whitish  gray  and 
brown  in  color.  Its  timber  is  pine,  oak,  hickory,  black-jack,  and  dogwood.  The  thickness  of  the  surface  soil  on  uplands  is  4  inches;  on 
river  or  creek  bottoms  from  2  to  5  feet.     The  subsoil  is  a  purple  and  red  clay,  quite  impervious,  and  yellow  porous  clay. 

The  chief  crops  are-  cotton,  com,  oats,  and  wheat.  The  soil  is  best  adapted  to  oats;  but  the  proportion  of  cotton  planted  comprises 
two-fifths  of  the  cultivated  lands,  and  attains  a  height  of  from  2  to  5  feet,  but  is  most  productive  at  3  feet.  In  warm,  wet  weather  and 
rich  bottom  lauds  it  is  inclined  to  run  to  weed,  and  fertilizing  favors  boiling. 

Fresh  land  produces  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and  1,425  pounds  will  make  a  bale.  After  ten  years'  cultivation  the  product 
is  500  pouuds  per  acre,  and  1,425  pounds  make  a  bale,  which  compares  favorably  with  the  staple  from  fresh  laud.  Crab-grass  is  the  most 
troublesome  weed.  About  one-fourth  of  the  land  once  in  cultivation  now  lies  turned  out.  The  soil  on  the  slopes  readily  washes  or  gullies, 
and  the  valleys  are  injured  by  the  washings  from  the  uplands,  often  seriously. 

The  bottom  layute,  of  which  one-fifth  is  cultivated  in  cotton,  is  buff,  yellow,  brown,  or  mahogany  in  color,  and  is  late,  cold,  ill-drained, 
and  best  adapted  to  corn.  Its  natural  timber  is  oak,  gums,  poplar,  and  hickory.  The  cotton-plant  grows  from  4  to  fi  feet  in  height,  and 
is  apt  to  run  to  weed  in  warm,  damp  weather  ;  phosphate  manure  favors  boiling.  Fresh  land  produces  1,500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per 
acre,  and  1,485  pounds  will  make  a  475-pound  bale.  After  ten  years'  cultivation  the  product  is  1,000  pounds  per  acre,  1,425  pounds  making 
a  bale,  and  the  staple,  compares  favorably  with  that  from  fresh  land.  About  one-twentieth  of  the  land  once  in  cultivation  now  lies  turned 
out,  but  when  again  taken  in  it  does  well. 

The  slaty  soil,  of  which  one-fourth  is  planted  in  cotton,  occupies  about  three-tenths  of  all  the  land  in  this  region,  but  the  soil  is  best 
adapted  to  wheat  and  oats.  Its  natural  timber  is  pine  and  post  oak.  The  height  attained  by  cotton  on  this  land  is  2  feet.  The 
production  on  fresh  land  is  500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre;  after  ten  years'  cultivation,  300  pounds  per  acre.  About  one-third  of  such 
land  once  cultivated  now  lies  turned  out,  and  when  again  taken  in  it  does  poorly. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made  all  the  season  by  rail  to  Wilmington  and  Charleston ;  rates  of  freight  per  hale,  §1  00 

UNION. 

Population:  1S,056.— White,  13,520  ;  colored,  4,536. 

Area  :  557  square  miles.— Woodland,  170,245  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  83,913  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  19,090  acres;  in  corn,  2S,S77  acres;  in  wheat,  12,404  acres; 
in  oats,  14,357  acres. 

Cotton  production :  8,33G  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.44  bale,  021  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  207  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

The  southern  portion  of  Union  county,  -which  lies  on  the  South  Carolina  border,  is  penetrated  to  a  distance  of 
several  miles  by  sinuses  of  long-leaf  pine  (sandy  lands)  on  the  level-backed  divides  between  the  streams.  This 
portion  of  the  county  is  drained  southward  into  the  Pedee  through  South  Carolina. 

The  soils  of  the  larger  part  of  the  county  are  of  a  slaty  origin,  and  are  gray  gravelly  and  sandy  for  the  most  part, 
with  occasional  areas  of  red  clays.  The  forests  are  mixed  pine  and  oak,  hickory,  etc.  The  soils  of  a  narrow  belt 
along  the  west  side  are  granitic.  The  cotton  product  belongs  mainly  to  the  southern  half,  the  northern  portion 
being  devoted  to  small  grains,  of  which  it  prodnces  large  crops — a  total  of  nearly  500,000  bushels. 

Of  the  county  area,  23.54  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  22.75  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  REPORT  OF  H.  M.  HOUSTON,  OF  MONROE. 

The  upland  soils  vary  greatly.  The  soil  chiefly  cultivated  in  cotton  is  the  mulatto  (black-jack)  soil,  ■which  occupies  one-third  of  the 
lands  in  this  region,  extending  in  patches  through  the  county  in  a  direction  northeast  by  southwest,  and  is  timbered  with  pine,  Spanish 
oak,  and  black-jack.  Three-fourths  of  this  soil  is  planted  in  cotton.  The  average  thickness  of  the  surface  soil  is  2  feet,  when  it  changes 
into  the  subsoil,  which  is  a  tough,  dark-red  clay.  The  chief  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  and  oats,  but  the  soil  is  best  adapted  to  cotton, 
which  usually  attains  a  height  of  3  feet,  and  will  run  to  weed  in  wet,  warm  weather,  topping  and  fertilizers  being  used  to  restrain  this 
tendency.  Fresh  laud  produces  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,425  pounds  being  needed  to  make  a  bale  of  lint,  the  staple 
rating  as  strict  good  middling.  After  ten  years'  cultivation  the  product  is  very  little  less,  and  the  staple  rates  the  same.  Hog-weed  is 
most,  troublesome.  One-fourth  of  the  land  once  cultivated  now  lies  turned  out.  Considerable  damage  is  done  by  wash  or  gullies  on  the 
slopes,  and  efforts  have  been  made  to  check  this  by  hillside  ditching  with  good  success. 

Blade  stale  gravel  soil  also  occupies  about  one-third  of  the  lands  in  patches  of  from  5  to  100  acres,  and  is  timbered  with  pine,  hickory, 
and  oak.  The  thickness  of  the  surface  soil  is  from  6  to  12  inches,  and  has  a  subsoil  of  red  clay,  underlaid  by  a  blue  slate  rock.  The  soil  is 
best  adapted  to  cotton,  and  one-fourth  of  it  is  planted  in  this  crop.  Fresh  land  produces  from  GOO  to  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre, 
1,425  pounds  making  a  4713-pound  bale  of  lint,  which,  when  clean,- rates  as  good  strict  middling.  Aften  ten  years'  cultivation  the  product 
ranges  from  400  to  GOO  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  About  one-fifth  of  land  once  cultivated  now  lies  turned  out:  but  when  again 
taken  in  it  does  woll  the  first  year  in  wheat  and  the  second  year  in  cotton. 

The  sandy  soil  occupies  one-third  of  the  lands  in  this  region,  running  through  the  county  northeast  and  southwest  in  streaks,  two- 
thirds  being  planted  in  cotton.     The  natural  timber  is  pine,  hickory,  and  black-jack. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made  in  October,  November,  and  December,  by  rail,  to  Wilmington,  Norfolk,  New  York,  and  Providence  at  §2  25 
per  bale. 

STANLEY. 

Population:  10,505.— White,  9,100;  colored,  1,339. 

Area:  432  square  miles. — Woodland,  119,148  acres. 

Tilledlands:  58,628  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  5,878  acres ;  in  corn,  22,420  acres;  in  wheat,  16,465  acres; 
in  oats,  10,975  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  2,475bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.42  bale,  600  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  200  pounds 
cotton  lint. 
55u 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  55 

Stanley  county  lies  on  the  west  side  of  tbe  Yadkin  river,  and  is  bounded  on  the  south  by  the  Rocky  river,  one  of  its 
largest  tributaries.  Its  soils  are  derived  from  the  clay  and  chlorite  slates  of  the  great  central  slate  belt  of  the  state, 
and  are  gray  and  gravelly  loams  or  red  clays,  according  as  the  underlying  rock  is  of  the  former  or  of  the  latter 
description.  The  forests  arc  of  oak  aud  short-leaf  pine.  Its  surface  is  quite  broken  near  the  rivers.  The 
southwestern  corner  of  the  county  is  characterized  by  broad  and  comparatively  level  tracts  of  gravelly  land,  covered 
with  extensive  short-leaf  pine  forests,  with  a  subordinate  growth  of  oaks.  The.  cotton  product  is  of  about  equal 
value  with  that  of  the  grains,  of  which  the  total  exceeds  400,000  bushels.  The  slate  lands  of  this  region  produce 
heavier  wheat  than  any  other  soils,  reaching  G5  and  even  70  pounds  to  the  bushel.  Of  the  county  area,  21.21  per 
cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  10.02  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

Transportation  is  by  wagon  to  railroads  of  the  adjacent  counties. 

DAVIDSON. 

Population:  20,333.— White,  1G,341 ;  colored,  3,902. 

Area:  504  square  miles.. — Woodland,  142,073  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  113,314  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  3,779  acres;  in  tobacco,  4S4  acres;  in  corn,  30,983  acres; 
in  wheat,  32,195  acres;  in  oats,  10,924  acres. 

Cotton  production :  1,553  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.41  bale,  5S5  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  195  pounds 
cotton  but. 

This  county  lies  midway  of  the  breadth  of  the  state  and  of  the  midland  division,  and  on  the  northern  border  of  the 
cotton  belt.  The  average  elevation  is  about  800  feet  above  sea  level — the  northern  end  1 ,000  aud  the  southwestern  GOO 
feet — but  is  interrupted  by  ranges  of  h  ills  which  are  900  feet  in  height  and  upward.  The  county  is  bounded  on  the  west 
by  the  tortuous  course  of  the  Yadkin  river,  whose  numerous  tributaries  drain  almost  its  entire  surface,  one  of  which,- 
Abbott's  creek,  traverses  its  middle  section  from  north  to  south,  while  a  multitude  of  smaller  streams  flow  in  a 
generally  southwest  course  into  the  river.  Both  the  river  itself  and  these  tributaries  are  generally  bordered  by  tracts 
of  bottom  lands  with  a  rich  alluvial  soil,  covered  by  heavy  forests  of  oak,  largely  white  oak.  There  are  considerable, 
tracts  of  red  clay  soil  scattered  through  various  portions  of  the  county,  which  are  covered  with  heavy  oak  forests. 
The  eastern  and  northern  margins,  which  lie  along  the  elevated  divides  and  swells  between  the  greater  rivers, 
contain  mixed  oak  and  pine  forests,  and  have  a  soil  which  is  generally  a  gray  and  yellow  gravelly  or  sandy  loam 
A  clay  subsoil  is  found  throughout  the  county.  The  cotton  product  of  Davidson  county  is  small,  and  is  limited  to  its 
southern  end.  Its  wheat  crop  is  the  largest  in  the  state,  and  its  total  grain  product  is  only  less  than  that  of  Rowan, 
amounting  to  850,000  bushels.  The  southern  half  of  the  county  lies  within  the  great  gold  belt,  and  numerous 
mines  of  gold,  and  quite  a  number  of  copper  and  silver,  have  been  opened.  The  slate  hills  of  the  south  end  are 
notable  for  their  deposits  of  gold  gravel,  or  placers.  Of  the  county  area,  31.39  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which 
only  3.33  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

Transportation  is  by  rail  to  Charleston,  Norfolk,  and  New  York. 

ROWAN. 

Population  :  19,905.— White,  13,021 ;  colored,  0,344. 

Area  :  482  square  miles.— Woodland,  117,870  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  94,378  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  10,045  acres;  in  tobacco,  210  acres;  in  corn,  38,903  acres; 
in  wheat,  24,195  acres ;  in  rye,  253  acres  ;  in  oats,  17,751  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  4,381  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.41  bale,  585  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  195  pouuds 
cotton  lint. 

Rowan  county  lies  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Yadkin  river  and  south  of  its  principal  tributary,  the  South  Yadkin, 
and  resembles  very  closely  in  its  agricultural  and  topographical  features  the  county  of  Davidson,  above  described. 
Its  entire  surface  is  drained  by  the  tributaries  of  the,  Yadkin,  which  traverse  its  territory  in  a  northeasterly  course. 
Its  middle  and  northern  sections,  which  lie  for  the  most  part  above  the  level  of  800  feet,  rising  at  one  point  above 
1,000  feet,  are  characterized  by  an  abundance  of  red-clay  soils  and  heavy  oak  forests,  interspersed  with  hickory, 
walnut,  etc.,  only  the  higher  parts  of  the  water-sheds  between  the  streams  showing  any  growth  of  pine  (short-leaf), 
and  having  gray  and  yellow  sandy  loam  soils.  The  southeastern  corner  of  the  county,  amounting  to  one-third  of  its 
territory,  is  quite  broken,  and  is  traversed  by  low  ranges  of  mountains  or  high  hills,  which  rise  in  places  to  a  level 
of  a  thousand  feet  aud  more  above  the  sea.  These  consist  geologically,  for  the  most  part,  of  ledges  of  granite.  The 
hills  of  this  region  have  a  light  gray  and  yellow  sandy  loam  soil. 

The  culture  of  cotton  has  greatly  increased  in  the  past  decade,  but  still  occupies  a  secondary  place  in  the 
agriculture  of  the  county,  most  of  its  territory  being  better  adapted  to  the  growth  of  corn  aud  small  grains,  of 
which  the  total  is  the  largest  in  the  state,  being  more  than  875,000  bushels.  The  upper  portion  produces  also  a 
considerable  quantity  of  tobacco.  Of  the  county  area,  30.59  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  12.34  per  cent,  is 
cultivated  in  cotton.  There  are  many  gold  mines  in  this  county,  mostly  in  the  southern  part,  and  several  copper 
veins. 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE    REPORT    OF   J.    G.    RAMSAY,    OF    SCOTCH    IRELAND. 

The  kinds  of  soil  cultivated  in  cotton  arc  the  red  clay  and  sandy  soils,  and  most  of  the,  planting  is  done  in  a  mixture  of  these  soils 
when  practicable.  About  one-third  of  the  lands  iu  this  region  are  scoidy,  and  the  natural  growth  is  piue,  oak,  hickory,  ash,  elm,  maple, 
walnut,  dogwood,  black-jack,  sweet  and  black  gum,  and  sourwood.  The  average  thickness  of  the  surface  soil  is  6  inches,  and  it  is  difficult 
to  till  in  dry  seasons.  Tbe  principal  crops  are  coru,  wheat,  oats,  rye,  cotton,  and  tobacco,  but.  the.  soil  is  best  adapted  to  wheat,  corn,  and 
oats.  About  one-twentieth  of  the  tilled  land  is  planted  iu  cotton,  which  usually  glows  to  a  height  of  3  feet,  and  if  higher  is  not  so 
productive.  It  inclines  to  run  to  weed  on  rich,  wet  land,  not  fertilized.  Fresh  land  produces  from  500  to  COO  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per 
acre,  1,425  pounds  making  a  bale  of  lint,  the  staple  rating,  wheu  clean,  about  second  rate.  Crab-grass  is  most  troublesome.  Serious 
damage  is  done  by  washing  or  gullies  on  the  slopes. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made  in  October,  November,  December,  and  January,  by  rail,  to  Salisbury  at  50  cents  per  bale. 

587 


56  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

OABAEEUS. 

Population:  14,964.— White,  9,849;  colored,  5,115. 

Area  :  370  square  miles. — Woodland,  80,297  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  80,439  acres. — Area  planted  in  corton,  19,21' 1  acres  ;  in  corn,  20,831  acres  ;  in  wheat,  17,550  acres; 
in  oats,  7,592  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  7,107  hales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.39  bale,  552  ponnds  seed  cotton,  or  181  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Cabarrus  resembles  Bowau  county  in  its  general  features,  both  topographical  and  agricultural.  It  is  drained 
by  the  upper  waters  of  the  Rocky  iivcr,  one  of  the  chief  affluents  ol  the  Yadkin,  and  abounds  in  watercourses, 
which  traverse  its  territorj  from  northwest  to  southeast,  dividing  it  into  narrow  zones  or  rlattish  swells,  the  higher 
parts  of  which  are  comparatively  level  and  aie  covered  with  a  growth  of  oaks  and  pines  and  have  a  characteristic 
gray  to  yellow  loam  soil,  while  along  the  borders  of  the  streams  there  are  numerous  and  often  extensive  tracts  of 
alluvial  bottom  lands,  which,  as  well  as  large  tracts  of  red  clay  and  dark  gravelly  loam  soils,  are  covered  with 
heavy  forests  of  oak,  hickory,  walnut,  poplar,  maple,  etc.  Along  the  eastern  margin  of  the  county  lies  a  narrow 
belt  of  a  few  miles  in  breadth  of  slate  hill-land,  in  the  forests  of  which  the  short-leaf  pine  predominates.  The 
soils  of  this  tract  are  much  less  productive  than  the  average  of  the  county.  Cotton  enters  as  a  large  element 
into  the  agriculture  of  this  county,  and  divides  almost  equally  the  attention  of  its  population  with  grain  crops, 
of  which  it  produces  mole  than  half  a  million  bushels.  Of  tin-  county  area,  33.97  per  cent  is  tilled  land,  of  which 
23.90  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton.     Gold  and  copper  mining  also  come  in  for  a  considerable  share  of  attention. 

ABSTRACT  OF   THE   REPORT   OF  JOHN  Jl'DONALD,  OF   CONCOED. 

The  upland  soil  greatly  varies,  and  There  is  no  continuous  extent  of  any  one  variety.  No  lowlands  in  this  region  are  cultivated  in 
cotton.  The  best  cotton  lands  consist  of  a  more  or  less  fine  granitic  noil.  This  soil  is  of  a  loose,  loamy  character,  and  is  easily  worked. 
About  20  per  cent,  of  the  land  of  the  county  is  of  this  character,  and  is  found  in  all  parts  of  it  in  limited  areas.  Its  natural  timber  growth 
is  hickory,  the  various  oaks,  seine  walnut,  short-leaf  pine,  etc.  The  soil  is  a  whitish-gray  fine  sandy  loam  to  the  depth  of  G  inches,  witli 
a  subsoil  of  stiff  red  and  sometimes  yellow  clay,  not  altogether  impervious. 

The  chief  crops  arc  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  and  oats,  and  the  soil  is  well  adapted  to  all  of  these  on  the  uplands,  while  on  the  low  lands  ii 
is  best  adapted  to  corn.  The  proportion  of  cotton  planted  comprises  two-thirds  of  the  cultivated  lands.  It  is  most  productive  when  3 
feet  high,  and  is  inclined  to  run  to  weed  in  wet  seasons  or  in  a  wet  spell  preceded  by  a  drought,  but  this  tendency  is  restrained  by 
deep  cultivation  and  miderdraining  by  thoroughly  subsoiling.  Fresh  lauds  produce  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and  1,425 
pounds  will  make  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint,  which  rates  iu  the  market  as  good  middling.  After  live  years'  cultivation  the  product  ranges 
from  500  to  700  pounds  per  acre,  about  the  same  amount  of  seed-cotton  being  needed  for  a  bale  ;  but  there  is  no  difference  in  the  staple. 
Crab-grass  and  butter-weed  are  the  most  troublesome  pests.  About  "20  per  cent,  of  the  laud  once  in  cultivation  now  lies  turned  out  ;  it 
improves  by  this,  and  if  kept  from  washing  and  the  old  field  pine  allowed  to  grow  up  the  yield  will  nearly  equal  t  hat  of  fresh  land.  Very 
lit  I  It-  is  done  to  prevent  washing  ou  the  slopes,  except  by  hillside  ditching,  which,  if  intelligently  done,  proves  effective. 

Tlie  stiff  mulatto-colored  toil  is  probably  the  result  of  the  decomposition  of  the  same  kind  of  rock  as  the  granite  soils,  but  with  a  larger 
percentage  of  clay  ;  consequently,  it  does  not  w-ash  so  easily,  and  is  more  retentive  of  plant-food,  but  not  so  easy  to  work.  About  25  per 
cent,  of  the  laud  iu  this  region  is  of  this  kind,  one-fourth  being  planted  in  cotton.  The  surface  soil  is  a  heavy  clay  loam  of  a  mahogany 
color  to  the  depth  of  12  inches,  with  a  subsoil  ol'  deep  red  clay  :  it  is  best  adapted  to  wheat,  cotton,  ami  corn.  Fresh  land  produces  from 
900  to  l.tMH.1  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre.  1,425  pounds  making  a  bale,  which,  when  clean,  rates  in  tie-  market  as  middling.  After 
five  years'  cultivation  the  product  is  about  500  pounds  per  acre. 

The  heavy  black  soil,  with  pipe-clay  subsoil,  commonly  called  black-jack  land,  occupies  about  20  per  cent,  of  the  land  in  this  region, 
and  is  timbered  with  black-jack.  This  soil  seems  best  adapted  to  corn  and  wheat.  The  proportion  of  cotton  planted  is  one-half,  and 
the  product  from  fresh  land  is  800  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre;  the  lint  rates  as  middling.  Cotton  shipments  arc  made  to  Concord 
and  Charlotte  ;  the  rates  of  freight  are  GO  cents  per  hundred-weight. 

MECKLENBURG. 

Population:  34,175.— White,  17,922;  colored,  10,253. 

Area  :  570  square  miles. — Woodland,  115,049  acres. 

Tilled  lands :  134,028  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  41 ,343  acres  ;  in  corn,  41,2S5  acres  ;  iu  wheat,  12,295  acres ; 
in  oats,  12,949  acres. 

.    Cotton  production  :  19,1 29 1  tales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.40  bale,  060  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  220  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Mecklenburg  county  lies  on  the  southern  border  of  the  slate,  and  is  bounded  westward  by  the  Catawba  river. 
The  elevation  varies  between  0(10  and  910  feet,  the  average  being  about  700  above  the  sea.  This  is  one  of  the  largest 
and  most  productive  as  well  as  one  of  l  he  most  populous  counties  in  the  state.  The  production  of  cotton  constitutes 
the  principal  feature  of  the  agriculture  of  the  entire  county,  having  increased  more  than  threefold  in  the  last 
ten  years;  before  the  war  the  culture  of  cotton  did  no1  reach  northward  beyond  the  middh'  of  the  county.  A 
considerable  portion  of  the  territory  of  this  county  belongs  to  the  class  of  red  clay  lands  winch  were  originally 
covered  with  heavy  forests  of  oak,  pine  coming  in  as  a  constituent  of  the  forests  only  on  the  summits  of  the  ridges 
and  divides  between  the  streams,  where  the  soils  are  gray  and  yellow  sandy  loams.  The  higher  portion  of  the 
county,  which  lies  along  the  water-shed  between  the  Yadkin  and  the  Catawba  in  a  north  and  south  direction, 
belongs,  in  the  main,  to  the  latter  class  of  soils,  but  has  here  and  there  small  tracts  of  red  clay.  Of  the  county  area. 
36.30  per  cent,  is  under  tillage,  and  of  this  30.85  per  cent,  is  in  cotton.  This  county  shows  a  large  product  of 
cotton,  ranking  third  in  this  respect  :  and  also  produces  corn  and  the  small  grains  on  a  large  scale,  aggregating 
800,000  bushels.     Gold  and  copper  mining  are  important  industries  in  several  sections  of  the  county. 

Charlotte  being  an  important  railroad  center,  the  county  has  ample  facilities  for  shipment  in  every  direction. 
588 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  57 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE    EEPOETS    OF    MESSES.    E.    I.    M'DOWELL,    OF    CHARLOTTE,    AND    WILLIAM    E.    AEDEEY,    OF 

PINEVILLE. 

Most  uplands  are  well  adapted  to  the  growth  of  cottou,  which  matures  early,  and  generally  not  much  is  lost  hy  frost.  The  kinds  of  soil 
cultivated  in  cotton  are,  first,  gray  la-n&ej  which  have  a  largo  per  cent,  of  sand,  and  cover  one-fourth  of  the  county;  nest,  mulatto  or  red 
lands  with  a  red-clay  subsoil,  which  cover  over  one-half  of  the  county;  and  last,  a  black-jack  and  post-oak  land  with  a  hard  impervious 
subsoil.  The  natural  timber  is  oak,  hickory,  pine,  and  dogwood.  The  average  thickness  of  the  surface  soil  is  from  4  to  B  inches.  The 
chief  crops  are  cotton,  corn,  wheat,  and  oats,  but  the  land  is  best  adapted  to  cotton,  wThich  yields  best  when  4  feet  high,  but  grows  from 
2  to  5  feet  iu  height.  It  is  inclined  to  run  to  weed  when  the  soil  is  a  rich  heavy  loam  or  has  much  vegetable  matter;  on  most  lands 
phosphates  are  beneficial.     Fresh  land  produces  from  500  to  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,435  pounds  making  a  balo. 

Crab-grass  is  the  only  pest  dreaded  in  cultivation.  About  one-tenth  of  such  laud  originally  cultivated  now  lies  turned  out,  but  is 
beiu,r  rapidly  put  in  cultivation  ;  when  again  taken  iu  it  does  better  than  fresh  land,  especially  when  aided  by  fertilizers.  The  6oil  on 
:the  slopes  is  apt  to  wash  or  gully  unless  protected  by  hillside  ditches.     The  valleys  are  benefited  by  the  washings  of  the  uplands. 

IREDELL. 

Population:  22,675.— White,  1G,752;  colored,  5,923. 

Area:  595  square  miles.— Woodland,  153,039  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  101,018  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  11,603  acres;  in  tobacco,  465  acres;  in  corn,  39,264  acres; 
in  wheat,  17,476  acres ;  iu  rye,  359  acres;  in  oats,  17,488  acres. 

Cotton  production :  4,657  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.40  bale,  57.3  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  191  pounds 
cottou  lint. 

Iredell  is  a  county  of  rolling  uplands,  and  lies  on  the  waters  of  the  Catawba  on  the  west  and  of  the  Yadkin 
on  the  east,  being  mainly  drained  by  the  latter.  It  is  divided  in  a  northwesterly  and  southeasterly  direction 
by  the  course  of  the  tributary  streams  into  broad,  flattish,  elevated  zones,  the  summits  of  which  have  generally  a 
gray  and  yellow  loam  soil,  with  mixed  oak  and  pine  forests  and  occasional  tracts  of  red  clay  oak-covered  soils, 
while  along  the  streams,  which  abound  in  alluvial  bottoms,  forests  of  oak,  walnut,  hickory,  etc.,  predominate. 
One  of  these  high  swells  or  divides  lies  along  and  quite  close  to  the  course  of  the  Catawba  river,  and  has  an 
elevation  of  900  feet  in  its  southern  portion,  rising  to  1,000  feet  and  upward  at  its  northern  limit.  The  average 
•  elevation  of  the  county  is  but  little  below  1,000  feet  above  sea-level. 

The  cotton  crop  has  increased  tenfold  since  1870,  and  is  confined  mainly  to  the  southern  half,  this  form  of 
agriculture  having  only  recently  passed  beyond  the  middle  of  the  county.  The  northern  section  produces  tobacco 
as  its  chief  market  crop,  but  corn  and  the  small  grains  occupy  the  larger  portion  of  the  tilled  surface  of  the  county, 
and  aggregate  more  than  800,000  bushels.  Of  the  county  area,  26.53  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  11.49  per 
cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton.     Transportation  is  by  rail,  east,  west,  and  south. 

CATAWBA. 

Population:  14,946.— White,  12,469;  colored,  2,477. 

Area:  445  square  miles. — Woodland,  110,328  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  75,350  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  5,175  acres;  in  tobacco,  49  acres;  in  corn,  21,248  acres; 
in  wheat,  15,054  acres;  in  oats,  7,566  acres. 

Cotton  production :  2,012  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.39  bale,  555  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  1S5  pounds 
cottou  lint. 

Catawba  county  lies  on  the  northern  border  of  the  cotton  belt  and  on  the  margin  of  the  Piedmont  division  of  the 
state.  It  is  bounded  northward  and  eastward  by  the  Catawba  river,  and  has  its  western  end  on  the  foot-hills  of  the 
South  mountains.  As  to  its  middle,  southern,  and  eastern  parts,  it  resembles  the  county  of  Iredell,  from  which  it 
is  separated  by  the  Catawba  river.  Through  the  middle  region  of  it,  and  in  a  northeast  and  southwest  direction,  is  a 
broad  belt  of  oak  and  hickory  forest  with  a  red-clay  soil,  while  that  of  the  western  section  is  a  light  to  yellow  sandy 
loam.  The  streams  of  this  county,  all  of  which  flow  into  the  Catawba,  are  occasionally  bordered  by  considerable 
tracts  of  alluvial  lands,  and  along  the  course  of  the  Catawba  are  extensive  bottoms.  These  and  the  red  lands  of 
the  county  are  very  productive.  In  the  southeastern  corner,  as  well  as  along  the  northwestern  border,  are 
mountain  spurs  which  rise  to  an  elevation  of  1 ,500  feet  and  more  above  sea-level.  A  broad,  flattish  plateau  crosses 
the  county  in  a  northwest  and  southeast  direction  between  these  mountain  spurs,  which,  for  the  most  part,  is 
characterized  by  sandy  and  gravelly  loams,  and  its  oak  forests  are  intermingled  with  much  pine. 

The  culture  of  cotton  has  been  introduced  into  the  county  since  1870,  and  has  become  the  money  crop.  The 
larger  part  of  its  territory  is  still  devoted  to  grain,  of  which  more  than  half  a  million  bushels  are  produced. 
Tobacco  has  been  added  to  the  list  of  its  products  within  a  few  years,  nearly  half  of  the  county  being  well  adapted 
to  the  better  grades  off  this  crop.  Of  the  county  area,  26.46  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  7  per  cent,  is  cultivated 
in  cotton.     Transportation  is  by  railroad,  east,  west,  and  south. 

LINCOLN. 

Population  :  11,001.— White,  8,180;  colored,  2,8S1. 

Area  :  295  square  miles. — Woodland.  20,293  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  53,571  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  7,442  acres;  in  corn,  19,338  acres  ;  in  wheat,  10,159  acres; 
in  oats,  6,313  acres. 

Cotton  production :  2,945  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.40  bale,  564  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  188  pounds 
cottou  lint. 

589 


58  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Lincoln  county  lies  south  of  Catawba  county  and  west  of  the  Catawba  river,  and  its  features,  agricultural  and 
topographial,  are  those  of  that  county,  and  may  be  described  in  nearly  the  same  tei  ins.  Its  territory  is  drained  by 
the  parallel  courses  of  the  numerous  tributaries  of  the  South  Fork  of  the  Catawba,  which  traverses  its  middle  section, 
and  the  average  elevation  is  nearly  1,000  feet  above  sea-level.  In  its  middle  portion  is  a  north  and  soul  h  zone  several 
miles  in  breadth  of  red-clay  soils,  with  oak  and  hickory  forests.  For  the  rest,  its  forests  are  mixed  oak  and  pine, 
and  it.s  soils  are  gray  and  yellow  gravelly  loams.     The  eastern  side  of  the  county  is  quite  hilly  near  the  river. 

Only  within  the  last  lew  years  has  the  culture  of  cotton  entered  to  any  considerable  extent  into  the  agriculture 
of  this  county,  and  it  already  holds  the  leading  rank.  Of  the  county  area,  28.37  per  cent,  is  under  tillage,  and  of 
this  13.89  per  cent,  is  in  cotton.  The  manufactures  of  the  county,  especially  in  iron  and  cotton,  have  always  been 
cousiderable. 

Railroads  cross  the  county  in  two  directions,  furnishing  ample  means  of  transportation. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE  REPORT   OF  WILLIAM   A.   GRAHAM,   OF   IRON   STATION. 

The  soils  are  chiefly  of  three  kinds :  1,  clay  loam  and  clay  ;  2,  gray  sandy  ;  and  3,  piny  old  fields,  chopped  oil'.  The  leading  soil  is 
the  gray  sandy,  with  red  or  yellow  subsoil,  about  two-thirds  of  the  lands  being  of  this  description.  Its  natural  timber  is  post  oak, 
hickory,  dogwood,  and  short-leaf  pine.  The  average  thickness  of  the  surface  soil  is  C  inches;  the  subsoil  is  a  tough  red  or  yellow  clay, 
baking  hard,  but  becoming  fine  and  J  liable  when  treated  with  vegetable  matter,  and  tills  easily.  The  chief  crops  are  corn,  cotton,  wheat, 
oats,  and  tobacco.  The  soil  seems  best  adapted  to  cotton,  oats,  and  tobacco,  the  proportion  of  cotton  planted  being  one-half.  Tin-  lal  tor 
usually  attains  a  height  of  from  1  to  5  feet,  and  is  most  productive  at  from  2-J  to  '3  feet.  It  is  inclined  to  run  to  weed  in  a  wet  August, 
or  when  planted  on  new  ground  and  not  manured  with  bone-dust.  Fresh  land  produces  from  400  to  600  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre, 
and  from  1,425  to  1,485  pounds  are  needed  for  a  475-pound  bale.  After  eight  years'  cultivation  the  soil  yields  250  pounds  per  Here,  and 
tin-  staple  from  stimulated  old  lands  seems  to  bo  longer  and  stronger.  Spanish  needles  and  crab-grass  are  the  most  troublesome  weeds. 
In  the  last  few  years  much  land  turned  out  has  been  reclaimed  and  put  in  cotton  ;  when  agaiu  taken  in  it  does  well  in  wheat  for  a  few 
years,  and  in  oats  and  cotton  as  long  as  manured.  The  soil  readily  gullies  on  the  slopes,  and  in  many  places  serious  damage  is  done 
The  valleys  are  to  some  extent  injured  by  the  washings  of  the  uplands,  but  the  proportion  of  valley  to  uplands  is  not  considerable. 
Efforts  have  been  made  to  cheek  this  damage  by  horizootalizing  and  hillside  ditching,  and  with  good  auceess  when  properly  attended  to. 

The  clay  loam  and  clay  soil  are  timbered  with  large  oaks,  hickory,  and  poplar,  and  the  average  thickness  before  it  changes  into  subsoil 
is  from  1  to  5  inches.  The  subsoil  is  tough,  and  contains  hard  white  gravel,  underlaid  by  slate  or  granite  at  from  4  to  10  feet.  The  soil  is 
apparently  best  adapted  to  wheat  and  corn.  Cotton  is  most  productive  at  from  2$  to  3  feet,  and  in  wet  weather  is  apt  to  run  to  weed. 
Fresh  laud  produces  500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  from  1,425  to  1,485  pounds  being  needed  to  make  a  475-pound  bale.  After  eight 
years'  cultivation  it  will  yield  200  pounds  per  acre.     The  old  pine-fields1  soil  is  about  the  same  as  No.  1. 

Cotton  on  bottom  lands  being  late  in  starting  off  in  the  spring,  and  growing  too  late  in  the  fall,  the  crop  is  con  lined  almost  enl  irely 
to  the  uplands. 

Cotton  is  shipped  by  wagon  to  Charlotte,  and  the  rate  of  freight  is  $1  25  for  25  miles. 

GASTON. 

Population:  14,254.— White,  10.1S8;  colored,  4,000. 

Area  :  304  square  miles. — Woodland,  07,543  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  50,500  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  10,040  acres;  in  corn, 24,078  acres;  in  wheat,  11,500  acres; 
in  oats,  0,000  acres. 

Cotton  production, :  4,588  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.42  bale,  507  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  100  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Gaston,  a  small  county,  lies  on  the  southern  border  of  the  state,  and  is  bounded  eastward  by  the  Catawba  river, 
whose  tributaries  drain  its  entire,  surface.  In  the  southern  section  are  several  small  mountain  chains  and  spurs, 
the  highest  of  which,  King's  mountain,  reaches  an  altitude  of  nearly  1,700  feet  above  sea-level.  Most  of  the 
county  is  quite  broken,  and  partakes  of  the  character  of  the  Piedmont  division.  It  is  characterized  by  mixed  forests 
of  oak  and  pine  and  by  gray  and  yellow  gravelly  soils  of  moderate  fertility,  with  occasional  areas  of  red-clay 
soils.  In  the  northwestern  section  are  the  largest  tracts  of  oak  and  hickory  forests,  with  their  corresponding  red- 
clay  soils. 

Of  the.  county  area,  25.57  per  cent,  is  under  tillage,  and  of  this  1S.3S  per  cent,  is  in  cotton.  The  product  of 
cotton  has  increased  sixfold  in  the  last  ten  years. 

There  are  many  valuable  beds  of  iron  ore  in  the  county,  and  the  manufactures  of  cotton,  and  formerly  of  iron, 
have  attained  considerable  importance.  It  is  one  of  the  oldest  iron-manufacturing  regions  of  the  south,  some  of  its 
furnaces  dating  back  nearly  one  hundred  years.  In  water-power  it  has  superior  advantages.  It  has  also  several 
noted  gold  mines. 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE    REPORT    OF   JASPER    STOWE,    OF    LOWELL. 

The  soils  are  numerous,  and  vary  from  rich  to  very  poor.  Cold  weather  in  late  April  and  May  is  one  terror  to  the  cotton-planter, 
and  frequently  frosts  in  the  fall  kill  the  cotton  before  it  matures. 

About  one-sixth  of  the  cotton  laud  is  what  is  termed  "  chincapin"  land.  This  soil  is  gray  fine  sandy,  having  a  subsoil  of  compact 
red  or  yellow  clay,  and  occupies  patches  of  several  square  miles,  forming  large  and  small  farms  in  all  sections  of  the  county;  its  timber 
is  generally  a  mixed  growth  of  oaks  and  pines.  Cotton  aud  corn  are  the  chief  crops,  hut  the  soil  is  best  adapted  to  cotton,  two-fifths  of 
the  improved  land  being  occupied  by  this  crop.  It  is  most  productive  when  2$  feet  high,  and  incliues  to  run  to  weed  in  wet  seasons,  for 
which  we  think  deep  plowiug  a  remedy.  Fresh  land  produces  5U0  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and  1,425  pounds  will  make  a  475- 
ponud  bale;  the  grade  is  always  good.  Crab-grass  is  the  only  pest.  The  slopes  wash  or  gully  very  readily,  but  the  damage  is  uot 
extensive. 

The  granite  soil  occupies  one-6eventh  of  the  lands  in  this  region,  and  extends  from  northeast  to  southwest,  in  places  several  miles 
hi  length  and  half  a  mile  in  width;  there  are  several  such  ranges  in  the  county.     The  timber  is  mostly  small  hickories,  with  oaks  and 
590 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  59 

nines  in  fair  proportion.  The  soil  is  a  whitish-gray,  coarse,  sandy,  gravelly  loam,  to  the  average  depth  of  5  inches,  when  it  changes  into 
the  subsoil,  which  is  tenacious  clay,  sometimes  porous.  The  former  contains  hard  and  soft  granitic  pebbles,  and  is  only  difficult  to  till  in 
wet  seasons.  It  is  best  adapted  to  cotton  and  oats,  three-fifths  being  the  proportion  of  cotton  planted,  which  grows  from  30  to  42  inches 
hi<'h  Fresh  land  produces  from  700  to  1,500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and  1,425  pounds  will  make  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint,  which 
rates  when  clean,  as  good  middling.     No  one  thinks  of  cultivating  without  manuring. 

The  hickory  or  red  land  constitutes  two-thirds  of  the  region,  and  is  timbered  the  same  as  the  other  soil.  The  subsoil  is  generally  a 
stiff  deep-red  clay,  and  the  soil  is  best  adapted  to  corn  and  wheat,  though  one-fourth  is  planted  in  cotton.  Fresh  land  rarely  produces 
485  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and  1,485  pounds  is  needed  for  a  bale,  which  rates  as  low  middling. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made  in  November  by  rail  to  Charlotte.     Eates  of  freight  are  from  50  to  75  cents  per  bale. 

CLEAVELAND. 

Population:  10,571.— White,  13,700 ;  colored,  2,871. 

Area  :  464  square  miles.— Woodland,  129,115  acres. 

Tilled  lands  :  85,752  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  19,23S  acres  ;  in  corn,  31 ,339  acres ;  in  wheat,  11,116  acres ; 
in  oats,  10,959  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  6,120  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.32  bale,  453  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  151  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Cleaveland  county  is  situated  on  the  southern  border  of  the  state,  and  lies  westward  of  Gaston  county.  Its 
northern  end  rests  upon  the  summit  of  the  South  mountains,  at  an  elevation  of  nearly  3,000  feet  above  sea-level, 
and  its  upper  half  belongs  properly  to  the  Piedmont  division.  It  is  drained  by  several  large  tributaries  of  the 
Broad  river,  which  rise  in  this  chain  and  cross  the  county  southward  into  South  Carolina.  Its  agricultural  and 
topographical  features  are  very  similar  to  those  of  Catawba  county,  to  which  its  territory  is  contiguous.  Its  soils 
consist  of  alternating  tracts  of  red  or  reddish  clay  and  gray  and  yellow  gravelly  loams  (chiefly  the  latter),  and  have 
their  corresponding  forests  of  oak  and  of  oak  mingled  with  pine.  This  county  produces  cotton  throughout  its 
territory  even  up  to  the  flanks  and  on  the  slopes  of  the  South  mountains,  although  this  form  of  agriculture  is  the 
growth  of  a  decade,  the  product  having  increased  twelvefold  in  that  time.  The  production  of  grain  exceeds  500,000 
bushels.  Of  the  county  area,  28.88  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  cotton  occupies  22.43  per  cent.  Gold  mining  is 
also  a  familiar  industry,  placers  being  common  in  the  north  and  vein  mines  in  the  south  end. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  KEPOET  OF  J.  B.  LOGAN,  OF  SHELBY. 

The  chief  soil  cultivated  in  cotton  is  a  yellow  sandy  mil,  which  occupies  three-fourths  of  the  entire  area  and  extends  throughout  the 
county,  interspersed  with  tracts  of  red-clay  land.  Its  natural  timber  is  pine,  hickory,  oak,  dogwood,  poplar,  and,  in  the  mountainous  part, 
chestnut,  chestnut-oak,  locust,  etc.  The  average  thickness  of  the  surface  soil  is  G  inches  before  its  color  changes  into  that  of  the  subsoil- 
which  is  harder  and  heavier  than  the  surface  soil.  Cottou,  corn,  wheat,  oats,  and  sorghum  are  the  chief  crops,  hut  cotton  is  planted 
on  one-fourth  of  the  cultivated  land,  which  grows  from  2  to2A  feet  in  height,  and  is  apt  to  run  to  weed  when  the  land  is  too  rich  naturally 
or  planted  too  wide  and  thinned  out  too  much.  Commercial  fertilizers  and  thicker  planting  are  used  to  restrain  this  tendency.  Fresh, 
land  produces  from  GOO  to  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,600  pounds  making  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint.  After  four  years* 
cultivation  the  product  is  from  300  to  500  pounds  per  acre,  and  about  1,780  pounds  are  needed  for  a  bale.  The  lint  is  not  so  long  or 
heavy,  but  probably  has  a  firmer  texture. 

Kock  or  pigeon  weed  and  foxtail  are  the  most  troublesome  weeds.  Considerable  damage  is  done  in  certain  localities  by  the  washing 
or  gullying  of  the  slopes,  especially  in  the  white  sandy  land,  and  efforts  are  made  with  great  success  to  prevent  the  damage  by  hillside 
ditching  and  horizontal  plowing. 

There  are  three  qualities  of  land,  however  :  (1)  the  yellow  sandy,  (2)  the  white  sandy,  and  (3)  the  red  rather  clayey  land  ;  but  not  much 
difference  in  growing  cottou,  the  yellow  sandy,  if  any,  being  the  best.  All  parts  of  the  county,  even  the  northern  or  mountainous  part, 
grow  cottou  tolerably  well  by  fertilizing  with  guano  or  phosphates. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made,  by  rail,  to  Charleston  at  $2  25,  to  Wilmington  at  $1  35,  and  New  York  at  $2  95  per  bale. 

The  report  of  E.  P.  Chambers,  of  Stice's  Shoal,  agrees  in  general  with  the  above.  He  describes  the  prevalent 
soil  as  gray  sandy,  having  oak  and  hickory  forests,  and  some  pine  intermixed,  and  the  subsoil  as  usually  a  red 
and  sometimes  yellow  clay.  Two-fifths  of  the  cultivated  laud  is  in  cotton,  but  rye  is  one  of  the  chief  crops. 
Crab-grass  is  the  most  troublesome'  pest.    Twenty  per  cent,  of  this  land  lies  "  turned  out". 

The  second  class  of  land  has  red-clay  soil,  embracing  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  land  of  the  region.  Its  growth 
is  oak  and  hickory,  and  the  soil  is  trom  8  to  10  inches  deep. 

A  third  class  is  described  as  black  bottoms,  which  embraces  less  than  one-fourth  of  the  lands  of  the  region,  and 
the  subsoil  is  usually  a  blue  clay.     Very  little  of  this  land  is  planted  in  cotton. 

EUTHEBFOBD. 

Population:  15,198.— White,  11,910 ;  colored,  3,288. 

Area  :  520  square  miles. — Woodland,  180,192  acres. 

Tilled  lands  :  63,825  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  9,679  acres ;  in  tobacco,  38  acres ;  in  corn,  32,783  acres;  in 
wheat,  8,6S3  acres;  in  rye,  089  acres;  in  oats,  6,166  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  2,079  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.21  bale,  306  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  102  pound* 
cotton  lint. 

The  topographical  features  of  Eutherford  county  may  be  described  in  the  same  terms  as  those  of  Cleaveland, 
which  bounds  it  on  the  east.  Like  that,  it  is  traversed  from  its  northern  limit,  in  the  South  mountains,  by  the 
parallel  southerly  courses  of  several  large  tributaries  of  the  Broad  river.  Its  northern  half  is  in  many  places  quite 
rugged  and  mountainous  (being  properly  a  part  of  the  Piedmont  division),  and  its  northwestern  corner  rests  on 

591 


60  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

some  of  the  summits  of  the  Blue  Ridge  at  an  elevation  of  nearly  -1,000  feet.  Its  soils  and  its  agriculture  correspond 
in  all  tlieir  features  to  those  of  ''leaveland  county,  and  its  cotton  product  lias  increased  seventeen-fold  since  1870. 
Gold  mining  is  also  an  industry  of  some,  importance,  especially  in  the  northern  section,  where  placers  are  abundant 
and  extensive  on  the  flanks  of  the  South  mountains  and  in  the  beds  of  the  streams  at  their  base.  Of  the  county 
area,  19.18  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  15.10  per  cent,  is  planted  in  cotton. 

Transportation  is  by  wagon  to  the  railroads  of  adjacent  counties,  and  thence  to  Charlotte,  Wilmington,  and 
Charleston. 

RANDOLPH. 

Population:  20,836.— White,  17,758;  colored,  3,078. 

Area:  701  square  miles. — Woodland,  237,999  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  91,093  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  595  acres  ;  in  tobacco,  45  acres  ;  in  corn,  35,338  acres :  in 
wheat,  29,443  acres;  in  oafs,  13,524  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  295  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.50  bale,  708  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  230  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

The  southern  portion  of  Randolph  county  for  a  few  miles  from  its  border  partakes  in  part  of  the  character  of 
the  long-leaf  pine  belt,  but  for  much  the  larger  part  of  its  territory  it  belongs  strictly  to  the  oak  upland  region, 
its  surface  being  quite  hilly  and  broken,  and  near  the  western  margin  there  are  several  small  mountains.  Through 
its  middle  region,  from  northwest  to  southeast,  is  an  elevated  ridge  or  divide  between  the  waters  of  the  Deep  river 
and  the  Yadkin  which  has  an  altitude  of  from  700  to  900  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  western  and  southern 
sections  of  the  county  are  characterized  by  the  occurrence  of  sharp  ridges  and  hills  of  slate,  with  light-gray,  sandy, 
gravelly  soil;  but  the  upper  portion  is  much  less  broken,  and  consists  of  broad,  flatfish  swells,  which  constitute 
the  divides  between  the  upper  waters  of  the  Haw,  Deep,  and  Uharie  rivers,  the  latter  being  one  of  the  tributaries 
of  the  Yadkin.  The  soils  of  this  portion  of  the  county  are,  for  the  most  part,  gray,  gravelly  loams,  alternated  here 
and  there  with  red  clay  lands.  Cotton  is  produced  in  only  a  small  pari  of  the  southern  half  of  the  county,  the 
production  of  small  grains  (700,000  bushels)  constituting  its  principal  agricultural  feature.  Of  the  county  area. 
20.44  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  only  0.05  per  cent,  is  planted  in  cotton.  There  are  several  noted  gold  mines 
in  this  comity. 

Transportation  is  furnished  by  the  North  Carolina  railroad,  which  crosses  the  upper  corner  of  the  county. 

GUILFORD. 

Population :  23,585. — White,  16,885;  colored,  6,700. 

Area;  082  square  miles. — Woodland,  108,071  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  120,722  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  2S3  acres ;  in  tobacco,  910  acres ;  in  com,  39,790  acres  : 
in  wheat,  27,743  acres;  in  rye,  354  acres;  in  oats,  20,774  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  114  bales,  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.40  bale,  573  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  191  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Guilford  county  lies  in  the  middle  of  the  midland  plateau,  and  near  its  highest  part,  on  the  water-shed  between 
the  Cape  Fear  and  Dan  rivers,  which  crosses  its  territory  nearly  midway  in  a  west  and  east  direction  at  an  average 
elevation  of  between  800  and  1,000  feet  above  tide.  In  its  physical  characteristics  and  its  agricultural  features 
this  county  may  be  taken  as  a  typical  average  of  this  region.  This  elevated  swell  of  land  between  the  water-courses, 
with  its  projections  at  right  angles  between  the  main  tributaries  of  the,  above-mentioned  rivers,  is  characterized  by 
quite  a  uniform  forest  growth  and  soil,  both  of  which  may  be  taken  as  representative  of  these  features  for  the 
major  part  of  the  midland  division.  Its  forests  consist  mainly  of  oaks  of  various  species  and  hickory,  with  a 
subordinate  growth  of  short-leaf  pine  scattered  quite  uniformly  over  most  of  its  area.  Along  its  river  and  creek 
bottoms,  which  are  in  many  parts  of  the  county  extensive,  and  in  the  southeastern  section  of  the  county — even  on 
the  uplands — are  heavy  forests  of  oak,  intermingled  with  hickory,  walnut,  poplar,  maple,  etc.  These  lauds  have 
generally  a  reddish-clay  loam  soil.  The  soil  of  the  higher  and  broad-backed  ridges  anil  swells  is  quite  uniformly 
a  yellowish  sandy  and  gravelly  loam,  underlaid  by  a  yellow  and  red-clay  subsoil.  The  cotton  zone,  barely  touches 
the  southern  border,  the  chief  cro|  >s  of  the  county  consisting  of  grains  (of  which  the  aggregate,  exceeds  three-quarters 
of  a  million  bushels)  and  tobacco,  the  product  of  which  is  nearly  half  a  million  pounds,  grown  mostly  in  the  northern 
half  of  the  county.  Of  the  county  area,  28.10  percent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  only  0.22  per  cent,  is  planted  in  cotton. 
Gold,  copper,  and  iron  are  found  in  many  places,  and  have  been  mined  on  a  considerable  scale,  chiefly  before  the  war. 

Transportation  is  east,  west,  and  north  by  rail  to  Richmond,  Norfolk,  and  New  York. 

ABSTRACT    OF    TIIE    REPORT    OF   DR.  D.  W.  C.  BENBOW,  OF    GREENSBORO'. 

The  principal  soil  is  light  sandy;  hut  about  one-half  the  laud  of  the  region  varies  from  tract  to  tract,  and  comprises  Bandy  and 
red-clay  soils,  chiefly  the  former,  and  some  dark  loam.  The  natural  growth  is  oak,  hickory,  ash,  maple,  dogwood,  short-leaf  pine,  etc. 
The  soil  has  a  thickness  of  5  inches  over  a  subsoil  of  stiff  clay,  gravel,  and  hard-pan,  aud  the  chief  crops  are  wheat,  com,  oats,  tobacco, 
and  cotton.  The  height  of  cotton  is  usually  2  feet.  One-third  of  this  land  lies  "  turned  out" ;  it  washes  on  the  slopes,  doing  serious 
damage,  but.  the  valleys  are  improved  50  per  cent..     Very  little  effort  is  made  to  check  damage. 

ALAMANCE. 

Population:   14,613.— White,  9.997  ;  colored,  4,616. 

Area:  445  square  miles. — Woodland,  71,239  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  72,021  acres  :  area  planted  in  cotton,  211  acres;  in  tobacco,  1,688  acres  ;  in  corn,  24,628  acres  ;  in 
wheat,  18,601  acres:  in  oats.   9,618  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  91  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.43  bale,  015  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  205  pounds 
cotton  liut. 
532 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  61 

This  county  is  drained  by  the  upper  waters  of  the  Cape  Fear  river,  and  one  of  its  principal  tributaries,  the  Haw 
river,  crosses  it  from  the  northwestern  to  the  southeastern  corner.  The  soils  of  this  county  are  largely  fertile 
red-clay  loams,  with  oak  and  hickory  forests.  Slate  hills,  which  rise  to  the  elevation  of  low  mountain  chains, 
occupy  the  southern  end  of  the  county,  and  have  oak  and  pine  forests  and  thin,  sandy  loam  soils.  The  northern 
portion  consists  of  alternating  tracts  of  gray  sandy  loams  and  red  clays.  The  cotton  belt  barely  touches  the  southern 
edge  of  the  county.  The  upper  end  is  devoted  to  the  production  of  tobacco,  and  the  whole  of  it  to  grain  crops,  of 
which  the  yield  is  large. 

The  manufacturing  facilities  of  the  county  are  very  great,  and,  in  number  of  cotton-looms  and  spindles, 
Alamance  stands  first  of  all  the  counties  in  the  state.  There  are  also  gold  deposits,  both  vein  and  placer,  in  the 
middle  and  southern  sections. 

Of  the  county  area,  20.00  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  0.29  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton.  Transportation  is 
east  and  west  by  rail. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  REPORT  OF  J.  A.  GRAHAM,  OF  GRAHAM. 

The  principal  soil  is  sandy,  and  occupies  two-thirds  of  the  lands.  A  gray  chalky  soil  comprises  one-third  of  the  land.  The  former 
is  in  scattered  patches,  and  has  a  growth  of  post  oak,  black-jack,  ehincapiu,  and  white  oak ;  its  thickness  is  6  incheB,  over  a  subsoil  of 
yellow  clay.  The  chief  crops  are  corn,  wheat,  oats,  cotton,  and  tobacco,  but  the  soil  is  best  adapted  to  the  last.  One-fourth  of  sneh  land 
is  in  cotton,  and  its  usual  height  is  2  feet,  but  it  is  most  productive  at  2£  feet.  Fresh  land  produces  from  1,000  to  1,200  pounds,  from  1,425 
to  1,545  pounds  making  a  bale.  The  yield  after  three  years'  cultivation  iBfrom  800  to  1,000  pounds  per  acre,  1,060  pounds  making  a  bale;  but 
the  staple  from  fresh  land  rates  the  best.  The  worst  pests  in  cultivation  are  crab-grass  and  rag-weed.  Not  more  than  oue-tifth  of  such 
lands  once  cultivated  now  lies  turned  out. 

PERSON. 

Population:  13,719.— White,  7,206;  colored,  C,013. 

Area  :  401  square  miles. — Woodland,  90,011  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  71,034  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  2  acres;  in  tobacco,  5,808  acres  ;  in  com,  19,372  acres;  in 
wheat,  8,974  acres ;  in  oats,  9,821  acres. 

Cotion  production:  1  bale;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.50  bale,  711  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  237  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Person  county  lies  outside  of  the  cotton  belt,  and  belongs  to  the  bright  tobacco  zone.  Near  the  middle  of  it 
rise  several  low  mountain  ridges  of  granite  and  slate,  with  oak  and  pine  forests.  These  attain  an  altitude  of  about 
1,000  feet  (the  general  elevation  being  from  000  to  700  feet),  and  have  a  thin  gravelly  and  sandy  soil,  while  the  other 
sections  are  alternately  of  this  character  and  of  red-clay  soils  of  greater  fertility.  To  the  latter  class  belong 
especially  the  northwestern  and  southeastern  sections.  The  chief  agricultural  interest  is  the  production  of  tobacco 
of  a  high  grade,  in  which  industry  this  is  one  of  the  leading  comities.  To  this  crop  the  light,  sandy  soils  are 
peculiarly  adapted.  In  tobacco  product  Person  county  is  lourth  in  rank.  Of  the  county  area,  27.91  per  cent  is 
tilled  land,  of  which  only  an  insignificant  portion  is  planted  in  cotton. 

Transportation  is  by  wagon  to  the  railroad  in  adjoining  counties,  and  so  to  Kichmond  and  the  other  markets. 

CASWELL. 

Foindation  :  17,825.— White,  7,109  ;  colored,  10,050. 

Area:  407  square  miles. — Woodland,  70,200  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  83,545  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  0  acres;  in  tobacco,  10,174  acres;  in  corn,  25,663  acres;  in 
wheat,  10,841  acres ;  in  oats,  14,441  acres. 

Cotton  production :  4  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.67  bale,  951  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  317  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Caswell  county  duplicates  the  features  of  Person,  both  agriculturally  and  topographically,  except  that  the 
mountains  are  wanting.  The  larger  part  of  its  territory  is  devoted  to  the  production  of  bright  yellow  tobacco,  while 
grain  crops  occupy  a  comparatively  subordinate  position,  and  are  produced  principally  along  the  river  and  creek 
bottoms  which  abound  in  the  northern  and  eastern  sections  of  this  county.  The  northeastern  section  consists  largely 
of  red-clay  lands,  with  oak  and  hickory  forests,  while  the  lighter  tobacco  soils  occupy  most  of  the  southern  and 
western  portions.  Caswell  ranksthird  among  the  tobacco  counties  in  aggregate  product.  Of  the  county  area,  32.07 
per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  0.01  per  cent,  is  planted  in  cotton. 

Transportation  is  furnished  by  the  Richmond  and  Danville  railroad  and  a  branch  of  it. 

ROCKINGHAM. 

Population:  21,744.— White,  12,431;  colored,  9,313. 

Area:  5S2  square  miles. — Woodland,  13S,200  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  77,439  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  5  acres;  in  tobacco,  9,332  acres;  in  corn,  25,175  acres; 
in  wheat,  11,298  acres;  in  rye,  301  acres;  in  oats,  15,200  acres. 

Cotton  production :  S  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.00  bale,  855  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  2S5  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Rockingham,  like  the  two  preceding,  is  a  border  county,  and  belongs  to  the  same  famous  bright  tobacco  belt.  It 
is  traversed  in  a  northeasterly  course  by  the  waters  of  the  Dan  river,  and  its  southern  section  is  drained  by  the  upper 
tributaries  of  the  Cape  Fear  (Haw)  river.  The  northwestern  corner  of  this  county,  constituting  about  one-third  of  its 
territory,  near  the  Virginia  line  and  north  of  the  Dan  river,  consists  for  the  most  part  of  elevated  ilattish  ridges  and 
swells  having  gray,  yellow,  gravelly  loam  soils,  while  the  southern  and  eastern  two-thirds  of  the  county  consist  of 
alternating  belts  of  these  loams  and  of  red  clays.  Besides  tobacco,  in  which  this  county  ranks  second,  large  crops  of 
38  c  p — VOL.  II  5U3 


62  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

grain  are  produced — upward  of  600,000  bushels.  Dan  river,  with  its  tributaries,  furnishes  abundant  water-power, 
and  the  former  stream  is  navigable  in  a  small  way  i'ur  flat-boats.  A  bed  of  semi-bituminous  coal,  .'5  feet  in  thickness, 
and  of  good  quality,  outcrops  in  the  eastern  section,  but  it  has  been  but  little  mined.  Of  the  county  area,  20.79  per 
cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  only  0.01  per  cent,  is  planted  in  cotton. 

Shipments  are  made  by  rail  to  Danville,  Richmond,  and  other  markets. 

STOKES. 

Population:  15,353.— White,  11,730;  colored,  3,023. 

Area:  470  square  miles. — Woodland,  131,483  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  53.309  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  13  acres;  in  tobacco,  4,000  acres;  in  com,  10,009  acres;  iu 
wheat,  0,374  acres;  in  rye,  1,195  acres ;  in  oats,  8,408  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  7  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.54  bale,  708  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  250  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Stokes  is  another  border  county,  and  belongs  also  to  the  bright  tobacco  belt.  It  is  drained  by  the  upper 
tributaries  of  the  Dan,  and  belongs  to  the  Piedmont  division  of  the  state.  Its  surface  is  for  the  most  part  quite 
rugged  and  broken,  containing  the  terminal  spurs  and  ridges  of  the  Brushy  mountains,  which  here  attain  an 
elevation  of  more  than  2,500  feet  above  the  sea.  The  general  elevation  is  above  1,000  feet.  The  forests  of  this 
county  and  of  the  Piedmont  region  generally  contain  an  added  element,  the  chestnut,  on  elevated  ridges  and 
mountain  slopes,  and  the  proportion  increases  with  the  elevation.  A  new  species  of  oak  also  makes  its 
appearance,  the  chestnut  oak,  which  occupies  the  crests  and  upper  slopes  of  the  poorer  stony  and  gravelly  ridges 
of  the  whole  mountain  region.  The  proportion  of  sourwood  (Oxydendron)  also  increases  to  such  an  extent  in  the 
Piedmont  region  as  to  become  a  marked  characteristic  of  its  forests,  and  is  indicative  of  a  scant  soil.  It  is  worthy 
of  note  that,  with  the  extinction  of  the  herbage  which  originally  mantled  the  soil  and  kept  it  moist,  the  chestnut 
has  almost  disappeared  in  half  a  century  from  the  upper  midland  counties,  and  is  dying  out  slowly  in  the 
Piedmont  region. 

The  soils  of  this  county  resemble  those  of  Rockingham,  being  predominantly  yellow  and  gray  gravelly  loams, 
with  occasional  red-clay  belts,  the  former  well  adapted  to  the  production  of  the  higher  grades  of  tobacco,  which 
constitutes  the  chief  element  of  its  agriculture,  and  in  the  total  product  of  which  this  county  stands  filth.  Its 
manufacturing  facilities  are  great  but  undeveloped,  and  it  is  rich  iu  iron  ores.  Its  agriculture  has  the  advantage 
of  the  presence  of  several  limestone  beds,  and  there  are  also  outcrops  of  semi-bituminous  coal  in  the  southeastern 
section.     Of  the  county  area,  17.52  per  cent  is  tilled  land,  of  which  only  0.02  per  cent,  is  planted  in  cotton. 

Transportation  is  by  wagon,  and  occasionally  by  flat-boats  on  the  Dan  river.  A  railroad  from  Greensboro'  is 
nearly  finished  to  the  border. 

FORSYTH. 

Population:  18,070.— White,  13,441;  colored,  4,029. 

Area:  304  square  miles. — Woodland,  91,053  acres. 

lilted  lands:  59,157  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  16  acres;  in  tobacco,  1,693  acres;  in  corn,  20,920  acres; 
in  wheat,  13,590  acres;  in  rye,  492  acres;  in  oats,  11,780  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  10  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.63  bale,  891  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  297  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Forsyth  county  lies  west  of  Guilford,  and  is  bounded  on  the  west  by  the  Yadkin  river.  Through  its  middle 
portion  is  a  broad  swell  or  plateau,  the  divide  between  the  waters  of  the  Yadkin  and  Dan,  with  an  elevation  of  from 
1,000  to  1,200  feet,  and  having  forests  of  oak.  dogwood,  sourwood,  piue,  etc.  Its  soils  are  light,  gray  loams.  The 
tributaries  of  the  Yadkin,  which  drain  the  southwestern  section,  abound  in  bottom  lands  of  great  fertility,  and  have 
heavy  oak  forests,  interspersed  with  hickory,  walnut,  poplar,  etc.,  while  the  middle,  northern,  and  eastern  sections 
are  characterized  largely  by  gray  sandy  loam  soils,  with  forests  of  oak  and  pine.  This  county  shows  an  increasing 
product  of  the  better  and  medium  grades  of  tobacco,  but  it  produces  chiefly  grain  crops — an  aggregate  of  more 
than  500,000  bushels.     Of  the  county  area,  25.39  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  cotton  occupies  only  0.03  per  cent. 

Transportation  is  by  rail  to  Greensboro'  and  to  the  other  markets  beyond. 

DAVIE. 

Population:  11,096.— White,  7,770;  colored,  3,326. 

Area:  2S9  square  miles. — Woodland,  03,566  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  59,272  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  790  acres;  in  tobacco,  1,205  acres;  in  corn,  22,125  acres; 
in  wheat,  13,244  acres ;  in  rye,  444  acres ;  in  oats,  13,306  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  302  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.38  bale,  546  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  182  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

The  small  county  of  Davie  lies  in  the  angle  between  the  Yadkin  and  the  South  Yadkin  rivers,  and  resembles  in 
its  general  features  the  preceding  county.  It  also  corresponds  with  that  county  in  its  agricultural  productions.  In 
the  southern  half  of  this  county  the  soils  belong  largely  to  the  class  of  red  clays,  and  are  covered  with  heavy  oak 
forests,  while  the  middle  and  northern  portions  have  a  mixed  growth  of  oaks  and  pines  and  a  light-gray,  sandy, 
and  gravelly  soil.  This  section  of  the  county  is  mainly  devoted  to  the  culture  of  tobacco.  The  river  hills,  flanking 
both  the  Yadkin  and  its  chief  tributaries,  are  quite  broken,  and  have  a  productive  gravelly  loam  soil  and  forests 
predominantly  of  oak.  The  elevation  of  the  surface  ranges  from  700  to  1,000  feet,  the  average  being  about  850 
feet  above  sea-level.  The  culture  of  cotton  has  recently  entered  the  southern  and  western  townships.  The  grain 
crop  is  quite  large,  exceeding  050,000  bushels;  and  latterly  also  tobacco  has  been  cultivated  to  a  considerable  extent 
in  the  north  and  west  sections,  the  soils  of  a  large  part  of  its  territory  being  well  adapted  to  the  higher  grades. 
There  are  several  valuable  iron-ore  deposits  in  the  county.  Of  the  county  area,  only  32.05  per  cent,  is  tilled  land, 
and  the  proportion  of  cotton  planted  is  1.33  per  cent,  of  the  latter. 

Transportation  is  furnished  by  the  Western  Korth  Carolina  railroad,  which  crosses  the  adjacent  county  of 
Rowan. 

594 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES  63 

YADKIN. 

Population:  12,420.— White,  10,876;  colored,  1,544. 
Area:  351  square  miles. — Woodland,  89,582 acres. 

Tilled  lands:  52,810  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  S7  acres;  in  tobacco  425  acres;  in  corn,  21,735  acres} 
in  -wheat,  10,190  acres;  in  rye,  821  acres;  in  oats,  11,289  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  26  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.30  bale,  426  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  142  pounds 

cotton  lint. 

Yadkin  county  lies  immediately  north  of  Davie,  in  the  bend  of  the  Yadkin  river,  which  bounds  it  northward 
and  eastward.  It  is  traversed  in  a  nearly  east  and  west  course  by  the  Brushy  mountains,  which  here  drop  down 
into  low  spurs  and  swells,  the  average  elevation  of  the  county  being  probably  not  greater  than  1,200  feet.  Its 
soils  and  forests  are  like  those  of  Davie  county.  Its  agricultural  interest  is  divided  between  the  production  of 
tobacco  and  grain  crops,  the  product  of  the  latter  nearly  reaching  half  a  million  bushels.  Cotton  culture  has 
invaded  its  southern  border  to  a  small  extent  within  a  few  years.  There  are  several  iron  mines  in  the  county, 
but  they  have  been  little  worked,  as  they  are  too  far  from  market.  Of  the  county  area,  23.51  per  cent,  is  tilled 
land,  of  which  0.16  per  cent,  is  planted  in  cotton. 

No  railroad  has  yet  reached  the  county. 

SURRY. 

Population:  15,302.— White,  13,227;  colored,  2,075. 

Area:  476  square  miles. — Woodland,  18S,631  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  09,011  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  3  acres;  in  tobacco,  2,136  acres;  in  corn,  25,334  acres;  in 
wheat,  9,823  acres ;  in  rye,  3,027  acres ;  in  oats,  9,199  acres ;  in  buckwheat,  71  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  1  bale ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.33  bale,  474  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  15S  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Surry  is  a  north  border  county  contiguous  to  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  belongs  to  the  Piedmont  section  of  the 
state.  The  Yadkin  river  is  its  southern  boundary.  Its  western  section  is  quite  mountainous,  and  there  are  small 
mountains  in  the  middle;  so  that  its  surface  is  quite  broken,  and  its  average  elevation  is  nearly  1,400  feet.  Its  soils 
and  forests  are  like  those  of  the  neighboring  counties,  Stokes  and  Forsyth,  the  high  slaty  ridges  and  mountains,  as 
well  as  much  of  the  rolling  surface,  having  a  light  gray,  sandy  loam  soil  and  forests  of  oak  and  pine,  with  sourwood 
and  chestnut,  while  the  better  tracts  of  reddish  clay  loams  have  a  predominant  growth  of  oaks,  hickory,  poplar, 
etc.,  with  little  or  no  pine. 

The  agriculture  of  the  county  is  like  that  of  Stokes,  tobacco  of  the  better  grades  being  the  chief  market  crop, 
but  of  greatly  less  value  than  the  grain  product,  which  exceeds  500,000  bushels.  The  water-power  of  the  county 
is  notable,  a  number  of  large  tributaries  of  the  Yadkin  crossing  its  territory  with  a  fall  of  several  hundred  feet. 
This  is  a  feature  common  to  the  whole  Piedmont  region.  There  are  several  cotton  factories  and  iron  mines  and 
forges  in  the  county.  Of  the  county  area,  22.65  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  only  an  insignificant  portion  is 
cultivated  in  cotton. 

WILKES. 

Population:  19,181.— White,  17,257 :  colored,  1,924. 

Area :  626  square  miles. — Woodland,  268,834  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  80,512  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  107  acres;  in  tobacco,  110  acres;  in  corn,  34,865  acres; 
in  wheat,  9,515  acres;  in  rye,  5,236  acres;  in  oats,  8,240  acres;  in  buckwheat,  218  acres. 

Cotton  production :  29  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.27  bale,  387  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  129  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Wilkes  county  lies  west  of  Surry,  and  differs  from  it  only  in  being  more  mountainous  and  rugged  and  having 
a  greater  average  elevation — not  less  than  1,500  feet.  Its  northern  margin  rests  on  the  summits  of  the  Blue  Ridge 
(at  an  elevation  of  from  3,000  to  4,000  feet),  its  southern  on  the  Brushy  mountains  (from  2,000  to  2,500  feet  above  sea- 
level),  and  its  whole  surface  is  carved  into  a  succession  of  mountain  ridges  and  narrow  intervening  valleys  by  the 
Yadkin  and  its  numerous  tributaries.  Its  agriculture  and  its  forests  may  be  described  in  the  same  terms  as  were 
those  of  Surry,  except  that,  with  the  increase  of  elevation,  the  growth  of  chestnut  increases,  and  a  newx  forest 
element  enters,  to  a  small  extent,  in  the  white  pine  (P.  strobus),  both  in  the  South  mountains  and  on  the  flanks  of 
the  Blue  Ridge.  Along  the  margin  of  the  Yadkin  river  and  its  larger  tributaries  are  frequent  and  wide  tracts  of 
sandy  and  clay  bottom  lands.  In  various  parts  of  the  county  are  small  areas  of  reddish  clay  soil,  but  much  the 
larger  part  of  it  shows  the  average,  oak  upland  soil,  yellow  or  gray  sandy  loam.  The  lighter  soils  are  well  adapted 
to  the  highest  grades  of  tobacco,  the.  culture  of  which  begins  to  enter  largely  into  its  agriculture.  Of  the  county 
area,  20.10  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  only  0.13  per  cent,  is  planted  in  cotton.  The  water-power  of  the  county 
is  very  large,  the  sources  of  its  multitude  of  rivers  having  an  elevation  of  from  2,000  to  3,000  feet  above  tide,  and 
their  mouths  less  than  1,000  feet. 

ALEXANDER. 

Population:  8,355.— White,  7,458;  colored,  897. 

Area:  245  square  miles. — Woodland,  82,690  acres. 

Tilled,  lands:  41,572  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  617  acres;  in  tobacco,  28  acres;  in  corn,  1G,789  acres;  in 
wheat,  0,376  acres;  in  rye,  760  acres;  in  oats,  7,503  acres. 

Cottor. production :  182  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.29  bale,  420  pounds  seed  cotton,  or  140  pounds 
cotton  lint.  595 


64  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


__oped,  water-power,  and  it 
..  great  variety  of  other  minerals.     Of  the  county  area,  20.51 
per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  ].49  per  cent,  is  planted  in  cotton. 

ABSTRACT   OF   THE  REPORT   OF  Y\\    p.   BURKE,   OF   TAYLORSVILLE. 

The  chief  soil  is  a  clay  gravelly  loam,  embracing  three-fourths  of  the  lands,  and  having  a  natural  timber  growth  of  oaks,  hickory, 
and  pine.  The  thickness  of  the  soil  is  8  inches  over  a  red-clay  subsoil.  The  chief  crops  are  corn,  wheat,  and  oats.  The  proportion 
planted  in  cotton  is  1  acre  in  25  ;  the  usual  height  is  '.i  feet,  and  it  is  most  productive  at  2^  fcer.  Fresh  land  produces  600  pounds  of 
seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,425  pounds  making  a  bale  of  lint.  None  of  these  lands  lie  turned  out.  The  soil  easily  gullies  on  elopes,  but 
there  is  no  serious  damage  done. 

Transportation  is  by  wagon  to  the  railroad  at  Statesville. 

CALDWELL. 

Population:  10,291.— White,  8,091;  colored,  1,600. 

Area:  495  square  miles. — Woodland,  151,037  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  41,51:.'  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  30  acres;  in  tobacco,  75  acres;  in  corn,  17,315  acres;  in 
•wheat,  8,211  acres;  in  rye,  084  acres;  iu  oats,  3,880  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  12  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.40  bale,  570  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  190  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Caldwell  county  lies  upon  the  flanks  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  extends  southward  beyond  the  Brushy  mountains, 
a  smaller  and  parallel  range  2,000  feet  and  more  in  altitude.  It  is  drained  by  the  upper  tributaries  of  the  Catawba 
river  and  of  tbe  Yadkin,  the  larger  of  which  rise  in  the  summits  of  tbe  Blue  Ridge  and  its  culminating  region  in 
Grandfather  mountain,  which  touches  the  elevation  of  nearly  0,000  feet  above  the  sea.  This  mountain  throws  off 
a  number  of  long,  heavy  spurs  down  to  the  middle  of  the  county;  and  is  traversed  midway  in  a  direction 
parallel  to  tbe  other  two  chains  by  the  Warrior  mountains,  so  that  its  surface  is  for  the  most  part  quite  broken 
and  rugged;  but  the  different  chains  are  separated  by  extensive  open  valleys,  and  there  is  a  great  area  of  river 
and  creek  bottoms.  The  lands  in  the  middle  and  southern  sections  generally  have  a  red  clay  or  yellow  sandy 
loam  soil  of  more  than  medium  fertility,  while  its  higher  regions,  on  the  ridges  and  spurs  of  the  mountains,  aro 
frequently  slaty  ledges,  with  gray  sandy  and  gravelly  soils  of  medium  to  low  quality,  its  forests  aie  predominantly 
of  oak  in  the  middle  section  and  of  pine  and  oak  in  the  southern  and  northern,  that  is,  in  the  more  mountainous 
regions,  while  in  the  latter  section  white  pine,  hemlock,  and  chestnut  constitute  a  considerable  element  of  the 
forest  growth.  Tbe  chief  crops  are  grain,  but  tobacco  culture  has  been  recently  introduced,  and  for  a  few  years 
past  a  few  bales  of  cotton  have  been  raised  in  an  experimental  way.  Of  the  county  area,  13.10  per  cent,  is  tilled 
land,  of  which  0.07  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton.  Of  minerals  the  county  contains  gold  and  iron,  the  former  in 
lioth  placers  and  veins. 

Tiansportation  is  furnished  by  the  Western  Korth  Carolina  railroad,  which  crosses  the  neighboring  counties 
south,  and  a  narrow-gauge  road  is  nearly  finished  to  the  center  of  the  county. 

BURKE. 

Population:  12,809.— White,  10,088 ;  colored,  2,721. 

Arat:  480  square  miles. — Woodland,  120,089  acres. 

Tilled  lands :  42,545  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  752  acres;  in  tobacco,  58  acres  ;  in  corn,  22,013  acres;  in 
wheat,  10,010  acres;  in  rye,  1,054  acres;  in  oats,  3,455  acres. 

Cotton  production :  301  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.48  bale,  084  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  228  pouuds 
cotton  lint. 

Burke  county  lies  westward  of  Caldwell  on  both  sides  of  the  Catawba  river,  w  Inch  traverses  its  middle  section 
and  drains  its  entire  territory.  Its  southern  flank  lies  upon  the  crests  of  the  South  mountains,  which  here  reach  an 
elevation  of  over  3,000  feet  above  the  sea  and  send  oil'  spurs  in  a  northerly  and  northeasterly  direction  almost  to  the 
middle  of  the  county.  The  northern  end  is  elevated  upon  two  of  the  most  massive  spurs  of  the  Blue  Ridge, 
Linville  and  Table  Rock,  which  here  rise  to  an  elevation  of  nearly  4,000  feet;  and  from  this  are  thrust  out 
numerous  long  and  rugged  spurs  and  ridges  in  a  southeasterly  course.  A  large  part  of  the  territory  of  this  county, 
therefore,  is  mountainous,  and  the  average  elevation  is  not  less  than  1 ,300  feet.  In  its  middle  section  are  considerable 
tracts  of  red-clay  soils,  with  forests  predominantly  of  oak,  hickory,  etc.,  while  the  remainder  of  the  county  is 
■characterized  in  this  respect  by  mixed  forests  of  oak,  pine,  chestnut,  etc.,  with  white  pine  in  the  mountains  of  the 
south  and  north.  The  river  and  creek  bottoms  are  very  extensive  and  fertile,  and  have  light  colored  clays,  loams, 
and  sandy  soils.  In  the  middle  section,  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  the  uplands  usually  have  a  red-clay  soil  and  oak 
forests.  The  other  parts  of  the  county  have  soils  of  a  lighter  color,  yellowish  to  gray  loams,  and  forests  of  the 
usual  mixed  character  of  the  region — oak,  pine,  chestnut,  sourwood,  dogwood,  etc.  Placer  gold  mines  are  numerous 
in  the  South  mountains,  and  there  are  several  vein  mines  on  the  north  side  of  the  county.  Cotton  and  tobacco  have, 
been  added  to  the  list  of  cultivated  crops  w  ithin  a  few  years,  but  grain  lorms  the  chief  crop,  and  has  an  aggregate 
yield  of  400,000  bushels.  Of  tbe  county  area,  13.59  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  1.78  per  cent,  is  planted  in 
cotton. 

Transportation  is  by  rail,  east  and  west. 

E0G 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  65 

Mcdowell. 

Population:  9,836.— "White,  7,936;  colored,  1,897. 

Area  :  545  square  miles.— Woodland,  122,129  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  34,798  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  23  acres;  in  tobacco,  100  acres;  in  corn,  17,675  acres;  in 
wheat,  6,397  acres;  in  rye,  1,360  acres;  in  oats,  1,090  awes. 

Cotton  production  :  9  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.39  bale,  558  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  186  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

McDowell  county  lies  on  the  eastern  flank  of  the  Blue  Eidge  near  its  highest  parts,  which  exceeds  in  this 
region  an  elevation  of  5,5C0  feet,  and  its  whole  territory  may  be  described  as  mountainous.  Its  average  elevation 
is  more  than  1,500  feet,  and  it  is  for  the  most  part  drained  by  the  headwaters  of  the  Catawba  river.  The  southern, 
and  broader  end  of  its  triangular  territory  is  traversed  east  and  west  by  the  South  mountains,  a  long  eastward 
projection  or  spur  from  the  Blue  Eidge.  Along  the  course,  of  the  Catawba  river  and  some  of  its  chief  tributaiies 
are  wide  tracts  of  sandy  and  alluvial  bottoms,  which  are  very  productive.  The  hilly  and  mountainous  tracts  have 
the  usual  variety  of  gray  and  yellowish  oak  uplands  soils  of  medium  fertility  and  mixed  forests  of  oak,  pine,, 
chestnut,  etc.  Beddish  clay-loam  soils,  with  a  preponderant  oak  forest,  are  found  in  patches  here  and  there  in  the 
middle  and  southeastern  sections.  A  large  proportion  of  the  soils  of  the  county  are  well  adapted  to  the  better 
grades  of  tobacco,  and  the  agriculture  of  the  county  has  the  great  advantage  of  an  abundance  of  limestone  in  the, 
northern  and  middle  sections.  Gold  mining  in  the  South  mountains  has  long  been  an  important  .industry,  several  mica, 
mines  having  been  opened,  and  some  attention  is  given  to  lumbering.  There  is  a  large  amount  of  valuable  timber  on 
the  slopes  of  the  Blue  Eidge  and  in  the  mountain  coves,  which  must  become  the  foundation  of  important  manufactures, 
and  then  there  is  an  indefinite  amount  of  water  power.  Iron  ores  of  low  grade  are  abundant.  Of  the  county  area,  9.9S 
per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  0.07  per  cent,  is  planted  in  cotton. 

Transportation  is  by  rail,  east  and  west. 

POLK. 

Population:  5,0G2.— White,  q,91S;  colored,  1,144. 

Area:  257  square,  miles. — Woodland,  72,813  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  21,027  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  1,646  acres;  in  corn,  10,632  acres;  in  wheat,  1,890  acres;, 
in  rye,  COO  acres ;  in  oats,  877  acres. 

' Cotton  production :  362  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.22  bale,  312  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  104  pounds 
cottou  lint. 

Polk  is  the  southernmost  of  the  Piedmont  count  ies,  lying  upon  the  border  of  South  Carolina,  and  of  the  cottou 
belt,  which  barely  enters  its  southeastern  corner.  Three-fourths  of  the  territory  of  the  county  is  very  mountainous, 
as  it  is  bounded  westward  by  the  Blue  Eidge,  and  its  western  and  northern  sections  are  penetrated  by  heavy  and 
long  spurs,  thrown  out  from  that  range,  of  equal  height  or  greater.  It  is  crossed  from  west  to  east  and  nearly 
its  entire,  territory  is  drained  by  the.  waters  of  Green  river,  oue  of  the  principal  tributaries  of  the  Broad.  Along 
this  liver  valley,  as  well  as  on  some  of  the  tributaries,  are  wide  stretches  of  bottom  lauds  of  clay  and  sandy  loams. 
The  middle  part  of  the  county  is  a  somewhat,  broken  plateau  of  1,000  feet  elevation,  and  has  a  gravelly  and 
slaty  soil  of  a  light  color  and  loose  texture  and  low  fertility,  and  inferior  forests  of  pine,  oak,  and  chestnut.  The- 
southeastern  section  is  of  the  same  character.  A  large  part  of  the  uplands  and  of  the  mountain  slopes  in  the  west. 
and  north  has  forests  largely  of  oak  and  a  yellowish  or  gray  loamy  soil  of  good  quality.  In  the  higher  parts, 
except  where  the  soil  is  of  the  better  grades,  chestnut,  and  chestnut  oak  are  abundant.  The  principal  agricultural 
pursuit  is  the  production  of  grain  crops,  cotton  being  a  new  crop  to  the  region,  and  as  yet  little  cultivated.  There  are 
several  gold  mines  in  the  middle  and  southern  sections.  Of  the  county  area,  12.78  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which 
7.83  per  cent,  is  planted  in  cotton.     Produce  is  shipped  south  by  rail. 


THE    TRANSMONTANE   REGION. 

(Embraces  the  following  counties:  Alleghany,  Ashe,  Watauga,  Mitchell,  Yancey,  Madison,  Buncombe,  Henderson, 
Transylvania,  Haywood,  Jackson,  Macon,  Swain,  Graham,  Clay,  and  Cherokee.) 

ALLEGHANY. 

Population:  5,486.— White,  4,967;  colored,  519. 

Area:  276  square  milts. — Woodland,  74,859  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  46,198  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  none;  in  corn,  7,201  acres;  in  wheat,  1,760  acres;  in  rye, 
3,121  acres;  in  oats,  1,933  acres;  in  buckwheat,  755  acres. 

Alleghany  county  is  situated  on  the  Virginia  border,  and  is  bounded  southward  by  the  curves  of  the  Blue: 
Eidge.  In  its  middle  section  is  a  parallel  and  higher  chain.  Its  entire  surface  is  drained  northward  into  the, 
New  and  the  Kanawha  rivers,  this,  with  the  two  iollowiug  counties,  constituting  the  New  Eiver  plateau  or  basin, 
the  only  part  of  the  state  drained  by  the  Ohio.  It  lies  on  the  northeastern  end  of  the  long,  narrow,  elevated 
trausmontaue  plateau,  and  has  an  average  elevation  of  not  less  than  2,800  feet.  Its  forests  arc  of  oak,  chestnut,  and 
pine,  with  an  admixture  of  white  pine  in  the  coves  of  the  Blue  Eidge  and  between  that  and  the  Peach  Bottom 
range.  Its  soils  are  the  common  gray  and  yellow  upland  loams.  Along  the,  banks  of  the  New  river  and  its 
principal  tributaries,  especially  Little  river,  aie  considerable  tracts  of  bottom  lands.  Its  agriculture  is  divided 
between  the  production  of  grains  and  grasses  and  cattle  raising.  Its  products  of  buckwheat  and  rye  are  next  to 
the  largest  in  the  state.     Of  the  county  area,  26.15  per  cent,  is  tilled  land.  r,D7 


66  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

ASHE. 

Population:  14,437.— White,  33,471;  colored,  966. 

Area :  370  square  miles. — Woodland,  166,073  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  70,207  acres. — Area  planted  iu  cotton,  none;  in  tobacco.  60  acres;  in  corn,  15,616  acres;  in 
wheat,  5,473  acres;  in  rye,  4,685  acres;  in  oats,  3,357  acres;  in  buckwheat, S18  acres. 

Ashe  county  lies  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  state,  adjoining  the  states  of  Virginia  and  Tennessee, 
its  southeastern  edge  resting  upon  the  summits  of  the  Blue  Ridge  mountain  chain.  It  is  very  rugged  and 
mountainous,  the  spurs  of  the  Smoky  mountains  being  thrust  out  almost  across  its  entire  territory  and  reaching 
at  various  points  an  elevation  of  nearly  5,000  feet,  giving  an  average  elevation  of  3,500  feet  above  tide.  It  is 
drained  by  the  two  forks  of  New  river,  which  meet  iu  its  northeast  corner.  Its  forests,  soils,  and  agriculture 
resemble  those  of  Alleghany  county.  Grass  and  cattle  count  for  much  in  this  region,  and  rye  and  buckwheat  are 
its  common  crops,  as  well  as  of  Alleghany  and  the  whole  transmontane  plateau.  In  the  former  (rye)  this  county 
shows  the  largest  product  in  the  state,  and  iu  the  second  it  is  nearly  equal  to  the  best.  White  piue  and 
hemlock,  as  well  as  poplar,  sugar  maple,  wild  cherry,  and  walnut,  become  important  constituents  of  the  forests  in 
many  places.     Of  the  county  area,  29.65  per  cent,  is  tilled  land. 

WATAUGA. 

Population:  8,160.— White,  7,746;  colored,  414. 

Area:  370  square,  miles. — Woodland. acres, 

Tilled  lands :  44,753  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  10  acres ;  in  corn,  8,227  acres ;  in  wheat,  2,957  acres ;  in  rye, 
2,387  acres  ;  in   oats,  1,828  acres;  in  buckwheat,  951  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  3  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.30  bale,  429  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  143  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Watauga  county  occupies  the  whole  breadth  of  the  narrower  part  of  the  transmontane  plateau,  being  bounded 
for  the  most  part  northwestward  by  the  Smoky  range  and  southeastward  by  the  Blue  Eidge.  It  is  traversed  in  a 
northerly  course  by  two  massive  cross-chains  connecting  the  summits  of  the  Blue  Eidge  and  Smoky  mountains,  the 
Eich  mountains  and  the  chain  of  Hanging  Bock  ami  Beech.  Its  average  elevation  would  about  equal  that  of  Ashe 
county — 3,500  feet.  Its  whole  surface  is  rugged  and  mountainous,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  limited  tracts  along  the 
two  principal  rivers,  where  considerable  valleys  open  out,  with  occasional  stretches  of  bottom  lands.  The  soils  and 
forests,  as  well  as  the  predominant  agricultural  features  of  this  county,  are  like  those  of  Ashe  county.  There  is 
great  abundance  of  chestnut  in  its  forests,  and  on  the  Eich  mountains  there  are  great  quantities  of  linden  (Tilia). 
Its  high  levels  and  benches  are  the  best  grass  lands  in  the  state,  and  in  consequence  cattle-raising  enters  largely 
into  its  agriculture.  It  also  produces  corn  and  small  grains  in  considerable  quantities,  including  wheat,  rye,  and 
buckwheat,  the  county  leading  in  the  last-named  crop.  Of  the  county  area,  18.89  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which 
very  little  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

MITCHELL. 

Population:  9,435.— White,  8,932 ;  colored,  503. 

Area:  401  square  miles. — Woodland,  105,586  acres. 

Tilled  lands :  31,975  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  15  acres;  in  tobacco,  77  acres;  in  corn,  11,S94  acres;  in 
wheat,  3,374  acres;  in  rye,  1,35S  acres  ;  in  oats,  3,990  acres;  in  buckwheat, 378 acres. 

Cotton  production :  6  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.40  bale,  570  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  190  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Mitchell  county  is  a  continuation  of  the  southern  Appalachian  plateau,  and  with  Yancey,  the  next  county 
described,  occupies  the  basin  of  the  Nolechucky  or  Toe  river,  which  drains  the  highest  masses  and  summits  of  the 
Blue  Eidge  and  Black  mountains.  On  its  northern  border  the  Smoky  mountains  reach  an  elevation  of  6,4n0  feet, 
while  the  Blue  Eidge,  which  forms  its  southeastern  boundary,  has  an  elevation  ranging  from  3,000  to  nearly  6,000 
feet.  Its  surface  is  for  the  most  part  very  mountainous,  and  has  an  elevation  which  would  probably  reach  an 
average  of  3,000  feet  above  the  sea. 

The  mountains  of  this  county,  as  well  as  those  of  the  other  parts  of  the  plateau,  are  generally  covered  with 
heavy  forests  of  oak,  chestnut,  and  pine,  with  a  mixture  here  and  there  in  the  coves  and  on  the  higher  slopes  of 
white  pine,  hemlock  [Abies  Canadensis),  and  black  birch,  while  the  lower  slopes  are  covered  with  linden  (two  species), 
sugar  maple,  poplar,  walnut,  cherry,  ash,  etc. 

The  soils  of  this  county  vary  in  their  texture  and  composition,  and  belong  to  the  general  region  of  oak  uplands 
soils,  being  for  the  most  part  gray  and  yellow  gravelly  and  sandy  loams,  with  occasional  strips  of  red  lands.  The 
mountains  here,  as  iu  the  two  preceding  counties,  are  generally  covered  to  their  summits  with  a  fertile  soil  and 
heavy  forests,  the  exception  being  some  of  the  higher  dome-like  masses  of  the  Smoky  mountains  (notably  the  Eoan), 
which  are  bald  upou  their  summits,  and  are,  in  fact,  simply  prairies.  The  average  elevation  of  this  county  above 
the  sea  will  exceed  3,000  feet.  Its  agriculture  resembles  that  of  the  two  preceding  counties,  the  conditions  being 
well  adapted  for  the  most  part  to  cattle-raising,  as  well  as  to  the  production  of  grain  crops.  Tobacco  culture  has 
recently  been  introduced,  but  mica  mining  is  the  most  important  and  profitable  industry,  while  along  its  northern 
border  are  some  of  the  finest  iron-ore  beds  known.  The  first  southern  mica  mines  were  opened  here  in  1868.  Of 
the  county  area,  12.46  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  0.05  per  cent,  is  cultivated  iu  cotton. 
598 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  67 

YANCEY. 

Population:  7,694. — White,  7,369 ;  colored,  325. 

Area:  276  square  miles. — Woodland,  109,776  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  34,703  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  none;  in  tobacco, 84  acres;  in  corn, 11,200  acres;  in  wheat, 
3,940  acres ;  in  rye,  1,290  acres ;  in  oats,  3,657  acres. 

The  description  of  Mitchell,  the  preceding  county,  applies  to  Yancey.  It  completes  with  that  the  basin  of  the 
Toe  river  or  Noleckucky,  one  of  the  main  affluents  of  the  Tennessee  river.  The  massive  spur  of  the  Black  mountains 
rises  in  the  middle  of  its  southern  end  and  projects  northward  almost  to  its  center.  This  spur  reaches  an  elevation 
in  its  middle  portion  of  nearly  7,000  feet,  and  is  the  highest  mountain  east  of  the  Mississippi  river.  Between  this 
mountain  spur  and  the  Blue  Ridge  is  a  deep,  narrow  valley,  in  which  rises  and  flows  South  Toe  river,  while  on  its 
westward  flanks  rises,  in  a  similar  gorge,  Caney  river,  another  of  the  confluents  of  the  Noleehucky.  The  county- 
is  bounded  on  the  southwest  by  a  cross-chain  from  the  Blue  Bidge  to  the  Smoky  mountains,  the  northwest 
Black  mountains,  which  through  a  considerable  part  of  its  course  reaches  an  elevation  of  5,000  feet  and  upward. 
The  whole  territory  of  this  county,  therefore,  is  exceedingly  rugged  and  mountainous,  and  the  larger  part  of  its 
surface  is  adapted  only  to  grazing;  but  in  the  valleys  and  troughs  between  the  mountain  spurs  and  ranges  are 
considerable  stretches  of  undulating  and  hilly  land  and  occasional  tracts  of  considerable  extent  of  bottom  land, 
which  are  very  productive  in  corn  and  small  grains.  The  culture  of  tobacco  has  also  penetrated  into  this  county 
within  the  last  few  years.  The  tilled  land  occupies  19.65  per  cent,  of  the  county  area.  The  timbers  and  soils  are 
similar  to  those  of  Mitchell  county,  and  mica  mining  holds  here  a  similar  place  of  importance.  Above  5,000  feet  the 
principal  growth  on  the  Black  mountains  is  two  species  of  fir,  Abies  Fraseri  and  A.  nigra  (spruce).  These  trees 
are  also  found  on  the  summits  of  the  Boan  and  Grandfather,  and  farther  west  on  the  Balsam  mountains.  Buinber 
mills  have  multiplied  very  rapidly  in  the.  great  forests  of  the  last  three  counties,  and  enormous  quantities  of  cherry, 
walnut,  ash,  sugar  maple,  and  poplar  lumber  have  been  manufactured  and  exported  in  the  last  year. 

MADISON. 

Population:  12,810.— White,  12,351;  colored,  459. 

Area:  457  square  miles. — Woodland,  157,618  acres. 

Tilled  lands  :  57,490  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  12  acres  ;  in  tobacco,  1,026  acres ;  in  corn,  17,816  acres ;  in 
■wheat,  7,702  acres  ;  in  rye,  816  acres;  in  oats,  4,238  acres. 

Cotton  production :  4  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.33  bale,  474  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  158  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Madison  county,  with  Buncombe,  Henderson,  and  Transylvania,  make  the  plateau  or  basin  of  the  French 
Broad  the  largest  of  these  natural  subdivisions  of  the  plateau.  It  is  bounded  northward  by  the  Smoky  mountains. 
Its  territory  is  also  very  rugged  and  broken,  being  not  only  surrounded  by  heavy,  massive  chains  of  mountains, 
but  crossed  and  cut  up  by  heavy  spurs  of  those  principal  chains.  Its  soils,  forests,  and  agricultural  productions 
are  like  those  of  the  preceding  counties,  except  that  bright  yellow  tobacco  has  recently  become  its  most  important 
crop,  and  already  nearly  reaches  a  million  pounds  per  annum.  It  has  also  a  larger  proportion  of  white  pine  in  its 
forests,  and  its  iron- ore  deposits  are  extensive  and  valuable.  Of  the  county  area,  19.66  per  cent,  is  tilled  land,  of 
which  0.02  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

BUNCOMBE. 

Population:  21,909.— White,  18,422;  colored,  3,487. 

Area:  1114  square  miles. — Woodland,  226,454  acres. 

Tilled  lands  :  77,628  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  1  acre;  in  tobacco,  947  acres;  in  corn,  29,108  acres;  in  wheat 
17,501  acres;  in  rye,  2,966  acres;  in  oats,  6,967  acres;  in  buckwheat,  575  acres. 

Buncombe  county  occupies  the  middle  portion  of  the  French  Broad  valley.  Its  eastern  border  lies  upon  the 
summits  of  the  Blue  Bidge  and  the  Black  mountains,  and  its  western  upon  the  summits  of  the  cross-chain  called 
the  Newfound  mountains.  The  valley  of  the  French  Broad  here  is  a  wide,  open  basin,  with  considerable  tracts  of 
undulating  and  hilly  land  and  moderately  mountainous  tracts,  while  along  its  margin  on  every  side  are  heavy 
mountain  spurs.  The  forests  and  soils  are  of  the  usual  familiar  description,  and  the  agriculture  resembles  in  its 
main  features  that  of  the  Piedmont  division,  consisting  chiefly  of  the  production  of  grains,  of  which  the  total  is 
650,000  bushels,  and  to  a  moderate  (but  rapidly  increasing)  extent  of  tobacco.  Cattle-raising  occupies  a  subordinate 
position.  The  tilled  lands  occupy  19.75  per  cent,  of  the  county  area.  The  crossing  of  two  great  railroad  lines  at 
Asheville,  in  the  center  of  the  county,  gives  it  a  commanding  commercial  position,  and  it  is  the  center  of  a  great 
summer  travel.     The  average  elevation  of  the  French  Broad  plateau  is  about  2,500  feet. 

HENDERSON. 

Population:  10,2S1.— White,  S,893 ;  colored,  1,3S8. 

Area :  351  square  miles. — Woodland,  106,441  acres. 

Tilled  lands :  38,595  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  10  acres  ;  in  tobacco,  29  acres ;  in  corn,  16,407  acres  ;  in 
wheat,  2,598  acres ;  in  rye,  3,734  acres ;  in  oats,  2,908  acres  ;  iu  buckwheat,  107  acres. 

Cotton  production :  4  bales  ;  average  cottou  product  per  acre,  0.40  bale,  570  poinds  seed-cotton,  or  190  pounds 
cotton  lint.  599 


68  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Henderson  county  is  a  continuation  southward  of  the  French  Broad  valley  described  in  Buncombe  county, 
aiul  its  topographical  features  arc  very  similar,  except  that  there  are  broader  areas  of  comparatively  level  and 
undulating  lauds,  but  of  less  fertility,  the  soils  being  predominantly  light  gray  gravelly  loams,  and  its  forests  being 
mixed  growths  of  oak  and  pine,  witli  hemlock  and  chestnut.  Near  the  water-courses,  in  the  mountain  coves,  are 
found  walnut,  cherry,  maple,  and  occasionally  white  pine.  The  chief  productions  of  this  county  are  corn  and  small 
grains,  the  culture  of  tobacco  being  very  recently  introduced,  and  then  only  t«  a  very  small  extent.  There  is  a  largo 
aggregate  surface  of  bottom  lands  in  the  county,  those  on  the  French  Broad  being  very  extensive  and  feitile.  Of 
the  county  area,  17.18  percent,  is  tilled  land,  of  which  0.03  per  cent,  is  cultivated  in  cotton. 

Transportation  is  southward  by  rail. 

TRANSYLVANIA. 

Population:  5,310. — White,  4,823 ;  colored,  517. 

Area:  3S3  square  miles. — Woodland,  77,815  acres. 

Tilled  lands :  17,007  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  none;  in  corn,  9,702  acres  ;  in  wheat,  8G9  acres  ;  in  rye, 
3,280  acres  ;  in  oats,  257  acres. 

Transylvania  county  occupies  the  upper  portion  of  the  valley  of  the  French  Broad,  and  lies  along  the  flanks 
of  the  Blue.  Ridge  and  on  the.  southern  border  of  the  state.  It  is  bounded  westward  by  a  heavy  cross-chain  from 
the  Blue  Ridge  to  the  Smoky  mountains,  the.  Balsam  mountains,  which  rises  throughout  a  considerable  part  of  its 
course,  above  0,000  feet.  This  county  is  therefore  the  most  elevated  portion  of  the  plateau  of  the  French  Broad. 
It  is  mostly  mountainous  and  rugged,  with  spurs  and  knobs  of  mountains  thrust  out  from  the  cross-chains  which 
bound  it.  There  are  very  extensive  tracts  of  bottom  lands  along  the  tortuous  course  of  the  French  Broad,  reaching 
often  a  breadth  of  I  or  2  miles,  which  are  very  fertile  and  produce  immense  crops  of  corn.  The.  larger  portion  of  the 
county,  however,  is  only  adapted  to  grazing.  Its  forests  resemble  those  of  the  plateau  generally,  but  contain  a 
larger  intermixture  of  white  pine,  as  well  as  of  hemlock,  sugar  maple,  walnut,  and  cherry.  The  tilled  lauds  occupy 
7.35  per  cent,  of  the  county  area. 

HAYWOOD. 

Population:  10,271.— White,  9,787  ;  colored,  484. 

Area:  582  square  miles. — Woodland,  115,032  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  40,474  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  none;  in  tobacco,  100  acres;  in  corn,  17,254  acres;  in 
wheat,  10,054  acres;  in  rye,  757  acres;  in  oats,  4,099  acres;  in  buckwheat,  033  acres. 

Haywood  county  occupies  the  plateau  or  basin  between  the  parallel  cross-chains  of  the  Newfound  and  the 
Balsam  mountains,  which  lie  at  right  angles  to  the  main  chains  (the  Blue  Ridge  anil  Smoky)  at  an  average  distance 
from  each  other  of  about  20  miles. 

This  basin  is  drained  by  the  waters  of  Pigeon  river,  one  of  the  tributaries  of  the  French  Broad,  which 
enters  it  beyond  the  Smoky  mountains  in  Tennessee.  This  county  is  hemmed  in  on  all  sides  by  high  mountain  chains 
of  3,000,  5,000,  and  0,000  feet  and  more  above  the  sea.  Its  territory  is  exceedingly  broken  and  rugged  ;  yet  there 
are  considerable  tracts  of  open,  moderately  hilly  lands  along  the  water  courses,  and  occasional  wide  stretches  of 
fertile  bottoms,  especially  on  the  upper  confluents  of  the  river  and  near  the.  middle  of  the  basin.  The  average 
elevation  is  above  3,000  feet. 

'1  he  soils  are  of  the  usual  description,  and  are  above  average  fertility.  It  is  one  of  the  best  grazing  sections, 
and  produces  all  the  grain  crops  of  the  region,  including  rye  and  buckwheat,  but,  as  yet,  little  tobacco.  The 
mountains  are  clothed  to  their  summits  with  forests  of  a  great  range  of  species.  On  the  lower  slopes  and  in  the 
rich  coves,  besides  the  usual  characteristic  oaks,  hickories,  cucumbers,  poplar,  chestnut,  etc.,  are  found  in  abundance 
walnut,  black  locust,  cherry,  and  ash,  and  a  little  higher  sugar  maple,  linden,  black  birch,  and  beech,  and  on  the 
highest  ranges  two  species  of  tir.  Since  the  advent  of  the  railroad  lumbering  is  rapidly  becoming  ai»  important 
industry.     The  tilled  laud  occupies  10.87  per  cent,  of  the  county  area. 

JACKSON. 

Population:  7,343. — White,  0,591 ;  colored,  752. 

Area:  532  square  miles. — Woodland,  130,317  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  28,000  acres.— Area  planted  in  cotton,  16  acres;  in  corn,  12,793  acres;  in  wheat,  4,217  acres;  in 
rye,  1,583  acres;  in  oats,  1,521  acres;  in  buckwheat,  175  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  G  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.38  bale,  534  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  178  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Jackson  county  is  quite  similar  to  Haywood  in  its  topographical  and  agricultural  features,  but  is  more  rugged, 
and  has  less  open  bottom  and  valley  land.  It  occupies  the  basin  of  the  Tuckasegee  river,  a  tributary  of  the. 
Tennessee,  lies  west  of  the  Balsam  mountains,  is  bounded  by  the.  Cowee  cross-chain  on  the  west  and  extends  south 
to  t  he  Blue  Ridge,  and  includes  a  high  plateau  beyond  it  of  nearly  100  square  miles,  with  an  elevation  of  from  3,500 
to  1.1.00  feet  above  sea-level.  The  county  is  well  adapted  to  the  production  of  grass.  The  soils,  forests,  and 
productions  are  like  those  of  Haywood.  Mica  is  mined  in  the  county  in  many  places,  and  gold  is  found  on  theplateau 
south  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  Of  the  county  area,  8.4  per  cent,  is  under  tillage,  and  of  this  0.00  per  cent,  is  in  cotton. 
A  railroad  has  been  recently  graded  across  the  county, 
ooo 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  69 

MACON. 

Population:  8,064.— White,  7,395;  colored,  669. 

Area:  539  square  miles. — Woodland,  170.170  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  32,630 acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  none;  in  tobacco,  46  acres ;  in  corn,  14,423  acres;  in  wheat, 
5,505  acres;  in  rye,  1,823  acres;  in  oats,  1,621  acres. 

Macon  county  occupies  the  valley  of  the  Tennessee  river,  which  flows  through  its  center  from  beyond  the 
Georgia  border,  on  the  south,  toward  the  Smoky  mountains.  This  is  a  wide,  open  valley,  along  which  are  considerable 
bodies  of  comparatively  level  and  hilly  lauds,  with  extensive  bottoms  along  the  river  and  its  principal  tributaries, 
recalling  in  its  general  features  the  basin  of  the  French  Broad,  though  much  less  extensive.  The  county  is  better 
adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  grains  and  has  a  larger  area  capable  of  such  cultivation  than  the  neighboring  counties; 
but  a  large  part  of  its  territory  is  very  mountainous,  being  hemmed  in  on  all  sides  by  high  mountain  ranges. 
Along  its  western  side  lies  the  massive  chain  of  the  Nantebaleh  mountains,  with  its  numerous  heavy,  ragged 
spurs,  and  on  the  western  margin  is  a  deep  canon,  drained  by  the  river  of  the  same  name.  There  are  two 
notable  plateaus  in  the  south  end  of  the  county  on  the  summit  of  the  Blue  Kidge,  one  on  the  headwaters  of 
the  east  fork  of  the  Tennessee,  and  the  other  on  those  of  the  Nantebaleh,  both  of  them  ranging  from  3,500  to 
4,000  feet  in  altitude. 

The  larger  part  of  the  area  of  the  county  is,  therefore,  better  adapted  to  grazing  than  to  anything  else.  The 
soils  and  forests  are  like  those  of  the  counties  above  described.  The  tilled  laud  comprises  9.46  per  cent,  of  the  county 
area.  The  culture  of  tobacco  has  been  recently  introduced  to  a  small  extent,  and  mica  mining  is  carried  on 
extensively.  There  are  also  considerable  deposits  of  iron  ore,  and  the  only  extensive  or  profitable  corundum  mine 
in  this  country  is  found  here.  The  beautiful  red  marble  is  found  on  the  Nantebaleh  river.  A  railroad  has  been 
recently  graded  across  the  northern  end  of  the  county. 

SWAIN. 

Population:  3,784.— White,  3,234  ;  colored,  550. 

Area  :  445  square  miles. — Woodland,  107,825  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  13,S2S  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  none;  in  corn,  0,809  acres;  in  wheat,  1,473  acres;  in  rye, 
615  acres;  in  oats,  757  acres. 

.  Swain  county  lies  north  of  Macon  and  Jackson,  along  the  waters  of  the  Tennessee  river,  and  on  the  flanks  of 
the  great  Smoky  mountains  on  the  north,  which  here  reach  their  culmination  in  elevations  of  nearly  6,700  feet. 
With  the  exception  of  some  open  valley  tracts  near  its  center  along  the  before-mentioned  river  and  its  tributaries, 
til*  territory  of  this  county  is  exceedingly  rugged  and  broken.  The  proportion  of  cultivable  land  is  very  small, 
it  is  heavily  timbered,  even  to  the  highest  summits  of  the  Smoky  mountains,  with  the  prevalent  mountain  forest 
growths.  The  higher  levels  of  the  Smoky  mountains,  about  5,000  feet  above  sea-level,  are  covered  with  forests 
of  firs,  while  the  more  elevated  coves  abound  in  white  pine  and  hemlock,  and  its  deep  gorges  and  lower  slopes  with 
maple,  poplar,  linden,  hickory,  chestnut,  buckeye,  walnut,  magnolias,  and  cherry.  The  summits  of  the  high 
mountains  furnish  tine  natural  pasturage,  and  grazing  has  always  been  the  chief  industry.  The  approach  of  the 
railroad,  which  has  been  graded  through  its  middle  section,  will  speedily  develop  an  extensive  lumber  interest. 
The  tilled  laud  occupies  4.S6  per  cent,  of  the  county  area. 

GRAHAM. 

Population:  2,335.— White,  2,123  ;  colored,  212. 

Area  :  307  square  miles. — Woodland,  49,767  acres. 

Tilled  lands :  8,212  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  none ;  in  corn,  4,222  acres ;  in  wheat,  718  acres ;  in  rye,  566 
acres;  in  oats,  628  acres. 

Graham  county,  lying  south  of  the  Tennessee  river,  is  bounded  on  frhe  west  by  the  Smoky  mountains  and  on 
the  south  by  a  high  cross-chain  called  Long  Bidge.  It  resembles  Swain  county  very  closely  in  its  physical  as  well 
as  its'agricnltural  features.  Its  forests  are  a  continuation  of  those  of  Swain,  except  that  the  raountaius  here  do  not 
react*  the  elevation  necessary  to  produce  the  fir.  There  is  some  open  valley  and  hilly  laud  on  the  Cheowah  river 
and  its  tributaries,  which  drains  most  of  its  surface.  Its  population  is  small,  and  its  agriculture  little  developed,  as 
there  are  no  accessible  markets.  Its  soils  ami  timber  are  capable  of  becoming  the  basis  of  thriving  industries  as 
soon  as  the  projected  Rabun  Gap  and  Knoxville  railroad  shall  be  completed.  The  tilled  land  occupies  4.18  per 
cent,  of  the  county  area. 

CLAY. 

Population:  3,316.— White,  3,175  ;  colored,  141. 

Area:  189  square,  miles. — Woodland,  60,600  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  15,003  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  none;  in  tobacco,  25  acres;  in  corn,  7,810  acres;  in 
wheat,  3,282  acres;  in  rye,  854  acres;  in  oats,  1,230  acres. 

The  small  county  of  Clay,  lying  on  the  southern  border,  touches  the  state  of  Georgia,  and  is  bounded  on  the 
east  by  Macon  county,  which  it;  resembles  very  closely  in  all  its  features,  physical  and  agricultural,  and  in  its 
development.  It  is  drained  in  a  westerly  direction  by  the  Hiawassee  river-,  which  takes  its  rise  in  the  Blue  Bidge,  in 
Georgia.  Its  eastern  section  lies  upon  the  high  plateau  of  the  upper  Nantehaleh  river,  and  on  the  north  lies  the 
chain  of  the  Koneteh  mountains.  A  large  part  of  its  territory  is  very  mountainous.  It  has  flue,  open  valley  lands 
on  the  river  and  its  tributaries.  Its  southern  section  is  hilly,  somewhat  mountainous,  with  fair  agricultural 
capabilities.  Both  gold  and  mica  are  found,  but  have  not  been  mined  on  any  considerable  scale.  The  tilled  land 
occupies  12.45  per  cent,  of  the  county  area.  fiC)l 


70  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

CHEROKEE. 

Population:  8,181'. — Whites,  7,790;  colored,  386. 

Area :  470  square  miles. — Woodland,  149,150  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  28,603  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  none;  in  tobacco,  42  acres;  in  corn,  14.507  acres;  iu 
wheat,  4,317  acres  ;  in  rye,  1,1:30  acres  ;  in  oats,  1,534  acres. 

Cherokee  county  occupies  the  extreme  western  corner  of  the  state,  of  which  it  includes  the  whole  breadth, 
at  this  point  less  than  20  miles.  It  is  bounded  in  part  on  the  north  by  the  Smoky  mountains,  and  touches 
the  states  of  Tennessee  and  Georgia  ou  the  west  and  south.  For  the  most  part  it  resembles  Clay  county  in  its 
soils  and  agriculture.  The  valley  of  the  Valley  river  is  open  and  comparatively  level,  with  extensive  bottoms  and 
bordering  hilly  lands.  This  valley  is  nearly  L'0  miles  long  and  from  3  to  5  miles  broad,  and  contains  a  large  proportion 
of  line  agricultural  lands.  The  forests  resemble  those  of  the  neighboring  counties,  and  have  been  sufficiently 
described.  Its  agriculture  is  divided  between  the  culture  of  grains  and  grasses  and  cattle-raising,  and  mines  of 
gold,  iron,  and  soapstoue  have  been  opened  and  wrought  for  many  years.  The  iron-ore  deposits  are  of  great  extent, 
and  there  is  a  great  variety  of  colored  marble  ou  Valley  and  Nantehaleh  rivers  which  needs  only  transportation  to 
become  valuable.  The  tilled  lauds  occupy  9.51  per  cent,  of  the  county  area. 
602 


PAET    III 


CULTURAL    AND    ECONOMIC    DETAILS 


OF 


COTTON   PRODUCTION. 


71 
G03 


REFERENCE  LIST 

OF 

NAMES  AND  ADDRESSES  OF  CORRESPONDENTS. 


SEABOARD  OR  TIDE-WATER  REGION. 

Pasquotank.— E.  W.  Hatlowell,  Elizabeth  City,  February  10,  1880. 

Perquimans. — W.  Nixon,  Winfall,  January,  1880. 

Chowan. — L.  W.  Parker,  Small  Cross-roads,  January  6,  1880 

Tyrrell.— E.  Leigh,  Fort  Landing,  February  24,  1880. 

Washington. — J.  P.  Newberry,  Plymouth,  January  7,  1880 

Beaufort.— R.  W.  Wharton,  Washington,  January  10,  1880, 

Pamlico. — J.  S.  Lane,  Stonewall,  January  29,  1880. 

Craven. — C.  Dully,  jr.,  New  Berne,  Mapch  24,  1880  ;  J.  Humphrey,  New  Berne,  January  12,  1880. 

Carteret.—  A.  Oaksmith,  Hollywood,  February  23,  1880;  J.  II.  Beoton,  Harlowe,  May  26,  1880. 

Jones. — H.  C.  Foacuo,  Pollocksville,  February  15,  1880. 

New  Hanover. — A.  R.  Black,  Wilmington. 

Brunswick. — W.  G.  Curtis,  Smithville,  January  9,  1880. 

Columbus. — D.  S.  Cowan,  Robeson,  January  15,  1880. 

LONG-LEAF  PINE  REGION. 

Gates.— J.  J.  Catling,  Gatlington,  March  10, 1880. 

Hertford. — 1).  A.  Barnes,  Murfreesboro',  June  30, 1830. 

Bertie.— J.  B.  Cherry,  Windsor,  February  24, 1880  ;  E.  E.  Ethoridge,  Coleraiu,  April  3,  1880. 

Northampton. — J,  B.  MacRae,  Jackson,  July  23, 1880. 

Halifax.— J.N.  Smith,  Sootland  Neck,  June,  1880;  R.  H.  Smith,  Scotland  Neck,  December  18, 1880  ;  J.  H.  Parker,  Enfield,  February  6, 

1880. 
Martin.— William  Slade,  Williamston,  December  24, 1880  ;  J.  R.  Lanier,  Williaraston,  May  10, 1880. 
Pitt.— W.  M.  B.  Brown,  Greenville,  April  15, 1880 ;  J.  Joyner,  Marlboro',  March  20, 1881. 
Greene.— W.  E.  Best,  Snow  Hill,  January  20, 1880 ;  W.  P.  Grimsley,  Snow  Hill,  Jauuary  30, 1880. 
Edgecombe.— Vf.  G.  Lewis,  Tarboro',  April  14, 1830  ;  J.  L.  Bridgers,  Tarboro',  March  27, 1880 ;   J.  J.  Battle,  Rocky  Mount,  April  15,  1880  -r 

E.  Curr,  Old  Sparta,  January  13, 1880. 
Nash. — J.  M.  Mayo,  WhitakeiJs,  June  1,  1880. 
Watjne. — J.  Robinson,  Goldsboro',  January  28,1830. 
Johnston.— E.  J.  Holt,  Princeton,  March  5,  1880. 
Harnett.— U.  C.  McNeill,  Lillington,  January  30, 1880. 

Moore. — J.  C.  Campbell,  M.  D.,  Carthage;  J.  M.  Joy,  Jouesboro',  April  15,1880. 
Cumberland. — O.  Evans,  Idaho,  January  1, 1880. 
Sampson.— A.  A.  McKay,  Clinton,  February  10, 1880. 

Duplin.— J.  B.  Oliver,  Faison's,  Jauuary  30,  1380  ;  J.  A.  Bryan,  Kenansville,  June  5,  1880. 
Bladen. — D.  A.  Lament,  Brinkland,  February  2,  1880. 

OAK  UPLANDS  REGION. 

Granville.— J.  W.  Hunter,  Kittrell's,  March  22,  1880;  S.  P.  J.  Harris,  Henderson,  February  6,  1880. 
Franklin. — B.  Bnrwell,  Louisburg. 
Wake.— O.  W.Shaffer,  Raleigh,  Januarys,  1880. 
Orange.— C.  W.  Johnston,  Chapel  Hill,  February  1G,  1880. 
Alamance. — J.  A.  Graham,  Graham,  March  1,  1330. 
Guilford.— T>.  W.  C.  Benbow,  M.  D.,  Greensboro',  January  29,  1880. 

Chatham.—.!.  F.  Rives,  Pedlar'sIIill,  February  2, 1830 ;  R.  J.  Powell,  Pittsboro',  February  6, 1880;  J.  W.  Scott, Haywood,  January  1,  1880. 
Rouan. — J.  G.  Ramsay,  Scotch  Ireland,  June  14,  1330. 
Cabarrus. — J.  McDonald,  Concord,  Jauuary  20,  1830. 
Anson. — W.  A.  Liles,  Wadesboro',  March 8,  1880. 
Union. — H.  M.  Houston,  Monroe,  January  30,  1880. 

Mecklenburg. — W.  E.  Ardrey,  Pineville,  February  18,  1830  ;  R.  I.  McDowell,  Charlotte,  March  25,  1880. 
Gaston.— J.  Stowe,  Lowell,  January  27,  1880. 
Lincoln. — W.  A.  Graham,  Iron  Station,  February,  1880. 

Cleat-eland.— E.  P.  Chambers,  Stioo's  Shoal,  March  24,  1880;  J.  B.  Logan,  Shelby,  March  2,  1880. 
Alexander.— W.  P.  Burke,  TaylorsviUe,  June  24,  1880. 
72 
601 


SUMMARY  OF  ANSWERS  TO  SCHEDULE  QUESTIONS. 


This  part  of  the  report  embraces  a  summary  of  the  answers  given  to  each  question  or  group  of  questions 
included  iu  schedules  sent  to  farmers  in  different  parts  of  the  cotton  region  of  the  state.  Forty-eight  of  the 
counties  in  which  cotton  is  grown  are  here  represented. 

When  a  special  answer  is  given,  the  name  of  the  county  from  which  it  comes  is  put  in  italics,  and  separated 
by  semicolon. 

TILLAGE,  IMPROVEMENT,  ETC. 

1.  Usual  depth  of  tillage  (measured  on  land-side  of  furrow) :  What  draft  is  employed  in  breaking  up? 

From  3  to  6  inches  in  the  great  majority  of  counties  throughout  the  Chowan,  Beaufort,  Lincoln,  and  Moore.     The  draft  oinployod 

state.     From  2  to  3  inches  in  Perquimans,  Jones,  Columbus,  is  usually  one   or  two  horses. or  mules.     Beaufort:    Double 

Guilford,  Cabarrus,  and  Martin.     In  breaking  up,  8  inches  in  teams  on  large  farms. 

2.  Is  subsoiling  practiced?     If  so,  with  what  implements,  and  with  what  results? 

It  is  not  practiced  in  fourteen  counties  of  the  coast  and  long-leaf  prevalent.     Murphy's  subsoil  plow  is  used  in  several  counties  ; 

pine  regions  and  in  Granville  county,  of  the  oak  upland  region.  in  others  either  the  bull-tongue,  colter,  or  shovel  plow.     Ee- 

Toasmall  extent  mall  other  counties  except  Beaufort,  Ausou,  suits  are  excellent  everywhere  except  iu  Orange,  Alamance, 

Union,  Edgecombe,  and  Harnett,  where  the  custom  is  more  Lincoln,  Halifax,  Martin,  Jones,  Moore,  and  Duplin.- 

3.  Is  fall  plowing  practiced  ?     With  what  results? 

Not  at  all  in  Dare,  Carteret,  Jones,  Wake,  Northampton,  Greene,  counties,  especially  on  Btifi* or  heavy  land  in  Beaufort,  Halifax, 

and  Harnett;   very  little  in  twenty-six  counties,  and  to  a  and  Nash  ;  not  much  better  than  spring  plowing  in  Union, 

large   extent  in  the  rest.     Results  are  good  iu  all  but  four 

4.  Is  fallowing  practiced?     Is  the  land  tilled  while  lying  fallow,  or  only  "turned  out"? 

In  twenty-eight  counties  fallowing  with  tillage  is  not  practiced,  lands  are  tilled  while  lying  fallow.     In  Chowan  only  "  turned 

the  land  only  being  "turned  out".     Iu  Granville,  Franklm,  out"  when  very  rough.     In  a  few  other  counties  fallowing  is 

Orange,  Guilford,  Rowan,  Cabarrus,  Alexander,  and  Pitt  the  practiced  to  a  small  extent.     Results  are  not  given. 

5.  Is  rotation  of  crops  practiced?     If  so,  of  how  many  years'  course,  in  what  order  of  crops,  and  with 
what  results  ? 

In  eighteen  counties  rotation  is  either  not  practiced  at  all  or  to  a  order  prevails ;  results  are  generally  good  for  cotton,  except 

very  small  extent,  cotton  being  planted  continuously  from  in  Alamance  and  Martin.     Iu  Guilford  corn  impoverishes  but 

year  to  year;  usually,  in  throe  years'  course,  corn  aud  small  wheat  improvcsthe  land.     In  Lincoln  cotton  is  planted  two 

grain  and  pease  or  potatoes  following  cotton.     No  regular  or  three  years,  and  then  corn  one  year. 

G.  What  fertilizers,  or  other  direct  means  of  improving  the  soil,  are  used  by  you,  or  in  your  region  ?     Is  green- 
nianuiing  practiced?     With  what  results? 

The  use  of  commercial  fertilizers  is  reported  from  twenty-eight  some  of  the  counties  commercial  fertilizers  alone  are  thought 

counties,  and  in  ton  of  these  no  other  fertilizer  is  mentioned.  to  bo  unprofitable.  Gh'een-manuring  is  not  practiced  to  any 
In  all  other  counties  composts  of  stable  manure,  with  other  extent,  in  twenty-four  counties;  in  others,  cow-pease,  grass, 
material,  such  as  leaves,  muck,  lime,  ashes,  cottonseed,  etc.,  and  sometimes  clover  are  turned  under,  aud  yield  good  re- 
are  in  general  use.  Marls  are  put  ou  the  land  in  Pamlico,  suits,  except  in  Duplin,  where  "there  is  no  marked  benefit  ". 
Craven,  Columbus,  Pitt,  Edgecombe,  Duplin,  aud  Bladen.    In 

T.  How  is  cottonseed  disposed  of?     If  sold,  on  what  terras,  or  at  what  price?     Is  cottonseed-cake  used  with 
you  for  feed  % 

In  thirty-six  counties  the  seed  is  used  «r  sold  only  for  manure,  while  in  any  of  tho  forty-three  counties  from  whence  answers  were 

in  the  others  it  is  partly  fed  to  stock  for  feed.     Its  price  is  received,  except  Wake,  where  very  little  is  fed  to  cows, 

from  10  to  13J  cents  per  bushel.     Cottonseed-cake  is  not  used 

73 
005 


74 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


PLANTING  AND  CULTIVATION  OF  COTTON. 
S.  What  preparation  is  usually  given  to  cotton  land  before  bedding  up? 


In  seven  of  the  counties  no  preparation  is  given  the  land  before 
bedding  up.  In  twenty-four  counties  spring  plowing  is  done ; 
in  nine  counties  fall  or  winter  plowing  is  practiced  some- 
times.    The  old  stalks  are  usually  plowed  under.     New  Han- 


over:  The  land  is  well  broken,  and  sometimes  subsoiled. 
Moore:  Fall  plowing  is  best  for  stubble  land,  spring  plowing 
for  hard  gravelly  land  ;  but  no  preparation  is  necessary  for  a 
sandy  or  clay  soil. 


between  the  ridges  is  the  almost  universal  width,  Granville, 
Alamance,  Franklin,  and  Greene  alone  giving  a  less  distance. 


Union.     The  longest  planting  season  given  is  in  Carteret- 
March  15  to  June  1. 


9.  Do  you  plant  iu  ridges  ?     How  far  apart  ? 

Cotton  is  planted  in  drills  only  in  Greene  county.  In  all  others 
ridges  are  usually  preferred.     A  distance  of  from  3  to  4  feet 

10.  What  is  your  usual  planting  tfme? 

The  earliest  dates  given  are  March  15  in  Carteret,  and  April  1  iu 
Rowan,  April  10  in  Pamlico  and  Cabarrus,  April  15  to  25  in 
thirty-one  counties,  May  1  in  eleven  counties,  and  May  15  in 

11.  What  variety  do  you  prefer?     How  much  seed  is  used  per  acre? 

There  are  fifteen  varieties  of  cotton  mentioned,  and  in  a  majority  of  three  times,  Sugar-Loaf  twice,  and  Matagorda  silk,  Clinton,, 

counties  no  preference   is  expressed  between  several  of  the  Petit  Gulf,  and  others  once  each. 

varieties.    The  Dixon  is,  however,  most  generally  planted,  its  In  twenty-four  counties,  from  1  to  2  bushels  ;  in  seventeen  counties, 

name   appearing   in   twenty-three  counties.     The  Johnson  is  sometimes  as  much  as  3  bushels;  and  six  counties,  occasionally 

mentioned  six  times,  Boyd's,  Peeler,  and  Simpson  varieties  4  bushels.      Chowan:  From  one-half  to  1  bushel. 

12.  What  implements  do  you  use  in  planting  'I    Are  "cottonseed  planters1'  used  iu  your  region  ?     What  opinion 
is  held  of  their  efficacy  or  convenience  ? 


In  twenty-nine  counties  cotton-planters  arc  used  either  of  some 
patent  or  home-made.  A  harrow  usually  precedes  the  planter, 
and  sometimes  a  drill  is  made.  In  other  counties  (fourteen) 
the  row  is  opened  with  a  plow,  the  seed  dropped  by  hand, 
and  covered  with  a  board  attached  to  a  plow-stock.     In    all 

13.  How  long  usually  before  your  seed  comes  up? 

For  favorable  season  the  time  is  put  at  from  3  to  5  days  in  fourteeu 
counties,  from  6  to  8  days  in  nineteen  counties,  9  to  10  days  in 
eight  counties,  14  days  in  Orange  and  Lincoln,  and  14  days,  if 
soaked  before  planting,  in  Alamance.  In  unfavorable  weather 

14.  At  what  stage  of  growth  do  you  thin  out  your  stand,  and  how  far  apart? 


but  tivo  counties  cotton-planters,  win-re  used,  arc  in  grea, 
favor;  "they  save  labor,  are  convenient,  plant  regularly, 
and  economize  seed."  Anson:  Liked  where  laud  is  not  too- 
rough.     Columbus:  Not  entirely  reliable,  though  convenient. 


it  sometimes  is  from  21  to  30  days  before  the  plant  appears  in 
Perquimans,  Chowan,  Pamlico,  Carteret,  Cabarrus,  Lincoln, 
and  Pitt  counties. 


In  twenty-eight  counties,  when  the  plant  is  well  up  or  from  2  to  4 
leaves  have  appeared,  or  when  from  3  to  6  inches  above 
ground.  When  plants  are  from  10  to  15  days'  old  in  Washing- 
ton, Brunswick,  Granville,  Orange,  Chatham,  Gates,  Harnett, 
and  Cumberland.     After  21  days  in  Bladen ;  when  0  weeks'  old 

15.  Is  your  cotton  liable  to  suffer  from  "  sore-shin"  ? 
In  ten  counties,  mostly  iu  the  coast  region,  the  disease  is  not  known; 
in  twelve  others  it  seldom  appears,  while  in  twenty-two  it  is 
very  prevalent.    Craven,  Granville,  and  Edgecombe :  Only  when 

10.  What  after-cultivation  do  you  give,  and  with  what  implements  ? 

Northampton  and  Halifax:  Bar  off,  chop  out  grass  with  hoes,  then  usually  going  over  the  field  three  or  four  times  and  chopping 
use  a  very  small  plow  to  throw  the  dirt  back  to  the  plant;  then  out  the  grass  between  plants  with  a  hoe.  Fourteen  counties 
use  only  cotton  plows.  Martin  and  Nash;  Run  along  close  to  use  sweeps  and  hoes  only,  giving  a  shallow  cultivation, 
the  cotton  with  a  fine-toothed  harrow;  then  chop  out  and  Cleavcland:  Use  the  bull-tongue  plow,  harrow,  and  hoe- 
side  up  with  a  sweep.  Hertford:    Use  cotton  plow,  weeding-hoe,  and  sweeps;  work 

Twelve  counties  use  scraper,  turn-plows,  sweeps,  and  cultivators,  the  land  about  every  10  days. 

17.  What  is  the  height  usually  attained  by  your  cotton  before  blooming? 


in  Pamlico.  One  or  two  plants  are  left  standing  at  from  12* 
to  15  or  18  inches  apart  in  the  majority  of  counties;  G  to  8- 
inches  in  Wake,  Alamance,  Kowau,  Cabarrus,  Mecklenburg,. 
Alexander,  and  Greene ;  24  inches  in  Orange. 


bruised  with  the  hoe.  Washington,  Beaufort,  Wake,  Cabarrus, 
Mecklenburg,  Cleavcland,  Gates,  Bertie,  and  Bladen  :  Iu  wet,  cold 
weather.     Pitt:  When  spring  winds  are  high. 


From  0  to  8  inches  iu  Franklin  and  Harnett ;  from  12  to  18  inches 
in  most  of  the  other  counties.  Pasquotank,  Perquimans,  Dare, 
Beaufort,  New  Hanover,  Brunswick  (of  the  coast),  Pitt,  Cum- 

IS.  When  do  you  usually  see  the  first  blooms? 
Beaufort,    Pamlico,    Craven,    Anson,    Mecklenburg,    Lincoln.    Wayne, 
Johnston,  and  Bladen:  June  25  to  28.     All  other  counties  July 

10.  When  do  the  bolls  first  open? 

July  1">   in   Wayne;  August  1,  Pamlico,   Carteret,  Franklin,  Powan, 
and  Cleavcland;  August  10  to  15,  in  Chowan,  Washington.  Beau- 
fort, Craven,  Gates.  Northampton,  Martin,  Nash,  Harnett,  Cum- 
60o 


berland,  Sanq>son,  and  Bladen  (long-leaf  pine  region),  and 
Orange,  Chatham,  and  Lincoln  (oak  uplands),  from  24  to  3G 
inches. 


1  to  10,  except  Columbus  and  Guilford,  where  August  and  Sep- 
tember are  given  .as  the  dates. 


berland,  Bladen  Chatham,  Anson,  and  Gaston.  From  August  15 
to  September  1,  in  all  other  counties,  except  Columbus,  ic 
which  October  is  named. 


CULTURAL  AND  ECONOMIC  DETAILS. 


75 


20.  When  do  you  begin  your  first  picking? 

September  1  iu  Chowan,  Washington,  Beaufort,  Carteret,  Craven,  and 
Brunswick  (coast  region),  Gates,  Martin,  and  Wayne  (long-leaf 
pine),  Franklin,  Orange,  Chatham,  Cabarrus,  Anson,  Gaston,  And 
Cleaveland  (oak  uplands);  September  10  to  15  in  twenty-one 

21.  How  many  pickings  do  you  usually  make,  aifd  when5?     Do  you  ordinarily  pick  all  your  cotton? 


counties.  From  September  15  to  October  1  in  all  other  coun- 
ties, except  Columbus,  in  which  the  first  picking  is  made  in 
the  latter  pare  of  October. 


other  counties  during  September,  October,  and  November,  or 
from  two  to  four  weeks  apart.  In  all  of  the  counties,  except 
Bladen,  the  cotton  is  usually  all  gathered. 


December  10  or  15  in  sixteen  counties; 
January  1  iu  all  others. 


from  December  15  to 


Two  pickings  in  Chowan,  Pamlico,  and  Guilford;  four  in  Wake, 
Cabarrus,  Northampton,  and  Duplin,  in  September,  October, 
November,  and  December.      Three  pickings   usually  in   all 

22.  At  what  date  does  picking  usually  close? 

November  1  iu  Guilford ;  November  15  in  Dare ;  December  1  iu 
Washington,  Franklin,  Orange,  Alamance,  Chatham,  Union, 
Cleaveland,  Pitt,  Wayne,   Harnett,   Sampson,   and  Bladen ; 

23.  At  what  time  do  you  expect  the  first  "  black  frost" 

October  1  in  Alexander;  October  10  or  15  in  Beaufort,  Craven,  Car- 
teret, New  Hanover  (coast  region),  Bertie,  Martin,  Greene, 
Edgecombe,  Nash,  Harnett  (long-leaf  pine),  Granville,  Frank- 
lin,  Orange,    Alamance,   Chatham,  Anson,  Union,  Mecklen- 

24.  Do  you  pen  your  seed-cotton  in  the  field,  or  gin  as  the  picking  progresses? 

In  no  county  is  it  reported  as  penned  in  the  field.     In  fourteen  counties  cotton  is  ginned  as  the  picking  progresses.     Anson: 

counties  it  is  housed  mostly  in  the  gin- house  until  each  pick-  Large  planters  gin  ae  picking  progresses;  others  only  when 

ing  is  over,  or  till  time  can  be  had  for  ginning.     Iu  all  other  convenient. 


burg,  Gaston,  Lincoln,  Cleaveland  (oak  uplands) ;  from  Oc- 
tober 15  to  November  1  in  nineteen  counties  ;  November  10 
or  15  in  Pamlico,  Columbus,  Northampton,  and  Bladen. 


GINNING,  BALING,  AND  SHIPPING. 

25.  What  gin  do  you  use?     How  many  saws?     What  motive  power?     How  much  clean  lint  do  you  make 
in  a  day's  run  of  10  hours?     Which  mechanical  "power"  arrangement  do  you  prefer  with  horse-power? 


Georgia  gin  of  30  saws,  with  3  mules,  will  make  2,000  pounds;  35 
saws,  with  2  mules,  1,200  pounds  ;  40  saws,  with  water,  1,500 
pounds;  50  saws,  with  mules,  from  1,000  to  2,000  pounds;  50 
saws,  with  10  horse-power  engine,  5,000  pounds ;  60  saws,  with 
water,  3,000  pounds. 

Hall's  gin  of  50  or  GO  saws,  with  steam,  from  3,000  to  4,000  pounds. 

The  Needle  gin  of  50  saws,  with  8  horse- power  engine,  2,000  pounds; 
50  saws,  with  10  horse-power  engine,  5,000  pounds. 

Rowland's  Carolina  gin  of  50  saws,  with  water-power,  4,000  pouuds. 

Emery's  gin  of  50  saws,  with  steam,  from  3,000  to  4,000  pounds;  50 
saws,  with  water,  2,500  pouuds. 

Taylor's  gin  of  40  saws,  with  horse-power,  1,000  pounds. 

Asa  "power"  arrangement  with  mules  or  horses  we  prefer  that 
made  here  ;  it  has  a  large  driving-wheel,  cog-gearing,  and 
band-wheel  (Pasquotank). 


There  are  14  different  gin  patents  in  use  in  the  state  as  far  as  re- 
ported.    Of  these  the  Brown  is  mentioned  in  25  counties,  the 

Georgia  in  12,  the  Hall  in  8,  the  Taylor  in  4,  Emery  in  3,  and 

others  in  1  or  2  counties  each.     These  are  the  Carver,  Needle, 

Carolina,  Carter,  Clements,  Griswold,  Rowland,  Massey,  and 

Excelsior,    The  number  of  saws  vary  from  40  to  100  iu  each  gin. 

The  motive  power  is  steam,  water,  and  horses  or  mules ;  but  a 

preference  for  steam  is  reported  in  16  counties,  for  water  in  5 

counties,  and  for  mules  in  1  county.    The  following  capacity  of 

each  gin  in  ten  hours'  run  with  the  different  powers  is  given: 
Brown's  gin  of  40  saws,  with  4  horse-power,  steam,  will  make  1,875 

pounds;  40  saws,  with.  12  horse-power,  steam,  4,000  pounds; 

45  saws,  with  horse-power,  1,600  ponnda ;  50  saws,  with  horse- 
power, 1,600  pounds ;  50  saws,  with  steam,  from  2,000  to  4,000 

pounds;   60  saws,  with  water,  3,125  pounds;  70  saws,  with 

water,  3,500  pouuds. 

20.  How  much  seed-cotton,  on  an  average,  is  required  for  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint  ? 

In  most  of  the  counties  1,425;  sometimes  1,310  in  Columbus,  Pasquo-  Halifax;  1,545  in  New  Hanover  and  Gates:    1,660  in  Wake 

tank,  and  Edgecombe  ;  1,450  in  Alamance  ;  1,485  in  Pamlico,  and  Orange. 

Craven,  Cleaveland.  Northampton,  and   Harnett :    1,515  in 

27.  What  press  is  generally  used  in  your  region  for  baling?    What  is  its  capacity? 

In  many  of  the  counties  home-made  screws  are  in  use.     There  are  fit-  pass,  Hart's,  and  Southern  Standard.     Their  capacity  is  from 
teen  patented  iron  screw  presses  reported,  Ball's  and  Brooks'  10  to  15  bales  per  day,  or  about  1  bale  per  hour.     "The  Cot- 
being  mentioned  six  times  each,  Cockade  three  times,  and  ton  King  will,  with  three  men,  pack  a  bale  in  ten  minutes" 
the  following  once  or  twice  each :  Caldwell,  Centennial,  Dixie,  (Harnett). 
Boss,  Roanoke,  Godwin's,  Eclipse,  Beasley,  Cotton  King,  Com- 

2S.  Do  you  use  rope  or  iron  ties  for  baling?    If  the  latter,  what  fastening  do  you  prefer?    What  kind  of 

bagging  is  used  in  your  region? 

Iron  ties  only  are  used  throughout  the  state,  with  arrow,  buckle,  Gunny  bagging  is  used  in  thirteen  counties.  Jute,  double  anchor 
and    anchor  fastenings.     The   arrow   is  the   most    popular  and  arrow,  Kentucky,  Dundee,  and  Standard  are  used  in  other 

fastening.  counties;  also  the  "domestic",  manufactured  at  Richmond. 

29.  What  weight  do  you  aim  to  give  your  bales  ?     Have  transportation  companies  imposed  any  conditions 
in  this  respect? 

Four  hundred  pounds  in  Brunswick,  Alamance,  and  Cumberland;  Cleaveland:  The  Carolina  Central  .rail  road  averages  bales  at 

from  450  to  500  pounds  in  all  other  counties.     In  most  of  the  400  pounds.     Sampson  :  Extra  charges  are  made  for  over  500 

state  "no  conditions"  are  imposed.    New  Hanover,  Nash,  Eali-  pounds  weight.     Mecklenburg,  Greene,  Wayne:  ijjil  is  deducted 

fax,  DttpUn :  Additional  freight  is  charged  if  over  450  pounds.  from  the  price  of  each  bale  below  400  pounds  weight. 

607 


76 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


DISEASES,  INSECT  ENEMIES,  ETC. 

30.  By  what  accidents  of  weather,  diseases,  or  insect  pests  is  your  cotton  crop  most  liable  to  be  injured  ?  At 
what  dates  do  these  several  pests  or  diseases  usually  make  their  appearance  ?  To  what  cause  is  the  trouble  attributed 
by  your  farmers'? 


The  caterpillar  appears  in  ten  counties  of  the  coast  region  ;  in  Pitt, 
Nash,  Johnston,  Sampson,  and  Bladen,  of  tbo  long-leaf  pine  re- 
gion ;  ami  in  Guilford  and  Rowan,  of  the  oak  uplands.  It 
usually  cornea  in  August  and  September  in  these  counties, 
except  in  Beaufort  and  Johnston.  There  it  appears  in  Octo- 
ber, too  late  to  do  any  damage.  Lincoln  :  The  caterpillar  has 
been  here  twice  in  fifteen  years,  coining  late  in  the  season 
and  doing  as  much  good  as  harm  by  eating  the  leaves,  thus 
lotting  in  the  sun  and  causing  cotton  to  open. 

The  boll-worm  is  only  reported  in  Perquimans,  Jones,  Pitt,  Har- 
nett, Bladen,  Guilford,  and  Rowan  counties,  and  usually  ap- 
pears in  August. 

The  cut-worm  causes  damage  in  Pitt  and  Duplin  counties  in  May. 

Cotton-lice  in  Pasquotank,  Carteret,  Pitt,  Edgecombe,  Wayne,  and 
Johnston  counties  in  Juno  and  July. 

Shedding  causes  much  damage  in  all  of  the  counties  except  New 
Hanover,  Columbus,  Alamance,  Union,  Gaston,  and  Wayne, 
where  no  mention  is  made  of  it.  It  is  generally  attributed  to 
droughts  after  excessive  rains  in  the  spring. 


Rot  of  bolls  is  complained  of  in  all  of  the  counties  except  Perqui- 
mans, Pasquotank,  Carteret  (coast  region).  Gates,  Hertford, 
Northampton,  Pitt,  Nash,  Wayne,  Johnston,  Harnett,  Duplin 
(long-loaf  pine  region),  Granville,  Franklin,  Cabarrus,  An- 
son, Lincoln,  Cleaveland,  and  Alexander  (oak  uplands).  It  is 
usually  attributed  to  wot  weather.  Moore  ;  Caused  by  water 
penetrating  the  boles  made  by  the  boll-worm. 

Rust  is  reported  in  all  of  the  counties  except  Dare,  Carteret,  Gran- 
ville, Lincoln,  Alexander,  and  Martin.  It  is  usually  attributed 
to  ''bad  weather".  Union:  Cold  nights  followed  by  heavy 
dews.  Halifax:  Black  rust  in  wet  and  red  rust  in  dry  sea- 
sons, and  attributed  t*  had  drainage,  cold  nights, heavy  dows, 
and  want  of  fertilizers.  Pitt,  Atwon,  and  Duplin:  To  want  of 
manure,  potash  in  vegetable  matter  in  the  soil,  Moure:  To* 
unsuitable  soils.  Sampson  :  A  want  of  salt  in  the  manure. 
Beaufort :  On  badly  drained  and  poor  land,  or  in  soils  having 
too  much  iron. 

Blight  is  reported  from  only  nineteen  counties,  attributed  moslly  (o 
bad  weather. 


31.  What  efforts  have  been  made  to  obviate  the  trouble,  and  with  what  success*! 


Nunc  in  twenty  counties. 

High  fertilization,  good  culture,  and  thorough  drainage  is  practiced 
against  rust  and  sheddiDg  in  Perquimans,  Beaufort,  Gates, 
Hertford,  Bertie.  Martin,  Pitt,  Greene,  and  Moore,  with  fair 
success  in  ifiost  cases.  Beaufort  anil  Craven:  Wood  ashes 
are  used  against  rust.  Craven:  Acid  phosphate  to  keep  bolls 
from  rotting.  Carteret:  Lime,  and  salt,  with  some  success. 
Anson:  SuhsoUiug  for  shedding  aud  potash  for  rust,  with  in- 


different success.  Lincoln  :  Deep  plowing  against  rust.  Hali- 
fax: Ditching  and  applical  ion  of  vegetable  matter,  except  for 
rust,  against  which  no  remedy  has  been  found.  Edgecombe: 
Ditching  and  kainit,  also  marling,  greatly  modifies  black 
rust.  Nash  :  Salt  and  sulphate  of  potash  produce  line  results. 
Duplin:  Rotation  of  crops,  fallowing,  and  applying  vegotable 
matter,  or  using  muriate  of  potash,  from  'Ml  to  f>0  pounds  per 
acre,  with  other  manure,  meet  with  marked  success. 


32.  Is  rust  or  blight  prevalent  chiefly  on  ill-drained  soils?     Do  they  prevail  chiefly  in  wet,  cool  seasons?    On 
which  soil  described  by  you  are  they  most  common ? 


Coast  REGION  :  Most  common  on  the  heavy  and  ill-drained  soil  of  the 

low,  black  swamp  laud  in  cool  and  wet  weather,  in  Pasquo- 
tank, Chowan,  Washington,  Beaufort,  and  Carteret.     Most 

common   when    land   is   poorest  after   heavy   cool   rains  in 

Tyrrell  and  Brunswick;  on   heavy  and  ill-drained  soils  in 

wet,  hot  seasons  in  Jones  ;  on  ill-drained  gray  loam  soil  with 

clay  subsoil  in  New  Hanover.     "I  have  seen  it  in  low,  wet 

bottoms,  and  within  3  feet  of  a  ditch  in  wet  and  dry  seasons, 

and  hot  and  cool  weather"  (Perquimans). 
Long-leaf  pine  region  :  On  ill-drained  soils  in  all  the  counties.    In 

wet  anil  cool  seasons  in  nine  counties;  in  Avct  and  hot  seasons 

in  three  counties;  in  dry  and  cool  ill  three  counties.     Most 

33.  Is  P»aris  green  used  as  a  remedy  against  the  caterpillar;  if  so,  how,  and  with  what  effect? 

Craven:  Yes;  sprinkled  over  the  plants  with  good  success.     Brnns-  caterpillar  is  not   troublesome.     Paris   green   has   not    been 

wide:  Yes,  but  -with  poor  effect,     Netc  Hanover:  Yes,  but  the  used  in  any  other  county  to  any  extent. 


common  on  lowlands  in  five  counties,  :ind  on  light  sandy  soils 
with  stiff  clay  subsoils  in  most  of  the  region.  Moore:  The 
fanners  of  the  red  sandstone  region  nearly  all  affirm  that 
their  cotton  is  not  much  subject  to  rust,  disease,  or  other  pest. 
Oak  uplands:  On  ill -drained  soil ;  sometimes  on  heavy  clay  soil^ ; 
sometimes  on  light  sandy  soils  with  an  impervious  subsoil ; 
on  black-jack  oak  soil  in  Cabarrus.  On  the  red  or  hickory 
soils  (Gaston),  "which  suffers  all  the  ills."'  In  wet  and  hot 
seasons  in  Adsou  ;  dry  and  hot  seasons  on  land  where  stable 
manure  has  been  applied  alone  in  Lincoln;  wet  and  cool 
seasons  in  other  counties. 


LABOR  AND  SYSTEM  OF  FARMING. 

34.  What  is  the  average  size  of  farn>s  or  plantations  in  your  region 
farming"  or  u  planting"? 
Coast  region:  From  1  to  20  acres  in    Dare;    from  60  to  '200  in 

Chowan,  Pasquotank,  Jones,  and  Carteret;  150  in  Beaufort; 

from  30  to  300  in  Craven;    from  50  to  50"  in  Perquimans, 

Tyrrell,  and  Pamlico  ;  from  100  to  1,000  in  Washington.     The 

practice  is  entirely  "mixed  farming'*. 
Long-leaf  tine  REGION:   From  30  to  00  acres  in  Gates,  Moore, 

Martin,  aud  Sampson;  from  50  to  150  in  Hertford,  Greene, 

Harnett,  and  Bladen  ;  from  300  to  500  acres  in  other  counties. 

The  practice  is  altogether  "mixed  farming". 

COS 


Is  the  prevalent  practice,  "mixed 


Oak  uplands:  From  50  to  100  acres  in  Orange,  Chatham,  Anson, 
Uuiou,  Gaston,  and  Alexander;  from  50  to  200  in  Franklin, 
Alamance,  Guilford,  Rowan,  Cabarrus,  and  Cleaveland ; 
from  50  to  300  in  Granville,  Wake,  Mecklenburg,  aud  Bertie; 
from  50  to  6,500  acres  in  Lincoln.  The  practice  i.s  ''mixed 
farming",  except  in  Wake,  where  "  planting"  is  chiefly 
done. 


CULTURAL  AND  ECONOMIC  DETAILS.  77 

35.  Are  supplies  raised  at  home  or  imported,  and  if  the  latter,  where  from  ?    Is  the  tendency  toward  the 
raising  of  home  supplies  increasing  or  decreasing? 

Brunswick,    Wake,  Bertie,  and  Northampton:   Mostly  imported  from  etc.     In  all  other  counties  supplies  are  mostly  raised  at  home. 

Baltimore  and  Cincinnati.    Carteret  and  Hertford :  Aboutone-  Some  baeon  is  purchased  elsewhere.     The  tendency  toward 

half  raised  at  home.     Gaston  and  Edgecombe :  Partly  at  home.  raising  home  supplies  is  increasing  in  all  of  the  counties  ex- 

Xash :  We  import  a  great  deal  of  meat,  flour,  sugar,  corn,  tea,  cept  Rowan  and  Aubou,  where  it  is  said  to  be  "stationary". 

36.  Who  are  your  laborers  chiefly?  whites,  of  what  nationality? 

In  Chowan  county  alone  wbite  laborers  predominate.     In  twenty-  the  rest  the  laborers  are  thought  to  be  about  evenly  divided 

seven  counties  negro  laborers  are  most  numerous,  while  in  between  the  two  races. 

37.  How  are  their  wages  paid  ;  by  the  year,  month,  day;  and  at  what  rates?    When  payable? 

In  a  majority  of  the  counties  of  the  state  laborers  receive  from  $8  from  30  to  40  cents  per  day,  or  §75  per  year.  Women  and  chil- 

to  $10  per  month,  and  from  $80  to  $100  per  year,  with  rations,  dren  receive  usually  about  $5  per  month,  with  board.  Wages 

house,  and  fuel,  or  from  40  to  50  cents  per  day,  without  rations.  are  usually  paid  at  the  end  of  a    specified  time,  either  the 

In  others  the  rates  are  from  §6  to  $8  per  month,  with  rations,  month,  week,  or  day ;  sometimes  when  cotton  crops  are  sold. 

3S.  Are  cotton  farms  worked  on  shares?    On  what  terms?     Are  any  supplies  furnished  by  the  owners? 

The  share  system  is  in  general  practice  throughout  the  cotton  coun-  for  the  laborer,  and  one-half  of  any  fertilizers  that  may  be  used, 

ties,  the   counties  of  Alexander,  Pasquotank,  and   Guilford  the  crop  is  equally  divided  between  the  owner  and  laborer, 

alone  reporting  "no",  while  a  few  reply  "to  some  extent".  For  land  alone,  without  supplies,  the  ownerreceives  one-third 

When  the  owner  furnishes  all  necessary  supplies,  except  food  of  the  corn  and  one-fourth  of  the  cotton. 

39.  Does  your  system  give  satisfaction?     How  does  it  affect  the  quality  of  the  staple?     Does  the  soil 

deteriorate  or  improve  under  it? 

It  does  not  give  satisfaction  in  Perquimans,  Craven,  Jones,  Guilford,  is  not  affected  iu  other  counties.     The  soil  is  not  affected  in 

Harnett,  and  Bladen.     "  Hard  to  say  "  in  Pamlico,  Franklin,  Perquimans,  Alexander,  and  Pitt;  "improves  if  properly  ma- 

and  Edgecombe.     "Yes"  in  all  the  others.  nured  and  cultivated"  in  eleven  counties,  but  "deteriorates" 

The  staple  is  improved  in  Washington;  is  not  so  good  iu  Gates,  and  in  all  others. 

40.  Which  .system  (wage  or  share)  is  the  better  for  the  laborer,  and  why? 

Pamlico,   Craven,  Granville,  and  Pitt:    But  little  difference  either  negroes  are  extravagant,  exercise  no  forethought,  and   need 

way,  as  they  accumulate  but  little.     Greene:  Shares  for  the  intelligent  direction  ;  they  need  not  run  in  debt;  their  condi- 

marricd  and  wages  for  the  single,  because  the  former  make  tion  requires  a  regular  income, 

more  and  the  latter  are  idle  less.  Shares  in  eleven  counties :  Laborers  are  provided  for  during  winter 

Wages  in  thirty-one  counties  for  following  reasons:  Laborers  re-  months  ;  they  spend  wages  as  fast  as  obtained.      They  can 

ceive  cash  monthly;   are  better  clothed  and  fed;  cultivate  make  more  with  proper  work ;  gives  a  living  at  home  and 

with  better  judgment  and  have  fewer  failures  iu  crops,  and  children  can  be  made  useful;  take  better  care  of  the  crop  and 

crops  are  not  neglected ;  for  them  there  are  no  contingencies ;  are  less  wasteful. 

41.  What  is  the  condition  of  the  laborers  ? 

In  thirty-four  counties   " good "  and  mostly  improving.     In  eight  demoralized.     Sampson:  Happy,   if  let  alone  by  politicians, 

counties  "poor".     Gaston  :  Not  good,  but  truly  happy.     Lin-  Jones:  Not  as  good  as  we  would  wish.     Hertford:  Live  well, 

coin  :  Improved  some,  but  not  much.      Wayne  :  Considerably  but  are  improvident. 

42.  What  proportion  of  negro  laborers  own  land,  or  the  houses  in  which  they  live? 

Columbus:  About  90  per  cent.     Dare:   About  two-thirds.     Tyrrell  Oneiutweuty.     Chowan,  Franklin,  Union,  Pitt,  Edgecombe,  and 

and  Beaufort :  One-fourth.     Craven  and  Chatham:  One-fifth.  Wayne:    One   in   fifty.       Pasquotank,    Perquimans,   Alamance, 

Gaston,  Greene,  Sampson :  One  in  eight  or  ten.    Pamlico,  Wake,  Roivan,. Johnston,  and  Duplin :   "One  in  a  hundred."     In  other 

Cleaveland,  Alexander,  Martin,  Moore,  Cumberland,  and  Bladen:  counties,  "very  few." 

43.  What  is  the  market  value  of  the  land  described  in  your  region?    What  rent  is  paid  for  such  land? 

Coast  region:  Perquimans,  Chowan,  Pamlico,  and  Jones:  From  $  10  and  Gaston:  Value,  from  $10  to  §20  and  $30  per  acre;  rents, 

to  $15  and  $20  value  ;  from  &3  to  $5  as  rent  per  acre.     Pas-  from  $2  to  $5  per  acre.     Franklin,  Orange,  Alamance,  Rowan, 

guotank,    Washington,  Beaufort,  New  Hanover,   and  Columbus:  Cabarrus,  Lincoln,  and  Alexander :  "Value,  $5.  $7,  $8  and  upward; 

Value,  from  §5  to  $W  and  upward  ;  rent,  from  §2  to  $5  per  acre.  other  counties,  from  £2  to  $4  and  upward.     Rents,  from  $2  to 

In  other  counties  values  and  rents  from  §2  and  upward.  $4  per  acre. 

Long-leaf  pine  region  :  Pitt,  Greene,  Edgecombe,  and  Cumberland :  Iu  all  of  the  cotton  counties  portions  of  the  crop  are  taken  as  rent. 

Value,  from  $10  to  §20 ;  other  counties,  from  $2  to  $7  and  up-  (See  No.  41.)     Franklin  :  800  pounds  lint  cotton  for  25  or  30 

ward.     Eents,  from  $1  50  to  §5  per  acre.  acres. 

Oak  uplands  regions  :  Granville,  Wake,  Anson,  Union,  Mecklenburg, 

44.  How  many  acres,  or  400-pound  bales,  per  "hand"  is  your  customary  estimate? 

From  10  to  15  acres  of  cotton,  besides  the  same  amount  of  laud  in  or  from  8  to  10  if  cotton  alone  is  planted.     For  picking  this 

other  crops ;  or  from  25  to  30  acres  alone  iu  cotton.     The  num-  amount  extra  hands  have  to  be  employed.     In  Craven,  Gran- 

ber  of  bales  of  cotton  varies  according  to  the  character  of  land  ville,  Anson,  Gates,  Bertie,  Moore,  Cumberland,  and  Sampson 

cultivated,  but  is  usually  from  5  to  7  bales  with  other  crops,  but  3  or  4  bales  are  estimated  per  hand  with  other  cropB. 

45.  To  what  extent  does  the  system  of  credits  or  advances  upon  the  growing  cotton  crop  prevail  in  your  region? 

Very  little  iu  Columbus,  Guilford,  Chatham,  and  Alexander.     To  a  do  not  clear  enough  one  year  to  enable  them  to  grow  the  next 

considerable  extent   in  Brunswick,  Rowan,   Anson,   Union,  year's  crop.   The  system  is  "blue  ruin  "to  the  farmer.  Craven: 

Cleaveland,  Cumberland,  and  Duplin.     Not  too  much  in  Pain-  The  merchants  and  others  who  furnish  supplies  take  advantage 

lico.  To  value  of  one-half  of  the  crop  ou  an  average  in  Carteret,  by  charging  extortionate  prices.     Lincoln:  Not  much  among 

Franklin,  Mecklenburg,  and  Wayne.      Only  for  fertilizers  in  those  farmers  doing  their  own  work,  but  is  almost  universal 

Alamance.  In  other  counties  the  system  prevails  to  a  great  ex-  among  those  who  hire.     Edgecombe,  Pitt,  Beaufort :  The  prac- 

tent,  and  in  several"  almost  universally".  Wake:  Host  farmers  tice  is  decreasing  every  year. 

39  C  P— VOL.    II  609 


78 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


46.  At  what  stage  of  its  production  is  the  cotton  crop  usually  covered  by  insurance?      Is  such  practice 
general  ? 

From  March  to  November  in  Gaston.     It  is  generally  insured  when  Jones,  Martin,  Pitt,  Moore,  arid  Cumberland  :  when  ready  for 

in  the  gin-house  in  Franklin,  Edgecombe,  and  Sampson,  and  shipment  in  a  few  counties,  but  not  at  all  in  the  others  until 

sometimes   in    Pasquotank,    Perquimans,  Chowan,    Craven.  the  cotton  lias  passed  out  of  the  bands  of  the  fanner. 

47.  What  are  the  merchants'  commissions  ami  charges  for  storing  handling,  shipping,  insurance,  etc.,  to 

which  your  crop  is  subject  8     What  is  the  total  amount  of  these  charges  against  the  farmer  per  pound  or  bale  ! 


York,  or  from  }  to  fl  codI  per  pound  to  Norfolk,  including 
freight  from  Beauforl  and  Pasquotank  :  I  cent  to  Norfolk,  and 
1£  cents  per  pound  to  New  York  from  Pitt,  Edgecombe,  and 
Nash  ;  to  Wilmington  from  Columbus  county  .  Si  •'"  per  bale. 
In  other  counties  the  usual  estimate  is  $2  per  bale,  exccpl  at 
local  markets,  whore  farmers  sell  direct  to  buyers,  and  avoid 
other  charges  than  weighing,  or,  perhaps,  commission. 

and  with  fair 


Commissions,  from  2-J  U>  3  per  cent.;  storage,  25  cents  per  month  ; 
wharfage,  20  cents ;  weighing,  from  10  to  15  cents ;  dray  age, 
10  cents  iii  New  Hanover,  15  cents  in  Carteret,  63  cents  in  Hal- 
ifax ;  handling,  30  cents  in  Hertford,  75  cents  in  Halifax; 
insurance,  A  per  cent,  in  New  Hanover,  '-i.">  cents  in  Carteret, 
Franklin,  Gates,  and  Nash;  50  cents  in  Hertford;  total 
charges,  about  1  cent  per  pound  to  reach  Baltimore  or  New 

48.  What  is  your  estimate  of  the  cost  of  production  in  your  region,  exclusive  of  such  char 
soil  and  management? 

From  5  to  6  cents  per  pound  in  Chowan,  Carteret,  Bertie,  Gaston, 
and  Duplin  ;  from  ?  to  8  cents  in  twenty-four  counties  ;  from 
8  to  9  cents  iu  eight  counties;  10  cents  in  Dare,  Pamlico, 
Granville,  and  Gates;  $5  per  acre  in  Guilford;  slO  in  Alexan- 
der; $1*2  in  Granville;  2  per  cent,  in  Perquimans;  from  50  to 
60 per  cent,  iu  Rowan. 

in  cents  it  pays  better  than  corn 


Alamance:  Scents  per  pound;  a 
at  SI  per  bushel. 

Is;-.     DR. 
To  preparing  ground,  planting  seed,  putting  in  fertilizers, 

l 'ringing  to  a  stand,  hoeing,  and  cultivation $99  65 

To  cost  of  fertilizers  (cash) lid  97 

To  picking  21,984  pounds  of  seed-cotton  . 

To  interest  on  capital 

To  tuxes 

To  bagging  aud  ties , 

To  transportation 


Cabarrus  (a):  Determined  to  ascertain  whal  it  cost  a  pound  to  grow 
cotton,  I  commenced  in  1878  to  keep  an  accurate  lield  sic- 
count.  To  be  certain  that  the  year  1878  was  not  an  excep- 
tional'year  as  to  cheapness  of  labor,  etc.,  I  continued  the 
account  the  following  year.  The  quantity  of  laud  in  cultiva- 
tion was  22  acres  and  over;  the  same  trad  both  years.  The 
preparation  of  the  ground  and  after  cultivation  was  prob- 
ably more  thorough  than  are  usually  givcD  for  this  crop. 


Less  the  value  of  seed 


r»R 

01 

72 

00 

8 

00 

u 

00 

10 

00 

412 

03 

50 

25 

356  38 
1879.     Dr. 

To  preparing  ground,  putting  in  fertilizer,  planting,  bring- 
ing tn  a  stand,  In  icing,  and  cultivation $97  34 

To  40  bushels  seed,  at  1-J4  cents  per  bushel 5  00 

To  fertilizers  (cash) 92  12 

Toblacksmithing 3  00 

To  picking  22,013  pounds  of  seed-cotton 90  (>9 

To  bagging  aud  ties 15  00 

To  interest  ou  capital 72  00 

To  taxes 8  00 

To  transportation 10  00 


By 


087  pounds  baled 
Net  profit 


1678.     CR. 
)ii  sold  .... 


Items. 

Cost  of  cotton  per  pound,  5.3  cents. 

Expense  per  acre,  exclusive  of  fertilizers 

Net  return  per  acre 

Average  price  received  per  pound,  it  cents. 
Yield  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  999.8  pounds. 


By  7,317  pounds  baled  c 


811  63 
12  32 


Cost  per  pound,  4?  cents. 

Expense  per  aero,  including  fertilizers $15  32 

Prolit  per  acre 21  65 

Average  price  received  per  pound,  11. 11  cents. 
Yield  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,000^$  pounds. 


Less  the  value  of  seed. 


303  15 
50  25 


336  90 

It  will  be  observed  from  an  examination  of  the  foregoing  statements 
that  the  cost  per  pound  iu  growing  cotton  must  depend  upon 
the  yield  per  acre;  that  the  product  per  acre  is  the  measure 
of  the  planter's  prolit ;  that  the  cost  of  cultivation,  etc., of  an 
acre  is  the  same  when  yielding  500  pounds  or  less  of  seed- 
cotton,  as  when  yielding  1,000  pounds  or  more,  saving  the 
additional  cost  of  picking,  which  is  fully  counterbalanced 
by  the  gain  in  seed,  and  that  there  can  be  no  profit  when  the 
product  of  an  acre  fails  to  realize  the  farmer  or  planter  more 
than  $12. 

Cost  of  picking  :  The  usual  juice  paid  is  50  cents  per  100  pounds 
without  board,  or  40  cents  with  board.  Beaufort:  In  the  first 
of  the  season,  when  cottonseed  is  heavy,  the  price  paid  is  4" 


cents;  in  the  middle  of  the  picking  season,  50  cents;  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  season,  when  cotton  and  seed  are  light,  from 
60  cents  to  si  per  100  pounds.  The  average  amount  picked  is 
14n  pounds.  Duplin  :  An  ordinary  hand  can  average  about 
100  pounds  per  day;  under  favorable  circumstances  some 
pick  as  much  as  200  pounds.  If  is  usual  to  pick  the  cotton 
fields  over  two  or  three  times,  which  is  one  reason  why  as 
much  is  not  gathered  as  farther  south.  Alamance:  Hands 
are  paid  50  cents  per  100  pounds  with  board,  or  75  cents 
without  board.  An  ordinary  hand  can  pick  only  100  pounds 
per  day.  Xorthamjtton  :  An  ordinary  hand  can  only  pick  75 
pounds  of  cotton  per  daj 


a    The  estimate  from  Cabarrus  county  was  made  by  C.  McDonald,  of  Concord. 


INDEX    TO    COTTON    PRODUCTION    IN    NORTH 

CAROLINA.. 


A. 

Page. 

Abstracts  of  the  reports  of  correspondents 30-04 

Accidents  of  weather  as  affecting  cotton  crops 76 

Acreage  and  production  of  cotton  (tables) 3-6 

leading  crops 5,6 

Acres  of  cotton  per  hand 77 

Addresses  and  names  of  correspondents,  lisl.  of. 72 

Advances  made  on  growing  crops 77 

After-cultivation  of  cotton 74 

Agricultural  descriptions  of  the  counties 27-70 

regions,  enumeration  and  general  surface  fea- 
tures of 12 

Alamance  county,  statistics  and  description  of 60,  61 

Alexander  county,  statistics  and  description  of 63,64 

Alleghany  county,  statistics  and  description  of 65 

Amount  of  charges  against  the  farmer  in  sales  of  cotton 78 

Angola  bay,  character  and  location  of 37,  46 

Analyses  of  gray  sandy  soils 19 

gum  and  cypress  swamp  lands 13, 14 

level  piny-woods  land 17,  IS 

marls 22,23 

oak  and  hickory  upland  soils 19,20 

piny-wToods  upland  soils 17 

pocoson  and  savanna  soils 15 

semi-swamps,  oak,  beech,  and  pine  flats 13-15 

of  soils,  by  whom  made iii,24,25 

tables  of  soils  and  subsoils 14, 15, 17, 19,  24,  25 

Anson  county,  statistics  and  description  of  .' 53, 54 

Answers  to  schedule  questions,  summary  of , 73-78 

Aphides  (lice)  on  cotton-plant 76 

Arclnean  formation,  occurrence  of 11, 12 

Ardrey,  W.  E.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 57 

Area  of  the  cotton  culture  extended  since  1870 22 

eastern  topographical  division 10 

long-leaf  pine  region 15 

midland  division 10 

mountain  division 10 

Piedmont  division lit 

sea-board  region 1 2 

state 9 

population,  tilled  lands,  and  cotton  production  of  the 

counties  (table) 3,4 

Ashe  county,  statistics  and  description  of G6 

Average  population  per  square  mile  (table) 3, 4 

size  of  farms  or  plantations 76 

BE.    ' 

Bagging  used  in  baling  cotton 75 

Bale,  amount  of  seed-cotton  required  to  make  a  (see  abstracts 

in  county  descriptions) 30-64 


Page. 

Bales,  number  of,  in  regions  (table) 21 

per  acre  in  counties,  number  of  (table) 3,4 

baud,  usual  working  estimate  of 77 

weight  of 75 

Baling  cotton,  kinds  of  presses  used  in 75 

Banks  of  the  coast,  character  of  the 13 

Banner  counties,  having  highest  total  cotton  production  and 

product  per  acre  (table) 21 

rank  of,  in  other  regards SI 

Barnes,  D.  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 40 

Battle,  J.  J.,  remarks  of 43 

Bear  swamp,  extent,  soil,  and  growth  of 31 

Beaufort  county,  analyses  of  soils  of 14, 15 

statistics  and  description  of 33,34 

Becton,  J.  H.,  mention  of 35 

Benbow,  Dr.  D.  W.  C,  abstract  of  the  report  of 60 

Bertie  county,  statistics  and  description  of 40 

Best,  W.  E.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 43,44 

Black,  A.  R.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 37 

Black  frost,  first  appearance  of 75 

Bladen  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 14 

statistics  and  description  of , 49 

Blight  or  rust  as  affecting  cotton,  and  how  obviated 76 

Blooms  first  appear,  when 74 

Blue  Ridge,  elevation  of 9 

Boiling  favored  and  running  to  weed  of  cotton-plants  pre- 
vented by : 

application  of  fertilizers  or  lime 31,32,  34,36,37,39,40, 

4-1,48,49,54,59 

closer  planting 59 

deep  cultivation 56 

plowing 45,  58 

early  cultivation 31,34,39,42 

marling 35, 42 

thinning  out  the  plants 53 

thorough  drainage 35, 36, 39, 42, 45,  56 

subsoiling 56 

topping 30, 31, 32,  33, 40,  41 ,  47, 49,  50, 51, 53, 54 

Bolls  first  open,  when 74 

Boll-worm,  appearance  of 76 

Bottom  lands  of  the  oak-uplands  region 18 

Bridges,  J.  L.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 42,43 

Brown,  W.  M.  B.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 43 

Brunswick  county,  analyses  of  soils  of 14 

statistics  and  description  of 38 

Bryan,  J.  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 46 

Buncombe  county,  statistics  and  description  of 67 

Burke  county,  statistics  and  description  of 64 

Burke,  W.  P.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 64 

Bur  well,  B.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 50 

611 


80 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


c. 

Pago. 

Cabarrus  county,  analyses  of  soil  and  subsoil  of 19 

statistics  and  description  of ."<; 

Caldwell  county,  statistics  and  description  of 04 

Camden  county,  statistics  and  description  of 30 

Campbell,  Dr.  J.  C,  abstract  of  the  report  of 48 

Carr,  E.,  abstract  of  the  report  of : 42,43 

Carteret  county,  analyses  of  soils  of 14 

statistics  and  description  of 35, 3G 

Caswell  county,  statistics  and  description  of 61 

Catawba  county,  statistics  and  description  of 57 

Caterpillar,  appearance  of 70 

Chambers,  E.  P.,  description  by 50 

Charges  for  storing,  band  Hug,  and  shipping  cotton '78 

Chatham  county, statistics  and  description  of 52,53 

Cherokee  county, statistics  and  description  of 70 

Cherry,  J.  13.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 40 

Chowan  county,  statistics  and  description  of 31,32 

Clay  county,  statistics  and  description  of ■ 09 

Cleaveland  county,  statistics  and  description  of 59 

Climate  of  the  state 10,11 

Close  of  the  cotton-picking  season 75 

Coast  bordered  by  continuous  sand-dunes 13 

character  of  the  banks  of  the 13 

Columbus  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 14 

statistics  and  description  of 38 

Commissions  of  merchants  in  sales  of  cotton 78 

Com  posts,  use  of 73 

Condition  of  laborers 77 

Conditions  imposed  by  transportation  companies 75 

Corn,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) 5,6 

Correspondents,  names  and  addresses  of 72 

Cost  of  cotton  production 78 

Cotton,  acreage  and  production  of  (tables) 3-0 

per  square  mile  (table) 3,4 

average  amount  of,  picked  in  a  day 78 

lint  made  in  a  day's  run  of  ten  hours 75 

picking,  cost  of 78 

pickings,  when  begun,  and  how  many  made 75 

production,  cost  of  per  pound 78 

cultural  and  economic  details  of 71-78 

distribution  of,  among  the  several  regions  21,22 

general  remarks  on 21,22 

increase  of,  since  1870 22 

in  each  county  (see county  descriptions).  27-70 

region  (table) 21 

of  the  long-leaf  pine  lands 16 

sea-board  region 13 

per  aero  (see  county  descriptions) 27-70 

percentage  of  state's  total,  in  each  region 

(table) 21 

rank  of  the  state  in 21 

relation  of  white  and  colored  population 

to 22 

product  per  acre  in  counties  (table) 3, 4 

regions,     and    maximum    of,    in 

counties  (table) 21 

of  long-leaf  pine  lands 16 

oak-uplands  region  soils 10 

on  any  soil  and  on  fresh  and  old 
lands  (see  abstracts  in  county  de- 
scriptions)     30-04 

shipments  (see  county  descriptions) 27-70 

total  of  lint  and  seed,  in  tons,  in  each  region  (table)..         21 

Cottonseed-cake  used  for  feed  and  manure 73 

disposal  and  price  of 73 

planters,  use  of 74 

variety  and  amount  of,  used  per  acre 74 

Counties,  agricultural  descriptions  of 27-70 

area,  population,  tilled  lands,  and  cotton  produc- 
tion of  (table) 3,4 

012 


Pape. 

Counties,  comparison  of,  regarding  cotton  production  21,22 

in  each  region  having  highest  cotton  production 

(table) 21 

iif  the  hmg-leaf  pine  region,  descriptions  of 30-40 

transmontane  region,  descriptions  of 05-70 

County  descriptions  of  oak-uplands  or  metamorphic  region..  50-05 

Cowan,  D.  S.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 38 

Craven  county,  analysis  of  marl  of 22 

soil  of 15 

statistics  and  description  of 31,  35 

Cretaceous  formation,  material  of 11 

Crop,  advances  made  on  growing 77 

Crops,  acres  of,  in  each  county  (aec  county  descriptions) 27-70 

best  suited  to  the  soil  (bee  abstracts  in  county  descrip- 
tions)      30-114 

leading,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) •~,,0" 

of  the  long-leaf  pine  region 16 

oak-uplands  region 10 

sea-board  region 13 

transmontane  region 20 

Cultivation  aud  planting  of  cotton 74,75 

Cultural  and  economic  details  of  cotton  production 71-78 

Cumberland  county,  statistics  and  description  of 47 

Currituck  county,  statistics  and  description  of 20 

Curtis,  W.  G.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 38 

Cut-worm,  appearance  of 70 

Cypress  aud  gum  swamp  lauds,  analyses  of 14 

I>. 

Dare  county,  statistics  and  description  of 32 

Davidson  county,  statistics  and  description  of 55 

Davie  county,  statistics  and  description  of 62 

Depth  of  tillage  usual  in  cotton  production 73 

Descriptions,  agricultural,  of  the  counties 27-70 

Details,  cultural  and  economic,  of  cotton  production 71-78 

Diseases,  insect  enemies,  etc.,  of  cotton 70 

Dismal  swamp 12, 31 

Disposal  of  cottonseed 73 

Dover  pocoson  of  Craven  county,  extent  and  character  of.  - .  35 

Drayagc,  charges  for 78 

Duffy,  jr.,  C,  abstract  of  the  report  of 35 

Duplin  county,  statistics  and  description  of 40 

E. 

Eastern  topographical  division,  area  and  general  surface  fea- 
tures of 10 

Economic  and  cultural  details  of  cotton  production 71-78 

Edgecombe  county,  analyses  of  soil  and  subsoil  of 17 

statistics  aud  description  of 45,43 

Effect  of  the  share  system  on  the  soil  and  staple 77 

Efforts  made  to  obviate  diseases  and  pests 70 

Elevations  of  the  state 0, 10 

Enumeration,  tabulated  results  of  the 1-0 

Eocene  formation,  material  of U 

Estimate  of  the  cost  of  cotton  production  .., 78 

number  of  bales  of  cotton  per  baud 77 

Etheridge,  E.  E.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 40 

Evans,  O.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 47 

F. 

Fallowing  and  fall  plowing,  results  of 73 

Fanning  and  labor,  system  of 76-78 

Farms,  size  of 76 

Fastening  used  in  baling  cotton,  kinds  of 75 

Feed,  cottonseed-cake  used  as 73 

Fertilizers,  effect  of,  on  cotton  "production 22 

remarks  on  the  use  of 22 

Fertilizing  and  green-manuring 73 

Fisheries  of  the  sea-board  region 13 

Forsyth  county,  statistics  and  description  of. 62 

Foscue,  H.  C,  abstract  of  the  report  of 36 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


»  Page. 

Franklin  couuty,  statistics  and  description  of 50 

Freight,  rates  of  shipment  of  (see  county  descriptions) 27-70 

Frost,  first  appearance  of 75 

G. 

Gaston  county,  statistics  and  description  of. 58,59 

Gates  county,  statistics  and  description  of 39 

Gatling,  J.  J.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 39 

Geological  features  of  the  state. 11, 12 

Ginning,  haling,  and  shipping  cotton 75 

Gins,  cottou,  list  and  capacity  of 75 

Graham  county,  statistics  and  description  of 69 

Graham,  J.  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 61 

Graham,  W.  A.,  ahstract  of  the  report  of 58 

Granville  county,  statistics  and  description  of 51 

Gray  sandy  soils,  analyses  of 19 

Greene  county,  statistics  and  description  of 43, 44 

Green-manuring  and  fertilizing 73 

Greensand  beds,  occurrence  of 18 

Green  swamp,  description  of 38 

Grimsley,  "YV.  P.,  ahstract  of  the  report  of 43,44 

Guilford  county,  statistics  and  description  of 60 

Gum  and  cypress  swamp  lands,  analyses  of 14 

■I. 

Halifax  county,  analyses  of  so*il  and  subsoil  of 17 

analysis  of  marl  of 22 

statistics  and  description  of 41 

Hallowell,  C.  W.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 30 

Harnett  county,  statistics  and  description  of 47,48 

Harris,  S.  P.  J.,  abstract  of  tho  report  of 51 

Haywood  county,  statistics  and  description  of GS 

Height  attained  by  cotton-plant  before  blooming 74 

of  cotton-plant  (see  abstracts  in  county  descriptions).  30-64 

Henderson  county,  statistics  and  description  of 67,68 

Hertford  county,  analysis  of  marl  of 22 

statistics  and  description  of 40 

Hilgard,  Professor  E.  W.,  discussion  of  soils  by 15,18,20 

Holly  Shelter  pocoson,  description  of 37 

Holt,  E.  J.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 45 

Home  sup]  dies 77 

Horizontalizing  to  arrest  washing  of  the  soil  (see  abstracts  in 

county  descriptions) 30-64 

Houston,  H.  M„,  abstract  of  the  report  of 54 

Humphrey,  J.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 35 

Hunter,  J.  W.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 51 

Hyde  county,  analyses  of  soils  of    14 

statistics  and  description  of 33 

I. 

Implements  employed  in  subsoiliug 73 

used  in  after-cultivation  of  cotton 74 

planting  cotton 74 

Improvements,  tillage,  etc.,  details  of 73 

Insect  enemies,  diseases,  etc. ,  of  cotton 76 

Insuring  cotton,  practice  of  and  charges  for 78 

Iredell  county,  statistics  and  description  of 57 

Iron  ore,  beds  of . 58 

Islands  of  the  coast,  sand-dune  character  of 13 

Itemized  cost  of  cotton  production 78 

J. 

Jackson  county,  statistics  and  description  of 68 

Johnston  county,  analyses  of  soils  and  subsoil  of 17 

statistics  and  description  of 44,45 

Johnston,  C.  W.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 52 

Jones  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 14 

statistics  and  description  of 36 

Joy,  J.  M.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 48 

Joyner,  J.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 43 

K. 

King's  mountain,  locatiou  and  elevation  of 58 


Page 

Labor  and  system  of  farming 76-78 

Laborers,  best  system  for 77 

condition  and  nationality  of 77 

owning  houses  or  land 77 

Lakes  and  swamps  of  the  sea-board  region 12 

Larnont,  D.  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 49 

Lands  lying  "turned  out",  proportion  of  {see   abstracts  in 

county  descriptions) 30-64 

market  value  of  and  rents  paid  for 77 

of  the  sea-board  region  resemble  the  prairie  land  of 

the  northwest 12 

preparation  given  to,  before  planting  cotton 74 

proportion  of,  in  cottou  for  each  soil  (see  couuty  de- 
scriptions in  the  respective  regious)  27-70 

Lane,  J.  S.,  abstract  of  the  report  of    ,. 34 

Lanier,  J.  K.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 44 

Leigh,  Eph.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 32 

Lenoir  county,  analyses  of  marl  of 22 

analysis  of  soil  of 17 

statistics  and  description  of 45,46 

Letters  of  transmittal iii 

Level  and  rolling  upland  piny-woods  soils,  timber  growth  of.  16 

Lewis, W.  G.,  remarks  of 43 

Liles,W.  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 54 

Lincoln  county,  statistics  and  description  of 57,58 

Lint  per  acre  in  counties  (table) 3, 4 

tons  of,  in  state  and  regious  (table) 21 

List  of  names  and  addresses  of  correspondents 72 

Logan,  J.  B.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 59 

Long-leaf  pine  region,  area,  subdi  visions,  and  general  charac- 
ter of 15-18 

cotton  production  of 21 

county  descriptions  of 39-49 

Lousiu  swamp,  lands  of 43 

ill. 

McDonald,  C.,  estimate  by,  of  cost  of  cotton  production 78 

McDonald,  J.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 56 

McDowell  county,  statistics  and  description  of 65 

McDowell,  R.  I.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 57 

McKay,  A.  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 47 

McNeill,  H.  C,  abstract  of  the  report  of 48 

Macon  couuty,  statistics  and  description  of 69 

Macrae,  J.  B.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 41 

Madison  county,  statistics  and  description  of 67 

Manure,  cottonseed-cake  used  as 73 

Marl  beds  of  the  long-leaf  piue  belt 18 

Marls,  occurrence  and  analyses  of 22,23,37-47,49 

Martin  county,  statistics  and  description  of 44 

Mayo,  J.  M.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 42 

Mecklenburg  county,  analyses  of  soil  and  subsoil  of 19 

statistics  and  description  of 56,57 

Merchants'  commissions  on  sales  of  cotton 78 

Metamorphic  formation,  extent  of 11, 12 

or  oak-uplands  region 18-20 

Midland  topographical  division,  area  and  surface  features  of        10 

Minerals,  variety  and  number  of 12 

Miocene  formation,  material  of 11 

Mitchell  county,  statistics  and  description  of 66 

Mixed  farming  or  planting 76 

Montgomery  county,  statistics  and  description  of 53 

Moore  county,  statistics  and  description  of 48 

Mountains,  elevations  of 10 

treeless  summits  of 20 

Mountain  topographical  division,  area,  elevation,  and  sur- 
face features  of 10 

Muck,  occurrence  of 23 

IV. 

Nash  county,  statistics  and  description  of 42 

Nationality  and  condition  of  laborers 77 

613 


82 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


Pace. 
Negroes,  condition  of,  and  proportion  of,  owning  houses  or 

land 77 

Newberry,  J.  P.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 33 

New  Hanover  county,  analyses  of  marls  of 22 

statistics  and  description  of 37 

Nixon,  W.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 31 

Northampton  county,  statistics  and  description  of '10,41 

Number  of  cotton-pickings  made 75 

o. 

Oaksmith,  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 35,  36. 

Oak-uplands  or  metaniorphic  region,  county  descriptions  of  .  50-65 

region,  cotton  prod  action  of 21 

soils,  timber  growth,  and  general  features 

of Ld-20 

Oats,  acreage  and  production  of  (table)   5,6 

Oliver,  J.  B.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 46 

Onslow  county,  statistics  and  description  of : 36,  37 

Open  Ground  Prairie  swamp,  location  and  description  of 35 

Orange  county,  statistics  and  description  of 52 

p. 

1'amlico  county,  analyses  of  soils  of 14 

statistics  and  description  of 34 

Paris  green  used  as  a  remedy  against  the  caterpillar 76 

Parker,  J.  H. ,  abstract  of  the  report  of 41 

Parker,  L.W.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 31,36 

Pasquotank  county,  statistics  and  description  of 30 

Pender  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 15 

marls  of 37 

statistics  and  description  of  - 37 

Perquimans  county,  statistics  and  description  of 30, 31 

Person  county,  statistics  and  description  of 61 

Picking  of  cotton  begins  and  closes,  when 75 

price  paid  for 78 

Piedmont  topographical  division,  area  and  surface  features  of         10 

Pine  flats,  soils  and  timber  growth  of 16 

Piny-woods  upland  soils,  analyses  of 17 

Pitt  county,  analyses  of  soil  and  subsoil  of 17 

analysis  of  marl  of 22 

statistics  and  description  of 43 

Planting  and  cultivation  of  cotton,  details  of 74,75 

cotton,  time  of •. 74 

Plateaus,  elevations  of 1" 

Pocosons,  character,  timber  growth,  and  analyses  of  ..  . .  12,  15,  33-38 

Polk  county,  statistics  and  description  of 65 

Population,  average,  per  square  mile  (table) 3,  4 

in  regions  (table) 21 

of  the  state  and  counties  (table) 3,  4 

Powell,  R.  J.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 53 

Power  used  in  ginning  cotton 75 

Preparation  given  to  cotton  lands 74 

Presses  used  in  baling  cotton,  kinds  of 75 

Prevalence  of  the  credit  system 77 

Price  paid  for  cottonseed 73 

Production  and  acreage,  of  leading  crops  (table) 5,6 

Proportion  of  negro  laborers  owning  land  or  houses 77 

<*■ 

Quaternary  formation,  material  of 11 

Questions,  summary  of  answers  to  schedule 73-78 

R. 

Rainfall  of  the  state 11 

Ramsay,  J.  G.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 55 

Randolph  county,  statistics  and  description  of 60 

Rates  of  transportation  (see  abstracts  in  county  descriptions)  30-64 

Rating  of  the  staple  (see  abstracts  in  county  descriptions) —  30-64 

Red  clay  lands  of  the  oak-uplands  region 50-65 

Reference  table  of  reports  received 72 

Regions,  agricultural,  enumeration  of 12 

areas  of,  in  comities  (see  county  descriptions) 27-70 

614 


Png<\ 

Remarks  on  cotton  production  in  the  si  ate 21,22 

Rent  paid  for  la  ml 77 

Report,  plan  of,  and  sources  of  information  for iii 

Reports  received  from  counties,  reference  table  of 72 

Rhododendron,  extensive  thickets  of 20 

Rice,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) 5,6 

Richmond  county,  statistics  and  description  of 48,  43 

Rives,  J,  F.,  reference  to  the  report  of 53 

Robeson  county,  analysis  of  marl  of 25 

stat  istics  and  descripl  ion  of 4'.' 

Robinson,  J.,  abstract  of  flic  report  of 45 

Ro(  kiiigbam  county,  statistics  and  description  of 61,62 

Rotati f  crops 73, 

Rot  of  bolls,  occurrence  of,  and  how  obviated 76 

Rowan  county,  statistics  and  description  of 55 

l.'usi  or  blight,  occurrence  of,  on  heavy  or  ill-drained  soils, 

in  what  seasons,  and  how  obviated 76 

Rutherford  county,  statistics  and  description  of 59,60 

8. 

Sampson  county,  analysis  of  marl  of 22 

statistics  and  description  of 46,  47 

Sand-dunes  of  the  coast,  character  of l;i 

Sandy  pine  barrens,  soils  and  timber  growth  of 16 

Savannas,  analyses  and  character  of  soils  of 13-15,34 

Scotland  Neck  lands,  the  finest  in  the  state  for  cotton 41 

Scott,  J.  W.,  description  by 53 

Sea-board  region,  area,  timber  growth,  soils,  ami  general  de- 
scription of 12-15 

county  descriptions  of ..  29-38 

industries  and  cotton  production  of 13,21 

Section  from  state  line  at  French  Broad  water-gap  to  sea-level .  9 

Seed-cotton,  amount  of,  required  for  a  175-pound  bale  of  lint .  75 

penned,  or  how  protected 75 

product  per  acre  (see  county  descriptions) 27-70 

required  for  a  bale  of  lint,  amount  of  (see  ab- 
stracts in  couuty  descriptions) 30-64 

Semi-swamps,  oak,  beech,  anil  pine  flats 13,14 

Shaffer,  O.  W.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 51,52 

Share  system,  cotton  farms    worked  on;  efl'ect  on  any  soil, 

and  reasons  in  favor  of 77 

Shedding,  occurrence  of,  and  how  obviated 76 

Shipping,  baling,  and  ginning  cotton,  details  of 75 

commission  charges  for 78 

rates  of  (see  county  descriptions) 27-70 

Slade,  \V\,  abstract  of  the  report  of 41 

Slate  belt,  description  of 11 

hills,  location  and  elevation  of 52,53 

Smith,  J.  N.,  mention  of  the  report  of 41 

Smith,  R.  H..  abstract  of  the  rep'ort  of 41 

Snowfall,  average  annual 11 

Soils  of  the  long-leaf  pin*'  region 15-18 

oak-uplands  region 16-20 

sea-board  region 12-15 

transmontane  region 20 

tilling  qualities,  character,  andproductivenoss  of: 

black-jack  or  post-oak 49, 56,  57 

slate  and  gravelly 54 

swamps  or  bottoms 32,  35,  42,  44, 54 

brown  uplands 35 

chincapiu  land 58 

chocolate-colored   49 

clay  land 34, 36, 39, 46, 52 

loam 41, 47, 58 

dark  loam 60 

tin-  granitic 56,58,59 

gravelly  loam 41,  64 

gray  loam 30,31,45,48 

level  pine '- 38 

light  land 36,39 

mulatto 5-1,  52,  54  56,  57 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


« 


Page. 
Soils,  tilling  qualities,  character,  and  productiveness  of— Con- 
tinued. 

oak  and  hickory  uplands 38 

pine,  oak,  and  hickory  flats 37 

piny-woods 41-44,  46 

red  clay °0 

sandy 31,33,35,39-61 

loam  of  creek  uplands 41 

ridge 31 

second  pocoson 46 

yellow  loam 48,  59 

Sore-shin  on  cotton-plants 74 

Space  between  ridges  in  cotton  planting 74 

Spartaubiwgk  county,  South  Carolina,  analyses  of  soil  and 

subsoil  of 19 

Stanley  county,  statistics  and  description  of 54, 55 

Stokes  county,  statistics  aud  description  of 62 

Storing  cotton,  charges  for 78 

Stowe,  J. ,  abstract  of  the  report  of    58, 59 

Subsoiling,  implements  used  in - 73 

Subsoils,  character  of  (see  abstracts  in  county  descriptions). .  30-64 

Summary  of  answers  to  schedule  questions 73-78 

Supplies  raised  at  home  or  imported 77 

Surry  county,  statistics  aud  description  of 63 

Swain  county,  statistics  and  description  of 69 

Sweet  potatoes,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) 5, 6 

T. 

Table  showing  acreage  and  production  of  leading  crops 5,6 

area,  population,  tilled  land,  and  cotton  pro- 
duction in  the  counties  3, 4 

counties  ranking  highest  in  total  cotton  pro- 
duction and  product  per  acre 21 

population  and  cotton  production  in  regions  .  21 

Tables  of  analyses  of  soils  and  subsoils 14, 15, 17, 19,  24,  25 

Tabulated  results  of  the  enumeration 1-6 

Temperatures  of  the  state 10 

Terraces  along  the  rivers 18,  20 

Tertiary  formation,  material  of 11 

Thinning  out  cotton-plants 74 

Ties  used  in  baling  cotton . .  75 

Tillage,  improvements,  etc.,  details  of 73 

Tilled  lands,  acres  of  (table)  (see  also  details  of) 3,4 

percentage  of  area  of,  devoted  to  cotton  (table).  3, 4 
Tilling  qualities  of  lands.     (See  under  Soils.) 

Timber-growth  of  the  long-leaf  pine  region 15-17 

oak-uplands  region 18 

sea-board  region 12 

sea  islands 13 

transmiuitane  region 20 

Time,  length  of,  before  cottonseed  comes  up 74 


Page. 

Time  of  first  black  frost 75 

thinning  out  cotton-plants 74 

when  bolls  first  open   74 

cotton-picking  begins  and  closes 75 

the  first  cotton-blooms  appear   74 

Tobacco,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) 5,  6 

Topographical  divisions  of  the  state 9, 10 

Transmittal,  letters  of iii 

Trausmontane  region,  county  descriptions  of 65-70 

soils,  timber-growth,  and  surface  fea- 
tures of 20 

Transportation  companies,  conditions  imposed  by 75 

facilities  for  and  rates  of  (see  abstracts    in 

county  descriptions) 30-64 

Transylvania  county,  statistics  and  description  of 68 

Triassie  formation,  occurrence  and  material  of 11,51-53 

Tyrrell  county,  statistics  and  description  of 32 

IT. 

Union  county,  statistics  and  description  of 54 

V. 

Valleys  of  the  trausmontane  region. 20 

Value  of  land 77 

Varieties  of  cottonseed  preferred 74 

W. 

Wages  paid  to  laborers 77 

system,  reasons  in  favor  of 77 

Wake  county,  analyses  of  soils  aud  subsoils  of 19 

statistics  and  description  of 51, 52 

Warren  county,  statistics  aud  description  of 50 

Washing  of  soils,  and  how  prevented  (see  abstracts  in  county 

descriptions) 30-64 

Washington  county,  abstract  of  the  report  of 32,33 

Watauga  county,  statistics  and  description  of 66 

Wayne  county,  statistics  and  description  of 45 

Weed,  running  to,  of  the  cotton-plant.     (See  under  Soils,  char- 
acter and  tilling  qualities  of. ) 
Weeds,  troublesome  on  any  soil.     (See  under  Soils,  character 
and  tilling  qualities  of.) 

Wharton,  R.W.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 34 

White  Oak  swamp,  description  of , 36 

Wilkes  county,  statistics  and  description  of 63 

Wilson  county,  analysis  of  marl  of 22 

soil  of 17 

statistics  and  description  of 44 

Winds  prevalent  in  all  sections 11 

Woodland,  proportion  of  (see  county  descriptions) 27-70 

Yadkin  county,  statistics  and  description  of 63 

Yancey  county,  statistics  and  description  of 67 

615 


REPORT 


ON    THE 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  OF  THE  STATE  OF  VIRGINIA, 


WITH  A  BKIEF   DISCUSSION   OF 


THE  GENERAL  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  STATE. 


BY 


"W.   O.   KERB,  Ph.  ID., 

STATE  GEOLOGIST  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 
SPECIAL    AG-EIsTT. 


1 

C>17 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Pago. 

Letters  of  Transmittal v 

Tabulated  Results  of  the  Enumeration ,. 1-3 

Table     I.— Area,  Population,  Tilled  Land,  and  Cotton  Production 

Table  II. — Acreage  aud  Production  of  Leading  Crops 3 

PART  I. 

Physico-Geographical  and  Agricultural  Description  of  the  State  of  Virginia 5-10 

Outlines  of  the  Physico-Geographical  Features  of  the  State 7-10 

Topography 7,  8 

Climate 8 

Geology 8 

Agricultural  Regions 6 

The  Tide-Water  Region 8,9 

The  Alluvial  or  Sea-hoard  Region S,9 

Sandy  Oak  and  Pine  Ridges ... 9 

The  Oak  Uplands  Region 9 

The  Transmoutane  and  Valley  Region 9 

Remarks  on*  Cotton  Production  in  the  State 10 

Table  III. — Population  and  Cotton  Production  iu  each  Agricultural  Region  of  the  State 10 

Table   IV. — "Banner  Counties"  as  Regards  Total  Production  and  Product  Per  Acre  in  each  Agricultural  Region 10 

PART  II. 

Agricultural  Descriptions  of  the  Cotton-Growing  Counties  of  the  State 11— lr. 

Tide- Water  or  Alluvial  Region  12-IC> 

Oak  Uplands  Region 15 

PART  III. 

-Cultural  and  Economic  Details  of  Cotton  Production 17-21 

Reference  Table  of  Reports  Received  fiom  the  Counties  of  Virginia 18 

Summary  of  Answers  to  Schedule  Questions ■. 19-21 

Tillage,  Improvement,  etc 10 

Planting  and  Cultivation  of  Cotton 19,20 

Ginning,  Baling,  and  Shipping 20 

Diseases,  Insect  Enemies,  etc 20 

Labor  and  System  of  Farming , 21 

iii 
619 


LETTERS    OF    TRANSMITTAL. 


Berkeley,  California.  June  1,  1SS3. 
To  the  Superintendent  of  Census. 

Deae  Sir  :  I  transmit  herewith  a  report,  by  Professor  W.  C.  Kerr,  on  cottou  production  in  the  state  of  Virginia, 
with  a  description  of  the  agricultural  features  of  the  cotton-growing  counties,  a  corresponding  map  of  the  same 
being  attached  to  that  of  the  state  of  North  Carolina. 

In  the  case  of  Virginia,  as  in  that  of  the  other  border  states,  the  cotton- growing  area  seems  to  be  in  process  of 

concentration  upon  the  lands  where  climate  and  soil  concur  in  rendering  possible  the  competition  with  the  cotton 

states  proper.     Hence  it  has  not  been  deemed  important  to  include  the  whole  of  the  state  in  the  agricultural 

description  in  connection  with  the  subject-matter  of  these  reports. 

Very  respectfully, 

E.  W.   HILGAED, 

Special  Agent  in  charge  of  Cotton  Production. 


Dr.  Eugene  W.  Hilgard, 

Special  Agent  in  charge  of  Cotton  Culture. 
Dear  Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  my  report  on  the  cottou  production  of  Virginia.     I  have 
followed  your  Louisiana  report  in  the  general  plan,  modifying  it  only  so  far  as  seemed  to  be  demanded  by  the  fact 
that  only  a  small  part  of  the  state  of  Virginia  produces  cotton.     I  have  given — 

1.  Tables  of  acreage  aud  production  of  leading  crops. 

2.  A  description  of  the  physical  geography. 

3.  A  description  of  the  agricultural  regions. 

4.  A  general  discussion  of  cottou  production  in  the  state. 

5.  Description  of  the  cotton-growing  counties  in  the  several  agricultural  regions,  with  abstracts  of  the  schedules 
of  cotton  production  in  the  several  counties  from  which  such  reports  were  received. 

6.  Abstracts  of  the  schedule  answers  to  questions  regarding  methods  of  cultivation,  markets,  etc. 

The  sources  of  information   for  this  paper  arc :  First,  personal  observations  in  most  of  the  cotton-growing 
counties  and  in  various  parts  of  the  state  ;  second,  aud  chiefly,  Hotchkiss'  Virginia  :  A  Geographical  and  Politico! 
■Summary ;  third  (for  climate  in  part),  publications  of  the  United  States  signal  service. 
Yours,  very  respectfully, 

\V.  C.  KERB, 

V 
621 


TABULATED  RESULTS  OF  THE  ENUMERATION 


IN    THE 


COTTON-GROWING  COUNTIES  OF  VIRGINIA. 


Table    I.— AREA,  POPULATION,  TILLED  LAND,  AND  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 
Table  II.— ACREAGE  AND  PRODUCTION  OF  LEADING  CROPS. 


l 

623 


TABULATED  RESULTS  OF  THE  ENUMERATION. 


Table  I.— AREA,  POPULATION,  TILLED  LAND,  AND  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


POPULATION. 

TILLED  LAND. 

COTTON  PRODUCTION. 

5 
p. 

Counties. 

M 

a 

o 

H 

6 
3 

6 

a 

ft 

© 

o 
O 

%4 

+3  a 

it 

4> 

•2 
o 

AVERAGE  PER 
ACRE. 

II 

°  o 

■a 
n 

o 
o    • 

•  1 

g 

3 

5 

Total  for  the  State 

Sq.mls. 
40, 125 

1,  512,  565 

745,  589 

706,  976 

880,  858 

631,  707 

38 

7,  358,  030 

0.61 

28.05 

45,  040 

19,  595 

0.44 

Lbs. 
621 

Lbs. 

207 

1.12 

Total  for  cotton  counties. 

.    4,420 

157,  699 

77,  565 

80, 134 

63,  663 

94,  036 

30 

773,  611 

5.82 

27.35 

45,  040 

19,  595 

0.44 

621 

207 

10.19 

TIDE-WATER  REGION. 

300 
300 
400 
290 
400 
010 
330 

10,  502 
10,  054 
10,  062 
10,  572 
15,  903 
18,  012 
8,407 

'  5,  059 
5,098 
5,074 
5,449 
S,  002 
8,995 
4,232 

5,443 
4,  950 
•  4,  988 
5,123 
7,841 
9,017 
4,175 

4,424 
3,255 
3,361 
0,010 
7,728 
7, -447 
2,757 

6,078 
6,799 
6,701 
4,562 
8,175 
10,  565 
5,650 

29 
34 
25 
30 
40 
30 
25 

91,  086 
59,  243 
54,989 

50,  756 
57,  651 
107,  269 
42,  556 

0.09 
3.21 
S.73 
1.07 
3.40 
10.  72 
19.97 

39.53 
30.80 
21.48 
27.35 
22.  52 
27.48 
20.15 

SO 
1,900 
4,800 
850 
1,960 
11,  500 
8,500 

20 

700 

1,  950 

400 

800 

5,200 

4,100 

0.25 
0.37 
0.41 
0.47 
0.41 
0.45 
0.48 

357 
525 
579 
672 
582 
645 
087 

119 
175 
193 
224 
194 
215 
229 

Sussex 

12.00 

Southampton 

Greensville 

18.85 
25.  7G 

2,690 

83,512 

41,  969 

41,  543 

34,  982 

48,  530 

31  |      463,  550 

0.3S 

26.93 

29,  590 

13, 170 

0.  45  !     633 

211 

OAK  uplands  region. 

540 
610 
580 

32,  870 
24,  010 
16,  707 

15,484 
11,779 
S,  333 

17,  386 
12,  831 

8,374 

14,  437 
8,222 
6,022 

15,  433 

16,  388 
10,  685 

61 

4u 

85,  408 
127,  922 

7.61 
1.08 
7.03 

24.71 
32.  77 
20.00 

0,500 
2,150 
0,800 

2,500 

975 

2,950 

0.38 
0.45 
0.43 

549 
645 
618 

1S3 
215 
206 

1,730 

74, 187 

35,  596 

38,  591 

28,  681 

45,  506 

4.08 

28.00 

15,  450 

6,425 

0.42 

594 

198 

Table  II.— ACREAGE  AND  PRODUCTION  OF  LEADING  CROPS. 


Counties. 

COTTON. 

TOP, 
Acres. 

S.CCO. 
Pounds. 

79,  988  868 

CORN. 

POTATOES. 

OATS. 

WHEAT. 

Acres. 

Bales. 

Acres. 
1,  76S,  127 

Bushels. 

Irish. 

Sweet. 

Acres. 

Bushels. 

Acres. 

Bushels. 

Total  for  the  State 

45,  040 

475  lbs. 
19,  595 

140,  791 

29, 119,  761 

Bushels. 
2,  016,  766 

Bushels. 

1,901,521 

503, 443 

5,  333, 181 

901, 177 

7,  826, 174 

Total  for  cotton  counties. . . 

45,  040 

19,  595 

12,  500 

6,  561,  375 

229,  814 

2,  595,  289 

226,  420 

346,  402 

51,498 

466,  0S7 

31, 173 

263,  799 

TIDE-WATER  REGION. 

SO 
1,900 
4,800 

20 

700 

1,950 

P 
|             30 

27 

5 
1 
5 

!        ii 

14,711 

20, 500 

4,715 

420 

215 

775 

5,075 

21, 232 
16, 1S6 
18,  746 
18,  038 
25,  750 
36,  012 
12,  745 

252,  546 
183,683 
163,  686 
22S,  99S 
280,  854 
390,  968 
145,  674 

8,214 
4,085 
2,296 
33,  874 
136,  544 
5,744 
5,  291 

17,  901 
10, 995 

7,  140 
52,  986 
97,  880 
68,  315 

18,  956 

1,334 
5,  953 
2,871 
1,568 
2,147 
1,417 
1,857 

10,  520 
54,  295 
25,  337 
16,  447 
29,  647 
15,001 
18,  525 

5,260 
3,017 
333 
141 
407 
101 
451 

1,  960  !        800 

8,  500 

4,100 

29,  590 

13, 170 

84 

46,411 

148,  709 

1,  646,  409 

196,  048 

274, 173 

17, 147 

169,  838 

9,740 

81,  367 

OAK  UPLANDS  REGION. 

JJinwiddie 

0,  500 
2,150 
6,800 

2,500 

975 

2,  950 

2,752 
6,  439 
2,  734 

1,  540,  395 
3,  436,  408 
1,  538, 161 

22,  720 
34,  268 
24, 117 

214,  160 
462,  512 
272,  208 

8,463 
16,  680 
5,229 

17,  535 
34,  564 
20, 130 

7,907 
15,811 
10,  633 

45,  285 
185,  345 
65,619 

5,  310 

10,  54S 
5,575 

45,  255 
86,  303 
50,  874 

j      11,925 

6,  514,  964 

81, 105 

948,  880 

30,  372 

72,  229 

84,  351 

296,249 

21,  433 

182,  432 

40   C   P — VOL.    11 

625 

PART    I 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTION 


STATE  OF  VIRGINIA. 


5 
&!7 


OUTLINES   OF  THE   PITYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  FEATURES 
OF   THE    STATE    OF  VIRGINIA. 


Virginia,  one  of  the  middle  Atlantic  states,  is  situated  between  the  parallels  of  30°  33}'  and  39°  27'  nortli 
latitude,  in  the  zone  of  southern  Europe.  On  its  southern  boundary,  for  a  distance  of  nearly  440  miles,  it  is 
conterminous  with  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee,  while  on  the  west  and  northwest  it  touches  Kentucky  and  West 
Virginia,  the  latter  along  a  very  irregular  zigzag  line,  for  450  miles.  The  Potomac  river  and  Chesapeake  bay 
separate  it  on  the  north  and  east  from  Maryland,  and  it  has  an  Atlantic  shoreline  on  the  east  of  125  miles,  extending 
from  North  Carolina  to  Maryland.     The  area  of  the  state  is  estimated  at  42,450  square  miles,  (a)  " 

Topography. — The  land  surface  varies  greatly  in  character,  rising  very  gradually  from  the  coast  inland,  and  at 
the  distance  of  about  100  miles,  in  the  meridian  of  Richmond,  reaches  an  elevation  of  about  150  feet  above  sea-level. 
This  eastern  region  is  known  as  tide-water  Virginia,  and  has  an  extent  of  more  than  11,000  square  miles.  It  is 
a  low,  level,  or  slightly  undulating  country,  which  toward  the  sea  is  quite  flat,  and  is  penetrated  with  numerous 
bays  and  broad  tidal  rivers,  bordered  by  marshes  and  swamps.  Westward  th"  surface  rises  by  broad  and  nearly 
level  terraces "or  benches  and  becomes  more  uneven,  consisting  of  broad,  flatfish  swells,  separated  by  the  rivet 
valleys.  Westward  of  the  tide-water  region  lies  a  broad,  undulating,  and  rolling  plain,  which  rises  along  its 
western  border  to  an  elevation  of  400  or  500  feet,  becoming  hilly  and  broken.  This  triangular  area  of  more  than 
12,000  square  miles  is  called  the  middle  or  midland  region,  and  extends  to  the  foot-hills  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  The 
rivers,  which  traverse  this  region  at  right  angles,  cut  it  up  into  a  succession  of  northwest  and  southeast  ridges  and 
valleys,  :o  that  the  surface  is  quite  hilly  and  broken  near  the  streams.  Next  in  order,  to  the  west,  along  the  base 
of  the  Blue  Bidge,  lies  a  long,  narrow  belt  of  hilly  and  mountainous  country,  the  Piedmont,  from  20  to  30  miles  in 
breadth  and  between  6,000  and  7,000  miles  in  area,  and  having  an  elevation  of  from  000  to  1,200  feet  along  its 
western  edge. 

The  Blue  Bidge  rises  steeply  from  the  Piedmont  and  marks  the  eastern  margin  of  a  distinct  and  very  different 
sort  of  country,  which  maybe  designated  as  the  transmontane  region.  This  region  comprises  three  well-marked 
subdivisions:  the  Blue  Ridge  chain  itself,  the  valley,  and  the  transmontane  region  proper.  The.  Blue  Bidge  for  the 
greater  part  of  its  length  is  a  straggling,  irregular  chain,  throwing  off  spurs  and  branches  each  way,  but  otherwise 
of  simple  structure;  but  south  of  the  water-gaps  of  the  Roanoke  it  spreads  out  into  a  triangular  plateau  bounded 
by  two  chains,  which  form  its  escarpments  east  and  west,  the  former,  fronting  the  Atlantic,  retaining  the  name  of 
the  Blue  Bidge,  and  the  western  limb  of  the  bifurcation  taking  the  name  of  the  Iron  mountains,  called  in  North 
Carolina  the  Smoky  mountains.  The  elevation  of  the  Blue  Bidge  varies  greatly,  from  1,500  feet  at  Harper's  Ferry 
to  more  than  3,000  in  places,  and  nearly  4,000  feet  in  the  peaks  of  Otter,  but  reaches  its  culmination  southward 
and  beyond  the  border  in  the  Grandfather  plateau,  which  wants  little  of  being  6,000  feet  high. 

The  valley  is  a  trough-like  depression  between  the  Blue  Bidge  and  the  Alleghanies  and  their  continuations 
southward,  and  has  a  length  in  the  state  of  Virginia,  from  the  Potomac  to  the  state  of  Tennessee,  of  more  than  300 
miles,  its  average  breadth  being  about  20  miles,  giving  an  area  of  some  6,000  square  miles.  The  different  sections 
of  this  valley  are  drained  by  as  many  different  rivers  :  the  northern  and  larger  section  by  the  Shenandoah  (into  the 
Potomac),  the  southern  section  into  the  Holston  and  the  Tennessee,  and  the  others,  in  succession  from  north  to  south, 
by  the  James  and  Roanoke  (eastward  to  the  Atlantic)  and  the  New  river  and  Kanawha  westward  into  the  Ohio  ;  so 
that  the  valley  is  composed  of  a  succession  of  inclined  valleys,  sloping  northeast  and  southwest  successively,  and 
rising  from  an  elevation  of  only  250  feet  on  the  Potomac  to  nearly  2,000  feet  at  the  head  of  the  Shenandoah,  and 
after  several  descents  and  rises  of  from  500  to  1,000  feet  finally  reaches,  at  the  head  of  the  Holston  (and  New  riwr), 
an  elevation  of  nearly  2,600  feet. 

The  mountain  (or  transmontane)  region  proper  succeeds  the  valley  fin  the  west,  and  consists  of  a  succession  of 
narrow,  sharp,  regular,  nearly  straight  mountain  ranges,  running  northeast  and  southwest,  separated  by  deep  and 


a  Tho  water  surface  is  said  to  be  2,325  square  miles,  leaving  the  area  of  laud  surface  as  40,12r>  square  miles,  as  given  oil  page  3. 


8  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  VIRGINIA. 

narrow  valleys,  the  crests  of  the  chains  being  from  5  to  T  or  8  miles  distant  from  one  another.  These  valleys, 
like  the  greater  one  before  described,  are  cut  up  into  sections  and  drained  northeast  and  southwest,  and  some  of  its 
divisions  are  as  elevated  as  any  part  of  the  hitter,  and  in  some  places  even  reach  3.00  i  feet. 

Climate. — The  territory  of  Virginia  lies  mostly  between  the  isotherms  of  50°  and  00°,  the  former  crossing  its 
southeastern  peninsula  in  the  tide- water  region,  and  the  latter  marking  its  higher  mountain  plateaus.  The  mean 
annual  temperature  for  the  state  is  50° ;  for  the  tide-water  region,  58° ;  for  the  middle  and  Piedmont,  55.0° ;  and  for 
the  valley,  54°.  The  average  mean  temperature  of  the  state  for  January  is  42°,  and  for  July  78°.  As  to  mean 
annual  rainfall,  nearly  the  whole  state  lies  in  a  zone  of  from  -10  to  45  inches,  the  southeastern  angle,  about  Norfolk, 
alone  touching  the  zone  of  from  45  to  50.  This  precipitation  is  pretty  equally  distributed  aiming  the  seasons.  In  the 
tide- water  and  middle  regions  the  prevailing  winds  are  from  the  southwest  quadrant,  and  next  to  that  the  principal 
winds  come  from  the  opposite  or  northeast  quadrant,  the  northwest  quadrant  occupying  the  third  place  in  importance. 
In  the  Piedmont  region  the  southwest  quadrant  is  markedly  predominant  over  all  the  others ;  while  in  the  mountain 
region  the  southwest  quadrant  still  leads,  the  northwest  standing  second  in  importance,  and  the  southeast  third.  The 
notable  points  about  the  climate  are,  first,  its  range — from  that  of  the  southeastern  lowplain,  fronting  the  Atlantic 
ocean  and  tempered  by  it,  to  that  of  the  high  mountain  plateaus  of  the  northwestern  margin,  where  cold  temperate 
conditions  prevail;  second,  its  mildness,  on  the  whole,  notwithstanding  this  considerable  range;  third,  its  dryness, 
although  the  rainfall  is  abundant,  and,  compared  with  most  European  countries,  large.  The  climate  is  healthful  and 
favorable  to  a  great  variety  of  agricultural  pursuits,  from  cotton  culture  in  the  southeast  to  that  of  tobacco  and 
hay  in  the  Piedmont  and  the  mountains. 

Geology. — The  different  geological  formations,  like  the  topographical  subdivisions,  in  Virginia,  as  in  the  other 
Atlantic  states,  are  arranged  in  successive  belts  nearly  parallel  to  each  other  and  to  the  great  Appalachian  axis. 
The  Quaternary  formation  is  almost  exactly  coincident  in  its  limits  to  the  tide-water  region,  which  it  covers  with  a 
thin  deposit  of  beds  of  shingle,  earth,  and  gravel,  which  pass  eastward  into  coarse  and  fine  sand,  and,  near  the 
coast,  into  clay  and  marl.  Underneath  this  superficial  covering,  and  cropping  out  in  the  lower  levels,  ravines,  and 
river  banks,  are  found  Tertiary  marl,  shell,  and  clay  beds.  The  middle  and  Piedmont  regions  to  the  crest  of  the 
Blue  Ridge  are  occupied  by  metamorphie  or  Archaean  rocks — granites,  gneisses,  and  schists,  which  generally  dip  to 
the  southeastward  and  at  high  angles. 

Scattered  over  this  Azoic  terrane,  generally  in  trough-like  depressions,  are  frequent  long  linear  or  oval  patches 
of  red  sandstones,  conglomerates,  and  clay,  and  shale  beds  of  the  Mesozoic  age,  mainly  Triassic,  nearly  horizontal  in 
position.  Westward  of  the  crest  of  the  Blue  Ridge  are  encountered  iu  succession  the  Silurian,  lower  ami  upper,  in 
and  across  the  valley,  and  the  Devonian  and  Silurian  in  various  alternations  in  the  successive  parallel  sharp  ridges 
and  chains  of  mountains  toward  the  western  border  and  the  Alleghanies.  Toward  the  southwest  the  state  pushes 
an  angular  area  northwestward  to  the.  Cumberland  mountains,  and  so  includes  about  1,000  square  miles  of  the 
Carboniferous  rocks — the  great  Appalachian  coal  formation,  so  conspicuously  exposed  along  the  canon  of  the 
Kanawha.  The  outcrops  of  these  Paleozoic  formations  succeed  each  other  and  repeat  themselves  in  successive  sharp 
folds,  forming  many  anticlines  and  syuclines,  and,  with  many  notable  and  extensive  faults,  making  one  of  the  most 
interesting  and  instructive  sections  of  these  rocks  in  the  whole  length  of  the  great  Appalachian  uplift,  Besides  their 
coal  beds,  the  older  formations  contain  numerous  deposits  of  iron  ore,  which  throughout  the  mountain  region  crop  out 
in  beds  of  limonites  and  hematites  of  enormous  extent.  In  this  region  are  also  found  marble,  kaolin,  lead,  zinc,  glass 
sand,  barites,  manganese,  gypsum,  and  salt.  In  the  Piedmont  and  Blue  Ridge  regions  are  found  large  deposits  of 
iron  ores,  copper,  and  marble,  barite,  lead,  and  manganese,  in  the,  middle  region  gold,  silver,  and  copper,  various 
kinds  of  iron  ore,  and  bituminous  coal  (in  the  Trias  near  Richmond),  and  in  the  tide-water  region  marls  and  brick' 
and  fire  clays,  while  iu  alt  the  divisions  of  the  state  limestones  and  building  materials  are  found,  and  iu  most  of 
them  in  great  variety  and  abundance. 

Agricultural  regions. — The  topographical  and  geological  features  above  described  suggest  at  once  the 
agricultural  subdivisions : 

1.  The  tide-water  region,  subdivided  into — 

a.  The  alluvial  region  proper,  or  seaboard  region. 

b.  The  sandy  oak  and  pine  ridges. 

2.  The  oak  uplands  region. 

3.  The  transmontane  and  valley  region. 

THE  TIDE-WATER  REGION. 

The  tide-water  region  contains  about  11,000  square  miles  of  territory. 

The  alluvial  or  seaboard  region. — This  subdivision  includes  the  peninsula  between  the  Atlantic  ocean 
and  Chesapeake  bay  and  the  Norfolk  peninsula  between  the  Atlantic  on  the  east  and  Nansemond  river  and  Dismal 
swamp  on  the  west,  and  to  this  would  properly  be  added  the  ends  and  the  other  peninsulas  that  project  between 
the  numerous  arms  of  the  Chesapeake,  as  well  as  considerable  marginal  tracts  along  the  numerous  bays  and 
bayous,  amounting  in  all  to  more  than  2,000  square  miles  of  area.  The  description  of  this  tract  is  the  same  as  that  of 
the  corresponding  adjacent  region  of  North  Carolina.  It  is  composed  largely  of  swamps  and  semi-swamps  and  oak 
and  pine  flats,  with  fine  gray  and  ash-colored  silty  soils,  sometimes  clayey,  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  white 
630 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  9 

oaks  and  hickories,  oak,  and  short-leaf  pines,  such  as  the  tract  south  of  Norfolk,  toward  the  North  Carolina  line, 
traversed  by  the  Norfolk  and  Edenton  railroad ;  sometimes  composed  chiefly  of  very  fine  sand  and  a  small  percentage 
of  clay,  presenting  the  physical  characteristics  of  the  latter,  and  again  of  very  dark  and  peaty  soils,  as  around  the 
margin  of  the  Dismal  swamp  in  many  places  and  in  the  swampy  tracts  near  the  smaller  streams,  with  a  growth  of 
short-leaf  pine,  maple,  ash,  small  black  and  sweet  gums,  and  poplar.  Much  of  this  laud  may  be  described  as  "  low, 
flat,  and  sandy ;  the  soil  thin,  light,  and  soft,  warm,  and  easily  tilled  ";  in  a  word,  as  "  garden  soils",  (a)  The  subsoil 
is  commonly  a  stiff  or  a  yellow  to  brown  sandy  clay. 

Sandy  oak  and  pine  ridges. — These  generally  lie  level  or  in  gentle  slopes,  aud  the  soil  is  sandy  or  clayey 
in  patches,  generally  poor,  but  susceptible  of  improvement,  responding  readily  to  the  use  of  marls  and  other 
fertilizers.  Occasionally  these  soils  are  very  sandy  and  of  little  value.  The  growth  is  short-leaf  pine,  small  oaks, 
dogwood,  and  underbrush,  the  long-leaf  pine,  which  formerly  made  a  component  of  these  forests  south  of  the  James 
.■iver,  having  nearly  disappeared.  The  subsoil  is  commonly  of  a  yellow  or  brown  color,  and  is  composed  largely  of 
sand,  with  a  little  clay.  In  some  parts  of  this  region,  especially  in  the  southwest — south  of  Petersburg  and  toward 
the  North  Carolina  line — these  lands  repeat  the  features  of  the  upland  piny  woods  of  North  Carolina,  having  a 
sandy  loam  soil  and  a  .yellow  or  red  clay  or  sandy  clay  subsoil.  Nearly  the  whole  of  this  region  is  underlaid 
by  the  Tertiary  marls,  and  has  a  ready  and  abundant  means  for  the  indefinite  improvement  of  its  soils,  and  many  of 
the  farmers  have  learned  the  value  of  this  resource  under  the  intelligent  teaching  and  example  of  Edmund  Euffin. 
The  character  aud  value  of  these  marls  may  be  seen  in  the  analysis  given  for  those  of  North  Carolina,  which  they 
exactly  resemble.     (See  page  22  of  that  report.) 

TEE  OAK  UPLANDS  REGION. 

The  soils  of  this  region,  derived  from  the  underlying  metamorphic  rocks,  of  course  vary  in  composition  and 
character  according  to  the  changing  character  of  their  origin. from  one  terrane  to  another,  the  hornbleudic 
granites  and  gneisses,  the  traps,  and  the  epidotic  and  chloritic  beds  giving  rise  to  rich  mulatto  and  red-clay 
soils ;  the  quartzose  light-colored  gneisses  and  schist  and  the  quartzites  and  clay  slates  form  poor  or  moderately 
productive  sandy  and  gravelly  loams,  with  yellow  or  brown  clay  or  sandy  clay  subsoils.  The  growth  of  timber  of 
course  varies  with  the  quality  of  the  soil,  and  furnishes  the  observing  farmer  a  sure  criterion  by  which  to  grade 
the  value  of  land  and  to  determine  its  adaptations  to  different  crops.  The  red  lands  have  characteristically 
a  heavy  growth  of  oaks,  hickory,  poplar  (Liriodendron),  and  walnut,  and  are  specially  adapted  to  wheat.  The 
gray  sandy  and  gravelly  loams  have  a  smaller  and  more  scattered  growth  of  oaks,  with  short-leaf  pine  (P.  mitis), 
dogwood,  sourwood,  sassafras,  and  various  underbrush,  and,  toward  the  Piedmont  region,  of  chestnut,  chestnut 
oak,  and  Jersey  pine,  but  are  poor  or  of  moderate  fertility,  and  are  specially  adapted  to  the  finer  varieties  of  tobacco. 
The  red  sandstone  (Triassic)  belts  of  the  middle  country  belong  to  the  oak  uplands ;  their  soils  are  commonly  red 
or  brown  loams,  which  are  moderately  and  often  very  productive  and  easy  of  tillage.  These  soils,  as  in  North 
Carolina,  belong  for  the  most  part  to  the  best  class  of  tobacco  lands.  The  rivers,  creeks,  and  smaller  streams  of 
this  region  are  often  bordered  by  extensive  allu  ,'ial  tracts  or  "  bottoms  ",  which  are  commonly  the  most  productive 
and  durable  lands,  and  are  the  staple  corn  lands  of  the  region.  The  soils  are  usually  clays  or  clay  loams,  and  were 
originally  covered  with  heavy  white  oak,  hickory,  poplar,  and  walnut  forests.  These  lands  comprise  in  many 
counties  from  one-twentieth  to  one-tenth  of  the  total  area  and  a  much  larger  proportion  of  the  tilled  land,  as  they 
are  always  the  first  to  be  cleared  on  the  farm,  and  are  rarely  "turned  out". 

THE  TKANSMONTANE  AND  VALLEY  KEG  ION. 

This  great  valley  being  a  limestone  region,  the  soils  generally  are  what  are  called  limestone  soils,  («.)  "  The 
prevailing  soil  is  a  stiff,  clayey  loam,  durable  and  fertile,  and  well  adapted  to  the  growth  of  grass  and  grain."  "  In 
the  slaty  belt  is  a  lighter  and  warmer  soil.  There  are  also  belts  of  sandy  and  gravelly  soil.  Much  the  larger  part 
of  the  valley  has  naturally  a  good  soil."  '•  The  streams  are  very  winding,  and  there  is  a  considerable  area  of  bottom 
lands." 

Beyond  the  valley,  in  the  Alleghany  ridges,  the  soils  are  very  various,  those  of  the  saudstone  ridges  and  slate 
valleys  being  poor  and  thin,  while  those  of  the  limestone  and  of  some  of  the  shales  are  very  rich.  On  the  streams 
everywhere  are  alluvial  lands. 

a  Hotchkiss'  Summary. 

631 


10 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  VIRGINIA. 


REMARKS  OX  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  TIIIC  STATE. 

Among'  the  cotton  states  Virginia  ranks  tilth  in  population,  twelfth  in  cotton  production  (19,595  bales),  and 

eighth  (with  North  Carolina)  in  average  product  per  acre  (0.44  of  a  bale).     The  product  in  1860  was  li',7l!7  bales; 
in  1870,  183  bales. 


Table  III.— SHOWING  POPULATION  AND  cOTTON-I'ROinxTIoN   IN    i:A(TI  AdRK'l  LTUHAL  REGION  OF  THE  STATE. 


POPULATION. 


COTTON   PICOD1  CTION 


Average  per  acre. 


Total  in  [":.- 


Total  for  the  state... 


Tide-water  region 
Oak  uplands  region 


Total.  White     Colored.  '   Acres 


S3,  512 
71. 187 


>-  - 

10.  505 

z.  k 

880,  858 

031,  7ii7 

45,040 

0.01 

0.  II 

34,  385 
28,68] 

48,  530 

15,  ; 

20  500 
15,450 

0.38 
4.98 

13,  170 
•  i  425 

0.  45 
0.  12 

Urn.        Lint,         Seed. 


!.!.■  Lis, 

021  207 


I    i         13,902 


033  211  3.128  0,384 

504  198  I    520  I  57 


lull  1. 12 


07  11. 00 

33  8. 93 


Table   IV.— SHOWING    "  BANNER   COUNTIES' 


AS   REGARDS   TOTAL    PRODUCTION  AND   PRODUCT    PER    ACRE    IN    EACH 
AGRICULTURAL  REGION. 


Uc^-inns  according  to  product  per 


Tide-water  region 
Oak  uplands  region 


:—  Couu!  ies  in  each 

"v .5      region  having  high- 
^  ^         i  st  total  prodnc- 


Counties  in  each 
region  having  high 
est  product  pi  l  acn 


0.45      Southampton  . 
i».  lu      Brunswick  . . . 


5,  200 
2,  950 


i»,  l.",     Greensville 
0.  13      Ueckleuborg 


8,500       4,100 
2, 150  1175 


Note.— In  making  estimates  for  I  his  (able  all  counties  are  excluded  whose  total  production  is  less  than  100  hairs. 

It  will  lie  noted  that  the  alluvial  or  tide-water  region  does  not  take  precedence  in  cotton  production,  as  the 
corresponding  adjacent  (long-leaf  pine)  region  in  North  Carolina  does,  and  as  would  be  expected  from  their  relal  ivc 
situation.  The  three  oak  uplands  comities,  in  fact,  lead  by  a  little,  because  of  the  substitution  of  the  peanut  as  a 
money  crop  in  the  former.  In  some  of  the  counties  the  change  has  tal.cn  place  in  the  last  three  or  lour  years,  «  hile 
this  crop  has  not  been  adopted  to  any  considerable  extent  over  the  bonier.  It  is  also  observable  that,  while  the 
seaboard  section  of  North  Carolina  has  a  sufficiently  large  and  rapidly  increasing  cotton  production  to  take  rank  as 
one  of  the  cotton  regions  of  North  Carolina,  in  Virginia  these  counties  produce  no  cut  ton  at  all,  the  small  cotton  product 
of  some  of  them  a  lew  years  ago  being  displaced  by  garden  and  orchard  products  (trucking),  in  which  this  section 
about  Norfolk  has  altogether  exceptional  facilities,  not  only  in  soil  and  climate,  but  in  nearness  to  the  great  markets 
and  in  the  amplest  and  cheapest  and  most  rapid  transportation. 

There  are  only  ten  counties  that  produce  cotton,  and  all  lie  in  the  southeastern  angle  of  the  stale  between  ilie 
James  river  and  the  North  Carolina  line,  except  one,  King  and  Queen,  which  makes  less  than  100  bales.  Of  the 
nine  cotton  counties  proper  live  are  situated  along  the  North  Carolina  bonier  west  of  the  Dismal  swamp,  ami  the 

four  others  form  a  second  tier  north  of  the  former;  so  that  the  cotton  area  of  Virgiuii (rely  forms  i  slight  extension 

northward  of  the  cotton  area  of  that  state,  and  all  these  cotton  counties,  except  three,  belong  to  the  tide-water  01 
alluvial  region. 

In  comparing  the  cotton  product  of  1880  with  that  of  1860  and  1S70  the  culture  of  cotton  appears  to  have  been 
annihilated  by  the  war  and  to  have  made  no  movement  toward  revival  in  1S70.  Its  growth  within  the  pasl  decade 
to  more  than  ."in  per  cent,  above  the  crop  of  I860,  and  the  removal  of  the  boundary  of  the  cotton-growing  bell  into 
the  oak  uplands  and  its  encroachment  on  the  territory  of  tobacco,  are  due  to  the  same  cause  as  in  North  Carolina, 
viz,  the  use  of  commercial  fertilizers,  which  have  rendered  its  culture  profitable  in  places  where  otherwise  ii  would 
be  quite  impracticable.  But  the  probability  seems  to  be  that  it  has  about  reached  the  limit  of  its  expansion  in  the 
state,  since,  as  above  stated,  in  the  tide- water  region  it  is  already  retreating  before  the  culture  of  the  peanut,  and  in 
the  oak  uplands,  as  in  the  adjacent  section  of  North  Carolina,  it  has  scarcely  held  its  ground  in  the  past  lew  years 
against  the  improved  and  far  more  profitable  form  of  tobacco  culture  recently  introduced,  that  of  the  coal-cured, 
bright  tobacco. 

632 


PART    II. 


AGRICULTURAL    DESCRIPTIONS 


COTTON-GROWING  COUNTIES  OF  THE  STATE. 


033 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS 


OOTTON-GEOWING    COUNTIES    OF    VIRGINIA. 


The  ten  counties  that  produce  cotton  are  grouped  according  to  their  agricultural  regions,  and  all,  except  King 
and  Queen,  lie  in  the  southeastern  angle  of  the  state. 

Eeports  were  received  from  only  four  counties.  To  the  description  of  these  abstracts  of  the  reports  are  appended, 
giving  the  natural  features,  production,  etc.  The  parts  of  the  reports  relating  to  agricultural  and  commercial 
practice  will  be  found  summarized  in  Part  III. 


TIDE-WATER    OR    ALLUVIAL    REGION. 

The  cotton-growing  counties  belonging  to  this  region  are  Nausemoud,  Isle  of  Wight,  Southampton,  Sussex, 
Greensville,  Prince  George,  and  King  and  Queen. 

NANSEMOND. 

Population  :  15,903.— White,  7,728  ;  colored,  8,175. 

Area :  400  square  miles.— Woodland,  111,452  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  57,651  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  1,960  acres;  m  corn,  25,750  acres;  in  wheat,  407  acres; 
in  oats,  2,147  acres. 

Cotton  production :  800  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.41  bale,  5S2  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  194  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Xanseinond  county  lies  east  and  west  between  the  Dismal  swamp  (a  large  section  of  which  it  includes)  and 
the  Blackwater  river,  and  reaches  north  and  south  from  the  James  river  to  the  North  Carolina  Hue.  Its  highest 
portions  are  from  50  to  60  feet  above  tide.  The  county  includes  large  bodies  of  swamp  and  semi-swamp  lands,  as  in 
the  Dismal  swamp  and  around  its  margins,  as  well  as  along  the  Blackwater  and  other  streams.  When  drained, 
these  lands  are  very  productive,  but  they  are  not  adapted  to  cotton.  The  timber  is  short-leaf  pine,  oaks,  and 
underbrush.     The  long-leaf  pine  has  been  nearly  exterminated  by  the  saw-mills. 

The  soil  of  the  level  piny  woods  is  of  the  normal  character  of  that  of  the  region  already  described.  Cotton 
culture  has  greatly  increased  during  the  last  decade,  especially  within  the  last  year  or  two,  and  has  extended  over 
the  whole  county,  although  the  bulk  of  the  crop  is  made  in  the  southern  half.  Of  its  area,  22.5  per  cent,  is  under 
cultivation,  3.4  per  cent,  of  which  is  devoted  to  cotton. 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE    BEPOET    OF   JOHN   A.    OUTCHIN,    OF    CAERSVILLE. 

The  principal  soil  is  a  dark  sandy,  with  clay  subsoil,  and  extends  throughout  this  township.  The  natural  timber  is  pine  and  red  and 
white  oak,  with  a  thick  undergrowth  of  smaller  kinds  of  timber.  The  chief  crops  are  corn,  cotton,  peanuts,  sweet  and  Irish  potatoe 
and  truck.  Cotton  occupies  about  one- tenth  of  the  land  cultivated.  The  stalk  attains  a  height  of  from  2-J  to  3  feet,  and  is  most  productive 
-at  the  latter  height.  The  cotton-plaut  inclines  to  run  to  weed  in  wet  seasons,  about  the  time  it  is  blooming,  and  topping  is  resorted  to  in 
July  and  August  to  restrain  it.  Fresh  land  produces  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,425  pounds  making  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint; 
clean  staple  rates  low  middling.     Crab-grass  is  the  most  troublesome. 

Cotton  shipments  are  made  by  rail  to  Norfolk. 

ISLE  OF  WIGHT. 

Population:  10,572.— White,  6,010;  colored,  4,562. 

Area:   290  square  miles. — Woodland,  115,799  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  50,756  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  850  acres;  in  corn,  IS, OSS  acres;  in  wheat,  141  acres;  in 
oats,  1,568  acres. 

Cotton  production :  401)  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.47  bale,  672  pounds  seed-cottou,  or  224  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

13 
635 


14  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  VIRGINIA. 

Isle  of  Wight  county  lies  north  of  Nanseroond,  and  between  the  .lames  ami  the  Blackwater.  The  physical 
and  agricultural  features  are  the  same  as  those  of  the  latter;  but  being  situated  farther  north,  it  is  less  adapted  to 
cotton  and  better  adapted  to  peanuts.  There  is  little  left  of  the  long-leaf  pine  here  also,  although  it  was  formerly 
abundant  in  the  southern  and  southwestern  sections  and  supported  a  thriving  turpentine  industry  half  a  century 
ago.  Twenty-seven  and  three-tenths  per  cent,  of  the  county  area  is  under  cultivation,  and  of  this  1.7  percent,  is 
devoted  to  cotton. 

Mr.  N.  I'.  Young,  of  Isle  of  Wight  Court-House,  reports  as  follows: 

From  the  beat  information  I  can  obtain  cotton  ia  cultivated  to  a  very  limited  extent.     I  do  not  think  an  average  of  10  bales  a  3  ear  [a 
made  in  tlie  county,  its  cultivation  having  been  almost  entirely  abandoned  for  that  of  peanuts. 
Cotton  is  shipped  to  Norfolk  by  railroad, 

SOUTHAMPTON. 

Population:  18,012. — White,  7,417;  colored,  10,565, 

Area:  610  square  miles. — Woodland,  149,631  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  107,269  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton.  1  L,500  acres;  in  corn,  .'ill. (111!  acres;  in  wheat.  KM  acres; 
in  oats,  1,-117  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  5,200  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.45  bale,  645  pouuds  seed-cotton,  or  215  pounds 
cdttDii  lint. 

Southampton  county  is  situated  on  the  North  Carolina  border  between  the  Blackwater  and  the  J I  eh  en  in  rivers, 
and  is  traversed  through  its  middle  portion  by  the  Nottoway.  It  rises  in  its  western  ami  northern  sections  to  a 
height  of  over  100  feet  above  tide.  The  surface  is  generally  level,  or  but  little  lolling,  and  Occasionally  it  is  hilly 
in  the  western  section  near  the  rivers.  The  timber  consists  chiefly  of  short  leaf  pine  and  oaks,  intermixed  with 
dogwood,  maple,  hickory,  poplar,  sassafras,  gums,  and  various  underbrush.  Of  the  county  area,  27.5  per  cent,  is 
under  cultivation,  and  of  this  10.7  per  cent,  is  in  cotton. 

The  cotton  crop  is  mostly  made  south  of  the  Nottoway,  the  chief  crop  of  the  northern  section  being  peanuts, 
although  cotton  is  raised  in  all  sections. 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE    REPORT    OF    DR.  W.  II.   DAUGIITRY,  OF    NEWSOM'S. 

The  chief  soil  is  mostly  of  a  light  gray  "find;/  character,  with  yellow  or  red  subsoil,  which  occupies  about  one-half  of  the  lands  in 
this  region,  and  is  timbered  witli  pine,  oak,  hickory,  dogwood,  maple,  ami  poplar.  Tin  light,  line  sandy  surface  soil  is  from  1  to  r>  inches 
thick,  and  is  easily  tilled.  Tin-  chief  crops  prod  mad  here  are  earn,  cotton,  peanuts,  and  potatoes,  but  the  soil  is  apparent  ly  best  adapt  1  d  in 
corn.  About  one-sixth  of  the  arable  land  is  planted  in  cotton.  The  plant  attains  the  height  of  from  2  to  1  feet,  and  ia  most  productive 
when  '.'>  feet  in  height,  but  it  incline,  to  run  to  weed  in  wet  ami  warm  wa-a  titer.    Very  little  of  this  html  lies  turned  out .     'the  product  is  from 

400  to  IjliO  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and  1,425  pounds  make  a  475-pound  bale.     Alter  live  years'  cultivation  the  product  is  al t 

400  pounds  per  acre.  Crab- and  wire-grass  and  hog-weed  .are  most  troublesome.  Very  little  laud  lies  turned  out,  and  it  produces  well 
when  again  taken  in.     Very  little  damage  is  done  by  washing  or  gullies  on  the  slopes. 

A  second  quality  of  html,  designated  as  white-oak  land,  comprises  about  one-fourth  of  the  lands  of  the  region,  and  has  a  timber 
growth  of  oak,  gum,  pine.  etc.  The  soil  is  a  clay.  -1  inches  in  thiikness,  over  a  blue-clay  subsoil.  One-fourth  is  planted  in  en  1 1  on,  though 
the  land  is  best  adapted  to  clover. 

Shipments  10  Norfolk  by  rail  or  steamer:  freight,  si  per  hale. 

The  report  of  Mr.  J.  D.  1'rettow,  of  Franklin,  agrees  generally  with  the  preceding. 

Four-fifths  of  the  lands  are  of  the  description  of  No.  1,  and  have  a  red  sandy  clay  subsoil.  One-tenth  is  plautcd  in  cotton,  which 
grows  from  a  to  5  feet  high.     About  one-sixth  lies  turned  out.     Peanuts  are  tin:  most  profitable  crop. 

SUSSEX. 

Population:  10,062.— White,  3,301 ;  colored,  6.701. 

Area:  400  square  miles. — Woodland,  107,01 ,  acres. 

Tilled  hinds:  54,989  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  4,800  acres:  in  corn,  is, 710  acres:  in  wheat,  333  acres;  in 
oats,  2,871  acres. 

Cut  ton  production  :  1,950  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre.  0.41  bale.  570  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  193  pounds 
cottou  lint. 

Sussex  county  lies  north  of  and  adjacent  to  Southampton,  and  between  the  upper  affluents  of  the  Blackwater 
and  the  Nottoway,  and  its  territory  is  nearly  all  included  between  the  Petersburg  and  the  Norfolk  and  Petersburg 
railroad.  The  long-leaf  pine  formerly  extended  into  the  soathern  and  eastern  sections,  but  has  almost  entirely 
disappeared.  The  soil  and  timber  ate  in  the  southern  part  like  those  of  Southampton,  but  toward  the  west 
and  north  the  surface  bet  tunes  more  uneven,  and  approximates  the  character  of  the  oak  uplands.  But  little  cotton 
is  made  in  this  section,  its  culture  being  confined  to  the  southern  half,  peanuts  being  the  staple  crop  northward. 
Of  the  county  area, 21.5  per  cent,  is  under  cultivation,  ami  of  this  8.7  per  cent,  is  devoted  to  cotton. 

ABSTRACT   i'l     Till:    REPORT    OF   .7.   D.    THORNTON,    OF'   SUSSEX   COURT-HOUSE. 

Our  county,  except  the  extreme  western  portion",  which  is  hilly  and  not  adapted  to  cotton,  is  mostly  level. 

The  light-gray  soil,  which  occupies  three-fourths  1  > t *  the  land,  extends  toward  the  south  and  east  fully  50  miles,  but  toward  thfr 
north  and  west  it  assumes  a  different  character,  ami  is  a  heavy  red  clay.  Pine  is  the  principal  timber,  but  red  oak,  hickory,  and  dogwood 
prevail,  as  also  white  oak  in  the  flats.  The  surface  soil  is  a  line  gray  loam  of  close  texture,  with  but  little  sand  ;  sometimes  the  color  is  a 
rich  chocolate  to  the  depth  of  6  inches,  when  it  changes  into  that  of  the  subsoil,  which  is  heavier  than  the  surface  soil.  On  the  best  I  a  nils 
the  subsoil  is  of  a  deep  red.  which  in  two  or  three  years  becomes  light  and  friable,  mingling  easily  and  advantageously  with  tin-  upper  soil. 
036 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  15 

This  soil  is  easy  to  till  in  wel  or  dry  seasons,  and  is  early,  warm,  and.  naturally  well  drained.  Peanuts  have  within  three  or  four  years 
become  the  principal  money  crop,  having  superseded  cottou;  the  other  main  crops  are  corn,  oats,  and  wheat.  The  cotton-plant  usually 
attains  a  height  of  from  2$  to  3  feet,  and  is  most  productive  at  that  height.  It  inclines  to  run  to  weed  in  very  rich  land,  especially 
when  there  is  much  moisture  in  the  soil ;  topping  is  resorted  to  by  some  to  restrain  this  tendency.  In  fresh  land  the  product  is  about 
500  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and  1,425  pounds  are  required  to  make  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint.  If  not  manured,  the  crop  becomes 
annually  less.     Crab-grass  is  the  chief  pest ;  also  some  wire-grass.     But  little  land  now  lies  turned  out. 

Cottou  shipments  are  made  in  November  and  December  by  rail  to  Petersburg.  The  rate  of  freight  is  from  35  to  50  cents,  according 
to  weight. 

GliEENSYILLE. 

Population:  8,407. — White,  2,757  ;  colored,  5,050, 

Area:  330  square  miles. — Woodland,  81,105  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  -42,556  acres.- — Area  planted  in  cottou,  8,500  acres;  in  corn,  12,745  acres;  in  wheat,  451  acres; 
iu  oats,  1,857  acres. 

Cotton  production:  4,100  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.48  bale,  G87  pounds  seed  cottou,  or  229  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Greensville  county  lies  on  the  southern  border,  and  belongs  mainly  to  the  alluvial  region,  its  western  end  rising 
into  that  of  the  oak  uplands.  Its  general  elevation  is  above  150  feet,  the  body  of  the  county  lying  west  of  the 
Petersburg  railroad  and  being  above  that  level.  The  abstract  below  gives  a  sufficiently  full  accouut  of  its 
agricultural  features  and  products.  Of  the  county  area,  20.1  per  cent,  is  under  cultivation.  Cotton  comprises  20 
per  cent,  of  the  tilled  lands. 

ABSTRACT    OF    THE    REPORT    OF   JULIUS   F.    BINGHAM,    OF    POPLAR    MOUNT. 

The  kinds  of  soil  are  :  First,  the  gray  sandy  ;  second,  the  sandy  loam  ;  and  last,  the  red  clay. 

The  chief  soil  is  the  gray  sandy  or  light  lands,  which  occupy  one-half  of  the  lands  in  this  region  and  are  timbered  with  oak,  pine, 
hickory,  ash.  poplar  (tulip  tree),  black  walnut,  and  maple.  The  average  thickness  of  the  surface  soil  is  10  inches  ;  the  subsoil  is  heavier, 
and  is  generally  a  mixture  of  yellow  sand  and  clay.  The  soil  is  easy  to  till,  early,  warm,  and  well  drained.  The  chief  crops  are 
cotton,  peanuts,  corn,  oats,  and  potatoes,  but  the  soil  is  best  adapted  to  cotton  and  peanuts,  and  cotton  occupies  about  one-third  of  the 
cultivated  portion.  It  is  most  productive  when  from  2i  to  3  feet  high,  and  is  inclined  to  run  to  weed  in  wet  seasons.  Shallow  cultivation 
and  topping  are  resorted  to  as  preventives.  Fresh  land  produces  600  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  1,425  pounds  making  a  475-pound 
bale  of  lint;  clean  staple  rates  as  middling.  After  four  years'  cultivation  without  manure  the  production  falls  off  rapidly.  About 
one-fourth  of  the  land  now  lies  turned  out,  and  it  improves  by  rest.  Where  the  land  is  hilly  it  is  apt  to  wash,  but  this  is  easily 
obviated  by  horizontal  ditches;  the  valleys  are  generally  improved  by  washings  from  the  hills. 

'  No.  2.  Sandy  loam  comprises  one-fourth  of  the  lands,  occurring  in  large  bodies  on  Three  Creeks  and  on  both  sides  of  the  Meherrin 
river.  The  timber  growth  has  more  ash  and  maple  than  iu  No.  1.  The  color  of  the  soil  is  dark  gray  to  a  depth  of  from  8  to  12  inches; 
the  subsoil  is  a  yellow  or  red  clay,  best  adapted  to  cotton  and  corn,  but  one-half  is  planted  iu  cotton.     Crab-grass  is  troublesome. 

No.  3.  The  red-clay  soils  comprise  one-fourth  of  the  lands,  anil  lie  in  the  western  end  of  county.  The  timber  is  oak,  hickory,  ash, 
aud  maple.  The  color  of  soil  is  deep  mahogany,  red  and  chocolate.  The  soil  is  8  inches  deep,  and  is  best  adapted  to  wheat,  clover,  and 
grass;  very  little  is  planted  in  cottou  About  one-fourth  of  this  land  lies  turned  out,  which  produces  well  after  a  few  years'  rest,  but 
washes  and  gullies  badly.  The  valleys  are  not  injured  by  the  washings,  but  are  often  improved.  These  washings  are  cheeked  by 
hillside  ditching  and  horizontalizing. 

Cottou  shipments  are  to  Norfolk  and  Petersburg  by  rail ;  freight,  90  cents  to  $1  per  bale. 

Mr.  W.  P.  Avent,  of  Hopeville,  also  makes  report,  agreeing  in  the  main  with  the  above,  but  differing  in  some 
of  his  estimates. 

The  proportion  of  light  sandy  land  is  four-fifths;  the  depth  of  soil,  0  inches,  and  the  proportion  of  cotton  planted  one-half.  When 
the  soil  is  worn  out  it  is  occupied  by  old  field  pines.  The  lands  are  generally  very  poor,  and  one-half  now  lies  turned  out.  The  chief 
crops  of  the  western  sectioa  are  tobacco  and  wheat. 

PRINCE  GEOEGE. 

Population:  10,054. — White,  3,255;  colored,  0,700. 

Area :  300  square  miles. — Woodland,  60,315  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  59,243  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  1,900  acres;  in  corn,  16,186  acres;  in  wheat,  3,047  acres; 
in  oats,  5,953  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  700  bales ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.37  bale.  525  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  175  pounds 
pounds  cotton  lint. 

Prince  George  county  is  situated  on  the  western  edge  of  the  tide-water  plain  between  the  Petersburg  railroad 
aud  the  James  river,  and  north  of  the  county  of  Sussex,  before  described.  Its  elevation  is  below  100  feet  for  the  most 
part,  but  topographically  it  is  generally  level  or  but  little  rolling,  and  somewhat  hilly  near  the  streams.  Its 
forests  present  tin-  usual  mixture  of  oaks  and  short-leaf  pine,  etc.,  and  its  soils  are  generally  the  common  light-gray 
sandy  and  gravelly  loams  of  the  region.  It  lies  just  beyond  the  border  of  the  long-leaf  piue  region,  its  eastern 
angle  near  the  James  river  having  a  few  scattered  specimens  only.  Of  the  county  area,  3H>.9  per  cent,  is  under 
cultivation,  aud  3.2  per  cent,  of  its  tilled  lands  are  devoted  to  cotton.  This  may  be  regarded  as  the  northern 
extremity  of  the  cotton  zone  of  the  south.     The  small  crop  of  cotton  is  shipped  to  Norfolk  by  steamer  or  by  mil. 

KING   AND  QUEEN. 

Population:  10,502,— White,  4,424;  colored,  6,078. 
Area:  300  square  miles. — Woodland,  72,804  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  91,086  acres. —  Area  planted  in  cotton,  SO  acres;  iu  corn,  21,232  acres;  in  wheat,  5,200  acres;  in 
oats,  1,334  acres. 

637 


16  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  VIRGINIA. 

Cotton  production  :  20  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.25  bale,  3.57  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  119  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

King  and  Queen  county  is  quite  exceptionally  situated  for  a  cotton  county,  being  not  only  north  of  the  James 
river,  but  north  of  York  river  (I'ainunkey),  and  some  39  miles  northeast  of  Richmond,  it  lies  near  the  western 
border  of  the  tide-water  region,  in  the  section  of  the  level  sandy  ridge  soils.  As  there  is  no  report  from  this 
county,  the  peculiar  local  circumstances  and  climatic  conditions  which  render  the  culture  of  cotton  practicable  so 
far  out  of  its  range  cannot  be  given.  The  percentage  of  area  under  cultivation  is  39.5,  and  of  this  0.1  per  cent,  is 
devoted  to  cotton. 


OAK   UPLANDS    REGION. 
Cotton  is  grown  in  three  counties  of  the  region:   Brunswick,  Mecklenburg,  and  Dinwiddie. 

BEUNSWICK. 

Population:  10,707.— White,  G,022 ;  colored,  10,0S5. 

Area  :  580  square  miles. — Woodland,  107,021  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  90,731  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  0,800  acres;  in  corn,  24,117  acres;  in  wheat,  5,575  acres; 
in  oats,  10,033  acres. 

Cotton  production :  2,95(1  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.43  bale,  01 8  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  200  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Brunswick  county  lies  adjacent  to  the  oak  uplands  cotton  section  of  North  Carolina,  near  the  eastern  edge  of 
the  region,  and  has,  therefore,  only  a  moderate  elevation  of  between  200  and  300  feet.  It.reaches  northward  to  the 
main  branch  of  the  Nottoway.  Its  physical  and  agricultural  characteristics  are  normal  for  this  section,  and  the 
surface  moderately  rolling  or  hilly  near  the  streams.  The  forests  are  of  oak,  short-leaf  pine  (/'.  mills),  hickory, 
dogwood,  etc.  The  soils  generally  area  gray  sandy  loam  on  the  ridges,  reddish  and  more  clayey  on  the  slopes,  with 
strips  of  red  clay  and  mulatto  soils  wherever  the  rocks  are  hornblendic.  Of  the  area,  20  per  cent,  is  in  cultivation, 
and  of  this  7  per  cent,  is  devoted  to  cotton.  The  cotton  product  is  made,  of  course,  mainly  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  county.     No  report  has  been  received,  so  that  further  details  cannot  be  given. 

MECKLENBURG. 

Population:  24,010.— White,  S,222;  colored,  10,38S. 

Area  :  010  square  miles. — Woodland,  170,085  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  127,922  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  2,150  acres;  in  corn,  34,268  acres  ;  in  wheat.  19,548  acres; 
in  oats,  ,15,811  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  975  bales  ;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  0.45  bale,  045  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  215  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Mecklenburg  county  lies  west  of  Brunswick  and  on  the  North  Carolina  border,  and  is  on  the  extreme  northwestern 
limit  of  the  cotton  belt  (the  larger  part  outside  of  it).  It  is  a  little  more  elevated  (from  399  to  500  feet)  and  more 
hilly  than  Brunswick.  Roanoke  river  flows  through  the  southern  part,  keeping  near  the  border,  and  its  tributaries 
drain  nearly  the  whole  county.  This  river  is  navigable  for  flat-boats,  by  means  of  which  the  tobacco  crop  has  long 
been  carried  to  market.  It  has  now  also  the  advantage  of  transportation  by  rail.  The  principal  town  is  Clarksville, 
at  the  forks  of  the  Roanoke,  the  confluence  of  the  Staunton  and  Dan  rivers.  The  forests  and  soils  are  like  those  of 
Brunswick  county,  with  an  increase  in  the  proportion  of  red  clays.  The  main  agricultural  interest  centers  in  tobacco, 
but  it  is  a  good  grain  country  also.  Of  its  area,  32.8  per  cent,  is  in  cultivation,  and  of  this  1.7  per  cent,  is  devoted 
to  cotton. 

DINWIDDIE. 

Population:  32,879.— White,  14,437;   colored,  18,433. 

Area:  540  square  miles. — Woodland,  133,501  acres. 

Tilled  lands:  85,408  acres. — Area  planted  in  cotton,  0,509  acres;  in  corn.  22.729  acres;  in  wheat,  5,310  acres; 
in  oats,  7,997  acres. 

Cotton  production  :  2,599  bales;  average  cotton  product  per  acre,  9.38  bale,  549  pounds  seed-cotton,  or  183  pounds 
cotton  lint. 

Dinwiddie  county  lies  north  of  Brunswick,  and  extends  north  to  the  Appomattox  river,  but  it  is  drained  mostly 
by  the  various  branches  of  the  Nottoway.  Its  situation  is  like  that  of  Brunswick,  on  the  eastern  border  of  the 
oak  uplands  region.  It  has  about  the  same  elevation,  geographical  features,  agricultural  characteristics,  and 
industries,  dividing  its  interest  between  cotton  and  tobacco.  Petersburg  is  its  chief  town.  Of  its  area,  24.7  per 
cent.  is  under  cultivation,  and  7.7  per  cent,  of  this  is  devoted  to  cotton.  Its  means  of  transportation  are  ample, 
and  are  by  river  and  two  railroads  to  Richmond  and  Norfolk. 

638 


PAET    III 


CULTURAL   AND    ECONOMIC   DETAILS 


COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


639 


liKKKI.'KNCIC   T AHI.K 


REPORTS  RECEIVED  FROM  THE  COUNTIES  OF  VIRGINIA 


TIDE-WATEB  OK  ALLUVIAL  REGION. 

Nanseinond. — John  A.  Cutchin,  Carrsville,  Isle  of  Wight  county  (farm  and  residence  in  Nanseraond),  describes  tlie  lands  "I  Ins  township, 

Isleof  Wight.— N.  P.  Young, IbIo  of  Wight  Court-House. 

Southampton.— J .   D.   Pkettow,  Franklin,  October  1-J,  18S0,  describes  lands  of  the  ty.     Dr.  \V.  II.  DAUGmitY,  August  19    1880,  of 

Newsoni's,  describes  lands  of  the  county. 
Sussex. — J.  D.  Thornton,  Sussex  Court-Honse,  February  11.  1880,  describes  lands  of  the  county  and  region. 
Greensville.— Julius  F.  Bingham,  of  Poplar  Mount,  June  IS,  1880,  describes  lands  of  tin-  county.     W.  F.  Avi.m,  "i  Hopeville,  March  29, 

l^Sn,  describes  lands  of  the  county 

IS 
640 


SUMMARY  OF  ANSWERS  TO  SCHEDULE  QUESTIONS. 


TILLAGE,  IMPROVEMENT.  ETC. 

1.  What  is  the  usual  depth  of  tillage ?     What  draft  is  employed  in  breaking  up  ?     Is  subsoiling,  fall  plowiug? 
fallowing,  or  rotation  of  crops  practiced? 

The  depth  of  tillage  is  usually  4  inches,  and  one  horse  or  mule  is  ated.     Southampton :  Lands  are  only  turned  out.     Rotation  of 

employed.     Snhsoiling  is  not  doue,     Fall  plowing  is  prac-  crops  is  practiced  in  Greensville  and  Nansemond  with  corn, 

ticeel  in  Nansemond,  and   hut  very  little  in  other  counties;  sweet  potatoes,  oats,  and  wheat,  and  maintains  the  average 

results  are  beneficial.    Fallowing  is  practiced  to  some  extent,  fertility  of  the  soil.     It  is  not  practiced  in  Sussex,  hut  is  in 

and  the  lands  are  tilled  while  lying  fallow.     Sussex  :  Gener-  Southampton  with  corn,  Bweet  potatoes,  oats,  and  peanuts. 
ally  sown  in  wheat  or  clover,  the  lands  are  rapidly  recuper- 

2.  What  fertilizers,  or  other  direct  means  of  improving  the   soil,  are  used  by  you,  or  in  your  region?     Is 
green-manuring  practiced?    With  what  results'? 

G-reensville :  Barn-yard  manure,  compost  of  manure  of  animals,  with  also  commercial  fertilizers ;  the  results  are  good.  Green  ma- 
rich  mold  and  superphosphates,  with  good  results.  Green  nuring  with  cow-pease  and  rye;  the  results  are  most  satisfac- 
manuring  is  practiced  with  cow-pease  with  fine  results.  Kan-  tory.  Southamj)ton :  Barn-yard  manure,  guano,  bone,  kainit, 
semond:  Peruvian,  lime,  phosphates,  etc.  Green  manuring  etc.,  with  good  results.  Occasionally  with  cow-pease,  and 
to  some  extent  with  cow-pease,  which  lightens  and  enriches  with  very  good  success, 
the  soil.     Sussex:  Compost  of  ashes,  cottonseed,  wood-mold; 

3.  How  is  cottonseed  disposed  of?     If  sold,  on  what  terms,  or  at  what  price?     Is  the  cake  used  with  you 
for  feed?     Is  it  used  for  manure? 

Greensville:  Some  is  fed  to  cows,  but  it  is  usually  put  in  compost  South  avipto  n :  Put  in  compost  heaps;  when  sold, the  price  is 

heaps  ;  when  sold,  the  price  is  10  cents  per  bushel.  Nansemond :  from  8  to  12  cents  per  bushel. 

Mixed  with  stable  manure  and  wood-mold  and  spread  in  the  Cottonseed-cake  is  not  used   for  feed,    but  is  used  for  manure  in. 

drill;    price,   when   sold,  12-i  cents*  per  bushel.     Sussex  and  Greensville,  mixed  with  vegetable  mold  and  animal  matter. 

PLANTING  AND  CULTIVATION  OF  COTTON. 

4.  What  preparation  is  usually  given  to  cotton  land  before  bedding  up?     Do  you  plant  in  ridges,  and  how 
far  apart?     What  variety  is  preferred,  and  how  much  seed  is  used  per  acre? 

Greensville  :  We  turn  it  over  in  the  spring  plowing,  and  then  bed  it  on  ordinary  land  and  '31  feet  on  rich  lands. 

up  aud  plant.     Nansemond  :  Flushing  when  it  can  be  done  ;  Varieties  of  cotton  are  the  Johnson,  Davidson,  Boyd,  Peeler,  Wil- 
spring  plowing  when  we  are  unable  to  plow  in  the  fall.     Sus-  Hams,  and  Little  Rock.     Three  bushels  of  seed  are  used  per 

sex  and  Southampton  :  Spring  plowing,  then  marking  the  rows  acre. 

aud  bed  up.     Cotton  is  usually  planted  in  ridges,  3  feet  apart 

Ck  What  implements  do  you  use  in  planting?     Are  cottonseed  planters  used,  and  what  opinion  is  held  of 
their  efficacy  or  convenience? 

Planters  are  used  in  all  the  counties  except  Sussex,  where  the  rows  covered  with  a  log  drawn  across  two  rows  at  once, 

are  opened  up  with  a  plow,  the  seed  is  dropped  by  hand,  and     The  cottonseed  planters  are  well  thought  of  where  used. 

b'.  What  is  the  usual  planting  time:'     How  long  before  the  seed  comes  up,  and  at  what  stage  of  growth  do 
you  thin  out? 

The  usual  planting  time  is  from  April  25*1  o  May  in  Sussex  aud  to  distances  of  from  8  to  10  inches  when  the  crop  is  entirely 

Southampton,  and  from  May  1  to  10  in  the  other  counties.  up,  when  from  5  to  6  inches  high,  or  when  the  third  loaf 


The  seed  comes  up"  in  from  5  to  10  days  in  Greensville;  from  appears  on  the  plants. 

7  to  10  days  in  other  counties.     The  plants  are  thinned  out 


41   C  P — YOL.  II 


19 
641 


20  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  VIRGINIA. 

7.  What  after-cultivation  do  you  give,  and  with  what  implements?  Is  your  cotton  liable  to  suffer  from 
"sore-shin"? 

Greensville :  Plow  with  sweep  about  three  times,  using  the  lioe  when  Sussex  and  Southampton  .-  Work  with  the  plow  and  take  out  the 
necessary.  grass  and  weeds  with  a  hand  hoe. 

Nansemond  :  Keep  it  well  grassed,  and  give  it  three  plowingfi,  first  "Sore-shin"  does  notappear  in  any  county,  except  Nausemond,  and 
scraping  and  then  using  a  cotton  plow  to  work  up  the  soil.  there  only  when  injured  by  the  plow  or  hue. 

8.  What  is  the  height  usually  attained  by  your  cotton  before  blooming?  When  do  you  usually  sec  the  first 
blooms  2     When  do  the  bolls  first  open,  and  when  do  you  begin  your  first  picking? 

Blooms  appear  when  cotton  is  from  13  to  18  inches  high  in  Greens-  in  September  in  other  counties.     Picking  begins  October  1 

ville  and  Nausemond,  and  from  13  to  24  inches  iu  Sussex  and  in    Sussex,   aud    from    September    15    to  the   30th   in    other 

Southampton,  and  usually  about  the  1st  of  July.     Bolls  open  counties, 
about  the  last  of  August  in  Sussex  and  Southampton,  but  early 

9.  How  many  pickings  do  you  usually  make,  and  when?  Do  you  ordinarily  pick  all  your  cotton  ?  At  what 
time  does  picking  usually  close?  When  do  you  expect  the  first  black  frost?  Do  you  pen  your  seed-cotton  in  the 
field  or  gin  as  picking  progresses  ? 

Two  pickings  are  made  iu  Nansemond  and  Sussex,  October  1  aud  the  in  three  counties,  and  in  January  in  Sussex. 

last  of  November  in  the  former,  and  October  and  November  The  first  black  frost  is  expected  October  1  in  Nansemond,  from  Oeto- 

fliul  December  aud  January  iu  the  latter  county.     Three  pick-  ber  10  to  20  iu  Sussex  and  Southampton,  and  November  1  in 

ings  are  made  in  Greensville  and  Southampton,  September  20,  Greensville. 

•October  20,  and  December  15.    All  the  cotton  is  usually  picked  Cotton  is  ginned  as  picking  progresses  in  all  counties. 

_and  the  season  closes  from  the  15th  to  the  25th  of  December 

GINNING,  BALING,  AND  SHIPPING. 

10.  What  gin  do  you  use?  How  many  saws!  What  motive  power?  If  draft  animals,  which  mechanical 
"power"  arrangement  do  you  prefer  ?  How  much  clean  lint  do  you  make  in  a  day's  run  of  ten  hours  ?  How  much 
seed-cotton  is  required  for  a  -175-pound  bale  of  lint  ? 

Brown's  "in,  of  60  saws,  iu  Nausemond  and  Southampton;  with  In   Greensville  various  gins,  of   from  40  to  60  saws,  make  each 

water-power  turbine  wheel,  or  with  4J  horse-power  steam-  about  2,000  pounds  of  lint. 

engine,  it  makes  2,500  pounds  of  lint  per  day.  For  a  bale  of  liut  is  required  1,425  pounds  of  seed-cotton  in  Greens- 
Taylor's  gin  in  Sussex,  from  40  to  GO  saws;  with  4  mules,  it  makes  ville  and  Nansemond,  from  1,300  to  1.125  in  Sussex,  and  1,300 

about  700  pounds  of  lint.  iu  Southampton. 

1 1 .  What  press  do  you  use  for  baling  1  What  press  is  generally  used  in  your  region  ?  What  is  its  capacity 
when  run  by  men  and  horses  or  mules  ? 

Greensville:  Ball's;  when  run  by  5  mou  the  capacity  is  7  or 8  bales  Southampton:  Cockade  and  hand-presses 

per  day.    Nansemond:  Large  wooden  screw.    Sussex:  Virginia. 

12.  Do  you  use  rope  or  iron  ties  for  baling  ?  If  the.  latter,  what  fastening  do  you  prefer?  What  kind  of 
ba"-ging  is  used?  What  weight  do  you  aim  to  give  your  bales?  Have  transportation  companies  imposed  any 
conditions  in  this  respect? 

Iron  ties  are  used  exclusively,  together  with  both  the  buckle  and  the  pounds  in  Sussex  ;  450  pounds  in  other  counties.     Nocondi- 

arrow  fastening.     Double  anchor,  coarse  hemp,  gunny,  Dun-  tions  have  been  imposed  by  transportation  companies, 

dee,  and  Ludlow  bagging  is  used.     The  weight  of  bales  is  400 

DISEASES.  INSECT  ENEMIES,  ETC. 

13.  By  what  accidents  of  weather,  diseases,  or  insect  pests  is  your  cotton  crop  most  liable  to  be  injured — 
caterpillar,  boll-worm,  shedding,  rot  of  bolls,  rust,  or  blight?  At  what  dates  do  these  several  pests  or  diseases 
usually  make  their  appearance,  ami  to  what  cause  is  the  trouble  attributed  by  your  farmers? 

Greensville:  By  shedding,  by  rust,  and  by  blight.    They  appear  from  frost  by  October  10,  shedding  in  August,  and  by  rust  in  Sep- 

July  15  to  August  1,  aud  are  caused  by  wet  weather.     Xanse-  teniber.     Southampton  :  By  caterpillar  and   by  boll-worm  iu 

mowi.-  By  rust  and  by  blight.  They  usually  appear  in  the  latter  August,  rust,  blight,  and  shedding  in  last  of  July  or  August; 

part  of  August,  and  are  attributed  to  rainy  weather.     Sussex:  rot  of  bolls  in  August  or  September.     Wet    weather  causes 

By  frosts   by  blight,  and  by  shedding.     We  generally  look  for  shedding,  rot  of  bolls,  rust,  and  blight. 

1 1.  What  efforts  have  been  made  to  obviate  the  trouble  ?  Is  Paris  green  used  as  a  remedy  ?  Is  rust  or  blight 
prevalent  chiefly  on  heavy  or  ill-drained  soils  !     Do  they  prevail  iu  wet  or  dry,  cool  or  hot  seasons? 

On  the   first  appearance  of  rust  pull  up  the   affected  stalks;  this  is  not  used  iu  any  county.     Rust  or  blight  prevails  in  Greens- 

often  stops  it.    Sussex:  Lime  applied  to  cotton  land  in  the  fall  ville  aud  Southampton  counties  on  ill-drained  soils  in  wet, 

or    winter   is   thought  to   be   a  preventative   for  rust,  with  hot  seasons,  aud' are  most  common  in  sandy  soils.     In  Nanse- 

uncortain    results.      Southampton :    Deep    plowing    and    free  moud  county  they  prevail  on  heavy  and  ill-drained  soils  in 

mauuriug  have  been  used  to  prevent  rust  ami  blight  on  ill-  cool,  wet  seasons.     In  Sussex  county  they  prevail  in  dry,  hot 

drained  and  thin  lands;  results  were  favorable.     Paris  green  seasons. 
i'.12 


CULTURAL  AND  ECONOMIC  DETAILS.  21 

LABOR  AND  SYSTEM  OF  FARMING. 

15.  What  is  the  average  size  of  farms  or  plantations  in  your  region  ?  Is  the  prevalent  practice  "  mixed 
farming  "  or  "  planting  "  ?  Are  supplies  raised  at  home  or  imported ;  and,  if  the  latter,  where  from  ?  Is  the  tendency 
toward  the  raising  of  home  supplies  increasing  or  decreasing? 

In   Nansemond  county,  200   acres;    iu    other  counties,   400  acres.  In  other  counties  supplies  are  mostly  raised  at  home.     The 

"Mixed  farming"   alone   ia  practiced.     Supplies  in  Sussex  tendency  toward  the  latter  is  increasing,  except  in  Nanse- 

couuty  are. mostly  imported  from  Baltimore  and  Cincinnati.  mond,  where  it  is  unvarying. 

1G.  Who  are  your  laborers  chiefly,  whites  (of  what  nationality),  negroes,  or  Chinese?  How  are  their  wages 
paid— by  the  year,  month,  or  day?     At  what  rates?     When  payable? 

Greensville :  More  than  50  per  cent,  negroes ;  they  are  paid  from  $50  they  want  it.     Sussex :  Negroes ;  they  are  paid  $80  per  year,  $8 

to  $100  per  year,  payable  December  25.    Nansemond ;  Gener-  per  month,  or  40  cents  per  day,  with  board.    Southampton ;  Ne- 

ally  negroes;  they  are  paid  from  §75  to  #100  per  year,  from  $6  groes;  they  are  paid  $6  to  ©10  per  month,  payable  when  they 

to  $10  per  mouth,  and  from  25  to  50  cents  per  day,  payable  as  require  it. 

17.  Are  cotton  farms  worked  on  shares?  On  what  terms?  Are  any  supplies  furnished  by  the  owners? 
Does  your  system  give  satisfaction?     How  does  it  affect  the  soil  and  quality  of  the  staple? 

Sometimes  worked  on  shares.     For  rent  of  land  the  tenant  gives  faction  is  given.     The  quality  of  the  staple  is  not  affected, 

one-third  of  the  crop;  for  rent  and  teams  one-half  of  the  crop.  but  the  soil  usually  deteriorates. 

Supplies  aro  seldom  furnished  by  the  owners.     Perfect  satis- 

18.  Which  system  (wage  or  share)  is  the  better  for  the  laborer,  and  why?  What  is  the  condition  of  the 
laborer?     What  proportion  of  negro  laborers  own  land  or  the  houses  in  which  they  live? 

Greensville  and  Sussex:  Shares,  because  he  takes  greater  interest  in  The  condition  of  the  laborer  is  rather  poor  in  Southampton,  comfort- 

thecrop,  andean  raise  pork  at  the  same  time;  the  negro  invari-  able   in  Greensville,  contented  in  Sussex,  aud  very  good  in 

ably  spends  his  wages  as  fast  as  received.     Nansemond  and  Nansemond. 

Southampton:  Wages,  because  he  works   more  steadily  and  About  one-half  of  the  negro  laborers  own  land  in  Nansemond,  1  per 

can  get  money  as  he  needs  it ;  laborers  are  not  able  to  sustain  cent,  in  Sussex  and  Southampton,  and  not  one  in  fifty  in 

themselves  a  whole  year  under  the  sharegsystem.  Greensville. 

19.  What  is  the  market  value  and  rent  of  your  lauds  ?  How  many  acres  or  450-pound  bales  per  u  hand  "  is 
your  customary  estimate? 

Lands  are  valued  at  from  $3  to  §5  per  acre  in  Greensville  and  Sussex,  fourth  of  the  crop.     The  customary  estimate  per  "  hand"  is  2 

from  $3  to  $10  in  Southampton,  and  from  §G  to  $10  per  acre  in  bales  in  Sussex  and  3  bales  in  Greensville,  but  in  these  as  well 

Nansemond  county.     Rents  are  from  $2  to  $4  per  acre  or  one-  as  other  counties  other  crops  are  raised  by  the  same  hands. 

20.  To  what  extent  does  the  system  of  credits  or  advances  upon  the  growing  cotton  crop  prevail  in  your 
region  ? 

Greensville :  To  an  alarming  extent.  Nansemond :  Sufficient  to  supply  supplies  in  this  manner.    Southampton :  To  so  great  extent  as 

moderate  demands  of  the  tenant  or  laborer.     Sussex:  Fully  frequently  to  absorb  the  entire  crop, 

nineteon-twentieths  of  our  laborers  and  farmers  obtain  their 

21.  At  what  stage  of  its  production  is  the  cotton  crop  usually  covered  by  insurance?  Is  such  practice 
general  ?  What  are  the  merchants'  commissions  and  charges  for  storing,  handling,  shipping,  insurance,  etc.,  to  which 
your  crop  is  subject?  What  is  the  total  amount  of  these  charges  against  the  farmer  per  pound  or  bale?  What  is 
your  estimate  of  the  cost  of  production  in  your  region,  exclusive  of  such  charges  and  with  fair  soil  and 
management? 

Cotton  is  only  insured  wheu  stored  or  ready  for  market.     Charges  bale  in  Greensville,  §2  50  in  Sussex,  and  $2  in  Southampton, 

are  2|  per  cent,  commission  on  gross  sales  and  25  cents  per       The  estimate  of  cost  of  production  is  8  cents  per  pound  in  Sussex 
bale  for  storage  and  insurance,  or  a  total  of  about  $1  30  per  and  Southampton,  aud  nearly  10  cents  in  Greensville. 

643 


INDEX    TO    COTTON"    PEODUCTION    IN    VIRGINIA. 


A. 

Page. 

Abstracts  of  the  reports  of  correspondents 12-14 

Accidents  of  weather 20 

Acreage  and  production  of  leading  crops  (table  ) 3 

Acres  cultivated,  estimated  number  of,  per  hand 21 

Addresses  and  names  of  correspondents 18 

Advances  to  laborers  on  growing  cotton  crop 21 

After-cultivation  of  cotton 20 

Agricultural  descriptions  of  the  counties 11-15 

regions,  enumeration  of 8 

Alluvial  or  sea-board  region,  area,  and  description  of 8, 9 

Amount  of  charges  per  bale  against  the  farmer 21 

Answers  to  schedule  questions,  summary  of 19-21 

Area  of  the  alluvial  or  sea-board  region 8, 9 

midland  region 7 

the  state 7 

tide-water  region 8 

A  vent,  W.  F.,  mention  of 14 

Average  product  per  acre  of  cotton  in  regions  (table) 10 

B. 

Bagging  used  in  baling  cotton 20 

Bale,  amount  of  seed-cotton  required  to  make  a  (see  abstracts 

in  county  descriptions) 12-14 

Bales,  number  of,  in  regions  (table) 10 

per  acre  in  counties,  production  of  (table) 3 

hand,  usual  working  estimate  of 21 

usual  weight  of 20 

Baling  cotton,  details  of 20 

Banner  counties  having  highest  total  cotton  production  and 

product  per  acre  in  each  region  (table) 10 

rank  of,  in  other  regards  (table) 10 

Bingham,  J.  F.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 14 

Blight,  occurrence  of,  and  how  obviated 20 

Biooms  appear  on  cotton-plan  t,  when 20 

Blue  Ridge  region,  elevation  of 7 

Boiling  favored  and  cotton-plants  restrained  from  running  to 

weed  by  shallow  cultivation  and  topping 12, 14 

Bolls  first  open  on  cotton-plant,  when 20 

Boll- worm,  appearance  of 20 

Brunswick  county,  statistics  and  descriptions  of 15 

C. 

Carboniferous  formation 8 

Caterpillar,  appearance  of 20 

Climate  of  the  state 8 

Close  of  the  cotton-picking  season 20 

Composts,  use  of \[) 

Condition  of  laborers 21 

Conditions  imposed  by  transportation  companies  as  to  weight 

of  bales 20 

Corn,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) 3 


Pago. 

Correspondents,  names  and  addresses  of 18 

Cotton  acreage  per  square  mile,  in  counties  (table) 3 

blooms  first  appear  and  bolls  first  open,  when 20 

charges  and  cost  of  sale  of 21 

crop  covered  by  insurance 21 

culture  rendered  profitable  by  the  use  of  fertilizers. ..  10 

diseases,  insect  enemies,  etc.,  of 20 

lint,  amount  of,  made  by  gins  in  a  day's  run 20 

tons  of,  in  state  and  regions  (table) 10 

picking  begins  and  closes,  when 20 

plant,  height  of,  before  blooming 20 

tendency  of,  to  run  to  weed,  and  how  restrained. 

(See  under  Boiling.) 
usual  height  of  (see  abstracts  in  county  descrip- 
tions)    12-14 

planting  and  cultivation 19,  20 

production,  acres  and  bales  in  each  county  (table)  .. .  3 

comparison  of  regions  iu  (tables) 10 

cost  of,  per  pound 21 

cultural  and  economic  details  of 17-21 

distribution  of,  among  the  regions 10 

general  remarks  on 10 

in  the  state  and  counties  (table) 3 

percentage  of  the  state's  total,  in  regions 

(table) 10 

rank  of  the  state  iu 10 

product  per  acre,  according  to  regions 10 

county  ranking  highest  in 10 

in  counties  (table) 3 

regions  (table) 10 

of  any  soil,  and  from  fresh  and  old 
land.    (See  under  .Soils.) 

shipments  {sec  county  descriptions) 11-15 

staple  affected  by  share  system 21 

Cottonseed-cake  as  feed  or  manure 19 

planters,  use  of 19 

price  of,  and  bow  disposed  of 19 

value  of,  as  a  fertilizer 19 

varieties  and  amount  of,  used  per  acre 19 

Counties,  agricultural  descriptions  of 11-15 

having  highest  cotton  product  per  acre  (table) 10 

Credit  system  on  growing  crop 21 

Crops,  acreage  and  production  of  leading  (table) 3 

rotation  of 19 

Cultivation  and  planting  of  cotton,  details  of 19,20 

Cultural  and  economic  details  of  cotton  production 17-21 

Cutchin,  J.  A.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 12 

I>. 

Daughtry,  Br.  W.  H.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 13 

Depth  of  tillage 19 

23 
645 


24 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  VIRGINIA. 


Pago. 

Details,  cultural  and  economic,  of  cotton  production 17-21 

Dinwiddle  county,  statistics  and  description  of 15 

Diseases,  insect  enemies,  etc.,  of  cotton 20 

Dismal  swamp,  soils  and  timber  growth  on  the  borders  of...  9 

Draft  employed  in  breaking  up  land 19 

Drainage  of  soils.     (See  under  Soils.) 

E. 

Economic  and  cultural  details  of  cotton  production 17-21 

Efforts  made  to  obviate  insect  pests  and  diseases  of  cotton  ..  20 

Elevations  of  the  state 7 

Enumeration,  tabulated  results  of  the 1-3 

Estimato  of  tho  cost,  of  cotton  production 21 

F. 

Fallowing  and  fall  plowing,  results  of 19 

Farming  and  labor,  system  of 21 

Farms,  usual  size  of 21 

Fastening  used  in  baling  cotton,  kinds  of 20 

Feed,  cottonseed-cake  used  as 19 

Fertilizers,  cotton  culture  rendered  profitable  by  the  use  of.  10 

Fertilizing  and  green-manuring 19 

Freight,  rates  of  shipment  of  (see  abstracts  in  county  descrip- 
tions)   12-14 

Frost,  time  of  appearance  of  the  first 20 

G. 

Geology  of  the  state 8 

Ginning,  baling,  and  shipping  cotton,  details  of 20 

Gins,  cotton,  list  and  capacity  of 20 

Gray  sandy  and  gravelly  lands  specially  adapted  to  tobacco.  9 

timber  growth  of 9 

Green-manuring  and  fertilizing 19 

Greeusville  county,  statistics  and  description  of 14 

II 

Height  attained  by  cotton  before  bloomiug 20 

Hillside  ditching  and  horizontal  zing  (sec  abstracts  in  county 

descriptions) 12-14 

Home  supplies 21 

I. 

Implements  used  in  after-cultivation  of  cotton 20 

cotton-planting 19 

Improvements,  tillage,  etc.,  details  of 19 

Information,  sources  of,  iu  the  compilation  of  this  report. ..  iii 

Insect  enemies,  diseases,  etc.,  of  cotton 20 

Insuring  cotton,  practice  of  and  charges  for 21 

Irish  and  sweet  potatoes,  production  of  (table) 3 

Iron-ore  beds,  occurrence  of 8 

Isle  of  Wight  county,  statistics  and  description  of 12,13 

K. 

King  and  Queen  county,  statistics  and  description  of 14, 15 

1,. 

Labor  and  system  of  farming 21 

Laborers,  best  system  of  farming  for 21 

condition  and  nationality  of,  and  wages  paid  to  .. .  21 

owning  houses  or  lands 21 

Lands,  alluvial,  general  description  of 8, 9 

lying  ''turned  out",  proportion  of  (eee  abstracts  in 

county  descriptions) 12-14 

market  value  of 21 

preparation  given  to,  before  planting  cotton 19 

proportion  of,  iu  cotton  for  each  soil.    (See  under  Soils.) 

rent  paid  for  and  market  value  of 21 

Letters  of  transmittal iii 

Limestone  region 9 

Lint  per  acre  in  counties  (table) 3 

List  of  correspondents 18 

C46 


W. 

Pago. 

Manure,  cottonseed-cake  used  as 19 

Mecklenburg  county,  statistics  and  description  of 15 

Merchants'  commissions  on  sales  of  cotton 21 

Mefumorphie  formation 8 

rocks,  soils  derived  from 9 

Mill  land  region,  area  of 7 

Minerals,  varieties  of 8 

Mixed  fanning  or  [dan ting 21 

Mountain  region,  elevation  of 8 

IV. 

Nansemond  county,  statistics  and  description  of 12 

Nationality  and  condition  of  laborers , 21 

Negroes,  proportion  of,  owning  houses  or  lands 21 

Number  of  cotton  pickings  made 20 

o. 

Oak  uplands  region,  area  and  general  character  of 7,9 

county  descriptions  of 15 

Oats,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) 3 

Outlines  of  the  physico-geographieal  features  of  the  state.  -.  7-9 

Palaeozoic  formal  ion 8 

Paris  green  as  a  remedy  against  the  caterpillar 20 

Peanuts,  cultivation  of  (see  county  descriptions) 11-15 

Picking  of  cotton  begins  and  closes,  when 20 

Planting  and  cultivation  of  cotton,  details  of 19,20 

Population,  average,  per  square  mile  (table) 3 

in  regions  (table) 10 

of  the  state  and  counties  (table) 3 

Potatoes  (Irish  and  sweet),  production  of  (table) 3 

Power  used  in  ginning  cotton  U0 

Preparation  given  to  cotton  lands 19 

Presses  used  in  baling  cotton,  kinds  of 20 

Prettow,  J.  D.,  mention  of  report  of 13 

Prevalence  of  tho  credit  system 21 

Price  paid  for  cottonseed 19 

Prince  George  county,  statistics  and  description  of 14 

Production  and  acreage  of  leading  crops  (table) 3 

Quaternary  formation  of  the  state 8 

Questions,  schedule,  summary  of  answers  to 19-21 

B. 

Railroad  transportation  facilities  (see  county  descriptions)  ..  11-15 

Rainfall  and  temperatures  of  the  state 8 

Rating  of  the  staple  (eee  abstracts  in  county  descriptions)...  12-14 

Red  lands,  timber  growth  of 9 

Reference  table  of  reports  received 18 

Region,  areas  of  each,  in  counties  (see  county  descriptions)..  11-15 

oak  uplands 9 

tide-water 8,9 

transmontane  and  valley 9, 10 

Regions,  agricultural,  enumeration  of 8 

Remarks  on  cotton  production  in  the  state 10 

Rent  paid  for  land 21 

Report,  sources  of  information  for  this iii 

Reports  received  from  counties,  reference  table  of 18 

Rotation  of  crops,  details  of 19 

Rot  of  bolls,  occurrence  of,  and  how  obviated 20 

Rust  or  blight,  occurrences  of,  on  heavy  or  ill-drained  soils, 

in  what  seasons,  and  how  obviated 20 

8. 

Sandy  oak  and  pine  ridges,  general  description  of 9 

Sea-board  or  alluvial  region,  area  and  description  of 8,9 

Seed-cotton,  amount  of,  required  for  a  475-pound  bale  of  lint.  20 

penned,  or  how  protected 20 

product  per  acre  of,  and  amount  required  for  a 
hale  of  lint  (see  abstracts  in  county  descrip- 
tions)    11-15 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  VIRGINIA. 


25 


Page. 
Share  system,  cotton  farms  worked  on  ;  effect  on  the  soil,  and 

reasons  in  favor  of 21 

Shedding,  occurrence  of,  and  how  obviated 20 

Shipping,  charges  for  (see  also  county  descriptions) 21 

ginning,  and  baling  cotton,  details  of 20 

Soils  derived  from  metamorphic  rocks 9 

devoted  to  cotton  (see  county  descriptions) 11-15 

of  the  alluvial  or  sea-board  region 8,9 

oak  uplands  region 9 

sandy  oak  and  pine  ridges 9 

transiuontane  region 7,9 

tilling  qualities,  character,  and  productiveness  of : 

dark  sandy 12 

gray  loam 13 

light  gray  sandy - 13,14 

light  sandy 14 

red  clay 14 

sandy  loam 14 

white-oak  land 13 

Sore-shin  on  cotton-plants 20 

Southampton  county,  statistics  aud  description  of 13 

Space  between  ridges  in  cotton  planting 19 

Storing  cotton,  charges  for 21 

Subeeiling  and  its  results 19 

Subsoils,  character  of  (sec  abstracts  iu  county  descriptions)..  12-14 

Summary  of  answers  t-o  schedule  questions 19-21 

Supplies  raised  at  home  or  imported 21 

Sussex  county,  statistics  and  description  of 13, 14 

Sweet  and  Irish  potatoes,  production  of  (table) 3 

I, 

Table  showing  acreage  and  production  of  leading  crops 3 

area,  population,  tilled  land,  and  cotton  pro- 
duction in  the  counties 3 

counties  ranking  highest  iu  total  cotton  pro- 
duction and  product  per  acre 10 

population  aud  cottou  production  in  regions.  10 

Tabulated  results  of  the  euumeratiou 1-3 

Temperatures  aud  rainfall  of  the  state 8 

Terraces  of  the  coast  region 7 


Page. 

Tertiary  formation  8 

marls,  occurrence  of 9 

Thinning  out  cotton-plants 1<) 

Thornton,  J.  D.,  abstract  of  the  report  of 13, 14 

Tide- water  or  alluvial  region,  county  descriptions  of 19-15 

region,  area  and  description  of 7-9 

Ties  used  in  baling  cotton 20 

Tillage,  improvements,  etc.,  details  of 19 

Tilled  lands,  acres  of  (table) 3 

percentage  of  area  in  (table) 3 

Tilling  qualities  of  land.     (See  under  Soils.) 

Timber  growth  of  alluvial  or  sea-board  region 8,9 

oak  uplands  region 9 

sandy  oak  and  pine  ridges 9 

(See  the  different  regional  descriptions.) 

Time  of  first  black  frost 20 

planting  cottou 19 

thinning  out  cotton-plants 19 

when  the  first  cotton-blooms  appear,  bolls  first  open, 

and  picking  begins  and  closes 20 

Tobacco,  acreage  and  production  of  (table) 3 

Topography  of  the  state 7 

Transmittal,  letters  of iii 

Transiuontane  and  valley  region,  areas  and  description  of. ..  7-9 

Transportation  companies,  conditions  imposed  by 20 

Triassic  sandstone,  occurrence  of 8,9 

v. 

Valley  region,  area  of  the 7 

Value  of  land 21 

Varieties  of  cottonseed  preferred 19 

w. 

Wages  paid  to  laborers 21 

Washing  of  soils,  aud  how  prevented  (see  abstracts  in  county 

descriptions) 12-14 

Weeds  troublesome  on  any  soil.     (See  under  Soils,  character 

and  tilling  qualities  of.) 

Wheat,  acreage  and  reduction  of  (table) 3 

V. 

Young,  N.  P. ,  remarks  of 13 

647 


REPORT 


PHYSICAL   AND  AGRICULTURAL   FEATURES 


STATE    OF    CALIFORNIA, 


WITH   A    DISCUSSION    OF 


THE  PRESENT  AND  FUTURE  OF  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  THE  STATE; 


ALSO, 


REMARKS  ON  COTTON  CULTURE  IN  NEW  MEXICO,  UTAH,  ARIZONA,  AND  MEXICO. 


BY 


IE.    "W.    ZHZHjO-^IR.ID,    IPs.    ID, 

PROFESSOR  OF  AGRICULTURE  IN  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALII'ORNIA, 
SPECIAL    AGENT. 


G49 


TABLE   OF  CONTENTS. 


Page. 

Introductory  Letter v 

Letter  of  Transmittal . vii-ix 

Tabulated  Results  of  the  Enumeration 1-4 

Table  showing  Area,  Population,  Tilled  Land,  and  Leading  Crops 3,  4 

PART  I. 

Physico-Geograpiiical  and  Agricultural  Features  of  the  State  of  California 5-83 

Outline  of  the  Physical  Geography  of  the  State 7-83 

Topography  and  Drainage 7,8 

Geology 8 

Winds 8,9 

Temperature ► 9-11 

Rainfall  and  Irrigation 11-17 

Agricultural  Regions _ 17, 18 

The  Great  Valley  of  California . 18-31 

The  Sacramento  Valley : 19-23 

Soils  of  the  Sacramento  Valley 21-23 

Sau  Joaquin  Valley J 23-31 

Tulare  Basin 2:3-25 

San  Joaquin  Basin 25,23 

Soils  of  San  Joaquin  Valley 20-30 

Alluvial  or  Lowland  Soils 26,27 

Upland  or  Bench  Soils 27-30 

Tulo  Lands 30,31 

The  Foot-Hills  of  tne  Sierra  and  Northern  Coast  Range 31-37 

The  Foot-Hills  of  the  Sierra 32-34 

The  Auriferous  Belt,  or  Foot-Hills  Proper 32,33 

Tho  Granitic  Region t 33 

Region  of  Lava  Beds 33,  34 

The  Coast  Range  Foot-Hills 34-37 

Soils  of  the  Foot-Hills  34-37 

The  Southern  Region _ 37-43 

Los  Angeles  and  San  Bernardino  Plains 37,  38 

San  Diego  Region 36,  39 

Soils  of  tho  Coast  Range  Division 39«12 

Hydrography .. 42,43 

The  Desert  Region 43,  44 

The  Coast  Range  Region 44-59 

Tho  Bay  Country 45,  46 

The  Coast  Region  South  of  the  Bay  Country _ 40-55 

The  Coast ; 47 

San  Ramon  and  Livermore  Valleys 47 

Santa  Clara  Valley 47,48 

Salinas  Valley 48 

Other  Valleys 48, 49 

Character  of  Soils  of  the  South  Coast  Region 49-55 

The  Coast  Region  North  of  the  Bay  Country 55-59 

Redwood  Belt 50 

Agricultural  Features  of  the  North  Coast  Region 5(3-59 

Sierra  Nevada  Mountain  Region 59-03 

Broken  Region  of  the  Western  Slope 01 

The  Eastern  Slope 01.02 

Tho  Lava-Beds  Region 02,03 

Alkali  Soils  and  Irrigation  Waters  of  California 03-73 

iii 
G51 


iv  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

Pago. 

Cotton  Culture  in  California 73-78 

History 73-75 

Method  of  Culture 75,70 

Cost  of  Production 70 

Conclusions 7G-78 

Table  ok  Chemical  Analyses  of  Soils  and  Subsoils  79-81 

Table  of  Humus  Determination 82 

Mechanical  Composition  of  Soils 82 

Table  of  Mechanical  Analyses  of  Soils  and  Subsoils 83 

PART  II. 

Agricultural  Descriptions  of  the  Counties  of  California 85-125 

Great  Valley  Region 87-100 

Lower  Foot-Hills  Region 100-105 

Southern  aud  Desert  Region 105-109 

Coast  Range  Region  (south  of  San  Pablo  Bay) 100-110 

Coast  Range  Region  (north  of  San  Pablo  Bay) 116-1*21 

Higher  Foot-Hills  (over  2,000  feet)  and  Sierra  Mountain  Regions 121-125 

Reference  Table  of  Correspondents  125 

Cotton  Culture  in  New  Mexico,  Utah,  and  Arizona 129, 130 

Report  on  toe  Culture  of  Cotton  in  the  Republic  of  Mexico 130, 131 

MAP. 
Agricultural  Map  of  California 7 

C52 


INTRODUCTORY    LETTER. 


The  state  of  California  has  until  recently  been  considered  simply  as  a  great  mining  country  by  the  people  of 
the  states  east  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  and  comparatively  little  thought  or  attention  has  been  given  to  any  other 
capabilities  it  might  possess.  The  state  has,  however,  risen  rapidly  in  agricultural  importance,  and  her  mining 
enterprises  are  being  overshadowed  by  the  immense  farming  industries,  to  wThich  the  exceptionally  genial  climate 
and  fertile  soils  of  her  broad  valleys  and  foot-hills  are  so  admirably  adapted.  It  has,  therefore,  been  thought 
advisable  to  give  it  a  more  extended  description  than  would  seem  warranted  by  the  small  amount  of  cotton  that 
has  been  produced  within  her  borders;  the  more  so  as  the  state  is  but  slightly  represented  in  the  special 
investigations  of  the  Tenth  Census. 

FRANCIS  A.  WALKER. 

V 

653 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL. 

Beeke'ley,  California,  June  1,  1883. 
To  the  Superintendent  of  Census. 

Dear  Sir  :  I  transmit  herewith  a  report  on  the  agricultural  features  and  cotton  production  of  the  state  of 
California,  including'  descriptions  of  the  individual  counties,  as  well  as  of  the  regions;  the  result  of  the  joint  labors 
of  Dr.  E.  H.  Loughridge  and  myself. 

Among'  the  states  included  in  the  reports  on  cotton  production  California  stands  in  a  peculiar  position,  and 
at  first  sight  the  insignificant  number  of  bales  of  the  staple  produced  within  the  census  year  would  hardly  seem 
to  entitle  the  state  to  be  counted  among  those  deserving  a  detailed  description  in  this  connection.  As  a  matter 
ot  fact,  however,  this  condition  of  things  must  properly  be  accounted  as  temporary  and  accidental;  for  cotton  has 
been  successfully  grown  within  the  state  all  the  way  from  the  Mexican  boundary  to  Shasta  county,  and  the  staple 
produced  has,  on  the  whole,  proved  to  be  of  peculiar  excellence.  The  restricted  area  now  given  to  its  cultivation 
is  the  concurrent  result  of  many  causes,  chief  among  which  is  the  distance  from  any  but  a  home  market,  which 
renders  competition  with  the  Gulf  states  in  any  other  sphere  impracticable.  In  the  absence  of  cotton-mills,  the 
home  market  has  been  restricted  to  the  amount  consumed  by  the  woolen-mills  within  the  state  for  the  manufacture 
of  mixed  fabrics.  Again,  the  predominance  acquired  at  the  outset  by  the  culture  of  wheat  and  other  food  crops, 
and,  in  later  years,  by  the  culture  of  the  grape  and  certain  other  fruits  of  which  California  has  almost  a  monopoly 
in  the  United  States,  naturally  tended  to  keep  down  the  culture  of  a  staple  in  the  production  of  which  there  is  such 
formidable  competition  by  the  Gulf  states  on  the  one  hand  and  by  India  on  the  other. 

Since,  however,  the  production  for  the  home  market  has  steadily  been  maintained  and  has  proved  profitable, 
it  is  legitimate  to  infer  that  whenever,  by  the  establishment  of  cotton  factories  on  the  coast,  the  local  demand  shall 
increase,  cotton  production  will  do  the  same. 

There  are,  however,  other  causes  that  tend  to  commend  cotton  culture  to  the  California  farmer,  viz,  its  relations 
to  the  peculiarities  of  the  aoil  and  climate,  especially  of  the  great  valley.  These  points  are  discussed  in  detail  under 
the  proper  heads  in  the  body  of  this  report,  and  they  are  sufficiently  strong  to  render  it  probable  that  cotton  culture 
will  rapidly  increase  hereafter  in  the  state. 

The  compilation  of  reliable  descriptions  of  the  several  regions  and  counties  of  California  has  been  beset  with 
unusual  difficulties.  In  the  case  of  other  states  we  have  in  most  cases  had  the  basis  of  a  state  survey,  or  of 
somewhat  extensive  personal  explorations  made  under  the  auspices  of  the  Census  Office.  In  the  case  of  California, 
the  latter  source  has,  for  cogent  reasons,  been  restricted  to  three  short  excursions  made  by  myself  to  the  southern 
and  northern  portions  of  the  great  valley  and  one  by  Mr.  Herman  Partsch  to  the  region  of  the  Salinas  valley.  The 
volumes  of  the  California  state  survey  are  almost  totally  barren  of  information  on  agricultural  topics,  audeven  that 
relating  to  the  topographical  features  can  be  utilized  mainly  as  furnishing  links  in  the  chain  of  broader  evidence. 
In  this  respect  the  report  unfortunately  does  not  stand  alone  among  those  of  state  surveys;  but  in  consequence 
of  the  stoppage  of  the  work  in  1ST-!  probably  much  of  the  practical  matter  has  thus  far  remained  unpublished. 
Since  my  arrival  in  the  state  (1875)  I  have  vainly  endeavored  to  revive  at  least  the  agricultural  portion  of  the 
survey;  but  .the  failure  to  obtain  from  the  legislature  any  funds  applicable  to  field-work  has  compelled  me  to 
remain  content  with  such  information  as  could  be  obtained  through  correspondence  and  from  specimens  of  soils, 
rocks,  etc.,  transmitted  by  interested  persons,  for  examination  and  report  by  the  agricultural  department  of  the 

vii 
655 


vni  letter  of  transmittal. 

University  of  California,  under  a  small  provision  made,  therefor  by  the  university.  In  the  course  of  time  this  work 
has  furnished  important  information  regarding  the  composition  of  the  soils  of  the  state  ;  but  little  of  a  systematic 
character  could  be.  done  until,  upon  the  request  of  the  Superintendent  of  Census,  the  authorities  of  the  Central 
Pacific  railroad,  under  the  initiative  of  the  late  B.  B.  Bedding,  then  in  charge  of  its  land-office,  detailed  an  intelligent 
engineer,  Mr.  2s1.  J.  Willson,  to  collect  soil  specimens  from  the  several  stations  on  the  main  lines  in  the  great,  valley 
from  Bedding  to  Bakersfield,  and  thence  through  Los  Angeles  and  San  Bernardino  counties  to  Yuma.  These 
specimens,  numbering  about  350,  and  the  notes  accompanying  them  at  least  from  the  southern  division,  have  been 
the  source  of  a  great  deal  of  important  information,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  abstracts  added  to  the  descriptions  of 
the  southern  valley  counties.  Mr.  Willson's  notes  from  the  northern  part  of  his  route  were  unfortunately  not 
received.  Of  these  specimens,  and  of  others  collected  by  myself  and  Mr.  Partsch,  twelve  representative  ones 
were  selected  for  analysis,  the  work  being  done  at  the  expense  of  the  Census  Office.  Subsequently  a  larger  number 
were  analyzed,  in  the  course  of  the  regular  work  of  the  agricultural  department,  of  the  university,  in  time  for 
introduction  into  this  report. 

A  number  of  other  soils,  with  accompanying  reports  on  the  regions  of  their  occurrence,  were  also  received,  in 
response  to  a  circular  issued  by  a  commission  informally  constituted  in  advance  of  expected  legislative  action  on 
the  representation  of  California  at  the  Paris  exhibition  of  1870.  The  legislative  support  was  refused,  and  the 
reports,  some  of  which  were  quite  lengthy  and  exhaustive,  remained  unused  until  now.  Abstracts  of  them 
have,  been  added  to  the  descriptions  of  the  counties  concerned. 

Apart  from  these  direct  sources  of  information,  such  publications  heretofore  made  as  include  descriptions  of  the 
whole  or  parts  of  the  state — books,  pamphlets  descriptive  of  counties,  and  newspaper  articles — have  been  drawn  upon, 
and  doubtful  or  irrelevant  statements  have  been  carefully  eliminated  as  far  as  possible.  This  work  has  been  a 
matter  of  no  little  difficulty  and  patient  research,  and  has  almost  wholly  fallen  to  the  part  of  Dr.  Loughridge. 
It  is  not  a  little  singular  how  few  of  these  descriptions,  purporting  to  give  the  agricultural  features  for  the,  benefit 
of  possible  settlers,  do  actually  convey  a  definite  idea  of  the  country  described.  In  the  great  majority  of  cases  the 
writers  deal  largely  in  generalities  concerning  the  results  of  farming  operations,  leaving  the  aspect  of  the  country, 
the  kinds  of  soil  and  their  several  areas  of  occurrence,  and  other  matters  of  first  interest,  to  mere  conjecture  or 
inference;  a  practice,  in  which,  as  I  have  reason  to  know,  California  writers  do  not,  stand  alone.  To  gather  the 
natural  facts  from  the  mass  of  miscellaneous  statements  and  combine  them  into  a  connected  picture  is  often 
arduous  work,  and  cannot  always  be  successful  in  the  absence  of  some  personal  knowledge.  Still,  such  as  they 
are,  the  descriptions  hereinafter  given  will  probably  convey  a  better  and  more  generally  correct  conception  of  the 
features  of  California  than  has  heretofore  been  given  to  the  public. 

Prominent  among  the  sources  of  information  drawn  upon  are  the  following  published  works: 

The  Natural  Wealth  of  California,  by  T.  F.  Cronise.     1868. 

The  Resource*  of  California,  by  Theo.  S.  flitted.     1874. 

California  As  It  Is,  by  seventy  leading  editors  and  authors.  Published  by  the  San  Francisco  Call  Company. 
1882. 

Report  of  the  Geological  Surrey  of  California,  by  J.  D.  Whitney.     Geology.     1865. 

The  above  are  works  of  a  general  character,  covering  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  the  entire  state.  The  following 
treat  only  of  special  parts  or  topics : 

Reports  of  the  Stale  Engineer  (William  Hammond  Hall)  on  drainage,  improvement  of  rivers,  the  flow  of  mining 
detritus,  and  the  irrigation  of  the  plains.  Sacramento,  1880.  This  is  a  most  important  document,  from  which  the 
greater  part  of  the  data  regarding  the  rivers  and  irrigation  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley  and  in  the  Los  Angeles  region 
is  derived  and  is  largely  literally  copied.  Important  data  regarding  the  soil  areas  in  the  latter  region  has  also  been 
directly  furnished  from  the  state,  engineer's  office  for  the  agricultural  map. 

Reports  of  the  Agricultural  Department  of  the  University  of  California  for  1877,  1870,  1880,  and  1882.  From  these 
is  extracted  nearly  all  the  matter  relating  to  the  character  and  composition  of  soils,  alkali  soils,  and  irrigation  waters. 

Report  on  the  Climatic  and  Agricultural  Features  and  the  Agricultural  Practice  and  Heeds  of  the  Arid  Regions  of 

the  Pacific  Slope,  by  E.  W.  Hilgard,  T.  C.  Jones,  and  B.  W.  Furnas;  made  under  the  direction  of  the.  Commissioner 

of  Agriculture,  1882.     The  portions  of  this  report  relating  to  climate,  irrigation,  and  other  general  topics  have,  to 

a  considerable  extent,  been  recast  for  the  present  one. 
656 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL.  ix 

For  the  tables  of  rainfall  and  temperatures  we  are  largely  indebted  to  the  observations  made  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Central  Pacific  railroad,  which  have  been  conveniently  tabulated  by  the  Pacific  Rural  Press. 

Besides  the  above,  numerous  locally  published  "county  descriptions"  have  been  utilized,  as  also  letters  from 
correspondents  found  in  the  columns  of  the  Pacific  Rural  Press,  the  San  Francisco  Bulletin,  and  other  transient 
publications  and  county  papers.  Special  points  have  also  been  elucidated  by  direct  correspondence  and  verbal 
inquiry.  It  is,  of  course,  almost  impossible  to  give  credit  separately  to  all  these  numerous  sources,  and  it  has 
only  been  done  where  literal  extracts  have  been  made.     . 

For  the  soil  map  accompanying  this  report  the  first  basis  has  been  the  altitude  map  by  Mr.  Henry  Gannett, 
1877.  Its  outlines  have,  however,  been  materially  modified  at  many  points  for  our  purposes  from  information 
obtained  from  detailed  maps  of  some  of  the  counties,  as  well  as  from  personal  observation.  These  county  maps, 
for  the  inspection  of  sets  of  which  we  are  indebted  to  the  California  Immigration  Association  and  the  Grangers' 
Bank,  of  San  Francisco,  have  supplied  many  valuable  data.  The  maps  of  the  geological  survey  have  also  been 
fully  utilized. 

The  arrangement  of  subjects  in  this  report  is  substantially  the  same  as  in  those  preceding  it,  viz:  first  the  tables 
of  population  and  production,  which  in  this  case  show  less  of  actual  cotton  production  than  of  the  great  variety  of 
crops  grown ;  next,  a  general  summary  of  the  ph-ysico-geographical  and  climatic  features,  followed  by  the  general 
■description  of  the  agricultural  regions  and  history  and-diseussion  of  cotton  production  in  California,  forming  Part 
I.  Part  II  includes  the  descriptions  of  counties,  while  the  cultural  details,  usually  placed  under  Part  III,  are  here 
included  under  the  discussion  terminating  Part  I,  in  which  connection  they  are  most  readily  understood. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

E.  W.  HILGAED. 

42  C  P — VOL.   II 

657 


TABULATED  RESULTS  OF  THE  ENUMERATION. 


ABEA,  POPULATION,  TILLED  LAND,  AND  LEADING  CKOPS. 


l 

659 


TABULATED  RESULTS  OF  THE  ENUMERATION. 
AEEA,  POPULATION,  TILLED  LAND,  AND  LEADING  CROPS  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


POPULATION, 


n 


TILLED   LAKH. 


s-  6 


ACREAGE  AND  PRODUCTION  OF  LRADING  CnOPB. 


Acres.        Bushels. 


Barley. 


Acres.      Bushels. 


Acres.    Bushels. 


"Vine- 
yards. 


Acres.    Bushels. 


GREAT  VALLEY    REGION. 

Butte 

Colusa 

Tuba 

Sutter 

Yolo 

Solano 

Sacramento 

San  Joaquin 

Stanislaus 

Merced 

Fresno 

Tulare 

Kern 


Total . 


LOWER  FOOT-MILL  REGION 

Shasta  

Tehama 

Nevada 

Placer 

El  Dorado 

Amador 

Calaveras 

Tuolumne 

Mariposa 


Total  . 


SOUTHERN  REGION. 

Los  A  ngeles 

San  Bernardino 

San  Diego 


Total  . 


COAST  RANGE  REGION. 
South  of  the  bay  region. 

San  Francisco 

San  Mateo 

Contra  Costa 

Alameda 

Santa  Clara 

Santa  Cruz 

Monterey 

San  Benito 

San  Luis  Obispo 

Santa  Barbara 

Ventura 


Total 

North  of  San  Pablo  bay. 

Marin 

Sonoma 

Napa 

Lake 

Mendocino 

Trinity 

Humboldt 

Del  Norte 


1,720 

2,500 

700 

560 

940 

940 

1,000 

1,360 

1,420 

2,280 

6,000 

5,610 

8,160 


0,  602, 102  42.  4 


I,  832,  429 


586,  350     12,  463,  561 


18,  721 

10.9 

13, 118 

5.2 

11,284 

10.1 

5,159 

8.9 

11,  772 

12.5 

18,  475 

19.7 

34,390 

34.4 

24,349 

17.9 

8,  751 

6.2 

5,656 

2.  5 

9,478 

1.2 

11,  281 

2.0 

5,601 

0.7 

27.7 
40.8 
24.7 
46.3 
46.4 
46.3 
47.6 
52.9 
45.9 
19.0 
5.6 
5.6 
1.2 


304, 
053, 
110, 
171, 
278, 
278, 
304, 
460, 
417, 
277, 
291, 
200, 
61 


115,  210 


4,000 

3,060 

990 

1,480 

1,800 

540 

980 

1,980 

1,500 


9,301 
20,823 
14, 232 
10,  683 
11,384 
9,094 
7,  848 
4,339 


97, 19G 


4,750 
23, 000 
14,000 


33,381 
7,786 
8,618 


42,  350 


49,  785 


2.3 
3.0 

21.0 
9.6 
5.9 

21.1 
9.3 
4.0 


2.1 
13.8 
4.0 

10.8 
2.9 

10.6 
4.7 
1.9 
1.5 


55,  915 
270,  441 
25,  207 
101,  923 
33,  046 
36,  785 
29,  414 
23,  861 
15, 125 


0.  8       592,  020 


7.0 
0.3 
0.6 


6.  4        195,  055 
0.  2         25,  601 

0.  4  38,  247 


177.1 
261.2 
158.  3' 
296.3 
296.6 
296.3 
304.6 
338.4 
294.0 
121.  7 
36.3 
35.7 
7.5 


127,180 
261,381 
28,134 
74,338 
115,  369 
107,  588 
44,123 
201,  401 
172,  445 
67,  975 
20, 474 
28, 131 
6,887 


2,  244,  770 

4,  537,  504 

359,  967 

1,  205,  883 

2,  086,  550 

2,  042,  533 
804,  631 

3,  529,  511 
1,  642,  892 

296,  308 
190,  923 
371,  081 


23,  288 
39,  939 
11,  057 
14,830 
18,320 
32  222 
30,547 
32,669 
19,  559 
10, 181 
9,504 
3,  6G1 
6,151 


108.2 


19,398,235   251,928 


516,  474 
899,558 
218,  458 
365,  086 
519,  479 
571,  493 
650,  448 
796,409 
312,882 

88,030 
118,  527 

69,  200 
119,571 


1,325 

851 

603 

1,596 

714 

443 

3,928 

2,333 

378 

574 

414 

2,535 

1,094 


31,210 
15,  735 

12,  220 
28,  935 
10,090 
16,665 

149,  550 
68,890 

13,  055 
15,  715 
10,  053 
46,  255 
35,  046 


418 

170 

1,461 

243 

127 
871 
130 


13,  700 
3,000 

23,210 
5,916 
1,480 
2,015 

22,  745 
2,820 


5,  245,  621 


17,  388 


404,  039 


25.6 
68.8 
18.8 
68.1 
30.0 
12.0 
9.0 


6,267 

84,254 

304 

11,751 

1,300 

2,386 

607 

4,  055 

337 


99,  610 
1,  386,  228 
3,235 
183,  547 
20,  777 
48,  323 
16,  256 
02,  824 
4,476 


36.2 


111,521 


1,  825,  276 


41.0 

1.  I 


29,  349 
2,558 
8,  929 


310,  042 
45,  582 
00,  650 


0.9 


258.  903 


40,836 


422,  274 


40 

440 

800 

000 

1,400 

420 

3,520 

990 

3,460 

2,200 

1,  690 


959 
609 

525 
976 
030 
802 
302 
584 
142 
513 
073  I 


,  849.  0 
19.7 
15.6 
95.4 
25.0 
30.5 
3.2 
5.6 
2.0 
4.3 
3.0 


26.3 

45.  5 
47.4 
18.5 
15.0 
7.  5 
14.2 
S.O 
7.7 
7.5 


15,  620 


580 

1,520 

840 

1,  100 
3,780 

2,  490 
3.750 
1,540 


11,  324 
25,  920 
13,  235 

0,  590 

12,  800 
4,  999 

15,512  , 
2,  584 


19.5 

17.0 
15.8 
6.0 
3.4 
2.0 
4.1 
1.7 


5.8 
18.4 
15.1 
5.5 
2.4 


Total '..     15,600 


92,  970 


5.9 


73, 
232, 
200, 
100, 

40. 
168, 
.90, 
177, 
108,: 

81,: 


57.4 

108.1 
290.9 
303.5 
118.7 
95.7 
48.0 
91.5 
51.3 
49.4 
47.9 


10,  767 
71,870 
30,  032 
38,  023 
12,000 
09, 022 
32,  223 
10, CIS 
18.492 
8,479 


219,  084 
1,207,016 
620, 758 
648,  055 
291,  049 
779,  280 
837, 271 
173, 531 
205,  935 
113, 497 


65.9 


30  l.i, 


5,215,502 


21,357 
178,  954 
81,045 
38,  564 
58, 164 
4,630 

09.  025 

10,  078 


402,  017 


36.8 

117.7 
90.4 
35. 1 
15.3 

1.0 
16.4 

0.9 


2,003 

39,  620 
33,  053 
8,290 
8,  699 
1,  071 
3,437 
56 


29.7 


97,  835 


55,  520 
742, 123 
011,445 
173,  842 
106.  606 
If,  185 
84,532 


0,702 
14,  967 
543 
5,594 
1,137 
3,291 
1,926 
2,558 
1,314 


38,  ( 


38,  823 
4,076 
3,573 


46,  472 


87,  303 
261,  838 
10,  632 
68,  275 
'  22,  911 
101,054 
47,  294 
41,018 
26,  239 


53 
24 
32 

100 

13 

1.191 

206 
24 
30 


1,590 
750 
665 

4,879 

414 

40,  695 

7,295 
373 
720 


405,  70S 
82,  563 
45,  330 


533,  001 


07,  381 


22,771 
774 
440 


752, 104 
23, 136 
8,017 


298 
1,105 

873 
57 
31 
13 
69 
12 


3,195 


30 

205 

160 

2,400 


570 
14 
018 
109 
757 
1,638 
1,938 
674 
99 
178 


78, 261 


22.  039 
9,114 
26,  871 
14,  524 
1,168 
822 
330 
1,885 


113 

39 

107 

1,036 

1,415 


77,  008  J  4,  079 


23,  985 


763,  257 


349 
10.  705 
19,  074 
39,  075 
29,  613 

5,945 
35,  420 
10,  469 

9, 658 
13,  598 
28, 171 


I,  C83 


11.120 
5,753 
4,551 
3,544 

II 
2,  029 

54 


29,  170 


3,500 
349,  644 
501,  680 
,  213,  S20 
716,  860 
176,  804 
825,  550 
192, 462 
295,  869 
245,  607 
551,  289 


:,345 


118 
55 

1,139 
261 

1,768 
488 
299 
•458 

3,167 

9,121 


16,  874 


37,  554 
250,  007 
130,  844 
124,  300 
101,  829 
220 
94,848 
1,530 


747, 132 


5,901 
1,  004 
755 
884 
30 
024 
42 


1,380 
1,360 
37,  573 
10,  391 
43,  873 
14,  978 
0,720 
13,  503 
123,  795 
148,  485 


44 

7.370 

1,280 

1,458 

260 

934 

3,303 

41 

937 

24 

40 


4112,  056  :  15,  757 


41,  722 

19,  277 

20,  526 
960 

10,  313 
1,710 


259,  357 


1,031 
2,015 
1,014 

352 
2,843 

105 
8,817 

200 


1,470 
958 


1,428 


440 
132,  473 
37,  455 
32,  706 
4,771 
21,  513 
88,  362 

640 
13,  400 

330 

300 


332,  001 


20,  937 
08,  085 
22,  250 
1/1,243 
80,  268 

3,  020 
354,  7S5 

4,830 


17,037  ,     571,644 


GUI 


4,101 

1,215 

224 

5,600 


1 
39 
325 
344 
1,  532 
346 
10 
02 
50 


40 
8,540 
0,  071 

54 

77 
3 

10 


4  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

AREA,  POPULATION,  TILLED  LAND,  AND  LEADING  CROPS  OF  CALIFORNIA— Continued. 


HIGHER  FOOT-HILL  AND 
SIKURA  MOUNTAIN  RE- 
GION. 

Siskiyou 

Modoc 

Lassen 

Plumas 

Sierra. 

Alpine 

Mone 

Inyo 

Total 

662 


Si],  mis. 
5,  COO 

4, 200 

5,  000 

2,  no 

S80 

730 

3,400 

8,120 

30,810 


POPULATION. 


1,010 
1,390 
1,340 
i,  180 
i.623 
530 
',  490 
!,928 


TILLED  LAND. 


0.0 
0.9 
1.1 
0.2 
0.1 
0.3 


50,  777 
20,  017 
29, 101  ; 
15,791 

6,  209 
791) 

1,190 
13,804 


137,  859 


ACItEAGB  AM.   t'UOIIUCTIOS  "I    I.KADING   Cni  I'ft. 


Vine- 
yards. 


Aim..      Bushobj.     Acrot),    BushoU.    Acres. 


0,  330 
1,301 

4.773 

1.  129 
308 
179  | 

11 
1,525 


18,  550 


98,  370  ; 
76,  335 
75,  301 
21,217 

080 
2,  930 

200 
30,  004 


307,112 


10 
301 

113 

295 

1.080 


12.  nor. 


114,013 
91,325 

:i7,  073 


112 

1- 


1.  172 

3,410 
3,  925 
35,  S45 


287,  298       1,  63.'. 


5. 015        3,208 

111.  774 

3.0        1,105 

....  2.571 

1,082 

230 
12 
791 

37,  233     10, 202 


Busli 

.4*. 

100 

350 

2H 

883 

33 

1211 

87 

797 

2 

320 

5 

985 

230 

22 

538 

279. 249 

FART    I 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES 


STATE   OF   CALIFORNIA. 


5 
663 


14 


OUTLINE  OF  THE  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY  OP  THE  STATE 

OF  CALIFORNIA. 


The  state  of  California  lies  between  the  parallels  of  32°  30"  and  42°  north  latitude,  thus  stretching  through 
nine  and  a  half  degrees  of  latitude,  corresponding  to  the  difference  on  the  Atlantic  coast  between  Edisto  inlet, 
South  Carolina,  aud  cape  Cod,  Massachusetts.  Its  northern  third  lies  between  320°  and  124°  26'  west  longitude, 
the  most  westerly  point  being  cape  Mendocino,  whence  the  coast  trends  southeastward,  w  ith  a  westerly  convexity, 
toward  San  Diego  bay.  Between  the  extreme  northwest  and  southeast  corners  the  direct  distance  is  775  miles. 
The  maximum  width  (between  point  Conception  and  the  north  end  of  the  Amargosa  range  in  Nevada)  is  235  miles, 
and  the  minimum  width  (between  the  Golden  Gate  and  the  southern  end  of  lake  Tahoe)  148  miles.  The  total  area 
of  the  state  is  15S,300  square  miles.  Its  land  area  alone  is  155,980  square  miles,  being  second  only  to  Texas  among 
the  states  aud  territories  as  now  denned. 

It  is  obvious  that  on  this  vast  area  the  diversity  of  climates  and  of  soils  must  be  very  great,  and  that  only  a 
very  general  outlining  of  these  can  be  attempted  within  the  limits  of  this  report. 

Topogkaphy  and  deainage. — The  climates  of  the  several  portions  of  the  state  are  so  directly  dependent  upon 
its  topographical  features  that  an  outline  of  these  must,  of  necessity,  precede  any  other  discussion. 

The  two  prominent  features,  extending  through  nearly  the  entire  length  of  the  state,  are  the  snow-capped 
range  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  on  the  eastern  border  and  the  low  Coast  range,  or  rather  belt  of  ranges,  bordering  the 
sea-coast  on  the  west.  Between  Wie  two  lies  the  great  valley  of  California,  drained  from  the  northward  by  the 
Sacramento,  and  from  the  southward  by  the  San  Joaquin  river,  aud  these,  uniting  nearthe  middle  of  the  length  of  the 
valley,  pass  westward  through  the  narrow  strait  of  Carquiues  into  San  Francisco  bay,  and  thence  through  the 
Golden  Gate  into  the  Pacific  ocean.  These  two  rivers  receive  nearly  all  their  water  from  the  Sierra  Nevada,  the 
streams  flowing  landward  from  the  Coast  range  being  insignificant.  The  main  drainage  of  the  Coast  range  is  to 
seaward  through  many  small  rivers  bordered  by  fertile  valleys.  The  immediate  coast  is  mostly  abrupt  aud  rocky, 
and  frequently  mountainous. 

The  maximum  width  of  the  great  valley  occurs  opposite  the  outlet  of  the  rivers,  and  in  its  southern  portion,  near 
the  south  end  of  Tulare  lake,  where  it  is  over  (io  miles.  In  its  middle  part  the  distance  between  the  foot-hills  of  the 
two  ranges  averages  about  40  miles ;  but  to  the  northward  these  ranges  gradually  converge,  the  Coast  range  widening 
and  becoming  higher,  while  the  Sierra  narrows  and,  as  a  whole,  becomes  lower,  though  rising  locally  into  the  Lassen 
peaks,  and  culminating,  as  it  merges  into  the  coast  ranges,  in  the  great  volcanic  mass  of  Shasta.  Northwestward 
the  Siskiyou  mountains  form  a  cross  range  of  considerable  elevation,  an  effectual  natural  barrier  between  California 
and  Oregon,  while  northeastward  lies  the  barren  "lava-bed"  plateau,  with  its  numerous  lakes.  The  great  valley, 
may  be  considered  as  terminating  northward  at  Bed  Bluff,  Tehama  county,  although  more  or  less  valley  laud,  but 
of  a  different  character,  occurs  along  the,  Sacramento  river  as  far  north  as  Bedding,  Shasta  county. 

Southward  the  termination  is  much  more  definite,  the  Coast  range  and  the  Sierra  being  cross-connected,  in  a 
graceful  sweep  around  Buena  Vista  and  Kern  lakes,  by  the  Tejon  range,  beyond  which  to.the  eastward  lies  the  great 
arid  plateau  of  the  Mojave  desert.  This  range  continues  southward  into  the,  ranges  of  San  Fernando,  San  Gabriel, 
and  San  Bernardino,  all  of  which  are  often  comprehended  under  the  general  but  somewhat  indefinite  name  of 
Sierra  Madre,  also  applied  far  to  the  southward  to  the  mountains  representing  the  continental  divide;  but  it  would  be 
betterto  comprehend  the  whole  under  the  name  of  the  San  Bernardino  range.  Southward  of  this  range  lies  the  valley 
or  plain  of  southern  California,  most  of  which  is  within  the  county  of  Los  Angeles,  with  an  outlier  in  the  southwestern 
corner  of  San  Bernardino,  and  is  partly  screened  from  the  direct  impact  of  the  coast  winds  by  a  low  coast  range, 
the  Santa  Ana  mountains,  which  is,  however,  traversed  by  the  country  drainage  from  the  higher  ranges.  Toward 
San  Diego  county  this  coast  range  divides  into  a  broad  belt,  dotted  with  smaller  ranges  and  interspersed  with 
valleys  aud  table-lands,  about  30  miles  wide  from  the  coast  inland  to  the  Mexican  boundary. 

7 
665 


8  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

Northward  of  the  San  Bernardino  range  lie  the  great  Mojavc  and  Colorado  deserts,  mostly  high  barren  plateau 
lands,  intersected  by  short  abrupt  mountain  ranges,  devoid  of  streams,  and  largely  composed  of  sandy  and  "  alkali  " 
soils  incapable  of  reclamation.  To  the  northwest  from  the  desert  region  numerous  short  water-courses  descend 
from  the  steep  eastward  slope  of  the  Siena  ;  but,  although  they  create  some  fertile  valleys  adapted  to  agriculture, 
their  volume  is  very  small  compared  to  the  drainage  of  the  western  slope. 

Geology. — Broadly  speaking,  the  coast  ranges  of  California  consist  of  Tertiary  and  Cretaceous  strata  (mostly 
sandstones  and  calcareous  clay  shales),  almost  everywhere  greatly  disturbed,  folded,  and  frequently  highly 
metamorphosed,  and  traversed  by  dikes  of  eruptive  and  upheaval-axes  of  rocks.  In  the  portion  north  of  San 
Francisco  these  are  frequently  covered  by  tufaceous  and  scoriaceous  or  crystalline  lava  flows,  emanating  from 
distinct  volcanic  vents  now  extinct. 

In  contrast  to  the  Coast  range,  the  Sierra  Nevada  has  in  general  a  central  axis  of  granitic  or  other  rocks 
(occasionally  traversed  by  volcanic  vents),  on  the  flanks  of  which  lie  more  or  less  crystalline  and  metaniorphic 
slates  or  schists  of  Palaeozoic,  Triassic,  and  Jurassic  age  with  edges  upturned  at  a  high  angle  or  sometimes  vertical. 
Abutting  against  this,  the  proverbial  "  bed-rock"  of  the  California  miners,  there  lie  on  the  eastern  border  of  the  great 
valley  strata  of  marine  deposits,  mostly  of  the  Tertiary,  but  northward  of  Folsom,  Sacramento  county,  also  of  the 
Cretaceous  age,  which  are  but  slightly  disturbed,  and  into  which  the  rivers  flowing  from  the  canons  of  the  Sierra 
have  cut  their  immediate  valleys,  flanked  by  bluffs  from  4(1  to  TO  feet  high,  from  Tuolumne  county  northward, 
on  the  lower  foothills,  appear  immense  gravel  beds,  mostly  gold-bearing,  and  these  are  partly  overlaid  by  eruptive 
or  volcanic  outflows  and  tufaceous  rocks,  also  accounted  as  belonging  to  the  Tertiary  age.  In  the  northern  portion 
of  the  Sierra  region  the  eruptive  rocks  become  more  and  more  prominent,  covering  an  enormous  area  (''the.  lava- 
bed")  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  state,  and,  as  in  the  Cascade  range,  in  Oregon,  forming  the  body  of  the 
comparatively  low  range  upon  which  the  volcanic  cone  of  mount  Shasta  is  superimposed. 

Apart  from  the  Cretaceous  and  Tertiary  beds  on  the  borders  of  the  great  valley,  there,  are  within  the  valley  terraces 
and  bench-marks  showing  the  existence  in  Quaternary  times  of  a  great  fresh-water  lake,  which  was  subsequently 
drained  by  the.  erosion  or  breaking,  first,  of  the  strait  of  Carquines,  and  ultimately  of  that  of  the.  Golden  Gate.  Prior 
to  the  latter  event  the  drainage  of  the  great  valley  passed  through  the  Santa  Clara  and  Pajaro  valleys  into  the 
bay  of  Monterey.  Borings  in  the  interior  valley  disclose  materials  varying  from  fine  silts  to  sands  and  gravels, 
evidently  deposited  in  the  ancient  lake.  The  latest  surface  deposits  are,  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  mostly  sandy, 
in  the  Sacramento  valley  more  commonly  clayey  ("  adobe"),  corresponding  to  the  composition  of  the  coast  ranges 
themselves,  which  in  their  interior  southern  portion  show  sandy  materials  more  prevalently,  while  in  the  middle 
division  clay  shales  are  predominant,  and  form  correspondingly  heavy  soils. 

Since  the  agricultural  features  of  California  depend  much  more  upon  the  topography  than  upon  any  details  of 
geological  structure  a  more  extended  discussion  of  the  latter  would  be  out  of  place  here.  So  far  as  relevant  to 
the  objects  of  this  report  they  will  be  referred  to  in  the  regional  and  county  descriptions. 

Winds. — The  prevalent  winds  on  the  California  coast  are  from  the  west,  the  influence  of  the  Pacific  ocean 
thus  producing  a  climate  in  which  the  extremes  of  both  heat  and  cold  belonging  to  the  several  latitudes  are 
tempered,  so  that  on  San  Francisco  bay  and  southward  to  Monterey  the  difference  between  the  average  temperatures 
of  summer  and  winter  is  only  from  (i  to  10  degrees.  This  equalizing  effect  is  partly  cut  off  from  the  interior  valley 
by  the  Coast  range,  which  also  intercepts  a  portion  of  the  moisture  carried  by  these  winds;  the  remainder  is 
condensed  mainly  on  the  western  slope  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  thus  producing  the  arid  continental  climate  of  the 
interior  plateau  of  Nevada.  In  the  great  interior  valley  the  general  direction  of  these  winds  is  changed  to  "  up 
valley".  that  is,  to  a  little  west  of  south  in  the  Sacramento  valley  and  slightly  west  of  north  in  that  of  the  Sail 
Joaquin,  a  heavy  westerly  breeze  blowing  in,  as  a  rule,  through  the  joint  outlet  of  both  valleys,  the  straits  of 
Carquines. 

North  of  cape  Mendocino  the  direction  of  the  prevailing  currents  is  more  from  north  of  west,  but  south  of  the  cape 
the  direction  is  due  west  or  slightly  south  of  west,  forming  the  ''summer  trade  winds  ",  which  set  in  regularly  some 
time  in  May  and  continue,  with  but  an  occasional  interruption  by  a  "norther",  until  October,  laden  with  moisture  from 
the  warm,  high  seas.  In  summer  these  winds  strike  the  cold  Alaskan  ocean  current,  which  comes  to  the  surface  and 
sets  iu-shoro  off  central  California,  producing  dense  fogs,  which  during  the  summer  months  frequently  cover  the  coast 
country  for  twenty  out  of  twenty-four  hours  for  weeks  together.  Beyond  a  slight  drizzle,  however,  no  water  falls  ; 
and  as  the  fog  banks  drift  against  and  up  the  slopes  of  the  Coast  range  they  dissolve  quickly  before  the  intense 
heat  and  dryness  of  the  summer  atmosphere  in  the  great  valley  beyond.  The  moisture  absorbed  by  the  soil  of  the 
coast  belt  from  these  fogs  goes  far,  however,  toward  maintaining  the  growth  of  the  hardier  herbaceous  as  well 
as  of  woody  plants,  no  less  than  that  of  weeds,  during  the  season  of  drought. 

From  May  to  October,  both  inclusive,  south  winds  are  very  rare,  but  during  the  winter  months  they  prevail 
largely,  and  bring  the  rains  upon  which  the  success  or  the  failure  of  crops  depend.  The  winter  rain-storms  are  Usually 
heralded  by  heavy  weather  in  Oregon  or  in  the  Shasta  region,  whence  the  rain  wind  works  backward,  so  to  speak, 
until  it  exhausts  itself  in  the  southern  part  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  where  the  San  Fernando  range  seems  to  form  a 
partial  weather  divide,  leaving  the  Los  Angeles  region  more  or  less  independent  of  the  changes  to  the  northward. 
Sometimes  the  rain-storm  works  chiefly  down  the  coast,  leaving  the  great  valley  almost  dry,  iu  which  case  Los 

60S 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHTCAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


9 


Angeles  and  San  Diego  usually  get  a  fair  proportion  of  its  benefit.  Sometimes  prolonged  and  severe  storms  cover  the. 
entire  state  and  extend  far  into  British  Columbia  and  Arizona.  As  thunder  and  lightning  rarely  form  a  part  of 
the  atmospheric  disturbance,  the  rain  usually  falls  gently  and  continuously,  rather  than  in  torrents,  and  thus  chiefly 
soaks  into  the  ground.  Sometimes  a  fierce  south  wind  drives  it  for  a  clay  or  two,  and  then  generally  there  comes  a 
change;  the  wind  gradually  veers  to  the  westward,  then  more  rapidly  to  northwest  and  north,  and  with  a  heavy 
shower  the  sky  clears  suddenly  and  a  "  norther"  sets  in  ;  though  not  ordinarily  bringing  a  very  low  thermometer, 
it  often  feels  bitingly  and  penetratingly  cold,  because  of  its  velocity  and  dryness,  which  cause  rapid  evaporation. 
Before  the  li  norther"  the  surface  moisture  quickly  disappears,  muddy  roads  become  as  rough  as  if  frozen,  and 
compact  ground  cracks  after  a  few  days.  Any  long  prevalence  of  this  wind  is  looked  upon  with  dread  at  all  seasons, 
on  accouut  of  the  waste  of  moisture  which  it  involves  even  when  cold.  In  autumn  and  in  spring,  when  its  temperature 
is  higher,  the  young  grain  often  withers  before  it,  and  from  May  to  September  (when  it  is  fortunately  of  rare 
occurrence)  it  sometimes  becomes  a  veritable  simoon,  like  the  breath  of  a  hot  furnace,  shriveling  up  the  grain  when 
in  milk  and  sometimes  almost  curing  the  standing  crops  into  hay.  To  the  seaward  of  the  Coast  range  the  "  norther  " 
is  rarely  of  long  duration,  three  days  being  its  ordinary  limit;  but  in  the  great  valley,  and  especially  in  the  valley 
of  the  San  Joaquin,  it  is  both  more  frequent  and  persistent,  occasionally  blighting  in  a  week  all  the  hopes  of  the 
grain-grower  not  able  to  resort  to  irrigation,  and  even  drying  the  fruit  on  the  trees.  East  winds  are  only  of  brief 
and  local  occurrence,  being  ordinarily  cut  off  by  the  mountain  ranges  in  their  north  and  south  course.  They  are 
usually  the  precursors  of  a  "southwester",  with  rain. 

Outside  of  the  mountains  the  velocity  of  the  wind  rarely  becomes  so  great  as  to  endanger  any  well-constructed 
windmills,  which  are  therefore  very  generally  in  use  as  a  motive  power,  especially  for  pumping  water.  In  the 
absence  of  electrical  disturbance  hurricanes  and  "tornadoes"  are  scarcely  known,  Save  in  the  high  Sierras,  where 
local  summer  thunder-storms,  sometimes  accompanied  by  cloud-bursts,  may  lie  observed  among  the  high  peaks, 
in  curious  contrast  to  the  unclouded  brightness  of  tue  sky  overhanging  the  valley. 

Temperature. — The  prominent  characteristic  of  the  California  coast  in  respect  to  temperature  is  its 
remarkable  temperateness  as  compared  with  points  similarly  located  on  the  Atlantic  coast.  Taking  stations  at  or 
near  the  extreme  and  middle  points  of  corresponding  latitude  on  both  coasts,  the  comparison  stands  thus: 


CALIFORNIA  COAST. 

ATLANTIC   COAST. 

Stations. 

Summer. 

Winter. 

Tear. 

Stations. 

Summer. 

Winter. 

Tear. 

Degree*. 

Degrees, 
47.2 
50.1 
54.1 

Degrees. 
53.9 
55.2 
62.  1 

Degrees. 
I               68.7 

Degrees. 
28.1 
35.8 
46.  6 

Degrees. 

58.0 
G9.7 

5G.  0 

San  Diego 

Ediato,  South  Carolina 

81.0 

64.3 

It  will  be  noted  that  while  the  annual  averages  of  corresponding  points  on  the  two  coasts  are  not  very  widely 
different,  the  temperatures  of  summer  and  those  of  winter  are  very  much  farther  apart  on  the  eastern  coast  than 
-on  the  western,  and  quite  as  strikingly  so  in  the  northern  as  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  respective  regions.  This 
exemption  from  extremes  of  temperature  constitutes  one  of  the  great  attractions  of  the  Pacific  coast. 

In  the  interior,  notably  in  the  great  valley,  the  seasons  show  greater  extremes  of  temperature,  but  the  greater 
Tange  of  the  thermometer  is  largely  offset  by  tie  fact  that  the  dryness  of  the  atmosphere  renders  the  changes 
much  less  sensible  than  is  the  case  in  the  moister  air  of  the  coast.  It  is  thus  at  San  Francisco,  which  piesents 
the  extreme  of  the  coast  climate  on  account  of  its  peninsular  position  and  the  access  of  the  sea  air  through  the  Golden 
Gate,  those  familiar  with  the  climate  making  a  careful  distinction  between  the  sunny  and  the  shady  side  of  the 
streets  in  walking,  and  bay  windows,  of  necessity,  take  the  place  of  porticoes  or  porches,  which  would  rarely  be 
available  save  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  while  in  tbe  interior  porticoes  are  universal,  and  camping  out  under  a  tree 
all  night  may  be  indulged  iu  with  impunity  by  any  one  during  the  dry  season. 

The  table  on  page  10  shows  more  in  detail  the  difference  between  the  coast  climates  on  the  one  hand  and  those 
of  the  interior  on  the  other,  it  being  understood  that  in  the  measure  in  which  the  valleys  are  screened  from  the 
immediate  access  of  the  sea  air  and  summer  fogs  their  climate  approaches  in  character  that  of  the  great  valley. 

667 


10 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 


WESTERN  OR  COAST  DIVISION. 


Coonty. 


COABT  F-EGION.   NORTH. 

Camp  Lincoln" 

Fort  Humboldt* 

Camp  Wright* 


Del  Norte... 
Humboldt  .. 
Mendocino.. 


Napa  . 

San  Francisco* 

Oakland 

Martinez 

San  Jos6 

Santa  Cruz  — 


COAST   REGION,    MIDDLE. 


Monterey*  . 
Salinas 

Soledad  (interior). 
Santa  Barbara  t  . . . 
Los  Angeles 


COAST   REGION,    SOUTH. 


.    Napa 

.    San  Francisco. 

.    Alameda 

.  ContraCosta... 
.  i  Santa  Clara  — 
.    Santa  Croz 


Monterey 

do 

do 

Santa  Barbara  . 

Los  Anseles  ... 


INTERIOR   VALLEY. 

Riverside  (R.  de  Jurupa)* 

Colton • 

San  Diego* 


San  Bernardino . 

do 

San  Diego 


Eleva- 
tion. 


Years  of 
obser- 
vation. 


Feet. 

50 


965 
64 


16 
6 

S 
11 
5 
4 

4 

12 
6 
6 
7 
7 

U 
4 
20 


GENERAL  AVERAGE. 


Degrees. 
59.5 
58.2 
74.7 

70.3 
58.0 
07.8 
70.1 
00.  7 
62.9 

59.  7 
60.6 
80.  9 
67.9 
73.2 

74.2 
80.1 
09.7 


49.3 
50.1 
52.2 
48.9 
49.5 
50.5 

50.2 
50.8 
48.8 
64.1 
55.6 


50.9 
55.2 
57.7 
60.3 
50.8 
59.2 


Winter.  '    Tear. 


Dogrccs.  Degrees. 

47.  2  63.  9 

47.  0  52.  9 

58.8  57.8 


01.4 
64.0 


MOXTHlfr"    EXTREMES. 


03.7 
05.1 
02.1 


Summer. 

Winter. 

Max. 
imum. 

Tear. 

Mini- 
mum. 

Tear. 

Degree*. 

Degree*. 




, 

72.0 
74.  5 
70.0 
6C.8 


1879 
1878 
1879 
1881 


60.  1  1877 

77.3  !          1876 

70.0  1874-'6-'7 

83. 3  1876 


49.1 
41.9 
42.2 
46.2 


43.9 
■11.8 
50.  4 
49.0 


1880' 
1880' 
1876- 
1*80- 


1882 
1877 
1H75 
1882 


INTERIOR  AND  EASTERN  DIVISIONS. 


NORTHERX  (SIEfiRA  AXP  LAVA   HEDS. 

— » 

Siskiyou 

2,570 
4,680 

5 
5 

34.1 

GHEAT  VALLEY  (SACRAMENTO  MVISION). 

Shasta 

556 

7 

81.6 

47.3 

•;::.  4 

87.2 

1879 

42.5 

1880 

308 
07 

10 
10 

80.8 
78.7 

47.5 
49.5 

03.  7 
04.4 

88.9 
83.  9 

1875 
1871 

39.9 
44.  1 

1879 

Tuba 

I860 

30 

10 

71.8 

48.2 

60'.  8 

70.0 

1870 

43.  0 

1880 

FOOT-HILLS  OF  THE  SIERRA. 

1,360 

11 

74.1 

45.4 

58.  0 

SO.  5 

1875 

39.8 

1682 

HIGH  SIERRA. 
Cisco 

do 

5,934 

11 

60.9 

32.7 

45.  2 

73.1 

1871 

26.3 

1880 

5,  819 

11 

01.1 

27.7 

43.3 

70.3 

1871 

1874-80 

GREAT  VALLEY  (SAN  JOAQUIN  lMVlSIONi, 

San  Joaquin 

23 

10 

72.5 

48.  2 

00.8 

77.7 

1872-74 

44.0 

1870 

91 
171 

s 

9 

78.  2 
79.1 

47,8 
19.0 

63.2 
63.4 

85.3 

65.  1 

1879 

1874 

40,  1 
43.2 

16S1 

Merced 

Merced 

1876 

292 

5 

St.  1 

51.  3 

67.0 

90.0 

1678 

43.9 

1862 

2.-" 

0 

89  - 

45.  9 

04.4 

95.  2 

1874 

39.1 

1674 

415 

7 

60.2 

48.7 

07.  3 

93.0 

1875 

41.9 

1878 

They  represent  season  year*  (from 


*  From  Smithsonian  tables,  compiled  to  December,  1870.  from  many  sources,  and  represent  calendar  years. 
t  From  record  by  Dr.  L.  >T.  Diinmiek,  Santa  Barbara,  January,  1871,  to  December,  1678. 

All  other  tables  are  from  observations  of  the  Central  Pacific  railroad,  published  in  the  Pacific  Rural  Frees,  January 
July  1  to  June  301. 

As  to  the  change  in  temperature  iu  ascending"  the  Sierra -from  the  valley,  the  following  statement  is  raade  by 
Mr.  B.  E.  Redding  in  a  paper  read  before  the  California  Academy  of  Sciences  in  1S78:  (a) 

It  haa "been  found  thai  the  foot-hills  of  the  Sierra  uj>  to  the  height  of  about  2,500  feet  have  approximately  the  same  temperature  as 
places  in  the  valley  lying  in  flu-  same  latitude.  It  has  also  been  found  that  with  increased  elevation  there  is  an  increase  of  rainfall  over 
those  places  in  the  valley  having  the  same  latitude,  as,  for  instance.  Sacramento,  with  an  elevation  above  tin-  sea  of  30  feet,  has  an  annual 
mean  temperature  of  60.5C  and  an  average  rainfall  of  18,?  inches,  while  Colfax;,  with  an  elevation  of  2,421  feet,  has  an  annual  mean 
temperature  of  60.1  and  an  annual  rainfall  of  42.7  inches.  This  uniformity  of  temperature  and  increase  of  rainfall  appears  to  be  the  law 
throughout  the  whole  extent  of  the  foot-hills  of  the  Sierra,  with  this  variation  as  relates  to  temperature',  viz.  that  as  the  latitude  decreasea 
the  temperature  of  the  valley  is  continued  to  a  greater  elevation.  'To  illustrate,  approximately,  if  the  temperature  of  Redding,  at  the 
northern  end  of  the  valley,  is  continued  to  the  height  of '2,000  feet,  then  the  temperature  of  Sacramento,  in  the  center  of  the  valley,  would 
he  continued  up  to  2,500  feet,  aud  that  of  Sumuer,  at  the  extreme  southern  end  of  the  valley,  to  3,000  feet. 

It  is  curious  to  note  that,  as  appears  from  Mr.  Redding's  stateineut,  the  lowest  temperatures  thus  far 
observed  at  the  two  opposite  ends  of  the  valley,  Redding  and  Sumner,  are  the  same,  viz,  21°. 


a  Pacific* Rural  Press,  January  18,  1870. 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  11 

It  will  be  noted  that  in  the  southern  region  the  difference  between  the  summer  means  or  between  winter  means, 
as  well  as  between  the  annual  means,  is  quite  small  when  Santa  Barbara  and  San  Diego,  both  lying  immediately  on 
the  coast,  are  compared.  At  Los  Angeles,  20  miles  inland,  all  these  means  are  notably  higher ;  still  farther  inland, 
and  with  increasing  elevation,  the  summer  mean  rises,  while  the  winter  mean  falls  at  Kiverside,  as  well  as  more 
strikingly  at  Ooltou  although  at  the  latter  point  the  annual  mean  is  almost  the  same  as  at  Los  Angeles. 

To  convey  an  easily  intelligible  idea  of  some  of  the  climatic  differences  indicated  in  the  table,  it  may  be  stated 
that  while  in  the  great  valley  a  few  inches  of  snow  cover  the  ground  for  a  short  time  nearly  every  winter  as  far  south  as 
Sacramento,  and  snow  Hurries  are  occasionally  seen  even  at  the  upper  end  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  snow  has  fallen 
in  the  streets  of  San  Francisco  only  once  since  the  American  occupation  to  such  a  depth  as  to  allow  of  snowballing 
{which  during  a  few  hours  created  a  state  of  anarchy),  and  only  a  few  times  has  enough  fallen  to  whiten  the  ground 
for  a  few  minutes  or  hours.  Hence  the  heliotrope,  fuchsia,  calla  lily,  and  similar  plants  endure  year  after  year  in  the 
open  air,  while  at  a  corresponding  latitude  in  the  interior  they  require  some  winter  protection.  Lemon  and  orange 
trees  never  suffer  from  frost  on  the  bay,  but  their  fruit  also  rarely  ripens,  save  in  favored  localities.  In  the  interior 
these  trees  more  frequently  suffer  from  frost,  but  the  high  summer  temperature  matures  the  fruit  some  weeks  earlier 
than  even  in  the  southern  coast  region.  Cotton  would,  as  a  rule,  be  frost-killed  in  the  great  valley  in  November,  wh  ile 
on  the  coast  itmight  endure  through  several  mild  winters ;  but  within  reach  of  the  summer  fogs  of  the  coast  it  fails 
to  attain  a  greater  height  than  eight  or  ten  inches  the  first  season,  and  sometimes  can  scarcely  succeed  in  coming 
to  bloom  before  October.  Subtropical  trees,  which  in  the  cotton  states  grow  rapidly  and  luxuriantly,  such  as  the 
crape  myrtle,  Paulownia,  Catalpa,  Mimosa  (Julibrissin),  and  others,  either  grow  very  slowly  or  remain  mere  shrubs 
in  the  coast  climate,  while  in  the  interior  they  develop  as  in  theGulf  states.  The  vine  flourishes  near  San  Francisco, 
but  fails  to  mature  its  fruit;-  yet  it  yields  abundant  and  choice  crops  near  San  Jose,  where  the  immediate  access  of 
the  coast  fogs  is  intercepted  by  a  range  of  hills.  It  is  thus  obvious  that,  with  the  varying  topography,  the  change  in 
the  direction  of  a  valley  or  a  mountain  range,  the  occurrence  of  a  gap  or  of  a  high  peak  in  the  same  permitting  or 
intercepting  communication  with  the  coast  on  the  one  hand  or  with  the  interior  on  the  other,  there  exist  innumerable 
local  climates,  "thermal  belts,"  sheltered  nooks,  and  exposed  locations,  each  of  which  has  its  peculiar  adaptations 
apart  from  soil,  and  the  recognition  and  utilization  of  these  adaptations  require  knowledge  and  good  judgment 
and  count  heavily  in  the  scale  for  or  against  success  in  agriculture  in  California. 

Rainfall. — As  regards  the  rainfall,  the  prominent  peculiarity  throughout  the  state  is  the  practically  rainless 
summer.  While  it  is  true  that  rain  has  been  known  to  fall  in  every  month  in  the  year,  the  average  amount  of 
precipitation  during  the  three  summer  months  is  less  than  one  inch  in  the  greater  portion  of  the  state,  and  less 
than  two  inches  even  in  the  most  favored  part,  viz,  the  counties  just  north  of  San  Francisco  bay.  Frequently  not  a 
drop  of  rain  falls  in  the  interior  valley  and  the  southern  region  from  the  middle  of  May  to  November,  and  as  the 
agricultural  system  of  California  is  based  upon  the  expectation  of  this  dry  weather  summer  rains  are  not  even 
desired  by  the  farmers  at  large.  Northward,  in  the  mountainous  and  plateau  regions  adjoining  Oregon,  the  season 
of  drought  becomes  shorter,  as  is  also  the  case  in  the  high  Sierras,  and  thus  there  is  a  gradual  transition  toward 
the  familiar  regime  of  summer  rains  and  occasional  thunder-storms  which  prevails  in  Oregon  and  Washington 
west  of  the  Cascade  range. 

Since  the  growing  season,  in  the  case  of  uuirrigated  lands  at  least,  thus  practically  lies  between  November 
and  June,  and  each  harvest  is  essentially  governed  by  the  rains  occurring  within  these  limits,  it  is  the  universal 
and  unconscious  practice  to  count  the  rainfall  by  "  seasons  "  instead  of  by  calendar  years ;  hence  the  current  estimate 
of  local  rainfall-averages  in  California  differs  not  immaterially  from  that  of  the  usual  meteorological  tables,  in  which 
the  paramount  distinction  between  the  agriculturally  "  dry"  and  "  wet"  seasons  is  more  or  less  obliterated.  The 
data  hereinafter  given  are  therefore,  as  a  rule,  "seasonal"  and  not  "annual'',  and  are  largely  those  of  the 
observations  condncted  along  its  lines  by  the  Central  and  Southern  Pacific  railroad. 

The  mean  annual  rainfall  of  the  greater  (middle  and  southern)  part  of  the  state  is  less  than  20  inches,  the 
northern  limit  of  that  region  lying  between  Sacramento  and  Marysville,  in  the  great  valley;  while  on  the  Sierras 
the  region  of  rainfall  between  20  and  20  inches  extends  as  far  south  as  the  heads  of  King's  and  Kern  rivers, 
furnishing  the  waters  upon  which  depends  the  irrigation  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley  ;  thence  southward  the  rain-gauge 
rapidly  descends  to  S  and  4  inches  and  less  in  the  Kern  valley,  the  Mojave  desert,  and  the  basin  of  Nevada. 

A  rapid  decrease  of  rainfall  is  observed  in  the  great  interior  valley.  From  42  inches  at  Bedding,  at  the  northern 
end  of  the  valley,  and  24  inches  at  Bed  Bluff,  24  miles  to  the  southward,  the  annual  mean  falls  to  about  19  inches 
at  Sacramento  and  to  10  at  Stockton.  Thence  southward  the  rainfall  descends  to  a  mean  of  only  10  inches  at 
Merced,  7  at  Fresno,  and  4  at  Bakersfield,  near  the  southern  end  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  separated  only  by  the 
Tehachapi  mountains  from  the  western  margin  of  the  Mojave  desert,  in  which  the  rainfall  is  still  less. 

Along  the  coast  proper  cape  Mendocino  bears  the  reputation  of  a  kind  of  weather  divide.  Mariners  expect  a 
change  of  weather  whenever  they  round  this  cape,  and  on  land  it  marks  the  region  where  the  character  of  vegetation 
begins  to  change  rapidly  from  that  of  southern  or  middle  California  toward  that  of  Oregon.  At  and  immediately 
north  of  the  cape  the  rainfall  reaches  an  annual  mean  of  40  inches.  A  short  distance  southward,  at  point  Arenas, 
the  annual  fall  is  20  inches  ;  and  from  23  to  21  inches  in  the  region  of  San  Francisco,  it  falls  to  10  inches  at  Monterey 
and  Santa  Barbara,  12  at  Los  Angeles,  and  9  at  San  Diego.  0(.„ 


12 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 


Northward  of  cape  Mendocino  the  rainfall  increases  rapidly,  rising  to  over  7(1  inches  in  the  northwestern  corner 
of  the  state.  Inland  from  the  coast  the  increase  is  less  rapid,  but  the  rainfall  rises  at  points  in  the  Shasta  region 
to  as  much  as  108  inches  in  some  years.  Southward  the  region  of  rainfall  exceeding  I'll  inches  extends  in  the  Coast 
range  slightly  farther  south  than  in  the  great  valley,  so  as  to  include  all  but  the  mosi  southerly  portions  of  the 
counties  of  Sonoma,  Napa,  and  Marin.  Southward  of  San  Francisco  again  a  region  of  more  abundant  rainfall 
includes  the  western  Santa  Clara  valley,  Santa  Cruz  mountains,  Monterey  bay,  and  the  lower  Salinas  valley,  where 
from  13  to  10  inches  fall  annually. 

Ascending  the  Sierra  from  the  great  valley  there  is  a  rapid  increase  of  rainfall,  which,  from  data  furnished  by 
the  records  of  the  railroad,  may  be  estimated  at  1  inch  for  every  100  to  150  feet  of  ascent. 

The  following  tables  show  more  in  detail  the  rainfall  averages  for  representative  points,  the  data  being  derived 
mainly  from  the  observation  made  under  the  auspices  of  the  Central  and  Southern  Pacific  railroad,  and  given  for 
"seasons"  reaching  from  July  to  June,  inclusive.  The  data  derived  from  the  Smithsonian  tables  are  marked  by 
an  asterisk,  and  refer  to  ordinary  annual  instead  of  seasonal  means: 


WESTERN  OK  COAST  DIVISION. 


COAST  RANGE,  NOBTII. 

Camp  Lincoln* i  Del  Norte 

Fort  Humboldt" nuniboldt 

Camp  Wright* '  Mendocino 

COAST   ItAKGK,  MIDDLE. 

NTapa Napa 

San  Francisco*  j  San  Francisco  . 

Oakland !  Alameda 

Martinoz  Contra  Costa  .. 

San  Juso a Santa  Clara 

Santa  Cruz '  Santa  Cruz 


COAST  RANGE,  SOUTH. 

Monterey" Monterey 

Salinas - do 

Soledad  I  interior) do 

Santa  Barbara t ,  Santa  Barbara  .  - 

Los  Angeles !  Los  Angeles 

INTERIOR  VALLEY. 

Riverside  (R.  de  Jurupat* San  Bernardino 

Col  ton I do 

San  Diego* San  Diego 


Eleva- 
tion. 


Years 
of  obser-    Average, 
vation. 


Inched. 
73.4 

35.0 
•3.1) 

20.0 
■a).  7 
20.0 
16.1 
11.4 
20.4 

15.7 
12.8 
7.0 
10.2 
12.0 


0 
20 


Maxi- 
mum. 


34.7 
32.1 
29.3 
10.7 
10.3 
30.2 


23.7 
15.3 
31.5 
21 .0 


13.0     

8.2    I  14.5 


1877-78 
1877-78 
1877-78 
1880-81 
1877-78 
1877-78 


1877-78 
1875-70 
1877-78 
1875-70 


8.8 
0.0 


1881-82 
1870-77 
1F81-'B2 
1881-82 
1870-77 
1878-79 


1670-7 
1876-7 
1K70-7 
1670-7 


INTERIOR  AND  EASTERN  DIVISION. 


NORTHERN  SIERRA  AND  LAVA  11EDS. 

2,  570 
4.  680 

550 
308 
07 
30 

1,300 

5,934 
5,819 

23 
91 
171 
292 
282 
415 

5 
5 

7 
10 
11 

32 

11 

11 
11 

32 
11 
,0 
5 

8 

7 

21.7 
20.2 

42.1 
24.0 

17.8 
16.7 

34.0 

00.8 
34.1 

15.8 
9.0 
9.7 
7.0 
0.2 
4.2 

GREAT  VALLEY  (SACRAiiENTO  DIVISION). 

60.0 

52.7 

,          26.9 

25.5 

44.3 

82.7 
44.0 

20.0 
13.4 

12.7 
8.9 

10.0 
8.0 

1877-76 
1877-78 
1873-74 
1875-70 

1875-70 

i8eo-'ei 

1871-72 

1871-72 
1875-70 
1875-70 
1877-78 
18e0-'81 
1877-78 

25.4 
13.0 
12.2 

0.2 

18.9 

34.1 
18.0 

4.3 
3.2 
4.9 
3.1 
1.3 

1870-77 

FOOT-HILLS  OF  THE  SIERRA. 

HIGH  SIERRA. 

do 

1876-77 

1870-77 

GREAT  VALLEY  (BAN  JOAQUIN  DIY16I0K), 

1676-77 

1876-77 

1670-77 

Fresno 

Fresno 

Tularo 

Kern 

1878-79 
1676-70 

1678-79 

*  From  Smithsonian  tables,  compiled  to  December,  1870,  from  many  sources,  and  represent  caJciidar  years, 
t  From  the  records  of  Shaw,  Bowers,  and  Tebbetts.  Santa  Barbara,  from  1867  to  1868. 

All  other  tables  are  from  observations  of  the  Central  Pacific  railroad   published  in  the  Pacific  Rural  Press.  January,  16*3.     They  represent  season  ye:«i- 
(f.-oni  July  1  to  June  3D). 


PHYSICO-GEOGEAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  13 

Were  the  rainfalls  of  20  inches  and  less  distributed  over  the  whole  or  even  the  greater  part  of  an  ordinary 
season  of  the  temperate  zone,  it  would  be  altogether  inadequate  for  the  growing  of  cereal  or  other  usual  crops  of 
that  zone ;  but  since  in  California  nearly  the  whole  of  it  usually  falls  within  six  months  (Xovember  and  April 
inclusive),  and  by  far  the  greater  part  within  the  three  winter  months,  during  which  a  "  growing  temperature"  for 
all  the  hardier  crops  commonly  prevails,  it  becomes  perfectly  feasible  to  mature  grain  and  other  field  crops  before  the 
setting  in  of  the  rainless  summer,  provided  only  that  the  aggregate  of  moisture  has  been  adequate  and  its 
distribution  reasonably  favorable.  The  grain  sown  into  the  dust  of  a  summer-fallowed  field  begins  to  sprout  with 
the  first  rain,  and  thenceforward  grows  more  or  less  slowly,  but  continuously,  through  the  winter  ;  it  is  ready  to  head 
at  the  first  setting  in  of  warm  weather,  from  the  end  of  March  to  May,  according  to  latitude,  and  becomes  ready 
for  the  reaper  from  the  end  of  May  to  the  end  of  June.  Once  harvested,  the  grain  may  bo  left  in  the  field  for  several 
months,  thrashed  or  unthrashed,  without  fear  of  rain  or  thunder-storms.  As  a  matter  of  course,  the  grain-grower 
may  also,  at  his  option,  sow  his  grain  at  any  time  after  the  beginning  of  the  rains,  and  good  crops  are  sometimes 
obtained  from  sowings  made  late  in  February.  Usually,  however,  the  late-sown  grain  is  cut  for  hay  when  in  the 
milk,  in  April  and  May,  for  since  meadows  cau  form  no  part  of  the  agricultural  system,  except  where  irrigation  is 
feasible,  the  bay  grasses  commonly  grown  in  the  eastern  states  are  available  only  to  a  limited  extent,  and  wheat, 
barley,  and  oats  take  their  place.  Again,  there  is  no  strict  distinction  or  limit  between  fall  and  spring  grain,  since 
the  sowing  season  extends  from  October  to  February.  Thus  the  winter  months  are  a  very  busy  season  for  the 
farmer  in  California,  as  he  has  to  watch  his  opportunity  for  putting  in  his  crop  between  rains.  The  time  between 
laying- by  and  harvest  is  nearly  filled  up  by  gardening  and  haying  operations.  The  latter  are  occasionally  interrupted 
by  one  or  two  light  showers,  rarely  enough  to  injure  the  quality  of  the  hay.  Protracted  rainy  spells  or  thunder- 
storms, calling  for  hasty  gathering  of  the  cut  grain  into  shocks,  are  unknown  in  harvest  time,  as  are  also  sprouted  or 
spoiled  grain,  except  when  the  sacked  grain  is  left  out  in  the  fields  so  late  as  to  catch  the  first  autumn  rains.  It  will 
thus  be  seen  that  midsummer  finds  the  California  grain-grower  comparatively  at  leisure. 

But  while  the  culture  of  hardy  plants  of  rapid  development  was  the  first  and  most  obvious  expedient  resorted 
to  by  the  American  settlers  in  order  to  utilize  the  fertile  soils  of  the  region  of  rainless  summers,  that  of  selecting 
culture  plants  adapted  to  arid  climates  was  the  one  naturally  suggesting  itself  to  the  missionary  padres,  who 
brought  with  them  from  the  Mediterranean  region  of  Europe  the  vine,  the  fig,  the  olive,  the  citrus  fruits,  as  well 
as  from  the  adjacent  portions  of  Mexico  the  culture  of  cotton,  to  which,  however,  but  little  attention  was  given 
by  them,  the  growing  of  wool  being  better  adapted  to  the  temper  of  their  native  laborers.  And  as  they  relied 
largely  on  irrigation  for  the  success  of  their  annual  crops,  it  was  only  in  very  extreme  cases  that  a  deficient  rainfall 
so  affected  their  interests  as  to  give  the  facta  place  in  their  records. 

Variation  and  periodicity  of  rainfall. — While  the  means  of  rainfall  given  above  will  not  vary  widely  when  any 
large  numbers  of  years  are  taken  together,  the  variations  from  one  year  to  another  are  often  sufficiently  great  to 
tempt  many  to  invest  heavily  in  putting  in  crops  on  the  chances  of  a  favorable  season,  which  would  bring  a  fortune 
at  one  venture,  but  sometimes  results  in  a  total  loss,  and  consequent  ruin  to  the  investor.  Such  cases  of  agricultural 
gambling  were  at  one  time  not  uncommon  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley  especially,  the  turning  point  of  profit  or  loss 
being  a  single  light  shower  at  the  critical  time  or  the  occurrence  of  a  norther  for  a  day  or  two.  Much  ingenuity 
has  been  spent  in  trying  to  forecast  the  weather  for  the  season  in  time  to  determine  the  chances  of  success ;  but  it  will 
generally  be  found  that  the  oldest  citizen,  if  he  is  candid,  will  be  far  more  reserved  in  his  opinions  than  later 
comers.  However  steady  and  reliable  the  summer  climate  may  be,  that  of  a  California  winter  is  most  difficult  to 
forecast  from  day  to  day  and  from  week  to  week  ;  and,  while  there  are  certain  rides  that  are  ordinarily  counted 
upon,  the  cases  where  "all  signs  fail"  are  very  frequent  and  surprises  are  abundant.  A  discussion  of  the 
observations  made  from  1S49  to  1S77,  by  Dr.  G.  F.  Becker,  late  of  the  University  of  California,  and  now  of  the 
United  States  geological  survey,  seems  to  indicate  as  probable  a  cycle  of  thirteen  years  between  extreme  minima 
or  drought  years,  and  some  data  I  have  since  obtained  from  the  records  of  the  missions  seem  to  confirm  still  further 
this  conclusion.  The  first  minimum  within  the  time  of  the  American  occupation  of  California  occurred  in  the 
season  of  1850-'51,  when  the  rainfall  at  San  Francisco  (where  the  mean  is  23J  inches)  was  only  7.4,  while  it  had 
amounted  to  33.1  the  year  before  ;  the  second  minimum  occurred  in  1803-'64,  when  the  rainfall  at  San  Francisco  was 
10.1  inches;  and  the  third  was  the  season  of  lS7G-'77,  with  10  inches.  The  next  succeeding  season  of  minimum 
would  be  that  of  1889-'90. 

671 


14 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 


The  following  table,  given  by  Dr.  Becker,  exhibitsthese  facts,  as  also  the  probabilities  deduced  for  the  intervening 
years,  fioui  a  discussion  of  the  nature  of  the  curves  representing  the  observations:  {a) 

Observations,  periodicity,  and  probabilities  of  rainfall.  San  Francisco. 

[Teum-nt  s  £iui£o.] 


1850-' 
1801- 
1852- 
1853-' 
1854- 
1855-' 
185G-' 
1857-' 
1858-' 
1859-' 
1800- ' 
1801-' 
1S02-' 


Rainfall.        Seusona.        Rainfall. 


Inches. 
7.40 
18.  -1-1 
35.20 
28.  67 
23.  OS 
21.00 
10.  si 
21.  88 

10.72 
49.  27 
13.  02 

308.  15 
33.10 


1803-'0< 
1864-'05 
1805-'CC 
18(IO-'07 
1807-'08 
1S08-'C9 
1809-70 
1S70-'71 
1S71-  7'_ 
1872-73 
1873-74 
1874-75 


1S7. 


70 


Inches. 

10.08 
24.  73 
22.  93 
34.  92 
38.84 
21.85 
10.31 

14.  HI 
.11.71 

15.  02 
2::.  :'.- 
18.40 
20.  01 

307.  88 
10.  00 


Positionio    I'"'1'"!'"' 

tlCS  lill' 


period. 


tin-  years. 


1 
II 
III 

IV 


Inchet. 

11.50 
20.  5G 

27.  40 
30.  5ii 

28.  30 
23.30 


VII 

19.30 

vni 

10.00 

IX 

2.'..  00 

X 

28.  20 

XI 

28.  50 

XII 

2-.  50 

XUI 

19.  00 



.  Similar  tables  for  Sacramento  and  Stockton  exhibit  the  same  general  features. 

From  information  kindly  furnished  me  by  II.  H.  Bancroft,  esq.,  of  San  Francisco,  it  appears  in  the  records  of  the  early  rxplyrersof 
California  that  the  year  1805  is  known  as  "  El  ano  del  hamhre"  (the  year  of  the  famine),  the  drought  having  been  extraordinarily  sevoro, 
and  nearly  the  same  account  is  given  of  the  year  1817.  II  will  he  observed  that  these  dates  indicate  a  period  of  twelve  years  between 
themselves,  and  that  the  interval  from  the  last-mentioned  date  to  1877  (for  whose  drought  years  as  yet  no  data  have  been  found)  is  also 
divisible  by  the  same  number.  It  is  quite  intelligible  that  as  tin'  result  of  several  concurrent  and  variable  causes  the  period  may  vary 
between  such  limits  as  twelve  and  thirteen. 

Should  further  observations  confirm  the  existence  of  this  definite  periodicity,  the  forecast,  even  to  this  extent, 
would  lie  of  immense  service  to  agriculture  in  California,  since  the  nature  of  the  crops,  as  well  as  their  treatment, 
could,  in  a  measure,  be  adapted  to  the  circumstances  of  these  "lean  years".  Still,  the  portion  of  the  valley  lying 
south  of  Stockton  will  always  be  a  region  of  predominant  irrigation,  while  in  the  northern  .portion  a  proper  and 
intelligent  co-adaptation  of  crops  and  soils  can  render  agriculture  more  or  less  independent  of  that  necessity.  As 
the  matter  now  stands,  it  is  estimated  that  in  the  southern  portion  of  San  Joaquin  county  one  good  crop  out  of  three 
may  be  made  without  irrigation,  while  smith  of  Merced  one  in  five  is  about  all  that  can  be  counted  on  in  the 
undulating  uplands  bordering  the  foot-hills.  Other  things  being  equal,  much  of  course  depends  upon  the  nature 
and  deptli  of  soil,  the  perfection  and  depth  of  tillage,  and  the  practice  of  after-cultivation  as  against  broadcasting. 
To  guard  against  the  effects  of  northers,  and  to  prevent  all  avoidable  evaporation  of  the  precious  moistnre,  it  is 
the  universal  practice  to  roll  the  grain-fields  as  late  as  it  can  be  done  without  injury  to  the  growing  grain.  On 
sandy  soils  this  can  hardly  be  overdone;  but  on  clay  soils,  should  they  be  too  wet  when  rolled,  the  effect  will  be 
the  exact  reverse  of  what  is  desired,  and  great  injury  often  results. 

It  is  the  general  estimate  that  whenever  the  rains  have  been  adequate  to  make  the  moistnre  from  above  meet 
that  rising  from  below  a  crop  may  be  secured  if  the  season  be  reasonably  favorable;  and  since,  other  things  being 
equal,  the  depth  at  which  moisture  is  found  at  the  end  of  the  dry  season  will  depend  upon  the  amount  of  rainfall 
during  the  previous  season,  it  makes  a  material  difference  whether  a  droughty  season  has  been  preceded  by  a  wet 
one  (as  was  the  case  in  1850-51),  or  whether  a.  scant  rainfall  preceded  a  deficient  one.  In  the  middle  portion  of  the 
valley  the  summer's  drought  will  reach  on  untilled  soils  to  the  depth  of  from  3  to  5  feet,  according  to  the  nature  of 
the  soil,  and  this  mass  has  to  bo  remoistened  fully  to  that  depth  to  give  promise  of  success  for  field  crops.  When 
on  the  contrary,  the  surface  has  been  kept  in  a  state  of  good  tilth  during  the  summer  ("summer  fallowed"),  the 
moisture  will  be  found  at  a  much  less  depth,  the  remoistening  by  the  fall  rains  will  be  proportionally  more  rapid, 
and  the  chances  for  a  crop  will  be  materially  increased  from  that  cause  alone. 

In  the  extreme  south  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley  the  annual  rainfall  rarely  moistens  the  soil  to  a  greater  depth 
l  ban  2  or  3  feet,  and  in  digging  or  boring  wells  in  districts  not  irrigated  the  materials  are  found  dry  as  dust  to  the 
depth  of  40  feet  and  even  more.  At  the  first  beginning  of  irrigation  this  entire  mass  has  to  be  moistened  before 
moisture  will  permanently  remain  within  reach  of  the  tap-roots  of  plants,  and  a  very  large  amount  of  water  is 
therefore  at  first  required  ;  but  gradually  the  ground  fills  up,  the  water-table,  and  with  it  the  plane  of  sensible 
moisture,  rises  more  or  less  rapidly,  the  effect  becoming  perceptible  at  the  distance  of  many  miles  in  the  porous  soils 
of  the  plains,  and  ultimately  the  amount  of  water  annually  needed  for  irrigation  becomes  a  small  part  of  that 
needed  during  the  first  years. 


(172 


a  See  Bulletin  No.  31  of  the  University  of  California,  February,  1878. 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  15 

Irrigation  in  California. — Since  the  greater  part  of  the  state  of  California  lies  within  the  limits  of  the  "  arid" 
region  as  defined  by  Major  Powell,  (a.)  viz,  a  region  having  a  rainfall  of  20  inches  and  less,  and  within  which 
successful  agriculture  is,  as  a  rule,  dependent  upon  irrigation,  a  discussion  of  the  general  aspects  of  this  subject 
must  of  necessity  precede  any  detailed  presentation  of  the  agricultural  features  and  practice. 

As  has  been  before  noted,  the  peculiar  mode  of  distribution  of  the  rainfall  through  the  season — nearly  all  falling 
from  November  to  May,  and  during  the  prevalence  of  a  growing  temperature  for  the  hardier  field  crops,  such  as 
cereals  and  grasses — permits  the  full  maturing  of  crops  of  rapid  development  before  the  setting  in  of  the  summer 
drought,  at  least  in  the  more  northern  part  of  the  region  of  scanty  rainfall.  In  the  warmer  southern  portions,  where 
the  evaporation  is  greater,  a  larger  supply  of  water  is  necessary  to  insure  crops ;  but,  as  the  tables  show,  these 
portions  have  a  scantier  rainfall.  Hence  the  necessity  for  irrigation  becomes  rapidly  greater  as  we  advance 
southward,  and  finally  absolute,  at  least  in  the  valleys.  The  lands  lying  near  high  ranges,  and  especially  to 
the  westward,  are  agriculturally  favored  by  a  greater  precipitation,  due  to  the  condensation  of  moisture  by  such 
mountains,  but  the  immediate  coast,  as  well  as  the  foot-hills  of  the  Sierra,  is  less  dependent  upon  irrigation  than 
the  plain  of  the  great  valley. 

The  commanding  importance  of  the  subject  of  irrigation  in  the  state  of  California  has  repeatedly  secured  for 
it  legislative  attention,  but  no  general  measures  toward  ascertaining  the  resources  of  the  state  in  lands  and  waters 
adapted  to  irrigation  were  taken  prior  to  the  year  1S7S,  when  an  act  was  passed  providing  for  the  appointment  of 
a  state  engineer,  whose  duties  were  defined  to  be,  "  under  the  direction  of  the  governor,  to  investigate  the  problems 
of  the  irrigation  of  the  plains,  the  condition  and  capacity  of  the  great  drainage  lines  of  the  state,  and  the 
improvement  of  the  navigation  of  rivers."  A  succeeding  portion  of  the  act  imposes  the  duty  of  inquiring  into  and 
reporting  upon  "  the  question  of  the  flow  of  debris  from  the  hydraulic  mines  into  the  streams,  and  the  injury  to 
agricultural  lands  by  the  flow  of  debris  thereon  ". 

Between  1878  and  1S80  the  work  on  both  of  these  important  branches  of  inquiry  was  actively  prosecuted  under 
the  able  direction  of  Mr.  William  Hammond  Hall  as  state  engineer,  ami  in  January,  1880,  he  submitted  to  the 
legislature,  then  in  session,  his  first  report,  a  highly  important  document.  Most  of  the  numerical  data  hereinafter 
given  are  taken  from  this  report.  Unfortunately,  the  agitation  in  regard  to  the  mining  debris  question,  which 
has  increasingly  irritated  the  public  mind  ever  since  the  passage  of  the  act  providing  for  the  building  of  dams  to 
inqiound  the  tailings  of  the  hydraulic  mines,  has  overshadowed  the  irrigation  problem  for  the  past  two  years,  and 
caused  a  curtailment  of  the  appropriation  available  for  that  branch  of  the  work. 

The  prominent  point  brought  out  in  this  litigation  that  has  vexed  the  courts  for  several  years  past  is 
the  irrepressible  conflict  between  the  provisions  of  the  common  law  on  the  subject  of  riparian  rights  and  the 
requirements  of  agriculture  in  a  region  requiring  irrigation.  The  declaration  of  the  former  that  every  ripaiian 
owner  is  entitled  to  the  undiminished  volume  of  the  stream  (intended  evidently  for  the  safeguarding  of  the  interests 
of  the  uses  of  water-power)  strikes  at  the  very  foundation  of  the  use  of  water  for  irrigation  purposes,  and  is 
thoroughly  incompatible  with  such  use,  and,  therefore,  with  the  very  existence  of  agriculture  in  the  arid  region; 
yet  this  law  has  been  invoked  again  and  again  in  California  by  riparian  owners  claiming  the  undiminished  volume 
of  the  streams  from  those  above  them,  while  fully  intending  to  use  it  freely  on  their  own  lands.  The  courts  of  the 
state  have  been  embarrassed  by  the  conflict  of  the  acknowledged  foundation  of  American  civil  law  with  the  manifest 
equities  of  the  cases  before  them.  Decisions  lately  made,  however,  distinctly  affirm  that  the  common-law  doctrine 
is  not  in  this  respect  applicable  in  irrigation  districts. 

The  control  of  water  now  used  in  irrigation  ditches  in  California  is  almost  altogether  based  upon  the  right  of 
"prior  appropriation  ",  in  pursuance  of  custom  rather  than  law;  a  method  not  without  its  merits  in  respect  to  the 
promotion  of  irrigation  enterprises,  but  liable  to  gross  abuse  in  forestalling,  since  it  places  it  within  the  power  of 
the  appropriator  to  carry  the  water  to  lands  in  which  he  is  interested  to  the  detriment  even  of  riparian  owners, 
who,  under  the  common  law,  are  entitled  only  to  so  much  water  as  they  require  for  household  aud  stock,  but 
not  for  irrigation.  The  forestalling,  by  means  of  the  pre-emption,  homestead,  or  timber  privileges,  of  all  the 
water-supply  from  springs  available  during  the  dry  season  has  in  California  created  a  situation  in  which  many 
such  pre-emptors  of  160  acres  are,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  "lords  of  all  they  survey,"  since  no  one  can  occupy  the 
adjacent  lauds  without  paying  them  tribute  for  water  supply;  and  this  is  still  more  emphatically  true  of  owners 
of  large  tracts,  Spanish  and  Mexican  grants,  etc.,  which  were  usually  selected  originally  because  commanding  water 
supply. 

It  is  difficult  to  foresee  how  the  many  claims  or  rights  acquired  under  this  system  in  California  can  now  be 
adjusted  iu  accordance  with  the  public  interest  without  a  severe  wrenching  of  what  it  is  usual  to  consider  "  vested 
rights  ";  but  it  will  obviously  become  necessary  to  resort  to  the  state's  ultimate  right  of  eminent  domain  in  condemning 
the  water  available  for  irrigation  to  public  use,  under  such  regulations  as  will  inure  to  the  greatest  good  of  the 
greatest  number.  In  framing  these  measures  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  irrigated  land  is  much  more 
valuable  and  productive  than  that  which  is  dependent  upon  the  accidents  of  the  seasons,  not  only  because  of  its 
exemption  from  the  risks  and  failures  involved  in  the  cultivation  of  unirrigated  land  even  in  the  "  humid  "  portions  of 
the  world,  but  also  because  of  the  important  part  taken  by  the  solids  dissolved  or  suspended  m  the  irrigation  water  in 

a  See  my  article  oil  the  soils  and  agriculture  of  California,  by  E.  W.  Hilgard,  in  the  report  of  the  department  for  1878,  p.  478. 
43  0   P — VOL.   II  C.73 


16  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

increasing  and  maintaining  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  The  irrigator  is  exempted  from  the  necessity  of  supplying 
manure  to  restore  the  soil  ingredients  withdrawn  by  his  crops  to  an  extent  varying  in  different  localities,  but  always 
taking  the  form  of  a  very  tangible  balance  in  his  favor,  in  some  cases  (as  in  that  of  the  valley  of  the  Nile  for  ages 
past)  amounting  to  a  complete  relief  from  all  consideration  of  the  question  of  the.  maintenance  of  fertility,  which  is 
intruding  itself  more  and  more  urgently  into  the  calculations  of  American  farmers  and  threateningly  confronts 
every  tiller  of  the  soil  in  the  Old  "World. 

These  considerations  justify  the  adoption  of  a  much  smaller  unit  for  the  farm  in  irrigation  districts,  the  more, 
complete  and  systematic  utilization  of  the  soil's  powers  enabling  a  smaller  area  to  subserve  the  needs  of  a  family. 
The  unit  of  80  acres,  as  suggested  by  Major  Powell,  instead  of  the  usual  100,  is  certainly  amply  large  in  soils  of  any 
reasonably  adequate  native  fertility;  for  in  the  irrigated  colonies  of  southern  California  20-acre  lots  are  the  usual 
homestead  units  on  which  industrious  families  make  a  fair  living. 

In  these  points  of  view  may  also  be.  found  a  partial  answer  to  the  question  frequently  asked,  what  inducement 
is  there  for  the  settler  to  occupy  the  regions,  laboring,  apparently,  under  so  many  natural  disadvantages,  when  SQ 
much  fertile  land  remains  unoccupied  in  more  favored  regions  I  From  an  abstract  point  of  view  the  question  seems 
difficult  to  answer,  but  concretely  the  explanation  lies  in  the  fact  that  human  nature  will  take  risks  where  there  is  a 
reasonable  chance  of  success,  as  is  the  case  in  humid  climates  ;  whereas  in  the  arid  regions,  success  being  impossible 
without  irrigation,  but  becoming  a  certainty  with  it,  farming  becomes  a  much  more  safe,  satisfactory,  and  paying 
occupation.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  inquire  why  it  is  that  the  abundant  water  supply  of  the  humid  regions  is  not 
utilized  with  the  same  view  of  reducing  the  success  of  crops  to  a  certainty,  instead  of  risking  the  disastrous  failures 
that  afflict  them  from  time  to  time  in  the  occurrence  of  droughts,  we  can  but  point  to  that  same  principle  of  human 
nature  which  renders  gambling  so  dangerously  attractive  and  drives  the  "prospector"  to  continue  in  the  search 
for  new  mines,  rather  than  to  settle  down  to  the  working  of  those  he  has  already  discovered. 

Aside,  however,  from  these  considerations,  the  treelessness  of  irrigation  countries  is  in  itself  not  a  slight 
advantage  to  the  settler  of  small  means,  since  it  relieves  him  from  the  necessity  of  incurring  the  great  expense 
and  delay  of  "making  a  clearing";  an  operation  often  involving  in  humid  climates  an  expenditure  altogether  out 
of  proportion  with  the  productive  value  of  the  land.  In  the  great  valley  of  California,  as  in  the  prairies  of  the 
West,  the  plow  can  be  put  into  the  land  without  any  preliminaries ;  but  there  is  no  heavy  sod,  necessitating  the.  use 
of  correspondingly  heavy  draft,  the  first  plowing  being  nearly  as  easy  as  the  later  ones. 

In  climates  having  a  long  growing  season,  so  far  as  temperature  is  concerned,  the  effects  of  irrigation  on 
actual  production  are  almost  startling.  Thus,  in  the  southern  part  of  California,  as  well  as  in  western  Arizona, 
crops  jnay  be  started  at  whatever  season  suits  the  convenience  of  the  grower,  except  two  months  in  the  year :  and  this 
holds  true  for  market  gardens  as  far  north  as  San  Francisco,  where  vegetables  of  nearly  all  kinds  can  be  had  in  the. 
market  almost  throughout  the  year.  In  Tulare  and  Kern  counties  five  cuts  of  alfalfa  have  been  taken  off  the  same 
field  in  a  single  season  and  ten  tons  of  its  hay  made;  of  sorghum,  Egyptian  corn,  and  pearl  millet,  when  cut  for 
forage,  with  irrigation,  three  heavy  cuts  per  acre  have  been  made — an  enormous  yield,  which,  of  course,  could  be 
maintained  only  on  a  very  strong  soil,  or,  later,  by  the  aid  of  manure.  But  irrigation  enables  the  farmer  to  impart 
to  the  penny  a  nimbleness  unheard  of  in  regions  dependent  upon  the  seasons  alone.  The  investment,  of  a  certain 
amount,  of  money  in  land  and  manure  can  be  "  turned  over  "  twice  in  the  season,  or  even  oftener  in  a  region  of  long 
summers.  There  is  no  reason  why  the  same  could  not  be  done  in  the  southern  states ;  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is 
done  only  where  irrigation  is  compulsory. 

The  main  irrigable  area  in  the  state  is  the  great  interior  valley,  embracing  altogether  about  30,000  square 
miles.  Of  this  area  about  11,300  square  miles  belong  to  the  San  Joaquin  valley  from  the  Cosumnes  river  to  tht> 
Tejon  mountains,  a  maximum  length  of  200  miles'  by  from  30  to  70  miles  in  width.  It  is  here,  as  well  as  in  the 
southern  region  (Los  Angeles,  San  Bernardino,  and  San  Diego),  that  the  irrigation  question  assumes  the  character  of 
a  vital  problem,  a  conditio  sine  qua  non.  In  the  Sacramento  valley  irrigation  is  but  little  resorted  to  on  the  east 
side  of  the  river,  where,  on  the  contrary,  the  mining  dibris  problem  agitates  the  public  mind,  and  mining  ditches 
furnish  the  supply  of  irrigation  water  chiefly  to  the  foot-hill  lands  and  mountain  plateaus;  while  on  the  west  sidej 
in  the  counties  of  Yolo,  Solano,  and  Colusa,  irrigation  is  again  prominent,  though  not  so  vital  as  in  the,  San  Joaquin 
valley,  on  accouut  of  the  greater  annual  rainfall.  Irrigation  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley  is  thus  far  practically 
confined  to  that  portion  lying  east  of  the  trough  and  traversed  by  the  rivers  issuing  from  the  Sierra  Nevada.  The 
total  of  the  dry  plain  lauds  of  this  "east  side  "  embraces  an  area  of  7,687  square  miles,  of  which  about  09  Tier  cent, 
maybe  assumed  to  be  irrigable  from  the  current  water-supply  of  the  streams.  Since  the  trough  of  the  valley  lies 
much  nearer  the  Coast,  range,  in  fact,  touches  the  foot-hills  at  Buena  Vista  slough,  in  Kern  county,  the  area  of  the 
"west  side  "  is  very  much  smaller,  viz,  about  2,,0S9  square  miles.     As  Mr.  Hall  says : 

All  south  of  Tulare  lake  anil  a  large  portion  north  of  the  lake,  on  the  west  side,  may  be  elassed  as  non-irrigable  land,  not  only  on 
accouut.  of  the  absence  of  a  sufficient  water-supply,  but  by  reason  of  the  general  unfitness  of  the  soil  for  cnltivation  by  irrigation.  The 
sources  of  supply  for  irrigation  are  Tulare  lake,  the  San  Joaquin  river,  anil  the  small  streams  of  the  Coast  range. 

According  to  the  analysis  of  its  waters,  Tulare  lake  is  altogether  unfit,  either  as  a  source  or  even  as  a  reservoir 
of  irrigation  waters,  on  account  of  its  alkalinity,  as  stated  more  in  detail  further  on.  The  small  intermittent  creeks 
flowing  from  the  Coast  range  are  but  little  to  be  relied  upon  in  this  connection,  the  more  as  the  porosity  of  the 

674 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  17 

formations  in  that  region  renders  storage  very  precarious.  Supposing  King's  and  the  San  Joaquin  river  to  be  the 
only  available  sources  of  supply,  the  irrigable  lands  of  the  west  side  would,  according  to  Mr.  Hall,  be  about  718 
square  miles,  or  460,0(10  acres,  making  the  grand  total  of  lands  irrigable,  from  sources  adjacent  to  the  plain  of  the 
San  Joaquin  valley  (exclusive  of  storage  in  higher  reservoirs)  about  6,000  square  miles,  or  3,840,000  acres.  Of  this 
vast  area  of  highly  productive  soils  only  about  188,000  acres,  or  about  5  per  cent.,  are  estimated  as  being  at  present 
under  irrigation. 

Artesian  water  is  to  a  limited  extent  already  used-  for  irrigation  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley.  In  a  few  cases 
saline  and  alkaline  waters  have  been  obtained  from  the  wells,  but  a  considerable  number  have  water  that  is  no 
more  objectionable  than  that  of  Kern  river  at  least.  Of  late  such  wells,  yielding  abundant  streams,  have  been 
obtained  in  Tulare  county,  in  a  region  much  troubled  with  alkali,  which  they  will  help  to  subdue.  The  possibilities 
of  the  valley  in  this  respect  have  hardly  yet  been  approximately  ascertained,  and  it  is  very  important  they  should  be. 

In  the  Sacramento  valley  the  lands  irrigated  from  Cache  creek  aggregate  about  13,400  acres.  There  are  no 
data  for  estimating  the  other  irrigated  lands  of  the  plain,  but  the  amount  of  irrigated  land  in  the  foot-hills  of  the 
Sierra  (chiefly  opposite  the  central  portion  of  the  great  valley)  may  be  taken  at  about  9,000  acres. 

With  the  exception  of  Cache  and  Putah  creeks,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Sacramento  valley,  no  important  amount 
of  irrigation  water  can  be  derived  from  the  Coast  range  except  through  winter  storage,  which  has  not  thus  far  been 
practiced.  To  the  seaward  of  the  Coast  range  small  tracts  of  irrigated  laud  are  found  from  San  Francisco  southward, 
but  they  form  the  exception  northward  of  Santa  Barbara.  In  the  Salinas  valley  it  is  not  convenient,  because  of  the 
small  volume  of  the  river  and  the  lack  of  tributaries,  and  fair  crops  are  made  without  it.  Farther  south  it  is  more  or 
less  practiced  in  many  of  the  seaward  valleys,  very  generally  so  in  the  valley  of  Santa  Barbara,  and  thence  southward 
increasingly,  until  in  the  Los  Angeles  region  the  maximum  proportion  of  irrigated  lands  is  reached,  the  total  in  the 
counties  of  Los  Angeles  and  San  Bernardino  reaching  nearly  85,000  acres,  and  but  little  land  being  cultivable 
without  it. 

The  amount  of  water  available  for  irrigation  can  be  very  largely  increased  by  winter  storage  in  mountain 
reservoirs,  storage  in  the  hot  lowlands,  on  account  of  evaporation,  being  wasteful.  This,  however,  requires  large 
capital  and  co-operative  action,  and  will  hardly  be  resorted  to  for  some  time  to  come,  or  until  the  water  obtainable 
by  the  diversion  of  streams  is  exhausted. 

The  practice  of  irrigation  by  flooding  is  by  far  the  most  prevalent  in  California,  but  to  a  limited  extent,  in  districts 
with  sand.y  soils,  lateral  seepage  from  ditches  is  alone  relied  upon ;  and  still  more  limited  is  the  practice  of  sub- 
irrigation  by  means  of  cement  pipe  with  outlets,  which  has  come  into  use  mainly  for  orchards  and  vineyards, 
especially  where  the  supply  of  water  is  very  limited,  and  can  thus  be  made  to  do  a  much  higher  "duty"  than  by  any 
other  method.     Its  expense  (ranging  from  $30  to  $50  per  acre)  limits  its  application  to  crops  of  high  value. 

The  duty  of  water  under  the  ordinary  systems  varies  greatly,  not  only  according  to  tlie  nature  of  the  soil  and 
underlying  materials,  but  also  with  regard  to  the  time  that  has  elapsed  since  the  beginning  of  irrigation  in  each 
district.  This  is  especially  apparent  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  whose  porous  soils  are  underlaid  by  sandy  and 
gravelly  beds  easily  permeable  by  water,  and  which  in  their  natural  state  show  no  trace  of  moisture  sometimes  to 
the  depth  of  40  feet  or  more.  At  first  all  this  dry  mass  requires  to  be  saturated,  and  an  enormous  consumption 
of  water  occurs,  amounting  to  many  times  the  quantity  that  after  a  few  years  will  be  found  amply  sufficient  to 
maintain  vegetable  growth.  The  water,  of  course,  not  only  sinks  vertically,  but  also  drains  sideways,  and  moisture 
is  gradually  found  at  lessening  depths  and  at  increasing  distances  from  the  ditch  and  irrigated  laud,  thus  benefiting 
parties  altogether  outside  of  the  area  intended.  Again,  irrigators  are  generally  inclined  to  use  water  with 
unnecessary  and  even  injurious  liberality  at  first,  until  experience  shows  them  that,  especially  in  the  case  of  fruit 
crops,  a  certain  moderate  allowance  only  insures  the  best  result.  "Over-irrigation"  is  the  result  of  the  natural 
instinct  to  supplement  amply  the  deficiencies  left  by  nature,  but  its  disadvantages  are  coming  to  be  more  and  more 
understood. 

It  is  hardly  possible  to  give  an  average  of  the  duty  of  water  in  the  irrigation  districts  of  the  state,  but  it  may 
be  broadly  said  that  it  varies  from  as  little  as  50  acres  per  second-foot  in  the  newly  colonized  districts  of  the  San 
Joaquin  valley  to  over  500  acres  in  the  colonies  of  the  southern  or  Los  Angeles  region. 

Agricultural  regions  of  California. — In  most  of  the  states  embraced  within  the  present  series  of 
reports  the  agricultural  divisions  are  naturally  based  upon  differences  of  soil  and  surface  conformation  arising  from 
diversity  of  the  underlying  geological  formations.  In  California  the  natural  and  generally  recognized  subdivisions 
are  essentially  dependent  upon  climatic  differences,  arising  in  the  main  from  the  topographical  features,  in  which 
the  several  geological  formations,  as  such,  play  only  a  subordinate  part.  From  this  point  of  view  the  several 
portions  of  the  state  may  be  conveniently  considered  under  the  following  heads,  transition  zones  of  greater  or  less 
extent  intervening,  of  course,  between  the  several  areas  here  defined: 

1.  Region  of  the  great  valley,  with  high  summer  temperature,  intensely  dry  atmosphere,  and  no  summer  fogs. 
It  is  subdivided  into  : 

A.  The  Sacramento  valley,  with  from  20  to  40  inches  rainfall;  little  irrigation  needed.  There  is  commonly 
a  light  snowfall  in  winter,  the  temperature  falling  as  low  as  26°,  and  frost  temperatures  at  night  for  several 
months.     The  prevalent  winds  "  up  valley  "  are  from  somewhat  west  of  south. 

075 


18  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

B.  The  San  Joaquin  valley,  with  from  4  to  1(3  inches  of  rainfall.  Snow  is  rarely  seen  in  the  valley.  The 
summer  temperature  is  higher  than  iu  the  Sacramento  valley,  but  the  nights  are  usually  cool,  especially  in  the 
upper  part.  Irrigation  is  needed  for  the  safety  of  all  field  crops,  and  more  or  less  for  all  others.  The  prevalent 
winds  are  "up  valley",  i.  e.,  from  somewhat  west  of  north. 

2.  Foot-hill  region  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  of  the  northern  coast  range  up  to  2,5(1(1  feet  elevation.  The  rainfall  is 
greater  than  at  corresponding  points  in  the  valley,  increasing  at  the  rate  of  one  inch  for  from  100  to  150  feet  ascent. 
The  summer  temperature  is  about  the  same  as  in  the  valley;  the  winters  are  somewhat  colder,  yet  in  sheltered 
locations  frosts  are  very  light. 

3.  Semi-tropical  or  southern  region. — This  region  consists  of  the  counties  of  Los  Angeles,  San  Diego,  and  part 
of  San  Bernardino.  The  rainfall  is  from  13.0  to  9  inches,  and  irrigation  is  indispensable  for  almost  all  cultures. 
Frosts  are  rare,  permitting  the  culture  of  semi-tropical  fruits  in  the  open  air  despite  an  occasional  cutting-back  iu 
severe  seasons.     The  prevailing  summer  winds  are  southwest,  and  fogs  are  rare. 

4.  Arid  plateau  climate,  or  Southern  desert  region,  with  from  8  to  4  inches  rainfall  and  less;  very  variable,  and 
some  years  almost  none.  This  region  embraces  the  Mojave  and  Colorado  deserts,  and  is  largely  an  irreclaimable 
sand  and  alkali  desert,  but  has  some  fertile  valleys,  yielding  well  when  irrigated,  such  as  Owen's  valley,  Inyo  county. 

5.  The  coast  region,  having  cool  summers  and  warm  winters,  the  ground  rarely  freezing,  even  superficially, 
save  in  the  most  northerly  portions.  Cool  and  moist  westerly  winds  are  predominant.  This  region  is  subdivided 
as  follows : 

A.  Region  north  of  the  bay  country,  embracing — 

(«.)  Kegion  near  cape  Mendocino  and  north  of  it,  with  from  32  to  SO  inches  of  rainfall,  northwesterly  winds, 
occasional  summer  showers  and  thunder-storms,  and  snow  often  lying  several  days  iu  the  valleys.  This  is  a 
transition  to  the  Oregon  climate. 

(6.)  Region  south  of  cape  Mendocino  to  the  bay  country,  with  from  20  to  32  inches  of  rainfall. 

B.  Region  of  San  Francisco  bay  southward  to  Santa  Cruz,  with  from  20  to  25  inches  of  rainfall  and  steady 
westerly  summer  winds  and  fogs ;  practically  no  summer  showers,  and  no  large-scale  irrigation.  Snow  reaches  the 
valleys  only  exceptionally,  but  light  frosts  occur  for  several  weeks  in  winter  as  a  rule. 

C.  Region  south  of  the  bay  country  from  Monterey  to  Los  Angeles,  with  from  9  to  10  inches  of  rainfall,  and 
summer  winds  somewhat  south  of  west,  carrying  fewer  fogs  than  in  the  San  Francisco  region.  Irrigation 
ordinarily  is  needed  for  field  crops.     Snow  occurs  only  on  the  mountains,  and  frosts  are  rare. 

6.  Mountain  region  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  northern  California. — Summer  and  winter  is  well  defined,  and 
snow  lies  during  several  months  in  the  higher  regions  to  great  depths,  and  with  very  severe  cold.  The  rainfall 
ranges  from  20  inches  at  the  south  to  100  inches  at  the  north. 

A.  Lava-bed  region  of  northeastern  California,  with  from  20  to  22  inches  of  rainfall. 

B.  Arid  region  of  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Sierra. 

C.  High  Sierra,  a  region  of  fir  and  pine  forests  and  pasturage. 

THE  GREAT  VALLEY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

The  great  valley  of  California,  embracing  a  large  proportion  (one-third)  of  the  agricultural  lands  of  the  state, 
is  included  between  the  foot-hills  of  the  Sierra  Xevada  on  the  east  and  the  Coast  range  on  the  west,  the  general 
direction  of  its  axis  being  nearly  northwest  and  southeast.  Its  length  from  the  Tejon  mountains,  on  the  south,  to 
Red  Bluff,  on  the  north,  where  the  valley  proper  terminates,  is  about  400  miles,  while  its  width  varies  from  over  00  to 
somewhat  less  than  40  miles.     Its  total  area  is  about  17,200  square  miles. 

Since  the  drainage  is  toward  a  point  lying  about  three-fifths  of  its  length  from  the  southern  end,  where  the 
San  Joaquin  and  Sacramento  rivers  unite  at  the  head  of  Suisun  bay,  the  general  slope  of  the  surface  is  of  course  in 
that  direction  lengthwise.  A  cross-section  will,  in  general,  show  the  great  drainage  trough  to  lie  westward  of  the  axis 
(especially  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley),  with  a  gentle  talus-like  slope  toward  it  from  the  foot-hills  of  the  Sierra,  while 
the  Coast  range  mostly  falls  off  rather  abruptly  into  the  valley,  or  into  the  trough  itself.  This  is  the  natural  result 
of  the  washing  down  of  material  from  the  long  and  elevated  western  slope  of  the  Sierra,  which  also  at  present  furnishes 
practically  all  the  drainage  slope  from  which  the  waters  of  the  valley  are  derived,  while  the  drainage  from  the  Coast 
range  is  insignificant.  These  talus  lands  constitute  an  uplaud  plain — for  such  it  appears  to  the  eye — iuto  which 
the  rivers  emerging  from  the  canons  of  the  foot-hills  have  cut  valleys  varying  in  depth  from  40  to  140  feet  at  the 
eastern  margin  of  the  valley,  but  becoming  shallower  as  the  trough  of  the  main  rivers  is  approached.  These 
lateral  valleys  are  mostly  quite  narrow,  varying  from  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  (rarely)  as  much  as  one  mile 
and  more.  They  are  usually  timbered,  and  these  timber  belts  form  landmarks  in  the  otherwise  commonly  treeless 
plaiu  that  are  mostly  visible  from  one  tributary  to  another.  In  the  San  Joaquin  division  the  lateral  valleys  are  mostly 
bordered  by  abrupt  bluffs ;  in  the  Sacramento  valley  rolling  slopes  come  down  to  the  bottoms  proper. 

In  both  valleys  the  main  channel  is,  for  a  part  of  its  course,  bordered  by  fresh- water  marshes,  or  "tule  lands". 
From  these  the  land  rises  gradually  to  the  eastward  to  the  level  of  the  "plains",  which  on  a  large  scale  have  a  level 
or  gently  rolling  surface,  while  on  the  small  scale  they  are  to  a  considerable  extent  dotted  with  the  singular  rounded 

070 


RHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  19 

hillocks,  popularly  known  as  "nog-wallows",  from  10  to  30  feet  in  diameter  and  from  1  to  2  feet  high,  which  are  evidently 
the  result  of  erosion,  but  precisely  under  what  conditions  it  is  difficult  to  explain.  These  hillocks  are  usually  most 
abundant  near  the  foot-hills,  with  long  scallops  toward  the  valley,  and  the  tracts  seem  to  dimmish  in  width  toward  the 
axial  "  trough",  which  they  seldom  reach,  but  they  do  not  always  bear  any  definite  relation  to  the  present  streams. 
They  occur  on  all  kiDds  of  soil,  and  even  on  the  rolling  foot-hill  lands  themselves,  constituting  an  obstacle  to  easy 
cultivation  that  it  is  sometimes  quite  costly  to  remove ;  the  more  as  their  material  is  usually  somewhat  more  compact 
than  that  of  the  intervening  lower  soil,  and  their  leveling  involves  the  baring  of  the  subsoil.  In  some  cases  they 
are  so  thickly  set,  abrupt,  and  resistant  as  to  render  the  land  valueless  for  ordinary  cultivation.  They  are  almost 
always  present  on  strongly  alkaline  soils,  and  one  may  often  see  them  bearing  good  grain  crops,  while  on  the  lower 
portions  of  the  land  the  soil  is  whitened  with  alkali  and  the  grain  is  dying.  Oddly  enough,  in  other  cases,  in 
consequence  of  differences  in  the  capillary  power  of  the  soil  in  the  two  locations,  precisely  the  reverse  is  seen. 
''Hog  wallow  land"  does  not,  therefore,  imply  any  definite  character  of  soil  in  general,  although  locally  the 
character  is  often  an  exceedingly  definite  and  distinct  one. 

The  flood  plains  or  tale  lands  of  the  streams  are  commonly  bordered  by  more  or  less  interrupted  belts  of  land 
impregnated  with  an  unusual  amount  of  soluble  salts  or  "alkali",  which,  during  the  dry  season,  bloom  out  on  the 
surface  and  often  interfere  more  or  less  with  successful  cultivation  unless  special  precautions  are  taken  to 
counteract  their  influence.  Alkali  is  also  sometimes  found  on  the  higher  lands,  especially  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley, 
where  the  light  rainfall  is  favorable  to  its  accumulation.  A  discussion  of  this  subject  is  given  in  the  appendix  to 
the  regional  descriptions. 

The  larger  streams  of  the  great  valley  have  two  periods  of  flood :  one,  caused  directly  by  the  winter  rains, 
usually  in  the  latter  part  of  December  and  in  January ;  the  other,  caused  by  the  meltiug  of  the  snows  in  the  Sierra, 
affects  only  the  rivers  heading  there,  but  is  the  most  important  from  the  irrigator's  point  of  view,  since  it  occurs  at 
the  time  when  water  is  most  needed,  in  March  and  April,  its  duration  and  degree  varying  greatly  in  different  seasons. 
The  short  streams  heading  in  the  foot-hills  are,  of  course,  only  of  limited  importance  to  the  irrigator  so  long  as  their 
water  is  not  stored  in  winter. 

The  marsh  or  tule  lands  of  both  valleys  will  be  considered  jointly  after  the  description  of  the  higher  lands. 

THE    SACRAMENTO   VALLEY. 

The  length  of  the  Sacramento  valley  from  its  extreme  head,  a  few  miles  above  Bed  Bluff,  Tehama  county,  to  the 
Calaveras  river,  in  San  Joaquin  county,  is  about  1G0  miles.  From  a  width  of  about  7  miles  opposite  Bed  Bluff 
the  valley  widens  to  about  15  miles  near  the  Tehama  line,  3  miles  from  the  head,  and  then  suddenly  expands 
westward,  assuming  its  average  width  of  about  10  miles  or  a  little  over.  Northwest  of  Woodland,  Yolo  county, 
it  is  narrowed,  bjr  a  promontory  of  red  foot-hill  lauds  projecting  into  the  plain  from  the  Coast  range,  to  about  33 
miles,  but  below  this  rapidly  widens  again  to  its  maximum  width  of  60  miles  opposite  Snisun  bay.  The  area  is 
about  6,200  square  miles. 

In  the  upper,  narrow  portion  of  the  valley  the  streams  enter  at  short  intervals  and  squarely  from  either  side, 
those  from  the  Sierra  especially  emerging  from  deep,  narrow,  and  rugged  canons  cut  into  the  lava-bed  formation, 
and  flowing  for  some  miles  in  the  belt  of  stony,  treeless  country  at  the  foot  before  reaching  the  fertile  alluvial 
plain  of  the  river.  The  latter  is  quite  narrow  and  distinctly  defined  from  the  red  and  usually  more  or  less  gravelly 
soil  of  the  higher  plain,  which  is  treeless  almost  throughout,  and  is  a  heavy  grain-growing  region. 

Southward,  in  Colusa  and  Butte  counties,  the  foot-hills  on  either  side  are  less  abrupt,  and  a  belt  of  undulating 
or  rolling  land  of  varying  width,  with  red  or  yellow  loam  soils,  borders  the  eastern  side  of  the  valley,  sometimes 
merging  gradually  into  the  lands  of  the  valley  proper,  and  then  again  forming  rather  an  abrupt  terrace  on  the 
edge  of  the  alluvial  trough.  Usually  there  intervenes  between  the  latter  and  the  red  border  lands  a  belt  of 
adobe  lauds  of  varying  width,  which  on  the  eastern  side  are  mostly  black  (when  wet),  underlaid  by  a  whitish 
calcareous  hard-pan  at  a  depth  varying  from  1  to  4  feet.  In  most  cases  these  adobe  lands  are  very  productive  and 
not  very  heavy  in  tillage.  On  the  west  side,  in  Colusa  county,  the  adobe  belt  is  even  wider  than  on  the  east,  but  the 
soil  is  mostly  of  a  gray  tint,  very  refractory  in  tillage,  and  largely  impregnated  with  alkali  salts  ;  hence  the  lands 
chiefly  cultivated  are  those  of  the  river  trough  (a  fine  silt  soil  of  great  productiveness),  the  tracts  of  partially  alluvial 
soil  deposited  by  the  intermittent  tributaries  from  the  Coast  range,  and  the  red  gravelly  lands  bordering  the  valley 
at  its  foot. 

The  drainage  in  this  portion  of  the  valley  is  of  an  exceptional  character.  On  the  west  side  the  Coast  range 
streams  reach  the  great  trough  only  in  time  of  flood  or  of  heavy  rains,  but  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year  they 
lose  themselves  about  half  way.  On  the  east  side  the  Sacramento  receives  no  tributaries,  the  Sierra  drainage  being 
here  received  by  Feather  river,  which  emerges  into  the  plain  near  Oroville,  and  thence  for  more  than  50  miles  in 
a  direct  line  pursues  an  independent  course  in  the  valley,  gradually  converging  toward  the  Sacramento  river,  with 
which  it  finally  unites  only  about  IS  miles  from  Sacramento  city.  The  valley  is  thus  on  the  east  side  divided 
between  these  two  rivers,  which  are  separated  by  a  divide  that  rises  rather  abruptly  from  the  trough  of  Feather 
river,  then  slopes  off  gently  toward  the  Sacramento  river,  as  does  the  plain  on  the  east  to  the  Feather  itself  from 
the  base  of  the  foot-hills. 

677 


20  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

The  cause  of  this  deflection  of  Feather  river  from  its  direct  course  to  the  central  trough  is  manifestly  the 
short,  but  rugged  volcanic  mountain  mass  of  the  "  Marysville  Buttes",  which  here  appears  in  mid-valley,  forming  a 
prominent  landmark  in  the  plain.  The  buttes,  with  their  foot-hills,  occupy  an  area  of  about  4  by  12  miles,  and  the 
bare,  disrupted  rocks  and  precipices  of  the  central  mass  contrast  oddly  with  the  fertile  plain  around ;  the  foot-hills, 
however,  embrace  some  good  grazing  land.  Immediately  at  their  base  the  soil  is  gravelly,  but  soon  shades  oft'  into 
heavy  black  adobe.  On  the  south  side  this  adobe  tract  is  traversed  by  Bntte  slough,  through  which,  in  time  of 
flood,  a  part  of  the  waters  of  Feather  river  find  an  early  outlet  into  the  Sacramento. 

Originally  the  soils  of  the  immediate  valleys  of  the  feather  and  Yuba  rivers  did  not  differ  greatly  from  those  of 
the  Sacramento  near  and  above  Colusa.  At  the  present  time  much  of  the  valley  lands  of  both  streams  has  been 
overrun  with  the  tlrliri.s  of  the  hydraulic  mines,  and  their  channels,  to  a  great  extent,  meander  in  flood-plains  formed 
by  alternating  deposits  of  coarse  gravel,  sand,  and  the  finer  deposit  now  too  well  and  widely  known  under  the 
designation  of  "slickens".  The,  destruction  of  farming  lands  by  this  agency  has  already  reached  enormous 
proportions,  and  the  filling  up  of  the  river  beds  by  the.  continued  influx  of  the  overloaded  waters  causes  these  deposits 
to  spread  farther  and  farther  every  year,  resulting  in  immense  damage,  not  only  from  the  flood  itself,  but  also  from  the 
repeated  deposits  of  the  sediment,  which,  though  an  occasional  dressing  with  it  might  be  an  improvement  to  the  adobe 
soils  of  the  central  valley,  is  far  from  forming  a  desirable  soil  in  itself.  («)  The  evil  affects,  of  course,  not  only  all  the 
country  adjacent,  to  the  Feather,  Yuba,  and  their  tributaries,  but  also  the.  entire  valley  below  the  junction  with  the 
Sacramento.  Hence,  with  a  comparatively  abundant  rainfall  and  only  a  limited  Deed  for  irrigation,  the  prominent 
topic  in  the  Feather  and  lower  Sacramento  valley  is  the  "ddbris  question",  the  final  adjustment  of  which  between  the 
conflicting  interests  of  the  farmers  and  those  of  the  hydraulic  miners  has  hardly  yet  approached  the  phase  of  a  definite 
common  basis.  The  peaceful  town  of  Marysville,  once  known  as  "the  city  of  the  plains",  now  frowns  upon  the  visitor 
from  behind  levees  of  such  height  and  massive  strength  that  he  instinctively  looks  for  the  cannon  that  is  to  defend  a 
beleaguered  city.  Yet,  even  as  they  are,  these  levees  need  the  constant  watchfulness  of  the  inhabitants  and  an  annual 
heightening  and  strengthening  against  the  annually  increasing  floods.  Outside  the  walls,  where  there  was  once  a 
fertile  bottom,  traversed  by  a  quick  and  clear  stream,  stretches  a  sandy  and  gravelly  waste,  through  which  the  waters 
of  the  Yuba  meander  in  sluggish  and  dirty  loneliness.  Nothing  can  be  more  eloquent  of  the  pressing  need  of  a 
final  disposal  of  this  evil,  the  magnitude  of  which  can  hardly  be  realized  by  those  who  have  not  seen  with  their  own 
eyes. 

Below  the  Yuba  again,  and  down  to  the  American  river,  but  few  of  the  foot-hill  streams  reach  the  main 
Feather  river,  save  in  flood  time.  Their  waters  are  partially  utilized  for  irrigation  near  the  foot-hills,  but,  on  the 
whole,  the  grain  crops  for  which  this  region  is  noted  succeed  well  without  its  aid.  An  analysis  of  the  loam  soil  of 
the  neighborhood  of  "Wheatland,  Y'uba  county,  from  the  rolling  upland  belt,  in  which  the  valleys  of  the  streams 
are  but  slightly  sunk,  is  given  on  page  22. 

A  broad  tract  of  alluvial  laud,  of  high  productiveness  but  liable  to  overflow,  lies  in  the  fork  of  the  Sacramento 
and  the  American  rivers;  it  is  largely  protected  by  levees  along  the  banks  of  the  rivers. 

Southward  of  the  American  river,  and  across  the  Cosumnes  and  the  Mokelumne  to  the  Calaveras  river,  extends  a 
plain,  broken  only  by  occasional  swales  of  reddish  soil  running  in  from  the  foot-hills.  This  is  one  of  the  most  productive 
and  thickly-settled  portions  of  the  entire  valley,  the  soil  being  mostly  a  dun-colored  loam,  varying  in  its  lightness, 
but  throughout  easily  tilled.  Besides  grain,  which  occupies  the  greatest  breadth  of  land,  vineyards  and  orchards 
are  conspicuous  in  its  landscape,  which  is  here  and  there  dotted  with  oaks,  while  the  horizon  is  bounded  by 
the  timber  belts  along  the  water-courses.  Irrigation  increases  as  we  advance  southward,  but  is  not  usually 
applied  to  the  larger  field  cultures,  although  this  might  beneficially  be  done  to  the  full  extent  of  the  capacity  of 
its  streams,  as  it  will  undoubtedly  be  whenever  the  now  predominant  grain  production  shall  be  superseded  by  a 
more  varied  system  of  culture.  The  direct  distance  from  the  foot-hills  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mokelumne  is  about  38 
miles,  and  for  the  greater  portion  of  this  distance  its  valley  is  so  depressed  below  the  general  level  of  the  plain  that, 
for  irrigation  purposes,  its  waters  must  be  tapped  within  the  foot-hills.  The  distance  between  bluffs  is  from  one- 
half  mile  to  one  mile,  ami  the  channel  is  bordered  by  rich  alluvial  bottom  lands  lying  above  ordinary  floods.  A  short 
distance  below  Woodbridge  the  river  enters  the  great  tale  region. 

Opposite  the  region  just  considered,  across  the  broad  tule  belt  encompassing  the  junction  of  the  two  rivers, 
lie  the  rich  alluvial  plains  of  Yolo  and  Solano  counties,  the  soils  of  which  are  of  pre-eminent  fertility,  being  a 
mixture  of  the  finest  natural  sediments  of  the  Sacramento  river  with  those  carried  by  the  streams  heading  in  the 
volcanic  portion  of  the  Coast  range  (of  which  Cache  and  I'utah  creeks  are  the  chief),  experience  in  this  respect 
being  confirmed  by  the  analysis  given  further  on  (see  110  in  table).  The  plain  is  scarcely  broken  by  the  slight 
undulations  or  swales  coming  down  from  the  foot-hills;  but  the.  region  is  thickly  settled,  and  is  largely  occupied  by 
orchards  and  vineyards. 

a  See  analyses  ou  page  22. 
676 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  21 

Irrigation  is  not  general,  chiefly  on  account  of  the  limited  water  supply,  which  is  dependent  mainly  upon  the 
limited  volume  carried  by  Cache  and  Putah  creeks,  but  partly  and  increasingly  upon  shallow  wells  sunk  into 
the  water-bearing  gravel  which  underlies  the  region.  This  fact  and  the  great  depth  of  soil  renders  grain  crops 
measurably  independent  of  irrigation. 

Cache  and  Putah  creeks,  not  being  supplied  by  winter  snows  or  forest-clad  ranges,  are  intermittent  streams, 
carrying  in  the  winter  season  formidable  floods,  which  then  partly  find  their  way  across  the  country  to  the  trough 
Of  the  Sacramento,  while  they  become  insignificant  during  the  dry  season,  or  even  between  the  rains  which  drain 
rapidly  from  the  steep  slopes  of  the  Coast  range. 

Nearly  one-half  of  the  drainage  of  Cache  creek  is  received  into  Clear  lake,  which  thus  to  some  extent  serves 
as  a  regulator  of  its  flow.  From  the  lake  the  creek  passes  through  a  canon  about  30  miles  in  length,  receiving  two 
large  tributaries  from  the  north  before  it  enters  the  head  of  Capay  valley.  The  latter  is  about  18  miles  long  and 
1  or  2  miles  wide,  and  has  a  considerable  area  of  irrigable  though  somewhat  heavy  land. 

On  entering  upon  the  Sacramento  plains  the  creek  widens  out  into  a  channel  from  500  to  1,000  feet  in  width  with 
low  banks  and  decreased  grade,  and  before  reaching  the  town  of  Cacheville  is  confined  between  vertical  banks 
from  20  to  25  feet  high  and  from  100  to  150  feet  apart,  which  condition  it  maintains  for  several  miles ;  but  on 
approaching  the  lowland  of  the  Yolo  basin  the  banks  drop  away,  and  the  stream  is  free  to  spread  out  iu  a  broad 
delta,  seeking  the  lowest  part  of  the  basin,  and  emptying  into  the  Sacramento  river  through  Cache  slough. 

Soils  of  the  Sacramento  valley. 

The  soils  of  the  Sacramento  valley  are  as  yet  but  very  inadequately  represented  by  the  subjoined  analyses,  the 
material  on  hand  being  too  limited  to  allow  of  selecting  representative  samples  advisedly.  Nos.  563  and  110  are 
probably  of  wide  applicability,  and  Nos.  517'  and  501,  taken  together,  may  also  probably  be  taken  as  fairly 
representative  of  the  loam  of  the  east  side  of  the  valley.  Of  the  true  "  adobe  "  of  the  valley  no  analyses  have  thus 
far  been  made. 

No.  563.  Sediment  soil  from  near  the  banks  of  the  Sacramento  river,  on  the  Kancho  Chico,  General  Bidwell's 
laud,  Butte  county.  A  gray  or  dun  powdery  loam,  with  but  little  coarse  sand,  very  easily  tilled,  and  the  same  to  a 
depth  of  several  feet;  is  well  timbered  with  white  oak  (Q.  lobata),  ash,  and  sycamore,  with  abundance  of  grajie-vines, 
and  is  very  productive  in  cultivation.     Depth  taken,  12  inches. 

No.  561.  Dark  "  adobe1''  loam  soil  from  the  Eancho  Chico,  about  a  mile  east  from  the  spot  where  No.  563  was 
taken.  Dark  tinted  and  moderately  heavy,  so  that  after  drying  it  can  still  be  crushed  between  the  fingers ;  taken  to 
the  depth  of  12  inches,  becoming  paler  colored  below  that  depth ;  originally  treeless,  bearing  a  growth  of  sunflowers 
and  alfilerilla.    This  soil  is  not  as  regularly  or  as  highly  productive  as  the  river  land. 

No.  517.  Reddish  soil  from  near  Bigg's  Station,  Butte  county,  a  clay  loam,  brownish  dun  in  color  when  dry 
and  brownish  black  when  wet.  The.  dry  lumps  are  hard  to  crush  between  the  fingers,  but  soften  quickly  on 
contact  with  water.  This  soil  occupies  a  level  belt,  lightly  timbered  with  oaks,  to  the  eastward  of  the  adobe 
belt  of  this  region.  Between  the  two  there  usually  intervenes  a  streak  of  whitish  soil,  from  which  there  is  a 
gradual  transition  to  the  true  adobe.     Depth  taken,  12  inches. 

No.  656.  "  Sliehens,"  or  fine  mining  debris  deposit,  from  Yuba  river,  Yuba  county,  sent  by  the  secretary  of  the 
"debris  committee"  of  the  city  of  San  Francisco.  Light  yellowish  gray,  partly  in  powder,  partly  in  chalky  lumps, 
easily  crushed,  very  light,  and  scarcely  palpable,  emitting  a  strong  clay  odor  when  breathed  upon  or  when  wet. 

No.  1004.  "Slickens"  sediment  from  Alger's  bend,  Feather  river,  Butte  county,  furnished  by  Mr.  Julian  Le 
Coute,  of  the  United  States  river  and  harbor  survey.  A  compact,  yellowish-brown  lump,  somewhat  heavier  than 
No.  556,  which  can  be  crushed  between  the  fingers  with  little  difficulty  to  an  altogether  impalpable  powder,  and  emits 
a  strong  clay  odor  when  breathed  upon  or  dampened.  The  deposit  is  stated  to  have  be^u  from  fi  to  8  feet  in 
thickness  in  the  bed  of  the  river,  which  upon  drying  forms  wide  gaping  sun-cracks,  allowing  a  man  to  walk  between 
the  blocks  on  a  base  of  sand.     When  deposited  it  must  have  been  almost  in  a  gelatinous  condition. 

No.  10.  Sediment  soil  from  the  farm  of  Mr.  Daniel  Flint,  ou  the  Sacramento  river,  a  few  miles  below  Sacramento 
city,  Sacramento  county,  deposited  during  high  water,  and  said  to  exert  a  remarkable  effect  in  increasing  the 
productiveness  of  the  land,  especially  clay  land,  upon  which  it  maybe  brought.  It  is  a  light,  buff-colored  silt, 
almost  impalpable  when  rubbed  between  the  fingers,  and  without  sand  or  gravel.     Depth  taken,  12  inches. 

No.  110.  Soil  of  Putah  valley,  near  Dixon,  Solano  county,  sent  by  J.  M.  Dudley,  from  the  "middle  land"  of  the 
plain,  on  the  slopes  of  the  swales,  about  3  feet  above  the  lowest  land.     Depth  taken,  12  inches. 

No.  499.  Red  upland  loam  soil  from  near  Wheatland,  Yuba  county.  A  stiffish,  glaringly  orange-red  loam, 
forming  the  soil  of  the  undulating  uplands  stretching  from  the  foot-hills  several  miles  into  the  valley,  and  but  little 
above  the  general  level  of  the  latter;  it  tills  easily  when  taken  in  the  right  moisture  condition,  but  plows  very 
cloddy  when  either  too  wet  or  too  dry.  This  soil  is  chiefly  given  to  pasture  and  wheat  growing,  and  yields  from 
fifteen  t.®  twenty  and  sometimes  twenty-five  bushels  of  fall  or  winter-sown  grain  in  good  years,  and  in  poor  ones 
from  eleven  to  thirteen  bushels  per  acre,  but  never  altogether  fails.  It  responds  very  kindly  to  summer  fallowing, 
and  in  its  natural  condition  has  almost  only  herbaceous  vegetation,  with  some  scattered  poison-oak  bushes. 


22 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

Soils  of  the  Sacramento  valley  region. 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Potash 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese  . 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

Water  and  organic  matter . . 


lJl^TTl-:  COUNTY. 


YUBA  COUNTY.     lil'TTT.  COUNTY. 


Sacramento 

river  alluvium, 

Ranoho  Chico, 

S.  27,  T.  22, 

R.  1  W. 


70.  7C4  ) 
2.  080  ) 


55. 144  ( 
3.  ICO  * 


Total  . 


HnmuH 

Available  inorganic 

Hygroscopic  moisture  . 
absorbed  at 


I,  052 
1.077 
.444 
!.  277 
1.015 
1.804 
1.307 
1.087 
1.030 
I.  351 


0.749 

0.  255 

0.84 

11.  5C.° 


Black-loam  soil. 
Ham  ho  Chico. 


02.  304 

0.305 
0.  221 
2.  009 
1.042 
0.  025 
9.  342 

13.  038 
0.  OX, 
0,  003 

10. 149 


Brownish-loam 

soil,  Bigg's  Sta- 


03.  268  i 
4.  750  ) 


I.  453 
1.113 
.  400 
1.174 
I.  405 
!.  585 
!.  045 
1.004 
I  1147 
i.  701 


72. 109  , 
3.  071  > 


99.498 


13.980 
13C.° 


1.184 
0.404 
8.29 
13  C.° 


'■  Slickens  " 

from  Yuba 

river. 


\    "Slickens" 
sediment,  Al- 
gol's bend, 
Feather  river. 


75.240 

0.207 
0.  020 
0.  704 
0.  8CG 
0.  025 
6.  588 
10. 300 
0.  070 
0.134 
5.710 


01.029; 
8.  033  5 


100.115 


SACRAMENTO 
COUNTY. 


SOLA.NO  COUNTY.     YLTtA  COUNTY. 


Sediment  soil,      Putah  valley 

Sacramento         soil,  middle 
river.  land. 


55.  283  ( 
13.940) 


09.  223 

0.353  | 
0.  0G5  I 
0.901 
1.249 
u.lll 
0.310  j 
15.251 
0.230 
0.097 
6.751 


'.  ::::4  ; 
I.  071  1 


1.929 
I.  124 
i.770 
:.  285 
1.106 
■.oil 
1.159 
1.111 
1.120 
.115 


lied  loam  soil, 
Wheatland. - 


-  789  i 
3.  803  S 


82.  592 

II.  249 
II.  035 
1.021 
ii.  171 
0.018 
5.811 
6.  283 
0.013 
II.  019 
3.644 


10.09 
15C.° 


1.  709 
0.502 
10.315 
15  C."> 


0.440 
0.336 
4.81 


*  No.  499  is  properly  a  foot-bills  soil,  lying  in  the  edge  of  the  plain,  and  is  introduced  here  for  comparison  with  the  valley  soils  proper. 

The  common  characteristic  of  all  these  soils  is  an  adequate  and,  in  some  cases,  a  generous  supply  of  lime, 
■which  insures  the  availability  of  the  plant-food  they  contain,  greatly  enhances  their  power  of  resisting  drought  and 
of  forming  and  retaining  humus,  and  renders  them  easily  tillable,  notwithstanding  the  large  amount  of  clay  they 
contain.  This  feature,  as  will  be  seen  hereafter,  characterizes  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  most  of  the  soils  of  the 
great  valley  from  Bedding  to  Bakersfield,  and  it  is  with  constant  reference  to  it  that  their  agricultural  qualities 
must  be  considered. 

Passing  to  the  other  primarily  important  ingredients  of  plant-food,  we  find  that  in  the  alluvial  soils  proper — 
as  in  that  from  Dixon  and  from  the  Sacramento  near  Chico — (he  amount  of  potash  is  large,  in  the  former  case  even 
very  large.  Away  from  the  river  this  ingredient  diminishes  in  the  case  of  the  Eancho  Chico  to  one-half  of  what 
it  was  near  the  river,  the  deficiency  being  partly  offset  by  a  very  large  supply  of  lime  in  No.  501,  which  manifests 
itself  in  its  dark  tint.  In  the  soil  from  Bigg's  Station,  the  tint  of  which  indicates  a  partial  derivation  from  the 
red  materials  of  the  foot-hills,  the  potash  supply  is  more  ainple. 

In  none  of  these  soils,  however,  is  the  supply  of  phosphates  a  large  one.  In  that  from  Bigg's  Station,  but 
for  the  presence  of  a  liberal  amount  of  lime,  it  would  be  accounted  deficient.  Whenever  their  production  shall 
have  been  materially  diminished  by  exhaustive  cultivation  the  use  of  phosphate  fertilizers  will  evidently  be  the 
first  thing  needful  to  restore  productiveness. 

Nos.  656  and  1004  may  be  considered  as  fairly  representative  of  the  composition  of  the finest  material,  or  "slickcus", 
brought  down  from  the  hydraulic  mines  by  the  Feather  and  the.  Yuba  rivers  and  deposited  in  their  back  or  slack  waters. 
A  comparison  of  their  composition  with  that  of  the  above  soils  shows  that  they  do  not  differ  very  widely  in  their  mineral 
ingredients,  as  might  be  foreseen  from  the  community  of  their  origin.  Their  potash  percentage  is  low,  yet  not  lower 
than  that  of  some  good  soils.  The  lime  percentage,  while  lower  than  in  the  Sacramento  alluvium,  is  reasonably  high, 
and  the  supply  of  phosphoric  acid,  while  not  large,  is  only  a  little  below  the  average  of  the  soils  analyzed.  It  may  be 
expected,  therefore,  that  whenever  these  "  slickens''  soils  shall  have  been  subjected  for  an  adequate  length  of  time 
to  the  same  agencies  that  have  been  active  in  the  natural  alluvial  soils  they  may  become  equally  productive.  As 
they  are.  however,  they  lack  a  high  essential  of  all  agriculturally  valuable  soils,  viz,  the  humus  or  vegetable  mold, 
whose  physical  as  well  as  chemical  action  is  so  important  to  the  welfare  of  plants  that  popular  belief  has  long 
ascribed  to  it  a  controlling  influence  on  fertility:  anil  although  we  now  know  that  humus  is  but  one  of  the  many 
factors  that  contribute  to  the  productiveness  of  soils,  we  also  know  that,  practically,  its  deficiency  fir  its  absence  is  an 
effectual  bar  to  profitable  culture.  Under  the  climatic  conditions  of  the  Sacramento  valley  it  will  take  many  years 
to  remove  this  disability  in  the  natural  course  of  tilings.  The  process  may  be  hastened  by  the  operation  of  green- 
manuring,  provided  green  crops  can  be  grown  on  the  material  ;  and  this  will,  in  general,  be  the  most  important 
step  toward  the  reclamation  of  tracts  covered  by  '•slickens". 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  advert  to  the  fact  that  the  material  of  the  debris  brought  down  from  different 
channels  and  at  different  times  may  vary  indefinitely,  from  cobble-stones,  through  gravel  and  sand,  to  the  fiuest 

GfiO 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  23 

matter,  graphically  designated  as  "  slickens",  and,  according  to  the  sources  from  which  the  latter  come,  the  chemical 
composition  will  also  vary  locally.  Moreover,  when  a  coat  of  moderately  sandy  material  is  deposited  on  adobe 
land,  the  intermixture  of  the  two  by  the  plow  may  oftentimes  result  in  a  material  improvement  in  consequence  of 
the  removal  of  the  extreme  mechanical  iutractableness  of  the  claj*  land.  In  other  cases  a  local  deposit  may  be 
exceptionally  rich  in  some  important  ingredient,  and  may  thus  serve  directly  as  a  fertilizer  when  applied  to 
cultivated  land.  Analysis  No.  10  shows  a  case  in  point,  in  which  a  deposit  on  the  banks  of  the  Sacramento  river  is 
so  rich  in  phosphoric  acid  as  to  be  available  as  a  fertilizer  on  the  adjacent  alluvial  lands.  Some  of  the  effects 
observed  may  also,  it  is  true,  be  due  to  the  improvement  of  the  mechanical  condition. 

It  cannot,  therefore,  be  surprising  that  the  testimony  as  to  the  local  effects  of  "  slickens  "  on  land  overrun  by  it 
should  vary  considerably,  according  to  the  circumstances  of  the  case.  Cobble-stones  and  gravel  will  in  every  case 
be  considered  an  unmitigated  detriment.  A  moderate  coat  of  sand  spread  on  an  adobe  tract  may  be  welcomed 
at  first,  but  its  repetition  will  naturally  be  objected  to,  and  a  deposit  of  any  considerable  thickness  will  effectually 
spoil  the  land  forever.  So  also  a  moderate  coat  of  "  slickens  "  will,  on  the  low  and  heavy  lands  on  which  it  is  most 
widely  deposited,  be  at  first  a  benefit,  as  it  will  improve  the  tilling  qualities  of  the  land,  and,  finding  a  sufficiency  of 
humus  in  the  soil,  its  fineness  will  cause  it  to  be  promptly  acted  upon  and  utilized  as  a  source  of  plant-food.  But 
whenever  the  deposit  is  repeated,  the  advantage  diminishes,  and  finally  changes  to  a  very  positive  detriment  so 
soon  as  the  "  slickens"  becomes  the  predominant  ingredient  of  the  cultivated  soil,  while  a  thick  deposit  coming  at 
once  will,  for  the  time  being,  and  usually  for  many  years  to  come,  deprive  the  farmer  of  the  profitable  use  of  his 
laud,  albeit  it  may  become  profitable  to  his  children  or  his  grandchildren. 

Such  I  consider  to  be  the  impartial  view  of  the  "slickens"  question,  independently  of  the  obstruction  of 
channels  and  consequent  overflows,  the  consideration  of  which  lies  outside  of  the  province  of  this  report. 

THE   SAN  JOAQUIN  VALLEY. 

The  division  of  the  great  valley  traversed  by  the  San  Joaquin  and  its  tributaries  constitutes  about  three-fifths 
of  the  whole,  its  area  from  the  southern  end  to  the  Calaveras  river,  a  distance  of  about  240  miles,  being  about  1 1,000 
square  miles.  Its  prominent  topographical  feature,  as  against  the  Sacramento  valley,  is  the  lake  basin  formed  iu 
its  southern  half  by  a  low  water-divide  which  traverses  the  valley  in  the  southern  part  of  Fresno  county,  by  which 
the  waters  of  King's  river  are  thrown  southward  into  Tulare  lake.  Northward  of  this  divide  the  San  Joaquin  river 
enters  the  valley,  and,  traversing  it,  turns  northward  on  reaching  the  trough,  receiving  thereafter  directly  the  entire 
drainage  of  the  Sierra.  The  valley  is  thus  subdivided  into  the  southern  or  Tulare  basin  and  the  San  Joaquin  basin 
proper. 

At  present  this  cross  ridge  is  intersected  near  its  western  end  by  Cole  slough  and  other  channels,  through  which 
the  surplus  waters  of  Tulare  lake  or  King's  river  can  find  their  way  into  the  San  Joaquin.  Previous  to  the  formation 
of  this  outlet  the  entire  upper  valley  was  evidently  for  some  time  a  shallow  lake,  of  which  Kern,  Buena  Vista,  and 
Tulare  lakes,  with  their  bordering  tule  swamps,  are.  the  remnants.  The  main  tributaries  of  this  basin,  heading  in 
the  Sierra  itself,  are  the  Kern,  Kaweah,  and  King's  rivers,  which  carry  running  water  throughout  the  year.  Besides 
these  there  are  numerous  water-courses,  of  more  or  less  intermittent  character,  heading  in  the  foot-hills  and  reaching 
the  main  trough  only  iu  time  of  flood  or  not  at  all,  such  as  Posey,  White,  Tule,  and  Deer  creeks,  which  can  therefore 
be  relied  on  for  irrigation  to  a  limited  extent  only.  These  water-courses  are  bordered  by  moist  lauds,  which  do  not 
require  as  much  water  as  the  higher  plains. 

The  streams  of  the  Tulare  basin  enter  the  valley  from  the  Sierra  carious  in  remarkably  shallow  channels,  but 
then  cut  deeper  ways  into  the  plains  proper,  again  approaching  the  general  surface  as  they  near  the  trough,  which  lies 
about  two-thirds  of  the  way  to  the  Coast  range.  The  streams  descending  from  the  latter  are  of  the  most  intermittent 
character,  the  slopes  of  the  range  being  steep  and  bare  of  forest;  so  that  the  land  drains  the  more  rapidly,  as  it 
is  mostly  very  sandy.  Hence  the  Coast  range  streams  mostly  lose  themselves  before  reaching  the  trough,  and  are 
in  any  case  available  for  irrigation  only  locally  and  to  a  limited  extent  unless  stored.  This  character  of  the  Coast 
rauge  drainage  is  also  the  same  northward  in  the  San  Joaquin  basin.  The  streams  flowing  from  the  Sierra,  on  the 
contrary,  there  lie  in  deeply-cut  channels  for  many  miles  out  from  the  mountains,  and  do  not  approach  the  level  of 
the  plain  until  shortly  before  reaching  the  trough,  when  they  turn  northward. 

The  Tulare  basin. 

The  Tulare  basin  is  terminated  on  the  south  by  the  amphitheater  of  the  Tejon  and  Tehachapi  mountains,  which 
rise  from  the  valley  with  rather  a  gentle  slope  of  good  grazing  lands,  but  are  destitute  of  timber,  as  seen  from  the 
valley.  Conforming  iu  shape  to  that  of  the  base  of  the  mountains,  but  separated  from  the  latter  by  a  slightly 
sloping  plain  from  S  to  10  miles  wide,  lies  the  V-shaped  trough  of  lowland  in  which  Kern  and  Buena  Vista  lakes 
form  sheets  of  water,  at  present  rapidly  decreasing,  disconnected  from  one  another  by  the  lowering  of  the  water- 
level  by  evaporation.  From  the  same  cause  these  waters  are  very  sensibly  alkaline,  and,  of  course,  increasingly 
so  as  the  evaporation  progresses,  the  same  characteristic  being  imparted  to  the  shore-lands  left  by  the  receding 

H31 


24  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

waters.  At  the  western  end  of  the  trough,  Bueua  Vista  slough  connects  (or  connected)  tlie  lake  of  that  name 
with  the  southern  end  of  Tulare  lake.  This  slough  at  one  point  touches  the  base  of  a  projecting  spur  of  the 
Coast  range,  but  below  or  northward  of  that  point  it  is  bordered  by  a  broad  belt  of  tide  lands  to  the  head  of  Tulare 
lake.  Within  the  angle  of  the  V  mentioned  lies  what  is  known  as  Kern  island,  being  mainly  the  delta  of  Kern 
liver  included  between  its  ancient  and  modern  channels,  the  former  of  which  led  directly  into  Kern  lake,  while  the 
latter  strikes  Bueua  Vista  slough. 

Kern  river,  after  leaving  its  precipitous  canon,  flows  mostly  between  gravelly  bluffs  of  100  or  200  feet  high 
before  reaching  the  valley  proper.  At  this  point  it  has  been  wont  to  spread  in  divers  channels,  seeking  an  outlet  into 
the  lakes,  the  distance  from  its  present  outlet  to  the  mouth  of  the  canon  being  about  10  miles.  From  about  5  miles 
below  the  latter  its  bed  is  composed  of  shifting  quicksands,  varying  in  width  from  150  to  S00  feet.  The  banks  are  h iw, 
sandy,  and  unstable,  and  the  land  slopes  rapidly  away  from  them,  offering  great  facilities  for  irrigation.  Hence  there 
is  no  other  river  in  the  state  from  which  so  many  canals  and  ditches  have  been  made  to  divert  the  water,  their  excessive 
multiplication  giving  rise  to  great  waste  of  water.  The  higher  lands  bordering  the  eastern  loot  hills,  as  well  as  the 
higher  parts  of  the  plains  lauds  farther  out  in  the  valley,  have  not  as  yet  been  irrigated. 

Details  in  regard  to  the  alkaline  character  of  some  of  these  lands  are  given  in  the  discussion  following  tin' 
regional  descriptions.  As  a  whole,  they  are  highly  productive,  and  have -proved  especially  well  adapted  to  l  he 
cultivation  of  cotton,  though  at  present  they  are  chiefly  devoted  to  the  culture  of  cereals  and  alfalfa. 

The  lauds  lying  westward  of  Buena  Vista  slough  and  Tulare  lake  are  reported  to  be  very  sandy,  and  few  attempts 
at  cultivation  have  as  yet  been  made.  Northward  from  the  region  irrigated  from  Kern  river  the  sandy  loam  soils 
of  the  plains  are  but  little  cultivated  as  yet,  but  locally  the  foot-hill  streams  are  utilized,  and  Tale  river  especially 
serves  to  irrigate  a  small  but  fertile  district. 

The  Kaweah  river,  like  the  Kern,  forms  its  delta  far  in  advance  of  it,  without  reaching  the  great  drainage  trough, 
to  which,  indeed,  it  has  not  at  present  any  definite  channel.  It  begins  to  spread  immediately  after  leaving  its  rocky 
canon  within  the  foot-hills,  and  loses  a  considerable  portion  of  its  waters  in  the  beds  of  sand,  gravel,  and  light 
alluvium  with  which  it  has  built  up  the  plain  for  many  square  miles  in  front  of  its  point  of  emergence  from  the 
mountains.  From  the  canon  to  Tulare  lake  this  river  is  30  miles  in  length,  falling,  in  that  distance,  from  an  elevation 
of  520  feet  to  that  of  the  lake,  viz,  190  feet  above  tide-water.  In  the  upper  portion  of  its  course  the  grade  is  at 
times  as  much  as  30  feet  per  mile,  alternated  with  comparatively  flat  and  swampy  tracts,  heavily  overgrown  with  oaks 
and  underbrush ;  but  near  the  lake  the  plain  falls  only  2  or  3  feet  per  mile,  and,  without  irrigation,  is  dry  and  barren. 
Down  this  sloping  delta  plain  the  Kaweah  flood-waters  iind  their  way  through  eight  or  ten  channels,  whose  beds 
are  upon  deep  beds  of  sand,  and  are  occasionally  lost  altogether  in  some  swampy  tract,  the  waters  partially 
emerging  below  into  another  channel  under  another  name.  About  half-way  down  the  plain,  from  Cross  creek  on 
the  extreme  northwest  to  Outside  creek  on  the  southeast,  the  width  of  the  delta  is  about  18  miles;  but  these  channels 
approach  each  other  lower  down  and  enter  the  lake  only  10  miles  apart. 

This,  the  Visalia  region  of  Tulare  county,  is  to  a  large  extent  heavily  timbered  with  white  oak  (Q.  lobata),  and 
is  the  one  wooded  district  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley  ;  for  elsewhere  a  few  oaks,  scattered  widely  apart,  are  all  that 
is  usually  seen,  and  these  are  away  from  the  main  channels  of  the  streams.  The  soils  of  the  region  vary 
considerably,  from  that  of  the  sandy  plains  to  a  rich  alluvial  deposit,  most  of  which  contains  some  alkali,  especially 
near  the  streams,  but  not  usually  enough  to  interfere  with  successful  cultivation.  From  the  numerous  creeks 
irrigating  ditches  traverse  the  delta  plain  in  every  direction,  leaving  but  little  water  unused,  save  in  times  of  flood. 

A  belt  of  very  strongly  alkaline  laud  about  2  miles  wide  borders  the  Visalia  district  on  the  west  and  northwest, 
but  the  impregnation  becomes  less  as  King's  river  is  approached. 

King's  river,  both  from  its  location  with  reference  to  the  adjoining  country  and  from  the  volume  and  purity  of  its 
water,  is  one  of  the  most  important  irrigation  rivers  of  the  state.  Where  it  leaves  the  foot-hills  all  the  water  flows 
in  a  single  channel,  but  in  its  passage  through  the  adjacent  "Centerville  bottoms"  its  waters  divide  into  several 
channels  for  a  distance  of  14  miles,  and  then  again  unite  and  remain  confined  to  a  single  deep  and  tortuous  channel 
the  bed  of  which  is  from  20  to  05  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  adjacent  plains.  Practically,  this  portion  of  the  river 
has  no  valley  or  bottom  lands,  the  high  bluffs  encroaching  generally  upon  the  margin  of  the  river.  Here  and  there 
the  bluffs  recede,  and  the  river  is  fringed  with  a  narrow  belt  of  alluvial  land,  covered  with  a  scanty  growth  of  oaks 
and  vines.  This  condition  is  maintained  to  the  head  of  Cole  slough,  where  its  waters  are  again  divided,  the  greater 
part  passing  northward  through  the  slough,  and  the  rest  along  the  old  river  channels,  spreading  into  a  delta-like 
swamp  between  Tulare  lake  and  the  San  Joaquin  river.  King's  river  has  not  a  single  perennial  tributary  from  the 
foot-hills  to  Tulare  lake,  a  distance  of  about  62  miles. 

South  of  King's  river,  and  included  between  it  and  the  tule  lands  bordering  Tulare  lake,  lies  the  Mussel  Slough 
country,  so  noted  for  its  fertility,  and  which  is  irrigated  by  many  ditches  from  the  river,  aggregating  about  120 
miles  in  18S0.  The  soil  of  the  Mussel  Slough  country  is  mainly  a  light  alluvial  loam  of  great  depth,  evidently  quite 
distinct  from  the  soils  of  the  higher  plains.  North  of  King's  river  its  waters,  taken  from  near  its  point  of  exit 
from  the  mountains,  pass  through  numerous  ditches  (aggregating  about  120  miies)  to  the  plains  of  Fresno,  lying 
considerably  higher  than  the  Mussel  Slough  country  and  possessing  a  very  different  soil — largely  a  whitish  and 
very  calcareous  silt,  quite  unlike  the  plains  soil  of  Tulare  and  Kern,  but  also  yielding  abundant  returns  when 
082 


PHYSICO-GEOUKAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  25 

■irrigated.  The  Fresno  plains  are  gently  rolling,  almost  exempt  from  alkali,  and  in  spring  present  the  appearance 
•of  a  carpet  of  flowers.  Near  the  foot-hills  the  red-clay  soil  of  the  latter  has  been  mingled  by  the  streams  with  the 
-sand  of  the  plains,  makiug  what  is  there  called  "  red  adobe".  None  of  these  streams  cross  the  railroad,  the  plains 
to  the  westward  being  without  any  permanent  channels  and  falling  off  gently  into  the  long  belt  of  "tules"  that 
stretches  between  Tulare  lake  and  the  turn  of  the  San  Joaquin  river. 

The  8au  Joaquin  basin. 

The  San  Joaquin  river,  ou  emerging  from  its  canon  in  the  foot-hills,  continues  into  the  valley  in  a  channel 
much  depressed  below  the  surface  of  the  plains,  and  hence  is,  of  all  the  rivers  of  the  valley,  the  most  difficult  to 
■draw  upon  for  irrigation.  For  from  16  to  18  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  canon  its  water  surface  lies  from  75  to  200 
feet  below  the  rolling  plains,  which  frequently  fall  off  to  it  in  perpendicular  bluffs.  Hence,  although  the  land  to  the 
southward  is  fertile  and  irrigates  well,  but  little  has  been  done  in  that  direction.  North  of  the  river  the  foot-hills 
•extend  far  down  into  the  valley,  and  have  a  hard-pan  subsoil,  which  sometimes  lies  almost  bare  and  would  not  irrigate 
well.  About  midway-to  the  trough,  however,  the  soils  are  lighter  and  better  suited  to  farming,  and  the  river  is 
more  easily  approached  from  either  side,  the  plains  being  only  35  or  50  feet  above  the  bed.  To  the  southward  the 
soils  are  mostly  deep  and  rather  sandy;  but  northward  they  are  heavier,  and  their  irrigation  (water  taken  from 
the  Ohowchilla  canal)  requires  great  skill  to  prevent  injury  from  excessive  flooding,  and  are  largely  underlaid  by 
a  sandy  and  wholly  impervious  hard-pan.  On  the  west  side  of  the  river  the  lands  irrigated  by  the  San  Joaquin 
and  Bang's  River  canal  are  very  variable.  For  35  miles  from  the  great  bend  the  land  below  it  is  for  several  miles 
a  black,  alkaline  adobe,  underlaid  by  a  not  wholly  impervious,  marly  hard-pan,  difficult  to  irrigate  and  till;  but 
between  Firebaugh's  and  Hill's  ferries  there  are  along  the  river  large  areas  of  sandy  alluvial  loam,  readily  irrigated 
and  quite  productive. 

The  Fresno  river,  or  rather  creek,  about  12  miles  north  of  the  San  Joaquin,  is  an  intermittent  stream,  and  about- 
half-way  to  the  trough  is  bordered  by  rough  and  rolliug  lands  with  an  inferior  soil.  Below  it  passes  through  level 
land  with  a  rich,  sandy  loam  soil,  and  supplies  a  canal  on  the  south  side. 

The  Ohowchilla,  Mariposa,  and  Bear  creeks,  entering  the  plain  from  the  foot-hills  between  the  Fresno  and  Merced 
rivers,  are  intermittent  streams,  and  flood  the  plain  after  heavy  storms  through  numerous  small  channels,  from  which 
some  of  the  water  finds  its  way  into  the  trough,  while  most  of  it  is  absorbed  in  the  pervious  soils  of  the  region 
•borderiug  the  latter.  Around  and  south  of  Merced  city,  between  Deadman's  and  Bear  creeks,  there  is  a 
■considerable  body  of  black  adobe  lauds,  of  which  a  narrow  strip  about  2  miles  wide  continues  northwestward 
through  Stanislaus  county  into  San  Joaquin,  where  this  kind  of  soil  is  more  characteristically  developed. 

Northward  of  Merced  city  a  wide  tract  of  "  hog- wallows  "  comes  in  from  the  foot-hills,  and  is  an  excellent  wheat 
soil  iu  its  level  portions ;  but  midway  to  the  Merced  river  this  tract  rises  into  a  foot-hills  ridge,  with  a  gravelly  clay 
soil,  that  extends  far  out  into  the  valley,  and  is  of  inferior  quality.  Toward  the  Merced  river  the  soil  again  becomes 
lighter  and  productive,  and  is  irrigated  by  a  canal  from  the  river. 

The  Mereed  river  heads  among  the  highest  ranges  of  the  Sierra,  and,  after  traversing  the  Yosemite  valley, 
passes  to  the  edge  of  the  plaiu  through  a  deep,  rocky  canon  with  a  water-fall  at  its  outlet.  Thence  its  valley 
runs  to  the  trough  iu  nearly  a  straight  line  southwestward  for  30  miles,  but  within  it  the  river  winds  on  a  very 
tortuous  course  between  abrupt  bluffs  as  much  as  3  miles  apart  and  from  10  to  80  feet  in  height  8  miles  below  the 
falls,  and  thence  narrows  down  within  the  next  8  miles  to  about  1  mile  from  bluff  to  bluff.  These  bluffs  become  still 
more  contracted  and  less  sharply  defined  as  they  approach  the  level  of  the  plains  on  nearing  the  trough  of  the  San 
-Joaquin. 

The  wide  lozenge-shaped  bottom,  terminating  16  miles  below  the  canon,  is  an  important  agricultural  region,  and 
|s  of  especial  interest  in  having  been  the  sole  locality  of  cotton-planting  in  the  state  for  a  number  of  years.  The  soil 
is  a  dark,  sandy  loam  of  great  productiveness  when  supplied  with  moisture.  At  times  of  flood  the  water  spreads 
from  the  main  channels  over  the  valley,  frequently  shifting  its  course  permanently,  cutting  away  large  soil  areas 
and  covering  them  with  coarse  gravel.  The  soil  is  almost  everywhere  underlaid  by  such  gravel  at  varying  depths, 
sometimes  coming  close  to  the  surface.  Some  levees  have  been  constructed  to  prevent  overflow  and  shifting,  and 
it  thus  becomes  necessary  to  irrigate  the  lands  so  protected.  All  the  cotton  grown  here  has,  therefore,  had  the  aid 
of  irrigation. 

The  country  between  the  Merced  and  the  Tuolumne  rivers  is  quite  rolling  near  the  foot-hills,  the  soil  being 
generally  sandy,  resembling  somewhat  that  of  the  Tulare  plains,  but  on  the  whole  less  productive ;  on  the  other 
hand,  the  rainfall  being  greater,  much  grain  is  grown  here  without  irrigation. 

The  Tuolumne  river  comes  from  the  mountains  through  a  most  forbidding  canon,  below  which  it  is  closely 
flanked  by  foot-hills,  merging  into  rolling  lands,  and  then  into  a  plain  lying  from  50  to  SO  feet  above  its  water  surface 
for  20  miles  below  the  canon.  Thence  the  plain  falls  off  toward  the  trough  of  the  valley,  so  that  the  banks  are  only 
from  15  to  25  feet  in  height.  For  30  out  of  the  42  miles  of  the  river's  course  it  is  bordered  by  plains  sufficiently  even 
an  surface  to  admit  of  irrigation  on  the  large  scale  to  advantage,  having  soils  particularly  adapted  to  its  practice; 
and  since  in  its  habitual  water  volume  the  Tuolumne  stands  first  among  the  rivers  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  its 
importance  as  a  source  of  irrigation  is  very  great,  although  thus  far  it  has  been  but  little  utilized,  the  reason  being 
.that  its  bottom  lands  are  very  limited,  and  costly  works  are  required  to  bring  the  water  upon  the  high  plains. 


26  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

Between  the  Tuolumne  and  the  Stanislaus  the  soil  gradually  changes  from  its  very  sandy  character  near  the 
former  river  to  a  dark  and  more  substantial  loam  of  high  productiveness. 

On  leaving  the  foot-hills,  the  Stanislaus  river  lies  in  a  deep  and  generally  narrow  trough  from  100  to  150  feet 
below  the  plains,  its  bottom  being  very  narrow,  rarely  exceeding  a  few  hundred  yards,  but  having  an  excellent  soil. 
In  its  lower  course  its  slope  is  much  less  than  that  of  the  adjacent  plains,  so  that  within  10  miles  of  its  mouth  it  lies 
but  40  or  50  feet  below  the  plains  level.  Its  immediate  channel  here  is  so  narrow  as  to  be  altogether  inadequate  to 
cany  the  flood  discharge,  and  hence  the  bottom  is  periodically  overflowed.  The  soil  of  the  plains  adjacent  to  the 
Stanislaus  is  excellently  adapted  to  irrigation,  but  the  great  depth  of  the  river  channel  below  the  surface  renders 
it  necessary  to  locate  the  heads  of  irrigating  ditches  some  distance  up  the  canon,  and  this  is  a  costly  undertaking. 
Hence  irrigation  is  practiced  on  but  a  limited  scale  thus  far;  but  in  the  deep,  light  loams  a  large  amount  of  grain 
is  grown  without  irrigation,  and  with  comparatively  few  failures. 

North  of  the  Stanislaus  to  French  Camp  slough  the  land  continues  sandy,  and  is  largely  unproductive  without 
irrigation.  North  of  the  slough,  to  and  beyond  the  Calaveras  river,  lies  the  region  of  black  adobe  lands  that 
constitute  one  of  the  most  productive  and  densely-settled  portions  of  the  valley.  Its  surface  is  gently  undulating, 
and  is  sparsely  dotted  with  oaks.  Ou  the  border  of  the  tides,  as  well  as  at  some  other  points,  there  are  moi  e  or  less 
interrupted  belts  of  alkali  land,  mostly  with  a  "  hog-wallow"  surface.  The  soil  does  not  appear  to  differ  materially 
from  that  of  the  adjacent  lands,  and  by  proper  treatment  it  can  doubtless  be  brought  under  profitable 
cultivation,  (a) 

The  Calaveras  river  does  not  head  high  enough  in  the  mountains  to  be  perennial  in  its  flow,  the  direct  distance 
being  about  25  miles  from  its  point  of  emergence  from  the  foot-hills  to  its  junction  with  the  San  Joaquin  river. 
At  Bellota  the  stream  forks,  one  channel,  Mormon  slough,  passing  westward  through  Stockton,  the  other,  diverging 
to  the  northward,  entering  the  San  Joaquin  about  5  miles  northwest  of  Stockton. 

Mormon  slough  is  now  the  principal  channel,  and  carries  water  when  the  northern  branch  is  dry.  In  extreme 
floods  both  these  channels  are  incapable  of  carrying  the  volume  of  water,  and  at  such  times  the  plains  are  extensively 
overflowed  from  the  numerous  side  streams  that  put  out  from  the  main  channels  at  weak  points  in  their  banks. 

Before  reaching  the  valley  the  water  of  the  Calaveras  is  repeatedly  used  for  mining  purposes,  and  is  always 
highly  charged  with  fine  sand  and  sediment;  hence  it  is  considered  especially  valuable  when  used  in  the  irrigation 
of  the  heavier  soils,  the  sandy  sediment  rendering  the  adobe  more  mellow  and  tractable. 

Soils  of  the  San  Joaquin  Valley. 

As  stated,  the  soils  of  the  southern  part  of  the  great  valley,  even  to  the  alluvial  ones,  are  predominantly  sandy, 
except  in  the  main  trough  of  the  San  Joaquin  river;  the  sand  being  in  most  cases  coarse.  Exceptional  in  these 
respects  are  the  tine  silt  soils  of  Fresno  and  the  black  adobe  of  southeastern  Merced. 

In  the  descriptions  and  tables  given  below  the  soils  are  segregated  into  upland  or  plains  and  lowland  soils 
for  couvenieuce  of  consideration,  but  it  must  be  admitted  that  the.  distinction  is,  of  necessity,  often  somewhat 
arbitrary.  Again,  the  two  first  mentioned  (adobe  soil  and  subsoil  from  Stocktou)  are  much  more  closely  related 
to  the  soils  of  Sacramento  valley  than  to  those  of  the  San  Joaquin,  the  characteristic  sandy  soils  beginning  some 
miles  to  the  southward  of  the  city  of  Stockton.  True  black  adobe  is,  nevertheless,  found  again  near  and  eastward 
of  Merced  city. 

A. — Alluvial  or  lowland  soils. 

No.  0.  Black  adobe  soil  from  S.  45,  Weber  grant,  near  Stockton,  now  the  property  of  D.  A.  Learned,  of  San  Joaquin 
county.  This  soil  is  dark-colored,  very  adhesive  wheu  wet,  but  in  drying  it  cracks  open  at  times  to  the  depth  of 
several  feet.  The  sample  was  taken  to  the  depth  of  12  inches,  the  soil  remaining  the  same.  Its  thickness  varies  from 
6  inches  to  4  feet,  the  latter  coming  nearest  its  average  depth.  The  main  body  of  this  land  lies  between  French 
Camp  slough  on  the  south  and  the  Calaveras  river  on  the  north,  extending  2  miles  beyond  the  latter;  westward 
it  reaches  to  the  alkali  lands  bordering-  the  tules,  while  its  eastward  limit  is  not  well  defined,  but  lies  at  least  10 
miles  to  the  eastward  of  Stockton.  The  wheat  product  of  this  soil,  wheu  fresh,  averages  between  15  and  20  bushels 
per  acre  for  five  to  eight  years,  and  then  decreases,  but  can  be  brought  up  by  summer  fallow  and  good  cultivation. 

No.  7.  Hard-pan  subsoil  of  No.  (i,  found  underlying  the  black  adobe  in  the  lower  ground  at  varying  depths  and 
of  varying  thickness,  from  6  inches  to  several  feet.  This  is  a  yellowish  or  whitish-gray,  moderately  coherent  mass, 
more  or  less  porous,  which  effervesces  with  acids,  leaving  a  loose  mass  of  sand  and  silt. 

No.  195.  Valley  soil  from  a  valley  2  miles  south  of  the  Merced  river,  Merced  county,  ou  the  Hopetou  and  Merced 
road,  through  which  the  Farmers'  ditch  passes.  This  soil  is  a  blackish-brown  loam,  easily  tilled,  and  fairly 
representative  of  the  soils  of  the  smaller  valleys  of  this  as  well  as  of  the  Dry  Creek  region. 

No.  l'JS.  Bottom  soil  of  Merced  river  from  J.  A.  Grade's  cotton  plantation,  near  Hopeton,  Merced  county;  a 
dark-colored,  light  loam  soil,  varying  in  depth  from  IS  inches  to  5  feet,  according  to  location,  usually  underlaid  by 
gravel,  which  undulates  more  or  less  in  subterranean  ridges.  Its  chief  natural  growth  is  the  California  sunflower, 
•which  grows  very  luxuriantly,  with  some  oaks  and  cottonwood  on  the  lower  ground.    The  bottom  here  is  about  4  miles 

a  Sec  article  on  alkali  soils  on  page  63  for  some  details  regarding  this  region  and  the  general  subject. 
684 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  27 

grille  from  bluft'  to  bluff,  and  is  traversed  by  numerous  sloughs,  as  well  as  by  gravel  ridges.  This  soil  in  good  seasons 
las  made  over  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre,  and  a  large  body  of  it  constitutes  the  Strong,  Grade,  and 
Buckley  ranches,  where  cotton  has  been  successfully  grown  for  many  years. 

No.  570.  "Brown  adobe'"  soil  from  the  lower  hind  in  the  Eisen  vineyard,  near  Fresno,  Fresno  county,  taken  to 
the  depth  of  12  inches;  reddish  brown,  only  moderately  heavy,  with  much  coarse  sand  intermixed,  and  easily  tilled, 
except  when  very  wet.  This  soil  may  be  considered  representative  of  the  more  substantial  soils  formed  by  the 
foot-hill  creeks  between  King's  and  Ban  Joaquin  rivers  in  the  shallow  valleys,  separated  by  divides  of  "  sand-hill" 
ridges  with  very  sandy  soils. 

No.  701.  '■'■Dry  bog"  soil  from  a  valley  on  Sisson,  Wallace  &  Co.'s  land,  0  miles  northeast  from  Visalia,  Tulare 
•county,  in  the  "hog-wallow"  hills;  a  black,  heavy  soil,  occurring  in  the  smaller  valleys  among  the  "hog- wallow" 
land.  This  soil  is  chiefly  covered  with  long  grass  during  the  growing  season,  and,  like  the  "  adobe  "  elsewhere,  is  often 
deeply  fissured  during  the  dry  season.  It  has  usually  at  a  depth  varying  from  0  to  18  inches  a  subsoil  of  heavy 
gray  clay,  with  spots  and  concretions  of  bog  ore,  or  "black  gravel";  hence  it  is  commonly  ill-drained  and  needs 
drainage  first  of  all.  But  little  of  it  is  cultivated.  The  analysis  was  made  to  determine  its  value  for  permanent 
culture  when  reclaimed. 

No.  585.  "  Wire-grass  soil"  from  wooded  flats  2  miles  west  of  Visalia,  Tulare  county.  The  soil  is  a  gray  or 
blackish,  moderately  heavy  loam,  characterized  by  a  growth  of  wire-grass  {Seirpus)  and  more  or  less  of  alkali  grass 
(Brizopyrum),  with  alfilerilla.  It  is  well  timbered  with  oak.  In  low  places  occasionally  a  little  alkali  is  visible  on 
the  surface,  but  there  is  not  enough  of  it  in  the  land  to  prevent  the  growing  of  cereals  or  other  crops,  and  it  is  highly 
productive. 

No.  579.  Alluvial  loam  soil  from  near  Grangeville,  in  the'  Mussel  Slough  country,  Tulare  county,  and  fairly 
representative  of  the  best  class  of  soils,  yielding  40  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre.  The  soil  is  quite  light  and  easily 
tilled,  with  no  change  of  color  for  from  IS  to  24  inches.     Sample  taken  to  the  depth  of  12  inches. 

No.  77.  "  Dry  boy"  soil  from  the  banks  of  Tulare  lake,  near  its  southeast  corner,  from  overflowed  land 
reclaimed  by  E.  R.  Thomasou.  This  tract  is  inclosed  by  a  levee,  and  lies  below  the  high-water  mark  of  the  lake. 
Eighteen  months  previous  it  was  all  under  water,  but  at  the  time  of  taking  the  sample  the  water  was  half  a  mile  from 
the  levee.  The  first  vegetation  that  started  after  it  was  laid  dry  was  "  wild  parsley",  followed  later  by  wire-grass, 
salt-grass,  and  tule.  The  surface  at  the  present  time  shows  no  salt,  and  but  little  indication  of  alkali.  Grain, 
however,  "burns  up"  when  hot  weather  comes,  even  though  the  ground  be  moist.  Garden  vegetables  look  well 
until  blooming  time  and  then  die.  When  sampling  the  soil  at  the  time  stated  it  was  found  to  be  baked  quite  hard 
for  the  first  6  inches;  but  from  that  liue  down  to  20  inches,  to  which  depth  it  was  taken,  it  was  "boggy  and  soft". 
The  soil  as  received  is  a  somewhat  bluish-gray  clayey  sediment,  containing  a  good  deal  of  small  gravel  and  shells 
intermixed.     Its  reaction  is  alkaline,  though  not  sharply  so. 

B. —  Upland  or  bench  soils. 

No.  193.  Loam  soil  from  the  "hog- wallow"  tract  5  miles  north  of  Merced  city,  Merced  county,  near  Huffman's 
wheat  farm;  a  reddish  or  brownish  loam,  rather  close  and  coherent  when  dry.  Sample  taken  to  the  depth  of  12 
inches.  The  subsoil  is  nearly  of  the  same  character  for  3  feet.  The  surface  of  this  land  lies  in  gentle  swells,  on  which 
are  the  characteristic  "hog-wallow"  hillocks,  not  very  deeply  impressed,  and  therefore  not  interfering  materially 
with  plowing  even  in  fresh  land,  and  almost  disappearing  after  a  few  years'  tillage.  The  wheat  product  is  from  25 
to  30  bushels  per  acre  in  fair  years  on  fresh  land. 

No.  704.  Fresno  plains  soil  from  Mr.  White's  place,  Central  colony,  about  2  miles  south  of  Fresno  city,  Fresno 
county;  a  grayish- white,  somewhat  ashy  soil,  changing  little  to  the  depth  of  2  feet  or  more,  then  gradually 
becoming  more  sandy,  sometimes  underlaid  at  a  depth  of  from  11  to  3  feet  by  a  sheet  of  calcareous  hard-pan,  from  8 
to  18  inches  in  thickness,  which  seems  to  be  merely  the  subsoil  cemented  by  lime.  In  planting  trees  it  is  sometimes 
necessary  to  break  through  this  hard-pan  in  order  to  enable  the  roots  to  reach  moisture.  This  soil  is  said  to  b'e 
fairly  representative  of  the  country  lying  to  the  southward  and  westward  toward  King's  river  and  the  San  Joaquin. 
To  the  east  and  north  it  passes  into  the  reddish  and  "sand-hill"  soils  formed  by  the  streams  coming  from  the 
foot-hills.     (See  soil  No.  570,  from  the  Eisen  vineyard.) 

No.  580.  Tulare  plains  soil,  taken  midway  between  Outside  creek  and  the  Sierra  foot-hills  east  of  Visalia, 
Tulare  county.  Depth  taken,  12  inches,  with  apparently  little  change  for  several  feet.  The  tract  is  quite  level, 
and  is  treeless.  This  land  does  well  when  irrigated,  but  has  thus  far  been  taken  into  cultivation  less  freely  than 
the  lands  lying  nearer  the  creeks.  It  is  said  to  be  a  fair  sample  of  the  "plains"  proper  of  this  part  of  the  San 
Joaquin  valley,  and  is  of  a  dun  color,  quite  light  and  sandy,  and  not  altogether  promising  in  appearance,  but  bearing 
a  luxuriant  growth  of  wild  flowers,  which  testifies  to  its  productive  capacity. 

No.  573.  Tulare  plains  soil  from  near  the  crossing  of  Cross  creek,  on  the  Visalia  and  Hanford  road,  Tulare 
county,  taken  to  12  inches  depth.  This  soil  resembles  the  preceding,  but  is  of  a  more  grayish  tint  when  dry  and 
darker  colored  when  wet,  as  a  result  of  its  proximity  to  the  creek,  which,  however,  rarely  carries  water,  so  that  the 
soil  can  hardly  be  accounted  an  alluvial  one.     There  are  decided  indications  of  alkali  in  the  lower  portions,  and  this 

C85 


28 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 


is  more  clearly  perceptible  where  the  soil  has  been  cultivated  with  irrigation,  as  is  the  ease  within  a  mile  or  two 
farther  to  the  west.  The  country  is  altogether  treeless,  but  in  spring-time  bears  a  luxuriant  growth  of  bright, 
flowers. 

No.  700.  Salt-grass  soil,  forming  a  belt  on  the  western  edge  of  the  plains  east  of  Buena  Vista  slough,  Kern 
county;  a  yellowish  gray,  line  sandy  soil,  nearly  the  same  in  character  to  a  depth  of  several  feet.  Sample  taken 
to  VI  inches.  Much  salt-grass,  and  but  little  herbaceous  vegetation  beside.  When  irrigated,  this  soil  produces  as 
much  as  40  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre.     It  has  been  but  little  cultivated  thus  far,  being  chiefly  pastured. 

Alluvial  or  lowland  soils  of  the  Sou  Joaquin  region. 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Potash 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese. 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina.. 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

Carbonic  acid 

Water  and  organic  matter  .', 


Total  . 


Hmnus 

Available  inorganic 

Available  phosphoric  acid  . 

Hygroscopic  moisture 

absorbed  at 


San  Joaquin  county. 


NKAR  STOCKTON. 


Blackadol,     ,i;;1'1  I';|", 
M  HllbHOll   ol 

soU-         i      adobe. 


72.  058 

0,  396  j 
0.479 
1.927 
1.640 
0.056 
6.815 
11.620 
0. 179 
0.037 


MEKCEI.)  COUNTY. 


FltE6.NO 
COUNTY. 


NEAKIKH'KTON.     NKAK  FRESNO. 


Tulare  county. 


NEAR  V1SAL1A. 


[     vineyard.      ]      wallowa. 


003      75'40%- 

f  8.  28fl> 
24S 
■nil 
502 
700 
034  |j 
072 


73. 120,  , 

[77.  002 
3.882* 


0.423  I 
0.  125 


I.  324 
I.  (ino 
i.  220     . 

:.  800     < 


0.  038 
4.  452 
ti.  331 
0.048 
0.046 


0.807 
0.595 


0.  500 
0.004 
1.310 
0.5-17 
0.030 
0.078 
5.  000 
0.132 
0.094 


76.  622,. 


2.  870  > 


1.  eoo 

0.563 
0.130 
5.671 


9.492  I 

0.711 
0.  441 
1.700 

2.  018 
0.041 

3.  728 
7.988 
0.  038 
0.074 


0.597 
0.373 
0.020 
5.  430 


07.510,, 
4.230S' 


00.  470  , 
4.  950 


I.  502 
1.057 
!.  599 
1.753 
1.066 
i.609 
1.395 
I.  074 
1.145 
1.083 
1.495 


1.061 
0.984 
0.039 
11.194 


NF.Alt 
OEA.NCKVH.LE. 


Alluvial  Boil, 

MllHHcl 

slough. 


79.  5-18, 


82.  737 

0.700 
0.280 
1.240 
L578 
0.018 
4.039 
6.578 
0.069 
0.019 


0.644 
0.587 


"Dry  bog" 

aoll,  'Tulare 

lake. 


07.  34. 

I .  or. 
0.84. 

II.  51 

:i.  or, 

11.04 
.-..  05 
7.J7 
0. 82 
0.08- 
4.42 
3.71 


0.408 
2.184 


Upland  or  bench  soils  of  the  San  Joaquin  region. 


Insoluble-  matter 

Soloble  silica 

'Potash 

Soda 

T.imo 

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese. 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

Carbonic  acid 

Water  and  organic  matter.. 


Total  . 


Humus 

Available  inorganic 

Available  phosphoric  acid. 

Hygroscopic  moisture 

absorbed  at 


MERCKD  COUNTY. 


Loam  soil,  "hop- 
wallows  ",  5  miles 
north  of  Merced. 


FKESNO  COUNTS'. 


TULABB  COUNTY. 


Central  colony.       PlainBsoil,  Ontsidc 
Fresno  plains  soil.  creek. 


SO.  328  1 
4. 345  J 


84.673 

0.347 
0.058 
0.  508 
0.588 
0.016 
4.772 
6.165 
0.023 
0.006 


85.  874  i 
2.  705  i 


0.334 
0.019 
4.212 


88.  579 

0.340 
0.248 
1.163 
0.499 
0.034 
3.276 
3.221 
0.097 
0.117 


73.  774  j 
3. 491  i 


0.604 
0.351 
0.011 
2.217 


77.265 

1.221 
0.149 
1.173 
1.751 
«.027 
5.073 
7.799 
0.103 
0.003 


Plains  soil,  CroflB 
creek. 


66.  070  > 
3.  378  > 


69.  457 

1.817 
0.  436 
4.307 
1.585 
0.078 
6.041 
8.692 
0.138 
0.263 
2.533 
4.150 


KEEN  COUNTY. 


Salt-grass  Boil, 

Buena  Vieta 

slough. 


99.497 


87.060 
1.980 


89.  010 

0.492 
0. 305 
1.198 
1.009- 
0.025 
5.822 
n.  171 
0.079' 
0. 133 


1.130 
99.404 


0. 170 
0. 195 
0.009- 
2.164 


686 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  29 

A  glance  over  the  preceding  tables  of  soils  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley  shows  at  once  that,  like  those  of  th  t 
Sacramento  division,  they  nearly  all  agree  in  having  a  large  percentage  of  lime ;  in  only  one  case  as  little  as  half  of 
one  per  cent.,  in  most  cases  over  and  ranging  as  high  as  3  per  cent. 

All  these  soils,  except  the  Stockton  adobe,  are  of  a  rather  sandy  or  light  character,  which  places  them  the  more 
distinctly  in  the  class  of  calcareous  soils,  and  this  accounts  for  the  extraordinary  thriftiness,  when  placed  under 
irrigation,  of  even  such  as  do  not  show  high  percentages  of  phosphates  and  potash.  Thus,  in  No.  193  (Merced  hog- 
wallow  soil)  the  potash  percentage  is  quite  low  for  California,  while  that  of  phosphoric  acid  is  exceedingly  low;  yet 
these  soils  have  yielded  from  16  to  25  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre  for  several  years  consecutively.  They  will  doubtless, 
however,  soon  require  the  use  of  bone-meal  for  the  maintenance  of  production.  The  same  deficiency  of  phosphoric 
acid  occurs  in  the  bottom  soil  No.  195,  also  from  northern  Merced.  Almost  throughout,  the  percentage  of  phosphoric 
acid  in  the  soils  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley  is  only  moderately  high,  many  falling  below  one-tenth  of  one  per  cent, 
and  only  two  rising  above  two-tenths.  These  latter  are  Nos.  585  and  77,  both  alkaline  soils,  in  which  probably 
the  soluble  phosphates  have  accumulated  near  the  surface  (from  which  the  sample  was  taken),  doubtless,  in  part 
at  least,  at  the  expense  of  the  surrounding  uplands.  It  follows,  that  while  in  the  lowlands  that  are  more  or  less 
impregnated  with  alkali  both  potash  and  phosphates  are  comparatively  abundant  and  will  not  require  replacement 
for  a  long  time  to  come,  in  the  uplands  the  phosphates  will  be  the  first  to  become  exhausted,  when  bone-meal  and 
superphosphates  will  come  into  heavy  demand.  On  the  other  hand,  the  use  of  lime  as  a  fertilizer  will  scarcely  ever 
be  called  for  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  and  potash  manures  will  not  be  needed  for  a  long  time  to  come,  even  in 
the  uplands,  and  never  in  the  lowlands. 

It  is  important  to  note  this  corroboration  of  the  opinion  expressed  in  a  previous  report  (a)  as  to  the  superior  value 
of  the  "alkali  soils  "  when  once  properly  reclaimed  and  cultivated  with  a  view  to  the  repression  of  the  "  rise  of  the 
alkali  "to  the  surface;  for  we  find  that,  with  the  worthless  or  injurious  excess  of  salts,  there  is  almost  always 
associated  a  large  supply  of  soluble  or  at  least  available  plant-food,  which  will  render  these  soils  remarkably  durable 
and  thrifty. 

For  the  discussion  of  the  measures  and  precautions  needed  for  the  reclamation  of  alkali  soils  the  reader  is 
referred  to  pages  63  to  73. 

There  is  another  point  shown  in  these  analyses  worthy  of  note.  The  traveler  on  the  San  Joaquin  plains  will, 
during  the  dry  season,  imagine  that  the  gray  dusty  soil  of  the  plains  is  destitute,  of  or  at  best  very  poor  in,  humus 
or  vegetable  mold.  The  figures  given  in  the  table  show  that  this  is  far  from  being  the  case,  for  even  the  white  soil 
of  the  Fresno  plains  shows  six-tenths  of  1  per  cent,  of  humus,  and  that  of  the  sandy  Tulare  plains  1  per  cent,  and 
over.  It  is  here  again  the  lime,  so  abundant  in  these  soils,  that  helps  to  retain  the  humus,  despite  the  prolonged 
action  of  the  hot  summer's  sun.  Of  the  soils  examined,  two  only  are  really  deficient  in  humus,  viz,  No.  193,  the 
Merced  hog-wallow,  and  No.  700,  the  salt-grass  soil  of  Kern.  In  the  case  of  the  latter  the  alkali  present  dissolves 
the  humus  and  allows  it  to  be  washed  away  into  the  sandy  subsoil  below,  and  this  happens  more  or  less  in  all  alkali 
soils  containing  much  carbonate  of  soda.  It  is  therefore  doubly  important  that  this  ingredient  should  be  gotten  rid 
of  by  the  use  of  gypsum  when  such  soils  are  put  under  cultivation,  especially  with  irrigation. 

In  the  case  of  the  Merced  hog- wallow  soil,  the  poverty  in  humus  is  obviously  attributable  to  its  "  hard-pan : 
nature,  through  which,  in  its  natural  condition,  the  mold  remains  on  the  surface,  and  is  "  burnt  out"  by  the  sun 
during  the  dry  season.  The  thriftiness  of  such  soils  would  doubtless  be  very  much  increased  by  plowing  undei 
some  green  crops. 

As  to  retentiveness  of  moisture,  there  are  but  two  soils  in  the  list  that  fall  below  the  limit  usually  deemed 
desirable.  One  of  these  is  the  white  plains  soil  south  of  Fresno  (No.  704),  and  the  other  is  the  salt-grass  soil 
(No.  700)  from  Kern.  The  latter  is  notably  deficient  both  in  humus  and  clay,  and  what  moisture  it  does  retain  is 
probably  partly  due  to  the  alkali  present.  In  the  Fresno  soil,  considering  the  amount  of  alumina  shown  in  the 
analysis  and  the  humus  present,  the  moisture  absorption  is  unexpectedly  low  and  in  urgent  need  of  being  raised  by 
means  of  green-manuring.  It  will  also  be  especially  advisable  that,  wherever  the  crust  of  hard-pan  underlies  the 
soil  at  a  depth  of  less  than  three  feet,  that  impervious  layer  should  be  broken  up  or  through,  in  order  to  enable 
the  roots  to  seek  for  moisture  at  the  depths  allowed  them  by  this  very  easily  penetrable  and  deep  soil. 

This  great  depth  of  soil,  which  is  observable  more  or  less  over  the  whole  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  with  respect  to  the  permanence  of  productiveness  ;  for  the  soils  being  mostly  very  pervious  and 
loose,  and  the  water-table,  even  where  irrigation  is  practiced,  quite  low,  the  plant  is  enabled  to  draw  for  its  food 
upon  a  much  greater  mass  of  soil  than  would  be  the  case  where  the  latter  is  heavier  and  perhaps  richer  in  plant- 
food  but  less  easily  penetrated  by  the  roots  than  are  sandy  soils.  In  the  case  of  the  San  Joaquin  soils,  moreover, 
examination  shows  that  much  of  the  sand  is  not  quartz,  but  pulverized  rock  still  in  process  of  decomposition  and 
soil  formation. 

Soil  No.  77,  from  the  land  left  by  the  recession  of  Tulare  lake,  presents  a  peculiar  phase  of  the  "alkali  soil "  question, 
which  is  discussed  more  in  detail  on  page  69.  The  results  of  the  mechanical  analysis,  given  on  page  S3,  show  this  soil 
to  be  within  the  limit  of  moderately  clayey  ones,  and,  considering  the  large  amount  of  lime  present  and  the  uniform 

a  Report  of  the  California  College  of  Agriculture,  1879,  page  35. 

687 


30  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

distribution  of  sediments,  it  ought  to  till  well.  The  chemical  analysis,  so  far  as  the  chief  ingredients  of  mineral 
plant-food  are  concerned,  shows  the  general  composition  of  the  soil  to  be  excellent.  The  amounts  of  potash  and 
phosphoric  acid  are  equal  to  those  of  the  most  productive  soils  of  the  Yazoo  bottom,  and  the  large  percentage  of 
lime  should  insure  thrift  mess.  But  it  is  evident,  from  its  alkaline  reaction  and  the  large  percentage  of  soda  shown 
in  the  analysis,  that-  it  contains  enough  of  true  "  alkali "  to  interfere  seriously  with  tillage  as  well  as  with  the  welfare 
of  vegetation.  At  the  same  time  the  solution  formed  by  hydrochloric  acid  showed  the  want  of  aeration  in  giving  an 
indication  of  iron  protoxide.  These  inferences  are  corroborated  by  the  observations  made  by  the  owner  of  the  tract, 
that  wheat  made  some  tine  ears  on  the  upper  part  of  the  levee,  where,  of  course,  the  rain  had  washed  out  some  of 
the  alkali,  and  where  also  the  air  had  free  access.  It  was  therefore  recommended  that  the  land  be  given  a.  full 
dressing  of  plaster  to  neutralize  the  carbonate  of  soda,  and  that  it  be  well  and  deeply  fallowed;  but  a  subsequent 
investigation  having  shown  that  the  water  of  Tulare  lake  is  not  available  for  irrigation  on  account  of  an  excessive 
percentage  of  alkali  of  similar  character,  the  reclamation  project  was  for  the  time  abandoned.  Considering  the 
great  native  fertility  of  this  soil,  the  reclamation  of  the  wide  belt  of  similar  land  that  surrounds  the  lake  and  is 
constantly  widening  by  its  recession  would  be  a  matter  of  great  importance  to  the  state,  and  is  well  worthy  of 
further  experiment.  Success  is,  of  course,  dependent  on  the  command  of  an  adequate  supply  of  irrigation  water,  but 
whether  from  King's  river  or  from  artesian  wells  is  a  question  for  future  determination.  Taking  all  the  evidence  of 
possible  productiveness  in  this  portion  of  the  great  valley,  the  importance  of  utilizing  fully  and  economically  the 
water  resources  of  the  adjacent  mountains  cannot  easily  be  overestimated. 

TITLE  LANDS. 

This  is  the  name  applied  in  California  to  all  lands,  whether  littoral  or  inland,  bearing  as  an  important  ingredient 
of  its  vegetation  the  tide  or  rush,  which,  of  course,  varies  in  kind  according  to  location  near  to  or  remote  from 
saline  tide-water.  In  the  coast  marshes  the  tule  is  prevalently  the  rush,  properly  so  called  (Soirpus  laoustris),  while 
the  tule  of  the  fresh-water  marshes  in  the  upper  portion  of  the  delta  of  the  Sacramento  and  the  San  Joaquin,  as 
well  as  in  the  upper  portions  of  the  courses  of  these  rivers,  consists  largely  of  other  species,  notably  the  cat-tail 
rush  ( Typlia).    All  these  lands  are,  of  course,  subject  to  overflow,  and  need  'protection  by  levees. 

The  surface  of  the  marsh  lands  is  covered  with  a  matted  mass  of  roots  from  one  foot  to  several  feet  in  depth, 
in  all  stages  of  decay,  the  lower  portion  being  in  a  peaty  condition,  and  sometimes  available  for  the  manufacture  of 
peat.  Occasionally  this  mass  is  afloat,  so  as  to  rise  and  fall  more  or  less  with  the  water ;  in  most  cases,  however,  a 
solid  sediment  soil  of  high  productiveness  underlies  the  roots  at  a  moderate  depth. 

The  prevalently  bold  and  rocky  coast  of  California  presents  but  few  and  small  marsh  areas  outside  of  the  great 
valley  and  bay  regions.  On  San  Francisco  and  San  Pablo  bays  the  tule  lands  do  not  differ  materially  from  the 
salt  and  brackish  marshes  elsewhere,  and  their  reclamation  is  effected  by  similar  methods.  Passing  Carquines 
straits,  however,  we  come  upon  a  wide  expanse  of  marsh,  in  which  the  water  is  fresh,  or  only  slightly  brackish  in 
the  lower  portion.  These  tule.  lauds  constitute  here  the  delta  of  the  two  great  rivers  of  the  valley,  whose  numerous 
sloughs  and  creeks  form  an  intricate  network  of  meandering  channels,  through  which  only  a  practiced  native,  can 
find  his  way  to  a  definite  point.  They  form  a  large  body  to  the  northward  of  Suisun  bay,  and  then,  after  narrowing 
for  10  miles  to  a  width  of  3  or  4  miles,  they  expand  to  a  broad  belt,  which  covers  the  western  part  of  San  Joaquin  and 
Sacramento  counties,  and  thence  continues  northward  along  the  Sacramento  river  far  into  Colusa  county.  To  the 
southward  they  form  only  narrow  and  interrupted  belts  along  the  San  Joaquin  river  until  we  reach  the  basin  of  the 
upper  valley,  where  long  belts  of  tule  lands,  5  or  C  miles  in  width,  extend  northwestward  and  southeastward  from 
Tulare  lake,  and  also  form  a  broad  rim  around  that  lake  itself. 

The  tule  hinds  of  the  Sacramento  valley  differ  in  several  important  points  from  those  of  the  Tulare  basin  and  of  the 
San  Joaquin  valley  generally.  The  latter  are  mostly  strongly  tainted  with  alkali,  and  on  that  account  are  somewhat 
difficult  of  reclamation,  although  of  high  fertility  when  reclaimed.  The  more  abundant  rainfalls  and  drainage  of 
the  Sacramento  valley  practically  obviate  this  difficulty  in  the  case  of  the  northern  tules,  the  sole  question  being 
that  of  drainage  and  the  exclusion  of  overflows. 

The  soil  of  the  Sacramento  valley  tules,  when  reclaimed,  is  mostly  of  the  character  of  adobe,  mingled  more  or  less 
with  the  fine  river  sediment,  resembling  so  closely  the  soils  of  the  adobe  belts,  now  largely  above  overflow,  as  to 
create,  the.  presumption  that  the  latter  indicate  the  areas  over  which  tule  swamps  extended  in  ancient  times.  At 
high  stages  of  water  in  winter  aud  spring  the  tule  areas  are,  as  a  rule,  submerged  to  varying  depths,  the  exception 
being  the  singular  "  float-land",  of  which  tracts  sometimes  several  acres  in  extent  rise  and  fall  with  the  water 
occasionally  as  much  as  3  and  even  4  feet,  serving  at  times  as  a  place  of  refuge  for  cattle.  In  such  spots  the 
matted  mass  of  tule  roots  and  decayed  stems  is  found  to  be  from  8  to  12  feet  in  thickness,  with  no  solid  bottom, 
but  simply  water  immediately  beneath.     They  are  chiefly  found  in  the  lower  portion  of  the  San  Joaquin  delta. 

Where  the  round  rush  or  tule  (Soirpus  laoustris)  chiefly  prevails  solid  ground  is  commonly  found  immediately 
beneath  the  mass  of  tule  roots  at  a  depth  varying  from  IS  to  24  inches,  and  sometimes  even  more.     In  the  dry   . 
climate  of  the  region  these  roots  decay  very  slowly,  hence,  where  of  great  thickness,  the}"  are  frequently  set  on  fire 
during  the  dry  season ;   their  ash  serves   to   still    further   enrich   the   underlying  soil  while  at  the   same  time 
688 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES  31 

rendering  it  accessible  to  the  plow.  It  has  been,  and  is  oven  now,  a  not  uncommon  practice  to  sow  the  grain  into 
this  ash  the  first  season  and  then  have  it  trodden  in  and  the  ground  compacted  by  sheep,  and  in  favorable  seasous 
crops  of  wheat  thus  grown  have  reached  the  enormous  yield  of  SO  bushels  per  acre. 

Such  results  could  not  fail  to  excite  great  interest  in  the  reclamation  of  the  tule  lands,  and  much  capital  has 
been  invested  in  leveeing  and  draining  large  tracts,  especially  in  San  Joaquin  and  Sacramento  counties.  Since  the 
natural  moisture  of  these  lands  renders  irrigation  unnecessary,  grain  crops  on  them  are  assured,  provided  the 
overflow  be  excluded,  and  are  generally  best  in  seasons  when,  from  waut  of  moisture,  crops  fail  in  the  uuirrigated 
uplands.  Much  difficulty  is  sometimes  experienced  in  levee  building  from  the  lack  of  material  of  sufficient  weight 
to  resist  the  buoyant  pressure  of  the  water,  which  will  not  ouly  filter  through  the  tule  sods  when  used  for  the 
purpose,  but  has  occasionally  floated  the  levee  bodily  down  stream. 

So  far  as  not  reclaimed  for  cultivation  the  tule  lands  serve  during  the  dry  season  as  an  eligible  pasture 
ground  for  cattle,  and  more  or  less  at  all  times,  but  especially  during  winter,  as  a  resort  for  innumerable  water-fowl 
(notably  geese  and  ducks),  which  often  commit  severe  depredations  upon  the  adjacent  grain-fields. 

Among  the  more  important  portions  of  the  northern  tules  that  have  been  successfully  reclaimed  is  a  number  of 
"islands"  lying  between  the  San  Joaquin  and  the  Sacramento,  viz,  Union,  Roberts,  Staten,  Boulder,  Rough  and 
Ready,  Sherman,  Brannan,  and  Andrus.  On  these  nearly  every  product  adapted  to  the  climate  is  successfully 
cultivated ;  and,  contrary  to  expectation,  human  health  on  reclaimed  tules  is  on  the  average  better  than  on  the 
adjacent  bottom  lauds.  At  some  points,  notably  on  Suisun  bay,  there  appears  to  be  "  no  bottom  "  beneath  the  sod, 
and  the  road-bed  of  a  branch  of  the  Central  Pacific  railroad  crossing  this  marsh  has  again  and  again  disappeared 
under  the  surface  over  night  or  behind  a  passing  train,  and  thousands  of  car-loads  of  gravel  and  rock  have  sunk 
out  of  sight  without  apparently  definitively  filling  the  "  bottomless  pit". 

The  tide  lands  of  the  upper  San  Joaquin  valley  have  not  as  yet  been  reclaimed  to  any  great  extent,  partly,  as 
before  stated,  on  account  of  their  alkaline  character.  The  soils  mostly  contain  a  large  amount  of  coarse  sand, 
which,  however,  does  not  prevent  their  haviug  the  character  and  name  of  adobe.  Much  of  the  laud  now  being  laid 
bare  by  the  recession  of  Tulare  lake  is  of  exuberant  native  fertility,  as  is  shown  by  the  analysis  given  on  page  28  (see 
No.  77),  but  can  be  made  practically  productive  only  by  the  neutralization  and  partial  removal  of  the  alkali.  Small 
tracts  so  reclaimed  have  fully  justified  in  their  production  the  presumption  created  by  the  analysis.  The  natural 
pasture,  however,  can  be,  and  is,  freely  utilized,  it  being  noted  that  hogs  especially  fatten  quickly  upon  a  diet  of 
succulent  tule  roots.    The  followiug  description  is  from  Mr.  Sherman  Day,  formerly  of  Bacon  island: 

Float-land  sod. — This  reaches  to  an  unknown  depth,  perhaps  from  7  to  10  feet,  bat  at  10  feet  the  hard  hottom  is  not  reached,  ouly 
slum  and  water.  Probably  hard  sandy  bottom  would  be  reached  at  from  24  to  28  feet  from  the  surface.  In  dry  seasons  the  seepage  water 
reaches  to  within  2A  feet  of  the  surface,  but  in  rainy  seasous  it  stands  within  from  1  to  6  inches  of  the  surface. 

The  sod  of  the  heavy  round  bulrush  land  is  characterized  by  the  large  woody  or  corky  roots  diffused  through  the  mass  of  smaller  fibrous 
roots  of  the  grasses.  Besides  the  large  tule  roots,  there  are  sometimes  the  still  larger  roots  of  the  pond  lily.  Below  them  is  the  mass  of 
soil  and  fibrous  roots,  interspersed  with  a  few  of  the  corky  roots.  The  Beepage  water  is  usually  about  3  feet  below-  the  surface  when  the 
levees  are  in  proper  condition.  The  depth  of  the  soil  is  not  known.  Furrows  are  run  in  this  4  or  5  inches  deep,  and  when  the  furrow  sods 
have  dried  for  sis  or  eight  weeks  they  are  set  on  fire  and  burned  down  very  evenly  to  the  depth  of  the  furrow  and  a  trifle  below,  according 
to  the  absence  of  moisture.  This  kills  the  heavy  tule  roots  and  checks  the  growth  of  grass.  The  seed  is  then  drilled  in  uuder  the  ashes 
After  they  have  become  "wet  by  the  rain,  or  it  is  trodden  in  by  hands  of  sheep.  The  ashes  leach  about  enough  the  first  year  to  correct 
any  acidity  of  the  peaty  sod,  but  their  principal  function  the  first  year  seems  to  be  as  a  mulch  to  shade  the  soil  during  the  early  growth 
of  the  plant.  If  the  seed  is  not  pushed  down  so  that  its  first  roots  take  hold  of  the  black  soil,  the  blackbirds  pull  rip  the  plumule  from  tho 
loose  ashes.  The  crops  thus  sown  under  the  ashes  are  usually  very  abundant,  having  scarcely  auy  competition  from  weeds.  Sometimes 
a  volunteer  crop  iB  gathered  the  second  year,  but,  as  a  general  rule,  these  crops  carry  too  many  weeds  to  do  well  on  the  tule  lands. 
The  ashes  are  usually  plowed  under  tho  second  year. 

The  coarse  bulrush  and  underlying  sods  make  but  little  progress  toward  decomposition  by  mere  exposure  to  the  atmosphere ;  the 
float-lands  decompose  more  readily. 

THE  FOOT-HILLS  OF  THE  SIERRA  AND  NORTHERN  COAST  RANGE. 

The  western  slope  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  mountains  embraces  a  belt  of  country  falling  in  elevation  from  4,00(1 
feet  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains  westward  to  less  than  500  feet  at  the  border  of  the  great  valley  of  Sacramento  and 
San  Joaquin,  and  varying  in  width  from  50  to  70  miles  on  the  north  and  center,  but  becoming  very  narrow  on  the 
south.  The  higher  portion  of  this  belt,  immediately  along  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  and  from  4,000  down  to  2,000  feet 
altitude,  possesses  many  of  the  characteristics  of  the  Sierra  range  in  its  high,  mountainous,  and  extremely  broken 
surface,  and  is  therefore  described  as  a  subdivision  of  that  mountain  region.  The  remainder  of  this  belt,  or  that 
having  an  elevation  of  about  2,000  feet  down  to  that  of  the  great  valley,  is  distinct  in  its  topography,  climate, 
and  agricultural  features,  and  is  that  to  which  the  designation  of  Sierra  foot-hills  has  been  giveu. 

This  belt,  with  the  same  characteristics,  continues  around  the  head  Qf  the  Sacramento  valley,  in  Tehama  county, 
forming  there  a  region  of  Coast  range  foot-hills,  which,  from  similarity  of  soil,  may  be  considei'ed  as  continuing  in  a 
narrow  belt  southward  into  western  Yolo  county. 

These  foot-hills  of  the  two  ranges  of  mountains  are  estimated  to  cover  an  area  of  about  11,700  square  miles. 
The  Sierra  belt  has  a  width  varying  from  30  to  40  miles  from  Shasta  southward  to  Mariposa  county,  and  thence  is 
very  narrow,  usually  about  5  miles,  widening  in  Kern,  and  terminating,  with  the  Sierra,  against  the  Coast  range  near 
44  c  P — VOL.  II  639 


32  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

Tejon  pass.  The  following  comities  and  parts  of  counties  are  included  in  the  belt  of  Sierra  foot-hills:  The  middle 
and  southern  parts  of  Shasta,  most  of  Tehama,  eastern  parts  of  Butte  and  of  Yuba,  the  western  parts  of  Sierra, 
Nevada,  Placer,  El  Dorado,  Amador,  Calaveras,  Tuolumne,  and  Mariposa,  small  strips  along  the  eastern  edge  of 
Sacramento,  San  Joaquin,  and  Stanislaus,  and  a  narrow  belt  southward  from  Mariposa  through  Fresno,  Tulare,  and 
Kern. 

The  foot-hills  of  the  Coast  range  occupy  a  broad  region  in  the  western  part  of  Shasta  and  Tehama  counties 
varying  in  width  from  10  to  40  miles;  but  in  the  western  part  of  Colusa  county  it  suddenly  contracts,  and  southward 
to  Cache  creek,  in  Yolo  county,  its  width  varies  from  G  to  10  miles,  and  often  less,  while  still  southward  to  the  bay 
the  hills  occur  as  outliers  to  the  Coast  range. 

While  more  or  less  adapted  to  all  the  products  grown  in  the  valley,  the  foot-hills  are  now  noted  as  a  fruit- 
growing region,  and  probably  will  be  still  more  noted  in  the  future,  including,  especially  in  its  northern  part,  the 
very  successful  culture  of  the  vine. 

THE   FOOT-HILLS    OF    THE    SIERRA. 

A  line  marking  the  separation  between  the  foot-hills  and  the  great  valley  would  pass  from  the  Sacramento 
river,  north  of  lied  Bluff,  in  Tehama  county,  southeastward  to  the  following  principal  points:  3  miles  east  of  Chicot 
and  a  short  distance  west  of  Oroville,  Butte  county ;  10  miles  east  of  Marysville  to  Eocklin,  Placer  county,  and 
Folsom,  Sacramento  county,  and  thence  southeastward,  nearly  following  the  county-lines,  via  Knight's  ferry  and 
Merced  Falls,  to  Fresno  county. 

This  region  is  watered  by  many  streams,  that  cross  it  from  east  to  west  in  their  course  from  the  mountains  to  the 
great  valley,  joined  by  many  small  tributaries  from  the  region  itself.  Cutting  their  way,  as  they  do,  in  narrow  canons 
or  valleys  between  the  hills,  they  have,  as  a  rule,  but  little  bottom  land,  and  even  then,  because  of  their  liability 
to  floods  during  the  rainy  season,  these  lands  are  often  not  available  for  farming  purposes.  These  streams  have 
been  more  fully  described  on  pages  19  to  21. 

The  foot-hills  of  the  Sierras  are  properly  divided  into  three  separate  and  distinct  regions,  differing  in  their 
topographical  and  lithological  as  well  as  in  their  agricultural  features.  These  are  a  barren  lava-bed  region  on  the 
north,  a  granitic  region  adjoining  this  and  also  on  the  extreme  south  of  the  foot-hills,  and  a  central  or  auriferous 
region,  the  real  foot-hills  of  the  eastern  side  of  the  state.     These  subdivisions  are  best  described  separately. 

The  auriferous  belt,  or  foot-hills  proper. — The  foot-hill  region  of  the  Sierra  is  known  as  the  gold  belt 
of  the  state,  for  here  most  of  the  mining  operations  have  been  carried  on  and  the  greater  part  of  the  metal  has  been 
obtained  that  has  given  to  the  state  its  prominence  in  this  regard. 

The  gold-bearing  rocks  comprise  a  belt  of  from  10  to  25  miles  in  width,  reaching  from  Butte  county  southeastward 
into  Mariposa,  and  embracing  metamorphic  slates  and  sandstones.  North  of  the  belt  these  rocks  are  covered  by 
lava  beds  and  other  volcanic  material. 

In  the  extreme  southern  portion  of  the  gold  region,  beyond  Mariposa  county,  the  slates  almost  cease  to  form  a  continuous  belt,  ami 
they  are  more  and  more  encroached  on  by  the  granite  as  we  go  toward  the  Tejon.  In  fact,  there  is  a  gradual  decrease  in  the  width  of  the 
auriferous  formation  proper  from  the  north  toward  the  south  and  a  constant  increase  in  the  amount  of  metamorphism  displayed,  the 
granite  occupying  a  larger  portion  of  the  mass  of  the  Sierra  and  descending  lower  down  its  flanks,  while  the  crest  of  the  mountains 
becomes  more  and  more  elevated,  its  culminating  point  being  in  about  the  latitude  of  Owen's  lake. — Report  Geological  Survey  of  California. 

The  eastern  part  of  the  region  is  well  timbered,  much  broken,  and  very  sparsely  populated ;  the  western  is 
thinly  timbered,  but,  being  less  broken  and  better  adapted  to  cultivation,  contains  nearly  all  of  the  population. 

The  following  description  is  taken  from  a  paper  by  B.  B.  Redding,  esq.,  read  before  the  California  Academy  of 
Sciences : 

At  the  northern  end  of  the  valley,  at  an  elevation  of  000  feet  above  the  sea,  are  found  (Juercuti  lobala,  Sonomenaie,  M'izlheni, 
ckrysolepis,  and  Douglaxii,  of  the  California  oaks  ;  of  pines,  only  the  nut  or  digger  pine  (PiiiutiSabiiiiana) ;  the  buckeye  {xEhcuUlh  California!) ; 
and  chaniisal  (Jdcnottoma  fasiculata).  (a)  This  is  the  characteristic  arboreal  vegetation  throughout  these  350  miles.  Its  presence 
everywhere  shows  increased  rainfall  over  the  valley  and  similarity  of  temperature  to  that  of  the  valley.  Our  pasture  oak  ( Quercuf  lohala) 
is  found  at  lower  elevations  in  the  valley,  but  always  on  moist  land  or  near  river  courses,  proving  that  it  demands,  in  addition  to 
temperature,  the  increased  moisture.  In  the  southern  end  of  the  valley  this  vegetation  prevails  at  higher  elevations,  because  it  there 
finds  the  proper  temperature  and  moisture.  Wherever  on  the  foot-hills  any  of  the  trees  named  constitute  the  predominant  arboreal 
vegetation,  it  is  evidence  that  the  temperature  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  valley,  and  that  plants  that  can  be  successfully  grown  in  the 
valley  can  be  grnw-n  to  as  high  an  elevation  on  the  hills  as  these  trees  abound.  If  one  tree  were  to  be  taken  as  the  evidence  of  this 
uniformity  of  temperature,  it  would  be  .Sabin's  (the  nut  or  digger)  pine.  It  is  never  seen  in  the  valley  or  on  the  hills  below  an  elevation 
of  about  400  feet.  It  is  not  found  at  a  higher  elevation  than  that  in  which  the  temperature  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  valley.  It  is  never 
found  in  groves,  but  singly  among  other  trees  ;  yet  it  prevails  throughout  these  350  miles  of  foot-hills. 

While  t  lie  vegetation  is  more  dense  on  the  hills  at  the  northern  end  of  the  valley,  due  to  increased  precipitation,  there  are  also  local 
differences,  where  there  is  similarity  of  soil,  due  to^exposure.  Throughout  all  the  lower  hills  the  greatest  number  of  trees  is  found  on 
gently  sloping  easteru,  northeastern,  and  northern  hills,  which  necessarily  are  more  moist  and  cool.  The  southern  aspects  contain  less 
trees,  because  exposed  to  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  and  to  the  fall  force  of  the  prevailing  winds. 

a  To  these  should  tie  added,  in  the  northern  portion  especially,  the  manzanita  (Jrctostaphylos  Andersoni,  pungent,  tomevtosa)  and 
several  species  of  chaparral  (Ceanolhus,  notably  C.  crasaifolius',  cuneatns,  and  thyrsiflorus,  the  latter  more  particularly  to  the  southward, 
-where  it  is  so  abundant  as  to  serve  for  fencing). 
690 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  33 

Every  agricultural  product  that  can  be  grown  in  the  valley,  including  the  semi-tropical  fruits,  can  he  grown  with  equal  facility  in 
these  foot-hills.  Ordinarily  the  land  has  to  be  cleared  of  the  trees  found  upon  it,  and  cultivation  must  be  continuous;  for  ou  the  whole 
western  face  of  the  Sierra  the  native  trees,  when  cut  or  burned  down,  are  rapidly  replaced  by  a  new  growth  of  the  same  kinds. 

These  lands  are  found  to  have  all  of  the  requisites  for  the  successful  growth  of  orchards.  Fruit  trees  thrive  better  upon  them  than 
on  the  lands  of  the  valley.  None  of  the  many  theories  advanced  as  to  the  cause  of  the  treeless  condition  of  many  plains  and  prairies 
having  ample  rainfall  seem  to  be  entirely  satisfactory,  but  experience  has  demonstrated  that  orchards  grow  best  and  thrive  with  less 
artificial  aid  ou  lands  that  in  a  natural  condition  are  covered  with  trees. 

The  increasing  exports  of  small  fruits,  such  as  strawberries,  blackberries,  and  raspberries,  from  the  vicinity  of  Newcastle  and  Auburn, 
and  their  superior  size  aud  quality,  prove  that  this  region  is  better  adapted  to  their  culture  than  any  place  yet  found  on  the  level  lands 
of  the  valley.  The  peaches  of  Coloma  have  a  stall  reputation  for  ilavor  and  size.  The  apples  of  Nevada  aud  Georgetown  are  equal  in 
size,  taste,  and  keeping  qualities  to  the  best  imported  from  Oregon.  The  Oroville  oranges  have  been  pronounced  equal  to  the  best  of 
Los  Angeles.  The  vine  grows  with  luxuriance  and  bears  abundantly  wherever  it  has  been  planted  throughout  all  this  region.  The  wines 
of  Coloma  have  more  than  a  local  reputation.  Persons  competent  to  judge  assert  that  wine  from  grapes  grown  on  the  foot-hills  is  free 
from  the  earthy  taste  that  characterizes  much  of  the  wine  of  the  flat  land  of  the  valleys.  They  also  express  the  belief  that  if  ever  wine 
is  to  be  made  in  California  as  light  as  that  from  the  Rhine  and  as  free  from  alcohol,  the  grapes  will  be  grown  in  the  higher  elevations  of 
the  foot-hills,  where  snow  falls  and  remains  on  the  ground  a  few  weeks  each  season.  It  is  said  that  the  long  summers  and  great  heat  of 
the  valleys  develop  the  saccharine  matter  iu  the  grape,  which,  by  fermentation,  is  converted  into  alcohol. 

Iii  Butte  county  the  line  separating  the  foot-hills  from  the  great  valley  is  well  defined,  the  surface  of  the  former 
being  not  only  undulating,  but  broken  aud  barren,  and  with  an  abundance  of  bowlders.  For  the  first  S  or  9  miles 
eastward  the  soil  is  said  to  be  thin  and  volcanic  in  character.  All  of  the  lands  of  the  region  are  red  and  gravelly, 
mostly  destitute  of  trees,  and  ou  the  hills  barreu,  those  of  the  valleys  being  best  suited  for  cultivation. 

In  Yuba  county  the  country  near  the  valley  is  at  first  rolling,  but  it  becomes  more  and  more  hilly,  rocky,  aud 
brushy  to  the  eastward.  The  soils  of  the  western  part  are  chiefly  red  and  pebbly  clays,  and  on  the  lower  hills  are  well 
adapted  to  fruit  trees  and  vines.  These  red  lands  reach  across  Nevada  county,  interspersed  with  granitic  lands, 
into  Placer,  where  they  are  the  prevailing  soil  ou  the  broken  hill  country  from  the  foot  of  the  Sierra  to  the  belt  of 
granite  2  miles  west  of  Auburn.     The  timber  growth  is  white,  live,  aud  black  oaks,  buckeye,  and  chaparral. 

In  the  counties  southward  the  same  general  features  are  seen :  a  low,  rolling  country,  sparsely  timbered  with 
an  oak  growth,  rising  into  higher  and  more  heavily  timbered  hills  toward  the  Sierra  mountains.  The  soil  is  also 
a  reddish  or  brownish  loam,  tillable,  however,  only  in  the  valleys  or  ou  the  low  hills  of  the  western  part  of  the  belt. 
Lumbering  is  the  chief  industry  iu  the  eastern  part  of  these  counties,  and  as  a  matter  of  interest  concerning  the 
timber  growth  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  of  a  correspondent  of  the  San  Francisco  Bulletin  is  given : 

The  timber  belt  of  Mount  Diablo  parallel  commences  on  the  Stanislaus  river,  40  miles  east  of  Stockton,  by  the  appearance  of 
straggling  oaks  ou  the  bluffs,  which  are  from  40  to  150  feet  above  the  water.  As  the  rock-bound  surface  gradually  rises  these  trees  attain 
a  larger  size  and  become  more  numerous,  especially  in  depressed  locations,  where  deposits  of  soil  have  been  made.  Iu  uo  place  within 
sight,  until  reaching  Chinese  Camp,  is  there  an  average  of  over  one  acre  of  well-timbered  surface  to  the  square  mile.  At  Chinese  Camp  the 
digger  or  nut  pine  begins  to  appear,  interspersed  among  the  oaks.  The  surrounding  hills  have  before  this  begun  to  assume  the  magnitude 
of  mountains,  near  the  middle  and  rounded  top  of  which  this  tree  may  clearly  be  distinguished  in  the  distance.  From  Chinese  Camp  to 
Columbia,  16  miles,  there  is  no  material  change  in  the  sylvan  vegetation,  except  an  increasing  density  of  this  pine  growth,  with  an 
occasional  appearance  of  Sabin's  pine.  Columbia  may  be  considered  the  starting-point  of  the  great  pine  forest  which  extends  east  to  the 
upper  foot-hills  of  the  Sierra,  60  miles.  The  southeast  limit  of  this  range  is  said  to  terminate  at  Yosemite  ridge,  below  which  the  timber 
is  in  patches  ;  to  the  northwest  it  extends  into  Oregon.  Besides  the  pines,  cedars  occupy  a  prominent  position  in  the  sylva  of  this  belt ; 
commencing  at  an  altitude  of  4,000  feet,  they  gradually  increase  in  numbers,  till  in  some  spots  they  have  precedence  of  all  others.  The 
black  oak  is  interspersed  in  moderate  quantities  among  other  trees. 

A  prominent  feature  in  the  topography  of  Amador,  Calaveras,  and  Tuolumue  counties  is  the  occurrence  of  belts 
of  lava-capped  hills  and  mountains,  as  well  as  deposits  of  other  volcanic;  material,  the  remains  of  what  were  once 
lava  flows  from  the  Sierra  mountains  westward.  Table  mountain,  rising  some  2,000  feet  above  the  Stanislaus 
river,  has  a  length  of  about  30  miles,  its  flat  top  beiug  from  1,200  to  1,800  feet  wide.  At  Texas  Flat,  Tuolumne 
county,  there  is  a  vast  accumulation  of  calcareous  tufa  formed  over  the  auriferous  gravel  iu  an  ancient  gulch 
emptying  into  the  Stanislaus  river,  where  it  rises  in  picturesque  cavernous  cliffs  resembling  coral  reefs.  In  this 
tufa  are  found  the  bones  and  teeth  not  oulyof  the  mastodon,  elephant,  and  other  gigantic  animals,  but  also  of  the 
horse  and  other  mammalia,  together  with  land  and  fresh-water  shells. 

Iu  Mariposa  county  the  foot-hill  region  is  narrow  and  its  hills  low  and  tillable,  though  but  little  farming  is 
done.    The  soil  of  the  hills  is  a  reddish  clay,  while  the  valleys  are  covered  with  a  dark  loam. 

The  granitic  region. — A  belt  of  granite  having  a  width  of  about  10  miles  reaches  from  Feather  river 
southward  through  Butte,  Yuba,  Nevada,  and  Placer  counties  into  El  Dorado  county  and  the  northeastern  corner 
of  Sacramento,  near  Folsom.  In  Nevada  county  especially  this  rock  is  very  abundant,  outcropping  in  large  areas, 
the  chief  belt  passing  a  little  east  of  Grass  valley,  northward  by  San  Juan,  to  Feather  river.  The  rock  appears  in 
large  masses  and  in  weathered  bowlders,  giving  rise  to  sandy  and  gravelly  lands,  while  the  surface  of  the  country 
is  broken  into  the  rounded  hills  characteristic  of  granitic  regions.  Southward  in  other  counties  as  far  as  Mariposa 
granite  appears  occasionally  in  smaller  belts,  and  outcrops  among  the  slates  and  metamorphic  rocks  of  the  foot  hills. 
Still  southward  from  Mariposa  to  the  limit  of  the  foot-hills  it  is  the  prevailing  rock,  with  a  bordering  narrow  belt  of 
slate,  which,  with  its  occasional  capi>ing  of  Tertiary  sandstone,  gives  to  it  a  broken  character,  its  valleys  being  covered 
with  sand  aud  gravel. 

Region  of  lava  beds. — The  lava  beds  cover  nearly  the  entire  foot-hill  region  north  of  Feather  river,  Butte 
county,  reaching  also  far  northward  across  the  Sierra  region  to  the  Oregon  line,  their  western  limit  being  the 

691 


34  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

Sacramento  river.  The  region  is  described  ou  page  02  as  a  subdivision  of  the  Sierra  mountain  region.  The  lava 
beds  are.  said  to  terminate  not  far  from  the  river  in  abrupt  edges,  the  plains  below  being  also  covered  with  volcanic 
fragments.  The  streams  have  cut  their  way  through  the  lava,  in  gorges  some  200  feet  deep,  into  the  Cretaceous 
beds  that  underlie  it.  The  surface  of  the  lava  bed  is  usually  destitute  of  vegetation  and  of  soil  of  any  depth.  In 
Shasta  county,  between  Cow  and  Bear  creeks,  the  hard  lava  gives  place  to  a  broad  plain  of  volcanic  ashes,  which 
is  said  to  be  almost  destitute,  of  trees  and  bare  of  herbage,  and,  as  yet,  hardly  eroded  into  cations. 

Very  little  of  the  entire  lava  region  is  suitable  for  cultivation,  though  some  of  the  streams  have  a  little  fertile 
bottom  land. 

In  Tuolumne  and  adjoining  counties  there  are  other  table  lauds  and  hills  of  basaltic  lava,  which  form  a 
prominent  feature  of  those  counties.     They  are  described  in  connection  with  the  Sierra  mountain  region. 

THE  FOOT-HILLS   OF   THE   COAST   RANGE. 

Assuming  the  Sacramento  river  to  be  the  dividing  line  between  the  foot-hills  of  the  Sierra  and  those  of  the 
Coast  range  in  Shasta  and  Tehama  counties,  we  find  the  latter  region  occupying  a  large  area  in  the  southwestern 
and  western  portions  of  those  counties,  the  maximum  width  in  Shasta  being  about  35  miles.  Its  surface  is  rolling 
and  broken,  interspersed  with  many  small  valleys,  and  is  but  sparsely  timbered.  These  hills  are  too  broken  for 
cultivation,  and  the  farms  lie  chiefly  in  the  valleys.  The  soil  is  mainly  a  red  and  gravelly  loam,  and  when  under 
cultivation  yields  good  crops  of  grain.  The  higher  valleys  are  mostly  devoted  to  grazing  purposes.  This  region  is 
well  watered  by  many  streams,  which,  rising  on  the  Coast  mountains,  flow  eastward  into  the  Sacramento  river. 

In  Colusa  county  the  foot-hills  become  uiore  and  more  broken  toward  the  foot  of  the  Coast  range,  and  are  partly 
covered  with  an  oak  growth  and  partly  with  laurel,  manzanita,  and  chaparral.  The  cultivable  land  lies  chiefly 
in  the  several  valleys  among  the  hills,  viz,  Indian,  Bear,  and  Cortina,  with  lengths  of  from  10  to  30  miles  and  widths 
of  from  2  to  5  miles.  Their  soils,  largely  red  and  gravelly  loams,  are  partly  under  cultivation.  In  the  southern 
part  of  Colusa  county  the  region  flattens  out,  but  iu  Yolo  county  it  rises  into  a  belt  of  low,  rolling  hills,  which 
reach  eastward  to  within  3  miles  of  the  railroad  and  southward  to  Cache  creek,  and  even  beyond,  to  within  a  few 
miles  of  Woodland.  Its  width  is  about  4  miles,  and  its  soils  are  mostly  dark  and  gravelly,  with  tracts  of  red  lands. 
Fairview  valley,  ou  the  west,  a  "  hollow"  some  2  or  3  miles  wide,  separates  it  from  the  Coast  range.  On  the  south 
of  Cache  creek  the  foot-hills  become  a  very  narrow  belt,  reaching  to  and  a  little  beyond  Vacaville,  Solano  county, 
and  embracing  a  region  south  of  Putah  creek  known  as  the  "Vacaville  fruit  belt".  Southward  still  to  Suisuu  bay 
there  are  but  a  few  low,  isolated  hills  to  mark  the  termination  of  the  belt. 

The  Vacaville  fruit  belt  is  about  12  miles  long  and  from  1  to  3  miles  wide,  embracing  Vacaville  and  Pleasant 
valleys  and  foot-hills,  and  is  limited  on  the  south  by  the  Montezuma  hills.  These  valleys  open  out  into  the  Sacramento 
valley,  and  their  soils  are  chiefly  dark  loams,  with  some  adobe  around  the  town  of  Vacaville.  A  portion  of  the 
region  is  in  what  is  known  as  the  thermal  belt  of  the  Coast  range,  lying  a  few  hundred  feet  above  the  plains 
and  above  frost  limits.  The  hills  are  partly  timbered  with  scattered  oaks,  buckeye,  etc.,  and  where  not  too  steep 
are,  with  the  valleys,  very  largely  under  cultivation. 

Soils  of  the  foot-hills. 

The  following  analyses  have  thus  far  been  made  of  soils  of  the  foot-hill  region  adjoining  the  great  valley. 
While  no  systematic  exploration  of  the  region  has  made  it  possible  to  select  the  samples  advisedly  and  systematically, 
yet  it  is  probable  that  the  main  features  of  the  "red  soils"  are  represented  within  the  list: 

No.  559.  Red  loam  noil  from  near  Redding  station,  Shasta  county,  collected  by  Mr.  N.  .1.  Willsou,  of  the  Central 
Pacific  railroad.  This  is  a  moderately  heavy  red-clay  loam,  with  some  gravel  and  but  little  coarse  sand,  which 
probably  is  somewhat  heavy  in  tillage  unless  when  just  iu  the  right  condition.  No  notes  regarding  this  soil  have 
reached  me,  but  it  is  stated  to  be  the  representative  soil  of  the  region  around  Bedding. 

No.  705.  Bed  chaparral  soil  from  a  few  miles  west  of  Anderson,  Shasta  county;  sent  by  Mr.  George  A.  Moore, 
of  Anderson,  who  states  that  this  land  is  covered  with  a  dense  thicket  of  chaparral  (Ceanothus)  and  poison-oak, 
with  some  small  oaks  and  other  brush.  Depth  taken,  12  inches.  This  soil  is  of  a  deep  orange-red  tint,  and  is  quite 
heavy  and  cloddy  when  dry.  The  lumps  cannot  be  crushed  with  the  finger,  but  soften  readily  with  water,  and 
then  show  a  considerable  amount  of  coarse  sand  to  be  present. 

No.  700.  Subsoil  of  the  above,  taken  from  12  to  24  inches  depth;  similar  in  aspect  to  the  soil,  but  more  clayey 
and  less  tractable,  the  clods  also  softening  when  wet.  Mr.  Moore  says  that  "about  4  feet  from  the  surface  there 
is  such  a  compact  mass  of  clay  and  gravel  that  water  does  not  penetrate  over  15  inches  from  the  surface". 

No.  499.  Red  upland  loam  soil  from  near  Wheatland,  Yuba  county;  a  stiffish,  glaringly  orange-red  loam, 
forming  the  soil  of  the  undulating  uplands  and  stretching  from  the  foot-hills  several  miles  into  the  valley,  and  but 
little  above  the  general  level  of  the  latter.  This  soil  tills  easily  when  taken  in  the  right  moisture  condition,  but 
plows  very  cloddy  when  either  too  wet  or  too  dry.  It  is  chiefly  given  to  pasture  and  wheat-growing,  and  yields  from 
15  to  20  and  sometimes  25  bushels  of  fall  or  winter-sown  grain  in  good  years,  and  in  poor  ones  from  11  to  13  bushels 
per  acre,  but  never  altogether  fads.  It  responds  very  kindly  to  summer  fallowing,  and  in  its  natural  condition 
has  little  else  than  herbaceous  vegetation,  with  some  scattered  poison-oak  bushes. 

No.  51.  Red  surface  soil  from  the  foot-hills  near  Auburn,  Placer  county,  taken  12  inches  deep ;  sent  by  Mr. 
N.  S.  Prosser,  of  Auburn.     Original  vegetation,  oak  (Q.  Dourjlasii),  pine,  and  chaparral.     This  is  a  fair  sample  of 


PHYSICO-GKOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


35 


the  red  soil  of  the  placer  mines,  which  seems  to  contain  a  small  amount  of  gold  everywhere,  and  has  been  washed 
on  the  small  scale  ever  since  the  first  discovery  of  gold  in  California.  It  is  of  a  dark  orange  color,  rather  light  in 
tillage  and  pulverulent  when  dry,  forming  a  very  flue  reddish  dust  of  considerable  repute.  It  contains  throughout 
numerous  fragments  of  slate,  more  or  less  decomposed,  of  all  sizes,  and  is  usually  underlaid  by  the  same  or  its 
debris  at  a  variable  depth,  rarely  less  than  several  feet,  unless  lying  on  steep  slopes. 

No.  190.  lied  loam  soil  from  the  foot-hill  slopes  near  Lagrange,  Stanislaus  county.  Vegetation,  scattered  oak 
timber  (mainly  blue  and  white  oaks),  with  little  or  no  underbrush  save  some  poison-oak;  also  grass  and  flowers. 
This  is  a  moderately'  heavy,  glaringly  orange-red  loam,  tilling  well  unless  when  very  wet,  contains  but  little  gravel, 
and  is  not  much  in  cultivation,  save  in  gardens  in  this  neighborhood;  makes  fine  vegetables  and  fruits.  Sample 
taken  to  12  inches  depth. 

No.  191.  Red  font-h ills  soil,  taken  two  miles  north  of  Merced  Falls,  on  the  Lagrange  road,  Merced  county  ;  depth, 
10  inches.  This  is  a  rather  heavy  brownish  red-clay  soil  considerably  mixed  with  gravel.  The  natural  vegetation 
is  grass  and  scattered  "blue"  oaks,  chieliy  pastured  at  present,  but  capable  of  producing  from  15  to  20  bushels  of 
wheat  per  acre  in  good  seasons  and  with  good  tillage. 

No.  196.  lied  gravelly  soil  from  the  rolling  "  hog- wallow"  country  about  eleven  miles  north  of  Merced  city,  on 
the  Hopeton  road,  Merced  county.  This  represents  a  rolling  tract  of  foot-hill  country  extending  southwestward 
from  near  Merced  Falls,  and,  gradually  flattening  out,  terminating  near  the  railroad  between  Atwater  and  Merced 
stations.  The  surface,  even  to  the  hilltops,  is  deeply  scored  into  "  hog- wallow  "  mounds,  separated  by  a  maze  of 
little  channels  filled  with  gravel,  and  sometimes  with  cobble-stones.  In  low,  undrained  places  of  this  tract  lies  the 
"dry  bog"  soil,  of  which  No.  701,  from  Tulare  county  (see  pages  27,  28),  may  be  taken  as  representing  the  best 
class.  Land  like  No.  196  is  not  at  all  cultivated  at  present ;  but  on  the  flanks  of  the  ridgy  tract  lie  lands  like 
those  at  Huffman's  (see  No.  193,  pages  27,  28)  where  grain-culture  is  very  successful.  The  country  is  treeless  and 
free  from  underbrush. 

Soils  of  the  foot-hills  region. 


SHA6TA   COUNTY. 


REDDING  STA- 
TION. 


NEAR  ANDERSON, 


Tuba  county. 


Placer 

county. 


STANI6LAUS 
COUNTY. 


Merced  county. 


NEAR 
MERCED  FALLS. 


ELEVEN 
MILES  NORTH 
OF   MERCED. 


Red  chaparral    Red  chaparral      u   ,]mTnn  .,      Red  foot  bills      Red  foot-hills       Red  foot-hills      Hog-TroUow 
soil.  sabsoil.        ,i  K<™-'oain  sod.  ^  8oi,  80il.  eoil 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Potash 

Soda 

Lime  

Magnesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese  . 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

Water  and  organic  matter  - . 


76.  274  ) 
4.  102  i 


SO.  376 

0.500 
0.041 
0.104 
0.403 
0.009 
6.  086 
8.480 
0.036 
0.012 
3.968 


Total  . 


Humus 

Available  inorganic  ... 

Hygroscopic  moisture  . 

absorbed  at 


63.  384 
5.480 


!•  68.  864 

0.417 
0.052 
0.288 

0.207 
0.037 
7.705 
14.443 
0.047 
0.074 
7.680 


99.  814 


03. 194  ) 
4.  710  i 


67.  904 

0.  467 
0.044 
0.327 
0.350 
0.029 
6.263 
17.434 
0.064 
0.043 
7.229 


100. 154 


10.  749 
15C.° 


No.  499. 

No.  51. 

No.  190. 

No.  191. 

No.  106. 

W789?  82.  592 
3.  803  1 

69.52 

67.  915  > 
„  „„.  (74.879 
6.964  > 

'73-352  \  77.  858 
4.  500  5 

79.  078  ) 

>  84.  622 
5.544  5 

0.249 

0.38 

0.352 

0.375 

(1.  208 

0.035 

0.07 

0.126 

0.125 

0.111 

1.021 

0.96 

1.544 

0.351 

0.394 

0.471 

1.09 

0.720 

0.840 

0.  361 

0.018 
5.811 
0.  283 
0.043 
0.019 
3.644  ■ 


0.39 
12.42 
10.97 
0.10 
0.01 
5.14 


101.11 


0.031 
7.879 
9.864 
0.091 
0.362 
3.766 

99.  614 


0.466 
0.336  ' 
4.810 


0.715 
0.448 
5.  421 
15C.° 


0.067 
0.221 
5.000 


0.712 
0.  407 
0.  114 
15C.° 


I.  03.i 
1.  903 
1.600 
I.  053 
I.  082 


0.758 
0.533 
4.  907 
I5C.° 


The  abo*-«i  analyses  show  that  the  soils  of  the  foot-hills  are  more  variable  in  their  composition  than  would  be 
inferred  from  the'general  similarity  of  their  appearance,  viz:  a  high  orange-red  tint,  arising  from  the  presence  of 
from  about  4  to  over  12  per  cent,  of  finely  diffused  iron  oxide  (ferric  hydrate),  and  a  texture  varying  from  that  of 
moderately  heavy  loam  to  a  stiff  clay,  with  more  or  less  of  rolled  gravel,  at  times  to  such  extent  as  to  impede 
tillage,  and  occasionally  so  closely  packed  as  to  render  cultivation  unprofitable.  Their  capacity  for  absorbing 
moisture  is  in  all  cases  fair  and  adequate,  and  in  some  cases  high. 

The  supply  of  lime  is  hardly  adequate  for  such  heavy  soils  as  in  the  case  of  those  from  Shasta  county.  In  that  from 
Bedding  lime  is  deficient,  and  should  be  supplied  where  thriftiness  is  desired,  and  the  same  would  be  advantageous 
in  the  Anderson  soils.  Farther  south  the  lime  percentage  increases,  being  high  in  the  region  from  Wheatland  to 
the  Tuolumne  near  Lagrange,  but  again  comparatively  low  in  the,  foot-hills  and  hog- wallow  ridges  of  Merced  county. 
The  superior  adaptation  of  that  middle  region  to  fruit,  and  especially  to  grape  culture,  is  doubtless  connected  with 
this  fact.  The  supply  of  potash  is  only  moderate,  and  in  some  cases  low  for  such  heavy  soils,  as  in  Nos.  499  and 
196.    In  the  case  of  the  soil  from  Bedding,  the  higher  potash  supply  offsets,  in  a  measure,  the  deficiency  in  lime. 


36 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 


As  to  the  supply  of  phosphates,  it  is  ou  the  average  quite  low,  being  deficient  especially  in  the  Bedding  soil,  aud 
likewise,  considering  its  heaviness,  in  the  Anderson  soil.  In  the  latter  case  the  use  of  bone-meal,  recommended 
by  uie  to  Mr.  George  A.  Moore,  has  resulted  in  a  surprising  improvement  of  production,  thus  proving  the 
correctness  of  the  indication  furnished  by  analysis.  The  soil  in  its  natural  state  failed  altogether  to  produce 
remunerative  crops,  scarcely  giving  back  the  seed  sown — "about  one  and  a  half  tons  of  hay  on  six  acres,  and 
potatoes  at  the  rate  of  about  one-tenth  of  the  bulk  planted",  as  stated  by  Mr.  Moore.  The  use  of  lime  would 
doubtless  still  further  help  the  thriftiness  of  this  soil. 

From  the  small  amount  of  humus  shown  in  the  analysis  of  the  Wheatland  soil  it  seems  probable  that  the 
sample  represents  a  subsoil  rather  than  the  arable  soil  itself,  and  it  may  be  that  in  the  latter  the  phosphates  would 
show  a  higher  percentage.  In  the  sample  analyzed  the  phosphates  are  deficient,  but  the  productiveness  would, 
for  the  time  being,  be  maintained,  in  consequence  of  the  presence  of  so  much  lime  and  the  greater  lightness  of  the 
soil.     Before  long,  however,  phosphate  manures  will  be  desirable  in  that  region. 

The  soil  from  Auburn  is  altogether  the  best  of  the  foot-hill  soils  thus  far  examined,  having  a  large  supply  of 
phosphoric  acid,  with  plenty  of  lime,  a  fair  supply  of  potash,  and  a  high  percentage  of  humus.  The  analysis  shows 
good  reason  for  the  high  estimate  in  which  this  region  is  held  for  the  production  of  fruits,  grapes,  etc.  The  soil  from 
the  Lagrange  foot-hills  is  not  quite  equal  to  it,  but  still  it  is  a  high-grade  soil.  That  from  near  Merced  Falls,  No.  191, 
ranks  somewhat  lower,  being  very  gravelly  and  having  a  smaller  supply  of  both  lime  and  phosphates,  while  the 
soil  of  the  "hog-wallow"  ridge,  No.  19G,  ranks  still  lower,  on  account  of  a  deficiency  in  potash.  To  the  southward,  in 
Fresno  and  Tulare  counties,  lime  is  again  on  the  increase,  as  is  indicated  by  the  character  of  the  valley  soils  aud 
the  occurrence  of  limestone  in  the  foot-hills  themselves;  but  no  analyses  of  soils  from  these  southern  foot-hills  have 
as  yet  been  made. 

It  is  thus  evident  that  there  are  considerable  differences  and  alternations  in  the  character  and  value  of  the 
foot-hill  lands,  and  that,  while  the  greater  portion  is  probably  of  fair  to  high  quality,  especially  for  fruit  culture, 
there  are  tracts  requiring  manures  from  the  very  outset.  Such  can  doubtless  be  recognized  by  an  attentive 
observer  from  their  vegetation.  But  my  own  observations,  as  well  as  the  reports  thus  far  received,  are  not 
sufficiently  extended  to  determine  what  are  the  characteristic  plants  of  each. 

In  view  of  the  great  uniformity  of  these  soils  to  a  depth  of  15  inches  or  more,  and  their  usually  somewhat  stiff 
character,  deep  and  thorough  tillage  is  indicated  as  of  especial  importance  in  their  cultivation. 

Soils  of  the  foot-hill  valleys. — As  even  the  apparently  uniform  red  soil  of  the  foot-hills  varies  not  inconsiderably, 
the  same  must  be  true  to  even  a  greater  extent  as  regards  the  individual  valleys  within  the  region  traversing  belts 
of  widely  varying  rocks.  While  it  is  true  that  the  rivers  of  the  Sierras  most  frequently  emerge  from  the  hilly 
country  through  narrow  gorges  or  canons,  yet  not  inconsiderable  areas  of  valley  lands  exist  among  the  foot-hills. 
The  following  analyses  were  made  origiually  with  a  view  to  a  comparison  between  the  original  soil  of  a  valley  and 
the  slum,  or  "slickens",  that  has  overrun  the  same;  but  they  are  equally  interesting  as  showing  the  wide  divergence 
of  the  soil  of  individual  valleys  from  the  general  average,  whether  of  the  foot-hills  or  the  great  valley  itself: 

No.  67.  Mining  slum  soil,  sent  by  Mr.  J.  Taylor,  of  Mount  Pleasant,  near  Chinese  Camp,  Tuolumne  county, 
December  16,  1S77.  The  soil  is  a  fine,  cinnamon-colored  sediment,  deposited  from  the  washings  of  the  hydraulic 
gold  mines  of  Chinese  Camp  and  Montezuma.  Some  of  the  lumps  in  the  soil  were  very  hard  to  pulverize,  yet 
most  of  them  yielded  to  pressure  between  the  fingers. 

No.  68.  Valley  adobe  soil,  sent  by  Mr.  J.  Taylor,  of  Mount  Pleasant,  December,  1877.  This  is  a  black,  clayey 
soil,  now  underlying  the  "mining  slum  "  soil  (No.  67)  at  a  depth  of  2  feet,  and  was  quite  fertile. 

Soils  of  the  foot-hill  valleys,  Tuolumne  county. 


Mining 
slam  soil. 

Valley 
adobo  soil. 

No.  67. 

No.  08. 

72.98    '              56.81 
0. 10                    0.  19 
0.  21     '                0. 14 
1. 19                    0.  68 
2.  32     ,              13.  74 

Ferric  oxide 

9, 30      > 

10.55      i           "■« 
0.  08                      0.  07 
0.  03                      0.  01 

Total 

101.  36     (              99.  79 

0.  42                  1.  614 

£94 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  37 

The  slum  material  is  rather  poor  in  the  two  most  important  ingredients  of  plant-food,  potash  and  phosphoric 
acid,  and  it  will  probably  be  somewhat  refractory  in  tillage  for  some  time.  In  humus  and  available  plant-food  it 
is  as  yet  naturally  poor,  but  its  redeeming  feature,  the  large  percentage  of  lime,  will  enable  it  to  overcome  this 
objection  after  having  been  covered  with  vegetable  growth  for  some  time. 

No.  68  is  a  very  remarkable  soil  in  more  than  one  point  of  view.  On  the  whole,  it  is  not  dissimilar  to  the 
"slum"  soil  that  has  overrun  it,  and  as  regards  the  essential  ingredients  of  plant-food  it  is  no  richer  than  the  latter, 
except  as  regards  the  humus,  and,  consequently,  the  nitrogen  and  proportion  of  available  plant-food.  For  the 
time  being  it  would  produce  better  than  the  slum  soil,  but  ultimately  both  would  be  about  equally  durable,  while 
neither  takes  a  high  rank  in  that  respect.  The  unique  feature  of  the  adobe  in  this  case  is  the  extraordinary 
amount  of  magnesia,  in  which  it  exceeds  all  cultivable  soils  that  have  come  under  my  notice  heretofore.  Both 
soils  are  probably  derived  substantially  from  the  same  original  source,  but  the  maguesian  rock-powder  has,  in  the 
case  of  the  adobe,  been  so  far  decomposed  by  atmospheric  action  as  to  render  its  base  soluble  in  the  acid  used  in 
the  analysis,  while  iu  the  slum  soil  most  of  the  magnesia  has  doubtless  remained  in  the  insoluble  part. 

A  comparison  of  this  "slickens"  sediment  with  those  previously  discussed  (pages  27-29)  shows  that  there  must 
be  a  very  great  difference  in  the  agricultural  value  of  the  sediments  coming  from  different  valleys;  for  if  the  general 
sediment  of  the  Sacramento  river  is  so  rich,  despite  the  incoming  of  such  materials  as  the  one  last  described,  the 
slum  coming  from  some  of  the  valleys  must  be  of  extraordinary  richness,  and  a  benefit  to  any  lands  covered  by  it 
to  any  moderate  extent,  when  unaccompanied  by  the  floods  of  gravel  that  render  the  richest  materials  practically 
useless  for  the  purpose  of  the  husbandman. 

The  sedimeut  No.  G7  now  covers  the  original  soil,  No.  08,  to  a  depth  at  which  the  latter  is  practically  out  of 
reach  of  the  roots  of  crops. 

THE  SOUTHERN  REGION. 

The  territory  embraced  iu  this  division  includes  portions  of  the  counties  of  Los  Angeles,  San  Diego,  and  San 
Bernardino;  in  all  a  little  more  than  15,000  square  miles. 

The  region  subdivides  naturally  into  a  division  embracing  the  Los  Angeles  and  San  Bernardiuo  plains,  the 
chief  agricultural  portion  of  southern  California,  and  a  division  embracing  the  rolling  hills,  mesas,  and  interspersed 
valleys  of  San  Diego.  Both  divisions  are  bordered  eastward  by  the  high  and  rugged  mountains  of  the  Sierra  Madre, 
San  Bernardino,  and  San  Jacinto  ranges. 

The  prominent  feature  of  the  southern  region  is  the  San  Bernardino  range  of  mountains,  which,  rising  suddenly 
on  the  east  to  an  elevation  of  from  4,000  to  6,000  feet  above  the  sea,  separates  the  coast  belt  from  the  great 
desert.  From  its  junction  with  the  Sierra  Nevada  mountains,  iu  Kern  county,  it  trends  southeastward,  and 
presently  divides  into  two  prongs,  the  northerly  one  continuing  nearly  to  the  Colorado  river  and  gradually  falling 
in  elevation,  the  other,  the  San  Jacinto  range,  bending  southward,  and,  with  a  diminished  height,  passing  out  of 
the  state  into  Mexico.  This  high  rauge  is  almost  altogether  treeless  and  uninhabitable,  has  a  width  varying  from 
a  few  miles  to  as  much  as  30  or  40  miles,  and  forms  an  almost  unbroken  barrier,  with  but  few  passes,  between  the 
great  desert  on  the  east  and  the  agricultural  valleys  of  the  coast  region. 

To  the  westward  of  the  range  the  mountains  decline  in  altitude  toward  the  coast,  and  are  interspersed  with 
many  small  valleys  and  mesa  lauds  and  penetrated  to  a  distance  of  75  miles  eastward  from  the  coast  by  the  broad 
agricultural  region  known  as  the  Los  Angeles  and  San  Bernardiuo  plains.  The  higher -mountains,  those  that  lie 
near  the  San  Bernardino  range,  are  partly  timbered  with  oak,  cedar,  pine,  and  fir,  while  the  lower  ranges  are 
mostly  bare,  their  lower  slopes  and  canons  being  covered  with  a  chaparral.  This  division  is  watered  by  numerous 
streams  flowing  westward  into  the  ocean,  mostly  without  any  great  length.  Of  these  the  San  Gabriel  and  Santa 
Ana  rivers,  in  the  Los  Angeles  plain,  and  the  San  Jacinto  and  San  Diego  rivers,  in  San  Diego  county,  are  the  largest. 

LOS   ANGELES  AND   SAN  BEENAEDINO   PLAINS. 

The  large  agricultural  region  reaching  inland  from  the  coast,  and  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  high  Sierra 
Madre  or  San  Bernardino  mountain  range,  on  the  west  by  the  Sierra  Santa  Monica  and  others,  and  on  the  east 
(apart  from  the  San  Bernardino  valley)  by  the  Santa  Ana  mountains,  covers  an  area  of  nearly  2,000  square  miles.  Its 
extent  along  the  coast  is  about  65  miles,  though  broken  by  some  mesa  lauds  and  hills.  Northward  it  reaches  about 
35  miles  across  a  chain  of  low  hills  to  the  mountains,  whence  it  extends  eastward  for  40  miles  in  a  belt  of  from  5  to  20 
miles  in  width,  forming  the  San  Bernardino  valley,  and  westward  into  the  San  Fernando  valley,  its  entire  length  east 
and  west  being  about  90  miles.  It  is  divided  properly  into  several  large  valley  regions:  the  San  Fernando  valley 
on  the  northwest,  separated  from  the  coast  and  Los  Angeles  plain  by  the  Santa  Monica  mountains;  the  Los  Angeles 
plain  proper,  reaching  along  the  coast  from  the  latter  mountains  southeastward  and  inland  to  the  high  ranges,  and 
including  the  San  Gabriel  valley;  and  the  San  Bernardino  valley,  forming  the  eastern  extension  alluded  to,  and 
separated  from  the  coast  on  the  south  by  the  Santa  Ana  range  of  mountains. 


38  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

San  Fernando  valley. — This  valley  covers  an  area  of  about  200  square  miles,  and  has  a  length  of  lfl  and  a  width  of 
12  miles,  becoming  very  narrow  on  the  east,  where  it  opens  through  a  gap  into  the  Los  Angeles  plain.  It  is  watered 
by  the  Los  Angeles  river,  other  streams  from  the  mountains  disappearing  before  reaching  far  into  the  valley.  The 
surface  is  rolling,  and  on  the  north  of  the  river  there  is  a  heavy  growth  of  brush  and  cactus,  the  soil  being  very  sandy. 
Along  the  river  there  are  alluvial  loams,  while  the  lands  of  the  rest  of  the  valley  embrace  sandy  loams,  heavy 
on  the  northwest  and  light  on  the  south,  with  alfilerilla,  clover,  sage-brush,  some  tar-weed,  etc.  Very  little  of  its 
lands  are  under  cultivation,  the  chief  crop  being  small  grain,  with  a  yield  of  30  bushels  per  acre. 

Los  Angeles  plains. — It  is  usual  to  divide  the  Los  Angeles  region  into  a  lower  or  coast  plain  and  an  upper 
plain,  the  former  embracing  a  belt  of  low  and  "moist"  land  elevated  from  5  to  SO  feet  above  the  sea,  interspersed 
with  low  sandy  ridges,  and  reaching  inland  for  15  or  20  miles.  The  coast-line  of  the  county  presents  a  series  of 
low  bluffs,  sandy  beaches,  plains,  and  valleys  on  each  side  of  the  prominent  headland  that  separates  Santa  Monica 
and  San  Pedro  bays.  The  seaward  slope  is  covered  with  a  low  and  dense  growth  of  sumac.  The  surface  of  the 
country  rises  inland,  and  is  mostly  undulating  northward  to  the  hills,  where  it  becomes  more  broken,  with  low  ridges 
and  mesa  or  table  lands.  Along  the  northern  border  of  the  plains  the  Sierra  Madre  mountain  range  breaks  oil' 
precipitously  on  the  south  to  a  smooth,  sloping  plateau  from  1  to  5  miles  wide,  which  extends  for  a  considerable 
distance  along  the  base  of  the  mountains  through  Los  Angeles  and  San  Bernardino  counties.  This  plateau  has  a 
slope  of  from  100  to  300  feet  per  mile,  and  is  evidently  composed  of  the  detritus  washed  down  from  the  sleep 
mountain  slopes.  From  the  Los  Angeles  river  to  the  line  separating  the  two  counties  the  soil  of  this  plateau  is 
generally  composed  of  red  loam,  compact  and  deep,  containing  considerable  clay  and  fine  gravel,  while  farther  east 
gray  granitic  sand,  gravel,  and  bowlders  are  the  leading  characteristics.  In  Los  Angeles  county  this  plateau  in 
many  places  breaks  off  nearly  vertically  to  a  lower  bench,  along  the  rim  of  which  large  springs  burst  forth ;  but 
in  general  it  slopes  directly  to  the  interior  valley,  with  no  perceptible  division  separating  it  from  the  valley 
proper.  The  country  is  without  timber  growth,  except  some  willow,  cottonwood,  and  sycamore  along  the  streams, 
and  sumac  on  the  plains.  The  region  is  greatly  diversified  in  its  agricultural  features  and  lands,  the  several 
varieties  of  sandy,  gravelly,  and  clayey  loams,  both  dark  aud  red  in  color,  occurring  in  irregular  tracts,  large  and 
small,  and  gradually  passing  one  into  the  other.  The  mesa  or  table-lands  are  chiefly  red  clayey  loams,  more  or 
less  graved}',  and  usually  occur  near  the  mountain  ranges,  as  well  as  in  large  bodies  west  and  southeast  of 
Compton,  nearer  the  coast;  they  are  said  to  be  excellent  grain  as  well  as  fruit  lands.  Throughout  the  rest  of  the 
valley  dark  loams,  usually  reddish,  predominate.  These  loams  are  sandy,  gravelly,  and  sometimes  rocky  near 
the  hills  and  upon  the  higher  tracts,  while  in  the  lower  portions  they  are  usually  heavy,  and  often  pass  into  the 
true  adobe,  a  large  body  of  which  lies  in  the  La  Puente  valley  west  of  Spadra. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  features  is  the  coast  plain  or  "  alkali  lands  "  region,  which  occupies  the  greater'part 
of  the  southern  coast  of  the  county.  According  to  the  records  in  the  state  engineer's  office,  this  region  extends  from 
a  few  miles  south  of  Los  Angeles  south  to  the  coast,  and  southeast  along  the  shore  nearly  to  San  Diego  county, 
with  a  width  of  from  G  to  S  miles.  The  surface  is  partly  flat,  partly  rising  into  low  sandy  ridges,  between  which 
lie  the  valleys  or  swales  of  alkali  lands  proper.  The  soil  is  usually  a  mouse-colored  or  somewhat  bluish  fine  loam, 
sparkling  with  small  scales  of  mica;  it  has  little  vegetation  beyond  the  "  alkali  grass  "  ( Brizopyrum),  and  the  low 
portions  do  not  produce  well  unless  special  means  are  adopted  to  counteract  the  effects  of  the  alkali.  This  lower 
plain  is  the  corn-growing  region  of  this  part  of  the  state,  its  moist  lands  needing  no  irrigation  aud  producing  large 
crops. 

There  are  a  number  of  other  tracts  of  alkali  land  in  the  higher  portions  of  the  county,  notably  on  the  San 
Gabriel  river,  east  of  Los  Angeles,  and  on  the  north  of  the  Santa  Aua  mountains. 

Sa7i  Bernardino  valley.— On  the  north  is  the  San  Bernardino  range  of  mountains,  having  an  altitude  of  from 
5,000  to  7,000  feet;  on  the  east  a  low  range  of  clay  hills,  having  for  their  summit  the  divide  of  the  San  G-orgonio 
pass;  on  the  south  a  low  range  of  clay  and  granite  hills;  and  on  the  west  a  high  mesa,  forming  the  west  bank 
of  Lytle  creek.  The  surface  of  the  valley  presents  a  gently  undulating  or  level  plain,  gradually  rising  toward 
the  hills  from  the  Santa  Ana  river,  and  in  places  is  studded  with  trees.  The  soil  is  a  gray  gravelly  loam,  rather 
stiff  in  the  center  of  the  valley,  becoming  more  and  more  sandy  as  the  hills  are  approached.  That  at  Riverside 
and  on  other  plateaus  or  mesas  is  red  and  clayey  in  character  and  of  great  depth.  These  lands  are  said  to  produce 
as  much  as  35  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  and  are  pre-eminently  adapted  to  fruit-growing. 

THE    SAN    DIEGO    REGION. 

Until  quite  lately  all  but  the  coast  of  San  Diego  county  was  difficult  of  access  and  little  known  to  the  general 
public.  ISTo  systematic  or  even  somewhat  full  description  of  the  interior  region  has  thus  far  been  given  in  any 
publication,  and  what  follows  is  compiled  from  many  sources  and  cursory  statements  not  always  agreeing  with  each 
other.  The  country  south  of  the  Los  Angeles  plains  is,  along  the  coast  through  San  Diego  county,  rolling  and 
somewhat  broken,  interspersed  with  mesa  lands  and  valleys,  and  is  almost  entirely  treeless,  comparatively  little  of  it 
being  suitable  for  cultivation.  Inland  the  surface  becomes  more  and  more  broken  aud  hilly  for  about  30  miles  to  the 
low  mountain  belt  that,  with  an  elevation  of  about  3,000  feet,  lies  to  westward  of  the  high  San  Jacinto  range.     This 

CM 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  39 

mountain  d.visiou  is  about  40  miles  in  width,  though  varying  very  greatly,  and  is  a  continuation  southward  of  the 
Santa  Ana  mountains.  It  contains  extensive  tracts  of  good  farming  lands  in  the  valley  like  table-lauds  that  are 
inclosed  between  the  main  mountain  ridges  and  is  said  to  be  the  best  agricultural  portion  of  San  Diego  county. 
Wheat,  barley,  oranges,  grapes,  etc.,  are  among  the  products.  Along  the  San  Diego  river  there  are  narrow  valleys 
that  are  among  the  best  farming  tracts  of  the  county.  Of  these  Cajoli  valley  is  perhaps  the  most  noted,  and  may  be 
taken  as  a  type  of  the  others.  It  is  about  20  miles  east  of  the  city  of  San  Diego,  and,  as  its  name  indicates,  has 
the  appearance  of  a  great  basin  6  miles  long  and  4  miles  wide,  walled  in  on  every  side  by  mountains,  and  reached 
with  difficulty,  from  which  the  San  Diego  river  escapes  through  a  narrow  canon.  The  surface  of  this  valley  is 
comparatively  level  and  treeless,  except  along  the  river,  where  there  is  a  growth  of  cottonwood,  sycamore,  and 
willow.     The  soil  is  a  sandy,  gravelly  loam,  largely  under  cultivation. 

A  descriptive  pamphlet  issued  by  the  San  Diego  chamber  of  commerce  says  of  the  county  : 

The  following  is  the  picture  presented  to  nine-tenths  of  the  visitors  who  approach  this  county  by  way  of  the  coast:  Hard, 
gravelly  table-lands,  either  barren  or  clad  with  a*dreary  black  brush ;  rolling  hills  of  gravel,  bristling  with  cactus  and  cobble-stones ; 
stony  slopes,  scarred  with  gullies  and  washes;  no  trees,  no  streams,  no  Bprings ;  the  general  barrenness  relieved  only  by  a  few  choice  little 
valleys  and  a  few  tracts  of  good  table-land.  Looking  inland,  the  visitor  sees  only  swell  after  swell  of  bare  hills  looming  through  a  dreamy 
haze  and  terminating  in  a  high  range  of  dark  blue  mountains  on  the  east.  The  farming  land,  however,  lies  scattered  in  a  thousaud 
6hapes  all  over  a  tract  about  100  miles  long  and  70  wide,  the  greater  part  miles  away  from  the  coast,  and  visible  only  after  many  days' , 
travel.  Beginning  at  a  point  along  the  southern  line  of  the  county  some  25  or  30  miles  from  the  coast,  and  running  back  to  the  crest  of 
the  mountains  bordering  the  desert,  thence  north  to  Temecnla,  is  a  belt  upon  which  the  rainfall  is  nearly  always  double,  often  triple,  that 
of  the  country  along  the  lower  coast.  Along  this  belt  lie  Valle  de  las  Viejas,  Cuyamaca  rancho,  the  Juleau  hills  and  valleys,  the  Santa 
Ysabel,  Mesa  Grande,  Warner's  rancho,  Guejito,  Bear  valley,  Pauma,  Smith's  mouutain,  and  smaller  valleys  too  numerous  to  mention,  with 
some  large  tracts  along  its  edge  partakiug  somewhat  of  its  general  nature,  such  a6  the  Santa  Maria,  San  Bernardo,  Eincon  del  Diablo, 
etc.  Upon  the  main  part,  of  this  belt  crops  are  as  absolute  a  certainty  as  in  any  part  of  the  east,  and  though  subject  to  many  of  the  causeB 
that  shorten  crops  iu  the  east,  such  as  unfavorable  weather  for  "stooling"  or  "filling",  etc.,  they  never  suffer  from  drought.  AH  through 
this  section  fruit  is  raised  in  perfection  without  a  particle  of  irrigation.  #  *  *  The  average  altitude  of  this  belt  is  about  3,000  feet, 
and  it  covers  about  one-third  of  tho  country  west  of  the  desert. 

Near  Temecnla  this  belt  divides,  one  branch  running  off  toward  the  high  mountains  on  the  east,  the  other  bending  off  to  the  west, 
leaving  the  great  plains  of  Temecula  and  San  Jacinto,  with  all  their  rich  lands,  subject,  to  the  general  uncertainty  of  the  rainfall  of  all 
southern  California.  These  plains  often  have  as  heavy  a  rainfall  as  the  above-mentioned  belt,  but,  as  about  once  iu  three  years  they  fall 
short,  they  cannot  be  included  within  it.  The  eastern  branch  of  this  rain-belt  ruus  into  a  country  iu  which  bare,  rugged,  and  dreary  hills 
are  the  general  rule,  though  there  are  a  few  fine  little  spots,  such  as  Oak  Grove,  Bladen,  and  Aguauga,  and  some  large  valleys  like  the 
Coahuila. 

A  section  of  this  western  rain-belt,  embracing  Fall  Brook,  the  greater  part  of  Santa  Margarita  and  Santa 
Rosa,  running  all  the  way  to  the  coast  at  Las  Flores  and  Forster  City,  and  really  including  within  its  limits  the 
Vaflecito  de  Temecula,  Monserrate,  and  the  whole  San  Luis  River  valley  above  Monserrate,  along  with  Pairaousa 
and  mount,  Fairview,  has  less  rain  than  the  main  belt,  but  in  the  driest  years  the  precipitation  has  never  fallen 
below  7J  inches. 

Fully  three-fourths  of  the  arable  land  in  the  county  is  alluvial,  either  washed  from  the  ancient  streams  or  lakes 
or  from  the  hills,  and  free  from  rock  or  clay  immediately  below  the  surface  ;  and  on  three-fourths  of  the  rest  the 
rock  or  hard-pan  is  too  far  below  the  surface  to  do  any  injury.  The  adobe,  or  California  clay  soil,  one  of  the  richest 
and  strongest  iu  the  world,  but  one  that  requires  much  water  at  just  the  right  times,  is  here  comparatively  rare, 
most  of  the  soil  being  alluvial  and  very  loose. 

Timber  is  abundant  throughout  the  river  bottoms  and  in  the  mountains,  willow,  cottonwood,  and  sycamore 
prevailing  on  the  former. 

Soils  of  the  southern  region. 

The  lands  of  the  inland  valleys  and  mesas  are  characterized  mostly  by  soils  containing  a  large  amount  of 
gravel  and  coarse  sand  of  a  brownish  or  reddish  tint.  They  are  commonly  distinguished  into  lauds  of  the 
first  bench,  or  bottom  lands  of  the  streams ;  lands  of  the  second  bench,  forming  either  at  the  present  time  or 
originally  a  system  of  terraces  elevated  from  15  to  25  feet  above  the  bottom  lands,  and  still  readily  irrigable  from 
the  headwaters  of  the  streams;  and,  finally,  the  mesa  lauds,  lying  at  higher  elevations  and  with  no  definite  relation 
to  the  present  drainage  system,  and  not  ordinarily  conveniently  irrigable  from  the  streams,  but  dependent  upon 
sources  of  supply  lying  high  up  in'the  canons.  Of  course  these  distinctions  are  not  absolutely  maintainable,  the 
second  benches  and  lower  mesa  lands  passing  into  each  other  imperceptibly,  especially  on  the  upper  portions  of 
the  streams,  while  again,  in  the  lower  portions  of  the  same,  the  second  bench  lands  often  lie  high  enough  to  be 
classed  as  mesas.  On  the  slopes  of  the  mesa  lands  the  soil  of  the  latter  and  that  of  the  bench  lands  are  frequently 
commingled. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  none  of  the  important  soils  of  the  "cienegas"  have  as  yet  even  reached  the  collection 
of  the  College  of  Agriculture.  Of  those  of  the  coast,  only  a  few  samples  from  the  swales  impregnated  with  alkali 
have  been  received,  and  these  have  been  examined  in  respect  to  alkali  only,  as  hereafter  noted.  The  reddish-gray 
soils  of  the  San  Bernardino  valley  are  represented  in  the  table  of  analyses  on  page  40  by  the  soil  and  subsoil  from 
the  neighborhood  of  Pomona. 

0'J? 


40 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 


Xo.  130.  Surface  .soil  of  the  second  bench  of  the  San  Gabriel  valley,  Los  Angeles  county,  taken  from  Alhambra 
ranch,  near  San  Gabriel,  December,  1877,  by  Mr.  J.  De  Barth  Shorb.  "A  fair  sample  of  the  heavier  class  of  soils 
in  the  San  Gabriel  valley."  Color,  dun  or  brownish  gray,  showing"  at  once  a  good  deal  of  small  gravel  and  coarse 
sand.  This  soil  lies  higher  than  that  on  which  the  older  orange  orchards  of  the  valley  are  planted,  but  the  tree 
seems  to  thrive  equally  well  on  it  when  given  sufficient  moisture. 

Nos.  382  and  381.  Soil  and  .subsoil  from  Pomona  colony,  Los  Angeles  county;  taken  respectively  to  the  depths 
of  11*  inches  and  from  12  to  S2  inches.  The  soil  and  subsoil  scarcely  differ  in  appearance,  and  are  a  reddish-gray, 
rather  sandy  loam,  easily  tilled;  natural  vegetation,  alfilerilla,  clover  and  malva  (J/,  horeali/i),  and  some  " rattleweed" 
(Astragalus  Menziesii);  produces  about  25  bushels  of  wheat  and  10  tons  of  alfalfa  hay  per  acre  when  irrigated,  and 
is  well  adapted  to  cereals  and  fruits. 

No.  47.  Surface  soil  of  mesa  land,  such  as  forms  the  larger  part  of  the  arable  hind  in  the  southern  part  of  San 
Diego  county.  This  analysis  was  taken  by  Mr.  F.  A.  Kimball,  of  National  ranch,  San  Diego  county,  who  thus 
describes  it: 

The  change  of  tint  from  surface  soil  to  subsoil  occurs  at  depths  varying  from  11  to  25  inches,  and  tin-  sample  sent  represents  the. 
averago  from  widely  separate  places,  hut  with  the  same  kind  of  soil.  The  underlying  subsoil  varies  in  thickness  from  2  lo  10  feet  or  more, 
is  very  retentive,  and  is  of  a  clayey  nature. 

The  orange,  lemon,  and  olive  seem  better  adapted  to  this  "  red  mesa  "  soil  than  to  the  best  valley  soils  of  the  San  Diego,  .Sweetwater, 
Otay,  or  Tia  Juaua  rivers,  a  larger  growth  and  earlier  fruiting  being  invariable  on  the  mesa.  All  the  northern  fruits,  except  perhaps  the 
cherry  and  plum,  are  produced  on  it  in  the  greatest  perfection,  the  flavor  of  the  apple  and  peach  exceeding  any  I  have  tasted  in  northern 
California  or  in  the  east. 

The  soil  is  of  a  light  reddish-brown  tint,  rather  coherent,  and  apparently  somewhat  heavier  in  working  than 
soil  No.  130,  which  it  otherwise  greatly  resembles,  containing,  likewise,  a  considerable  amount  of  visible  gravel. 

No.  506.  Bottom  soil  from  the  Colorado  river  between  El  Rio  and  Yuma  stations,  San  Diego  county;  a  siltv, 
pulverulent  soil  of  a  light  buff  tint,  dry  lumps  but  little  coherent,  changes  color  but  little  in  wetting,  but  becomes 
slightly  plastic,  showing  some  clay  to  be  present.  Unchanged  to  the  depth  of  several  feet;  samples  taken  to  12 
inches  depth.  This  soil  bears  a  heavy  growth  of  mesquite  trees,  in  low  places  arrow-weed,  and  on  the  Arizona  side 
a  great  deal  of  creosote  plant  (Larrea  Mexicana).  Cultivation  has  not  as  yet  been  attempted  here,  but  has  been 
very  successful  lower  down. 

Soils  of  the  southern  region. 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Potash 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia ■ 

Brown  oxide  of  man^nese  . 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alnmina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

Carbonic  acid 

Wnler  and  organic  matter  . 


Totsil  . 


Humus 

Available  inorganic 

Available  phosphoric  acid 

Hygroscopic  moisture 

abBorbod  at 


LOS   ANGELES  COUNTY. 


l'OMONA  COLONY. 


Soil  of  San  Gabriel 
valley. 


Low  mesa  soil. 


San  Diego  county. 


Soil  of  mesa  land.    !       Bottom  bod*. 
Loluriulo  nvor. 


81.12 

0.27  | 

0.17 

0.08 

1.77 

0.  10 

6.30 

6.79 

0.16 

0.07 


72.  519  > 
5. 121  I 


77.640 

0.839  I 

0.296 

2.354  ' 

2.225 

0.039 

3.0B7 

5.974 

0.018 

0.022 


75.  304 
3.  672  : 


70. 176 

0.962 
0.301 
2.052 
2.154 
0.043 
7.342 
5.835 
0.049 
0.020 


0.324 
0.263 


86.21 

0.48 
0.14 
0.30 
0.54 
0.10 
3.C9 
5.12 
0.23 
0.03 


c  58.  57 1  > 
I    5.3271 


0.555 
1.439 


63.  001 

L177 
0.162 
8.671 
2.066 
0.025 
4.130 
8.370 
0.133 
0.  145 
7.818 
3.344 


0.752 
1. 151 
0.133 
9.  264 


While  the  first  bench  or  bottom  lands  were  the  first  cultivated  and  rendered  highly  productive  by  irrigation, 
the  second  bench  lands  seem  to  be  scarcely  inferior  to  the  former  for  fruit  production,  at  least,  when  properly 
irrigated.  No.  130  was  selected  as  a  representative  soil  of  this  kind.  Its  potash  percentage  is  rather  low,  but  it 
has  a  good  Supply  of  phosphoric  acid  and  lime,  and  its  easy  tillage  and  great  depth,  offsetting  its  somewhat  low 
retentiveness  of  moisture,  render  it  a  very  desirable  soil.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  no  analyses  of  mesa  soil  from 
the  Los  Angeles  region  are  as  yet  available  for  comparison. 

The  Pomona  noil  may,  judging  from  the  great  similarity  of  appearance,  be  taken  as  representative  of  a  large 
area  of  similar  lands  in  the  San  Bernardino  valley.  The  soil  and  subsoil  are  a  good  deal  alike  in  composition. 
698 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  41 

Both  have  a  large  supply  of  potash  and  lime,  as  well  as  magnesia,  and  both  are  poor  in  phosphoric  acid,  the 
soil  even  being  remarkably  deficient,  and  the  supply  apparently  increasing  with  the  depth.  The  supply  of  humus  is 
very  small,  and  its  increase  seems  to  be  among  the  first  needs  of  the  soil.  It  must  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that 
the  surface  soil  in  these  dry  regions  is  really  of  less  importance  than  the  subsoil,  in  which  the  roots  must  remain 
in  order  to  be  secure  from  the  drought  and  heat.  Evidently  such  land,  while  capable  of  high  yields  at  first,  will  soon 
need  phosphate  fertilizers  for  continued  productiveness. 

The  mesa  soil  from  San  Diego  is  of  excellent  composition  in  all  respects  but  that  of  being  somewhat  deficient 
in  humus,  a  fault  easily  remedied  in  cultivation.  It  is  richer  in  both  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  than  the  Los 
Angeles  soil,  but  its  smaller  proportion  of  lime  detracts  somewhat  from  its  advantage  over  the  other.  Considering 
its  great  depth  and  its  large  supply  of  plant-food,  it  is  certainly  of  high  promise,  and  would  amply  repay  any 
reasonable  expense  incurred  in  its  irrigation.  Where  convenient,  this  soil,  especially  wli^re  it  is  of  the  heavier 
kind,  would  be  benefited  by  a  moderate  application  of  lime  or  marl. 

The  soil  of  the  Colorado  river  bottom  is  certainly  a  highly  productive  one,  easily  worked,  and  not  liable  in 
■case  of  overflows  to  suffer  from  wet,  being  quite  light,  notwithstanding  its  large  percentage  of  alumina  shown 
by  analysis.  It  is  a  highly  calcareous  soil,  containing,  as  it  does,  over  16  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime,  partly 
in  concretions,  but  mostly  in  a  finely  pulverulent  form.  Its  potash  percentage  is  very  high  ;  yet  there  seems  to  be 
no  trouble  from  alkali,  as  the  soda  percentage  is  quite  small.  Its  supply  of  phosphoric  acid  is  fair,  though  not 
large  for  a  bottom  soil ;  the  humus  percentage  is  likewise  small  for  a  lowland  soil,  yet  adequate.  It  is  therefore 
likely  that  whenever  the  water  of  the  Colorado  river  shall  be  made  available  for  irrigation  these  bottom  lands  will 
yield  rich  returns  for  cultivation.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  in  this  case  the  whole  percentage  of  phosphoric  acid 
is  extracted  with  the  humus,  showing  that  it  is  entirely  in  the  available  form. 

Atkali  soils  of  the  Coast  belt.— The-  level  or  gently  undulating  region  lying  adjacent  to  the  coast,  as  before 
mentioned,  possesses  a  dark-tinted  loam  soil,  characterized  by  a  large  proportion  of  glistening  mica  scales.  The 
higher  portions  of  these  lands  are  free  from  excess  of  soluble  salts,  but  the  lower  lands  or  "  swales"  intervening,  and 
running  usually  down  to  the  sea-shore,  show  more  or  less  ''alkali",  and  will  not  grow  some  crops  at  all  on  that 
account.     Three  samples  of  soil  of  this  character  have  been  sent  for  examination,  with  the  results  given  below: 

Salty  soil  from  the  coast  flat  between  Anaheim  and  the  shore,  went  by  Mr.  Charles  D.  Ellis,  of  Anaheim  ;  said  to  be  fairly  representative 
■of  the  above  tract,  which  is  flat,  and  appears  to  be  underlaid  by  brackish  water  at  a  depth  varying  from  4  to  6  feet.  In  low  spots  it  is 
often  covered  with  a  white  crust,  and  seeds  fail  to  germinate  there.  The  soil  is  a  dark-colored  Bandy  and  micaceous  loam,  with  a  well- 
marked  saline  taste.  Qualitative  analysis  showed  simply  the  ingredients  of -sea-water.  There  is  therefore  no  antidote  or  remedy  but 
those  usually  applied  to  coast  marshes,  and  the  term  "alkali"  is  improperly  applied  in  this  case. 

Alkali  soil  from  -near  Coi'vallis,  Los  Angeles  county,  sent  by  Mr.  S.  G.  Baker,  secretary,  on  behalf  of  "New  River  Grange",  December 
•6,  1876.  This  soil  is  reported  as  occurring  in  streaks  over  a  considerable  district.  "Nothing  seems  to  grow  on  it  except  salt  grass. 
Common  mallows  and  corn  will  vegetate  on  it,  but  not  mature.  Fruit  trees  rot  at  the  roots,  and  willows  at  the  bark.  Beets  seem  to 
thrive  when  irrigated,  but  when  not  irrigated  grow  very  small,  though  much  sweeter  than  when  irrigated.  It  appears  to  be  the  earliest 
of  our  soils  to  get  dry.  I  have  subsoiled  it  2  feet  deep  with  little  beneiit.  *  *  *  A  small  patch,  highly  manured  with  cow  manure, 
has  been  greatly  improved.  Another  small  patch,  coated  4  inches  deep  with  sand,  will  grow  good  corn."  Brackish  water  is  found  at 
the  depth  of  10  feet,  and  a  plentiful  supply  of  good  artesian  water  at  450   feet.     "In  most  cases  the  land  lies  well  for  drainage." 

The  soil  as  received  is  of  a  mouse  color  ;  a  light,  sandy  loam,  glistening  with  particles  of  mica  (as  seems  to  be  very  generally  the  case 
in  that  region).     It  yielded  to  water  1.62  per  cent,  of  saline  matter,  which,  in  100  parts,  consisted  of— 

Per  cent. 

Chloride  of  sodium  (common  salt) 22.  37 

Sulphate  of  sodium  (Glauber's  salt) 51. 19 

Carbonate  of  sodium  (sal  soda)  17.  48 

Sulphate  of  potassium 8.74 

PhoBphate  of  calcium  (bone  phosphate) 0.  51 

Total 100.29 

The  amount  of  soluble  salts  in  this  case  is  very  high,  but  probably  represents  the  worst  of  its  kind,  taken  from  near  the  surface. 
The  neutralization  of  the  sodic  carbonate  by  means  of  gypsum  would  doubtless  afford  partial  relief  at  once. 

Alkali  soil  from  Westminster  colony,  Los  Angeles  county,  sent  in  April,  1877,  by  Mr.  W.  G.  McPherson,  as  chairman  of  a  committee  on 
alkali  soils  appointed  by  Westminster  grange.  A  dark  gray,  rather  sandy  soil,  glistening  with  particles  of  mica  scattered  throughout  the 
mass.  The  letter  accompanying  this  sample  makes  the  following  statements  in  regard  to  it:  "This  soil  is  taken  from  Westminster,  Los 
Angeles  county,  about  5  miles  from  the  ocean,  and  near  the  center  of  a  tract  of  about  30,000  acres  now  occupied  by  farmers;  and  there  is 
no  farm  of  forty  acres  but  has  some  of  this  kind  of  soil,  or  something  similar.  *  *  *  Tbe  sample  seat  is  of  medium  strength,  varying 
from  it  both  weaker  and  stronger.  *  "  *  It  is  a  little  too  strong  for  barley,  but  beets  will  grow  on  it  under  favorable  circumstances. 
The  subsoil' is  apparently  the  same,  only  growing  looser  (sandier)  downward  to  the  depth  of  from  4  to  10  feet,  where  tough  blue  clay  is 
met  with.  Above  this  blue  clay  is  permanent  water*  (faintly  brackish),  and  below  it,  at  a  depth  varying  from  60  to  200  feet,  is  a  bountiful 
supply  of  pure  artesian  water.  Now,  if  you  can  give  us  a  remedy  that  will  render  this  soil  available,  you  will  be  conferring  a  benefit 
upon  a  large  number  of  people." 

The  partial  analysis  of  this  soil  resulted  as  follows: 

Soluble  salts  in  the  soil,  0.54  per  cent.     These  salts  were  composed,  in  100  parts,  of —  Percent 

Chloride  of  sodium  (common  Bait) 10.  57 

Carbonate  of  sodium  (sal  soda) Gl.  48 

Sulphate  of  potassium 20.  62 

Carbonate  of  potassium  (saleratus) 6.59 

Total 99.26 

699 


42  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA 

The  high  percentage  of  carbonate  of  soda  in  this  alkali  explains  the  energetic  action  of  so  small  a  percentage 
in  the  soil.  It  was  recommended  that  a  dressing  of  000  pounds  of  land  plaster  per  acre  should  be  given  before 
rains  or  irrigation.     The  following  report  is  eloquent  ;is  to  the  results: 

I  took  one-tenth  of  an  acre  of  i  he  same  soil  from  which  the  sample  came,  irrigated  it,  then  sowed  G5  pounds  of  plaster,  then  plowed 
o'  inches  deep  and  sowed  35  pounds  more,  then  harrowed  and  planted  with  corn.  Where  ihe  water  stood  on  top  of  the  ground  there  is  a 
good  stand  of  corn,  although,  being  the  lowest  ground,  it  was  the  strongest  in  alkali;  but  where  the  land  was  only  sub-irrigated  not 
more  than  half  of  the  corn  came  up.  I  replanted,  and  only  half  of  that  came  up.  The  first  planting  is  about  a  foot  higb  and  growing 
vigorously,  and  has  a  good  color.  I  think  the  failure  on  the  drier  part  was  caused  by  there  not  being  sufficient  writer  to  brin£  the  alkali 
in  contact  with  the  gypsum.  This  crop  subsequently  ripened  well ;  and  since  I  hen  much  experience  of  Ihe  same  character  has  been  bad. 
Of  course  the  presence  of  water  to  enable  the  chemical  reaction  to  occur  is  absolutely  essential.  The  duration  of  the  effect  of  a  single 
application  will,  of  cuurse,  vary  under  different  circumstances,  and  especially  according  to  the  nearness  of  the  water-table  to  the  surface. 

Hydrography. — ty  view  of  the  fact  that  the  availability  of  the  agricultural  lands  of  the  region  is  entirely 
dependent  upon  its  topography  and  hydrography,  a  separate  discussion  of  these,  taken  from  the  report  of  the 
state  engineer  for  187S-'79,  is  here  introduced: 

The  higher  interior  mountain  range  is  drained  by  three  principal  streams,  which  break  through  the  Coast  or  Santa  Ana  range  with 
independent  outlets  to  the  sea  ;  i.  e.,  the  Los  Angeles,  the  San  Gabriel,  and  the  Santa  Ana  rivers.  These  are  fed  by  numerous  tributaries, 
which  join  them  before  reaching  the  Coast  range,  but  in  their  further  course  to  the  sea  they  receive  no  important  accessions  to  their 
volume.  During  the  rainy  season  these  streams  and  their  tributaries  are  dangerous  torrents,  sweeping  down  from  the  mountains  in  which 
they  rise  in  large  volume  and  with  great  velocity,  carrying  a  mass  of  bowlders  and  gravel  far  out  into  the  valley.  They  subside  as  quickly 
as  they  rise,  and  during  the  summer  would  dwindle  to  nothing,  but  that  their  supply  is  maintained  by  springs  which  appear  in  their  beds 
from  hidden  sources. 

The  Los  Angeles  river  traverses  the  San  Fernando  valley,  emerging  through  a  gap  terminating  the  Santa  Monica  range,  to  the  city  J 
below  the  city  the  river  bed  is  broad,  shallow,  and  sandy,  and  only  upon  rare  occasions  does  ihe  water  liud  its  way  entirely  through 
to  the  sea,  but  is  absorbed  by  the  thirsty  sands.  The  streams  that  empty  into  the  San  Fernando  valley  from  the  Sierra  Madre  have  a  very 
rapid  fall,  and,  on  reaching  the  valley,  spread  out  into  broad  washes,  whose  beds  are  composed  of  bowlders,  gravel,  and  coarse  sand.  In 
Hood  they  flow  entirely  across  the  valley  to  the  Los  Angeles  river,  but  in  summer  the  water  barely  emerges  from  the  mountains  and  sinks 
from  sight  iu  the  porous  channels.     The  lands  irrigated  from  this  river  are  coufiued  chiefly  to  the  vicinity  of  Los  Angeles  city. 

The  water  of  San  Gabriel  river,  except  in  Mood,  is  seldom  more  than  sulhcient  to  till  the  two  irrigating  ditches  of  the  upper  district, 
which  head  directly  at  the  mouth  of  the  canon  and  divert  all  the  available  supply,  leaving  the  broad  rocky  bed  of  the  stream  entirely 
dry  for  10  or  12  miles,  when  the  water  begins  to  reappear  in  the  channel  a  short  distance  below  the  bridge  of  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad. 
At  this  point  the  river  has  two  distinct  and  diverging  channels  trom  1  to  5  miles  apart,  having  independent  outlets  to  the  sea.  In  each 
of  these  channels  there  are  numerous  springs,  the  water  rising  at  a  number  of  points  along  their  course,  forced  to  the  surface  by  the 
impervious  substratum  of  clay  underlying  the  whole  valley  at  a  depth  of  a  few  feet.  From  these  springs  is  derived  the  supply  for  the 
elaborate  system  of  ditches  in  the  low  San  Gabriel  valley. 

The  Santa  Ana  river  emerges  from  the  mountains  through  a  wild  and  precipitous  canon  over  a  bed  of  loose  bowlders,  in  which  the  greater 
portion  of  its  volume  is  lost  before  reaching  the  valley.  A  few  miles  lower  down  the  water  begins  to  rise,  but  is  diverted  by  an  irrigating 
ditch,  leaving  a  dry  bed  for  4  miles  to  the  mouth  of  Wann  creek,  where  the  river  receives  a  fresh  supply  from  the  lirnegas  (a)  of  San 
Bernardino  basin.  Thence  to  the  Coast  range  the  bottom  lands  are  saturated  with  a  succession  of  cienegas,  which  drain  into  the  river. 
Between  the  Coast  range  and  the  sea  the  river  supplies  water  to  several  large  canals  which  head  near  the  hills,  the  river  itself  spreading 
out  into  a  broad  bed  of  quicksand  over  1,000  feet  wide. 

The  cienegas  of  these  two  valley  regions  are  an  important  feature  with  reference  to  their  system  of  irrigation.  They  often  cover 
many  acres  of  laud  each,  aud  have  a  thin  layer  of  peat  or  moss,  sometimes  several  feet  thick,  over  the  bed  of  gravel.  This  peat  prevents- 
the  free  flow  of  its  waters,  and  blind-drains  and  artesian  wells  have  been  resorted  to  iu  order  to  increase  the  supply  of  the  latter. 

The  supply  furnished  by  these  springs  is  much  more  constant  and  reliable  than  that  of  the  natural  surface  streams,  and,  at  a  time 
when  irrigation  is  most  needed,  is  probably  greater  than  that  from  any  other  source.  In  the  series  of  springs  which  appear  along  the  rim 
of  the  plateau  between  Arroyo  Seco  and  San  Gabriel  river,  furnishing  water  for  the  irrigation  of  the  far-famed  orange  groves  and  vineyards 
of  the  "San  Gabriel  fruit  belt",  there  are  no  less  than  18  distinct  cienegas  iu  a  distance  of  8  miles,  each  covering  from  1  to  -10  acres  of 
ground  and  supplying  water  for  irrigating  from  'JO  to  400  acres  each. 

In  the  center  of  the  city  of  Los  Angeles,  on  each  side  of  the  river,  on  the  lower  bottoms,  are  cienegas  which  afford  considerable  water 
the  supply  apparently  coming  in  from  other  sources  than  the  percolation  from  the  stream.  West  of  the  city,  at  the  foot  of  the  low  hills, 
next  the  sea-coast,  there  arc  large  cienegas  covering  several  hundred  acres,  from  which  issues  Bellona  creek.  Near  Pomona  there  is  quite 
a  large  ciencga,  which  supplies  water  for  440  acres;  total  volume,  about:?  cubic  feet  per  second.  The  cienegas  of  San  Bernardino  basin 
are  the  largest  of  any  in  the  southern  country,  and  furnish  the  greater  portion  of  the  summer  supply  of  the  Santa  Ana  river.  The  two 
principal  ones  are  near  the  town  of  San  Bernardino,  and  cover  an  area  of  over  300  acres  each.  Opposite  Riverside,  in  the  bottom  lands  of 
the  river,  arc  other  large  cienegas,  adding  from  20  to  30  cubic  feet  per  second  to  the  volume  of  the  stream. 

The  streams  aud  cienegas  are  so  inseparable  that  it  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  duty  done  by  each.  In  the  coast  valley  there  aro 
many  largo  cienegas,  which,  aside  from  those  of  Bellona  creek  and  the  San  Gabriel  river,  are  not  used  for  irrigation. 

Artesian  wells. — The  third  great  source  of  water  supply  for  irrigation  is  derived  from  artesian  wells.  The  greatest  artesian  bolt  in  all 
southern  California  is  that  running  through  the  coast  valley  of  Los  Angeles,  haviug  a  length  of  40  miles  and  a  width,  as  at  present 
explored,  of  from  2  to  12  miles,  the  total  area  being  about  300  square  miles.  The  rivers  mentioned  cross  the  belt  on  their  way  to  the  sea.  and 
the  fact  that  tin-  wells  haviug  the  strongest  flow  are  adjacent  to  the  channels  of  these* streams  seems  to  indicate  that  the  water  supplying 
these  wells  is  that  which  has  disappeared  from  the  streams  above  and  percolated  between  impervious  substrata  at  an  elevation  sufficient  to> 
give  the  head  or  pressure  by  which  it  is  forced  again  to  the  surface  through  the  outlets  furnished  by  the  perforations.  Tbedepthofthewellsis 
from  50  to  550  feet,  the  usual  depth  being  from  100  to  ii00  feet.  The  number  of  wells  in  the  belt  is  over  000,  and  the  greatest  discharge  is 
about  1.7  cubic  feet  per  second ;  some  of  them  irrigate  from  100  to  200  acres  each,  though  a  well  that  will  irrigate  40  acres  is  considered  a  good 
one.  It  is  found  that  as  the  number  of  wells  is  increased  the  flow  of  all  is  diminished,  showing  that  the  supply  is  comparatively  limited. 
Some  of  the  wells  on  the  higher  land  have  since  gone  dry  or  ceased  to  flow:  others  flow  only  in  spring  time.     Another  natural  effect  has 

a  Ciencga  is  a  Spanish  term  locally  applied  to  a  swampy  or  boggy  ground  caused  by  the  rising  of  subterranean  waters  to  the 
surface.  The  word  ciencga  always  implies  a  spring  and  the  marsh  or  moist  hind  surrounding  it,  for  which  it  is  almost  exclusively  used 
in  this  section  of  country. 

700 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  43 

been  noticed  in  some  parts,  that,  since  the  boring  of  so  many  wells,  the  level  of  the  surface  water  in  the  adjacent  country  above  has 
gradually  lowered;  some  of  the  oienegas  on  higher  levels  have  also  diminished  in  their  flow.  Flowing  wells  have  also  been  obtained  in 
other  localities  north  of  Los  Angeles,  and  in  the  upper  San  Gabriel  valley  as  well  as  in  the  San  Bernardino  basin.  The  depth  at  Pomona 
is  about  1(30  feet,  and  the  temperature  of  the  water  is  07°,  winter  and  summer  alike,  while  that  of  other  wells  in  this  southern  region  is  but 
4/2°  F.  A  singular  fact  in  conneetiou  with  the  Pomona  wells  is  that  by  capping  or  uncapping  any  one  of  them  the  flow  of  the  others  is 
increased  or  diminished  with  regular  pulsation. 

In  tho  San  Bernardino  basin  artesian  wells  are  bored  rather  for  domestic  use  and  small  garden  irrigation  than  for  general  agricultural 
purposes.  The  area  in  which  flowing  wells  have  been  obtained,  as  at  present  defined,  is  confined  to  about  30  square  miles,  within  which 
are  tho  large  cimegas  and  sources  of  Warm  creek. 

The  natural  gate,  outlet,  or  drainage  of  the  valley  is  in  its  southernmost  portion,  where  the  Santa  Aua  river  passes  between  two 
hills  of  limestone,  or  rather  what  was  once  apparently  one  hill,  since  cut  through.  At  this  point  the  "bed-rock"  is  near  the  surface,  forming 
the  valley  of  San  Bernardino  into  a  complete  and  large  catchment  basin  for  the  water-shed  of  a  very  large  area  of  country,  the  main 
channel  of  drainage  being  the  Santa  Ana  river.  The  soil  of  the  valley,  as  far  as  pierced  by  artesian  borings,  shows  it  to  bo  mainly 
granitic  in  character,  stratified  by  alternate  layers  of  clay,  evidently  swept  in  from  the  country  east  and  south.  Borings  to  a  depth  of 
150  and  200  feet  frequently  pierce  a  bed  of  vegetable  mold,  proving  that  the  valley  has  been  tilled  up  by  gradual  erosion  of  the  surrounding 
hills.  The  estimated  number  of  wells  is  from  400  to  425,  and  their  diameter  from  2  to  8  inches,  that  of  the  greater  number  being  2  inches. 
The  shallowest  wells  are  SO  feet,  the  deepest  flowing  wells  380  feet,  the  average  being  about  100  feet.  The  deepest  well  in  the  valley  is 
410  feet,  and  has  a  diameter  of  7  inches.  Vegetable  matter,  consisting  of  decayed  tule  roots  and  pine  wood,  was  brought  up  from  the  last 
60  feet. 

THE  DESEKT  REGION. 

The  area  included  in  the  desert  region  is  nearly  35,000  square  miles,  embracing  the  largest  part  of  Inyo,  the 
southeastern  and  northeastern  corners  of  Kern  and  Los  Angeles  counties  respectively,  all  of  San  Bernardino  except 
the  southwestern  corner,  and  nearly  all  of  the  eastern  half  of  San  Diego  county. 

This  desert,  known  as  the  Colorado  desert  or  basin,  reaches  far  eastward  into  Arizona.  On  the  west  it  abuts 
against  the  foot  of  the  high  Sierras,  and  on  the  south  against  that  of  the  San  Bernardino  range  of  mountains,  both 
rising  thousands  of  feet  above  it.  The  larger  part  of  its  surface,  as  a  plateau  skirting  the  foot  of  the  mountains, 
lies  at  an  elevation  of  2,000  feet  above  the  sea,  and  is  comparatively  level,  though  broken  frequently  by  isolated 
short  ranges  and  peaks  rising  a  thousand  feet  or  less  above  it.  In  its  center  there  is  a  large  area  which  is  not  more 
than  1,000  feet  above  the  sea,  and  in  Inyo  county  a  still  smaller  region,  known  as  Death's  valley,  sinks  to  some 
hundreds  of  feet  below  the  sea.  Coahuila  valley,  or  that  portion  of  the  desert  included  between  the  two  prongs 
of  the  mountain  range  on  the  south,  is  mostly  below  1,000  feet  in  elevation,  a  large  portion  sinking  below  the  sea, 
Dry  lake,  near  Dos  Palmas  station,  on  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad,  being  said  to  be  some  500  feet  below  this  level. 
There  are  scarcely  any  streams  through  the  desert,  except  along  its  border,  where  they  flow  from  the  adjoining 
mountains  and  soon  disappear  in  the  sands.  Mojave  river,  which  gives  its  name  to  the  northern  desert  region,  is  the 
largest  stream,  but  after  flowing  from  the  San  Bernardino  mountains  for  a  short,  distance  out  into  the  desert  it 
suddenly  disappears.  The  desert  is  described  as  a  sandy  barren  waste,  interspersed  with  salt  lakes  and  alkali 
tracts,  destitute  of  all  timber  growth  except  occasional  tracts  of  yucca,  small  nut  pines,  and  juniper.  It  is, 
especially  on  the  south,  subject  to  very  frequent  and  severe  sand-storms,  which  not  only  cover  the  lands  of  the 
region  with  deep  and  shifting  deposits  of  sand,  but  often  blow  through  the  passes,  and,  with  their  lighter  sands, 
greatly  annoy  the  people  of  the  agricultural  valleys  on  the  west  side  of  the  mountains. 

A  few  miles  southwest  from  Dos  Palmas  there  is  a  broad  valley,  bounded  by  rauges  of  hills  of  hard-baked  red  clay,  called  the 
Chocolate  and  Coyote  mountains;  and  in  this  valley  is  the  dry  bed  of  a  lake  40  miles  in  circumference,  which  is  nearly  60  feet  below 
the  level  of  the  sea.  Thjs  great  basin  is  separated  from  the  dry  beds  of  a  number  of  creeks  which  appear  to  have  once  been  connected 
with  it  by  a  level  plain  about  5  miles  wide.  Nearly  in  the  center  of  this  plain  there  is  a  lake  of  boiling  mud,  about  half  a  mile  in 
length  by  about  500  yards  in  width.  In  this  curious  caldron  the  thick  grayish  mud  is  constantly  in  motion,  hissing  and  bubbling,  with 
jets  of  boiling  water  and  clouds  of  sulphurous  vapor  and  steam  bursting  through  the  tenacious  mud  and  rising  high  in  the  air,  with 
reports  often  heard  a  considerable  distance.  The  whole  district  around  the  lake  appears  to  be  underlaid  with  this  mud,  as  it  trembles 
under  foot  and  subterranean  noises  arc  heard  in  all  directions.  Hot  springs  and  sulphur  deposits  are  numerous  for  many  miles  around 
this  lake.—  Natural  Wealth  of  California. 

Death's  valley.— The  following  is  taken  from  Oronise's  Natural  Wealth  of  California: 

This  valley,  according  to  observations  made  by  a  party  of  the  United  States  boundary  commission  in  1861,  is  sunk  400  feet  below 
the  level  of  the  sea,  while  but  70  miles  west  of  it  are  clustered  a  number  of  the  highest  peaks  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  many  of  which  are  from 
12,000  to  15,000  feet  in  height.  For  45  miles  in  length  and  15  miles  in  width  along  its  center  it  is  a  salt  marsh  with  a  thin  layer  of  soil 
covering  an  un  known  depth  of  soft  gray  mud,  a  large  portion  of  the  basin  being  covered  with  an  incrustation  of  salt  and  soda  several  inches 
thick.  The  surface  is  usually  so  soft  that  a  mau  cannot  travel  over  it  in  winter  without  difficulty,  it  beiug  impossible  for  animals  at  any 
season  to  cross  it.  With  the  exception  of  a  lew  clumps  of  worthless  shrubs  near  its  borders,  this  plain  is  destitute  of  eveu  the  slightest 
traces  of  vegetation.  The  valley  is  encircled  by  a  barren  sage  plain  from  3  to  6  miles  wide,  which,  beginning  at  the  base  of  tho 
mountains  that  surround  it  on  every  side  but  the  south,  slopes  gently  to  its  margin.  A  few  m'esquitc  trees  grow  among  the  sands  at  the 
head.  The  heat  of  the  valley  is  fearful  during  the  summer,  ranging  from  110  to  140  degrees  during  the  day.  When  there  is  no  breeze 
through  the  long  canon  the  air  becomes  so  oppressive  that  respiration  is  painful  and  difficult.  At  a  point  about  30  miles  north  of  Death's 
valley  the  Amargosa  river,  a  stream  of  small  volume  but  great  length,  takes  its  rise,  and,  flowing  southeast  for  more  than  100  miles, 
makes  a  detour  when  far  out  on  the  Mojave  desert,  and,  bending  round  to  the  northwest,  runs  in  that  direction  about  40  miles,  when, 
having  reached  the  southern  end  of  this  arid  plain,  it  iinally  disappears. 

701 


44 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 


Soils  of  the  Mojave  desert. — Ascending  the  mountains  from  Kern  valley  near  Bakersiield  through  the  Tehaohapi 
pass,  we  emerge  upon  the  western  part  of  Mojave  desert,  a  plain-like  basin  surrounded  by  mountains  and  more  or  less 
traversed  by  rocky  ridges.  In  crossing  this  basin  by  rail  during  tin;  dry  season  tjje  traveler  is  generally  impressed  with 
the  idea  of  hopeless  aridity,  which  is  scarcely  relieved  by  the  only  tree-growth  visible  from  time  to  time,  viz,  the 
yucca  (here  commonly  but  erroneously  named  "cactus"),  whose  awkward  branches,  terminated  by  tufts  of  rigid, 
lance-shaped  leaves,  impart  rather  a  weird  aspect  to  the  landscape,  and  seem  as  uninviting  to  the  agricultural 
prospector  as  the  clouds  of  dust  and  sand  that  whirl  about  the  train.  But  while  it  is  true  that  there  are  some 
portions  of  this  region  whose  deep  sand  beds  seem  to  consign  it  to  the  true  "desert  land"  class,  there  are  other  and 
very  extensive  tracts,  having  a  soil  of  considerable  native  fertility,  whose  powers  only  need  the  life-giving  agency 
of  water  to  transform  the  desert  into  luxuriant  fields  and  gardens.  That  this  is  so  has  repeatedly  been  shown  by 
actual  experiment  at  points  where  water  was  available.  This  is  not  at  present  the  case  at  the  railroad  station  of 
Mojave ;  hence  the  quality  of  the  soil  has  not  been  tested  by  actual  trial,  but  its  appearance  indicates  a  substantial 
nature,  where  it  is  not  covered  by  sand  drifts.  It  seems  to  be  directly  derived  from  the  surrounding  mountains, 
along  the  base  of  which  such  soils  seem  to  form  a  kind  of  marginal  bench. 

No.  332.  Surface  soil  of  the  Mojave  desert,  taken  near  Mojave.  station,  Kern  county,  by  N.  .1.  Willson,  of  the 
Central  Pacitic  railroad,  to  the  depth  of  12  inches.  A  moderately  heavy,  dun-colored  loam,  with  little  coarse 
sand,  containing  siliceous  and  other  rock  fragments;  slightly  effervescent  with  acid,  somewhat  "sticky "when 
wet,  and  its  color  little  changed.  It  would  evidently  till  quite  readily,  but  no  cultivation  has  been  attempted  thus 
far.     The  vegetation  is  sage-brush,  creosote  plant,  and  a  little  grass. 

Soil  from  Mojave  desert,  Kern  county. 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  siliea 

Potaab 

Soda 

Lime  

Magnesia 

lb  own  oxide  of  maDganeso  . 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulpburic  acid 

Carbonic  acid 

Water  and  organic  matter  . . 


J  f  75. 1)04 

0.028 
0.078 
1.767 
1.782 
0.026 
5.478 
9.227 
0.030 
0.012 
0.456 
3.903 


Total  . 


99.  097 


Humus 

Available  inorganic  .  .. 

Hygroscopic  moisture  . 

absorbed  at 


0.283 
0.370 
10.  759 
15  C.  o 


The  analysis  of  this  soil  shows  clearly  that  it  is  not  inferior  in  productive  capacity  to  some  of  the  soils  of  the 
great  valley,  which  it  greatly  resembles,  save  in  the  scarcity  of  humus  or  vegetable  matter.  Its  supply  of  lime  and 
potash  is  high,  while  that  of  phosphoric  acid  is  low,  but  not  more  so  than  in  some  very  productive  soils  of  the  valley. 
The  scarcity  of  humus  is  the  defect  which  it  would  be  most  needful  to  remedy,  and  this  probably  is  best  remedied 
by  turning  in  a  crop  of  alfalfa,  which  there  could  be  no  difficulty  in  growing  where  irrigation  is  available.  There 
are  doubtless  many  tracts  where  even  this  defect  does  not  exist,  since  they  are  covered  with  a  dense  growth  of 
small  shrubs,  under  which  grasses  flourish  in  good  seasons,  giving  pasture  to  sheep.  Irrigation  is  here  the  all- 
important  question,  since  the  natural  rainfall  of  about  four  inches,  sometimes  rednced  to  one  or  two,  cannot  be 
relied  upon  for  any  purpose.  Only  a  detailed  survey,  however,  can  determine  the  tracts  having  an  arable  soil  as 
against  those  overrun  by  arid  sand. 

THE  COAST  RANGE  REGION. 


The  country  lying  between  the  great  valley  and  the  sea-coast  is,  on  the  whole,  a  mountainous  one,  traversed 
by  many  more  or  less  disconnected  ranges,  usually  trending  parallel  to  or  at  a  small  angle  with  the  coast.  From 
Mendocino  county,  inclusive,  southward  to  the  northern  end  of  the  San  Bernardino  range,  few  points  or  crests 
exceed  the  height  of  4,000  feet,  and  most  of  the  higher  ranges  remain  between  3,000  and  .3,500  feet.  Many  of  these 
are  very  rugged  and  barren  and  largely  treeless.  Of  the  lower  ranges  up  to  2,000  and  even  2,500  feet  many  are- 
romided  in  outline,  deeply  covered  with  soil,  and,  in  the  nioister  portions  of  the  region,  susceptible  of  cultivation 
to  their  summits.  These  in  most  cases  are  at  the  present  time  occupied  only  as  grazing  grounds,  the  bulk  of 
cultivated  lands  lying  in  the  numerous  valleys  interspersed  between  the  ranges  and  on  the  lower  slopes. 
702 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  45 

The  bay  country. — A  somewhat  detailed  description  can  alone  convey  a  good  idea  of  the  various  sections 
of  the  Coast  range;  but  there  is  one  prominent  feature  requiring  notice  at  the  outset,  viz,  the  break  caused  by  the 
drainage  outlets  of  the  great  valley,  Suisun  bay,  Carqui'nes  straits,  and  the  bays  of  San  Pablo  and  San  Francisco, 
with  their  final  outlet  through  the  "Golden  Gate".  This  "bay  region"  constitutes  a  climatic  as  well  as  a 
hydrographic  and  a  topographic  feature;  for,  insignificant  as  the  break  formed  by  the  Golden  Gate  may  seem,  it 
modifies  profoundly  the  climate  of  the  country  lying  adjacent  and  opposite  to  it,  not  only  by  the  influence  of  its 
cool  tide-water,  but  as  well  by  the  correspondingly  cool  lower  air-currents  sweeping  through  it  almost  throughout  the 
season,  and  carrying  with  them  both  the  temperature  and  the  moisture  of  the  ocean,  both  modified  by  the  cold 
Alaskan  current.  In  summer  the  river  of  fog,  a  mile  wide  and  from  600  to  1,500  feet  high,  may  be  seen  flowing  in 
steadily  through  the  Gate  in  the  afternoon,  first  submerging  the  city  of  San  Francisco,  and  then  broadening  and 
sending  off  branches  right  and  left  up  and  down  the  bay,  and  toward  evening  reaching  the  opposite  shore,  where 
the  Contra  Costa  range  forms  a  barrier  for  a  time.  Eventually  this  is  surmounted,  and  finally  the  cloudy  ocean  may 
reach  as  far  as  Mount  Diablo,  where  it  dissolves  before  the  dry  air  of  the  great  valley.  The  direct  influence  of  this 
current  extends  about  10  miles  each  way  on  the  opposite  shore,  causing  an  exceptionally  low  summer  temperature, 
which  fails  to  ripen  the  grape  and  the  fig.  On  the  western  shore  of  the  bay  the  ranges  of  the  immediate  coast  form 
a  barrier  not  surmounted  by  a  considerable  i>roportiou  of  the  summer  fogs,  under  the  lee  of  which  a  warmer  summer 
temperature  prevails  on  the  bay-shore  slopes  of  the  counties  of  San  Mateo  and  Marin,  as  well  as  on  both  shores  of 
the  southern  portion  of  San  Francisco  bay  toward  San  Jose.  The  cold  currents  strike  across  San  Pablo  bay  into 
the  lower  part  of  Napa  and  Sonoma  valleys,  but  are  chiefly  deflected  so  as  to  form  a  steady  and  sometimes  hard 
"blow"  through  the  straits  of  Carquines,  beyond  which  they  enter  the  great  valley  and  form,  as  before  stated,  the 
regular  "up-valley"  winds  of  that  region. 

The  features  of  the  immediate  bay  country  are  in  many  respects  so  peculiar  that,  although  in  the  subdivisions 
according  to  rainfall  (given  on  page  12)  it  is  conjoined  with  a  portion  of  the  coast  region  lying  northward  and 
southward,  continuity  of  description  renders  it  desirable  to  consider  the  rest  of  the  Coast  range  in  divisions  lying 
north  and  south  of  the  bay  country  proper. 

The  western  shores  of  the  bays  near  San  Francisco,  and  around  San  Pablo  bay  to  Petaluma  creek,  are  rather 
abrupt,  with  but  little  valley  land  lying  back  of  it  in  the  broken  country,  in  which  mount  Tamalpais  forms  the 
highest  point  and  falls  off  southward  to  the  "north  head"  of  the  Golden  Gate.  Around  the  outlets  of  Petaluma, 
Sonoma,  and  Napa  creeks  there  is  a  considerable  tract  of  marsh  or  "tule"  land,  but  Mare  island  and  Carquines 
straits  fall  off  into  rocky  precipices,  and  on  the  Contra  Costa  shore  the  railroad  winds  laboriously  along  the  base  of 
low  but  rugged  escarpments  until  it  reaches  the  lower  end  of  San  Pablo  bay.  Here,  back  of  the  bold  promontory 
that  narrows  the  passage  into  San  Francisco  bay,  begins  the  sloping  plain  and  in  part  the  marsh  belt  that 
skirts  the  eastern  bay  shore  from  San  Pablo  to  San  Jos6,  forming,  with  the  corresponding  plain  lying  south  of  San 
Francisco  on  the  western  shore,  an  important  and  thickly  populated  agricultural  region.  Opposite  San  Francisco 
this  slope  is  about  3  miles  wide,  falling  about  300  feet  from  the  foot  of  the  Contra  Costa  hills.  Southward  it  widens 
to  7  or  8  miles  on  either  shore,  a  tide-marsh  belt  of  varying  width  skirting  the  bay  shore,  and  the  two  belts,  finally 
uniting  at  the  lower  end  of  the  bay,  form  the  broad  and  fertile  Santa  Clara  valley,  so  noted  for  its  charming 
climate  and  the  production  of  fruit  and  wines.  Here  the  summer  fogs,  having  to  surmount  the  high  coast  mountains, 
are  much  diminished  both  in  frequency  and  in  coolness,  and  the  vine,  fig,  and  almond  attain  great  perfection. 

The  soils  of  this  bay  coast  are  substantially  of  three  kinds.  Immediately  along  the  shore  lies  a  narrow  strip  of 
sandy  land,  sometimes  sand  drifts,  which  influence  more  or  less  the  character  of  the  adjacent  marshes;  most  of  the 
soils  of  the  latter,  however,  are  heavy,  and  when  reclaimed  are  very  productive.  Inland  of  these  lies  a  broad  belt  of 
black,  calcareous,  and  very  fertile  adobe  or  prairie  soil,  somewhat  refractory  in  tillage,  which  toward  the  foot  of  the  hills 
often  becomes  yellow  and  relatively  poor.  This  adobe  belt  is  interrupted  by  the  sediment  lands  of  the  streams 
flowiug  from  the  Coast  range  to  the  bay,  which  are  generally  light  and  often  of  considerable  width,  although  few  of 
these  streams  are  now  of  much  importance,  but  the  frequent  shifting  of  their  channels  in  past  times  has  increased  the' 
alluvial  surface.  These  sediment  lands,  frequently,  of  course,  passing  gradually  into  the  adobe  proper,  are  noted 
for  their  productiveness,  and  furnish  much  of  the  market  supplies  of  the  two  cities  in  fruits  and  vegetables,  but  are 
more  especially  noted  for  the  high  quality  of  brewing  (Chevalier)  barley  produced  on  them.  Sugar-beets  likewise 
succeed  well,  but  cotton  fails  to  mature  its  bolls  within  reach  of  the  coast  fogs. 

The  range  skirting  the  eastern  shore,  commonly  known  as  the  Contra  Costa  range,  though  traversed  by  some 
abrupt  cafions,  has  largely  rounded  crests  and  summits  and  gentle  slopes  with  deep  and  in  part  very  productive 
soils,  now  largely  used  for  grazing  purposes  only,  but  susceptible  of  cultivation  to  the  top.  Extensive  plantations 
of  eucalyptus  trees  are  beginning  to  be  made  on  this  range,  and  succeed  admirably.  They  originally  had  some 
redwood  timber,  and  have  now  in  the  callous  and  on  the  northern  and  eastern  slopes  not  inconsiderable  bodies  of 
liveoai(Q.a0«foZm),maaTOfia(.ArtMitts.^ 

on  the  banks  of  streams  the  Western  alder  (Alnus  incana)  and  maple  (Acer  macropliyUmn),  the  buckthorn  (Frangula 
Californica),  with  more  or  less  undergrowth  of  hazel,  poison-oak,  bramble,  and  others,  and  much  eagle  fern  (Pteris 
aqvilina). 


46  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

Thermal  belts. — Among  the  climatic  peculiarities  belonging  more  or  less  to  the  whole  state,  but  more  especially 
pronounced  in  the  valleys  opening  toward  the.  bay,  is  the  occurrence  of  "thermal  belts'',  or  minor  regions  exempt 
to  a  remarkable  degree  from  the  severe  frosts  of  winter,  but  more  especially  from  the  later  ones  of  spring,  which 
are  so  dangerous  to  fruit  about  the  time  of  bloom.  These  usually  occur  between  100  and  Slid  feet  above  the  valleys, 
varying  of  course  with  the  trend  and  exposure  to  the  coast  winds.  The  difference  in  temperature  at  sunrise  between 
these  belts  and  the  valleys  sometimes  amounts  to  as  much  as  10°  F.,  which,  in  a  region  where  the  thermometer  rarely 
falls  below  20°,  of  course  implies  a  very  material  difference  in  the  chances  of  such  fruits  as  almouds,  apricots,  and 
even  the  vine,  and  iu  many  cases  permits  of  the  successful  culture  of  semi-tropical  fruits,  such  as  the  orange, 
lemon,  pomegranate,  etc.  Thus  the  latter  are  successfully  grown,  c.  y.,  iu  certain  valleys  near  Martinez,  Contra 
Costa  county,  within  L!  miles  of  the  cold  blast  that  sweeps  through  Carquines  strait.  Similar  cases  are  frequent 
in  the  valleys  of  Napa  and  Sonoma,  a  striking  example  being  that  of  the  Vacaville  fruit  belt,  iu  Solano  county.  In 
the  Santa  Clara  valley  the  culture  of  the  almond  follows  narrowly  a  similar  warm  belt. 

COAST    REGION    SOUTH    OF    THE    BAT    COUNTRY. 

That  part  of  the  coast  region  lying  south  of  San  Pablo  bay  to  the  southern  region  has  an  average  width  of 
about  GO  miles,  and  covers  an  area  of  about  18,350  square  miles.  Lying  between  the  coast  and  the  great  valley 
region  on  the  east,  it  embraces  within  its  limits  the  entire  counties  of  Contra  Costa,  Alameda,  San  Francisco,  San 
Mateo,  Santa  Clara,  Santa  Cruz,  San  Benito,  Monterey,  San  Luis  Obispo,  Santa  Barbara,  and  Ventura,  and  the 
western  portions  of  Stanislaus,  Merced,  Fresno,  Tulare,  and  Kern. 

The  surface  of  the  entire  region  is  mountainous  and  hilly,  and  is  bordered  on  the  east  by  a  continuous  range  having 
an  average  elevation  of  about  3,000  feet  above  the  sea,  the  highest  probably  of  the  region,  reaching  from  Suisuu  bay 
southeastward  through  the  state,  and  forming  a  long  and  rather  wide  barrier  between  the  great  valley  on  the  cast  and 
the  somewhat  lower  mountains  and  valleys  of  the  central  and  western  portions  of  the  region.  Westward  from  this 
range,  which  is  often  known  as  the  Mount  Diablo  range,  from  the  prominent  peak  of  that  name  on  the  northern 
extremity,  lie  other  mountain  ranges  of  nearly  or  quite  the  same  altitude,  forming  the  appearance  of  long  offshoots 
toward  the  northwest,  each  having  a  distinct  name,  and  sinking  ou  either  side  into  the  lower  ranges  before  reaching 
the  coast.  The  trend  of  the  mountain  ranges  is  thus  usually  northwest  and  southeast,  and  the  courses  of  the  rivers  that 
drain  the  valleys  between  the  mountains  are  northwestward  into  the  ocean,  except  iu  the  extreme  south,  in  Santa 
Barbara  and  Ventura  counties,  where  their  course  is  mostly  westward.  These  ranges  are  mostly  destitute  of  trees, 
except  scattered  bodies  of  chaparral  and  sometimes  other  growth,  and  are  partly  too  high  and  rocky  for  cultivation, 
being  chiefly  used  for  grazing  purposes.  The  Contra  Costa  range,  the  first  of  the  minor  ranges  (though  not  so  high 
as  the  others)  on  the  extreme  north,  abuts  against  the  shore  line  of  San  Pablo  bay,  and,  reaching  southwestward, 
separates  San  Bamon  and  Livermore  valleys  from  the  "  plain  of  Alameda",  which  borders  the  bay  of  San  Francisco 
on  the  west.  The  range  is  broken  by  deep  ravines  and  canons,  and  is  nearly  treeless  on  the  west  and  south  slopes 
(except  in  the  canons,  where  there  are  clumps  of  oak,  laurel,  madrone,  etc.),  while  on  the  east  and  north  there  is  an 
abundance  of  live  and  white  oaks,  maple,  etc.  This  rauge  properly  includes  the  higher  Mount  Diablo  range  on  the 
east,  with  which  it  unites  south  of  Livermore  valley.  Mount  Diablo  itself  is  an  isolated  peak,  rising  3,S9G  feet 
above  the  sea,  its  summit  rounded  and  its  slopes  nearly  treeless,  except  in  the  ravines,  where  there  is  found  a  varied 
growth,  with  chaparral  of  scrubby  oaks  in  the  higher  region. 

The  next  ranges  of  note  on  the  south  are  the  Gavilan  and  the  Santa  Cruz  ranges,  apparently  originally 
continuous,  but  now  cut  in  two  by  the  Pajaro  river.  The  Gavilan  rauge  reaches  northwestward  from  the  southern 
part  of  San  Benito  county,  separating  that  county  from  Monterey  on  the  west,  while  the  Santa  Cruz  range  separates 
Santa  Clara  county  from  Santa  Cruz  and  San  Mateo.  Both  ranges  rise  to  elevations  of  3,000  feet,  and  are  in  part 
too  high  for  any  purpose  except  that  of  stock-raising.  The  Gavilan  mountains  are  partly  timbered  with  pine,  except 
in  the  highest  portions,  which  are  rough,  broken,  and  mostly  destitute  of  trees.  The  Santa  Cruz  mountains  are 
mostly  heavily  timbered  with  redwood  and  oaks,  the  redwood  forest  occupying  a  not  inconsiderable  area  on  the 
seaward  side  of  the  mountains,  reaching  in  available  masses  as  far  north  as  Redwood  City,  many  of  the  trees 
attaining  a  height  of  200  feet  or  more.  Scattered  redwoods  also  originally  dotted  the  ranges  around  and  opposite 
San  Francisco,  but  oaks  alone  now  remain.  On  the  east  of.the  range  is  Santa  Clara  valley,  and  on  the  west  are  the 
Pajaro  and  the  Salinas  valleys,  the  most  important  as  well  as  the  largest  of  the  region.  Lying  still  further  south 
is  the  Santa  Lucia  range  of  mountains,  the  most  extensive  of  the  offshoots,  reaching  from  the  main  range,  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  northwestward  through  Monterey  to  the  coast.  Its  average  width 
is  about  30  miles,  rising  almost  throughout  its  length  into  central  elevations  of  3,000  feet  and  more.  The  mountains 
are  in  places  heavily  timbered  on  their  lower  slopes  and  iu  the  canons  with  Monterey  pine,  cypress,  and  redwood. 

Between  this  range  and  that  borderiug  the  San  Joaquin  valley  are  the  high  valley  lands  of  the  upper  Salinas 
river  and  its  tributaries,  reaching  northwest  into  Monterey  county,  and  opening  out  through  narrow  defiles  into  the 
broad  Salinas  valley  proper.  On  the  west  of  the  Santa  Lucia  range  the  high  hills  reach  either  abruptly  to  or 
within  a  short  distance  of  the  coast,  the  small  streams  usually  accompanied  with  valleys  of  greater  or  less  width. 
.  Still  southward,  at  the  junction  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  mountains  with  the  Coast  range,  we  find  a  broad  and  extensive 
region  of  high  mountains,  the  Sierra  San  Rafael,  in  the  eastern  part  of  Santa  Barbara  and  northern  part  ot  Ventura 

704 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  47 

counties,  merging  on  the  southeast  into  the  San  Bernardino  range.  The  mountains  are  here  cut  into  by  the  narrow 
Soledad  pass  (through  which  the.  Southern  Pacific  railroad  has  found  a  road-bed),  which  connects  the  Mojave  desert 
with  the  canons  of  the  headwaters  of  the  Santa  Clara  river,  flowing  westward  to  the  ocean,  the  pass  and  the  river 
valley  thus  forming  a  convenient  east  and  west  line  of  separation  between  the  southern  region  and  the  Coast 
range  division. 

Near  the  coast,  in  the  southern  part  of  Santa  Barbara  county,  and  extending  eastward  from  point  Conception, 
there  is  a  small  but  rugged  range  (the  Sierra  Santa  Inez)  from  2,000  to  3,000  feet  in  altitude,  its  trend  nearly 
coinciding  with  that  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  where  it  joins  the  Coast  range. 

The  Coast. — The  coast  line  presents  a  very  irregular  contour,  often  deeply  indented  with  bays,  and  throughout 
its  length  rises,  usually  quite  abruptly,  from  the  water's  edge  to  elevationsof  1,000  feet  and  more,  the  rocky  prominences 
frequently  projecting  far  out  into  the  ocean.  Its  chief  indentations  are  the  bays  of  Monterey,  Santa  Monica,  and 
San  Pedro. 

The  general  direction  of  the  coast  line  is  southeast  in  a  direct  line  for  a  little  more  than  200  miles,  thence 
southward  for  100  miles  to  point  Conception,  the  weather  divide  of  the  southern  Coast  region,  where  it  suddenly 
strikes  due  eastward  almost  at  right  angles  for  more  than  100  miles,  finally  rounding  back  to  its  southeast  course 
to  the  limit  of  the  state. 

The  rugged  and  hilly  character  of  the  coast  is  only  occasionally  relieved  to  any  extent  by  level  and  tillable 
lands,  except  where  the  larger  streams,  especially  the  Salinas  and  the  Santa  Clara,  have  found  their  way  to  the 
ocean,  producing  broad  areas  of  delta  or  alluvial  land  with  the  sediment  brought  down  from  the  mountains. 

The  lands  suitable  for  cultivation,  and  comprising,  too,  the  only  populous  portions  of  the  region,  are  the 
valleys  that  lie  between  the  mountain  ranges  and  skirt  the  streams,  and  also  the  foot-hills  and  lower  ridges  that 
are  not  too  broken  and  rocky.  From  the  coast  these  valleys  rise  in  elevatiou  and  become  more  and  more  narrow  to 
the  cations  of  the  higher  mountain  ranges,  through  which  their  rivers  have  cut  their  way,  and  beyond  which  there 
are  frequently  other  and  higher  mountain  valleys  of  greater  or  smaller  extent. 

On  the  north  of  point  Concepcion  the  river  valleys  have  a  trend  southeastward  from  their  outlet,  while  in  the 
region  of  point  Conception  and  southward  the  trend  is  eastward  from  the  coast. 

A  description  of  the  coast  region  is  best  given  by  taking  the  valleys  consecutively.  Beginning  at  the  north, 
the  first  in  order  are — 

San  Bamon  and  Biveemoee  valleys. — San  Bamon  valley,  lying  between  the  Contra  Costa  range  on  the  west 
and  the  Mount  Diablo  range  ou  the  east,  opens  northward  into  Suisun  bay,  and  with  a  width  of  about  G  miles  reaches 
south  for  15  miles,  where  it  becomes  very  narrow,  finally  opening  out  into  the  exteusive  Livermore  basin  or  valley 
in  Alameda  county.  The  valley  is  dotted  with  scattered  oaks,  and  its  soil  is  largely  a  stiff  adobe,  in  many  places 
exceedingly  black  and  waxy,  which  yields  under  cultivation  about  30  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre.  The  soils  arouud  the 
base  of  Mount  Diablo  are  partly  reddish  and  partly  gray,  often  gravelly  loams.  The  valley  is  watered  by  streams 
flowing  northward  into  the  bay,  and  a  number  of  small  valleys  connect  with  it  on  either  side.  Bivermore  vallej\on 
the  south,  is  about  14  miles  long  east  and  west,  from  5  to  8  miles  wide,  and  is  surrounded  by  rolling  foot-hills  and 
mountains,  from  which  other  valleys  open  into  it.  The  north  and  east  part  of  its  surface  is  a  plain,  the  south  and 
west  part  a  region  of  rolling  hills,  and  all  is  dotted  over  with  oak  trees  aud  watered  by  numerous  streams,  timbered 
with  sycamore,  and  tributary  to  Alameda  creek,  which  flows  westward  into  the  bay  of  San  Fraucisco  through  a 
canon  in  the  Coast  range.  The  soil  of  the  valley  plain  is  dun-colored,  with  a  pale  yellow  loam  subsoil,  often 
gravelly,  more  especially  near  the  water-courses,  the  beds  of  which  in  summer  appear  filled  with  gravel  only, 
although  water  is  mostly  found  beneath.  The  soil  of  the  rolling  lands  is  mainly  a  red,  often  clayey  loam,  which  also 
forms  the  subsoil  where  the  surface  soil  is  dark  colored. 

Santa  Claea  valley. — This  valley,  with  its  adjoining  foot-hills,  is  one  of  the  most  important  agricultural 
districts  within  the  limits  of  the  Coast  Range  region.  Its  entire  length  is  about  70  miles  through  Santa  Clara  into 
San  Benito  county,  and  its  width  at  the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  where  it  connects  with  the  Alameda  plain  on  the  one 
side  and  that  of  San  Mateo  on  the  other,  is  about  20  miles.  Eleven  miles  south  of  San  Jose  this  valley  suddenly 
narrows  to  about  100  yards,  but  again  opens  out  to  several  miles  until  the  Pajaro  river  is  reached,  whose  valley 
westward  is  a  connecting  link  with  that  of  the  Salinas  river,  in  Monterey  county.  From  the  Pajaro  southward  for 
several  miles  beyond  Hollister  the  width  is  about  12  miles,  and  the  valley  terminates  or  rises  to  a  rolling  plateau  or 
bench  land,  which  reaches  across  it,  and  is  known  as  Poverty  hill  or  Hollister  valley.  Still  southward  the  valley 
region  becomes  more  and  more  narrow  and  elevated,  and  is  rarely  over  half  a  mile  wide. 

This  Poverty  Hill  region  is  treeless,  and  its  soil  is  an  adobe,  covered  in  the  depressions  of  its  surface  with  a 
silty  loam,  and  underlaid  at  about  4  feet  with  a  clay  that  is  more  or  less  alkaline  in  character.  The  lands  between 
Hollister  valley  aud  the  Pajaro  river  are  partly  adobe  and  partly  a  sandy  loam. 

In  the  broad  valley  north  of  this,  in  Santa  Clara  county,  the  surface  is  undulating,  with  low,  rounded  hills,  and 
is  dotted  with  clumps  of  oak.  The  land  of  the  lower  or  northern  portion  near  the  bay  is  mostly  black  and  stiff 
adobe,  with  some  salt  or  marsh  lands  in  the  region  of  Alviso,  near  the  bay.  The  higher  lands  of  the  valley  are  a 
lighter  sandy  loam,  gravelly  on  the  east  and  west,  while  those  of  the  hills  ou  either  side  are  a  cinnamon-colored  loam, 
with  a  reddish-brown  subsoil,  well  adapted  to  grape  and  fruit  culture. 
45  c  P — vol.  ii 


48  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

The  areaof  the  valley  is  almost  all  improved,  and  most  of  it  is  under  cultivation.  The  crops  comprise  wheat,  barley, 
corn,  potatoes,  and  vegetables,  and  the  yield  of  the  black  lands  is  said  to  Vie  from  35  to  40  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre. 
Dairying  is  also  carried  on  to  a  large  extent.  Grape  and  fruit-growing,  including  also  tigs,  olives,  and  almonds,  forms, 
the  prominent  pursuit  in  the  neighborhood  of  San  Jose\  The  almond  in  particular  succeeds  in  many  favored 
localities  of  the  "thermal  belt"  of  the  mountain  sides  that  is  protected  from  the  direct  impact  of  the  coast  winds 
and  is  sufficiently  elevated  above  the  valley  to  escape  passing  frosts. 

The  climate  of  the  valley,  as  compared  with  that  of  San  Francisco,  is  greatly  tempered  by  the  intervention  of 
the  Coast  range  between  it  and  the  sea, rendering  summer  fogs  much  less  common,  and  thus  permitting  the  ripening 
of  many  fruits  that  cannot  be  successfully  grown  nearer  the  Golden  Gate.  The  same  causes  render  the  milder  and 
warmer  climate  of  the  Sauta  Clara  valley  a  health  resort  from  the  harsher  atmosphere  of  San  Francisco. 

Cotton  culture  has  not  been  fairly  tested,  but  it  is  not,  on  the  whole,  likely  to  be  successful  so  nearly  within 
reach  of  the  coast  winds. 

Salinas  valley. — Reaching  southeastward  from  Monterey  bay  for  90  miles,  with  a  width  of  from  8  to  12  miles 
for  the  first  50  miles,  is  the  Salinas  valley.  This  valley  is  watered  by  the  river  of  the  same  name,  and  inland  becomes 
very  narrow,  rising  rapidly  in  elevation  to  the  mountain  canons  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county,  and  through  them 
connecting  with  the  mountain  valleys  in  the  central  part  of  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  in  which  the  river  takes  its 
rise.  The  surface  of  the  lower  valley  presents  a  terraced  and  almost  treeless  plain,  the  only  growth  being  some  live 
oaks  on  the  northeast  and  sycamore  along  the  river.  The  alluvial  bottom  lands  are  from  one-fourth  to  one-half  a 
mile  wide,  and  are  bordered  by  a  somewhat  higher  terrace  of  adobe  bottoms  from  1  to  2.J  miles  in  width.  West  of 
Salinas  city  there  is  a  large  tract  of  hog-wallow  lands,  embracing  also  a  number  of  small  title  lakes.  The  Salinas 
river  flows  mostly  on  the  west  side  of  the  valley,  a  region  of  mesa  lands  lying  between  it  and  the  Santa  Lucia 
mountains  still  to  the  westward. 

On  the  eastern  side  of  the  valley  the  adobe  bottom  lands  are  bordered  by  a  sharply-defined  terrace  11  feet 
higher,  rising  gently  against-  the  Gavilan  mountain  range.  The  surface  of  this  terrace  is  rather  rolling,  and  its 
soils  are  coarse,  red,  and  gravelly,  affording  excellent  farming  lands  where,  protected  against  the  high  winds  that 
sweep  in  from  the  ocean  every  day  during  the  year,  and  against  which  a  person  is  said  to  be  scarcely  able  to  stand 
at  times,  the  stock  taking  refuge  in  the  thickets  along  the  river.  The  valley  is  therefore  chiefly  used  for  stock- 
raising,  very  little  farming  being  done.  The  higher  connecting  valleys  on  either  side  have  mostly  dark  loam  or 
adobe  soils,  and  are  partly  under  cultivation. 

On  the  north,  after  passing  a  region  of  low,  sandy,  and  treeless  hills,  the  valley  is  connected  with  Santa  Clara 
valley  by  the  Pajaro  valley,  a  heavy  grain-growing  region,  which  borders  the  river  of  the  same  name,  reaching 
eastward  from  the  coast.  This  valley  is  from  (i  to  8  miles  wide  and  its  surface  quite  level,  and  embraces  three  varieties 
of  soils:  dark  loam  lands  of  the  plains,  adapted  to  wheat  and  barley  ;  adobe  lands,  comprising  one-third  of  the  river 
bottoms,  and  lying  several  feet  below  the  plains ;  clayey  loams  of  the  bottoms,  known  as  the  sugar-beet  region.  The 
valley  is  bounded  on  either  side  by  a  range  of  smoothly-rounded  hills,  those  on  the  south  being  mostly  too  broken 
for  cultivation.  The  small  valleys  between  these  hills  are  mostly  swampy,  with  either  tule  or  willow,  and  often 
hold  small  lakes  or  ponds  of  water. 

The  mountain  valley  region  of  San  Luis  Obispo  county  is  watered  by  the  Salinas  river  and  other  smaller 
streams,  and  presents  a  series  of  low,  rolling  hills,  with  intermediate  valleys  having  separate  names.  The  Salinas 
valley  is,  however,  the  chief  one  of  this  region,  and  is  about  9  miles  wide,  with  an  elevation  of  about  1,000  feet  above 
the  sea.  On  the  southeast  it  rises  into  a  level  plateau  some  300  feet  above  the  valley  proper,  and  soon  terminates ; 
its  lands  are  mostly  adobe.  There  is  but  little  timber.  The  bottom  soil  along  the  streams  is  chiefly  a  dark  loam, 
while  that  of  the  upland  or  valley  is  mostly  a  stiff  clay  loam,  usually  reddish,  more  or  less  gravelly,  easily  tilled, 
and  interspersed  with  some  adobe  tracts.  This  entire  valley  region  is  principally  a  stock  range,  though  some  of 
its  lauds  are  under  cultivation.  Paso  Robles  springs,  a  noted  health  resort,  is  situated  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  valley  in  a  plain  of  about  10  square  miles,  and  is  surrounded  by  a  grove  of  live  oaks. 

Other  valleys. — Along  the  coast  in  this  county  there  is  a  series  of  valleys  and  plains  which  are  separated 
from  the  immediate  coast  line  by  a  chain  of  hills  and  watered  by  streams  which  are  lined  with  eottonwood,  sycamore, 
laurel,  and  live  oaks.  Their  soils  embrace  the  dark  loams  of  the  bottoms  and  the  dark  sandy  or  reddish  loams  of 
the  valleys  resting  on  heavy  clays.    The  soil  of  the  hills  is  lighter  and  gravelly. 

Still  southward  the  valleys  of  the  Santa  Maria  and  Santa  Inez  riveis  are  respectively  about  10  and  2  miles 
wide  and  30  long,  each  reaching  the  coast  through  narrow  canons,  and  having  a  greatest  width  about  15  miles 
inland.  The  Santa  Inez  valley  was  originally  timbered  with  oaks.  Its  surface  presents  a  series  of  terraces  of  25, 
45,  and  95  feet,  respectively,  above  the  river. 

The  Coast  region  east  of  point  Concepcion  embraces  two  valleys  or  terraces,  an  upper  and  lower,  varying  in 
width  from  2  to  6  miles.  The  immediate  coast  line  forms  at  first  a  terrace  about  80  feet  high,  sinking  at  Sauta 
Barbara  and  eastward  to  the  Ventura  line  to  a  lower  level.  The  upper  valley,  known  as  the  Santa  Barbara  plain, 
is  about  300  feet  above  the  sea.  The  soils  of  these  coast  valleys,  both  on  the  east  and  north  of  point  Concepcion, 
are  sandy  loams,  while  those  of  the  higher  altitudes  are  largely  adobe  in  character. 

706 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  49 

Iu  Ventura  county  the  Santa  Clara  and  Buenaventura  rivers  are  also  bordered  by  narrow  valleys,  that  of 
the  latter  river  being  about  30  miles  long  by  about  one-fourth  of  a  mile  wide  and  havingsaiidy  soils.  The  Santa  Clara 
valley,  which  is  sandy  and  very  narrow  from  its  source  to  Santa  Paula,  then  widens  gradually,  until  within  12  miles 
of  the  coast  it  suddenly  expands  into  the  Saticoy  plain,  widening  to  about  10  miles  on  reaching  the  coast,  from 
the  town  of  San  Buenaventura  on  the  north  to  that  of  Hueneme  on  the  south.  The  northern  portion  of  this  fine 
agricultural  region  is  largely  an  undulating  upland  with  a  yellowish  loam  soil ;  the  southern  constitutes  a  kind  of  delta 
of  the  Santa  Clara  river,  its  soil  near  the  latter  being  a  dark  gray  silty  loam  of  great  depth  and  fertility  (see  analysis 
below),  remarkable  for  its  retention  of  moisture  near  the  surface,  and  noted  for  its  high  production  of  corn  and  beans, 
as  well  as  its  special  adaptation,  inland,  to  the  European  walnut.  The  mountain  valleys  have  mostly  adobe  soils,  and 
those  whose  altitude  is  less  than  2,000  feet  are  partly  under  wheat  culture.  Of  these  the  Ojai  is  the  most  important. 
Its  lower  portion  has  a  dun-colored  loam  soil,  timbered  with  white  oak  and  very  productive ;  but  from  this  there  is 
a  sudden  ascent  of  500  feet  or  more  to  the  upper  valley,  the  soil  of  which  is  mostly  a  rich  black  adobe,  producing 
enormous  crops  of  wheat. 

Character  of  soils. — The  characteristic  reddish  gravelly  soils  of  the  southern  region  extend  to  the  sea-shore 
near  Santa  Monica  and  southward  wherever  there  is  a,  bluff  bank,  while  where  the  surface  descends  more  gently 
there  are,  as  in  the  Westminster  and  Anaheim  region,  coast  flats  several  miles  in  width,  in  which  the  soil  is  a  dark- 
colored  sandy  loam,  glistening  with  scales  of  mica,  and  more  or  less  affected  with  alkali  in  the  lower  portions. 
Similar  soils,  iu  tracts  of  greater  or  less  extent,  are  found  up  the  coast  as  far  as  Santa  Barbara  at  least.  None  of 
these  soils  have  as  yet  been  analyzed,  except  with  respect  to  the  alkali  salts  sometimes  present  in  them,  which 
at  times  are  purely  saline,  at  others  strongly  alkaline,  from  the  presence  of  carbonate  of  soda.  (See  "Alkali  soils 
of  the  southern  region",  page  41.)     As  a  rule,  these  sea-shore  lands  are  very  productive. 

The  valleys  of  the  seaward  slope  of  the  Coast  range  have  mostly  gray,  light,  and  silty,  rather  than  sandy  soils, 
and  are  quite  similar  in  appearance  from  Ventura  to  Humboldt  county,  though  differing  considerably  in  composition, 
those  of  the  southern  region  being  more  calcareous,  and  apparently  richer  in  phosphoric  acid.  Among  the  best 
agricultural  valleys  in  this  division  is  that  of  the  Santa  Clara  river,  in  Ventura  county,  which  opens  out  into  the 
fertile  plain  of  Saticoy.  No  soil  samples  from  the  latter  have  been  received,  but  the  following  represent  fairly  the 
soil  of  the  valley  near  Santa  Paula : 

No.  168.  Valley  soil,  taken  from  Mr.  N.  B.  Blanchard's  orange  orchard  near  Santa  Paula,  Ventura  county.  The 
color  of  this  soil  is  a  light  umber,  and  when  wet  blackish  and  silty,  very  easily  tilled,  and  retains  its  tilth  remarkably, 
so  that  the  hand  can  easily  work  its  way  into  it  up  to  the  elbow  and  an  ax-handle  can  be  thrust  down  to  the  head 
with  little  exertion.  The  material  remains  apparently  the  same  for  from  12  to  20  feet  in  the  lower  bench  of  the 
valley,  where  this  sample  was  taken.  Toward  the  hills  there  is  a  second  bench,  where  the  soil  is  apparently  the 
same,  but  of  a  slightly  reddish  tint.  On  the  mountain  slopes  the  soil,  still  quite  similar  in  its  working  qualities, 
is  of  a  decidedly  reddish  tint,  and  is  remarkable  for  its  retention  of  natural  moisture,  enabling  it  to  produce  corn 
without  irrigation. 

No.  182.  Reddish  mountain  soil  from  Mr.  N.  B.  Blanchard's  laud,  near  Santa  Paula,  taken  to  12  inches  depth. 

No.  170.  Subsoil  of  second  bench  land  on  Colonel  W.  Hollister's  ranch,  near  Santa  Barbara.  (See  page  50.) 
This  specimen  was  examined,  not  as  a  fair  sample  of  laud,  but  with  a  view  to  detecting  the  cause  of  the  dying-oul 
of  orchard  trees  some  years  after  coming  into  bearing  that  occurs  in  streaks  both  here  and  elsewhere  in  the 
Santa  Barbara  region.  The  surface  soil  is  dark  gray  or  blackish,  several  feet  in  depth  at  most  points,  but  where 
the  dying-out  occurs  is  underlaid  by  a  whitish,  sandy  hard-pan,  with  pale  rusty  spots,  indicating  imperviousness 
and  bad  drainage.  The  spots  are,  however,  known  as  having  "poison  soil",  the  trouble  being  ascribed  to  some 
injurious  substance  contained  in  it.  The  analysis  shows  no  cause  for  any  injury  in  the  chemical  composition  of 
this  subsoil,  which  is  very  fair  in  every  respect,  showing  a  high  percentage  of  phosphoric  acid,  potash,  and  lime, 
and  even,  somewhat  unexpectedly,  of  active  humus.  The  cause  of  the  difficulty  is  doubtless  a  mechanical  one,  the 
tree  roots  after  a  certain  time  reaching  an  impervious  layer,  waterlogging  their  roots  in  winter  and  leaving  them 
unable  to  seek  moisture  in  the  depths  of  the  soil  in  summer.  Deep  subsoiling,  breaking  up  the  hard-pan  layer, 
Beems  to  be  the  only  possible  remedy. 

707 


50 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 


Soils  of  the  Coast  range  south  of  the  bay  country. 


VENTURA  SOUNTY. 

SAKTA  I1AIUIA1LA 
COUNTY. 

Silty  soil,  lower 
bench,  near 
Santa  Paula. 

Mountain  soil 

(reddish),  near 

Santa  Paula. 

Hinside  subsoil 
("poison  soil  "), 
HoUiBter's  ranch. 

No.  108. 

No.  182. 

No.  170. 

0.  631 
0.070 
0.  739 

74.  930  > 

\  82.  842 
7.912  5 

0.021 

0.164 

0.952 

0.955 

0.030 

5.070 

5.939 

83-°°5!  87. 743 
4.  078  > 

0.606 

0.058 

0.561 

0.000 

0.  055 

3.116 

2.095 

0.025 
3.350 
3.095 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

0.003 
3.132 

2.069 

3.854 

99.  372 

99.414 

99.  871 

0.841 

1.055 
1.004 

1.341 
0.271 

Available  inorganic 

Hydroscopic  moisture 

0.368 

5.  4B8 
15C.° 

6.590 
15C.° 

5.980 
15C.° 

Both  soils  from  Ventura  county  show  an  excellent  composition,  the  valley  soil  having  the  advantage  of  a  high 
percentage  of  phosphates,  while  the  mountain  soil,  a  little  heavier,  with  a  smaller  amount  of  phosphates,  has  a 
higher  lime  percentage  and  more  humus.  These  soils  are  especially  interesting,  as  being  peculiarly  favored  in  regard 
to  their  relations  to  moisture.  So.  16S  remains  moist  within  from  15  to  20  inches  of  the  surface  during  the  driest 
part  of  the  season,  when  the  water  table  falls  as  low  as  20  feet  below  the  surface  soils.  The  same  is  true  more  or 
less  of  the  Saticoy  plaiu  at  large ;  and  the  soil  of  other  valleys,  as,  e.  g.,  the  Ojai,  is  measurably  similar.  So  are 
probably  the  valley  soils  of  Santa  Barbara,  so  far  as  I  have  had  the  opportunity  of  examination. 

The  first  two  of  the.  following  soils  are  from  the  Salinas  Valley  region  : 

Xo.  006.  Upland  soil  from  Poverty  hill,  San  Benito  county,  collected  by  Mr.  H.  Partsch  for  the  United  States 
census;  taken  to  the  depth  of  12  inches.  This  soil  is  of  a  dun  color,  somewhat  silty,  the  dry  lumps  being  easily 
crushed  by  Augers;  softens  readily  in  water,  the  color  darkening  but  little;  is  easily  tilled,  apparently  not  adhesive, 
and  produces  moderate  crops  in  good  seasons,  but  is  unthrifty  and  risky.  This  kind  of  land  lies  in  the  depressions 
of  a  kind  of  bench  across  the  eastern  head  of  the  Santa  Clara  valley,  while  the  higher  portions  are  formed  of  a  gray 
adobe,  which  also  forms  the  subsoil  of  the  loam  lauds  at  varying  depths. 

Xo.  000.  Loam  upland  soil  from  Soquel  ranch,  Santa  Cruz  county,  collected  by  Mr.  H.  Partsch.  This  is  a 
reddish  umber-colored  loam  when  dry,  the  lumps  crushing  easily  between  the  fingers, -and  softening  quickly  on 
wetting.  It  is  very  easily  tilled,  and  contains  some  coarse  sand.  This  sample  represents  the  soils  of  the  upland 
terrace  which  abuts  upon  the  seashore  southward  of  Santa  Cruz. 

Xo.  37.  Valley  soil  from  a  small  valley  between  Pescadero  and  Benton  creek,  about  200  feet  above  sea-level 
and  two  and  a  half  miles  away  from  the  shore,  sent  by  Pescadero  grange,  and  selected  by  Messrs.  Osgood,  Burch, 
Weeks,  and  Thompson,  committee.  This  soil  is  a  brownish  black  loam,  somewhat  hard  when  dry,  but  softening 
easily  on  being  wet,  and  taking  almost  a  black  tint;  it  produces  good  potatoes,  barley,  and  oats.  The  product  of 
potatoes  has  fallen,  by  cultivation,  from  28,000  to  12,500  pounds;  the  cereals  not  so  much.  Deep  tillage  and 
thorough  pulverization  is  found  to  be  very  beneficial  in  dry  years.  The  timber  in  the  valleys  is  redwood,  oak,  -find 
alder,  with  buckeye,  madrone,  and  pine  on  the  uplands. 
708 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


51 


Valley  lands  of  the  Coast  region. 


8AN  DENITO 
COUNTY. 

BANTA  cnuz 
COUNTY. 

SAN  MATEO 
COUNTY. 

Upland  soil, 
"Poverty  hill." 

Loam  upland 
aoil,  Soqnel. 

Valley  soil 
near  Pescadero. 

No.  COO. 

No.  600. 

No.  37. 

85.  596  i                 i     80. 426  ) 

J  88. 163     .                   J  83.  454 
2.  567  >                      3.  02«  5 

78.  084  ) 
„  „„    [  81.  321 
3.237) 

0.541 

0.231 

0.825 

0.820 

0.039 

4.934 

4.821 

0.084 

0.027 

6.757 

0.109 
0.676 
0.  520 
0.048 
2.856 
4.214 
0.027 
0.015 
3.476 

0.126 
0.502 
0.390 
0.014 
3.928 
5.711 
0.053 
0.009 
4.955 

T. 

100.  443 

99.  485 

100.  500 

0.819 

0.284 
5.218 
12.5C.° 

1.463 
0.  579 
5.602 
15C.° 

2.850 
0.625 
7.387 
15C.° 

jSTos.  600  and  606,  while  still  of  the  same  general  physical  character  as  those  of  Ventura  and  Santa  Barbara, 
differ  chemically  by  their  smaller  percentage  of  potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  the  latter  being  very  decidedly  deficient 
in  the  "Poverty  Hill"  soil.  Their  lime  supply  is  still,  however,  quite  adequate  for  thriffciuess  in  such  light  soils, 
which,  like  those  farther  south,  show  a  very  satisfactory  and  remarkably  uniform  power  for  absorbing  moisture, 
viz,  from  about  5A  to  6i  per  cent.  It  is  evident  that  here,  as  in  the  Sau  Joaquin  valley,  the  phosphates  will  be  the 
first  thing  requiring  replacement  when  these  soils  become  "tired",  and  fruit  rather  than  grain  culture  should  be 
pursued  by  those  cultivating  them.  It  is  not,  of  course,  certain  that  these  soils  represent  the  character  of  the 
Salinas  region  correctly. 

The  valley  soil  (No.  37)  from  near  Pescadero,  Sau  Mateo  county,  shows  it  to  be  of  a  somewhat  higher  grade 
than  the  above,  and  approaching  more  nearly  in  character  the  soils  of  Ventura,  above  described.  It  shows  a  high 
lime  percentage,  a  large  one  of  potash,  and  a  considerably  higher  amount  of  phosphoric  acid  than  the  Santa  Cruz 
soils,  though  yet  rather  low,  being  only  half  of  that  contained  in  the  valley  soils  of  Ventura  and  Santa  Barbara. 
While  sufficient  for  present  thriftiness,  in  the  presence  of  so  much  lime  it  is  pretty  certain  to  need  phosphates  so 
soon  as  its  first  fertility  is  exhausted,  especially  where  dairying  is  the  chief  industry.  The  humus  percentage  is 
remarkably  high  for  so  light  a  soil  within  the  coast  region.  It  probably  represents  fairly  the  favorite  soil  of  tho 
redwood. 

While  on  the  seaward  slope  of  the  Santa  Cruz  range  there  is  an  evident  predominance  of  light  loam  soils,  the 
landward  portion  of  that  range  seems  to  possess  large  tracts  of  heavy  red-clay  soils,  whose  character,  of  course, 
influences  more  'or  less  that  of  the  valley  soils  derived  therefrom,  especially  in  Santa  Clara  county.  On  the 
mountain  slopes  these  lands  are  largely  covered  with  "  chaparral "  (Ceanothus)  and  other  scrub  growth.  The 
following  is  the  analysis  of  a  sample  sent  by  Mr.  William  Pfeifer  from  a  tract  lying  two  miles  northeast  of  Saratoga : 

No.  702.  Chaparral  soil  from  Saratoga,  Santa  Clara  county.  Dark  reddish  brown  when  dry,  forming  hard  lumps; 
dark  umber  color  when  wet,  and  softening  easily ;  quite  stiff  in  working,  but  assuming  good  tilth  when  taken  at 
the  right  stage  of  moisture.  Sample  taken  to  the  depth  of  12  inches,  below  which  lies  a  gravelly,  rather  stiff  clay 
subsoil  of  an  orange  tint.  More  or  less  angular  fragments  of  the  country  rock  (a  fine,  soft,  calcareous  sandstone  or 
shale)  are  contained  in  both. 

703 


52 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 


Chaparral  land,  Santa  Clara  county. 


Insoluble  matter 57.  449 

Soluble,  silica 5.1141 

Potaab 

Soda 

Lime 

MagDesia 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese ; 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

WaU-r  and  organic  matter 


Total 


Humus 

Available  inorganic. 

Hygroscopic  moisture . 
absorbed  at 


02.5(13 

0.859 
0.1160 
1.087 
2.428 
0.098 

10.  019 
9.510 
0.139 
0.003 

11.  921 

99.853 


0.884 
12. 090 

15  C.° 


This  analysis  gives  high  testimony  to  the  intrinsic  value  of  the  soil.  It  has  an  abundant  supply  of  potash,  as 
well  as  of  lime,  even  for  such  a  heavy  soil.  Its  phosphoric  acid  percentage  is  fair,  and  its  supply  of  humus  is  somewhat 
extraordinary  for  a  soil  formed  in  an  "arid"  climate.  Its  power  for  absorbing  moisture  is  very  high,  from  the 
concurrence  of  the  large  humus  supply  with  that  of  iron  oxide  (ferric  hydrate).  It  is  therefore  a  soil  of  great 
resources,  and  is  well  deserving  of  the  high  culture  which  its  peculiar  mechanical  condition  necessitates.  It  must 
be  kept  thoroughly  and  deeply  tilled,  and  its  somewhat  refractory  subsoil  should  lie  broken  up,  so  as  to  allow  deep 
penetration  to  the  roots.  Not  being  irrigable,  on  account  of  its  location,  its  best  adaptation  would  seem  to  bo  to 
the  growing  of  sweet  grapes  for  the  table,  for  raisins,  or  heavy  wines.  A  very  similar  soil  is  found  in  some  of 
the  vineyards  near  Mission  San  Jose,  and  under  high  cultivation  has  yielded  excellent  results. 

The  soils  of  the  Sau  Francisco  peninsula  are  derived  from  two  distinct  sources,  viz,  the  disintegration  of  the 
country  rocks  and  the  sand  drifting  in  from  the  seashore  on  the  west.  The  latter  originally  covered  the  larger 
part  of  the  present  site  of  the  city,  and  is  still  continually  invading  its  rear,  giving  great  trouble  in  and  around 
Golden  Gate  park,  where  the  efforts  to  subdue  it  have  been  measurably  successful  by  the  aid  of  grasses,  shrubbery, 
and  herbaceous  plants  adapted  to  the  circumstances.  Where  the  sand  is  excluded  by  protecting  ridges  the  soil 
is  mostly  a.  somewhat  stiftish  one,  termed  from  the  clayey  shales  and  sandstones,  which  are  here  and  there  replaced 
by  serpentinous  rocks.     The  latter  influence  the  soils  but  little  save  as  diluents. 

The  following  analyses  of  soils  from  the  Presidio  reservation  were  made  at  the  request  of  the  United  States 
military  authorities,  through  Major  W.  A.  Jones,  of  the  engineer  corps: 

The  surface  soil,  No.  680,  is  dark-tinted,  varying  in  depth  from  4  to  12  inches,  according  to  location,  and  is 
moderately  heavy.  The  subsoil,  No.  682,  is  yellow  and  clayey,  with  a  good  deal  of  coarse  sand,  and  contains 
abundant  fragments  of  the  soft,  somewhat  calcareous,  sandstone  from  which  it  has  been  formed. 

710 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


53 


Sandstone  land,  Presidio,  San  Francisco. 


Soil. 

Snhsoil. 

No.  680. 

No.  682 

78. 135  > 

!  81.  593 
3.  458  5 

TO224J75.756 
5.  532  ) 

0.590 

0.172 

0.399 

0.846 

0. 053     j                     0.  059 
5. 682     1                     7.  268 
5. 162     I                     9. 737 

Sulphuric  acid 

0.053 
5.404 

0.022 
4.900 

100.  359 

100. 135 

2.284 

Hygroscopic  moisture 

6.023 
15C.° 

9.411 

This  soil  shows  a  good  supply  of  plant-food,  with  the  exception  of  phosphoric  acid,  in  which  it  is  very 
deficient,  its  subsoil  having  scarcely  more  than  what  might  be  called  a  trace.  Its  high  percentages  of  potash,  lime, 
and  humus  make  it  an  excellent  subject  for  effectual  improvement  by  the  use  of  phosphate  manures,  which  are 
manufactured  in  the  city  of  San  Francisco,  but  thus  far  have  found  little  sale.  The  soil  overlying  the  serpentines 
differs  from  these  merely  in  a  higher  percentage  of  insoluble  matter  and  magnesia. 

The  Mount  Diablo  range  from  San  Pablo  and  Suisim  bays  to  San  Jose  has  mostly  heavy  "  adobe"  soils  on  its 
flanks  and  in  the  smaller  valleys,  as  well  as  on  its  eastern  foot,  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  and  the  heavy  grain  crops 
produced  even  to  the  very  summits  of  the  ridges  in  good  seasons  testify  to  the  fertility  of  these  somewhat 
refractory  soils,  whose  productiveness  varies  sensibly  in  accordance  with  the  amount  of  lime  present  in  them ; 
and  this,  again,  can  in  a  measure  be  judged  of  by  the  more  or  less  dark  tint  of  the  soil.  Limited  deposits  of  impure 
limestone  occur  with  frequency  among  the  clayey  and  siliceous  shales  of  the  range,  in  which  calciteOr  carbonate  of 
lime  commonly  fills  the  rock  crevices.  Where  this  is  not  the  case,  we  occasionally  have  tracts  of  heavy  clay  soils 
of  tawny  tint,  cold  and  refractory,  and  often  ill-drained,  with  the  siliceous,  shaly  bed-rock  a  few  feet  beneath  the 
surface,  and  such,  unfortunately,  happens  to  be  the  character  of  a  large  part  of  the  university  experimental  grounds, 
w.hile  in  the  valleys  lies  an  excellent  black  adobe  soil,  derived  from  the  higher  portions  of  the  range.  The  following 
analyses  show  the  composition  of  these  soils : 

Uos.  1  and  2.  Blade  adobe  soil  and  sttbsoit,  taken  on  the  state  university  campus,  Alameda  county,  in  the  rear  of 
cottages  3  and  4,  half  way  to  the  bridge.  The  black  soil  here  is  over  30  inches  deep,  underlaid  by  a  yellow,  stony 
subsoil.  It  becomes  exceedingly  "  sticky "  when  wet,  but  plows  easily  when  taken  just  at  the  right  point  of 
moisture;  when  plowed  a  little  too  wet  it  clods  heavily,  but  the  clods  tend  to  pulverize  in  drying.  With  shallow 
tillage,  or  when  left  unfilled,  it  forms  widely  gaping  cracks  in  the  dry  season ;  but  if  tilled  deeply  and  thoroughly 
it  retains  moisture  and  a  luxuriant  growth  of  weeds  throughout  the  dry  season,  and  is  almost  ashy  in  its  tilth. 
The  soil  having  been  sown  in  grain,  so  far  as  known,  for  many  years  and  worn  Jjadly,  it  was  deemed  best  not  to 
take  the  surface  soil  for  analysis,  but  a  layer  from  12  to  22  inches  depth,  and  then  another  from  22  to  30  inches, 
the  latter  representing  the  extreme  probable  range  of  crop  roots.  The  results  of  the  analyses  of  both  of  these  layers 
are  given  in  the  table  on  page,  04. 

No.  4.  Ridge  adobe  subsoil,  taken  from  the  crest  of  the  ridge  on  the  agricultural  grounds  of  the  university,  in 
the  orchard,  from  the  depth  of  10  to  that  of  20  inches.  Tint,  a  tawny  yellow ;  very  heavy  in  working,  difficult  to 
till  at  all  times,  and  remaining  wet  until  late  in  the  spring.  At  a  depth  varying  from  24  to  5  feet  it  gradually  passes 
into  "  rotten  "  shaly  clay  sandstones,  fragments  of  which  are  everywhere  intermixed  with  the  soil.  The  tract  is 
ill-drained,  even  on  the  ridge,  and  is  esteemed  a  poor  soil. 

No.  643.  Blade  waxy  adobe  soil  from  the  Colton  ranch,  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Diablo,  Contra  Costa  county.  Very 
black  when  wet,  grayish  when  dry ;  when  wet,  excessively  adhesive,  so  as  to  cling  in  masses  to  wagon-wheels, 
requiring  to  be  scraped  off  from  time  to  time.  Vegetation,  scattering  white-oak  trees  (Q.  lobata)  and  sunflower 
(Helianthus  Californicus),  but  little  else. 

711 


54 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 


Adobe  soils. 


Alameda  county. 

Contiia  Costa 

COUNTY. 

AGRICULTURAL  GROUMJ6,   BERKELEY. 

COLTON  RANCH. 

Black  adobe. 

Ridge  adobe. 

Black  wasy 
adobe. 

Soil. 

Sabsoll. 

Subsoil. 

Soil. 

No.  1. 

No.  2. 

No.  4. 

No.  C43. 

\                77. 844 

0.452 

0.074 
1.050 
1.211 
0.078 
4.075 
7.788 
0.231 
<l.  077 
5.718 

09.  603 

80.002      50'9C°|     59.980 

0.109 
0.098 
1.913 
0.093 
7.208 
13.  970 
0.116 
0.028 
6.600 

0.  154 
0.484 
0.452 
0.038 
4.013 
5.532 
0.057 
0.021 
4.051 

0.741 
2.471 
•         0. 890 
0.065 
11.090 
15.  089 
0.  057 
0.045 
8.304 

99. 198 

100.940 

100.  993 

09.  524 

1.750 

1.500 
0.036 
0.829 
13.510 

1 

7.30 
15  C.° 

| 

: 

The  obvious  similarity  of  the  black  adobe,  Nos.  1  and  2,  to  the  "black  prairie"  of  Mississippi  and  Alabama  is 
abundantly  confirmed  by  these  analyses.  Both  in  mechanical  and  chemical  composition  the  adobe  is  so  nearly  like 
the  "  white  lime  prairie"  soil  of  Mississippi  that  the  differences  are  scarcely  greater  than  might  be  found  in  different 
localities  in  either  region.  The  prominent  features  are  the  high  percentages  of  clay  and  the  finest  sediments,  the 
influence  of  which  in  rendering  the  soil  heavy  in  working  is  offset  by  a  large  supply  of  lime  and  black  humus.  The 
supply  of  potash  is  fair,  and  that  of  phosphoric  acid  large,  being  one-third  above  that  of  the  Mississippi  prairie  soils. 
This  explains  the  fact  that  grain  crops,  so  exhaustive  of  lime,  have  for  a  succession  of  years  been  grown  on  California 
soil  without  apparent  diminution.  The  subsoil  below  twenty-two  inches  seems  to  decrease  gradually  in  the  supply 
of  plant-food.  The  sample  analyzed  probably  represents  pretty  correctly  the  black  adobe  soils  of  the  Coast  Range 
slope  from  San  Pablo  to  Mission  San  Jos6. 

The  differences  iu  the  mechanical  (a)  and  the  chemical  composition  of  this  ridge  adobe  as  compared  with  that  of 
the  valley  is  sufficiently  striking.  It  contains  less  than  two-thirds  the  amount  of  clay,  yet  it  is  much  heavier  in 
working,  owing  to  the  small  quantities  of  the  finer  sediments,  which  chiefly  serve  to  break  up  the  extreme  tenacity 
of  pure  clay,  that  is  but  little  disturbed  by  the  large-sized  grains.  Then  the  soil  contains  less  than  half  as  much 
lime  as  the  lowland  adobe,  less  than  half  also  of  the  primarily  important  ingredients,  potash  and  phosphoric  acid, 
and,  finally,  a  mere  trace  of  vegetable  matter,  or  humus,  as  is  sho-wn  both  by  its  tint  and  by  the  smalluess  of  the 
"  organic  matter  and  water  "  item. 

The  unproductiveness  of  this  soil  is  clearly  owiug  to  two  causes  combined.  It  is  naturally  poor  in  plant-food, 
and  its  mechanical  composition  makes  it  so  refractory  that  it  is  only  in  exceptionally  favorable  seasons  that  what 
it  does  contain  of  plant-food  can  remain  available  to  plants,  since,  iu  drying,  it  becomes  of  stony  hardness,  with 
only  cracks  to  aid  the  circulation  and  penetration  of  air  and  roots. 

This  is  one  of  the  cases  iu  which  improvement  by  merely  supplying  the  plant-food  would  be  a  waste  of  money 
unless  the  physical  condition  be  corrected  at  the  same  time.  Uuderdrainage  would  probably  do  this  most  effectually; 
green  manuring  would  also  be  a  very  important  aid;  but  the  unusually  small  amount  of  clay  for  so  heavy  a  soil 
promises  excellent  results  from  the  use  of  a  moderate  quantity  of  quicklime  or  marl,  and  the  fertilizer  experiments 
made  on  the  university  grounds  have  fully  sustained  this  inference. 

Locally,  we  often  find  the  heavier  soils  of  the  Coast  range  so  modified  by  the  admixture  of  gravel  and  sand 
derived  from  irregularly  distributed  geological  deposits  of  this  character  as  to  render  them  easily  tilled  and  specially 
adapted  to  the  culture  of  barley  and  fruit.     This  is  more  or  less  the  case  along  the  streams  on  the  borders  of  Sau 


a  See  table  of  mechanical  analyses  on  pages  83,84. 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


55 


Francisco  bay,  but  especially  so  in  Livermore  valley,  that  remarkable  basin  inclosed  between  two  branches  of 
the  Coast  range,  with  apparently  an  ancient  outlet  through  the  San  Ramon  valley  toward  Suisun  bay.  Near 
Pleasanton  the  Coast  Range  hills  are  flanked  and  even  capped  by  gravel  conglomerates,  which  here,  as  well  as 
farther  up  the  "  Arroyo  del  Valle",  have  largely  contributed  toward  the  formation  of  the  valley  soils,  which  are 
of  remarkable  depth  and  of  easy  tillage.  The  rolling  land  within  the  valley  southwest  of  Livermore  town  has 
largely  a  red,  stifflsh  loam  soil,  containing  much  small  gravel;  but  at  the  lower  points  this  red  soil  is  overlaid  by  a 
dark-colored  loam  from  G  to  V2  inches  in  depth. 

Nos.  692,  093,  and  094  in  the  following  table  represent  this  class  of  soils,  and  are  from  specimens  furnished-  by 
Colonel  George  C.  Edwards,  of  the  University  of  California,  the  results  of  analysis  being  here  given  by  his  courtesy. 
The  hill  lands  are  scatteringly  timbered  with  oaks. 

No  representative  specimen  of  the  valley  soils  has  been  analyzed,  the  following  one  being  rather  of  a  local 
aspect,  yet  giving  some  insight  into  the  general  character  of  the  valley  soils. 

No.  649.  Sediment  soil  from  the  "Ojo  del  Monte",  a  small  valley  just  above  the  final  exit  of  the  "Arroyo  del 
Valle"  from  the  mountains,  at  the  southeastern  end  of  Livermore  valley,  Alameda  county.  This  soil  is  a  whitish, 
silty  soil,  with  some  tangible  sand  intermixed,  easy  of  tillage,  and  of  very  uniform  character  to  the  depth  of  several 
feet.     It  is  covered  with  a  dense  shrubby  and  herbaceous  growth  and  some  sycamore  trees. 

Lands  of  Livermore  valley,  Alameda  county. 


ROLLING  UPLAKD8. 

VALLEY. 

Dark  soil. 

Subsoil. 

Red  gravelly  aoil. 

Soil. 

No.  692. 

No.  693. 

»•.  694. 

No.  649. 

80.  262  ) 

{ 85.  2S5 

B0-65Vsi5 

8\9"  I  85.  697 

71'156|76.0M 
4.  938  > 

1.143 

0.123 

2.049 

3.046 

0.  044 

5.648 

7.153 

0.117 

0.101 

1.004 

3.679 

0.108 
0.813 
0.  647 

0.  066 

3.  5^4 

-1.  933 
0,  066 

0.010 

0.121 
0.693 
0.666 
0.025 
3.647 
5.329 
0.062 
0.008 

0.081 
0.720 
0.563 
0.030 
3.620 
5.540 
0.061 
0.008 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese 

Alumina 

4.047 

3.435 

3.550 

99.  857 

100. 158 

100. 193 

100.  201 

0.396 
0.413 

These  analyses  show  the  difference  between  the  upland  and  the  valley  soils  to  be  very  great,  the  latter  being 
rich  in  potash,  highly  calcareous,  and  having  a  fair,  though  not  large,  supply  of  phosphoric  acid ;  while  the  upland 
soils  have,  for  California,  an  unusually  low  amount  of  potash,  and  a  relatively  still  lower  percentage  of  phosphoric  acid. 
Still,  with  a  fair  supply  of  lime  and  considerable  depth,  when  well  tilled  these  soils  promise  well  for  the  culture  of 
the  grape,  now  extensively  begun  in  the  region.  Evidently,  however,  bone-meal  or  superphosphates  will  be  among 
the  first  things  needed  here  after  some  years'  culture. 

The  soil  of  the  level  portion  of  the  Livermore  valley  appears  to  be  a  mixture  of  the  red  soil  of  the  hills  with  the 
valley  deposits,  and  is  noted  as  an  excellent  country  for  hay  and  cereals,  though  somewhat  windy  for  fruit  culture. 

REGION  NORTH  OF  THE  BAY  COUNTRY. 


The  division  of  the  Coast  range  north  of  San  Francisco  and  Suisun  bays  covers  an  area  of  about  20,750  square 
miles,  embracing  the  following  counties  and  parts  of  counties:  All  of  Marin,  Sonoma,  Napa,  Lake,  Mendocino. 
Trinity,  Humboldt,  and  Del  Norte,  and  the  western  parts  of  Colusa,  Tehama,  and  Siskiyou.  The  entire  region  is  very 
generally  mountainous,  the  eastern  border  being  mostly  a  continuous  range,  with  an  altitude  of  3,000  feet  and 
more  (above  4,000  feet  in  the  western  part  of  Siskiyou  county)  as  far  south  as  the  lower  edge  of  Lake  county,  and 
thence  to  the  bay  falling  to  the  lower  hills  to  less  than  2,000  feet,  the  higher  range,  however,  passing  on  the  west 
side  of  Lake  and  Napa  counties  to  within  a  few  miles  of  the  bay.  From  the  high  border  region  of  the  east,  which  in 
places  has  a  width  of  25  miles  and  more,  other  ranges  of  like  altitude  reach  northwestward  nearly  to  the  coast,  fully 

713 


56  COTTON   PRODUCTION   IN  CALIFORNIA. 

one-third  of  the  entire  region  lying  chiefly  in  the  central  and  northern  parts,  thus  having  an  elevation  of  from 
2,000  to  3,000  feet  above  the  sea.  The  altitude  of  the  rest  of  the  ranges  is  from  1,000  to  2,000  feet,  except  a  hilly 
belt  of  less  elevation  bordering  the  ocean,  which  varies  in  width  from  1  mile  in  the  northern  part  of  Mendocino 
county  to  5  miles  or  more  on  the  south,  and  to  as  much  as 25  miles  in  Humboldt  county.  Near  the  coast,  opposite 
or  north  of  the  city  of  San  Francisco,  is  the  prominent  range  of  mount  Tamalpais,  once  a  part  of  the  Santa  Cruz 
range,  but  now  separated  from  it  by  the  Golden  Gate. 

The  coast  line,  while  having  a  general  northwesterly  trend,  is  very  irregular  and  broken,  with  many  prominent 
projections  and  points,  and  is  indented  with  numerous  bays.  Among  the  former  cape  Mendocino  is  the  most 
westerly  point  in  the  United  States,  and  is  in  the  lino  of  the  southwest  trend  of  the  highest  mountain  ranges  of  the 
north  in  their  curve  around  the  great  central  valley  region.  Point  Arenas  and  point  Reyes  form  other  notable 
projections.  This  division  of  the  Coast  range  is  well  watered  by  many  rivers,  some  of  the  largest  of  which,  with 
their  tributaries,  drain  belts  of  country  more  than  100  miles  in  length.  From  the  bay  northward  to  the  central 
part  of  Mendocino  county,  except  in  Lake  and  Napa  counties,  where  the  largest  streams,  I'utah,  Cache,  and 
Stony  creeks,  flow  into  the  great  valley  southeastward,  the  drainage  is  either  south  or  west  to  the  ocean.  Still 
northward  of  this  Mendocino  water-divide  the  waters  flow  northwestward.  Russian  river  is  the  largest  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  region;  with  its  headwaters  in  the  central  part  of  Mendocino,  it  at  first  flows  southward  for 
more  than  50  miles,  reckoned  in  a  direct  course,  into  Sonoma  county,  then  turns  suddenly  westward  to  the  coast. 
Clear  lake,  a  large  body  of  water,  not  clear,  however,  in  Lake  county,  has  an  outlet  through  Cache,  creek,  eastward 
through  Yolo  county,  into  the  Sacramento  river.  In  the  region  north  of  the  Mendocino  divide  there  are  three  large 
and  long  rivers,  the  Eel,  Trinity,  and  Klamath.  The  Eel,  with  its  headwaters  near  those  of  Russian  river,  flows 
northwest  and  empties  into  the  ocean  south  of  Humboldt  bay.  Trinity  river,  its  two  forks  heading  respectively 
in  the  northeast  and  southwest  corners  of  Trinity  county,  the  former  flowing  at  first  south  westward,  also  has  a 
northwest  course  to  its  junction  with  Klamatli  river.  This  latter  river,  the  longest  of  the  three,  ri  scs  on  the  extreme 
northeast,  flows  at  first  southwestward  with  a  tortuous  course  into  Humboldt  county,  a  direct  distance  of  more 
than  100  miles,  where,  after  its  junction  with  Trinity  river,  it  turns  abruptly  and  at  right  angles  northwestward  into 
the  ocean.     Many  other  streams  of  the  region  have  also  great  lengths. 

Redwood  belt.  — The  high  mountain  ranges  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  region  are  almost  altogether  treeless, 
except  along  their  lower  slopes,  which  often  have  a  chaparral  and  oak  growth.  A  prominent  feature  of  the  western 
part  is  a  broad  and  irregular  belt  of  redwood  timber,  which  reaches  uninterruptedly  from  the  northern  limit  of  the 
state  southward  a  short  distance  beyond  Russian  river,  in  the  southern  part  of  Sonoma  county,  and  scatteringly 
into  Marin.  In  Del  Norte  county  the  belt  is  narrow,  widening  when  it  enters  Humboldt  county  to  5  or  more  miles 
at  first,  and  to  its  maximum  of  a  little  more  than  25  miles  in  the  southern  part  of  that  county,  in  the  region  of 
Eel  river.  Here,  however,  it  becomes  suddenly  very  narrow,  -  or  'A  miles  in  width,  and  continues  so  for  some 
distance  into  Mendocino  county,  when  it  again  widens  to  an  average  width  of  10  miles,  which  width  it  preserves  to 
Russian  river.  This  belt  covers  an  area  of  about  12,400  square  miles.  A  southern  outlier  occurs  in  Santa  Cruz  and 
San  Mateo  counties,  and  is  mentioned  in  connection  with  that  region. 

The  redwood  belt  is  at  present  the  most  important  timber  region  of  the  state,  redwood  being  one  of  the  chief 
varieties  of  lumber  used  in  construction.  Much  of  the  belt  is  as  yet  difficult  of  access.  The  soil  is  in  general  very 
productive  and  moister  than  that  of  the  adjacent  country,  but  on  account  of  the  expense  in  clearing  it  is  available 
chiefly  where  the  lumber  can  be  marketed. 

Agricultural  features. — The  chief  agricultural  portion  of  the  northern  coast  region  lies  within  the 
counties  of  Napa  and  Sonoma  and  a  portion  of  Lake.  Northward  of  Sonoma  county  the  narrow  valleys  along  the 
larger  rivers  form  the  bulk  of  the  cultivable  land.  This  country  is  thinly  settled,  and  lumbering  and  stock-raising, 
with  some  mining,  are  the  predominant  industries.  The  valleys  are  mostly  covered  with  alluvial  loams,  and  are 
only  timbered  along  the  bottoms  with  a  growth  of  willow,  cottonwood,  maple,  etc.  Some  of  the  land  of  Eel  river  is 
very  black,  and,  with  its  growth  of  tussock  grass,  has  received  the  name  of  "nigger-head  soil".  Around  Ferndale 
and  Mattole  there,  is  much  eagle  fern,  which  often  attains  a  height  of  12  feet.  On  both  the  Eel  and  other  rivers 
northward  the  tillable  land  occurs  only  in  small  tracts.  Around  Humboldt  bay  there  is  much  overflowed  or  swamp 
land,  bordered  on  the  east  by  hills  containing  sandy  loam  soils,  and  separated  from  the  coast  line  by  low  sand  hills 
having  a  stunted  growth  of  trees. 

The  basin  of  the  Klamath  is  very  ragged,  particularly  thai  part  of  it  within  40  miles  of  the  ocean.  Along  the  main  river  there 
is  no  valley  or  bottom  laud;  its  whole  length  is  between  steep  hills  and  mountains,  and  through  rocky  canons.  Its  largest  tributaries, 
the  Trinity  and  Salmon,  run  through  a  country  almost  as  rugged  as  that  bordering  the  main  stream.  Scott  and  Shasta  rivers,  which  are 
the  only  other  notable  tributaries  of  the  Klamath,  have  valleys  of  bottom  land  abont  5  miles  wide  and  40  long. — Natural  Wealth  of  California. 

The  valley  of  Russian  river,  in  southern  Mendocino  and  northern  Sonoma  counties,  is  narrow,  has  a  sandy  loam 
soil,  and  for  15  miles  from  its  mouth  had  originally  a  timber  growth  of  redwood,  but  now  has  only  scattered  groves 
of  oak.     Its  lands  are  alluvial  loams,  rich  and  productive  under  cultivation. 

Passing  through  Sonoma  county,  and  continuous  with  the  southeast  course  of  Russian  river,  there  is  a  seriett 
of  valleys  reaching  to  the  bay  and  varying  in  width  from  0  miles  in  Santa  Rosa  valley  to  3  miles  in  Petaluma  valley, 
bordered  by  a  range  of  low  mountains  on  the  west  and  a  higher  range  on  the  east.     Sonoma  valley  proper  leaves 

714 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  57 

this  central  valley  near  Santa  Eosa,  and  reaches  southeastward  to  the  bay,  with  a  width  of  about  2  miles,  widening 
to  6  miles  near  the  bay.  That  of  Napa,  separated  from  it  by  the  Sonoma  mountain  range,  heads  near  the  extinct 
volcano  of  Saint  Helena,  and  extends  southward  35  miles,  with  varying  width,  to  the  bay. 

The  soil  of  these  valleys  is  a  rich  loam,  usually  gravelly,  and  very  generally  under  cultivation,  grapes  and  other 
fruits  being  now  the  prominent  crops  grown.  Smaller  valleys  lie  among  the  hills,  which  themselves  are,  to  a  large 
extent,  susceptible  of  cultivation.  The  country  rock  is  mostly  volcanic,  largely  a  soft  tufaceous  material,  tending 
to  form  plateau  ridges  from  1,000  to  2,000  feet  above  the  valleys.  These  ridges,  as  well  as  the  slopes  of  the  higher 
ones,  are  often  quite  heavily  timbered  with  a.  great  variety  of  oaks,  among  which  the  black  (Q.  Sonomensis  or 
Kelloggii),  live  (Q.  chrysolepis  and  Wislizeni),  and  blue  or  rock  oaks  (Q.  Douglassii)  are  found  on  the  higher  lands, 
together  with  Sabiu's  pine  ( P.  Sabiniana)  and  spruces,  and  the  beautiful  madroue  tree  (Arbutus  Menziesii),  which  also 
•descends  into  the  valleys,  being  there  associated  with  the  coast  live-oak  (Q.  agrifolia)  and  white  oak  (Q.  lobata),  and 
form  desirable  agricultural  grounds.  Here  also  the  Sonoma  or  black  oak  assumes  its  finest  development,  forming 
(a.s  near  Healdsburg)  large  spreading  trees  of  the  habit  of  the  eastern  Spanish  oak  (Q.falcata).  Interspersed  with 
the  oak  growth  are  tracts  of  land  covered  largely  with  unusually  large  shrubs,  almost  trees,  of  the  manzanita 
(Aretostaphylos  pungens),  which  can  nowhere  be  found  in  greater  perfection,  its  chestnut-brown,  shining  bark 
contrasting  beautifully  with  its  pale-green  leaves  and  the  gray  bushes  of  the  chaparral  (Ceanothus).  The  densest 
tree-growth  occupies  chiefly  the  northern  and  eastern  slopes,  those  with  a  southwest  exposure  especially  becoming 
too  dry  and  heated  in  summer.  This  forest  growth,  within  easy  reach  of  the  cultivated  lands,  has  doubtless  had 
its  influence  in  rendering  the  valleys  of  Napa,  Sonoma,  and  Pet  alum  a  so  attractive  that  at  present  few  uncultivated 
spots  are  to  be  found  within  them.  The  vineyards  especially  are  rapidty  extending  up  the  mountain  slopes,  one 
especial  reason  therefor  being  the  exemption  from  spring  frosts  enjoyed  by  the  several  "thermal  belts"  already 
referred  to. 

Along  the  bay,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  region,  there  is  much  salt  marsh  and  tale  land.  Some  of  this  land 
has  been  reclaimed  and  is  under  cultivation,  "  two  or  three  years  being  ordinarily  required  after  leveeing  and 
ditching  before  it  is  ready  for  planting." 

But  few  specimens  of  soils  from  the  coast  region  lying  northward  of  San  Pablo  bay  have  thus  far  been  received, 
and  hasty  personal  visits  have  given  me  only  a  very  general  idea  of  their  character  and  distribution.  Unlike 
the  Mount  Diablo  range,  the  mountains  of  Napa  and  Sonoma  are  largely  formed  by  rocks  of  eruptive  or  volcanic 
origin,  and  where  these  prevail  the  soils  are  naturally  different  from  those  of  the  Cretaceous  and  Tertiary  region 
south  of  the  bay.  The  high  quality  of  the  wines  of  the  two  counties  just  named  has  largely  been  ascribed  to  the 
volcanic  origin  of  their  soils.  Much  of  the  rock  constituting  the  lower  and  more  level  portions  of  the  ranges  of 
Sonoma  and  Napa  is  a  soft,  mostly  whitish  or  white  tufa,  into  which  cellars  have  been  readily  excavated,  and  which 
gives  rise  to  a  more  or  less  heavy  clay  soil — white  adobe  in  the  valleys,  a  red  and  more  or  less  gravelly  soil  on  the 
ridges.  These  tufa  plateaus  alternate  with  belts  and  ridges — mostly  the  higher  points — composed  of  darker  tinted, 
harder,  and  crystalline  or  scoriaceous  rocks,  less  easily  decomposed  than  the  tufa,  and  giving  rise  to  soils  of  a 
lighter  character,  gray  or  whitish  in  the  valleys,  from  the  removal  of  the  iron  by  leaching.  Of  course  there  are  all 
kinds  of  transitions  between  these  two  extremes,  and  occasionally  even  a  genuine  black  adobe  will  locally  show 
the  prevalence  of  the  calcareous  sedimentary  rocks. 

The  two  samples  from  Sonoma,  of  which  the  analyses  are  given  below,  represent,  respectively,  the  lighter 
sediment  soils  of  the  Sonoma  valley  lying  near  the  foot  of  the  slope  and  the  red  soil  of  the  mountain  sides 
themselves. 

No.  185.  Valley  soil  from  the  lower  portion  of  the  vineyard  of  G.  F.  Hooper,  lying  within  a  hundred  yards  of 
Sonoma  creek,  Sonoma  county,  taken  to  the  depth  of  12  inches.  This  soil  is  a  medium  light  loam  soil  of  a  reddish- 
buff  tint  when  dry,  but  blackish  when  wet.  The  dry  lumps  crush  readily  between  the  fingers  and  soften  quickly 
when  wet,  but  show  some  plasticity,  so  that  the  soil  cannot  be  worked  when  very  wet.  It  has  grown  excellent 
Zinfaudel  grapes  for  a  number  of  years,  and  was  originally  timbered  with  oaks  and  grape-vines. 

No.  188.  Bed  mountain  soil  from  the  higher  portion  of  G.  l<\  Hooper's  land,  now  occupied  by  orange  and 
chestnut  trees,  taken  to  12  inches  depth,  and  similar  in  appearance  for  2  or  3  feet.  This  soil  is  a  brownish-red 
loamy  soil,  containing  rock  fragments  intermingled ;  but  the  color  darkens  somewhat  in  wetting,  and  the  dry 
lumps  can  be  crushed  by  the  fingers,  but  soften  slowly  on  wetting,  and  become  only  moderately  plastic.  The  soil 
is  quite  light  in  tillage,  and  produces  well,  and  is  evidently  especially  adapted  to  fruit  culture,  favoring  early 
fruiting  as  well  as  early  maturity.     The  original  growth  is  oaks,  manzanita,  and  some  "chaparral". 

No.  072.  Napa  valley  soil  from  the  vineyard  of  J.  H.  Wheeler,  2  miles  south  of  Saint  Helena,  Napa  county;  a 
grayish  sediment  soil,  with  some  coarser  sand  in  the  subsoil;  taken  to  12  inches  depth.  It  is  easily  tilled,  in 
low  places  tending  to  be  heavy,  and  is  much  benefited  by  uuderdrainage.  Then  natural  vegetation  originally 
was  oaks,  grasses,  etc.     The  soil  has  been  under  cultivation  for  some  time. 


58 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 


Vineyard   soils. 


SOXOMA  COUNTY. 


Napa  countt. 


SONOMA  VALLEY 
SOIL. 


HED  MOUNTAIN 
60IL. 


NAl'A  VALLET 
SOIL. 


Hooper's  vine* 
'     yard. 


Hooper's  land.    I:    ■"gj**" 


Insolublo  matter 70.089)       „  „ 

>  82. 928 

Soluble  silica j  0.830) 

Potash  j  0.435 

Soda 0.123 

Lime 0.744 

Magnesia 0.578 

Brown  oxide  of  manganese 0.025 

Peroxide  of  iron 5.  703 

Alumina 5.  092 

Phosphoric  aeid 0. 187 

Sulphuric  acid 0.171 

Water  ami  organic  matter 3. 715 


34. 392  i 
14. 110  i 


Total. 


Humus 

Available  inorganic 

Hygroscopic  moisture  . 
absorbed  at 


09.791 


1.111 
0.371 
4.080 
15C.° 


48.  502 

0.319 
0.058 
0.670 
0.712 
0.146 
25.  955 
12. 160 
0.166 
0.274 
11.040 


77.  017  ) 
3.  340  i 


0.746 
0.477 
0.600 
1.331 
0.041 
5.656 
5.671 
0.101 
0.050 
5.252 


100.  602 


2.537 
1.171 
13.  710 
15C.° 


1.685 
0.457 
4.503 
ISC." 


While  differing  widely  in  their  aspect  and  physical  properties  and  in  some  points  of  their  chemical  composition, 
Nos.  185  and  188  are  yet  not  very  far  apart  in  the  most  essential  point — the  supply  of  plant-food.  In  its  percentages 
of  potash,  phosphoric  acid,  and  lime  the  mountain  soil  stands  somewhat  below  the  valley  soil ;  yet  the  supply  of 
all  three  is  fair.  In  humus  the  mouutain  soil  exceeds  that  of  the  valley  nearly  one  and  a  half  times,  and  this, 
together  with  its  extraordinary  iron  percentage,  accounts  for  its  very  high  power  for  absorbing  moisture,  and  forms 
a  very  effective  safeguard  against  injury  from  drought.  On  the  whole,  the  advantages  of  the  two  soils  are  very 
evenly  balanced,  its  location  giving  the  valley  soil  a  similar  degree  of  security  against  drought ;  but  it  is  evidently 
more  liable  to  injury  from  frosts  and  wet  than  the  hill  soil.  The  latter,  with  its  eastern  exposure,  seems  certainly 
pre-eminently  adapted  to  grape  culture;  aud  this  adaptation  is  confirmed  by  the  excellent  results  obtained  in  the 
vineyards  of  Kohler  &  Froehling,  located  on  a  similar  soil  higher  up  the  valley,  as  well  as  in  the  well-known 
Schrammsberg  vineyard,  northwest  of  Saint  Helena,  in  the  Napa  valley.  I  think  it  probable  that,  whenever 
quality  shall  be  more  evenly  balanced  against  the  mere  quantity  of  production,  the  red  mountain  slopes  of  both 
valleys  will  be  occupied  by  vineyards  as  high  up  as  the  vine  will  grow  and  produce  the  choicest  wines  of  the 
region.  In  the  Napa  valley  especially  the  vineyards  are  steadily  advancing  up  the  hillsides  already,  aud  on 
Howell  plateau,  at  an  elevation  of  2,000  feet,  they  seem  to  promise  excellent  results.  Here  also  we  have  a  red,, 
though  somewhat  heavier  soil,  timbered  with  a  great  variety  of  oaks  and  some  nut  pine,  and  it  was  on  such  soil  that 
an  excellent  staple  of  cotton  was  grown  in  1881  by  Dr.  H.  Kimball,  of  Napa. 

The  Napa  valley  soil  differs  from  the  Sonoma  soils  in  two  chief  points.  It  is  considerably  richer  in  potash,  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  considerably  lower  in  phosphates,  as  well  as  somewhat  lower  in  lime.  It  may  be  that  in  both 
these  respects  the  cultivation  it  has  undergone  exerts  a  depressing  influence  upon  the  results.  At  the  same  time, 
the  abundant  potash,  no  doubt,  has  some  connection  with  the  extraordinary  crops  sometimes  grown  in  the  Napa 
valley,  amounting  frequently  to  over  10  tons,  aud  in  a  late  and  well-authenticated  case  to  over  16  tons  of  grapes' 
per  acre.  While  such  extraordinary  production  cannot  be  expected  to  yield  first-class  wines,  yet  its  profitableness 
is  beyoud  question. 

No.  (170.  Red  volcanic  soil  from  a  flat  on  Clear  lake,  Lake  county,  sent  by  Mr.  S.  B.  Shaw,  and  stated  to  be 
representative  of  a  large  proportion  of  the  cultivable  laud  of  the  regiou;  taken  from  a  newly-planted  vineyard  to 
12  inches  depth.  Below  that  depth  the  color  is  even  higher  and  the  soil  more  clayey ;  but  between  2  and  3  feet  it 
becomes  of  a  lighter  tint,  aud  is  less  clayey. 

The  volcanic  soil  is  of  rather  unusual  composition  and  highly  ferruginous,  with  an  extraordinary  amount  of 
soluble  alumina,  which  is  not  adequately  represented  in  the  shape  of  clay,  as  shown  in  the  mechanical  analysis  given 
farther  on,  as  well  as  in  the  small  percentage  of  soluble  silica.  The  supply  of  pqtash  and  lime  is  fair,  yet  not  large 
for  so  clayey  a  soil.  Phosphoric  acid  is  very  low,  so  that  it  is  sure  to  be  greatly  needed  after  a  few  years'  cultivation. 
Half  of  it,  however,  is  shown  to  be  in  an  available  form  by  the  humus  determination.  The  supply  of  humus  is  ample, 
and  moisture  absorption  high.  Altogether,  the  soil  is  not  one  adapted  to  cereal  culture,  but  will  doubtless  yield 
n  that  climate  choice  crops  of  fruit. 
716 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


59 


The  only  other  soil  sample  from  the  northwestern  part  of  the  state  thus  far  examined  was  sent  by  Mr. 
Waddington,  of  Ferndale,  Humboldt  county. 

!No.  207.  Soil  of  Eel  river  bottom  from  three  miles  east  of  Ferndale,  Humboldt  county,  taken  to  a  depth  of  12 
inches.  This  is  a  gray  silty  soil,  blackish  when  wet,  and  when  worked  in  that  condition  somewhat  adhesive  and 
plastic,  and  very  uniform  for  a  long  distance  within  the  limits  of  the  bottom.  Original  growth  not  reported.  This 
soil  produces  excellent  grain  crops  for  four  or  five  years,  and  continues  to  do  so  in  favorable  seasons;  but  after 
some  years'  cultivation  it  seems  to  "run  together",  so  as  to  be  difficult  to  till,  and  after  late  overflows  especially 
becomes  intractable  for  the  season,  so  as  to  materially  abridge  crops.  The  analysis  was  requested  with  a  view  to 
determine  how  to  obviate  this  trouble. 

No.  205.  Subsoil  of  the  above,  taken  from  12  inches  depth  down  to  25  inches.  This  subsoil  is  very  similar  in 
appearance  to  the  soil,  but  slightly  heavier,  and  is  of  lighter  gray  tint,  with  an  occasional  grain  of  bog  ore. 

Lands  north  of  the  bay  country. 


Insoluble  matter 

Soluble  silica 

Potash 

Soda, 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Brown,  oxide  of  manganese 

Peroxide  of  iron 

Alumina 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphuric  acid 

Water  and  organic  matter  . 

Total 

Humus 

Available  inorganic 

Available  phosphoric  acid . 

Hygroscopic  moisture 

absorbed  at 


LAKE   COUNT!'. 


HUMBOLDT   COUNTY. 


Eel  river  bottom  land. 


Subsoil. 


49604  [55.  538 
5.  934  S 

0.452 

0.170 

0.658 

0.610 

0.051 

10.  477 

22.  585 

0.031 

0.033 

9.654 


100.  259 


1.442 
0.393 
0.014 
11.  110 
15C.° 


1.250 
0.590 


7.870 
15  0.° 


69.  373 
3.  588  '■ 


72.  961 

1.134 
0.120 
0.101 
3.239 
0.054 
7.307 
9.758 
0.141 
0.026 
4.665 


99.  501) 


0.052 
0.427 


The  analyses  show  the  bottom  soil  to  be  one  of  great  native  resources — an  unusually  high  percentage  of  potash  and 
a  very  fair  supply  of  phosphoric  acid — there  being  a  remarkable  uniformity  of  composition  through  the  entire  soil-mass 
examined.  The  subsoil  contains  somewhat  less  phosphoric  acid,  aud,  of  course,  less  humus;  but  in  the  surface  soil 
the  supply  of  both  is  ample.  The  one  deficiency  apparent  in  both  is  that  of  lime,  the  percentage  of  that  important 
■soil  ingredient  being  smaller  than  in  any  other  soil  of  the  state  thus  far  examined  and  unusually  out  of  proportion 
to  the  other  ingredients.  This  lack  of  lime  accounts  at  once  for  a  certain  lack  of  tbriftiuess  even  in  the  virgin  soil, 
and  equally  for  the  difficulty  in  tillage  complained  of.  A  few  years'  cultivation  will  still  further  reduce  the  small 
amount  of  lime  in  the  surface  soil  aud  render  it  inadequate,  not  only  for  the  maintenance  of  thriftiness,  but  also  for 
that  necessary  condition  of  tilth,  the  "  flocculation"  of  the  clay.  In  the  absence  of  a  sufficiency  of  lime  the  clay, 
assumes  the  "tamped"  condition  in  which  it  is  desired  to  be  for  the  purposes  of  the  potter,  but  not  for  those  of 
the  agriculturist;  for  it  will  then  cause  a  clogging  of  the  plow  and  the  formation  of  hard  lumps  whenever  the  soil 
dries. 

It  is  evident  that  liming  is  the  first  thing  needful  for  those  cultivating  the  Eel  Eiver  valley  soils,  but  whether 
lime  or  marl  can  be  procured  by  them  at  a  cost  making  its  use  practically  possible  I  am  not  able  to  say.  It  is 
possible  that  limestone  suitable  for  agricultural  use  exists  in  the  region.  In  the  meantime  green  manuring  would 
help,  in  a  measure,  to  obviate  the  difficulty,  until  better  communication  shall  enable  the  farmers  to  use  freely  the 
obvious  and  best  remedy  on  their  otherwise  so  generous  soil. 


SIEKKA  NEVADA  MOUNTAIN  REGION. 

The  middle  and  northern  portions  of  the  eastern  side  of  the  state  embrace  the  very  high  mountain  chains  known 
as  the  Sierra  Nevada,  which  rise  to  elevations  of  8,000  and  10,000  feet  and  more  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  the 
elevation  of  some  of  the  highest  peaks  being  nearly  15,000  feet,  forming  a  backbone-like  though  irregular  chain  in  its 


60  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

center  from  north  to  south  and  dividing  the  region  into  what  has  been  termed  the  eastern  and  western  slopes.  The 
former  falls  off  lather  steeply  into  a  plateau  region,  which  is  elevated  some  5,000  feet  or  more  above  the  sea,  and  is 
the  western  limit  of  the  Great  American  basin  or  desert.  The  western  slope,  known  as  the  foot-hills  of  the  Sierra, 
and  to  whose  maximum  elevation  of  4,000  feet  the  Sierra  proper  usually  falls  off  abruptly,  reaches  westward  with 
a  much  gentler  slope  to  the  low  valley  lands  of  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  rivers.  This  foothill  region  is, 
however,  subdivided  into  an  upper  or  broken  region,  which  has  an  elevation  of  2,(100  feet  and  upward  to  the  foot  of 
the  Sierra  mountains,  and  properly  belongs  to  that  division,  and  a  lower  region,  whose  elevation  is  less  than 
2,000  feet,  and  which,  being  an  important  agricultural  country,  is  separately  described  as  the  foot-hill  region. 

The  Sierra  Nevada  ranges  may  bo  traced  in  consecutive  order  for  an  immense  distance,  the  whole,  country  for  nearly  f>U0  miles  in 
length  and  nearly  100  miles  in  width — their  extent  within  the  limits  of  the  state— being  subordinate  in  configuration  to  two  lines  of 
culminating  crests,  which  impart  a  peculiar  character  to  its  topography,  while  in  the  Coast  range  all  is  confusion  ami  disorder. 

The  highest  peaks  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  from  mount  Shasta  on  the  north,  including  Lassen's  liutte,  Spanish  peak.  Pilot  peak,  the 
Downieville  huttes,  Pyramid  peak,  Castle  peak,  mounts  Dana,  Lyell,  Brewer,  Tyndall,  Whitney,  and  several  others  not  yet  named,  which 
reach  from  10,000  to  15,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  are  nearly  all  in  a  line  running  north  31°  west.  On  the  eastern  side  of  this 
culminating  line  of  peaks  is  situated  a  s.-ries  of  lakes,  the  principal  of  which  are  Klamath,  Pyramid,  Mono,  and  Owen's,  lying  wholly  to 
the  east  of  the  Sierra,  and  Tahoe,  occupying  an  elevated  valley  at  a  point  where  the  range  separates  into  two  summits.  The  confluence 
of  the  Gila  and  Colorado  rivers  forms  the  southern  limit  of  the  depression  in  which  these  lakes  are  located.  A  somewhat  similar  depression 
exists  on  the  western  slope  of  this  ridge  of  high  peaks,  which  is  also  about  50  miles  wide,  and  is  terminated  by  another  series  of  peaks 
remarkably  continuous  in  their  direction  and  also  containing  a  series  of  lakes.  That  section  which  lies  to  the  east  of  the  culminating 
peaks  is  generally  termed  the  eastern  slope.  The  depression  on  the  west  of  this  range  and  the  subordinate  range  of  peaks  which  bouud 
this  depression  ou  the  west  is  considered  as  the  Sierra  proper. — Natural  Wealth  of  California. 

The  following  are  the  elevations  of  some  of  the  most  prominent  peaks,  as  determined  by  the  United  States 
surveys : 

Foet. 

Mount  Lyell 13, 217 

Mount  Dana 13,237 

Mount  Brewer 13,886 

Kaweah  Peak 14,000 

Mount  Tyndall 14,386 

Mount  Shasta 14,442 

Mount  Whitney 14,898 

The  Sierra  region,  with  its  eastern  and  westeru  slopes  (omitting  the  lower  foot-hills),  embraces  an  area  of  a 
little  more  than  37,000  square  miles.  Uniting,  as  it  does,  with  the  Coast  range  of  mountains  on  the  north  and  south 
of  the  great  valley,  the  Hue  of  separation  between  the  two  mountain  regions  becomes  rather  arbitrary.  This  is 
especially  the  case  on  the  north,  where  mount  Shasta  and  the  valleys  of  the  Sacramento  and  Shasta  rivers,  reaching 
from  the  great  valley  northward  to  the  Oregon  line,  form  a  convenient  line  of  separation,  though  the  high 
mountain  range,  with  a  height  characteristic  only  of  the  Sierra,  extends  much  further  southwestward  toward  cape 
Mendocino.  Similarly  ou  the  south  this  high  altitude  belongs  in  part  to  the  San  Bernardino  mountains,  which 
trend  with  the  Coast  range  and  are  included  in  the  southern  agricultural  region. 

The  western  limit  of  the.  region  passes  from  the  north,  southward  through  the  central  part  of  Siskiyou  county, 
into  Shasta,  thence  extends  in  a  very  irregular  southeast  course  to  the  southern  part  of  Fresno,  and  turns  southward 
to  the  southern  part  of  Kern.  The  region  includes  the  following  counties  and  parts  of  counties,  beginning  on  the 
north:  The  eastern  parts  of  Siskiyou  and  Shasta;  all  of  Modoc,  Lassen,  and  Plumas;  a  small  portion  in  the  eastern 
parts  of  Tehama  and  Butte ;  nearly  all  of  Sierra ;  the  eastern  parts  of  Nevada,  Placer,  El  Dorado,  Amador,  Calaveras, 
Tuolumne,  and  Mariposa;  all  of  Alpine  and  Mono;  the  western  part  of  Inyo;  the  eastern  halves  of  Fresno  and  Tulare, 
and  the  central  portion  of  Kern,  at  whose  lower  line  the  region  terminates  almost  in  a  point  against  the  Coast  range. 

The  prominent  features  of  the  Sierra  region  as  thus  outlined  are :  First,  its  somewhat  central  though  irregular 
belts  of  high  mountain  ridges,  their  snow-capped  summits  towering  thousands  of  feet  above  the  rest  of  the  region; 
second,  a  western  slope  of  high  and  broken  hills,  mostly  well  timbered;  third,  an  eastern  slope,  falling  rapidly  to 
an  elevation  of  5,000  feet,  and  interspersed  with  minor  mountains,  valleys,  and  great  lakes,  and  on  the  north  with 
large  lava  bed  plateaus. 

The  high  central  range  of  mountains  is  a  natural  water-shed,  throwing  the  drainage  of  the  two  slopes,  respectively, 
east  into  the  great  basin  in  the  state  of  Nevada  and  west  into  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  rivers.  An 
exception  to  this  is  Pitt  river,  which,  risiug  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  state,  flows  southwestward,  cutting 
through  a  low  portion  of  the  Sierra  chain  and  forming  the  chief  tributary  of  the  Sacramento  river.  The  western 
slope  is  well  watered  by  innumerable  streams,  large  and  small,  the  headwaters  of  nearly  all  of  the  large  rivers  of  the 
great  valley.  The  eastern  slope  contains  very  few  streams  of  any  size  within  this  state.  The  mountains  are  usually 
timbered  with  pine,  fir,  cedar,  etc.  The  entire  Sierra  region,  as  a  whole,  is  sparsely  inhabited,  and  its  population 
is  confined  almost  exclusively  to  mining  towns,  wood-cutter's  camps,  and  a  few  railroad  stations,  and,  if  evenly 
distributed,  would  average  but  little  more  than  one  person  per  square  mile.  In  some  of  the  valleys  on  either  side 
of  the  central  range  some  farming  and  stock-raising  is  carried  on,  but  miuing  is  the  chief  pursuit  of  the  people.  Ir 
.summer  time  large  herds  of  stock,  especially  sheep,  are  driven  to  the  mountain  pastures  from  the  plains. 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  61 

THE   BROKEN   REGION   OF   THE  WESTERN   SLOPE. 

The  high  and  broken  belt  of  country  lying  immediately  at  the  foot  of  the  high  Sierra,  and  known  as  the  higher 
or  broken  foothill  region,  has  an  altitude  of  from  2,000  to  4,000  feet  above  the  sea;  its  width  varies  greatly,  but  is 
usually  about  10  or  15  miles.  In  Plumas  county  this  region  spreads  out  to  35  or  40  miles,  while  in  other  places  it 
narrows  to  not  more  than  5  miles.  The  rise  from  the  lower  foot-hills  is  often  so  gradual  that  the  line  of  separation 
cannot  be  definitely  marked  out,  while  from  the  eastern  border  of  this  region  the  high  Sierra  mountains  usually 
rise  very  suddenly  to  their  great  altitude.  It  is  estimated  that  the  region  covers  about  8,000  square  miles.  Of  its 
topographical  and  agricultural  features  but  little  is  generally  known  beyond  the  fact  that  it  is  throughout 
extremely  broken  with  rugged  hills  and  but  few  valleys,  the  streams  mostly  wending  their  way  across  the  belt  in 
deep  chasms  and  canons.  The  region  is  generally  well  timbered  with  oaks,  pines,  firs,  and  other  growth,  with  big 
trees  (Sequoia  gigantea)  in  Calaveras  and  adjoining  counties. 

Lumbering  and  mining  constitute  the  chief  industries  of  the  extremely  sparse  population,  and  the  few 
settlements  and  towns  found  here  and  there  are  usually  little  else  than  camps,  with  a  few  necessary  stores  and 
trading  posts.  Little  farming  is  done,  as  there  is  but  a  small  portion  of  the  entire  region  that  is  suitable  for 
cultivation.  In  Plumas  county,  where  the  belt  takes  its  greatest  widtli  of  about  40  miles,  there  are  a  number  of 
grassy  and  well-watered  but  treeless  valleys,  which  stretch  across  the  country  for  100  miles  in  a  southeastern 
direction,  connected  with  each  other  by  canons,  passes,  or  low  divides,  and  have  areas  varying  from  3  to  8  miles 
long  and  from  Ito  4  miles  wide.  These  are  Big-  Meadows,  Butte,  Indian,  Genessee,  Clover,  and  Sierra  valleys,  and 
are  more  fully  described  under  the  head  of  Plumas  county,  page  123. 

The  lands  of  these  valleys  are  usually  sandy,  derived  mostly  from  the  metamorphic  rocks  that  form  high  mountains  on  either  side. 
The  basin  called  American  valley,  in  which  the  town  of  Quincy  is  situated,  is  about  11  miles  long  and  from  2  to  ;5  miles  wide,  and  has  an 
elevation  of  3,500  feet  above  the  sea.  This  part  of  the  region  is  principally  occupied  by  the  metamorphic  rocks  over  an  area  of  about  30 
miles  in  diameter ;  but  this  is  almost  entirely  surrounded  by  volcanic  materials,  the  great  lava  streams  which  have  come  down  from 
Lassen's  peak  on  the  north  and  Pilot  peak  on  the  south  uniting  with  the  volcanic  crest  of  the  Sierra,  so  as  to  cover  the  slates  around 
three-quarters  of  the  circumference  of  the  circle.  Between  Indian  and  Big  Meadows  valley  the  edge  of  the  great  volcanic  region  is 
struck  ;  from  here  the  mass  of  lava  extends  almost  uninterruptedly  to  the  Oregon  line  and  far  beyond. — Geological  Survey  of  California. 

THE  EASTERN  SLOPE. 

Nearly  all  of  the  region  lying  east  of  the  Sierra  chain  is  desolate  in  the  extreme,  and  its  surface  is  broken  with 
mountains,  ridges,  and  hills,  and  scarcely  inhabited.  Its  southern  part  embraces  large  desert  areas,  its  northern 
immense  beds  and  table-lands  of  lava,  while  in  its  central  part  the  state  line  approaches  so  near  the  Sierra  chain 
as  to  leave  very  little  of  the  slope  within  California.  This  region,  even  were  its  altitude  lower  than  it  is,  affords 
very  few  facilities  for  profitable  farming.  Valley  lands  are  found  here  and  there,  but  these  partake  so  much  of  the 
desert  character  of  the  southern  part  of  the  state,  or  are  covered  to  such  an  extent  by  the  volcanic  materials 
throughout  the  region,  as  to  be  in  many  instances  useless.  We  find,  however,  some  large  valleys  that  contain 
much  good  land  that  is  at  present  partly  under  cultivation,  and  these  are  described  separately.  Excellent  timber, 
comprising  pine,  fir,  and  cedar,  covers  many  of  the  mountains,  making  lumbering  one  of  the  industries  of  the 
people.  Cattle-raising  is  also  largely  engaged  in,  while  in  some  of  the  counties,  especially  in  the  middle  and 
southern  portions  of  the  region,  mining  is  the  chief  occupation.  The  following  descriptions  are  given  of  the  chief 
valleys  of  the  region,  beginning  on  the  south: 

Owen's  valley  is  a  narrow  basin  between  extremely  lofty  mountains.  It  is  about  140  miles  in  length,  north  and  south,  and  its 
average  width  is  about  10  miles.  Along  its  western  edge  it  is  bordered  by  the  Sierra  Nevada,  which  presents  an  almost  unbroken  wall  in 
this  part  of  its  course,  rising  in  its  highest  peaks,  which  are  opposite  Owen's  lake,  to  15,000  feet,  and  having  no  pass  across  it  of  less  than 
11,000  feet  in  elevation.  Here  the  descent  from  the  summit  of  the  Sierra  to  the  valley  must  average  fully  1,000  feet  per  mile,  and  this 
would  seem  to  be  one  of  the  steepest  mountain  profiles  in  the  country.  This  portion  of  the  Sierra  as  seen  from  the  valley  is  peculiarly 
grand.  The  steep  slopes  rise  from  the  desert  plain  and  are  everywhere  naked  and  destitute  of  forests,  the  only  trees  being  the  pines  in  the  ■ 
cations  and  the  scattered  nut-pines,  which  are  scrubby  and  small,  and  extend  up  to  about  8,000  or  9,000  feet,  the  rest  of  the  ridges  being 
made  up  of  patches  of  bare  soil,  with  exceedingly  steep  slopes  of  naked  gray  rock  or  snow.  On  the  eastern  side  of  the  valley  the  mountains 
are  more  Uroken,  but  almost  as  high  and  grand  as  those  on  the  western,  and  apparently  forming  a  continuous  range, called  Inyo  mountains 
on  the  south  and  White  mountains  farther  north.  The  mountains  are  very  dry  and  desert-like,  not  a  single  stream  of  any  size  llowing  from 
them  into  Owen's  valley,  which  is  exclusively  supplied  with  water  by  the  melting  of  the  snow  stored  away  during  the  winter  on  the  upper 
part  of  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Sierra.  The  White  and  Inyo  mountains  are  destitute  of  forest  vegetation  except  a  few  scattering,  scrubby 
pines,  mostly  the  nut-pine  (Piuits  Fremontiana). 

The  tributaries  which  Owen's  river  receives  from  the  Sierra  are  small  streams.  As  they  issue  from  the  mountain  canons  they  flow 
out  upon  great  piles  of  detritus  or  washes,  consisting  of  coarse  and  fine  debris,  brought  by  the  stream  from  the  mountains  and  piled  up  on 
the  plain  with  a  gradual  slope  to  the  valley.  This  slope  of  detritus  extends  along  the  whole  base  of  the  mountains,  but  is  highest  where 
the  streams  come  out,  so  that  the  latter  often  separate  into  several  branches  as  they  flow  down  it,  thus  making  irrigation  quite  easy,  and 
giving  rise  to  a  considerable  expanse  of  meadow  and  cultivable  land  along  the  various  channels.  Lava  beds  extend  from  the  mountains 
on  the  east  and  west,  the  two  sometimes  nearly  meeting  in  the  middle  of  the  valley.  In  the  region  of  Fish  springs  the  lava  bed  on  the 
west  side  of  the  valley  is  about  15  miles  wide,  and  on  the  east  about  10  miles.  On  the  north  lava  occupies  nearly  the  whole  of  the  valley, 
and  is  highest  along  its  center.  Very  little  of  the  land  of  this  valley  is  under  cultivation,  the  tillable  areas  lying  in  small  tracts,  mostly 
in  the  southern  half,  in  the  region  of  Independence  —G-eologteal  Survey  of  California. 

719 


62  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

In  Mono  county  there  are  two  important  valleys  that  are  partly  under  cultivation,  Big  Meadows  and  Antelope, 
each  about  10  miles  long  and  very  narrow.  Their  soils  are  mostly  alluvial  or  of  a  dark  soddy  character,  covered  with 
grass,  with  some  willow  trees  along  the  streams.  The  valley  of  Money  lake,  in  Lassen  county,  is  about  60  miles  long 
from  east  to  west  and  from  15  to  20  miles  wide.  Its  northern  portion  is  dry  and  barren,  and,  with  the  exception  of 
sage-brush  and  greasewood,  is  destitute  of  vegetation.  On  the  west  and  southwest,  near  the  Sierra,  there  is  a  strip 
of  good  farming  land  about  12  miles  wide  under  cultivation.  The  soil  of  this  part  is  a  sandy  loam,  yielding  with 
irrigation,  which  is  necessary,  from  25  to  30  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre.  A  number  of  other  small  valleys  lying 
along  the  borders  of  small  lakes  in  this  region  are  chiefly  devoted  to  grazing  purposes.  On  the  northwest  of 
Lassen  county  Big  valley,  on  Pitt  river,  covers  a  large  region,  embracing  some  good  hind,  and  is  bordered  on  the 
east  by  long,  oval  hills  and  extensive  table  lauds,  known  as  the  Madaline  plains.  The  surface  of  the  valley  is 
mostly  covered  with  sage-brush;  its  soils  vary  from  red  clays  to  dark  loam  and  gravelly  lands,  and  are  spotted  with 
alkali  tracts.     The  valley  is  chiefly  devoted  to  stock-grazing. 

The  only  other  valleys  worthy  of  mention  are  those  that  border  the  lakes  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  state, 
viz,  Goose  Lake  valley  and  Surprise  valley.  The  valley  of  Goose  lake  lies  mostly  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  lake, 
reaching  back  some  4  or  5  miles,  and  is  watered  by  several  small  streams.  Its  lands  are  said  to  be  good  for  farming 
purposes.  They  are  covered  with  bunch  and  other  grasses,  and  are  partly  under  cultivation,  yielding  crops  of  wheat 
barley,  oats,  etc.  The  adjoining  mountains  are  heavily  timbered  with  cedar  and  piue,  while  on  the  hillsides  ami 
around  the  lake  is  an  abundant  growth  of  wild  plums.  On  the  west  side. of  the  lake  there  is  a  narrow  strip  of  valley 
devoted  to  dairying.  Surprise  valley,  east  of  this,  lies  north  and  south  along  the  state  line  for  00  miles,  and  has 
a  width  of  about  15  miles.  Three  lakes  lie  within  its  basin,  while  on  either  side,  it  is  bounded  by  high  and  timbered 
mountains.  Its  surface  is  covered  with  grasses,  and  its  soil  is  a  rich  black  loam,  occupying  a  strip  from  2  to  0  miles 
in  width,  whose  surface  gently  slopes  to  the  lakes.  The  valley  is  settled  in  neighborhoods,  and  is  partly  under 
cultivation.     Stock-raising  and  lumbering  are  carried  on  to  a  considerable  extent. 

THE   LAVA-BED   REGION. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  northeastern  part  of  the  state,  from  Feather  river,  in  Butte  and  Plumas  counties, 
northward  to  the  state  line,  and  from  the  Sacramento  and  Shasta  valleys  eastward  to  the  eastern  pari  of  Modoc 
eounty,  is  covered  to  a  depth  of  several  hundred  feet-  with  great  beds  of  lava  and  other  volcanic  material,  and  has 
generally  a  broken  surface.  The  exact  extent  and  outline  of  the  region  is  not  known,  but  it  covers  the  eastern 
portions  of  Siskiyou,  Shasta,  and  Tehama  counties,  the  western  part  of  Lassen  eounty,  the  northwestern  part  of 
Plumas,  and  the  greater  part  of  Modoc.  As  determined  by  the  state  geological  survey,  the  limit  reaches  on  the 
southwest  to  within  a  few  miles  of  Oroville,  Butte  county;  thence  northward  its  western  limit  reaches  quite  to  I  he, 
Sacramento  river,  near  Antelope  creek,  in  Tehama  county,  but  recedes  from  it  to  the  east  beyond  Battle  creek, 
passing  a  little  to  the  east  of  Fort  Bedding.  The  western  edge  of  the  great  volcanic  plateau  may  be  traced  in  a, 
line  nearly  northeast  from  that  point  for  a  distance  of  about  25  miles;  it  then  bends  to  the  northwest,  and  follows 
nearly  that  course  to  the  north  line  of  the  state,  passing  a  little  to  the  east  of  Yreka,  Siskiyou  county. 

The  surface  of  tli is  large  region  is  much  broken,  and  is  interspersed  with  hills  and  high  volcanic  cones,  frequently 
cut  into  deep  chasms  by  the  few  streams  that  occur  in  the  region.  On  the  north  extensive  caves  have  been  found 
under  the  lava-bed.  Pluto's  cave,  4  miles  north  of  Third's  ranch,  in  Shasta  valley,  Siskiyou  county,  is  described 
as  being  under  a  lava  table  which  slopes  to  the  north,  its  surface  very  rough,  raised  into  domes  or  blisters, 
and  having  a  thin,  dry  soil.  The  cavern  is  a  long  gallery  extending  under  this  table,  now  open  fur  about  a  mile 
in  a  northwest  direction.  Near  the  entrance  the  roof  has  fallen  in  several  places;  but  otherwise  the  gallery  is 
continuous,  aud  has  a  width  varying  from  20  to  50  feet,  the  height  being  in  some  places  as  much  as  60  feet. 
Throughout  most  of  its  extent  the  cavity  is  beautifully  arched,  having  a  section  resembling  that  of  an  egg  set  up 
on  its  smaller  end.  The  rock  at  the  top  and  sides  often  has  a,  concentric  structure  parallel  with  the  sides  of  the 
arch.  In  places  there  are  considerable  quantities  of  spongy  lava,  which  seems  to  have  oozed  from  tin-  sides  in  a 
frothy  state.  The  whole  appearance  of  the  place  is  that  of  a  cavity  produced  by  the  flowing  out  of  the  liquid  lava 
after  the  sides  and  top  had  become  consolidated.  Excepting  only  the  valleys  mentioned  above,  the  entire  region 
covered  by  these  beds  is  barren  aud  desolate  aud  almost  without  habitation,  or  lands  that  could  be  profitably  tilled. 

The  lava-bed  section  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Modoc  county  is  a  succession  of  gulches  and  crevasses  which  range  from  a  few  feet 
In  Inn  feet  in  width,  and  many  of  them  arc  100  feet  deep  ;  some  have  subterranean  passages  which  lead  for  miles  under  the  rocks.  This 
broken  country  extends  in  a  belt  eastward  to  Goose  lake, 

This  lava  section  of  the  country  has  no  arable  lauds,  aud  it  is  lit  ouly  for  grazing  purposes.  It  is  a  vast  plain  or  table-land,  and  in 
some  places  it  is  sparsely  covered  with  juniper. 

Pitt  river  flows  for  15  miles  from  Goose  lake  through  a  desolate  plateau  covered  with  large  bowlders  aud  masses  of  blackened  lava, 
known  as  the  Devil's  garden,  at  the  end  of  which  it  rushes,  roaring  and  foaming,  through  a  deep  defile,  named,  from  its  wild  and 
ragged  aspect,  "  The  Devil's  canon.''  Emerging  from  this  gorge,  it  meanders  quietly  through  Spring  valley.  s<>  called  because  of  a  deep 
pool  of  hot  water  situated  on  its  banks,  which,  agitated  by  the  chemical  action  going  on  in  its  subterranean  chambers,  throws  a  volume 
of  water  as  large  as  a  hogshead  to  a  height  of  10  feet,  which  falls  back  into  a  large  circular  basin  with  the  noise  of  a  mountain  cascade. 
The  country  adjacent  to  Pitt  river,  aud  with  few  exceptions  the  immediate  valley  of  the  stream  itself,  is  for  the  most  part  an  arid,  barren, 
and  timberless  region.  There  is,  however,  some  good  land  along  the  river  in  the  southern  part  of  the  country,  where  also  the  juniper  and 
cedar  attain  a  size  making  ikeui  serviceable  for  fuel.— Va/Mra?  n'ealth  of  California. 
720 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHIOAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  63 

Between  Cow  creek  and  Bear  creek,  Shasta  county,  there  is  a  broad  plain  of  volcanic  ashes,  destitute  of  trees,  and  almost  bare  of 
herbage,  and  as  yet  hardly  at  all  eroded  into  canons.  On  nearing  Bear  creek  more  solid  lava  makes  its  appearance  and  increases  as  we 
pass  south.  These  volcanic  materials  are  all  derived  from  the  great  center  of  eruptive  agencies  at  and  near  Lassen's  butte.  The 
examination  of  the  region  between  that  now  extinct  volcano  and  the  Sacramento  river  shows  that  there  were  a  large  number  of  smaller 
volcanoes  once  active  there,  and  that  these  added  extensively  to  the  mass  of  ejected  materials.  These  consist  of  layers  of  ashes  and 
scoriae,  alternating  with  hard  basaltic  lava,  and  they  now  cover  a  district  about  100  miles  long,  from  Pitt  river  south  to  Oroville,  and 
nearly  75  miles  wide.  Between  the  mouth  of  Bear  creek  and  Red  bluff  the  volcanic  rocks  come  entirely  down  to  the  river.  They  may  be 
well  studied  at  Battle  creek,  which  rises  at  Lassen's  butte,  and  has  cut-  a  deep  canon  in  the  stratified  lava,  which  is  in  places  as  much 
as  cOO  feet  deep.  The  basaltic  lava  seems  to  have  flowed  in  sheets  over  the  surface,  forming  a  regular  slope  from  Lassen's  butte  to 
the  Sacramento.  All  aloug  Deer  and  Chico  creeks,  in  Tehama  and  Butte  counties,  the  lava  terminates  with  an  abrupt  edge,  and  the  plain 
beneath  and  nearest  to  it  is  barren  and  dry  and  covered  with  volcanic  fragments;  but  farther  down  toward  the  river  the  land  becomes 
gradually  fertile,  and  has  considerable  timber.  The  proportion  of  good  agricultural  land  increases  as  we  apx>roach  Chico  creek,  where 
the  plain  is  about  10  miles  wide. — Report  Geological  Survey  of  California. 

Southward  from  this  great  lava  region  the  signs  of  a  former  volcanic  activity  in  the  high  Sierra  mountains  are 
abundant,  and  we  find  as  a  prominent  feature  in  many  of  the  counties  beds  of  basaltic  lava  capping  some  of  the 
mountains,  while  on  the  western  slope,  and  down  into  the  lower  foot-hills,  there  are  still  the  remains  of  what  were 
once  heavy  flows  of  lava  from  these  mountains.  In  El  Dorado  county  such  can  be  traced  through  the  central  part 
of  the  county  from  east  to  west.  In  Amador  the  volcanic  remains  lie  chiefly  along  the  southern  part  of  the  county, 
"the  great  volcanic  table  or  lava  flow  extending  up  the  ridge  between  the  Oosumnes  and  Mokelurane  rivers."  In 
Calaveras  a  belt  reaches  eastward  from  the  northwestern  part  of  the  county  to  the  north  side  of  Cave  city  and  the 
"hig  trees"  and  beyond. 

The  table  mountain  of  Tuolumue  county  is  a  flow  of  lava  originating  in  the  lofty  volcanic  region  beyond  the  "big  trees"  of  Calaveras. 
It  comes  down  on  the  north  side  of  Stanislaus  river,  forming  a  nearly  continuous  ridge,  elevated  more  than  2,000  feet  above  the  river. 
Just  below  Abbey's  ferry  the  river  has  broken  through  the  once  continuous  basaltic  ridge,  which  has  been  irregularly  worn  away  for 
some  distance  from  the  river,  but  which  reappears  as  a  continuous  mountain  chain  a  little  southwest  of  Columbia,  and  continues  on  the 
south  side  of  the  river,  forming  a  conspicuous  feature  of  the  scenery  as  far  as  Knight's  ferry,  a  distance  of  about  20  miles  from  the  point 
where  it  crosses  the  river  and  enters  the  county.  The  surface  of  the  mountain  is  very  level,  with  hardly  a  trace  of  soil  or  vegetation. — 
Geological  Suwey  of  California. 

South  of  Tuolumne  county  scarcely  any  volcanic  accumulations  have  been  found  to  show  lava  flows,  though 
volcanic  action  is  apparent  in  some  of  the  mountains  of  the  Sierra. 

ALKALI   SOILS   AND   IRRIGATION  WATERS   OF   CALIFORNIA. 

Alkali  soils  (a). — This  name  is  applied  in  California  almost  indiscriminately  to  all  soils  containing  an  unusual  amount  of  soluble 
mineral  salts,  whose  presence  is  frequently  made  apparent  by  the  "efflorescence",  or  blooming-out  on  the  surface,  of  a  white  powder  or 
crust,  soluble  in  water.  This  "  alkali"  becomes  most  apparent  in  dry  weather  following  upon  rains  or  irrigation.  Later  in  the  season 
it  usually  becomes  less  perceptible  from  intermixture  with  dust,  as  well  as  from  the  failure  of  the  soil-water  to  rise  near  enough  to  the 
surface.  The  first  rain,  dissolving  the  salty  substances,  carries  them  partly  into  the  water-courses,  but  chiefly  back  into  the  soil,  whence 
they  rise  again  at  the  recurrence  of  dry  weather. 

The  immediate  source  of  the  "alkali"  is  usually  to  be  found  in  the  soil-water,  which,  rising  from  below  and  evaporating  at  the 
surface,  deposits  there  whatever  of  dissolved  matters  it  may  contain.  Such  water,  when  reached  by  digging,  is  by  no  means  always 
perceptibly  salty  or  alkaline,  and  the  same  is  mostly  true  of  the  soil  an  inch  or  two  beneath  the  surface ;  for  since  the  soil,  acting  like 
a  wick,  draws  up  the  soil-water  and  allows  it  to  evaporate  at  the  surface,  it  is  there,  of  course,  that  all  the  dissolved  matters  accumulate, 
until  the  solution  becomes  so  strong  as  to  injure  or  kill  all  useful  vegetation.  The  injury  will  usually  be  found  to  be  most  severe  just  at 
or  near  the  crown  of  the  root,  where  the  stem  emerges  from  the  soil. 

One  obvious  and  practically  important  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  the  above  considerations  is  that  the  more  water  evaporates  from 
the  surface  of  the  soil  within  a  season  the  more  alkali  salts  will  bo  drawn  to  the  surface,  Hence,  within  certain  limits,  a  greater  rainfall 
will  briug  up  a  larger  amount  of  alkali ;  or  if,  instead  of  rain,  surface  irrigation  is  made  to  supply  an  additional  amount  of  water,  the 
same  effect  will  be  produced ;  always  provided  that  the  rainfall  or  irrigation  does  not  go  so  far  as  to  actually  wash  a  portion  of  the  salts 
definitely  beyond  the  reach  of  surface  evaporation  into  lower  strata,  from  which  springs  or  seepage  will  carry  them  into  the  country 
drainage. 

The  measure  of  the  rainfall  or  amount  of  irrigation  water  that  will  accomplish  one  or  the  other  of  these  opposite  results  depends 
in  a  large  measure  upon  the  nature  of  the  soil  as  well  as  of  the  underlying  strata.  It  is  more  difficult  to  wash  the  soluble  salts  out  of 
a  clay  soil  thau  out  of  a  sandy  one,  and  the  moisture  and  accompanying  salts  will  keep  rising  through  the  former  from  greater  depths  and 
for  a  greater  length  of  time  after  the  cessation  of  rain  or  irrigation. 

Roughly  speaking,  there  is  in  California  an  obvious  inverse  relation  between  the  rainfall  and  the  prevalence  of  "  alkali"  in  the  soils. 
The  concurrent  increase  of  alkali  and  decrease  of  rainfall  to  southward  is  most  obvious  in  the  great  valley,  but  is  also  observable  more 
or  less  to  seaward  of  the  Coast  range.  The  alkali  question  is  of  general  importance  chiefly  in  that  x>art  of  the  state  lying  southward  of 
the  city  of  Sacramento.  In  the  region  north  of  that  latitude  the  more  copious  rainfall  seems  to  keep  soils  leached  of  their  alkali,  if, 
indeed,  it  is  naturally  as  abundant  as  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley. 

a  So  far  as  I  am  aware,  no  systematic  investigation  and  discussion  of  this  subject  in  its  relations  to  agriculture  has  been  made  outside 
of  the  state  of  California,  where  the  preponderance  of  the  agricultural  interest  and  the  frequent  interference  of  "  alkali"  with  the  extensive 
culture  has  forced  public  attention  to  the  question,  the  more  because  of  its  intimate  connection  with  the  all-important  subject  of  irrigation. 
I  have  therefore  considered  it  best  to  present  here  somewhat  in  detail  the  experience  and  results  obtained  in  the  work  done  in  California 
under  my  direction,  published  in  the  reports  of  the  agricultural  college  of  the  University  of  California  for  the  years  1877,  1879.  and  1880, 
or  subsequently  elicited. — E.  W.  H. 

46   C  P— VOL.   II  •  721 


64 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 


Ad  other  conclusion  resulting  from  the  principles  above  mentioned  is  that  in  the  practice  of  irrigation  the  nature  of  the  water  used 
is  of  great  importance,  since  what  it  contains  of  soluble  salta  will  be  left  io  the  soil  by  evaporation,  helping  to  swell  the  mass  of  alkali 
year  after  year  until  it  may  become  so  great  as  to  render  the  land  unlit  for  cultivation  ;  provided,  again,  that  the  amount  of  irrigation 
water  used  is  not  so  great  as  to  sink  through  into  the  strata  supplying  the  country  drainage,  carrying  with  it  its  soluble  ingredients  also. 

EffeotB  of  alkali. — While  the  corrosive  action  exerted  by  the  alkali  salts  upon  the  root  crowns  and  upper  roots  of  plants  is  the  most 
common  source  of  injury,  there  is  another  source  of  injury  which  manifests  itself  mainly  in  the  heavier  class  of  soils  thus  afflicted,  when 
the  soluble  salts  consist  largely  of  the  carbonates  of  soda  and  potash.  This  is  (he  great,  difficulty  or  almost  impossibility  of  producing  a 
condition  of  true  tilth,  in  consequence  of  the  now  well-known  teudeney  of  alkaline  solutions  to  maintain  all  true  clay  in  the  most 
impalpably  divided  or  tamped  condition,  that  of  well-worked  potter's  clay,  instead  of  the  ilocculent  condition  which  it  assumes  in  a  well- 
tilled  soil. 

As  this  cause  of  injury  is  not  so  well  known  as  the  one  first  mentioned,  it  will  be  pertinent  to  adduce  an  example  observed  and 
studied  in  the  neighborhood  of  Stockton,  San  Joaquin  county,  California,  from  where  a  belt  of  laud  of  this  character,  about  1  mile  wide 
and  14  miles  in  length,  traverses  the  valley  diagonally  to  the  foot-hills  of  the  Sienra. 

This  area  is  readily  recognized  by  its  pitted  or  "pock-marked  "  appearance,  the  low  portions  being  impregnated  with  alkali  and 
more  or  lose  incrusted  with  it  on  the  surface  during  tho  dry  season,  while  after  rains  pools  of  dark-tinted  water  remain  standing  on  them 
for  weeks  after  the  higher  portions  are  dry  and  iu  tillable  condition.  These  higher  portions,  forming  hillocks  and  ridges,  elevated  on  an 
average  from  10  to  18  inches  above  tho  alkali  spots,  and  als»  bordering  the  whole  tract,  consist  of  a  tine,  mellow,  loam  soil,  such  as  would  bo 
chosen  for  a  garden,  and  very  productive  wherever  tho  alkali  does  not  influence  it.  Unfortunately,  it  lies  so  intimately  interspersed  with 
the  alkali  spots  that  it  is  practically  impossible  to  cultivate  one  without  the  other.  A  short  time  before  my  visit  the  owner,  Mr.  C.  L. 
Overhiser,  had  made  a  desperate  attempt  to  conquer  the  refractory  alkali  soil.  A  mixed  tract  of  the  two  soils  had  been  plowed,  cross-plowed 
rolled,  and  harrowed  until  the  harrow  produced  no  further  effect,  and  the  result  was  a  seed-bed  of  soil-clods  ranging  from  the  size  of  a  pea 
"to  that  of  a  billiard  ball,  but  having  no  tilth.  At  the  same  time  the  portions  of  the  "ridge"  soil  so  treated  were  reduced  to  an  ashy  condition 
of  tilth.  Some  of  the  alkali  laud  had  also  beeu  heavily  manured,  and  a  fair  stand  of  grain  was  springing  up,  but  Mr.  Overhiser  stated  that, 
in  accordance  with  previous  experience,  he  expected  to  see  tho  stalks  "  spindle  up"  and  turn  yellow  about  the  time  of  going  to  ear, 
unless  the  weather  continued  unusually  moist,  so  as  to  prevent  the  rise  of  the  alkali  to  the  root-crowns. 

Inspection  seemed  to  show  that  the  two  soils  ditfer  but  little  in  mechanical  composition,  not  nearly  enough  to  accoonl  tor  such 
difference  of  tilling  qualities;  for  when  worked  into  a  paste  with  water  it  was  difficult  to  say  which  of  the  two  was  the  heavier  soil,  aud 
on  drying  from  this  condition  both  formed  lumps  about  equally  hard.  For  the  anal  determination  of  this  question  the  two  kinds  of 
soil  were  subjected  to  comparative  mechanical  analyses.  Both  subsoils  are  very  much  alike  iu  appearance,  being  of  a  gray  tint,  very 
compact,  and  disposed  to  be  cloddy.  Both  show  an  alkaline  reaction  on  litmus  paper  (bluiug  I  lie  red  paper),  the  subsoil  ©f  the  alkaline 
spots  being,  however,  decidedly  the  stronger.  Tho  mechanical  analysis  of  the  two  surface  soils  resulted  in  showing  that  the  difference 
in  their  proportions  of  clay  aud  sandy  ingredients  of  the  several  grades  is  so  slight  that  under  ordinary  circumstances  it  would  he 
insensible  in  tillage.  The  chemical  examination  of  the  soils  resulted  thus  :  The  non-alkaline  surface  soil  shows  with  blue  litmus  paper 
a  faintly  acid  reaction  (as  is  usually  the  case  in  cultivated  soils).  The  alkaline  surface  soil  shows  a  sharply  alkaline  reaction  on  litmus  paper, 
and  portions  of  it  exhibit  on  the  surface  whito  needle-shaped  crystals,  apparently  of  carbonate  of  sodium.  In  the  dead-furrows  on  the 
alkali  tract  stood  puddles  of  dark-colored  water,  an  analysis  of  whose  solid  contents  is  given  below,  alongside  of  that  obtained  by  leaching 
the  alkali  soil  in  the  laboratory,  evaporating  the  coffee -colored  lye,  and  burning  off  the  vegetable  matter.  The  total  amount  of  residue 
obtained  by  the  latter  process  amounted  to  a  quarter  of  one  per  cent,  of  the  dry  soil.  Of  this  amount  0.156  was  again  soluble,  0.09:i 
remaining  behind  as  earthy  salts,  etc.     The  soluble  and  insoluble  parts  were  constituted  thus: 


SOLUBLE  l'AUTB. 


Dead-farrow 
puddles. 


Carbonate  of  soda  .. 
Chloride  of  sodium.. 
Sulphate  of  soda  .. . 
Tri-eodic  phosphate 


Per  cent. 

52.74 
33,  08  \ 
13.  2G 
1.83 


Per  cent. 
64.01 

13.0(1 

22.93 


INSOLUBLE  PABTfl. 


Dead-furrow 
puddles. 


Carbonate  of  calcium 

Tri-caleic  phosphate 

Tri  roagnesic  phosphate 

Silica  (soluble  in  XaiCos) 

Iron  oxide,  alumina,  and  some  clay  (by  difference) 


Per  cent. 

14.  02 
5.37 
5.77 
24.37 
50.47 


100.  00 


It  will  be  observed  that,  notwithstanding  the  presence  of  considerable  amounts  of  neutral  sodium  and  calcium  salts  (which  tend  to 
render  the  soil  more  tillable),  about  0.08  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  sodium  was  sufficient  to  render  tho  soil  practically  untillable. 
Although  this  effect  is  much  less  perceptible  in  the  case  of  soils  containing  less  clay,  it  cannot  fail  to  he,  in  many  cases  where  it  is  not 
obvious,  a  determining  cause  in  turning  the  balance  of  profit  and  loss  the  wrong  way,  especially  in  critical  seasons.  The  change  of 
carbonate  of  soda  to  some  other  form,  at  least,  is  therefore  among  the  most  important  points  to  be  gained  in  the  reclamation  of  alkali 
lands;  and  fortunately  this  can  be  accomplished  with  little  cost  or  difficulty  by  the  application  of  gypsum  or  land  plaster. 

Another  damaging  effect  of  the  alkaline  carbonates  upon  the  soil  is  the  dissolution  of  their  humus,  which  manifests  itself  in  the  dark 
color  of  the  water  standing  on  alkali  spots  and  in  the  black  rings  left  where  such  water  evaporates,  whence  the  popular  name  of  "black 
alkali.''  When  leached  with  water  such  soils  will  often  appear  almost  white,  and  will  remain  unthrifty  for  some  time  until  the  humus 
is  restored  by  vegetable  decay.  The  application  of  gypsum  prior  to  leaching,  however,  renders  the  huinus  insoluble  again,  and  thus 
prevents  its  waste. 

Reclamation  of  alkali  lands. — The  most  obvious  remedy  for  this  evil  is,  of  course,  the  leachiug-out  of  the  injurious  salts  by  flooding, 
and,  if  possible,  by  underdraining.  This  method  is  habitually  resorted  to  iu  sea-coast  marshes,  near  the  mouths  of  rivers,  after  the  salt  water 
has  been  excluded  by  embankments.  The  limited  salty  spots  so  frequently  met  with  in  the  uplands  of  some  regions  are  promptly  cured  by  a 
few  underdrains,  through  which  the  winter  raius  wash  the  salts  definitely  beyond  the  reach  of  the  soil-water.  Such  spots  arc  very 
commonly  found  extraordinarily  fertile  afterward.  The  problem  of  affording  relief,  however,  becomes  much  more  difficult  when  either  a 
722 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES.  65 

stratum  of  saline  water  or  an  earth.-] ay er  containing  much  saline  matter  lies  a  few  feet  beneath  the  surface  in  a  level  region,  as  is 
unfortunately  very  often  the  case  in  California.  When  this  happens  the  evil  can  only  be  mitigated,  but  scarcely  altogether  cured. 
According  to  the  value  of  the  land  to  be  reclaimed,  one  or  several  of  the  following  remedies  may  then  be  employed : 

1.  When  the  "  alkali "  is  not  very  abundant,  or  very  noxious,  frequent  and  deep  tillage  may  afford  all  the  relief  needed.  For  inasmuch 
as  the  damage  is  in  most  cases  the  result  of  an  excessive  accumulation  at  or  near  the  surface,  it  is  clear  that  frequent  intermixture  of  the 
surface  layers  with  the  deeper  portions  of  the  soil  may  so  dilute  the  injurious  salts  as  to  render  them  powerless  for  harm. 

Moreover,  since  a  perfect  tilth  of  the  surface  greatly  diminishes  evaporation,  it  tends  to  diminish,  concurrently,  the  accumulation  of 
the  alkali  near  the  surface.     The  same  effect  may  be  produced  by  mulching,  or  by  covering  the  surface  with  sand. 

With  the  aid  of  deep  tillage  it  is  often  possible  to  raise  on  salty  sea-shore  lands  root  crops,  such  as  beets  or  carrots,  which  absorb  a 
large  amount  of  soluble  salts  and  sensibly  relieve  the  soil,  so  that  cereal  crops  may  be  grown  the  second  or  third  year. 

2.  Underdrains  may  so  far  lower  the  water-table  from  which  the  saline  matters  are  derived,  and  may  so  far  favor  the  washing  out 
of  the  salts  during  the  rainy  season,  that  the  latter  will  thereafter  fail  to  reach  the  surface  so  as  to  accumulate  to  an  injurious  extent 
with  reasonably  deep  tillage.  The  roots  of  plants  will  go  deeper  for  the  requisite  moisture,  but  will  not  be  injured  by  the  weak  saline 
water  below.  With  the  aid  of  underdrains,  in  many  cases  a  comparatively  small  amount  of  irrigation  water  may,  when  applied  at  the 
proper  time,  he  made  to  produce  the  leaching  effect  upon  the  surface  soil  that  would  otherwise  require  a  long  time  and  a  much  larger 
quantity  of  water  in  order  to  wash  the  alkali  into  the  country  drainage. 

3.  When  the  quantity  of  the  salt  or  alkali  is  small,  but  its  nature  such  as  to  be  nevertheless  very  injurious  or  corrosive,  the  evil  may  he 
greatly  mitigated,  or  sometimes  completely  relieved,  by  the  application  to  the  soil  of  chemical  antidotes,  cheaply  procurable  in  commerce. 
In  order  that  the  proper  antidote  may  be  chosen,  it  is  of  course  necessary  to  determine  the  nature,  and,  in  a  measure,  the  amount,  of  the 
"  alkali "  by  chemical  analysis.  The  salts  usually  found  in  the  California  "  alkali  "  soils,  so  far  as  they  have  come  under  my  observation, 
are  of  three  kinds  : 

a.  Neutral  alkaline  salts,  such  as  common  salt,  Glauber's  salt,  sulphate  of  potassium,  etc.  These  are  injurious  only  when  present  iu 
large  quantities,  and  relief  can  then  be  obtained  only  by  washing  them  out  of  the  soil  by  flooding,  underdraining,  etc. 

6.  Soluble  earthy  and  metallic  sulphates  and  chlorides,  such  as  Epsom  salt,  bittern,  chloride  of  calcium,  alum,  copperas,  etc.  The 
cheap  and  efficient  antidote  to  these  substances  is  lime ;  in  some  cases  even  a  natural  calcareous  marl  will  answer  the  purpose. 

c.  Alkaline  carbonates  and  borates.  These,  especially  the  former,  are  injurious  in  the  smallest  amounts,  rendering  the  soil-water 
caustic  and  corrosive,  and  in  clayey  soils  rendering  it  almost  impossible  to  obtain  good  tilth,  by  their  peculiar  action  upon  the  clay. 
They  are  most  abundant  in  southern  California,  while  the  second  and  first  class  seem  to  prevail  in  the  Sacramento  valley. 

The  antidote  to  these,  the  true  alkali  salts,  is  gypsum  or  land-plaster.  The  efficacy  of  these  antidotes  depends,  of  course,  upon  the 
presence  of  water,  without  which  they  cannot  act  ou  the  "alkali".  They  should  be  sown  or  spread  on  the  surface  and  plowed  or 
harrowed  in  to  a  moderate  depth  just  prior  to  irrigation,  where  that  is  used;  in  the  case  of  plaster,  put  in  with  the  grain  ;  in  that  of  lime 
it  should  be  put  in  just  before  a  rain,  or  irrigation,  and  not  at  the  same  time  with  the  grain  or  other  seed.  The  amounts  to  be  used  of  either 
of  these  substances  will,  of  course,  depend  altogether  upon  the  quantity  of  alkali  in  the  soil  and  upon  the  amount  of  surface  evaporation 
allowed  iu  cultivation.  It  therefore  varies  and  must  be  ascertained  by  experiment  or  analysis  in  each  individual  case.  Their  effect  is  to 
convert  the  corrosive  or  otherwise  injurious  salts  into  "neutral  "  ones,  such  as  Glauber's  salt  or  common  salt,  which  are  from  ten  to  twenty 
times  less  injurious  than,  e.  g.,  the  carbonate  of  soda.  It  follows  that,  when  soils  are  very  highly  charged  with  the  latter  substauce,  even 
its  conversion  into  neutral  salts  may  not  suffice  to  render  the  soil  capable  of  profitable  culture.  To  effect  this  it  maybe  necessary  to  aid  the 
antidote  by  leaching-out  in  bad  cases.  On  the  other  hand,  the  antidote  will,  in  any  case  adapted  to  its  use,  aid  either  of  the  other  methods 
of  obtaining  relief.  The  farmer  afflicted  with  alkali  should,  therefore,  not  feel  discouraged  or  disposed  to  condemn  as  useless  any  one  of 
the  measures  of  relief  here  described  simply  because  the  result  is  not  perfect.  The  three  should  be  combined,  whenever  possible,  to  the 
extent  justified  by  the  pecuniary  value  of  the  land. 

In  districts  afflicted  with  the  carbonate  of  soda  in  the  soil  it  has  been  found  in  numerous  cases  that  the  simple  use  of  gypsum, 
conjointly  with  summer  tillage,  to  keep  the  soil  loose  has  sufficed  to  enable  land  that  never  before  produced  anything  of  value  to  bear 
abundant  crops.  But  the  failure  to  secure  a  similar  result  in  the  neighboring  fields,  at  times,  has  caused  unnecessary  discussions  as  to  the 
utility  of  gypsum.  It  should  be  remembered  that  where  the  amount  of  soluble  salts  present  in  the  soil  is  very  large  gypsum  may  mitigate, 
but  cannot  altogether  relieve,  the  trouble ;  its  action  must  he  supplemented  by  other  means  calculated  to  remove  the  soluble  salts  from  the  soil . 
In  case  carbonate  of  soda  should  not  be  present,  gypsum  will  effect  no  improvement  at  all.  To  ascertain  this  is  not  at  all  difficult.  The 
presence  of  carbonate  of  soda  or  potash  is  generally  indicated  when  the  water  standing  on  the  low  alkali  spots  is  of  a  dark-brownish  tint, 
from  the  dissolution  of  the  vegetable  matter  or  humus  of  the  soil ;  in  other  words,  it  is  what  is  popularly  known  as  "  black  alkali  ".  Such 
alkali  will,  moreover,  impart  a  brown  tint  to  paper  dyed  yellow  with  turmeric,  or  it  will  turn  the  juice  of  red  cabbage  green,  or  the  color, 
of  blue  litmus  paper  red.  Again,  if  water  be  shaken  up  with  gypsum  and  allowed  to  settle,  and  some  of  the  clear  alkali  water  added,  the 
gypsum  water  will  he  rendered  turbid. 

Analyses  of  "  alkali ". — The  accompanying  table  shows  in  detail  the  composition  of  "  alkali  "  salts  occurring  at  different  points  in 
California. 

723 


6G 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 


Table  showing  in  detail  the  composition  of  "alkali''  salts  occurring  at  different  points  in  California. 


Locality. 

.2 
a 

11 

© 

1 

3        3 
.3       o    , 

£■    ■Si 
BBS 

a     =  S 

.2     .1° 

1 11 

O      '  o 

Potassium  chloride. 

Sodium      sulphate 
(Glauher's  salt). 

1-3 

K"3 

si 

3  — 
■3 

O 
03 

c 

11 

°a 

o 

a 
II 

a 

o 

.3 

a 

3     ■ 

I'm 

^E 

a 

a 
■3 
o 

'5o 

aft 

o 

4 

,3 

p. 
o 

J3 
ft 

H 
a 

o 

$ 

"5 
-a    • 

si 
5 

3 

.3 

3.   - 

|   3 

|m 

■a 
o 

£  ■ 
— S 

la 

3  o 

'IS. 

a 

0  |  o 

?        s 

2j       =  S 
"  S        i.  F 

1  11 

s 
s 

1 

8 
o 

g 

Antidote. 

CorvalliB,  Los  AngeleB  county 

■Westminster,  Los  Angeles  county 

1.68 
0.49 

8.74 

61.48 

22.37 
10.57 

C) 
22.17 

(*) 

1.21 

0.79 

0.51 

82.  SI  Drainage. 
99..0 

<*) 

(0 

(*) 

D  ruin  age. 

Gypnum. 
Do. 

Riverside,  San  Bernardino  county  - 

Merced  bottom,  No.  18,  Merced 

county. 
Merced  bottom,  No.  19,  Merced 

county. 
San  Jose,  Santa  Clara  county  .... 

(*) 

100.  31 

(*) 
3.83 
75.98 

(t) 
63.09 
14.59 

(5) 

1.00 
14.70 

10.72 

4.  10 



17.01 

2.  02 

.... 

(t)       (t) 

(1) 
5.94 
16.38 

Do. 

0.10 

93.17 



99.30 
100.  38 
100.91 
100.00 

99.  0!) 

County. 

3.73 
0.15 
1.02 

1.40 

75.85|  6.97 

1.18 
1.83 
(*) 

Gypsum. 
Do. 

22.92  64.01    13.00 
42.  50              22.  Ill 

Do. 

Huencme,  "Ventura  county 

5.64 

2.49 

25.01 

0.75 

Lime, drainage. 

Gypsum,  drain- 
"age. 
Do. 

1.97 
C.  92 
0.  GO 

Mojave,  Los  Angeles  county 

0.58 

35.  38  12.  03 

31.48 

12.28 
1.  (K 
37.14 
29.44 

(>) 
(*) 
(II) 
2.95 

18.88   0.73    100. 00 
7.10   0.21    100.00 
9.21    0.48    100.00 

20.871 !    06.48 

23.67    2. 921     99.99 

Do. 

1.22 
19.20 
29.60 

(t) 

88.09 

(t) 
78.54 

Gypsum. 

0.96 
0.77 
(*) 

18.31 
1.25 

(U) 

12.34 

Dos  Palmas,  San  Die*:©  county. . . 

Lime, drainage. 
Drainage. 
Gypsum . 

(II) 

(1) 

MgCos 

Skagg's  Springs,  Sonoma  county. 



0.12 

0.97 

12.90 

trace 

Li  Co  3 
0.03 

CaCoal.... 

m!C" 

j 

3.42 

160.  08 

Gypsum. 

0.13 

) 

t  Chiefly. 


J  Much. 


§  Large. 


||  Some. 


A  point  of  great  importance  to  the  agriculture  of  these  regions  appears  from  even  a  cursory  inspection  of  the  table,  viz,  that  in  many 
cases  phosphates,  nitrates,  and  potash  salts  form  a  notable  proportion  of  the  "  alkali  ".  These  are  the  substances  of  which  the  withdrawal 
by  cropping  causes  sterility  of  the  soil,  and  the  purchase  of  which  forms  a  standing  item  of  outlay  in  the  farmers'  accounts  wherever  a 
regular  system  of  husbandry  is  established.  Ordinarily  they  are  found  only  in  traces  in  the  water  permeating  even  the  richest  soils,  the. 
amount,  present  being  so  small,  or  in  such  a  condition  of  insolubility,  that  they  are  retained  in  the  soils ;  but  here  we  find  them  to  be 
present  in  such  largo  proportions  as  to  form  a  regular  part  of  the  circulating  soil-water,  the  inference  being  that  such  soils,  when  freed 
from  the  injurious  portions  of  the  "  alkali",  would  be  extraordinarily  productive,  and  would  remain  so  permanently,  without  any  additional 
supply  of  manure,  if  it  could  bo  assumed  that  soil-water  of  similar  composition  would  continue  to  ascend  from  below.  But  even  if  this 
should  not  happen,  the  amounts  shown  to  be  actually  present  in  a  soluble  condition  are  far  from  insignificant  in  themselves,  apart  from 
their  pointing  to  some  prolific  source  of  the  supply.  Taking,  for  instance,  the  case  of  Overhiser's  ''  alkali "  soil  in  the  above  table,  wo 
find  that  the  apparently  insignificant  percentage  of  soluble  phosphates,  when  calculated  to  percentage  of  the  Total  soil  (0.0064  per  cent. 
of  phosphoric  acid),  amounts  in  absolute  weight  per  acre  of  soil  taken  12  inches  deep  and  weighing  about  3,750.000  pounds  to  no  less  than 
240  pounds,  a  quantity  which,  being  absolutely  available  to  crops,  would,  e.  */.,  suffice  for  sixteen  crops  of  wheat  of  25  bushels  to  the  acre  ; 
or,  expressed  differently,  it  is  equivalent  to  a  ton  of  best  commercial  superphosphate,  for  which  $45  would  have  to  be  paid.  At  least  an 
equal  amount  must,  moreover,  be  estimated  to  be  present  in  the  soil  in  the  ordinary  condition — mechanically  absorbed  and  insoluble  in 
water,  yet  available  to  plants.  Hence,  the  above  estimate  of  wheat  crops,  for  which  the  soil  contains  an  immediately  available  supply, 
must  be  at  least  doubled;  and  after  that  is  exhausted  there  would  still  probably  remain  a  supply  as  great  as  is  ordinarily  present  in  soils. 

It  should  be  noted  that,  in  the  case  of  these  phosphates,  the  addition  of  gypsum  would  permanently  prevent  their  being  washed  out 
of  the  soil,  even  in  case  the  leaching-out  process  were  to  be  resorted  to  ;  yet  their  availability  to  vegetation  would  not  thereby  be  impaired. 
It  is  highly  probable  that  in  many  cases  where  phosphates  have  not  been  determined  by  the  analysis  their  presence  has  simply  been 
overlooked,  and  that  their  occurrence  is  much  more  general  than  is  now  proven.  The  amounts  of  potash  found  in  some  of  the  "  alkali  " 
salts  arc  so  great  as  to  justify  the  conclusion  that  the  supply  of  this  ingredient  iu  the  corresponding  soils  is  practically  inexhaustible ; 
for  the  fact  that  they  circulate  in  the  soil-water  proves  that  the  soil  must  in  the  first  place  have  been  fully  saturated  with  them,  apart 
from  what  is  actually  in  solution,  and  that  in  all  probability  the  supply  comes  from  the  permanent  water-table.  To  this  extent  the 
cultivators  of  such  soils  would  be  permanently  relieved  from  the  necessity  of  replacement  by  manure. 

As  regards  the  nitrates,  it  is  obvious  that  they  are  locally  formed  in  considerable  amounts  in  the  arid  regions  of  North  America  as 
well  as  iu  that  of  Bolivia.  Minute  quantities  can  be  detected  in  almost  all  cases  in  which  the  carbonates  of  sodium  or  potassium  form  a 
large  proportion  of  the  soluble  salts,  but  it  is  only  under  exceptional  circumstances  of  location  and  rainfall  that  they  can  accumulate  to 
724 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES  G7 

a  notable  extent.  Such  is  the  case  of  the  alkali  tract  in  the  bottom  of  the  Merced  river  from  which  specimen  No.  19  was  taken.  It 
lies  in  a  local  basin  of  impervious  limestone,  ami  forms  a  low  ridge,  which  is  only  exceptionally  overflowed  by  the  river,  and  that  after 
previous  rains,  so  that  even  the  salts  that  have  bloomed  out  on  the  surface  are  not  usually  washed  away. 

It  is  quite  probable  that  in  the  cultivation  of  regions  possessing  a  climate  suitable  to  the  generation  of  niter  deposits  the;  artificial 
addition  of  the  latter  as  a  commercial  manure  will  rarely  be  necessary.  Since  nitrates  are  not  retained  in  a  soil  percolated  by  water,  the 
use  of  drainage  or  leaching-out  of  the  soluble  salts  will  result  in  the  removal  of  this  important  fertilizing  ingredient  from  the  soil.  When 
known  to  be  present,  therefore,  the  process  of  washing  out  should  not  be  carried  further  each  season  than  is  needful  for  the  success  of 
crops,  and  all  the  means  mentioned  for  reducing  the  injurious  effect  of  the  corrosive  salts  on  the  crown-roots  should  be  employed.  It 
goes  without  saying  that  iu  each  case  crops  adapted  to  the  particular  circumstances  will,  other  things  being  equal,  bring  the  best  returns. 
Experience  has  already  in  many  cases  demonstrated  the  extraordinary  productiveness  of  some  "alkali"  lands  when  reclaimed  by  the 
means  described. 

Effects  of  irrigation  o>i  alkali  soils. — During  the  past  two  or  three  years  complaints  of  the  increase  of  alkali  on  irrigated  lands  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  especially  in  the  counties  of  Kern,  Tulare,  and  Fresno,  south  of  King's  river,  have  become  more 
and  more  frequent.  During  a  personal  examination  of  that  region  in  March,  1880,  this  important  matter  was  brought  prominently  to 
my  notice  by  many  farmers.  Much  difference  of  opinion  prevailed  as  to  the  causes  of  the  evil,  but  there  was  no  question  as  to  the  fact 
of  the  increased  "rise  of  the  alkali". 

The  latter  phrase,  commonly  used  in  this  connection,  really  contains  the  clew  to  the  whole  problem.  It  is  emphatically  true  that 
the  alkali  salts  rise  from  below,  through  the  agency  of  the  water  evaporating  upon  the  surface.  Irrigation  has  not  only  increased  the 
amount  of  water  evaporating  from  the  surface,  but  it  has  also  caused  a  much  greater  depth  of  subsoil  to  be  drawn  upon  for  its  alkali.  That 
in  many  cases  the  strata  lying  at  depths  of  from  4  to  G  feet  from  the  surface  are  much  more  highly  charged  with  soluble  salts  than  the 
(surface  soil  is  painfully  apparent  from  the  aspect  of  the  material  thrown  out  iu  digging  the  irrigation  ditches  and  now  lining  the  banks 
of  the  latter.  In  some  portions  of  the  "  island"  embraced  between  the  several  outlets  of  Kern  river  south  of  Bakersfield  these  embank  uients 
appear  as  though  covered  with  snow,  and  the  alkali  can  be  bodily  picked  up  by  the  handful.  It  would  seem  as  though  the  rains  would 
have  leached  these  earth-piles  long  ago,  but  the  rains  usually  falling  in  that  region  are  so  light  that  the  soluble  salts  are  only  washed 
into  the  soil  to  a  few  inebesfrom  the  surface,  and  within  afew  days  after  evaporation  has  again  brought  them  back  in  the  shape  of  a  white 
crust.  In  digging  wells  in  the  light  sandy  soils  of  the  "  plains  ",  from  King's  river  southward,  it  has  often  been  found  that  no  perceptible 
moisture  existed,  even  at  the  depth  of  from  20  to  40  feet,  until  after  the  region  had  been  irrigated  here  and  there  for  several  years.  The 
amount  of  water  needed  is  at  first  very  large,  but  when  the  soil  is  once  filled  down  to  the  drainage  level  oue-half  and  even  one-third  of 
the  water  previously  used  will  suffice  to  grow  a  grain  crop. 

The  rainfall  in  this  region  is  usually  so  small  (from  4  to  8  inches)  as  to  suffice  only  for  moistening  the  soil  to  the  depth  of  a  few  feet, 
and  during  the  time  required  for  the  evaporation  of  this  natural  moisture  the  short-lived  vegetation  of  the  region  rapidly  passes  through  its 
development.  That  vegetation  consists  of  a  comparatively  small  number  of  species  of  bright  spring  flowers,  which  in  their  season  cover 
the  entire  country  with  a  dense  and  beautiful  carpet,  one  and  the  same  flower  occupying  the  ground  almost  exclusively  at  times  for 
many  square  miles  by  virtue  of  the  law  of  the  "survival  of  the  fittest".  Were  there  any  crop  of  a  habit  similar  to  these  dowers  that 
could  be  profitably  grown  on  these  plains  irrigation  could  obviously  be  dispensed  with.  The  settlers  of  the  region  have  tried  what  seems 
to  ho  the  next  best  thing,  viz,  to  grow  grain  crops  of  a  short  period  of  growth,  and  therefore  needing  irrigation  only  during  a  small 
portion  of  the  dry  season.  In  so  doing  they  have  moistened  the  soil  to  a  considerably  greater  depth  than  was  reached  by  the  rain-water 
before,  and,  as  a  consequence,  the  annual  evaporation  has  greatly  increased.  The  irrigation  water,  moreover,  has  brought  with  it  from 
these  depths  all  the  supply  of  alkali  salts  that  before  had  gradually  been  washed  beyond  the  reach  of  the  ordinary  rainfall  by  an  occasional 
wet  season.  Each  succeeding  irrigation,  followed  by  evaporation,  tends  to  accumulate  the  salts  nearer  the  surface,  so  that  finally  the 
root-crowns  of  the  grain  crops  are  ""burnt  up"  before  even  beginning  to  head.  The  evil  will,  of  course,  be  greatly  aggravated  if  the  water 
used  for  irrigation  originally  contains  any  considerable  amount  of  alkaline  salts,  which  are  superadded  to  those  already  iu  the  siiil  strata. 
Some  important  practical  bearings  of  this  point  will  be  discussed  further  on. 

Remedies  for  the  "rite  of  the  alkali". — It  is  obvious  that  the  "  rise  of  the  alkali",  following  upon  irrigation,  cannot  be  remedied  by  the 
use  of  the  chemical  antidotes  alluded  to  above.  "While  they  do  convert  the  most  injurious  salts,  carbonate  of  soda  and  sulphate  of 
magnesia,  into  much  less  active  compounds,  yet  these  will  remain  in  the  soil,  and  if  in  sufficient  quantity  will  ultimately  become  noxious, 
especially  to  shallowr-rooted  vegetation.  In  some  districts  afflicted  the  natural  alkali  consists  only  of  such  "neutral"  salts  as  common 
and  Glauber's  salt;  as,  for  instance,  in  a  part  of  the  rich  Mussel  Slough  country  around  Hanford,  Tulare  county,  where  at  the  time  of 
my  visit  dead  spots  were  appearing  in  the  magnificent  grain-fields  when  the  grain  was  but  a  few  inches  high,  the  evil  being  worse, 
wherever  the  crop  was  late  and  had  not  yet  shaded  the  ground.  Moreover,  it  was  obvious  and  strikingly  worse  wherever  the  soil  was 
sufficiently  clayey  to  form  a  hard  crust  on  the  surface;  a  fact  well  known  and  recognized  by  farmers  in  the  alkali  regions,  but  often 
ascribed  simply  to  the  constriction  of  the  stems  by  the  contracting  crust.  The  effect  of  the  latter  may,  it  is  true,  be  noticed  in  adobe 
districts,  where  there  is  no  alkali,  and  undoubtedly  bears  its  share  iu  doing  damage ;  but  the  injury  it  creates  is  doubly  great  in  alkaline 
seils. 

In  the  early  stages  of  the  growth  of  cereals  the  pulverization  of  this  crust  may  be  accomplished  by  harrowing  or  rolling,  with  great 
benefit  to  the  crop  ;  but  in  the  upper  valley  it  can  rarely  be  done  after  the  last  irrigation  without  considerable  mechanical  injury.  That 
a  soil  having  such  a  surface  crust  dries  much  more  rapidly  than  the  same  soil  when  kept  in  good  tilth  is  a  fact  too  well  known  to  require 
discussion.  The  dense  crust  absorbs  water  much  more  powerfully  than  does  the  loose  soil  beneath.  The  moisture  is  forcibly  drawn  from 
the  latter  into  the  surface  crust,  and  there  evaporates  quickly  under  the  influence  of  air  and  sunshine,  hardening  the  crust  more  and 
more,  and  accumulating  therein  an  increasing  amount  of  alkali.  To  illustrate  this,  imagine  a  sponge,  representing  the  loose  soil,  to  be 
saturated  with  water,  and  a  hard-burnt  brick,  representing  the  crust,  to  he  laid  upon  it ;  the  brick  will  take  all  the  water  from  the  sponge. 
Yet,  if  the  brick  be  soaked  in  water  and  the  sponge  pressed  on  it.  the  sponge  will  not  take  up  a  particle  of  moisture.  It  is  thus  obvious 
that  in  alkaline  soils  the  formation  of  a  surface  crust  must  of  all  things  be  avoided.  In  other  words,  as  stated  above,  "deep  and  frequent 
tillage  "  is  one  of  the  foremost  needs  in  such  soils.  And  as  this  condition  cannot  be  fulfilled  in  the  case  of  broadcast  crops,  the  conclusion 
is  that  broadcasting,  and  with  it  practically  grain-growing,  must  ultimately  be  abandoned  in  the  alkali  regions  and  hoed  crops  substituted, 
which  will  admit  of  th&  ground  being  kept  in  perfect  tilth  throughout  the  season. 

Crops  for  alkali  soils. — The  condition  of  preventing  evaporation  from  the  surface  is  also  measurably  fulfilled  by  such  crops  as 
"alfalfa",  which  not  only  thoroughly  shades  the  ground,  but  in  addition  causes  almost  the  entire  evaporation  water  to  pass  up  through 
its  deep  roots  to  the  leaves,  so  as  not  to  reach  the  surface  at  all.  Such  accumulation  of  alkali  in  and  around  the  roots  as  can  occur  under 
Huch  circumstances  is  too  much  diluted  to  hurt  the  plant.  The  fact  that  the  alfalfa  succeeds  perfectly  on  ground  too  much  charged  with 
alkali  to  grow  grain  is  notorious,  only  care  must  be  taken  to  prevent  injury  to  the  root-crowns  while  the  plants  do  not  yet  cover  the 
surface  by  timely  irrigation. 


68  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

If  circumstances  permitted  the  profitable  cultivation  ot*  alfalfa  on  so  large  a  scale,  the  alkali  districts  would  perhaps  have  little  cause 
to  seek  further.  The  experience  with  alfalfa,  however,  clearly  points  the  way  for  the  selection  of  crops  better  suited  to  the  circumstances 
than  grain,  whose  shallow  roots  are  much  more  liable  to  alkali  corrosion  than  is  the  case  with  the  tap-rooted  or  other  .deep-rooted  plnuts. 
It  is  among  these,  then,  that  the  alkali  regions  should  seek  for  crops  of  which  the  product  shall  be  sufficiently  valuable  to  bear  tho 
expense  of  inland  transportation,  under  which  these  districts  are  now  suffering.  Nest  to  those,  the  search  should  be  for  such  as  will  be 
successful  in  alkali  lands,  provided  the  soil  be  kept  well  tilled  through  the  dry  season,  i.  e.,  "  hoed"  crops. 

In  the  former  category,  one  of  those  standing  foremost  in  promise  is  probably  cotton,  the  success  of  which  in  that  region  is  already 
shown  by  experiments  made,  the  profitable  production  being  at  present  limited  only  by  the  demand  for  the  staple  on  this  coast,  which 
may  soon  be  increased  by  the  establishment  of  cotton  factories.  Of  other  textile  crops,  hemp,  jute,  and  ramie  at  once  suggest  themselves 
for  trial. 

Of  oil  crops,  the  castor  bean  is  perhaps  the  most  available  and  most  certain  of  success,  always  excepting  the  despised  "  white, 
mustard  "  or  "  wild  turnip  ",  whose  rank  growth  as  a  weed  shows  what  might  be  done  with  it  if  grown  for  the  manufacture  of  rape-seed 
oil.  Root  crops,  being  too  bulky  for  profitable  shipment  by  rail,  will  not  be  available  to  auy  great  exteut  at  present  unless  as  dairy  feed] 
in  conjunction  with  alfalfa,  for  conversion  into  butter  and  cheese ;  but  beets,  carrots,  turnips,  sweet  potatoes,  etc.,  all  fulfill,  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent,  the  conditions  above  formulated  for  successful  culture  in  alkali  soils.  The  culture  of  fruits,  both  large  and  small,  that  can 
In-  shipped  in  the  dried  condition,  or  in  the  shape  of  jellies,  etc.,  is  also  an  available  industry,  scarcely  yet  touched  in  the  alkali  regions. 
Raisins  aud  prunes  especially  deserve  attention  as  pretty  certain  of  success. 

Among  hoed  field  crops  available  for  that  region  sorghum  and  sugar-cane  deserve  attention.  It  is  true  that  in  general  the  presence 
of  a  large  supply  of  soluble  salts  in  the  soil  is  deemed  unfavorable  to  the  profitable  production  of  sugar,  since  it  is  apt  to  render  the  juice 
difficult  to  crystallize  and  to  increase  correspondingly  the  proportion  of  molasses  produced.  Actual  trial,  however,  can  alone  determine 
the  question  here. 

It  would  really  seem  as  if,  in  the  broadcast  culture  of  cereals,  the  farmers  in  the  alkali  districts  had  made  the  worst  possible  selection 
for  the  permanent  good  of  agriculture  in  their  region.  That  a  change  of  system  in  this  respect  is  imperative  can  hardly  be  questioned 
by  any  candid  observer  of  the  facts.  Aud  it  may  well  be  questioned  whether  the  necessity  imposed  by  nature,  of  nunc  varied  and  careful 
farming  than  has  heretofore  obtained,  may  not  prove  a  blessing  in  disguise  when  rightly  understood  and  acted  upon.  Tho  planting 
system  enriches  a  few  individuals,  almost  always  at  the  cost  of  the  soil's  permanent  productiveness.  It  is  small  farms  and  intelligent 
culture  that  constitutes  the  prosperity  of  an  agricultural  community. 

Sub-irrigation  vs.  Surface  irrigation. — The  injury  arising  in  alkali  lauds  from  the  formation  of  a  consolidated  surface  or  crust  subsequent 
to  irrigation  by  Hooding  suggests  at  once  the  application  of  the  water  in  such  a  manner  as  to  avoid  this  evil,  viz,  by  sub-irrigation.  To 
a  certain  exteut  the  advantage  so  secured  is  well  understood  in  the  irrigation  districts,  the  water  being  ofteu  applied  only  by  the  use  of 
furrows  or  ditches,  which  divide  the  land  into  narrow  bands,  and  from  which  the  soil  is  moistened  by  ''soaking  sideways*'  from  the 
ditches.  The  great  multiplication  of  the  latter,  and  their  interference  with  the  operations  of  culture  on  the  large  scale,  have  generally 
caused  the  use  of  this  mode  of  irrigation  to  be  restricted  to  small  cultures.  Even  a  cursory  inspection  of  the  state  of  ihin^s  in  the  alkali 
regions  shows  that  in  the  plots  sub-irrigated  by  ditches  the  rise  of  the  alkali  has,  as  a  rule,  been  very  much  less  than  in  the  case  of 
adjoining  ones  irrigated  by  Hooding;  and,  in  the  latter,  the  high  spots  that  have  uol  been  covered  witii  water  frequently  escape  damage, 
while  the  low  portions  are  scorched  with  the  alkali.  This,  at  least,  is  the  result  when  the  amount  of  alkali  present  is  not  very  great.  When 
the  soil  isvery  heavily  charged,  the  high  spots,  being  the  first  to  dry,  are  also  the  first  to  be  injured  by  the  alkali  drawn  to  t lie  surface  by 
evaporation,  while  in  the  low  spots  the  grain  may  reach  a  greater  development  before  being  killed.  Manifestly  the  objeel  to  be  attained 
js  to  prevent  the  irrigation  water  from  reaching  and  evaporating  from  the  surface  at  all,  if  possible.  To  accomplish  this  fully  it  would  bo 
necessary  to  know-  how  far  upward  water  will  rise  wheu  applied  to  the  several  soils.  Some  data  concerning  this  point  are  given  in  books 
on  agricultural  science,  but  they  are  not  of  such  a  character  as  to  permit  the  prediction  of  this  measure  with  respect  to  any  other  given 
soil.  We  l*uow  in  general  that  in  coarse,  sandy  soils  water  rises  rapidly,  but  only  to  a  moderate  height,  stopping  there  ;  w  hile  in  soils 
composed  of  tine  materials,  whether  clay  or  fine  silty  matter,  or  both  mixed,  the  rise  is  slow,  continuing  for  months  in  some  cases  before 
reaching  the  highest  point,  which  may,  however,  be  twice  or  three  times  as  much  above  the  water  surface  as  iu  the  ease  of  sandy  soils. 
For  instance,  in  coarse,  sandy  soils,  like  those  of  portions  of  the  plains  of  Tulare  or  of  parts  of  Stanislaus,  the  water  may,  in  tin-  course 
of  three  or  four  days,  reach  its  highest  point  at  '20  inches ;  while  in  adobe  soils,  or  in  the  gray  silt  soils  of  Eel  or  Santa  Clara  rivers,  it 
may  Take  ten  days  to  reach  the  same  height,  but  will  continue  to  rise  slowly  for  several  months  before  reaching  the  maximum  height  of 
about  50  inches. 

The  coarse  sandy  soil  represents  not  only  its  kind,  but  also  any  well-tilled  soil ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  adobe  soil  illustrates 
the  case  of  any  compact  soil,  whether  naturally  so  or  rendered  so  by  imperfect  tillage  or  the  prevalence  of  carbonate  of  soda.  The  extreme 
slowness  of  the  ascent  of  the  water  toward  the  end  of  its  possible  rise  shows  why  a  poorly-tilled  adobe  soil  will  open  into  gaping  cracks 
a  short  time  after  the  cessation  of  rains ;  while  a  well-tilled  soil,  maintaining  both  a  quicker  supply  from  below  and  a  slower  rate  ot 
surface  evaporation,  may  maintain  moisture  throughout  the  dry  season.  At  the  same  time  it  informs  us  that  sandy  soils  stand  in  especial 
need  of  a  more  dense  subsoil,  capablo  of  drawing  up  moisture  from  greater  depths  than  it  is  possible  for  a  sandier  mass  to  do,  thus 
supplying  moisture  to  the  roots  of  plants,  while  allowing  but  little  surface  evaporation.  As  between  the  same  soil  in  a  state  of  tilth  or 
such  compactness  as  would  result  from  packing  by  heavy  rains,  experiment  has  shown  that  the  rate  of  ascent  is  in  clay  soils  easily 
reduced  to  one-half  or  even  less. 

The  many  and  somewhat  complex  bearings  of  this  subject  on  the  chief  varieties  of  soils  in  the  alkali  region  will  form  the  subject  of 
farther  investigation,  now  in  progress,  One  point,  however,  may  even  now  be  usefully  discussed,  viz,  that  while  it  is  certain  that  water 
applied  to  a  coarse  sandy  soil,  at  the  depth  of  24  inches,  cannot  reach  the  surface  at  all,  and  can,  therefore,  evaporate  hut  very  slowly, 
and  not  in  such  a  manner  as  to  accumulate  alkali  to  an  injurious  extent  near  the  surface,  it  does  not,  therefore,  follow  that  in  order  to 
produce  the  same  result  iu  the  adobe  or  silt  soils  the  water  has  to  he  applied  at  the  maximum  depth  of  50  inches;  for  in  a  field  planted 
with  any  growing  crop  the  leaves  of  the  latter  evaporate  a  very  large  amount  of  moisture,  thus  intercepting  that  which  would  otherwise 
rise  to  the  surface  and  evaporate  there.  This  is  a  matter  of  every-day  experience.  The  inference  is,  that  ditches  or  pipes  designed  f<>r 
sub-irrigation  would  not  in  such  soils  require  to  be  laid  to  auy  unreasonable  depth  in  order  to  prevent  the  rise  ot"  alkali  resulting  from 
surface  evaporation. 

It  is  obvious  that  in  this  couuection  the  subject  of  sub-irrigation  by  means  of  a  system  of  pipes,  of  whatever  material,  acquire* 
exceptional  interest  for  the  alkali  districts,  since  its  judicious  use  would  not  only  obviate  the  rise  of  the  alkali,  but  would  also  accomplish 
a  great  saving  of  irrigation  water — the  latter  being  a  matter  of  especial  importance  where  the  water  itself  is  somewhat  tainted  with 
alkaline  salts.  That  this  system  is  not  likely  to  be  used  iu  connection  with  the  growing  of  field  crops  on  a  largo  scale  is  true,  since 
the  expense  of  the  pipes  is  too  great  for  any  land  not  yielding  very  high  returns;  but  when  the  continued  rise  of  the  alkali  renders  lands, 
intrinsically  fertile,  incapable  of  further  production  under  the  system  of  surface  irrigation,  the  owners  will  needs  have  to  take  their 
720 


PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


69 


choice  between  its  abandonment  and  the  adoption  of  such  systems  and  objects  of  culture  as  will  yield  them  profitable  returns  under  the 
circumstances.  The  culture  of  cereals  must  ''go  to  the  wall",  and  that  of  grapes,  fruits,  and  such  other  crops  as  can  be  made  to  yield 
high  returns  under  intense  culture  must  take  its  place.  It  is  not,  perhaps,  unreasonable  to  hope  that  the  improperly  so-called  "asbestine" 
sub-irrigation  pipe  (consisting  of  hydraulic  cement  pipe,  that  can  be  cheaply  and  rapidly  laid  by  a  special  appliance,  at  an  expense  not 
exceeding,  it  is  said,  $35  per  acre)  may  become  so  generally  available  by  the  home  manufacture  of  the  material  as  to  form  a  practical 
solution  of  this  great  problem. 

It  should  not  be  forgotten  that,  with  a  slight  chauge  in  the  manner  of  laying  and  outletting,  this  sub-irrigation  pipe  may  be  made 
to  serve  also  for  nnderdraiuage ;  so  that  land  provided  with  it  could  be  completely  leached  of  its  surface  alkali  by  flooding  during  the 
season  when  water  is  abundant. 

Lake  axd  river  waters  of  the  great  valley,  and  their  quality  for  irrigation  purposes.— In  the  foregoing  discussiou  of 
the  "alkali"  question  it  has  been  tacitly  assumed  that  the  soluble  salts  already  in  the  soil  alone  need  to  be  considered,  the  water  used  in 
irrigation  being  regarded  as  pure  water  only.  This,  however,  is  far  from  being  actually  the  case  with  any  natural  water,  and  in  the  alkali 
districts  especially  the  irrigation  water  is  almost  always  more  or  less  impregnated  with  the  very  same  salts  whose  presence  in  the  soil  is 
so  objectionable.  It  is  obvious  that,  when  the  amount  of  salts  so  added  annually  is  at  all  considerable,  it  may  ultimately  so  swell  the 
quantity  in  the  soil  as  to  give  rise  to  trouble.  My  attention  was  first  directed  to  this  subject  by  reports  from  the  lands  bordering  upon 
Tulare  lake  to  the  effect  that,  although  to  all  appearance  of  the  best  alluvial  character,  they  would  either  not  produce  at  all  from  the 
outset,  or  else  would  cease  to  produce  after  a  few  years  when  irrigated  with  the  water  of  the  lake.  The  beginning  of  the  investigation  of 
this  subject  was  given  iu  the  report  of  the  California  College  of  Agriculture.  A  soil  from  the  southeastern  corner  of  the  lake  had  been 
analyzed  and  found  to  contain  in  abundance  all  the  elements  of  fertility;  yet  it  would  produce  nothing,  and  that  under  circumstances 
which  led  me  to  believe  that  the  trouble  was  caused  by  alkali  (carbonate  of  soda)  contained  in  the  soil.  Analyses  seemed  to  confirm  this 
supposition,  but  at  the  time  the  report  went  to  press  the  water  of  Tulare  lake  itself  had  not  been  examined.  Water  samples  were  soon 
afterward  received  and  analyzed,  and  the  result  showed  it  to  contain  so  much  alkali  of  the  most  corrosive  character  as  to  render  it  utterly 
unsuitable  for  irrigation.  It  then  became  apparent  that  one  of  the  great  bodies  of  water  in  the  state  that  had  been  counted  upon  for 
irrigation  purposes  might  have  to  be  altogether  rejected.  The  importance  of  the  question  led  me  to  make  the  matter  the  subject  of 
special  inquiry  during  a  visit  to  the  upper  valley,  made  under  the  auspices  of  the  United  States  census,  iu  March  of  the  present  year. 
A  personal  examination  of  Kern  lake,  and  of  the  region  lying  between  it  and  Buena  Vista  lake,  as  well  as  of  the  Mussel  Slough  country, 
in  Tulare  county,  satisfied  me  that  in  none  of  these  rich  agricultural  sections  could  the  slightest  increase  of  alkali  be  safely  risked  ;  and 
analyses  subsequently  made  of  the  waters  of  both  Kern  and  Tulare  lakes  prove  that  a  very  few  years'  use  of  the  water  now  filling  either 
of  these  reservoirs  would  be  promptly  fatal  to  the  productiveness  of  the  lands  irrigate^  As  regards  Kern  lake,  this  is  obvious  enough  from 
a  casual  examination  and  tasting  of  the  water.  Having  been  shut  off  frmn  the  natural  iutlux  of  Kern  river  for  a  number  of  years,  it  has 
been  rapidly  evaporating  and  receding  from  its  former  shores,  so  that  at  the  time  of  my  visit  a  difference  in  level  of  over  four  feet  had 
been  produced  in  fifteen  months,  leaving  high  and  dry  a  boat  wharf  built  at  that  time.  About  eighteen  months  before  all  the  fish  and 
turtles  iu  the  lake  had  suddenly  died,  creating  a  pestilential  atmosphere  by  their  decay,  and  even  the  mussels  were  mostly  dead,  a  few 
maintaining  a  feeble  existence.  A  strong  alkaline  taste  and  soapy  feeling  of  the  water  fully  justified  their  choice  of  evils.  The  tule 
marsh,  laid  dry  by  the  recession  of  the  lake,  was  thickly  crusted  with  alkali,  and  the  tales  were  dead,  except  where  still  moistened  by 
the  water  of  the  lake,  showing  that  the  latter  was  not  yet  too  strong  for  such  hardy  vegetable  growth,  albeit  fatal  to  animal  life. 

Buena  Vista  lake  was  stated  to  be  iu  a  similar  condition,  but  not  yet  quite  so  far  advanced  in  evaporation,  and  still  maintaining  some 
animal  life  in  its  waters,  having  lost  its  connection  with  the  river  more  recently.  Tulare  lake  is  well  known  to  lie  full  of  fish,  and  as  it 
annually  receives  the  overflow  of  Kern  and  the  regular  inflow  of  King's  river  its  evaporation  and  recession  has  been  much  slower;  yet 
its  water's  edge  is  now  distant  several  miles  from  the  former  shore-line,  and  as  the  water  of  the  rivers  is  more  and  more  absorbed  by 
irrigation  it  will  doubtless  continue  to  recede  until  a  point  is  reached  at  which  the  regular  seepage  from  the  irrigated  lands  will  balance 
the  evaporation.  This  epoch  would  seem,  however,  to  be  quite  in  the  future  as  yet,  for  the  rate  of  recession  has,  apparently,  not  sensibly 
changed  in  the  last  few  years. 

It  is  not  likely  in  any  case  that  the  water  of  the  lake  will  be  more  abundant  or  less  impregnated  with  mineral  matter  thau  is  now 
the  case  at  the  time  when  the  state  of  equilibrium  shall  have  been  reached,  In  order  to  assure  a  fair  determination  of  this  important 
point  water  samples  from  the  opposite  ends,  as  well  as  from  the  middle  of  Tulare  lake,  have  been  analyzed,  with  the  results  given  below. 
The  sample  of  Kern  lake  water  was  taken  by  myself  on  the  north  shore  of  the  lake,  March  24,  1880.  Tulare  lake  water  No.  1  was  taken 
about  300  yards  off  shore,  near  the  southeast  corner  of  the  lake,  inside  of  Root  island,  near  land  lately  reclaimed  by  Mr.  E.  R.  Thomason, 
of  Sau  Francisco.  Samples  Nos.  2,  3,  and  4  were  taken,  accordingto  my  directions,  near  the  middle  of  the  lake,  under  orders  of  the  King's 
River  Canal  and  Irrigation  Company,  respectively  at  the  surface,  at  10  feet  depth,  and  at  20  feet  depth.  Of  these,  only  one  (No.  3)  was 
fully  analyzed,  the  total  of  solid  contents  only  being  determined  in  the  case  of  the  others,  whose  composition  could  not,  of  course,  differ  in 
any  material  respect.  No.  5  is  water  taken  by  Mr.  E.  Jacob,  of  Visalia,  at  a  point  off  the  mouth  of  Mussel  slough,  in  the  estuary  of  King's 
river,  March  23,  1880.  The  sample  was  taken  from  the  surface  at  a  time  when  a  strong  northwest  wind  prevailed,  which  of  course  had  a 
tendency  to  bring  a  larger  admixture  than  usual  of  the  fresh  water  of  King's  river. 

Composition  of  the  waters  of  Kern  and  Tulare  lakes. 

[Grains  per  gallon.] 


Total 
residue. 

Carbonate 
of  soda 

~         _       '  Carbonates 

..SfKlJ  of  >>™e  and  1    Vegetable 

saui  etc         -agBeeia,    !      -natter, 
salts,  etc.    j    am,  8jlica 

211.  50 

81.40 
81.95 
81.83 
81.72 
38.55 

22.43 
2.28 
5.32 
4.41 

13.44 

5.S7 
7.47 

35.30 
30.46 

35.  96 
39.49 

13.46 

15.01 

To  convey  to  those,  unaccustomed  to  the  consideration  of  such  matters  an  idea  of  the  meaning  of  the  above  figures,  it  may  be  stated 
that  the  solid  contents  of  river  waters  vary  usually  from  5  to  12  grains  per  gallon.  The  water  of  Tulare  lake,  where  it  is  undiluted  by 
the  inflow  of  King's  river,  is  therefore  about  ten  times,  and  that  of  Kern  lake  about  twenty-six  times,  stronger  than  an  average  rivor 

727 


70 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 


■water.  Even  this,  however,  conveys  bat  an  inadequate  idea  of  the  relation  sustained  by  these  waters  to  organic  life.  The  average 
sea-water  (containing  mainly  common  salt)  is  about  ten  times  strongerthan  tbe  water  of  Kern  lake  as  regards  its  solid  contents;  vet 
in  sea-water  fresh-water  fish  live  freely  during  part  of  the  season,  while  in  Kern  lake  the  fish  died  at  a  time  whin,  according  to  a 
minimum  estimate,  the  water  must  have  had  about  twice  the  strength  of  Tulare  lake,  or  about  oue-thirteeutb  of  the  strength  of  boo- 
water.  This  shows  strikingly  the  deadliness  of  the  Kern  lake  alkali  as  compared  with  sea  salt,  or,  in  other  words,  of  Kern  lake  water 
as  compared  with  tide-water. 

In  comparing  the  quality  of  the  alkali  of  Tulare  lake  with  that  of  Kern  lake  we  find  that  in  the  former  the  proportion  of  the 
carbonate  of  soda  (being  the  chiefly  injurious  ingredient)  is  about  1  to  U.t-s.!  of  the  whole  solid  contents,  while  in  the  latter  this  ratio  is 
1  to  3.28. 

A  part  of  this  difference  is,  however,  due  to  the  large  amount  of  vegetable  mat  her  dissolved  in  the  strong  lye  filling  Kern  lake  ;  and, 
when  allowance  is  made  for  this,  the  ratio  becomes  nearly  the  same  in  both  waters. 

As  regards  the  relation  between  common  and  Glauber's  salt  on  the  one  hand  and  carbonate  of  soda  on  the  other  in  these  BeveraJ 
cases,  it  appears  that  in  the  evaporation  process  there  is  a  gradual  relative  decrease  of  the  carbonate  of  soda,  for  we  have  for  this  ratio: 


Locality.                                       ''"sX1"0' 

Common      j 
and  Glauber's 
salt. 

. 

1.11 

1.29 
1.35 
1.78 

1 
1 
1 

Whether  this  change  in  composition  arises  from  a  chemical  change  of  the  carbonate  of  soda  or  from  an  actual  accession  of  the  other 
salts  is  not  easy  to  determine.  The  latter  is  the  more  probable  explanation,  inasmuch  as  actual  veins  and  strata,  several  inches  thick, 
of  what  from  the  description  appears  to  be  mainly  Glauber's  and  common  salt  have  been  found  in  the  region  between  Tulare  and  Kerl 
lakes  in  digging  ditches.  But  whatever  maybe  the  cause  of  this  slight  difference  in  the  composition  of  the  alkali  in  the  different  porl  tons 
of  Tulare  lake,  that  difference  is  not  sufficient  to  invalidate  the  broad  conclusion  that  the  water  of  that  lake,  as  ;jt  present  existing,  is 
unfit  for  auy  of  the  ordinary  processes  of  irrigation.* 

To  prove  this  it  is  only  necessary  to  consider  what  is  the  amount  of  the  alkali  that,  under  the  usual  practice,  would  accumulate 
near  the  surface.  Ten  inches  of  water  is  the  usual  est  imato  of  what  is  needed  in  the  course  of  the  year  to  perfect  a  crop.  Now,  1  gallon 
ef  water  will  cover  about  1-k  square  feet  1  inch  deep,  or  two-thirds  of  a  gallon  1  square  foot,  or  6£  gallons  per  square  loot  is  equal  to  in 
inches  depth  of  water.  Assuming  the  average  solid  contents  of  lake  Tulare  water  at  80  grains  per  gallon,  this  quantity,  upon  evaporation, 
will  leave  near  the  surface,  upon  each  square  foot  irrigated,  .r>;>:{  grains,  or  about  1^  ounces  of  alkali.  This  amount,  pulverized  and  strewn 
over  the  surface,  would  cover  the  whole  of  it  thickly  with  a  white  deposit — a  phenomenon  already  but  too  familiar  to  the  farmers  of  that 
region.  That  the  operation  could  not  with  impunity  be  repeated  many  years  on  any  soil,  least  of  all  on  such  as  are  already  more  or  1«  .■-.■* 
charged  with  alkali,  scarcely  requires  discussion. 

To  illustrate  the  latter  point,  a  tnle  soil,  taken  by  Mr.  E.  Jacob,  of  Visalia,  from  his  land  near  the  mouth  of  Mussel  slough,  was 
leached  with  water  to  ascertain  the  amount  of  alkali  present.  This  was  found  to  be  0.32,  or  about  one-third  of  1  per  cent.  CM"  this, 
supposing  it  to  be  of  the  same  composition  as  that  found  iu  the  water  of  the  lake,  about  three-eighths,  or,  otherwise  expressed,  one-eighth 
of  1  per  cent,  of  the  whole  soil  is  carbonate  of  soda,  amounting  to  over  2  ounces  iu  each  cubic  foot.  This  is  within  the  limits  of  endurance 
of  ordinary  vegetation,  at  least  in  so  fertile  a  soil ;  but  double  or  triple  it  by  evaporation,  and  that  limit  is  passed. 

To  this  conclusion,  uevertheless,  it  is  objected  by  some  that  the  borders  of  Tulare  lake  are  thickly  edged  with  vegetation  in  many 
places,  and  that  in  some  cases  garden  plots  have  been  successfully  irrigated  with  the  lake  water  for  several  years.  One  sinh  case  18 
reported  by  Mr.  Jacob,  of  Visalia,  who  took  sample  No.  5  of  the  tabic  of  analysis  from  the  mouth  of  a  small  canal  serving  for  the 
irrigation  of  a  vegetable  garden,  which  was  doing  well  at  the  time.  A  few  other  similar  cases  have  been  mentioned  to  me.  These, 
however,  do  not  invalidate  at  all  the  conclusion  that  the  lake  water  cannot  serve  for  general  irrigation  as  usually  practiced.  Even  the 
strongest  water  in  the  lake,  near  its  southern  end,  is  not  so  strong  as  to  injure  the  roots  with  which  it  conns  in  contact  so  long  as  it  is  not 
concentrated  by  evaporation.  But  in  the  low  tule  lands  thus  far  tried  this  cannot  occur  to  any  great  extent,  on  account  of  the  constant 
presence  of  surplus.water  and  the  frequently  repeated  irrigation,  by  which  the  strength  of  the  alkali  in  the  soil  is  kept  below  tie-  poinl  of 
injury.  It  won  hi  be  quite  otherwise  where  the  same  water,  used  sparingly  two  or  three  times  during  the  season,  would  evaporate  so  as  to 
accumulate  all  its  alkali  near  the  surface  ;  yet  it  is  probable  that  if  the  soil  so  irrigated  were  to  be  leached  by  a  very  copious  and  continued 
flooding  once  a  year,  so  as  to  carry  the  accumulated  alkali  into  tbe  underground  drainage,  the  water  might  be  used  with  impunity.  This 
would  be,  especially  the  case  with  land  underdrained,  and  could  be  more  readily  accomplished  the  smaller  the  amount  of  water  originally 
used.  The  minimum  amount,  undoubtedly,  would  be  the  outcome  of  pipe  sub-irrigation,  and  would  be  applicable  to  the  case  of  orchards, 
vineyards,  etc.  It  might  even  be  possible  in  some  cases  to  make  the  same  pipe  system  serve  the  purpose  of  irrigation  at  one  time  and 
that  of  underdrainage  at  another;  but,  in  whatever  way  accomplished,  a  leaching-out  of  the  alkali,  accumulated  from  evaporation  of 
such  waters  from  time  to  time,  would  bo  a  necessary  condition  of  their  continued  use  for  irrigation  purposes. 

This  principle  applies,  in  fact,  to  many  more  cases  than  is  ordinarily  supposed.  Irrigation,  without  proper  provision  for  drainage,  baa 
in  the  past,  in  very  many  cases,  been  the  cause  of-  the  abandonment  of  lands,  once  abundantly  fruitful,  which  were  supposed  to  ho 
exhausted  by  culture,  but  iu  reality  had  simply  become  overcharged  with  injurious  salts,  or  alkali,  from  the  ever-repeated  evaporation  of 
enormous  quantities  of  water,  whose  solid  couteuts,  though  naturally  very  small,  had  nevertheless  been  too  strongly  concentrated  in  the 
soil.  This  naturally  leads  us  to  the  consideration  of  the  river  waters  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley  and  their  relation  to  the  origin  of  the 
alkaline  character  ol  the  waters  and  soils  of  the  upper  valley. 

Geological  history  of  the  valley  of  California. — That  the  great,  valley  of  California  was  in  remote  (Quaternary)  times  a  great  inland 
lake,  which  disappeared  in  consequence  of  the  breaking  through,  first,  of  Garquines  straits,  and  afterward  of  the  passage  of  the  Golden 
Gate,  is  a  matter  scarcely  doubted  even  by  the  casual  observer.  A  glance  at  the  map  also  6hows  that,  from  some  cause  not  yet  fully 
understood,  there  exists  in  the  southern  part  of  Fresno  county  a  ridge  across  the  valley  by  which  the  waters  of  King's  river  are  thrown 
southward  into  Tulare  lake.  At  present  this  ridge  is  intersected  at  its  western  end  by  Fresno  and  other  sloughs,  through  which  the 
surplus  waters  of  Tulare  lake  or  of  King's  river  can  find  their  way  into  the  San  Joaquin.  But  previous  to  the  formation  of  this  outlet 
728 


PHYSICO-GEOaRAPHICAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  FEATURES. 


71 


the  entire  upper  valley  evidently  was  a  shallow  lake,  of  which  Kern,  Buena  Vista,  and  Tulare  lakes  are  the  remnants.  From  the  data 
given  below,  it  appears  certain  that  the  entire  lake  of  the  great  valley  had  a  somewhat  alkaline  water ;  and  they  also  show  that  probably 
the  residuary  lake  of  the  upper  valley  was  more  strongly  so  at  first,  and  rendered  more  so  in  the  course  of  long  periods  of  evaporation, 
during  whieh  "  sheets  of  alkali"  (to  use  the  language  of  the  workmen  who  dug  the  Kern  canal)  were  formed  'among  the  alluvial  deposits 
of  the  western  margin  of  the  valley. 

It  is  only  thus  the  fact  already  alluded  to,  viz,  that  the  deeper  portions  of  the  Kern  valley  alluvium  are  most  strongly  impregnated, 
can  find  its  explanation.  Whence  did  all  the  alkali  come?  A  partial  answer  to  this  question  is  readily  found  in  the  frequent  "blooming 
out"  of  soluble  salts  on  the  face  of  hillside  cuts.  Evidently  a  good  deal  of  such  salty  matter  pre-exists  in  the  geological  strata  of  the 
valley,  and  must  be  continually  washed  out  by  percolating  water,  which  carries  it  into  the  lower  portions  of  the  country,  and  finally  into 
the  lakes  themselves.  But  it  would  be  difficult  to  account  for  the  large  accumulations  of  these  salts  in  the  Kern  valley  if  there  were  not 
some  more  copious  and  lasting  source.  For  this  we  would  naturally  look  to  Kern  and  King's  rivers  themselves,  and  analyses  of  the  waters 
of  these  rivers  were  accordingly  made,  with  the  results  given  below. 

Analyses  of  waters  of  the  great  valley. — At  my  suggestion,  an  investigation  of  the  waters  of  the  chief  rivers  entering  the  valley  between 
Kiug's  river  and  the  Sacramento  was  undertaken  by  Mr.  Horace  G.  Kelsey,  of  Merced  Falls,  as  a  graduating  thesis  at  the  University  of 
California.  This  includes  the  results  given  below  under  Nos.  12  to  15,  both  inclusive.  The  analyses  of  the  water  of  the  Sacramento 
and  Los  Angeles  rivers  were  made  for  the  state  board  of  health  by  Mr.  Walter  Jones  (of  the  class  of  1878,  University  of  California) 
and  published  in  the  report  of  that  body  for  the  year  1878.  To  facilitate  comparison,  the  table  includes  again  the  analyses  of  the  lake 
waters  already  given  above,  and  also  an  analysis  of  the  water  found  a  few  feet  beneath  the  surface  at  Point  of  Timber,  Contra  Costa 
county,  near  the  junction  of  the  San  Joaquin  and  Sacramento,  in  such  abundance  as  to  suggtst  its  use  for  irrigation. 
No.  1.  Water  from  Los  Angeles  river,  taken  from  a  hydrant  in  the  city  of  Los  Angeles,  September,  1878. 
No.  2.  Water  taken  from  the  grand  canon  of  Kern  river  in  April,  1880. 

No.  3.  Water  from  irrigation  ditch  of  the  Kern  Valley  Irrigation  Company,  taken  at  a  point  2  miles  below  BakerstJeld.  Both  the 
above  samples  were  furnished  by  the  superintendent  of  that  company.  The  water  at  that  time  was  just  beginning  to  receive  the  melting 
snows,  and  was  slightly  turbid,  and  of  course  somewhat  diluted,  as  compared  to  its  condition  in  winter. 

Nos.  4  to  10  have  been  described  as  above. 

No,  11.  Water  taken  from  Kiug's  river  at  Kingsburg,  June  19,  1880,  by  Mr.  J.  D.  Schuyler,  of  the  state  engineer  corps. 

No.  12.  Water  taken  from  King's  river  at  Kingsburg,  in  November,  1880,  before  any  rains  had  fallen. 

No.  13.  Water  taken  from  the  San  Joaquin  river  at  the  crossing  of  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad,  in  November,  1880,  after  the  first 
rains;  perfectly  clear. 

No.  14.  Water  taken  from  the  Merced  river  at  Suelling.  Merced  county,  in  December,  1880,  after  the  first  rains  had  raised  the  river 
slightly  above  the  lowest  water-mark.  It  was  slightly  turbid  with  clay,  which  filtration  could  not  remove,  but  was  eliminated  after 
evaporation. 

No.  15.  Water  taken  from  the  Mokelumne  river  at  Woodbridge,  San  Joaquin  county,  in  November,  1880,  after  the  first  rain,  which 
had  slightly  raised  the  river.     Water  slightly  opalescent  from  suspended  clay,  and  residue  corrected  for  same,  as  in  No.  14. 

No.  1G.  Water  of  the  Sacramento  river,  taken  from  a  hydrant  in  the  city  of  Sacramento,  September  19,  1878.  The  data  have 
been  recalculated  from  the  published  results,  so  as  to  conform  to  the  mode  of  presentation  here  adopted,  which  explains  the  apparent 
discrepancy  of  the  tables  as  here  given. 

No.  17.  Water  from  a  well  at  Point  of  Timber,  Contra  Costa  county,  furnished  by  Mr.  T.  W.  A.  Carter,  of  that  place.  This  water 
is  found  abundantly  about  8  feet  below  the  surface  in  that  region,  a#d,  if  available  for  irrigation,  could  be  obtained  in  unlimited 
quantities  by  jmmping,  but  the  inhabitants  stated  that  it  "would  kill  the  soil". 

Analyses  of  waters  from  the  San  Joaquin  valley. 
(Grains  per  gallon.  ] 


1.  Los  Angeles  river 

2.  Kern  river  (canon) 

3.  Kern  river  (ditch) 

4.  Kern  lake 

').  Tulare  lake  (south  end) 

6.  Tulare  lake  (middle  surface) 

7.  Tulare  lake  (middle,  10  feet  below  surface) 

8.  Tulare  lake  (middle,  20  feet  below  surface) 

9.  Tulare  lake  (near  mouth  of  King's  river) 

10.  Tulare  lake  (near  outlet  of  west  side  canal,  10  feet  below  surface) 

11.  King's  river  (June) 

12.  King's  river  (^November) 

13.  San  Joaquin  river 

1 4.  Merced  river 

15.  Mokelumne  river 

1G.  Sacramento  river 

17.  Point  of  Timber  (San  Joaquin  delta),  well  water 


Total  residue. 


Carbonate 

soda. 


9.62 
211.  50 

84.44 
81.95 
70.36 
81.72 
38.55 
76.00 
4.13 
5.03 
4.54 
5.64 
6.97 


1   Common  and      Carbonates  of 

Glauber's  salts,     lime  and  mag- 

etc.  nesiaandsili<  a. 


1.22 
1.23 
64.37 
27.92 
35.30 
30.46 


13.  46 
30.95  ''. 


0.45 
0.19 


0.27 
10.83 


8.46 
1.77 
2.21 
115.  41 
37.  85 
35.96 
28.10 


15,01 

33.95 


0.15 

0.09 
0.42 
4.02 
48.41 


5.84 
5.  55 
5.33 
0.29 
13.44 
5.  37 
7.39 


Vegetable  mat- 
ter. 


3.27 


2.15 

4.18 
4.42 
2.41 
7.41 


0 

95 

0 

86 

V 

43 

2 

28 

5 

32 

4 

41 

i 

97 

4 

50 

0 

19 

0.89 

3 

70 

729 


72 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 


The  following  table  shows  more  in  detail  the  composition  of  three  of  the  waters  given  on  page  71  in  a  general  manner: 


CarboDate  of  soda 

Chloride  of  sodium  (common  salt) 

Sulphnto  of  sodium  (Glauber's  aalta)  . 

Carbonate  of  lime 

Carbonate  of  magnesia 

Silica 

Sulphato  of  Urae 

Phosphate  of  lime 

Iron  ami  manganese  carbonates 

Alumina 

"Vegetable  matter 

Total  residue 


Los    Angeles, 
city  hydrant, 


Tulare  lake, 
middle,  ten 
'eet  below 


i  Qrainnpergal. 


1.00 
4.14 
0.38 
4.29 
1.17 
0.78 
2.18 
0.26 
0.10 


Grains  per  gal. 
30.46 
20.27 
7.54 
2.49 
4.21 
0.G9 


Sacramento 
river,  city 
hydrant. 


Grainspcr 
0. 


0.29 

4.41 


In  discussing  the  quality  of  these  waters  in  reference  to  irrigation  it  must  be  understood  that  the  group  of  ingredients  moutioned 
in  the  fourth  column  of  the  first  of  the  above  tables,  viz,  carbonates  of  lime  and  magnesia  and  silica,  are  not,  only  useful  to  vegetation,  or 
unobjectionable,  but  are  also  very  soon  deposited  and  retained  in  the  soil.  We  therefore  leave  them  out  of  consideration  so  far  ns  the 
alkali  question  is  concerned.  For  this  the  carbonate  of  soda  and  the  salts  mentioned  in  the  third  column  are  of  chief  importance,  and 
among  these  the  corrosive  carbonate  of  soda  is  the  most  noxious  by  far.  The  prominent  facts  shown  in  the  above  table  may  be  thus 
stated  :  The  water  of  the  Los  Angeles  river,  though  containing  a  large  aggregate  amount  of  solid  ingredients,  has  none  of  the  carbonate 
of  soda,  but  only  neutral  and  earthy  salts,  of  which  a  very  large  amount  only  is  injurious.  This  fact,  together  with  the  perviousness  and  free 
drainage  of  the  lands  irrigated,  explains  why  it  is  that  even  those  which  have  been  longest  uudercultivation  and  irrigation  in  that  region 
do  not  show  any  serious  increase  of  alkali,  and  may  never  do  so  if  abundance  of  water  is  used,  at  least  from  time  to  time.  Hut  as  irrigation 
water  becomes  more  closely  utilized  and  relatively  more  scarce  the  leaching  process  will  occur  less  frequently,  and  the  accumulation  of 
alkali  salts  near  the  surface  will  become  more  and  more  apparent. 

In  the  water  of  Kern  river  the  proportion  between  the  carbonate  of  soda  and  the  other  salts  is  almost  the  same  as  in  the  water 
of  Tulare  lake,  in  the  proportion  of  about  1  to  22.  In  other  words,  if  22  gallons  of  Kern  river  water  were  boiled  down  to  1  gallon,  the 
alkali  in  this  water  would,  in  quantity  aud  quality,  be  the  same  as  in  the  water  of  Tulare  lake;  and  if  this  gallon  was  still  further 
reduced  to  about  three  pints  aud  a  half,  the  remaining  water  would  have  about  the  composition  of  the  water  of  Kern  lake,  as  it  was  in 
March,  1880.  Comparing  the  water  of  King's  river  with  that  of  Kern  river,  we  find  that  in  the  latter  the  aggregate  amount  of  solid 
residue  in  the  water  is  less  than  half  that  found  in  Kern  river.  This,  however,  is  to  some  extent  due  to  tho  season  at  which  the  water 
was  taken,  it  being  then  diluted  with  snow  water.  For  purposes  of  comparison  we  should  take  the  figure  obtained  for  the  residue  in 
November,  when  the  solid  contents  were  at  their  highest  am  omit.  But  even  on  this  basis  we  find  that  the  amount  of  carbonate  of  soda 
in  the  King's  river  water  is  utterly  insignificant,  being  not  yet  one-hundredth  of  a  grain  per  gallon,  against  about  one  and  a  quarter  gr.iins 
per  gallon  of  Kern  river  water,  while  on  the  same  assumption  the  percentage  of  other  soluble  salts  is  about  twice  as  great  in  the  latter. 

Of  the  other  rivers  of  the  valley  the  San  Joaquin  shows  the  highest  amount  of  carbonate  of  soda,  but  yet  only  about  one-third  as 
much  as  Kern  river.  The  Merced  has  less  than  one-sixth  as  much  of  the  same,  the  Sacramento  less  than  one-fourth.  Between  the  latter 
two  we  find  the  Mokelumue  with  none  at  all,  there  being  some  chlorides  of  magnesium  or  calcium  in  solution  to  the  extent  of  about  one- 
tenth  of  a  grain  per  gallon — an  insignificant  amount.  The  water  of  the  Los  Angeles  river  likewise  is  free  from  carbonate  of  soda  ;  but 
its  aggregate  of  soluble  salts  is  somewhat  high,  exceeding  in  this  respect  oven  Kern  river  by  1$  grains.  It  is  credited  with  a  very  large 
proportion  of  phosphates,  as  is  also  the  Sacramento  river.     In  the  other  analyses  made  these  were  not  determined  for  want  of  material. 

It  appears  from  these  comparisons  that  of  the  streams  examined  the  Mokelumue  has  naturally  the  best  water  from  the  irrigator's 
point  of  view.  Kiug's  river  comes  next,  with  a  wrater  whose  purity  is  the  more  remarkable,  as  its  sources  lie  so  near  those  of  the  Kern. 
The  Merced  conies  next,  having  somewhat  less  of  the  objectionable  carbonate  of  soda  than  the  Sacramento;  but  if  corrected  with  gypsum 
its  waters  would  bo  placed  at  head  of  the  list  as  the  purest  of  all.  The  Sau  Joaquin  river  has  the  smallest  total  of  solid  content  of  all 
the  waters  taken  at  the  same  season,  but  contains  over  twice  as  much  carbonate  of  soda  as  the  Merced;  if  corrected  with  gypsum,  its 
water  would  contain  less  than  half  as  much  of  soluble  salts  as  that  of  the  Sacramento,  one-half  less  than  King's  river,  and  only  one-fifth 
as  much  as  that  of  Kern  river. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  correction  of  the  irrigation  waters  of  the  valley  by  means  of  gypsum  would  in  all  cases  but  that  of  tho 
Mokelumne  effect  a  very  important  improvement,  as  regards  the  safety  of  their  continued  use  on  soils  of  which  but  too  many  have  already 
the  full  dose  of  alkali  compatible  with  profitable  cultivation.  Tho  change  could  doubtless  be  easily  accomplished  by  interposing,  at 
suitable  points  in  the  ditches,  sluice-boxes  filled  with  coarse  fragments  of  gypsum,  renewed  from  time  to  time  as  the  action  of  the  water 
converts  tho  gypsum  into  carbonate,  or  common  limestone  ;  or  the  gypsum  may  be  applied  to  the  soil  itself,  aud  thus  be  made  to  neutralize 
not  only  tho  soda  of  the  irrigation  waters,  but  also  that  in  the  soil  itself,  at  the  same  time  introducing  a  useful  fertilizer.  The  amounts  to 
bo  thus  used  may  effectively  vary,  according  to  circumstances,  from  200  to  as  much  as  1,000  pounds  for  the  first  application,  smaller  doses 
to  be  used  thereafter  at  such  intervals  as  experience  may  dictate.  Precautionary  measures  of  this  character  should  he  employed  as  boou 
as  possible  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  fertile  valley  of  Kern  river.  Those  using  its  waters  should  keep  in  mind  that  their  evaporation  adds 
annually  to  the  alkali  already  in  the  soil  a  small  but  uot  inappreciable  amount,  which  in  some  cases  may,  after  a  few  years,  provo 
"  the  straw  that  breaks  the  camel's  back";  and  that  therefore  some  of  the  means  mentioned  as  remedies  against  this  kind  of  alkali 
especially  should  be  eurreutly  employed  to  keep  it  in  abeyance.  Tillage  after  irrigation,  the  planting  of  deep-rooted  crops  instead  of 
grain,  and  the  use  of  gypsum  as  a  neutralizer  of  the  worst  ingredient,  the  carbonate  of  soda,  are  the  measures  that  suggest  themselves 
as  the  most  feasible;  while  sub-irrigation,  and  especially  the  leaching  out  of  the  alkali  from  time  to  time  by  long-continued  flooding  and 
undcrdrainage,  are  more  radical  remedies  for  future  use, 

The  water  from  Point  of  Timber  offers  some  interesting  points,  suggestive  of  a  state  of  things  that  may  have  to  be  taken  into 
consideration  in  all  plans  for  the  irrigation  of  the  west  side  of  the  Sau  Joaquin  valley.     From  its  location,  this  water  might  have  been 
730 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION.  73 

■conjectured  to  derive  its  ingredients  from  tide- water  percolating  into  the  loose  strata.  So  far  from  this,  its  composition  is  closely  analogous 
to  that  of  the  water  of  Tulare  lake,  except  that  the  proportion  of  carbonate  of  soda  is  considerably  less,  and  therefore  it  is  not  likely  to 
be  as  injurious  in  its  effects  on  vegetation.  Yet  the  inhabitants  report  hero  also  that  to  irrigate  with  it  "  kills  the  soil",  i.  e,,  renders  it 
unproductive.  It  will  doubtless  do  so  when  applied  in  small  quantities  only,  and  repeatedly  ;  but  it  is  likely  that  if  used  as  suggested 
in  the  case  of  the  Tulare  water  (that  is,  so  as  to  leach  the  alkali  out  of  the  soil  once  in  a  season  into  the  underlying  water-table)  it  might 
be  successfully  employed  for  irrigation,  especially  if,  at  the  same  time,  the  carbonate  of  soda  were  neutralized  by  the  use  of  gypsum.  If 
it  be  thought  too  fanciful  to  suppose,  as  has  been  doue,  that  the  alkali-water  stratum  at  Point  of  Timber  represents  the  seaward  seepage 
of  Tulare  lake  itself,  it  is  nevertheless  quite  probable  that  it  does  represent  the  quality  of  the  underground  drainage  of  the  west  side  of 
the  San  Joaquin  valley,  and  is  connected  with  the  persistent  appearance  of  "  alkali  spots  "  at  every  low  place  in  the  valley,  from  Antioch 
up  to  Kern  lake. 

With  the  lights  now  before  us,  it  can  hardly  be  regretted  that  the  old  Westside  ditch,  which  was  to  irrigate  the  lower  country  with 
the  corrosive  waters  of  Tulare  lake,  was  not  successful.  The  lake  level  is  now  several  feet  below  the  bottom  of  that  outlet,  and  the  lake 
keeps  receding  annually,  and  its  alkali  becomes  stronger  as  the  mass  of  the  water  decreases.  It  is  difficult  to  say  where  it  will  stop  ;  but 
if,  as  is  probable,  a  state  of  equilibrium  is  reached  whenever  the  waters  of  Kern  aud  King's  rivers  shall  have  fully  tilled  the  parched 
depths  of  the  plains  by  a  more  general  system  of  irrigation,  it  is  not  at  all  probable  that  the  lake  water  will  thereby  become  fresher;  on 
the  contrary,  such  seepage  water  will  be  likely  to  bring  into  it  the  alkali  now  dried  up  in  the  lower  strata,  and  the  annual  evaporation 
will  concentrate  the  solution  more  and  more.  It  would  certainly  be  most  desirable  to  utilize  the  lake  as  a  great  reservoir  for  irrigation 
supply ;  but  to  render  this  practicable  it  would  be  necessary  first  to  empty  out  or  displace  the  mass  of  alkaline  water  at  present 
occupying  the  basiu.     The  discussion  of  the  feasibility  of  such  an  undertaking,  however,  belongs  to  the  province  of  the  engineer  corps. 

From  the  facts  above  given  regarding  the  alkali  soils  aud  irrigation  waters  of  California  the  importance  of  investigating  thoroughly 
not  only  the  quantity  but  also  the  quality  of  the  waters  available  for  irrigation  in  the  arid  regions  is  sufficiently  obvious.  The  facts  as 
nature  has  made  them  should  be  elicited  and  plainly  set  before  the  people,  so  that  money  may  not  be  invested  in  useless  undertakings,  or 
damage  doue  which  it  may  be  difficult  to  undo  thereafter.  There  are,  probably,  but  few  river  waters  in  the  world  of  such  composition 
or  natural  purity  that  continued  irrigation  without  correlative  undcrdraiuage  can  be  practiced  without  in  the  end  causing  an  injurious 
accumulation  of  soluble  salts  in  the  soil.  In  India,  according  to  the  testimony  of  Professor  George  Davidson,  the  evil  effects  of  such  practice 
have  become  painfully  apparent,  and  to  such  an  extent  that  after  the  expenditure  of  enormous  sums  for  bringing  the  water  upon  the 
fields  the  government  now  finds  itself  face  to  face  with  the  costly  problem  of  its  economical  removal,  by  drainage,  so  as  to  relievo  the 
soil  of  the  accumulated  "  alkali",  which  has  rendered  it  unfit  for  cultivation.  An  early  attention  to  this  matter,  with  such  foresight  as 
will  prevent  the  occurrence  of  similar  difficulties,  cannot  be  too  earnestly  recommended  to  all  interested  in  lands  needing  irrigation  from 
the  Pacific  coast  to  Colorado  and  Kansas. 

COTTON  CULTURE  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

History. — It  is  stated,  aud  is  in  itself  extremely  probable,  that  the  missionary  padres  introduced  the  cotton- 
plant  from  Mexico  along-  with  other  culture  plants;  but  no  definite  data  on  the  subject  are  extant.  As  a  textile 
liber  for  home  use  the  wool  of  sheep  was  mainly  resorted  to,  the  methods  of  production  being:  better  adapted  to 
the  indolent  habits  of  the  domesticated  Indians,  as  well  as  to  those  of  their  Mexican  successors. 

Cotton  culture  began  to  attract  considerable  attention  in  California  in  1850,  at  which  time  a  premium  of  $75 
was  offered  by  the  State  Agricultural  Society  for  the  best  acre  of  cotton.  How  long-  previous  to  that  time  its 
culture  was  engaged  in  to  any  extent  is  not  known,  but  it  was  doubtless  made  the  subject  of  experiment  in  very 
small  tracts  for  a  year  or  two.  At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  society  in  that  year  no  award  seems  to  have  been 
made,  and  the  visiting  committee  reported  that  in  their  visits  to  differeut  parts  of  the  state  they  had  seen  a  patch  of 
cotton  of  extra  quality  at  Monte,  Los  Angeles  county,  containing  less  than  an  acre ;  they  thus  leave  the  inference 
that  no  other  growing  cotton  was  seen  by  them.  The  president  of  the  society,  in  his  address  at  the  same  meeting, 
casually  spoke  of  cotton  culture  as  a  successful  experiment. 

In  the  next  year,  1S57,  the  following  report  was  made  to  the  society  by  its  committee  of  awards  on  sugar  cane, 
tobacco,  and  cotton : 

The  committee  also  examined  the  several  specimens  of  cotton,  and,  as  with  the  cane,  we  have  to  report  the  successful  growth  of  this 
great  staple.  We  also  examined  in  contrast  Georgia  upland  cotton,  and  the  growth  in  this  state  from  seed  taken  from  the  same  parcel, 
and  the  improvement  iu  fiueness  of  fiber  of  the  native  growth  over  the  imported  or  Georgia  grown  was  manifest  and  striking;  and  in 
this  we  have  the  concurrence  of  experienced  spinners  from  the  east.  But  the  staple  of  the  native  is  not  quite  so  long,  though  fully  as 
strong  as  the  Georgia  cotton.     This  we  attribute  altogether  to  the  lack  of  moisture  in  the  earth  where  it  grew. 

Several  other  samples  examined  rate  as  fair  upland.  The  one  from  Slocum's  Bridge  has  the  advantage  of  staple  and  texture  over 
auy  of  the  others.  The  samples  grown  in  Los  Angeles  county  are  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  the  best  Mississippi  or  Louisiana  cotton,  and 
■of  course  superior  to  all  others,  and  one  grade  below  sea-island  cotton.  This  sample  is  not  of  the  sea-island  seed,  but  of  the  gray  Petit 
Gulf  kind,  proving  conclusively  the  perfect  adaptation  of  our  climate  and  soil  to  the  production  of  the  very  finest  staple. 

This  last  sample  was  grown  on  a  loose  soil,  and  was  probably  some  of  that  seen  growing  the  year  previous  by 
the  committee.     Samples  of  cotton  grown  in  Shasta  county  this  year  were  on  exhibition  also  in  San  Francisco. 

In  the  following  years,  although  premiums  were  offered  by  the  society,  no  awards  seem  to  have  been  made,  and 
only  slight  mention  is  made  of  cotton  until  1S62  (except  in  Kern  and  Sacramento  counties  in  1S59),  when  the 
legislature,  under  the  initiative  of  Mr.  Robert  Strong,  of  Merced,  offered  the  following  premiums :  For  the  first  100 
bales  of  cotton  of  300  pounds  each,  $3,000  j  for  the  same  quantity  produced  in  the  first,  second,  and  third  succeeding 
years,  $2,000,  $1,000,  and  $500,  respectively.     Other  premiums  were  offered  for  cotton  cloth. 

7^1 


74  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

At  the  nest  meeting'  of  the  legislature  a  supplemental  act  provided  that  one-half  or  one-quarter  of  these 
premiums  should  be  paid  to  any  person  producing  one-half  or  one-quarter  of  any  of  the  quantities  named  in  the 
original  act.  Xo  awards  seem  to  have  been  made,  or  even  applied  for,  until  1S!;."">,  when  Mr.  Mathew  Keller,  (if  Los 
Angeles,  planted  and  raised  108  acres  of  cotton  and  received  on  the  22d  of  December  the  stale  premium  of  $3,000. 
In  the  same  year  there  were  a  number  of  oilier  cotton  farms  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state,  one  of  130  acres  on 
Kern  lake,  in  Kern  county.  The  acreage  for  this  and  Los  Angeles  county  Mas  estimated  at  450  acres,  the  average- 
yield  being  one-third  of  a  bale  per  acre.  In  Fresno  county  a  farm  of  Kit)  acres  was  reported  on  Upper  King's  river, 
in  Merced  county,  at  Snelling;  another  of  100  acres  on  Upper  King's  river,  in  Fresno  county. 

In  1866  thereport  of  the  agricultural  society  reviews  the  subject  of  cotton  culture  as  follows: 
The  history  of  tho  cultivation  of  cotton  lias  also  been  an  anomalous  one  in  this  slate.  Experiments  on  a  small  scale  had  been 
made  for  a  number  of  years  in  different  sections  with  gratifying  success.  Encouraged  in  pari  by  these  results,  and  in  part  by  the  very 
liberal  bounty  offered  by  the  state  for  the  first  production  in  large  quantities,  several  parties  in  the  southern  counties  planted  quite 
extensively  in  1864.  They  all  lalmred  under  adverse  circumstances,  'their  seed  was  in  great  proportion  of  those  varieties  not  adapted 
to  our  climate,  being  of  the  large,  late  varieties  and  of  a  poor  quality,  rendering  replanting  to  a  great  extent  necessary.  As. the  part  tee 
referred  to  were  competitors  for  the  state  bounty  on  a  hundred  acres,  they  strained  every  nerve,  but  more  to  secure  tin-  number  of  acres 
specified  to  be  planted  than  to  insure  a  proper  cultivation  of  the  crop  after  it  was  planted.  But,  nni  withstanding  all  these  unfavorable 
circumstances,  they  all  produced  a  more  or  less  creditable  crop,  those  portions  of  their  fields  which  were  planted  with  the  Tennessee 
upland  and  Petit  Gulf  seed  making  excellent  crops  both  in  respect  to  quantity  and  quality.  Clue  of  the  parties  alluded  to,  in  a  Letter  to 
the  secretary  of  this  board,  says:  "The  sum  of  our  experience  may  Ik-  considered  to  lie  :  First,  That  the  Petit  Gulf  and  the  Tennessee 
may  lie  considered  the  safest  and  most  profitable,  and  should  be  planted  as  early  as  frost  will  allow.  Second.  That  the  low-  bottom  and 
tule  lands  of  the  state  are  well  adapted  to  the  raising  of  cotton.  Third.  That  from  the  hardy  nature  of  the  plants  but  little  skill  in 
required  in  irrigation,  and  that  much  less  water  is  required  than  would  be  necessary  in  the  successful  cultivation  of  corn.  Fourth. 
That  the  seasons  in  California  are  especially  favorable  to  the  production  and  the  harvesting  of  cotton." 

In  this  year  cotton  was  raised  at  Folsom,  Sacramento  county.  In  1867-08  one-half  acre  was  planted  in  Lake 
county,  which  yielded  50  pounds  of  lint,  while  in  southern  counties  there  were  a  number  of  cotton  farms.  In  1871 
Colonel  J.  M.  Strong,  who  had  been  experimenting  on  cotton  culture  since  1864,  planted  100  acres  of  cotton  on  the 
Merced  river  lands.  The  seed  was  carefully  selected,  and,  though  planted  on  the  20th  of  .Tunc  and  cultivated  only 
once,  the  yield  was  about  750  pounds  of  lint  per  acre.  Previous  crops  on  a  smaller  area  and  with  indifferent  seed 
had  given  him  with  one  cultivation  a  yield  of  500  pounds  of  but  per  acre. 

In  this  year  cotton  was  produced  also  on  the  red-clay  hinds  near  Sacramento,  on  Butte  slough,  in  Sutter 
county,  and  on  the  tule  marshes  at  Knight's  landing,  Yolo  county.  At;  the  latter  place  the  sea-island  variety  was 
planted;  it  grew  to  a  height  of  5J  feet,  but  did  not  mature.  On  Cache  creek  bottom,  in  the  same  county,  cotton 
grew  4  feet  high,  some  of  the  stalks  having  each  200  bolls. 

An  experiment  was  also  made  at  Colonia.  in  Santa  Barbara  county,  but  the  cotton  was  planted  on  June  5,  and 
did  not  mature  well. 

In  1872  the  largest  acreage  of  cotton  was  in  Merced  county,  nearly  700  acres  being  planted  in  the  vicinities  oi 
Snelling,  Hopeton,  and  Mariposa  creek,  and  two  farms  of  more  than  200  acres  each  were  reported;  140  acres  were 
planted  near  Bakersfield,  Kern  county,  and  smaller  tracts  in  other  southern  counties.  Cotton-gins  were  erected  in 
Merced  and  Kern  counties. 

In  187.3  the  cotton  acreage  in  Merced  county  alone  was  estimated  to  be  from  1,500  to  2,000  acres.  On  the  11th 
of  May  of  this  year  the  first  export  of  cotton  was  made  from  California,  the  Buckley  Brothers,  of  Merced  county, 
shipping  22,880  pounds  by  the  ship  Ontario  to  Liverpool.  Among  this  was  a  small  lot  of  Nankin  cotton,  which 
received  high  commendation  at  Manchester.  The  seed  of  this,  however,  has  since  been  lost.  The  culture  of  cotton 
has  been  steadily  continued  on  the  Merced  bottom  farms  ever  sinee,  with  an  acreage  ranging  from  350  to  500  acres. 

The  largest  experiment  in  cotton  planting  reported  from  the  Sacramento  valley  between  1872  and  1881  was. 
that  of  Mr.  J.  L.  Jackson  on  bottom  land  of  the  Sacramento  river,  in  1870.  He  planted  180  acres,  and  obtained  a 
stand  on  160  acres.  Cultivation  was  somewhat  neglected,  and  the  cotton  was  not  all  picked,  most  of  it  only  once. 
The  product  was  30,000  pounds  of  lint,  or  about  18S  pounds  per  acre.  The  staple,  of  which  samples  were  seen 
by  me,  was  excellent.  A  number  of  smaller  plantings  were  made  in  the  same  region  about  this  time,  but  the  want 
of  a  home  market  discouraged  a  continuation  of  the  culture. 

The  personal  observations  made  on  the  occasion  of  my  visit  to  the  Merced  cotton  farms  in  1870  are  given  below 
in  connection  with  the  cultural  details.     The  total  acreage  at  that  time  was  375. 

The  following  year  (1SS0)  a  field  of  about  00  acres  was  planted  at  Belleview  ranch  of  Haggin  &  Carr,  in  Kern 
county.  This  experiment  was  of  especial  importance,  because  covering  a  tract  of  land  which,  under  continued 
surface  irrigation,  had  become  so  strongly  impregnated  with  alkali  that  it  failed  to  grow  wheat  any  more,  and  also 
because  of  a  careful  record  kept  of  the  cost  and  returns,  which  is  given  on  page  70,  from  an  article  in  the  Pacific  Rural 
Press.  The  financial  exhibit  there  given  is  not  very  flattering,  as  might  be  expected  the  first  year  of  trial ;  but  it 
is  a  great  deal  better  than  could  have  been  obtained  on  the  same  field  with  wheat.  In  any  case,  the  outcome  has 
been  sufficiently  satisfactory  to  induce  the  planting  of  a  considerably  greater  breadth. 

In  the  Mussel  Slough  region  of  Tulare  county  also  some  excellent  samples  of  cotton  were  grown  in  1881,  and 
as  the  "alkali  question"  becomes  more  pressing  and  interferes  with  the  success  of  wheat  culture  it  is  likely  that 
cotton  will  become  a  favorite  crop. 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION.  75 

Experiments  made  with  sea-island  and  upland  cotton  on  500  acres  near  Williams,  Colusa  county,  and  near 
Gridley,  Butte  county,  seem  to  prove  that  cotton  will  yield  good  results  in  the.  Sacramento  valley  without  either 
irrigation  or  the  frequent  rains  considered  so  necessary  to  the  welfare  of  the  cotton-plant  in  the  southwestern  states. 
The  sea-island  variety,  however,  on  both  fields  was  a  complete  failure. 

Method  of  culture. — The  following  method,  given  by  Mr.  J.  W.  A.  Wright  (a),  speaking  of  the  cotton  culture 
in  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  is  usually  practiced  by  those  most  prominently  engaged  in  cotton  culture: 

To  prepare  the  land  some  begin  plowing  in  December  and  others  not  until  February.  As  a  general  rule,  the 
earlier  the  better.  Some  plow  only  4  inches,  while  others  plow  as  deep  as  from  10  to  12  inches.  Planting  is  not  done 
in  ridges,  as  in  the  southern  states,  but  (because  of  the  drier  climate  of  California)  in  furrows  run  about  4  feet  apart. 
The  time  of  planting  varies  from  the  last  of  March  to  the  10th  of  May,  though  successful  crops  have  been  raised 
■when  planted  as  late  as  the  middle  of  June.  •'  It  has  been  found  best  to  soak  the  seed  in  a  pool  of  cold  water,  at  least 
from  twelve  o'clock  noon  until  early  the  next  morning,  and  then  to  mix  with  ashes;  this  kills  the  eggs  of  the  insects 
which  often  destroy  the  crop."  The  seed  comes  up  in  from  five  to  fifteen  days,  according  to  the  time  of  planting 
and  to  the  depth  to  which  covered.  It  should  be  covered  about  2  inches.  The  plants,  when  up,  are  thinned  out  with 
a  hoe,  leaving  one  or  two  at  distances  of  from  IS  to  24  inches  apart.  The  after-cultivation  is  less  than  that  given 
in  the  southern  states,  especially  on  the  uplands,  where  weeds  are  not  very  troublesome.  Some  planters  plow  three 
times  and  hoe  once,  others  on  bottom  lands  plow  twice  and  hoe  twice,  at  intervals  of  from  twenty-five  to  forty  days, 
beginning  two  weeks  after  the  plant  is  up.  By  some  the  southern  method  is  practiced  of  running  the  plow  at  the 
first  plowing  near  the  roots  of  the  plant  and  throwing  the  soil  from  the  plant,  and  at  the  second  plowing  throwing 
it  back.  The  blooms  begin  to  open  toward  the  end  of  June,  and  the  bolls  begin  to  opeu  in  September.  The  plant 
attains  a  height  of  from  3  to  7  feet,  with  an  average  of  4  feet,  and  from  300  to  400  good  bolls  have  been  counted  to 
the  plant,  averaging  usually  100.  Three  pickings  are  sometimes  given  to  the  crop,  the  first  in  the  last  of  September, 
the  second  iu  October,  and  the  last  toward  the  close  of  November.  Some  planters  continue  the  picking  into  January 
■or  February. 

In  regard  to  irrigation,  speaking  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  Mr.  Wright  says : 

The  facts  deduced  from  the  experiments  on  cotton  do  not  make  it  safe  to  establish  definite  rules  for  the  time,  amount,  aud  frequency 
of  irrigation.  These  matters  are  to  be  regulated  by  the  moisture  of  the  ground  and  the  character  of  the  seasons.  As  regards  the  method, 
some  conduct  the  water  in  furrows,  made  wi*li  a  10-inch  turning  plow,  within  a  few  inches  of  the  rows  of  plants;  others  flood  the  land 
after  the  cotton  is  up.  Water  has  covered  the  plants  twenty-four  hours  without  apparent  injury.  When  the  crop  has  been  flooded,  it  is 
indispensable  to  plow  the  land  as  soon  as  it  is  dry  enough  to  bear  a  plow  and  team,  say  within  a  week  after  irrigation.  The  usual  interval 
between  irrigation  is  from  thirty  to  forty  days ;  the  number  of  times  usually  three,  beginniug  in  May  aud  ending  in  August.  The 
aiatural  moisture  of  the  ground  then  begins  rising  toward  the  surface  on  our  plains,  aud  irrigation  after  that  date  is  not  essential.  The 
most  important  point  to  guard  against  in  irrigating  cotton  is  not  to  allow  the  growth  to  be  checked  by  want  of  moisture  afterthe  young 
bolls  or  squares  begin  forming  and  theu  reuew  the  growth  of  the  plant  by  irrigation.  So  surely  as  this  is  done,  the  squares  already 
formed  will  drop  oft'  and  the  yield  be  diminished  to  that  extent. 

On  a  visit  to  the  cotton  farms  of  the  Merced  valley  the  following  details  were  ascertained :  The  cotton 
acreage  was  (1879)  225  acres  on  the  Strong  farm  and  150  acres  on  the  farm  of  W.  A.  Grade,  near  Hopeton.  On 
the  former  place  the  aspect  of  the  plant  was  very  uneven,  those  portions  of  the  field  having  a  shallow  soil, 
underlaid  by  gravel,  being  hurt  by  drought,  and  it  being  almost  too  late  for  irrigation.  On  Grade's  land  the 
stand  was  more  regular,  the  soil  being  more  uniformly  dee]),  the  height  of  the  plant  being  from  3  to  4  feet  and  fairly 
boiled,  yielding  that  season  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre;  in  good  seasons  easily  averaging  1,200  pounds, 
making  300  pounds  of  lint,  formerly  500  pounds. 

The  planting  is  done  in  March  or  the  first  week  of  April,  there  being  little  danger  from  late  frosts  here. 
Cultivation  is  level,  the  rows  about  4  feet  apart,  and  the  plants  from  IS  to  24  inches  in  the  row.  The  land  is  kept 
very  clean,  and  is  plowed  or  cultivated  as  often  as  may  be  rendered  necessary  by  the  season.  One  irrigation  is 
given  in  June,  just  before  the  time  the  blooms  begin  to  open ;  theu  no  more,  as  it  does  not  seem  to  be  required,  and 
trouble  from  weeds  is  avoided.  The  plants,  originally  from  Mississippi  (Petit  Gulf)  seed,  have  a  curious  habit  of 
forming  long  branches  from  the  base  of  the  stalk,  thus  spreading  more  than  is  usually  seen  iu  the  cotton  states. 
Along  these  branches  the  bolls  are  strung  thickly,  sometimes  apparently  of  the  same  age  for  IS  inches  or  2  feet, 
and,  especially  iu  the  low  and  somewhat  over-irrigated  grounds,  are  inclined  to  be  slow  in  opening.  Near  the  river 
such  long,  heavily  boiled  branches  are  having  a  new  growth  and  are  blooming  abundantly,  while  not  a  boll  seems 
as  yet  (October  14)  inclined  to  open.  On  the  higher  ground  the  plants  have  mostly  ceased  blooming  and  the  bolls 
are  opening  well,  though  somewhat  slowly.  This  sluggishness  in  opening  seems  to  occur  to  a  greater  or  less 
degree  all  over  the  San  Joaquin  valley.  Light  frosts  accelerate  it  materially.  There  is  not  usually  any  killing 
frost  here ;  hence  picking  can  be  done  very  clean. 

Picking  is  chiefly  done  by  Chinese,  who  in  that  year  were  paid  00  cents  per  100  pounds  of  seed-cotton.  The 
best  hands  pick  ISO  pounds  a  day,  the  majority  between  75  and  90  pounds.  They  carry  a  large  sack  slung  over 
their  shoulders,  thus  lugging  along  from  plant  to  plant  from  50  to  75  pounds  at  times;  they  use  no  baskets.  It  is 
very  slow  and  awkward  work  compared  to  that  done  by  the  southern  negroes. 

a  Lecture  delivered  at  the  University  of  California  October  15,  1875. 


76  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

Cottonseed  lias  thus  tar  been  used  for  feed  only,  being  sold  to  shcep-rak.ers  at  84  per  ton.  The  decrease  in  the 
average  product  of  the  land  shows  the  loss  from  this  mode  of  disposing  of  the  seed,  and  it  is  strongly  advised 
that  it  be  regularly  returned  to  the  soil.  A  "  Magnolia  "  40-saw  gin  was  being  used  in  ginning.  The  staple  is  fine, 
long,  and  strong,  as  is  shown  by  the  measurements  given  in  the  preliminary  part  of  this  report,  volume  I. 

Besides  the  large-scale  experiments  in  the  southern  region  above  recorded,  small  patches  of  cotton  have  been 
grown  there  by  small  farmers  and  by  the  Mexican  population  for  many  years  for  home  use.  Since  in  that  climate  not 
uncommonly  several  years  elapse  without  a  "killing" frost,  the  plant  is  perennial,  and  bears  several  crops,  the  staple, 
however,  becoming  apparently  shorter  and  more  harsh  as  the  plant  becomes  older.  A  sample  of  liber  from  a  three- 
year-old  plant  at  San  Diego  is  reported  upon  in  the  record  of  measurements  made  by  Professor  Ordway.  It  may 
be  questioned  whether  in  some  cases  the  plantations  might  not  lie  profitably  continued  through  the  second  year  at 
least,  even  with  a  somewhat  inferior  fiber,  of  which,  however,  on  account  of  the  long  season,  the  yield  would  be 
very  high.     Further  experiments  on  this  subject  are  needed. 

Cost  of  production. — The  following  estimate  was  made  by  Colonel  J.  M.  Strong,  of  Merced  county  (who 
had  been  a  planter  for  several  years),  on  the  basis  of  200  acres  in  1S72 : 

Twelve  hands,  $25  per  month  $3,  600  00 

Feed  of  team 500  00 

Feed  of  hands 1 ,  500  00 

Extra  gathering 500  00 

Ginning  and  haling 500  00 

Blacksmithing 100  00 

Total  expenses  for  200  acres 0,700  00 

Total  expenses  for  1  acre 33  50 

The  yield  was  150  bales,  making  the  average  cost  $44  CGper  bale,  or  about  9  cents  per  pound  of  lint.  This, 
with  an  average  of  from  $6  to  $8  per  acre  for  planting  and  cultivation  (agaiust  S33  50  above),  would  make  the  total 
cost  of  production  about  44  or  5  cents  per  pound  of  lint  when  the  yield  is  500  pounds  of  lint  per  acre. 

The  following  estimate  is  that  of  Mr.  J.  B.  Haggin  as  the  result  of  the  cultivation  of  50.12  acres  of  cotton  in 
Kern  county  in  1SS0: 

Plowing $101  50 

Irrigating 120  50 

Hoeing 395  50 

Picking 578  00 

Ginning  and  haling 119  61 

Rope  and  twine ;12  78 

Burlap 23  05 

Seed 3a  48 

Total 1,287  42 

In  addition  to  the  above  the  following  expenses  are  considered: 

Hauling  to  depot 12  37 

Railroad  freight 108  14 

Storage 10  70 

Commissions 24  88 

Total  cost 1,443  51 

Sales  at  from  12  to  14  cents  per  pound 1, 990  05 

Balance  above  cost  546  54 

Cost  per  pound  to  make  and  bale  at  ranch 0  08 

Cost  per  acre  to  make  and  bale 21  77 

Cost  per  pound  to  make,  hale,  and  deliver  in  San  Francisco 0  09 

Net  protit  per  acre 9  24 

The  yield  and  quality  of  cotton  was  good.  A  sample  was  sent  to  New  Orleans,  and  valued  there  at  124  cents. 
This  was  the  first  year  of  cultivation,  and  many  difficulties  were  encountered:  first,  the  seed  was  old;  second,  there 
was  a  difficulty  in  having  the  cotton  picked — white  men  will  not  pick,  and  not  many  Chinamen  were  found  that 
could;  third,  the  use  of  the  gin  for  the  first  time. 

Conclusions. — From  the  record  above  given  it  appears  that  cotton  has  been  successfully  grown  at  many 
points,  practically  covering  the  whole  of  the  great  valley,  a  part  of  the  foot-hill  lands  of  Shasta  and  a  part  of  Napa 
county,  and  to  the  southward  all  the  agricultural  portion  of  the  southern  region.  By  inference  drawn  from  similarity 
of  climate,  and  products,  without  direct  test,  we  may  include  within  the  possibly  cotton-growing  portions  of  the  state 
the  valleys  of  Napa  and  Sonoma,  the  agricultural  portion  of  Lake  county,  the  foot-hill  region  of  Tehama,  and  the 
entire  "  lower  foot-hills  "  of  the  Sierra.  On  the  other  hand,  all  the  Bay  region,  as  well  as  the  seaward  valleys  of 
the  entire  Coast  range,  are  excluded  from  the  cotton-growing  area  by  reason  of  the  cool  summers,  trade-winds,  and 
fogs  to  which  they  are  subject. 

734 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION.  77 

In  addition,  it  may  be  broadly  stated  that  in  the  Sacramento  valley  cotton  may  on  deep  soils  be  grown  without 
irrigation,  while  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley  it,  like  all  other  crops,  must  be  irrigated  to  insure  profitable  returns. 
The  best  experience  seems,  moreover,  to  indicate  that,  as  in  the  case  of  the  vine,  the  minimum  irrigation  that  will 
enable  the  plant  to  develop  is  that  which  on  the  whole  gives  the  best  results,  inasmuch  as  late-  irrigation  especially 
tends  to  retard  the  opening  of  the  bolls  and  in  the  low  portions  of  the  fields  to  start  new  growth,  leaving  the 
older  bolls  stationary. 

The  sea-island  variety  is  a  failure  thus  far  wherever  tried.  That  cotton  culture  has  not  assumed  larger 
proportions  in  California  as  yet  is  adequately  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  home  market  is,  in  the  absence  of 
cotton  factories,  extremely  limited,  and  the  long  distance  from  the  world's  markets  renders  competition  with  the 
Atlantic  cotton  states  on  the  one  hand  and  with  India,  on  the  other  a  doubtful  matter,  which  could  be  turned  in 
favor  of  California  only  by  exceptional  circumstances,  such  as  peculiar  excellence  of  the  staple.  At  the  same 
time,  cotton  production  has  been  found  profitable  so  far  as  the  home  demand  has  gone,  and  good  prices  have  been 
obtained ;  and  when  exported  the  California  staple  has  rated  high  in  comparison  with  the  average  product  of  the 
Gulf  states. 

What,  then,  are  the  inducements  toward  an  expansion  of  cotton  culture  in  California,  and  the  possible 
establishment  of  cotton  factories  on  the  coast  to  create  a  home  demand  ? 

With  the  equalization  of  the  prices  of  labor,  in  consequence  of  increased  facilities  of  communication,  there 
certainly  is  no  reason  why  the  home  demand  for  cotton  goods  on  the  Pacific  coast  should  not  be  supplied  from 
home  growth  and  manufacture,  and  there  is  reason  why  it  might  secure  a  large  share  of  the  Asiatic  market,  with 
which  it  is  in  the  most  direct  connection. 

But,  it  may  be  asked,  why  try  to  substitute  a  new  and  doubtful  culture  for  the  wheat,  fruits,  and  wines  for  which 
California  has  already  become  famous,  and  of  some  of  which  it  has  practically  a  monopoly  in  the  United  States? 

Apart  from  the  general  rule  that  the  greater  the  variety  of  crops  and  industries  of  a  country  the  more 
independent  and  the  less  liable  it  is  to  crop  failures  of  a  general  character,  there  are  two  points  that  speak  strongly 
in  favor  of  at  least  the  partial  substitution  of  cotton  for  wheat.  One  is  the  well-known  fact  that  wheat  culture  is 
very  exhaustive  of  the  soil,  notably  of  the  phosphates,  especially  when  the  grain  is  chiefly  used  for  export,  little 
or  nothing  being  given  back  to  the  soil,  and  the  same  crop  being  repeated  year  after  year  in  a  wholesale  fashion. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  expatiate  upon  the  fact  that  this  kind  of  farming,  or  rather  planting,  is  doomed  to  speedy 
termination,  and  that  while  for  the  time  being  it  enriches  individuals  it  is  of  very  doubtful  permanent  benefit  to  the 
country.  The  exhausted  wheat-fields  must  wait  for  the  coming  generation  of  more  careful  farmers — true  husbandmen, 
not  skinners  of  the  soil — to  be  rehabilitated  into  something  like  their  original  productive  value.  That  has  been  the 
history  of  wheat-growing  all  over  the  Atlantic  states,  and  is  certain  to  be  repeated  in  California.  When  the  wheat- 
fields  cease  to  be  so  profitably  productive  as  to  be  able  to  compete  with  the  fresh  lands  of  Washington,  Montana, 
Dakota,  and  Minnesota,  what  crop  shall  be  substituted  for  that  grain?  It  is  idle  to  say  that  there  is  plenty  of 
time  yet  before  the  question  arises.  The  truth  is,  that  in  the  older  settled  portions  of  the  state  it  is  already  upon 
us,  for  the  average  product  per  acre  is  rapidly  falling  from  the  surprising  figures  of  old — 40  and  50  bushels  per 
acre — to  the  modest  12  or  15  bushels  of  eastern  states,  and  it  is  impossible  that  it  should  be  otherwise ;  but  the 
man  who  grows  15  bushels  per  acre  cannot  long  compete  with  those  still  able  to  grow  double  that  amount.  A 
portion  of  the  lands  so  thrown  out  from  wheat  culture  may  be  given  to  orchards  and  vineyards ;  but  it  will  be 
long  before  these  industries  can  occupy  all  the  ground,  if  indeed  the  state  of  the  world's  markets  would  permit 
of  their  indefinite  expansion.  Alfalfa,  which  it  has  been  proposed  to  substitute  for  grain,  cannot  find  sufficient 
consumption  at  home,  and  is  too  bulky  for  export.  Many  other  crops  might  be  suggested  that  will  doubtless 
hereafter  find  a  profitable  place  in  the  agriculture  of  California,  but  among  these  there  is  every  reason  to  believe 
that  cotton  will  occupy  a  prominent  place,  especially  since  it  can  be  grown  on  any  naturally  fairly  productive 
soil  for  scores  of  years  without  thought  of  other  manure  than  its  own  seed  regularly  returned  to  the  soil.  It  is 
in  this  respect  the  reverse  of  the  exhaustive  wheat  crop;  for  a  crop  of  cotton  lint  takes  uo  more  from  the  soil  than 
the  chaff  of  the  wheat  would  were  it  a  merchantable  article,  while  the  grain  and  straw  were  returned  to  the  soil. 

This  point  is  treated  more  exhaustively  in  the  article  on  the  uses  of  cottonseed,  included  in  the  preliminary 
part  of  this  report,  volume  I.  It  is  true  that  cotton  is  one  of  the  most  exhaustive  crops  when  the  seed  is  definitely 
removed,  as  has  unfortunately  been  the  prevailing  practice  in  the  cotton  states ;  but  it  is  equally  true  that  no  other 
crop  now  known  is  so  little  exhaustive  as  cotton  when  the  seed  and  stalks  are  returned.  This  is  more  especially 
important,  in  view  of  the  fact,  apparent  from  the  analyses  heretofore  given,  that  while  as  a  whole  the  soils  of  the 
state  are  unusually  rich  in  potash,  their  average  content  of  phosphoric  acid  is  far  from  large.  Their  abundant 
yields  are  due  to  their  large  supply  of  lime,  through  the  agency  of  which  the  plant-food  contained  in  them  is  made 
quickly  available.  But  while  it  is  true  that  calcareous  soils  are  particularly  thrifty,  it  is  also  true,  and  well  known, 
that  when  they  do  become  exhausted  they  require  the  most  generous  manuring  to  become  productive  again. 

There  is  another  reason  in  favor  of  the  planting  of  cotton  as  against  the  planting  of  wheat  (at  least  as  the  latter  is 
now  practiced)  when  irrigation  is  required.  This  is  the  fact  (too  well  known  to  the  population  concerned,  and  more 
specially  treated  of  in  the  article  on  alkali  soils  on  pages  63  to  73)  that  on  lands  afflicted  with  alkali  the  evil 

735 


78  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

is  steadily  on  the  increase,  on  account  of  the  "rise  of  the  alkali",  as  a  consequence  of  continued  surface  irrigation. 
The  last  flooding'  of  the  wheat  leaves  the  soil  with  a  dense  crust,  from  which  the  soil-water  evaporates  rapidly,  and 
which,  the  grain  being  sown  broadcast,  cannot  be  broken  and  the  surface  soil  put  in  the  condition  of  tilth  necessary 
to  prevent  the  accumulation  of  the  alkali  salts  at  the  surface.  More  and  more  every  year  the  "  dead  spots"  in  the 
wheat-fields  increase,  and  when,  on  account  of  such  failures,  it  ceases  to  be  profitable,  something  else  must  be 
substituted,  and  that  substitute  must  be  a  hoed  crop,  planted  in  drills,  and  capable  of  being  cultivated  at  all  times. 
It  should,  moreover,  be  a  deep  and  tap-rooted  crop,  requiring  the  least  amount  of  irrigation,  on  account  of  the  depth 
to  which  its  roots  reach.  Cotton  fulfills  pre-eminently  both  conditions.  It  needs  and  responds  generously  to  clean 
and  frequent  tillage,  and  in  this  it  would  tend  to  fill  the  period  of  comparative  idleness  experienced  by  the  California 
grain-grower  between  harvest  and  seeding  time  that  for  the  time,  being  throws  a  large  number  of  laboring  men 
out  of  employment.  By  the  i>roverbial  spreading  out  of  the  work  over  the  entire  twelve  months  cotton  serves  to 
secure  steady  employment,  and  therefore  a  steady  laboring  class. 

In  one  respect,  too,  the  California  cotton-grower  has  a  great  advantage  over  his  southern  competitor.  The 
latter  has  to  "  fight  the  grass"  throughout  the  season ;  in  fact,  to  keep  the  cotton  "  out  of  the  grass"  is  his  never- 
ending  task.  In  the  Sacramento  valley,  where  cotton  can  be  grown  without  irrigation,  weeds  cease  to  worry  the 
farmer  after  the  dry  season  sets  in  if  the  ground  has  been  properly  attended  to  before.  No  summer  showers  start 
a  new  crop  of  grass  and  compact  the  surface  into  a  strangling  and  moisture-wasting  crust.  If  clean  to  the  dry 
season,  the  ground  remains  clean,  save  perhaps  a  few  large  straggling  weeds  that  can  be  done  away  with  by  a  few 
strokes  of  the  hoe  in  each  row.  There  is  no  crab-grass  to  go  to  seed  every  autumn,  as  an  earnest  of  the.  perennial 
renewal  of  the  grass  tight. 

Finally,  where  irrigation  is  once  established,  it  will  secure  a  cotton  crop  without  fail  every  year,  instead  of  the 
often-recurring  summer  droughts  that  so  frequently  stunt  the  crop  in  the  Mississippi  valley,  and  the  waters  of  the 
fortnightly  shower,  thought  there  to  be  desirable  for  the  best  success  of  cotton,  could  here  be  made  a  certainty. 
But,  singularly  enough,  such  treatment  is  found  not  to  benefit  the  plant  in  the  climate  of  California,  so  that,  in 
comparison  with  some  other  crops,  cotton  culture  would  be,  economical  as  regards,  irrigation  water. 

Keeping  all  these  points  in  view,  the  writer  cannot  but  think  that  the  wider  introduction  of  cotton  culture  into 
California  is  but  a  question  of  time,  and  that  in  many  respects  it  will  serve,  to  improve  the  agricultural  piiospeiity 
of  the  state. 
730 


ANALYSES  OF  SOILS. 


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82 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 


Table  of  humus  and  its  available  constituents  (percentages  referred  to  the  soils)  found  in  California  soils. 


Locality 


County. 


Avadnble 
Inorganic 


Available 

phosphoric 
acid. 


503 
517 
110 
105 
108 
701 
570 
579 
77 
103 
704 
586 
573 
700 
705 
109 
51 
07 
08 
100 
191 
106 
332' 
382 
47 
50G 
108 
182 
170 
000 
COG 
37 
702 
680 
I 
643 

049 
185 
188 


Sacramento  river  alluvium 

Brownish  loam  soil 

Putab  valley  itniddle  land),  cultivated. 

Valley  soil 

Merced  river  bottom  soil 

Pry  bog  soil 

Brown  adobe  soil 

Alluvial  loam  soil 

Dry  bog  soil 

Loam  soil 

Fresno  plains  soil 

Tulare  plains  soil 

Tulare  plains  soil 

Salt-grass  soil 

Red  chaparral  soil 

Red  upland  loam  soil 

Red  foot-hill  soil 

Miuiug-slum  soil 

Valley  adobe  soil 

Rod-loam  soil 

Red  loot-bill  soil 

Red  gravelly  soil 

Mojave  desert  soil 

Low  mesa  soil 

Mesa  land  soil 

Bottom  soil 

Valley  soil 

Reddish  mouutaiu  soil 

Bench-land  subsoil   

Upland  soil 

Upland  loam  soil 

Valley  soil 

Chaparral  soil 

Sandstone  soil 

Black  adobe 

Black  waxy  adobe  soil 

Sediment  soil . .... 


Valley  soil  

Red  mountain  soil 

Eol  i  iver  bottom  soil 

Eel  river  bottom  subsoil  . 

Red  volcanic  soil 

Gray  valley  soil 


Rancho  Chico 

Biggs'  Station 

Dixon : 

Merced  diteb 

Hopetou 

Sisson's  ranch 

Eiscn  vineyard 

Grangeville,  Mussel  slough 

Tulare  lake 

Hog- wallow  tract  near  Huffman's 

Central  colony 

East  of  Outside  creok 

Cross  creek 

Euena  Vista  slough 

Anderson 

Wheatland 

Auburn 

Near  Chinese  camp 

do 

Lagrauge  

Merced  Falls 

Hog  wallows  11  niilos  norlh  of  Merced.. 

Mojave  station 

Pomona 

National  ranch 

Colorado  river 

Santa  Paula 

do 

Hollister'a  ranch 

Poverty  hill 

Sequel  ranch 

Pescadero 

Near  Saratoga 

San  Francisco 

Berkeley 

Colton  ranch 

Arroyo  del  Valley  

Livermore  valley  

Hooper's  vineyard  

do 

East  of  Ferndale 

do 

Flat  on  Clear  lake 

Two  miles  south  of  Saint  Helena 


Butto 

..  do 

Solano 

Merced 

...do 

Tulare 

Fresno  

Tulare 

...do  

Merced 

Fresno  

Tulare 

...do 

Kern 

Shasta 

Yuba 

Placer 

Tuolumne 

..  do 

Stanislaus 

Merced 

...do 

Kern 

Los  Angeles  — 

San  Diego 

...do 

Ventura 

...do 

Santa  Barbara. 

San  Benito 

S:urta  Cruz 

San  Mateo 

Santa  Clara 

San  Francisco. 

Alameda 

Contra  Costa.. . 


Alameda... 

Sonoma 

..  do 

Humboldt  . 
..  do 


Lake.. 
Xapa  . 


0.749 
1. 184 
1.709 
0.867 
1.800 
1.001 
0.507 
0.044 
0.468 
0.307 
0.604 
1.139 
0.996 
0.  170 
1.420 
0.466 
1.140 

0.  420 

1.  014 
0.715 
0.712 
0.758 
0.  2s3 
0.  324 

0.  555 
0.752 
0.841 
1.055 
1.341 
0.810 
1.403 

2.  85(1 
3.096 
2.284 
1.750 
1.500 

0.396 

1.111 
2.  537 

1.  250 
0.652 
1.442 
1.6S5 


0.464 
0.562 
0.  595 
0.563 
0.984 
0.373 
0.587 
2.184 
0.334 
0.351 
0.535 
0.740 
0.100 


0.130 
0.039 
0.020 


0.019 
0.011 


0.  330 
1.120 
0.300 
0.395 
0.448 
0.407 
0.533 
0.370 
0.203 
1.439 
1.151 
0.368 

1.  001 
0.271 
0.284 
0.579 
0.025 
0.884 
1.045 


0.133 
0.200 


0.829 

0.413 

0.371 
1.171 
0.  590 
0.  427 
0.393 
0.457 


Mechanical  composition  of  California  soils. — TLie  mechanical  analyses  thus  far  made  of  California  soils 
are  given  in  the  table  on  page  S3.  The  method  oi'analysis  was  that  described  by  the  writer  in  1873  (a),  by  the  aid  of  the 
eliitriator  or  soil-washer,  devised  for  the  purpose,  and  constructed  for  the  University  of  California.  Many  important 
points  of  general  interest  are  deducible  from  these  analytical  results,  but  their  detailed  discussion  would  lead 
beyond  the  limits  necessarily  assigned  to  the  present  report.  Attention  should,  however,  be  called  to  some  typical 
soils.  Thus,  soil  No.  5SG  is  fairly  representative  of  the  "  plains  soils"  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  with  the  exception 
of  the  Fresno  region,  showing  that  while  these  soils,  ou  account  of  the  coarseness  of  a  large  part  of  their  mass, 
appear  very  sandy,  yet  they  contain  as  much  clay  as  would  usually  constitute  a  "light  loam".  Again,  Nos.  1,  2,  C, 
and  110  exemplify  the  ordinary  '-black  adobe"  of  the  Coast  range  and  great  valley,  moditied  in  opposite  directions 
in  the.  cases  of  Nos.  S,  9,  and  CS,  which  are  lighter,  and  No.  043,  which  is  heavier  than  the  average,  the  latter, 
in  fact,  becoming,  like  the  "  hog- wallow  "  of  Mississippi  (see  report  ou  that  state),  almost  unmanageable  under 
ordinary  circumstances.  No.  10S  is  the  remarkable  soil  which  allows  an  ax-handle  to  be  pushed  down  to  the  head 
or  the  arm  to  the  elbow  without  exertion,  yet  is  so  retentive  of  moisture  as  to  need  no  irrigation.  It  does  not 
differ  widely  in  most  respects  from  No.  51,  the  red  foot-hill  soil  from  Auburn,  which,  like  the  other,  is  found  to  be 
so  admirably  adapted  to  fruit-growing.  Nos.  47  and  130  exemplify  well  the  light  loam  soils  of  the  southern  region, 
on  which  the  vine  will  grow  without  and  other  fruits  with  but  little  irrigation.  The  Colorado  river  bottom  soil 
might  be  expected  to  be  a  somewhat  heavy  loam,  but  its  large  percentage  of  lime  places  it  among  the  light  loams. 
Again,  between  Nos.  S  and  9,  one  alkaline,  the  other  not,  the  difference  in  mechanical  composition  is  but  slight, 
whereas,  in  consequence  of  alkali,  No.  9  is  practically  uutillable.  These  facts  are  referred  to  in  the  text  in 
connection  with  the  description  of  the  several  soils. 


!4u 


*  Am.  Jour.  Sci.,Oct.  and  Nov.,  1873;  JaD.,  1874. 


ANALYSES  OF  SOILS. 

Mechanical  analyses  of  California  soils  and  subsoils. 


83 


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BOIL. 

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Analyst. 

No.  10.— Sediment  soil,  Sacramento  river, 
near  Sacramento. 

None. 

None. 

None. 

12. 062 

36.  682 

0.927 

13.  Ill  13.  665  10.  267 

|            | 

3.163 

0.322 

90. 199 

Sutton. 

No.  G. — Black  "adobe"  eoil,  S.  45,  "Weber 
gi  ant,    near    Stockton,    San   Joaquin 
county. 

None. 

0.360 

99.  050 

32.  625 

37. 115 

4.304 

5.501    5.617   2.013 

1.982 

3.  1450 

2.106 

1.285 

0.437 

96. 130 

Do. 

No.    8. — Non-alkaline    soil    from    Over- 
hisev's,   near  Stockton,   San  Joaquin 
county. 

0.400 

1.610 

97.  990 

20.  800 

32.  000 

3.300 

6.000'  5.600   7.300 

1 

7.500 

5.700   4.800 

1.500 

1.200 

96. 400 

Do. 

No.  9. — Alkaline  soil  from  Ovorhiser's, 
near  Stockton,  San  Joaquin  county. 

0.550 

2.140 

97. 310 

24.  600 

26. 100 

3.300 

9.400    6.200   6.200 

5.400 

4.  800  4.  700   5.  900 

1.100 

97. 700 

Do. 

No.    77. — "Dry   bog"    eoil,    southeast 
Bbore  of  Tulare  lake. 

4.100 

95.  900 

29.  793 

13.840 

1.567 

2. 195'  8. 183 

1 

8.622 

9.722 

6.641    2.115!  2.407 

1.276 

aS6.  360 

Morse. 

No.  58G. — Tulare  plains  soil,  "Outside" 
creek,  Tulare  county. 

10. 481 

23. 119 

1.329 

2.15510.644 

0.151 

7.907 

8.686 

97.  221 

Jafla 

No.     51.  — Red     foot-bill    soil,    Auburn, 
Placer  county. 

13.942 

80.  056 

13.  911 

28.  963 

2.941 

5.57011.392,15.95318.454 

1 

3.516   1.121 

0.265 

0.101 

94.247 

Morso. 

No.  G7.— Mining  slum  soil  near  Chinese 
camp,  Tuolumne  county. 

1.850 

98. 150 

18.  474 

27.  270 

0.900   8.19010.503 

11.  975 

9.228 

6.608   1.240 

0.873 

0.824 

90. 157 

Do. 

No.  68. — Valley  "adobe"  soil  near  Chi- 
nese camp,  Tuolumne  county. 

25.  330 

5.804 

4.749 

64.116 

20. 100 

35.  580 

0.835   3.987   4.791 

5.974 

4.450 

5.  440  4. 229 

2.877 

3.202 

97. 465 

Do. 

No.  130.— Bench-land  soil.  San  Gabriel 
valley,  Los  Angeles  county. 

7.720 

4.730 

5.070 

82. 470 

10.  700 

16.  320 

1.330   6.500    5.020 

7.  090  13. 100 

8.  390  10. 050 

11.  390 

7.  550 

97.  530 

Do. 

No.  47. — Mesa-land  soil,  National  ranch, 
San  Diego  county. 

9.760 

0.110 

10.  330 

70.  800 

9.600 

10.  370 

0.  970   3.  240   3.  820 

5.900 

8.360 

12.860 

13.540 

17.  730 

12.  570 

690.  020 

Do. 

23.  909 

30.  999 

0.790  11.27812.640 

8.382 

2.513 

0.752 

0.107 

0.147 

0.131 

c-91. 708 

Sau  Diego  county. 

No.  168, — Valley  soil,  near  Santa  Paula, 
Ventura  county. 

3.530 

90.  470 

'  15.020 

14  040 

1.200 

5.140 

8.330 

12.  670 

16. 360 

11.  480 

7.010 

0.450 

4.110 

6101.510 

Morse. 

No.  1. — Black  "adobe"  soil,  university 
grounds,  Alameda  county. 

13.  045 

6.567 

79.  498 

j  31.930 

24.  600 

L170 

3.400 

4.770 

7.490 

6.200 

0.870 

2.780 

7.600 

5.440 

96. 310 

Sutton. 

No.    2. — "Adobe"    subsoil,     university 
grounds,  Alameda  county. 

35.  275 

7.793 

50.  932 

|  33.530 

22. 120 

6.030 

5.940 

7.000 

0.  420 

7.930 

3.990 

1.840 

0.210 

0.020 

95.  030 

Do. 

No.  4 — "Adobe"  ridge  soil,  university 
grounds,  Alameda  county. 

13.  233 

4.607 

82. 160 

,  18.920 

17.250    4.870   6.790 

1 

6.  420|  6.  640 
1 

3.690 

7.450 

11.  030 

9.490 

3.420 

95.  970 

Do. 

No.  188.— Reddish  mountain  soil,  G.  F. 
Hooper's  vineyard,  Sonoma  county. 

c!52.  242 

14.  685 

1.053 

4.877   0.090  3.605 

5.090 

4.368 

3.275 

1.047 

0. 449     96.  787 

Jaffa. 

No.  110.  — Valley  soil,  Putah  creek,  Sola- 
no county. 

31.  400 

43.  080 

2.270 

3.  560  4.  970  4. 400 

2.640 

1.500 

1.300 

05.  210 

No.  043.  — "Adobe"  soil,  mount  Diablo, 
Contra  Costa  county. 

3.200 

90.  800 

43.540 

34.  050 

1.590 

2.590   3.130    2.790 

2.260 

1.760 

0.750 

2.230 

94.000 

Do. 

No.  676.— Red-land  soil,  Lake  county. 

30.  320 

69.  680 

629.840 

29.  950 

1.440 

3.730  6.060   6.020 

5.970 

5.380 

3.860 

4.070 

2.130 

98.  470 

Do. 

a  The  low  summation  of  this  analysis  is  due  to  the  dissolution  of  lime  and  some  alkaline  salts  in  the  large  quantity  of  water  employed,  the  clay  at  first  failing 
altogether  to  diffuse  until  these  salts  had  been  washed  out.     The  loss  bears  mainly,  of  course,  upou  the  tine  sediments. 

b  This  high  summation  is  probably,  to  some  extent,  due  to  the  turbidity  of  the  water  used  for  analysis,  which  added  to  the  weights  of  the  finest  sediments. 
c  Low  summation  due  to  solution  of  lime  salts. 
({Containing  about  25.0  of  ferric  hydrate. 
^Containing  about  11.0  of  ferric  hydrate. 

741 


PAET    II. 


AGRICULTURAL    DESCRIPTIONS 


OF    THE 


COUNTIES  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


85 
743 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS 


COUNTIES    OF    GALIFOENIA. 


TTIio  descriptions  which  form  this  portion  of  the  report  are  necessarily  concise,  rather  general,  and  restricted  almost  exclusively 
to  the  topographical  and  agricultural  features,  as  given  in  various -published  and  unpublished  sources  referred  to  in  the  introductory 
statement.  As  these  are  to  a  large  extent  very  deficient  in  regard  to  these  points,  dealing  chiefly  in  generalities  regarding  Bet  1  lenient, 
products,  and  communication,  much  that  should  have  been  stated  may  ho  found  wanting,  and  the  statements  given  may  not  in  all  cases 
convey  the  correct  impression.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  descriptions  of  the  mountainous  portions  of  the  state,  the  personal 
exploration  of  which  did  not  come  within  the  province  of  this  work.  Reference  to  towns  and  settlements  is,  of  course  made  bere  only 
casually  in  connection  with  the  description  of  the  natural  features,  which  forms  the  object  of  this  publication. 

The  arrangement  of  counties  is  by  agricultural  regions  as  already  given  in  the  first  part  of  the  report,  and  each  county  is  described 
under  the  head  of  that  region  to  which  it  predominantly  belongs,  and  is  described  as  a  whole.  When  its  territory  is  covered  in  part 
by  several  adjacent  soil  regions,  its  name  will  be  found  under  each  of  the  several  regional  heads  in  which  it  is  concerned,  with  a 
reference  to  the  one  under  which  it  is  described.  In  the  lists  of  counties  placed  ai  the  head  of  each  group  the  names  of  those  described 
elsewhere  are  marked  with  an  asterisk  (*) ;  and  the  reference  to  the  head  under  which  they  are  described  will  be  found  in  its  place  in  the 
order  of  the  list  in  the  text  itself.  In  each  region  the  counties  follow  each  other  as  nearly  in  their  geographical  order  as  possible,  and 
this  order  is  indicated  in  the  list. 

The  statistical  matter  forming  the  headings  of  the  counties  was  obtained  in  part  from  the  Census  Office  ;  the  regional  areas  are  only 
approximate. 

To  some  of  the  county  descriptions  are  appended  abstracts  from  letters  or  descriptions  (intended  originally  for  the  Paris  exposition) 
from  correspondents,  and  also  abstracts  from  the  report  of  Mr.  N.  J.  Willson  on  the  country  through  which  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad 
passes  southward  from  Sacramento  to  the  Colorado  river.  This  latter  report  was  furnished  by  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad  Company  for 
the  use  of  the  Census  Office.] 


GREAT    VALLEY   REGION. 

(Embraces  the  following  counties  and  parts  of  counties :  Butte,  Tehama,*  Colusa,  Yuba,  Placer,*  Sutter,  Yolo, 
Solano,  Sacramento,  San  Joaquin,  Contra  Costa,*  Stanislaus,  Merced,  Fresno,  Tulare,  and  Kern.) 

BUTTE. 

Population:  18,721. 

Area:  1,720  square  miles. — Sacramento  valley,  595  square  miles  (treeless  adobe  lands,  70  square  miles) ;  lower 
foot-bills,  905  square  miles;  higher  foothills,  100  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  304,077  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  127,189  acres;  in  corn,  1,325  acres;  in  oats,  418  acres;  in 
barley,  23,288  acres;  in  vineyards,  570  acres. 

Butte  county  is  separated  in  part  from  Colusa  on  the  west  by  the  Sacramento  river  and  Butte  creek,  these 
streams  receiving  the  drainage,  from  the  western  half  of  the  county.  Very  near  the  heads  of  these  small 
tributaries,  and  flowing  in  a  general  south  but  irregular  course,  is  Feather  river,  whose  tributaries  are  all  on  the 
eastern  side.  The  surface  of  the  county  thus  has  the  general  appearance  of  two  successive  plains,  both  sloping 
westward;  the  one  on  the  east,  or  the  foot  hills,  is  broken  and  rolling  and  has  Feather  river  at  its  foot;  the  second 
or  the  plains  proper,  rises  rather  abruptly  from  this  river  and  slopes  gradually  and  with  a  more  even  surface  to 
the  Sacramento  river  on  the  west.  A  large  part  of  thel  atter  plain,  forming  a  belt  from  12  to  20  miles  wide  along 
the  Sacramento  river  and  through  the  county,  is  quite  level,  and  is  embraced  in  the  great  valley  region.     It  is  the 

87 
745 


88  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

chief  farming  portion  of  the  county.  Its  surface  is  treeless,  and  its  lands  vary  from  the  rich  sandy  loam  of  the 
rivers  to  the  stiff  black  and  gray  adobe,  which  is  underlaid  by  limy  hard-pan  at  depths  of  from  one  to  several 
feet.  A  large  adobe  tract  lies  between  the  railroad  and  the  alluvial  lands  of  tlie  Sacramento  river,  and  is  liable 
to  overflow  in  wet  seasons.  These  hinds  are  said  to  yield  an  average  of  30  bushels  of  wheat  or  45  bushels  of  bailey 
per  acre.  The  adobe  lands  are  bordered  on  the  east  by  a  light,  reddish  loam,  which  is  considered  an  excellent 
fruit  and  wheat  land,  and  at  some  points  bear  an  oak  growth. 

The  line,  separating  the  valley  from  the  foot  hills  is  said  to  be  well  defined,  the  surface  of  the  latter  being  not 
only  undulating  and  broken,  but  barren  and  stony,  with  an  abundance  of  bowlders.  This  line  passes  about  3  miles 
east  of  Chico,  and  a  short  distance  west  of  Oroville,  into  Yuba  county,  on  the  south.  A  belt  of  red  land  lies  near 
the  foot  hills.  (For  an  analysis  of  this  land  from  Bidwell's  ranch,  near  Chico,  see  page  22.)  The  lands  of  the  foot 
hills  region  are  generally  of  a  red  and  gravelly  clay  character,  destitute  of  trees,  and  on  the  hills  are  barren.  The 
valley  soils  are  better  adapted  to  farming  purposes.  There  is  a  belt  of  8  or  '.)  miles  width  in  the  western  portion 
of  the  toot  hills  region,  in  which  the  soil  is  thin  and  apparently  derived  from  eruptive  rocks.  This  belt  in  some 
places  has  an  elevation  of  1,00(1  feet  above  the  plain. 

The  northeastern  and  eastern  parts  of  the  county  are  broken  with  ridges  and  hills  between  the  creeks,  and  are 
well  timbered  with  pine,  cedar,  and  spruce.  Turpentine  and  resin  are  obtained  from  the  pine  forests.  The  county 
is  comparatively  well  populated  and  under  cultivation,  the  averages  being  10.8  persons  and  177.1  acres  per  square 
mile. 

The  Oregon  division  of  the  Central  Pacific  railroad  connects  the  county  with  Sacramento  on  the  south. 

TEE  AM  A. 
(See  "  Lower  foot  hills  region".) 

COLUSA. 

Population  :  13,118. 

Area :  2,500  square  miles. — Sacramento  valley,  1,275  square  miles  (including  adojbe,  100  squaro  miles  ;  tule  land, 
140  square  miffs);  lower  foot-bills,  580  square  miles;  Coast  range,  045  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  053.010  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  261,381  acres;  in  corn,  801  acres;  in  oats,  170  acres;  in 
barley,  30,939  acres;  in  vineyards,  14  acres. 

Colusa  county  lies  in  the  western  part  of  the  great  Sacramento  valley,  the  Sacramento  river  in  part  forming  its 
eastern  boundary.  Its  western  boundary-line  lies  upon  the  summit  of  the  Coast  range.  The  western  third  of  the 
county  is  hilly,  broken,  and  partly  mountainous,  and  the  general  surface,  falling  eastward  to  the  level  valley  lands 
of  the  Sacramento,  is  interspersed  with  narrow  valleys  along  the  many  small  streams  that  flow  eastward,  Slony 
creek,  the  largest  of  these  streams,  flowing  northward  and  noi theastward  until  it  escapes  from  the  foot  hills,  when 
it  turns  eastward  toward  the  Sacramento.  That  portion  of  the  great  valley  north  of  Jacinto  has  n  gradual  fall  to  the 
Sacramento  river,  and  its  lauds  are  chiefly  a  reddish  gravelly  loam,  quite  similar  to  that  of  the  foot  hills.  The 
rest  of  the  valley,  or  the  part  south  of  Jacinto,  has  a  gradual  fall  to  what  is  termed  the  basin,  or  "  trough  ",  a  low, 
trough  like  depression,  partly  of  tule  lauds,  lying  3  or  4  miles  west  of  the  river,  and  receives  the  waters  of 
the  western  streams.  Prom  the  basin  to  the  river  there  is  a  rapid  rise,  and  eastward  of  the  river  a  fall  to  another 
basin  or  depression  of  Butte  creek;  so  that  the  river  has  the  appearance  id'  Sowing  along  the  summit  of  a  low 
ridge.  The  lands  of  this  river  section  b'etween  the  basins  comprise  the  rich  alluvial  loams  that  in  other  counties 
southward  form  so  prominent  a  feature  of  the  valley,  and  have  a  natural  timber  growth  of  Cottonwood,  sycamore, 
and  ash. 

The  tule  lands  along  the  sloughs  in  this  county  are  estimated  to  cover  about  30,000  acres,  and  are  excellent 
meadow  lands.  They  are  low,  flat,  and  ill-drained,  and  are  generally  regarded  as  unproductive  or  irreclaimable, 
though  crops  of  grain  and  cotton  have  been  raised  on  them  alter  proper  drainage  and  protection  by  levees  from  the 
overflow  of  the  river  and  other  streams.  The  high  land  between  Sycamore  and  Dry  sloughs  is  called  Mormon 
basin,  and  embraces  rich  lands,  which  yield  about  50  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre. 

The  great,  valley  (which  includes  also  the  tule  and  river  lauds)  is  a  broad,  level  plain,  open  and  almost 
entirely  destitute  of  trees,  and  to  the  foot  hills  has  a  width  west  of  the  river  varying  from  15  to  20  miles.  The  soil 
is  chiefly  a  loam  or  sediment  from  the  hills,  that  from  one  mile  north  of  Willows  lo  the  Tehama  county-line  being 
reddish  and  gravelly  in  character.  These  valley  lands  are  largely  in  cultivation,  and  yield  large  crops  of  wheat,  the 
principal  crop  of  the  county.  Much  alkali  land  occurs  iu  spots  in  the  region  lying  between  the  two  tule-land  belts 
east  and  southeast  of  Williams.  The  small  stieams  have  shallow  valleys,  wilh  silty  or  sandy  alluvial  soils,  and  are 
separated  iroin  each  other  by  low  ridges  of  brownish-gray  adobe,  which  is  often  humpy  or  hog-wallow  m  character, 
and  has  more  or  less  alkali  in  the  depressions.  These,  are  called  "  goose  lauds".  W.  S.  Green,  of  Colusa,  says  of 
this  land: 

Alt  tbo  creeks  that  run  from  the  foot-hills  in  winter  run  on  ridges.  Between  these  ridges  we  sometimes  have  low,  flat  land  with 
imperfect  drainage,  so  that  the  water  chills  the  soil ;  and  as  it  goes  otF  by  evaporation  it  leaves  all  tile  salts  near  the  surface,  and  when 
entirely  dry  it  is  more  or  less  encrusted  with  alkali.  In  winter  there  are  ponds  on  this  land  around  which  the  geese  congregate,  an<l  as  it 
■was  considered  worthless  for  anything  else  it  was  called  "goose  land".  It  is  now  found,  however,  that  drainage  and  cultivation  improve 
this  land,  and  a  great  deal  of  what  was  called  "goose  land"  now  produces  good  crops. 

The  foot  hills  which  lie  between  the  valley  and  the  mountains  and  become  more  and  more  broken  westward  are 
partly  covered  with  an  oak  growth  and  partly  with  brush,  chamisal,  and  laurel.  These  hills  are  chiefly  devoted 
to  grazing  purposes,  and  their  lower  valleys  embrace  almost  the  only  farms  of  the  region.  The  low  hills 
capable  of  cultivation  are  thought  to  cover  about  700  square  miles,  while  the  estimated  area  of  the  foot-hill  valleys 
is  about  200  square  miles.  Of  the  latter,  Bear  valley,  withiu  2  miles  of  the  Lake  county-line,  has  a  width  of  from  1 
to  2  miles  and  a  length  of  10  miles,  its  elevation  above  the  plains  being  about  1,000  feet.  There  are  some  wheat 
farms  in  the  eastern  part  of  this  valley,  but  the  western  portion  is  hardly  under  cultivation. 

746 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  89 

Tlie  upper  part  of  Cortina  valley  also  is  rough  and  unproductive,  while  the  lower,  near  the  plains,  is  of  a  better 
ebaracter,  and  is  partly  under  cultivation. 

Indian  valley,  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  county,  has  a  length  north  and  south  of  about  30  miles  and  a 
width  of  5  miles  on  the  north,  but  becomes  very  narrow  on  the  south. 

The  soil  of  the  toot-hills  is  red  and  gravelly,  more  or  less  rocky,  and  is  especially  adapted  to  fruits.  The 
mountains  <  f  the  Coast  range  are  too  high  for  farming  purposes.     Pine  is  their  chief  timber  growth. 

The  lauds  of  Colusa  under  cultivation  average  261.2  acres  per  square  mile,  the  couuty  ranking  as  ninth  in  the 
state  in  this  regard.  The  average  of  population  is  but  5.2  persons.  The  California  Pacific  railroad  connects  the 
county  with  San  Francisco  and  Sacramento. 

YUBA. 

Population:  11,284. 

Area:  7(10  square  miles. — Sacramento  valley,  285  square  miles;  lower  foot-hills,  415  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands  :  110,839  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  28,134  acres;  in  com,  C03  acres;  in  oats,  1,461  acres;  in 
barley,  1 1,057  acres ;  in  vineyards,  618  acres. 

Yuba  is  a  comparatively  small  county,  and  lies  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Sacramento  valley,  reaching  from 
Feather  river  northeastward  to  the  foot  of  the  high  Sierra.  Its  extreme  western  part,  bounded  on  the  south  by 
Bear  river,  is  intersected  by  Yuba  river,  and  is  largely  included  in  the  great  Sacramento  valley.  The  country 
embraced  in  the  angles  formed  by  the  junction  of  these  two  streams  with  Feather  river,  the  western  boundary,  is 
very  level,  and  is  intersected  with  small  streams  or  sloughs.  Along  the  rivers  the  lands,  though  formerly  mu  ch 
above  high  water,  are  subject  to  overflow,  the  mining  debris  from  the  hills  having  in  late  years  so  filled  up  tho 
channels  as  to  cause  the  waters  to  spread  out  over  the  adjoining  bottoms  at  every  slight  rise.  These  lands,  once 
the  richest  in  the  county,  are  now  so  covered  with  this  debris,  or  slickens,  as  to  be  "only  a  swamp  of  WjUows, 
Cottonwood,  and  vines;  a  waste  where  bars  of  white  sand  and  pools  of  slimy  water  glisten  through  the  sapling  s.  At 
high  water  the  thick  and  muddy  waters  of  the  river  are  spread  out  over  a  wide  region  of  level  country,  sometimes 
a  mile  or  even  three  miles  wide,  once  the  richest  farming  lands  of  the  region,  but  now  deserted,  leveed  in,  and 
covered  with  mountain  mud,  sand,  and  pebbles".  Marysville  is  now  surrounded  by  levees  so  high  as  to  preclude 
a  view  of  the  surrounding  country,  giving  it  the  appearance  of  a  walled  city  of  the  Old  World. 

The  great  valley  in  this  county  passes  about  10  miles  east  of  Marysville  and  southeast  to  the  corner  of  the 
county.  Its  surface  is  quite  level  and  treeless,  with  a  soil  well  adapted  to  the  culture  of  small  grain,  and  is  the 
chief  farming  portion  of  the  county. 

The  foot-hills  region,  which  reaches  from  the  valley  eastward  nearly,  if  not  quite,  to  the  county  limit,  is  at  first 
rolling,  but  becomes  more  and  more  hilly,  brushy,  and  rocky  as  the  Sierra  mountains  are  approached.  Small  valleys 
occur  among  the  hills,  b'ut  the  lands  are  as  yet  but  little  under  cultivation.  The  soils  of  the  foot-hills  are  red  and 
pebbly  clays,  and  in  the  lower  portions  are  well  adapted  to  fruits  and  grapes.  The  northeastern  part  of  the  county  is 
rugged  and  broken.  The  farming  portion  of  Yuba  county  is  estimated  to  embrace  not  more  than  one-third  of  "the 
total  area,  the  remainder  being  devoted  to  grazing  and  mining  purposes. 

The  lands  of  the  county  under  cultivation  average  158.3  acres  per  square  mile,  while  the  population  has  an 
average  of  but  10.1  persons. 

The  Oregon  division  of  the  Central  Pacific  railroad  connects  the  county  with  Sacramento  on  the  south. 

PLACER. 

(See  "Lower  foot-hills  region".) 

SUTTER. 

Population:  5,159. 

Area:  580  square  miles. — Sacramento  valley,  530  square  miles  (including  tule  lands  and  some  adobe);  buttes, 
50  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  171, S56  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  74,338  acres;  in  corn,  1,596  acres;  in  oats,  243  acres;  in 
barley,  14,830  acres;  in  vineyards,  169  acres. 

Sutter  county,  bounded  on  the  west  by  the  Sacramento  river  and  on  the  east  in  part  by  Feather  river,  lies 
entirely  within  the  eastern  part  of  the  great  valley  of  that  river,  its  eastern  boundary-line  not  reaching  even 
the  foot-hill  region  of  the  Sierra  mountains.  Between  the  two  rivers,  with  the  exception  of  Butte  slough,  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  the  county,  there  are  no  streams,  the  country  being  apparently  without  drainage.  Bear  river 
and  several  creek-*  flow  westward,  but  disappear  before  reaching  the  livers. 

The  surface  of  the  country  is  very  level,  the  only  exception  being  a  region  in  the  northwest  having  a  diameter 
of  about  12  miles,  in  which  appear  a  number  of  high,  prominent,  and  craggy  isolated  peaks  or  buttes  of  basaltic 
rock  rising  more  than  a  thousand  feet  above  the.  open  plains,  whose  northern  sides  only  are  covered  with  a 
scrubby  growth  of  oaks  and  pine.  The  border  of  this  region  consists  of  low,  rolling  foot-hills,  whose  lands 
are  mostly  devoted  to  pasturage.  On  the  north  and  east  are  meadow  lands,  embracing,  it  is  thought,  about 
10,000  acres,  naturally  subject  to  overflow,  but  largely  reclaimed,  while  on  the  south  and  west  there  are 
marshes  aud  tules,  which  extend  southward  in  a  belt,  several  miles  wide,  nearly  bordering  the  Sacramento  river 
through  the  length  of  the  county,  ihe  drainage  of  these  hills  is  through  Butte  slough,  at  their  southern  foot, 
which  also  in  time  of  high  water  connects  the  Sacramento  and  Feather  rivers.  The  immediate  river  lands  of  both 
the  Sacramento  and  Feather  rivers  are  alluvial  loams,  timbered  with  a  growth  of  Cottonwood  and  sycamore,  which, 
with  the  exception  of  some  scattering  oaks  on  the  plains,  is  the  only  timber  of  the  county. 

The  lands  of  the  Sacr«'ueuto  river  are  highly  productive  and  largely  under  cultivation,  as  are  also  those  of  other 
smaller  streams,  while  in  the  case  of  Bear  and  Feather  i  ivers  t  he  originally  rich  alluvial  lands  on  each  side  of  the 
river  for  a  width  of  1£  miles  have  been  to  a  great  extent  covered  with  a  slickens  deposit  of  2  or  more  feet.    The 

747 


90  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

lands  of  the  rest  of  the  county  are  mostly  dark  loams,  -with  some  red  gravelly  clays  on  higher  spots,  yielding 
in  their  original  condition  an  average  of  2.5  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre.  Stiff  adobe  tracts  extend  both  north  and 
south  for  some  distance  from  the  foot  of  the  buttes  and  occur  in  the  lovr  grounds  south  of  Yuba  city  and  along  the 
tules,  and  are  said  to  yield  from  30  to  40  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre. 

The  lands  of  Sutter  county  under  cultivation  average  290.3  acres  per  square  mile,  the  county  ranking  fifth  in 
the  state;  the  average  population  is  S.8  persons  per  square  mile.  The  Oregon  division  of  the  Central  Pacific 
railroad  runs  through  the  county  to  Sacramento,  on  the  south.  The  Sacramento  river  is  also  navigable  for  boats 
from  Marysville  southward,  and  furnishes  transportation  facilities  to  Sacramento  and  San  Francisco. 

ABSTRACT   FROM   A  DESCRIPTION  BY   GEORGE   OIILEYER,    OF   YUBA  CITY. 

The  surface  of  the  county,  except  that  portion  in  the  northwest  where  the  buttes  occur,  is  level.  Most  of  it  is  also  liable  to  overflow 
in  extreme  wet  winters,  and  levees  have  been  built  to  protect  the  lands,  with,  however,  only  partial  success.  Our  streams  originally  ran 
in  deep  channels,  and  tho  Sacramento  river  above  the  confluence  of  the  Feather  river  does  so  yet;  but  Fe-itber  river  and  the  lower 
Sacramento  have  largely  filled  with  dibris  from  the  miues.  Bear  river  now  has  no  channel,  its  original  deep  one  having  been  filled 
entirely,  as  also  the  adjacent  bottom  land  to  the  depth  of  many  feet.  The  Butte  mountains  are  covered  on  their  north  side  by  a  scrubby 
growth  of  oak  and  pine,  but  the  south  sides  have  very  little  or  no  timber.  The  mountains  being  little  else  than  rocks,  no  cultivation  is 
attempted,  but  they  afford  good  pasturage  during  winter  and  early  spring.  In  wet  winters  these  mountains  are  nearly  surrounded  by  water, 
which  on  the  west  and  south  remains  till  late  in  the  summer,  forming  tulo  and  marsh  lands.      m 

The  lands  of  the  eonuty  embrace  tho  following  varieties:  red  gravelly  clay  uplands,  which  endure  drought  better  thau  excessive  wet 
seasons,  and  dark  sandy  uplands,  with  clay  subsoil  and  hard-pan,  tho  latter  generally  from  1  to  10  feet  deep.  Where  no  hard-pan  exists  the 
soil  is  usually  about  6  feet  deep,  underlaid  by  quicksand,  and  then  by  cement.  These  lands  are  best  adapted  to  wheat,  endure  drought  and 
wet  better  than  any  other,  are  easily  cultivated,  and  were  originally  covered  with  oaks.  All  kinds  of  fruit  and  ornamental  trees- 
grow  to  perfection.  Alluvial  hotlom  lands,  best  for  corn  and  barley,  are  extensive.  Adobe  lands  occur  chiefly  along  the  tnle  swamps  and 
around  the  Butte  mountains,  and  are  productive  wheu  not  too  wet  or  too  dry.  Wheat  is  the  chief  production  of  the  county  ;  barley,  corn, 
potatoes,  etc.,  are  also  produced.     Irrigation  is  not  practiced.     Hard  water  is  geuerally  found  10  or  15  feet  from  the  surface. 

YOLO. 

Population:  11,772. 

Area:  9-10  square  miles. — Sacramento  valley,  010  square  miles  (including  tule  land,  250  square  miles) ;  lower 
foot-bills,  170  square  miles;  Coast  Range  mountains,  100  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  27S,9S3  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  115,309  acres;  in  corn,  714  acres;  in  oats,  55  acres;  in 
barley,  18,320  acres;  in  vineyards,  757  acres. 

Yolo  county  is  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Sacramento  river  and  on  the  south  in  part  by  Putah  creek,  which 
rises  in  the  hills  of  the  Coast  range.  Its  surface  is  drained  by  but  few-  streams,  and  of  these  Cache  creek,  in  the 
middle,  is  the  most  important.  This  creek  enters  the  county  from  Clear  lake,  on  the  northwest,  Hows  eastward 
through  narrow  canons  for  12  or  15  miles,  thence  southeast  through  the  broad  Capay  valley  to  Langville,  whence 
it  turns  eastward  through  the  more  level  lands  and  plains  to  the  tnle  lands,  and  disappears  before  reaching  the 
river.     Water  for  irrigating  purposes  is  supplied  from  this  creek  by  ditches  to  a  large  region  of  farms  on  either  side. 

From  the  Sacramento  river  westward  across  the  tule  and  the  level  plains  the.  surface  of  the  country  rises  to 
the  lower  hills  of  the  Coast  range,  which  appear  abruptly  along  the  western  border,  rising  to  about  1,500  feet 
above  the  sea.  The  county  thus  possesses  the  soil  varieties  usual  to  the  country  lying  between  the  Sierra  and 
Coast  Range  mountains. 

The  tule  lands  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  county,  with  a  width  of  from  5  to  10  miles,  are  separated  from 
the  river  by  a  narrow  belt  of  bottom  lands  having  originally  a  rich  alluvial  soil,  but  now  covered  with  a  thick 
deposit  of  mining  debris  brought  down  from  the  foot  hills.  A  part  of  this  belt  is  known  as  Grand  island.  The 
timber  growth  of  both  this  and  the  bottom  land  of  Cache  creek  is  chiefly  Cottonwood,  sycamore,  and  willow. 
Westward  from  the  tule  lands  the  surface  tor  many  miles  is  very  level,  comprising  a  part  of  the  great  plain, 
with  its  very  deep  and  rich  alluvial  loam,  and  is  mostly  under  cultivation  in  grain  and  fruits.  The  central  part 
of  this  region,  from  a  short  distance  south  of  Woodland  for  several  miles  to  the  north  and  west,  is  timbered 
with  wide-spreading  oaks,  while  the  rest  of  the  plains,  and  even  of  the  county,  is  comparatively  treeless.  In  the 
northern  part  of  the  county  the  plain  is  limited  on  the  west  by  a  line  of  low  hills,  lying  about  3  miles  west  of  the 
railroad,  and  reaching  from  the  northern  boundary  south  to  Cache  creek,  the  extreme  southern  point  appearing  on  the 
south  of  the  creek  about  4  miles  from  Woodland,  and  covering  there,  an  area  of  2  or  3  square  miles.  This  belt  is  3 
or  4  miles  wide,  and  is  all  well  adapted  to  cultivation,  the  soil  being  a  dark  gravelly  loam,  interspersed  with  tracts 
of  red  lands.  It  is  not  timbered,  and  to  the  northward,  in  Colusa  county,  it  flattens  out,  and  has  a  gravelly  soil,  with 
a  stunted  growth  of  white  oak  and  ehamisal. 

On  the  west  of  the  belt  is  what  has  been  termed  a  hollow,  or  Fairview  valley,  some  2  or  3  miles  wide,  reaching 
south  to  within  a  mile  of  Cache  creek,  and  embracing  tine  wheat  lauds.  This  valley  is  separated  from  Capay 
valley  on  the  west  by  the  low  Coast  Kange  mountains. 

The  country  south  of  Cache  creek  is  mostly  a  level  and  treeless  plain  (excepting  around  Woodland),  and  its 
soils  are  dark  loams,  nearly  all  under  cultivation.  A  belt  of  adobe  lands,  somewhat  lower  than  the  plains,  reaches 
from  Madison,  near  the  foot-hills,  eastward  within  one  and  a  half  miles  of  Cache  creek  and  8  miles  south  of  Woodland  ; 
"it  has  a  width  of  a  little  more  than  a  mile,  and  forms  a  drainage  sink  from  the  canons  of  the  mountains  to  Willow 
slough." 

The  county  has  an  average  population  of  12.5  persons  per  square  mile,  while  the  lands  under  cultivation 
comprise  40.3  per  cent,  of  the  area  and  average  290. 0  acres  per  square  mile,  thus  placing  the  county  fourth  in  rank 
in  the  state,  and  but  very  little  ahead  of  Solano  and  Sutter.     It  is  one  of  the  raisin  making  centers  of  the  state. 

The  county  is  connected  with  Sacramento  and  San  Francisco  by  railroad. 

748 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  91 

DESCRIPTION    BY   E.    B.   BLOWEES,    OF   WOODLAND. 

The  surface  of  the  valley  in  this  part  of  the  county  shows  evidence  of  deposit  from  the  sources  of  Cache  creek,  which  drains  quite  a 
-arge  tract  of  mountain  country  and  Capay  valley  before  coming  out  on  tho  plain.  The  valley  south  of  Woodland  is  interspersed  with 
slight  ridges,  in  the  centers  of  which  are  i'ound  light  soils,  sand  and  gravel,  the  latter  mostly  at  a  depth  of  from  4  to  8  feet.  The  soil  on 
either  side  of  these  ridges  is  a  light  sandy  loam,  gradually  and  almost  imperceptibly  changing  to  a  heavy  clay  loam  at  a  distance  of  from 
1  to  14  miles.  The  former  soil  comprises  the  best  fruit  land  of  the  county,  its  slight  elevation  above  the  valley  beiug  just  sufficient  to 
facilitate  irrigation. 

SOLANO. 

Population :  18,475. 

Area:  940  square  miles. — Sacramento  valley,  025  square  miles  (including  title  land,  205  square  miles);  Coast 
Range  mountains,  315  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  278,590  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  107,588  acres;  in  corn,  443  acres;  in  oats,  127  acres;  in 
barley,  32,222  acres;  in  vineyards,  1,038  acres. 

Solano  county  forms  the  southwestern  end  of  the  Sacramento  portion  of  the  great  valley,  which  occupies  the 
eastern  part  of  the  county.  The  western  boundary  lies  in  part  along  the  Coast  range,  whence  tho  surface  gradually 
slopes  eastward,  southward,  and  southwestward. 

Pntah  creek  forms  the  northern  and  Sacramento  river  the  southeastern  boundary,  while  within  the  county 
there  are  but  few  creeks  of  any  importance.  The  county  embraces  tule  lands  along  the  bay  and  streams,  a  level  and 
open  treeless  valley  over  its  eastern  part,  and  a  rolling  foot  hill  region  over  the  western,  the  latter  including 
rounded  and  prominent  hills,  with  intermediate  valleys  of  rich  clay  soils.  The  hills  and  valleys  are  treeless,  and 
very  little  timber  is  found  anywhere  in  the  county.  The  lands  have  been  classified  by  the  county  tax  assessor  as 
follows:  First  class,  agricultural  lands  for  fruit,  50,000  acres;  second  class,  for  grain,  250,000  acres;  third  class, 
reclaimed  swamp  and  overflowed  lands,  200,000  acres;  fourth  class,  partially  reclaimed  swamp  and  adjacent 
uplands  having  an  alkali  soil,  75,000  acres;  fifth  class,  swamp  and  overflowed  lands  and  high  and  unproductive 
mountain  ranges,  the  remainder. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  agricultural  features  of  the  county  is  what  is  known  as  the  "Vacaville  fruit  region", 
reaching  from  Vacaville  north  to  Put  ah  creek,  and  embracing  Vacaville  and  Pleasant  valleys  and  the  adjoining 
foot-hills,  its  length  being  about  12  miles,  and  its  width  from  1  to  3  miles.  Vacaville  valley  slopes  from  the  hills  in 
a  south  and  southeast  course,  while  Pleasant  valley  slopes  northward,  each  opening  out  into  the  Sacramento  plain. 
A  part  of  tho  region  is  in  what  is  known  as  the  thermal  belt  of  the  Coast  range,  a  location  of  a  few  hundred  feet 
above  the  Sacramento  plains  and  above  frost  limits.  The  southern  part;  of  the  region  is  cut  off  from  Suisun  bay 
on  tho  south  by  the  Montezuma  hills,  a  succession  of  low,  rounded  hills,  which  extend  eastward  beyond  the  railroad. 
They  have  chiefly  an  adobe  soil,  partly  under  cultivation  in  wheat.  There  is  some  adobe  land  around  Vacaville,  but 
otherwise  the  soils  of  the  belt  are  a  dark  loam. 

Green  valley,  north  of  Benicia,  is  about  11  miles  long  and  5  miles  wide,  and  is  bordered  southward  by  high  rolling 
uplands,  which  at  some  points  fall  off  steeply  into  Suisun  ami  San  Pablo  bays.  Mare  island,  the  site  of  the  United 
States  navy-yard,  is  opposite  the  thriving  town  of  Vallejo,  and  is  separated  from  the  mainland  by  Napa  slough. 
Its  southern  end  presents  a  bold  and  rocky  headland,  projecting  into  the  bay,  and  falling  off  gradually  to  the 
northward  into  a  broad  expanse  of  tule  lands.  The  valley  lauds  around  Vallejo  are  partly  adobe,  while  those  of  the 
adjoining  hills  are  dark  sandy  loams;  light-colored  calcareous  clays  underlie  some  of  the  lands. 

Tho  foot-hills  of  the  county  are  partly  covered  with  a  scattered  growth  of  oaks,  horse-chestnut,  buckeye,  etc., 
and  where  not  too  steep  or  broken  are  partly  under  cultivation. 

The  lands  ot  the  Sacramento  valley,  or  eastern  portion  of  the  county,  are  the  dark  loams,  often  adobe  in 
character,  belonging  to  the  higher  portions  of  the  great  valley.  These  lauds  are  almost  treeless  and  very  level, 
and  are  cut  occasionally  by  arroyos  or  ravines.  The  greater  part  is  under  fence  and  cultivation,  the  chief  crop 
being  small  grain.  The  lands  of  Putah  Creek  valley  embrace  loic  and  middle  lands  of  rather  stiff'  loam  soils,  and 
high  lands,  lighter  in  character,  and  2  or  3  feet  above  the  latter.  These  are  described  below  by  the  correspondent, 
and  an  analysis  of  the  middle  lands  will  be  found  on  page  22. 

The  average  population  of  the  county  is  19.0  persons,  and  that  of  lauds  under  cultivation  29G.3  acres  per  square 
mile.  In  tho  latter  regard  the  county  ranks  as  fifth  in  the  state,  and  this  average  is  the  same  as  that  of  Sutter,  and 
but  three-tenths  of  an  acre  below  that  of  Yolo. 

Transportation  facilities  to  San  Francisco  and  Sacramento  are  afforded  the  county  by  the  California  Pacific  and 
Northern  railroad,  which  passes  through  from  east  to  west,  and  by  a  branch  road  from  Elinira  to  Vacaville  and 
Winters  on  the  north.  Ships  also  cau  reach  Benicia  and  Vallejo  through  the  bay  and  receive  their  cargoes  of  grain 
direct  from  the  warehouses  at  these  points. 

ABSTEACT   FROM   A   DESCRIPTION    BY   J.    M.    DUDLEY,  OP   DIXON. 

The  section  described  lies  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  along  and  south  of  Putah  creek,  extending  eastward  from  near  the 
loot-hills  of  the  Coast  range  for  a  distance  of  10  or  12  miles  and  varying  in  width  (southward  from  the  creek)  from  2  to  12  miles.  It  is 
intersected  by  several  dry  sloughs  or  "arroyos1',  which  run  nearly  parallel  with  each  other  from  northwest  to  southeast.  The  land  is 
highest  along  the  banks  of  these  arroyos,  but  otherwise  the  whole  tract  is  quite  level,  and  has  a  slight  fall  toward  the  southeast,  which 
affords  good  drainage  without  washing  or  gullying. 

There  is  no  timber  growth,  except  a  few  scattering  oaks  along  Putah  creek,  and  occasionally  a  few  dwarfed  elder  bushes.  There 
is  a  natural  growth  of  wild  oats,  altilerilla,  wild  clover,  and  Eachxcholtzia  CaL,  with  occasional  patches  of  buueh-grass. 

The  soils  of  this  region  are  rich  and  deep,  and  embrace  three  chief  varieties,  low,  middle,  and  hitjh  lands — the  first  two  dark  loams, 
the  last  a  lighter  loam,  and  all  very  productive.  There  is  some  adobe  in  small  tracts  in  the  lowest  parts  of  the  surface  away  from  the 
creek. 

Tit) 


02  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

The  crops  comprise  wheat  aud  barley,  with  small  patches  of  alfalfa,  which  docs  not  prow  remarkably  well.  The  yield  of  wheat  and 
barley  on  land  after  ten  and  twenty  years'  cultivation  is  as  great  as  at  tirst.  Summer-fallowed  land  yields  from  :15  to  40  bushels  of  wheat, 
while  winter-sown  wheat  yields  about  25  bushels  per  acre.     The  average  of  bai  ley,  if  winter-sown,  is  about  40  bushels  per  acre. 

Abundant  water  for  common  purposes  is  obtained  in  wells,  which  are  dug  from  30  to  00  feet  deep,  the  water  then  rising  and  remaining 
at  from  lb'  to  25  feet  from  the  top.     The  water  is  hard,  and  is  usually  found  in  a  quicksand  stratum. 

ABSTRACT   FROM   A   DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    VALLEJO    REGION   BY   G.    C.    PEARSON,    OF   VALLEJO. 

This  region  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Napa  valley,  e,i6t  by  .Suisun  bay,  south  by  Curquines  straits,  and  west  by  San  Pablo  bay,  nud 
embraces  from  90,000  to  100,000  acres.  The  only  outlet  to  the  ocean  for  the  waters  of  I  be  great  valley  is  through  L'arq  nines  straits,  which 
has  a  width  of  about  a  mile  and  a  length  of  8  miles.  This  gateway  not  only  affords  easy  railroad  facilities  for  reaching  the  ocean  shore,  but  is 
also  an  immense  aerator,  the  ocean  winds  from  May  till  November  blowing  daily  and  strongly  through  this  pass  into  t  he  valley  on  i he  east, 
thus  tempering  tho  heat  of  Bummer,  which  would  otherwise,  be  oppressive.  The  logs  brought  from  the  bay  by  these  winds  npparciitly 
pass  no  further  inland,  but  are  piled  up  in  fog  banks  upon  the  sides  of  the  mountains  on  the  north  and  soulli  and  against  tin-  highest 
points  of  ihe  ridge  intersecting  this  gap.  With  an  average  temperature  at  T0C  in  summer  aud  55°  in  winter,  and  almosi  surrounded  by 
water  which  has  a  tidal  service  of  from  4  to  G  feet,  vegetation  is  seldom  seriously  affected  by  frost.  Flowers  bloom  continuously,  and 
vegetable  gardens  yield  gooil  returns  at  all  seasons  of  tho  year  for  the  labor  bestowed  on  them. 

A  rocky  ridge,  running  northwest  aud  southeast  near  the  center,  renders  a  small  portion  of  the  district  roughand  broken  :  elsewhere 
it  is  undulating,  diversified  by  rounded  lid  Is,  eo/.y  valleys,  aud  open  plains  sloping  gradually  from  the  central  ridge  to  the  level  nf  the  bays 
on  the  east  and  west.  Tho  district  is  well  watered  by  springs  and  streams  flowing  front  them.  Good  ami  sufficient  water  is  obtained  in. 
wells  from  10  to  80  feot  from  the  surface,  and  a  noticeable  feature  is  that  at  tide-level  much  deeper  wells  are  required  to  secure  an  unfailing 
Supply  than  upon  the  uplands  or  even  hilltops.  The  soil  varies  in  thickness  from  1  to  0  feet  on  the  hills  and  sloping  ground  to  about  8 
aud  10  feet  in  the  valleys.  In  the  valleys,  whero  unmixed  with  saud  from  the  hills,  the  soil  is  a  black  tenacious  adube,  and  upon  tho 
uplands  a  clay  loam  ;  both  are  durablo  and  excellent  for  grain  or  gniss.  Tho  crops  comprise  tho  cereals  aud  fruits,  the  latti  r  including 
apples,  pears,  plums,  figs,  oranges,  and  grapes. 

SACKAMENTO. 

Population:  34,390. 

Area;  1,0(10  square  miles. — Sacramento  valley,  035  square  miles  (including;  tule  land,  245  square  miles);  lower 
foot-hills,  05  square  miles. 

Tilled  lamia:  301,027  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  4-1,123  acres;  in  corn,  3,928  acres;  in  oats,  871  acres;  in. 
barley,  30,547  acres;  in  vineyards,  1,038  acres. 

Sacramento  county  is  hounded  on  the  west  by  the  river  of  tho  same  name  and  on  the  south  in  part  by  the 
Mokelumue  river,  aud  lies  almost  entirely  within  the  great  valley. 

The  American  and  Cosninnes  rivers  tire  the  two  other  most  important  streams  of  the  comity.  These  rivers  rise 
anions  the  mountains  of  the  adjoining  eastern  counties  and  flow  south  westward,  the  former  to  tiie  Sacramento* 
river  at  Sacramento  city,  aud  the  latter  to  the  Mokelumne  river  on  the  south.  Several  creeks  tire  tributary 
to  these  streams. 

The  county  includes  on  the  extreme  east  a  belt  of  foot-hills  from  0  to  8  miles  wide,  Folsoin  being  on  its  western 
limit ;  but  otherwise  the  surface  litis  only  gentle  undulations,  and  is  watered  by  streams  Bowing  into  the  marshes  of 
the  title  lands,  through  which  their  waters  reach  the  Sacramento  river  by  many  channels.  "  The  main  Sacra  men  n> 
river  (also  separating,  as  it  flows  south,  into  diverse  branches  or  sloughs,  some  of  which  arc  very  intricate)  runs 
across  the  broad  tule  bottoms  in  crooked  channels,  cutting  them  up  into  numerous  small  and  several  large  islands." 
Along  the  border  of  this  river  there  is  a  belt  of  alluvial  hind  varying  in  width  from  one-half  mile  to  a  mile  or  more,. 
originally  timbered  with  Cottonwood  and  sycamore,  which  is  almost  entirely  under  cultivation. 

A  lower  region  or  belt  of  title,  hinds  borders  this  on  the  east,  which  is  quite  narrow  in  the  northern  half  of  tho 
county,  but  expands  to  a  widtli  of  15  miles  on  the  south.  Portions  of  these  lands  have  been  reclaimed  or  protected 
from  the  overflow  to  which  they  are  subject  and  are  under  cultivation,  but  the  greater  part  is  used  as  pasture  hind;, 
thence  eastward  the  surface  gradually  rises  to  the  foot  hills,  fiom  whose  spurs  diverge  broad,  low  ridges  of  reddish, 
loam  soil,  gravelly  near  ihe  hills,  alternating  with  swales  having  a  soil  somewhat  heavier  and  less  deeply  tinted, 
these  undulations  being  perceptible  far  into  the  plain.  When  fresh,  the  lands  of  this  plain  produce  30  bushels  of 
wheat  per  acre;  they  are,  however,  chiefly  devoted  to  fruit  culture.  Southeast  of  Sacramento  the  red  lands  tire 
underlaid  by  a  porous  and  soft  material  at  from  2  to  0  feet,  and  this  by  an  impervious  clay.  The  belt  of  foot- 
hills is  rolling,  interspersed  with  low  hills,  and  its  soils  are  red  aud  gravelly  clays,  having  a  scattering  growth, 
of  oaks.     A  few  mountain  spurs  from  the  Sierra  enter  the  county. 

The  lands  of  the  county  under  cultivation  average  304.0  acies  per  square  mile,  a  number  exceeded  only  by  San 
Joaqtiin  county.  Fiom  the  city  of  Sacramento  railroads  reach  east,  west,  north,  and  south,  and  the  river  is  uavigtt ted 
by  steamers  both  above  and  below. 

ABSTRACT    FRCM  A  DESCRIPTION  BY   GEORGE   RICH,   OF   SACRAJIENTO. 

After  passing  the  lowlands  of  the  river,  comprising  rich  black-loam  soils,  we  reach  a  high  bench  of  red  laud  of  various  depths.  Still 
eastward  the  country  rises  gradually,  aud  we  pass  over  various  soils,  such  as  rod  lands,  adobe,  clay  loams,  and  sandy  lands,  with  gravelly 
lauds  upon  the  higher  plateaus  of  the  foot-hills,  until   we  reach  the  mountain  ranges,  interspersed  with  rich  valleys. 

The  surfaco  of  the  great  valley  is  sloping,  scarcely  perceptible  to  the  eye,  aud  very  open,  with  here  anil  there  a  clump  of  oak 
trees.  It.  is  covered  with  a  natural  growth  of  grass,  and  in  spriug  time  is  a  bed  of  flowers.  The  soil  is  from  1  foot  too  feet  deep,  resting  on  a 
hard-pan  from  10  to  40  feet  deep.  The  winter  rains  do  not  wash  the  lands  much,  and  the  surface  is  wavy,  with  Utile  hillocks  here  and 
there,  the  water  being  carried  oil'  readily.  In  places  the  mounds  are  from  10  to  15  feet  above  the  plain.  There  is  little  natural  tiribcr  iu 
the  county.  The  chief  crops  are  small  fruit,  vegetables,  hay,  barley,  and  wheat.  Good  virgin  lauds  have  produced  :10  bushels  of  wheat), 
£5  bushels  of  oats,  or  1^  to  2  tons  of  hay  per  acre.  Alfalfa  is  raised  in  large  quantities  on  the  river  bottoms. 
750 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  93' 

ABSTRACT  FROM   A  DESCRIPTION  BY  DANIEL  FLINT,   OF  SACRAMENTO. 

The  Sacramento  valley  is  abont  30  or  40  miles  wide,  aud  Sacramento  city  is  about  75  miles  from  the  summit  of  the  Sierra  mountains. 
The  soil  of  the  valley  is  of  a  reddish  color,  and  overlies  a  hard-pan  from  2  to  6  feet  from  the  surface.  The  river  lands  are  partly  a  clayey, 
sandy  loam  of  great  depth  and  richness.  The  native  timber  embraces  several  varieties  of  oak,  willow,  cottonwood,  and  sycamore. 
The  Sacramento  and  Amerioan  rivers  are  leveed  to  afford  the  city  protection  from  overflow. 

SAN  JOAQUIN. 

Population:  24,349. 

Area:  1,300  square  miles. — Great  valley,  1,210  square  miles  (including  adobe,  310  square  miles,  and  tide  land, 
320  square  miles) ;  lower  foot-hills,  50  square  miles;  Coast  Range  mountains,  100  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands :  400,342  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  201,401  acres ;  in  corn,  2,333  acres ;  in  oats,  130  acres ;  in 
barley,  32, GOO  acres;  in  vineyards,  074  acres. 

The  eastern  portion  of  San  Joaquin  county  lies  in  the  foothills  of  the  Sierra,  while  the  extreme  southwestern 
part  rests  upon  the  Coast  Range  mountains,  the  central  and  greater  area  being  thus  included  in  the  great  valley  of 
the  San  Joaquin  river,  which  stream  flows  northwestward,  the  Sacramento  river  forming  the  northwest  boundary 
of  the  county.  Other  large  streams,  such  as  the  Mokelumne,  Calaveras,  and  Stanislaus  rivers,  all  flowing  westward, 
drain  the  eastern  part  of  the  county,  and  seveial  streams  occur  on  the  west.  The  surface  of  the  country,  with 
the  exception  of  the  two  extremes  mentioned,  is  quite  level,  and  is  dotted  over  with  a  scattering  growth  of  white 
and  a  few  live  oats  as  far  south  as  French  Camp  slough,  beyond  which  there  is  but  an  open  plain  from  the  San 
Joaquin  river  eastward  for  15  miles.  The  larger  streams  are  mostly  lined  with  a  growth  of  cottonwood,  willows, 
aud  sycamore. 

This  county,  situated  as  it  is  at  the  point  where  the  Sacramento  aud  San  Joaquin  plains  unite,  or  rather  at  the 
foot  of  each  plain  and  in  the  center  of  the  great  valley,  naturally  possesses  a  variety  in  its  agricultural  features.  The 
lands  of  each  valley  are  to  some  extent  represented,  aud  we  find  on  the  west,  along  the  rivers,  a  broad  region  of  tule 
lands  and  marshes,  on  the  east  the  foot-hill  belt,  extending  through  the  county,  while  in  the  broad  valley  plain  the 
alluvial  loams  of  the  Sacramento  valley  reach  southward  nearly  to  Calaveras  river,  and  the  sandy  lauds  of  the  San 
Joaquin  valley  extend  northward  as  far  as  French  Camp  slough,  the  two  beiug  separated  by  a  broad  belt  of  black 
loam  and  adobe  lands  reaching  from  the  foot  hills  westward  to  the  tule  lands. 

Tule  lands. — "West  of  Stockton  to  the  county-line,  and  from  a  point  some  fifteen  miles  south  to  the  northwest 
corner,  there  is  an  immense  tract  of  tule  lands  (estimated  at  200,000  acres),  through  which  the  San  Joaquin  aud 
Sacramento  rivers  find  their  way  in  many  channels  to  their  junction  aud  to  Suisun  bay.  Numerous  islands  occur 
in  this  region,  but  are  subject  to  overflow  from  the  rivers ;  they  have  rich  soils,  aud  when  properly  leveed  are 
under  cultivation.  Robert's  island,  with  its  area  of  about  07,000  acres,  is  the  largest.  Eastward  the  tules  are  not 
so  low,  and  by  a  sysiem  of  levees  they  have  been  largely  reclaimed  and  are  under  cultivation. 

The  valley  lands  — A  strip  of  sandy  alkali  lauds,  with  a  width  in  places  of  about  1A  miles,  borders  the  tules  on 
the  east.     It  is  covered  with  salt-grass  aud  a  scattering  willow  growth. 

The  northern  part  of  the  valley,  from  the  county-line  south  to  within  2  miles  of  Calaveras  river,  has  a  sandy 
loam  soil,  quit  e  deep,  and  is  watered  by  Mokelumne  river,  whose  wide  bottom  land  is  timbered  with  willows,  sycamores, 
and  oaks.  The  surface  of  the  country  is  very  level,  gradually  rising  eastward  to  the  foot-hills,  and  is  dotted  over 
with  a  growth  of  white  and  some  live  oaks.  This  growth  is  said  to  have  been  originally  very  dense,  but  the  entire 
country  is  now  under  fence  and  has  lieeu  cleared.  As  the  foot  hills  are  approached  the  lauds  become  darker  and 
richer  and  form  a  plateau  some  15  or  20  leet  above  the  river  bottoms.  The  western  part  of  this  sandy  loam  country 
is  the  great  watermelon  region  of  the  state,  but  small  graiu  is  produced  abundantly.  The  eastern  portion  has  been 
but  recently  furnished  with  transportation  facilities  by  the  building  of  the  San  Joaquin  and  Nevada  railroad. 

The  central  portion  of  the  valley,  as  has  already  been  stated,  is  a  black  loam  or  adobe  region,  and  forms  the 
divide  between  the  two  great  valley  regions,  reaching  from  the  foot  hills  westward  to  the  tule  lands  of  the  rivers. 
Its  surface  is  ver>  level,  dotted  over  with  scattered  white-oak  trees,  is  almost  entirely  under  fence,  ami  is  largely  under 
cultivation.  The  northern  limit  of  the  adobe  region  lies  2  miles  north  of  Calaveras  river  eastward  to  the  foot-hills; 
the  southern  limit  is  along  French  Cam])  slough  for  several  miles,  and  thence  southeast  to  Fanningtoti  aud  Oakdale, 
in  Stanislaus  county.  The  western  part  of  the  region  has  a  width  of  about  ten  miles,  hi  the  middle  of  which  is  the 
city  oi  Stockton.  The  adobe  soil  is  said  to  be  from  5  to  10  feet  deep,  and  is  interspersed  with  tracts  of  a  light 
loam,  which  yields  about  30  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre.  A  strip  of  alkali  land  reaches  from  the  border  of  the  tules, 
near  Stockton,  northeastward  to  ihe  Calaveras  river,  a  distance  of  about  11  miles.  Its  width  is  from  1  to  2  miles, 
though  within  this  belt  it  occurs  only  in  spots  or  small  tracts  a  few  inches  below  the  general  level  of  the  adobe 
lauds,  off  en  covered  with  salt-grass,  aud  entirely  unproductive. 

The  southern  part  of  the  valley,  or  that  portion  lying  south  of  French  Camp  slough  and  west  from  the  San 
Joaquin  river  to  the  black  lands  of  Farmington,  is  level,  sandy,  and  treeless,  mostly  unproductive  unless  irrigated, 
and  is  the  extreme  northern  representative  of  the  similar  lands  of  the  San  Joaquin  plains  of  the  counties  south.  On 
the  west  of  the  river,  to  the  Coast  range,  and  south  of  the  tules,  these  sandy  lands  also  oecur,  interspersed  with 
much  black  adobe,  and  from  lack  of  irrigation  facilities  are  also  uncultivated. 

The  foot-hills  form  a  narrow  belt  within  this  county  along  the  eastern  boundary,  the  change  being  so  gradual 
from  the  valley  proper  into  the  undulations  that  are  first  observed  that  the  line  of  separation  is  with  difficulty 
defined.  Clements,  liellota,  and  Farming-ton  are,  however,  near  this  line,  which  thus  makes  a  curve  eastward,  and, 
after  passing  Farmington,  turns  again  southeastward  into  Stanislaus  county.  Its  surface  is  rolling  and  mostly 
broken,  its  hills  partly  covered  with  trees  and  brush,  and  have  red,  gravelly  soils;  the  valleys  are  mostly  treeless,. 
except  along  some  of  the  creeks,  aud  have  soils  varying  from  dark  or  light  loams  to  red  gravelly  lands.  Beds 
of  rounded  bowlders  often  fill  the  beds  of  the  creeks.  In  the  southern  part  of  the  region  the  red  lands  seem  to 
predominate.    This  foot-hill  region  is  but  little  under  cultivation. 

The  county  is  comparatively  well  settled,  the  average  being  17.9  persons  per  square  mile,  while  in  the  percentage 
of  lands  under  cultivation  (52.8)  it  ranks  highest  in  the  state,  with  an  average  of  338.4  acres  per  square  mile. 
Wheat  and  barley  are  the  chief  crops,  and  transportation  is  afforded  by  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad  to  San 
Francisco  and  Sacramento,  as  well  as  across  the  continent  to  the  Atlantic  states. 

-51 


94  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  NOTES   OF  N.   J.   WILLSON,   OF   THE   SOUTHERN   PACIFiJC   RAILROAD. 

The  surfaco  of  the  country  around  Lathrop  is  slightly  rolling,  with  dark  loam  aud  hog-wallow  lands.  In  low  places  there  is  some 
alkali  soil.  The  greater  portion  of  the  country  is  underlaid  by  hard-pan  at  depths  varying  from  G  inches  to  110  feel  below  the  surface. 
The  altitude  of  Lathrop  is  25  feet  above  the  sea.  The  natural  vegetation  is  alfilerilla,  clover,  wire  and  salt  grasses.  At  Morano  station, 
altitude  50  feet,  the  lands  are  slightly  rolling,  though  generally  level,  and  are  quite  sandy,  drifting  considerably,  and  very  deep.  They 
have  a  growth  of  clover,  alhlerilla,  and  some  salt  and  bunch  grasses.  Southward  to  the  Stauislaus  river  the  country  rises  to  an  elevation 
of  70  feet,  the  lands  being  still  sandy.  The  river  lands  have  a  growth  of  oak  and  willow.  The  rain  winds  of  the  county  come  from  tho 
southeast,  and  dry  winds  from  the  northwest. 

CONTRA  COSTA. 

(See  "Coast  Gauge  region,  south  of  San  Pablo  bay".) 

STANISLAUS. 

Population:  S,751. 

Area:  1,420  square  utiles. — Sau  Joaquiu  valley,  935  square  miles  (including'  adobe,  100  square  miles,  and  title 
laud,  some);  lower  foot-bills,  140  square  miles  ;  Coast  Range  mountains,  355  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands :  417,511  acres.— Area  planted  in  wheat,  172,445  acres  ;  in  corn,  378  acres  ;  in  barley,  19,559  acres ; 
in  vineyards,  99  acres. 

Stanislaus  comity  lies  across  the  great  valley  of  the  San  Joaquin,  its  eastern  border  being  among  the  foot-hills 
of  the  Sierra,  and  its  western  resting  on  the  summit  of  the  Coast  Range  mountains. 

The  great  valley,  which  thus  occupies  the  central  portion  of  the  county,  has  a  width  of  about  35  miles.  On  its 
western  side  the  San  Joaquin  river  flows  northwestward,  being  joined  on  the  east  by  the  Tuolumne  river,  occupying 
the  central  part  of  the  county,  and  by  Stanislaus  river,  which  forms  in  part  the  northern  boundary,  both  having 
their  sources  among  the  mountains  of  the  east.  The  western  slope  is  drained  by  several  creeks.  The  San  Joaquin 
river  is  bordered  by  a  belt  of  ttile  lands  from  1  to  2  miles  wide,  while  the  adjoining  lands  for  a  distance,  of  from  1 
to  5  miles  on  the  east  have  adobe  valley  soils,  more  or  less  interspersed  with  alkali  soils  and  salt-grass.  The 
bottom  land  of  the  Tuolumne  river  is  very  sandy,  while  that  of  the  Stanislaus  is  a  dark  and  firm  loam,  bearing 
a  luxuriant  growth  of  grape-vines  among  the  oaks.  This  bottom  is  about  300  yards  wide.  The  plains  are  very  level 
and  without  timber-growth,  except  narrow  belts  of  cottonwood  and  oak  along  some  of  the  large  streams,  whose 
bottom  lands  are  generally  quite  narrow.  The  lands  of  the  central  part  are  sandy,  especially  south  of  the  Tuolumne 
river,  passing  northward  as  well  as  westward  into  gray  or  blackish  loams,  from  which  there  is  a  gradual  transition 
to  the  heavier  adobe  soils  of  the  immediate  valley  of  the  San  Joaquin  river,  into  which  the  plains  fall  off  with 
a  gentle  slope  and  change  to  a  brown  sandy  loam,  sometimes  with  a  deep  orange-red  subsoil,  as  they  approach  the 
foot-hills  of  the  east.  Oakdale  is  situated  about  SO  feet  above  the  bed  of  Stanislaus  river  in  the  northeastern  part 
of  the  county,  and  in  a  region  of  black  lands  which  extend  southward  half  way  to  Lagrange,  The  lands  are  not 
uniform  in  character,  but  are  interspersed  with  tracts  of  red  soils,  paid  the  depressions  often  contain  cobblestones. 
The  last  half  of  this  foot-hill  border  region  is  undulating,  and  the  soils  are  more  generally  a  reddish  loam. 

The  foot-hills  of  the  Sierra  extend  but  a  few  miles  into  this  county,  forming  a  narrow  licit  along  the  east,  the 
soil  of  which  is  mostly  a  red  clay,  except  on  the  north  of  Stanislaus  river,  or  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  county, 
where  the  lands  are  dark  loams,  with  some  adobe.  An  inferior  pine  growth  is  found  in  some  places.  The  foot-hills 
of  the  Coast  range  on  the  west  are  rolling  and  broken  aud  have  a  width  of  several  miles.  The  soil  is  mostly  sandy, 
and  is  under  cultivation  to  some  extent  iu  the  valleys. 

The  mountains  of  the  Coast  range  rise  to  an  elevation  of  over  2,000  feet,  and  are  rough  and  much  broken. 

The  crops  of  the  county  are  chiefly  wheat,  barley,  oats,  and  corn  ;  the  fruits  comprise  oranges,  lemons,  limes, 
pomegranates,  olives,  peaches,  apples,  pears,  and  almonds.  Grapes  and  peanuts  are  also  raised.  The  average  yield 
of  wheat  is  15  bushels  per  acre  when  winter-sown. 

The  county  is  not  thickly  settled,  the  average  being  but  G.l  persons  per  square  mile,  More  than  45  per  cent, 
of  its  lauds  are,  however,  uuder  cultivation,  the  average  being  294  acres  per  square  mile,  thus  placing  the  county 
seventh  in  the  state  iu  rank  as  a  farming  region.  It  claims  to  be  the  banner  county  for  wheat  production.  The 
Southern  Pacific  railroad  passes  through  the  central  part  of  the  county  from  northwest  to  southeast,  and  affords 
transportation  to  San  Francisco  and  Sacramento  or  to  the  Atlantic  states. 

ABSTRACT  FROM   THE  NOTES   OF   N.    J.   WILLSON,    OF   THE   SOITTHERN  PACIFIC   RAILROAD. 

The  country  around  Salida  station,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  is  generally  level,  and  has  a  Bandy  loam  soil,  which  extends  to 
within  a  few  miles  of  Modesto  before  a  change  takes  place.  Hard-pan  underlies  the  lands  at  from  30  inches  to  5  and  10  ftiet.  Water  is 
obtained  in  wells  at  from  18  to  50  feet.  The  elevation  of  this  station  is  75  feet  above  sea-level.  The  natural  vegetation  of  the  region  is 
clover,  alfilerilla,  and  some  bunch-grass  ;  there  is  no  natural  timber  nearer  than  Stanislaus  river.  The  average  yield  of  the  soil  is  from  15 
to  13  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  and,  when  summer-fallowed,  from  25  to  33  bushels. 

Hog-wallow  lands  appear  within  a  few  miles  of  Modesto  station,  which  has  au  elevation  of  90  feet.  The  country  is  underlaid  by  hard- 
pan  at  from  30  inches  to  5  feet,  and  water  is  obtained  in  wells  at  from  75  to  110  feet.  There  is  no  natural  timber  nearer  than  the  Tuolumne 
river,  on  the  south,  on  whose  banks  there  is  much  willow,  some  oak,. and  ash.  The  vegetation  embraces  clover,  alfilerilla,  bunch-grass, 
and  wild  oats.  Wheat  is  the  chief  crop  of  this  section,  and  yields,  with  summer-fallowing,  from  30  to  GO  bushels  per  acie.  Around 
Ceres  (05  feet  elevation)  the  lands  are  generally  level,  with  some  hog-wallows  on  the  south.  The  soil  is  a  sandy  loam,  which  continues 
southward  to  Turlock  and  the  county-line. 
752 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  95 

MERCED. 

Population:  5,656. 

Area:  2,280  square  miles.— Sim  Joaquin  valley,  1,740  square  miles  (including  adobe,  320  square  miles);  lower 
foot-hills,  20  square  miles;  Coast  Range  mountains,  520  square  miles. 

Tilted  lands :  277,689  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  67,075  acres;  in  corn,  574  acres;  in  oats,  25  acres;  in  barley, 
10,181  acres;  in  vineyards,  178  acres. 

Merced  county,  with  its  eastern  border  lying  along  the  edge,  of  the  foot-hills  and  its  western  on  the  Coast  range 
of  mountains,  is  divided  into  two  parts  by  the  San  Joaquin  river,  which  flows  nearly  centrally  through  it  in  a  northwest 
course,  and  to  which  the  surface  of  the  country  slopes  from  either  side.  The  chief  stream  of  the  county  (besides 
(lie  San  Joaquin)  is  the  Merced  river,  which,  rising  among  the  high  Sierra,  flows  through  Ttosemite  valley  and  the 
loot-hills  of  Mariposa  county,  and  westward  across  the  plains  of  this  county,  in  a  valley  bordered  by  high  banks  lor 
the  greater  part  of  the  distance,  to  the  San  Joaquin  river.  Dry  creek  is  one  of  its  tew  tributaries.  Bear  creek, 
■  in  which  the  county-seat  is  located,  rises  among  the  foot  hills  of  Mariposa  county,  and  in  its  western  course  across 
the  valley  flows  between  higli  banks  for  a  large  part  of  the  distance.  On  the  south  of  this  stream  are  Mariposa 
and  Chowchilla  rivers,  the  latter  forming  the  southern  boundary-line.  Besides  these  there  are  numerous  creeks  and 
sloughs,  all  flowing  westward  and  disappearing  in  the  plains  before  reaching  the  San  Joaquin  river.  Similarly,  in 
tin-  western  part  of  the  county,  there  are  numerous  creeks  tributary  directly  to  the  San  Joaquin  that  have  their 
source  in  the  Coast  range,  but  are  of  no  special  importance,  only  reaching  the  river  in  time  of  flood.  The  San 
Joaquin  river,  in  its  course  through  this  comity,  is  bordered  by  a  belt  of  tule  lauds  reaching  from  the  southern 
boundary  northward  nearly  to  the  mouth  of  Merced  river,  and  having  a  width  of  several  miles,  though  lying 
almost  entirely  on  the  west  side  of  the  river.  The  surface  of  the  entire  county  (except  along  the  large  streams,  which 
are  bordered  by  a  growth  of  oak),  is  treeless,  and  presents  great  variety  in  its  agricultural  features.  Immediately 
eastward  of  the  San- Joaquin  river  there  is  a  region  of  drifting  white  sand  reaching  from  the  Stanislaus  county 
line  on  the  north  southward  nearly  to  Bear  creek,  and  eastward  beyond  the  railroad  to  the  point  where  Dry  creek 
unites  with  Merced  river,  while  still  eastward  along  the  river  the  soM  changes  to  a  sandy  loam  more  or  less  gravelly. 
The  lands  of  the  sand  region  are  level  or  rather  rolling,  the  soil  usually  very  deep,  and  has  a  vegetation  of  alfilerilla, 
some  clover  and  tar-weed,  and  occasionally  Some  rattle-weed.  Wheat  is  chiefly  cultivated,  the  yield  being  from  10 
to  15  bushels  per  acre  in  ordinary  seasons. 

The.  lands  of  Bear  river,  from  the  foot-hills  to  its  mouth,  are  chocolate-colored  clays,  more  or  less  adobe,  in 
character,  while  southward  to  Mariposa  river  black  adobe,  and  hog-wallow  lands  prevail  and  contain  some  alkali 
in  that  portion  of  the  region  partly  covered  with  sand,  which  extends  from  the  railroad  westward  to  San  Joaquin  river. 
This  region  is  a  level  plain  to  the  very  foot-hills.  South  of  Mariposa  river  the  lands  of  what  is  known  as  the 
Chowchilla  region,  embracing  that  creek  and  the  sloughs  that  are  connected  with  it,  are  sandy,  and,  in  places,  of 
such  a  character  as  to  be  called  "sand  mush";  they  are  also  largely  alkali  and  hog- wallow  in  character,  especially 
around  Plainsburg  and  westward,  where  they  are  best  suited  to  pasturage.  Clover  and  alfilerilla  (except  on  the 
alkali  soils,  where  the  salt-grass  occurs)  comprise  the  vegetation. 

In  the  northeastern  part  of  the,  county,  and  east,  of  the  sand  region  first  mentioned,  the  country  is  rolling  and 
partly  hilly,  the  Black  Rascal  hills  being  embraced  in  a  belt  of  black  adobe,  hog-wallow,  and  gravelly  lauds  reaching 
from  Stanislaus  county  a  little  southeastward  to  Mariposa  river,  south  of  Bear  creek,  its  continuity  broken  by  the 
sandy  border  lands  of  the,  two  rivers;  its  width  east  and  west  is  from  1  to  2 J  miles.  The  hills  are  from  100  to  200 
feet  in  height,  and  are  capped  with  about  25  feet  of  red  gravelly  clays,  while  on  their  sides  and  in  the  valley  are 
the  adobe  lands,  in  whose,  swales,  as  well  as  in  the  creeks,  there  are  cobble-stones.  This  belt  passes  about  6  miles 
northeast  of  Merced,  the  county-seat.  To  the  eastward  of  the  belt,  and  south  of  Merced  river,  the  valley  lauds  are 
red  and  gravelly  to  the  foot  hills,  (a) 

The,  Merced  River  valley,  which  at  Hopeton  is  about  4  miles  wide,  is  bordered  on  the  south  by  a  line  of  hills 
some  50  or  00  feet  above  it,  which  extend  westward,  gradually  falliugin  elevation,  nearly  to  the  railroad  at  Cressy. 
The  adobe  lands  mentioned  occupy  the  landward  slope  of  these  hills,  and  are  found  to  be  underlaid  by  a  whitish, 
fissured  clay-stone,  sandy  and  ferruginous,  easily  cut,  and  used  for  building  low  walls.  The  lands  of  this  river  valley 
are  a  sandy  loam,  interspersed  with  underground  gravel  ridges,  which  in  many  places  spoil  the  lauds  for  farming 
purposes.  The  soil  of  Dry  creek  is  light  and  reddish,  very  deep,  and  yields  25  or  30  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre. 
The  uplands  north  of  Merced  river  are  sandy  and  in  part  more  gravelly  than  on  the  south,  and  will  yield  from  20 
to  25  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre.  Merced  Kails  is  at  the  border  of  the  foot-hills  region,  and  here,  as  well  as  northward, 
are  found  partly  metamorphosed  slates  standiug  almost  vertically  on  edge.  The  foot-hills  are  sparsely  covered  with 
an  oak  growth,  and  their  soils  are  chiefly  red,  gravelly,  rocky,  and  rather  stiff. 

The  crops  of  the  county  are  chiefly  wheat  and  other  small  grain.  Cotton  is  planted  in  the  Merced  River  valley 
quite  extensively,  and  grows  from  3  to  4  feet  high,  yielding  an  average  of  1,200  pounds  of  seed-cotton  per  acre, 
100  pounds  of  which  make  30  pounds  of  lint.  The  crop  is  irrigated  once,  usually  in  June ;  a  later  time  would 
cause  much  new  growth,  while  another  irrigation  causes  the  plant  to  run  too  much  to  weed. 

The  Robla  canal,  carrying  water  from  Bear  creek,  is  12  miles  long,  and  is  said  to  have  a  capacity  of  120  cubic 
feet  per  second.  The  Farmers'  canal  takes  water  from  Merced  river  3  miles  below  Merced  Falls  ;  thence  its  route 
lies  along  a  rolling  side-hill,  through  a  tunnel  4,000  feet  long,  a  distance,  of  6  miles  to  Canal  creek.  The  bed  of 
this  creek  carries  the  water  for  13  miles  further,  and  thence  it  is  distributed  principally  on  the  plains  between  the 
river  and  town  of  Merced. 

The  lands  of  the  county  are  largely  under  cultivation,  the  general  average  being  121.7  acres  per  square,  mile, 
the,  county  ranking  thirteenth  in  the  state  in  this  regard. 

The  Southern  Pacific  railroad  passes  through  the  valley  region  of  this  county  from  north  to  south. 

ABSTRACT   FROM   NOTES   BY   N.    J.    WILLSON,    OF    THE    SOUTHERN   PACIFIC    RAILROAD. 

The  lands  around  Cressy  and  Atwater  stations  are  slightly  rolling  in  places,  though  generally  level.  The  soil  is  sandy,  from  2  to  3 
feel  deep,  and  is  underlaid  by  clay  anil  sand.  The  natural  vegetation  is  alfilerilla,  some  clover  and  tar-weed,  and  no  natural  timber  growth. 
Wheat  is  the  chief  culture,  and  its  yield  is  estimated  at  from  12  to  15  bushels  per  acre.     There  is  a  Dalmatian  insect  powder  plantation 


a  Much  of  the  above  information  was  obtained  from  Air.  Kelsey,  of  Merced. 
48  C  P— VOL.  II  75;! 


96  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

east  of  Atwater.  The  lands  of  this  rogiou  can  be  irrigated  by  ditches  from  the  canal  that  has  boon  constructed  through  Cressy  from 
Merced  river,  some  20  miles  distant.  At  Merced,  altitude  170  feet,  the  soils  are  a  dark  loam  ('nun  2  to  Gleet  deep,  overlying  a  bard-pan.  The 
vegetation  ia  alulerilla,  clover,  and  salt-grass,  with  some  rattleweed  L0  or  12  miles  distant.  The  banks  of  Bear  creek  are  from  51)  to  100 
feet  apart  and  15  feet  in  depth,  but  I  bey  seldom  overflow.  Western  trade  winds  bring  in  some  tog.  This  kind  of  land  extends  nor!  hwest 
for  some  '.)  miles  and  southeast  the  same  distance.  The  lands  at  Flainaburg  station  (205  feet),  reaching  one  and  a  half  miles  north  and 
south  for  some  distance,  are  sandy  and  hog-wallow,  and  are  impregnated  with  alkali  to  a  considerable  extent ;  they  are  underlaid  at  from 
1  to  30  feet  by  a  bard-pan.     Wheat  and  barley  are  the  chief  crops,  the  yield  of  the  former  being  about  17  bushels  per  acre. 

FEESNO. 

Population:  9,47S. 

Area:  8,000  square  miles. — San  Joaquin  valley,  .'3,520  square  miles  (including  tule  land,  250  square  miles); 
lower  foot-bills,  500  square  miles ;  higher  foot-lulls  and  mountains,  3,000  square  miles  ;  Coast  range,  020  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  201, 0S7  acres, —  Area  planted  in  wheat,  20,474  acres;  in  corn,  414 acres;  in  oats, i I  acres;  in  barley, 
9,504  acres:  in  vineyards,  471  acres. 

Fresno,  one  of  the  three  large  counties  that  embrace  the  upper  portion  of  the  San  Joaquin  plains,  reaches  from 
the  Sierra  mountains  westward  across  the  plains  to  the  summit  of  the  Coast  range,  the  elevations  on  each  side  being, 
respectively,  above  10,000  feet  on  the  east  and  about  3,000  feet  on  the  west  above  the  plains.  The  plains  extend 
westward  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains  on  the  extreme  border  of  the  county,  and  are  separated  from  the  Sierra  on 
the  east  by  a  broad  region  of  foot  hills. 

The  lowest  portion  of  the  county  is  in  the  central  part  of  the  plains  from  southeast  to  northwest,  and  embraces 
a  belt  of  tule  lands,  marshes  and  sloughs  extending  from  the  border  of  Tulare  county,  on  the  southeast,  to  the  point 
where  the  San  Joaquin  river  makes  its  northwestward  bend  and  thence  becomes  the  central  feature  of  the  valley. 
This  river  is  the  largest  stream  in  the  county.  It  rises  among  the  mountains  and  foot-hills  of  the  east  and  Hows  in 
a  westward  course  to  the  middle  of  the  plains,  thence  turns  northwestward  toward  the  Sacramento  valley,  and  has 
along  its  immediate  border  a  timber  growth  of  Cottonwood,  sycamore,  willow,  and  large  oaks. 

King's  river,  emerging  from  the  canons  about  40  miles  eastward  from  Fresno,  Hows  in  an  irregular  course 
south  westward  and  traverses  a  region  of  undulating  plains,  until  to  the  northward  of  Tulare  la  ke  it  enters  the  Mussel 
Slough  region,  described  under  the  head  of  Tulare  county.  Ordinarily  the  waters  of  King's  river  not  diverted  by 
the  numerous  irrigation  ditches  enter  Tulare  lake,  but  in  time  of  high  water  they  pass  partially  through  Fresno  slough 
into  the  San  Joaquin  river.  A  number  of  creeks,  rising  among  the  foot-hills  on  either  side  of  tin-  valley,  How  out 
upon  the  plains,  but  disappear  before  reaching  the  river.     .Numerous  sloughs  also  occur. 

The  eastern  part  of  the  county  is  extremely  rugged,  the  western  face  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  mountains,  as  well 
as  the  higher  foot-hills,  being  cut  by  tremendous  chasms,  through  which  How  King's,  Fresno,  and  San  Joaquin  rivers 
and  their  tributaries.  Some  of  the  highest  peaks  rise  to  an  altitude  of  more  than  14,00(1  feet.  An  abundance  of 
timber  is  found  on  the  western  slope  of  this  mountain  region,  two  large  bodies  of  redwood  being  reported  on  t ln- 
northeast  and  southeast.  At  the  head  of  Fresno  river  there  is  a  heavy  growth  of  sugar  and  yellow  pines,  tir,  Big 
Trees,  and  white  cedar,  with  white  ash  in  other  places.  The  mountains  of  the  west  are  partially  timbered  with  oak 
and  scrub  pine. 

The  foot-hills  are  rolling  and  broken  in  a  belt  20  or  30  miles  in  width,  covered  with  scattered  oaks,  and  are 
interspersed  with  high  and  prominent  peaks  and  ridges.  The  narrow  valleys  of  the  streams  alone  are  suitable  for 
cultivation.  The  plains  possess  a  variety  of  lands.  The  greater  portion,  however,  is  a  sandy  loam,  with  no  timber 
growth,  and  requires  irrigation  to  be  productive.  On  the  western  side  of  the  river  the  plain  slopes  gradually  from 
the  Coast  range  to  the  slough,  and  much  of  its  land, even  with  irrigation,  is  said  to  be  too  poor  and  sandy  for  farming 
purposes.  Along  Fresno  slough,  for  several  miles  in  extent,  there  is  much  alkali  land.  Much  of  the  valley  land  is  of 
an  asheneharacter  in  color.  The  plains,  with  a.  whitish  calcareous  loam  soil  (such  as  that  of  Central  and  Washington 
colonies,  of  which  an  analysis  is  given  on  page- 28),  extend  eastward  from  the  river  to  the  railroad,  beyond  which  the 
surface  of  the  country  rises  a  few  feet  to  a  slightly  undulating  plateau  reaching  to  the  foot-hills.  This  plateau  is 
destitute  of  trees,  and  is  traversed  by  low,  sandy  ridges,  which  lie  between  the  creeks  and  from  15  to  20  feet  above 
the  level  tracts  adjoining  the  streams,  or  what  may  properly  lie  called  the  general  level  of  the  plateau.  These  level 
lauds  have  a  brownish  or  reddish  sandy  loam  soil,  produced  by  the  more  or  less  admixture  of  1  he  red  foot-hill  clays, 
and  nearer  the  streams  it  is  stiff  enough  to  be  locally  designated  as  adobe.  The  ridges  in  the  vicinity  of  King's 
river  contain  much  white  quartz  gravel.  The  plateau  region  reaches  from  the  San  Joaquin  river,  near  the  railroad 
crossing,  southward  to  1  mile  southwest  of  Fresno,  and  thence  east  to  King's  river. 

On  the  west  of  the  San  Joaquin  river  the  plains  reach  20  miles  to  the  foot-hills  of  the  Coast  range,  which  form  a 
belt,  about  10  miles  wide,  "of  low  hills,  covered  only  with  grass;  thence  to  the  summit  the  hills  are  more  abrupt, 
covered  with  scrubby  oak,  and  in  many  places  with  a  dense  growth  of  chaparral." 

There  are  a  number  of  colonies  located  within  from  2  to  0  miles  of  Fresno  city,  and  all  of  them  are  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits,  and  have  their  schools,  churches,  and  social  and  literary  societies.  The  county  is  sparsely 
settled,  the  average  being  but  a  little  more  than  one  person  per  square  mile,  while  the  lands  under  cultivation  average 
3G.3  acres  per  square  mile.  The  crops  of  the  county  embrace  chiefly  wheat,  barley,  corn,  oats,  potatoes,  and  alfalfa ; 
but  there  are  numerous  orchards  and  vineyards  in  successful  cultivation.  Cotton  has  been  grown  with  an  excellent 
yield,  but  the  cost  of  production  and  the  small  demand  makes  it  rather  unprofitable.  The  Southern  Pacific  railroad 
passes  through  the  county  from  San  Francisco  on  the  north  to  the  Atlantic  states  on  the  southeast. 

From  the  great  bend  of  the  San  Joaquin  river  two  canals  have  been  constructed,  the  Chowchilla  and  the  San 
Joaquin  and  King's  Kiver.  The  Chowchilla  canal  has  a  length  of  about  30  miles,  and  lies  on  the  east  of  the  river, 
cros'singin  its  course  northward  Cottonwood  and  lJereoda  sloughs  and  the  Fresno,  Mariposa,  snd  Chowchilla  creeks. 
Its  capacity  may  be  taken  at  from  200  to  250  cubic  feet  per  second.  The  San  Joaquiu  and  King's  River  canal,  lying 
on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  reaches  to  Orostimba  creek,  a  distance  of  G7  miles,  being  longer  than  that  of  any 
other  irrigating  canal  in  the  state.  It  commands  an  area  of  about  283,000  acres,  which  includes  all  the.  lands 
lying  between  it  and  the  river,  130,000  acres  of  which  are  low,  and  naturally  subject  to  overflow  in  seasons  of 
ordinary  flood.     Its  capacity  is  about  600  cubic  feet  per  second. 

7fi4 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  97 

Another  small  canal  from  the  Fresno  river  ou  the  south  side  is  used  upon  laud  within  9  miles  of  the  head-gates. 
Don  Paloa  and  Temple  sloughs  have  also  been  converted  into  canals  by  deepening  and  enlarging  their  channels. 

In  the  southern  part  of  this  county  there  are  a  number  of  canals  and  ditches  taking  water  from  Fresno  river. 
The  King's  River  and  Fresno  canal,  from  near  the  foot-hills,  has  a  length  of  22  miles,  and  supplies  water  to  the 
scattered  farms  on  the  high  plains  north  and  east  of  the  town  of  Fresno. 

The  Fresno  Canal  and  the  Irrigation  Company's  canal  takes  water  a  mile  below  the  head  of  the  last  canal,  and 
couducts  it  to  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  town  of  Fresno.  Its  total  leugth,  with  branches,  is  <J3  miles.  The 
CentreviMe  and  Kingsburg  canal,  130  miles  long,  conducts  water  to  Kingsburg.  Besides  these  there  are  several 
other  smaller  ditches  and  canals  reaching  to  different  parts  of  this  county. 

ABSTRACT   FROM   THE    NOTES    OF    N.    J.    WILLSON,    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    PACIFIC   RAILROAD. 

The  country  around  Minturn  station  (elevation  '240  feet)  is  rather  rolling,  with  compact  sandy  loam,  hog-wallow  soils,  apparently 
"alkali''  in  character.  Near  Chowchilhi  creek  there  are  a  few  scattering  oak  and  cottonwood  trees,  but  otherwise  the  vegetation 
embraces  chieily  clover,  alhlcrilla,  salt-grass,  etc.  Theuce  to  Bereudo  and  Madera  stations  the  sandy  loam  hog-wallow  lands  continue 
from  1  to  4  feet  deep,  containing  more  or  less  alkali,  and  underlaid  by  hard-pan  at  from  :12  to  48  inches.  There  is  no  natural  timber  growth, 
and  the  lauds  are  chiedy  devoted  to  pasturage.  Water  for  ordinary  purposes  is  obtained  from  wells  at  a  depth  of  from  18  to  au  feet, 
while  tor  irrigating  purposes  it  is  brought  by  the  Fresno  canal  to  Madera  station,  where  wheat  is  raised  and  grape-vines  have  been  planted 
quite  extensively.  At  Borden  station  (elevation  310  feet)  the  country  is  level,  and  has  a  coarse,  saudy  soil,  some  1"  feet  oeep  to  hard-pan. 
There  is  liere  no  natural  timber,  and  the  vegetation  embraces  alhlcrilla  and  clover.  Wheat  is  the  chief  crop,  and  yields  about  20  bushels 
per  acre.  Water  for  irrigation  purposes  is  brought  by  the  Fresno  canal.  On  the  south  of  the  San  Joaquin  river  the  hog-wallow  lands 
again  appear,  the  soil  being  a  reddish  loam,  with  a  deeper-colored  subsoil  at  12  inches.  Allilerilla  predominates,  though  there  is 
considerable  pepper-grass.  Sheep-raising  is  the  chief  pursuit.  Around  Fresno  (elevation  290  feet)  the  country  is  generally  level,  with 
some  hog-wallow  places;  the  soil  is  a  dark  sandy  loam,  with  no  timber  growth.  The  crops  comprise  wheat,  barley,  and  alfalfa,  the  yield 
beiug  about  25  bushels  of  tin-  former  per  acre.  Vineyards  are  being  cultivated  extensively,  hut  entirely  with  irrigation,  the  water  coming- 
from  King^s  river.  There  are  live  colonies  in  the  vicinity  of  Fresno:  Washington  colony,  located  some  4  miles  west,  containing  5  sections,, 
or  3,200  acres  ;  Central  colony,  21  miles  west,  containing  6  sections  ;  Church  or  Temperauce  colony,  4  miles  northeast,  containing  2 
sections;  the  Scandinavian  colony,  3  miles  north,  containing  3  sections ;  and  the  Nevada  colony,  4  miles  northeast,  containing  3  sections. 
All  of  the  above  are  divided  into  20-acre  lots,  and  the  lauds  are  subject  to  irrigation,  the  chief  crops  being  grapes,  fruits,  and  vegetables. 
Fowler  station  (elevation  310  feet)  is  situated  in  a  level  plain  with  white  silty  soils  and  without  timber  growth.  Hard-pan  is  found  in. 
spots  at  all  depths  from  the  surface  to  10  feet.  There  is  comparatively  little  farming  done  in  this  section,  or  until  near  Kingsburg,  toward, 
which  place  the  country  becomes  more  rolling,  the  soil  alsochauging  to  a  gray  sandy  loam,  some  4  feet  in  depth.  The  only  timber  growth, 
is  on  King's  river,  and  embraces  oak,  willow,  cottonwood,  sycamore,  ash,  and  elder. 

TULARE. 

Pop  alation :  11,281 . 

Area:  5,010  square  miles. — San  Joaquin  valley,  1,775  square  miles  (tules,  30  square  miles);  lower  foot-bills,  390 
square  miles;  higher  foot-hills  and  Sierra  mountains,  3,245  square  miles  ;  Coast  range  mountains,  200  square  miles. 

Filled  lands :  200,050  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  28,131  acres;  in  corn,  2,535  acres;  in  oats,  6  acres:  in 
barley, 3,061  acres;  in  vineyards,  309  acres. 

Tulare  county,  in  common  with  the  other  two  great  counties  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  embraces  within  its 
area  high  Sierra  mountains  ou  the  east  which  are  10,000  feet  or  more  above  the  sea,  a  small  region  of  low  Coast  Range 
mountains  ou  the  west,  and  a  broad  and  low  valley  and  foot-hills  region  between  the  two  mountain  ranges.  A 
prominent  feature  of  the  county  is  Tulare  lake,  a  large  body  of  water,  33  miles  long  and  22  miles  wide,  lying  on 
the  western  side  of  the  valley,  and  having  a  somewhat  alkaline  water.  This  lake  receives  I  he  drainage  waters  from 
the  eutire  county,  though  mauy  of  the  streams  break  up  into  sloughs  and  reach  it  through  numerous  channels. 
The  chief  of  these  streams  are  White,  Tule,  Kaweah,  and  King's  rivers.  The  creeks  and  sloughs  are  many  in  number, 
and  lie  almost  exclusively  on  the  east. 

All  the  streams  named,  heading  in  the  Sierra,  flow  through  deep  and  precipitous  cations  until  they  reach  the  plains,  when  they 
meander  through  their  broad  and  fertile  bottoms,  souje  of  them  separating  into  several  channels,  forming  wooded  islands.  The  Kaweah 
is  thus  divided  up  into  eight  or  ten  branches,  though  when  first  discovered,  under  the  supposition  that  there  were  only  tour  of  these 
channels,  the  name  of  "  Four  creeks  "  was  given  to  them  collectively,  a  designation  which  they  have  ever  since  retained,  though  each 
has  now-  an  individual  name  of  its  own. 

Most  of  these  bottoms,  as  well  as  portions  of  the  plains  lying  between  them,  are  covered  with  scattered  oak  trees  (sometimes  dense 
forest)  of  large  size,  which,  though  they  are  not  worth  much  for  lumber,  are  serviceable  for  fencing,  and  supply  an  abundance  of  good 
fuel.  All  that  part  of  the  county  lying  west  and  southwest  of  the  lake  is  destitute  of  timber,  though  the  entire  slope  of  the  Sierra  Nevada 
is  covered  with  majestic  forests  of  coniferous  trees,  even  to  its  very  summit. 

About  4ti  miles  northeast  of  Visalia,  and  at  an  elevation  of  between  6,000  aud  7,000  feet,  occur  great  numbers  of  Big  Trees,  not 
standing  in  groups  and  isolated  groves  as  in  Calaveras  and  Mariposa  counties,  but  scattered  throughout  the  forests  all  the  way  from  King's 
river  to  the  Kaweah,  a  distance  of  over  40  miles,  and  perhaps  much  further, — Natural  Wealth  at  California. 

The  mountainous  region  covers  more  than  oue-tbird  of  the  county  area,  and  some  of  the  peaks  are  (he  highest 
in  the  state,  Mouut  Whitney  beiug  the  highest  on  the  Pacific  coast  (15,000  feet).  The  foot-bill  region  lying  at  the  foot 
of  the  Sierra  has  a  width  varying  from  9  to  12  miles.  The  surface  is  much  broken  with  high  and  isolated  hills 
and  ridges,  interspersed  with  many  small  valleys,  which  furnish  the  only  lands  suitable  lor  farming  purposes. 
Their  soil  is  red,  clayey,  ami  gravelly.  The  lands  of  ihe  valley  are  quite  level  and  mostly  dest  itute  of  trees.  Visalia, 
the  county-seat,  is  situated  in  the  Kaweah  delta,  a  region  of  oaks,  which  extends  half  way  to  Goshen  on  the  west,  15 
or  20  miles  southwestward,  and  several  miles  northeastward.  The  soils  of  the  valley  vary  from  a  light  sandy  loam  to 
a  light  adobe;  and  a  large  tract  of  highly  productive,  dark  alluvial  loam  occurs  in  the  Mussel  Slough  region,  north 
of  the  lake,  and  reaches  eastward  from  within  one  mile  of  King's  river  to  Cross  creek,  0  miles  from  the  Southern 
Pacific  railroad.  Tule  lands,  sometimes  of  large  extent,  occur  on  the  borders  of  the  lake  and  along  the  various 
streams  and  sloughs.     The  lands  of  the  county  are  too  dry  to  be  successfully  cultivated  without  irrigation,  and 

755 


98  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA 

ditches  have  been  dug  many  miles  long  from  tlie  larger  streams  to  furnish  the  necessary  water.  The  chief  crops 
arc  wheat,  barley,  corn,  potatoes,  and  hay,  but  fruits,  comprising  apples,  pears,  peaches,  and  grapes,  are  also  raised. 
Lemons  and  oranges  are  grown  in  the  foot-hills.  Cotton  also  has  been  successfully  produced  in  the  county,  the 
Matagorda  variety  doing  best;  and  there  seems  to  be  little  doubt  that,  with  a  demand'  for  the  staple  and  the  erection 
of  gins  and  mills,  the  crop  would  be  made  profitable. 

Water  has  been  obtained  in  artesian  wells  near  Tulare  at  a  depth  of  295  feet,  the  flow  being  about  1(10,0(10 
gallons  in  twenty-four  hours  and  having  a  temperature  of  70°  F.  Another  well,  at  a  depth  of  330  feet,  furnished 
nearly  double  that  amount  of  water,  and  many  more  of  similar  yield  have  lately  been  obtained.  This  county  is 
more  thickly  settled  than  Fresno,  the  average  being  two  persons  per  square  mile  for  the  county  at  large.  The 
lands  under  cultivation  have  an  average  of  35.7  acres  per  square  mile,  and  are  chiefly  planted  in  wheat,  barley, 
alfalfa,  etc.,  the  chief  areas  of  production  being  the  country  around  Visalia  and  the  Mussel  Slough  country. 

The  Southern  Pacific  railroad  passes  through  the  central  part  of  the  county,  connecting  with  San  Francisco  on 
the  north  and  with  the  Atlantic  states  on  the  southeast.  A  branch  road  extends  westward  from  Visalia,  and  to 
the  Mussel  Slough  region  on  King's  river. 

From  King's  river  there  are  six  canals  that  take  water  below  the  crossing  of  the  railroad  and  conduct  it  to  the 
Mussel  Slough  country,  their  total  length  with  main  branches  being  110  miles.  There  are  also  a  number  of  small 
farm  ditches  in  the  same  region  taking  water  in  the  channels  north.  "  The  regiou  covered  is  about  155,000  acres, 

ABSTRACT   FROM  A  DESCRIPTION   BY   F.    G.   .TEFFERDS,  OF   FARMERSVILLE. 

Tho  surface  of  this  portion  of  Tulare  county  is  generally  level,  the  fall  from  the  foot-hills  toTalare  lake,  a  distance  of  about  30  mi  Irs, 
being  8  feet  per  mile.  Tho  streams  do  not  run  in  deep  channels,  hut  frequently  change  their  channels  ;  and  in  Hood  years  tho  old  ones  fill 
up  with  sand  from  the  mountains.  Water  for  irrigation  in  this  region  is  taken  from  the  Kaweah  river,  while  for  drinking  purposes  it  is 
obtained  from  bored  wells,  at  a  depth  of  from  30  to  CO  foot.  Surface  water  is  found  in  abundance  at  from  12  to  18  feel,  hut  wo  prefer  I  hat 
from  the  gravel  beds  at  from  30  to  60  feet.  Our  host  lands  yield  25  or  30  bushels  of  wheat  or  from  :i(l  to  40  of  barley  per  aire;  alfalfa 
needs  irrigation  twice  a  year  to  do  well. 

Frosts  seldom  appear  before  December.  Storms  come  from  the  southeast,  showers  from  the  north  west,  and  dry  winds  from  the  north. 
In  dry  seasons  the  winds  follow  the  sun.  coming  from  the  east  in  the  morning,  from  the  south  until  about  eleven  o'clock,  when  it  changes 
to  the  northwest,  aud  in  the  evening  to  the  north.     Fog  never  appears,  except  in  rainy  seasons. 

ABSTRACT   FROM.    THE    NOTES    OF    N.    .T.    WILLSON,    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    PACIFIC    RAILROAD. 

Tho  lauds  lying  between  King's  river  aud  Cross  Creek  station  on  tho  north  are  mostly  light  sandy  loams  with  hog-wallow  surface, 
while  southward  to  Goshen  they  become  moresilty,  with  some  hog- wallows,  and  throughout  arc  moi^orless  interspersed  with  alkali  tracts. 
The  natural  vegetation  is  allilerilla,  salt-grass,  and  alkali  wood.  The  elevation  of  tho  country  is  275  feet  above  the  sea,  and  its  surface  is 
without  any  timber  growth.  There  is  no  farming  done  within  the  alkali  belt,  which  extends  several  miles  on  either  side  of  the  railroad. 
Wells  are  from  40  to  SO  feet  deep,  the  water  at  12  feet  being  strongly  alkaline  and  unfit  for  use.  The  country  westward  from  <  loshen  to 
Hauford  is  quite  level,  but  has  some  hog- wallows  for  six  miles,  and  then  for  a  mile  is  cut  up  with  sloughs,  tho  lands  thus  fur  being  covered 
with  a  fine  growth  of  allilerilla,  spotted  with  salt-grass.  Tho  rest  of  the  country  to  Hauford  embraces  better  hinds,  and  is  generally  tinder 
cultivation,  its  elevation  being  about  250  feet.  To  Lemoore  (elevation  225  feet)  tho  lauds  are  sandy,  with  some  alkali  spots,  and  have  no 
timber  nearer  than  King's  river,  on  whose  banks  are  found  oak,  sycamore,  and  willow.  Besides  tho  allilerilla  and  salt-grass,  there  is  some 
wire-grass  and  wild  sunflowers.  Wheat,  barley,  and  alfalfa,  are  the  chief  crops  of  this  region,  the  yield  being  from  2<>  to  ::o  bushels  per 
acre.  Waterfor  irrigation  purposes  is  taken  from  King's  river.  From  Heinlin  to  the  river  there  is  scarcely  anything  growing  othertloin 
salt-grass  and  an  occasional  willow  tree,  while  beyond  the  river  sage-brush  predominates. 

From  Goshen  south  to  Tulare  station  the  level  country  has  a  sandy  son,  with  spots  of  alkali,  and  is  partly  timbered  with  a  natural 
growth  of  large  oaks,  which  cover  an  area  of  75  or  HO  miles,  the  average  being  some  three  or  four  trees  per  acre.  The  soil  is  about  'JO  feet 
deep,  but  southward  to  Tipton  station  (elevation  265  feet)  the  underlying  hard-pan  comes  to  within  4  feet  of  the  surface,  often  cropping  out 
in  the  soil.  Most  of  the  lands  arouud  Tipton  aresilty  and  ash-colored  aud  are  impregnated  with  alkali,  especially  in  the  immediate  vicinity, 
where  the  vegetation  is  principally  salt-grass.  To  Alila  station  (elevation  275  feet)  the  country  continues  perfectly  level,  and,  with  the 
exception  of  three  miles  of  alkali  belts,  the  whole  surface  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach  is  covered  with  a  luxuriant  growth  of  grass,  princij  ally 
of  allilerilla  and  clover,  with  a  considerable  amount  of  rattle  or  loco  and  milkweed.     The  soil  is  sandy,  and  is  not  under  cultivation. 

From  Goshen  to  this  point  the  farms  lie  several  miles  from  the  railroad.  Wheat  and  barley  are  the  chief  crops,  tho  former  yielding  from 
','0  to  30  bushels  per  acre  in  good  seasons.  There  is  an  artesian  well,  423  feet  deep,  1$  miles  from  Tipton  station,  which  (lows  97,000  gallons 
in  twenty-four  hours,  but  in  ordinary  wells  water  is  obtained  at  from  20  to  50  and  SO  feet. 

KERN. 

Population:  5,601. 

Area:  8,160  square  miles. — San  Joaquin  valley,  2,590  square  miles  ftules,  200  square  miles) ;  lower  foot-hills,  560 
square  miles ;  higher  foot-hills  aud  mountains,  1,955  square  miles;  desert  lands,  2, ISO  square  miles;  Coast  Range 
mountains,  875  square  miles. 

Tilled  lauds:  61,497  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  6,8S7  acres;  in  corn,  1,091  acres  ;  in  oats,  80  acres;  in  barley, 
6,151  acres ;  in  vineyards,  OS  acres. 

Keru  is  one  of  the  largest  counties  of  the  state,  and  includes  within  its  boundaries  the  extreme  upper  (southern) 
end  of  the  San' Joaquin  valley,  as  well  as  parts  of  the  Sierra  mountains  and  Mqjave  desert  on  the  southeast  and 
south,  aud  of  the  Coast  range  of  mountains  on  the  southwest.  The  two  mountain  chaius  unite  on  the  south,  and 
thus  form  a  high  border  of  from  2,000  to  4,000  feet  above  the  valley  on  all  sides  except  the  north,  their  spurs  often 
extending  far  into  the  plains.  The  lower  ranges  and  hills  on  the  east  and  south  are  generally  covered  with  grasses 
and  shrubbery,  and  often  with  oak,  pine,  anil  fir  trees.  The  mountain  region  of  the  west  is  said  to  be  valueless  for 
farms;  that  of  the  south  and  east,  on  the  contrary,  has  numerous  high  valleys,  which  tire  largely  under  fence  and 
to  some  extent  in  successful  cultivation.  The  Tehachapi  valley,  through  which  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad 
passes,  is  about  12  miles  long  and  3  miles  wide,  surrounded  by  very  high  mountains,  and  in  it  there  is  a  small 
salt  lake.     In  this  valley  the  Yucca  first  appears,  which  afterward  becomes  so  predomiuant  in  the  Mojave  desert. 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  99 

Cumming's  valley,  with  a  length  of  Gaud  a  width  of  3  miles,  and  Bear  valley,  .'J  miles  long  and  1  mile  wide,  nearly  adjoiu 
Tchachapi.  Abundant  timber  is  said  to  be  easily  accessible  to  al!  of  the  mountain  valleys.  The  valley  of  the  south 
fork  of  Kern  river,  *  miles  north  of  Havilah,  contains  about  40  square  miles,  and  is  well  timbered.  The  surface  of 
the  plains  is  very  level  and  treeless,  and  for  the  most  part  has  a  sandy-loam  soil,  whicb,  with  proper  irrigation,  is 
quite  productive.  From  Bakersfield  eastward  for  10  miles  to  the  foot-hills  and  canons  of  Kern  river  there  is  a  strip 
of  undulating  country  elevated  above  the  valley  proper  and  having  a  sandy-loam  soil.  From  Bakersfield  southward 
a  belt  of  tule  marshes  reaches  to  Kern  and  Buena  Vista  lakes  (themselves  now  little  else  than  marshes,  connected 
by  a  slough  100  feet  wide),  and  thence  northward  to  Tulare  lake,  forming  the  outlet,  in  part,  for  the  waters  of  Kern 
river.  The  lakes  are  gradually  disappearing  by  evaporation,  because  of  the  shutting  off  of  their  supply  by  irrigating 
canals.     The  waters  are  strougly  charged  with  alkali,  and  are  totally  unlit  for  use. 

Kern  River  slough  reaches  from  the  north  of  Bakersfield  westward  toward  the  marshes  and  forms,  as  it  were, 
a  "cut-off",  the  country  thus  included  between  it  and  the  old  channel  and  the  marshes  of  the  east,  south,  and  west 
being  a  delta  region  of  rich  sandy  loamf,  originally  having  a.  willow  and  cottonwood  growth,  and  embracing  the 
chief  farming  lands  of  the  county,  known  as  '■  Kern  island".  Previous  to  1S75  this  delta  region,  with  the  rest  of 
the  county,  was  considered  almost  worthless  agriculturally,  and  was  almost  entirely  uncultivated;  but  by  means  of 
an  extensive  system  of  irrigating"  canals  Messrs.  Haggin,  Carr,  and  Livermore  have  shown  that  the  lands  are  highly 
productive,  and  large  ranches  of  thousands  of  acres  each  are  now  under  cultivation  on  this  island.  Irrigation 
is,  however,  absolutely  necessary,  and  a  network  of  ditches  and  canals  from  2  to  20  miles  or  more  long  and  from  20  to 
150  feet  wide  has  been  constructed,  bringing  the  waters  of  Kern  river  into  every  portion  of  the  county  and  carrying 
cultivation  far  into  the  plains.  The  following  summary  of  irrigating  cauals  is  taken  from  the  state  engineer's 
report : 

District  No.  1,  between  old  .South  Fork  and  Old  river.  Total  area,  80,000  acres;  number  of  canals,  5;  aggregate  capacity  of  canals, 
■S95  cubic  feet  per  second. 

District  No.  2,  west  of  Old  river,  and  .south  of  New  river.  Total  area,  04,000  acres;  number  of  canals,  1);  aggregate  capacity,  348 
cubic  feet  per  second. 

District  No.  3,  between  New  river  and  Goose  Lake  slongh.  Area.  70,000  acres;  nuuiberof  canals,  11;  aggregate  capacity,  1,924  cubic 
feet  per  second. 

District  No.  4,  swamp  lands  south  of  Tulare  lake.  Area,  10:1,000  acres:  number  of  canals,  2;  aggregate  capacity  at  head,  3,370 
cubic  feet  per  second. 

District  No.  5,  north  of  Kern  river  and  Goose  Lake  slough.  Area,  300,000  acres;  number  of  canals,  0;  aggregate  capacity,  G45  cubic 
feet  per  second. 

Total  number  of  canals  and  ditches,  large  and  small,  33 ;  total  length  of  main  canals  and  branches.  275  miles.  From  the  Kaweah 
river  there  are  16  canals ;  two  carry  water  to  the  Mussel  Slough  region,  the  others  to  the  region  of  Visalia. 

Many  artesian  wells  have  been  successfully  bored  on  the  north  side  of  the  two  lakes,  water  being  obtained  at 
depths  of  from  200  to  300  feet.  The  artesian  belt,  as  developed  by  the  wells,  has  a  length  of  about  IS  miles  and  a 
width  of  0  miles. 

The  principal  ranches  are  the  Livermore,  about-  V2  miles  south  of  Bakersfield,  and  the  Belleview  ranch,  about 
IS  miles  southwest,  along  Kern  and  Buena  Vista  lakes,  each  including  about  7,000  acres,  and  nearly  all  under 
cultivation.  "From  Fort  Tejou,  on  the  southern  extremity  of  the  county,  to  Kern  river,  a  distance  of  about  40  miles, 
along  the  western  border,  the  county  for  10  miles  from  the  Coast  range  of  mountains  is  covered  with  salt  marshes 
and  brine  and  petroleum  springs." 

The  county  is  sparsely  settled,  the  average  being  muelj  less  than  one  person  (sis-tenths)  per  square  mile,  while  the 
average  of  lands  under  cultivation  is  7.5  acres  per  square  mile.  The  crops  eud>race  wheat,  barley,  corn,  etc.  Cotton 
also  has  been  successfully  raised,  but  the  want  of  a  market  has  made  its  production  less  remunerative  than  other  crops. 

Transportation  facilities  are  afforded  by  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad,  which  passes  through  the  county, 
connecting  with  San  Francisco  on  the  north  and  the  Atlantic  states  on  the  southeast. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  THE  KOTES  OF  N.  J.  WILLSON,  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  PACIFIC  RAILROAD. 

The  surface  of  the  country  from  the  northern  county-line  along  the  railroad  to  Pozo  station  (415  feet  above  the  sea)  is  perfectly  level 
with  the  exception  of  3  miles  of  hog-wallow  haul.  The  soil  is  sandy,  covered  with  allilerilla,  clover,  and  pepper  grass,  and  underlaid 
with  hard-pan  at  from  6  inchfiS  to  15  feet.  The  country  is  entirely  devoted  to  pasturage,  and  no  farms  are  found  nearer  than  that  of  Haggin 
&  Carr,  3  miles  west  of  Pozo.  From  Pozo  southward  to  within  a  couple  of  miles  of  Pampa  station  the  country  is  very  level,  covered 
with  a  line  growth  of  alfilerilla,  with  some  sage-brush,  and  is  well  adapted  to  pasturage  for  sheep.  The  surface  rises  to  an  elevation  of 
r>70  feet,  and  is  without  timber  growth.  The  soil  is  sandy,  though  silty  at  Lerdo  station,  and  there  is  no  farming  being  done  nearer  than 
Bakersfield.  In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Bakersfield  the  soil  is  quite  sandy,  which  with  a  si  iff  wind  drifts  considerably,  and  it  is  estimated 
that  5  per  cent,  of  the  lands  of  this  region  are  so  strongly  alkali  in  character  as  to  be  utterly  worthless.  They  have  only  a  salt-grass 
vegetation.  Some  of  the  laud  which  a  few  years  ago  was  apparently  free  from  alkali  is  now  impregnated  to  axonsiderable  extent,  and 
in  some  instances  land  that  produced  large  crops  of  wheat  three  or  four  years  ago  will  scarcely  grow  salt-grass  now.  On  Kern  river  there 
is  a  natural  timber  growth  of  willow,  cottonwood,  elder,  and  a  few  sycamores.  The  chief  crops  are  wheat,  barley,  alfalfa,  corn,  and 
potatoes  ;  wheat  yields  from  'JO  to  40  bushels  per  acre,  and  alfalfa  from  7  to  10  tons,  being  cut  four  or  five  times  during  the  year.  The  yield 
of  corn  varies  from  40  to  75  bushels.  Tree-planting,  embracing  many  varieties,  has  been  tried  quite  extensively  and  with  success  where 
the  trees  had  water,  the  only  trouble  beiug  from  gophers  and  frost.  Grape-vines  and  fruit  trees  of  all  kinds  do  well  with  water.  Good 
water  in  obtained  in  wells  at  40  or  50  feet,  but  that  nearer  the  surface  contains  alkali.  Frost  usually  appears  during  November,  and 
sand-storms  sometimes  cause  considerable  damage  by  uprooting  grain  unless  this  is  firmly  rooted  before  the  winds  occur. 

Toward  Pampa  station  the  plains  become  narrow  .  and  are  Lined  on  the  east  by  rolling  lauds.  The  station  itself  (elevation  STOfcot)  is 
situated  in  a  valley  about  half  a  mile  wide,  with  high  lolling  hills  running  back  to  the  mountains  on  either  side.  The  soil  is  gravelly 
and  full  of  cobble-stones,  and  is  made  up  of  the  washings  of  Agua  Caliente  and  Walker  Basin  creeks,  the  waters  of  which  do  not  reach 
his  far,  but  siuk  within  a  mile  or  so.  During  wot  winters  water  has  beeu  kuowu  to  stand  more  than  a  foot  in  depth  all  over  this  valley. 
The  vegetation  is  cbiefiy  alfilerilla,  of  which  there  is  a  fair  growth,  both  in  the  valley  and  on  the  hills.  There  is  also  considerable  sage- 
brush and  some  cottonwood  trees.  Xo  fanning  is  done  except  on  Walker's  creek,  where  a  few  acres  of  hay  and  also  a  few  fruit  trees  are 
raised. 


100  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

From  Pampn  to  Caliente  station  there  is  a  deep  anil  narrow  canon,  in  which  runs  tho-Agua  Caliente  creek.  The  bottom  of  the 
canon  is  little  else  than  washed  sand  and  gravel,  cobble-stones  aim  bowlders,  but  on  the  bills  the  sail  is  from  U  inches  to  4  feet  dorp,  ami 
is  underlaid  with  decomposed  granite.  On  tin-  hills  there  is  a  tine 'growth  of  altilerilla,  with  scattering  oak  trees,  while  in  the  canon 
there  is  some  sage-brush,  with  willow,  cottonwood,  and  sycamore  trees.     Milk-  and  rattle-weeds  arc  plentiful. 

From  Caliente  through  the  mountains  to  the  desert  region  the  railroad  passes  through  grassy  cations,  in  part  having  but  little 
timber  growth,  except  on  the  bills.  The  soil  is  usually  sandy  and  gravelly,  and  scarcely  under  cultivation.  Beyond  Tebacbapi  summit 
the  soils  of  the  carious  are  sandy  and  dry  and  partly  alkaline. 

From  the  edge  of  the  desert  to  Mojave  station  (elevation  2,700  feet)  there  is  little  else  than  sage-brush  and  creosote  weeds,  also 
some  aehoia  or  chollu.  Tho  soil  is  reddish  and  sandy,  and  not  at  all  uudor  cultivation.  Water  is  brought  from  Cameron  station  by  pipes. 
The  prevailing  wind  is  from  the  northwest,  and  blows  a  perfect  gale  almost  continually.  Thence  across  the  desert,  to  Lancaster,  the  only 
vegetation  is  Yucca  tree,  sago-brush,  and  creosote  weeds.     There  is  a  great  deal  of  alkali  laud,  with  salt-grass  and  weeds. 


LOWER    FOOT-IIIEES    REGION. 

(Of  the  Sierra  Nevada  mountains  and  the  northern  Coast  range.) 

(This  embraces  the  following  counties  and  [tarts  of  counties :  Of  the  Coast  Range  loot-hill  counties — Shasta,  Tehama 
Yolo,*  and  Colusa*;  of  the  Sierra  foot-hill  counties— Shasta,  Tehama,*  Plumas,*  Butte,*  Sierra,*  Yuba,* 
Nevada,  Placer,  El  Dorado,  a  little  of  Sacramento,*  Amador,  a  little  of  San  Joaquin,*  Calaveras,  Tuolumne,  a 
little  of  Stanislaus,*  and  Merced,*  Mariposa,  Fresno,*  Tulare.*  and  Kern.*) 

SHASTA. 

Population :  0,492. 

Area:  4,000  square  miles. — Lower  foot-hills,  1,525  square  miles:  higher  foot-hills  and  Sierra  mountains,  1,950 
square  miles;  Coast  Range  mountains,  525  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  55,915  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  0,  207  acres  ;  in  corn,  59  acres ;  in  oats.  077  acres ;  in  bailey, 
0,702  acres;  in  vineyards,  113  acres. 

Shasta  county,  situated  at  the"  head  of  the  great  valley  drained  by  the  Sacramento  river,  is  one  of  the  beat 
watered  counties  of  the  state,     The  river  has  very  many  confluents,  both  from  the  mountains  of  the  Sierra  on  the 
east  and  north  and  from  the  Coast  range  on  the  west,  all  uniting  near  the  southern  border.     Chief  among  these  is 
Pitt  river,  whose  source  is  in  the  northeastern  corner  of  the  state. 

The  mountains  that  cover  a  large  portion  of  the  county  on  all  sides  but  the  south  are  rugged  and  lofty,  rising 
more  than  5,000  feet  above  the  sea.  On  the  east  there  tire  four  peaks  of  special  prominence  that  stretch  far  into 
the  county  from  the  Sierras,  separated  from  each  other  by  distances  of  10  or  12  miles,  Lassen's  peak,  the  highest 
of  these,  having  an  altitude  of  10,577  feet,  and  timbered  for  two-thirds  of  the  way  up,  the  rest  being  bald,  and  usually 
covered  with  snow.  Other  peaks  and  buttes  occur  everywhere,  and  till  are  of  volcanic  origin,  as  shown  by  extinct 
craters,  cones,  sulphur  deposits,  beds  of  lava,  etc.  Mot  and  boiling  springs  are  also  of  frequent  occurrence.  The 
mountains  of  the  north  and  west  parts  of  the  county  tire  covered  with  forests  of  conifers  of  nearly  every  variety, 
except  redwood,  while  on  the  lower  hills  live-oak  is  abundant,  and  ash  occurs  along  the  streams. 

The  southwestern  portion  of  the  county,  embracing  about  one  third  of  its  area,  is  a  foothill  region  having  an 
altitudeof  not  more  than  2,000  feet  above  the  sea.  Its  surface  is  hilly  and  broken,  and  is  interspersed  with  numerous 
valleys  along  (he  several  streams. 

The  tillable  lands  tire  chiefly  east  of  the  Sacramento  river;  a  broad  region,  comparatively  level,  lies  between 
that  stream  anil  Stillwater  and  Cow  creeks,  a  distance  of  about  12  miles.  The  river  itself  from  Redding  south  to  the 
county-line  is  bordered  by  a  strip  of  good  fanning  land,  dotted  over  with  white  oaks,  and  having  but  little  undergrowth. 
The  soil  of  these  valleys  is  a  reddish  sandy  loam,  more  or  less  gravelly  ;  but  near  the  creeks  it  is  more  clayey.  The  soil 
of  the  hills  in  places  is  adobe  in  character,  but  for  the  most  part  it  is  red  and  gravelly.  Immediately  north  of  Redding 
are  found  clumps  of  manzanita  anil  large  oaks. 

Very  little  farming  is  done  in  this  county,  the  chief  industry  being  stock-raising.  The  average  of  cultivated 
lands  is  13.9  acres  per  square  mile. 

Redding,  the  county  seat,  is  connected  with  Sacramento  by  the  Oregon  division  of  the  Central  Pacific  railroad. 

TEHAMA. 

Population  :  9,301. 

Area:  3,000  square  miles. — Sacramento  valley,  2G5  square  miles;  lower  foot  hills,  2,000  square  miles;  higher 
foot-hills  anil  Sierra  mountains,  420  square  miles;   Coast  Range  mountains,  375  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  270,441  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat, 84,254 acres:  in  corn, 24 acres;  in  oats,  298  acres:  in  barley, 
14,907  acres;  in  vineyards,  39  acres. 

Tehama  county  is  situated  at  the  northern  end  of  the  great  valley  of  the  Sacramento  river,  and  reaches  from 
the  Sierra  on  the  east  across  this  valley  to  the  Coast  range  of  mountains  on  the  west,  with  ;m  extreme  width  east  and 
west  of  80  miles  and  a  length  north  and  south  of  about  35  miles.  The  topography  is  greatly  varied,  the  Sacramento 
river  forming  a  central  feature  with  its  very  level  and  open  valley  of  from  7  to  15  miles  width,  bordered  on  the  east, 
north,  and  west  by  a  region  of  foot-hills,  which  extend  back,  with  increasing  altitudes,  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains. 
The  valley,  foot-hills,  and  mountains  thus  constitute  three  general  divisions,  and  differ  in  their  agricultural  features. 

758 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  '    101 

"All  the  streams  heading  in  the  Sierra  run  in  dee])  canons,  which  open  upon  the  Sacramento  valley  in  gate  like  chasms,  the  lava 
formation  through  which  they  tlow  terminating  hero  with  an  abrupt  edge.  Below  this  is  a  barren,  treeless  belt  covered  with  volcanic 
fragments,  which,  gradually  sloping  1e  the  west,  merges  in  the  fertile  bottom  lands  along  the  river," — Natural  Wealth  of  California. 

The  Sacramento  valley  is  the  most  important  of  these  divisions,  comprising,  as  it  does,  the  chief  grain-producing 
part  of  the  county.  The  valley  proper  has  its  head  a  short  distance  above  Red  Bluff,  on  the  river,  on  both  sides  of 
■which  it  extends  southward  in  a  belt  of  a  few  miles  width  through  the  county,  widening  out  rapidly  to  the  westward 
below  the  county-line.  Along  the  immediate  banks  of  the  river  there  is  a  narrow  strip  of  bottom  loam,  very  rich 
and  productive,  whose  original  growth  was  Cottonwood  and  sycamore ;  but  the  soil  of  the  valley  proper  is  a  reddish 
loam  with  uo  timber,  the  surface  presenting  a  broad  and  open  prairie  plain. 

The  foot-hills  are  rolling,  treeless,  and  usually  much  broken,  but  they  are  interspersed  with  narrow  valleys, 
watered  by  streams  flowing  into  the  Sacramento  river.  The  hills  are  generally  too  rocky  and  barren  for  the 
culture  of  grain,  but  are  thought  to  be  suitable  for  grapes.  The  soil  is  chiefly  a  red  gravelly  and  rocky  loam  or  clay. 
Near  the  foot  of  the  mountains  stock  raising  is  almost  the  only  pursuit. 

The  mountains  are  too  high  and  barren  for  agricultural  purposes.  Those  of  the  Sierra  are  generally  timbered 
with  spruce  and  piue  and  covered  with  snow  for  most  of  the  year;  those  of  the  Coast  range  are  lower  in  altitude, 
and  have  a  growth  of  inferior  pine  and  oak.     Lumbering  is  the  chief  industry  in  the  mountains. 

Wheat  is  the  chief  crop  of  the  county,  though  fruits,  grapes,  etc.,  are  now  receiving  more  attention.  The 
lands  ot  the  county  under  cultivation  average  SS.3  acres  per  square  mile,  the  average  of  population  being  but  3 
persons  per  square  mile. 

The  agricultural  or  valley  region  is  supplied  with  transportation  facilities  by  the  California  Pacific  aud  Central 
Pacific  railroads,  which  pass  through,  west  and  east  of  the  river,  via  Willows  and  Sacramento,  to  San  Francisco. 

YOLO. 

(See  "  Great  valley  region".) 

COLUSA. 

(See  "Great  valley  region".) 

PLUMAS. 
(See  "  Sierra  mountain  and  higher  foot-hill  region".) 

BUTTE. 
(See  "  Great  valley  region".) 

SIERRA. 

(See  "Sierra  mountain  and  higher  foot-hill  region".) 

YUBA. 

(See  "  Great  valley  region".! 

NEVADA. 

Population:  20,823. 

Area :  990  square  miles. — Lower  foot-hills,  440  square  miles ;  higher  foot-hills  and  Sierra  mountains,  550  square 
miles. 

Tilled  lands  :  25,207  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  304  acres  ;  in  corn,  32  acres ;  in  oats,  1,165  acres  ;  in  barley, 
541  acres;  in  vineyards,  107  acres. 

Nevada,  a  long  and  narrow  county,  extending  from  the  state-line  westward  across  the  high  Sierra  and 
southwestward  into  the  foot-hills,  is  watered  chiefly  by  south  and  middle  Yuba  rivers  and  Elk  creek  on  the  north, 
while  Bear  river  marks  the  southern  boundary,  all  flowing  west  toward  the  Sacramento  river.  Several  small  lakes 
occur  among  the  mountains  of  the  east,  the  largest  beiug  Donner  lake,  2  miles  from  Truckee.  The  greater  part  of 
the  county  on  the  east  is  rugged,  wild,  and  uninhabited  (the  mountains  in  places  rising  more  than  8,000  feet  above 
the  sea),  and  is  almost  exclusively  devoted  to  mining  operations.  The 'weste.ru  part,  or  less  than  half  the  county 
area,  lies  within  the  "foot-hill  region",  and  embraces  the  lands  suitable  for  farming  purposes.  Its  extreme,  altitude 
is  not  over  2,000  feet.  Near  the  mountains  its  surface  is  very  broken  and  hilly,  the  low  spurs  of  the  Sierra 
reaching  far  westward  and  forming  a  region  "diversified  with  deep  ravines,  knolls  and  dales,  rolling  prairies, 
wooded  mountains,  and  gently  sloping  hills.  It  has  a  mixed  growth  of  oak  and  pines,  occurring  in  clumps,  aud  an 
undergrowth  of  buckeye,  chamizal,  wild  lilac,  aud  mauzanita".  Lumbering  is  the  chief  industry  among  the  forests 
of  pine,  spruce,  fir,  sugar  pine,  aud  cedar.  The  extreme  western  part  of  the  county  is  less  broken,  and  the  lands 
more  in  cultivation.  The  soils  of  the  uplands  comprise  red  loams,  more  or  less  gravelly,  or  gray  sandy  granitic  lauds; 
those  of  the  bottoms  and  flats  are  often  dark  alluvial  loams. 

i  he  county  averages  2.1  persons  per  square  mile.  The  cultivated  lands  average  25.6  acres  per  square  mile  for 
the  county  tit  large,  or  about  5.7  acres  for  the  foot-hill  and  valley  region. 

The  Nevada  Central  railroad  connects  with  the  Central  Pacific  at  Colfax,  the  latter  road  also  traversing  the 
eastern  part  of  the  county. 

759 


102     •  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

PLACER. 

Population  -    14,232. 

Area:  1,480  square  miles. — Sacramento  valley,  220  square  miles;  lower  foot-hills,  450  square  miles;  higher 
foot-hills  and  Sierra  mountains,  slo  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  101,923  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheal.  11,75]  acres;  in  com,  160  acres;  in  oats,  S73  acres;  in 
barley,  5,594  acres;  in  vineyards,  l,03(i  acres. 

Placer,  one  of  the  narrow  counties  that  extends  from  the  state- line  westward  to  the  Sacramento  valley,  has  Bear 
river  for  a  purr' of  its  northern  and  the  north  and  middle  links  of  the  American  river  tor  the  greater  pari  of  its 
southern  boundary.  A  number  of  ol  her  large  creeks,  either  tributary  to  I  he  lai  ter  river  or  flowing  independent  l.v 
toward  the  Sacramento,  aid  in  supplying  an  abundance  of  water  lor  mining  or  irrigation  purposes.  The  forks  of 
the  American  river  flow  through  deep  i  -annus  and  narrow  gorges,  which  an-  from  1,800  to  2,000  feet  In -low  the  general 
level  of  the  country.     Lake  Tahoe  covers  a  large  surface  on  the  high  Sierra  regiou  on  the  east. 

The  county  is  naturally  divided  into  the  following  general  regions:  (1.)  The  high  Sierra  Mountain  region,  on 
the  easi.  rising  from  7,000  to  10,i  00  feet  above  the  sea,  and  embracing  a  wild  and  rugged  country  subject  to  heavy 
snow  and  land  slides,  well  timbered  with  pine,  fir,  and  cedar,  and  but  little  inhabited.  (2.)  An  upper  foot-hill 
region,  from  2,000  to  1,000  feet,  extending  westward  to  near  Auburn,  and  embracing  a  broken  and  very  billy 
country,  well  timbered,  and  devoted  chiefly  to  lumbering  and  mining.  (3.)  A  lower  foot-hill  regionot  less  than 
2,000  feel  altitude,  embracing  a  regiou  of  rolling  lands  and  low  hills,  somewhat  broken  in  character,  and  partly 
timbered  with  while,  live,  and  black  oaks,  Sabin's  pine,  buckeye,  manzanita,  and  chaparral.  These  hills  are 
devoted  chiefly  to  fruit  culture,  and  the  valleys  to  ha\  and  alfalfa.  That  part  ol  the  region  reaching  from  2  miles 
west  ol'  Auburn  to  the  higher  hills  has  chiefly  red  gravelly  lands,  while  the  remainder  is  granitic  in  character, 
and  its  soils  are  lighter  and  partly  sandy.  Both  are  well  adapted  to  fruits.  Granite  bow  biers  and  outcrops  arc 
abundant.  This  granitic  belt  extends  through  the  county  north  and  sunt  h  with  an  average  width  of  about  111  miles. 
(4.)  The  Sacramento  plain,  with  an  elevation  of  about  40  feet  above  the  sea.  and  embracing  a  level  or  slightly 
undulating  country,  with  swales  or  depressions,  and  almost  treeless,  except  along  the  watercourses,  where  a  lew- 
oaks  vary  the  monotony.  The  line  dividing'  the  plains  from  the  Idol-hill  region  passes  from  Folsom  (Sacramento 
county)  to  Rocklin,  and  thence  eastward  of  Lincoln  and  Sheridan  to  Bear  river,  on  the  north. 

'fhe  soil  of  the  valley  or  plaius  is  a  red  loam,  with  a  stiff  clay  subsoil  underlaid  bj  a  yellowish  hard-pan; 
within  the  swales  or  depressions  t  he  si  iff  clay  appears  as  an  adobe,  the  county  greatly  resembling  that  of  Sacramento. 
The  lands  under  cultivation- average  lls.s  acres  per  square  mile  for  the  county  at  large,  or  about  152  acres  for  tlud 
part  outside  of  the  mountainous  portion. 

The  Central  Pacific  railroad,  with  its  Placerville  branch,. affords  the  western  part  of  the  county  abundant 
transportation  facilities,  also  passing  near  the  northern  border  of  the  eastern  or  mountainous  country. 

EL  DORADO. 

Population:   10,083. 

Area:  1,800  square  miles. — Lower  foot-hills,  780  square  miles;  higher  foot-hills  and  mountains,  1,020  square 

miles. 

Tilled  lands  :'>3,'.I4(.I  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  1,300  acres  ;  in  corn,  13  acres;  in  oats.  57  acres:  in  barley, 
1,137  acres;  in  vineyards,  1,415  acres. 

El  Dorado  county  reaches  from  the  state-line  westward  almost  to  the  level  plains  of  the  great  valley,  and  is 
watered  by  the  American  and  Cosumnes  rivers  and  their  many  tributaries.  The  former,  rising  in  the  extreme  cast. 
flows  centrally  through  the  county  with  a  channel  far  below  the  general  level  of  the  count! J  through  which  it 
passes.  Lake  Tahoe  extends  into  the  county  on  the  northeast,  while  several  smaller  lakes  occur  within  this 
mountain  region. 

The  eastern  part  of  the  county,  reaching  westward  to  within  10  or  12  miles  of  Placerville,  is  high,  niountaii s, 

and  rugged,  embracing  the  high  Sierra,  which  rises  to  an  altitude  of  8,00(1  feet  and  more,  'fhe  we.- tern  slope  ol  this 
mountain  regiou  is  heavily  timbered,  and  lumbering  is  the  chief  industry. 

The  rest  of  the  county,  embracing  a  belt  about  30  miles  wide,  is  a  region  of* foot-hills,  and  contains  a  scattered 
growth  of  white  and  black  oak  and  pine,  except  in  the  extreme  west,  which  is  mostly  destitute  of  timber.  From 
its  elevation  of  about  2,000  feet  on  the  east  the  surface  of  the  foot-hills  tails  westward  to  the  plains,  hilly  and 
broken  at  first,  but  becoming  more  level,  and  embraces  the  only  farming  lands  of  the  county.  Many  small  valleys 
occur  in  the  eastern  foot-hills  region,  but  these  are  said  to  have  Suffered  very  greatly  by  the  washing  away  of  their 
soils  by  placer  mining. 

The  lands  of  the  county  are  chiefly  red  gravelly  loams  and.  clays,  and,  along  the  streams,  strips  of  alluvial 
loams.  The  cultivated  lands  average  Ibr  the  county  at  large  18.8  acres  per  square  mile,  while  the  average  ol 
population  is  not  quite  0  persons. 

The  Sacramento  and  Placerville  railroad  runs  from  Sacramento  to  Shingle  springs,  10  miles  from  Placerville. 

SACRAMENTO. 

(See  "  Great  valley  region  ".) 

AMADOR. 
Population  :  11,384. 

Area:  -540  square  miles. — Sierra  mountains  and  upper  foot-hills,  90  square  miles;  lower  foot-hills,  450  square 
miles. 

Tilled  hinds:  36,785  acres. — Area   planted  in  wheat,  2,380  acres;  in   corn,  1,191   acres;  in   oats,  31  acres:  in 
barley,  3,291  acres;  in  vineyards,  580  acres. 
760 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  103 

Amador  county  is  very  narrow,  and  lies  east  and  west  between  the  foot  of  the  high  Sierra  and  the  Sacramento 
plain,  being  bounded  on  the  north  in  part  by  a  fork  of  the  Cosumnes  river,  and  on  the  south  by  the  Mokelumne 
river.  Numerous  creeks,  flowing  independently  of  these  rivers  westward  towards  the  Sacramento,  aid  in  supplying 
the  county  with  an  abundance  of  water. 

The  eastern  portion  is  very  narrow,  and  for  a  distance  of  25  or  30  miles  is  embraced  within  the  upper  foot- 
hills region,  having  an  elevation  of  from  2,000  to  4,000  feet  above  the  sea;  its  surface  is  rugged  and  broken 
(the.  streams  finding  their  way  through  deep  cations)  and  well  timbered.  The  rest  of  the  county,  or  lower  foot  hills 
region,  is  hilly  and  partly  timbered,  and  is  interspersed  with  numerous  fertile  valleys,  varying  in  length  from 
3  to  0  miles  and  in  width  from  2  to  3  miles.  lone  and  Jackson  valleys  are  each  12  or  15  miles  long  and  from  2  to  5 
miles  wide.  The.  soils  are  a  red  loam,  more  or  less  gravelly,  with  a  scattered  growth  of  oaks.  The  chief  crops  are 
wheat,  barley,  potatoes,  and  fruits.  Irrigation  is  necessary,  and  water  is  brought  in  ditches  from  the  large  streams. 
The  largest  of  these,  the  Amador  canal,  is  connected  with  the  north  fork  of  the  Mokelumne  river,  and  has  a  length 
of  00  miles.    The  lands  yield  from  20  to  30  bushels  of  wheat  and  25  bushels  of  barley  per  acre. 

The  western  part  of  the  county  is  connected  with  Sacramento  and  San  Francisco  by  the  Amador  branch  from 
lone  City  to  Gault,  and  thenceJ)y  the  Central  Pacific  railroad. 

Lauds  under  cultivation  «fcrage'68.1  acres  per  square  mile  for  the  county  at  large,  or  about  81  acres  for  the 
foot-hills  region. 

SAN  JOAQUIN. 
(See  "Great  valley  region".) 

CALAVERAS. 

Population :  9,004. 

Area :  9S0  square  miles. — Lower  foot-hills,  S00  square  miles ;  higher  foot-hills,  ISO  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  29,414  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  S07  acres;  in  corn,  200  acres;  in  oats,  13  acres;  in  barley, 
l,92(i  acres  ;  in  vineyards,  328  acres. 

Calaveras  county  is  bordered  on  the  north  and  south  respectively  by  the  Mokelumne  and  Stanislaus  rivers, 
which,  rising  not  far  from  each  other  in  the  Sierra,  rapidly  diverge  as  they  flow  southwestward  and  give  to  the 
county  a  triangular  shape.  These  two  rivers,  with  Calaveras  river,  which  rises  near  the  center  of  the  county  and 
flows  westward,  are  the  principal  streams,  and  have  numerous  small  tributaries.  The.  surface  of  the  county  is  hilly 
and  broken  throughout,  the  wTesteru  boundary  resting  among  the  lower  foot-hills  near  the  great  valley.  The 
general  level  rises  rapidly  to  the  summit  of  the  high  Sierra  on  the  east. 

Bear  mountain,  a  rocky,  wooded  range,  a  little  more  than  2,000  feet  high,  strikes  northerly  across  the  middle  of  the  county 
from  the  Stanislaus  to  the  Calaveras  river,  dividing  this  central  portion  into  two  sections,  the  lower  composed  of  abrupt,  foot-hills,  that 
gradually  subside  into  low,  rolling  prairies  as  they  stretch  west  toward  the  great  San  Joaquin  valley,  while  the  ripper  grows  more 
rugged  and  broken  as  it  extends  eastward  into  the  main  Sierra.     *  '     The  upper  and  steeper  slopes  of  the  foot-hills  are  covered  with 

scattered  groves  of  oak,  interspersed  with  an  inferior  species  of  pine,  buckeye,  manzauita,,  and  other  shrubby  trees.  Large  patches  are 
covered  wholly  with  the  chainisal  (Adenostoma),  an  evergreen  shrub  with  a  delicate  leaf,  which,  seen  from  afar,  gives  to  the  mountains 
a  beautifully  dark,  umbrageous  appearance. 

Oue  of  the  greatest  curiosities  in  California  consists  of  the  Big  Tree  grove,  situated  ou  the  divide  betweeu  the  middle  fork  of  the 
Stanislaus  and  the  Calaveras  river,  about  20  miles  east  of  Mokelumne  hill,  and  at  an  elevation  of  4,759  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The 
trees  range  in  height  from  150  to  'J27  feet,  and  in  diameter  from  15  to  30  feet. — Natural  Wealth  of  California. 

Mining  is  the  chief  industry  of  the  county,  and  comparatively  little  farming  is  carried  on.  The  lands  under 
cultivation  average,  but  30  acres  per  square  mile  for  the  county  at.  large,  being  chiefly  embraced  in  the  lower 
foot-hill  region.  Fruits  comprise  the  principal  crop.  The  soils  are  chiefly  the  "red  foot-hills",  similar  to  those  of 
Tuolumne  county.  Numerous  canals  have  been  dug  from  the  rivers  to  convey  water  for  hydraulic  mining  and 
other  purposes,  the  two  largest  of  these,  the  Mokelumne  Ilill  and  Seco  canal  on  tire  west,  connecting  with  the 
Mokelumne  river,  and  the  Murphy  canal,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  county,  taking  its  water  from  the  Stanislaus 
river. 

Transportation  facilities  are  afforded  the  western  part  of  the  county  by  the  San  Joaquin  and  Nevada  railroad, 
which  extends  westward  through  San  Joaquin  county,  along  the  south  side  of  Mokelumne  river,  to  Crack's  landing, 
where  a  line  of  boats  connects  with  San  Francisco;  also  by  the  Stockton  and  Copperopolis  railroad,  reaching  from 
the  southwest  part  of  the  county  west  to  Stockton,  and  thence  by  railroad  or  boat  to  San  Francisco  or  Sacramento. 

TUOLUMNE. 

Population:  7.S48. 

Area:  1,980  square,  miles. — Lower  foot-hills,  520  square  miles;  higher  foot-hills  and  Sierra  mountains,  1,400 
square  miles. 

Tilled  lands :  23,801  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  4,055  acres ;  in  corn,  24  acres ;  in  oats,  69  acres ;  in  barley, 
2,55S  acres;  in  vineyards,  418  acres. 

Tuolumne,  one  of  the,  foot-hill  counties,  is  separated  from  Calaveras  ou  the  northwest  by  the  north  fork  of  the 
Stanislaus  river,  which,  with  its  tributaries,  drains  that  portion  of  the  country.  The  greater  part  of  the  county  is, 
however,  watered  by  the  Tuolumne  river  and  many  tributaries,  that,  rising  in  the  Sierra,  flow  westward,  its  drainage 
basin  being  entirely  within  the  county  until  the  western  boundary-line,  is  reached.  The  surface,  of  the  country  is 
hilly  and  broken,  rising  rapidly  from  the  lower  foot-hills,  near  the  San  Joaquin  plains,  eastward  to  the  high  Siena, 
mountains,  14,000  feet  above  the  sea.  The.  greater  part  of  the  county,  because  of  its  hilly  and  broken  character  and 
its  elevation,  is  untillable.  The  lower  foothills  in  the  west,  where  not  too  broken,  are  being  successfully  cultivated 
in  grapes  and  fruits,  while  the  narrow  valleys  arc  planted  in  alfalfa  and  grasses  for  hay.  This  western  region,  and 
especially  the  valley  of  the  Stanislaus  river,  has  been  occupied  chiefly  with  mining  camps,  quartz  mining  being  a 
large  industry.     Lumbering  is  also  carried  on  extensively  in  the  timber  region  of  the  Sierra,  "which  is  located 

761 


104  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

about  centrally  with  reference  to  the  eastern  and  western  boundary-lines  of  the  county,  and  extends  the  entire 
breadth,  its  area  being  about  50  miles  long  and  25  wide."  The  timber  comprises  pine,  fir,  and  cedar,  and  a  number 
of  saw-mills  are  located  upon  the  western  limit  of  the  region.  In  the  mountainous  portion  of  the  county,  on  the 
east,  there  are  many  lakes  at  the  heads  of  the  tributaries  of  Tuolumne  river.  Lake  Floor,  the  largest  of  these, 
is  situated  in  a  valley  1  miles  long,  and  averages  1.1  miles  in  width.  The  land  bordering  it  is  a  sandy  loam, 
producing  a  luxuriant  growth  of  native,  grasses.  A  portion  of  the  valley  is  well  wooded,  and  the  gentle  slopes  and 
ridges  on  both  sides  arc  covered  with  a  giant  growth  of  pines  and  firs.  Numerous  canals  have  been  constructed, 
mainly  for  nursery  purposes,  to  carry  the  waters  of  the  livers  to  many  points  in  the  county.  The  Big  Oak  Flat 
canal  is  some  in  miles  long,  and  that  of  the  Tuolumne  County  Water  Company  (the  "Tuolumne  ditch")  about  35 
miles. 

The  cultivated  lands  average  1 13  acres  per  square  mile  for  the  county  at  large,  the  average  population  being 
but  about  4  persons  per  square  mile. 

The  San  Joaquin  and  Nevada  railroad,  when  completed,  will  give  the  county  good  transportation  facilities.  At 
present  communication  is  by  way  of  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad  in  Stanislaus  county. 

ABSTRACT   FROM    A    DESCRIPTION   BY    JOHN    TAYLOR,    OF    CaAo    SECO. 

There  is  a  belt  of  granite  passing  through  tins  county  in  a  course  parallel  with  the  Sierra  mountains  and  separated  from  it  by 
slates.  Sonora,  the  county-seat,  is  situated  upon  the  divide  between  these'  granite  and  slates.  The  timber  of  the  county  also  occurs  in 
parallel  belts.  From  the  summit  of  the  Sierra  westward  for  about  40  miles  in  width  toward  the  foot-hills  is  the  bolt  of  sugar  pines. 
This  then  gives  place  to  a  bolt  of  live-oak  and  the  yellow  or  nut  pine  trees,  the  region  being  characterized  as  being  the  poorest  in  the 
county  excopt  in  minerals.  Nothing  can  be  more  barren  than  these  pine  and  chaparral  hills,  some  of  which  an-  quite  high  and  conical  in 
shape.  Tiie  small  valleys  that  intervene  are  the  only  portions  suitable  for  settlement.  Their  soils  vary  from  light  to  dark,  and  with 
irrigation  can  be  made  to  produce  well.  The  area  suitable  for  farming  purposes  is  quite  extensive  north  of  Sonora,  and  a  great  quantity 
of  hay  is  produced.  On  the  western  side,  of  the  county  the  great  plains  are  skirted  by  a  belt  of  scrub  oak  some  10  or  12  miles  in  width. 
The  soil  is  of  a  brownish  color,  and  is  used  mostly  for  pasturage,  but  by  cultivation  it  is  capable  of  producing  cereals. 

STANISLAUS. 
(See  "Great  valley  region".) 

MERCED. 
(See  "  Great  valley  region  ".) 

MARIPOSA. 

Population:  4,339. 

Area:  1,500  square  miles. — Lower  foot-hills,  530  square  miles;  higher  foot-hills  and  Sierra  mountains,  1,03(1 
square  miles. 

Tilled  lands  :  15,125  acres.— Area  planted  in  wheat,  337  acres  ;  in  corn,  3d  acres  ;  in  oats,  12  acres  ;  in  barley, 
1,314  acres  ;  in  vineyards,  43  acres. 

Mariposa  county  reaches  eastward  from  the  edge  of  the  San  Joaquin  plains,  across  the  foot-hills,  far  into 
the  Sierra  mountains,  its  altitude  thus  varying  from  about  300  to  from  10,000  to  13,000  feet,  that  of  mount  Dana 
being  13,227  feet.  The  largest  stream  of  the  county  is  the  .Merced  river,  which  rises  on  the  extreme  east  and  flows 
westward  to  the  plain.  On  the  south  Chowehillsi  river  forms  part  of  the  boundary  between  this  and  Fresno  county, 
while,  numerous  smaller  streams  flow  westward  into  Merced  county.  The  eastern  part  is  timbered  with  pine, 
spruce,  and  cedar,  the  central  with  oak  and  pine,  while  the  western  is  sparsely  timbered,  and  the  extreme  west  is 
almost  treeless. 

The  most  prominent  point  of  interest  in  the  county  is  the  celebrated  Yosemite  valley,  situated  on  the  cast 
at  an  elevation  of  4,000  feet  above  the  sea.  The  valley  proper  is  about  8  miles  long  and  from  one-half  to  one  mile 
wide,  the  greatest  breadth  being  3  miles  The  Merced  river  flows  through  it,  while  on  either  side  are  very  high 
cliffs,  rising  in  places  thousands  of  feet  above  the  valley.  On  the  lower  mountain  slopes  and  in  the  valley  are 
groves  of  pine,  with  some  oak,  willow,  and  cottonwood.  This  valley  is  famous  for  the  grandeur  of  its  mountain 
scenery  and  waterfalls,  and  is  under  state  control  as  a  place  of  resort  for  tourists.  Its  further  description  lies 
outside  of  the  province  of  this  report. 

The  mountainous  portion  of  the  county,  too  high  and  broken  for  cultivation,  extends  westward  to  within  a  few 
miles  of  Mariposa,  the  county-seat.  A  region  of  foot-hills  of  from  2,000  lo  4,000  feet  altitude  then  crosses  the  county 
from  northwest  to  southeast,  and  reaches  westward  about  15  miles  beyond  the  county-seat  and  into  the  southern 
part  id'  the  county.  It  is  hilly  and  broken,  interspersed  with  prominent  mountain  chains,  and  is  well  timbered 
with  pine  anil  oak,  the  source  of  supply  for  the  mining  camps  of  the  region.  Very  little  farming  is  done  in  this  part 
of  the  county,  except  on  a  small  scale  in  the  valleys.  The  extreme  western  part  is  more  level,  its  hills  being 
susceptible  of  cultivation,  and  is  but  sparsely  timbered  with  white  and  blue  oaks.  The  soil  of  the  hills  is  mostly 
a  reddish  clay,  that  of  the  valleys  or  lower  lands  being  chiefly  a  dark  loam  with  red  subsoil.  Some  farming  is 
done  in  this  lower  foot-hill  region,  small  grain,  fruits,  and  vegetables  being  produced.  The  county  is,  however, 
chiefly  engaged  in  mining,  and  these  supplies  are  produced  mostly  for  home  consumption.  Lumbering  is  also 
carried  on  in  the  higher  foot-hills  and  mountain  region. 

The  average  acreage  of  tilled  lands  per  square  mile  of  the  county  at  large  is  but  9.0  acres,  but,  assuming  that  the 
lower  foot-hills  embrace  nearly  all  of  the  lands  under  cultivation,  the  average  for  that  region  is  nearly  30  acres. 
Merced  is  the  nearest  railroad  point  for  transportation  facilities. 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  105 

FRESNO. 
(See  "Great  valley  region".) 

TULARE. 
(See  "Great  valley  region".) 

KERN. 
(See  "Great  valley  region".) 


SOUTHERN  AND  DESERT  REGIONS. 

(Embracing  the  counties  of  Los  Angeles,  San  Bernardino,  and  San  Diego.) 

LOS  ANGELES. 

Papulation :  33,381. 

Area :  4,750  square  miles. — Coast  Range  mountains,  2,305  square  miles ;  valley  lands,  1,480  square  miles ;  desert, 
DC5  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  195,055  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  29,3411  acres;  in  corn,  22,771  acres;  in  oats,  78  acres;  in 
barley,  38,823  acres;  in  vineyards,  4,101  acres. 

Los  Angeles,  the  most  populous  of  the  counties  of  tlie  southern  region,  borders  the  ocean  on  the  south,  while 
its  northern  boundary  lies  in  the  Mojave  desert.  A  range  of  high  mountains,  the  San  Fernando  and  Sierra  Madre, 
passes  through  the  county  with  a  course  a  little  south  of  east  and  an  extreme  width  of  about  30  miles,  separating 
the  Mojave  desert  from  the  southern  region  of  large  valleys  and  hills,  which  comprise  the  inhabited  and  cultivable 
portion  of  the  county,  and  which  alone  is  well  watered  by  numerous  streams  rising  among  the  mountains  and 
flowing  into  the  ocean.  Of  these  the  most  important  are  the  Los  Angeles  river,  rising  on  the  northwest  in  the  San 
Fernando  mountains  and  valley  ;  the  San  Gabriel,  rising  on  the  northeast,  and  uniting  with  the  former  a  few  miles 
from  the  ocean  ;  and  t lie  Santa  Aua.  river,  which,  also  rising  on  the  northeast  in  the  San  Gabriel  range  and  flowing 
through  San  Bernardino  county,  enters  this  county  from  a  canon  in  the  Santa  Aua  mountains  of  the  southeast. 

The  Mojave  desert  region,  on  the  north,  elevated  more  than  2,000  feet  above  the  sea,  is  a  desolate  sandy  plain 
without  permanent  streams  of  water  and  little  vegetation  other  than,  locally,  Yucca,  sage-brush,  some  creosote 
plant  (Larrea),  and  occasionally  juniper  and  scanty  grass.  Water  may  be  obtained  in  wells,  but  the  region, 
because  of  the  high  and  hot  winds,  which  stunt  or  prevent  the  growth  of  vegetables  or  crops,  save  in  protected 
spots  and  with  irrigation,  is  hardly  inhabited.  There  is  said  to  be.  some  good  land,  well  adapted  to  fruits  and  small 
grain,  in  the  foot-hills  around  Lake  Elizabeth,  on  the  western  border  of  the  desert,  but  the  same  causes  have 
thus  far  prevented  their  utilization  or  occupation.  There  is  also  a  large  amount  of  alkali  land  in  the  low  grounds 
of  this  section. 

The  mountain  region  that  passes  through  the  county  is  the  continuation  of  the  Coast  range,  and  is  made  up  ot 
high  chains,  trending  in  every  direction,  and,  except  in  some  of  the  passes,  too  rough  and  broken  for  tillage.  The 
eastern  and  northern  slopes  are  said  to  have  many  rich  and  fertile  canons,  which  are  well  timbered  with  oaks,  but  are 
not  under  cultivation.  The  Soledad  pass,  through  which  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad  has  been  built,  trends  westward 
to  the  Santa  Clara  river,  and  its  lands  are  mostly  sandy  and  gravelly,  and  have  a  vegetation  comprising,  in  places, 
•oak,  willow,  cottonwood,  and  sycamore,  with  alhlerilla,  clover,  bunch-grass,  and  sage.  The  adjoining  mountains 
are  largely  covered  with  chamisal  brush.  The  agricultural  region  proper  of  the  county,  embracing  that  part  lying 
between  the  mountains  and  the  coast,  is  from  15  to  30  miles  wide,  and  is  divided  into  three  large  valleys:  the  San 
Fernando  valley  on  the  northwest,  separated  from  the  coast  and  Los  Angeles  plain  by  the  Santa  Monica  mountains; 
the  Los  Ang;eles  valley,  which  reaches  from  the  Santa  Monica  mountains  southeast  along  the  coast  to  the  San 
Diego  county-line  ;  and  the  Sau  Gabriel  valley  and  its  eastward  continuation  into  San  Bernardino  county,  separated 
from  the  Los  Angeles  valley  and  the  coast  by  the  Santa  Ana  range  of  mountains.  The  two  latter  valleys  form  what 
is  known  as  the  Los  Angeles  plain,  itself  divided  into  an  upper  and  lower,  the  latter  reaching  from  the  coast 
inland  for  10  or  15  miles.  These  valleys  have  been  somewhat  fully  described  in  the  regional  descriptions  on  page 
-37  of  this  report.  The  lands  embrace  dark  and  rich  loams,  black  adobes,  reddish  mesa  lands,  and  belts  and  tracts 
of  alkali  land,  the  latter  occurring  chiefly  in  the  lower  plain. 

The  lower  plain,  along  the  coast,  is  the  corn-growing  region  of  this  part  of  the  state,  its  moist  lauds  needing  no 
irrigation  and  producing  fine  crops.  Gospel  swamp,  southeast  from  Westminster,  comprising  a  very  low  tract  on 
either  side  of  the  Santa  Ana  river,  reaches  10  or  12  miles  from  the  mouth,  and  has  a  width  of  0  or  8  miles.  This 
tract  is  especially  noted,  its  yield  being  from  SO  to  100  bushels  per  acre.  Here  also  "pumpkins  forget,  to  stop 
growing". 

The  crops  of  the  county  embrace  corn,  wheat,  barley,  and  rye,  while  oranges,  lemons,  olives,  figs,  grapes,  and 
other  fruits  are  also  grown.  Irrigation  is,  however,  generally  necessary,  and  to  secure  all  the  advantages  possible 
farmers  have  organized  themselves  into  colonies  in  the  several  regions  and  have  constructed  ditches  from  the  streams 
to  supply  t  lie  needed  water.  The  ditches  from  the  Los  Angeles  river  have  a  total  length  of  72  miles,  and  bring  water 
■chiefly  to  tin-  region  of  the  city  of  Los  Angeles.  Two  ditches  are  taken  from  the  San  Gabriel  river  at  the  point  where, 
it  leaves  the  mountains.  <  >n<-  of  these,  the  Azusa  ditch,  is,  with  its  branches,  about  30  miles  long,  but  its  supply  is 
limited.     The  Duarte  ditch  is  12  miles  long,  and  its  supply  is  also  limited. 

From  the  two  branches  of  the  lower  portion  of  the  San  Gabriel,  between  the  Coast,  range,  and  the.  sea,  there  are  at 
least  twenty-three  ditches  of  more  or  less  importance,  the  largest  of  which  is  the  Arroyo,  which  is  9  miles  long. 
The  beds  of  the  streams  are  so  shallow  that  water  is  diverted  from  them  without  difficulty  by  means  of  simple  and 
inexpensive  dams  of  brush  and  sand. 

7(13 


106  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

The  Santa  Ana  river  supplies  water  to  two  important  canals,  as  well  as  to  a  number  of  small  ones.  The 
Anaheim  canal  is  S  miles  long  ;  Imt  much  water  is  lost  in  the  coarse  sandy  soil,  and  its  banks  are  protected  against 
erosion  by  willow  trees.  The  Cajon  canal  heads  at  Bedrock  canon  in  the  Coast  range,  and  follows  along  the  lace  of 
the  broken  hills  for  8  miles  before  reaching  the  plateau  overlooking  the  valley.  Its  total  length  is  14  miles,  and  25 
miles  of  main  distributing  ditches  have  been  constructed. 

The  Santa  Ana  canal  has  a  total  length  of  20.5  miles.  At  S  miles  from  its  head  it  divides,  one  ditch  skirting 
around  the  rim  of  the  valley,  and  the  other  passing  across  the  valley,  through  Orange,  to  Santa  Ana. 

The  average  of  lands  under  cultivation  for  the  county  at  large  is  -11  acres  per  square  mile;  but  on  the 
supposition  that  nearly  all  the  lands  are  included  in  the  valleys  south  of  the  mountains  we  find  the  average  to  be 
about  131  acres  per  square  mile. 

The  county  is  connected  by  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad  with  San  Francisco  ou  the  north  and  with  the  Atlantic 
and  Gulf  ports  on  the  southeast.  Branch  railroads  also  run  south  to  the  coast  from  the  city  of  Los  Angeles,  and 
there  connect  with  the  Pacific  coast  line  of  steamers  for  the  north  and  south. 

ABSTRACT    FROM    THE    NOTES    OF    N.    .7.    WILLSON,    OF    TITti    SOUTHERN    PACIFIC    RAILROAD. 

.In  thp  desert  region  along  the  railroad,  altitude  2,350  I'cet  above  the  sea,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  the  lands  arc  Bandy, 
wiili  much  alkali, and  have  a  veg-etafiou  embracing  yucca,  juniper,  sage-brush,  aud  salt-grass.  There  are  uo  habitations,  Ai  Atpim 
>it«ti<»)  (2jH20  feet ),  in  Soled ud  pass,  (be  soil  is  a  coarse  red  sand,  with  aliilerilla,  sago,  and  juniper,  and  the  winds  are  too  severe  hero  for  even 
vegetable  crops.  To  the  westward  the  elevations  of  the  stations  diminish,  (he  pass  being  in  places  quite  wide  and  border*  tl  by  high, 
steep,  and  rocky  mountains.  Oak,  willow,  cotton  wood,  alder,  and  niauzauita  trees,  together  with  Spanish  bayonet,  ycrba  twuta.und  wild 
sunflower,  alfilcrilla,  clover,  bunch  and  sail  grass,  sage,  and  wild  buckwheat,  are  firsl  Been  at  Rowcna,  The  soil  is  gray,  sandy, 
gravelly,  and  rocky,  becoming  more  loamy  ai  Kent  station,  and  :i  few  acres  are  under  cultivation  in  bay,  corn,  and  vegetables;  fruit  trees 
do  not  thrive.  At  Kent  station  the  Soledad  cailon  runs  oul  into  the  Santa  Clara  valley,  which  hero  is  about  a  mile  wide.  Tin-  bills  an' 
covered  with  sage  and  chaparral  brush.  At  Ncwhall  elation,  on  the  north  side  of  the  San  Fernaudo  mountains,  the  valley  is  verj  open 
with  n  few  col  ton  wood,  oak,  Bycamoro,  and  willow  trees,  while  ou  the  mountains  there  is  a  heavy  growth  of  chamisal  and  other  brush. 
The  soil  is  a  sandy  loam,  aud  has  been  under  cultival  ion  in  wheal,  yielding  1,124  pounds  per  acre.  The  blossoms  of  fruit  tn  es  are  liable 
to  be  killed  by  frost.  Water  is  obtained  from  the  artesian  well  of  the  California  "  star "  oil  (petroleum)  works,  The  soil  at  the  stations 
in  San  Fernando  valley,  the  first  of  the  great  valleys  of  the  county,  is  a  sandy  loam,  without  timber  growth,  the  only  vegetation  being 
aliilerilla,  clover,  sage-brush,  some  tar-weed,  cactus,  and  scrub  oaks.  Water  is  obtained  usually  from  wells,  though  some  wells  havo 
been  sunk  lou  feet  without  success.  Some  of  the  lands  are  under  cultivation,  the  chief  crops  being  wheat  and  barley,  the  \  ield  of  the 
former  being  30  bushels  per  acre.  Fruit  trees  and  grape-vines  do  well.  Hot,  dry  winds  arc  liable  to  blow  at  any  time  after  the  middle  of 
March,  and  fog  is  occasionally  driven  into  the  valley  as  far  as  San  Fernando  station,  in  the  upper  part  of  the  valley,  which  has  an  elevation 
of  1,060  feet. 

Santa  Monica  is  situated  on  the  coast,  southwest  of  Los  Angeles,  aud  ou  a  plain  which  is  some  ?.".  feet  above  the  sea.  The  land  to 
the  north  and  cast  is  level,  anil  lias  a  dark  loam  soil,  while  .ml  he  soul  beast  the  laud  is  rolling  and  soil  sandy.  There  is  no  natural  timber 
growth,  but  BOine  '■'•  or  4  miles  north  there  are  sycamores,  ami  OU  the  hills  oaks  and  a  small  tree  whose  root  is  as  large  as  a  barrel  and  is 
used  for  tin-  wood  (mesquite).     Wheat  and  barley  are  the  chief  crops,  and  orange,  Union,  lime,  and  other  fruit  trees  grow  well. 

At  Compton,  south  of  Los  Augeles,  the  lands  are  quite  level,  with  slopes  to  the  sonth  and  east,  and  without  1  i ruber,  except  on  the 
river.  The  soil  is  a  sandy  loam  3  inches  deep,  changing  half  a  mile  to  the  west  to  a  dark  micaceous  loam,  while  to  the  eastward  it,  soon 
re  a  {dies  a  depth  of  4  feet.  The  natural  vegetation  is  aliilerilla,  clover,  "  umbra."  squirrel -grass,  and  salt-grass.  '1  hero  is  some  alkali  laud 
in  tin   low  places  and  some  mesa  lands  near  the  coast  which  arc  free  from  the  alkali  which  makes  much  of  the  coasl  lands  unproductive. 

Eastward,  at  Downey,  Norwalk,  and  Anaheim  stations,  the  conutrj  is  comparatively  level,  naturally  treeless,  and  largely  under 
cultivation,  the  soil  being  the  dark  and  fine  micaceous  aud  monse-colorcd  loam  that  occurs  near  Coniptou  station,  and  in  the  low  places 
contains  alkali,  with  salt-grass.  Still  eastward,  at  Santa  Ana,  135  feel  altitude,  the  lands  arc  of  a  sandy,  light-colored  loam  character, 
extending  east,  north,  and  west,  while  to  the  south  they  are  more  gravelly.  The  river  growth  is  willow  and  elder,  and  in  the  valley  tin-re  is 
a  growl b  of  sycamore.  Alkali  lands  occur  H  miles  on  the  southwest.  The  crops  of  ibis  southern  region  are  corn,  wheat,  barley,  etc.,  with 
fruits  of  many  varieties  j  grapes  also  do  well;  Cotton  has  been  tried,  and,  while  growing  well,  the  bolls  do  not  open,  and  the  crop  is 
therefore  a  failure.  The  yield  of  corn  is  about  40  bushels,  and  that  of  barlcj  35  bushels  per  acre.  From  April  to  November  southwest  trade 
winds  prevail  during  the  day.  and  during  the  nights  fogs  roll  in  from  the  coast.  From  November  to  March  several  spells  of  northeast  dry 
desert  winds  usually  occur,  but  last  not  more  than  a  day,  doing  little  damage.  A  few  sand-storms  also  conic  from  the  southwest  as  well 
as  from  (he  east,  at  times  doing  some  damage.  Iu  the  region  of  Monte  station,  cast  of  Los  Angeles  city,  there  are  two  kinds  of  lands, 
known  as  the  upper  and  lower,  or  moist  lands,  the  former  being  devoted  to  small  grain,  the  lower  to  corn  and  potatoes.  The  soil  is  Bandy, 
and  I. as  a  natural  vegetation  of  aliilerilla,  clover,  mustard,  and  tar-weed:  and  there  is  considerable  underbrush  (principalis  elder,  wild 
grapes,  gooseberries,  and  blackberries  I,  which  is  very  thick  in  places  ;  also  some  willow,  cottonwood,  and  ;i  few  sycamore  trees.  Wells  are 
from  H  to  10  feet  deep,  and  furnish  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  water. 

i'unilr  .slu Unit  is  situate. I  at  the  western  or  lower  end  of  the  San  .lose  valley,  where  it  opens  out  into  the  A/.usa  and  La  Puente  valleys 
at  an  elevation  of  320  feet.  The  lands  here  arc  black  and  stiff  clays  or  adobe,  while  that  of  Azusa  valley  is  a  reddish  and  tine  loam. 
The  vegetation  is  aliilerilla,  clover,  and  some  pepper-cress :  the  natural  trees  arc  the  willow,  and  on  the  hills  to  tin-  south  oak  and  some 
black  walnut.     The  principal  industry  is  sheep-raising. 

Spadra  station  is  situated  in  San  Josd  valley  at  an  elevation  of  700  feet.  This  valley  will  average  1  mile  in  width,  and  extends 
nearly  to  Pomona  station.  The  soil  at  this  station  is  a  dark  loam,  and  is  largely  under  cultivation,  yielding  from  30  to  50  bushels  of  barley 
per  acre.  The  lands  are  irrigated  by  ditches  from  the  creek.  There  is  some  little  alkali  land  throughout  various  portions  of  the  valley. 
Considerable  fog  is  brought  in  by  the  trade  winds. 

Around  Pomona  station  and  eastward  the  lands  are  chiefly  light,  sandy  loams,  rather  dark  iu  color,  and  without  trees,  except  an 
occasional  sycamore.  The  crops  are  wheat,  barley,  alfalfa,  corn,  potatoes,  etc.  The  lands  are  irrigated  from  springs  and  wells.  Trade 
winda  blow  through  the  San  Jose  valley  and  occasionally  bring  in  fog.  Several  artesian  wells  have  been  bored  a  short  distance  north  of 
Pomona,  but  attempts  iu  other  places  have  been  unsuccessful.  Water  for  ordinary  purposes  is  obtained  from  wells  at  a  depth  of  about  45 
feet;  but  in  many  instances  the  wells  havo  gone  dry,  but  are  recovered  by  sinking  a  little  deeper.  The  planting  of  grapes  and  citrus- 
fruits  has  been  extensively  begun  in  this  region  of  late,  and  land  is  held  at  high  prices. 
764 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  107 

ABSTRACT    FROM   A    DESCRIPTION   BY    "WILLIAM    R.  OLDEN,  OF    ANAHEIM. 

The  great  valley  of  Lo.s  Augeles  county,  lying  between  the  loot-hills  and  the  coast,  is  about  40  miles  long  and '20  wide  from  northeast 
to  southwest,  of  which  width  15  miles  is  bottom  laud  and  5  miles  mesa  or  table-land,  lying  adjoining  the  foot-hills  of  the  Santa  Anita 
grange.  The  mesa  lands  have  a  soil  of  great  fertility  and  depth,  which,  when  moist,  is  of  a  dark  chocolate  color,  very  easy  to  cultivate,  and 
absorbs  and  retains  moisture  to  a  remarkable  extent. 

The  valley  lands  are  alluvial  in  character.  Traces  of  old  river  channels  are  found  crossing  the  valley,  generally  parallel,  a  mile  apart, 
aud  are  invariably  ridges  coarse  sand  from  50  to  100  yards  in  width.  Between  these  ridges  are  broad  swales  of  rich  soil  from  5  to  10 
feet  in  depth,  underlaid  by  quicksand  and  pipe-clay.  The  slope  of  the  valley  from  the  foot-hills  to  the  sea  averages  13  feet  per  mile,  the 
pipe-clay  being  the  same,  thus  accounting  for  the  natural  moisture  and  perpetual  verdure  that  prevails  throughout  Uie  valley.  The 
only  natural  timber  in  this  valley  region  is  sycamore,  cottonwood,  and  willow,  with  live-oak  in  the  hills  and  pine  aud  fir  on  the  mountains. 
The  crops  embrace,  wheat,  ryv,  bailey,  oats,  corn,  aud  alfalfa,  besides  oranges,  lemons,  limes,  figs,  bananas,  olives,  grapes,  and  berries. 
The  valley  lands  comprise  heart/  sandy  loams,  slightly  alkaline,  with  a  natural  growth  of  burr,  clover,  altilerilla,  and  mustard  ;  light  siuidy 
loams,  with  the  same  growth  ;  and  rich  sediment  soil,  alu  ays  covered  with  green  vegetation.     All  are  easy  to  cultivate,  and  yield  fine  cro|.s. 

ABSTRACT   FROM    A    DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    SANTA    ANA    VALLEY    BY    J.    D.    TAYLOR,    OF   ANAHEIM. 

The  Santa  Aua  liver  leaves  the  foot-hills  from  a  canon  about  20  miles  from  the.  coast.  The  northern  or  upper  half  of  this  valley 
is  not  productive  in  dry  seasons  without  irrigation  ;  but  the  lower  half  is  more  moist  and  generally  covered  with  green  vegetation,  and 
is  interspersed  with  sand  streaks  and  alkali  or  salt  spots.  The  central,  east,  and  west  portion  of  this  valley  embraces  an  artesian  belt, 
in  which  a  number  of  wells  Lave  been  successfully  bored  to  a  depth  of  about  "200  feet.  The  high  lands  on  the  foot-hills  adjoining  the 
valley  are  generally  sloping,  and  considerable  of  this  can  be  used  for  grain  iu  wet  seasons,  but  is  better  adapted  to  pasturage.  The  mesa 
Sands  on  the  coast  are,  if  any  thing,  better  for  grain,  because  of  the  heavy  fogs  and  dews,  which  arc  more  frequent  there. 

SAN  BERNARDINO. 

Population  :  7,78lj. 

Area :  23,000  square  miles, — San  Bernardino  mountains,  2,950  square  miles;  valley,  465  square  miles ;  desert, 
19,585  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  25,601  acres. — Area  planted  iu  wheat,  2,558  acres;  in  corn,  774  acres;  in  barley,  4,076  acres;  iu 
vineyards,  1,215  acres. 

San  Bernardino  is  the  largest  county  in  the  state,  and  reaches  from  (he  eastern  state-Hue  southwestward  to 
■within  a  few  miles  of  the  coast,  the  Colorado  river,  forming  a  part  of  the  eastern  boundary,  separating  it  from 
Arizona.  It  is  chiefly  a  part  of  the  great  Mojave  desert,  and  t  lie  habitable  portion  of  the  county  is  very  small,  and  is 
included  in  the  southwestern  corner,  on  the  coast  side  of  the  San  Bernardino  range  of  mountains. 

Mojave  desert  is  described  as  a  sandy  and  barren  waste,  interspersed  with  volcanic  mountain  ridges  and  peaks, 
salt  lakes  and  alkali  tracts,  destitute  of  all  growth  except  Yucca,  small  nut  pines,  and  juniper,  and  having  but  one 
or  two  streams.  The  Mojave  river  rises  in  the  San  Bernardino  mountains,  on  the  south,  and  flows  for  about  100  miles 
out  on  the  desert  and  suddenly  disappears. 

The  San  Bernardino  mountains  of  the  southwest  are  thickly  timbered  with  pine,  cedar,  hemlock,  and  maple, 
aud  are  high  and  impassable,  except  through  a  few  passes.  These  mountains  are  separated  from  the  Temescal  and 
Santa  Ana  range  on  the  southwest  by  a  broad  valley,  which  embraces  the  only  agricultural  lands  of  the  county, 
and  is  a  part  ot  the  valley  region  that  covers  a  large  part  of  Los  Angeles  county.  Santa  Ana  river,  the  chief 
stream  of  this  part  of  the  county,  rises  in  the  San  Bernardino  mountains,  and,  with  many  small  tributaries,  flows 
southwestward  across  the  valley  and  across  the  Santa  Ana  mountains  to  the  ocean.  It  is  timbered  with  cottouwood 
and  willows.  Santa  Aua  valley  is  divided  by  a  chain  of  buttes  into  two  parts,  the  northern  receiving  the  name  of 
the  county.  The  San  Jaeiuto  mountains  iuclose  the  valleys  on  the  east,  the  chief  outlet  thus  being  on  the  west 
into  the  Los  Angeles  plains  aud  to  the  coast.  This  valley  has,  until  the  past  few  years,  been  occupied  solely  by 
stock -raisers  ;  at  present,  however,  its  agricultural  value  is  being  rapidly  developed  by  a  system  of  irrigation  by 
waters  from  the  mountains  and  from  artesian  wells,  of  which  a  number  have  been  bored.  A  number  of  colonies 
have  been  established,  and  large  areas  have  been  planted  and  made  to  produce  large,  crops  of  grapes  and  fruits  of 
many  varieties,  prominent  among  which  are  raisin  grapes,  oranges,  and  lemons.  The  Cucamonga  colony,  not  far 
from  San  Bernardino,  aud  the  Riverside  colony,  occupying  a  plateau  on  the  south  of  the  chain  of  buttes,  are  well 
known  for  their  excellent  fruits. 

The  surface  of  Santa  Aua  valley  presents  a  gently  undulating  or  level  plaiu,  gradually  rising  toward  the  hills 
from  the  river,  and  in  places  is  studded  with  trees.  The  soil  is  a  reddish-gray,  gravelly  loam,  rather  stiff  in  the.  center 
of  the  valley,  becoming  more  and  more  sandy,  and  in  part  gravelly,  as  the  hills  are  approached ;  but  that  at 
Riverside  is  red  and  clayey  iu  character  and  of  great  depth.  The  lands  are  free  from  stones,  and  are  said  to 
produce,  when  fresh,  as  much  as  35  bushels  of  wheat  or  50  bushels  of  corn  per  acre. 

The  foot-hills  have  a  red  gravelly  soil,  and,  with  the  mesa  or  bench  lands,  are  excellent  for  fruits.  The  valley, 
surrounded  as  it  is  by  high  mountains,  is  thus  partially  protected  from  the  hot  and  parching  winds  of  the  desert, 
except  in  the  early  part  of  the  season,  when  north  winds  prevail.  The  dryness  of  the  climate  adapts  ihe  valley 
region  especially  to  raisin  making,  and  Cucamonga  is  noted  for  its  sweet  wines. 

The  lands  under  cultivation  in  the  county,  if  referred  entirely  to  this  valley  regiou  (as  they  probably  should  be), 
average  55  acres  per  square  mile  ;  but  for  the  county  at  large  the  average,  if  distributed,  would  be  oulyr  1.1  acres 
per  square  mile.  Barley  and  wheat  are  the  chief  field  crops,  but  vineyards  aud  citrus  orchards  are  being  rapidily 
brought  into  prominence. 

The  valley  is  supplied  with  many  canals  and  ditches,  which  take  water  either  from  the  Santa  Ana  river  or 
directly  from  the.  mountains.  From  the  river  there  are  two  ditches,  the.  north  fork  and  the  south  fork,  each  8 
miles  long,  and  taking  water  where  the  river  emerges  from  its  canons.  Two  canals  supply  the  Riverside  settlement. 
They  are  the  largest  in  the  county,  and  are,  respectively,  11'  and  14  miles  in  length,  and  take  the  waters  from  the 
mountains.     Cucamonga  and  other  districts  are  supplied  with  ditches  of  less  length  from  mountain  streams. 

The  Southern  Pacific  railroad  passes  through  the  San  Bernardino  valley,  thus  connecting  their  agricultural 
portion  of  the  county  with  San  Francisco  on  the  one  hand  and  with  the  Atlantic  states  on  the  other. 

765 


108  COTTON   PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

ABSTRACT   FKOM   NOTES   OF   N.   J.    WILLSON,    OF   THE   SOUTHERN    PACIFIC    RAILEOAD. 

Tin-  surface  of  the  country  wist  ol  Cucamonga  station  is  very  level,  with  sand  belts  aggregating  sonic  '■'■  or  1  miles  in  width,  having 
a  growth  of  sage  and  other  brush.  With  these  exceptions  there  is  a  fine  growth  of  alfilerilla  ami  sonic  bunch-grass.  No  farming  is  done; 
sonic  trees  an;  plan  I  I'd  at  tin;  station.  Cucamonga  ranch  is  :',  or  4  inili  s  north  of  the  station,  and  from  I  bere  water  is  brought  in  pipes  to 
Colton.  The  soil  is  v^ry  sandy,  in  some  places  pure  sand,  which  drifts  with  light  winds.  There  is  a  fait'  growth  of  grass  in  places,  but  as 
a  general  thing  sage  anil  other  brush  predominate. 

Around  Colton  (9(i0  feet  I  the  land  is  generally  level,  though  there  an-  pltlcos  slightly  rolling.  The  soil  is  sandy,  and  lias  a  growth  of 
alfilerilla,  clover,  and  pepper-grass,  and  sage-brush  is  plentiful.  The  only  natural  trees  are  mi  tin-  Santa  Ana  river,  and  comprise  willow, 
cottonwood,  and  alder.  In  tins  vicinity  ami  near  San  Bernardino  thcro  an-  upward  of  ::.'iit  artesian  walls  from  60  to  300  feel  deep.  oilier 
irrigal  ing  water  is  brought  from  Santa  An  a  river.     Wheat  is  the  most   important  crop,  and  yields  some  30  bushels  per  acre.     At   limes 

grain  is  troubled  with  frost,  and  dry  tli  winds  blow  occasionally  and  do  a  great  deal  of  damage  to  crops.     Some  fog  is  blown  in.  but 

nut  enough  to  do  barm. 

The  San  Ma  I  ri»  valley,  or  San  Gorgonio  pass  (elevation  1,850  feet),  extends  from  near  Sun  Gorgonio  to  w  it  Inn  a  mile  of  .Mum  id  City, 

in-  old  Sati  Bernardino,  and  will  averag -fourth  of  a  mile  in  width.     It  is  cultivated  from  a  short  distance  southeast  of  .Mound  city  to 

3  miles  above  El  Casco.     Tin-  soil  is  a  sandy  loai verlying  gravel  at  aboui  a  loot,  and  has  a  growth  principally  of  uliiln  ilia,  some  clover 

and  salt-class,  and  some  cottonwood  and  willow  on  creek  hot  ton  is.  The  hills  on  either  side  are  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  low  brush, 
and  in  the  lower  cud  of  tin-  valley  sonic  cbollu,  yerba  sauta,  sage,  etc.  The  chief  crops  an-  wheat,  corn,  barley,  alfalfa,  and  potatoes,  hul 
somo  frail  is  successfully  raised,  t  lonsiderablc  iron  hie  is  experienced  from  dry  u  inds  in  the  upper  end  of  the  valley.  San  Gorgonio  station 
or  summit  is  2,950  feet  ahove  the  sea;  tin-  land  around  it  is  rolling,  and  approaches  the  hog-wallow  character.  There  is  somo  alfilerilla 
and  bunch-grass,  sufficient  for  fair  pasturage  from  January  to  June  or  July.  The  only  water  is  from  a  well  about  250  feel  deep.  No 
farming  is  done. 

SAX    DIEGO. 

Population :  8,618. 

Area:  14,G00square  miles. — Coast  Range  mountains,  with  many  small  valleys,  7,900  square  miles;  desert,  G,GoO 
square  miles.  ■ 

Tilled  lands:  3S,247  acres. — Area  planted'in  wheat,  S,929acies;  in  corn,  440  acres ;  in  oats,  77  acres;  in  barley, 
3,573  acres  :  in  vineyards,  224  acres. 

San  Diego,  the  extreme  southern  county  of  tin-  state,  readies  from  the  Pacific  ocean  eastward  in  tin'  Colorado 
river,  and  ranks  as  second  in  size  among  the  counties.  More  than  one-half  of  its  large  area  is,  however, but  a  barren 
desert,  embracing  a  portion  of  the  Mojave  desert  mi  the  northeast  and  the  Colorado  desert,  or  Coahuila  valley,  in 
the  middle,  the  two  being  separated  by  the  San  Bernardino  range  of  mountains,  which  trends  northwest  and 
southeast  The  Mojave  desert  lands  are  interspersed  with  abrupt  mountain  chains,  and  are  mostlj  above  sea-It  vel, 
while  the  surface  of  the  Colorado  desert  is  quite  level,  free  from  ilie.se  mountains,  except  on  I  he  border,  and  is  in 
many  places  from  100  to  250  feet  below  the  level  of  the  sea.  Both  are  covered  with  sand  hills,  alkali  lands,  dry  lakes, 
and  a  sparse  desert  growl h  of  Yucca,  cactus,  sage,  and  creosote  bushes,  and  an-  destitute  of  water.  The  winds  often 
blow  with  great  violence,  and  sand-storms  are  produced  by  even  moderate  winds.  This  region  is  uninhabited, 
except  by  a  few  railroad  station  hands,  and  therefore  is  not  under  cultivation ;  buton  the  border  of  the  Colorado  desert 
there  is  a  little  land  planted  in  fruits,  vegetables,  and  alfalfa,  as  stilled  by  Mr.  Willson  in  the  notes  given  mi  page  109. 

The  rest  of  the  county  west  of  the  desert  is  mountainous,  broken,  or  hilly,  and  is  divided  into  two  natural 
divisions,  viz,  the  San  Jacinto  and  Coast  range  mountainous  region  and  that  lying  between  the  Coasl  range  nnd 
the  coast,  embracing  hills,  mesa  lands,  and  valleys.  The  San  Jacinto  mountains,  which  border  the  desert,  have  tin 
altitude  of  about  5,500  feet.  Between  them  and  the  (.'oast  range  there  is  a  lower  region  of  valleys  and  hills  or  table- 
lands about  3,000  feet  above  the  sea,  which  is  watered  by  several  streams  which  How  westward  into  the  ocean.  The 
mountains  are  timbered  with  oak,  cedar,  pine,  aud  fir.  This  valley  legion  i.s  ehielly  devoted  to  stock-raising,  and  (lie 
population  is  very  sparse. 

The  coast  region,  embracing  a  belt  of  country  along  the  coast  a  I  ion  t  25  or  .'ill  miles  in  width,  is  ral  Iter  rolling  or 
undulating  near  the  coast, but  becomes  more  and  mine  hilly  and  broken  eastward  in  tin-  mountains,  This  region 
contains  nearly  all  of  the  population  and  the  chief  fanning  lands  of  the  county.  Wit  It  in  this  and  the  mountain  region 
there  are  said  to  be  more  than  thirty  valleys  varying  in  length  from  3  to  15  or  20  miles,  and  embracing  from  a  lew 
hundred  to  upward  of  20,000  acres.  They  are  well  watered  l\\  numerous  rivers  aud  their  1 i  lindanes,  except  dm  ing  a 
portion  of  the  summer  months:  their  land  is  a  dark  loam,  that  of  the  hills  and  uplands  lining  a  red  loam  or  clay, 
underlaid  generally  by  adobe.  Comparatively  little  of  the  land  of  this  section  is  tinder  cultivation,  the  average 
probably  not  being  as  much  as  10  acres  per  square  mile.  The  crops  comprise  chiefly  wheat  and  barley,  with  grapes, 
oranges,  lemons,  and  other  fruits. 

Sau  Diego  river,  in  its  course  among  these  hills,  is  bordered  by  a  number  of  valleys  of  various  extent.  Mission 
valley,  near  the  moul  h  of  the  river,  being  from  one  half  to  1  mile  wide,  its  surface  having  a  loose  sandy  soil,  destitute 
of  trees,  but  with  a  thick  growth  of  bushes.     The  side  hills  are  clayey  and  gravelly,  and  tire  aboui   100  feet  high 

Cajon  valley,  15  or  20  miles  from  San  Diego,  is  about  (i  miles  long  ami  4  wide,  and  has  the  appearance  of  a 
great  basin  or  box  (as  its  name  indicates)  hemmed  in  by  high,  gently-sloping  hills,  and  is  somewhat  difficult  to  reach. 
The  river  finds  it  way  nut  through  narrow  canons  toward  the  coast.  The  suiface  is  level  and  treeless,  except  along 
the  river,  where  there  is  a  growth  of  eot.touwood,  willow,  and  sycamore.  The  soil,  of  no  great  depth,  is  sandy  and 
gravelly,  and  is  hugely  cultivated  in  wheal  and  oilier  crops.  The  upper  or  northern  pari  of  thevallej  is  very- 
narrow,  and  is  bounded  by  lofty  hills  and  covered  with  a  di  use  growth  of  willows,  with  some  sycamore. 

The  Southern  Pacific  railroad  passes  through  the  Colorado  desert  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  county,  while  the 
western  part  is  connected  with  it  at  Colton  by  the  California  Southern  railroad,  which  extends  from  San  Diego 
northward.  The  Pacific  coast  line  of  steamers  also  connects  San  Diego  with  Sau  Francisco,  the  bay  of  San  Diego, 
with  its  port,  affording  anchorage  tor  the  largest  vessels. 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  109 

ABSTRACT  FROM  NOTES  BY   N.   J.   WILLSON,  OF   THE   SOUTHERN   PACIFIC   RAILTCOAD. 

Gorgonh pass,  2,315  feot  above  the  sea,  ami  known  as  the  "  Jumping-off  place",  extends  east  as  far  as  Whitewater  station,  and  at  this 
point  is  about  2  miles  wide,  Its  natural  vegetation  is  alfilerilla,  clover,  and  bunch-grass.  In  the  canons  there  are  willow,  cottonwood, 
sycamore,  etc.,  and  on  the  mountains  pirn-,  fir,  and  cedar.  Water  for  ordinary  use  and  for  irrigating  a  few  trees  is  obtained  from  a  V 
Dame  12  miles  in  length,  which  was  built  for  floating  wood  to  the  railroad.  In  this  vicinity  there  are  probably  about  l,000acres  in  wheat 
and  barley.  Dry  east  winds  from  the  desert  are  pretty  bad  here,  but  do  not  generally  blow  while  crops  are  in  a  condition  to  be  injured. 
Fogs  come  in  occasionally.  To  Gdbazon  station  the  country  is  very  dry,  and  has  very  Little  vegetation,  except  alfilerilla,  sage,  chollu,  - 
prickly  pear,  and  creosote  plaut.  Thence  to  within  2  miles  of  Whitewater  station  it  is  rocky  and  gravelly,  and  beyond  this  the  desert  opens 
up  with  sand-hills,  3  or  4  feet  high,  formed  by  the  sand  drifting  around  the  bushes.  Whitewater  river  at  this  place  passes  iuto  the  desert 
and  disappears.  There  is  a  small  ranch  about  H  miles  west,  known  as  Widow  Smith's  ranch,  which  was  originally  a  stage  stand,  where 
some  30  acres  are  planted  in  alfalfa  and  vegetables.  At  Xcveii  Palms,  5H0  feet  altitude,  the  sands  are  underlaid  by  a  hard,  compact  sediment, 
the  only  growth  being  a  little  creosote  and  sage.  A  stiff  wind  produces  sand-storms,  and  may  come  from  any  direction.  The  sand-hills 
extend  to  within  2  miles  of  Tndio  station,  which  is  at  sea- level.  The  lands  here  are  quite  level.  The  vegetation  is  sage,  arrow- weed,  yerba 
santa,  and  mesquite.  The  latter  is  very  plentiful,  and  attains  a  growth  sufficient  to  warrant  its  being  cut  and  shipped  for  firewood. 
Water  is  obtained  at  30  feet?  At  Walter's  station,  1200  feet,  below  sea-level,  the  soil  is  a  fine  grayish  micaceous  loam,  covered  in  places  with 
shells.  Water  is  found  at  14  feet.  Alkali  lauds  give  some  trouble,  and  to  midway  between  this  and  Dos  Palmas  the  country  is  rolling  and 
has  no  vegetation  other  than  alkali-  or  salt- weed.  Five  miles  west,  of  Dos  Palmas,  where  the  railroad  roaches  its  lowest  point,  268  feet 
below  sea-level,  there  are  salt  spriugs,  aud  the  ground  is  white  with  alkali.  From  Dos  Palmas  to  Flowing  Well  station  there  issearcely  any 
vegetation,  but  there  are  some  miles  of  sand,  then  salt  flats,  and  pumice  is  quite  plentiful.  Near  Flowing  Wells,  at  sea-level,  the  laud  is 
better,  though  sandy,  with  streaks  of  gravel,  and  has  a  growth  of  sage  and  creosote  plant.  About  one  mile  northeast  are  dark-red  clay  hills 
covered  with  a  compact  sand.  The  clay  was  cut  up  in  fissures,  and  these  were  filled  with  salt.  An  iron  wood  tree  occasionally  is  found  here, 
aud  a  salt-water  well  has  been  bored.  From  here  to  Pilot  Knob  station  the  lauds  are  sandy  and  are  covered  to  some  extent  with  giotagrass, 
creosote  plant,  sage,  chollu,  candlewood,  aud  ironwood.  Mesquite  does  not  occur.  At  Pilot  Knob  station  (altitude  280  feet)  the  surface  is 
gravelly  in  places,  with  sand  streaks,  all  of  which  is  underlaid  with  red  soils.  Thence  to  El  Rio  station,  near  the  Colorado,  the  country  is 
quite  rough,  being  a  continuation  of  rolling  hills,  some  of  which  appear  to  be  100  feet  high.  These  hills  are  made  up  of  compact  saud, 
and  are  covered  with  about  6  inches  of  coarse  gravel  or  pebbles.  The  vegetation  is  very  sparse.  Between  the  last  station  and  the  river 
the  bottom  is  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  mesquite  aud  arrowroot,  while  on  the  Arizona  side  of  the  river  there  is  a  heavy  growth  of 
creosote  (Larrca  Mexicana),  some  of  which  is  at  least  15  feet  high.  The  altitude  of  El  Rio  is  150  feet,  and  that  of  the  river  bottom  about 
130  feet. 

There  is  bo  one  living  at  the  various  stations  throughout  the  desert,  except,  perhaps,  a  few  section  hands  at  a  few  points,  aud  there 
is  noue  of  the  land  under  cultivation. 


COAST    RANGE   REGION. 

(South  of  San  Pablo  bay.) 

(Embraces  the  following  comities  and  parts  of  counties:  San  Francisco,  San  Mateo,  Contra  Costa,  Alameda, 
Stanislaus,*  San  Joaquin,*  Santa  Clara,  Sauta  Cruz,  Monterey,  San  Benito,  Fresno,*  Merced,*  San  Luis 
Obispo,   Sauta  Barbara,  Kern,*  Tulare,*  and  Ventura.) 

SAN  FRANCISCO. 

Population:  233,059. 

Area:  40  square  miles. — Coast  Range  mountains  or  hills,  40  square  piles. 

Tilled  hinds:  2,298  acres. — Area  planted  in  oats,  44  acres;  in  barley,  349  acres;  in  vineyards,  1  acre. 

San  Francisco  county,  the  smallest  in  the  state,  and  embracing  little  else  than  the  city  and  suburbs,  is  bounded 
on  the  west  by  the  ocean  and  on  the  east  by  the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  and  is  separated  from  the  counties  on  the 
north  by  the  Golden  Gate.  Its  position  is  thus  near  the  end  of  a  peninsula  whose  surface  is  little  else  than  a 
region  of  sand-hills  on  the  west  and  rocky  ridges  on  the  east,  originally  covered  with  a  brush  growth,  and  rising- 
high  above  the  waters  of  the.  bay.  Sandstone  and  serpentine  rock  formations  underlie  the  hills  and  outcrop  on  some 
of  the  highest  points,  as  well  as  at  cliffs  and  bluffs  along  the  shore  lines.  The  county  is  not  an  agricultural  one, 
and  very  little  of  its  land  is  under  cultivation,  except  in  vegetable  or  "truck"  farms.  The  even  temperature 
permits  the  cultivation  of  temperate- zone  vegetables  throughout  the  year,  while  the  average  is  too  low  for  the 
ripening  of  fruits.  Heavy  fogs,  brought  in  by  the  trade-winds  from  the  ocean,  prevail  during  the  summer  months, 
and  on  the  seaward  slope  more  or  less  throughout  the  year.  The  city  is  situated  upon  the  hills  and  flats  that  border 
the  bay  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  county,  and  has  a  population  of  247,000,  comprising  representatives  from  almost 
every  nation  on  the  globe.  With  its  extensive  wharfage  along  the  bay,  its  capacious  harbor  extending  far  inland 
through  other  connected  bays,  opening  out  through  the  Goldeu  Gate  upon  the  great  highway  to  Asia,  and  affording 
safe  anchorage  for  the  largest  vessels,  it  may  well  be  called  the  metropolis  of  the,  West. 

SAN  MATEO. 

Population :  8,669. 

Area:  440  square  miles. — Some  redwood  ;  ('oast  Range  mountains,  390  square  miles;  valleys,  '50  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  73.980  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  10,707  acres;  in  corn,  118  acres;  oats,  7,370  acres:  in 
barley,  10,705  acres;  in  vineyards,  39  acres. 

San  Mateo  county,  bordered  on  the  east  by  San  Francisco  bay  and  on  the  west  by  the  ocean,  is  mostly 
mountainous,  the  north  end  of  the  Santa  Cruz  range  running  the  entire  length  north  and  south  and  having  an 
altitude  in  some  places  of  3,000  feet.  On  the  south  this  range  is  very  steep  and  rugged,  and  is  covered  with  redwood, 
oak,  pine,  and  other  timber.  The  natural  growth  of  the  lower  hills  is  chamisal  brush,  manzauita,  poison-oak, 
hazel,  etc. 


110  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

Along I  Ik:  liny  shore,  on  tin*  east,  I  here  is  a  .strip  of  level  country  from  1  to  5  miles  wide,  embracing,  it  is  thought, 
about  69,000  acres,  of  which  40,000  are  tillable ;  lint  a  salt  marsh,  whose  extreme  width  is  about  2  miles,  forms  the 
immediate  border  of  the  bay  in  the  southern  part  of  the  belt.  The  soil  of  the  plain  around  Redwood  city,  the 
county-seat,  is  an  adobe,  covering  about  3,000  acres;  but  elsewhere,  until  the  sand-hill  region  is  reached,  sandy 
loams  prevail,  changing  to  the  northward  to  more  sandy  soils. 

On  the  ocean  shore  there  is  around  Half  Moon  bay  another  licit  of  comparatively  level  farming  laud  about  1 
mile  wide  and  10  miles  in  length,  rising  rapidly  into  the  hills  and  canons  of  the  interior;  also  to  the  southward,  at 
I'escadero,  where,  at  the  mouth  of  a  creek  of  the  same  name,  there  is  a  valley  containing  about  4,500  acres  of  good 
lands,  surrounded  on  all  sides,  except  the  west,  by  high  mountains.  Here  is  I  he  famous  pebble  beach  where  agates, 
opals,  jaspers,  Canadians,  etc.,  are  found  in  great  abundance.  Elsewhere  along  the  coast  the  hills  reach  the  water's 
edge,  forming  high  cliffs  and  bluffs. 

Among  the  mountains  and  hills  there  are  many  small  valleys,  which,  with  the  adjoining  hills,  are  chiefly  used  as 
pasturage  for  stock  and  dairy  farms,  the  principal  industry  of  the  county. 

In  tin-  in ii  t hern  part  of  the  comity  fogs  and  cold  winds  prevail  to  a  considerable  extent  during  tbo  six  months  from  April  to  October. 
From  the  neighborhood  of  mount  San  Bruno  it  grows  milder  ami  tin-  severity  of  the  winds  is  rapidly  diminished,  until,  south  of  Hi  liuont, 
they  become  mild  and  refreshing  breezes,  just  sufficient  to   allay  the  heat  of  tho  interior  and  render   the  climate  healthy,  bracing, 

and  delight  ful.     On  fin-  ocean  coast  tin-  thermometer  rangos  slightly  lower  than  on  tin-  hay  i st,  tint  tbo  climate  is  rather  more  equable, 

o\\  iug  to  oceanic  influences  and  I  he  fogs  which  prevail  in  summer.  In  the  summer  dense  fogs  a  1  times  drench  the  summit  of  the  mountains, 
and  snow  falls  on  tliein  ai  intervals  during  inosi  winters.  but  seldom  remains  on  the  ground  more  than  a  few  hours.  —  California  As  /'  Is, 

The  average  of  lands  under  cultivation  for  the  county  at  large  in  IS80  was  168.1  acres  per  square  mile,  or  26.3 
per  cent,  of  the  area.  The  chief  crops  are  wheat,  bai  ley.  and  oats.  Potatoes  have  been  produced  extensively,  but 
are  very  liable  to  blight.  At  Pescadero  much  flax  is  grown.  In  this  county,  as  in  Santa  Clara,  portions  of  the 
mountain  slope  are  known  as  "thermal  belts",  on  account  of  their  exemption  from  frosts,  as  well  as  from  the  direct 
inflow  of  the  sea  fog. 

The  county  is  connected  by  railroad  with  .San  Francisco. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  PESCADERO  REGION  BY  MESSES.  J.  II.  OSGOOD,  E.  C.  BIRCH,  B.  V.  WEEKS,  AND 

W.   (t.   THOMPSON, 

The  general  conformation  of  the  land  in  the  neighborhood  of  Pescadero  is  a  series  of  tow  bills  intersected  by  narrow  valleys,  T4ie 
hills  to  their  tops  are  generally  tit  for  either  cultivation  or  pasturage,  and  I  be  nai  ura!  growth  is  chamisal  brush,  bar  berry  (a  chern  — 
Cerasua  aqui/oUiim),  manzanita,  hazel,  poison-oak,  wild  lilac  (Ceanothua),  ami  elder.  The  soil  oi  tin-  north  hillsides  is  deep  and  fertile, 
while  that  on  the  south  sides  is  comparatively  shallow  and  unproductive,  and  is  susceptible  to  washing  and  gullying  in  rainy  seasons.  The 
valleys,  less  than  a  mile  wide  and  sometimes  only  a  few  rods,  are  level,  and  the  soil  is  in  layers  or  strata  as  washed  down  from  the  hills. 

The  natural  timber  of  the  mountains  is  redwood,  pine.  oak.  madrona,  alder,  andbuckeyo.     A I bint  water  for  ordinary  purposes 

is  supplied  by  springs.  AVells  are  usually  dug  from  '20  to  tin  feel  deep.  The  crops  embrace  potatoes,  oats,  and  barley,  the  yield  of  the 
two  latter  being  about  4,000  pounds  per  acre.  Dairying  is  extensively  practiced.  Northwest  winds  mostly  prevail  for  three-fourths  of 
the  year. 

CONTRA  COSTA. 

Population:  12,525. 

Area:  800  square  miles. — Great  valley,  105  square  miles  (titles,  25  square  miles);  Coast  Range  mountains,  025 
square  miles  ;  valleys,  TO  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands;  232,794  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  71,870  acres;  in  corn,  55  acres;  in  oats,  1,280  acres;  in 
barley,  10,(174  acres  ;  in  vineyards,  325  acres. 

Contra  Costa  county  is  bounded  on  the  cast  by  the  San  Joaquin  river,  and  on  the  north  and  northwest  by 
Suisun  and  San  Pablo  bays.  The  chief  streams  arc  San  Pablo,  Pinole,  and  San  Ramon  creeks,  the  latter  being  the 
largest,  and  giving  its  name  to  one  of  the  principal  valleys  of  the  county.  These  streams  flow  northward  into  tho 
bays. 

The  surface  of  the  county  is  largely  mountainous,  having  the  Coast  or  Contra  Costa  range  proper  on  the  west,  and 
the  Mount  1  (iablo  range  in  the  center  and  on  the  east.  Mount  Diablo  itself,  witli  its  rounded  summit,  is  the  highest 
point  in  the  county  (3,896  feet  above  the  sea),  and,  isolated  as  it  is  from  other  mountains,  is  the  most  prominent 
object.  The  slopes  and  higher  portion  are  mainly  treeless  and  afford  line  pasturage,  but  a  forest  growth,  consisting 
of  a  great  variety  of  oaks,  covers  the  ravines  of  the  lower  portion,  while  in  the  higher  the  nut  pine,  juniper,  and  a 
chaparral  consisting  largely  of  scrubby  oaks  covers  large  areas.  The  mountain  is  nearly  treeless  on  the  north  side. 
San  Ramon  valley,  which  separates  the  mountain  from  the  Coast  range,  reaches  from  Suisun  bay  southward  across 
the  count}-,  under  different  names,  into  Alameda  county,  where  il  connects  with  Livermore  valley.  Between  the  bay 
and  the  foot-hills  of  mount  Diablo,  a  distance  of  about  15  miles,  the  valley  has  a  width  of  about  <i  miles,  but  afterward 
becomes  very  narrow,  averaging  from  1  to  2  miles.  The  soil  is  chiefly  a  still'  adobe,  and  in  some  cases  is  exceedingly 
waxy  and  black.     When  fresh,  this  soil  yields  about  30  bushels  of  wheat  or  40  bushels  of  barley  per  acre. 

A  number  of  huge  valleys,  such  as  that  of  Walnut  creek,  flanked  by  rolling,  sloping  land,  are  connected  with 
this  on  either  side,  and  are  also  rich  and  productive.  The  lands  around  mount  Diablo  are  partly  reddish  and  more 
or  less  gravelly  and  partly  gray  loams.  Mount  Diablo  valley,  which  extends  from  the  foot  of  the  mountain  s  or 
10  miles  northwestward  with  a  width  varying  from  half  a  mile  to  3  or  4  miles,  is  very  level,  and  is  drained  by  small 
streams.  Its  soils  are  gravelly  loams,  with  some  adobe,  and  produce  fair  crops  of  grain  and  fruits.  Small  valleys 
are  found  among  the  Coast  Range  mountains,  and  are  usually  occupied  by  dairy  and  fruit  farms ;  but  on  the  east  of 
the  Mount  Diablo  range,  sloping  gently  away  from  its  foot  toward  the  river  and  reaching  north  to  the  bay,  there  is 
a  large  tract  of  farming  land,  having  a  w  idth  of  from  3'  to  6  miles  for  a  distance  of  23  miles,  which  is  chiefly  given  to 
grain-growing.  Still  eastward  of  these,  and  bordering  the  bay,  are  large  areas  of  title  lands,  covering,  if.  is  estimated, 
about  75.000  acres.  Some  of  these  hinds  have  been  protected  from  overflow  by  levees,  and  are  under  cultivation. 
The  tide  region  is  separated  from  the  San  Joaquin  river  by  a  narrow  Tertiary  ridge  running  northward  from  the 
si  uthern  part  of  the  county  and  elevated  from  30  to  40  feet,  above  tide-water.  This  ridge  has  a  sandy  soil,  and 
affords  line  locations  for  towns. 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  Ill 

Within  a  few  miles  around  the  base  of  mount  Diablo  there  is  a  great  variation  of  rainfall.  On  the  west  the 
clouds  are  apparently  caught  by  the  high  peaks,  with  a  resulting  heavy  precipitation,  while  on  the  east  and  south 
there  is  but  little  rain;  e.  g.,  at  Antioch  only  from  12  to  14  inches.  Some  of  the  valleys  running  westward  into  the 
Coast  range  are  remarkable  for  their  exemption  from  frost,  so  that  the  orange,  pomegranate,  etc.,  ripen  to  perfection. 

The  lauds  under  cultivation  in  the  county  average  about  291  acres  per  square  mile,  thus  placing  Contra  Costa 
eighth  in  the  state  in  this  regard.     Transportation  facilities  are  afforded  both  by  rail  and  by  boat  to  San  Francisco. 

ALAMEDA. 

Population :  62,970. 

Area :  660  square  miles. — Coast  Bauge  mountains,  415  square  miles  ;  valley,  225  square  miles ;  tule  lands,  20 
square  miles.  . 

Tilled  lands :  200,360  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  30,032  acres ;  in  corn,  1,139  acres ;  in  oats,  1,458  acres ;  in 
barley,  39,075  acres ;  in  vineyards,  344  acres. 

The  county  of  Alameda  lies  immediately  east  of  San  Francisco  bay,  its  shore-line  reaching  south  from  San 
Pablo  station  to  the  limit  of  the  bay.  Thence  the  county  extends  eastward  to  the  summit  of  the  Contra  Costa  range, 
and  on  the  south,  still  eastward,  to  the  Mount  Diablo  range,  inclosing  within  its  limits  the  valleys  of  Livermore, 
Sufiol,  Amador,  and  others.  The  two  mountain  ranges  are  nearly  parallel  with  each  other,  and  rise  to  altitudes  of 
2,000  feet  or  more.  They  are  now  treeless  on  the  western  and  southern  slopes  (except  in  the  canons,  where  there  are 
clumps  of  oak,  laurel,  madrone,  alder,  etc.),  though  originally  having  some  redwood  growth,  while  on  the  northern 
and  eastern  slopes,  besides  an  abundance  of  chaparral,  there  is  a  scattered  growth  of  both  live  and  white  oaks, 
with  maple  and  madrone. 

The  largest  stream  of  the  county  is  Alameda  creek,  which  drains  Livermore  valley,  and,  traversing  the  Coast 
range  and  entering  the  bay-shore,  or  "  Alameda  plains  ",  flows  westward  to  the  bay.  Its  banks  are  mostly  timbered 
with  sycamore  and  willows.  San  Antonio  and  other  creeks  are  tributary  to  this  from  the  south.  Northward  from 
Alameda  creek  are  San  Lorenzo,  San  Leaudro,  and  other  small  streams,  which  have  their  source  in  the  mountains 
that  bound  the  Alameda  plain  and  flow  westward  into  the  bay.  On  some  of  these  creeks  there  is  a  natural  growth 
of  oak,  willow,  sycamore,  laurel,  madrone,  and  buckeye. 

Beaching  back  from  the  shore  with  a  gradual  rise  to  the  hills  is  a  broad  and  nearly  level  region,  the  plain  of 
Alameda.  This  plain  extends  through  the  county  along  the  bay  with  a  width  averaging  about  5  miles,  though 
becoming  quite  narrow  on  the  north,  and  is  said  to  have  been  originally  covered  with  an  oak  growth;  but  now  there  are 
only  a  few  scattered  groves  of  this  timber  in  addition  to  the  eucalyptus  tree,  which  has  been  extensively  planted  in 
some  localities.  Nearly  if  not  all  of  the  plain  is  now  improved  and  largely  under  cultivation  in  small  grain  and  orchard 
fruits,  including  excellent  currants;  and  in  the  southern  part,  especially  near  Mission  San  Jose,  vines  as  well  as  other 
fruits  flourish.  The  creeks  coming  from  the  Coast  range  are  bordered  by  tracts  of  light  alluvial  soil,  cultivated  by 
preference  in  barley  and  "garden  truck",  the  latter  mainly  by  Portuguese.  The  bay  shore  is  bordered  by  tracts 
of  salt  marsh  lands,  altogether  estimated  at  35,000  acres,  having  the  usual  salt  grasses,  and  penetrated  in  every 
direction  by  lagoons  or  salt-water  creeks,  which  receive  the  waters  of  high  tides.  At  some  points  the  bay  shore 
embraces  a  narrow  strip  of  sandy  soil  extending  along  the  beach,  while  inland  of  this  is  a  level  belt  of  black  adobe  or, 
in  places,  salt  marshes.  Toward  the  hills  the  lands  become  more  gravelly  and  lighter  colored,  and  are  mingled  with 
bowlders  and  rock  fragments,  and  there  are  occasional  tracts  of  adobe  lands  at  the  foot  as  well  as  on  the  hills.  The 
region  is  thickly  populated,  and  numerous  towns  and  villages  dot  its  surface.  Oakland,  with  its  population  of 
34,555,  and  situated  opposite  San  Francisco,  is  connected  with  it  by  regular  half-hourly  trains  to  the  end  of  a  long 
pier  or  mole  (built  by  the  railroad  company),  and  thence  by  ferry-boats.  Berkeley  and  Alameda  also  enjoy  similar 
facilities  for  reaching  San  Francisco. 

The  mountain  range  that,  borders  this  plain  has  mostly  rounded  summits,  but  is  traversed  and  cut  up  by 
numerous  carious,  though'well  covered  with  grasses  and  suited  to  pasturage  and  to  wheat-growing.  The  hill  soils 
are  usually  a'dobe.  The  hillsides  are  partly  covered  with  a  chaparral  of  scrub  oaks,  poison-oak,  groundsel  tree 
(Baeeharis),  bramble,  etc.,  with  manzauita  on  the  highest  points.  From  Grizzly  and  Bald  peaks,  near  Berkeley, 
probably  the  highest  points  in  the  north  part  of  the  range,  flue  views  may  be  obtained  of  the.  bay  and  city  of  San 
Francisco,  the  Golden  Gate,  the  mountains  of  the  Coast  range  on  either  side,  and  the  distant  Sierra — Mission  peak, 
near  Mission  San  Jose,  is  the  highest  point  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county. 

The  valleys  lying  between  the  two  ranges  of  mountains  are  accessible  from  the  plains  by  Stockton  pass,  a 
winding  ravine  leading  from  the  San  Jose  valley  to  Suiiol  valley,  the  western  third  of  which  shows  rather 
abundant  and  heavy  adobe  soil  of  the  hills,  the  slopes  being  devoid  of  trees.  Eastward  the  character  of  the  soil 
changes,  becoming  of  a  lighter  hue  and  containing  more  loam,  sand,  and  gravel,  especially  in'the  bottoms.  Oak 
trees  occur  in  some  places.  The  lands  of  these  hills  are  partly  under  cultivation,  wheat  being  the  chief  crop.  Suuol 
valley,  into  which  the  pass  opens,  is  circular  in  outline,  surrounded  by  hills,  and  was  originally  dotted  over  with 
oaks;  it  contains  much  good  farming  land.  The  Yallecitos  valley,  separated  from  Sunol  only  by  a  low  ridge,  is 
rather  narrow,  being  surrounded  by  high  hills,  and  its  surface  is  mostly  level,  interspersed  with  some  hills,  and  is 
largely  under  cultivation. 

Livermore  valley,  to  the  eastward  of  these,  is  about  14  miles  long  and  from  5  to  8  miles  wide,  and  is  surrounded 
by  rolling  foot-hills  and  mountains.  The.  northern  and  eastern  part  of  its  surface  is  a  plain,  the  southern  and  western 
a  region  of  rolling  hills,  and  all  is  dotted  over  with  oak  trees.  It  is  watered  by  numerous  streams  tributary  to 
Alameda  creek,  and  along  these  there  is  usually  a  growth  of  sycamore.  The  soil  of  this  and  of  the  other  valleys  that 
adjoin  it  is  a  gravelly  loam,  very  productive,  yielding  good  crops  of  grain  and  fruit,  among  the  latter  the  vine  becoming 
prominent  in  the  upland  or  hill  portion,  the  level  part,  being  too  much  swept  by  coast  winds  for  full  success. 

Amador  valley,  on  the  southeast,  is  about  8  miles  in  diameter,  and  is  nearly  surrounded  by  grassy  hills,  the 
spurs  of  the  two  mountain  ranges.     Its  soil  is  a  sandy  loam,  and  produces  good  crops  of  wheat. 

The  lands  of  the  county  under  cultivation  embrace  47.4  per  cent,  of  the  total  area  and  average  about  303.5  acres 
per  square  mile,  the  county  ranking  third  in  the  state,  the  counties  of  San  Joaquin  and  Sacramento  alone  having 
a  greater  average. 

49  c  P— VOL.  II  7f>9 


112  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

STANISLAUS. 
(Sec  "Great  valley  region'".) 

SAN  JOAQUIN. 
(See  "Great  valley  region".) 

SANTA  CLARA. 

Population  :  3.3,039. 

Area:  1,400  square  miles. — Coast  Range  mountains,  995  square  miles;  Santa  Clara  valley,  405  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  1GG,1S-1  acres. — Area  planted  in  ■wheat,  38,623  acres;  in  corn,  261  acres;  in  outs,  260  acres;  in 
barley,  29,013  acres  ;  in  vineyards,  1,532  acres. 

Santa  Clara  county,  with  its  eastern  boundary-line  upon  the  Coast  range  of  mountains  and  its  western  upon 
the  Santa  Cruz  range,  includes  within  its  limits  mountains,  hills,  and  valleys  which  are  watered  by  many  small 
streams  flowing  partly  to  the  north  and  emptying  into  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  and  partly  south  to  the  Pajaro  river, 
and  thence  to  the  bay  of  Monterey.  The  most  important  of  these  streams  are  Gaiulalupe  and  Coyote  creeks,  on  the 
north.  The  mountains  on  the  west  are  mostly  heavily  limbered,  while  the  lower  hills  are  covered  with  grasses,  and 
well  suited  t<>  pasturage,  especially  on  the  west  side,  where  the  fogs  from  the  ocean  keep  the  grass  green  through  a 
great  part  of  the  year.  The  eastern  mountains  are  treeless,  save  in  the  canons.  The  prominent  feature  of  the  county 
is  the  Santa  ( llara  valley,  well  known  for  its  productiveness  ami  mild  climate.  With  a  width  of  20  miles  on  the  north, 
at  the  southern  extremity  of  San  Francisco  bay,  this  valley  reaches  southward  to  about  11  miles  south  of  San  Jos<5, 
where  it  becomes  only  about  100  yards  wide,  then  opens  out  to  several  miles  in  width,  and  passes  into  San  Hondo 
county.  Its  surface  is  somewhat  undulating,  with  low,  rounded  hills  on  the  margins,  and  is  dotted  with  clumps 
and  groves  of  oak.  Its  lands  embrace,  black  adobes  on  the  northern  or  lower  portions  and  lighter  sandy  or 
gravelly  loams  on  the  higher  lands.  The  chief  crops  are  wheat,  barley,  corn,  potatoes,  and  vegetables,  and  in 
the  neighborhood  of  San  Jose  fruit  (especially  plums,  prunes,  and  grapes),  for  which  culture-  the  climate  and 
exemption  from  fogs  specially  adapt  the  region.     (See  further  description  and  analyses  of  soils  on  pages  IT  and  52.) 

The  lands  under  cultivation  average  for  the  county  at  large  118.7  acres  per  square  mile,  the  average  of  population 
being  25  persons  per  square  mile. 

Branches  of  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad,  on  either  side  of  the  bay,  connect  San  Jose  with  San  Francisco  and 
Oakland;  in  addition,  the  South  Pacific  Coast  railroad  skirts  the  western  shore  of  the  bay. 

SANTA  CEUZ. 

Population :  12,802. 

Area:  -120  square  miles. — Redwood  lands,  195  square  miles  ;  Coast  Range  mountains,  with  some  valley  lands, 
225  square  miles. 

Tilled,  lands:  40,205  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  12,000  acres;  in  corn,  1,70S  acres;  in  oats,  934  acres;  in 
barley,  5,945  acres;  in  vineyards,  34G  acres. 

Santa  Cruz  is  one  of  the  most  mountainous  counties  on  the  southern  coast,  the  ranges,  however,  being  neither 
high  nor  much  broken.  The  eastern  boundary-line  rests  upon  the  summit  of  the  Santa  Cruz  branch  of  the  ('oast 
range  at  an  elevation  of  2,000  feet  or  more  above  the  sea,  extending  south  to  the  Pajaro  river,  while  to  the  west, 
.and  separated  by  the  San  Lorenzo  valley,  is  another  mountain  range  reaching  southward  to  the  bay  of  Monterey 
at  Santa  Cruz.  Still  westward  to  the  coast  the  country  is  hilly  and  broken  often  to  -the  water's  edge.  In  the 
southern  part  of  the  county  the  Pajaro  river  forms  the  boundary-line,  and  is  bordered  by  a  valley  region  extending 
east  and  west  and  embracing  rich  dark  loam  and  adobe  lands,  which  are  well  adapted  to  wheat  and  barley.  This  part 
of  the  valley,  however,  is  not  wide,  as  the  river  flows  not  far  from  the  hills,  thus  giving  the  greater  part  to  Monterey 
county.  Northwestward  from  this  there  is  another  valley  region  lying  east  of  the  town  of  Santa  Cruz,  and  at  the 
month  of  the  San  Lorenzo  river.  It  embraces  several  terraces  or  benches,  which  are  from  a  mile  to  two  miles  wide 
and  extend  through  the  valley,  the  first  30  feet  above  the  level  of  high  water,  the  second  31  feet  higher,  and  the 
third  199  feet  higher  still,  showing  a  total  rise  of  203  feet.  The  town  of  Santa  Cruz  is  located  upon  the  lowest 
of  these  benches,  extending  southward  by  Soque)  and  Aptos  to  the  Salinas  marshes.  It  has  been  estimated  that 
the  bottom  lands  of  the  county  embrace  40.000  and  the  terraced  plateaus  50,000  acres. 

The  county  is  watered  by  the  San  Lorenzo  and  Pajaro  rivers  and  numerous  small  streams  that  flow  from  the 
coast  mountains  to  the  sea.  The  mountains  are  generally  heavily  timbeietl  almost  to  their  very  base  with  redwood, 
pine,  and  chestnut  oak,  probably  to  the  extent  of  one-third  of  the  county  area,  while  the  lower  hills  are  covered  to  some 
extent  by  hazel  bushes.  The  redwood  trees  of  this  county  are  noted  for  their  great  size,  many  of  them  attaining  a 
height  of  from  200  to  300  feet  and  a  diameter  of  15  feet.  The  lands  of  the  San  Lorenzo  valley  north  of  Santa  Cruz 
have  a  sandy  loam  soil,  derived  from  a  fine-grained  calcareous  sandstone,  the  prevailing  rock  of  the  hills,  although 
granite  occurs  northward  of  the  town  of  Santa  Cruz.  The  soil  is  deep  in  the  tlats,  but  easily  washes  away,  and  on  the 
hills  much  rock  is  exposed.  This  valley  is  about  20  miles  long,  and  is  most  generally  used  for  pasturage,  though 
there  are  a  number  of  vineyards  near  Vine  Hill,  about  10  miles  north  of  Santa  Cruz.  The  valley  is  very  narrow,  the 
river  often  flowing  between  high  hills,  while  in  other  places  it  opens  out  into  wide  plateaus;  but  the  hills  on  either 
side  are  sufficiently  low  for  cultivation,  and  the  Santa  Cruz  mountains  generally  are  being  rapidly  occupied  for 
orchards  and  vineyards.  The  town  of  Santa  Cruz  is  a  popular  summer  resort  by  the  seaside.  The  average  of 
lands  under  cultivation  is  95.7  acres  per  square  mile,  and  the  crops  embrace  wheat,  barley,  corn,  potatoes,  and  fruits 
of  several  kinds ;  lumbering  is  also  one  of  the  chief  industries.  The  town  of  Santa  Cruz  is  one  of  the  great  summer 
resorts  for  the  people  of  this  coast. 

Transportation  facilities  are  abundantly  afforded  by  the  vessels  of  the  Pacific  Coast  Steamship  Company  that 
touch  at  numerous  wharves  ou  the  coast;  also  by  the  South  Pacific  railroad  and  the  Santa  Cruz  branch  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  railroad,  which  passes  through  the  county  to  San  Francisco. 

770 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  113 

MONTEREY. 

Population  :  11,302. 

Area:  3,520  square  miles. — Coast  Range  mountains,  2,420  square  miles  ;  Salinas  valley,  700  square  miles  ;  other 
valleys,  400  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands  :  108,862  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  69,022  acres  ;  in  corn,  48S  acres  ;  in  oats,  3,363  acres;  in 
barley,  35,426  acres;  in  vineyards,  10  acres. 

Monterey  county  is  divided  into  valley  and  mountain  regions  by  two  branches  of  the  Coast  range,  which  extend 
northwestward  through  almost  its  entire  length.  The  Gabilan  range  separates  the  county  from  San  Benito,  while 
the  Santa  Lucia  range  of  almost  unbroken,  lofty  mountains  extends  along  the  coast,  separated  from  the  former 
range  by  a  broad  valley  watered  by  the  Salinas  river.  This  river  (the  most  important  of  this  region)  rises  in  San 
Luis  Obispo  county  and  flows  northwestward  for  nearly  200  miles  to  the  bay  of  Monterey.  The  Pajaro,  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  county,  flows  westward,  also  into  the  bay,  but  is  not  a  long  stream. 

The  Santa  Lucia  mountains  are  in  places  heavily  timbered  on  their  lower  slopes  and  in  the  canons  with 
Monterey  pine,  cypress,  and  redwood.  The  Gabilan  mountains  of  the  east  are  low  and  rounded  for  18  miles 
southward  from  the  Pajaro  river,  and  are  timbered  ;  but  for  the  next  30  miles,  reaching  to  San  Lorenzo,  they  are 
high  and  rough,  again  sinking  to  a  range  of  low  and  rolling  hills  at  the  county  limit.  The  range  contains  much 
limestone,  and  among  the  hills  there  are  a  number  of  small  valleys. 

The  most  important  agricultural  region  of  the  county,  although  not  the  largest,  is  the  Pajaro  valley,  on  the 
northern  border,  which  has  a  length  of  about  10  miles  and  a  width  of  6  or  S  miles,  extending  iuto  Santa  Clara 
county  on  the  east  and  Santa  Cruz  on  the  north.  Its  surface  is  quite  level,  and  embraces  three  varieties  of  soils: 
dark  loam  land  of  the  plains,  well  adapted  to  wheat  and  barley ;  adobe  lands,  comprising  one-third  of  the  valley  or 
bottoms  of  Pajaro  river,  and  lying  several  feet  below  the.  plains;  and  clayey  loams,  comprising  the  rest  of  the  river 
lands,  and  known  as  the  sugar-beet  soils.  The  valley  is  bounded  on  either  side  by  a  range  of  smoothly  rounded 
hills,  those  on  the  south  reaching  to  within  1  mile  of  Pajaro  station,  and  being  too  steep  for  cultivation.  The 
western  part  of  this  southern  range  consists  of  sandy  and  untimbered  hillocks,  while  the  eastern  is  more  broken, 
better  timbered,  and  has  an  abundant  growth  of  white  sage.  The  small  valleys  or  hollows  among  these  hills  are 
mostly  swampy,  with  either  willow  or  tule,  and  ofteu  hold  small  lakes  or  ponds  of  water.  This  region  of  hills  is 
several  miles  in  width,  and  separates  Pajaro  valley  from  that  of  Salinas  river  on  the  south. 

The  Salinas  valley,  traversed  by  the  river  of  that  name,  and  the  largest  in  the  county,  reaches  from  the  bay  of 
Monterey  southeastward  between  the  two  mountain  chains  toward  Sau  Luis  Obispo  county  for  a  distance  of  90 
miles,  where  it  is  very  narrow  and  considerably  elevated  above  the  sea.  The  width  varies  for  the  first  50  miles 
from  the  coast  from  12  to  8  miles,  gradually  rising  inland.  The  valley  presents  a  terraced  and  almost  treeless  plain, 
the  only  growth  being  some  live-oak  on  the  northeast  and  sycamores  on  the  streams.  It  is  described  in  detail 
on  page  48.  Near  the  upper  end  of  the  valley,  within  the  county,  are  several  small  valleys,  connecting  with  it 
or  separated  by  narrow  and  low  hills.  Long  valley  is  about  10  miles  long  and  half  a  mile  wide,  and  is  partly 
cultivated.  Its  soil  is  an  adobe,  covered  partly  with  bunch-grass,  and  the  hills  bordering  it  are  low,  rounded,  and 
treeless,  and  contain  much  limestone.  Peaeh  Tree  valley,  separated  from  the  last  by  a  range  of  hills  some  300  feet 
high  and  timbered  with  some  oak  and  pine,  is  22  miles  long  and  three-fourths  of  a  mile  wide,  and  has,  except  over 
an  extent  of  5  or  6  miles  at  the  lower  end,  a  scattering  growth  of  white  oaks.  Its  soil  is  a  dark  loam,  deep  and  rich. 
The  Coast  range,  on  the  northeast,  rises  some  1,600  feet  above  the  valley. 

The  arable  land  along  the  coast  for  about  15  miles  south  Carmel  of  bay  is  nowhere  more  than  one-fonrth  of  a 
mile  wide.  Carmel  valley  is  parallel  to  and  lies  west  of  Salinas  valley,  and  its  lower  foot-hills  afford  very  good 
pasturage.  Comparatively  little  of  the  county  is  under  cultivation,  the  average  being  48  acres  per  square  mile. 
These  lands,  however,  are  mostly  confined  to  Pajaro  valley,  and  are  planted  in  small  grain,  potatoes,  etc.  Experiments 
have  been  made  with  cotton,  but  after  growing  about  12  inches  high  and  blooming  the  plant  suddenly  died.  The 
town  of  Monterey,  on  the  bay  of  the  same  name,  is  the  most  popular  summer  resort  of  the  coast. 

A  railroad  from  Soledad  and  Monterey  northward  to  San  Francisco  affords  transportation  facilities  to  the 
greater  part  of  the  valley  portion  of  the  county. 

ABSTRACT   FROM  A  DESCRIPTION  OF   CARMEL  VALLEY  BY  ED.   BERWICK. 

Carmel  is  a  narrow  valley  lying  east  and  west  parallel  to  Salinas  valley.  The  river  drains  a  scope  of  country  perhaps  30  miles  by  5. 
The  mountains  in  many  places  are  abrupt,  rocky,  and  brush  covered  ;  in  others,  gently  rolling  aod  affording  good  pasturage.  Wild  oats, 
alnlerilla,  with  various  kinds  of  bunch-grass,  form  the  best  natural  pasturage.  The  trees  most  common  are  the  redwood  in  the  canons, 
Monterey  pine,  and  cypress;  more  inland,  live  oak,  white  oak,  soft  maple,  buckeye,  sycamore;  on  the  creeks,  black  and  red  willow  and 
Oregon  alder.  Poison-oak  and  southern  wood  abound.  The  soil  is  liable  to  gully  in  winter,  and  the  river  deposits  the  soil  where  the 
current  runs  slowly.  There  is  scarcely  any  level  laud  of  more  than  half  a  mile  in  width,  as  the  valley  slopes  toward  the  river  from  either 
side.  There  are  occasionally  small  mesa  lands,  the  soil  of  which  is  more  gravelly  than  that  of  the  valley,  which  is  a  sandy  loam  resting 
on  a  subsoil  of  coarse  sand. 

SAN  BENITO. 

Population:  5,5S4. 

Area  :  990  square  miles. — Coast  Range  mountains,  S75  square  miles;  valleys,  115  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands  :  90,590  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  32,223  acres ;  in  corn,  299  acres ;  in  oats,  41  acres ;  in  barley, 
10,469  acres ;  in  vineyards,  62  acres. 

San  Benito  is  a  long  and  narrow  county.  Its  northeast  and  southwest  boundary-lines  lie  respectively  on  the 
summit  of  two  branches  of  the  Coast  range  (viz :  the  Gabilan  and  the  inner  Coast  range),  whence  the  surface  slopes 
abruptly  to  the  valley  of  the  San  Benito  river,  which  hows  northwestward  through  the  middle  of  the  county  and 
unites  with  the  Pajaro  river.     A  few  small  streams,  of  little  importance,  are  tributary  to  the  San  Benito. 

771 


114  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

The  lauds  suitable  for  cultivation  comprise  but  a  small  portion  of  the  county  area,  and  lie  chiefly  on  the 
northwest,  forming  the  southern  end  of  Santo  Clara  valley  to  Los  I'inos.  and  are  drained  by  the  San  Benito  and 
Tres  Finos  rivers.  This  valley  land  is  said  to  embrace  about  25,000  acres  of  light  sandy  loam,  34,300  acres  of  black 
sandy  loam  or  adobe,  the  valley  land  proper,  and  40,000  acres  of  ■what  is  termed  second  class  land,  partly  sandy 
loam  and  partly  adobe,  lying'  on  the  foot  hills.     Jn  addition,  there  is  a  large  amount  of  hill  pasture  laud. 

The  lower  part  of  this  valley,  in  a  "strip  reaching  from  1'ajaro  river  to  within  3  miles  of  Hollister,  is  a  low, 
flat,  wet,  partly  tule  laud,  with  a  black  soil,  used  entirely  for  pasturage". 

The  valley  is  from  10  to  12  miles  wide  below,  but  a  few  miles  southeast  from  Hollister  it  terminates  in  a  kind 
of  rolling  bench-land,  extending  across  the  valley,  and  known  as  Poverty  hill  or  Hollister  valley.  This  Poverty  lull 
region  is  treeless,  its  elevations  being  adobe  in  character,  and  in  the  depressions  a  sandy  loam  covers  the  adobe.  At 
about  4  feet  depth  the  earth  is  charged  with  alkali.  Still  southeastward  the  valley  becomes  very  narrow  and 
elevated,  and  to  its  source  it  is  rarely  one-half  a  mile  wide,  and  often  but  a  few  rods,  it  is  here  very  much  cut  up, 
and  is  almost  wholly  occupied  by  the  San  Benito  river.  A  lew  white  oaks  in  the  valley  and  live  oaks  near  the  hills, 
with  occasional  groups  of  Cottonwood  on  the  river,  comprise  the  only  timber.  The  soil  of  the  valley  is  yellowish 
and  silly;  that  of  the  hill-sides  usually  an  adobe,  and  scarcely  under  cultivation.  The  hills  bordering  the  valley 
are  but  thinly  covered  with  a  scrub  growth  ot  oaks.  Bitter  Water  valley,  on  the  south,  a  continuation  of  Peach 
Tree  valley,  of  Monterey  county,  is  said  to  be  7  miles  long  and  from  three-fourths  to  one  mile  in  width.  This 
valley  is  treeless,  and  the  hills  that  border  it  have  a  scanty  oak  growth,  its  soil  is  a  yellowish  and  still' clay  loam, 
and  is  tilled  with  some  difficulty,  except  when  moist. 

Dry  Lake  valley  or  basin,  about  4  miles  long,  has  a  dark  clayey  loam  soil,  partly  timbered  on  both  hills  and  in 
the  valley  with  oaks,  and  is  thickly  settled. 

Santa  Ana  valley,  lying  eastward  of  Hollister,  has  an  area  of  about  10  square  miles.  Its  soil  is  a  dark  gravelly 
loam,  underlaid  by  adobe,  and  partly  covered  with  scrubby  white  oak.  This  valley  opelis  out  into  San  Benito 
valley,  and  with  it  is  very  generally  under  cultivation  in  the  cereals,  hay,  potatoes,  etc. 

The  first-class  or  valley  lands  of  the  county  are  said  to  yield  from  30  to  4(1  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  the  higher 
or  second-class  lands  from  HO  to  30,  while  the  rolling  hill  lauds  produce  from  15  to  20  bushels  per  acre. 

The  average  ot  tilled  lauds  for  the  county  at  large  is  91.5  acres  per  square  mile:  but,  as  already  stated,  the 
entire  acreage  is  confined  almost  exclusively  to  the  northern  part  of  San  Benito  valley,  where  the  average  is  much 
higher.     The  Southern  Pacific  railroad  affords  transportation  facilities  to  and  from  San  Francisco. 

FRESNO. 
(See  "Great  valley  region".) 

MERCED. 
(See  "  Great  valley  region". 

SAN  LUIS  OBISPO. 

Population :  9,142. 

Area:  3,400  square  miles. — Coast  Range  mountains,  2,370  square  miles;  valleys  1,090  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands :  177,598  acres. — Area  plauted  iu  wheat,  10,018  acres;  in  corn,  458  acres;  in  oats,  937  acres;  in 
barley,  9,058  acres;  in  vineyards,  56  acres. 

San  Luis  Obispo  county  is  bounded  on  the  south  by  the  Santa  Maria  river,  which  flows  westward,  reaching  the 
oceau  through  the  Guadalupe  lagoon,  the  eastern  boundary  lying  along  the  summit  of  the  Coast  Range,  which 
borders  the  great  San  Joaquin  valley  on  the  west.  The  county  is  divided  diagonally  into  two  valley  regions  by 
the  Santa  Lueia  rauge,  which  enters  on  the  northwest,  passes  through  and  unites  with  the  Coast  Range  iu  the 
southeast  corner,  aDd  has  elevations  varying  from  3,000  feet  to  that  of  low  hills. 

The  eastern  valley  region  presents  a  series  of  low,  rolling  hills,  interspersed  with  valleys  watered  by  Salinas 
river  and  San  Juan  creek  and  other  streams,  all  of  which  flow  northwestward.  During  the  summer  months  the 
waters  of  these  streams  do  not  flow  continuously  in  their  channels,  but  rise  and  sink  alternately  at  short  distances. 
Salinas  valley,  the  chief  valley  of  the  region,  is  about  '.)  miles  wide,  and  has  au  elevation  of  about  1,000  feet  above 
the  sea.  The  surface  rises  ou  the  southeast  iuto  a  level  plateau  some  300  feet  above  the  valley  proper  and  soon 
terminates  against  the  mountains. 

Paso  Robles,  noted  for  its  medicinal  springs,  is  situated  iu  a  plain  about  10  square  miles  iu  the  lower  part  of 
the  valley,  surrounded  by  a  live-oak  grove.  North  of  this  locality  there  is  but  little  timber,  either  in  the  valley  or 
on  the  hills,  except  southward,  where  the  hills  are  timbered  with  considerable  oak.  and,  near  the  mountains,  with 
pine.  Manzanita  is  also  abundant  iu  many  localities,  and  ch  ami  sal  occurs  on  the  hills  north  of  Paso  Robles. 
The  soil  along  the  streams  is  mostly  a  dark  loam  covered  with  altilerilla  and  burr  clover;  that  of  the  uplands  is 
generally  a  stiff  clayey  loam,  more  pr  less  gravelly,  easily  tilled,  interspersed  with  some  adobe  tracts,  and  is  covered 
with  altilerilla,  burr  clover,  bunch-grass,  and  wild  oats,  the  latter  chiefly  on  the  higher  hills.  There  is  some  loam 
land  on  the  Santa  Margarita  and  San  Jose  lying  contiguous  to  the  Santa  Lueia  mountains,  while  the  lauds  of  the 
Salinas  plains  are  red  in  color.  The  valley  of  Estrella  creek  is  rolling  aud  partly  timbered  with  very  scattering 
scrub  oaks.     Its  soil  is  a  dark  gravelly  loam,  with  some  adobe. 

The  lands  of  the  higher  plateau  of  the  southeast,  or  Carisa  plains,  are  very  level,  bounded  on  either  side  by 
high  aud  abrupt  mountains,  and  have  mostly  adobe  lands,  covered  with  grasses  and  devoted  to  grazing  purposes. 
The  entire  eastern  valley  is  chiefly  a  sheep  and  cattle  range,  though  cereals  are  successfully  grown  near  the  foot  of 
the  Santa  Lucia  mountains;  and  ''fruit  trees  have  done  well  iu  some  eases,  aud  the  grape  thrives  to  an  extraordinary 
degree". 

The  coast  valleys  on  the  west  of  the  Santa  Lucia  mountains  are  narrow  on  the  north,  but  toward  the  south 
widen  out  to  many  miles,  and  are  rolling  and  interspersed  with  many  high  ridges  and  hills.  The  San  Luis  Obispo 
plain  has  an  elevation  of  about  150  feet  above  the  sea.     The  Osos,  Laguna,  and  Chorro  valleys  run  parallel  with 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  115 

each  other  as  far  south  as  what  is  known  as  the  mission  lands  around  the  city  of  San  Luis  Obispo.  Thence  the 
Corral  de  Piedra  valley  continues  south  until  it  intersects  the  valley  of  the  Arroyo  Grande.  Beyond  this  is  the 
Nipomo  (more  properly  an  elevated  plain)  and  that  portion  of  the  Santa  Maria  valley,  situated  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Santa  Maria  or  Cuyamas  river,  which  forms  the  southern  boundary  of  the  county.  This  region  is  watered 
by  numerous  streams  flowing  from  the  Santa  Lucia  mountains  to  the  ocean,  which  are  bordered  with  a  timber 
growth  of  willows,  cottonwood,  sycamore,  laurel,  and  live-oaks.  The  hills  are  sparsely  timbered  with  sage-brush 
and  chamisal.  A  chain  of  highlands  or  hills  line  the  coast,  rising  in  many  places  directly  from  the  water's  edge. 
These  begin  just  south  of  Santa  Rosa  creek  and  extend  to  within  a  few  miles  of  Cayucos.  where  a  break  occurs. 
Immediately  south  of  Morro  or  Estero  bay  they  again  follow  the  coast  line  to  within  a  few  miles  of  the  southern 
boundary  of  the  county.  The  northern  section,  lying  between  Santa  Rosa  creek  and  Cayucos,  does  not  exceed  250 
feet  in  height,  but  south  of  the  Morro  they  attain  in  places  an  altitude  of  2,000  feet,  protecting  the  valleys  from 
the  too  direct  and  unintermitting  influence  of  the  sea  wind.  The  protection  thus  afforded  by  this  natural  barrier 
enables  the  farmer  to  raise  fine  grades  of  wheat,  the  most  valuable  of  all  the  cereals. 

The  coast  region  is  the  chief  farming  portion  of  the  county.  Its  lands  are  of  three  grades :  Bark  loams  of  the 
bottoms,  suitable  for  vegetables,  etc. ;  dark  or  reddish  sandy  loams  of  the  valleys,  resting  on  heavy  clays,  and  lighter 
and  gravelly  soils  of  the  hills  and  rougher  portions  of  the  valley.  The  crops  of  this  region  comprise  wheat,  barley, 
corn,  potatoes,  and  several  varieties  of  fruits  and  grapes.  In  the  summer  months  the  prevailing  northwest  winds 
occasionally  blow  with  some  violence  immediately  along  the  coast  and  through  the  valleys  which  open  fairly  to  the 
sea,  and  drive  through  them  great  fog  drifts,  which  rise  from  the  ocean  in  the  evenings  and  settle  down  at  night  close 
to  the  earth.  But  at  sunrise  the  fog  rises  and,  rolling  up  the  mountain  sides,  disappears.  The  valleys  lying  closer 
to  the  western  slope  of  the  Santa  Lucia  range  are  comparatively  exempt  from  these  winds  and  fogs. 

The  lands  ©f  Corral  de  Piedra  valley  have  a  heavy  loam  soil,  with  streaks  of  adobe,  and  are  said  to  yield  40 
bushels  of  wheat  per  acre. 

The  average  of  lauds  under  cultivation  in  the  county  is  51.3  acres  per  square  mile,  while  the  average  of 
population  is  but  2.0  persons  per  square  mile.     Dairying  and  cheese-making  is  extensively  carried  on  in  the  county. 

A  short  line  of  railroad  connects  San  Luis  Obispo  with  Port  Harford,  where  the  steamers  of  the  Pacific  Coast 
Steamship  Company  touch  regularly. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  WESTERN  PART  OF  THE  COUNTY  BY  D.  F.  NEWSOM,  OF  NEWSOM  SPRINGS. 

The  west  side  of  the  Santa  Lucia  mountains  is  well  watered,  and  is  a  succession  of  valleys,  with  bottom  and  table-lands  very 
productive,  and  a  great  part  susceptible  of  irrigation,  from  which  two  and  sometimes  more  crops  can  lie  raised  in  one  year.  It  is 
estimated  that  30,800  acres  of  first-class  lauds  on  this  side  of  the  mountain  can  be  irrigated  by  co-operation  among  the  farmers  interested 
and  without  any  very  great  expense.  The  larger  valleys  are  liable  to  frosts  iron*  October  to  April;  while  the  small  canons  in  the  hills  are 
in  a  great  measure  exempt  from  frosts.  Dairying  and  farming  are  the  chief  occupations  on  the  coast  side  of  the  mountains,  and  stock 
raising  on  the  east  side,  but  this  will  eventually  be  a  wheat-growing  section. 

SANTA  BARBARA. 

Population:  9,513. 

Area :  2,200  square  miles. — Coast  Range  mountains,  1,900  square  miles ;  valleys,  300  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands  :  10S,749  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  1S,492  acres ;  in  corn,  3,167  acres ;  in  oats,  24  acres  ;  in 
barley,  13,598  acres;  in  vineyards,  77  acres. 

Santa  Barbara  county  is  hilly  and  mountainous,  a  large  proportion  being  too  high  and  broken  for  cultivation. 
The  San  Rafael  mountains  cover  more  than  one-third  of  the  county  on  the  northeast,  while  on  the  southeast  the  Santa 
Inez  rises  as  a  narrow  range  parallel  with  the  coast  to  an  altitude  of  3,000  or  4,000  feet. 

The  western  coast  line  of  the  county  has  a  north  and  south  trend  to  point  Conception,  where  it  turns  abruptly 
to  the  east.  Lying  parallel  with  this  latter  portion,  and  at  a  distauce  of  about  30  miles,  are  a  number  of  islands,  also 
mountainous,  rising  as  high  as  1,500  feet  above  the  sea.  The  county  is  watered  by  the  Santa  Maria  river  on  the 
north  and  by  the  Santa  Inez  on  the  south,  both  flowing  westward  into  the  ocean  and  bordered  by  important  valleys. 

Santa  Maria  valley  is  about  30  miles  long  and  10  wide,  and  lies  partly  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county.  The  soil  is 
sandy,  dotted  over  with  oaks,  and  has  a  vegetation  of  clover  and  alfilerilla.  This  valley  is  chiefly  devoted  to 
grazing  purposes.  The  Santa  Inez  valley  is  about  30  miles  long,  and  averages  2  miles  in  width,  the  width  in  both  this 
and  Santa  Maria  valley  being  greatest  some  15  miles  from  the  coast,  which  they  reach  through  narrow  canons.  The 
valley  soil  is  chiefly  a  loam,  and  was  originally  timbered  with  oaks.  The  surface  presents  a  series  of  terraces  of  25, 
45,  and  95  feet  elevation,  respectively,  above  the  river,  and  is  timbered  partly  with  oaks  and  sycamores.  The  valley- 
is  chiefly  used  for  pasturage.  The  Santa  Inez  range  of  mouutaius  lies  on  the  south,  separating  this  valley  from  the 
coast  valley,  in  which  the  county-seat  is  situated.  This  range  is  steep  and  rugged,  and  is  covered  with  chamisal 
brush;  but  there  are  some  oaks  in  sheltered  places.  The  coast  valley,  extending  from  Gaviota  pass,  east  of  point 
Concepciou,  to  the  Ventura  county-line,  and  varying  iu  width  from  2  to  about  G  miles  in  the  central  part,  has  a  rise  of 
300  feet  inland,  and  is  divided  into  an  upper  and  lower  valley,  the  former  being  known  as  the  Santa  Barbara  valley, 
or  plain,  from  the  town  of  that  name,  from  whose  southern  edge  the  valley  slopes  to  the  coast,  forming  the  lower 
valley  to  the  eastward.  West  of  the  town,  and  reaching  to  the  Gaviota  pass,  the  coast  line  forms  a  terrace  about  SO 
feet  high,  sloping  landward,  and  inclosing  between  it  and  the  mountains  the  upper  valley.  The  soil  of  the  valley 
is  a  sandy  loam,  and  is  largely  under  cultivation  in  grain.     Irrigation  is  necessary  in  the  higher  lands  only. 

Carpenteria  valley,  lying  east  of  Santa  Barbara,  is  also  a  coast  valley  opening  south,  and  surrounded  on  the 
other  sides  by  high  mountains,  its  surface  gradually  rising  to  the  bald  hills.  The  valley  was  originally  well  timbered 
with  live-oak  and  some  sycamore  and  walnut.  It  is  well  watered  with  small  streams,  in  whose  alluvial  lands 
strawberries  and  other  fruits  are  raised.  The  crops  are  corn,  beans,  and  potatoes.  The  foot-hills  and  mesa  lands 
bear  naturally  the  wild  oat. 

773 


116  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

Ou  the  coast  from  point  Conception  northward  to  point  Furisima  lies  the  Lompoe  valley,  its  length  being  about 
37  miles.  This  valley  is  thought,  to  contain  abont  35,000  acres  of  arable  laud,  and  has  been  mostly  devoted  to 
pasturage. 

The  Los  Alamos  valley,  lying  along  the  arroyo  of  that  name,  reaches  from  the  mountains  to  the  coast  and 
between  the  Lompoe  and  Santa  Maria  valleys,  its  length  being  about  40  miles  and  its  greatest  width  2  miles.  The 
largest  portion  of  this  valley  lies  about  25  miles  from  the  coast,  and  has  a  soil  varying  from  an  adobe  to  sandy  loam, 
partly  under  cultivation.     On  either  side  are  low  rolling  hills  and  connecting  valleys. 

The  lands  under  cultivation  in  the  county  average  49.4  acres  per  square  mile,  but,  omitting  the  general  mountain 
districts  from  the  area,  we  find  the  average  to  be  about  100  acres  per  square  mile.  The  county  is  connected  with 
San  Francisco  by  the  Pacific  Coast  steamship  lines. 

KERN. 
(See  "Great  valley  region-'.) 

TULARE. 
(See  "Great  valley  region".) 

VENTUBA. 

Population :  5,073. 

Area:  1,690  square  miles. — Coast  Range  mountains,  1.520  square  miles;  valleys,  170  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands :  81,107  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  S,479  acres ;  in  corn,  0,121  acres  ;  in  oats,  40  acres  ;  in  barley, 
28,171  acres;  in  vineyards,  134  acres. 

Ventura  county  is  mostly  hilly  and  mountainous,  the  northern  half  rising  to  an  elevation  of  more  than  4,0(10  feet 
above  the  sea  aud  forming  a  part  of  the  Coast  range.  The  southern  part,  while  hilly  and  broken  witli  mountain 
ridges,  is  interspersed  with  numerous  valleys,  which  are  well  watered  and  afford  line  farming  lands. 

The  Santa  Clara  and  Buenaventura  rivers  are  the  chief  streams  of  the  county,  both  rising  among  the 
mountains  and  flowing  to  the  ocean.  The  former  is  the  longest,  and  is  bordered  throughout  its  length  by  a  valley 
which,  from  near  Newhall,  in  Los  Angeles  county,  varies  in  width  from  a  mile  and  less  as  far  as  Santa  Paula,  then 
widens  gradually,  until  within  about  12  miles  from  the  coast  it  suddenly  expands  to  about  16  miles  on  the  coast. 
This  is  the  largest  valley  region  of  the  county,  and  contains  considerable  land  under  cultivation  in  wheat,  barley,  corn, 
and  beans.  Above  Santa  Paula  the  soil  is  generally  sandy;  below,  to  the  coast,  it  is  dark-gray  silly  loam  of  great 
depth  and  remarkable  for  its  retention  of  moisture  near  the  surface.  Saticoy  plain,  or  delta  of  the  Santa  Clara 
river,  is  noted  for  its  high  production  of  corn  and  beans,  a  large  part  of  the  state's  marketable  supply  being  grown 
here.     Hogs  are  also  extensively  raised. 

Buenaventura  river  is  bordered  by  a  valley  about  20  miles  long  and  one-fourth  of  a  mile  wide,  which  has  sandy 
soils  and  is  largely  under  cultivation.  The  mountain  valleys  usually  have  an  adobe  soil,  with  much  vegetable 
matter.  Those  valleys  whose  elevation  is  less  than  2.000  feet  are  partly  under  cultivation  in  wheat  and  other  grain. 
Of  these  the  Ojai  is  most  noted,  and  lies  along  the  Canada  Larga.  It  has  an  elevation  of  from  800  to  1,000  feet,  and 
is  divided  into  an  upper  and  lower  valley.  This  valley  is  about  0  miles  long  aud  about  1A  miles  wide,  and  is  largely 
timbered  with  live  and  white  oaks  and  some  Cottonwood.  The  soil  of  upper  Ojai  is  a  rich  black  adobe,  yielding  50  or 
60  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  while  that  of  the  lower  valley  is  a  reddish -gray,  sandy  loam,  much  under  cultivation. 

The  Sulphur  Mountain  range,  between  Ojai  and  Santa  Clara  valleys,  is  remarkable  for  its  extensive  deposits 
of  asphaltum,  which  substance  oozes  out  at  certain  levels  throughout  the  range,  and  at  times  forms  bubbling  springs 
and  flowing  streams  of  thick  petroleum.  In  the  Sespe  valley  a  flowing  petroleum  well  of  high  production  has  been 
obtained,  and  numerous  others  of  moderate  yield  exist  in  other  parts  of  the  county. 

The  soil  of  the  mountains  is  a  reddish  loam,  largely  timbered  with  fir  and  pine.  Cotton  has  been  successfully 
raised  in  this  county,  but  only  in  very  small  patches  and  with  extra  attention,  it  being  too  much  exposed  to  trade 
winds  and  toys  from  the  ocean. 

The  county  is  connected  with  San  Francisco  by  the  Pacific  Coast  line  of  steamships. 


COAST    RANGE    REGION. 

(North  of  San  Pablo  bay.) 

(This  region  embraces  the  following  counties  and  parts  of  counties  :  Marin,  Sonoma,  Napa,  Solano,*  Yolo.*  Lake, 
Colusa,*  Mendocino,  Tehama,*  Shasta,*  Trinity,  Humboldt,  Siskiyou,*  aud  Del  Norte.) 

MARIN. 

Population :  11,324. 

Area:  580  square  miles. — Nearly  all  Coast  Range  mountains. 

Tilled  lands:  21,357  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat.  2,603  acres;  in  oats,  1,031  acres;  in  barley,  1,400  acres; 
in  vineyards,  40  acres. 

Marin  county  is  bounded  on  the  west  by  the  ocean,  and  on  the  east,  in  part,  by  San  Francisco  and  San  Pablo 
bays,  the  Golden  Gate  separating  it  from  the  county  of  San  Francisco  ou  the  south.  A  range  of  mountains  passes 
through  it  in  a  northwest  direction,  mount  Tamalpais,  with  an  altitude  of  2,597  feet,  being  the  highest  point.  The 
rest  of  the  county  embraces  high  hills  and  small  valleys,  watered  by  numerous  streams,  flowing  chiefly  to  the  bay  on 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  117 

the  east.  Both  tbe  east  and  the  west  shores  are  abrupt  and  deeply  indented  by  bays,  of  which  Drake's  and  Tomales 
are  the  chief,  that  of  Touiales,  on  the  northwest,  being  the  largest,  reaching  inland  for  10  miles  with  a  width  of 
2  or  3  miles,  and  occupying  a  valley  between  two  or  more  mountain  ridges.  Point  Reyes  is  a  narrow,  prominent 
headland.  There  is  but  little  level  land  in  the  county,  the  valleys  along  the  streams  beiug  quite  narrow,  and  the 
hills  approaching  close  to  the  shore  lines.  The  mountains  were  originally  timbered  with  redwood  and  pine,  but 
the  greater  part  has  been  cut  away;  the  lower  hills  and  many  of  the  valleys  have  a  sparse  growth  of  oak.  Tbe  soil 
of  the  hills  and  rolling  lands  is  usually  a  black  adobe,  more  or  less  gravelly ;  that  of  the  valleys  a  dark  sandy  loam, 
rich  and  productive. 

There  is  a  large  area  of  salt  marsh  along  the  eastern  shore,  some  of  which  has  been  reclaimed  by  levees,  and  is  now 
termed  meadow  lauds.  Dairying  is  the  chief  occupation  of  the  people  of  the  county,  for  which  the  valleys  and 
hills,  with  their  abundant  vegetation,  afford  excellent  pasturage.  Tbe  lands  under  cultivation  average  30. S  acres 
per  square  mile  for  the  entire  county. 

Under  the  lee  of  mount  Tamalpais,  near  San  Rafael,  the  climate  of  San  Francisco  bay  is  sufficiently  tempered 
to  allow  the  grape  and  the  fig  to  ripen  regularly. 

Transportation  facilities  are  furnished  by  two  lines  of  railroad,  which  connect  by  steamer  with  San  Francisco. 
San  Rafael  beiug  practically  a  residence  suburb  of  the  former  city,  is  much  frequented  on  account  of  its  milder 
climate. 

SONOMA. 

Population  :  25,920. 

Area:  1,520  square  miles. — Coast  Range  mountains,  1,170  square  miles  (redwood  lauds,  300  square  miles); 
valleys,  300  square  miles ;  tale  lands,  some. 

Tilled  lands:  178,054  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  39,820  acres  ;  in  corn,  5,961  acres;  in  oats,  2,015  acres;  in 
barley,  11,120  acres;  in  vineyards,  S,540  acres. 

The  surface  of  Sonoma  county  is  hilly  and  mountainous,  interspersed  with  numerous  fertile  and  well- 
watered  valleys.  The  principal  stream  is  Russian  river,  which,  entering  the  county  from  the  north,  flows 
southeastward  for  a  distance  of  about  25  miles,  and  then  turns  westward  to  the  coast.  It  has  many  small  tributaries, 
which  drain  the  greater  part  of  the  county,  each  bordered  by  narrow  valleys.  The  northern  part  of  this  county  is 
the  most  mountainous,  some  of  the  spurs  of  the  Coast  range  being  from  2,500  to  3,000  feet  high.  Many  of  the 
mountains  and  some  of  the  lower  hills  are  covered  with  a  growth  of  redwood,  pine,  and  fir ;  but  in  some  of  the  valleys, 
and  on  the  northeastern  slopes  of  tbe  hills,  there  is  a  scattered  growth  of  oak,  madrona,  large  manzanita,  buckeye, 
etc.,  with  some  willow  and  sycamore  along  the  streams.  The  southern  part,  "  from  the  coast  inland  to  Santa 
Rosa  valley,  is  a  succession  of  low,  well-watered  valleys,  bare  of  trees,  and  covered  by  a  good  depth  of  soil  and 
a  rich  sward  of  natural  grasses,  which  are  kept  green  for  most  of  the  year  by  the  sea  mists  which  roll  over  them 
during  the  dry  summer  months."  The  low  mountain  ridges  eastward  to  Napa  county  are  partly  covered  with  a 
chaparral  of  chamisal,  manzanita,  and  other  growths. 

The  principal  valleys  are  Russian  river  and  Santa  Rosa  valleys  on  the  north  and  central  portions  of  the  county, 
and  Petaluma  and'  Sonoma  valleys  on  tbe  south,  the  latter  beiug  separated  by  low  mountains.  The  first  two,  with 
Petaluma  valley,  form  a  central  valley  through  the,  county  from  north  to  south,  through  which  the  San  Francisco 
and  North  Pacific  railroad  runs  to  Cloverdale,  a  distance  of  50  miles.  Russian  River  valley  is  narrow,  and  for  15  miles 
from  its  mouth  was  originally  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  redwood,  but  otherwise,  with  the  exception  of  scattered 
groves  of  oaks,  it  is  almost  destitute  of  trees.  Its  lands  are  alluvial  loams,  very  rich  and  productive.  The  valley 
of  Santa  Rosa  is  about  10  miles  loug  and  0  wide,  bordered  by  low  mountains  on  the  west  and  a  higher  range  on 
the  east,  and  is  generally  under  cultivation.  The  county-seat,  located  here,  is  surrounded  with  oak  and  other 
trees.  Bennett  valley,  8  miles  long  and  3  miles  wide,  unites  with  this  valley  near  the  town,  and  its  soil  varies  from  a 
red  loam  to  dark  adobe,  and  is  largely  under  cultivation  in  grapes.  The  timber  growth  of  the  valley  and  the 
adjoining  hills  is  white,  black,  and  live  oaks,  madrona,  etc.  Petaluma  valley,  on  the  south,  is  about  20  miles  long 
and  3  miles  wide,  and  its  soils  are  rich  and  moist  and  well  adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  fruit,  corn,  and  wheat.  There 
is  much  salt  marsh  bordering  the  bay  on  the  south,  the  tract  being  estimated  to  contain  about  17,000  acres;  but  it  is 
partly  reclaimed  and  under  cultivation,  two  or  three'years  beiug  required  before  it  is  made  ready  for  planting. 

Sonoma  valley,  to  the  eastward  of  Petaluma,  and  separated  by  a  mountain  range,  reaches  about  10  miles 
northward  from  San  Pablo  bay,  aud  has  a  width  of  about  2  miles.  At  its  northern  end  it  forks,  passing  into  Gnillocos 
valley  on  the  east,  while  northward  it  connects  with  Santa  Rosa  valley  through  Bennett's  valley.  Its  southern 
portion  is  occupied  by  marsh  and  tule  lands  to  within  a  few  miles  of  the  town  of  Sonoma,  the  rest  of  the  valley 
having  a  light  gravelly  loam  soil,  with  water  not  far  below  the  surface.  It  is  almost  exclusively  devoted  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  grape  and  fruits,  transportation  facilities  being  afforded  by  the  Sonoma  Valley  narrow-gauge 
railroad.  There  are  valleys  of  greater  or  less  extent  among  the  hills  in  the  western  part  of  the  county,  two  of 
considerable  size  extending  through  this  region— one,  the  valley  of  the  Estero  Americano,  running  from  west  to  east 
through  Bodega  township,  terminating  at  Tomales  bay;  the  other,  Green  valley,  extending  from  north  to  south,  the 
stream  from  which  the  valley  takes  its  name  emptying  into  Russian  river.  Green  valley  is  almost  exclusively 
devoted  to  fruit  culture. 

The  land  of  the  county  is  classified  by  the  assessor  into  four  grades.  The  first  and  least  valuable  grade  is  the 
mountain,  brushy,  and  bate  hill  laud,  estimated  at  300,000  acres,  and  utilized  only  for  pasturage.  The  second 
grade,  timber  lauds  aud  hillside  pasturage,  is  estimated  at  200,000  acres.  The  third  grade  is  mainly  rolling  lands, 
denuded  of  timber,  lying  along  or  near  the  sea-coast,  used  for  dairy  purposes,  aud  estimated  at  200,000  acres.  The 
fourth  grade,  rich  bottom  lands,  is  estimated  at  about  150,000  acres. 

Along  the  mountain  and  hill  sides,  some  300  or  400  feet  above  the  valley,  there  is  a  "thermal  belt"  elevated 
above  frost  limits,  where  many  tender  fruits  may  be  successfully  grown. 

The  North  Pacific  Coast  narrow-gauge  railroad  runs  through  the  region  to  Russian  river,  affording  convenient 
transportation.  There  are  also  good  shipping  points  by  sea  from  Tomales  and  Bodega  bays.  The  Sonoma  valley 
is  connected  with  San  Francisco  by  rail  and  steamers. 


118  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

ABSTRACT   FROM  A  DESCRIPTION   OF   BENNETT   VALLEY    BY   G.  N.  WHITAKER,  OF  SANTA  ROSA. 

Bennett  valley  possesses  all  tbc  features  of  other  valleys  of  the  county.  It  has  a  length  of  ft  miles  and  an  average  width  of  3  miles, 
and  joins  Santa  Rosa  valley  near  the  town  of  that  name,  extending  back  in  a  southeast  course.  The  northwest  half  of  the  valley  is  a  lino 
farming  country;  the  southeast  half  lies  quite  elevated  in  the  thermal  holt,  and  is  well  adapted  to  the  culture  of  fruits,  grapes  being  a 
specialty.  There  is  a  high  range  of  hills  west  of  and  parallel  with  this  valley,  which  is  fertile  to  the  summit ;  hut  that  on  the  opposite  side 
is  not  so  sloping  or  so  fertile.  Both  valley  and  hills  have  a  natural  growth  of  wild  oats,  bunch  grass,  etc.,  and  a  timber  growth  of  white 
and  live  oaks,  laurel,  madrona,  and  some  spruce  pine  and  redwood.  Tin1  soil  of  the  valley  varies  from  dark  and  light  to  red  sandy  loams 
and  adobe,  and  in  depth  from  6  inches  to  5  or  6  feet,  and  is  underlaid  by  soft  shaly  rock  and  yellow  clay.  The  chief  crops  are  wheat, 
barley,  and  grapes,  and  wheH  fresh  the  lauds  have,  yielded  from  30  to  40  bushels  of  wheat  and  from  30  to  50  bushels  of  oats  and  barley 
per  acre. 

NAPA. 

Population :  13,235. 

Area:  S40  square  miles. — Const  Range  mountains,  620  square  miles;  Napa  valley,  145  squaxe  miles;  other 
valleys,  40  square  miles;  tule  lands,  35  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  81,(145  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  33,053  acres;  in  corn,  1,CC4  acres;  in  oats,  1,014  acres;  in 
barley,  5,753  acres;  in  vineyards,  0,071  acres. 

Napa  county,  lying  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Coast  range,  is  a  region  of  mountains,  bills,  and  valleys,  one-half 
of  its  surface,  however,  being  suitable  for  cultivation.  The  mountains  on  the  north,  culminating  in  the  volcanic 
peak  of  Saint  Helena,  have  their  highest  elevation  within  the  county,  and  are  heavily  timbered  witlt  lir,  pine,  and 
cedar.  To  the  southward  they  diminish  in  height,  occasionally  flattening  out  into  timbered  plateaus  1,500  or 
2,000  feet  above,  the  sea,  and  well  adapted  to  cultivation,  but  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county  they  sink  into  low, 
grassy,  and  broken  hills.  The  eastern,  western,  and  northern  boundary-lines  rest  on  the  summit  of  the  mountains, 
while  the  southern  is  formed  in  part  by  the  shore  of  San  Pablo  bay.  The  principal  topographical  feature  of  the  county 
is  Napa  valley,  which  occupies  centrally  a  northern  and  southern  position,  reaching  from  the  bay  35  miles  inland,  and 
having  an  average  width  of  4  or  5  miles,  except  in  the  northern  part  (above.  Youutville),  which  is  only  about  1  mile 
wide.  The  general  surface  has  a  gentle  slope  southward  to  the  tule  lands,  and  is  watered  by  Napa  creek,  which, 
though  small,  is  a  tide- water  stream,  navigable  to  Napa  City  for  small  craft,  and  is  the  largest  in  the  county.  Along 
the  lower  portion  of  Napa  slough  there  is  quite  an  extensive  belt  of  tule  lands,  some  of  which  have  been  successfully 
reclaimed,  proving  very  productive.  The  soil  of  the  upper  valley  is  a  gravelly  loam,  while  that  of  the  southern  or 
lower  is  a  sandy  loam,  rich  and  productive,  and  largely  under  cultivation. 

Knight's  valley,  on  the  north,  forms  a  connecting  link  between  Napa  valley  and  that  of  Russian  river,  in  Sonoma 
county,  and  is  about  7  miles  long  and  2  miles  wide,  surrounded  by  high  and  heavily  timbered  mountains.  The  rest  of 
the  county  consists  of  a  series  of  mountain  ridges  and  narrow  valleys  watered  by  small  streams,  those  on  the  northeast 
being  included  in  the  basin  of  Putah  creek.  "  East  of  Napa  valley  is  Conn  valley,  half  a  mile  wide  by  0  miles  long. 
South  of  this  is  Wooden  valley,  3  miles  long  by  1  mile  wide.  North  and  east  of  Chiles  is  Pope  valley,  8  miles  long 
by  1  mile  wide.-  South  of  Pope  is  Capelle  valley,  2  miles  long  and  half  a  mile  wide.  East  of  Pope  is  Berryessa 
valley,  7  miles  long  by  1A  miles  wide,  and  bordered  on  the  east  by  the  high  range  of  mountains  that  forms  the 
boundary-line  of  the  county  (California  As  It  Is). 

The  Berryessa  valley  is  an  agricultural  region,  and  is  largely  under  cultivation.  It  is  surrounded  at  first 
by  low  hills,  and  further  back  by  high  mountains,  timbered  with  pine,  fir,  and  some  cedar.  The  lower  ranges 
are  covered  with  thickets  of  hazel,  buckeye,  California  bay  and  lilac,  oak  and  ash,  and  an  undergrowth  of  grasses, 
wild  clover,  etc.  The  valley  is  dotted  with  oaks,  and  is  devoted  to  wheat,  which  yields  about  30  bushels  per  acre; 
the  lower  hills  are  planted  in  vineyards.  Conn  valley  is  also  planted  in  vines  and  wheat;  but  at  the  head  there 
is  a  plateau  of  rolling  country  heavily  timbered  with  pine  and  black  oak. 

The  assessor  of  the  county  has  estimated  that  there  are  00,051  acres  of  the  best  valley  land,  38,287  acres  of 
best  hill  land  and  poorest  valley  land,  suitable  for  grazing,  45,801  acres  of  hill  land  adjoining  the  grazing  lands, 
and  31,711  acres  of  the  poorest,  quality  of  hill  lands. 

Cotton  has  been  grown  in  Napa  county  at  an  elevation  of  1,500  feet  above  sea-level. 

Grape  culture  is  one  of  the  chief  industries  of  the  county.  The  vineyards  begin  a  short  distance  below  Napa, 
city  and  extend  either  side  up  into  the  foot-hills.  As  we  go  northward  they  increase,  until  in  Saint  Helena  valley, 
separated  from  lower  Napa  valley  proper  by  a  narrow  pass  near  Yountville,  we  find  one  of  the  great  wine-making 
centers  of  the  state,  and  the  point  where  the  grape  production  per  acre  has  been  as  high  as  13  tons,  the  entire 
valley  and  a  portion  of  the  slopes,  as  well  as  the  adjoining  plateaus,  being  occupied  by  vineyards,  wine-cellars,  etc. 

Transportation  facilities  are  afforded  by  the  Napa  branch  of  the  California  Pacific  railroad,  which  connects  tit 
Vallejo  with  steamers  for  San  Francisco. 

ABSTRACT   FROM   A  DESCRIPTION  OF   LANDS   OF   IIOWELL   MOUNTAIN  REGION,  IN  THE  NORTHERN   PART   OF   TnE 

COUNTY,   BY  JOHN  MAVITY,  OF   SAINT   HELENA. 

The  summit  of  Howell  mountain  is  a  broad  plateau  of  about  8,000  acres,  or  rather  a  plain  broken  up  into  small  elevations  and  little 
vales,  the  hills  varying  in  height  from  100  to  '200  feet.  The  higher  points  are  generally  very  rocky,  with  slopes  of  reddish  soil.  The 
plateau  has  an  elevation  of  frpm  1,600  to  1,800  feet  above  the  sea,  and  is  covered  with  a  growth  of  black  oak  (or  what  is  here  known  as 
mountain  oak),  white  oak,  yellow  pine,  nut  pine,  a  very  little  fir,  and  manzanita.  The  land  has  a  red  and  somewhat  gravelly  clay  soil, 
well  adapted  to  the  growth  of  fruit  trees  and  grape-vines. 

SOLANO. 
(See  "  Great  valley  region".) 

YOLO. 
(See  "Great  valley  region".) 

776 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  119 

LAKE. 

Population :  6,596. 

Area:  1,100 square  miles. — Coast  Range  mountains,  1,000  square  miles;  valleys,  100  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands :  33,564  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  8,296  acres ;  in  corn,  755  acres ;  in  oats,  352  acres ;  in  barley, 
4,551  acres;  in  vineyards,  54  acnjs. 

Lake  county  is  included  betweeu  the  summits  of  two  branches  of  the  Coast  range,  which  unite  at  mount  Saint 
John's  on  the  north,  and  have  an  altitude  of  from  3,000  to  4,000  feet.  The  valley  thus  formed  has  a  length  of  about 
40  miles  and  a  width  of  nearly  15  miles,  the.  sides  of  which  are  bordered  "  by  narrow  ridges  of  broken  mountains, 
separated  by  deep  gorges  and  narrow  canons,  covered  with  timber,  underbrush,  wild  oats,  and  wild  grapes  ".  Clear 
lake  is  a  central  feature  of  the  county,  covering  an  area  of  nearly  one-third  of  the  valley,  and  has  an  altitude  of  over 
1,01)0  feet  above  the  sea.  Its  length  is  about  25  miles,  while  its  width  varies  from  10  miles  on  the  north  to  2  miles  on 
the  south,  being  divided  into  what  are  known  as  ripper  and  lower  lakes  by  Uncle  Sam  mountain,  which  reaches  into  it 
and  rises  abruptly  from  the  water's  edge  to  an  elevation  of  about  2,500  feet.  The  lake  receives  the  greater  portion 
of  the  drainage  of  the  county,  and  has  for  its  outlet  Cache  creek,  which  flows  from  the  southern  point  eastward 
through  Yolo  county.  There  are  no  large  streams  in  the  county.  On  the  extreme  north,  and  separated  from  the 
valley  by  a  rauge  of  high  mountains,  are  the  headwaters  of  Elk  river,  which  flows  northwestward  through  Mendocino 
county. 

The  mountains  are  largely  timbered  with  pine,  the  sugar  pine  occurring  in  extensive  forests  on  the  north  ;  the 
hills  have  an  abundant  growth  of  oak  and  fir.  A  feature  of  the  southern  mountains  are  the  extensive  tracts  of  the 
chamisal  brush,  which  has  been  found  valuable  for  sheep. 

The  farming  portion  of  the  county  is  embraced  within  the  central  valley  region,  lying  on  the  west  of  Clear 
lake  and  among  the  hills  along  the  streams.  The  eastern  shore  of  the  lake  is  mountainous,  but  on  the  west  and 
north  of  Uncle  Sam  mountain  there  is  much  level  or  undulating  alluvial  loam  land  from  2  to  5  miles  in  width, 
reaching  northward  above  the  head  of  the  lake  and  southwestward  for  15  miles  from  Lakeport.  It  is  dotted  over 
with  oaks  and  willow.  Other  valleys  are  also  partially  timbered  with  white  oak,  and  have  red  sandy  and  gravelly 
soils.  Coyote  valley  is  10  miles  long  and  3  miles  wide,  and  long  valley  6  miles  long  and  2  miles  wide.  Scott's  valley 
has  a  sandy  loam  soil,  and  is  said  to  5*iekl  8  tons  of  potatoes,  30  bushels  of  wheat,  or  50  bushels  of  corn  per  acre. 

The  crops  of  the  county  embrace  chiefly  wheat  and  barley,  but  from  the  luxuriance  of  the  growth  of  the  native 
grape-vine  it  is  presumed  that  this  county  will  hereafter  become  an  important  grape-growing  district. 

Cloverdale,  in  Sonoma  county,  on  the  San  Francisco  and  North  Pacific  railroad,  is  the  shipping  point  for  the 
north  and  middle  portions  of  the  county,  and  Calistoga,  in  Napa  county,  on  the  California  Pacific  railroad,  receives 
freight  for  and  from  the  southern  part. 

COLUSA. 

(See  "  Great  valley  region  ".) 

MENDOCINO. 

Population:  12,800. 

Area:  3,780  square  miles. — Coast  Range  mountains,  3,655  square  miles  (redwood  lands,  745  square  miles); 
valleys,  about  125  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands :  5S,164  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  S,899  acres;  in  corn,  S84  acres;  in  oats,  2,843  acres;  in 
barley,  3,544  acres;  in  vineyards,  77  acres. 

Mendocino  is  a  mountainous  coast  county,  its  prominent  topographical  feature  being  two  chains  of  Coast  range 
mountains  running  nearly  parallel  and  separated  by  the  valleys  of  Eel  and  Russian  rivers.  The  headwaters  of 
these  streams  rise  near  the  center  of  the  county,  on  opposite  sides  of  a  ridge  lying  east  and  west,  Eel  river  flowing 
thence  northward  through  Humboldt  county  to  the  coast,  receiving  the  waters  of  many  tributaries  along  its  course, 
while  the  Russian  river  flows  southward  through  Sonoma  county  and  drains  a  smaller  basin.  Many  small  streams 
flow  from  the  western  Coast  range  of  mountains  directly  and  independently  into  the  sea,  affording  facilities  for 
Boating  logs,  etc.,  from  the  mountains  and  adjoining  valleys  to  the  coast. 

The  Coast  range  is  covered  from  one  end  of  the  county  to  the  other  by  a  dense  growth  of  redwood,  pine,  fir, 
oak,  and  madrona,  with  some  dogwood,  maple,  and  bay.  The  tops  of  the  highest  peaks,  which  rise  to  an  elevation 
of  some  6,000  feet,  are  bare  of  timber  and  rugged,  and  covered  only  with  chaparral.  This  region  is  almost 
exclusively  devoted  to  lumbering.  The  eastern  range  of  mountains  is  mostly  treeless  and  is  known  as  the  Bald 
Hills.  There  is,  however,  an  abundant  growth  of  clover,  wild  oats,  etc.,  and  the  region  is  largely  used  as  a  sheep 
pasture. 

The  lands  of  the  county  suitable  for  cultivation  have  been  estimated  to  cover  about  900,000  acres,  and  lie 
chiefly  in  the  valleys  adjoining  the  two  rivers  and  their  larger  tributaries.  Two  hundred  thousand  acres  more  are 
good  grazing  lands,  while  the  rest  of  the  county  area  is  rugged  and  mountainous. 

Lying  between  the  main  ranges  of  mountains  are  several  extensive  and  fertile  valleys  within  the  limits  of  this  county.  In  these 
valleys  most  of  the  farming  population  resides,  and  here  three-fourths  of  the  grain,  fruits,  and  vegetables  produced  in  the  county  are 
raised.  Commencing  with  Dkiah,  a  part  of  the  main  Russian  Eiver  valley,  and  which  extends  south  15  miles  into  Sonoma  county,  we 
have  adjoining  it  on  the  north  Coyote  valley,  3  miles  long' by  1-J-  miles  wide,  connecting  with  Potter's  valley,  6  miles  long  and  2  miles  wide 
Twenty  miles  north  of  Ukiah  is  Little  Lake  valley,  beyond  which  to  the  north  is  Sherwood's  valley,  and  9  miles  farther  on  Long  valley,  all 
containing  a  considerable  area  of  good  land.  Bound  valley,  60  miles  from  Ukiah,  lies  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  extending  into 
Humboldt  county. — Natural  Wealth  of  California. 

Sherwood  valley,  at  an  elevation  of  2,500  feet,  is  5  miles  long  and  1  mile  wide.  The  soil  of  this  valley  is 
mostly  a  dark  sandy  loam,  and  is  well  adapted  to  the  growth  of  cereals  and  fruits. 

Shipments  of  supplies  to  and  from  the  southern  part  of  the  county  are  made  by  wagon  to  Cloverdale,  in  Sonoma 
county,  and  thence  by  railroad  to  San  Francisco.  Coasting  vessels  carry  on  an  extensive  trade  between  the  coast 
towns  and  the  city  of  San  Francisco. 


120  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

TEHAMA. 

(See  '•  Lower  foot-hill  region".) 

SHASTA. 
(See  "  Lower  foot-hill  region  ".) 

TEEnITY. 

Population :  4,999. 
■'Area:  2,490  square  miles. — Coast  Range  mountains,  nearly  all. 

Tilled  lands:  4,830  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  1,071  acres;  in  corn,  30  acres;  in  oats,  165 acres;  in  barley, 
14  acres;  in  vineyards,  3 acres. 

Trinity,  lying  east  of  Mendocino  county,  is  a  long  and  narrow  county,  whose  eastern  and  northern  boundary- 
lilies  rest  upon  the  summits  of  two  of  the  chains  of  the  Coast  range,  and  whose  surface  is  made  mountainous  and 
broken  by  many  other  spurs  and  lofty  ridges  of  the  same  range.  It  is  watered  by  numerous  streams,  all  having  their 
sources  in  the  county  and  flowing  eventually  into  the,  ocean  on  the  west.  Trinity  river,  the  largest  of  these,  rises 
on  the  northeast  in  the  acute  angle  formed  by  the  two  mountain  boundaries,  flows  southwest  for  many  miles,  and 
then  turns  sharply  to  the  northwest,  receiving  in  its  course  the  waters  of  many  tributaries.  The  southern  par(  of 
the  county  has  but  very  few  streams,  and  is  little  else  than  a  mass  of  high  rugged  mountains,  with  some  good 
grazing  lands.  Some  points  are  said  to  rise  to  an  elevation  of  1 1,000  feet,  and  are  often  covered  with  snow  through 
the  summer  months.  They  arc  granitic  in  character,  and  their  sides  are  cut  up  into  chasms  and  canons.  The 
mountain  timber-growth  is  for  the  most-  part  pine,  spruce,  fir,  and  oak,  with  maple  in  the  lowlands.  The  valleys 
along  the  streams  are,  very  narrow,  and  afford  comparatively  little  land  suitable  for  cultivation.  The  entire  arable 
area  in  the  county  is  estimated  to  be  not  more  than  15,000  acres,  and  is  mostly  confined  to  the  Trinity  river  and  its 
tributaries,  occurring  in  small  tracts  and  being  partly  under  cultivation.  The.  valleys  and  foot-hills  that  often  border 
them  are  sparsely  timbered  with  oak  and  pine,  while  on  the  streams  there  is  sonic  sycamore,  Cottonwood,  maple, 
laurel,  and  asli. 

Gold  mining  is  the  chief  and  almost  exclusive  industry  of  the  county.  The  crops  comprise  hay  and  wheat,  for 
which  there  is  a  home  market.  Supplies  are  mostly  brought  by  wagon  across  the  mountains  from  Bedding,  in  the 
Sacramento  vall#y,  on  the  east. 

HUMBOLDT. 

Population :  15,512. 

Area:  3,750  square  miles. — Coast  Range  mountains,  nearly  all  (redwood  lands,  1,000  square  miles).        ' 

Tilled  lands:  09,025  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  3,437  acres;  in  com,  024  acres;  in  oats.  8,817  acres;  in 
bailey.  2,629  acres;  in  vineyards.  10  acres. 

Humboldt,  a  coast  county,  is  very  hilly,  mountainous,  and  rugged,  and  is  watered  by  the  Trinity,  Mad,  Eel, 
Mattole,  and  other  smaller  rivers,  all  flowing  northwestward  into  the  ocean.  These  rivers  are  bordered  by  some 
narrow  valleys,  but  are  not  navigable  lor  small  sailing  vessels  for  more  than  a  few  miles  from  the  sea.  From  Imieka 
eastward  to  the  mountains  proper,  a  distance  of  about  25  miles,  the  country  is  hilly  and  broken.  Much  of  the  county 
is  occupied  by  the  outlying  spurs  and  more  westerly  ranges  of  the  Coast  mountains,  which,  near  the  coast,  are  covered 
with  heavy  forests  of  redwood,  spruce,  and  pine.  The  timber  belt,  varying  in  width  from  8  to  10  miles,  recedes  from 
the,  coast  in  some  places  in  this  county  a  distance,  of  several  miles,  leaving  at  these  points  an  elevated  terrace  or  sa  ndy 
beach  destitute  of  timber.  The  most  westerly  branch  of  the  Coast  range  is  rugged  and  broken  within  the  limits 
of  the  county,  mount  Pierce,  one  of  its  highest  peaks,  being  6,000  feet  high.  The  more  easterly  ridge,  forming  the 
boundary  between  this  and  Trinity  comity,  also  rises  in  some  places  to  a  considerable  height,  mount  Bailey,  one  of 
its  peaks,  being  0,357  feet  high.     There  is  much  ehesiuut.oak  (valuable  for  tanbark)  in  this  region. 

Among  the  mountains  there  are  small  valleys  watered  by  the  various  streams,  but  the,  largest  tract  of  level 
land  lies  around  Humboldt,  bay.  The  timber  growth  on  the  streams  is  willow,  alder,  Cottonwood,  maple,  ash. 
and  bay,  and  the  soil  is  chiefly  an  alluvial  loam,  deep,  dark,  and  rich.  That  of  Eel  river  is  so  black  that  with  its 
growth  of  tussock  grass  it  has  received  the  name  of  ••  nigger-head  "  soil.  Around  the,  bay  and  near  tide-water  there 
is  much  overflowed  or  swamp  laud,  separated  from  the  coast-line  by  a  low  sand-hill  region  covered  with  a  stunted 
growth  of  trees.  The  hills  have  usually  a  dark  sandy  loam  soil,  and  on  the  east  are  covered  with  grasses,  clover, 
and  wild  oats,  affording  an  excellent  grazing  country.  The  hills  around  Ferndale  are  covered  with  the  eagle  fern, 
which  often  grows  to  a  height  of  12  feet;  and  the  valley  of  Mattole,  in  which  the  town  is  situated,  is  12  miles  long 
and  from  4  to  S  miles  wide,  and  also  contains  much  of  this  growth. 

The  lands  under  cultivation  lie  chiefly  in  the  river  valleys  on  the  western  side  of  the  county,  the  soils  of  which 
are  dark  sandy  loams,  easily  tilled,  and  produce  good  crops  of  oats,  barley,  potatoes,  and  pease.  Lumbering  is 
the  chief  industry  of  this  western  section.  The  eastern  part  of  the  county  is  chiefly  devoted  to  stock-grazing.  It 
has  been  estimated  that  of  the  county  area  there  are  921,000  acres  of  timbered  lauds,  of  which  200,000  acres  are  of 
madrona,  black  and  white  oaks,  and  laurel,  -150,000  acres  are  adapted  to  agricultural  purposes,  and  500,000  acres 
suitable  only  for  grazing  lands. 

The  county  is  at  present  dependent  upon  coast  steamers  and  vessels  for  transportation  facilities.  Humboldt 
bay,  12  miles  long  and  from  2  to  5  miles  wide,  is  one  of  the  largest  harbors  on  the  coast,  and  is  almost  landlocked. 

SISKIYOU. 

(See  "  Sierra  mountain  and  higher  foot-hills  region".) 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  121 

DEL  NORTE. 

Population:  2,5S4. 

Area :  1,540  square  miles. — Coast  Range  mountains,  nearly  all  (redwood  lauds,  150  square  miles). 

Tilled  lands:  10,078  acres. — Area  planted  iu  wheat,  56  acres;  in  corn,  42  acres;  in  oats,  200  acres;  in  barley, 
54  acres ;  in  vineyards,  4  acres. 

Del  Norte,  the  extreme  northwesterly  county  of  the  state,  has  a  mountainous  aud  broken  surface,  watered  on 
the  east  by  Klamath  river,  which  crosses  it  in  a  southwesterly  course,  and  on  the  west  by  Snake  river  and  other 
streams,  which  flowr  to  the  sea.  The  Siskiyou  chain  of  mountains,  having  a  general  though  irregular  northeast  and 
southwest  trend,  forms  the  divide  between  the  two  water-sheds,  and  from  this  other  mountains  extend  almost  at 
light  angles,  thus  giving  to  the  eastern  portion  of  the  county  a  rugged  character.  The  coast  is  bordered  by  a 
range  of  hills  some  000  feet  in  altitude,  while  still  inland  another  range  rises  to  a  height  of  3,000  feet.  MosW>f 
the  county  is  well  timbered  with  redwood,  fir,  spruce,  pine,  some  cedar,  hemlock,  and  myrtle,  and  there  is  also  a 
considerable  amount  of  open  prairie  land.  The  streams  usually  have  small  and  narrow  valleys,  together  with 
swamp  and  overflowed  lands,  whose  area  is  estimated  at  3,500  acres.  The  chief  industries  of  the  county  are  dairying, 
lumbering,  and  to  some  extent  mining.  Comparatively  little  land  is  under  cultivation,  the  average  being  but  6.9 
acres  per  square  mile.  Steamers  and  sailing  vessels  run  between  Crescent  City,  the  county-seat,  and  San 
Francisco. 


HIGHER    FOOT-HILL    (OVER    2,000    FEET)    AND    SIERRA    MOUNTAIN 

REGIONS. 

(Embraces  the  following  counties  and  parts  of  counties  :  Siskiyou,  Modoc,  Lassen,  Shasta,*  Tehama,*  Plumas, 
Sierra,  Nevada,*  Placer,*  El  Dorado,*  Amador,*  Alpine,  Calaveras,*  Tuolumne,*  Mariposa,*  Mono,  Inyo,  Fresno,* 
Tulare,*  and  Kern.*) 

SISKIYOU. 

Population:  8,610. 

Area :  5,660  square  miles. —  Sierra  mountains,  2,550  square  miles  ;  Coast  Range  mountains,  2,210  square  miles ; 
valleys,  900  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  50,777  acres. — Area  planted  iu  wheat,  6,330  acres ;  in  corn,  112  acres;  in  oats,  3,26S  acres;  in  barley, 
3,598  acres ;  in  vineyard,  10  acres. 

Siskiyou,  one  of  the  most  northern  counties  of  the  state,  embraces  a  region  of  mountains  and  high  valleys  and 
broad  plateaus.  The  Sierra  Nevada  aud  Coast  ranges  meet  in  this  county,  the  culminating  point  being  mount 
Shasta,  near  the  southern  limit.  This  celebrated  mountain  has  an  elevation  of  14,440  feet  above  the  sea,  its  upper 
■±,000  feet  being  covered  with  snow  throughout  the  year,  while  its  lower  7,000  or  S,000  feet  has  heavy  forests  of 
sugar  and  pitch  pine  on  all  sides  but  the  north,  which  has  only  a  stunted  growth  of  cedar  and  oak. 

"  The  Coast  range  is  most  picturesque  iu  this  county,  the  summits  being  very  unlike  the  rounded  hills 
surrounding  the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  for  they  rise  with  their  rocky  formations  of  granite  and  slate  into  rugged 
and  precipitous  peaks.  The  Sierras  also  consist  in  great  part  of  rough  and  rugged  buttes,  much  of  the  country 
thus  comprising  canons,  gorges,  ravines,  abrupt  mountain  walls,  precipices,  and  sudden  little  valleys.  This  wild 
country  is  covered  with  forests  of  redwood,  fir,  and  sugar  pine"  (California  As  It  Is).  The  eastern  part  of  the  county 
is  a  high  plateau  of  lava  beds  from  3,000  to  4,000  feet  above  the  sea,  interspersed  with  mountains  and  volcanic 
peaks,  rising  many  thousand  feet  higher.  A  large  part  of  the  county  is  without  drainage;  but  the  Klamath  river 
crosses  the  northwestern  corner  from  Oregon,  receiving  from  the  south  the  waters  from  Scott's  aud  the  upper  part 
of  Shasta  valley.  In  the  southern  part  of  Shasta  valley  the  Sacramento  river  has  its  source,  flowing  southward, 
while  on  the  east  of  the  mountain  McCIoud  river  rises,  flows  southeast  into  Shasta  county,  and  finally  empties 
into  the  Sacramento. 

The  chief  agricultural  lands  of  the  county  are  embraced  within  Shasta  aud  Scott's  valleys  on  the  west,  though 
there  are  a  few  smaller  ones  that  have  some  good  farming  land.  Seotl's  valley  is  40  miles  long  and  7  miles  wide,  and 
lies  between  Trinity  and  Salmon  mountains,  of  the  Coast  range,  which  rise  to  elevations  of  nearly  6,000  feet,  the  valley 
itself  being  about  3,000  feet.  It  is  largely  under  cultivation,  yielding  grain,  fruits,  and  vegetables.  Owing  to  its 
elevation,  the  harvests  are  late,  the  grain  not  being  reaped  until  August  or  September.  Frosts  are  frequent 
during  the  spring,  and  even  in  the  summer  months.  The  weather  in  the  summer  is  warm,  with  cool  nights;  iu  the 
winter  often  severe,  especially  on  the  mountains,  where  the  snow  falls  to  a  great  depth.  Snow  also  lies  to  the 
depth  of  a  foot  or  two,  often  for  several  weeks,  in  most  of  the  valleys,  rendering  the  use  of  snow-shoes  and  sleighs 
a  general  necessity.  Shasta  valley  is  a  barren  lava  plain,  containing,  however,  a  few  fertile  spots.  The  whole 
county  is  particularly  adapted  to  stock-raising,  hay  for  winter  being  raised  upon  the  meadow's  along  the  water- 
courses, while  the  hillsides  are  covered  with  bunch-grass  and  other  nutritious  food.  Lumbering  and  mining  are 
the  chief  industries  of  the  county. 

The  average  of  lands  under  cultivation  is  9  acres  per  square  mile.  Supplies  are  hauled  to  and  from  Redding, 
iu  Shasta  county,  the  nearest  railroad  station. 

MODOC. 

Population:  4,399. 

Area:  4,260  square  miles. — Sierra  mountain  lands,  3, OSS  square  miles ;  Surprise  valley,  400  square  miles ;  other 
valleys,  175  square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  20,017  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  4,301  acres;  in  corn,  18  acres;  in  oats,  774  acres ;  in  barley, 
3,956  acres. 

779 


122  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

Modoc  county,  in  the  extreme  northeastern  corner  of  the  state,  has  a  mountainous  and  broken  surface, drained' 
chiefly  by  Pitt  river,  which  flows  sonth westward  through  the  county  from  Goose  lake,  on  the  northern  border.  The 
tributaries  of  this  rive]-  are  chiefly  on  the  south  and  east,  the  northwestern  part  of  the  county  having  no  drainage 
system.  The  only  lands  suitable  for  cultivation  are  embraced  in  a  few  of  the  valleys  in  the  eastern  and  southern 
parts  of  the  county,  and  of  these  Surprise  valley  is  the  most  important.  This  valley,  lying  on  the  extreme  east, 
extends  from  north  to  south,  and  includes  in  its  eastern  side  three  large  lakes,  whose  lengths  are  respectively 
1G,  20,  and  15  miles,  with  widths  of  from  3  to  5  miles.  These  lakes  have  no  outlet,  and  sometimes  are  dry  by 
evaporation.  The  length  of  tin-  valley  is  about  CO  miles  and  width  15  miles,  and  it  is  skirted  on  two  sides  by  lofty 
and  timbered  mountains.  It  is  watered  by  numerous  streams,  and  is  covered  with  clover  and  grasses.  Its  soil  is  a 
rich  black  loam,  occupying  a  strip  from  2  to  (i  miles  in  width,  whose  surface  gently  slopes  toward  the  lakes.  The 
valley  is  settled  up  in  neighborhoods,  and  is  partly  under  cultivation,  wheat,  barley,  and  vegetables  being  the  chief 
eion*.     Dairying,  stock-raising,  and  lumbering  are  also  carried  on  to  a  considerable  extent. 

•The  valley  of  fcVoo.se  lake  lies  mostly  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  lake  (which  is  .'iO  miles  long  and  15  miles  wide, 
extending  into  Oregon),  reaching  back  some  4  or  5  miles,  and  is  watered  by  numerous  small  streams.  Its  lands  are 
good  for  fanning  purposes,  being  covered  with  bunch  and  other  grasses,  and  are  partly  under  cultivation,  yielding 
crops  of  wheat,  barley,  oats,  etc.  The  adjoining  mountains,  Warner's  range,  are  heavily  timbered  with  cedar  and 
pine,  while  on  the  hillsides  and  around  the  lake  is  an  abundant  growth  of  wild  plums.  On  the  western  side  of 
the  lake  there  is  a  narrow  strip  of  valley  devoted  mostly  to  dairying.  Big  or  Hound  valley,  on  Titt  river,  in  the 
southwestern  part  of  the  county,  and  reaching  into  Lassen  county,  is  30  miles  long  and  is  miles  wide,  and  is  mostly 
covered  with  sage-brush.  Its  soils  are  varied  in  character,  from  red  clays  to  dark  loam  and  gravelly  lands,  and 
spotted  with  alkali  tracts.  Surrounding  the  valley  are  several  creeks,  whose  rich  bottom  lands  are  to  some  extent 
under  cultivation.  Stock-raising  is  the  chief  industry.  The  lands  under  cultivation  average  but  4.7  acres  per 
square  mile  for  the  county  at  large. 

LASSEN. 

Population :  3,340.  , 

Area:  5,000  square  miles. — Sierra  mountains,  4,425  square  miles;  valleys,  575  square  miles. 

Tilled  land* :  20,101  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  4,773  acres ;  in  corn,  15  acres  ;  in  oats,  1,405  acres ;  in  barley, 
1,950  acres. 

Lassen  county  embraces  a  region  of  rugged  mountains,  arid  and  sandy  sage  plains,  vast  areas  of  alkali  flats,, 
and  clusters  of  broken  hills,  with  narrow  valleys,  and  lies  on  the  north  and  east  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  mountains, 
which  trend  northwest.  The  Diamond  Mountain  range,  8,200  feet  high,  and  covered  with  sprnce,  pine,  and  fir, 
separate  it  from  Plumas  county  on  the  south.  The  other  mountains  of  the  county  trend  in  various  directions,  and 
have  only  a  few  scattered  groves  of  scrubby  pitch  pine,  or  "pifion",  and  dwarf  cedar.  The  only  streams  of  importance 
are  Susan  river,  in  the  south,  and  Pitt  river,  which  crosses  the  northwestern  part  of  the  county,  the  former,  with 
several  tributaries,  flowing  eastward  into  Honey  lake,  while  the  latter  is  one  of  the  principal  tributaries  of  the 
Sacramento.  The  rest  of  the  county  is  almost  entirely  without  streams,  and  includes  what  is  termed  the  Madaline 
plains,  5,300  feet  above  the  sea,  which  is  covered  with  sage-brush.  There  are  several  lakes  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  county  covering  areas  from  12  to  15  miles  long  and  from  S  to  10  miles  wide.  Comparatively  little  of  the  county 
surface  is  suitable  for  cultivation,  the  chief  bodies  of  arable  land  being  found  in  Honey  Lake  valley  and  in  Long- 
valley,  farther  south. 

The  lands  of  the  eastern  side  of  Honey  lake  are  dry  and  barren,  but  on  the  western  side  there  is  a  strip  of  rich 
sandy  loam  soil  about  2  miles  in  width  and  largely  under  cultivation,  yielding  from  25  to  30  bushels  of  wheat  per 
acre  with  irrigation,  which  is  found  to  be  very  necessary.  The  elevation  of  the  valley  is  about  4,200  feet.  The  laud 
on  the  streams  is  a  dark  loam,  and  is  mostly  covered  with  plums,  poplars,  and  willows. 

Long  valley  reaches  southeastward  to  within  15  miles  of  Reno,  in  the  state  of  Nevada,  and  is  quite  narrow, 
except  near  Honey  lake,  "its  south  side  being  formed  by  a  very  high,  heavily  timbered  ridge,  while  the  rise  in  the 
north  is  gradual  and  the  country  dry,  timberless,  and  open.  The  valley  is  about  40  miles  in  length,  but  is  very 
narrow,  Living  an  average  breadth  of  only  2  or  3  miles.  The  principal  business  of  its  settlers  is  the  raising  of  stock 
and  dairying.  *  *  *  In  the  extreme  northwestern  part  of  the  county,  and  extending  into  Modoc  county,  lies 
Big  ratley,  a  large  stretch  of  agricultural  lands,  comprising  in  this  county  about  75.000  acres.     *     *  The 

mountains  that  border  the  valley  on  the  south  and  west  are  timbered  with  oak,  cedar,  and  pine,  while  the  country 
on  the  east  consists  of  long,  oval  hills  and  table-lands  stretching  away  to  w  hat  is  known  as  Madaline  plains.  These 
hills  and  table-lands  are  interspersed  with  small  valleys,  which  are  adapted  to  grazing  purposes.  The  small  valleys 
are  preferred  by  settlers  as  locations  because  of  the  proximity  of  timber,  and  also  of  the  adjacent  hills,  which 
constitute  a  range  for  stock,  *  »  *  Between  Big  and  Honey  Lake  valleys  lie  Grasshopper,  Willow  Creek,  Eagle 
Lake,  and  Horse  Lake  valleys,  separated  from  each  other  and  the  main  valleys  by  intervening  ridges  of  various 
heights.  Each  of  the  last-named  valleys  are  very  small,  and  contain  but  few  ranches,  and  are  mostly  occupied  by 
the  bodies  of  water  from  which  they  derive  their  names  (California.  As  It  Is). 

The  crops  comprise  wheat,  barley,  oats,  rye,  corn,  etc.,  for  which  there  is  a  home  market.  Supplies  for  the 
Pitt  Kiver  region  are  hauled  from  Red  Bluff  in  the  Sacramento  valley ;  those  for  the  Honey  Lake  region  are  hauled 
from  Reno,  a  railroad  station  in  the  state  of  Nevada. 

SHASTA. 
(See  "  Lower  foot-hill  region".) 

TEHAMA. 
(See  "Lower  foot-hill  region".^ 

780 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  123 

PLUMAS. 

Population:  6,180. 

Area:  2,700  square  miles. — Lower  foot-hills,  100  square  miles;  higher  foot-liills  and  Sierra  mountains,  2,000 
square  miles. 

Tilled  lands :  15,791  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  1,129  acres ;  in  oats,  2,574  acres ;  in  barley,  16  acres. 

Plumas  county  is  mountainous  and  very  broken,  the  greater  part  having  an  elevation  of  3,000  or  4,000  feet 
above  the  sea.  It  is  watered  by  the  headwaters  of  Feather  river,  which,  spreading  out  toward  the  northeast  and 
northwest,  unite  on  the  southwest  and  flow  toward  the  Sacramento  river.  Both  these  streams  have  cut  their  way 
through  gorges  and  canons  from  300  to  500  feet  below  the  general  level  of  the  country,  that  of  Feather  river  being 
the  deepest  in  the  state.  While  the  central  and  southwestern  part  of  the  county  is  thus  divided  into  canons 
separated  by  high  ridges,  the  eastern  and  northern  portions  rise  into  the  high  Sierras  over  0,000  feet  above  the  sea. 

The  surface  of  the  country  is  well  timbered  with  sugar  and  yellow  pines,  spruce,  fir,  and  cedar,  the  forests 
being  denser  upon  the  slopes  of  the  Sierras  than  in  the  lower  country  on  the  west  and  south.  Many  valleys  occur 
among  the  high  hills  of  the  upper  foot-hill  region  at  the  base  of  the  Sierra,  and  are  to  some  extent  suited  to 
farming,  but  especially  to  grazing  purposes,  and  most  of  them  are  covered  with  grass.  The  soil  is  chiefly  coarsely 
sandy  and  gravelly,  producing  but  little  dust  in  dry  seasons. 

A  series  of  grassy  and  well-watered  but  treeless  valleys  stretch  across  the  county  for  100  miles  iu  a  southeastern  direction,  connected 
with  each  other  by  caiions,  passes,  or  low  divides.  The  first,  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  county,  is  Big  Meadows,  comprising 
some  30,000  acres  of  fertile  laud,  mostly  covered  with  grasses,  and  capable  of  producing  crops  of  grain  without  irrigation.  This,  with 
Mountain  Meadows,  15  miles  uortheastward,  and  of  small  area,  is  mostly  devoted  to  stock-grazing.  Butte  valley,  5  miles  south  of  Big 
Meadows,  is  3  miles  long  and  1  mile  wide.  Greenville  is  in  a  small  valley  15  miles  southeastward  of  this.  Passing  southeastward  out  of  this 
valley,  across  a  well-wooded  divide  of  4  miles,  we  come  into  Indian  valley,  which  has  a  length  of  8  miles  and  a  width  of  4  miles,  the  whole 
consisting  of  first-class  farming  and  grazing  land,  the  chief  crop  of  which  is  oats.  Eleven  miles  southeastward  is  Genesee  valley,  distinguished 
for  the  large  amount  of  vegetables  produced  by  the  few  settlers.  Clover  valley,  on  the  north  fork  of  Feather  river,  is  a  long,  gorge-like 
depression,  narrow  at  its  lower  eud,  but  spreading  out  as  we  ascend  till  it  reaches  a  width  of  a  mile  or  more.  Dairying  is  the  chief  pursuit 
in  this  valley.  A  few  miles  southeastward,  over  another  low  wooded  divide,  brings  us  to  the  lower  end  of  Sierra  valley,  a  depression  some 
20  miles  long  and  10  miles  broad,  neither  so  fertile  nor  so  well  watered  as  the  others. — Pacific  Rural  Press. 

Oroville,  in  Butte  county,  and  Reno,  in  the  state  of  Nevada,  are  the  nearest  railroad  points  from  the  western 
and  eastern  parts  of  the  county,  and  thence  supplies  are  hauled  in  wagons. 

SIERRA. 

Population:  6,623. 

Area:  8S0  square  miles. — Lower  foot-hills,  200  square  miles ;  higher  foot-hills  and  Sierra  mountains,  680  square 
miles. 

Tilled  lands :  6,269  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  30S  acres;  in  oats,  1,082  acres  ;  in  barley,  391  acres. 

Sierra  county  embraces  a  region  of  high  mountains  and  table-lands,  only  a  small  portion  of  its  area  having  an 
altitude  of  less  than  2,000  feet.  The  western  part  is  watered  by  the  headwaters  of  Tuba  river,  flowing  toward 
the  Sacramento  valley  through  deep  caiions ;  the  eastern  by  a  few  small  streams  which  enter  the  state  of  Nevada. 
A  number  of  small  mountain  lakes  occur  on  the  high  table-lands  where  the  Sierra  spread  out  into  flats  or  depressions, 
■Gold  lake,  with  a  length  of  4  miles  and  a  width  of  2  miles,  being  the  source  of  the  middle  fork  of  Feather  river. 

The  eastern  half  of  the  county,  embracing  the  Sierra  proper,  has  an  elevation  of  over  4,000  feet,  and  some  of  its 
peaks  and  buttes  rise  to  6,000  or  8,000  feet,  and  are  covered  with  snow  for  several  months  of  the  year,  the  chief  mode 
of  winter  travel  being  with  snow-shoes.  Sierra  valley  situated  among  these  mountains,  is  20  miles  long  and  10  miles 
wide,  and  contains  a  number  of  small  farms.  Owing  to  its  elevation  the  climate  is  too  severe  for  ordinary  grain 
crops,  but  rye  and  the  hardier  forage  grasses  succeed,  and  stock-breeding  is  pursued  with  fair  success.  The  inroads 
of  the  grasshopper  (Oe&ipoda  atrooo)  are  sometimes  severely  felt  in  this  region.  The  valley  is  not  well  watered. 
Produce  is  hauled  to  Truckee  for  sale  or  shipment.  The  upper  foot-hills  on  the  west,  with  their  elevation  of  from 
2,000  to  4,000  feet,  cover  the  larger  part  of  the  western  half  of  the  county,  and  embrace  a  rugged  and  broken 
-country,  and,  together  with  the  small  area  of  lower  foot-hills,  is  interspersed  with  small  red  and  gravelly  valleys, 
which  afford  the  only  farming  lauds. 

The  county  is  well  timbered  with  sugar  and  yellow  pines,  fir,  cedar,  spruce,  and  much  wild  plum  ;  but  the  lower 
foot-hills  have  chiefly  a  growth  of  scrubby  oaks.     The  chief  industry  of  the  county  is  mining  and  lumbering. 

The  nearest  railroad  point  to  the  western  section  of  the  county  from  which  supplies  may  be  obtained  is  Nevada 
City,  in  Nevada  county,  on  the  south,  which  is  connected  by  the  Northern  California  railroad  with  Colfax,  and  thence 
try  the  Central  Pacific  railroad  with  Sacramento  and  other  points. 

NEVADA. 
(See  "Lower  foot-hill  region".) 

PLACER. 

(See  "  Lower  foot-hill  region".) 

EL  DORADO. 
(See  "Lower  foot-hill  region".) 

AMADOR. 

(See  "  Lower  foot-hill  region  ".) 

781 


1L'4  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

ALPINE. 

Population:  539. 

Area:  730  square  miles. — All  Sierra  mountain  region. 

Tilled  hinds :  790  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  179  acres;  in  corn,  S  acres ;  in  oats,  23G  acres;  in  barley,  113 
acres. 

Alpine  county  lies  upon  tbe  summit  of  the  Sierra  range  and  eastward  to  the  state  line,  and  its  surface  is 
described  as  being  but  a  mass  of  mountain  ranges  rising  as  bigb  as  10,000  feet  above  the  sea,  tbe  general  level 
being  above  4,000  feet.  Tbe  eastern  half  of  the  county  embraces  almost  the  only  habitations,  and  is  watered  by  a 
number  of  small  streams,  tbe  headwaters  of  Carson  river,  of  Nevada.  The  Mokelumne  and  Stanislaus  rivers  rise 
among  the  mountains  on  the  west  and  flow  westward  through  the  foot-hill  counties  into  the  great  valley.  Forming 
the  sources  of  those  several  streams  (on  the  east)  are  numerous  small  lakes,  the  most  of  them  situated  on  the 
summit  of  the  mountain,  where  it  spreads  out  into  a  sort  of  tableland.  Many  of  them  are  wild  and  beautiful,  being 
skirted  by  belts  of  grass  or  bordered  by  plats  of  lawn-like  meadow  lands.  In  some  instances  they  are  destitute  of 
these  grassy  surroundings,  being  closely  hemmed  in  by  dark  forests  or  shadowed  by  impending  dill's  of  granite. 
There  are  also  in  this  couuty  many  grassy,  well-watered  valleys,  rendered  the  more  attractive  by  their  rugged  and 
desolate  surroundings.  Into  these  the  herdsmen  from  either  side  drive  their  cattle  lor  pasturage  during  the  summer, 
removing  them  as  winter  approaches,  the  snows  in  the  higher  of  these  valleys  always  falling  to  an  immense  depth. 

Alpine  county  abounds  in  spruce  and  pine  forests,  the  timber  on  the  higher  Sierra  being  of  large  size,  while  that 
ontheeastern  slope  and  beyond  is  of  inferior  quality;  three-fourths  of  the  county  is  thus  heavily  timbered.  Mining 
and  lumbering  are  the  chief  industries,  and  there  is  very  little  farming  done  iu  the  county.  Diamond  valley,  in 
the  northeast,  seems  to  be  tbe  only  one  in  which  lauds  are  cultivated,  even  to  a  small  extent,  the  crops  being 
wheat,  barley,  bay,  oats,  and  potatoes.  The  Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity  valleys,  of  the  northwest,  are  inhabited  by 
stock-raisers  and  dairymen  during  the  summer  months,  and  have  an  elevation  of  7,000  feet  above  tbe  sea. 

CALAVERAS. 

(See  "  Lower  foot-hill  region  ".) 

TUOLUMNE. 

(See  "Lower  foot-hill  region".) 

MARIPOSA. 

(See  "  Lower  foot-hill  region".) 

MONO. 

Population  :  7,499. 

Area:  3,-100  square  miles. — Sierra  mountains,  with  some  valleys,  all. 

Tilled  lands:  1,190  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  11  acres ;  in  oats,  12  acres  ;  in  barley,  295  acres. 

Mono  county  lies  along  the  eastern  border  of  the  state,  and  is  separated  from  other  counties  by  the  high  Sierra 
chain  of  mountains  on  the  west,  which,  with  an  elevation  of  13,000  feet,  forms  a  most  effectual  barrier  to  transportation 
in  that  direction.  A  central  feature  of  the  county  is  Mono  lake,  covering  a  length  of  1-1  miles  and  a  width  of  9  miles, 
whose  water  is  extremely  bitter  and  saline.  The  northern  part  of  the  couuty  is  scantily  watered  by  two  or  more 
forks  of  Walker's  river,  which  here  have  their  rise  and  unite  in  Nevada,  after  flowing  through  deep  canons.  <>n 
the  south  are  the  headwaters  of  Owen's  river,  which  is  the  most  prominent  stream  of  the  county  in  that  portion. 

The  general  altitude  of  the  county  is  about  0,000  feet,  and,  besides  the  Sierra  on  the  west,  the  eastern  part  is 
traversed  by  the  White  and  Inyo  chain  of  mountains. 

The  only  lands  suitable  for  tillage  are  situated  in  the  valleys  among  the  Sierra,  in  small  alluvial  tracts 
along  Owen's  river,  and  on  the  two  forks  of  Walker's  river,  The  valleys  chiefly  in  cultivation  are  Big  Meadows  and 
Antelope,  each  about  1  5  miles  long  and  5  miles  wide.  There  is  also  a  little  land  on  the  small  streams  of  Mono  lake 
aud  at  the  foot  of  the  Sierra,  where  the  streams  have  formed  an  alluvial  delta  extending  a  short  distance  out  on  the 
plain.  Irrigation  is  necessary  to  insure  good  crops  on  all  of  the  lauds.  The  country,  however,  east  of  the.  Sierra 
to  the  state  line,  is  a  desert,  volcanic  in  character,  abounding  in  alkali  beds,  salt  pools,  and  barren  table-lands, 
and  destitute  of  timber,  excepting  a  few  scattering  willow  trees.  There  is  much  spruce  and  piue  on  the  high  Sierras, 
the  slopes  being  well  timbered. 

Mining  is  the  chief  industry  of  the  county,  and  several  large  camps  are  located  at  the  most  important  mines. 

There  are  comparatively  few  roads  as  yet  iu  the  county.  One,  by  way  of  which  the  mail  is  carried,  leads  from 
Aurora,  Nevada,  through  Blind  Springs  aud  Oweusville,  in  Mouo  county,  to  Independence,  in  Inyo  county.  A  wagon- 
road  which  cost  a  large  amount  of  money  has  been  constructed  from  Bridgeport,  the  county-seat,  over  the  mountains, 
by  way  of  the  Sonora  pass,  to  Stockton.  Bridgeport  may  also  be  reached  by  way  of  the  Central  Pacific  railroad 
and  Aurora. 

INYO. 

Population :  2,92S. 

Area :  8,120  square  miles. — Sierra  mountains,  1,950  square  miles ;  valleys,  640  square  miles  ;  desert  lauds,  5,530 
square  miles. 

Tilled  lands:  13.SG4  acres. — Area  planted  in  wheat,  1.525  acres;  in  corn,  1,6S2  acres;  in  oats,  791  acres;  in  barley, 
l,68G  acres;  in  vineyards,  '-2  acres. 

Inyo  county  lies  between  the  state  line  aud  the  high  Sierra  Nevada  mountains,  the  western  boundary  being 
along  the  summit  of  tbe  latter,  at  an  elevation  of  several  thousand  feet  above  the  general  level  of  tbe  rest  of  the 


AGRICULTURAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTIES.  125 

county  and  S,000  or  10,000  above  the  sea,  some  of  the  peaks  rising  to  14,000  aud  15,000  feet.  Parallel  with  the 
Sierra  is  the  White  and  Inyo  chain,  lying  centrally  in  the  county,  and  still  eastward  the  shorter  chains  of  Telescope, 
Pauamint,  Armargosa,  and  others.  The  only  stream  of  importance  is  Owen's  river,  on  the  west,  watering  a  long- 
valley  of  the  same  name  lying  between  the  Sierra  and  Inyo  mountains.  This  river  has  its  source  in  Mono  county,  on 
the  north,  aud  flows  for  nearly  100  miles  southward  into  Oweu's  lake,  a  large  body  of  salt  water  about  22  miles 
long,  8  miles  broad  aud  of  great  depth,  which  has  no  outlet.  The  Armargosa  river,  on  the  southeast,  rises  in  Nevada, 
flows  southward  at  first  across  this  county  into  San  Bernardino  county  for  a  short  distance,  and  then  turns 
northwest  aud  disappears  in  Death  valley. 

The  only  tillable  lands  iu  the  county  are  embraced  in  the  valleys  along  Owen's  river,  at  the  foot  of  the  Sierra, 
in  a  belt  varying  from  a  few  rods  to  a  mile  or  more  in  width  aud  having  an  alluvial  soil,  which  is  very  productive  under 
irrigation.  Round  valley,  on  the  extreme  north,  wTas  first  cultivated  in  1S65,  and  now  produces  wheat,  oats,  barley, 
etc. ;  it  lies  at  the  foot  of  the  Sierra  at  an  elevation  of  1,000  feet,  and  is  0  miles  loug  and  3  miles  wide.  Long  valley  has  a 
length  of  lS  miles,  and  is  chiefly  a  stock  range;  but  numerous  farming  settlements  occur  southward  to  Independence. 
All  of  the  country  southward  from  Lone  Pine  post-office  (15  miles  south  of  Independence)  and  eastward  from  Owen's 
river,  aud  embracing  the  greater  part  of  the  county,  is  a  treeless  and  sandy  desert,  without  water  and  almost  destitute 
of  grass,  and  is  the  upper  part  of  the  great  Mojave  desert  of  the  south.  It  is  interspersed  with  isolated  mountain 
chains  aud  peaks,  containing  patches  of'pinon  and  juniper  trees,  but  otherwise  barren.  Their  valleys  have  no  meadow7 
lands,  but  several  contain  extensive  alkali  flats,  beds  of  salt,  and  saline  aud  hot  springs.  A  prominent  and 
well-known  feature  of  tbe  southeastern  part  of  the  county  is  the  Death  valley,  which  has  a  length  of  15  miles  and  a 
width  of  15  miles,  aud  sinks  to  from  150  to  200  feet  below  the  level  of  the  sea.  This  valley  is  described  more  fully 
on  page  43.     There  is  but  comparatively  little  land  in  the  county  under  cultivation. 

Supplies  are  transported  across  the  desert  from  Mojave,  the  nearest  railroad  station,  by  means  of  the  peculiar 
wagon  of  the  West  known  as  the  " prairie  schooner''. 

FRESNO. 

(See  "  Great  valley  region".) 

TULARE. 
(See  "Great  valley  region".) 

KERN. 

(See  "Great  valley  region".) 


REFERENCE   TABLE   OF    CORRESPONDENTS. 

Alameda. — Sherman  Day,  of  Berkeley. 

Colusa. — W.  S.  Green,  of  Colusa. 

Fresno  and  Kern. — N.  J.  Willson,  of  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad. 

Los  Angeles. — W.  R.  Olden,  J.  D.  Taylor,  of  Anaheim,  and  N.  J.  Willson,  of  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad. 

Merced. —  H.  Kelsey,  of  Merced,  and  N.  J.  Willson,  of  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad. 

Monterey. — Ed.  Berwick,  of  Carmel  valley. 

Napa. — John  Mavity/,  of  Saint  Helena. 

Sacramento. — Daniel  Flint  and  George  Rich,  of  Sacramento. 

San  Bernardino  and  San  Diego. — N.  J.  Willson,  of  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad. 

San  Luis  Obispo. — D.  F.  Newsoh,  of  Newsom  Springs. 

San  Mateo.— J.  H.  Osgood,  E.  C.  Burch,  B.  V.  Weeks,  and  W.  G.  Thompson,  of  Pescadero. 

Solano.— J.  M.  Dudley,  of  Dixon,  and  G.  C.  Pearson,  of  Vallejo. 

Sonoma. — G.  N.  Whitaker,  of  Santa  Rosa. 

Stanislaus. — N.  J.  Willson,  of  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad. 

Sutter. — George  Ohleyer,  of  Yuba  City. 

Tulare. — F.  G.  Jeffeeds,  of  Farruersville,  aud  N.  J.  Willson,  of  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad. 

Tuolumne. — John  Taylor,  of  Campo  Seco. 

Yolo.— R.  B.  Blowers,  of  Woodland. 

783 


REMARKS 


ON 


COTTON  CULTURE  IN  NEW  MEXICO,  UTAH,  AND  ARIZONA, 


IE.   AAT.    HILGABD,    IPs:!  ID., 


REPORT  ON  THE  CULTURE  OF  COTTON  IN  MEXICO, 


JDJ±~V~TJD   ZE3I.    STIROTIHIIEIR,, 


consth.-genkeal. 


50   C  P— VOL.   II  U7 


COTTON   CULTURE 

IN 

NEW    MEXICO,    UTAH,    AND    ARIZONA. 


Since  the  culture  of  cottou  in  Texas  Has  extended  westward  nearly  to  the  foot  of  the  Llano  Estacado,  the  question 
of  its  farther  progress  into  New  Mexico  naturally  arises.  Inquiry  on  the  subject  has  elicited  no  definite  statement 
that  cotton  is  now  actually  grown  within  the  limits  of  that  territory.  There  can,  however,  be  little  doubt  that 
in  the  southern  portion,  and  especially  in  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande,  the  growing  season  is  long  enough  and 
the  summer  heat  is  sufficiently  high  to  mature  cotton  and  render  its  production,  at  least  for  local  consumption, 
remunerative.     Irrigation  is  of  course  required  for  this  as  for  all  annual  crops  in  that  region  of  scanty  rainfall. 

As  regards  Utah,  the  successful  cultivation  of  cotton  has  been  reported  from  its  southwestern  portion,  near 
Saint  George,  in  the  valley  of  the  Virgin  river.  Beyond  the  general  statement  given  above,  no  information  on  the 
subject  is  available.  The  inhabitants  of  the  region  in  question  may  hereafter  find  in  cotton  a  crop  that  can  be 
successfully  grown  on  land  too  much  charged  with  "alkali"  to  be  utilized  for  the  production  of  broadcast  or  less 
deeply-rooted  crops. 

Regarding  cotton  culture  in  Arizona,  some  interesting  data  have  been  obtained  through  the  courtesy  of 
Governor  John  0.  Fremont,  who,  upon  request,  gathered  all  available  information  through  officers  of  the  army  and 
through  intelligent  citizens. 

It  appears  from  the  subjoined  abstracts  of  letters  received  that  cotton  has  long  formed  one  of  the  crops  of  the 
Pima  Indians,  who  used  it  in  place  of  wool  for  making  their  blankets,  but  abandoned  the  culture  upon  the  advent  ot 
the  Americans,  from  whom  they  could  procure  better  blankets  in  exchange  for  wheat.  Subsequent  culture 
experiments  by  white  settlers  have  also  been  successful,  so  that  the  subject  has  passed  beyond  the  experimental 
stage;  and  it  appears,  from  the  report  of  Lieutenant  Hyde,  that  near  Yuma  cotton-plants  grow  for  several  years 
without  any  special  care — a  state  of  things  obtaining  also  in  southern  San  Diego  county,  California.  In  the  Laguna 
district  of  Coahuila,  Mexico,  the  cotton-plant,  according  to  the  report  of  Consul  Strother,  bears  crops  for  ten  years 
without  replanting;  and  it  is  obvious  that  a  similar  system  could  be  followed  in  southern  Arizona.  This,  of 
course,  diminishes  the  cost  of  cultivation  not  immaterially,  and  on  this  ground  Arizona  might  compete  with  other 
cotton-growing  states,  provided  the  staple  bo  of  acceptable  quality.  The  two  samples  of  fiber  from  two-year-old 
plants  given  in  the  table  of  measurements  point  to  the  conclusion  that  such  fiber  is  shorter,  and  probably  coarser, 
than  that  from  the  first  year's  crop,  but  that  the  strength  is  high.  In  regard  to  the  proportion  of  seed  to  lint,  the 
two  determinations  give  diametrically  opposite  results,  the  Yuma  cotton  having  given  only  24.10  per  cent,  of  lint, 
while  that  from  National  City  gives  39.78  per  cent.  It  is  extremely  desirable  that  these  points  should  be  farther 
investigated.  It  does  not  seem  quite  easy  to  obtain  full  information  as  to  the  relative  merits  of  cotton  from  annual 
and  older  plants,  which  is  doubtless  in  possession  of  the  planters  of  Coahuila. 

Irrigation  is  needed  for  cotton  in  Arizona  as  well  as  in  southern  California;  but  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  cotton,  on  account  of  the  great  depth  to  which  its  tap-root  goes  for  moisture,  will  do  with  less  water  than 
most  other  crops,  especially  after  the  first  year.  Since,  moreover,  it  is  uot  at  all  sensitive  to  alkali,  it  is  probable 
that  much  land  not  available  for  grain  could  be  used  for  cotton  production  in  Arizona  as  well  as  in  California. 
The  exact  scope  of  profitable  agriculture  in  the  territory  is,  as  yet,  too  uncertain,  both  as  to  quality  and  quantity, 
to  warrant  confident  predictions,  the  more  as  the  opening  of  Mexico  to  railroad  communication  will  bring  into 
competition  factors  as  yet  unknown  ;  but  it  can  hardly  be  doubtful  that,  among  culture  plants  deserving  sf 
earnest  attention,  cottou  occupies  no  unimportant  place. 

ABSTRACT  FROM  A  LETTER   OF   CHARLES   T.  HAYDEN,  HAYDEN  FERRY*,  MARICOPA   COUNTY,  ARIZONA. 

Many  farmers  in  this  (Salt  River)  valley  have  ill  different  years  planted  a  little  cotton,  and  they  and  others  who  have  examined  it 
are  satisfied  that  it  eonld  be  successfully  raised.  With  the  abundant  water-power  I  have  here  (24  feet  fall  and  an  abundance  of  water) 
a  rftiil  to  manufacture  heavy  coiton  cloth,  such  as  goes  so  largely  into  consumption  in  this  part  of  the  territory,  would  enable  planters 
and  mills  to  be  successful  without  doubt  if  conducted  with  ordinary  economy  and  intelligence. 

The  Pima  Indians,  before  Americans  occupied  this  territory,  and  for  a  few  years  after,  raised  cotton  on  the  Pima  reservation,  enough 
to  make  many  blankets  for  their  own  use,  woven  after  the  style  of  the  Navajo  blanket,  substituting  cottou  for  wool.  The  facility  for 
buying  American  blankets  with  wheat  after  the  occupation  of  Arizona  by  our  government  caused  the  discontinuance  of  raising  cotton 
by  said  Indians. 

129 
787 


130  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  MEXICO. 

ABSTRACT   FROM  A  LETTER   OF  LIEUTENANT  M.  E.  HYDE,   EIGIITH    INFANTRY,  FORT   YUMA. 

Mr.  David  Neahr,  one  of  the  oldest  merchants  of  Yuma,  raised  m  1-G0  about  200  cotton  plants  on  the  flat  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Gila  river,  on  the  Arizona  side.  Some  seed  were  planted  in  February  and  some  in  March,  the  latter  doing  best.  The  plants  grew 
rank  and  luxuriant,  and  the  crop  was  ready  to  pick  by  July  4.  Of  course  irrigation  was  necessary.  This  was  a  family  experiment. 
The  sample  sent  to  you  is  from  a  plant  in  the  quartermaster's  department  grounds,  which  has  been  growing  for  two  years,  and  possibly 
longer,  without  any  special  attention. 


REPORT  ON  THE  CULTURE  OF  COTTON  IN  THE  REPUBLIC  OF  MEXICO. 

[The  subjoined  report  on  the  cultivation  of  cotton  in  Mexico  was  obtained  through  the  state  department  at  the 
request  of  the  Superintendent  of  Census.] 

The  cotton-plant  is  supposed  to  be  indigenous  on  the  gulf  coast  of  Mexico,  as  Cortes,  on  his  first  landing, 
found  the  natives  clothed  in  cotton  fabrics  of  their  own  manufacture.  It  is  said  to  be  an  exotic  on  the  Pacific 
side,  but  the  reasons  for  this  opinion  are  not  so  satisfactorily  stated.  Its  culture  has  been  continued  to  the  present 
day  throughout  the  country,  but  with  very  little  improvement  in  the  modes  and  methods  which  existed  at  the 
time  of  the  conquest.  The  principal  cotton-producing  states  are  Vera  Cruz,  Guerrero,  Jalisco,  Sinaloa,  Chiapas, 
Oaxaca,  Colima,  Michoacau,  Sonora,  Chihuahua,  Durango,  and  C.ahuila. 

From  the  states  of  Chiapas,  Oaxaca,  Michoacau,  and  Chihuahua  I  have  not  been  able  to  obtain  any  reports 
whatever. 

While  this  leaves  us  without  a  basis  for  even  a  conjectural  estimate  of  the  whole  amount  produced  in  the 
republic,  we  may  nevertheless  suppose  that  the  general  conditions  of  production  and  preparation  for  market  are 
very  nearly  the  same  in  these  states  as  in  those  from  which  we  have  heard.  In  regard  to  the  question  of  wages, 
it  should  lie  observed  that  the  figures  named  in  the  majority  of  the  reports  represent  the  prices  paid  in  or  near  the 
maritime  cities,  or  in  the  northern  districts  where  the  wages  of  laborers  are  affected  by  their  propinquity  to  the 
United  States.  In  the  interior  and  remote  towns  and  districts  of  the  republic  the  wages  of  labor  seldom  exceed 
a  real  (12i  cents)  per  day,  sometimes  without  food,  and  sometimes  with  the  addition  of  a  small  measure  of  corn 
(cuartillo),  equivalent  to  about  three  pints,  and  worth  about  6 J  cents.  It  would  therefore  be  safe  to  estimate  the 
average  cost  of  labor  in  Mexico  at  20  cents  per  day.  From  the  foregoing  figures  it  is  evident  that  the  condition  of 
the  common  laborer  in  Mexico  is  very  humble ;  yet,  in  view  of  the  cheapness  of  living  and  the  small  requirements  of 
life  in  this  climate,  this  per  diem  is  adequate  to  his  maintenance,  and,  considering  the  inefficient,  and  primitive 
methods  used,  his  labor  is  not  worth  more  than  the  wages  paid. 

The  native  operatives  in  the  factories  are  better  paid,  and,  under  the  superintendence  of  Europeans  or  directors 
of  experience,  are  esteemed  excellent  factory  hands,  quite  equal  to  the  average  of  those  employed  in  England  or 
the  United  States.  Indeed,  they  seem  to  possess  a  special  aptitude  for  all  work  requiring  patience  and  delicate 
manipulation,  and  exhibit  a  high  degree  of  the  imitative  faculty  which  characterizes  the  Chinaman.  What  they 
seem  to  lack  is  the  capacity  (or  habit)  of  organization  and  the  ability  to  manage  fine  aud  complicated  machinery. 
For  the  rest,  the  childlike  improvidence  and  recklessness  of  the  future  which  characterizes  the  laboring  masses  of 
this  country  is  the  principal  barrier  to  their  intellectual  and  material  improvement. 

The  usual  time  for  planting  cotton  is  in  June  and  July,  according  to  the  greater  or  less  amount  of  moisture 
contained  in  the  soil  selected,  and  they  begin  to  gather  the  crop  in  February. 

In  this  brief  report  I  have  embodied  all  the  information  I  have  been  enabled  to  gather  ov  the  culture  of  cotton 
in  this  country,  regretting  that  my  report  is  necessarily  so  vague  and  imperfect. 

VEUA  CRUZ. 

The  product  of  this  state  is  estimated  at  about  8,000,000  pounds  per  annum.  There  are  no  data  to  enable  us 
to  estimate  the  product  per  acre,  as  land  in  this  state  is  not  measured  by  the  acre,  but  rudely  estimated  by  the 
square  league,  or  by  the  still  more  unreliable  standard  of  the  "eaballeria",  which  signifies  as  much  as  a  horse  can 
travel  round  in  a  day. 

The  plant,  however,  grows  so  vigorously  that  each  stalk  yields  from  two  to  five  hundred  pods,  and  it  is  calculated 
that  the  average  yield  to  the  acre  is  about  1.5  per  cent,  more  than  in  the  United  States. 

After  selecting  sufficient  seed  for  the  next  year's  sowing,  the  remainder  is  used  as  fuel,  cattle  feed,  or  to  manure 
the  land.     The  seeds  are  separated  from  the  lint  almost  universally  by  the  steam  cotton-gins  from  the  United  States. 

The  field  labor  in  the  cultivation  of  cotton  is  performed  in  the  most  primitive  manner  and  entirely  without  the 
aid  of  modern  improved  implements.  The.  wages  paid  a  laborer  in  the  vicinity  of  Vera  Cruz  is  fifty  cents  a  day  and 
maintenance,  or  sixty-two  and  a  half  cents  without.  In  remoter  sections  of  the  state  these  figures  may  be  reduced 
to  one-half. 

783 


COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  MEXICO.  131 

GUERRERO. 

It  is  estimated  that  this  state  produces  5,300,000  pounds  of  cotton  in  the  seed,  about  one-third  of  which,  33$ 
per  cent.,  is  pmre  fiber.  We  have  no  data  to  calculate  the  average  produce  per  acre  and  no  means  of  even 
approximating  the  amount  of  land  under  culture. 

Under  the  present  system  the  great  proprietors  do  not  find  cotton  culture  profitable,  and  consequently  it  is 
chiefly  raised  by  small  renters,  who  cultivate  it  in  irregular  patches  by  their  own  labor  and  the  assistance  of  their 
families. 

In  view,  however,  of  the  fertile  soil  and  favorable  climate  of  this  region,  it  is  believed  that  in  the  hands  of  more 
enterprising  and  intelligent  cultivation  the  states  of  Guerrero  and  Oaxaca  could  be  made  to  produce  more  cotton 
than  all  the  southern  states  of  the  American  Union  combined. 

The  cotton  crop  of  Guerrero  is  cleaned  by  13  American  steam  gins,  2  water-power  and  3  horse-power  gins. 
The  seed  is  used  for  fuel  and  cattle  feed. 

The  average  pay  of  laborers  is  37i  cents  per  diem. 

There  is  one  cotton-mill  in  the  state,  with  forty-eight  looms,  manufacturing  goods  for  local  use.  There  is  also  a 
considerable  amount  manufactured  by  hand  looms.  The  remainder  of  the  crop  is  sold  for  the  mills  of  Michoacan, 
Jalisco,  Colima,  and  Sinaloa.  The  pure  lint  brings  15  cents  per  pound,  and  is  packed  in  bales  weighing  150  or  160 
pounds  each. 

JALISCO. 

The  crop  in  this  state  is  about  2,000,000  pounds  per  annum.  There  is  no  conjecture  as  to  the  acreage 
under  cultivation. 

It  is  estimated  that  an  acre  will  produce  1,000  pounds  of  seed-cotton,  of  which  one-third  is  pure  fiber.  The 
wages  of  laborers  are  from  37J  to  50  cents  per  diem.     The  seed  is  used  for  fuel,  cattle  feed,  and  manure. 

American  steam  cotton  gins  are  generally  in  use  to  prepare  the  crop  for  market. 

COLIMA. 

The  annual  crop  of  this  state  is  stated  at  257,000  pounds.  Replies  in  response  to  all  other  questions  are  the 
same  as  for  Jalisco. 

SINALOA. 

The  estimated  annual  crop  of  this  state  is  1,750,000  pounds.  The  average  yield  per  acre  is  estimated  at  1,050 
pounds ;  of  seed,  700  pounds ;  of  pure  fiber,  350  pounds.  The  seed  is  used  for  fuel  at  the  gas  works — one-third  cotton 
seed  and  two-thirds  coal.  It  is  also  used  for  cattle  feed,  and  is  sold  at  75  cents  per  quintal.  The  average  wages  of 
laborers  are  50  cents  per  diem,  and  in  remote  localities  25  cents  per  diem  and  maintenance. 

The  American  steam  cotton-gin  called  the  Eagle  is  the  only  machine  used  in  this  district.  There  are  three 
cotton  lactones  in  operation  in  Sinaloa,  but  the  whole  crop  of  this  state,  two-thirds  of  that  of  Sonora,  and  considerable 
importations  from  Guerrero,  all  combined,  do  not  suffice  fully  to  supply  the  mills. 

Tke  crop  in  this  region  suffers  from  superabundance  of  rain  and  from  insects,  and  is  considered  very  uncertain. 

SONORA. 

The  crop  of  this  state  averages  about  1,000,000  pounds  per  annum,  and  the  responses  to  other  questions  are  the 
same  as  in  Sinaloa.  Three  years  ago  the  culture  of  cotton  was  introduced  into  Lower  California,  and  the  crop  is 
reported  at  500,000  pounds.  The  crop  is  said  to  be  more  certain  there  than  elsewhere  in  Mexico,  and  is  of  decidedly 
superior  quality.  Its  culture  is  now  engaging  the  attention  of  landholders  in  that  section,  and  great  hopes  are 
entertained  of  its  future. 

DURANGO. 

The  annual  product  of  this  state  is  estimated  at  4,000,000  pounds ;  the  product  per  acre  at  1,500  pounds, 
yielding  420  pounds  pure  lint.  The  American  steam  gin  and  some  few  horse-power  gins  are  some  of  the  machines 
used  for  cleaning  the  cotton.    The  seeds  are  used  for  heating  steam-boilers  and  for  feeding  cattle. 

Laborers'  wages  are  nominally  75  cents  per  diem,  but,  being  paid  in  high-priced  goods,  they  are  equivalent  to 
not  more  than  30  cents  in  cash. 

Cotton  gatherers  are  paid  from  12J  to  25  cents  per  aroba  (25  pounds),  and  an  active  man  can  gather  six  arobas 
in  a  day.     The  crops  suffer  very  seriously  from  the  attacks  of  vermin,  such  as  worms,  locusts,  and  pocks  (viracla). 

COAHUILA. 

-  The  annual  production  of  this  state  is  estimated  at  3,000,000  pounds  ;  last  year's  crop,  being  a  partial  failure, 
did  nSt  probably  exceed  1,250,000  pounds.  Machinery,  wages,  and  other  details  are  the  same  as  in  Duraugo.  In 
the  Laguna  cotton  is  perennial  and  does  not  require  to  be  planted  oftener  than  once  in  ten  years.  This  district, 
containing  about  1,200,000  acres,  lies  partly  in  Coahuila  and  partly  in  Dnrango.  It  is  of  extraordinary  fertility  and 
well  adapted  to  cotton,  but  is  very  little  cultivated,  and  the  cotton  product  of  Coahuila  is  diminishing  yearly. 

789 


INDEX    TO    COTTON    PRODUCTION    IN    CALIFORNIA. 


A. 

Page. 

Adobe  lands,  belts  of,  in  Sacramento  valley 19 

character  and  analyses  of 25-28 

of  San  Joaquin  valley,  extent  and  character  of.         93 

the  hay  region 45 

coast  region,  character  and  analyses  of 

subsoils  of 48,53,54 

San  Diego  region 39 

bpiI,  analysis  of 36 

soils,  similarity  of,  to  the  "white  lime-prairie"  soils 

of  Mississippi 54 

After-cultivation  of  cotton 75 

Agri  cull  urn  1  regions  of  the  state,  enumeration  of  the 17, 18 

Alameda  county,  character  and  analyses  of  soil  and  subsoils  of.  53,  55 

statistics  and  description  of Ill 

plain,  description  of Ill 

Alkali,  character,  source,  composition,  and  effects  of (33-67 

lands  of  the  southern  region 38,40,42 

reclamation  of 64, 65 

occurrence  of,  in  the  great  valley 19 

remedies  for  the  rise  of G7 

salts  found  in 65 

soil  of  Big  valley 62 

soils  and  irrigation-waters  of  California,  discussion  of  63-73 

crops  suitable  for 67,68 

the  effects  of  irrigation  on 67 

Alluvial  soils  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  character  and  analy- 
ses of 26-30 

Alpine  county,  statistics  and  description  of 124 

Amador  county,  statistics  and  description  of 102, 103 

valley,  extent  and  soil  of Ill 

Analyses  of  adobe  soils 53, 54 

alkali  salts,  composition  of  (table) 66 

soils  of  the  coast  belt 41,42 

alluvial  soils  of  the  San  Joaquin  region 28-30 

soils  and  subsoils  (table) 79-81 

by  whom  made 79-83 

of  the  Coast  range 50-55,58,59 

foot-hills  and  valleys 34-37 

Sacramento  region 21-23 

southern  region 40-42 

npland  soils  of  the  San  Joaquin  region 2-30 

valley  lands  of  the  coast  region 51 

■waters  of  the  lakes  of  the  great  valley  region...  69-73 

Analysis  of  chaparral  soil :..  51,52 

Antelope  valley,  extent  and  soil  of 62 

Area  and  extent  of  the  state 7 

of  the  broken  region  of  the  western  slope  of  the  Sierra 

Nevada  mountains 61 

coast  region  south  of  the  bay  country 46 

desert  region  43,44 

foot-hills  region 31 

great  valley  region 18 


Page, 

Area  of  the  irrigable  lands 16 

irrigated  lands  in  Sacramento  valley 17 

redwood  belt 56 

San  Joaquin  valley 20 

Sierra  Nevada  Mountain  region 60 

southern  region 37 

population,  tilled  laud,  and  leading  crops  (table) 3,4 

Arizona,  cotton  culture  in 129 

Artesian  wells  a  source  of  irrigation  in  the  southern  region..  42,43 

belt  of,  in  Kern  county 99 

in  the  San  Joaquin  valley 17 

number  and  depth  of,  in  the  southern  region.  42,43 

of  Los  Angeles  plains 106 

Asphaltum,  deposits  of 116 

Auriferous  belt 32 

Average,  per  square  mile,  of  population  and  tilled  land  (table)  3.  4 

B. 

Baker,  S.  G.,  quoted 41 

Bales,  weight  of,  in  Mexico 131 

Barley,  acreage  and  production  of,  by  counties  (table) 3,4 

Bay  country,  general  description  of  the 45,  46 

Bear  creek,  character  of  channels  and  lauds  of 25 

Becker,  Dr.  G.  P.,  remarks  of,  on  variation  and  periodicity  of 

rainfall 13,14 

Bennett  valley,  extent  and  lands  of 117, 118 

Berry essa  valley,  extent  and  description  of 118 

Berwick,  Ed.,  abstract  of  description  by 113 

Big  Meadows  valley  (Mono  county),  extent  and  soil  of 62 

(Plumas   county),    extent   and  descrip- 
tion of 123 

Big  Tree  gTOve - 103 

valley,  extent,  soil,  and  vegetation  of 62, 122 

Bitter  Water  valley,  extent  and  description  of 114 

Blowers,  R.  B.,  abstract  of  description  by M 

Broken  region  of  the  western  slope  of  the  Sierra  Nevada 

mountains,  area  and  description  of  the f'l 

Buenaventura  River  valley,  extent  and  description  of 116 

Buena  Vista  lake,  character  of  the  waters  of 23,24, 69 

Burch,  E.  C,  abstract  of  description  by 110 

Butte  county,  analyses  of  soils  of 22 

cotton  culture  in 75 

foot-hills  of 33 

statistics  and  description  of 87,88 

Buttes  of  Sutter  county,  extent  of 89 

C. 

Cache  creek,  lands  and  canal  of 21 

Cajon  valley,  area  and  character  of - 39, 108 

Calaveras  county,  statistics  and  description  of 103 

rivei,  irrigating  facilities  of 26 

"California  As  It  Is,"  extracts  from 110,118,122 

California,  why  included,  among  the  cotton  states v 

133 
791 


134 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 


Page. 

Canals  for  irrigation 95-99,103,104,105,100 

Cape  Mendocino  a  weather  divide 11 

Carmel  valley,  description  of 113 

Carpentaria  valley,  extent  and  description  of 115 

Chaparral  soil,  character  and  analysis  of 51, 52 

Chinese,  character  of,  as  cotton  pickers 75 

Chowchilla  creek,  character  of  channels  and  lands  of 25 

Cienegas,  description  of 42 

Clear  lake,  extent  and  character  of,  and  surrounding  valley  of.       119 

Climate  of  different  regions 17, 18 

Los  Angeles  plains 100 

the  state,  general  features  of 8-14 

Coahuila,  Mexico,  cotton  culture  in  the  state  of 131 

valley,  description  of 43 

Coast,  character  of 7 

line,  trend  and  character  of 47,  50 

Range  foot-hills,  general  description  of 34-37 

geological  features  of 8 

region  north  of  San  Pahlo  bay,  county  descrip- 
tions of 110-121 

south  of  San  Pablo  bay,  county  descrip- 
tions of  109-110 

region  north  of  bay  country,  general  description  of  ..  55-59 
south  of  bay  country,  area  and  general  descrip- 
tion of 40-55 

Colima,  Mexico,  cotton  culture  in  the  state  of 131 

Colonies,  locations  of 90,105,107 

Colorado  river,  Arizona,  cotton  produced  on 130 

bottom  soil,  analysis  of 40 

Colusa  county,  cotton  culture  in 75 

statistics  and  description  of 88,89 

Contra  Costa  county,  character  and  analysis  of  soil  of 53,54 

statistics  and  description  of 110,111 

mountain  range,  elevation  and  description  of..         40 

Corn,  acreage  and  production  of,  by  counties  (table) 3, 4 

Corral  do  Piedra  valley 115 

Correspondents,  reference  list  of 125 

CoBt  of  cotton  production 70 

Cotton,  amount  of,  picked  per  day  by  Chinese 75 

picked  per  day  in  Mexico 131 

bolla  fail  to  open  in  the  bay  country 45 

number  of,  on  each  plant 75 

cost  of  picking,  in  Mexico 131 

culture,  conclusions  regarding 70-78 

extent  of,  in  the  state v 

in  Merced  county 95 

Napa  county  118 

New  Mexico,  Utah,  and  Arizona 129, 130 

ftanra  Clara  valley    48 

thestate,  history  and  general  remarks  on.  73-78 

Ventura  county    110 

method  of   75, 76 

of  the  lands  of  Merced  river 25 

reasons  in  favor  of 77,  78 

effect  of  the  climate  of  the  great  valley  upon 11 

factories  in  operation  in  Mexico 130, 131 

fiber,  nature  of 76 

first  shipment  of 74 

gins  erected 74 

lint,  price  and  weight  of  bales  of,  in  Mexico 131 

peculiarity  of  the  Petit  Gulf 75 

pickings,  when  begun  and  how  many  made 75 

picking,  time  of,  in  Arizona  and  Mexico 130 

plant,  hiight  of,  and  when  thinned  out 75 

indigenous  in  the  Gulf  uf  Mexico  region 130 

irrigation  of 75 

not  sensitive  to  alkali 129 

productiou  in  the  states  of  Mexico 130, 131 

itemized  cost  of 76 

on  Napa  Valley  soil 58 

premiums  offered  for 73, 74 

792 


Page. 

Cotton  product  per  acre  in  Merced  bottom  lands 27 

Mexico 131 

Btaple,  rating  of 77 

varieties  of,  best  adapted  to  California 74 

Cottouseed,  how  disposed  of  in  Mexico 131 

price  and  use  of 76 

Counties,  agricultural  descriptions  of  85-125 

Cretaceous  formation,  occurrence  of 8 

Crops,  effect  of  irrigation  on 10 

for  alkali  soils 67,68 

growing  seasons  of 13 

leading,  by  counties  (table) 3,  4 

of  the  Sierra  foot-hills 33 

D. 

Davidson,  Professor  George,  testimonyof,  regarding  irrigation 

in  India 73 

Day,  Sherman,  description  of  tule  marshes  by 31 

Death's  valley,  description  of 43 

Del  Norte  county,  statistics  and  description  of 121 

Depth  of  tillage  in  cotton  culture 75 

Desert  region,  general  descript  ion  of 8,  43,44 

Diseases  and  insect  enemies  of  the  cotton-plant  in  Mexico 131 

Drainage  and  topography  of  the  state 7,8 

system  of  the  great  valley  region 18 

Sacramento  valley 19 

San  Joaquin  valley 23-26 

Dry  Lake  valley,  extent  and  description  of 114 

Dudley,  J.  M.J  abstract  of  description  by 91,92 

Durango,  Mexico,  cotton  culture  in  the  state  of 131 

E. 

Eastern  slope  of  the  SierraNevada  mountains,  description  of.  61,62 
Eel  River  bottom  lands,  character  and  analyses  of  soils  and 

subsoils  of 59 

valley  lauds,  description  of 120 

El  Dorado  county,  statistics  and  description  "f 102 

Elevations  in  the  Sierra  Nevada  mountain  region 59,00 

of  the  mountains  of  the  southern  region 37 

Enumeration,  tabulated  results  of  the 1-4 

Eruptive  rocks,  occurrence  of 8 

F. 

Features,  prominent,  of  the  state 7 

Flint,  Daniel,  abstract  from  description  by 93 

Float-land  of  the  tules 30,31 

Floods  of  the  streams  of  the  great  valley,  periods  of 19 

Fogs  of  the  bay  country 45 

southern  region 106, 108 

prevalence  of,  and  their  iniluencc  on  soils  and  plants-.  8 

Foot-hills  of  the  Coast  range 34-37 

Sierra,  general  description  of  the 32-37 

region,  area  and  description  of 31-37 

Fremont, Governor  John  C,  information  obtained  from 129 

Fresno  county,  analyses  of  alkali  salts  of 06 

soils  of 28 

cotton  culture  in 74 

statistics  and  description  of 96,97 

Plains  soil,  character  and  analysis  of 27-30 

river,  character  of  lands  of 25 

Frosts,  exemption  of  thermal  belts  from 46 

Fruits  of  the  foot-hills  and  coast  regions 33,45-48,57 

C 

Gavilan  Mountain  range,  elevation  and  description  of 46 

Geological  history  of  the  valley  of  California 70,71 

report  of  California  quoted 32,01,63 

survey  of  the  state,  reference  to  reports  of  the vi 

Geology  of  the  state,  outline  of 8 

Gins  in  use  in  Mexico 131 

variety  of,  us-ed  in  Merced  valley 76 

Gold-bearing  rocks,  belt  of 32 

Golden  Gate,  influence  of,  upon  the  climate  of  the  bay  country  9,45 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 


135 


Page. 

Goose  Lake  valley,  extent  aud  description  of 123 

vegetation  and  soils  of 62 

Goose-lands  of  Colusa  county,  description  of 88 

Gospel  swamp,  extent  and  soils  of 105 

Granite,  occurrence  of 102 

Granitic  region,  description  of 33 

Great  valley,  lake  aud  river  waters  of,  and  their  quality  for 

irrigation  purposes 69-73 

of  California,  area   and  general    character  of 

lands  of 18-31 

region,  county  descriptions  of 87-100 

outlets  of 8 

Green  valley  of  Solano  county 91 

Green,  W.  S.,  description  by 88 

Guerrero,  Mexico,  cotton  culture  in  the  state  of 130, 131 

Gypsum,  neutralization  of  alkali  by 64,65,72,73 

ID. 

Haggin  and  Carr,  experiments  of,  in  cotton  culture 74 

Haggin,  J.  13.,  estimate  by,  of  cost  of  cotton  production 76 

Hall,W.  H.,  quoted 15,16,42,43 

Hayden,  Charles  T.,  of  Arizona,  abstract  of  letter  from 129 

Higher  foot-hills  and  Sierra  Mountains  regions,  county  de- 
scriptions of 121-125 

History  of  cotton  culture 73-75 

Hog- w:il low  lauds  of  the  great  valley  region 18, 19 

Hoi  lister  valley,  extent  aud  description  of 114 

Honey  Lake  valley,  extent,  soil,  and  vegetation  of 62 

Howell  Mountain  summit, description  of 118 

Humboldt  county, characteraud  analyses  of  bottom  lands  of.         59 

statistics  aud  description  of 120 

Humus  determination  of  soils 82 

Hyde,  Lieutenant  M.  E.,  Arizona,  abstract  of  letter  from 130 

Hydrography  of  the  southern  region 42,43 

I. 

Indians  of  Arizona,  cotton  produced  by 129 

Indian  valley,  extent  of 89 

Information,  sources  of,  in  the  preparation  of  this  report v-vii 

Introductory  letter  by  General  F.  A.  Walker iii 

Inyo  and  White  mountaius,  timber  growth  of 61 

county,  statistics  and  description  of 124,  125 

lone  valley,  extent  and  soil  of 103 

Irrigable  lauds  in  the  Los  Angeles  region 17 

of  Sacramento  valley 17 

Irrigation,  area  o Hands  subject  to 16 

districts,  unit  for  farms  in 16 

effects  of,  (ui  alkali  soils 67 

general  remarks  on 15-17 

laws  and  rights  eoncerning,  aud  duty  of  water  for.  15, 17 

methods  of 68,69 

of  cotton  crops 75 

the  Sacramento  Valley  region  20, 21 

required  in  cotton  culture  in  New  Mexico,  Utah, 

and  Arizona 120 

waters  and  alkali  soilaof  California,  discussion  of.  63-73 
Islands  of  the  tule  lands 31 

J. 

Jackson,  J.  L-,  experiments  of,  in  cotton  culture 74 

Jackson  valley,  extent  and  soil  of 103 

Jalisco,  Mexico,  cotton  culture  in  the  state  of 131 

Jefferds,  F.  G.,  abstract  of  description  by 98 

K. 

Kaweah  river,  irrigating  facilities  of 24 

Keller,  Matthew, premium  received  by,  for  cotton  production.        74 

Kelsey,  Horace  G.,  analyses  of  waters  by 71 

Kelsey,  Mr.,  information  obtained  from 95 

Kern  couuty,  analysis  of  alkali  salts  of di) 

analysis  of  soil  of 28, 44 

cotton  culture  iu 73,74 

statistics  and  description  of f 98-100 


Page. 

Kern  lake,  character  of  the  waters  of .23,24,  69-73 

river,  analyses  of  the  waters  of 71,72 

delta  region 99 

irrigating  facilities  of 24 

Kimball,  F.  A.,  quoted 40 

King's  river,  analyses  of  the  waters  of 71,  72 

irrigating  facilities  of 24 

Klamath  River  basin,  description  of 56 

Knight's  valley,  extent  aud  lands  of 118 

Ei. 

Laborers,  character  of,  as  factory  hands 130, 131 

employed  in  picking  cotton,  wages  paid  to,  and 

amount  of  cotton  picked  per  day  by 75 

in  Mexico,  condition  of 130 

wages  paid  to,  in  picking  cotton 130, 131 

Lake  and  river  waters  of  the  great  valley  and  their  quality 

for  irrigation  purposes 6!*, 70 

couuty,  character  and  analysis  of  soil  of 58, 59 

cotton  culture  iu 74 

statistics  and  description  of 119 

Lake  Elnor  valley,  lauds  of 104 

Lakes  and  valleys  of  Alpine  county 124 

Land,  preparation  of,  in  cotton  culture 75 

under  tillage  (table) 3,4 

Lassen  county,  statist ies  and  description  of 122 

Lava-bed  region,  extent  and  character  of 7,8,33,34,02,63 

Btrcams 61 

Legislature,  premiums  offered  by,  for  cotton  production 73,74 

Letter  of  transmittal v-vii 

Livermore  valley,  character  and  analyses  of  soils  of 47,55,  111 

Lompoc  valley,  extent  and  description  of 116 

Long  valley,  extent  and  description  of 113, 122 

Los  Alamos  valley,  extent  aud  description  of 116 

Los  Angeles  and  San  Bernardino  plains,  area  and  description 

of 37,38 

county,  analyses  of  alkali  salts  of  66 

soils  and  subsoils  of 40 

cotton  culture  in 73,  74 

statistics  and  description  of 105-107 

plains,  general  description  of 33 

river,  analyses  of  water  of 71,72 

irrigating  facilities  of 42 

Loughridge,  Dr.  R.  II.,  assistant  in  the  preparation  of  report.  v 

Lower  California,  Mexico,  cotton  culture  in 131 

Lower  foot-hills  region,  county  descriptions  of 100-105 

IU. 

McPherson,  W.  G.,  quoted 41 

Marin  county,  statistics  and  description  of  - 116, 117 

Mariposa  county,  statistics  and  description  of 104 

creek,  character  of  channels  and  lauds  of 25 

Marsh  lands,  vegetation  of 30 

Marysvilln  buttes,  area,  and  nature  of 20 

Mavity,  Juhn,  abstract  of  description  by 118 

Mechanical  composition  of  California  soils '■2,83 

Meudoeino  couuty,  statistics  aud  description  of 119 

Merced  county,  analyses  of  alkali  salts  of 66 

soils  of 28, 35 

statistics  ami  description  of 95,96 

river,  analysis  of  the  water  of 71,72 

bottom  land,  character  aud  analysis  of 26-28 

valley,  blurl's  and  lands  of 25 

valley,  method  of  cotton  culture  in 75 

Mesa  lauds  of  the  southern  region 38-41 

Method  of  cotton  culture 75,76 

Mexico,  report  on  cotton  culture  iu   130, 131 

Mines,  debris  from,  damage  done  by 20 

Mission  valley,  of  San  Diego  county 108 

Modoc  county,  statistics  and  description  of 121,  122 

Mojave  desert,  general  description  of 44, 105,  lo7, 108, 109 

Mokelumuo  river,  analysis  of  the  water  of 71,  72 

Mono  county,  analysis  of  alkali  salts  of 66 

793 


136 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 


PaCf. 

Mono  county,  statistics  and  description  of 124 

Monterey  connty,  statistics  and  description  of 113 

Moore,  George  A.,  quoted 36 

Mountains,  general  ranges  of 7 

of  the  coast  region 40,55,  56 

southern  region 37 

Mount  Diablo,  description  of 40, 110 

timber  belt  of ,. .  33 

Mussel  Slough  alluvial  land,  analysis  of 27-30 

country,  lands  of 24,25 

rv. 

Napa  county,  character  and  analysis  of  soil  of 57, 58 

statistics  and  description  of 118 

valley,  description  and  analyses  of  soils  of 57,58 

extent  and  lauds  of .  ..  118 

"Natural  Wealth  of  California" quoted. 43, 56. 00, 62, 97, 101, 103,119 

Nevada  county,  statistics  and  description  of 101 

New  Mexico,  cotton  culture  in 129 

NewBom,  D.  F.,  abstract  of  description  by 115 

Northers,  prevalence  and  duration  of,  and  their  effect  on  crops.  9 
O. 

Oats,  acreage  and  production  of,  by  counties  (table) 3,4 

Ohleyer,  George,  abstract  of  description  by DO 

Ojai  valley,  extent  and  lands  of 116 

Olden,  William  R.,  abstract  of  description  by 107 

Osgood,  J.  II.,  abstract  of  description  by 110 

Outline  of  the  physical  geography  of  the  state 7-73 

Overhiser,  C.  L.,  experiments  of,  with  alkali  soil 64 

Owen's  valley,  description  of 01 

I». 

Pacific  Rural  Press  quoted 123 

Pajaro  valley,  area  and  description  of 48, 113 

Pahcozoic  age,  reference  to  8 

Part sch,  Herman,  examinations  by v 

Pearson,  G.  C,  abstract  of  description  by 92 

Pet  alii  ma  River  valley,  description  of 56,57 

valley,  extent  and  lands  of 117 

Petroleum  well  of  Ventura  county 116 

Pitt  river,  character  of  the  streams,  banks,  and  adjoining 

country  of 62 

Placer  county,  analysis  of  soil  of 35 

statistics  and  description  of 102 

Planting  and  cultivation  of  cotton 75 

Plateau  lands  at  the  foot  of  Sierra  Madre  mountains 3S 

Plumas  county,  statistics  and  description  of 123 

Pomona  soil,  character  and  analysis  of 40,  41 

Population,  area,  tilled  land,  and  leading  crops  (table) 3,4 

Poverty  Hill,  character  of  soil  of 47 

region,  extent  and  description  of 114 

Powell,  Major  J.  W.,  quoted 15 

Putah  Creek  valley  lands,  character  and  analysis  of 22,91,92 

Q. 

Quaternary  formation,  occurrence  of 8 

It. 

Rain  belt  of  the  San  Diego  region 39 

Rainfall,  extent  and  variation  of,  and  general  remarks  on  ..  11-14 

in  the  di  lie  rent  regions 17, 18 

penetration  of,  in  I  he  soils 14 

precipitation  of,  chiefly  in  the  winter  months 13 

Rain-storms,  time  and  character  of 8,9 

Rating  of  cotton  staple 77 

Reclamation  of  alkali  lands 64,65 

Redding,  B.  B.,  cited  regarding  changes  of  temperature  and 

rainfall  in  the  foot-hills  region 10,32,33 

Red  lands  of  the  foot-hills,  character  and  analyses  of 34-37 

Redwood  belt  of  the  coast  region,  area  and  extent  of 56 

Regions,  description  of: 

Coast  Range  region 4  4-59 

Desert  region 43,44 

Foot-hills  region 32-37 

Great  Valley  region 18-32 

794 


Pft£W. 

Regions,  description  of — continued. 

Sierra  Nevada  Mountain  region 59-63 

Southern  region 37^13 

Remarks  on  cotton  culture  in  California 73-78 

Remedies  for  the  "  rise  of  alkali" 07 

Report,  arrangement  of v-vii 

sources  of  information  for v-vii 

why  included  among  those  of  the  cotton  states Hi, v 

Republic  of  Mexico,  report  on  the  culture  of  cotton  in  the.  .130, 131 

Rich,  George,  abstract  of  description  by 92 

River  and  lake  waters  of  the  great  valley  and  their  quality 

for  irrigation  purposes 69,70 

Rivers  of  the  coast  region  north  of  the  bay  country 56 

southern  region 42, 43 

state 7 

Round  valley,  extent  and  description  of 122 

Russian  River  valley,  description  and  extent  of 50,  117 

N. 

Sacramento  county,  analysis  of  alkali  salts  of 66 

Boils  of 22 

cotton  culture  in  73,74 

statistics  and  description  of 92,  93 

river,  analysis  of  the  water  of.. 71,72 

valley,  area,  general  character,  and  soils  of 19-23 

tulolandsof 30,31 

Salinas  valley,  extent  and  description  of 48, 113,  114 

Salt-grass  soil,  character  and  analysis  of 28-30 

Salt  River  valley,  Arizona,  cotton  culture  in 129 

San  Benito  county,  character  and  analysis  of  soil  of 50,51 

statistics  and  description  of 1 13, 114 

San  Bernardino  and  Los  Angeles  plains  area  and  deseript  ion  of  37,  38 

county,  analyses  of  alkali  salts  of 66 

statistics  and  description  of 107,  108 

1  da  ins,  description  of 107 

valley,  description  of 38 

San  Diego  chamber  of  commerce,  abstract  from  pamphlet  of.        39 

county,  analyses  of  alkali  salts  of l'<6 

soils  of 10 

statistics  and  description  of 108,  109 

region,  description  of 3<s,  39 

San  Fernando  valley,  area  and  description  of 38 

San  Francisco  Bulletin  quoted 33 

county,  character  and  analyses  of  soil  anil  sub- 
soil of 52,53 

statist  ics  and  description  of 109 

peninsula,  character  and  analyses  of  soil  and 

subsoilof 52,53 

San  Gabriel  river,  irrigating  facilities  of 42 

San  Joaquin  basin,  character  and  extent  of 25,  26 

county,  analyses  of  alkali  salts  of 60 

soil  and  subsoil  of 28 

statistics  and  description  of 93,94 

delta  well  water,  analysis  of 71,72 

river,  analysis  of  the  water  of 71,72 

irrigating  facilities  and  character  of  bor- 
dering lands  of 25 

valley,  general  character,  drainage  system,  and 

soils  of 23-31 

irrigable  area  of 16 

tule  lands  of 31 

San  Lorenzo  valley,  extent  and  lands  of 119 

San  Luis  Obispo  county,  statistics  and  description  of 114, 115 

San  Mateo  county,  character  and  analysis  of  soils  »f .... 50,51 

statistics  and  description  of 109,  110 

San  Ramon  valley,  description  of 47 

Sand-storms  of  tlie  desert  region   106 

Santa  Ana  river,  irrigating  facilities  of 42 

valley,  extent  and  descripti  n  of 114 

Santa  Barbara  county,  character  and  analysis  of  soil  of 49,50 

cotton  culture  in 74 

statistics  and  description  of 115, 116 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 


137 


Page. 

Santa  Barbara  valley,  extent  and  description  of 115 

.Santa  Clara  county,  analysis  of  alkali  salts  of 6G 

character  and  analysis  of  soil  of 51,52 

statistics  and  description  of 112 

River  valley  of  Ventura  county,  description  of  ..49, 116 

valley,  description  of 47, 48, 112, 114 

Santa  Cruz  county,  character  and  analysis  of  soil  of 50, 51 

statistics  and  description  of 112 

Mountain  range,  elevation  and  description  of 46 

Santa  Inez  valley,  extent  and  description  of 115 

Santa  Lucia  Mountain  ran&e,  elevation  and  description  of  ..         40 

Santa  Maria  valley,  description  of 115 

Santa  Rosa  valley,  extent  and  description  of 56,57,117 

Saticoy  plain  or  delta,  description  of 116 

Scott's  valley,  extent,  climate,  and  description  of 121 

Sea-island  cotton,  culture  of 74 

failure  of,  in  the  state 77 

Shasta  county,  analyses  of  soils  and  subsoil  of 35 

cotton  culture  in 73 

statistics  and  description  of 100 

valley,  description  of 121 

Sierra  county,  statistics  and  description  of 123 

foot-hills,  general  description  of 32-37 

Sierra  Nevada,  geological  features  of 8 

Mountain  region,  elevation  and  character  of. .  59-63 

valley,  extent  and  description  of 123 

Sinaloa,  Mexico,  cotton  cub'nro  in  the  state  of 131 

Siskiyou  county,  statistics  and  description  of 121 

Slickens,  character  and  analysis  of 22,23,37 

material  of  and  destruction  of  lands  by 20 

Snow,  occurrence  of,  in  the  great  valley 11 

Soils,  by  whom  analyzed 79-83 

effects  of  alkali  upon 64 

the  climate  upon  the  moisture  of  the 14 

mechanical  composition  of 82,  83 

necessity  of  irrigation  of 15 

of  the  bay  region 45 

coast  region,  character  and  analyses  of 47-59 

foot-hills,  character  and  analyses  of 34-37 

Mojave  desert,  character  and  analysis  of 44 

Sacramento  valley,  character  and  analyses  of. . .  21-23 
San     Joaquin    valley,    general    character    and 

analyses  of 26-30 

southern  region,  character  and  analyses  of 39-42 

Solano  county,  analysis  of  alkali  salts  of 60 

soil  of 22 

statistics  and  description  of 91,92 

Sonoma  county,  analysis  of  alkali  salts  of GO 

character  and  analyses  of  soils  of 57, 58 

statistics  and  description  of 117,  US 

valley,  extent  and  lands  of 56,57, 117 

Sonora,  Mexico,  cotton  culture  in  the  state  of 131 

Southern  and  desert  regions,  couuty  descriptions  of 105-109 

jegiou,  area  aud  general  description  of 37-43 

Stanislaus  county,  analysis  of  soils  of '. 35 

statist  ics  and  description  of 94 

river,  irrigating  facilities  of 20 

State  agricultural  society,  premiums  offered  by 73 

reports  of,  regarding  cotton  production. . .  73,  74 

Storms  rarely  accornpauied  by  thunder  and  lightning 9 

Streams  of  the  San  Joaquiu  valley,  channels  and  canons  of..  23-26 
Strong,  Colonel  J.  M.7  estimate  by,  of  cost  of  cotton  production         76 

experiments  of,  in  cotton  culture 74 

Strother,  David  H.,  United  States  consul-general,  report  of, 

on  Mexico 130,131 

Sugar-beet  lauds  of  Pajaro  river 113 

Summers  usually  very  dry 13 

Surface  features  of  the  Sacramento  v(alley 19 

Surprise  valley,  extent,  lakes,  and  description  of 62, 122 

Sutter  county,  cotton  culture  in 74 

statistics  and  description  of 89, 90 


Pago. 
T. 

Table  of  chemical  analyses  of  soils  and  subsoils 79-81 

humus  and  its  available  constituents 88 

showing  composition  of  alkali  salts 66 

elevations  and  averages  of  rainfall  indifferent 

parts  of  the  state 12 

elevations  and  temperatures  at  different  points 

of  the  state 10 

mechanical  analyses  of  soils  and  subsoils 83 

periodicity  and  probabilities  of  rainfall 14 

Tabulated  results  of  the  enumeration 1-4 

Talus  lands  of  the  great  valley  region 18 

Taylor,  J.  D.,  abstract  of  description  by 107 

Taylor,  John,  abstract  of  description  by 104 

Tehama  couuty,  statistics  and  description  of. 100, 101 

Temperature,  general  remarks  on,  and  tables  of. 9-11 

Temperatures,  comparison  between  the,  of  the  California  and 

Atlantic  coasts  (table) 9 

Terrace  of  the  coast  valleys 48, 115 

Terraces  of  Paj  aro  ri  ver 1 12 

on  the  borders  of  the  great  valley 8, 19 

Tertiary  formation,  occurrence  of 8,33 

Thermal  belts  of  the  coast  region 11,34,46, 110 

Thompson,  W.  G.,  abstract  from  description  by 110 

Tilled  laud,  acres  and  averages  of,  by  counties  (table) 3,  4 

lands,  percentage  of  area  in  (table) 3, 4 

Timber  growth  of  the  bay  region 45 

foot-hills 32,33 

Sierra  Nevada  Mountain  region 60,61 

southern  region 37-39 

Time,  length  of,  before  the  cottonseed  comes  up 75 

of  picking  cotton  in  Arizona 130 

Mexico . 130 

planting  cotton  in  California  and  Mexico 75, 131 

when  cotton-blooms  first  appear 75 

bolls  first  open  and  when  picking  begins.  75 

Topography  and  drainage  of  the  state 7,  8 

Trade  winds  8 

Transmittal,  letter  of v-vii 

Transportation  facilities  (see  county  descriptions) 85-125 

Trinity  county,  statistics  and  description  of 120 

River  valley  lands,  character  of 120 

Tulare  county,  analyses  of  alkali  salts  of 66 

soilsof 28 

statistics  and  description  of 97,98 

lake,  alkaline  character  of  the  waters  of 16, 17,69,73 

plains,  soils,  character,  and  analyses  of 27-30 

River  basin,  extent  of,  and  character  of  its  streams  .. .  23-25 

Tule  islands  of  Suisun  bay 93 

lands,  extent  and  general  character  of 30,31 

of  Sacramento  county 92 

San  Joaquin  county 93 

the  bay  conn  Try 45 

great  valley  region 18 

Yolo  coun  ty 90 

well  adapted  to  cotton  culture 74 

Tuolumne  county,  analyses  of  soils  of 36 

statistics  and  description  of 103, 104 

river,  irrigating  facilities  of 25 

table  mountain,  nature  of 63 

C. 

Upland  or  bench  soils,  character  and  analyses  of 27-30 

Utah,  cotton  culture  in 129 

v. 

Vacaville  fruit  belt,  extent  and  character  of. 34,91 

Valley  of  California,  geological  history  of  the 70,71 

region,  extent  and  character  of 7 

Valleys,  descriptions  of: 

Amador Ill 

Antelope 62 

795 


138 


INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION  IN  CALIFORNIA. 


Valleys,  descriptions  of — continued. 

Bennett 117,118 

Berry  essa 118 

Big  Meadows  ( Mono  county)  6*2 

(Plumas  county) 1*23 

Big  valley 6*2,122 

Bitter  Water 114 

Buenaventura  River 110 

Cajon 39,108 

Carmel 113 

Carpenter-la 115 

Coabuila 43 

Corral  do  Piedra 115 

Death's  43 

Dry  Lake Ill 

Eel  River 1*20 

Goose  Lake 62, 1*22 

Great  valley  of  California 18-31 

Green  valley  of  Solano 91 

Hollister '. 114 

Honey  lake 62 

Indian 89 

lone 103 

Jackson 103 

Knight's  118 

Lake  Elnor 104 

Livennore 47, 55,  111 

Lonipoc 116 

Long  (Lassen  county) 1*2*2 

(Monterey  county) 113 

Los  Alamos 116 

Angeles 38,105 

Napa  57,58,118 

Ojai  116 

Owen's 61 

Pajaro 48,113 

Petalnma 56,57,117 

Round 122 

Russian  River 56, 117 

Sacramento 19-23 

Salinas 48,113,-114 

Salt  River,  Arizona 1*29 

San  Bernardino 38,  40, 107 

San  1'eruando 38 

San  Gabriel 40 

San  Joaquin 23-31 

San  Lorenzo 112 

San  Ramon 47 

Santa  Ana 114 

Santa  Barbara 115 

Santa  Clara 47,48,112,114 

River 49,116 

Santa  Int*z 115 

796 


Page. 
Valleys,  descriptions  of— continued. 

Santa  Maria 115 

Santa  Rosa 56,57,117 

Scott's 121 

Sbasta 121 

Sierra 123 

Sonoma 56,57,117 

Surprise 6-',  122 

Trinity  River 120 

Yosemite 104 

Valleys  of  Mendocino  county,  description  of 119 

Plumas  county,  description  of 123 

the  coast  region 47-49, 56, 57 

eastern  slope  of  tbe  Sierra  Nevada  mountains.  CI, 62 
foot-bills,  description  and  analyses  of  soils  of.  36,37 

Variation  and  periodicity  of  rainfall,  remarks  on 13, 14 

Vegetation  and  crops,  effect  of  climate  upon 11 

of  (he  marsh  lands 30,31 

of  tbe  regions.     (S<e  regional  descriptions.) 

Ventura  county,  analysis  of  alkali  salts  of 66 

character  aud  analyses  of  soils  of 49,  50 

statistics  and  description  of 116 

Vera  Cruz,  Mexico,  cotton  culture  in  tbe  state  of 130 

Vineyards,  acreage  of,  by  counties  (table) 3,  4 

extent  of,  in  Napa  county 118 

Vineyard  soils  of  Sonoma  aud  Napa  counties,  character  and 

analyses  of '. 57, 58 

Visalia  timbered  region 24 

Volcanic  material  8, 33,  Gl 

soil,  character  and  analysis  of 58, 59 

W. 

Walker,  Hon.  F.  A.,  introductory  letter  by,  to  report  on  Cali- 
fornia   iii 

Water,  duty  of,  in  irrigation 17 

Weeks,  B.  V.,  abstract  of  description  by 110 

Wheat,  acreage  and  production  of,  by  counties  (table) 3,4 

Win  taker,  G.  N.,  abstract  of  description  by 118 

White  and  Inyo  mountains,  timber  growth  of CI 

Willson,  N.  J.,  abstracts  of  descriptions  by 94-100, 10G,  108, 109 

Winds  of  tbe  desert  region 100 

prevailing  currents  of 8,9 

Wire-grass  soil,  character  and  analysis  of 27, 28" 

Wright,  J.  W.  A.,  quoted  regarding  method  of  cotton  culture.  75 


Yolo  county,  cotton  culture  in 74 

statistics  and  description  of 90,91 

Yosemite  valley,  description  of 104 

Yuba  county,  analyses  of  soils  of 22,35 

foot-bills  of 33 

statistics  and  description  of 89 

river,  bottom  lands  of,  injured  by  mining  debris 20 


GENERAL    INDEX    TO    COTTON    PRODUCTION. 

-In  the  following  index  the  information  regarding  counties  and  the  names  of  persons  who  have  furnished  information  for  the  reports  are  omitted, 
references  and  for  details  of  minor  importance  see  the  index  of  each  state. 


A. 

Abstracts  of  letters  regarding  uses  of  cottonseed 
(General  Discussion) . 

Abstracts  of  reports  of  correspondents  in  mono- 
graph on: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida . 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Accidents  of  weather  as  affecting  cotton  crops  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia  

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri  

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee  

Texas  

Virginia 

Acreage  ami  production  of  cotton  in : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

FToi  ida 

Georgia 

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee) 

Louisiana. 

Mississippi 

Missouri  

Nor tli  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Acreage  and  production  of  leading  crops  in : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida  

Georgia   

Indian  territory 

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee) 

Louisiana 

Mississippi  

Missouri 

Noitli  Carolina 

South  Carolina  

Tennessee 

Texas   

Virginia 

Acres  of  cottou  (estimated)  per  hand  in  : 

-alaliama 

Arkansas 

Florida    

Gem-  ia 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tt  nuesaee 

Texas 

Virginia 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


75-148 

49-94,  102 

38-00,  69 

70-158,  ITU 

22-25 

44-73,  81 

88-143,152 

15-18,  27 

30-64,  75 

54-58 

48-92,  101 

liO-148,  158 

11-15,20 


155 

102,  103 

09,  70 

170,  171 

30 

81,  82 


76 

59,  60 

102 

15S,  159 


20 


3-0,  39,  40 

3,  4,  29 

3-8,  54,  55 

109 

3,  4,  35,  36 

3-6,  72 

3,4 

3-6 

3 

3-8 

3-6,  49,  51 

3.10 


5,6 
5,6 
3,4 
4 
6-8 


5-8 
7-10 


156 
106 

71 
174 

81 
155 

28 

77 

60-62 

104 

162 

21 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


85-158 
585-630.  038 
218-240  249 
336-424.430 

800-863 
146-175,183 
290-345,  354 
513-516.525 
502-590.  607 

510-514 
42(1-404,473 
718-806,  86 
633-637,  642 


165 
638,  039 
249,  25(1 
430,437 

8U8 
183,  184 

354 

525 

608 
515,516 

474 
810,  817 

642 


13-16,70 
[  539-542, 
|  575. 576 
183,  184,  209 
(  209-274, 
I  320, 321 
481 
(  105,  100, 
|  137,  138 
205-208,  274 

501,502 

535-538 
459 

375-380 
(  661-6114, 
I    707, 709 

625,  632 


15,16 

541,  542 
661,  002 

184 
272-274 

841 

482 
107,  108 
207,  208 

502 
537,  538 

460 
377-380 
665-618 

625 


166 
642 
251 
440 
186 
357 
526 
6119 
516-518 
470 
820 
643 


Addresses  anil  names  of  correspondents,  list  of,  in  : 

Alabama 

A I  Kansas 

Calilomia  

Irlnt  ida 

Georgia  

Indian  territory 

Louisiana  

Mississippi  

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tenuesseo 

Texas 

Virginia 

Adobe  lauds  of  California: 

Analysis  of  soil 


Bay  region - 

Belts  of,  in  Sacramento  valley 

Character  and  analyses  of 

Coast  region,  character  and  analyses  of  sub- 
soils of. 

San  Diego  region 

San  Joai]iiiu  valley,  extent  and  character  of. .. 

Similarity  of  soil  to  the  "white-lime  prairie" 
soils  of  Mississippi. 
Advances  or  credits  to  laborers  on  growing  crop  in : 

Alabama 

Arkausas 

Floi  ida 

Georgia  

Indian  territory 


Louisiana  . 

Mississippi 

Missouri 
North  Carolina 
South  Carolina  . 

Tennessee  

Texas  

Virginia    


After-cultivation  and  planting  of  cotton,  implements 
used  in,  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

Missouri       

North  Carolina    

Sent  h  Carolina 

Tennessee 


Texas 

Virginia 

After-cultivation  of  cotton  in; 

Alabama  

Arkansas 

California 

Florida  

Georgia  

Indian  territory 

Louisiana t 

M  ississippi 


Missouri 
North  Carolina 
South  Carolina. 

Tennessee  

Texas  

Virginia  

Agates,  occurrence,  of,  in  the  drift  beds  of  Texas I 

Agricultural  area  of  Texas I 

Agricultural  descriptions  of  the  counties  of: 

Alabama ]  II 

Arkansas I 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


150-152 

96 

125 

66 

160-102 

28 

76 

146 

24 

72 

50 

94-90 

150-152 

18 


25-28 
48,  63,  54 


156 
106 
71 
174 
31 
84 
155 
28 
77 
61-66 
104 
162 
21 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


160-162 
632 
783 
246 

426-428 
866 
178 
348 
522 
604 
506 

406-468 

808-810 
640 


703 

677 

683-686 

700,711,712 


751 
712 


642 
251 

440 


357 
526 
609 
517-522 
476 
820 
613 


154 

97, 99, 100 

68 

166, 167 

30 

77-80 

149,  150 

26 

74 

55-58 

99,  100 

(  153,  155, 

j     156 

19,20 


154 
100 


167 

30 
80 
150 
26 
74 
55-58 
99, 100 
166 
20 
21 
49 


164 

633,  635,  636 


432, 


433 
868 
179-182 
351,352 
524 
606 
511-514 
471.472 

811,813,814 

641,642 


164 
636 
733 
248 
433 
868 
182 
351 
524 
606 
511-514 
471,472 
814 
642 


679 

707 


85-158 
34  I  58:1-030 

7117 


798 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


Agricultural  descriptions  of  the  counties  of—  cont'd. 

California 

Florida ■ 

Georgia 

Louisiana. 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina ■ 

Tennessee 

Texan 

Virginia 

Agricultural    descriptions    of   the    nations    of   the 

Indian  territory. 
Agricultural  features  of  a  country,  importance  of  a 
report  on  (General  Discussion). 

Agricultural  features  of  Arkansas  in  brief 

Agricultural  methods  in  cotton  production  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas , 

California 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri  

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virgiuia 

Agricultural  regions  or  subdivisions,  on  unit;  ration 

of,  in : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia  

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

M  issouri 

North  Can  lina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia 

Agricultural  retrospect  of  South  Carolina 

Alabama: 

Area,  population,  tilled  land,  cotton  production, 
rank  among  the  states,  and  banner  counties 
of  (General  Discussion). 

Cotton  liber,  measurements  of  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 

Discussion  regarding  rank  of,  among  the  cot- 
ton states  (General  Discussion). 

Index  toKeporton 

Possible  cottonseed-oil  mill  products  of,  from 
the  crop  of  1879,  and  their  market  and  ma- 
nuxe  valuations  (General  Discussion). 

Report  on  Cotton  Production  iu  the  state  of, 
by  Professor  Eugene  A.  Smith. 

Special  agent  appointed  for  (General  Di»cus- 
sion). 
Alabama  river : 

Alluvial  lands,  character  and  analyses  of 

Drainage  system  of  the 

Alameda  plain,  California,  description  of 

Alcova  mountain,  Georgia,  elevation  of 

Alkali  in  California: 

Character,  source,  composition,  and  effects  of. . 

Occurrence  of,  in  the  gTeat  valley 

Remedies  for  tho  rise  of 

Alkali  lands  in  California: 

Reclamation  of 

Southern  region 

Alkali  ponds  of  the  Llano  Estacado,  or  Stalled  Plain, 

of  Texas. 
Alkali  soils  of  California: 

Big  valley 

Crops  suitable  for - 

Irrigation,  effects  thereof,  and  general  discus- 
sion on. " 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


86-125 

35-03 
07-158 
41-73 
85-143 
13-21 
27-70 
45-92 
57-148 
11-15 
19-25 


154 

90-101 

75,  70 

OS,  00 

J      57, 58, 

i    100-ltO 

29, 30 

79,80 

77-79 

20 

74,75 

20, 54-58 

(       42,43, 

\      09,  li  0 

155-157 

10,  20 


17,18 

15 

17,18,23 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


12.13 
13,14 


14-17 
7 


157-103 
40 


40,41,44, 

124-127, 

135-137 

0,10 

111 


63-07 
19 
67 


38,40,42 
39 


02 
67,68 
03-73 


743-783 
215-243 
333-424 
143-175 
287-345 
51 1-510 
559-002 
417-404 
715-408 
C33-637 
857-863 


07,68 
547,  548 


164 
635-637 
733, 734 
248,  249 
323.  824, 
432-435 
807,  8G8 
181. 182 
279-281 
524 

one,  007 

482,510-514 
414.415, 
471,472 
813-815 
641,  042 


23,24,40 
548 

075,  670 
195 
I,  284,  289 
847 
113 
215 
5UG 
544 

408.409 

385,  380 
61-0 
630 

409-471 


107-173 
61 


50,  51,  54, 
134-137, 
145-147 


721-725 
677 
725 

722.  723 
i,  698, 700 

097 


720 
725,  726 
721-731 


Alluvia)  lands: 

Description    and    analyses   of,    in    northwest 
Georgia. 

Description  of,  in  Arkansas 

Extent  and  dencription  of,  in  the  Indian  terri- 
tory. 
General  area  and  analysis  of  tho,    iu   Sooth 

Carolina. 
Rivers,   total  area  and  cotton   production  of 
(General  Diwcussion). 

Tennessee  river  (in  Report  on  Tennessee) 

Trees  ami  plants  characteristic  of,  in  Alabama 
Alluvial  or  seaboard  region  of  Virginia,  area  and 

description  of  (ho. 
Alluvial  plain  of  the  Mississippi,  general    features 

and  ridges  of  the  (General  Discussion). 
Alluvial  region  of: 

Louisiuna.  area,  description,  and  production  of 
Mississippi  river,  area,   extent,   and    general 

description  of  (in  Repoit  on  Mississippi). 
Mississippi   river,  area,    extent,    and   general 
description  of  (in  Report  on  Missouri). 

Mississippi  river  in  Arkansas 

Mississippi  river  in  Tennessee  and  Kentucky 

Texas,  and  cotton  produclion  of 

Alluvial  soils  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  California, 

character  and  analyses  of. 
Alluvium  of  Mobile  river,  delta  in  Alabama,  charac- 
ter of. 
Alumina,  remarks  on  presence  of,  in  soils  (General 
Discussion. ) 

Amador  valley,  California,  extent  and  soil  of 

Ammonia,  constant  variation  of,  in  soils  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 
Amount  of  charges  per  bale  against  the  farmer  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Floi  ida 

Georgia  

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri        

North  Carolina 

Tennessee , 

Texas 

Virginia 

Amount  of  cottonseed  used  per  acre,  and  variety, 
price,  and  disposal  of,  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri  ...1 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennesseo 

Texas 

Virginia 

Amount  of  seed-cotton  picked  in  a  day  in: 

California , 

Mississippi 

North  Carolina 

Amount  of  seed -cotton  required  for  a  bale  of  lint  in: 

Alabama  

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri   

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Analyses  and  descriptions  of  soils  and  subsoils  in: 
Alabama 

Arkansas 

CdNfornia 


i      Page 
■£     of  special 
«        report. 


0,13,14 
14,15 


I    |     12-21,34 
I   I  39-45 


IT 

156 

160 

r 

107 

643 

u 

71 

251 

ii 

171 

440 

T 

85 

187 

I 

155 

357 

I 

28 

526 

II 

78 

610 

I 

105 

477 

I 

102 

820 

U 

21 

643 

13,14 

14-10,112 

41-48.  50 

20-30 


154 

38.  0(1 

70 

07.  (18 

57,  58, 

105,  1MI 

20 

78.  7  D 

149.  HO 

25,  20 

73.  74 

52-58 

43,  OR,  mi 

154, 1SS 

19 


II  178-148, 155 

I      49-04.  102 

II        38-00.69 

I  ,70-15*.  170 


5 

44-73.  81 
88-143,152 

15-18.27 

30-04.  75 
54-58 

48-02,101 

011-148,  158 

11-15.20 


Grnerul 

folio 

(nt  liottom 
ol'piipe). 


545,  540,  550 
853,853 

400,  484 

16 

.'190 

07 

030,  6.11 

87,68 


114-123,136 
241-247 

508 

540.  550 
386-388,  484 
099-700,  708 

081-088 


247, 
323, 
431, 

180, 
350. 
623. 
605. 
508- 
415,470, 
812, 


104 
1.635 
734 
.  248 
324. 
432 
807 
181 
851 
524 
606 
514 
471 
813 
641 


88-158, 105 
585-0'!0,  638 
218-240,249 
335-1  4,436 
800-803 
140-175,183 
290-345,354 
513-510.525 
562-590,  G"7 
510-514 
420-414  473 
718-8H0.8I6 
633-41.17,  612 


'20-00,81-84 


16-50,     /. 
71-74    J* 

14-38,  550-574, 

42-46  578-582 

18-81  I  676-739 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


799 


1 

rage 

of  special 

report. 

General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 

Analyses  and  descriptions  of  soils  and  sabBoils  in — 

continued. 

ii 
ii 
i 
i 
i 

i 
ii 
ii 
i 

i 
i 

15-28,  34 

25-C6 

10-17 

112 

13-31.40 

(      15-71. 

1        80-83 

14-25 

15-48 

16-14 

(      24-47. 

>        52-55 

62-69 

195-208,214 

291-332 

848-855 

484 

115-133,  142 

217-273, 

282-285 

540-057 

471-504 

3tB-410 

682-705, 

710-713 

74-81 

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee) 

Analysesof  representative  soils  (General  Discussion) 

Analyses  of  soils: 

Interpretation  and  practical  utility  of,  with 

i 

56-«9 

68-81 

groups  from  several  states  (General  Discus- 

siou). 

Made  in  the  laboratory  of  the  University  of 

i 

V 

11 

Alabama  (General  Discussion). 

Showing  relation  between  lime  and  clay  (Gen- 

i 

64 

76 

eral  Discussion). 

Strength  of  acid  used  in,  and  methods  of  (Gen- 

i 

60 

72 

eral  Discussion). 

Analytical  results,  interpretation  of  (General  Dis- 

i 

61-69 

73-81 

cussion). 

Angelina  bottom  lands  of  Texas,  character  and  pro- 

i 

27,28 

685,  686 

ductiveness  of. 

Angola  bay,  North  Carolina,  character  and  location 

of. 
Answers  to  schedule  questions,  summary  of,  from  : 

n 

37,46 

569,  578 

ii 
i 

ii 
n 
i 
i 
i 
i 
ii 
ii 
i 
i 

TT 

153-150 
97-108 
67-71 

163-170 
29-31 
77-85 

147-155 
25-28 
73-78 
51-60 
97-105 

153-163 
19-21 

163-166 
633-644 
247-251 
429-442 
867-809 
179-187 
3 19-3.17 
523-526 
6115-010 
507-022 
4<;9-177 
8U-S21 
641-643 

Antelope  valley,  California,  extent  and  soil  of 

II 

62 

720 

Ants,  destruction  of  caterpillars  by,  in  Louisiana  . . . 

I 

82 

184 

Aphides,  or  lice,  on  cotton-plants  in : 

n 

i 
ii 
ii 
i 
i 
ii 
ii 
i 
i 
ii 

155 
103 

69 
17#,  171 

82 
152 

76 

59 
102 
158 

78 

105 
639 
249 
436,  437 
184 
354 
608 
515 
474 
816 
88 

Mississippi 

Arbacoochee  valley,  Alabama,  lands  and  gold-bearing 

rocks  of. 

Arcadian  slates  and  conglomerates  in  Alabama,  soils 

n 

19 

29 

of. 

Archaean  formation  in  North  Carolina,  occurrence  of. 

ii 

11,12 

543,544 

Area  and  elevation  of  the  different  regions  of  South 

n 

12,13 

468, 469 

Carolina. 

Area  and  extent  of: 

ii 
i 
n 
it 
n 
i 
i 
i 
i 
ii 
n 
i 
i 

9 
9 
7 
7 

11 
7 
9 
9 
7 
9 
7 

11 
13, 14 

19 
545 
665 
187 
277 
845 
111 
211 
505 
541 
463 
383 
671,672 

Georgia 

Area  of: 

Cotton  culture    in    North  Carolina  extended 

n 

22 

554 

since  1870. 

Each  agricultural  region  of  the  cotton  states 

i 

4 

16 

(General  Discussion). 

Each  state  over  which  cotton  is  produced  (Gen- 

i 

3 

17 

eral  Discussion). 

Irrigable  lauds  in  California 

ii 

16 

674 

Area  of— continued. 

Long-leaf  pine  region  in  Louisiana 

Ked  River  bottom  region  in  Louisiana 

San  Joaquin  valley,  California 

The  greatest  cotton  production  in  Alabama 
Area,  popnlation,  tilled  lauds,  and  cotton  production, 
by  counties,  in : 

Alabama. 

Arkansas 

California  (no  cotton  production  reported) 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

KeBtucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee) 

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina  .... 

South  Carolina , 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Areas  of  certain, regions : 
In  Alabama: 

Barrens  lands  of  the  Tennessee  Valley  re- 
gion. 

Lime-bills  or  lower  prairie  region 

Long-leaf  pine  region 

Met  amorphic  region 

Middle  division 

Northern  division 

Oak  and  pine  uplands  region 

Pine  uplands  region 

Post-oak  Ilatwoods  region 

Southern  division 

Tennessee  Valley  region  and  subdivisions. 
In  Arkansas: 

Arkansas  Rivei  basin. 

Arkansas  River  bottom  lands 

Black -prairie  region    

Crowley's  Ridge  region 

Gray  silt  prairie  region 

Northern  barrens  and  hills  region 

Ouachita  River  basin    

Red  lands  region  of  White  and  Van  Buren 
counties. 

Red-loam  prairie  region 

Red-loam  region 

White  River  bisin 

Yellow-loam  ur  oak  and  pine  uplands 

In  California: 

Broken  region  of  the  western  slope  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada  mountains. 

Coast  region  north  of  the  bay  country 

£  oast  region  south  of  the  bay  country 

Desert  region 

Foot-hills  region 

Great  Valley  region 

Irrigated  lands  in  Sacramento  valley 

Redwood  belt 

Sierra  Nevada  mountain  region 

Southern  region 

In  Florida: 

Erown-lkiam  uplands 

Everglades 

Ilummock  lauds 

Long-leaf  pine  region ...'. 

Oak,  hickory,  and  pine  upland  region 

Pitch  pine,  treeless,  and  alluvial  region 

Prairies,  savannas,  and  everglades 

In  Georgia : 

Central  cotton  belt 

Coast  region 

Gray  sandy  lands  of  the  lnetamorphie-  region 

Lime-sink  region 

Metamorphie  region 

Northwest  Georgia 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


3,4 
3,4 
3,4 

3 
3-5 

3 
109 
3,4 
3,4 
3,4 
3,4 

3 
3-8 
3-0 

3 


II 

52 

II 

54 

II 

14 

II 

14 

II 

25 

II 

37 

II 

45 

II 

51 

n 

34 

n 

28 

i 

10 

i 

15 

i 

27 

i 

20 

i 

23 

i 

35 

i 

11 

i 

31 

i 

1 
32 

i 

29 

i 

10 

i 

24,  25 

rr 

55 

n 

46 

ii 

43,44 

n 

31 

n 

18 

ii 

17 

ii 

56 

ii 

00 

n 

37 

ii 

16,17 

ii 

27 

n 

23,24 

n 

20 

h 

15 

n 

27 

n 

27 

n 

38 

ii 

51 

ii 

32 

ii 

17 

ii 

29 

u 

19 

General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


800 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


Areas  of  certain  regions — continued. 
In  Georgia— continued. 

Oak,  hickory,  and  long-leaf  pine  hills  region 

Pine  barrens 

River  basins 

Sand  and  pine  bills  region 

Southern  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  region 

In  the  Indian  territory: 

Cherokee  nation 

Chickasaw  nation 

Choctaw  nation 

Creek  nation 

Pottawatomie  nation 

Seminole  nation 

In  Louisiana: 

Alluvial  region 

Bastrop  hills 

Black  calcareous  prairies 

Bluff  region 

Brown  lo  im  prairie  region 

Gray  Bilt  or  pine  prairie  region 

In  Mississippi: 

Alluvial  region  of  the  Mississippi 

Brown-loam  table-lands 

Deer  creek  region 

Dogwood  range   

Long-leaf  pine  region 

Rotten  limestone  praitie  region 

Sunflower  basin 

Tazoo  basin  anil  the  Yazoo  bottom  plain.  - 
In  Missouri : 

Mississippi  alluvial  region 

Water  basin  of  Saint  Francis  and  White 
rivers. 
In  North  Carolina: 

Eastern  topographical  division 

Long-leaf  pine  region 

Midland  division 

Mountain  division 

Piedmont  division 

Seaboard  region 

In  South  Carolina : 

Alluvial  lands 

Coast  lands 

Improved  lands 

Lower  pine  belt    

Met  amorphic  region 

Pii  dmont  region 

Red-bills  region 

Salt  marshes 

Sand-hills  region 

Sea  Islands 

Swamp  lands 

Upper  pine  belt  

In  Tennessee : 

Brown-loam  table  lands 

Central  basin 

Cumberland  tableland 

Highlaud  rim 

Mississippi  bottom  land 

Summit  region  of  the  watershed  of  the  Ten- 
nessee. 

TJnaka  mountain  region 

Upland  slope  of  west  Tennessee 

Valley  of  cast  Tennessee 

Western  valley  of  the  Tennessee 

In  Texas: 

Centra]  black  prairie  region  

Drainage  basins  of  the  Red,  Sabine,  Tiin- 
ity,  Brazos,  Colorado,  San  Antonio,  Guad- 
alupe, Nueces,  and  Rio  Grande  rivers. 

Gypsnm  region 


Pago 

of  special 

report. 


41 

40 
10 
38 
43 

21,22 

24 

23,24 

22 
25 
23 

12 

12 


23 
24 

39 
33,34 
43 
41 
58 
13 
42 
0,40 

10 


13,23 

12 

7 

13,  24 

13,43 

13.  47 

13,32 

13 

13,35 

12 

8 

13,20 

19 
14 
35 
14 
13 
21 

14 
14 
14 


34 
16,17 


General     1 
folio 
(at  but  torn 
of  pugo). 


307 
315 
282 
304 
309 

850,  SCO 
802 

861,  802 
800 
803 
801 

114 

114 
124 
123 
125 
120 

241 
235,  230 
215 
243 
260 
215 
214 
211,242 


542 
547 
542 
542 
542 
54-1 

469,  479 

468 

463 

469.  480 

409,  499 

409,  503 

409,  488 

409 

409,491 

468 

464 

409,  4S5 

391 
3S0 
407 
386 
385 
303 

386 
3S6 
386 
386 

092 
074,  075 


Areas  of  certain  regions — continued. 
In  Texas — continued. 

Llano  Kstaeado 

Long-leaf  pine  region 

Mountainous  region 

Northwestern  red-loam  region    

Oak,  hickory,  and  piuo  uplands  

Sugar-bowl  region 

Timbered  part  of  the  state 

In  Virginia: 

Alluvial  or  seaboard  region 

Midland  region 

Tide-water  region  

Arizona: 

Cotton  culture  in  (in  Report  on  California) 

Cotton   fiber,  measurements  of  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 
Successful  cotton  culture,  experiments  In  (Gen- 
eral Discussion). 
Arkansas: 

Area,  population,  tilled  bind,  cotton  product  ion, 
rank  among  the  states,  anil  banner  counties 
of  (Genet al  Discussion). 
Cotton   fiber,  measurements  of  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 
Derivation  and  pronunciation  of  the  word   . . . 
Discussion  regarding  rank  of,  among  the  cot- 
ton states  (General  Discussion). 

Index  to  Report  on     

Possible  cottonseed-oil  mill  products  of,  from 
the  crop  of  1879,  and  their  market  and  ma- 
nure valuations  (General  Discussion). 
Report  on  Cotton  Production  in  the  State  of, 

by  Dr.  R.  II.  Lougkridgc. 
Special   agent  appointed  for  (General  Discus- 
sion). 
Arkansas  ami  Kentucky,  Dr.  Owens'  reports  on,  the 
first  giving    agricultural  features  (General 
Discussion). 
Arkansas  liver: 

Basin,  area  and  extent  of 

Bottom  lands,  area,  extent,  and  description  of 
Army-worm,  occurrence  of,  in: 

Georgia 

Texas     

Arroyos,  bow  formed  in  Texas 

Artesiau  wells  of: 

California,  a  source  of  in  i gat  inn  in  the  southern 
region,  number  and  depth  of. 

Central  and  western  prairies  in  Texas 

Los  Angeles  plains,  California 

Mississippi 

San  Joaquin  valley,  California 

Asbestos,  occurrence  of,  in: 

Georgia 

South  Carolina  

Ashes  of  cottonseed  bulls  used   for  manure,  and 

prices  paid  for  (General  Discussion). 

Ashley  marls,  occurrence  of.  in  South  Carolina 

Aspbaltum  in  California,  deposits  of 

Atlanta,  Georgia,  elevation  of,  above  the  sea 

Auriferous  belt  of  California 

Azoic  rocks  in  Texas,  extent  and  character  of 

It. 

Back-lands  of  the: 

Mississippi  alluvial  plain,  character  and 
growth  of  (General  Discussion). 

Tennessee  valley 

Bagging  used  in  baling  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia  

Indian  territory 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


129, 130 
10,17 


100-110 
49 


10 
15,81 

170 
159 

10,33 
42,43 

10,30 

100 
13 
17 


80-88 
10,46 


11 

116 
30 
32 
17 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


170 
30 


097 
686 
099 
095 
081 
702 
681 

630,  031 
029 
030 

787,  788 
28,29 


28,  29 
545 


1-1'.    652 

61 


531-652 

11 
67 


540 
551,  617 


436 
817 


074,  094 
704 
215 
075 

352-354 

406,502 

50 

467 
774 
290 
090 
675 


038 
249 
430 
808 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


801 


Bagging  used  in  baling  in— continued. 

Louisiana 

11  ississippi 

Missouri 

Norl  h  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Bald  prairie  hills  in  Alabama,  character  of 

Bale,  average  weight  of,  in  (bo  states  (General  Dis 

cussioifl). 
Bale  of  cotton,  amount  of  charges  per,  against  farmer, 


Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

(Georgia  

Louisiana 

Mississippi : 

Missouri  ... 

North  Carolina 

Tennessee  

Tesas 

Virginia : 

Bale  of  lint,  amount  of  seed-cotton  required  for  a,  in ; 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Floi  ida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

M  issouri 

North  Carolina 

Soul li  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas    

Virginia  

Bale  of  lint,  usual  weight  of  a,  in  : 

A 1  abania 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Bales,  estimated  number  of,  per  hand,  in: 

Alabama  

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia  

•  Louisiana 

M  ississippi  

Missouri 

>  orlh  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas        

Virginia   ..  

Bales  of  sea-island  cotton  : 

Weight  and  size  of,  in  South  Carolina 

Weight  of,  and  ratio  of  lint  to  seed  (General 
Discussion). 
Bales  per  acre  in  counties  in  -. 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Flori  a 

Georgia  ...   

Indian  territory 

Kentucky  (in  lieport  on  Tennessee) 

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee  

Texas ; 

Virginia 

Bales  per  square  mile  in  regions  in: 

Alabama. 

Arkansas  . . .'. 

Florida .- 

Georgia 

Louisiana  — 

Mississippi  

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia 

Bales,  weight  of,  in  Mexico  (in  Kcport  on  California) 


Pago 

of  special 

report. 


156 

107 


105 
102 
21 


5-148,155 

49-94,  1(12 

38-00,  09 

70-158.  J  70 

22-25 

44-711,  81 

i8-l4!l,  152 

15-18,27 

30-01,75 

51-58 

48-92,1(11 

60-148, 158 

11-15,20 

155 

102 

30,  C9 

170, 174 

81 


15! 


102 

158 
20 


156 
106 

71 
174 


77 
104 
162 

21 


3,4 
3,4 


109 
3,4 
3,4 
3,4 
3,  4 

3 
3-8 
3-6 

3 


60 
40 
29 
54 
3,  4,  32 
3,4,72 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page) . 


474 
816 
642 
60 
18 


166 
643 
251 
440 
187 
3:i7 
520 
610 
477 
820 
643 


85-158, 165 
585-6:;0,  638 
218-240,  249 
330-124,  430 

800-803 
140-175,183 
290-345,  354 
513-510,525 
502-590,  007 

510-514 
420-104,  473 
718-800,810 
033-037,  042 


165 
638 
210,  240 
430,440 
.183 
351 
525 
607 
474 
816 
642 


166 
642 
251 
440 
186 
357 
526 
609 
476 
820 
643 


514 
19 


13.14 

539,  540 

183 

269-271 

841 

481 

105,  1(10 

205,  2116 

501,  502 

535,  536 

450 

375-380 

601-064 


70 

.      570 

209 

320 

105,106.134 
205,  200,  '-'74 
553 
459 
412 
605-064,  008 
632 


Baling  cotton,  bagging  used  in,  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida    . .  

Georgia ,.. 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri  

Norl  h  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Toxas  

Virginia 

Baling  cottou,  capacity  and  presses  used  in,  in : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

M  ississippi 

M  issouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee  

Toxas 

Virginia 

Baling  cotton,  fastening  used  in,  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia     

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Mi  sour)    .    

North  Carolina  

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas , 

Virginia    

Baling,  ginning,  and  shipping  cotton,  details  of,  in : 

Alabama  

Arkansas    

Florida 

Georgia 

Indiau  territory 

Louisiana   

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Caiolina 

Tennessee  

Texas 

Virginia  

Baling  of  both  short  and  long  staple,  methods  of,  iu 
Florida. 

Banana  in  South  Carolina,  growth  of  the 

Banks  of  the  coast  of  North  Carolina,  character  of  the 
Banks,  system  of,  in  the  nietamorphic  region  of  Sou  th 

Carolina. 
Banner  counties  in  cotton  production  in: 

Alabama  

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

North  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia 

Bailey,  acreage  and  production  of,  in  California,  by 
counties. 

Barley  and  oats,  production  of,  in  four  nations  of  the 
Indian  territory. 

Barrens  and  cherty  lands  in  Arkansas,  analyses  of. . 

Barrens  in  Arkansas,  occurrence  of 

Barrens  in  Missouri,  general  description  of 

Barrens  lands  in  Alabama,  area,  extent,  character,  > 
and  analyses  of.  5 

Barrens  lands  of  the  Highland  Him,  Tennessee,  de-  j 
scription  of.  J 

Barrens  of  the  pine  region  of  Florida 

Bastrop  hills,  Louisiana,  description  of  lands  of  ... . 

Bay  country,  California,  general  description  of 

Bay  swamps  of  South  Carolina,  character  and  analy- 
sis of  soil  of. 

Bayou  Bartholomew  lands  iu  Arkansas,  character  of 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


00 
170 
30 
81 
152 
27 
75 
102 
1'58 
20 


170 
30 
81 

152 


58 

101,102 
158 
20 


155 
102 

09 
58, 170 
30 
81 
152 
27 
75 
58 
102 
158 
20 


154,155 

101 

30.09 

169,  17« 

30 

81 

151 

27 

75 

58 

101.102 

157, 158 

20 


30 


55-57 
33 


28.30-32, 
99-/09 

20,02,67, 
74,82 

22 
12,16 
45,46 

29 


Gem  ral 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


105 
638 
2Jfl 
436 
86S 
183 
354 
525 
6C7 
474 
810 
642 


249 

436 
868 
183 

354 
525 
607 
514 
473,  474 
816 
643 


165 
038 
249 
24,  430 
868 
183 
354 
525 
607 
514 
474 
810 
642 


104.165 

637 

210,  249 

435,  436 

868 

183 

353 

525 

607 

514 

473,474 

815,816 

612 

210 


487 
545 
521 


70 
576 
209 
321-3 J3 
135 
274 
553 
413 
708 
032 

661,  662 


841 

574 

540 

500,  507 

38*40-42. 
109-119 

398,434,439, 
446,  454 

202 
114,118 
703,  704 

485 


51    C    P — VOL.    II 


802 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


Bayou,  definition  of  {General  Discussion) 

Bayous  of  Louisiana,  character  ami  network  of 

Bear  creek,  California,   character  of  channels  and 

lands  of. 
Bear  swamp.  North  Carolina,  extent,  soil,  and  growth 

of, 
Beds  of  dark  stratified  sands  and  clays  in  Tennessee, 

description  of. 
Beech  prevails  only  in  southern  part  of  the  state  of 

Arkansas. 

Beeswax  hammocks  and  Hat-woods  of  Alabama 

Beetles  in  Texas,  occurrence  of 

Beginning  and  closing  of  cotton- picking  season  in : 

Alabama 

Arkansas r. 

California 


Florida  . 
Georgia 
Indian  territory 

Louisiana ... 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

Nwth  Carolina  . 
South  Carolina... 
Tennessee 

Texas 

"Virginia 


Beginning  and  closing  of  cotton  picking  season  in 
Mexico  (in  Report  on  California). 

Belt  of  intense  cotton  production  in  Alabama 

Bennett  valley,  California,  extent  and  lands  of 

Berryessa  valley,  California,  cxtcntand  description  of 

Big  Tree  grove,  California , 

Big  valley.  California,  extent,  soil,  and  vegetation  of 
Bitter  Water  valley,  California,  extent  and  descrip- 
tion of. 
Black  bottom  hinds  of  Black  river  in  Arkansas,  char- 
acter uf. 
Black  calcareous  prairies  of  Missouri,  description  of. 
Black  central  prairie  region  of  Texas,  general  feat- 
ures of. 

Black  clay  lands  ofthe  red-loam  region  of  Texas 

Black  frost,  first  appearance  of,  in: 

Alabama   

A  i  kiinsas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 


Louisiana . 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina  . 

South  Carolina  . 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 


Black  gravel  in  gray  silt  prairies  of  Louisiana 

Black  gum  and  black-jack  oak,  character  of  lands  in 

Mississippi  indicated  by. 
Blackjack  lands  of : 

Mississippi,  description  of 


Missouri,  character  and  timber  of,  in  the  cotton 
region  of. 

South  Carolina,  character  and  analyses  of 

South  Carolina  derived  from  trappean  rocks... 

Black  laud  of  Alabama,  analysis  of 

Black-loam  lands  of: 

Gray  silt  prairie  region  in  Arkansas 

Mississippi  alluvial  region  in  Missouri 

Black  mucky  soil  of  cypress  brakes  in  Arkansas, 

character  of. 
Black  prairie  of  A  ttakapas  prairie  region  of  Louisiana 
Black  prairie  region  of: 

Alabama,  area,  extent,  character,  and  analyses 
of  soils  of. 

Arkansas,  characteristic  growth  of 

Indian  territory,  description  of 

Mississippi,  description  of 


Pago 

of  special 

roport. 


114,  1M 
ldl 
7;. 
68 
108,  170 
3  LI 
80 
151 
2'6 
To 
55-58 
]u() 
157 
•JO 

130 


01 

117, 118 

US 

103 

62,  122 


08 

11,20,  109 
30 
80 
10,151 
20 
75 
\  26,  31.  37. 

>  50, 5H 
S 12, 13.40. 

>  100 
75, 157 

JO 


\14,  15.  91, 
)         92, 94 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


85 
112 
683 


CO 
817 


124. 104 

037 
733 
248 
434, 4 U 
808  * 
1K2 


353 
524 
6U7 


71 


775,  770 
770 
701 

720,  780 
772 

543 

500   . 


037 
24B 

7,  286,  435 

80S 

182 

212,  35:  J 

524 

007 

,  487,  493, 

MJ.f.14 

384,385,  412, 

472 

733,815 

642 


10 
53 

59.60 

15-21 
OR 


13.  23 
13,14 


120 
229,  234 


10,  217,  293, 
294, 290 


497 
400 
03 

595,  590 

513-519 

004 


563 
851,  801 
215,216 


Black  prairie  region  of— continued. 

Texas,  area  and  general  description  of 

Total  area  and  cotton  production  of  (General 
Discussion). 

"West  Tennessee 

Black  prairie  soils  the  first  to  suffer  from  drought 
(<  renoral  Discussion). 

Black  prairies  (Cretaceous)  of  Arkansas,  description  of 
Black  sandy   alluvial  loams  of  the   Mississippi,   in 
Arkansas. 

Black  sarnh  la  mis  of  Rod  river,  in  Arkansas 

Black  spice  lands  of  Cache  river,  in  Arkansas 

Black  upland  pEatrio  soil  in  long  leaf  pine  region  of 
Louisiana. 

Black  waxy  land  (Cretaceous)  of  Arkansas 

Blight,  or  rust,  as  affecting  cotton  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida , 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi , 

Missouri  

North  Carolina 

Sou tli  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Blooms  first  appear,  when,  in: 

Alabama 

Ark. i  sas  

California 

Florida    

Georgia    

Indian  territory 

Louisiana '. 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North.  Carolina 

South  Carolina    

Tt  uuessee 

Texas  

Virginia 

Blount's  Springs  valley,  Alabama,  area  of 

Blowing  caves  in  Georgia,  occurrence  of 

Blue,  clay  of  L'Anguille  bottom  land  in  Arkansas  .. 

Blue  clay  oi  the  pine-fiats  region  of  Georgia 

Blue-marl  kinds  of  Alabama   description  of , 

Blue  mails  in  Georgia,  analyses  of 

Blue  nidge,  Georgia,  geological  features  of  .-. 

Blue  Kidge,  North  Carol iua,  elevation  of 

Blue  Ridge,  Texns,  description  of 

Blue  Ridge  region  of: 

Georgia,  cotton  production  in   ..  

Georgia,  cieneral  description  of 

Georgia,  lauds  of,  under  cultivation 

Virginia,  elevation  of  

Bluff  of  tin'  Mississippi  river  in  Kentucky 

Bluff  or  plateau  slope  of  West  Tennessee,  area,  ex- 
tent, general  character,  and  subdivisions  of. 
Bluff  regiou.  description  of,  in: 

Louisiana  

Mississippi  (cane-hills)  

Teunes.seu 

Bluffs,  sections  of: 

Cru why's  ridge,  Arkansas 

Fort  Gaines  aud  Shell  Bluff  of  Georgia 

Trinity  river,  Texas,  at  Rui-al  Shade 

Bog-ore  iu  Louisiana  of: 

Gray  silt  prairies 

Oak  uplands  regiou 

Pine  flats 

Boiling  or  blue  springs  of  Florida,  character  of 

Boiling  springs  of   the  sand-hill  region  of   South 

Carolina. 
Bois  d'arc  the    characteristic    timber  of  the  black 
prairie  region  of  Arkansas. 


Pago 

of  special 

report. 


10,34,37. 
50 


27,28 

49-00 

04 

17 

G0-C3,  or. 


155 

102.  103 

69.70 

171 

30 

28. 81-H3 

16,51,50, 

1 6a 

27 

76 

59,00 

103 

35,  53, 

158-100 

20 


154 

loo 


80 
150 


55-58 
100 
356 

20 

17 
135 
56 
51 
50,51 
45 
12 
9 
20 

50 

29,30 

37 

7 
111 


I 

21, 22,31-37 

I 
I 

45-51 
17-10 

I 

20 

u 

14 

I 

74 

I 

24 

I 

32 

I 

26 

II 

15 

II 

33 

General 
folio 

(at  lioltom 
of  page). 


074,092,095, 
708 


503,  504 
585-5DC 


105 

638,  U3» 

249,  250 

437 

SO! 

130,  If 3- 185 

118,253,258, 

335 

625 

608 

515,510 

475 

603,711, 

816-818 

642 


164 
636 
733 
248 
434 
868 
162 
352 
521 
006 
511-514 
472 
814 
642 
27 
401 
502 
317 
00,61 
311 
278 
541 
084 


295,  200 
303 
020 
483 

388-395 


123, 124, 
130-130 
247-253 
389-301 


120 

134 
128 
105 
4S9 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


803 


Boiling  not  favored  in  Georgia  by  deep  culture 

Boiling  of  cotton-plants  favored  and  running  to  weed 
prevented — 
In  Alabama  by: 

Application  of  fertilizers 

Breaking  the  land  very  shallow  

Deep  preparation  of  the  land 

Deep  tillage 

Early  planting 

Giving  more  space  between  the  plants 

Not  plowing  too  near  the  plant 

Planning  every  second  or  third  row  with 
corn. 

Plowing  close  to  the  plant 

Rapid  and  light  cultivation 

Shallow  culture 

Thinning  out  to  p roper  distance 

Topping  the  plant 

Underdrainage 

In  Arkansas  by : 

Bedding  the  land  high 

Close  plowing  and  cutting  lateral  roots 

Drainage  and  cultivation 

Early  planting 

Late  culture 

Plan  ting  eruaUer  varieties 

Shallow  cultivation 

Topping  (in  a  majority  of  counties) 

In  Florida  by: 

Apx»lication  of  fertilizers 

Early  planting 

Plat  weeding 

Importation  of  new  seed  from  Georgia  and 
South  Carolina. 

Late  plowing 

Light  cultivation 

Proper  distance  between  plants 

Shallow  culture 

Thorough  cultivation 

Topping  the  plant 

In  Georgia  by: 

Application  of  fertilizers 

Deep  preparation  of  the  land 

Drainage 

Early  planting 1, 

Planting  closor  in  the  drill 

Plowing  near  the  plant  and  breaking  lat- 
eral roots. 

Proper  distance  between  plants 

Shallow  cultivation 

Thick  planting 

Topping  the  plant 

Use  of  an  early  variety  of  seed 

Use  of  marl 

Use  of  prolific  seed 

"Wholesome  neglect  of  the  crop" 

In  Indian  territory  by: 

Close  planting 

Good  cultivation 

Topping  the  plant 

In  Louisiana  by : 

Deep  plowing 

Drainage    

Fertilizers 

Plowing  close  to  the  plant 

Shallow  cultivation 

Thinning  the  plants 

Topping  the  plant 


Pago 

of  special 

report. 


81-148 

129 

143 

80 

(110,143, 

•(  148 

129, 139 

106 

129 

121-139 
143,148 

81-142 

108 

78-145 

112, 128 

77 

50-93 

64,82 

77 

56 

35 

59-01 

50-94 


;  39,43,48, 
i  54 

40,54 

56 

40,59 


48 

41 

(40,41,53, 

t  54 

50,53 

59 

f  40,41, 48, 

(  49,  50,  60 

71-156 
(  103.111, 
i  141,142 
148, 158 
110,137 
71,  72,  77 
100, 114 

121 

72-137 

97 

70-158 

97 

131 

143 

157 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


408 


91-158 
139 
153 


139,  149 
116 
139 

131-149 
193, 158 
91-152 

118 
88-155 
122, 138 

613 

586-629 

000,  018 

613 

592 

591 

595-627 

586-630 

219,223,228, 
234 

220,  234 

236 

220,  239 

228 

221 
220,221,233, 

234 
230,  233 

239 
220,221  228 
229,'  230,  240 

337-422 
369,  377, 
407, 406 
414,  424 
376, 403 
337,  338,  343 
306, 380 

387 
338-403 
303 
336-424 
363 
397 
409 
423 


SCO 

860 

800,  862 


174 
104 


45  00 

147, 168 

44,  48,  50 

140,  150,  152 

48 

150 

46-73 

148-175 

Boiling  of  cotton-plants  favored  and  running  to  weed 
prevented— continued. 
In  Mississippi  by: 

Application  of  fertilizers  or  lime 


Deep  plowing,   throwing  soil  from   the 

plant,  and  cutting  lateral  roots. 
Drainage 


Early  planting. 


Judicious  culture  . 


Making  rows  farther  apart  . 
Shallow  culture 


Topping  the  plant 

In  Missouri  by : 

Shallow  tillage 

Topping  the  plant 

In  North  Carolina  by : 

Application  of  fertilizers  or  lime. 

Closer  planting 

Deep  cultivation 

Deep  plowing 

Early  cultivation    


Marling  

Thinning  out  . 


Thorough  draining 

Thorough  subsoiling 

Topping  the  plant 

In  South  Carolina  by  : 

Applica tion  of  fertil izers 

-  Planting  short-limbed  varieties  of  cotton  . 

Plowing  close  to  the  plant 

Topping 

Underdrainage 

In  Tennessee  by : 

Application  of  manure 


Close  plowing  to  cut  lateral  roots 

Deep  plowing  in  pi  eparation  of  the  land 

Early  planting 

Planting  the  seed  thick  in  the  drill 

Rapid  culture  and  early  laying-by 

Reducing  the  height  of  the  ridge 

Polling  the  seedin  plaster  and  planting 

early. 
Running  no  center  furrow  when  bedding  . 

Shallow  cultivation 

Thinning  the  stalks 

Topping  tho  plant 

Turning  out  the  middles 

In  Texas  by: 

Bedding  on  hard  ground 

Close  planting 

Deep  plowing 

Early  planting 

Plowing  close  to  tho  plant  and  breaking 

lateral  roots. 
Rapid  cultivation 


Shallow  culture... 


Thinning  out  the  plants  . 
Thorough  drainage 


Thorough  tillage. 


Throwing  soil  from  the  plant 

Topping  the  plant  (in  a  majority  of  coun- 
ties). 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


90,91, 
137, 
139 


(  BS  >U 

<  134, 

(113,115, 

<  120.  125, 
(   126,130 

88, 130 

C  95,111, 
i  112,126, 
(    131,137 

101,  104, 

107,115, 

131 

89,  111 

90-135 

92,  96, 

101,110, 

111,130, 

138 

10 

10,18 

31-59 
59 
50 

45,58 
31,34,39,42 

35,42 


35.'iO.::o, 
42,  45,  56 


52.58,01, 
71,  76,  92 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


290,  292, 
293,  330, 
339,  341 

315,317, 
322,  327, 
328, 332 


297.313, 
314,  328, 
333,  339 

303,  306, 

309,  317, 

333 

290,  313 

292-337 

294.  298, 
306.312, 
313,332, 
340 
514 
514,  510 

503-591 
591 


577,  590 

(  563, 566, 
X  mi,  574 
507,  574 
585 
507,508,571, 
574,  577,  5S8 


515,  510 
515 
515 
515 
515 

424.430.433, 
443,448,404 

422-426, 

430,431 

453 


52.50,57. 
00,81,00 

424.428.429, 
438,  453,  402 

81 

453 

52 

424 

88 

400 

87 

459 

52 

424 

48-91 

420-403 

73 

445 

50-90 

422-402 

50 

428 

118 

770 

102 

700 

109, 132 

767,  790 

72,84 

730,  742 

06-141 

724-799 

75, 125 

733,  783 

05,85,00, 

113,  118, 

128 

723,  743, 
748.771, 
770,  786 

78,  90,  98 

736,  748,  756 

02.  70, 79 

720,  728,  737 

02,00,70, 

84,  88, 

139 

720  -24, 
728,712, 
746,  797 

61,72,87. 
93,117 

719,  720,  745, 
751,775 

804 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  60TT0N  PRODUCTION. 


Boiling  of  cotton-plants  favored  and  running  to -weed 
prevented— continued. 
In  Virginia  by: 

Shallow  cultivation 

Topping  tho  plant 

Boiling  retarded  in  Alabama  by  throwing  soil  too 

high  upon  the  plant. 
Bolls  first  open,  when,  in: 

Alabama. 

Arkansas 

California 


Georgia 

Indian  territory  . 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri  

North  i  'arolina  .. 
Smith  Carolina  -■ 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia 


BoIIb,  rot  of,  occurrence  of,  and  how  obviated  in  : 

Alabama. 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri         

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee, 

Te*as 

Virginia 

Bolls  usually  largest  on  fertilt 

eittl  Discussion). 
Boll-worm,  appearance  of,  in: 
Alabama. . 


bottom  lands  (Gen- 


Ark  annas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

No,  lb  Carolina  

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia 

Boll-wonii  in  Texas: 

Causes  the  cottOD-plant  to  ran  to  weed 

Never  attacks  cotton  in  presence  of  corn 

Bottom  lands  of: 

Bluff  region  of  Tennessee 

Indian  territory,  description,  terraces,  and  an- 
alyses of. 

Lime-sink  region  of  Georgia,    character  and 
anal\  sis  of. 

Oak-uplands  region  of  North  Carolina 

Timbered  region  of  Texas,  character  and  pro- 
ductiveness of. 
Bottom  prairie  soil  of  Red  river,  Louisiana,  analyses 
of  soils  of. 

Brazil-wood  in  Texas,  occurrence  of 

Brazos  alluvial  region  of  Texas,  cotton  production  of. 
Brazos  liiver  drainage  basin  of  Texas,  area  and  ex- 
tent of. 
Breaking  up  land,  draft  employed  in,  in  : 

Alabama  

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory  


Louisiana  . 

Mississippi 

Missouri         

Noi-th  Carolina  . 
South  Carolina  . 

Tennessee   

TexaB  

Virginia 


Broad  river.  South  Carolina,  length  and  navigation  of. 

Broken  region  of  the  western  slope  of  the  Sierra  Ne- 
vada mountains,  California,  area  and  descrip- 
tion of. 

Brown-  and  red-loam  region  of  northwest  Georgia, 
extent,  general  character,  and  analyses  of 
soils  of. 


Page 

of  special 
report. 


12,14 
123 


100 
75 
08 

108 

30 
SO 
150 
'20 
74 
55-58 
100 
156 
20 


155 
102, 103 


81.82 
152,  1 '.3 
27 
76 
50 
102 
158,  150 
20 


37 


155 

102,  103 

69,70 

171 

30 

81.82 

152 

76 

1112 

158, 159 

20 


114,  115 
100 


14 

48,49 

18 
27 

16,17 


153 
97 
07 

163 
29 
77 

147 


51-54 
1      97 


General 

folio 

(at  hoi  torn 

of  page). 


634,  630 
133 


164 
636 
733 
248 
434 
868 
182 
352 
524 
6110 
511-514 


472 
814 
642 


105 

038,  0311 
2411 

436,437 
868 

183.  184 

354,  355 
525 
608 
515 
474 

816,817 
642 


165 

638,  0SU 

249, 250 

437 

868 

183,  184 

'   354 

008 

474 

810,817 

042 


772,  773 
818 


389 
852 


314,315 


550 
685 


089 

708 
075 


163 
633 

247 
429 
807 
179 
349 
523 
605 
507-510 
469 


465 
719 


Brown-loam  lands  of  Florida,  area,  extent,  general 

character,  and  analyses  of. 
Brown-loam  prairies  of; 

Louisiana,  analyses  and  description  of 

Texas,  extent,  i  haractor,  analytics,  and  partial 

area  of. 
Brown-loam  tattle  lands,  ItliilT  region,  and  osne  hills. 

total  area  and  cotton  production  of  [(  leneral 

Discussion). 
Biownloau,  table-lands  of: 

Mississippi,  area,  character,  timber,  analyses 

of.  and  colton  production  in. 
Tennessee,  region,  aiea,  extent,  and  character  ? 

of.  I 

Brown  lou  m  uplands  of  Alabama,  area,  character,  and 

analyses  of. 
Brown's  valley.  Alabama,  area,  geological  character, 

and  soils  of, 

Bruloes  of  the  alluvial  region  of  Louisiana 

Buckshot  clay  lands  of  the  Mississippi  alluvial  re- 
gion of  Mississippi. 
Buckshot  (lays  and  soils  of  the  Mississippi,  charac- 
ter of,  in  TcnnesBoo. 
Buckshot  land  of  the  Mississippi  alluvial  region  in 

Missouri. 

Buckshot  lauds  of  Arkansas  River  bottom 

Buckshot  lands  underlie  tho  whole  of  the  plain  of 

the  Mississippi  river  (General  Discussion). 
Buckshot  soil  of  Louisiana,  production  and  agTicol-  » 

tural  value  of.  ) 

Buenaventnra  River  valley,  California,  extent  and 

description  of. 
Buena  Vista  lake,  California,  character  of  the  waters 

of. 
Buhrstone  group  (Tertiary)  in: 

Alabama 

Mississippi 

Buhrstono,  occurrence  of,  in  Georgia 

Buhrstone  region  of  South  Carolina,  character  of 

By  lor  ridge.  Alabama,  extent  of 


Cache  creek,  California,  lands  and  canal  of 

CacheRiver  lands  in  Arkansas,  extent,  character,  and 
products  of. 

Cahawha  coal-field,  Alabama,  area  and  description  of 

Cahawba  valley,  Alabama,  area  and  geological 
structure  of. 

Cnjon  valley,  California,  area,  character,  and  descrip- 
tion of. 

Calaveras  river,  California,  irrigating  facilities  of. .    . 

Calcareous  clay  lands  of  the  Highland  rim  and  East 
Tennessee. 

Calcareous  marls  of  Alabama,  character  and  analy- 
ses of. 

Calcareous  soils,  prevalence  of,  and  their  relation  to 
cotton  production  (General  Discussion). 

Calciferous  formation  in  : 

Alabama  

Georgia 

California: 

Area,  population,  tilled  land,  cotton  produc- 
tion, and  rnnk  of,  among  the  states  (Gen- 
eral Discussion). 

Cotton  fiber,  measurements  of  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 

Cotton  Production  in.  and  reasons  for  restric- 
tion in  the  past  (General  Discussion). 

Index  to  Report  on  

Report  on  Colton  Production  in  the  State  of, 
by  Professor.Engene  \V.  Hilgard. 

Sample  of  cotton  from,  shows  longest  fiber 
(General  Discussion). 

Special  agent  for  (General  Discussion) 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


21-24 

20,  27 


I     19-21.54-02 
II    37,41-4.',,54 


47,  51-55,  04 
II    1719,05,90    27-29.105,106 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


i97,  198 


123-120 
084,  065 


301-303, 
420-484 


19 
12-121 

15,10 

15-21 

11-81 
75 

(9.14.  15, 
|  21,40,47 

110 
23,  24,  09 

35,45 

12 

41,42 

11 

100,111 


121 
214-323 

387,  388 

613-310 

550-617 
87 

111.116.117, 
123,  148,  149 

774 
081,082,  74>7 

45,  55 
214 

307,  308 
407 

119,  121 


21  I  079 

17,  50,  58  '  553,  592,  594 


20 
17,18 

39, 108 

20 
26,38 

67-69 

3 


30 

27,28 


684 
398,  410 


77-79 
15 


27 

290 


I 

10,  & 

28,29 

I 

0 

21 

IT 

133-138 

791-798 

n 

i-ix,  1-138 

659,  790 

i 

30 

48 

i 

6 

18 

GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


805 


Canals  for  irrigation  in  California 

Canebrnke  region  of  Alabama,  general  description  of 
Cane-growth  a  standard  for  estimating  fertility  of 

land  in  South  Carolina. 
Cane-bills  region  of  Mississippi,  elevation,  general 

description  of,  and  cotton  production  in. 
Capacity  and  kinds  of  presses  for  baling  cotton  in : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida  

Georgia    

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri       

North  Carol ina 

South  Carolina  

Tennessee  

Texas 

Virginia  

Cape  Mendocino,  California,  a  weather  divide 

Carboniferous  formation  in: 

Alabama    

Arkausas 

Georgia 

Indian  teiritory 

Mississippi 

Texas  

Virginia 

Carmel  valley,  California,  description  of 

Carpenteria  valley,  California,  extend  and  deacrip. 

tion  of. 
Castor  bean  in  South  Carolina,  growth  and  yield  of 

the. 
Catawba  river,  length,  fall,  and  navigation  of  the,  in 

South  Carolina* 
Caterpillar,  appearance  of,  in : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florid  a 

'Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississi  ppi    

North  Carolina  

Soutb  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia , 

Caterpillar  destroyed  by  ants  in  Louisiana 

Caves,  blowing,  in  Georgia,  occurrence  of 

Cedar  glades  of  Coosa  valley,  Alabama 

Cedar  valley,  Georgia,  description  of 

Central  basin  of  Tennessee  : 

Area  and  cotton  production  of  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 

Area,  extent,  and  character  of  region 

Cotton  production  in  

Limestones,  description  of 

The  most  populous  portion  of  the  state  and 
ene  of  the  centers  of  cotton  production. 
Central  black  prairie  region  of  Texas,  area,  extent, 
character,  abrupt  termination  of  bald  hills, 
elevations,  settlements,  timbered  lands,  and 
western  border  of. 
Central  cotton  belt  of: 

Alabama,  cotton  product  per  acre  and  its  re- 
lation to  population  in. 
Georgia,  area,  subdivisions,  general  character, 
and  analyses  of. 

Georgia,  cotton  production  in 

Central  prairie  region  of: 

Alabama,  area,  extent,  subdivisions,  and  gen- 
eral character  of.  . 
Alabama,  cottou  product  per  acre  in,  and  its 

relation  to  population. 
Alabama,  trees  aud  plants  characteristic  of- . . 

Louisiana,  description  of 

Mississippi,  extent,  general  description  of,  and 
cotton  production  in. 
Central  red-loam  region  of  Arkansas,  area  and  gen- 
eral description  of.    * 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


95-99, 
103-106 

40-48 

36 


155 

102 
09 

170 
30 
81 

152 
27 
75 
58 
101,  102 

158 
28 


29,32 
21,  22,  28 


12 
18, 141. 142 


83,122.155 

102.  103 

69,70 

170,  171 

■    30 

81,82 

152 

76 

59 

102,  103 

158, 159 

20 

82 

13S 

20,23 

76 


28-35 
41 


62,63 
38-46 
55,50 


28,  29,  65 
51-58,  75 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


753-757, 

761-764 

66-58 

492 


165 
638 
249 
436 

868 

ie3 

354 
625 
607 
514 
473, 474 
816 
642 


27 

565.  568 
287,  288,  294 
846 
214 
676,  799,  800 
63u 
771 
773 


:,  132, 165 

638. 039 

249,  250 

430,  437 

808 

183,  184 

354 

608 

515 

474,475 

810,  817 

642 

184 

401 

30,33 

342 


400-107 
413 
455Y 
400 


72,73 

304-312 

321,  322 

46,  55-01 

72 

68 
130, 131, 167 
253-260,  277 

564,  505 


Chalcedony,  occurrence  of,  in  Georgia 

Chalk  bluff,  Arkansas,  elevation  and  section  of 

Chanjplain  formation  in: 

Florida 

Louisiana  7 

Chandeleur  islands,  Louisiana,  character  of 

Chaparral  soil  of  California,  charactoraud  analysisof. 
Chaparrals  and  arroyos  of  the  southwest  of  Texas. .. 
Character  of  Bubsoils  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  teiTitory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

Noi  th  Carolina  

Tenuossee  

Texas - 

Virginia 

Character,  tilling  qualities,  and  productiveness  of 
Boils  (see  detailed  indexes)  in : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California  

Floiida  

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi  „ 

Missouri,     n. 

North  Carolina 

Sout  h  Carolina 

Tennessee - 

Texas 

Virginia 

ChargeB,  cost  of  sale,  and  inBuranoe  on  cotton  crop,  in 

Alabama 

A  rkansas 

Floiida 

Georgia 

Indjan  territory 

Louisiana 

M  ississippi   

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Charges  for  storing  cotton  in : 

Al  ibama 

Arkausas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Louisiana     

Mississippi -■ 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Charges  per  bale,  amount  of,  against  farmers,  in : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georp/a  

Louisiana     

Mississippi 

M  issou  ri 

North  Carolina 

Tennessee  

Texas 

Virginia 

Chattahoochee  baain  of  Georgia,  area  and  descrip- 
tion of. 
Chattahoochee  river  in : 

Alabama,  drainage  area  of,  how  characterized  - 
Alabama,  greensaud  marl  bed  in  the  blull  of  . 

Georgia,  alluvial  lands  of 

Georgia,  greensand  marl  bed  and  banks  of 

Chattooga  valley  of  Georgia 

Chattoogata  Mountain  range  in  Georgia 

Chazy  and  Trenton   formatious  in  Georgia,    lauds 
derived  from. 

Chazy  formation  in  Alabama 

Chemical  analysis,  methods  used  iu,  details  and  in- 

te&vtetation  of  (General  Discussion). 
Cherokee  nation,  area,  extent,  and  description  of  por- 
tion of  the  Indian  territory  occupied  by  the. 
Cherty  lands  of  the  northoru  barrens  region  of  Ark- 
ansas. 


Page 

•if  special 

report. 


11,12 
9 


7S-148 
49-94 
37-63 

70-158 
21-25 
43-73 

88-143 
15-18 
30-64 
48-92 

Co  lis 
15-14 


162 

115 

136,  137 

76 

183 

34 

91,92 

163 

30 

82,83 

70 

117.118 

171, 172 

25 


156 

100,1117 
71 

174 
31 
85 

155 

28 

78 

104,  11)5 

162 
21 


156 
1« 


155 
28 
78 
105 
163 
21 


156 
107 

71 
174 

85 
155 


102 
21 


45 

73 

19 

25,  20 

17, 18,  22 
00,01 

21,  22 

35,  37,  38 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 

281 
556,  594 


709,710 
672 


88-158 
585-630 
217-243 
236-424 
859-803 
145-175 
290-345 
513-516 
502-596 
420-104 
718-806 
634-636 


172 
651 

794, 795 
256 
449 
872 

193, 194 
365 
528 

614,015 
526 

489,490 

829,  830 
647 


160 
642,  643 


187 
357 
626 
010 
476,477 
820 
643 


166 
043 
251 
440 
187 
357 
526 
610 
477 
820 
643 


166 
C43 
1«1 
440 
187 
357 
526 
010 
477 
820 
043 


19,55 
76 
310 
311 
339 
285 
291,  292 

27,  28,  32 
72,73 

859,  860 

071,  573,  574 


806 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


t 

Page 

of  special 

report. 

General 

iclio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 

a 

Page 

of  special 

report. 

General 
folio 

(at  l,i.n, .in 

of  page). 

Cherty  ridge  lands  of: 

Coal- measures  of  Alabama,  region  of: 

/ 

i       103-109 
290  291 

TT 

30-38 
73 

Georgia,  timber  growth,  character,  and  analy- 
sis of  soil  >ii'. 

II 

24,  25 

Cotton  product  per  acre  in,  and  its  relation  to 
population. 

II 

63 

Coal  measures  ol  the  black  calcareous  prairiCB  of  Mis- 

1 

8 

506 

Chickasaw  nation,  urea,  extent,  and  description  of 
portion  of  Indian  territory  occupied  by  -he. 

I 

21 

862 

souri. 
Const  and  southern  prairie  region  of  Texas,  cotton 

1 

50 

768 

Chicot  county,  Arkansas: 

production  of. 

Ranks  as  -second  among  counties  of  all  cotton 

1 

40 

576 

Coust  lands  id' the  Gulf  and  Atlantic  jd  Florida,  rela- 

II 

26 

200 

states. 

tions  between. 

Ranks  -second  in  product  per  acre  among  the 

I 

8 

20 

Const  line  of  California,  trend  and  character  of 

U 

47,56 

705. 714 

counties  of  tlio  United  States  (General  Dis- 

Coast  marshes  ol : 

TT 

27 

207 

Chincse  iu  California,  character  of,  as  cotton  pickers. 

II 

70 

733 

Mississippi,  character  and  vegetation  of 

I 

67,08 

209,  270 

Chlorine  in  soils,  remarks  on  (General  Discussion)..  . 

I 

60 

78 

Coast  of: 

Choetawhatchie  river,  Alabama,  drainage  system  of 
Choctaw  nation,  area,  extent,  and  description  of  por- 

TT 

10 

20 

TT 

7 

665 

I 

23,  24 

861,  802 

North  Carolina,  hanks  of  the,  character  of 

II 

13 

515 

tion  of  the  Indian  territory  occupied  by  the. 

Soul  h  Carolina, appearance  of,  when  approached 

II 

15,  16 

471,472 

Cbowchilla  cr»>ek,  California,  character  of  channels 

II 

26 

683 

from  the  sea. 

T 

14,30 

672,688 

Chnnni'iiugga  ridge,  Alabama,  uatu™  and  analyses? 

U 

(46,18-50. 

50,  58-60, 

Coast  prairies  of  Texas  unci  Louisiana,  total  area  ind 

1 

■1 

16 

of  soils  of.                                                                s 

'(           128 

138 

cotton  production  of  (General  Discussion). 

Coast  Range  foot-hills  of  California,  general  descrip- 
tion of. 

TT 

Cincinnati  formation  iu  Georgia,  rocks  and  soils  of  . . 

II 

28 

204 

Claiborne  groups  (Tertiary)  of: 

Coast  Range  region  of  California : 

II 

™M2.  143 

153 

n 

41-59 

Geological  features  of 

North  of  San  Pablo  bay.  general  description  of 
South  of  Sau  Pablo  hay,  general  description  of. 

Clay-IoifBQ  lands  of  the  gray-silt  prairie  region  of 
Arkansas. 

I 
I 

1 

10 

12 

59,60 

112 
214 

595,  596 

II 
n 
ii 

55-50 
40-55 
45,46 

713-717 
70-1-713 
703,  704 

Clay  loam     soil    of  Mississippi    alluvial   region    of 

I 

50 

586 

Coast  region  of: 

n 

57 

67 

Clay-slate  lands  of  South    Carolina,  character  and 

II 

40 

496 

Alabama,  treeless  character  and  saline  marshes 

IT 

56 

66 

analyses  of. 

TT 

13 

279 

of. 

ii 

51-53 

317-31» 

I 

15-21 

513-519 

ii 

56 

Clay  soil  ot  Mississippi  alluvinl  region  in  Missouri. . . 

Clear  lake,  California,  extent  and  character  of  the 

II 

110 

777 

South  Carolina,  cultural  and  economic  details  of 

it 

t  51,54.55, 

j        58-61 

15-21 

507,510.511, 
514-517 

surrounding  Valley. 
Clement  attachment  to  cotton  gin,  value  of  (General 

I 

36 

48 

Sooth  Carolina,  extent,  Burface  features,  cli- 
mate, health,  soils,  and  productions  of. 

n 

471-177 

Discussion). 

Climate,  remarks  on,  in: 

n 

i 

10-12 
10 

20-22 
546 

Cohutta  mountains  iu  Georgia,  metamorphic  char- 
acter of. 

n 

19,21 

285,287 

ii 
it 
ii 

8-18, 100 

7 

11,  20.  21 

606-676,  764 

187 

277,  2S6,  287 

Colima,  Mexico,  cotton  culture  in  the  state  of  (in  Re- 
port ou  California). 

n 

131 

789 

i 

8 

0 

9,10 

646 

111 

211,212 

n 

96,105,107 

754,  703,  765 

Colorado  river,  Arizona,  cotton  produced  on  (in  Re- 

ii 

130 

788 

? 

i 

IT 

7,8 

10,11 

10-46 

12 

15,  38 

8 

505,  500 
542.  543 
472-502 
384 
073,  090 

o:,o 

port  on  California). 

Colorado  River  bottom  soil  in  California,  analysis  of. 

Colorado  River  drainage  basin,  Texas,  area  and  ex- 
tent of. 

ii 
i 

40 
17,  40.  -17 

098 

675,  704,  705 

Texas  

Virginia 

Clinton  formation  of: 

i 

137 

795 

it 

17. 18,  23 

27.  28,  33 

Comanche  peak,  Texas,  elevation  and  description  of.  - 

i 

122 

780 

11 

23 

294 

Com  miss  ions  of  merchants  on  sales  of  cotton  in: 

Close  sandy  soil  of  South  Carolina,  analysis  of 

II 

23 

479 

TI 

156 

166 

Closing  and  beginning  of  cotton-picking  season  in  : 

IT 

I 

11 
II 
II 

I 
I 

I 
I 

11 

IT 

114,  154 
101 
75 
68 

168, 176 
30 

so 

151 

20 

75 
55-58 

124, 104 
037 
733 
218 

451,  112 
808 
182 
353 
524 
007 

511-514 

I1! 

11 
I 
I 
I 
I 

II 
I 
I 
II 
II 

107 
71 

171 
31 
85 

155 
28 
78 

105 

102 
21 

62-61 

043 
251 

Alabama 

Florida 

Ge<frgia 

526 

Indian  territory 

610 

477 

820 

m.ssou,!'.. :;;.:;;::::::::::::::::::::::::::::" 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Comparison  between  (lie  races  in  relation  lo  cotton 

72-74 

I 

T 

100 

472 
SI  5 

production  in  Alabama. 

Texas 

Virginia 

11 

20 

642 

Comparison  of  analyses  of  gray  silt  prairies  of  Ark- 

I 

24 

560 

Coahuila,  Mexico,  cotton  culture  in  the  state  of  (in 

II 

131 

789 

ansas  anil  Louisiana  (iu  Report  on  Arkansas). 

Reporl  im  California). 

Compost,  (liilk-ft's  (in  Report  on  Louisiana) 

I 

64,78 

160.  ISO 

Coal-beds  of  Texas,  occurrence  of 

I 

IS 

676 

Compost  recommended  in  intensive  cotton  culture  in 

II 

58,59 

324,325 

Coal-measures,  beds  and  thickness  of,  in  Georgia 

11 

22 

238 

Georgia,  bv  F.  C.  Furman. 

Coal-measures  formation  in: 

27-35, 

101-125 

,547 

288 

646 

Compost,  nao  of,  in  i 

II 
1 

n 

i 

1       17-25, 

J      01-115 

11 

8 

II 

II 
II 
I 
II 

n 
n 

154 
87 
166 
148 
73 
52-54.  56 
19 

164 
247 

432 

350 

605 

Indian  territory,   occurrence  and  representa- 

508-510, 512 

tive  rocks  of. 

641 

GENERAL  INDEX  -TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


807 


Condition  and  nationality  of,  and  wages  paid  to,  labor- 
ers in: 


Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida  

Georgia  

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina  . 
South  Carolina. . 

Tennessee 

Testis 

Virginia 


Conditions  imposed  by  transportation  companies  as 
to  weight  of  bales  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida  

Georgia 

Louisiana  

Mississippi  — 

Missouri 

Norlh  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 


Texas  . 


Virginia 

Conecuh  river,  Alabama,  drainage  system  of 

Contents  of  volumes  on  cotton  culture.    (See  back  of 

title  page.) 
Contra  Costa  Mountain  range,  California,  elevation 

and  description  of. 
Cooper  Elver  mails,  occurrence  of,  in  South  Carolina 
Coosa  coal-field  of  Alabama,  area  and  description  of.. 

Coosa  river,  Alabama,  drainage  system  of 

Coosa  Valley  region,  Alabama: 

Area,  geological  features,  and  subdivisions  of 

tbo  region  and  its  outliers. 
Cotton  product  per  acre  in,  and  its  relation  to 

population. 
Extent,  and  structure  of,  and  section  showing 
topographies!  features. 

Coquina.  character  and  extent  of,  in  Florida , 

Coral  formation,  extent  of,  in  Florida 

Corn,  acreage  and  production  of,  in  : 

Alabama , 

Arkansas 


California 

Florida 

Georgia  

Indian  territory 

Kentucky  (inEeport  on  Tennessee) . 

Louisiana       

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


II 
II 

n 

I 
II 

II 
II 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
II 
II 
I 
I 
II 

Corn,  acreage  greater  than  that  of  cot  tonin  Arkansas.     I 
Corn,  soil  ingredients  witkdra-wn  by  (General  Dis*      I 

cussion), 
Correspondents,  abstracts  of  reports   of,   in   mono-  j 
graph  on : 

Alabama  II 

Arkansas   I 

Florida ;  II 

Georgia. II 

Indian  territory I 

Louisiana  I 

Mississippi j    I 

Missouri  ...     j   I 

North  Carolina II 

South  Carolina II 

Tennessee '    I 

Texas  I    I 

Virginia ,  II 

Correspondents,  names  and  addresses  of,  in  : 

Alabama  U 

Arkansas I    I 

California '  n 

Florida II 

Georgia U 

Indian  territory I 

Louisiana    I 

Mississippi I 

Missouri I 

North  Carolina II 

South  Carolina II 


155,156 
104,  105 
130,131 

70,71 

172,  173 

31 

83,84 

154 

27.28 

77 

C0-6G 

43, 104 

161, 162 

21 


155 
102 

69 
170 

81 
152 

27 

75 


158 
20 


II 

n 

II 

26,  87-89 

II 

9,10 

n 

17-25 

ii 

61-63 

General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


5,0 
3,4 

4 
6-8 

3 
110 
5,0 
5,0 

4 
5,0 

4 
6-8 
7-10 

3 


7S-148 
4"-94 

' 3S-60 

70-158 
22-25 
44-73 

88-113 
15-18 
30-64 
54-58 
48-92 

C0-I48 
12-14 


70 
140 
24 


165. 
640, 

788, 
250, 
438, 


510. 

415, 
819, 


106  I 

641 

789 

251 

439 

869 

186 

356 

5-26 

609 

522 

470 

820 

643 


165 
638 
249 
430 
le3 
354 
525 
007 
514 
474 
810 


467 

I,  97-99 

19,20 

27-35 

71-73 


207 
206 

15, 10 
541, 542 
661,602 

184 
272-274 

841 

482 
107.108 
207,  208 

502 
537,  538 

400 
378-380 
605-068 

625 


575 
62 


88-158 
585-030 
218-240 
330-124 
800-863 
110-175 
290-345 
513-516 
502-596 
510-514 
420-4114 
718-806 
034-036 

160-102 
632 
783 
246 

420-428 
860 


Correspondents,  names  and  addresses  of,  in — cont'd. 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Corundum,  occurrence,  of,  in  South  Carolina 

Cost  of  cotton  picking  in : 

Arkansas 

Florida  

Georgia 

Mississippi 


North  Carolina  . 
South  Carolina  . 

Texas  

Virginia 


Cost  of  eotton  picking  in  Mexico  (in  Report  on  Cali- 
fornia). 
C  osf  of  cotton  production,  estimated,  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

■     Florida    

Georgia  

Indian  territory . 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas     

Virginia 

Cost  of  cotton  production,  itemized,  in  : 

Alabama  

Arkansas 

California 

Georgia 

Louisiana 

Missouri. .. 

North  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas  


Cost  of  drayage  in: 

Arkansas 

Louisiana   

Mississippi 

North  C.nolina  . 

Tonnesseo 

Texas 


Cost  of  sale,  charges,  and  insurance  on  cotton  crop  in  i 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

Missouri  

North  Carolina 

Tennessee 

'      Texas  

Virginia 

Cote  Blanche  island,  Louisiana,  location  of 

Cote  Gelce,  Louisiana,  description  of 

Cotton,  acreage  and  production  of,  in: 

Alabama 

,        Arkansas 

Florida  

Georgia 

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee) 

Louisiana 


Mississippi 

Missoui  i 

North  Carolina. . 
South  Carolina.. 
Tennessee  


Texas 

Virginia 

Cotton  acreage  and  tilled  land  in  Louisiana,  greatest 

disproportion  between. 
Cotton,  after-cultivation  of,  in  : 

Alabama  

A  rkansas 

California 

Florida 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


348 
522 
604 
506 


Indian  territory. 

Louisiana    

Mississippi 

Missouri    

North  Carolina. . 
South  Carolina   .. 

Tennessee  

Texas 

Virginia 


94-96 

150-152 

18 


68 
170 
155 

78 


163 
20 


156 
107 
76 
71 
175 
31 
85 
155 
28 
78 
66 
105 
163 
21 


156 

107 
70 
175, 170 
85 
28 
78 
105 
163 


General 
folio 

(at  bottom 
of  page). 


155 
78 
105 
162 


156 

100,107 

71 

174 

31 

Sj 

155 

28 

78 

104,11)5 

102  ! 

21  I 

23 

24,59 


3-6,  00 
3-6,  39, 40 

3,  4,  29 

3-8,  54,  55 

109 

3,  4,  35,  36 

3-0,  72 

3.4 

3-0 

3 

3-8 

3-6,  49,  51 

3,10 


TI 

154 

104 

1 

100 

636 

II 

75 

733 

II 

08 

248 

II 

107 

433 

1 

30 

86S 

1 

80 

182 

1 

150 

352 

1 

20 

524 

II 

74 

606 

1] 

55-58 

511-514 

1 

99,100 

471,472 

1 

156 

814 

II 

20 

612 

406-108 

808-810 

040 


637 
248 
442 
357 
010 
511 
821 
042 


100 
643 
734 
251 
441 
869 
187 
357 
526 
610 
522 
477 
821 
043 


106 
643 
734 
441,  412 
187 
5:6- 
610 
477 
821 


643 
187 
357 
510 
477 
820 


106 
642,  643 
251 
440 
809 
187 
357 
526 
01O 
470,  477 
820 
643 

125 

120, 161 


13-10.70 

c       539-542, 

>        575, 576 

183,184,209 

(       260-274, 

)        320, 321 

4S1 

<       105,  100, 

)        137, 138 

205-208.  274 

501,502 

535-538 

459 

375-380 

c       001-604, 

)        707, 709 

625,  632 

141 


808 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


Cotton,  a  knowledge  of  peculiarities  of,  from  differ- 
ent soils  import  act  to  the  planter  and  ginnor 
(General  Distiuanion). 

Cotton,  amount  of,  picked  in  a  day  in: 

California  

UisHJssippi 

North  Carolina 

Cotton,  amount  of,  picked  per  day  by  Chinese  in 

California. 
Cotton,  average  prices  for  short-  and  long-staple  in 

Florida. 
Cotton  balin",  capacity  and  presses  used  for,  in  : 

Alabama. 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia  

Indian  territory 

Louisiana    

^Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee    

Texas 

Virginia 

Cotton  baling,  fastening  used  in,  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas , 

Florida 

Georgia        

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri  

North  Carolina 

Smith  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas. , 

Virginia 

Cotton  baling,  ginning,  and  shipping  In  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida    

Georgia  

Indian  territory 

Louisiana     

Mississippi    

Missouri     

North  Carolina 

Son' I]  Carolina  

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Cotton  blooms  first  appear,  when,  in: 

Alabama  

Arkansas  , 

California    

Florida    

Go<  'igia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi T 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas         

Virginia 

Cotton  bolls  first  open,  when,  fh  : 

Alabama     

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia   

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri    *-.. 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina  

Tennessee 

Texas     

Virginia  

Cotton  bolls,  number  of,  on  each  plant  in  California  . 

Cotton,  charges,  costof  sale,  and  insurance  of  crop,  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas     

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


155 

102 
CO 

170 
89 
81 

152 
27 

58 

101.  Ito 

158 

'.0 


155 
102 
C9 
1,170 
30 
81 
152 
27 
75 
58 
102 
158 


30,  GO 

109,  170 


58 

101,  ion 

157,  158 

20 


164 
100 
75 


150 
2C 
74 

65-5* 
100 
150 
20 


154 
100 
75 
08 
168 


150 
20 


TT 

156 

160 

1 

100,  107 

042, 013 

II 

71 

251 

II 

174 

440 

1 

31 

809 

1 

85 

187 

1 

155 

357 

1 

28 

526 

11 

78 

610 

1 

104,  105 

476,  477 

1 

162 

820 

11 

12 

634 

General 

fulio 

liil  bottom 

of  page). 


733 

357 
G10 


105 
038 
240 
430 

808 
183 
354 
525 
007 
514 
473,  474 
810 
042 


105 
038 
249 
324,436 
808 
183 
354 
525 
007 
514 


816 


104,  105 

037 

210,  240 

435,4  6 


183 
353 


473, 474 

815,816 

642 


104 
<l-0 
733 
248 
414 
EOS 
182 
352 
524 
006 


614 
042 


164 
636 
733 
248 
134 
868 
182 
352 
524 
606 
511-514 
472 
S14 
042 
733 


Cotton,  cost  of  production  per  pound  or  per  bale  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Morula    


I  ml  1 1  it  territory. 

Louisiana  

Mississippi    .... 

Mi."   OUTI     

Nonb  Carolina... 

South  Carolina  . 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia 


Cotton  crops  affected  by  accidents  of  weather  in  : 

Alabama  

Arkansas - 


Flo 
Georc 


n  territory. 

aana    

Koippi 


liul 

Lc 

II 

M 

North  Carolina 

Sontb  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 


Cotton  culture : 

Approximate  area  of  each  state  over  which, 
oxtonds  (Gen-nil  Discussion). 

First  placed  upon  a  permanent  foundation  in 
the  two  Caroliuas  by  a  system  of  returns  to 
the  soil  (General  Discussion). 

Regions  of  maximum  intensity  of  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 

Rendered  profitable  by  fertilizers  in  Virginia. 

Statistics  regarding,  in  South  Carolina 

Cotton  culture  affected  by  troublesome  weeds  iu : 

Alabama   

Ai  k.  nsus 

Flotida    

Georgia  

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

M  issouri 

No;  t  h  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Tox.is 

Virginia 

Cotton  culture  in : 

Alabama,  use  of  commercial  fertilizers  in 

Califoruia.  history  anil  general  remarks  on 

California,  lands  of  the  Merced  river 

California,  Santa  Clara  valley 

Georgia,  intensive  system  of 

Mississippi,  intense  system  of,  recommended  . 

Now  Mexico,  Utah,  ArizoDa,  and  Mexico  (in 

Report  on  California). 

Cotton  diseases,  insect  euemies,  etc.,  in: 

Alabama  

Arkansas 

Florida  

Georgia 

Indian  t  erritory 

Louisiana 

Msaissippi  

Missouri    ■ 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia    

Cotton  factories  in  operation  in  Mexico  (in  Report 

on  California). 
Cotton  tilier: 

Comparison  of  lengths,  widths,  and  strength  of, 

on  different  soils  (General  DiseitBsion*. 
Comparison  of  percentage  of  lint  of  samples 

grown  on  different  soils  (General  Discussion). 
Comparison  of  samples  grown  on  different  soilB 

iu  Texas  (General  Discussion). 
Comparison  of  weight  of  five  seeds  with  lint 

attached  (General  Discussion). 
Form  of  (General  Discussion) .' 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


150 
107 
71 
68,  175 
31 
85 
155 
28 
78 
60 

105 
103 


170,  171 

30 

81,82 

152 

27 

76 

50,  0» 

102 

158,  15.1 

20 


10 
f2l, 24,25, 
1  29,30,32, 

I  35,43,44, 
I  47 

75-148 
40-94 
38-00 

72-158 

U-i.l 

78,  87-143 

1:5-18 

30-01 

57-6  I 

43,  69-74 

00-148 

11-15 


73-78 

25 

48 

8,59,175 

78 

129,  131 


155 

102.  103 

09,70 

170,  171 

30 

SIJ'S 

152.  151 

27 

70 

59.  60 

102.103 

158-160 

20 

130,  131 


30-39 
37 

38 
37 
12 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


160 
6-13 
251 
21.441 
809 
1-7 
867 
520 
010 
522 
477 
821 

111! 


165 
038  0*9 
249,250 

4311,  I  :7 
803 

183,  IS4 
354 


51 


001 
510 
474 
816,817 
042 


03! 

477,480,481, 

485,480.488, 

491,499,500, 

503 

85.158 

585-4130 
218-240 
338-424 
800-803 

140-175 

280.289-  .15 

51  1-510 

5112-501! 
513-510 
415,411-410 
71S-K00 
033-637 


731-730 
883 

700 

324,  325,  441 

280 

787,  780 


165 
638,  039 
240,  .50 
4B0,  437 

868 
183-186 
354,  355 

525 

608 
515.516 
471 .47.'. 
810-81* 

042 
788,  789 


50 
49 
84 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


809 


Cotton  fiber — continued. 

In  California,  nature  of    

-Intiuence  of  soil  and  location  on  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 

Tnjii'ed  by  high  velocity  of  saws  iu  ginning 
(General  Discussion). 

Measurements,  difficulties  encountered  in  se- 
curing proper  samples  for  (General  Discus- 
sion). 

^Measurements  made  by  Professor  J.  M.  Ord- 
way  (General  Discussion). 

Measurements,  inaximaand  minima,  of,  in  eacb 
state  (General  Discussion). 

Measurements,  method  of.  and  instruments  for 
determining  length,  width,  strength,  and  per- 
centage of  lint  (General  Discussiou). 

Measurements,  remarks  ou,  by  Professor  Hil- 
gard  (General  Discussion). 

Of  creek  bottoms,  results  of  measurements  if 
(General  Discussion). 

Of  manured  and  umnauured  lands,  results  of 
measurements  of  (General  Discussion). 

Of  prairie  lands,  results  of  measurements  of 
(General  Discussion). 

Of  river  bottoms,  results  of  measurements  of 
(General  Discussion). 

Of  sandy  uplands,  results  of  measurements  of 
(General  DisousBlon). 
Cotton  from  frost-bitten  bolls  light  and  inferior  in 

Alabama. 
Cotton  ginning,  power  UBod  in,  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida   

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana    

Mississippi  

Miss  uri  

N<  u'l  li  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee  

Texas   j 

Virginia 

Cotton  ginning,  power  used  iu,  in  Mexico  (in  Report 

on  California). 
Cotton  gins,  list  and  capacity  of,  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas  

California 

Florida  

Georgia  

Indian  territory 

Louisiana    ...  ' 

M  ssissippi 

Missouri 

Nortli  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee      

Texas 

Virginia    .".. 

Cctton  growing  as  affected  by  rainfall  iu  Mississippi. 
Cotton  in : 

California,  effect  of  the  climate  of  the  great 
valley  upon. 

California,  fust  shipment of   

California,  varieties  of,  most  profitable    

-Georgia  the  most  exhaustive  crop  unless  the 
seed  be  returned  to  the  soil. 

Mexico,  amount  of,  (ticked  per  day  (in  Report 
«n  California; . 

Mexico,  average  price  of  (in  Report  ou  Cali- 
fornia). 
Cotton  lint  made  by  gins  in  a  da\  's  run  in  : 

Alabama  

Arkansas    

Florida    

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina! ,..,, 


Page 

of  special 

repert. 


70 
37,38 


32-34 
12,13 

36-30 

38,  44 


154 
101 
68 
1,170 
30 
81 
151 
27 
75 
58 
101 
157 
20 


154,135 
101 


169,  17(1 
30 
SI 


101 
157,  158 


74 
74 
60 

131 

131 


10 
19,  170 
30 
81 
151 
£7 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


734 
49,  50 

4K 

48 

11 
44-40 
24,25 

48-51 

50,56 

50 

50 

50 


164 
637 
148 
335, 435,  436 
808 
183 
353 

607 
514 
473 
815 
642 


164,105 
637 
734 
249 

435,  4:16 
868 
183 
353 
G25 
607 
514 
473 

815.816 
642 


212,213 


732 
734 
326 


105 
617 
L'-IO 
435,  4::6 
868 
1K3 
353 
525 
607 
514 


Cotton  lint  made  by  gins  in  a  day's  run  in— cont'd. 


Tennessei 
Texas  ... 
Virginia  . 


Cotton  lint,  price  and  weight  of  bales  of.  in  Mexico 

(in  Report  on  California). 
Cottou,  character  of,  iu  Arizona  (General  Discussion) 
Cotton  picking,  cost  of,  in  : 

Arkansas 

Florida  

Georgia 

Mississippi 


North  Carolina. 
South  Carolina, . 

Texas       

Virginia  . 


Cotton  picking,  cost  of,  in  Mexico  (in  Report  on  Cal- 
ifornia). 
Cotton  picking  season  begins,  when,  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California , 

Florida  

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana , 

Mississippi  

Missoun      

Noitb  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee  

TexaB  

Virginia 

Cotton  picking  season  closes,  when,  in: 

Alabama     

Arkansas 

California 

Florida  

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana  

Mississippi     

Missouri         

North  C ardlina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee  

Texas  

Virginia 

Cotton  picking,  time  of,  in  Atizona  (in  Report  on 

California). 
Cotton  picking,  time  of,  in  Mexioo  (in  Report  ou  Calj. 

fomia). 
Cottou  pickings  made,  number  of,  in  : 

Alabama 

Aikansas  

California 

F'lorida    

Georgia. 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana  

Mississippi    

Missouri 

No i  tb  Carolina  —  .-^ 

Sou  t  h  Carolina  

Tennessee    

Texas  

Virginia 

Cotton-plant,  height  attained  by,  before  blooming  in: 

Alabama  

Arkansas    

Florida    

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana     

Mississippi    

Missouri     ...    

North  Carolina 

Soul b  Carolina 

Tennessee  

Texas         

Virginia      

Cotton-plant  in  California: 

Irrigation  of 

Not  sensitive  to  alkali 

Cotton-plant  indigenous  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  region 

(in  Report  on  California). 
Cotton-plant  running  to  weed  in: 

Alabama 


Arkansas 

Florida    

Georgia     

Indi  a  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 
North  Carolina  . 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


101 
157 


In! 
68 

176 

155 
78 
55 

103 


114.154 
1111 

68 

168,  170 

30 


114,154 
lilt 
75 
68 
168,  176 
30 
80 
151 
20 
75 
55-58 
100 
157 
20 


130 


154 
101 
75 
68 
168 
30 
80 
151 
26 
75 
57 
100 
157 


55-58 
100 
150 

20 


129 
130 


75-148 
49-94 
38-00 

07-158 

41-73 
88-143 
15-18 
30-04 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


473 
815 
042 


637 
248 
442 
357 
610 


042 

788,  789 


121,  104 
837 
733 
248 

434,442 
808 
182 
S53 
514 
607 

511-514 
472 
815 
642 


124,164 
637 
733 
248 

431,442 
868 
182 
353 
524 
607 

511-514 
472 
813 
C42 
788 


104 
037 
733 
248 
434 
868 
182 
353 
524 
607 
513 


815 
651 


104 
636 

248 
434 

800-803 
182 
352 
524 
606 

511-514 
472 
814 
642 


733 

787 
788 


85-158 
585-030 
218-240 
333-424 
800-803 
140-175 
200-345 
513-516 
502-506 


810 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


Cotton-plant  running  to  weed  in — continued. 

Smith  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Cotton-plant,  running  to  weed  of  tbo,  a  peculiarity 

Of  the  coast  region  of  Georgia. 

Cotton-plant,  usual  height  of,  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California  

Florida 

Georgia  

Indian  territory 

Louisiana . , 

Mississippi    

Missouri. 

North  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia, 

Cotton  planting  and  cultivation,  details  of,  in: 

Alabama  

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

G  corgia 


Indian  territory 

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

Missouri     

North  Carolina . . 
South  Carolina  .. 

Tennessee 


Texas    .. 
Virginia  - 


Cotton-plants,  time  of  thinning  out,    and   hovr  far 

apart,  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory .- 

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

Missouri 

Not  th  Carolina 

Son tli  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Cotton,  points  considered  in  the  commercial  grading 

of  (General  Discussion). 


Cotton  product  per  acre,  by  regions,  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida    

Georgia 


Indi  in  territory  . 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina  .. 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 


Cotton  product,  per  acre,  in  : 

Each  agricultural  region  of  the  cotton  states 
(General  Discussion). 

Mexico  (in  Eeport  on  California) 

Cotton  product  per  acre  on  any  soil  and  on  fresh  and 
old  lands  in : 


Alabama 

Arkansas  

California. 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory  . 


Lou 

Mississippi 

Missouri      

North  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas    

Virginia    

Cotton  production: 

Decreases   as  tobacco-growing    increases  in 

Tennessee. 
Discussion  of,  as  regards  the  rank  occupied 

by  each  state  (General  Discussion). 
Distribution  of,  among  the  states  (General  Dis- 

i  uBsion), 


Page 
of  special 

report. 


59,  CO 
48-ai! 
60-148 
12-14 

158 


75-148 
40-!'4 


:io-G4 
48-12 


154 
99- 101 

7:"..  70 
G8,  OH 

(     57, 5S, 

I    1CG-109 

20,  30 

70,  SO 

149-151 

20 

74.  73 

•JO.  54-58 

\"      42,43, 

t      0<),  100 

155-157 

10,  20 


154 

loo 


OS 
107 

29 

79,  Sll 

150 

20 

74 


">-a8 
99 
150 


GO 
40 
29-11 
54,  55, 
07-158 
10-25 
34 

11 


75-148 

49-94 

38-00 
70-158 
22—25 
44-73 
--  ■  13 
15-21 
30-04 
48-92 
57-148 
12-14 


General 
folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


515,516 
420-404 
718-34  6 

<W4-03u 

424 


85-158 
585-030 

210,218-240  I 
330-424 

s*:n-:-i,:; 
1-10-175 
290-345 
513-510 
5G2-' 90 
42M-401 
715-N00 
034-036 


164 
635-637 
733,734 
248.249 

323,324, 
432-435 
SOT,  8  8 
181,  182 
351-353 
«H 
606,  607 
482,510-514 

414,415, 
471.472 
813-815 
641,642 


164 

CIO 
733 
24H 
433 
807 

181,  182 
352 
52 1 
006 

511-514 
471 
811 
041 


Cotton  production —  continued. 

On    what  soils  most  prevalent  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 
Penumbral  region  of,  in  Tennessee 


48 


7ii 

570 

299-211 

320,321, 

333-424 

848-863 

136 

271 

509 

553 

412 

707 

032 


10 
789 


85-158 
585-630 
0S5 
218-240 
336-424 
860-803 
110-175 
290-345 
513-519 
502-596 
120-104 
715-SOC 
034-636 


Relations  of,  lo  isotherms  in  Tennessoi 

Small  farms  necessary  for  maximum  results 
in,  in  Mississippi. 

Summary  discussion  ol  in  the  United  Stales 
(i rcneral  Discussion). 

Total  of,  in  each  agricultural  region  of  the  cot- 
ton states  [General  Discussion). 

Total  per  acre  of,  etc.,  for  each  stale  (General 
Discussion). 
Cotton  production,  according  to  agricultural  regions 


I'age 
of  special 

report 


Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida    

Indian  territory 

Kentucky  (in  Eeport  on  ronnessoe)  . 

Louisiana      

Mississippi 

Missouri  

.Von  h  Carolina 

South  Carolina 


Tennessee 

Texas    

Virginia 

Cotton  production,  agricultural  methods  of,  ; 

Alabama 


Ark; 


California 
Florida    ... 
Georgia  . . 


Indian  territory 
Louisiana  

.  M  ssissinpi 
Missouri         -. .. 
North  Carolina 
South  Carolina.. 


Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia    

(*oi  ion  production,  area,  and  population  of  each  state 

(General  Discussion). 
Cotton  production,    as    compared   with    population 

(General  Discussion). 
Cotton  production,  center  of  maximum  of.  on  natural 
soils  in  the  United  States  (General  Discussion). 
Cotton  production,  cultural  and  economic  details  of,  in 

Alabama 

Ai  knnsas 

Florida    


i ; 


Indian  territory 

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

Missouri      

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina. 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia 

Cotton  production  per  acre,  areas,  population,  nnd 

t  illed  lands,  by  counties,  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California  (no  cotton  production  reported) 

Florida    

Georgia        

Indian  territory 

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee) 

Louisiana 

Mississippi   

Missouri 

Norlb  Carolina 

Routb  Carolina  

T.HTl,  *.,  <• 

l'l      is     

Vii  ;inia 


Cotton  production,  estimated  cost  of,  per  pound  or 
bale,  in: 


Alabama. . 
Arkansas  . 
California 


l.i 


Indian  territory  . 

Louisiana. .'. 

Mississippi 

Missouri 


l  23.25.ii", 

i     78,  ai 

III 

70 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

ofpttgo). 


303,307,410, 
450, 104 


411! 

281 


14-50,00 
30,40 
20-31 
54-57 

3,21-2.5 

in 

32-r, 

72-70 

3-1) 


IIS.  40 
III,  r.ll 


154 
00-101 

75,  71! 
08,00 
57,  58, 

lec-ioo 

20,30 

70,  80 


20 
74,70 


20,1 


-58 


42, -in. on. 

1U0 

155-157 
10, -20 


110-151! 
05-108 
115-71 

1511-170 
27-31 
75-85 

145-155 
22-28 
71-78 
•10-00 
D3-103 

149-103 
17-21 


21-00,  70 
575.  57ft 
2111-211 
320-323 
841,850-803 
483 
134-137 
271-278 
501-507 


51, , 


!4 


.175-51111 

389,31  :,  108, 

410,412 

707,  708 
11112 


101 
835-037 

71111.7114 
218,  210 

2211.  221, 

432-435 
807,  868 
181,  182 
270-281 

524 
008,  007 

l>-J.  5,1  ":".!_' 

Ill,  II',, 

171,472 
813-815 
011.012 


18 
20 


150-100 
631-4144 
21  .-.'51 
125-142 
805-8119 
177-187 
1117-1157 
521-526 
0011-010 
5H5-522 
40,-177 
807-821 
01)9-043 


3,4 

13.14 

3  1 

539,  510 

11,4 

001,0112 

1! 

183 

3-5 

209-271 

:i 

Ml 

ion 

481 

11  4 

105,  11)0 

11  4 

205,  200 

':    1 

501,5112 

3  4 

535,  5311 

1'. 

459 

11-8 

375-5811 

3-0 

l!C  1-0(14 

i: 

025 

150 

107 


155 

28 


100 
011! 


809 
187 
357 

520 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


811 


Cotton  production,  estimated  coat  of,  per  pound  or 
bale,  in — continued. 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Cotton  production,  general  remarks  on,  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia. 

Indian  territory 

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee) 

Louisiana. 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Cotton  production  in : 

California,  history  of 

California,  premiums  offered  for 

Georgia,  early  history  of 

Indian  territory  by  the— 

Cherokee  nation 

Chickasaw  nation 

Choctaw  nation 


Creek  nation 

Pottawatomie  nation 

Seminole  nation f- 

Louisiana  requires  a  larger  proportion  of  pure 

manual  labor  than  that  of  other  crops. 
Mississippi,  change  of  methods  of  culture,  etc., 

in,  necessary. 
Missouri,  area  of,  embraced  in  the  several 

census  years. 

North  Carolina,  increase  of,  since  1870 

South  Carolina,  early  history  of 

Texas,  early  history  of 

Cotton  production,  increase  of,  on  belts  of  calcareous 

soils  (General  Discussion). 
Cotton  production,  itemized  cost  of,  in : 
Alabama 


Arkansas 

California 

Georgia 

Louisiana 

Missouri 

North  (  arolina  . 

Tennessee 

Texas ...... 


Cotton  production,  percentage  of  state's  total,  in 

each  region  of: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia  

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

North  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Vii'gi  nia 

Cotton  samples,  requests  made  for,  and  number  ob- 
tained for  measurement  (GeneralDiscussion). 
Cotton,  sea-island : 

History  and  appearance  of  the  plant  in  South 
Carolina. 

Variety  of,  in  Georgia 

Cotton,  seasons  most  favorable  for,  in  South  Carolina. 
Cotton  shipments  in : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 


Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory.. 
Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri , 

North  Carolina.. 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


00-04 
38-41 
73-78 
29-33 
53-01 

16 

111,112 

32-39 

71-79 

17 
21,22 
21-47 
40-43 
48-52 


73-75 
73,74 
53,  54 

21,22 

24 

23,24 


156 
107 

70 

75, 170 

85 

28 


105 
103 


IT 

60 

1 

40,41 

II 

20 

II 

54 

1 

3S 

1 

72 

II 

21 

1 

40 

1 

49 

U 

10 

I 

12 

52,  53 
20 


5-148, 156 

J  41,  49-94, 

107 

69,71 

59, 67-158 

1(5 

43-73, 85 

f    87-143, 

I    151,  155 

15-21 

27-70,  78 

47-92, 105 

C      52,57- 

X    148,102 

11-15,21 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


70-74 
574-577 
731-730 
209-213 
319-327 

854 
483,484 
134-141 
273-281 

515 
553,  554 
477-503 
412-415 
700-710 

632 


731-733 
731, 732 
319,  320 

859,  860 

862 

SGI,  8G2 


863 
861 
140 


508, 509 

554 

470 
700 
15 


166 
643 
734 

441,442 
187 
526 
610 
477 
821 


140 
274 
553 
412 

707 
632 


31S,  319 
4S2 


85-158,106 

577,  585-630, 

643 

240,  25  > 

325, 333-424 

854 

145-175,187 

389-345,  353, 

357 

513-519 

559-602,010 

419-404,477 

710,  715-806, 

820 

033-637,  643 


Cotton,  soil  ingredients  withdrawn  by  (General  Dib- 

oussion). 
Cotton  soils,  most  important,  from  what  geological 

horizon  derived  in  Tennessee. 
Cotton,  staple,  rating  of,  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas - 

Florida    

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

Tennessee _. 

Texas  

Virginia  

Cotton  the  least  exhaustive  of  crops  if  all  but  the 
lint  bo  returned  to  the  soil  (General  Discus- 
sion). 
Cottonseed: 

Abstracts  of  letters  regarding  uses  of  (General 
Discussion). 

Alcohol  produced  by,  when  rotting  in  the 
ground,  and  effects  on  rootlets  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 

Ammonia  produced  by,  when  rotted  in  piles 
(General  Discussion). 

Amount  of  plant-food  withdrawn  by,  from  the 
soil  (General  Discussion). 

As  a  manure  for  sugar-cane  (GeneralDiscus- 
sion). 

Decomposition  of,  in  the  soil  (GeneralDiscus- 
sion). 

Experiments  with,  as  manure  and  food  for 
sheep  (General  Discussion). 

How  disposed  of  in  Mexico  (in  Keport  on  Cali- 
fornia). 

Hulls,  amount  of,  from  a  ton  of  seed  (General 
Discussion). 

Hulls,  cash  valuation  of  (General  Discussion).. 

Hulls  used  as  fuel  and  the  ashes  for  manure 
(General  Discussicn). 

Kernels,  amount  of,  from  a  ton  of  seed  (General 
Discussion). 

Meal,  use  of,  as  a  fertilizer  in  Alabama 

Percentage  of  ash  in  (General  Discussion) 

Preparation  of,  for  food  for  stock  (General  Dis- 
cussion.) 

Production  and  uses  of  (General  Discussion) . . . 

Products,  summary  of  (General  Discussion) 

Return  of,  to  the  soil,  direct  or  indirect,  through 
the  manure  of  animals  (General  Discussion) . 

Source  of  supply  of,  and  average  price  paid  for 
by  mills  (General  Discussion). 

The  sale  of,  considered  from  the  standpoint  of 
maintenance  of  fertility  in  the  soil  (General 
Discussion). 

Treatment  of,  as  a  fertilizer  (General  Discus- 
sion). 

Useless  as  a  manure  the  first  year  unless  the 
oil  be  extracted  (General  Discussion). 

Use  of,  iu  Mississippi,  remarks  on 

Value  of,  as  a  fertilizer  in  Missouri 

Value  of,  as  a  fertilizer  in  Tennessee 

Cottonseed  and  lint,  in  tons,  in  each  region  of: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Louisiana 

Mississippi  

North  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 1 

Virginia  

Cottonseed,  disposal  and  price  of,  and  variety  and 
-    amount  used  per  acre  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 


Pago 

of  special 

report. 


75-148 
49-94 
38-60 

70-158 
22-25 
43-73 

88-143 
16-18 
30-C4 
48-92 

60-148 
12-14 


I 

48 

I 

01 

I 

51 

I 

43 

I 

40 

I 

51 

I 

48 

n 

131 

i 

45 

i 

49 

i 

47 

II 

64 

I 

48 

I 

48 

I 

41-51 

I 

46 

I 

51 

I 

45 

I 

49 

I 

78 

I 

25 

I 

98 

TT 

0(1 

1 

40 

II 

29 

II 

54 

1 

32 

1 

72 

11 

21 

1 

40 

I 

49 

II 

10 

TT 

154 

1 

98,99 

II 

76 

11 

67,08 

General 
folio 

(at  bottom 
of  page). 


812 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


Cottonseed,  disposal  find  price  of,  and  variety  and 
amount  used  por  acre  in — continued. 
Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana. 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

Son tli  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas    

Virginia, 

Cottonseed,  length  of  time  before  corning  up  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida , 

Georgia  

Indian  territory    

Louisiana. 

Mississippi 

Missouri  . . 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia 

Cottonseed,  variety  preferred  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas. 

California  

Florida 

Georgia. 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana   

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Cottonseed-oil : 

Amount  of,  from  a  ton  of  seed  (Goneral  Dis- 
cussion). 

Industry,  chapter  on  (General  Discussion) 

Industry,  circular  letter  to  cottonseed-oil  mills 
asking  for  data  regarding  (General  Discus- 
siori). 

Industry,  prospective  magnitude  of,  and  its* 
influence  upon  scil  fertility  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 

In  Georgia,  small  percentage  of  plant-food  in. . 

Mill  products  possible  from  the  cottonseed  pro- 
duction of  1879,  and  their  market  and  manure 
values  (General  Discussion). 

Mills,  list  of,  and  abstract  of  replies  received 
from,  as  to  working  capacity,  machinery  em- 
ployed, etc.  (General  Discussion). 

Of  little  value  to  the  soil  (Goneral  Discussion). 

Refineries  (General  Discussion)  

Cottonseed-oil  cake: 

Amount  of,  sold  at  homo,  and  its  uses  as  food 
or  manure  (General  Discussion). 

Better  and  more  valuable  as  manure  than  the 
seed  it  represents  (General  Discussion). 

Export  and  import  of,  as  a  commercial  fertil- 
izer (General  Discussion). 

Hulls,  and  ash.  possible  production  of,  from 
the  crop  of  1879,  and  their  value  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 

The  cheapest  fertilizer  in  the  market  (General 
Discussion) . 

■Without  the  hulls,  equivalent  to  three-quarters 
oflhoseed  (General  Discussion). 
Cottonseed-oil  cake  used  :  s  feed  or  manure  in: 

Alabama ■- 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri    

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 


Page 

of  special 
report, 


57,  58, 

1C5,  101 J 

20 

78,  "9 
148,  140 

25,  2fl 

::(,  74 

5-2-58 

43,9t>,99 

154,155 

10 


C8 
107 

20 

79 
149 

:g 

71 

55-58 


99 
155 
19 


67.  68 

57,  58, 

1G5,  100 

'J  9 

78,79 

148.  149 

25,  2G 

73,74 

52-58 

43,  98,  99 

154, 155 

19 


41-51 

43 


43 


46 
45,47 
49 
50 
49 


n 

154 

164 

i 

98 

034 

n 

67 

247 

ii 

166 

432 

i 

20 

867 

i 

79 

1*1 

i 

148 

350 

i 

25 

523 

ii 

73 

605 

ii 

52-54 

508-510 

i 

98 

470 

i 

154 

812 

u 

19 

0-11 

Gcnoral 

fulio 

(at  bottom 

of  page), 


823,324, 
431,432 

B07 
180,  |M 
350,351 
523,  524 
005.000 
508-514 
5,470,-171 
812,  SI 3 

041 


433 
807 


164 

034, 035 

734 

247,  248 

323,  324, 

431,432 

807 

ISO,  181 

350,351 

523, 524 

005,  0U0 

508-514 

415,470,471 

812,813 

641 


53-63 
55 


326, 327 
61 


Cottonseed- planters  used  in  : 

Alabama  

A i kansas  

Florida    

(i.-orgiu 

Louitiann     

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  ( Carolina 

South  Carolina  

Tennesson 

Texas  

Virginia    

Coulees  in  Louisiana,  description  of 

Counties,  agricultural  descriptions  of  the, of; 

Alabama 

A i ban sue 

Calii'oi  nia. 

Florida 

i  leorgia  

Louisiana —  — 

Mississippi 

Missouri, 

North  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Counties,  area,  population,  tilled  lands,  and  cotton 
production  of,  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas    

California  (no  cotton  production  reported) 

Florida 

Georgia 

Kentucky  (in  Roport  on  Tennessee) 

Louisiana 

Mississippi    

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas   

Virginia 

Counties  in  each  region  having  highest  cotton  pro- 
duction in: 

Alabama 

Arkausas 

Florida 

Geotgia  

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

No i  lb  Carolina 

Tennessee    

Texas    

Virginia 

Counties  in  each  state  having  highest  cotton  produc- 
tion (General  Discussion). 
Countios,  product  of  lint  per  acre,  by,  in: 

Alabama 

Arkausas ■ 

Florida 

Georgia  

Louisiana ■ 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia    

Country  uort  h  of  Arkansas  rlvei  largely  mountainous 

and  hilly. 
County  descriptions,    why  included    in  the    report 

(General  Discussion). 
County  having  highest  total  cotton  production  in  the 
United  States  (General  Discussion). 

Coves  of  granite  regions  in  Arkansas  

Cowhide  land,  description  of,  in  Louisiana 

Cowikee  lands  of  Alabama,  character  and  analysis  of 

Credits  or  advances  to  laborers  on  growing  crop  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia   

7 ml ian  territory 

Louisiana  

Mississippi ' 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

Soul  h  Carolina. 

Tennessee 

T.A.I.        

Virginia 

Creek  nation,  area,  extent,  and  description  of  portion 
of  the  Lidian  territory  occupied  by  the. 


Page 

of  special 

roport. 


jr.4 

99 

ce 

107 
79 

140 
20 


75-148 

47-9-1 
85-1  5 

35-03 
67-158 
41-73 
85-143 
13-J1 
27-70 
45-92 
67-148 
11-15 


3,4 

13,  14 

3,4 

539.  54« 

3,4 

001,  002 

:i 

183 

3-5 

209-271 

109 

4X1 

3,4 

105.  1O0 

3  4 

205,  206 

3  4 

501,602 

3,4 

535.  530 

3 

459 

3-fl 

375-360 

3-0 

06 1-004 

3 

1125 

55-57 
33 


34 

32.  73 

50.51. 

130-132 


156 

100 
71 

174 
31 
84 

155 


General 

lulio 

(nt  bottom 

of  page). 


104 
535 
248 


524 

COO 
511 
471 
613 
641 


85-158 
583-030 
743-763 
215-243 
333-424 
143-175 
287-345 
611-519 
650-002 
117-164 
715-800 
033-037 


70 
570 
209 
321-323 
135 
274 
553 
413 
708 
632 

17 


3,4 

13.14 

3,4 

539,  540 

3 

16.3 

3-0 

269-271 

3,4 

105,  106 

3,4 

205.  2»6 

3 

501 

3,4 

535.  536 

3 

459 

3-5 

375-377 

3-0 

061-064 

3 

025 

570 
134, 175 
60.61, 
140-142 


166 
642 
251 
440 
669 
160 
367 
528 
609 
517-522 
470 
820 
013 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


813 


Cretaceous  formation  in: 


Arkansas . 
California.. 


Georgia... 


Indian  territory  . 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Norih  Carolina  .. 
South  Carolina- .. 

Tennessee 

Texas 


Crops  fin-' alkali  soils  in  California 

Crops  in  California: 

Effect  of  irrigation  On 

Growing  seasons  of 

Crops,  leading,  acreage  and  production  of,  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Horida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee) 


Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri       

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina  

Tennessee 

Texas     

Virginia 

Crops  of  the  Sierra  foot-hills,  California 

Crops,  soil  ingredients  withdrawn  by  various  (Gen- 
eral Discussion). 

Crops,  statistics  regarding  the,  of  South  Carolina. . . 

Cross-timbers,  extent,  character,  and  geological  feat- 
ures of,  in : 
Indian  territory 

Texas 

Crowley's  ridge  region  in* 

Arkansas,  area,  elevation,  and  character,  with 
sections  of  bluffs  of. 

Arkansas,  cotton  production  iu 

Missouri,  description  of 

Crystal  mountains,  sandstone  and  quartz  crystals  of, 

in  Arkansas. 
Cultivating  and  planting  of  cotton  in  Louisiana,  im- 
portance of  thorough  work  in. 
Cultivation  and  planting  of  cotton,  details  of,  in: 

Alabama  


Arkansas  .. 
California. . 
Florida  . .. 

Georgia  ... 


Indian  territory. 

Louisiana 

Mississippi    

Missouri 

North  Carolina  . 
South  Carolina... 


Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia , . .., 

Cultural  and  economic  details  of  cotton  production  in  i 

Alabama  

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia  

Indian  territory 


Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 
SoHth  Carolina. 

Tennessee 

TJ.-xas 

Virginia 


Cumberland    table-lands,    Tennessee,   area,    extent, 

elevation,  and  character  of. 
Cut- worm,  appearance  of,  in: 

Florida ; 

Georgia. 


North  Carolina  . 

Tennessee 

Texas  


Page 

of  special 

report. 


34-06, 

112-141 

11,27 

8 

13,14, 

126-128, 

132 

8,13 

10 

12,19 

11 

IU 

22 

18-21 

67,68 


5,6 
5,6 
3,4 


5-8 

7-10 

3 

33 

50 


7,  8, 10,  24 
28,29 


21,41, 
52-58 


10,10 
75 


154 

99-101 

75,70 

08.  09 

$    57.58, 

\  160-109 

29,30 

79,80 

149-151 

20 

74,75 

26,51-58 

$    42,43, 

\    99,  100 

155-157 

19,20 


149-150 
95-108 

65-71 

159-176 

27-31 

75-65 

145-155 

23-28 

71-78 

49-06 

93-105 

149-103 


69 

170,  171 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


102 
159 


44-70, 

122-151 

547,  50  i 

000 

279,  280, 

392-3!  (4, 

398 

846,  851 

.  112 

214,  2L'l 

543 

4G6 

394 

676-079 

725,  720 


674 
671 


15,16 

541.542 
001,  662 

184 
272-274 

841 

482 
107,  108 
207, 208 

502 
537, 538 

460 
377-380 
665-008 

025 


691 
62 


845,  846, 
848,  802 


557,  577, 

588-594 

508,  514 

611 


164 

635-(i37 
733.  734 
248,  249 
323,  324, 
432-135 
807,  808 
Jbl,  1^2 
351-353 
524 
606,  607 
482,510-514 
414.415, 
471,472 
813-815 
641,042 


159-166 
631-044 
245-251 
425-442 
805-809 
177-187 
347-357 
225-230 
0U3-O10 
505-522 
405-477 
807-821 
639-643 


249 

430,  437 
608 
474 
817 


Cypress-  and  gum-swamp  lands  of  North  Carolina, 

analyses  of. 
Cypress-brake  land,  character  of,  in  Arkansas 


Dark-gray  soil  of  South  Carolina,  analysis  of 

Dark  sandy  loam  of  red-loam  region  of  Arkansas 

Date  palm,  growth  of,  in  South  Carolina 

Dead  lakes  of  Florida,  submerged  cypress  forests  of. 

Death's  valley,  California,  description  of 

Decomposition  of  metamorphic  rocks  in  : 

Alabama,  depth  of 

Georgia,  depth  to  which  it  extends,  and  ma- 
terial derived  from. 
Deer  Creek  region  of  Mississippi,  area  and  descrip' 
tion  of. 

Delta  of  the  Mississippi,  Louisiana 

Deltas  of  rivers,  formation  of,  in  South  Carolina 

Depth  of  tillage  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California. 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 


Louis 

Mississippi 

Missouri  ... 

North  Carolina  . 
South  Carolina.. 

Tennessee    

Texas 

Virginia 


Derivation  and  pronunciation  of  the  word  Arkansas 
(note  in  Report  on  Arkansas). 

Description,  agricultural,  of  nations  of  Indian  terri- 
tory. 

Description  and  analyses  of  soils  and  subsoils  in : 

Alabama 

Arkansas , 

California 

Florida 

Georgia  

Indian  territory 

Kentucky  (in  lleporton  Tennessee). 

Louisiana 

Mississippi , 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Descriptions,  agricultural,  of  counties  in: 

Alahama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia  

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Desert  region  in: 

California,  general  description  of 

Texas,  character  and  extent  of  the 

Detailed  information  (see  indexes  to  the  following 

monographs) : 

General  Discussion  on  Cotton  Production 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia  

Indian  territory 

Kentucky  (in  Report  ou  Tennessee). 

Lou  isiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri  . 

Nonh  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee ' 

Texas 

Virginia 

Details,  cultural  and  economic,  of  cotton  production  in : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Ind  ian  territory 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


1,11 

112, 113 

8 

404 

153 

163 

m 

C33 

75 

733 

m 

247 

163 

429 

29 

867 

77 

179 

147 

349 

25 

523 

7U 

61)5 

-54 

507-519 

m 

469 

153 

811 

IU 

641 

16-56 
14-38 
18-69 
15-28 
25-53 
10-17 
112 
13-3] 
15-71 
14-20 
15-48 
10-40 
24-17 


75-148 
47-94 

85-125 
37-03 

67-1.' S 
41-73 

85-143 
13-21 
27-70 
45-9' 

57-148 
11-15 


:,  43,  44 
22,32 


77-81 
157-103 
109-118 
133-138 

73-77 
177-184 

33,34 

87-93 

151-164 

29-31 

79-83 

67-70 

113-119 

105-173 

23-25 


149-150 
95-108 

65-71 
159-176 

27-31 


General 

in lie. 

(at  I'uttom 

of  page). 


546 


479 
011,020 
475 
226 
701 

25 
297 


20-66 
550-574 
676-728 
195-208 

291-319 
848-855 
484 
115-133 
217-273 
546-552 
471-504 
388-412 
046-609 


85-158 
583-030 
743-783 
217-243 
3:13-424 
143-175 
287-345 
511-519 
550-602 
417-404 
715-806 
033-037 


060,  701,  702 
080,  090 


89-93 
167-173 
045-652 
791-T96 
253-257 
443-150 
871,  872 

189-195 
359-306 
527-529 
611-615 
52:1-526 
485-491 
823-C31 
645-047 


159-166 
631-044 
245-251 
425-442 
865-869 


814 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


Details,  cultural  and  ecorfomio,  of  cotton  product  ion 
in — continued. 

Louisiana    

.Mississippi 

MlMwnii 

North  Carolina 

Son tli  Carolina 

Tmiuesaeo    

Texas    

Virginia 

Details  of  aoil  investigation  (General  Discussion).    . 
Devonian  1'uiniation  in: 

Alalinma    — 

Georgia,  bedB  and  thickness  of 

Diagram  showing  the  natural divisionsof  Tennessee. 
Differences  in  surface  featnres,  streams,  and  inhabit- 
ants of  the  two  divisions  of  South  Carolina 

Dips  of  the  strata  of  northwest  Georgia  .  — 

Directions  for  taking  soil  specimens  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 

Dirt  Town  valley  of  Georgia  — 

Diseases,  insect  enemies,  etc.,  of  cotton  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas    

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana    

llis-issippi 

Missouri 

Km  tb  Carolina 

Si  a  ii  li  Carolina. wl 

Tennessee  

Texas 

Virginia t 

Dismal  swamp  in: 

North  Carolina 

Virginia,  soils  and  timber  growth  on  the  bor- 
ders of. 
Disposal,  price,  variety,  and  amount  used  per  acre  of 
Cottonseed  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  ter  itory    

Louisiana    

Mississippi 

Missouri   

Noi  lb  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas. 

Virginia 

Distribution  of  cotton  production  among  the  several 
agricultural  regions  iu: 

Alabama  

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee) 

Louisiana   

Mississippi      

Missouii  

North  Carolina 

Sou  tb  C  rolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia    

Ditching,  hillside,  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas   

Floi -da,    

G.  ..1-1:1  

Indian  territory 

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

Missoitu 

Nonh  Carolina 

Simlll  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas     

Virginia 

Divisions  of: 

A  lalmrna 

Missouri,  natural 

Tennessee,  natural  and  political 

Upland  portion  of  Louisiana,  natural 


Pace 

of  special 
report. 


75-85 
145-185 

23-28 
71-78 
4<J-liC 
9:1- 105 

149-103 


17,29 
21 


155 

102.  103 

(19,  70 

170,  171 

:io 
61-83 

152,  15:i 


55.00 
102,103 
138-100 


12,31 
9 


154 

98,  99 

70 

67,08 

(      57, 58, 

j    105,  100 

29 

78.70 

14S,  14!) 

25,  20 

73,74 

52-58 

43.  98,  99 

154,  155 

19 


14-56.00 

39,  40 

2.1-31 

54-57 

3,  21-25 

111 

32-35 

72-70 

3,9 

21.2: 

19-47 

17,  25.  30, 

38, 40 

49,  50 

10 


78-1  18 
49-94 
38-60 

70-158 

44-73 
88-143 
10-18 
30-04 
52,  53 
48-92 
00-148 
12-14 


12-14 

7 

12-14 

11 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


177-1*7 

.'117-357 
521-520 
003-010 
505-522 
40.5-177 
807-821 
039-013 


383 
463 


288 
70 


105 
038,  039 
219,250 
430,  437 

808 
183-185 
354,  355 


008 


816-818 
042 


541,  503 
031 


104 
634,  0  5 

734 
247,  248 
323,  324. 
431,  432 

807 
180,181 
350,351 
523,  524 
605,  OnO 
508-514 
5,470,471 
812,813 

041 


24-60.  70 
575,  570 
209-211 
320-323 

841,859-863 
463 
134-137 
274-278 
501,507 
553. 554 
475-503 

369,397,408, 
410,412 
107,708 


88-1.-8 
585-030 
218-210 
336-424 

800-863 
14.-175 
290-345 

514-5H; 
502-590 
.Mi-  .""I 
420-104 
718-800 
034-0.0 


505 

384-380 

113 


Dogwood  ridge,  general  description  and  analysis  of 

soil  of,  in  Mississippi. 
Dogwood  ridge  of  the   Mississippi  plain   (General 

Discussion). 
Dolomite  the  basis  of  good  fanning  lands  in  Alabama. 
Draft  employed  in  breaking  up  land  in  : 

Alabama     .    

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia  

Indian  territory 

Louisiana .' 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee    

Texas  

Virginia 

Drainage  system  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

South  Carolina 

Texas  

Virginia  

Drayage,  eoat  of,  in : 

Arkansas  

Louisiana 

Mississippi    

North  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Drifting  sauds  of  the  west  iu  Texas 

Drift  material  in: 

Alabama,  occnrren.ee  of  and  soils  of 

Louisiaua    

Texas  and  on  the  Llano  Estncado 

Drought  iu  Texas,  occurrence  of  

Dry  Lake  valley,  California,  extent  and  description 

of. 
Dry  Valley  region  of  Alabama,  character  aud  soils  of 
Dnrango,  Mexico,  cotton  culturo  in  the  state  of  (in 
Report  on  California). 

1:. 

Earthquake  of  1811  in  Missouri,  reference  to  

East  Carroll  parisli.  Louisiana,  rank  of,  as  first  iu 
cotton  pioduct  per  acre  among  the  counties 
of  all  tbe  states  (General  Discussion). 

Eastern  Florida  and  the  peninsula,  general  character 
of  the  lands  of. 

Eastern  slope  of  the  sierra  Nevada  inouutains,  Cali- 
fornia, description  of. 

Eastern  topographical  division  of  Norlb  Carolina, 
area  and  general  surface  features  of. 

East  Tennessee,  cotton  production  iu 

Easl  Tennessee  valley: 

A  penuni'.  nil  cotton  region  

Gray  aud  red  bells,  ondelierly  dolomite  knobs  of 

Economic  and  eultui  al  details  of  cotton  production  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas    

Florida 

Georgia 

lie  Man  I  err  itory 

Louisiana     

Mississippi    

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

Soulli  Carolina 

'Tennessee 

Texas      

Virginia     

Edislo  island,  South  Carolina,  labor  system  on 

Edisto  river,  South  Carolina,  course,  navigation,  and 

bordering  lands  of. 
Eel  River  bottom  and  valley  landB.  California,  charac- 
ter and  analyses  of  soils  aud  subsoils  from. 


Pago 

of  special 

report. 


153 

97 
07 

163 
29 
77 

147 


aj 

153 
19 


7,8 
10.17 


7 

51-54 

16 


10 

21,22 

159 

114 

85,92 
131 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


38 
36-38 


140-156 
95-108 

05-71 

159-178 

27-31 

75-85 

145-155 

23-28 

71-18 

49-00 

9:1-105 

149-103 

17-21 


61 


243, 318 

87 

28,29 


103 
633 
247 
4-9 
807 
179 
349 
523 
005 
587-510 
409 
811 
041 


19,  .20 

540 

605.  COO. 

070-084 

187.188 

282.  283 

845 

112,113 

213 

505 


674 
029 


C43 
187 
357 
610 
477 
820 


I,  52,  50-59 

112 

679,  680 

817 

772 


514 

20 


198 

719,  720 

542 


414 


410 
408^110 


159-100 
631-014 


245 


51 


425-442 
805-869 
177-187 
317-357 
52 8-526 
003-010 
505-522 
465-477 
807-821 
039-643 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


815 


Effect  of  tho  share  system  on  soils  in  i 


Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi    

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee    

Texas  

Virginia 


Efforts  made  to  obviate  diseases  of  cotton-plant  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia     

Louisiana 

North  Carolina 

Sou tii  Carolina 

Virginia 

Elevation  of: 

Florida 

Georgia,  average L 

Kentucky,  cotton  region  of  (in  Report  on  Ten- 
nessee). 

Louisiana 

Missouri 

Elevations  in: 

Alabama,  and  axis  of 

Central  prairie  region,  Texas 

Lower  pine  belt  of  South  Carolina 

Metamorphic  region  of  South  Carolina 

Mountains  and  valleys  of  northwest  Georgia. . . 

Mountains  in  ihe  Blue  Ridge  region  of  Georgia 

Mountains  of  the  southern  region  of  California 

North  Carolina 

Piedmont  region  of  South  Carolina 

Sand-hills  region  of  South  Carolina 

Sierra  Nevada  Mountain  region  of  California  .. 

Tennessee 

Tennessee  Valley  region  (Alabama) 

Texas    

Upper  pine  belt  of  South  Carolina 

Virginia 

"Warrior  coal  field  of  Alabama 

Elk  Ridge  region  of  the  Central  basin,  Tennessee, 
description  of. 

Ellt  river,  Alabama,  lands  of , 

Enchanted  lock,  Texas,  description  of  the 

Enumeration  of  agricultural  regions  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California  

Florida 

Georgia. 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

Missouri         

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas     

Virginia 


Enumeration,  tabulated  results  of  the,  in : 

Alabama  

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia  

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee) . 

Louisiana. 

Mississippi    

Missouri    , 

North  Carolina , 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 


Eocene  formation,  occurrence  and  material  of,  i 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Floriila      

Georgia  

Louisiana 

Mississippi    

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Texas 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


155,130 
105 

70,71 

172, 17.T 

31 

83,  P4 

154 

28 

77 

B2-6B 

101 

101 


155 
103 


171 
82,  S3 


50,  00 
20 


30 

37 

0,10 

45 

33 

59,60 

11 

28 

13,14 

25 

7 

26,27 

28,  83,  84 

104 
17,145 

13,  14,  36 
12 

17,18 

15 

17, 18,  23 

9 

11 

13 

8 

12 

12,13 

13,  14 


1-0 
1-0 
1-4 
1-4 
1-8 
100.110 
1-0 
1-0 
1-4 
1-0 

1-1 

1-8 
1-10 

1-3 


10-14 
14-10 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page) . 


105, 160 
641 

250,  251 

438,  4.10 
869 

185,  l£ti 
356 
526 
60!) 

518-522 
476 
819 
643 


165 
639 
250 
437 

184, 1S5 
60S 

515,516 
642 


188, 189 
277 
433 

113 
505, 507 


478 
402 
285 
296 
095 

541,  542 
501 
489 

717,  718 
383 
38 

671,  672 

481 

629 

36,37 

400,  455,  456 

114 
675,  803 


23,  24,  40 

548 

675.  676 

195 

283,  284,  289 

847 

H3 

215 

506 

544 

468,  K  9 

385,  380 

680 

6J0- 


11-16 
537-542 
659-C62 

181-184 
26 "-274 
4*1.  482 
103-108 
20  l-'J08 
409-502 
533-538 
45  7-4  6i  l 
373-:  ,h0 
659-683 
623-025 


547 

100-104 

2*0-2*2 

112 

214 


543 
466 
679 


Erosion  in  Alabama  the  cause  of  surface  features. . 
Erosion  of; 

Cretaceous  prairies  iu  Alabama 

Drift  material  iu  Alabama 

Saint  Louis  limestone  in  Alabama 

Tennessee  valley,  Alabama 

Erosion,  strata  removed  by,  in  north-west  Georgia  . 

Eruptive  rocks,  occurrence  of,  in-. 

California 

Texas 

Estimated  cost  of  cotton  production  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 


Califor'nii 

Florida    , 

Georgia       

Indiiin  territory 

•Louisiana  

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee    

Texas 

Virginia 


Estimated  number  of  acres  of  cotton  per  hand  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia   

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri  

North  Carolina 

Sout  li  Carolina .  — 

Tennessee 1 

Texas     

Virginia 


Etowah  river  in  Georgia,  alluvial  lands  of 

European  soils,  difficulties  encountered   in  getting 

samples  of,  for  analysis  (General  Diseussiou). 

Eutaw  and  Ripley  groups  in  Mississippi  (Cretaceous) 

Eutaw  group  iu  Alabama  (Cretaceous)  

Everglades  of  Florida : 

A  rea  and  description  of 

Elevation  above  the  sea  and  general  character 
of. 
Exhaustion  of  cotton  lands  of  Alabama  discussed  .. 


Fallowing,  fall  plowing,  and  rotation  i 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida     

Georgia 

Indian  territory 


una.. 


uppi 


Louis 

Missis: 

Mis 

North  Carolina  . 

South  Carolina.. 

Tennessee 


Virginia  . 


Fall  plowing,  fallowing,  and  rotation  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida    

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana     

Mississippi    

Missouri   

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina. 


Tounessee  . 


Texas  

Virginia    

Farming,  mixed,  and  planting 
Alabama 


Arka 

Floii. 

Gei 


Indian  territory  . 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri         

North  Carolina  . . 
South  Carolina  .. 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


35,  46,  65 
27,28 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


39 
33 


R 

666 

41 

699 

156 

166 

107 

643 

Vli 

734 

71 

251 

175 

441 

81 

869 

H5 

187 

155 

357 

28 

526 

78 

610 

lit) 

5-J2 

105 

477 

IBS 

821 

21 

643 

156 

166 

106 

642 

71 

261 

174 

440 

81 

869 

84 

186 

155 

357 

KB 

526 

77 

609 

-t>a 

510-518 

104 

476 

162 

820 

21 

613 

214 
>,  56,  75 


TT 

151 

163 

1 

41,97,98 

577,  633,  634 

II 

07 

247 

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104 

430 

1 

29 

807 

1 

77 

179 

r 

77,  78. 147 

279,  280,  349 

i 

25 

'     523 

ii 

73 

CO.") 

ii 

51-54 

507-510 

i 

C      42. 43, 

414,415, 

1        97. 98 

4«9,  470 

i 

(   118,153. 
1            154 

770,811, 

S12 

ii 

19 

641 

IT 

153 

103 

1 

41,  97,  US 

577,  633,  (34 

II 

67 

247 

II 

104 

430 

T 

29 

807 

1 

77 

179 

I 

77,  78,  147 

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1 

25 

523 

II 

73 

605 

11 

51-54 

507-510 

I 

J      42,4.1, 
i        97, 98 

414,415, 

400,470 

I 

!  118, 153, 

776,811. 

(            154 

812 

11 

19 

041 

11 

IBS 

165 

I 

104 

040 

ir 

68.69 

248,  249 

ii 

(,  100-10!), 

i            172 

29.  30 

•432-435, 438 

i 

807,  868 

i 

79.  80.  83 

181,182,  185 

i 

158 

355 

T 

26,27 

524.  525 

'1 

74,75 

000,  0)17 

11 

62-05 

518-521 

816 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


Farming,  mixed,  and  planting,  in— continued. 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Fanning,  system  of,  and  labor,  and  size  of  farms  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 


Louisiana. . 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

Novl  li  Carolina  . 
South  Carolina. . 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia   


Farms  in  Smith  Carolina,  statistics  of 

Farm  values  and  productions  in  South  Carolina 

Fastening  (ties)  used  in  baling  cotton  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas. 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri  

M 01  th  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Te.vis 

Virginia 

Features : 

General,  of  the  state  of  Georgia 

Geological  and  topographical,  of  the  Indian 
territory. 

Prominent,  of  California 

Variety  of,  in  Tennessee 

Feed  or  manure,  cottonseed-cako  used  as,  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia 

Feldspar  in  Georgia,  occurrence  of  pink  variety  of. . 

Fences  in  South  Carolina,  height  of 

Ferruginous  sandstone  and  conglomerate  of  the  Cross 

Timbers  of  Texas. 
Fertilizers,  commercial,  aggregate  cost  of,  in  the 
metamoi-pbic  region  of  South  Carolina, 

Fertilizers,  experiments  with,  in  Georgia 

Fertilizers,  natural,  of : 

Alabama 

Arkansas .". 

Florida , 


Georgia 

Indian  territory  . 

Mississippi 

North  Carolina  .. 


South  Carolina 

Texas 

Fertilizers,  remarks  on,  in: 

Alabama 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Mississippi     

North  Carolina 

Soutli  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Virginia   , . 


Fertilizing  and  green-manuring  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida    

Georgia  

Indian  territory 


Page 
of  special 

report. 


if*,  i.-.t; 

104-108 

70,71 

172-170 

31 

83-85 

78,153-155 

27.28 

70-78 

00-06 

103-105 

100-103 

21 

21-17 


155 
102 

69 

58,  170 
30 
81 
152 


58 
102 


18,  If 
7,* 


07 
160 

29 

79 
148 

25 

73 
52-54 

08 
154 

19 

30 

52 

24,29 


54 
84-108 


65-70 

11,25,27, 

55 

25,  32-34 

41-10, 

Gl,C2, 

115-132 

13 

21,22,38, 

56-75 

18,22,23, 

37-19 

10,19,23, 

29 

21 


64-70 

32,  33 
57-63 


General 

folio 

(at  boitom 

of  page). 


818 
641,  042 


105, 1  GO 

040-044 

250,  251 

438-442 

809 

185-187 

280,  355-357 

525,  520 

608-010 

516-522 

475-177 

818-J-21 

C43 


477-503 


105 

638 
249 
324,  430 
868 
183 
354 
525 
607 
514 
474 
816 
642 


284,285 
845,  840 


67 
165 


665 
383 


164 
634 

247 
432 
867 
181 
350 
523 
605 

508-510 
470 
812 
041 
302 
508 

682,  687 


75-80 

547,561,503, 

591 

205,212-214 

3u7-312, 

327.  328. 

381-308 

851 

223,224,240, 

258-277 

550,554.555. 

569-581 

460,475,479. 

485 

■     079 


74-80 

212,213 

323-329 

867 

280,  350 

554 

468,487,491 

415 

632 


164 
614 
247 
431 

867 


Fertilizing  and  green-manuring  in — continued. 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri    

North  Carolina 

South  *  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas     

Virginia 

Fisheries  of  the  seaboard  region  of  North  Carolina. . 
Flatwoods  belt  of  WeBt  Tennessee  and  the  Highland 

Rim. 
Flatwoods  lands  of: 

Alabama 

Coosa  Valley  region  of  Alabama,  extent,  timber 
growth,  soils,  and  analyses  of. 

Crowley's  Bulge  rogion  of  Arkansas. 

Georgia,  extent,  rocks,  and  soils  of 

Long-leaf  piae  region  of  Florida 

Meiamoiphic  rogion  of  Georgia,  general  char- 
acter of. 
Metam orphic  region  of  South  Carolina^  charac- 
ter and  analyses  of. 

Pitch-pine  region  of  Florida,  description  of 

South  Carolina  derived  from  trappean  rocks    . . 
Flatwoods  region  of: 

Alabama,  area  and  soils  of 

Alabama,  trees  and  plants  characteristic  of 

Mississippi,  extent  ami  general  description  of. . 
Mississippi,  population  and  cotton  production 
in. 

Flatwoods,  total  area  of  (General  Discussion) 

Flea-bugs,  appearance  of,  in  : 

Alabama 

Georgia  

Flint,  presence  of,  in  tho  limestone  of  tho  Gulf  coast 
of  Florida. 

Flint  river  in  Georgia,  rounded  quartz  ro*ks  of 

Float  land  of  the  tales  of  California 

floods  of  the  streams  of  tho  great  valley,  Califor- 
nia, periods  of. 
Floods  or  rises  of  tho  Mississippi,  time,  sources,  and 

occurrences  of  (General  Discussion). 
Florida: 

Analyses  of  pine-land  soils  of  (General  Discus- 
sion). 
Area,  population,  tilled  land,  cotton  production, 
rank  among  the  states,  and  hauuor  counties 
of  (General  Discussion). 
Cotton  fiber,  measurements  of  (General  Discis- 
sion). 
Discussion  of  rank  of,  among  the  cotton  states 
(General  Discussion). 

Index  to  Report  on 

Mountains,  description  of 

Possible  cottonseed-oil  mill  products  of,  from 
the  crop  of  1879,  and  their  market  and  ma- 
nure valuations  (General  Discussionj. 
Report  on  Cotton  Production  in  the  state  of,  by 

Professor  Eugene  A.  Smith. 
Special  agen  t  appointed  for  (General  Discussion) 
Fogs  in  California,  prevalence  of,  and  their  influence 

ou  soils  and  plants. 
Fogs  of  the: 

Bay  country  of  California 

Southern  region  of  California 

Foothills  of  the; 

Coast  range  of  California 

Sierra  of  California,  general  description  of 

Foot -hi  lis  region  of  California,  area  and  description  of 

Fort  Gaines,  Georgia,  section  of  bluff  at 

Fossil  beds,  occurrence  of,  in: 

Georgia 

South  Carolina 


II 

27 

II 

10 

II 

35-SO 

II 

58 

I 

11-111 

I 

75 

Page 

of  special 

report. 


78 
;  24, 25, 55, 

78,  148 


52-54 

4a,  iiH 

154 

in 

13 
21,20 


118.  1 22. 
130,  !3S 


II 
11 

155 
170 

n 

20 

n 

125 

ii 

30,  111 

ii 

18 

45 
100, 108 

31-37 
32-37 
31-37 


107.  108 
10,11 


General 

folio 

(at  bol  torn 

ol  pugo). 


180 

220,227.257, 

280,  350 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


817 


Fossil  buucs  at  Lavaca,  Texas 

Fourcho  la.   Fave  Mountain  range,    elevation  and 

trend  of,  in  Arkansas. 
Freight  rates  of  shipment  in: 

Alabama  

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

Missouri.    .      

North  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Fresno  Plains  soil,  California,  .character  and  analy- 
sis of. 
Fresno  river,  California,  character  of  lands  of 

Front  land  Soil  and  subsoil  of: 

Arkansas '. 

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

Mississippi  alluvial  plain,  character  of  (Gen- 
eral Discussion). 

Tennessee  alluvial  region  and  the,  Mississippi  j 
river.  3 

Frost,  black,  first  appearance  of,  in : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Fl  rida 

Georgia  

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri  ...   

^'ortb.  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Fruit-land  peninsula  of  Florida,  location  of 

Fruits  of: 

Sierra  foot-hills,  California 

South  Carolina 

a. 

Galls  or  sour  lauds  of  Florida,  description  and  growth 
of. 

Galveston,  Texas,  cotton  shipments  from 

Gavilan  Mountain  range,  California,  description  of  -  - 
General  Discussion  of  Cotton  Production,  by  Profes- 
sor Eugene  W.  Tlilgard. 
General  Discussion  of  Cotton  Production,  index  to... 
General  features  of  the  alluvial  plain  of  the  Missis- 
sippi river  (General  Discussion). 
Geological  features  of: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee) 

Louisiana 

M  issisaippi  

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

Smith  Carolina. 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Geological   horizon  of   the  most  important  cotton 

soils  of  Tennessee. 
Geological  surveys  of  states,  materials  of,  utilized 

(General  Discussion). 
Georgia : 

Analyses  of  soils  of  (Gener.il  Discussion) 

Area,  population,  tilled  land,  cotton  production, 
•         rank  among  the  states,  and  banner  counties 
of  (General  Discussion). 

52  0  P — VOL.  ii 


75-14B.158 

41,49-94, 

107 

39-63,  70 

(59,67-158, 

\  170 

1C,  21-25 

43-73.  85 

S7-143, 151 

15-21 

27-70,78 

47-92,105 

52, 57-148 

11-15,  21 

27-30 


13 
14,15,17.20 

118 


<>  14,15,24, 
\        53, 71 


11,154 

101 

68 

11.20,  169 

30 

80 

10, 151 

20 

75 

C  20,31,37, 

\       50, 58 

J      12,13, 

1       10, 100 

75, 157 

20 


53 


I 

52 

II 

40 

I 

i-vi,  1-81 

I 

77-81 

T 

73-70 

11 

8.7(1,71 

10-15 

11-10. 

21-20 

7.8 

111 

9 

12 


13,47-92 
17-22 


General 

folio 

(tit  bottom 

of  page). 


080 
505 


85-15S,  1(10 

177,  585-030, 

1143 

219-243,  2nd 

325,333424, 

430 

854,  859-803 

145-175,187 

289-345,353 

513-519 

559-002,  010 

419-404,477 

710,715-800 

033-037,  043 

085-088 


549 
(  110.117, 
i        119. 122 


380,  387.  390, 
425,  443 


21,  104 

037 

248 

277,  280,  435 

808 

182 

212,  353 

524 

007 

482,  487,  493, 

512.  514 

384.  335, 

412,472 

733, 815 

042 


233 


091 
475,  491 


89-93 

85-88 


22-39,  55,  50 

547 

000,  728,  729 

190-195 

277-282. 

2S7-295 

843.  816 

483 

111 

214 

507 

513,  544 

465-407,501, 

502 

385,419-104 

075-080 

030 


Georgia — continned. 

Cotton  fiber,  measurements  of  (General  Discus- 
sion). 

Discussion    of  causes  that  place   it   second 
among  the  cotton  states  (General  Discussion) 

Index  to  Report  on J  II 

Possible  cottonseed-oil  mill  products  of,  from      I 
the  crop  of  1879,  and  their  market  and  ma-  [ 
nure  valuations  (General  Discussion). 

Reference   to  the  Cretaceous  outcrop  and  to 
general  trend  of  niotainorpbic  rocks  of. 

Report  on  Cotton  Production  in  tho  State  of,  r 
by  Dr.  R.  H.  Loiigbridge.  5 

Special  agent  appointed  for  (General  Discus- 
sion). 
German  experiment  stations,  experiments  of,  to  find 

soil  solvents  (General  Discossion). 
Ginning,  haling,  and  shipping  cotton,  details  of,  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida     

Georgia   

Indian  territory 


Louisiana 

Mississippi  

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Teunesseo  

Texas 

Virginia 

Gins,  cotton,  list  and  capacity  of,  in : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California  

Florida 

Georgia 

India  o  ten  itory  

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

Soulh  Carolina  

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia 

Gins  in  use  in  Mexico  (in  Report  on  California) 

Glades  of  the  western  valley  of  the  Tennessee 

Ghidy  hinds  and  pine  flat-sin  Arkansas,  occurrence, 
character,  and  analyses  of, 

Glauconitic  sandstone  of  Leo  county,  Texas 

Glauconitic  shales  in  Georgia,  belt  and  lands  of 

Gneiss  in  South  Carolina,  character  and  occurrence  of 
Gneisses  in  Georgia,  occurrence  of,  and  soils  derived 
from. 

Gold-hearing  regions  of  South  Carolina 

Gold-bearing  rocks  of  California,  belt  of 

Gold  belt  of  Georgia 

Goose-foot  character  of  the  Mississippi  delta,  Louis- 
iana. 
Goose  Lake  valley,  California,  extent  and  descrip- 
tion of. 

Goose  lands  of  California,  description  of 

Gospel  swamp,  California,  extent  and  soils  of  

Government  of  the  Indiin  territory,  form  of 

Grand  Cauo  region,  Louisiana,  location  of 

Grand  Coteait  ridge,  Louisiana 

Grand  Gulf  group,  occurrence  and  extent  of,  in  : 

Georgia 

Louisiana,  material  of    


385 


Mississippi,  character  of  sandstone  of. 
Grand  Gulf  sandstone  in: 

Georgia 


Texas,  occurrence,  extent,  and  thickness  of. .  . 

Grand  prairie  of  the  Mississippi  alluvial  region  of 
Missouri 

Grande  Cote,  or  Week's  island,  Louisiana 

Grandeau's  method  for  humus  determination  (Gen- 
eral Discussion). 

Granite,  belt  of,  through  Texas 


Pago 

of  special 

report. 


177-184 
49 


S      i-vili, 
}        1-184 


154, 155 

101 

30,03 

109,  170 

30 

81 

151 

27 

75 

58 

101,102 

157, 15S 

20 


154,155 
101 
70 
69 

169,  170 
30 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


3S 
105  I 


IS 

10 

12,00 


21,  31,  80, 

SO,  103, 

100 


30-33 

19 

443-450 
01 


!."9-450 
11 


104, 105 

037 

210,249 

435,436 

808 

1S3 

303 

525 

007 

514 

473, 474 

615,  810 

642 


164, 105 
C37 

734 

249 

435,  430 


183 
353 


007 
514 
473 
815,810 
042 

789 

394,  395 

502,  503 

748 

290 

405 

297-299 

400 
690 
278 
112 


763 
S45 
133 


679,  089, 
738.744. 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


Pago 

of  special 

report. 

General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 

a 
P. 

Page 

of  special 

report. 

General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 

Granite,  occurrence  of,  in : 

T 

C  11,29,34, 

I              77 

102 

31,35,30 

8 

9 

9 

5      35, 37, 

!    135.145 

15 
34 

35-37 

S   7,8,10, 

1        11,24 

38 

33 
12 

17,18 

547,  565,  570, 

Great  valley  of  California I 

Area  and  general  character  of  tho  landh  of 

Lake  anil  river  waters  of,  and  their  quality  for 
irrigation  purposes. 

18-31 
09-73 

8 

154 
98 
07 
105 
29 
78 
t  24,25  53, 
1        78.1JS 

73 

52-51 

4::.  us 

154 
19 

(41,74,134. 
i             13S 

12,21,22,5s 

670-689 
727-731 

11 
II 
I 
I 

11 
I 

II 
I 

II 

I 

II 

II 
II 
I 

700 

297,301,302 

840 

507 

465 

003.  695, 

793,  803 

25 

570 

301-303 

845,  846,  848, 
849,  802 

494 

691 

278 
675,  670 

II 

11 

II 
I 

II 
11 

I 

I 

I 

I 

II 
II 

I 

I 
II 

11- 
I 

660 

Green-manuring  and  fertilizing  in: 

Granite  lands  of: 

Florida 

DM 

431 

alyscs  of. 
Georgia,  area,  locality,  general  character,  and 

analyses  of. 

i-ouismna 

180 
220,  227.  257, 

280, 350 

Indian  territory,  extent  and  character  of 

South  Carolina,  character  and  analyses  of 

508-510 

115,  170 

812 

Tennessee    

Granitic  region  of: 

Greensand  beds,  occurrence  of.  in : 

51.s4.144, 

Georgia,  outline  of 

Texas,  occurrence  of 

(       211, 223, 
i        224, 200 

Grape  culture  specially  suited  to  the  Rio  Grande 

valley  of  Texas. 
Grape-vines  on   Red   River  lands    in  the    gypsum 

region  of  Texas. 

I 

48 

700 

North  Carolina 

11 

I 

18 
(  21,22,00. 
)        08, 72 

550 

393,394.438, 

079 

II 

14,40 

Grasses  of  long-leaf  pine  region  and  coast  lands  of 

Mississippi. 
Grasses  of  the  gray  silt  prairies  of  Louisiana  ....... 

Gravel  beds  in  Arkansas,  occurrence-  and  nature  of  . 

I 

I 
I 

59,  67,  68 
24 

201,  269,  270 

120 
501 

Greeneanu  marls  io: 

n 

ii 
u 

(       44-10, 

i    127,130 

11 

38 

310-312. 

South  Carolina,  occurrence  and  composition  of. 
Green  swamp,  North  Carolina,  description  of 

407 

570 

Gravelly  and  clay  lands  of  red-loam  region  of  Ark 

ansas. 

I 

I 

n 
ii 

77 
9 
31 

38-41 

013 
507 
41 

18-51 

Growing  crop,  advances  or  credits  on,  iu : 

Alabama 

ii 
i 

ii 
n 
i 
i 
i 
i 
ii 
n 
i 

T 

156 
100 

71 
174 
31 
S4 
155 
28 
77 
01-00 
1"4 
102 

106 

Gravelly  and  red-clay  prairies  of  Missouri,    extent 
and  description  of. 

Indian  territory 

869 

analyses  of. 

Gravelly  pine  hills  of  Alabama: 

Area,  general  character,  and  analyses  of  soils 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina  

60S 

517-522 

of. 

8211 

Cotton  product  per  acre  on,  and  its  relation  to 
population. 

ii 

03,64 

73,74 

II 

I 

21 
28 

Growth  of  central  prairie  region  of  Louisiana 

130 

Graves  mountain,  Georgia,  character  of 

n 

30 

290 

Guerrero,  Mexico,  cotton  culture  in  the  state  of  (in 

11 

130,131 

788,  780 

Gray  alluvial  laud  of  the  yellow-loam  region  of  Ark- 
ansas. 

i 

01-73 

597-009 

Report  on  California). 
Gulf  coast  of  Florida,  general  description  of 

n 

26.27 

200,  207 

Gray-  and   red-loam   timbered   region  of  Arkansas, 
description  of. 

i 

29 

565 

Gulf  hummocks  of  Florida: 

Character,  location,  fertility,  and  cotton  pro- 

ii 

2.-1.  17,  55 

205,  227,  235 

Gray  belt  of  East  Tennessee  valley,  character   and 
soils  of. 

i 

37.3S 

409,  410 

duction  of. 

ii 

13 

193 

Gray  clay  soil  of  Alabama,  analysis  of 

Gray  lands  nf  ihe  metatnorphie  region  of  Alabama, 

n 

ii 

37 
15, 10 

47 
25,  26 

Gulf  of  Mexico,  submerged  plateaus  of,  in  Florida.  . . 
Gulf  .Stream,  agency  of,  in  forming  coral  banks  in 

ii 
n 

12 

10 

192 

190 

character  and  analyses  of. 
Gray  sandy  and  gravelly  lands  of  Virginia,  descrip- 
tion of. 

ii 

9 

031 

Florida. 

Guile  It's  com  post,  formula  of  (in  Rcporton  Louisiana). 
Gum  and  cypress-swamp  lands  of  North  Carolina 

i 
n 

64.78 
14 

100,  180 
540 

Gray  sandy  granitic  lands   of  South   Carolina,  an- 
alysis  of. 

if 

38 

494 

analyses  of. 
G outer's  valley,  Alabama,  character  and  soils  of 

ii 

95,90 

105, 106 

Gray  sandy  lands  of: 

Gypseous  prairies  in  Mississippi,  character  and  pro- 

i 

51 

253 

Arkansas  yellow-loam  region,  extent  and  char- 
acter of. 

i 

26,  61-73 

562, 597-609 

duct  iveness  of. 
Gypsum  beds  of  the  Northwest  referred  to  the  Tri- 

i 

18 

076 

Georgia  metamorphic  region,  area,  character, 
and  analyses  of. 

ii 
i 

T 

31-33 

69,  72,  73 
44,  63,  64 

297-299 

171,174,175 
146,165,166 

assic  or  Jura9sic  (in  Report  on  Texas). 
Gypsum  in : 

ii 

i 

134 
39 

Gypsum,  neutralization  of  alkali  by,  in  California  .. 
Gypsum  of  the  Llauo  Estacndo  in  Red  River  lands  of 

696.  097 

Gray  siliceous  soil  of  the  Tidgea  of  northwest  Georgia, 

n 

24,25 

290,  291 

i 

18 

120 

area,  rocks  from  which  derived,  and  general 

Louisiana. 

character  of. 

Gypsum  plains  and  prairies  of  the  Indian  territory, 

i 

7,13 

845, 851 

Groat  silt  or  pine  prairie  region  of  Louisiana,  descrip- 

i 

24 

126 

extent  of. 

tion  of. 

i 

I 

10 

Gray  silt  prairie  region  of  Arkansas,  area,  and  char- 

i 

23,  24,  41 

559,  500,  577 

acter  of  soda  of. 

H. 

Gray  sib   prairies  of  Arkansas,  area  and  cotton  pro- 
duction of  [General  Discussion). 

i 

4 

16 

Hammond,  Harry: 

Appointed   special   agent  for   South  Carolina 

i 

V 

11 

Gray  silty  lands  of  the  coast  prairies  of  Texas 

Great  Pedee  river  in  South  Carolina,  navigation  of  .. 

i 
ii 

30 
26 

688 
482 

(General  Discussion). 
Report  on  Cotton  Production  in  the  Slate  of 

ii 

i-vi,  1-70 

451-520 

Great  rait  of  Red  river  in  Louisiana,  description  of.  .  . 

i 

17 

119 

Soul  h  Carolina,  by. 

• 

GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


819 


Hanna  mountain,  Arkansas,  parallel  walls  of  quart/,  of 

Heat)  rights  in  Georgia,  laws  regai  ding 

Health  of  the  coast  region  of  South  Carolina,  remarks 

on  the. 
Height  attained  by  cotton-plant  before  blooming  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida    

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

Missouri 

Norl  h  Carol  ina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Height,  usual,  of  cotton-plant  in  : 

Alabama  

Arkansas ■ 

California 

Florida 

Georgia  

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

Nort  h  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Helena,  Arkansas,  section  of  "bluff  at 

Hickory  hummocks  of  northeastern  region  of  Missis- 
sippi, character  and  analysis  of. 
Hickory  in  Mississippi  indicates  durable  and  fertile 

soils. 
High  hummocks  of  Florida,  extent,  character,  and 

analysis  of. 
Highland  Rim,  Tennessee; 

A  "penumbral"  region  in  cotton  production  .. 

Area,  extent,  and  character  of 

Hilgavd,  Professor  Eugene  W. : 

Appointment  of,  as  chief  special  agent  for  the 
investigation  of  the  cotton  culture  (General 
Discussion). 
Cited  regarding  the  age  of  salines,  the  material 
of  the  Port  Hudson  group,  and  as  to  the  ruini- 
•mum  amount  of  lime  necessary  for  soil  fer- 
tility (in  Report  on  Texas). 
General  Discussion  of  Cotton  Production,  cot- 
tonseed-oil industry,  and  soil  investigation, 

by. 

Remarks   of,    on    cotton-fiber    measurements 
(General  Discussion). 

Report  on  Cotton  Production  in  California,  by. 

Report  on  Cotton  Production  in  Louisiana,  by 

Report  on  Cotton  Production  in  Mississippi,  by 
Hill  pi  ail  ies  of  Alabama,  area  and  description  of ... . 
Hills  and  ridge  lands  of  the  Mississippi  alluvial  re- 
gion in  Missouri. 
Hillside  ditching  to  prevent  washing  of  soils  in: 

Alabama  _ 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana     

Mississippi 

Missouri  .. 

Nor  lb  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee    ., 

Texas  

Virginia 

History  of  cotton  culture  in  : 

California 

Georgia  

South  Carolina 

Texas  

Hog-wallow  lands  of: 

Central  Prairie  region  of  Louisiana 

Great  Valley  region  of  California 

Texas,  character  of 

Hog-wallow  prairies  of  Mississippi,  character  of 

Hollistervalley,  California,  extent  and  description  of 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


154 
100 

68 

108 

22-25 

80 
150 

20 

74 

55-58 

100 

156 

20 


78-148 

49-94 

75 

30,  38-00 

70-158 
22-25 
44-73 

88-143 
15-18 
30-04 
48-92 

57-148 
12-14 


25,78 
14, 25-28 


ix,  1-138 
i-viii,l-93 

i-vi,  1-164 
48-50 
10 


78-148 
49-94 
38-00 

70-158 
22-25 
44-73 

88-143 
16-18 
30-04 
52,  53 
48-92 

60-148 
12-14 


73-75 

53,  54 

14 

48 


(  51,55, 
<  128,  129, 
(  137 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


283 
474 


164 
636 
248 
434 

800-863 
182 
352 
524 
606 

511-514 
472 
814 
642 


88-158 
585-030 
733 
210,  218-240 
336-424 
860-803 
140-175 
290-345 
513-510 
562-596 
420-404 
715-806 
634-630 

556 

219 


397,  450 
386,  397-400 


48-51 

649-796 

95-195 

197-366 

58-60 

508 


88-158 
585-630 
218-210 
330-424 
800-803 
140-175 
290-345 
514-:'  16 
562-596 
508,  509 
420-464 
718-806 
634-636 


731-733 

319,  320 

470 

706 


130 

67 

6,677 

093 

25: 

331 

,  257, 
,331, 

Holly  Shelter  pocoson,  North  Carolina,  description  of. 
Holmes  valley,  Florida,  area,  extent,  aud  character  of. 
Home  supplies  raised  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida    

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi  

if:. ! 


Missouri 

North  Carolina  ... 

South  Carolina II 

I 
I 
II 


Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Honey  Lake  valley,  California,  extent,  soil,  and  vege- 
tation of. 
Horizontalizing  to  arrest  washing  of  the  soil  in  : 

Alabama  

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina    

Tennessee  

Texas  

Virginia 

Hornblende  in  Georgia,  occurrence  of,  and  soils  de- 
rived from. 
Hornblende  lauds  in: 

Alabama,  extent  and  growth  of 

South  Carolina,  character  and  analyses  of 

Howell  Mountain  summit,  California,  description  of 
Hurler,  patent,  used  in  oil-mills  (General  Discussion) 
Hummock  lauds  in: 


Alabama- . 
Arkansas  . 


Georgia 

Louisiana .  - . 
Mississippi  . 


Texas 

Humns,  occurrence  of,  in  soils  in: 


Alabama 

California  

Georgia 

Indian  territory. 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Tennessee 

Texas     


Hydrography  of  the  southern  region  of  California 


Implements  used  in  after-cultivation  and  planting  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida    

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina  

Tennessee  

Texas    

Virginia 


Implements  used  in  subsoiling  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia  . .   

Indian  territory 

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee  

Texas 

Virginia 

Improvements,  tillage,  etc.,  details  of,  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia  .  -  - 

■    Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


155 
104 

70 
172 

31 


62-65 

43, 103 

101 


"5-148 
49-94 
3S-60 

70-158 
2J-25 
41-73 

88-143 
10-18 
30-64 
52-5* 
48-92 

00-1 48 
12-14 


15 
9,40 

118 
47 


40,41,57 
18,62 
(  13,18, 
I  23  2.-1,30 
(  43, 44, 
1  48, 51 
(  25, 44, 
i  64, 66 
14,  17, 
21,  30,  114 


154 

17,  99, 100 

68 

166, 167 

30 

77-80 

149, 15(1 

26 

74 

55-58 

99, 100 

153, 150 

19,20 


153 
97 
07 

103 
29 
77 

147 
25 
73 
51-58 
97 

153 
19 


153, 154  I 

97-99 

07 

103-166 

20 

77-79 

147-149 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


569 
225 


165 
640 
250 
438 

869 
185 
355 
525 
009 
518-521 
415,  475 
819 
643 


720 


85-158 
585-030 
218-240 
336-424 
8011-863 
146-175 
290-345 
514-510 
502-596 
508-510 
420-404 
718-806 
634-036 


50,51,67 

554,  598 

193,  198, 

203-205,  216 

309,310, 

314,317 

127,  HO. 

100, 168 

216,  219, 

223,  238,316 

753 


332 

855 
142 

218 

127 


218 
432, 133 

868 
179-182 
351,  352 

524 

OtlO 
511-514 
471,472 
811,814 
641, 612 


429 

867 
179 
349 
523. 
005 
507-51-1 
403 
811 
011 


103,10 
033-05 


820 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


Improvements,  tillage,  etc.,  details  of,  in— continued. 

Missouri 

North  Carolina. 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

T.X.IM  

Virginia    

Judex  to  General  Discussion  of  Cot  Lou  Production. . 

Index  to  Reports  on  Cotton  Culture  in: 

A  l.i  li. i  ma     

Arkansas 

California 

Fl   M.I.I     

Georgia 

I  m  1 1,1  n  territory    

Kent ti city  (in  Report  on  Tennessee). 

Lorn  hi  una   

Mississippi 

Missouri      

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina. 

Ti-nni'Hsee. 

Texas  

Virginia .- 

Indian  territory: 

Area  and  cotton  production  of  (General  Din- 
cuss  ion). 
Cotton  fiber,  measurements  of  (General  Dis^ 
cussion). 

Index  in  Cotton  Production  in  ... 

Possible  cottonseed-oil  mill  products  of,  from 
tho  crop  of  1879,  and  their  market  and  ma- 
nure valuations  (General  Discussion). 
Relation  of,  to  cotton  culture  (General  Discus- 
sion). 
Report  on  Cotton  Production  in  the,  by  Dr.  R. 

II.  Lough  ridge. 
Special  ngent  appointed  for  (Goneral  Discus- 
sion). 

Indian  t re. Mies,  lauds  acquired  by,  in  Georgia    

Indian  valley,  California,  extent  of    

Indians  of  Arizona,  cotton  produced  by  (in  Report 
on  California). 

Indigo,  history  of  culture  of,  in  South  Carolina 

Influence  of  soil  anil  location  on  cotton  fiber  (General 
Discussion). 

Infusoria,  occurrence  of,  in  Florida 

Insect  enemies, diseases, etc., of  cotton  in; 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida     

Georgia 

Indian  territory : 

Louisiana    

Mississippi 

Missouri 

■North  Carolina 

Souili  Carolina  

'Tennessee ■ 

Virginia    

Insurance  charges  on  cotton  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas   

Florida " 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri     ■ 

No?  lb  Carolina 

Tcnuessee — 

Texas  

Virginia 

Intensive  cotton  cult  ore  in  Georgia,  remarks  on.    . 
Interpretation  of  analytical  results  (General  Discus- 
sion). 
Introductory  letter,  by  General  Francis  A.  Walker  . 
Inyo    and    While    mountains,    California,    timber 
growth  of. 

I  one  valley,  California,  extent  and  soil  of 

Irish  and  sweet  potatoes  in  Virginia,  production  of. 

Iron-ore  beds  in  Virginia,  occurrence  of 

Iron-ore  lulls  of  Arkansas  (Tertiary),  reference  to.  . 
Iron-ore,  occurrence  of,  in; 

Arkansas 

North  Carolina    ... 

Texas 


Page 

General 

<if  special 
report. 

(.it  bottom 
of  page) 

I 

533 

11 

73 

005 

11 

51-54 

507-510 

1 

97,  98 

'109,479 

1 

153,  1.71 

811,812 

11 

19 

(ill 

II 

17 

II 

89 

11 

129 

II 

14 

1 

37-39 

137-103 
109-1 10 
133-138 


33,  31 

87-93 

157-101 

29-31 

79-83 

07-70 

113-119 

105-173 

23-25 


4,5 
22,  23 


33,  31 
49 


155 

102,  103 

09,  79 

170,  171 

30 

81-83 

152,153 

27 

70 

59,00 

102.  103 

158-100 

20 


174 
31 


78 
194, 105 

102 
21 

58.  59 

91-09 


2324,09, 

73,78,85, 

91,112 


107-173 
045-052 


413-159 

871,  1,72 

189-195 
359  300 
527-529 
011-015 
523-5.0 
485-491 
BL'3-831 
013-047 


10.  17 

31.  35 

871,  872 
01 

21 

833-872 
11 

283 

717 
787 

470 
49-51 


105 

03s,  039 
219,250 
430,  137 
808 
133-185 
351,  353 

008 

515,510 

474,  475 

810-818 

012 


100 
042, 013 
251 
4111 
809 
187 
357 
520' 
01 II 
470,  177 
820 
013 

324,  325 

73-81 


0.J0 
515 


081,032,727, 

731.730.743. 
719. -00 


Iron  en-  ridges  "1  Alabama 

Iron,  remarks  od  presence  of,  in  anils  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 

1 1  "ii  iii.  "i  1. 1  h,  i  fastenings  for  baling  tot  ion  in: 

-Mali. una 


Arkans.i 

i  I  i 


Indian  territory 
Louisiana 


ill- 


uppi 


Missouri 
Norlb  Carolina 
Sinii ]i  i Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 


rrrigable  lands  in  California: 

Los  Angeles  region 

Sacramento  valley 

Irrigation  in  California  : 

A  ira  of  lands  subject  to     

131,  its  of,  "ii  alkali  sails 

Genoral  remarks  on 

Laws  and  right  concerning,  and  doty  of  water 
for. 

Methods  of 

Of  cotton  crops 

1)1  the  Sacramento  Valley  region 

loll  i.l   lands  fur 

Waters  and  alkali  soils  of  the  state,  discussion  o! 
Irrigation  required  in  cotton  culture  in  New  Mexico, 
Utah,  and  Arizona  (in  Report  on  California). 
Islands  of  tbe: 

Mississippi  ii\er  (in  Report  on  Tennessee  and 
Kentucky). 

Tnlc  lands  in  California 

Islands  of  ( he  coast  of; 

Georgia,  area,  character,  and  growth  of 

North  Carolina,  sand-dune  character  of 

Soulh  Carolina,  cotton  production  of 

Texas,  character  and  extent  of 

Isotherms  as  related  to  cotton  production  in  Tennes- 
see. 

Itacolnioiie  in  Georgia,  occurrence  of 

Itacolumite,  or  diamond-bearing  rocks,  occurrence 
of,  in  South  Carolina. 

J. 

Jackson  group  (Tertiary  in. 

Alabama 

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

Jack  sun  valley,  California,  extent  and  soil  of 

Jacksonville,  Florida,  average  rainfall  at  

Jalisco,  Mexico,  cotton  culture  in  the  state  of  (in  Re- 
port on  California). 

James  island.  South  Carolina,  labor  system  on    

John's  island.  South  Carolina,  labor  system  on   

Jones  and  Roup's  valley,  Alabama,  character  ami 

soils  of. 

Jones,  Joseph  Ik,  of  Georgia,  abstract  of  letter  frtviu, 
regarding  uses  of  cottonseed  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 

Jones'  valley,  Alabama,  cherty  ridge  lands  of  

Jurassic  and  Triassic  formations  in  Texas,  occur- 
rence of  III''. 

K. 

Kaolin,  occurrence  of,  in  Sonth  Carolina    

Kaweali  river,  California   irrigating  facilities  of 
Kennrsaw.  Lost.  Sweat,  and  Black  Jack  mountains. 

nn  ks  of,  in  ( leorgia. 
Kentucky  : 

Area,  population,  tilled  laud,  cotton  production, 
rank  among  the  states,  ami  banner  counties 
■  it  (General  Discussion). 
Loess,  occurrence,  character,  ami  analysis  of 

(in  Report  on  Tennessee  ami  Kentucky). 
Note  on  Cotton  Production  in  the  state  of  (in 
Report  on  Tennessee  and  Kentucky). 


Pace 
ill  special 

report, 


114,110 
00,07 


58,  170 

On 


Genera! 

folio 

ml  bottom 

■  if  panel. 


152 
27 


102 


20,21 

10 


11 

1    I 

"■ 

»i 
II 


ll\  28 
12 


21.23 

IK 


10,  II 
21 


111. 112 
107-112 


121,  1G0 
78(  73 


105 

038 

219 

324,430 

SOS 

I :-.,: 
:,;,| 

1,07 
511 
-171 
Ii 
012 


071 

725 

073-075 

073-075 

720,  727 
7213 

1,7s,  073 
074 

721-731 
787 


I 

1  1.  52 

380,421 

n 

31 

089 

n 

53 

319 

ii 

13 

5  1  . 

n 

Oii.Ol 

ill',  317 

i 

13.  11 

071.072 

i 

13,  10 

ii 

31,1,1.3' 

1*7.  379 

ii 

HI 

100 

45,  CJ,  143 

112, 1210 

214 

701 

187 

7K0 


510 

107 


31,33 

070 


400,41,7 
082 


17 

483.  484 
479-481 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


821 


Page 

of  special 

report. 

General 

folio 

(at.  bottom 

of  page). 

t 
Ph 

of  special 
report. 

General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 

Kentucky — eontMined. 

Possible  cottonseed-oil  mill  products  of,  from 

762' 
544 

I 

49 

61 

Lakes  and  swamps  of  the  seaboard  region  of  North 

II 

12 

the  crop -of  1879,  and  their  market  and  ma- 

Carolina. 

nure  valuations  (General  Discussion). 

Lakes  of: 

T 

9 

21 

188 
S60 

cussion  of   its  position  among    the    states 

Indian  territory,  section  of,  occupied  by  Creek 

I 

22 

(General  Discussion). 

nation. 

Special  agent  appointed  for  (General  Discus- 

I 

V 

11 

Mississippi    alluvial    plain    (General    Discus- 

I 

75,76 

87,88 

sion). 

sion). 

Kentucky  and  Arkansas,  Dr.  Owen's  reports  on,  the 

I 

55 

67 

Lakes  or  ponds  of  south  Georgia 

n 

144 

410 

first  giving    agricultural  features  (General 

Land  divisions  of  the  state  of  Georgia 

ii 

17 

283 

Discussion). 

Land  holdings  in  South  Carolina,  system  of 

ii 

01-66 

517-522 

Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  Index  to  Report  on 

I 

113-119 

485-491 

Land  in  South  Carolina,  area,  value  of,  and  effect  of 

ii 

7, 60-66 

403,  516-522 

Kern  lake,  California,  character  of  the  waters  of 

II 

n 
n 

i 

il 

TT 

23,24,69-73 

71,72 
24 

V 

i-v,  1-83 
i-v, 1-25 

(        681,682, 
(        727-731 

729,  730 
682 

11 

527-615 

617-647 

system  of  labor  on. 

i 

ii 

i 
ii 

i 
i 
i 
i 
n 
i 
i 

48 

511 
13,14 
25-28 
14,15 
12-21 
39^15 

10 
12-15 
14-10 
41^18 

Kern  river,  California: 

Lands,  alluvial,  iu : 

66 

Arkansas 

Kerr.  Professor  W.  C. : 

205-208 
852.  853 
114-12S 

Appointed   special  agent  for  North  Carolina 

and  Virginia  (General  Discussion). 

508 
54.1-547 
3S0-388 
699-706 
630,  031 

404 

Report  on  Cotton  Production  in  the  State  of 

North  Carolina,  by. 
Ropiirt  on  Cotton  Production   in  the  State  of 

Virginia,  by. 
Key  West,  Florida,  average  temperatures  of 

n 

7 

187 

Lands  bordering  the  rivers  of  South  Carolina,  extent 
and  nature  of. 

n 

8 

Kiamitia  creek,  Texas,  Cretaceous  outcrop  at  mouth 

i 

18 

676 

Lands,  character  of,  in  Mississippi  indicated  by  tim- 

i 

27 

229 

of. 
King's  mountain,  North  Carolina,  location  and  eleva- 

n 

58 

590 

ber  growth. 
Lands  cultivated  100  years  in  Georgia,  analyses  of 

ii 

27 

293 

tion  of. 
King's  river,  California: 

Lands,  damage  to,  in  Mississippi  from  imperfect  till- 
age- 

i 

77 

279 

n 

71,72 

729,  730 

Lands  held  in  common  by  tribes  in  Indian  territory.. 

i 

7 

845 

ii 

u 

24 

50 

662 

714 

Lands  in  Alabama,  fertility  of,  marked  by  negro  pop- 
ulation. 

n 

63 

73 

Klamull)  River  basin,  California,  description  of 

Knight's  valley,  California,  extent  and  lands  of 

n 

118 

776 

Lands  in  South  Carolina,  fertility  of,  Indicated  by 

cane-growth. 
Lands  lying  "turned  out",  proportion  of,  in: 

ii 

36 

492 

Ij. 

n 

i 
n 
ii 

i 
i 
i 
i 
n 
ii 
i 
i 
ii 

n 
i 
ii 

n 
i 
i 
i 
i 
ii 
ii 
i 
i 

155, 156 

104-108 

70,71 

172-176 

31 

83-85 

78, 153-155 

27,28 

76-78 

60-60 

103-105 

160-163 

21 

156 
106 
71 
174 
31 
84 
155 
28 
77 
61-00 
104 
102 

165, 166 

640-644 

250,  251 

438-442 

869 

185-187 

280,  355-357 

525,  526 

608-610 

516-522 

475-477 

818-821 

643 

166 
642 
251 
440 
869 
186 
357 
526 
609 
517-522 
476 
820 

n 
i 

H 

I 

I 

n 
n 
i 
i 
ii 

n 
i 

ii 
ir 
i 
i 
i 
n 
n 
i 
i 
ii 

i 

75-148 
49-94 
38-60 

70-158 
44-73 

88-143 
15-18 
30-04 
51,52 
48-92 

60-148 
12-14 

156 
106 

71 
174 

84 

154 

'28, 162 

77 

60-66 

104 

102 

21 

21,23 

Labor  and  system  of  farming,  and  size  of  farms  in: 

585-030 

Louisiana  

140-175 

Mississippi 

290-345 

513-516 

North  Carolina 

562-593 

507,  508 

Tennessee  

420-464 

718-806 

Virginia 

634-636 

Lands,  market  value  of  and  rent  paid  for,  in : 

• 

Texas 

166 

Laborers,  advances  or  credits  to,  on  growing  crop  in: 

186 

.1  :       •                 : 

820 

Virginia  

Lands  of: 

Cherokee  and  Seminole  nations,  in  the  Indian 

territory,  largely  unsuitable  for  cultivation. 

Metamorphic  regions,  proportion  of,  under  cul- 

643 

859,  861 

Laborers  in  Mexico,  condition  of  (in  Report  on  Cali- 

ii 

130 

788 

n 

37,  38 

303,  304 

Laborers,  nationality,  condition  of,  and  wages  paid 

tivation  in  Georgia. 
Seaboard  region   of  North   Carolina  resemble 

n 

12 

544 

n 
i 

ii 
ii 
n 
i 
i 
i 
i 

n 
ii 
i 
i 
ir 
ii 
ii 

155,156 

104,  105 

130,  131 

70,71 

172,  173 

31 

83,  84 

134 

27.  28 

77 

60-06 

43,  104 

101,102 

00 
09,  70 

105, 160 
610,  041 
788,  789 
250, 251 
438,  439 

S60 
185, 180 

350 
525.  520 

009 
510-522 
415.  476 
819,  820 

043 

316 
727,  728 

the  prairie  land  of  the  northwest. 
Lands,  preparation  given  to,  before  planting  cotton 
iu: 

ii 
i 

ii 
ii 

IT 
I 

I 

1 

I 

II 
II 

I 

I 
II 

154 
99 
75 
OS 

166 
29 
79 

149 

26 

74 

54-58 

155 
19 

164 

Indian  territory 

635 
733 

248 

432 
807 

1R1 

351 

524 

60S 

Laborers,  rations  of,  on  tbe  islands  of  South  Carolina  . 

510-514 

471 

Lake  and  river  waters  of  the  great  valley,  and  their 

813 

quality  for  irrigation  purposes,  in  California. 

Oil 

822 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


Lands,  proportion  of,  in  cotton  for  each  soil  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina ■ 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 


Lands,  tilled,  area,  population,  and  cotton  production, 
by  counties,  in : 
Alabama. 


Arkansas 

California  (no  cotton  production  reported). 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Kentucky  (in  lleport  on  Tennessee) 

Louisiana 

Mississippi -,    

Missouri.  

North  Carolina 

Soutli  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 


Lands  under  cultivation  in  Arkansas,  area  of  and  re- 
marks on. 
Lands,  varieties  of,  hi  the  alluvial  region  of  Missouri. 

Lava-bed  region  of  California,  extent  and  character  iff . 


Lava  streams  of  California 

Leading  crops,  acreage  and  production  of,  iu: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory. 

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee) 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

M  issouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia 

Lead  mines  in  Arkansas  (Kellogg),  locality  of 

Legislature-  of  California,  premiums  offered  for  cot- 
ton production  by  the. 

Length  of  cotton  fiber  from  different  soils,  remarks 
on  (General  Discussion). 

Length  of  time  before  seed  comes  up  iu  : 


Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia     

Indian  territory  . 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina  . 
South  Carolina  . 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 


Letter  of  transmittal  (General  Discussion) 

Levees  of  the  Mississippi  river 

Level  and  rolling  upland  piny-woods  soils  of  North 

Carolina,  timber  growth  of. 
Lice,  or  aphides,  on  cotton-plants  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida __. 

Georgia 


Louisiana 

Mississippi 
North  Carolina  . 
South  Carolina  . 

Tennessee 

Texas  


«3S2*   mSS 

ot  pago). 


report. 


Liens  in  South  Carolina  for  advances  on  growing 

crops. 
Lignite  in: 

Alabama  ; 

Arkansas 

Mississippi 

Texas  


75-148 
49-94 
37-03 

70-158 
43-73 

87-143 
10-18 
27-70 
48-92 

00-148 
11-15 


1    7.  S. 
)  34,  02, 


5,  0 
3,4 

4 
0-8 

3 
110 
5.0 
5,0 


5-8 

7-10 

3 

78 
74 


TT 

154 

1 

09 

11 

75 

II 

08 

II 

107 

1 

29 

1 

70 

1 

149 

1 

20 

11 

74 

n 

55-58 

T 

99 

I 

155 

11 

19 

85-158 
585-039 
217-243 
330-124 
115-175 
289-345 
514-010 
559-G02 
429-104 
71.-  Hio 
633-037 


3,4 

13,14 

3,4 

539,  540 

3,4 

001,002 

3 

183 

3-5 

209-271 

3 

841 

109 

481 

3,4 

105, 100 

3,4 

205,  200 

3,4 

501,502 

3,4 

535,  530 

3 

459 

3-8 

375-380 

3-0 

001-004 

3 

025 

V,  VI 

39 
10 


155 

103 

GO 

170,  171 

82 

152 


102 
158 


508 
CC5.  0GG.  Gill, 

tii)2,72ti,  721 
71!) 

15,  16 
541,  542  ' 
0(11,002 

'  "  841  | 
492  , 
107,108 
•JH7, 'JOH 
502 
537,  538 
4(10 
377-3K0  i 
6G5-608 
625 
614 
732 


164 
035 
733 
248 

433 
S07 
181 
351 
524 
606 
511-514 
471 
813 
041 

11,12 
241 
543 


639 
249 
430,437 
1S4 
854 
008 
515 
474 
810 

518  ."■-. 


Lignitio  group  (Tertiary)  in: 

Alabama 

Mississippi 

Lime,  functions  and  necessary  amount  of,  to  affect 

tier  growth  (General  Discussion). 
Lime  Increases  the  amount  of  silica  and  alumina 

dissolved  {General  Discussion). 

Lime  prairies  of  Alabama,  character  of 

Lime,  presence  of,  in  the  soils  of  Texas 

Lime,  relations  of,  to  humus  and  available    pirns 

photic  acid  (General  Discussion;. 
Lime,  summary   of  advantage*  resulting  from  the 

pi  escnee  of,  in  soils  (General  Discussion), 

Lime,  value  of,  as  a  fertilizer  in  Alabama 

Lime-hills  or  lower  prairie  region  of  Alabama,  area, 

general  character,  and  analyses  of  soils  of. 
Lime-sink  region  and   rolling  open  pine  woods  of 

Alabama,  area  and  general  chaiactor  of. 
Lime-sink  region,  Georgia: 

Area  and  description  of 

Cottou  production  in 

Lime-sinks  and  big  springs  a  characteristic  feature  I 

of  the  state  of  Florida.  ' 

Linn-sinks  characteristic  of  the   Vicksburg    lime- 
stone in  Alabama. 
Lime-sinks,  nature,  occurrence,  and  character  of,  in 

Georgia. 

Limes!  one  belt  of  the  metamorphic  in  Georgia 

I. inn  stone  forma  rich  binds  iii  ibe  sandstone  region 

of  Aikansas. 
Limestone,     impure     argillaceous,    character    and 

analysis  id',  in  Alabama. 

Liming  and  green  manuring  in  Mississippi 

Limonite  of  oak  uplands  region  of  Louisiana  

Lint,  amount  of,  made  in  a  day's  run  in  : 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


35,118 
12  1 


09 
05 


65 
41,42,52-54 


47-49 

55,  50 

8, 14.  15. 

20.  45 


Alaban 
Arkana 
Florida 
GeorciE 


Indian  territory  . 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri. . . .  

North  Carolina  .. 
South  Carolina. . . 

T<  mi   s.;ee 

Texas 

Virginia 


Lint,  amount  of  seed-cotton  required  for  a  halo  of,  in: 
Alabama 


Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory  . 

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina  .. 
South  Carolina  .. 

Tennessee 

Texas    

Virginia 


Lint  and  cnitonseed,  in  tons,  in  each  region  of: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Louisiana 

Mississippi , 

North  Carolina  

Tennessee 

Texas     

Virginia 


118-122 

128.  132 

25,0: 

-08 

.,01 

508-004 

12 

'14 

20.21 

29. 

078, 

079,  0.-7, 

70,  -. 

.01 

.:.- 

713,  749 

Lint,  product  of,  per  acre,  by  counties,  in: 

Alabama   

Arkansas 

Flo]  iila 

Georcia 

Louisiana 

Mississippi  

Missouri  

Xorth  Carolina 

South  Carolina  

Tennessee 

Texas    

Virginia 


45,  128 
214 


149 
717 
81 


-.1,52,02-04 
05,  00 


313-315 

321,  322 

188,191,  195, 
200,  225 


81 
35 


1 55 
101 


109,  170 
39 


58 
lol 
157 


75-148, 155 

49-91,  102 

38-00,  09 

70-158,  170 

.,30 


44-73,  SI 
B8-U3.152 
15-18,27 
30-64,  73 
■  54-58 
4S-92,  101 
1  00-148,  158 
II        11-15,20 


Lint,  proportion  of,  to  seed-cotton  in  Georgia 


3,4 
3,4 

3 
3-5 
3.4 
3,4 

3 
3,4 

3 
3-5 
3-0 

3 


347 

571 


',  350 
132 


105 
037 
219 
435,  430 
868 
183 
353 

.;u7 


815 
042 


85-158,105 
585-030,038 
218-240,249 

230-424,  430 
so.i-.so3.  868 
110-17.-.,  183 
290-345,354 

513-510,525 

503-590.  007 

510-514 

420-101,473 

71.s-.sii0.sl0 
033-037,  042 


570 
209 


274 

412 
707 
032 


13,11 
539,  540 

183 
200-271 
105,  106 
205.  200 

501 
535.  5:,0 

459 
375-377 
001-004 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


823 


i£ 

Page 

of  special 

report. 

General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 

ft 

Page 

of  special 

report. 

General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 

Lint,  usual  weight  of  a  bale  of,  in: 

Long-leaf  pine  region,  area,  extent,  general  descrip- 

ii 
i 
ii 
ii 

i 

i 
i 
ii 

i 

155 
102 
30,00 
170, 174 
81 
152 
27 
75 
102 

165 
038 
210,  249 
430,  440 
183 
354 
525 
607 
474 

tion,  and  cotton  production  of,  in — continued. 

I 
I 

n 
ii 
i 

n 

25-28,34-37 

58-71,75,70 

15-18,  21 

22-30 

28,50 

9 

(      200-273, 
i       277, 278 
547-550,  553 

080,  708 
631 

i 
ii 
i 

158 
20 
40 

816 
642 

58 

Long-leaf  pine  region  in  Mississippi,  natural  fertil- 
izers of. 
Long-leaf  pine  ridge  lands  of  Florida,  area,  extent, 

i 
ii 

70,71 
19,20 

272, 273 

Linter,  use  of,  in  cottonseed-oil  mills  (General  Dis- 

199,  200 

Listing,  method  aud  cost  of,  in  cotton-planting  in 

South  Carolina. 
List  of  agricultural  regions  in  : 

n 

n 

i 

LT 
II 

n 
i 
i 
i 

i 
11 

ii 

i 
i 

54,55 

13, 14,  30 

12 

17,18 

15 

17,  18,  23 

9 

11 

13 

8 

12 

12.13 

13,14 

510,  511 

23,  24,  46 

548 

075,  076 

195 

283,  284,  289 

847 

113 

215 

506 

544 

468,  469 

385,  386 

680 

general  character,  and  analysis  of. 

Long  valley,  California,  extent  and  description  of 

Lookout  mountain  in: 

n 

ii 
n 
n 

n 

ii 
n 

113, 122 

20 
19 

73 
116 

37,38 

38 

771,  780 

Lookout  valley  in  Georgia,  description  of 

Los  Alamos  valley,  California,  extent  and  descrip- 
tion of. 

Los  Angeles  and  San  Bernardino  plains,  California, 
area  and  description  of. 

Los  Angeles  plains,  California,  general  description  of. 

Los  Angeles  river,  California: 

Florida  

339 

695,  696 

729,  730 

List  of  names  and  addresses  of  correspondents  in : 

ii 

i 

ii 
ii 
11 
i 

T 

150-152 

90 

125 

-       00 

160-102 

28 

100-102 
032 

783 
•        240 
426-428 

866 

ii 

i 

17 
63 
M 

Loughridge,  Dr.  R.  H. : 

Chemical  investigation  by,  of  sediments  from 
mechanical  analyses  (General  Discussion). 

Investigation  by,  regarding  strength  of  acid 
aud  time  of  digestion  for  soil  analysis  (Gen- 
eral Discussiou). 

Report  on  Cotton  Production  in   the    Indian 
territory,  by. 

I 

I 

II 
II 

I 
I 

140 

24 

50 

94-90 
150-152 

348 
522 
604 
506 

466-1GS 
808-810 

i 

i-v,  1-34 

North  Carolina 

833-872 

Virginia 

List  of  trees  and  plants  characteristic  of  each  region 

11 

18 

640 

Eeport  on  Cotton  Production  in  the  State  of 
Arkansas,  by. 

i 

i-vi,  1-110 

531-652 

of: 

11 
II 
II 

II 

57-59 
30 

29,30 

(     33, 34, 
j    100,  107 

07-69 

210 

39,40 

43,  44, 110, 
117 

Report  on  Cotton  Production  in  the  Slate  of 

Georgia,  by. 
Eeport  on  Cotton  Production  in  the  State  of 

Missouri,  by. 
Kcport  on  Cotton  Production  in  the  State  of 

Texas,  by. 

n 

i 
i 

(      i-viii, 
i        1-184 

i-v,  1-31 
i-vi,  1-173 

}       259-450 

Lit hological  features  of  the  Tennessee  Valley  region 
in  Alabama. 

Little  mountains,  in  Alabama,  description  of  the 

493-529 
653-831 

Little  Pedee  river,  in  South  Carolina,  navigation  of. . 

11 

20 

432 

Special  agent  for  Georgia,  Texas,   Arkansas, 

i 

v 

11 

Little  Hock  marks  the  beginning  of  broad  alluvial 

I 

15 

551 

Missouri,  and  the  Indian  territory,  and  gen- 

lands of  the  Arkansas. 

eral  assistant  on  the  entire  report  (General 

Live-oak  and  coast  lands  of  Georgia,  description  and 

II 

52 

318 

Discussion). 

analyses  of. 

Louisiana : 

Live-oak  ridges  in  Louisiana,  origin  of  cotton  pro- 

I 

20,35 

122, 137 

Area  in,  devoted  to  cotton  culture,  and  dis- 

i 

8 

20 

duction  of. 

cussion  regarding  its  rank  among  the  cotton 

Livcrmore  valley,  California,  character  and  analyse- 

II 

47,  55,  111 

705,  713,  769 

states  (Geueral  Discussion). 

of  soils  from. 

Area,  population,  tilled  land,  cotton  production, 

i 

5 

17 

Llano  Estacado,  Texas: 

rank  among  the  states,  and  banner  counties 

T 

4 

16 

Derivation  of  name,  area,  extent,  character,  j 
and  sand-hills  of.                                                   J 

I 

(  14,18,20, 
i       39,40 

672,670,  G7S, 

Comparative  tables  of  analyses  of  fertile  lands 

i 

63,68 

75,  80 

097,  698 

of  (General  Discussion). 

n 

702 

Cotton  liber,  measurements  of  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 

Loess  formation  and  lauds  in  Mississippi,  character  > 

i 

(  34,45-47, 
J    113,114 

230,247-249, 

aud  analyses  of.                                                     ) 

315,316 

Index  to  Report  on 

T 

87-93 

189-193 

Loess  of  the  bluff  region  in : 

Possible  cottonseed-oil  mill  products  of,  from 

I 

49 

61 

i 
i 

ii 

21 
18 
116 

123 
390 
774 

the  crop  of  1879,  and  their  market  and  ma- 
nure valuations  (General  Discussion). 
Report  on  Cotton  Production  in  the  State  of, 

I 

i-viii,  1-93 

Lompoc  valley,   California,  extent   and  description 

95-195 

Long-leaf  pine  growth  in  Louisiana  indicative  of  the 
character  of  the  soil. 

i 
i 

20 

i 

128 
10 

by  Professor  Eugene  "W.  Hilgard. 
Special  agent  for  (Geueral  Discussion)   

I 
II 

II 

vi 
43 

12 
575 

Long-leaf  pine  hills,  total  area  and  cotton  production 
of  (General  Discussion). 

Low-country  division  of  South  Carolina,  exteut  and 
character  of. 

463 

Long-leaf  pine  indicative  of  soils  poor  in  lime  (Gen- 

i 

3 

15 

Low-couutrv  region   designated,  and  character  of, 

I 

11 

547 

eral  Discussion). 

in  Arkansas. 

Long-leaf  pine  region,  area,  extent,  geueral  descrip- 

Lower California,  Mexico,  cotton cultureof  (in  Report 

II 

131 

789 

tion,  and  cotton  production  of,  in : 

on  California). 

ii 
ii 

n 

54-50 
20-25,31,32 
40-51,55,50 

04-00 
(       200-205, 
i        211, 212 
(       312-317, 
1        321,322 

Lower  pine  belt  of    South   Carolina,  cultural  and 

economic  details  of. 
Lower  pine  belt  or  savanna  region  of  South  Carolina, 

features  of. 

II 

n 

51-62 
13,  22-25 

507-518 

409,  478-481 

824 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


Pace 

of  special 

report. 

Lower  prairie  region  or  pine  hills  of  Alabama 

n 

143 

Lower  Quebec  formation,  character  of  rocks  ami 

n 

24 

soils  of,  in  Georgia. 

Lower  Silurian  formation  in  ; 

ii 
i 
ii 

17,  89,  100 

35 

21-23 

Sow-ground  soil  of  Cowikee  lands  in  Aiabama,  an- 

IT 

51 

alysis  of. 

Low-hummock  lands  of  Florida,  extent,  character, 

II 

24,25 

and  analysis  of. 

S 

Lowlands  of  the  central  cotton  belt  in  Georgia,  de- 

II 

44 

scription  of. 

in. 

McCutchen,  A.  R..  description  of  northwest  Georgia- 
(in  Report  on  Georgia),                                     £ 

n 

19-29,60-78 

Maearthy  pin,  experiments  with,  as  regards  cutting 

i 

30 

the  lint  (General  Discussion). 

Magnesia,  remarks  on  presence  of,  in  soils  (General 

I 

06 

Discussion). 

Magnesian  limestone  lands  of: 

Arkansas  and  Missouri,  total  area  and  cotton 

i 

4 

production  of  (General  Discussion). 

i 

38 

T 

Magnesian  limestone  or  dolomite  in  Alabama,  soils 

II 

21-23 

derived  from. 
Magnesian  rocks  in  Georgia,  occurrence  and  compo- 

II 

31 

sition  of. 

Magnet  cove  in  Arkansas,  description  of 

I 

34,  77 

Magnolia  granditlora  in  Texas,  abundant  growth  of. . 

I 

99 

T 

43-50 

Manganese.,  remarks  on  presence  of,  in  soils  (General 

I 

00 

Discussion). 

Manure,  or  feed,  cottonseed-cake  used  as,  in : 

II 

I 
II 
II 

I 

I 

I 

I 
II 
II 

I 

I 
TT 

154 
98 
07 

100 
20 
79 

148 
25 
73 
52,  54 
98 

154 
19 

Mississippi  

Manure  value  of  the  cottonseed  production  of  1879 

I 

49 

(General  Discussion). 

Mariposa  creek,  California,  character  of  channels  and 

II 

25 

lands  of. 

Market  value  of  and  rent  paid  for  land  in  : 

n 
i 

ii 
ii 
i 
i 
i 

ii 
ii 
i 
i 

150 
106 

71 
174 

84 

154 

2S,  102 

00-60 

104 
102 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Market  value  of  oil-mill  products  from  the  cottonseed 

i 

49 

production  of  1870  (General  Discussion). 

Marls,  occurrence  of,  in: 

n 

C      46-74, 
'(     122,  134 

T 

11,25,27,55 

25,  32-34 
(      41-10, 
/    115-132 

r 

i 

.,  21,22  38 
i        56-75 

ii 
n 

T 

(  18,22,23, 
)        37-41) 
(  10,19,23, 
{              29 
21 

General 

folio 
(at  bottom 
of  page). 


153 
290 


27,90,110 
571 

287-289 


111 

:tio 


285-295, 
335-344 


410 

287,  290 

507 

31-33 

297 

570, 013 

757 
145-158 


164 
034 

247 
432 
867 
181 
350 
523 
605 
508,510 
470 
812 
641 


61 


100 
612 
251 
440 
180 
356 

526,  660 
009 

516-522 
470 
820 
643 


Gl 


50-84, 132, 
144 

<  517.501. 
)  563, 591 
205,512-214 

307-312, 
3S1-39S 


Marls,  result  of  application  of.  to  Hie  lands  of  Gooi 
gia. 

Marsh  lands,  absence  of,  on  the  coast  of  Georgia 

Marsh  lands  and  muck  in  Mississippi,  analysis  of 
Marsh  lands  in  : 

California,  vegetation  of 

Louisiana,  areas,  description,  growth,  reelania-  j 
nun.  and  prairies  of.  i 

Texas,  scarcity  of,  on  tho  coast 

Marsh  lands,  total  area  of  (General  Disoussion} 

Marsh  muck,  value  of,  asa  fertilizer  in  Florida 

Marsh  soils  of  South  Carolina,  analyses  of 

Marshes  of  Florida,  area,  description,  and  vegeta- 
tion of. 

Marshes  of  tin'  coast  of  Alabama,  character  of 

MarysviUe  buttcs,  California,  area  and  nature  of  ... 
Muyer,  Adolph,  conclusions  of,  oof  verified  (General 
Discussion). 

Meadow  lands  in  Mississippi,  reclamation  of 

Measurements  of  cotton  fiber  made  by  Professor  J. 

M.  Ordway  (General  Discussion). 
Measurements  of  cotton  fiber,  report  on  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 
Mechanical  analysis: 

Indispensable  in  judging  fully  '■!'  agricultural 

peculiarities  of  sods  (i  icneral  Discussion). 
Method  and  discussion  of  (( lenoral  Discussion) 
Mechanical  analyses  of: 

Buckshot,  Tallahatchie  bottom,  and  Dogwood 
ridge  soils,  and  "white  land"  aubsi.il  of 
Mississippi. 

Flat  woods  lands  of  Mississippi 

Hog-wallow  subsoil  and  loess  of  Mississippi  . . 
Mechanical  composition  of: 

California  soils 

Nashville,  Tennessee,  soils 

Medina  formation  in  Alabama 

Monilite  in  South  Carolina,  nature  ami  occurrence  of 
Merced  liiver  bottom  land  iu  California,  character 

and  analysis  of. 
Merced  river,  California,  analysis  of  the  water  of. .. 
Merced  River  valley,  California,  bluffs  and  lauds  of. 
Merced  valley,  California,  method  of  cot  ton  cul  hue  m 
Merchants'  commissions  on  sales  of  cotton  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida    

Georgia  

Indian  territory 


Louisiana.. 
Mississippi ... 

Missouri  

North  Carolina  . 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia  


851 

223 

224,240, 

258-277 



554,555, 

509-581 

100 

475.47:1, 

l.-r. 

079 

Mesa  lands  of  the  southern  region  of  California 

Mesquite,  a  common  growth  of  the  central  prairie 
region  of  Texas. 

Mesquite  Hats  of  the  red-loam  region  of  Texas 

Metamorphic  belts  of  Georgia  correspond  in  trend  to 

tho-eof  Arkansas.Indian  territory, and  Texas. 

Metamorphic  character  of  the  Uuaka  mountains  <>( 

Tennessee. 
Metamorphic  formation  in: 

Alabama     

Arkansas  , 

Georgia 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina    ■ 

Tennessee     

Texas     *. .  . . 

Virginia 

Metamorphic  region  of: 

Alabama,  area  and  geological  and  agricultural 
features  of. 

Arlcausas,  description  of. 

Georgia,  area,  extent,  timber  growth,  and  gen- 
eral description  of. 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


53 
07,  69 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page i. 


52 

(       112.  122, 
1         12.!,  154 

II 

072 

I 

10 

33 

213 

19 

475 

2B 

207,  208 

;,i; 

00 

20 

II7K 

3D 

71 

10,11 
20-28 


400,  4W 
084-OXO 


729,  730 

083 


150 

100 

107 

043 

71 

251 

174 

440 

31 

H09 

85 

1H7 

155 

357 

28' 

530 

78 

010 

105 

177 

103 

*30 

21 

013 

Ml 

690-099 

35 

093 

37 

ess 

IS 

2.'  1 

IT 

14 

24 

1 

II 

547 

TT 

12.  13,21 

27s,  27",  287 

II 

11.  12 

513,  51 1 

11 

1),  In 

105,  400 

T 

39 

41! 

T 

17 

075 

11 

8 

030 

570 
293-304 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


825 


Page 

of  special 

report. 

General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 

Pago 

of  special 

report. 

General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 

Metamorphic  region  of— continued. 

Mississippi — continued. 

TT 

13 

279 

T 

i-vi,  1-164 

197-366 

IT 

by  Professor  Eugene  W.  Hilgard. 

Special  agent  for  .General  Discussion) 

Mississippi  alluvial  plain,  lands,  ridges,  and  lakes 
of  (General  Discussion). 

TT 

37,38 

303,  304 

T 

TT 

550-552 

T 

South  Carolina,  area,  elevation,  and  lands  of. . . 

II 

13 

409 

South  Carolina,  cultural  and  economic  details  of. 

II 

53-G6 

509-522 

Mississippi  alluvial  region  of: 

South  Carolina,  early  settlers  and  industries  of. 
South  Carolina,  extent,  surface  features,  cli- 

TT 

42 

549,  550,  577 
114-121 

II 

36-44 

492-500 

I 

12-19 

mate,  and  soils  and  productions  of. 

Mississippi,  area  and  corn  product  of,  per  acre. 

I 

9,77 

211,279 

TT 

9 

031 

Missouri,  area,  extent,  and  general  description 

T 

10, 15-19 

508,  513-517 

Metamorphic  region,  total  area  and  cotton  produc- 

I 

4 

10 

of. 

tion  of  (General  Discussion). 

Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  area,  extent,  tilled 

I 

14-16, 112 

386-388,  484 

Iff etainorphic rocks  iu  Georgia,  mineral  constituents, 

II 

24,  30-32 

290, 296-298 

lands,  and  analyses  of  soils  of. 

general  character  of,  and  soils  derived  from. 

Total  area  and  cotton  production  of  (General 

I 

4 

16 

Metamorphic  rocks,  soils  iu  Alabama  derived  from  . . 

n 

9 

19 

Discussion). 

Metamorphosed  Cretaceous  rocks  on  the  Rio  Grande, 

i 

20 

678 

Mississippi  river: 

iu  Texas. 

Alluvial  plain  of  the  (General  Discussion) 

I 

73-70 

85-88 

Methods,  agricultural,  in  cotton  production  in  : 

Bottom,  acrtiou  showing  surface  of  (General 

I 

73,  71 

85,  86- 

California 

ii 
i 
ii 

•TT 

154 

99-101 

75-78 

68,09 

(        57, 58, 

c     16G-169 

29,30 

79,80 

77-79 

26 

74,75 

26,  54-58 

)  42,  43,  99, 

(   '         100 

155-157 

19,20 

104 
035-637 
733-734 
248,  249 
323,  324, 
4:;2-435 
807,  808 
181, 182 
279-281 

524 
600,  007 

482    II 

414,  415,471, 

472 
813-815 
641,  642 

Discussion.. 

Louisiana,  delta,  mouths,  passes,  and  character^ 
of  country  of.                                                          > 

Mouths  and  mud-lumps  of  (General  Discussion) 

Valley  and  adjacent  regions  the  center  of  cot- 
ton production  (General  Discussion). 
Mississippi  river  banks,  cottonwood  growth  of  (Gen- 
eral Discussion). 
Missouri : 

Area,  population,  tilled  land,  cotton  production, 
rank  among  thu  states,  and  banner  counties 

I 

9,10,21,54 

(       111,112, 
)        123, 156 

Georgia 

n 

i 
i 
i 
i 
ii 
n 
i 

i 
n 

I 
I 

I 
I 

70 
4 

74 

88 

17 

Virginia 

Mexico,  cotton  culture  in  (in  Report  on  California)  . . 

ii 

130, 131 

788,  789 

of  (Geueral  Discussion). 

Mica  in : 

Cotton  fiber,  measurements  of  (General  Dis- 

i 

24,  25 

30,37 

Georgia,  occurrence  and  composition  of 

ii 

30,  3] 

236,  297 

cussion). 

TT' 

Mica-schist  in  Georgia,  occurrence  and  character  of  . 

n 

31 

297 

Possible  cottonseed-oil  mill  products  of,  from 

i 

49 

61 

Mica-slate  soils  of  Alabama,  character  and  analyses  of 

ii 

16,17 

26,27 

the  crop  of  1879,  and  their  market  and  roa- 

Middle  division  of  Alabama,  area,  subdivisions,  and 

n 

14-25 

24-35 

uure  valuations  (General  Discussion). 

geological  and  agricultural  features  of. 

Piegions  devoted  to  cotton  culture  in,  and  dis- 

i 

9 

21 

n 

18 

198 

cussion  of  its  position  among  cottou  states 
(General  Discussion). 

Middle  Georgia: 

TT 

Report  ou  Cotton  Production  in  the  State  of,  by 
Dr.  Ii.  H.  Loughridge. 

T 

n 

38 

304 

TT 

629 

Special  agent  appoiuted  for  (General  Discus- 
sion). 

T 

v 

Midland  topographical  division  of  North  Carolina, 

n 

10 

542 

area  and  surface  features  of. 

Mixed  fanning  and  planting  in: 

i 
ii 

n 
n 
n 

n 
n 

TT 

J      31, 32, 

i        76-88 

30,31 

12 
8 
20 

10 
15 

11 

567,  508, 
612-624 
296,  297 

544 
030 

078 

190 

281 
543 

n 
i 
n 
n 

1 
i 
i 
i 
11 
ii 
i 
i 
ii 

T 

15f, 

104 

08,  69 

C  106-169, 

i            172 

29,  30 

79,  SO,  83 

153 

26,27 

74,75 

62-65 

103 

100 

19,20 

59 

Millstone-grit  formation  in  Arkansas,  occurrence  ot . . 

Mineral  constituents  of  metamorphic  rocks  in  Georgia 
Minerals  in : 

North  Carolina,  variety  and  number  of 

*432-435,  438 
807,  868 

181,182,185 

Mines  of  California,  d6bris  from  and  damage  done  by. 

518-521 

475 

818 

641,  642 

North  Carolina,  material  of 

71 

Miocene  in  the  Grand  Gulf  sandstone  of  Texas 

i 

21 

079 

discussiou  of  results  of  (General  Discussion). 

Mississippi: 

Area,  population,  tilled  land,  cotton  production, 

i 

5 

17 

Mojavc  desert,  California,  general  description  of  . .. 

II 

(    44,  105, 
{  107,  108, 
(            109 

(702,763,765, 
I         700, 767 

rani;  among  the  states,  and  banner  counties 
of  (General  Discussion). 

Comparative  tables  of  analyses  of  soils  of  (Gen- 
eral Discussion). 

Cotton  fiber,  measurements  of  (General  Dis- 

i 
i 

62-64,  68 
22,23 

74-76,  80 
34,35 

Mokelumne  river,  California,  analysis  of  the  water  of 
Moore,  I.  H.t  of  Arkansas,  abstract  of  letter  from, 

regarding    uses  of   cottonseed    as  food  lor 

sheep  (General  Discussion). 
Motes  in  cotton  lint  in  Texas  caused  by  droughts 

II 
I 

I 

71,73 
48,  51 

125 

729,  730 
00,  03 

783 

cussion). 

Discussion  of  the  causes  that  place  it  first 
among  the  cotton  states  (General  Discussion). 

First  agricultural  report  of,  remarks  on  (Gen- 
eral Discussion), 

i 

i 

i 

i 

7 

55 

157-164 
49 

19 

67 

359,  366 
61 

Motli  iu  Florida,  fires  as  a  preventative  against  the. . 

Mount  Diablo,  California,  description  of 

Mountain  lands  of: 

Alabama  enruing  into  favorfor  cotton  plauting 
Xoi'tli  Alabama,   trees  and  plants  character- 

II 

I 
II 

II 

II 

70 

27 

33,46,110 

11 
5S,  59 

250 

503 

091,  704,  70S 

21 

Possible  cottonseed-oil  mill  products  of,  from 

08,09 

the  crop  of  1879,  and  their  market  and  ma- 
nure valuations  (General  Discussion). 

istic  of. 
Norlhwcst  Georgia,  area  of 

II 

19 

285 

826 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


Mountain  region  of  Virginia,  elevation  of. 

Mom i tain  summits  of  northwest  Georgia,  sandy  lands 
of. 

Mountain  topographical  division  in  North  Carolina, 
area,  elevation,  and  surface  features  of. 

Mountainous  and  rod-loam  region  of  the  Indian  ter- 
ritory, description  and  analyses  of  soils  of. 

Mountainous  region  of  Texas,  area  and  description  of 

Mountains  and  table-lands  of  Alabama,  general  de- 
scription of. 

Mountains  in: 

Arkansas  red-loam  region,  elevation  of 

Blue  Ridge  region  of  Georgia 


California.. 


Indian  territory,  section  of,  occupied  by  Chero- 
kee nation,  elevation  and  character  of, 

North  Carolina,  elevations  of 

South  Carolina,  Piedmont  region  of 

Mouths  and  mud-lumps  of  the  Mississippi  (General 
Discussion). 

Months  of  the  Mississippi  river  in  Louisiana 

Muck,  occurrence  and  analyses  of,  in : 


Alabama 

I  reorgia 

Mississippi 

North  Carolina  . 


Muek,  value  of,  as  a  fertilizer  m  Florida    

Mud-lumps  of  the  Mississippi  river  in  Louisiana,  how 
formed,  description  of. 

Mulatto  lauds  of  the  Nashville  series  in  Tennessee, 
character,  extent,  and  analyses  of. 

Murphree's  valley,  Alabama,  area,  geological  struc- 
ture, and  character  of  soils  of, 

Mussel  Slough  alluvial  land  of  California,  analysis  of. 

Mussel  Slough  country,  California,  lands  of 

1%. 
Names  and  addresses  of  correspondents  in: 


Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia  

Indian  territory  . 

Louisiana 

Mississippi    

Missouri 

North  Carolina  .. 
South  Carolina  .. 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 


Napa  valley,  California,  description  and  analyses  of 

soils  of. 
Nationality,     condition    of,     and    wages     paid    to, 

laborers  in: 


Alabama 

Arkansas 

California. 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory  . 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina  .. 
South  Carolina  .. 

Tennessee 

Texas    

Virginia 


Natural  divisions  of  Tennessee  . 
Natural  fertilizers  of: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 


Georgia. 


Indian  territory  . 
Mississippi 

North  Carolina  .. 
Sonth  Carolina... 
Texas 


Pape 

of  special 
report. 


14,41 
10 


29,  30 

7,  37,  40, 


01) 
23 

33 

10,21 

32 

17-19,  00 

27-30 
24,  25 


150-152 
00 
125 
00 
160-102 
2S 
70 
1-10 


50 

94-00 

150-152 


155, 150 

104, 105 

130,131 

JO.  71 

172,  173 

31 

83,84 

154 


60-06 

43. 104 

101,  102 

21 

13,14 


25,  32-34 
(41-4001. 
<  62,115- 
(  132 

13 
5  21.22,38, 
>  56-75 
(  18,22,2.'!, 
'(  37-40 
{  10,19,23, 
(  29 

21 


005,005,704, 
713,714 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


G30 
204 


5-12 

847,  848 


072,  000 
20 


5C5 

203,  200 


70,  80 
327 
271 
555 
213 
112,  123 


685-088 
682, 083 


160-162 

632 
783 
246 

426-428 
8G6 
178 
348 

6U4 

5H6 

4 00-4 OS 

808-SlO 

040 


165,  10G 
640,  641 
788,  780 
250,  251 
438,  439 

869 
185, 186 

356 
525, 520 

009 
516-522 
415,470 
819,820 

643 
385,  386 


75-SO 

(      547,501, 

\        563,501 

205,212-214 

307-312, 

327,328, 

381-398 

851 

223,224.210. 

258-277 

550,  554.  555, 

569-581 

406,475,47:>, 

485 

670 


Navigation  of  the  principal  streams  in: 


Georgia 

South  Carolina  . 
Texas  


Neck  of  t ho  Mississippi  passes  in  Louisiana,  how 

formed. 
Negroes  in : 

Alabama,  an  excess  of,  indicative  of  rich  lands, 

large  farms,  and  pour  culture. 
Arkansas    devoted    to  cotton   culture  to  the 

largo  exclusion  of  other  crops. 
Georgia,  habits  of,  and  valne  nf  property  En  the 

state  of,  owned  by. 
Indian  territory,  comparatively  few  anion-  the 

Cherokcea  in  the. 
Louisiana  gravitate  to  fertile  lands  regardless 

of  malaria. 
Mississippi,  ratio  of,  to  whites  in  the  Boveral 

regions  of,  and  relations  of,  to  cotton  culture 

ami  production. 
South  Carolina,  the  exclusive  laborers  on  the 

sea  islands  of. 
Negroes,  relation  of,  to  cotton  culture  in: 


Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory. 

Louisiana    

Mississippi 

Missouri    ,.. 

South  Carolina  . 

Tennessee 

Texas  


Now  Mexico,  cotton  culture  in  (in  Report  on  Cali- 
fornia). 

Night  ants,  cotton  destroyed  by,  in  Texas 

Nitrification,  conditions  for,  of  prime  importance  for 

thriftiuess  in  soils  (General  Discussion). 
Nitrogen,  constant  variation  of,   in  soils  (General 

Discussion)- 
North  Carolina: 

Area,  population,  tilled  land,  cotton  production, 
rank  among  the  states, and  banner  counties 
of  (General  Discussion). 
Cotton  liber,  measurements  of  (General    Dis- 
cussion). 
Discussion  regarding  rank  of,  among  the  cot- 
ton states  (General  Discussion). 
Experiment  station,  data  given  by  (General 
Discussion). 

Index  to  Report  ou 

Possible  cottonseed-oil  mill  products  of,  from 
the  crop  of  1870,  and  their  market  and  ma- 
nure valuations  (General  Discussion). 
Report  on  Cotton  Production  in  the  State  of,  by 

Professor  TV.  C.  Kerr. 
Special  agent  appointed  for  (General  Discus- 
sion). 
Northeastern  prairie  region  of  Mississippi,  deserip-  i 
tion  of,  anil  eotton  production  in.  j 

Northern  barrens  and  hills  region  of  Arkansas,  area, 
character,  and  statistics  of  cotton  production 
in. 
Northern  division  of  Alabama,  area,  subdivisions, 
and  agricultural  features  of  the. 

Northern  li^nitie  formation  in  Mississippi 

Northers  in  California,  prevalence  and  duration  of. 

and  their  effect  on  crops. 
Northers,  occurrence  of,  in: 

Indian  territory 

Texas  .' ' 

Northwestern  red  loam  region  of  Texas,  area,  extent, 

character,  and  analyses  of  soils  of. 
Northwest  Georgia : 

Cotton  production  in 

Description  of '. 

Special  agent  appointed  for 


PaK°.   , 
of  special 
report 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

"i  page). 


17  283 

8,0  404.465 

17  075 


"1 

63,04 

73,  74 

1 

12.  30 

548,  575 

II 

57 

323 

I 

21,31 

859,  Hilt 

ij 

38 

140 

I 

72-711 

274-278 

II 

62-64 

72-74 

1 

12,30 

548,  575 

II 

31 

211 

II 

57 

323 

1 

21,31 

850,  B60 

1 

30-311,  07 

138-141,  Hill 

I 

72-77 

274-2711 

1 

28 

520 

II 

44 

500 

1 

42.  43 

414,41:. 

1 

161 

810 

150  I 
01 


817 
73 


0 
48 


79-83 
4(1 


21 

00 

011-015 
01 

527-015 
II 


(13-22,74,     215-224,276, 

j  75  277 

57] ,  577 


13,14,25  34 


214 

007 


8  ;  840 

15  073 

37,  38  695,  090 


55-57 

19 

viii 


321-323 
285 
200 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


827 


Novaculite  or  "whetstone,  occurrence  of,  in  Arkansas 
Number  of  acres  of  cotton  per  band  (estimated)  in  : 


Alabama. 

Arkansas ■ 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee  

Texas 

Virginia 

Number  of  cotton  pickings  made  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California  

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana .' 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee    

Texas  

Virginia  


O. 

Oak  and  pine  uplands  of  Alabama,  area,  subdivisions, 

and  general  character  of. 
Oak,  hickory,  and  long-leaf  pine  region  of: 

Alabama,  area,  cotton  per  acre  in,  and  general 

character  of. 
Florida,  general  features  and  vegetation  of..-. 
Georgia,  area,  description,  and  analyses  of. . . . . 

Texas,  cotton  production  of 

Oak,  hickory,  and  long-leaf  pine  region,  total  area 
and  cotton  production   of  (General  Discus- 
sion). 
Oak,  hickory,  and  short-leaf  pine  region  of: 

Alabama,  area  and  description  of 

Arkansas,  area  and  description  of 

Texas 

Oak,  hickory,  and  short-leaf  pine  region,  total  area 
and   cotton  production   of  (General  Discus- 
sion). 
Oak  uplands  region  of: 

Louisiana,  description  of 

Mississippi,  bordering  the  cane-hills,  descrip- 
tion of. 
North  Carolina,  sods,  timber  growth,  and  gen- 
eral  features  of. 

Virginia,  area  and  general  character  of 

Oaks,  character  of  lands  indicated  by,  in  Mississippi 
Oaks,  post  and  black-jack,  form  of,  on  black  prairies 

in  Mississippi. 
Oats,  acreage  and  production  of,  in : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia  . .        

Indian  territory    

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee) 


Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri  

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia  

Oats  and  barley,  production  of,  in  four  nations  of  the 

Indian  territory. 
Ogden,  lion.  H.  V.,  summary  of  products  of  cotton- 
seed-oil mills  by  (General  Discussion). 

Oil-mills  in  Georgia,  localities  of 

Ojai  valley.  California,  extent  and  lands  of 

Okeechobee  lake,  Florida,  area  of 

Okeefenokce  swamp  in : 

Florida,  character  of  country  south  of 

Georgia,  area,  character,  and  description  of 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


11,  29,  7G 


156 

106 
71 

174 
31 
84 

155 

28 

77 

10-62 

104 


154 

101 
75 
68 

168 
30 
80 

151 
26 
75 
57 

100 

157 
29 


41-45,  G4 


15-20,  34 
41-43 


27 
13,14 


6-8 

3 

110 


6-8 
7-10 


165 
110 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


547,505,612 


166 
642 
251 

440 
869 
180 
357 
526 
609 
516-5 IS 
476 
820 
643 


164 
637 
733 
248 
434 
868 
182 
353 
524 
607 
513 
472 
815 
651 


51-55,  74 

195-200,214 
307-309 

708 
16 


38 

48 

24 

500 

24 

081,  682 

4 

Hi 

29 

131 

48 

250 

020,631 

22!) 

215,  216 


15,16 
541,  542 

661, 662 
184 

272-274 
841 
482 

107,108 

207, 208 
502 

537, 538 
460 

378-380 

665-668 
625 


841 


431 

774 
188 


Oothcaloga  Valley  land  in  Georgia,  analyses  of 

Opelousas  hills,  Louisiana,  description  of 

Open  Ground  Prairie  swamp  in  North  Carolina,  loca- 
tion and  description  of. 
Orange-sand  formation,  occurrence  of,  in: 

Mississippi  . 

Tennessee 

Orbitoides  limestone,  occurrence  of,  in  : 

Alabama 

Florida 

Orbitoides  Mantelli  in  Florida 

Ordway,  Professor  John  M.,  report  on  cotton-fiber 
measurements  by  (General  Discussion). 

Orthis  limestone  lands  of  the  Central  Basin  of  Ten- 
nessee, extent,  character,  sods,  and  growth 
of. 

Osage  orange  the  characteristic  growth  of  the  black 
prairies  of  Arkansas. 

Ouachita  River  bottom  lands  of  Arkansas,  extent  and 
character  of. 

Outliers  of  the  Coosa  valley,  Alabama,  description 
of. 

Overflows  on  the  Mississippi  alluvial  region  in  Ark- 
ansas. 

Owen,  Dr.  D.  D.,  agricultural  features  of  report  of, 
on  Arkansas  and  Kentucky  (General  Discus- 
sion). 

Owen's  valley,  California,  description  of 

Ozark  mountains  in : 

Arkansas,  northern  border  of  red-loam  region 
Missouri,  description  and  elevation  of 

P. 

Packsaddle  mountain,  Texas,  location  of 

Pajaro  valley,  California,  area  and  description  of 

Palaeozoic  age  in: 

California 

.    Georgia 

Texas  

Virginia 

Pale-loam  lands  of  oak-uplands  region,  Louisiana  . .  - 
Palmetto  growth  on  Ouachita  bottom  lands  in  Ark- 
ansas. 
Panhandle  of: 

Missouri 

Texas 

Paramore's  hill  in  Georgia,  sandstone  of 

Paris-green  used  as  a  remedy  against  caterpillar  in : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Passes  of  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 

Passes  of  the  Mississippi  and  character  of  the  coun- 
try in  Louisiana. 

Peanuts  in    Virginia,  cultivation  of 

Pearl  Elver  bottom  lands,  character  and  analyses  of, 
in  Mississippi. 

Peaty  deposits  of  northwest  prairies  of  Arkansas.  .. 

Pebble-beds  in  Florida,  extent  of,  along  the  Chatta- 
hoochee and  Apalachicola  rivers. 

Pedee  river  in  South  Carolina,  description  of 

Peninsula  portion  of  Florida,  length,  width,  and  ex- 
tent of. 
Penning  or  protection  of  seed-cotton  in  : 

Alabama   

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia  

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

Of  page). 


27  293 

23  |  125 

35  567 


214 

395 


55,  148  . 
38  ! 

11,16 
11-39 


I 

27 

I 

18 

n 

18,10 

i 

14 

i 

55 

145 
48, 113 


155 

103 
70 

172 
83 

153 

76 

59 

102, 103 

160 

20 

71,76 


n 

11-15 

i 

60,  104 

I 

33 

u 

18 

ii 

7,  8,  27,  28 

n 

7 

n 

I 

ii 
n 

i 
i 

154 
101 

00 
169 

30 
80 

05,  158 
218 


191, 190 
23-51 


563 

554 

28,29 

550 


567 
505 


666 
287 
676 
630 
133 
554 


250 
438 
185 
355 
608 
515 
474,  475 
818 
642 


633-037 
268,  306 


<,     403, 464, 
)        4S3, 484 

187 


109 
635 
248 
434 
867 
182 


828 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


Penning  or  protection  of  eeed-cotton  in — continued. 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

Nopth  Carolina 

*     Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Penumbral  regions  of  cotton  production  in  Ten- 
nessee, 

Percentage  of  lint  and  seed  on  different  soils  and  un- 
der different  eircnmstanccB  (General  Discus- 
sion). 

Permian,  occurrence  of  rocks  of  the,  in  Texas  

Fetalnuia  River  valley,  California,  description  of 

Peter,  Dr.  Robert,  method  of  analysis  employed  by 
(General  Discussion). 

Petite  Anne  salt  deposit  iu  Louisiana 

Petit  Jean  mountain  in  Arkansas,  character,  eleva- 
tion, and  description  of. 

Phares,  D.  L.,  of  Mississippi,  abstract  of  letter  from, 
regarding  uses  of  cottonseed  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 

Phillips,  Dr.  II.  \V.,  of  Mississippi,  abstract  of  letter 
from,  regarding  uses  of  cottonseed  (General 
Discussion). 

Phosphate  rock  in: 

Florida,  analysis  of 

South  Carolina,  details  regarding  excavation 
of,  and  its  manufacture  into  fertilizers. 

Phosphoric  acid: 

Presence  of,  in  the  soils  of  Texas 

Relations  of,  to  limo  (General  Discussion) 

Remarks  on  percentages  of,  in  toils  (General 

Discussion). 
Withdrawn  from  the  soils  of  Gcorgiaby  various 
crops. 

Physical  soil  examination  (General  Discussion) 

Physuo-gcographieal  and  agricultural  features  of: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida    

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana. 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Picking  cotton  begins  and  closes,  when,  in : 

Alabama. 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana , 

Mississippi , 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texiis. ..  

Virginia 

Picking  cotton  begins  and  closes, 'when,  in  Mexico  (in 
Report  on  California). 

Piedmont  division  in  North  Carolina,  area,  topog- 
raphy, and  surface  features  of. 

Piedmont  region  of  South  Carolina: 

Area  and  elevation  of 

Cultural  and  economic  details  of 

Pilot  Knob,  Arkansas 

Pine  and  oak  mountains  in  Georgia,  geological  feat- 
ures of. 

Pine  and  pMmctto  flats  region  in  Georgia,  general 
description  of. 

Pine  barrens  and  meadows  in  Alabama,  trees  and 
plants  characteristic  of. 

Pine  barrens  lands  of  South  Carolina,  analyses  of. . . 


Pago 

of  special 
report. 


151 
26 
75 
100 
157 
20 
23,25,38, 
78,02 


18 
56,  57, 117 


10 
30,79 


14,33 
11,12 


7-59 
7-46 
7-73 
5-28 
9-53 
5-15 
7-39 
7-83 
7-11 
7-20 
7-48 
9-44 
11-48 
7-9 


114, 154 
101 


108,  170 
30 
80 
151 
26 
75 
55-58 
100 
157 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


20 
131 


353 
524 
607 
472 
815 
642 
395,397,410, 
450,464 


670 
714,715,775 


112 

666,  615 


Pino  barrens  or  sandy  wire-grass  region  in  Georgin, 
area  and  character  of. 

Pine  barrens  region  in  Georgia,  cotton  production  in 

Pino  barrens  swamps  in  Florida,  elevation  and  de- 
scription of. 

Pine  Hats,  occurrence  of,  in: 


Alabama  

Arknnsas 

Florida 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

North  Carolina  . 


194,213 
467,  468 


711 
81 

78 


17-69 

543-582 
GG5-731 
185-208 
275-319 
843-853 
101M41 
209-285 
505-5C9 
539-552 
4G3-504 
381^116 
660-700 
620-631 


124,164 
637 

733 
248 

434,  44  J 
808 
182 
353 
524 
607 

;H  1-514 
472 
815 
642 


789 


469 
501-522 


Pine  flats,  savannas,  and  coast  lands,  total  area  nnd 

cotton  production  of  (General  Discussion). 
Pino  forests  on  tablelands  north  of  Arkansas  river.. 
Pine-hills  region  of  Alabama,  trees  and  plants  char- 

actcriatic  of. 
Pine    lands    in    Florida,   area,  character,   counties 

included  in.  and  subdivisions  of. 
Pine  lands  of  the  cut  ton  region  of  Missouri,  character 

aud  growth  .if. 

Pino  Log  valley  land  in  Georgia,  analysis  of 

Pine  prairies  of  the  coast  region  in  Texas 

Pine  straw,  analyses  aud  use  of,  in: 

Georgia 

Mississippi 

Pine  tablelands  in  Florida,  productiveness  and  anal- 
ysis of. 

Pine  tin1  prevailing  growth  on  Bumuits  of  sandstone 
hills  of  northern  counties  in  Arkansas. 

Pifte  uplands  region  of  Alabama,  area  and  general 
character  of. 

Pine  uplands  soil,  table-lands,  in  Florida,  analysis  of. 

Pine-woods  region  of  Alabama,  cotton  product  per 
acre  in,  and  its  relation  to  population. 

Pinnaele,  in  Arkansas,  elevation  of  the 

j  Piny-woods  upland  soils  in  North  Carolinia,  an- 
alyses of. 

Pitch  pine,  occurrence  and  character  of.  in  Missis- 
sippi. 

Pitch  pine,  treeless,  and  alluvial  region  of  Florida, 
area,  character,  and  subdivisions  of. 

Pitt  river,  California,  character  of  the  stream, 
banks,  and  adjoining  country  of. 

Plains  and  prairies,  gypsum,  extent  of,  in  the  Indian 
territory. 

Plant-food,  percentages  of,  found  in  soils,  remarks 
on  (General  Discussion). 

Planting  aud  mixed  farming,  details  of,  in  : 

Alabama, 

Arkansas • 

Florida 

Georgia -. 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tenncsseo 

Texas 

Virginia 

Planting  cotton  in  ridges  in  Mississippi,  level  culti- 
vation shown  to  bo  better  than. 
Planting,  cultivation,  nnd  after-cultivation  of  cotton, 
details  of,  in : 

Alabama 

Arknnsas 

( lalifornia  

Florida 


Pago 

of  special 

report. 


General 

folio 

(at  but  torn 

of  page). 


56 
26,  27 
20,  22 

32 

07,68 
10 


C2 
62,71.  L48 


I  |  90-94 

II  45 

II  19 

II  |  64 


T    |  78 

n  17 

I    j  68 

II  25-28 

n  62 

1    !  7,  18  I 


815-317 


321,  322 
207 


CO 
582  563 
200,  202 

134 
200,  270 

548 


507 
08 


293 

088 

328 

14,273,350 

100 

020-030 

55 

109 

74 

014 

519 

270 

205-208 

720 


J 

155  j  105 

104  040 

08,09  248,249 

!  ,C6-1,0-1!;  '{432-435,438 


<;< 


Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

U  issnui  i 

Ni.illi  Carolina  . 
Souib  Carolina  . 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 


) 


17 


r 


!9,  30  |  807,  808 

80.63  '  181,  Jb2,  185 

3.T5 


153 
20,27 
74,75 
02-05 
1113 
Hid 
19,20 


524,  525 
000,  007 
518-521 
475 
818 
041,012 


TT 

154 

164 

r 

99-101 

635-007 

ii 

75.70 

733, 734 

II 

08  64) 

2  IK.  219 

ii 

(       57,  5S, 
(    10O-I00 

324,324, 

132-4  10 

i 

29,  30 

807  868 

i 

79,  80 

181,182 

T 

149-151 

351-353 

T 

20 

524 

11 

roe,  o"7 

II 

26  :.i  58 

482,  510-514 

I 

(42,43,99, 

414,415,  471, 

|            loo 

472 

T 

15.5-1  :,7 

813-815 

II 

19.  20 

041,042 

GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


829 


Planting  season  of  cotton  in  Mexico  (in  Report  on 

California). 
Planting',  wholesale  system  of,  in  Louisiana,  a  ruinous 

practice. 
Plants  and  trees  characteristic  of  each  region  of  Ala- 
bama. 
Plants,   medicinal  and  valuable,  on  tho  tablelands 

of  tho  Rio  Grande  in  Texas. 
Plants  on  the  prairies  of  the  northwest  in  Arkansas  - 
Plants,  penetration  of  roots  of,  in  the  soil  (General 

Discussion). 
Plateau  lands  at  the  foot  of  Sierra  Madre  mountains 
in  California. 

Plateau  slope  of  Kentucky 

Plateaus  in  North  Carolina,  elevations  of 

Pliocene  formation  in  Georgia,  occurrence  of 

Plows    (wooden)    used  by  the  Mexicans    specially 

adapted  to  the  Rio  Grande  Valley  lands  in 

Texas. 

Pocosons    in     North     Carolina,    character,    timber  j 

growth,  and  analyses  of.  ' 

Political  divisions  of  Tennessee 

Pomona  soil  in  California,  character  and  analysis  of 

Pond  land  soil  of  Alabama,  analysis  of 

Pontotoc  region,  character  and  extent  of  the,  in  Mis- 
sissippi. 
Pontotoc  ridge  of  Mississippi,  area  and  cotton  pro- 
duction of  (General  Discussion). 
Population,    area,    and  cotton    production  of   each 

state  (General  Discussion). 
Population  as  compared  with  cotton  production  (Gon- 

eral  Discussion). 
Population  of  Alabama: 

Negro,  an  excess  of,  indicative  of  rich  lands, 

large  farms,  and  poor  culture. 
White,  an  excess  of,  indicative  of  poor  lands, 
small  farms,  and  better  cotton  culture. 
Population,  tilled  land,  and  cotton  production,  by 
counties,  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California  (no  cotton  production  reported) 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee) 

Louisiana    

Mississippi 

Mi.ssouri     

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas       

Virginia 

Port  Hudson  clays,  occurrence  and  extent  of,  in  Texas. 
Port  Hudson  group,  occurrence  of,  in: 

Florida 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Texas 

Post-oak  flats  of  the  timbered  region  in  Texas 

Post-oak  flatwoods  region  of  Alabama,  area,  charac- 
ter, and  analyses  of. 

Pust-oak  laud  of  red-loam  region  in  Arkansas 

Post-oak  lands  of  the  central  prairie  region  of  Texas. 

Post  oak  of  the  northeastern  prairies  ami  flatwoods 
region,  forms  of,  in  Mississippi. 

Post-oak   prairie  soils  of  Alabama,  character  and 
analysis  of. 

Potash  manures  not  usually  the  first  that  should  be 
sought  for  (General  Discussion). 

Potash,  remarks  on  percentages  of,  in  soils  (General 
Discussion). 

Potash  withdrawn  from  the  soil  of  Georgia  by  vari- 
ous crops. 

Potatoes,  sweet,  acreage  and  production  of,  in: 

Alabama 

Florida 

Georgia 

Louisiana 


1 

Pago 

of  Bpecial 

report. 

□ 

130 

I 

39 

71 

57-59 

I 

34 

I 

33 

I 

61 

111 

10 
16 


12 


40,41 

39,40 

19,  88,  92 

4 

5 


3,4,75-148 
3.4 


3-5 

3 

109 

3,4 

3,4 

3,4 

3,4 

3 

3-8 

3-6 

3 


22 

25 

51,52 


6-8 
6,6 


General 

folio 
(at  bottom 
of  page). 


788 
141 


569 
73 


463 
542 


544,  547, 
665-570 

384 

698,  699 

49,  50 

21,  290,  294 


18 

73,74 
73,74 


13,14.85-158 
539, 540 
6S1,  662 

183 
269-271 

841 

481 
105,106 
205,  206 
501,502 
535,  536 

459 
375-380 
601-664 

625 
679,  764,  768 


693 

216,  225 


272-274 
107,  108 


Potatoes,  sweet,  acreage  and  production  of,  in — cont'd. 

Mississippi  |   I 

North  Carolina i  II 

South  Carolina i  II 


Texas 

Virginia    

Potsdam  formation,  occurrence  of,  in: 

Alabama 

Georgia 

Potsdam  sandstone  in  Arkansas,  occurrence  of 

Potsdam  shales  and  sandstones  in  Alabama,  soils  de- 
rived from. 

Pottawatomie  nation,  extent  and  description  of  por- 
tion of  Indian  territory  occupied  by  the. 

Poverty  Hill  region,  California,  description  of 

Power  used  in  ginning  cotton  in: 


Alabama  

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory. 

Louisiana    

Mississippi 

Missouri 

"North  Carolina  . 
South  Carolina  .. 

Teuuessee  

Texas 

Virginia  


Power  used  in  ginning  cotton  in  Mexico  (in  Report 

on  California). 

Prairie  barrens  in  Ax-kansas,  occurrence  of 

Prairie  land,  patches  of,  in  the  red-hdls  region    of 

Georgia, 
Prairie  lands  of  i 


Indian  territory. 
Louisiana 


I 
I 

Mississippi 

Texas  I 

Prairie  regions  of  Alabama,  description  of H 

Prairies : 

Bald  and  black-jack,  description  of,  in  Missis- 
sippi. 
Black  calcareous  lands  of  Arkansas   (CretaO 

ceous),  area,  extent,  and  character  of. 
Black  calcareous,  of  Missouri,  description  of- . !    I 
Black,  of  thecentral  region,  Texas,  description  I    I 

of. 

Brown-loam,  of  Louisiana,  description  of |    I 

Brssh  and  brown-loam,  of  the  timbered  region  I    I 

of  Texas. 
Gray  silty,  of  Arkansas,  urea  and  description  ofj    I 
Gray  silty,  of  the  Mississippi  alluvial  region      1 

iu  Missouri,  resemble  those  of  Arkansas  and 

Louisiana  (in  Report  on  Missouri). 
Prairies  and  gray  silt  region,  character  and  analyses/     -j 

of,  in  Arkansas. 

Prairies  and  savannas  of  Florida,  how  formed II 

Prairies  of: 

Alabama,  meaning  of  term  of II 

Arkansas,  general  occurrence  and  character/     T 

and  vegetation  of. 
Flatwoods  of  the  metamorphic  region  of  South     I 

Carolina. 

Little  Mountain  range,  Alabama. II 

Louisiana,  alluvial  region I 

Louisiana,  central  prairie  region  I 

Mississippi,  central  region     - I 

Northeastern  regiouof  Mississippi,  description      I 


of. 
Northern  sandstone  region  in  Arkansas  ..... 
Red-loam  region,  area  and  description  of,    in 

Arkansas. 
Rid  River  bottom,  character  of,  in  Arkansas  . 
Section  of  Indian  territory  occupied  by  Creek 

nation  little  suited  to  cultivation. 

Texas,  central  region  of 

Texas,  coast  region  of 


Page 

of  Bpecial 

report. 


5,0 
5,6 


7-10 
3 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


207,  208 
537. 538 

460 
G65-6G8 

625 


27 
290 


547 
20 


154 

164 

101 

037 

68 

248 

09,  169,  170 

335,435,  436 

30 

868 

SI 

183 

151 

353 

27 

525 

75 

607 

58 

514 

101 

473 

157 

815 

20 

642 

35.92 
39 


7, 12.  13 
13.  14,44 
14-16, 
87,  105, 
125-132 
30 


7,8,9 
34-36 


23 
23,  26 


23,24 
8,  10 


45,  47,  48 
.  12,  31,  37 


571,  628 
305 


845,  850.  851 

115,  116,  140 

210-218, 

280,  307, 

327-334 

094 


29, 


.-61,  68 


(      547, 561, 
'(        503, 564 


505,  506,  507 
092-094 


125 
681,684 


5-59,  560 
506,  508 


(       556-559, 
i        560-588 


545,  548, 
567,  573 


33 

43 

12 

114 

28 

130 

51 

253 

■16 

215-218 

30 

572 

32 

568 

34-37,  50 
22,  30-34 


092-005,  708 
0S0,  086-002 


830 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


Prairies  of — continued. 

Texas,  eastern  timbered  region  of,  extent,  de- 
scription, and  divisions  of. 

Texas,  long-leaf  pino  region  of 

Prairies  of  the  yellow-loam  region  of  Arkansas,  ex- 
tent and  character  of. 
Prairies,  pine  or  gray  silt,  of  Louisiana,  description  of . 
Prairies,  savannas,  and  everglades  of  Florida,  area  of, 
Prairies,  the  northwestern,  in  Arkansas,  character, 

drainage,  analyses,  and  plants  of. 
Prairies,  wooded,  of  upper  pine  belt  of  Alabama, 

trees  and  plants  of. 
Preparation  of  cotton  land  in  : 

Alabama , 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida  — 

Georgia - 

Indian  territory  -- 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina '. 

South  Carolina — 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia  

Presses  used  in  baling  cotton,  kinds  and  capacities 
of,  in ; 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana    

Mississippi 

Missouri     

North  Carolina 

Soutli  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas     

Virginia    


Prevalence  of  the  credit  system  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

Missouri   

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas1 

Virginia 

Price,  disposal,  variety,  and  amount  used  per  acre  of 
cottonseed  in: 

Alalia: 


Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory  - .. 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missiuii'i. 

North  Carolina  ... 
South  Carolina  . .. 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia    


Pric 


i  paid  for  ashes  of  cottonseed  hulls  (General 
Discussion). 
Price  paid  for  cottonseed  by  oil-mills  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 
Production  and  acreage  of  cotton  in: 

Alabama  

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee) 

Louisiana 


Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina  . 
South  Carolina  . 
Tennessee     

Texas 

Virginia 


Pago 

of  special 

report. 


n 

ir.4 

184 

i 

99-101 

035-837 

ii 

7.',,  71) 

733,  734 

n 

CM,  CI 

248,240 

n 

(      57, 58, 

323,324, 

j     100-109 

432-435 

i 

28,  ::n 

867,  B08 

i 

79,  60 

181,  182 

i 

77-711 

270-281 

i 

30 

:■_•! 

ii 

74,75 

606,  007 

ii 

20,  5 1  58 

482,510-514 

i 

<      42,45, 
i      09,  lull 

414,415, 

471. 47J 

i 

155-157 

813-815 

ii 

19,  -JO 

641,042 

i 

3 

841 

ii 

l!i 

17.", 

ii 

23,24 

479.  480 

a 

■I.',  43 

408,  100 

n 

20 

485 

General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

Of  page). 


3,4 

091,  002 

■1 

184 

(1-8 

272-274 

3 

841 

1111 

4K2 

■'',  « 

197, 108 

5,1) 

207,  208 

4 

502 

5,0 

537, 538 

4 

100 

5-8 

877-380 

7-10 

005-008 

3 

0'J5 

or.i 

Tin  700 

250 

440 

M72 

103,  104 

305 

528 

GH.015 

520 

480,400 

820,  839 

047 


85-156 
585-080 
217-243 
330-424 

145-175 
280-315 
514-510 
550-602 
420-164 
718-896 
633-037 


85-158 
585-630 
21K--JII1 
:|4I~!'_'4 
146-175 
290-845 
513-510 
562-590 
507.  Mi 
420-404 
718-800 
034-030 


449 

ISO 
350 

'.  9 
316-522 

170 
R2I1 

013 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


831 


Proportion  of  woodlands  in : 

Alabama .v 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia  

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

Tennessee - 

Texas 

Virginia 

Prospective  magnitude  of  the  cottonseed-oil  indus- 
try and  its  influence  upon  soil  fertility  (Gen- 
eral Discussion). 
Protection  or  penning  of  seed-cotton  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 


Patau  Creek  valley  lands,  California,  character  and 
analysis  of. 


Quaternary  formation,  occurrence  and  materia]  of,  in 


Arkansas 

California 

Georgia 

Indian  territory  . 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

North  Carolina  .. 

Texas     

Virginia  


Quart/-  crystals,  occurrence  of,  in  Arkansas 

Qnartss  veins  in  Georgia,  gold-bearing  character  of. . 

Questions  (schedule),  summary  of  answers  to,  from: 

Alabama 

Arkansas. ' 

Florida 

Georgia, 

Indian  territory * 

Louisiana     

Mississippi 

Missouri  

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 


It. 

Kaccoou  Creek  valley  land  in  Georgia,  analysis  of. . 
Raccoon  mountain,  Alabama,  character  of  the  pla- 
teau of. 
Races  iu  Alabama,  relation  of,  to  cotton  production 
Races,  relation  of  the  two,  to  cotton  culture  and  pro- 
duction in  Mississippi. 

Raft  of  Red  River,  Louisiana,  description  of 

Rain  belt  of  the  San  Diego  region,  California 

Rainfall,  amount  of,  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 


South  Carolina. . 

Tennessee  

Texas 

Virginia 


Rainfall  as  affecting  cotton  growth  in  Mississippi. 

Rainfall  in  northwest  Georgia 

Rainstorms  in  California,  time  and  character  of... 
Rates  of  transportation,  shipment,  and  freight  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida    

Georgia  . 

Indian  territory 


Louisiana 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


77-147 
49-94 

35-63 
G7-158 
43-73 
87-143 
15-21 
27-70 
47-90 
59-148 
13-16 


48-50 


154 
101 
69 
169 


100 
157 
20 

22,  91,  92 


II   75-148.150 
41,49-94, 
107 
69,71 

i9,  67-158 


57 

547,  573,  593 

8 

600 

16 

282 

8 

846 

9 

111 

in 

214 

11 

543 

22 

679,  680 

8 

630 

153-156 
07-108 
67-71 

163-176 
20-31 
77-85 

147-155 
25-28 
73-78 
51-66 
07-105 

153-163 
19-21 


02-04 
76,77 


11, 12 

111 

11-18 

7 

11,20 


10,11 

7,8 

a 

17,18,34, 
37,  40 
13 


16 


16 
43-73,  85 


87-157 
585-630 
215-243 
333-424 
145-175 
289-345 
513-510 
559-602 
419-462 
717-600 
635-038 

60-62 


164 
037 
249 
435 
808 
182 
353 
524 
607 
472 
815 
642 


163-106 
633-644 
247-251 
429-442 
867-869 
179-187 
349-357 
523-526 
605-610 
507-522 
469^177 
811-821 
641-643 


293 
104,  105 


72-74 
278,  279 


119 
697 


21,22 
546 

669-676 
187 

277,  286 
846 
113 

212, 213 

505,  506 

543 

473,  474,  490 

493,  502 
385 
074 
630 

212,  213 


85-158. 166 

577,585-030, 

643 

240, 251 

325,  333-424 

854 

145-175, 187 


Rates  of  transportation,  shipment,  and  freight  in— 
continued. 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Eating  of  cotton  staple  in : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 


Louisiana. . 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia 

Ratio  of  seed  to  lint  (General  Discussion) . 
Reclamation  of  alkali  lands  in  California.  . 


Red  and  brown  loam  region  of  northwest  Georgia, 
extent,  general  character,  and  analyses  of 
soils  of. 
Red  and  gray  loam  region  of  Arkansas,  description 

of. 
Red  belt  of  East  Tennessee  Valley,  character  and 

soils  of. 
Red-clay  lands  of: 

Georgia,  area,  rocks,  soils,  and  general  charac- 
ter of. 

Highland  rim,  Tennessee    ...   

Northeastern  prairie  region  of  Mississippi 

Oak  uplands  region  in  North  Carolina 

Red-loam  region  of  Arkansas 

Red  clay  loam  of  South  Carolina,  character  and 
analyses  of. 

Red  clay  valley  in  Georgia,  description  of 

Red  gTavelly  land  of  Arkansas,  yellow-loam  region  of. 
Red  hills  region  of: 

Georgia,  extent,  general  character,  and  analy- 
ses of. 
South  Carolina,  cultural  and  economic  details  of. 

South  Carolina,  extent,  timber  growth,  climate, 
soils,  and  productions  of. 
Red-hills  region  or  belt  of  Texas,  extent  and  char- 
acter of. 
Red  hornblendic  rocks  of  South  Carolina,  analysis  of 
Red  land  soil  of  Dry  valley,  Alabama,  analysis  of . . . 

Red  land  soils  of  South  Carolina,  analysis  of 

Red  lands,  character,  origin,  and  extent  of,  and  1 
chemical  and  mechanical  analyses  and  cot-  > 
ton  product  per  acre  of,  in  Mississippi.  j 

Red  lands  of: 

Central  cotton  belt  in  Georgia,  thickness  of. . . 
Country  north  of  Arkansas  river,  character  and 

product  per  acre  of. 
Foot-hills  in  California,  character  and  anal- 
yses of. 
Metamorphic  region  belts  in  Georgia,  general 

character  and  analyses  of. 
Metamorphic  region  in  Alabama,  character  and 
analyses  of. 

Oak  uplands  region,  Louisiana 

Tennessee  valley  legion  of  Alabama,  area,  gen- 
eral character,  and  analyses  of. 

Virginia,  timber  growth  of 

Yellow-loam  region  of  Arkansas,  character,  ; 

extent,  and  analysis  of.  i 

Red  lime  lands  in  Florida,  area,  extent,  and  general 

character  and  analyses  of. 
Red-loam  prairie  region  of  Arkansas,  area  and  de- 
scription of. 
Red-loam  region  and  prairies  of  the  Indian  territory, 
extent  of. 


Page 

ol  special 

report. 


C    87-143, 

(    151,  155 

15-21 

28-70,  78 
47-92, 105 
(  52. 57- 
i    148,162 

11-15,  21 


75-148 
49-94 
38-60 

70-158 
22-25 
43-73 

88-143 
16-18 
30-04 
48-92 

60-148 
12-14 


64,65 
25-28 


29-33 
37,38 


26,79 
16,  17,  89 
50-65 
80-88 
38,39 


53,  57, 
64,65 


25,33 
31 


19,20,31, 
32, 102 


39 
31 

34-37 

33-35 

15,16 


25,  67. 
70,  72 

16,17 
28,32 
7,13 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


289-345, 

353,  357 

513-519 

559-602,  610 

419-164,477 

ilO,  715-806, 

820 

033-637,  643 

85-158 
385-630 
218-240 
336-424 
860-863 
145-175 
200-345 
514-516 
562-596 
420-164 
718-806 
634-636 

18 

722,  723 


565-569, 
409,  410 


398,  451 
118,  219,  291 
5S2-597 
016-624 
494,  495 

336 
691,  606 


509,  513. 
520,521 

486-488 

682,  683 

496 
35.43 


11,222,233, 

234,  304 


305 

567 


132 
42-44 

631 

561,  603, 
006,  608 

196, 197 
564,  568 
845,  851 


832 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


Red-loam  region  of: 

Arkansas  and  Texas,  area  and  cotton  produc- 
tion of 'General  Discussion). 

Arkansas,  col  ton  production  in 

Arkansas,  gray  and  timbered  lands,  descrip- 
tion of, 
Toxas,  description  and  cotton  production  of.. 
Rod  mountain  soil  of  Alabama,  analysis  of 

Red-ore  ridges  in  Alabama,  occurrence  of 


Rod  River  alluvial  region  of  Texas,  cotton  produc- 
tion of. 

Red  River  bottom  lauds  of  Arkansas,  area,  extent, 
and  character  of. 

Red  River  bottom  prairies  of  Arkansas 

Red  River  region,  Louisiana,  description  of 

Red  Bandy  lands  of  Arkansas,  yellow-loam  region  of. 

Red  stiff  back-land  soil  and  lateral  bayou  lands  of 
the  oak  upland  region  of  Louisiana. 

Red  upland  soils  of  northern  counties  of  Arkansas  . 

Redwood  bolt  of  the  const  region  in  California,  area 
and  extent  of. 

Reference  table  of  reports  received  from: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 


California 

Florida 

Georgia .  II 

Indian  territory I   I 


Louisiana  . 
Mismssippi 

Missouri 

Nni  Hi  Carolina  . 
Souhh  Carolina.. 

Tennessee 

Texas   

Virginia 


gion,  percentage  of  state's  total  cotton  production 
io  each,  of: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

North  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 


Region,  total  lint  and  cottonseed  in  each,  in  tons,  of: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Gi  orgia 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

North  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas   

Virginia 

Regions,  area  and  cotton  production  of  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 
Regions,  bales  of  cotton  per  square  mile  in,  of: 

Alabama  

Arkansas    

Florida 

Georgia 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee    

Texas 

Virginia 

Regions,  cotton  production  distributed  among  the 
several,  of: 


Alabama 

Arkansas   

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee)  . 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri ; 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 


-p„f,        i      General 
of  social 


report. 


41 
29 

37,  38,  50 

23,  24 

1923,80, 
92,93,07 


28 

10 

02 

56-73 


10-94 
50 


70 
140 

24 
72 
50 

91-90 

150-152 

18 


TT 

00 

1 

40,41 

II 

29 

II 

54 

1 

38 

1 

72 

11 

21 

1 

40 

1 

49 

11 

10 

11 

00 

1 

40 

II 

29 

II 

54 

I 

32 

1 

72 

II 

21 

1 

40 

1 

49 

11 

10 

(at  bottom 
of  page). 


54 
3,4,32 

3,4,72 


3-0,  40 
1(1 


60-05 
39,40 
29-31 
54-57 
3,  21-25 

111 
32-35 
72-70 

3,9 


577 
505 

COS,  COO,  708 

33,34 

!0, 33,99, 102 

103, 107 


004 

118 

598 

158-175 

020-030 
714 


100-102 
C32 

7.-3 

240 

420-428 

800 

173 

348 

522 

004 

506 

400-108 

.-ii.-  ..-in 

040 


I,  577 
209 
320 
140 
274 
553 
412 
7u7 
C32 


70 
576 
209 

320 
134 


21.: 

19-17 
(  17, 25, 
>  30,  38,  40 

49,50 

10 


707 
032 


209 

320 

105,  106,  134 

205,206,274 

553 
459 
412 
001-664,  098 
632 


209-211 
320-323 

841,859-863 
483 
134-137 
274-278 
501.507 
553,  554 
475-503 
389,  397. 

408,410,412 


Regions,  cotton  product  per  acre  by,  iu  : 
Alabama 


Arkansas  . 


Florida 
Georgia  .. 
Indian  territory. 

Louisinna 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina. . 

Tennessee 

Texas. 

Virginia 


ogions,  description  of,  in  : 
Alabama: 

Alluvial  

Central  prairie 

Coal  measures  

Coosa  valley  and  its  outliers     

I. inn -bills  

Long-leaf  pine 

Motamorphic  

Oak  and  pine  uplands 

Post-oak  list  woods 

Tennessee  valley  

Arkansas 

Gray  silt  prairie 

Motamorphic 

Northern  barrens  and  hills 

Northwestern  prairie 

Red-loam  prairie 

Red-loam  timbered 

Siliceous  and  cherty  lands 

Yellow  -loam  or  oak  uplands 

California: 

Coast  Range  region 

Desert  region 

Foot-hills  rogion 

Great  valley  region 

Sierra  Nevada  Mountain  rogion 

Southern  region 

Florida: 

Long-leaf  pine,  general  description  of 

Oak,  hickory,  and  pino  uplands 

Pitch-pine,  treeless,  and  alluvial 

Georgia: 

Central  cotton  belt  

('east  region 

Lung-leaf  pine  and  wire-grass  region 

Mctamorphic  or    Illuc  Ridge  aud  Middle 
Georgia. 

Northwest  Georgia 

Oak,  hickory,  and  long-leaf  pino 

Red  hills 

Sand  and  pine  hills. 

Indian  territory  : 

Alluvial 

Black  prairie 

Cross  timbers 

G  rani  tie  

Mountainous  and  red-loanr 

Sandy  and  open  prairres 

Sandy  short-loaf  pine  upland 

Timbered  river  uplands 

Timbered  uplands 

Louisiana : 

Alluvial,  of  the  Mississippi  and  Red  rivers. 

Attakapas  prairie 

Bluff 

Central  prairie 

Long-leaf  pino 

Oak  uplands 

Mississippi : 

Cane  bills 

Central  prairie 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


II 

11 
II 
II 
II 
II 
II 
II 
II 
II 

I 
I 
I 
1 
I 
I 
I 
I 

;; 

ii 

ii 

ii 

ii 
ii 
ii 

;; 

n ! 
ii 

ii 

ii 
ii 
ii 

i  j 
1 1 
i 

, 

i  j 
i  j 
1 1 
i 

1 1 
i 
i 
i 

i 
i 


00 

40 

29-11 

54,55 

10-25 

31 

ii 

21 


45-01 
20-28 

17-25 
53-51 
54-50 
14-17 

37-1 5 
51.52 
28-34 


General 
folio 

(at  bottom 
of  page). 


44-59 
43,44 
32-37 

1  8-32 

50-03 

37-43 


I 


20-25 
15-20 
25-28 

38-46 
5,-53 
46-51 
20-38 

19-29 
41-14 
39-fl 
36,39 

14, 15 
13 
10 

10,11 
9 

12,  13 
10 


21.22 
28,29 


29-32 


70 

576 

209-21 1 

3211.321 

B48-8C3 

130 

271 

509 

553 


55-01 
30-38 

02-04 

01-00 
21-27 
■17-55 
01,02 
3--I1 


571 

511,1 
50S 


717 


Till.  :,  3 
e:  n  '.:.'. 
070  000 
717-721 
095-70 1 

200-205 
195-200 
205-208 

304-312 

317-319 
313-317 
295-304 

285-290 
307-210 
305-307 
304,  305 

852,  853 
851 
846 

848,  M9 

847 

850,851 

84S 

849.  85u 
847 

114-123 
124-127 
123, 124 
1311,  131 
127-1311 
131-154 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


833 


Jlegions,  description  of,  in — continued. 
Mississippi — continued. 

Flatwoods I 

Long-leaf  pine I 

Mississippi  alluvial I 

Northeastern  prairie I 

Pontotoc,  ridge I 

Yellow  loam  or  oak  uplands I 

Missouri : 

Alluvial,  of  tile  Mississippi I 

Black  calcareous  prairies I 

Gravelly  and  red-clay  prairies i    I 

Sandy  prairies  and  timbered  lands ;    I 

Timbered  magnesian  limestone  lands  and      I 
barrens. 
North  Cai  oliua : 

Long-leaf  pine II 

Oak  uplands II 

Seaboard II 

Tiansraontaue II 

-South  Carolina : 

Coast II 

Lower  pine  belt  !  II 

II 
H 
II 
II 
II 


Metantorphic 

Piedmont 

Red  hills 

Sand  hills  

Upper  pine  belt 

Tennessee: 

Bluff .    I 

Brown-loam  table-land I 

Central  basin I 

Cumberland  table  lands I 

Highland  rim I 

Mississippi  bottom I 

Summit  region  of  the  watershed I 

I 
I 


Para      1     General 
of  IS  HI  folio 

r,  i ,   rt  <at  bo,tom 

of  page). 


Unaka  mountain 

Upland   or   plateau  slope  of  West  Ten 
nessee. 

Valley  of  East  Tennessee I 

Western  valley  of  the  Tennessee I 

Texas: 

Alluvial  or  river  lands I 

Central  black  prairie I 

Cross  timbers I 

Northwestern  red-loam  lands I  I 

Southern  and  coast  prairie  !  I 

Timbered  upland I 


Western  aud  northwestern,  uninhabited... 
Virginia: 

Sandy  oak  and  pine 

Seaboard 

Oak  uplands 

Transmontane 

Regions,  general  relations  of,  to  the  coastline  and  the 
Gulf    embayment  and    to  geological  foi-ma- 
tions  (General  Discussion). 
Jlegions  in  Georgia,  comparison  of  cotton  acreage  and 

production  of. 
/Regions,  list  of  agricultural,  in: 

Alabama  

Arkansas 


California     

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri ...   

Noith  Carolina 

South  Carolina i  II 

Tennessee I    I 

Texas 1 1    I 

Virginia j  II 

53    O   P — VOL.    II 


23-26 

58-71 
39-45 
13-19 
19-22 
28-38 


15-18 
18-20 
12-15 

20 


36-44 
45-47 
30-32 
33-36 
25-30 

17-19 
19-21 
28-35 
35,  30 
25-28 
14-16 
21-23 
39 
16-23 

36-39 
23-25 

41-48 
34-36 
28-30 

37,38 
30-34 
23-30 
41-48 


9 

9 

3,4 

55,56 


13,  14,  36 
12 
17,  18 
15 
17, 18,  23 
9 
11 
13 


12 
12,13 
13,14 


224-228 
260-273 
241-247 
215-221 
221-224 
228-240 

508 
500 
507 
506,  507 
507 


547-550 

550-552 

544-547 

552 

471-477 
478-481 
492-500 
501-503 
486-188 
489-492 
481-186 

389-391 
391-393 
400-407 
407,  408 
397-400 
386-38S 
393-395 
411 
388-395 

408-411 
395-397 

699-700 
692-094 


695,  090 
688-092 


631 

630,  631 

631 

631 

15, 16 


23,  24,  40 

548 

675,  676 

195 

283,  2S4,  289 

847 

113 

215 

506 

514 

468.  409 

385,  386 

680 

630 


Kegions  of: 

Alabama,  distribution  of  whites  and  negroes  in  II 

Texas  are  mostly  termini  of  those   of  other  I 

states. 

Texas,  comparison  of,  in  cotton  production |  I 

Relations  of  cotton  production  to  the  races  in  Teu-  i  I 
nessee. 

Relations  of  the  negroes  to  cotton  cultivation  in: 

Alabama II 

Arkansas... j  1 

Florida II 

Georgia II 

Indian  territory  I  I 

Louisiana I  I 

Mississippi I 

Missouri I 

South  Carolina  '  II 

Tennessee I 

Texas I 

Remarks  on  cotton-fiber  measurements  by  Professor  I 
Eilgard  (General  Discussion). 

Remarks  on  cotton  production  in  : 

Alabama TI 

Arkansas I 

California I  II 

Florida H 

Georgia H 

Indian  territory I 

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee) I 

Louisiana I 

Mississippi I  I 

Missouri I 

North  Carolina II 

South  Carolina H 

Tennessee I 

Texas I 

Virginia II 

Remedies  for  the  "rise  of  alkali"  in  California !  n 

Rent  paid  for  and  market  value  of  land  in: 

Alabama n 

Arkansas I 


Pane      !    GeuOT!l1 

--,»',, a,  Som 
1  et  page*. 


G2-G4 

12,39 
31 
57 

21,31 
36-30,  07 

72-77 
26 
44 


Florida II 

Georgia U 

Louisiana I 

Mississippi I 

Missouri I 

Korth  Carolina U 

South  Carolina    II 

Tennessee I  I 

Texas I 

Virginia ^ TI 


Report  on  California,  why  made 

Report  on  cotton  production,  reasons  given  to  show 
the-  importance  and  necessity  for  the  (Gen- 
eral Discussion)- 

Report  on  the  agricultural  features  of  a  country,  im- 
portance of  (General  Discussion). 

Report,  plan  of,  modified  (General  Discussion) , 

Reports  of  corespondents,  abstracts  of,  in  mono- 
graph on : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 


ii 

California n 

Florida I  II 

Georgia   ..  n  | 

Indian  territory I  1 

Louisiana..   I 

Mississippi  I   ! 

Missouri I 

North  Carolina n 

Tennessee I 

Texas I 

Virginia II 

Reports  received,  reference  table  of,  in: 

Alabama    n 

Arkansas I    | 

California     II 

Florida II 

Georgia II 

Indian  territory -  I 

Louisiana  1 

Mississippi : I 

Missouri I 

North  Carolina TJ 

South  Carolina II 

Tennessee I 

Texas I 

Virginia I  II 

n 


42,  43 

161 

36,39 


00-01 
38-41 
73-78 
29-33 
53-61 

16 

111.112 

32-39 

71-79 

17 
21,22 
21-47 
40-13 
48-52 

10 

67 

156 
106 

71 
174 

84 
154 

28 

77 

60-66 

104 

162 

21 


708 
414 


72-74 

548,  575 

211 

859,  869 
138-141, 169 

274-279 
526 
500 

414,415 
819 


Republic  of  Mexico,  report  on  the  culture  of  cotton 
iu  flie  (in  Report  on  California) 


75-148 
49-94 

87-118 
38-60 

70-158 
22-25 
44-73 

8,8-143 
15-18 
30-64 
48-92 

57-1 4 R 
12-14 


150-152 

90 

125 

66 

160-162 

28 

76 

146 

24 

72 

50 

94-90 

150-152 

18 

130. 131 


48,  51 


70-74 
574-577 
731-736 
209-213 
319-327 

854 
483,  484 
134-141 
273-281 

515 
553,  554 
477-503 
412-415 
706-710 

632 


166 
642 
251 
440 
186 
356 
526 
609 
510-522 
476 
820 
"    643 


65J 
II 


67 
II 


85-158 
585-630 
745-776 
218-240 
330-424 
860-803 
146-175 
290-345 
513-516 
562-596 
420-464 
715-806 
034-636 


160-162 
032 
783 
246 

426-428 
866 
178 
348 
522 
604 
506 

466-468 

808-810 
640 


834 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


Results,  tabulated,  of  the  enumeration  of: 


Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florid;! 

Georgia  

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee) 

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tenm-.sf.ee 

Texas 

Virginia — 


Review  of  the  general  soil  map  of  the  cotton  Btates 

(General  Discussion). 

Rhododendron  in  North  Carolina,  extensive  thickets  of  II 

Rice : 

Acreage  aud  production  of,  in  Florida II 

Acreage  and  production  of,  in  North  Carolina  .  II 

Acreage  and  production  of,  iu  South  Carolina. .  II 

Acreage,  production,  and  region  of,  in  Louisi-  I 
ana. 

Culture  in  South  Carolina,  methods  of XI 

In  South  Carolina,  history  of II 

In  South  Carolina,  product  per  acre  of. .......  II 

Ridges,  spaces  between,  in  cotton  planting  in  : 

Alabama II 

Arkansas I 

California - II 

Florida. II 

Georgia    II 

Indian  territory I 

Louisiana I 

Mississippi I 

Missouri  ...    .-   I 

North  Carolina II 

Sooth  Carolina II 

Tennessee I 

Texas I 

Virginia ...  II 

Rio  Grande  basin,  Texas,  area  and  extent  of -  -  I 

Rio  Grande,  Texas,  medicinal  and  useful  plants  of  . .  I 

Ripley  group  (Cretaceous)  of: 

Alabama II 

Georgia II 

'Mississippi I 

five)'  and  lake  waters  of  the  great  valley  in  Cali-  II 
fornia,  and  their  quality  for  irrigation   pur- 
poses. 

River  bottom  lands  of  Texas,  description  of I 

River  swamp  lands  of  South  Carolina,  description  II 
and  analysis  of. 

River  systems  and  drainage  of  Texas  I 

River  systems  of  the  state  of  Alabama II 

River  transportation  facilities  in  Arkansas I 

Rivers  in : 

California II 

Coast  region  north  of  the  bay  country,  in  Cali-  II 
fornia. 

Florida,  principal i  II  ' 

( ieorgia,  navigation  and  extent  of  basins  of TX  j 

Indian  territory  have  their  sources  chiefly  in  ,  I 
the  great  plains. 

Louisiana,  valleys  aud  systems  of I 

South  Carolina,  courses,  waterfalls,  navigation,  II 

and  bordering  lauds  of  the. 

South  Carolina,  deltas  of  the,  and  cause  of  for-  II  | 
luntion, 

Southern  region  of  California II 

Rock-salt  mine,  Louisiana,  location  of I    i 

Rocks,  decay  aud  disintegration  of.  in: 

Alabama II 

Georgia II 

Rocky  ran^e  of  hills  on  the  southwest  of  Texas I 

Rolling  pine  lands  of: 

Alabama,  trees  and  plants  characteristic  of. ...  II 

Florida,    area,    general    character,    and    sub-  II 
division  of. 

Rotation,  fallowing,  aud  fall-plowing  in: 

Alabama II  i 

Aikansas \    I    I 


page      i;;:u,cn'1 

oi  page) . 


1-0 

11-10 

1-0 

537-542 

1-4 

059-002 

1-4 

181-184 

1-8 

207-274 

9,110 

481,  482 

1-0 

103-1118 

1-0 

203-208 

1-1 

409-502 

1-0 

533-538 

1-1 

457-400 

1-8 

373-380 

1-10 

059-008 

1-3 

023-025 

23,  24 
13,14 
23,  24 


154 
99 

08 
100 

29 

79 
149 

20 

74 
55-58 

99 
155 

19 


35,  40, 
127, 131 


•12.  43 
58 


12,14 
31 


075 


45,  50,  137, 


41-48 

099-700 

28 

484 

10,17 

674,  075 

9,10 

19,  20 

41 

577 

7 

005 

50 

714 

7,8 

187, 188 

10,17 

282,  283 

184 
537,  538 

•loo 
107,  108 

47a,  480 
469,470 

470,  480 


164 

i  a",. 
;:::t 

248 
432 
807 
181 
351 

524 

ooti 
511-514 

471 
SKi 
H41 


112, 113 

463-465 


700,  701 
160 


22,  24 
~~297  , 


07,68 
■201,  202 


153  I  163 

41,97,  98  '  577,633,634 


Rotation,  fallowing,  and  fall-plowing  in— continued. 

Florida       

Georgia     .     

Indian  leriitory 

Louistuuii   

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 


Ii-unc 


Texas 

V  iigini  I     

Rol  of  bolls,  occurrence  i 


f,  aioi  how  obviated, 


General 

folio 

(.:(  bottom 

of  page). 


43Q 

807 

ITU 

27P,2fiO,34fl 

52a 

005 

;.o7-:.io 

411  415.4011. 
08  I7U 

U8'\5£   [770,811.812 

10  Ml 


73 

51-54 

S  42,43,07, 


Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

M  ississi]  ipi    

Missouri    .      

North  Caiolina 

Soulh  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia      

Roi  ten  limestone,  analysis  of,  in  : 
Mississippi 


Rotten  limestone,  bluffs  of,  tut  Red  river,  Texas 
Rotten  limestone  group  (CrotOCeOUS)  in  : 

Alabamo 

Alabama,  nature  Of,  and  soils  derived  from 

Arkansas 

Indian  territory 

Llano  EBtacado,  Texas 

Mississippi 

Texas.  uCeurrcuce  mill  composition  of 

Rotten  limestone  prairie  region  of  Mississippi,  area, 

length,  width,  and  description  of. 
Rotten  limestone,  thickness,  usefulness  as  a  fertili- 
zer, and  analysis  of,  in  Mississippi. 
Round  valley,  California,  extent  and  description  of. 
Roups  and  Jones'  valley,  Alabama,  character  and 

soils  of. 
Running  to  weed  of  the  cotton-plaut  n  peculiarity 

of  the  coasl  region  in  Georgia. 
Running  to  weed  of  flic  cotton-plant  in  : 

Alabama  


A  rkn 
Florida    .. 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 
Louisiana 
Mississippi 
Missouri  .....    . 

North  Carolina 
South  Carolina. 

Tennessee     

Texas     

Virginia    


Running  to  weed  of  the  i  ottou-plnnt  in  Texas  caused) 
by  destruction  of  bolls  by  the  boll-worm.        > 

Russell  s  valley,  Alabama,  description  of  lands  of 

Russian  River  valley,  California,  description  and  ex- 
tent  of. 

Rust,  eot Ion  liable  to,  on  hog-wallow  and  gypseous 
prairies  in  Mississippi. 

Rusl  does  not  prevail  on  hinds  formed  by  intermix- 
ture of  black  prairie  and  red  rid^e  soils  in 
Mississippi. 

Rust  'in  cotton  of  black  prairie  lauds  in  Mississippi, 
remarks  0D. 

Rust  or  blight  as  affecting  cotton  in  : 

Alabama 


1 02,103 
69 

170. 171 

30 

81.82 

152,  153 

3 

59 

102 

158,159 

20 


34 
115 

,  L18-132 

10, 47 
11 
13 
20 
12 
34 


181, 

354, 


Alkalis; 
Fluriiln  ... 

<  rcor  :ia  

lmlii.ii  in  i  ito:  v 
Louisiana 

Mi— il'l'i 

Missnuri 

N,  ill.  Carolina 

Soulli  Carolina  . 

T<  nnesscc    

Texas 

Virginia 


1 
II 
II 

I 

I 

III 


75-148  I 

49-94 

38-00 
07-158 

22-25 

44-73 
88-143 

15-18 

311-01 

59,00 

48-92 
00-148 

12-14 

[114,115,     I.. 
!  121    >" 


155 

102,  103 

09,70 

171 

30 

28. 81-83 

10,51, 

50,153 

fo 

39,  00 

103 

35,53. 

158-100  , 


219 
437 
80s 
1.-1 


008 

515 

171 

1,817 


8.5-1 58 
585-030 

JIK-'JIO 
333-421 
B60-803 
140-175 
290-315 
513-510 
502-590 
515.  510 
420-104 
71MO0 
034-030 


714,7 


253 

218 


038,1 
249,: 


130,183 
218,253, 


808 
185 
258. 


008 
i,  510 


093. 
810- 


Fl'i. 

818 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


835 


B 

£  arc 

General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 

Page 

of  special 

report. 

General 

folio 

(at,  bottom 

of  page). 

8. 

Sandstone  division  of  the  barrens  and  hills  region  of 

1 

35,36 

571,572 

Sacramento  river,  California,  analysis  of  the  water  of.. 

II 

71,72 

,     729, 730 

Arkansas,  general  description  of. 

Sacramento  valley,  Calilornia: 

Sandstone,  ferruginous,  localities,  shapes,  and  for- 

1 

12,29 

214,  231 

Area  general  character  and  soils  of 

n 

19-23 

677-681 

mation  of,  in  Mississippi. 

Tnle  lands  of 

11 

30,31 

688,  689 

Sandstone  in  South  Carolina  formed  of  disintegrated 

n 

10 

466 

Safford,  Professor  James  M. : 

granite. 

Appointed  special  agent  for  Tennessee  and 

1 

V 

11 

Sandstone  lands  of  Arkansas  made  liob  by  presence 

1 

35 

571 

Kentucky  (General  Discussion). 

of  limestone. 

Report  on  Cotton  Production  in  the  States  of 

1 

i-v,  1-119 

367-491 

Sandstone  lands  of  red-loam  region  of  Arkansas, 

1 

30 

566 

Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  by. 

analyses  of. 

Saint  Augustine,  Florida,  average  temperature  of . . . 

11 

7 

187 

Sandstone  mountains  of  red-loam  region  of  Arkansas. 

1 

30 

506 

Saint  Francis  alluvial  region  of  Arkansas,  area,  ex- 

1 

13,14 

549,  550 

Sandstone,  occurrence  of,  on  the  Rio  Grande,  Texas.. 

1 

34 

692 

tent,  and  description  of. 

Sandstone  ridges  of  northwest  Georgia 

n 

19 

285 

Saint  Louis  limestone,  occurrence  of,  in  : 

Sandstone  the  prevailing  rock  on  the  open  prairies 

1 

12,  21 

850,  859 

11 

29,32 

39,42 

north  of  the  Canadian  river  and  west  of  Fort 

Tennessee      

1 

20,  39,  79 
112 

398,411,451 

770 

Gibson,  in.the  Indian  territory. 

Sand-storms  of  the  desert  region,  California    

Sandy  and  cherty  lands  of  the  sandstone  region  of 

Sal  del  Eey  lake,  Texas...                       

1 

u 

106 

764 

Salinas  valley,  California,  extent  anddesciiption  of.. 

11 

48, 113, 114 

706,  771,  772 

1 

35,36 

571,  572 

Saline  River  liottom  lands  of  Arkansas,  character 

1 

18, 19,  68 

554,  555,  604 

Arkansas,  general  description  of. 

and  analyses  of. 

Sandy  and  open  prairies  of  the  Indian  territory,  ex- 

1 

12,13 

850,  851 

Salines,  extent,  character,  and  age  of,  in  Texas 

1 

C  21,27,72, 
X              73 

679,685,730, 
731 

tent,  character,  and  analyses  of  soils  of. 

Salt-grass  soil,  California,  character  and  analj-sis  of.. 

11 

28-30 

686-688 

Sandy  brown-loam  soil  of  Alabama,  analysis  of 

11 

23 

33 

Salt-licks  or  springs  in  Louisiana,  location  of 

1 

10,  62,  71 

112, 164, 173 

Sandy  lands  of  the  mountain  summits  of  Georgia, 

n 

28 

294 

Salt  marshes  of  South  Carolina,  area  of 

11 

13 

469 

extent  and  description  of. 

Salt  River  valley,  Arizona,  cotton  culture  in  (in  Re- 

11 

129 

787 

Sandy  oak  and  pine  ridges  of  \  irginia,  general  de- 

n 

9 

031 

port  on  California). 

scription  of. 

Saluda  river,  in  South  Carolina,  navigation  of 

11 

9 

465 

Sandy  oak  uplands  region  of  Mississippi,  character, 

1 

32,33 

234,  235 

San  Bernardino  and  L03  Angeles  plains,  California, 

11 

37,38 

695,  696 

timber,  and  analyses  of  soils  of. 

area  and  description  of. 

Sandy  pine  and  oak  uplands  of  West  Tennessee 

1 

t      21,22 

393,  394 

San  Bernardino  plains,  California,  description  of 

n 

107 

765 

Sandy-pine  barrens  in  North  Carolina,  soils  and  tim- 

n 

16 

548 

San  Bernardino  valley,  California,  description  of 

11 

38 

696 

ber  growth  of. 

San  Diego  region,  California  description  of 

n 

38,39 

696,  697 
696 

Sandy  prairie  and  timbered  land  of  Missouri,  de- 

1 

8,9 

506,  507 

San  Fernando  valley,  California,  area  and  descrip- 

11 

38 

scription,  soils,  and  yield  of. 

tion  of. 
San  Francisco  peninsula,  California,  character  and 

Sandy  prairies  of  Texas,  description  of 

1 

26 

684 

n 

52,53 

710,  711 

Sandy  ridge  lands  of  central  prairie  region  of  Missis- 

1 

56 

258 

analyses  of  soil  and  subsoil  from. 

sippi. 

San  Gabriel  river,  California,  irrigating  facilities  of. . 

n 

42 

700 

Sandy  short-leaf  pine  lands  of  the  Indian  territory. 

1 

10 

848 

San  Joaquin  basin,  California,  character  and«xtent  of. 

11 

25,26 

683,  684 

description  of. 

San  Joaquin  delta  well  water,  California,  analysis  of. 

n 

71,72 

729,  730 

Sandy  upland  ridges  of  northeastern  region  of  Mis- 

1 

17,18 

219,  220 

San  Joaquin  river,  California: 

sissippi,  character  of. 

Analysis  of  the  water  of 

n 

71,72 

729,  730 

Santa  Ana  river,  California,  irrigating  facilities  of . . . 

n 

42 

700 

Irrigating  facilities  of,  and  character  of  its  bor- 

11 

25 

683 

Santa  Ana  valley,  California,  extent  and  description 

n 

114 

772 

dering  lands. 

of. 

San  Joaquin  valley,  California: 

Santa  Barbara  valley,  California,    extent    and   de- 

11 

115 

773 

General  character,  drainage  system,  and  soils  of. 

n 

23-31 

681-689 

scription  of. 

IiTigable  area  of 

n 

16 

674 

Santa  Clara  River  valley,  of  Ventura  counby.  Califor- 

n 

49, 116 

707,  774 

Tnle  lands  of 

n 

:« 

689 

nia,  description  of. 

San  Lorenzo  valley,  California,  extent  and  lands  of. . 

u 

112 

770 

Santa  Clara  valley,  California,  description  of 

n 

147,48,112, 

I            114 

46 

705,706,770, 
772 

San  Ramon  valley,  California,  description  of 

11 

47 

705 

Santa 'Cruz  Mountain  range,  California,  elevation  and 

11 

704 

Sand-  and  pine-hills  region  in  Georgia,  area  and  gen- 

n 

■     38, 39 

304,  305 

description  of.                               # 

eral  character  of. 

Santa  Inez  valley,  California,  extent  and  description 

11 

115 

773 

Sand-  and  red-bills  region,  total  area  and  cotton  pro- 

1 

4 

16 

of. 

duction  of  (General  Discussion). 

Santa  Lucia  Mountain  range,  California,  elevatio^ 

11 

46 

70+ 

Sand  beds  of  the  islands  and  the  west  of  Texas 

1 

22 

680 

and  description  of. 

Sand  clouds  on  Red  river,  Texas. . 

1 

16 

674 

Santa  Maria  vallev,  California,  description  of 

11 

115 

773 

Sand-dunes  of  the  ISorth  Cai  olina  coast,  character  of. 

it 

13 

545 

Santa  Rosa  valley,  California,  extent  and  description 

11 

56,  57, 117 

714,715,775- 

1 

25 

683 

Sand  floods  in  Mississippi,  injury  done  to  brown- 

1 

36 

238 

of. 
Santee  hills  of  South  Carolina,  description  of 

LT 

30 

486- 

loam  table-lands  by. 

Santee  marls  of  South  Carolina,  occurrence  of 

n 

11 

467 

Sand  hills  in  the  gypsum  and  Llano  Estacado  regions 
of  Texas.    . 

1 

39,40 

697,  698 

Santee  river,  South  Carolina,  course,  navigation,  and 

11 

7,  8,  26 

463, 404, 482' 

bordering  lands  of  the. 

Sand-hills  region  of: 

Saticoy  plain,  or  delta,  California,  description  of 

n 

110 

774 

Georgia,  materials,  width,  and  general  charac- 
ter of. 
South  Carolina   extent  and  material  of 

11 

11 

13 

(10,11,13, 
)        33-36 

279 

466,  467,  469, 
489-492 

Savanna  region,  South  Carolina,  general  character  of. 
Savannah  river  in : 

11 
n 

22 
44 

478: 

3101 

Southwest  Texas,  description  of 

1 

32 

090 

South  Carolina,  alluvial    lands,   analyses  and 

11 

9,  25,  28 

465,481,484. 

Sand  mountain,  Alabama: 

description  of. 

Analysis  of  soil  of 

11 

27,  28 

37,38 

Savannas  in : 

11 

93,  98, 102 
28 

103, 108, 112 

Georgia,  extent  and  character  of 

Xorth  Carolina,  soils,  analyses,  and  character  of 

11 

51 

317 
545-547,  500 

Sand  mountain,  Georgia,  area  and  description  of 

n 

294 

11 

13-15,  34 

Sandstone  a  prominent  rock  of  the  red-loam  region 

1 

37 

095 

Savannas,  prairies,  and  everglades  in  Florida,  area 

n 

27,28 

207,  208 

of  Texas. 

and  description  of. 

830 


GENEEAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


Schedule  questions,  summary  of  answers  to,  from: 

Alabama 

A i kansaa 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana  

Mississippi  

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia  

Scl Is,  system  <<t',  among  the  nations  of  the  Indian 

territory. 

Scotland  Neck  lands  tbi>  finest  in  North  Carolina 
for  cotton. 

Scott's  valley,  California,  extent,  climate,  and  de- 
scription of. 

Seaboard  or  alluvial  region  of  Virginia,  area  and 
description  of. 

Seaboard  region  in  North  Carolina,  area,  timber- 
growth,  soils,  and  general  description  of. 

Sea-island  cotton  in: 

California 

Florida 

Georgia 

Mississippi 

South  Carolina 


Page  G,;T':i1 

"'  ■SSjrf     vm  bottom 

roPort-         of  page). 


153-130 
07-108 
67-71 

163-170 
29-31 
77-85 

147-153 
25-28 
73-78 
51-C6 
97-lU.'> 

153-103 
1D--J1 


41 

121 


1G3-1CG 
ij.i:  114) 
247-251 
429-442 
867-809 
1.79-187 
340-357 
5'J  3-5  '.!  i> 
605-608 
507-522 
469-477 
811-821 
641-643 
S45 


Seed  (eoU.mi    ini^ili  of  time  before  Cuming  up,  in: 

Alabama  

Arkansas    

California  

Florida 


Indian  territory. 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 


573 
779 

8, 1)  G30,  031 

12-15,21  J  544-547,553 


uiiri. 


Mit 

North  Carolina  . 
South  <  aiolina  . 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia 


Seed-cotton,  amount  of,  picked  in  a  day  in  : 

California 

Mississippi 

North  Carolina 

Seed-cotton,  amount  of,  required  for  a  475-pound  bale 
of  lint  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas .  -   

Florida 

Indian  territory 

[ana 

'PP* 


74,77 
29,  39 
52,  53 

142,143 
14,  20, 

11,58,59 


Sea-island  cotton,  weight  of  bales  of,  and  proportion 
of  lint  to  seed  (General  Discussion). 

Sea  islands  and  marshy  soils  of  South  Carolina,  analy- 
ses of. 

Sea  islands  of  South  Carolina: 

Area,  character,  and   elevation  of,  above  the 

sea. 
Origin  and  formation  of 

Seasons  most  favorable  to  cotton  culture  in  South 
Carolina. 

Seaton,  C.  TT.,  appointment  of,  as  Superintendent  of 
Census.     (See  title  page.) 

Second  bottom  soil  of  Alabama,  analysis  of 

Section  across  Coosa  Valley  region  in  Alabama 

Section  across  the  state  of  Alabama,  showing  topo- 
graphical and  geological  features. 

Section  across  the  valley  of  the  Tennessee  in  Ala- 
bama. 

Section  at  Shell  bluff,  Burke  county,  Georgia 

Section  from  state-line  at  French  Broad  water-gap  to 
sea-level  in  North  Carolina, 

Section  (ideal)  across  two  bayous  iu  the  Mississippi 
bottom  (General  Discussion). 

Section  of  bluff  at  Fort  Gaines,  Clay  county,  Georgia 

Section  of  country  from  the  coast  of  Texas  along  the 
Louisiana  line. 

Section  of  country  from  the  coast  of  Texas  in  a  north- 
west and  west  direyAiou. 

Section  of  Trinity  River  bluff  at  Rural  Shade.  Texas. 

Section  showing  elevations  across  the  state  of  Georgia . 

Soctionshowingmarlbedsiu  Houston  county,  Georgia 

Section  showing  surface  of  Mississippi  bottom  to  the 
Yazoo  bluff  (General  Discussion). 

Section  showing  topographical  and  geological  feat- 
ures id*  the  state  of  South  Carolina. 

Sections  across  the  Mississippi  alluvial  region   in 
Arkansas. 

Sections  of  bluffs  of  Crowley's  ridge  in  Arkansas  . . . 

Seed  (cotton),  bushels  per  acre  of,  used  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida  ...      .    

Georgia '-*. 

Indian  ton  Ltory 

Louisiana       ...    ... 

.Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

Sontli  '     rolina 

T   ;j]i'--i' 

Texas  

Vir-iuia 


732,  735  , 
209,210 
318,310 
278,344,345 
470,  471.1,  477, 
514,  515 

19 


Pag 


General 

ofapecial    ,  fft"° 


II  15,  1G  |  471,472 

II  20  482 


II 
II 


I 
II 

I    I 


18 


28U 
541 


072 

072 

732 
284 
390 
SO 


Lou 

M 

Missoui 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Seed-cotton  on  bottom  lands  heavier  than  elsewhere 

(i rcnrial  Discussion). 
Seed-cotton  penned,  or  how  protected,  in 

Alabama  

Arkansas  

Florida 

Georgia  

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

Tennessee I 

Texas I 

Virginia II 

Seed-cotton  prodnct  per  acre  in  counties  iu  i 

Alabama n 

Arkansas I 

Florida II 

Georgia II 

Indian  territory I 

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee) I 

Louisiana I    I 

Mississippi I 

Missouri    I 

North  Carolina II 

South  I  iin-lina   . .    -  .II 

Tennessee  ...      - 

Texas  

Virginia 

Seed-eottou  product  Ji 
on  i  'alifornia). 

Seminole  nation,    area,    extent,  and  description   of 
section  of  Indian  territory  occupied  by  the, 

Senii-swarups,   oak,  beech,  and  pine   tlat.s  in  North 
Carolina. 

Shares,  cotton  farms  worked  on;  effect  of,  on  laud 
soil  staple  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida    

Georgia     

Indian  territory 


Loui! 


ma 


151 

96,  99 

70 

07,08 

57,58,105, 

100 

2n 

78,  79 

14$.  149 

25,  20 

73,  74 

52-58 

43,  98,  99 

154, 155 

19 


415,  470 

8i: 


104 

.055 
7.:  I 


432 

86" 


i,  524 
,.  oao 
-514 
,471 
..13 
041 


AIL- 
Norlh  C; 
South  C. 
Tonne.,, 
Texas 
Virginia 


I 
..|II 
in  Mexico  (in  Report  '  II  ■ 


Mississippi  .... 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 
Soul  I)  Carolina. 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia II 

Shasta  valley.  California,  description  of..-- II 

Shedding,  occurrence  of,  and  how  obviated,  in: 

Alabama "  It 

Arkansas    T 

Florida II 

Georgia     n 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana   

Uia.lMii.pi 


74 
55  58 


75-148,  155 
89-04,  102 

38-00,  09 
0-158,  1711 

44-73,  SI 
88-143, 152 

15-18.27 

30-01,  75 

54-58 

■18-92,  101 

00-148,  158 

11-15.20 


09 
100 
30 
80 
151 

20 
75 
100 


155,  150 

105 

70,71 

172.  173 

31 

S3,  84 

151 


02-00 

104 


155 
102,  [03 


81.82 
152 
27 
70 
50,  SO 
102 
121. 15s. 159 


433 

807 

181 

351 

BOO 

1-514 

733 
357 
S10 


85-158,  105 
585-030,  038 
218-210,249 
330-424,430 

860-803 
140-175,183 
200  345,  15 1 
513-510,525 
502-590,  007 

510-511 

420-404,473 

718-806,  810 

033-637,041! 

49 


3.  4 
3.4 

3 
8-5 

3 
100 

3,  1 
3,4 
3.  4 
3,4 
3 
8-8 
3-0 


808 

782 


815 

04  2 


13,  14 
530,  51". 

Is;: 
200-271 

-11 

181 
105,  Inii 
205,  200 
501.502 
535,  536 

159 
375-380 
081-604 

025 

780 

861 

545,546 


105,100 

041 

250, 251 

138,  439 

969 
185,186 

356 


24!'.  250 

420.  457 

J08 

1.-5,  184 
354 

008 

515,516 

474 

79,810,817 

042 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


837 


Page 

of  special 

report. 

General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 

5 

Page 

of  special 

report. 

General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 

Sheep,  value  of,  as  a  means  of  maintaining  the  fer- 
tility of  the  soil  (General  Discussion). 

Sheep,  value  of  cottonseed  as  food  for  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 

Shell  bluff  in  Georgia,  section  at 

Shell  heaps  of  the  coast  of  Mississippi,  improvement 
to  the  land  caused  by. 

I 

I 

II 
I 

I 
I 

II 

I 

n 
n 

i 
i 

i 

i 

ii 
i 
i 
ii 

n 

i 

ii 
ii 
i 
i 
i 
i 
ii 
ii 
i 
i 
n 
n 

n 
i 
ii 
n 
n 

n 

i 

i 

ii 

'i 

i 

i 
ii 
i 
i 

i 
ii 

n 

i 
ii 
ii 
i 

i 
i 
i 
n 
ii 
i 
i 
n 
n 
ii 
n 

51 

48,51 

14 
68 

51 

75-148, 156 
(  41,49-04, 
i            107 
09,71 
59,  67-158 
10 

43-73,  80 

C    87-143, 

J    151,155 

15-21 

27-70,  78 
47-92, 105 
f      52, 57- 
1    148,102 

11-15,  21 

154, 155 

101 

30,09 

169, 170 

30 

81 

151 

27 

75 

58 

101,102 

157,  158 

20 

29,30 

36 

13,48 

32-37 

8 

59-63 

123 

67 

4 

15 

26 

46,47 

11,35 
21 

18 
32 

78 
131 

155,  156 

104-108 

70-71 

172-176 

31 

83-85 

78, 153-155 

27,28 

70-78 

60-66 

103-105 

100-163 

21 

11 

52,53 

22,  23,  37 

63 

00,03 

280 
270 

253 
710 

85-158, 100 

577,  585-630, 

613 

249,  251 

325,  333-124 

854 

145-175, 187 

289-345, 

353,  357 

513-519 

559-602,  610 

419-464,  477 

710,715- 

806,  820 

633-637,013 

164, 105 

637 

210,  249 

435,  436 

868 

183 

353 

525 

607 

514 

473,  474 

815,  816 

642 

209,  210 

216 
115,  150 
690-695 

066 
717-721 

781 

79 

16 

281 

398 

248,  249 

547,  571 
287 
676 

404 

614 
789 

165, 166 

640-644 

250-251 

438-442 

869 

185-187 

280,  355-357 

525,  526 

608-610 

516-522 

475-477 

818-821 

643 

543 

584,  585 ' 

680,  681,  695 

Slickens,  material  of,  and  destruction  of  lands  by,  in 

California. 
Smith,  Professor  Eugene  A.  : 

Appointed    special   agent    for  Alabama    and 

Florida  (General  Discussion). 
Report  on  Cotton  Production  in  the  State  of 

Alabama,  by. 
Report  on  Cotton  Production  in  the  State  of 
Florida,  by. 

II 

I 

n 
n 
II 

ii 

ii 
ii 

i 

I 

i 

n 
i 
n 

ii 

i 
i 

T 
I 

II 
II 

I 
I 

n 

i 

n 

i 

i 

ii 

i 
i 
i 

i 

n 
i 

n 
n 

i 
i 
i 

n 
i 
i 
n 

I 
n 

i 
i 

n 

i 

n 
n 

u 

i 
i 
i 

i 

ii 
n 

i 

i 

20 

V 

i-viii,  1-163 

i-vi,  1-77 

107 

12 
11 
11,20 
8 
8 
66 

155, 156 

105 

70,71 

172, 173 

31 

83,84 

154 

28 

77 

62-66 

104 

161 

21 

61 

60,61 
48-50 

50 

60,61 

58-61 
53-69 
50-69 

3,4 

7.5-148 
49-94 
37-63 

70-158 
43-73 

87-143 
10-18 
27-70 
48-92 

60-148 
11-15 

57,58 
16 

V 
08 

c       16-56, 

{       71-74 

(       14-38, 

J       42-46 

18-81 

15-28,  34 

I      25-53, 

)        64-60 

10-17 

112 

13-31.40 

,      15-71, 

\       80-83 

14-20,  24 

15-48 

16-39,  43 

(       24-47, 

}        52-55 

078 

11 
3-173 

Shipmenlsof  cotton  from  Galveston,  Texas, remarks 

on.  and  comparative  statement  of. 
Shipping  cotton, charges  for,  in: 

Snow,  occurrence  of,  in : 

Georgia 

277,  286 

Georgia    

Soda,  remarks  on  presence  of,  in  soils  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 
Soil  and  staple,  effects  of  share  system  on,  in : 

Louisiana  

78 

-Wrth1  Carolina 

Florida 

250,  251 

Louisiana 

869 

185, 186 

356 

Shipping,  ginning,  and  haling  cotton,  details  of,  in: 

Alabama 

526 
609 

Florida 

Georgia 

South  Carolina 

518-522 
476 

Texas  

819 
643 

Louisiana '. 

Soil  dilution  may  he  carried  without  detriment,  how 

far  (General  Discnssion). 

Soil  exhaustion  in  Georgia,  remarks  concerning 

Soil  fertility,  influence  of  cottonseed-oil  industry 

upon  (General  Discussion). 
Soil,  ingredients  withdrawn  from,  by  certain  crops 

(General  Discussion). 
Soil,  ingredients  withdrawn  from,  by  various  crops 

in  Georgia. 
Soil  investigation : 

73 

Virginia 

Short-staple  or   upland   cotton  in  Florida,  counties 
and  soils  for. 

Shrubs,  trees,  and  weeds  occurring  in  Florida 

Sicily  island.  Louisiana,  area  and  description  of  

Sierra  foot-hills,  California,  general  description  of  .. 
Sierra  Nevada,  California,  geological  features  of 

326,  327 

60-62 

62 
326,  327 

Sierra  Nevada  Mountain  region,  California,  elevation 

and  character  of. 

Sierra    valley,    California,    extent    and    description 
of 

Silica,  soluble,  remarks  on  presence  of,  in  soils  (Gen- 
eral Discussion). 

Interpretation  and  practical  utility  of  chemi- 
cal soil  analyses  (General  Discussion). 

Soil  map,  general  review  of  (General  Discnssion) 

Soil,  proportion  of  lands  in  cotton  for  each,  in: 

68-61 
15,16 

Siliceous  and  mountain  lands,  total  area  and  cotton 

production  of  (General  Discussion), 

Siliceous  formation  in  Georgia,  extent  and  character 

Siliceous  lauds    of  the   Highland  rim,    Tennessee, 

description  of. 
Silt,  calcareous,  of  cane-bills  region  of  Mississippi. .. 

718-806 

Silurian  formation,  occurrence  of,  in : 

Soil  specimens,  importance  of,  and  directions  for 
proper  selection  of  (General  Discnssion) . 

Soil  varieties  of  the  oak,  hickory,  and  pine  upland  re- 
gion of  Florida,  relative  position  and  origin  of. 

Soils,  analyses  of,  made  in  the  laboratory  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Alabama  (General  Discussion), 

Soils,  analyses  of,  showing  effects  of  increased  lime 
percentages  (General  Discnssion). 

Soils  and  subsoils,  descriptions  and  analyses  of,  in  : 

09,  70 

196 

Silurian  limestones  (Nashville  series),  extent,  thick- 
ness, and  soilB  of,  in  Tennessee. 

Silver  mines  in  Arkansas  (Kellogg),  locality  of 

Sinaloa,  Mexico,  cotton  culture  in  the  state  of  (in 
Report  on  California). 

Size  of  farms,  and  labor  and  system  of  farming,  in  : 

11 

80 

20-0G, 

Florida 

California - 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee) 

291-3)9, 

Louisiana 

115-133,  142 

Texas  

Slate  hills  of  North  Carolina,  location  and  elevation  of. 
Slickens  in  California,  character  and  analysis  of 

388-411,415 

082-705, 

838 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


SoilB,  character  of,  partly  Indicated  by  timber  growth 
(General  Discussion). 

Soils,  description  of,  in  certain  regions— 
In  Alabama : 

Alluvial  region II 

Black  prairie  belt II 

Blue  mail  lands LI 

Central  prairie  region II 

Chazy  and  Trenton II 

Clinton ;  U 

Coal- Measures  region j  II 


II  , 


Coosa  and  outlying  valleys 

Flatwonds 

Gravelly  pine  hills  with  long-leaf  pine 

Hill  prairies 

Lime  hills  or  lower  prairie  region 

Little  Mountain  lands 

Long-leaf  pine  hills 

Lower  siliceous  or  Barrens 

ilagnosian  limestone 

Met  amorphic '. 

Mountain  limestone 

Oak  and  hickory  upland*  with  long-leaf 
pine. 

■Oak  and  hickory  uplands  with  short-loaf 
pine. 

■Oak  and  pine  uplands 

Pino  Hats 

Post oak  tlatwoods 

Potsdam  sandstone 

Red  or  valley  lands 

Rolling  pine  woods  and  lime-sink  region   . 

Saline  marshes  of  the  coast 

Shale 

Sub-Carboniferous 

Tennessee  Valley  region 

Upper  sandstone 

Upper  siliceoua 

Warrior  br.sin 

Warrior  tableland 

In  Arkansas : 

Alluvial  lands  . 

Black  prairies 

'Oherty  magnosian  limestone  hills,  barrens, 
and  prairies. 

Crowley 'a  ridge 

Gray  silt  prairies 

Metaniorphic  region 

Oak  and  pine  flats 

Oak,  hickory,  and  short-leaf  pine 

Red  lands 

Bed-loam  prairie 

Red-loam  timber  region 

Sandy  and  clierty  lands 

In  California: 

Alkali  lands , 

Alluvial  or  lowland,  of  San  Joaquin  valley. 

Bay  region  of  the  Coast  range 

Broken  region  of  the  Sierra  Nevada 

Coast  Range  legion 

Desert  region 

Eastern  slope  of  the  Sieira 

Foot-hills  of  the  Coast  region j  II 

Foot-hills  of  the  Sierra  Nevada II 

Great  valley  of  California II 

Lava  bed  of  the  Sierra II 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


Los  Angeles  plain  or  valley 

Mesa  lands  of  the  southern  region. 

Mojave  desert 

Sacramento  valley 

San  Bernardino  plain  or  valley 


n 
n 
II 
II 
II 

San  Diego  region II 


46-4S 
50.  51 
45-52 
22  23 
23,24 
26-28 


II 

10-25 

n 

20 

n 

38-41 

ii 

48-50 

n 

52-54 

ii 

33,34 

ii 

54 

n 

29-32 

n 

21,  22 

ii 

15-17 

H 

2S,  30 

ii 

41-15 

n 

37-45 

ii 

56 

n 

51,52 

ii 

19 

ii 

32,33 

ii 

55,50 

ii 

56 

n 

19,20 

n 

24,25 

n 

28-34 

ii 

19 

ii 

29 

it 

26-28 

ii 

20 

i 

13-20 

i 

27,  28 

i 

37,38 

i 

20-23 

i 

23,  24 

i 

34,  35 

i 

26,27 

i 

24-28 

i 

25,  20 

i 

32-34 

i 

29-32 

i 

35,  30 

63-139 
26-30 
45,46 

61 
46-59 
43,44 
61,62 
34-37 
32-34 
18-31 
62,63 
37-11 
37-11 

44 
19-23 
37-11 
38-11 


General 

folio 

(nt  bottom 

of  page). 

£ 

Pago 

of  special 

report. 

General 

folic, 
(at  bottom 
of  page). 

09 

Soila,  description  of.  in  certain  regions — continued. 
In  California — continued. 

TT 

23-30 

Sierra  Nevada  Mountain  region 

U 

59-03 

717-721 

66 

11 

37-11 

095-099 

50-58 

Tale  lands 

11 

30,  31 

088.689 

60,  61 

Upland  or  bench  lands  of  San  Joaquin 

II 

27-30 

685-088 

55-02 

In  Florida  : 

32.  33 

Everglades 

11 

28 

■208 

33.34 

First-class  pine  lands 

II 

21 

201 

30-38 

II 

27 

207 

29-35 

II 

25 

205 

30 

II 

21 

2114 

48-51 

II 

23-25 

208-205 

58-00 

II 

20-25 

200-205 

02-64 

Lone-leaf  pine  ridge  lands 

II 

19,  20 

199,  200 

43,44 

Lou-  hnnitnocks 

II 

24,25 

201, 205 

64 

II 

28 

208 

39-12 

Oak.  hickory,  and  pine  uplands 

11 

15-20 

105-200 

31,32 

Oak,  hickory,  and  short-leaf  pine 

II 

17,18 

197,  108 

25-27 

II 

22,23 

202,  203 

39,40 

Pino  flats  or  tlatwoods 

II 

22 

202 

51-55 

Pitch  pine,  treeless,  and  alluvial  region 

II 

25-2S 

205-208 

Prairies  and  savannas 

n 

28 

20.1 

48 

Red  lime  lands  

" 

10,17 

196,  197 

Rolling  piDO  lands 

ii 

21,22 

201,  202 

47-55 

Second  class  pine  lands 

ii 

21,22 

201,  202 

06 

ii 

27,  28 

207,  208 

61,62 

Third-class  pine  lands 

ii 

22 

202 

29 

In  Georgia : 

42,43 

Alluvial  lands  of  northwest  Georgia 

n 

28,29 

294,  29." 

05,66 

Brown  and  red  loams  (Cbezy,  Trenton,  and 

11 

25-28 

291-294 

00 

suit.  Carboniferous). 

29,30 

n 

52,53 

318,319 

34,35 

Flatwoods  (Potsdam  and  Caleiferous) 

TT 

24 

290 

38-44 

Granitic  lands 

II 

35-38 

301-304 

29 

IT 

32,33 

298.  299 

39 

36-38 

30 

II 
II 

n 

52 
47-19 
40-51 

313 
313-315 
312-317 

Long-  leaf  pine  or  wire-graas  region 

n 

44 

31" 

549-556 

ii 

53 

319 

563,564 

n 

24,  20-38 

290,  295-304 

573,  574 

Mountain  summit  lands  (Carboniferous)    . . 

n 

28 

294 

Oak,  hickory,  and  long-leaf  pine  hills 

ii 

41-13 

307-309 

556-539 

n 

50,31 

316,317 

559,  500 

Pine  barrens  or  sandy  wire-grass  region    . . 

n 

10,  :-ii 

315,316 

570,  571 

Red  clay  lands  (Lower  Quebec) 

n 

24 

290 

TT 

39^41 

305-307 

581,562 

IT 

38,39 

304,  305 

n 

TT 

51 
53 

317 

319 

571,  572 

Siliceous  soil  of  the  ridges  (Upper  Quebec) . 

II 

24,25 

290,  291 

Southern  oak,  hickory,  and  short-leaf  pine 

II 

43.44 

309,  310 

721-727 

bills. 

684-688 

Yellow-clay  soils  (Cincinnati  and  Clinton)  . 

11 

28 

2.04 

703,  704 

In  Indian  territory: 

719 

1 

14,15 

852,  853 

704-717 

Black-jack  data  of  Red  river 

I 

12 

850 

T 

13 

851 

719,  720 
692-695 

10 

848 

I 

10.11 

84S,  v!9 

690-092 

Mountainous  or  red-loam  region 

I 

9,10 

847,848 

670-089 

I 

11,12 

849,850 

720,  721 
695-099 

12,13 

850,  851 

I 

10 

848 

695-699 

I 

11,  12 

849,650 

702 

In  Louisiana : 

677-681 

T 

K-21 

114-123 

695-699 

7 

27,28 

129,  130 

696-699 

Attakapas  prairie  region 

I 

22-25 

124.  127 

GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


839 


Soils,  description  of,  in  certain  regions— continued. 
In  Louisiana — continued. 

Black  prairies 

Bluff 

Bottom  ridges 

Brown-loam  prairies 

Brown-loam  uplands 

Central  prairie 

Gray  silt  dr  pine  prairies 

Long-leaf  pine 

Oak  uplands 

Pale  loam  uplands 

Pine  flats  (long-leaf) 

Pine  flats  (short-leaf) 

Pine  hills  (long-leaf) 

lied  bills 

Red  River  bottom 

Tide-water  region 

In  Mississippi : 

Alluvial  regiou  of  the  Mississippi 

Bald  prairies 

Blaek-jack  prairies 

Black-prairie  soils 

Black  prairies  of  the  northeastern  region  . . 

Bottom  or  valley  soils  of  cane-hills  region.. 

Bottom  soils  of  the  long-leaf  pine  region 

Bottom  soils  of  tlie  yellow-loam  region 

Bottoms  of  the  tlatwoods  region 

Brown  loam  table-lands 

Cane-hills  region 

Central  prairie  region 

Coast  marshes 

Deer  Creek  region 

Dogwood  ridge 

Flatwoods  hills 

Flatwoods  region 

Hickory  hummocks. 

Hog-wallow  prairie  soils 

Long-leaf  pine  hills  

Long-leaf  pine  region 

Northeastern  prairie  region 

Pearl  River  bottom  soils 

Pine  flats  region 

Pontotoc  ridge 

Red  lauds. 

Rotten  limestone  prairie  region 

Sandy  oak  uplands  

Sandy  ridge  soils. 

Short-leaf  pine  and  oak  uplands 

Sunflower  River  region 

White-oak  flatwoods. 

Yaz.oo  River  region 

Yellow -loam  or  oak-uplands  region 

In  Missouri: 

Black  calcareous  prairies 

Gravelly  and  red-clay  prairies 

Mississippi  alluvial  region 

Sandy  prairie  and  timbered  land 

Timbered  maguesian  lands  and  barrens 

In  North  Carolina: 
•  Long-leaf  pine  region 

Oak-uplands  region 

Pine  flats  

Rolling  upland  piny  woods 

Sandy  pine  barrens 

Seaboard  region 

Trausniontane  region , 

In  South  Carolina: 

Clay -slat--  lands 

Coast  legion 

Granitic  lauds 

Low*?r  pine  belt  or  savanna  region 

Met  amorphic  regiou 


Page 
-£     of  special 
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I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 

I 

I 
I 
I 
I 

n 
n 

ii 
ii 
ii  , 

ii  | 
ii  ! 

d 

u 

11 
n 


Genera] 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


22,23 
21,22 
15,  Hi 
23,24 
31 
28,29 
24,25 
25-28 
29-32 
31,32 
26 
32 
26,27 
30,3,1 
16-10 
19-21 

39-45 

14 
1-4-17 
52-56 
13-17 
47,48 
63-66 
36-38 
25,26 
33-36 
45-51 
51-58 
68-70 
43,  44 
41,42 
27-29 
22-26 

17 
53-56  | 
60-63  j 
58-71  j 
13-22 
66,67 
67,68 
19-22 
31,32 
13-19 
32,33 

56 
29,30 
42,43 

25 
40,41 
26-39 


15-18 
18-20 
16-18 
16-18 
10-18 
12-15 
20,21 

4(1 
18. 19 
33-40 

23 
38-42 


121,  125 
123,  124 
117,  118 
125,126 
133 
130, 131 
126, 127 
127-130 
131-134 
133, 134 
128 
134 
128, 129 
132,  133 
118-121 
121-123 

241-247 
216 
216-219 
254-258 
215-219 
249,  250 
265-268 
238-240 
227  228 
235-238 
247-253 
253-260 
270-272 
245,  246 

243,  244 
229-231 
224-228 

219 
255-258 
262-265 
200-273 
215-224 

268.  269 

269,  270 
221-224 

233,  234 
215-221 

234,  235 
258 

231,  232 

244,  245 
227 

242,  243 
228-241 

506  || 
507 
508 
506,  507 
507 

547-550 
550-552 
548-550 
548-550 
548-550 
544-547 
552,  553 

490 
474,  475 
494-400 

479 
494^198 


Soils,  description  of,  in  certain  regions— continued. 
In  South  Carolina — continued. 

Piedmont  region - 

lied  hills  region 

Sand  hills  region 

Swamp  lands 

Trappean  or  flatwoods  lands 

Upper  pine  belt 

In  Tennessee : 

Black  prairie  belt 

Bluff  region  

Brorc n -loam  tablelands 

Calcareous  red  clay 

Carters  Creek  limestone  lands 

Cedar  glade  lauds 

Central  basin 

Central  limestone  lands 

Cumberland  table-lands 

Flatwoods  belt 

Highland  rim 

Mississippi  bottom  region 

Mulatto  hinds  of  the  Nashville,  series 

Orthis  limestone  lands 

Plateau  slope  of  West  Tennessee 

Sandy  pine  and  oak  uplands 

Siliceous  lands 

Summit  regiou  of  the  watershed 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


II 
II 

II  I 
II 

n 

n 

i 

i 
i 
i 
i 

i 
i 
i 
i 
i 
i 
i 
i 
i 
i 
i 
i 
i 

Unaka  Mountain  regiou I 

Valley  of  East  Tennessee I 

Western  valley  of  the  Tennessee I 

In  Toxas : 

Alluvial  or  river  lands I 

Bottom  lands  of  the  prairie  region I 

Brown-loam  prairies I 

Central  black  prairie  region I 

Cross  timbers ,    I 

Gypsum  region I    I 

Hog-wallow  prairies I 

Llano  Estacado I 

Long-leaf  pine  region I 

Mountainous  region  I 

Northwestern  red-loam  region I    I 

Oak  and  hickory  uplands i    I 

Oak,  hickory,  and  short-leaf  pine    I 

Red  hills '    I 

Sandy  prairies I 

I 
I 
I 
I 

II 
II 
II 

n 

i 


Southern  coast  prairies 

Southwestern  prairie  region 

Sugar-bowl  region  of  the  Brazos  

Timbered  upland  regiou 

In  Virginia : 

Alluvial  or  seaboard  region 

Oak-uplands  region 

Sandy  oak  and  pine  ridges  

Trausniontane  region  

Soils,  estimate  of,  made  by  farmers  corresponds  to  the 
result  of  chemical  analyses  (Generai  Discus- 
sion). 
Soils,  Europeau,  difficulties  encountered  in  getting 
proper  samples  of,  for  analysis  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 
Soils,  how  fertility  may  be  maintained  in  (General 

Discussion). 
Soils,  importance  of  a  knowledge  of  depth  aud  pene- 
trability of,  for  comparison  of  plant-food  per- 
centages (General  Discussion). 
Soils  in  California: 

Effects  of  alkali  upon 

Effects  of  the  climate  upon  the  moisture  of 

Mechanical  composition  of - 

Necessity  of  irrigation  of 

Soils,  mechanical  analysis  indispensable  iu  judging  of 
peculiarities  of  (General  Discussion). 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


40,47 
31,  32 
34,35 

23,  28,  29 
41,  42 
26,27 

21,22 

17,18 

19-21 

26  I 

30 

30 

28-35 

29,30 

35,30 

21 

25-28 

14-10 

32-35 

31 

10-23 

26 
21-23 
39,40 
36-39 
23-25 

41-45 

27.2S 

26,  27 

35,  30 

28-30 

39 

35 

39,40 

28 

41 

37,38 

25,26 

23,24 

24,25 


30-32 

32-34 

11  40 

23-30 

8,9 

9 

9 

7,9 

61,62 

57 

50 

63 

64 

14 

82,83 

15 

63 

502,  503 
487,  488 
490,  491 
479,  484,  485 
497,  498 
482,  483 

393,  394 

389,  390 

391-393 

398 

402 

402 

400-407 

401,402 

407,  408 

393 

397-400 

386-388 

404-407 

403 

388-395 

393,  394 

398 

393-395 

411,412 

408-411 

395-397 

699-706 
685,  686 
684,  685 
693.  694 
086-088 
697 
693 
697,  698 


683,  684 

681,  682 

682.  683 
684 

688-690 
690-692 
702-704 
681-688 

630,  631 
631 
631 

629,  631 
73,74 


62 

75 


672 

740,  741 

673 


840 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


Si. ils  moisture-coefficient  of.  discussed  as  regards 
various  (General  Discussion). 

Soils  of  states,  comparative  tables  of  analyses  of  (Gen- 
eral Discussion). 

Swil^  of  the  United  States  well  adapted  for  investi- 
gation (General  Discussion). 

.soils,  phj  sicai  examination  of  (General  Discussion).1 

Soils,  physical  properties  of,  a  matter  of  groal  im- 
portance (General  Discussion). 

Soils,  plant-food  of,  contained  only  in  sediments  not 
exceeding  5  millimeters  hydraulic  value 
(General  Discussion). 

Soils,  solvents  for,  as  used  in  analysis,  would  repre- 
sent the  agents  of  vegetation  iGeneral  Dis- 
sion). 

Soils  suitable  for  chemical  analysis  (General  Discus- 
sion). 

Soils,  summary  of  advantages  to,  resulting  from 
presence  of  lime  (General  Discussion). 

Soils,  tilling  qualities,  character,  and  productiveness 
of  (see  detailed  indexes),  in  . 


Page  G™S™] 

of  special     w  bottom 


report. 


of  page). 


Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory  . 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina  .. 
South  Carolina. .. 

Tennessee 

Texas    

Virginia  


Soils. 


,  ultimate  analysis  of,  affords  no  clue  to   their 
agricultural  value  (General  Discussion). 
Soils,  value  of,  according  to  farmers'  tests  (General 
Discussion). 

Sonoma  valley,  California,  extent  and  lands  of 

Sonora,  Mexico,  cotton  culture  in  the  stateof  (in  Re- 
port on  California). 
Sore-shin,  occurrence  of,  on  col  ton-plants  in  : 

Alabama  , .., 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri    .: 

North  Carolina    

South  Carolina 

Tennessee  . 

Texas 

Virginia 

Sour  lake,  Texas,  location  and  area  of 

South  Carolina: 

Area,  population,  tilled  land,  cotton  production, 
raDk  among  the  states,  and  banner  counties  of 
(General  Discussion). 
Cotton  fiber,  measurements  of  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 
Discnssion  regarding  the  rank  of,  among  the 
cotton  states  (General  Discussion). 

Index  to  Report  on 

Possible  cottonseed-oil  mil]  products  of,  from 
the  crop  of  1ST!),  audthoir  market  andmanure 
valuations  (General  Discussion). 
Report  on  Cotton  Production  in  the  State  of,  by 

Harry  Hammond 
Spi  eial  agent  appointed  for  (General  Diseue- 
-aiii, 

Southern  and  desert  legions  of  California 

Southern  division  of  Alabama,  description  of 

Southern  Drift,  or  Quaternary,  extent  of,  in  Georgia , 
Southern  oak.  hickory,  and  pine  region  of  Georgia, 
area,  general  character,  and  analyses  of. 

Southern  region  of  California,  description  of 

Southwestern  prairie  region  of  Texas,  description  of. 


I  59 

I    162-64,08.09 


57 


58,59 
56 


162 

115,116 

138 

76 

183 

34 

91,92 

163 

30 

82,33 

70 

117,118 

171,172 

25 


56,57,117 
131 


154 

100 
68,09 

167 
30 
80 

150 
26 
74 
59 
99 

156 
20 


105-109 
13,14,34-56 
16 
43,44 

37-43 

32-34 


71 

74-76,  80,  81 

09 

70.71 


172 

051,  652 

706 

250 

449 

872 

193.  mi 

305 

528 

614,  615 

526 

489,490 

B29,  B30 

017 

0B 


714,715,775 
'89 


164 
630 
248,  249 
433 
868 
182 
352 
524 
606 
515 
571 
814 
1X2 


17 

38-41 

21 

523-526 
01 

451-526 

11 

763-767 

23,  24,  44-66 

282 

309,  310 

695-701 

690-692 


789 


Space  between  ridges  in  cotton-planting  in 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida  

Georgia 

[ndian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina. 

South  Carolina . 

Tennessee 

Texas .. 

Virginia 

Spanish  hmd  measure  in  Texas 

Special  agents  appointed  for  the  several  states  (Gen- 
eral Discussion). 

Springs  on  the  plains  of  Texas — 

Stanislaus  river,  California,  irrigating  facilities  of  .  - 
Staple  ami  soil,  effects  of  Bkare  system  on,  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indiau  territory  . 

Louisiana    ..." 

Mississippi  .. , 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carol iua 

Tennessee , 

Texas  

Virginia 

State  of  Arkansas  naturally  in  two  divisions  both  as- 
regards  topography  and  distribution  of  negro 
and  white  population. 
States,  area,  population,  and  cotton  production  of 

(General  Discussion). 
Statistics  and  dieonsaion  of  cotton  production  in  the 

United  States  (Goneral  Discussion)  — 

Statistics  of  South  Carolina,  detailed: 

Coast  region 

Lower  pine  belt   

Mctamorphic  region  

Piedmont  region 

Red-hills  region  

Sand-hills  region 

Upper  pine  belt 

Stone    mountain,    Georgia,    elevation    of,    and    area 

occupied  by. 
Storing  cotton,  charges  for,  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas  

Florida 

Georgia 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 


I 'age 

-     of  special 

3    .     report. 


Missouri . 
North  Carolina  - 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 


Storms  in  California  rarely  accompanied  by  thunder 
and  lightning. 

Stout,  W.  C,  of  Arkansas,  abstract  of  letter  from 
regarding  uses  of  cottonseed  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 

Stratified  Drift  formation  in: 


Alabama 


Florida 

Louisiana. .. 
Mississippi . 
Texas 


Straw  of  long-leaf  pine  in  Mississippi,  analyses  and 
use  of. 

Streams  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  California,  chan- 
nels and  caDons  of. 

Strength  of  cotton  fiber  from  different  soils,  remarks 
on  (General  Discussion). 

Sub-Carboniferous  formation  in: 


General 
folio 
(a1  bottom    4 
nt  page? 


1611 

■132 

29 

807 

7H 

181 

119 

351 

2(1 

521 

71 

hoi, 

-5H 

511-514 

99 

«1 

155 

K13 

10 

1141 

■IS 

708 

.  vi 

11,12 

155,  1511 

la.-, 

70.71 

172.173 

31 

83,84 


161 
21 


25,38,42, 
80,84,08, 

105-148 

11,11,44 

10 

12 


Alabama  . 
Arkansas . 


21 
24,  25 
43,44 

47 

32 

35,  36 

29,30 

30,36 


150 
107 

71 
174 

85 
155 

28 

78 
105 
162 


105,  166 

641 

250, 251 

438,  439 

869 

185,  im 

356 

526 
0119 
518-522 
476 
HID 
043 
54* 


177 
480,481 

409,  ." 

503 

48R 

491,492 

485, 480 

290,  302 


160 
643 
251 
410 
187 
357 
520 
010 


820 
643 


35,48,52.90, 

94,108,115- 

158 

191,191,224 
112 
214 
079 


f  17,18,23, 
I  25,28.95, 
1  97,  100- 
{  109,115 
11,33.35 


204. 


27,  28.  33,  35, 

38,105,107, 

110-119. 

•     125 

547,509,571 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


841 


Sab-Carboniferous  formation  in— continued. 


Georgia 

Tennessee  . 


Sub-Carboniferous  sandstone  in  Arkansas,  outcrops  of. 
Subsoiling,  and  implements  used  in,  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia...,.   

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 


Subsoils  and  soils,  analyses  and  descriptions  of,  in  : 
Alabama 


California. 
Florida 


Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee). 
Louisiana 


Mississippi 

North  Carolina.. 
South  Carolina.. 
Tennessee 


Texas 

Subsoils,  character  of,  in  : 


Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory  . 

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina  . . 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia 


I 


Sugar-beet  lands  of  the  Pajaro  river  in  California 

Sugar-bowl  region  of  Texas,  area  and  description  of. 
Sugar-cane,  acreage  and  production  of,  in  : 

Florida , 

Louisiana 

Sugar-cane,  cottonseed  as  a  manure  for   (General 

Discussion.) 
Sugar-cane.,  precedence  of,  among  the  crops  of  lower 

Louisiana  (General  Discussion). 
Sugar,  production  of,  in  Texas 


Sulphur-bed  of  Calcasieu  parish,  Louisiana 

Sulphur  springs  in  Florida,  occurrence  of 

Sulphuric  acid,    remarks  on  presence  of,    in    soils 
(General  Discussion). 

Summary  of  answers  to  schedule  questions  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas , 

Florida 

Georgia  , 

Indian  territory 


Louisiana  . 

Mississippi 

Missouri. 
North  Carolina  . 
South  Carolina. . 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia    


Summers  usually  very  dry  in  California 

Summit  region  of  the  water-shed  of  Tennessee,  exo 
tent  and  character  of. 

Sunk  land  of  tlie  Mississippi  alluvial  region  of  Ark- 
ansas. 

Supplies  raised  at  borne  or  imported  in  : 

Alabama. 


Page 


General 

"S1  t& 


Ark 
Florida  ... 

Georgia 

Indian  terri 
Louisiana . 
Mississippi 

Missouri I 

North  Carolina |  LT 

South  Caj olina  I  n 


IG3 

29 
77 
147 
711 
51-58 
07 
153 
10 

16-56, 

71-74 

14-38, 

42-16 

18-81 

15-28,  34 

25-53, 

64-66 

10-17 

112 

13-31,  40 

15-71, 

80-83 

14-20,  24 

15-48 

16-30,  43 

24-47, 


78-148 
40-94 
37-63 

70-158 
21-25 
43-73 

88-143 
15-18 
30-64 
48-92 

60-148 

12-14 

113 

44-16 


4 
5,6 


45, 108, 
112,  114 


153-150 

97-108 

67-71 

163-170 

29-31 

77-85 

147-155 

25-28 

73-78 

51-66 

97-105 

153-163 

19-21 

13 

21-23, 
63-69 


77 
62-05 


404 

573 


429 

807 
179 
349 
605 
507-514 
469 
811 
641 


26-66, 

81-84 

550-574, 

578-582 

076-739 

195-208,  214 

291-319. 

330-332 

848-855 

484 

115-133, 142 

217-273, 

282-285 

546-552,  556 

471-504 

386-411,415 

682-705. 

710-713 

88-158 

585-630 
217-243 
336-124 
659-803 
145-175 
290-345 
513-516 
562-596 
420-464 
71S-S06 
634-636 

771 

702-704 


184 
107, 108 


703,  766. 

770,  772 

112 

195 

78 


163-166 
633-644 
247-251 
429-442 
667-869 
179-187 
349-357 
523-526 
605-610 
507-522 
469-477 
811-821 
641-643 
671 

303-395, 
435-441 


165 

640 
250 
436 
869 
185 


Supplies  raised  at  home  or  imported  in— continued 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Surface  and  physical  features,  general,  of: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee) 


Louisiana . 
Mississippi  ... 

Missouri 

North  Carolina . . 
South  Carolina.. 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 


Surprise  valley,  California,  description  of 

Surveys  and  measurements  of  land  in  Texas  

Swamp  lands  in : 

Florida,  area  and  character  of 

Missouri,  character  and  timber  of 

South  Carolina,  lower  pine  belt  of,  area  and 
character  of. 

South  Carolina,  upper  pine  belt  of,  area,  de- 
scription, and  analyses  of. 
Swamp  muck,  analysis  of,  in: 


Alabama  . 
Georgia... 


Sweet  potatoes,  acreage  and  production  of,  in: 


Alabama    

Florida  

Georgia 

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

North  Carolina  . 
South  Carolina  . 

Texas  

Virginia 


System  of  farming,  labor,  and  size  of  farms  in  : 

Alabama  

Arkansas . . 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory  

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri  

North  Carolina   

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 


Table-land  of  the  Warrior  coal-field  of  Alabama I  LI 

Table-lands  and  mountains  of  Alabama,  general  de-  '  II 

scription  of. 
Table-lands  north  of  Arkansas  river,  flat  character  of.     I 
Table-lands  of  the  oak,  hickory,  and  long-leaf  pine     II 

region  of  Alabama. 
Table  showing: 

Approximate  area   and    cotton  production  of  |  I 
each  agricultural  region   (General  Discus- 
sion). 

Composition  of  greensand.8.  greensand  marls,  ]  H 
shell  marls,  and  limestones  of  Alabama. 

Counties  in  each  state  having  the  highest  cot-     I 
ton  production  (General  Discussion). 

Elevations    and    temperatures    at     different     II 
points  of  the  state  of  California. 

Meteorological  observations  at  Charleston, 
South  Carolina,  from  1752  to  1880. 

The  possible  oil-mill  products  from  the  cotton- 
seed production  of  1670,  and  their  market 
and  manure  values  (General  Discussion). 

The  relative  si/.,- of  farms  nnd  the  number  of 
work-stock  to  cotton  production  in  South 
Carolina. 

Total  population,  rilled  land,  and  cotton  pro- 
duction  in  each  cotton  *tat*  (General  Dis- 
enssioa). 


II 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


43, 103 
161 
21 


0-14 

9-12 

7-18 

7-15 

11-19 

7-0 

111,112 

7-11 

9-13 

7,8 

9-12 

7-13 

11-14 

13-22 

7,8 

62, 122 


27,36 
10 
23 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


5,6 
i 
6-8 
5,6 
5,6 
5,6 
4 
7-10 


155, 156 

104-108 

70,71 

172-176 

31 

83-85 

i,  153-155 

27,  28 

76-78 

60-66 

103-105 

160-163 

21 


17 
49 


415.475 

sio- 


19-24 
545-548 
665-076 
187-195 
277-285 
845-847 
483,464 
109-113 
211-215 
505,  506 

:,  n-,-,14 

403-460 
383-386 
071-680 
089,  630 


720,' 


20 
10 


31 
42,43 


,216 
508 
479 


79,80 
327 


15,16 

184 

272-274- 

107, 108 

207*206 

537.  536 

460 

665-668 

625 


165, 166 
640-644 
250,  251 
438-442 

869 
185-187 
280,  355-357 
525,  526 
608-010 
516-522 
475-477 
648-8S1 

643 


567 
52,53 


84 
17 


842 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


Table  showing  acreage  and  production  of  leading 

crops  in : 

Alabama 

A  rkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Kentucky  (in  lioport  on  Tennessee)  

Louisiana 

M  ississippi  

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tenncsseo 

Virginia 

Table  showing  area,  population,  tilled  laud,  and  cot- 
ton production,  by  counties,  in: 

Alabama  

A  rkansas 

California  (no  cotton  production  reported) 

Florida 

Indian  territory 

Kentucky  (in  Keport  on  Tennessee) 

Louisiana 

M  ississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

Smith  Carolina 

Tennessee  

Texas 

Virginia 

'Table    snowing  counties  ranking  highest  in  cotton 

production  and  product  per  acre  in 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

North  Carolina 

Tennessee  

Virginia 

Table  showing  humus  and  its  available  inorganic 
matter  in: 

Alabama  

California  

Georgia  

Indian  territory 

M  ississippi  

Texas  

Table  showing  population  and  cotton  production  in 
each  agricultural  region  in: 

Alabama   

Arkansas 

Florida  

Georgia  

Indian  territory  (cotton  production  not  given) 

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee) 

Louisiana     

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Tables  (general)  of  analyses  of  soils  and  subsoils 
in 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

M  i  ssissippi 

Ninth  Carolina  

South  Carolina 

Tennessee .* 

IV  VIS  

Tables  of: 

Cotton-fiber  measurement,  explanation  of 
(General  Discussion). 

Cotton-fiber  measurement  for  states  placed  in 
alphabetical  order,  and  showing  soils  upon 
which  the  cotton  was  grown  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 

Elevations  and  averages  of  rainfall  in  different 
parts  of  the  state  of  California 


Page 
of  special 


5,0 
5,0 
3,4 
4 
0-8 
3 
110 
.5,0 
5,0 


5,0 

4 

5-8 

7-10 

3 


3,4 
3,4 
3,4 

3 
3-5 

3 
109 
3,4 
3,4 
3,4 
3,4 

8 
3-8 
3-0 

3 


17 


60 

30,40 

•J9-31 

54-57 

3.  2J-25 

111 

32-35 

72-70 

3 

21.  22 

;5,36, 

38,  40 

49,  51) 

10 


71-74 

42-40 

79-81 

34 

64-66 

17 

40 

80-83 

25 

48 

4t 

52-55 


13 
14-35 


41  I 
50 

10 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


15,10 
Ml,  542 
001,  662 

184 
272-274 

S41 

482 
107,108 
207.  208 

502 
537,  538 

400 
377-380 
005-66K 

025 


13,14 
539,  540 
061,  662 

183 
200-271 

Ml 

481 
105, 100 
205,  200 
501,502 
535,  530 

459 
375-380 
001-604 

625 


70 
576 
200 

321-323 
135 
274 
553 
413 
708 
032 


74 

84 

82 

740 

(ill 

332 

17 

855 

-83 

282-285 

55 

713 

70 
575,  57C 
209-211 
320-323 

841,859-863 

483 

134-137 

274-278 

501 

553,  554 

3*9,  397,  408, 

41(1,412 

707,  708 

C32 


81-84 

578-582 

737-739 
214 

330-332 
855 
142 

282-285 
557 
504 
416 

710-713 


25 

2G-47 


Tables  of— enntinued. 

Geological  formations,  litholngical  groups,  mid 
thickness  of  bids  cast  and  west  of  Taylor's 
ridge  in  Georgia. 

Periodicity  and  probabilities  of  rainfall  in  Cali- 
fornia. 
Tabulated  results  of  (In-  enumeration  in  : 

Alalia  ma  

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia 

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee) 

Louisiana 

Mississippi    

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas    

Virginia 

Talc  slate  in  Smith  Carolina,  occurrence  of   I 

Talus  binds  of  the  great  valley  region  in  California 
Tampa,  Florida: 

Average  temporature  of 

Occurrence  of  limestone  at 

Tanks  for  water  supply  of  Texas 

Temperature,  irregularity  of  equal  lines  of,  in  Ala- 
bama, and  to  what  due. 
Temperature  of  different  parts  of: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri  

North  Carolina 

Smith  Carolina ' 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Temperatures,    comparison    between     the,    of    the 

California  aud  Atlantic  coasts. 
Tennessee: 

Area,  population,  tilled  land,  cotton  production, 
rank  among  the  states,  and  banner  counties 
of  (General  Discussion). 
Cotton   fiber,  measurements  of  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 
Possible  cottonseed-oil  mill  products  of,  from 
the  crop  of  1879,  and  their  market  and  manure 
valuations  (General  Discussion). 
Regions  of,  devoted  to  cotton  culture,  and  a  , 
discussion  of  its  rank  among  t lie  cotton  states 
(General  Discussion). 
Special    agent    appointed     for    (General    Dis- 
cussion). 
Tennessee  and  Kentucky : 

Index  to  Report  on 

lieport  on  Cotton  Production  in  the  States  of, 
by  Professor  James  M.  Safford. 
Tennessee  basin  in  Georgia,  area  and  description  of. 
Tennessee  river : 

Description  of 

In  Alabama,  drainage  system  of 

"Western  valley  of  the,  in  Alabama,  area,  eleva- 
tion, extent,  and  character  of 
Tennessee  Valley  region  of  Alabama; 

Area  and  geological  and  general  features  of  . . . 

Cotton  production  in  

Cotton  product  per  acre  and  its  relation  to 
population  in. 

Tepajaque  tree,  occurrence  of,  in  Texas 

Terrace  along  the  slopes  of  the  Cumberland  table 

lands  in  Tennessee. 
Terrace  lands   peculiar  only   to   the    livers   whose 
sources  arc  in  the  Llano  Estacado.  Texas. 


t 

Si 

Page 

Of  special 

report. 

General 
«    folio 
(at  bottom 

of  page) 

II 

II 

II 

•   1 

II 

It 
1-0 

a 

289 

072 

11-1(1 
537-542 
059  002 

1-4 

1-8 

loo,  no 


28,  29 
49 


113-119 
-V,  1-119 


II 

28-34 

II 

61 

n 

63 

i 

33 

i 

36 

181-184 

267-274 
481.482 


I-H 
-10 
1-3 

373-38(1 
050-008 
623-025 

10 

■liiii 

18 

676 

187 

10 

100 

30 

691 

11 

10.  11 

20  21 

1 

10 

540 

11 

0-11 

007-669 

11 

7 

187 

II 

11.20 

277,386 

1 

8 

846 

1 
1 

0 

111 
211 

1 

7 

505 

II 

10 

542 

II 

10-40 

472-502 

1 

12 

384 

1 

15 

673 

11 

8 

c::o 

10,41 
61 


485-191 
367-491 


I 

70 

4-12 

n 

» 

19 

i 

23-25 

395-397 

691 
408 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION 


843 


Terraces  along  the  rivers  in  North  Carolina 
Terraces  of : 

Alabama  river  in  Alabama 

Coosa  river  in  Alabama 


Georgia  coast !  II 


Pago      '     G™,c.ral 
rcP01t-         of  page). 


Great  valloy  iu  California 

Pajai'o  river,  Califoftia 

Santa  Barbara  coast  in  California 

Southern  Alabama,  tablelands  of 

Tennessee  river  in  Alabama 

Tennessee  Valley  region  iu  Alabama 

Virginia  coast 

Warrior  River  valley  in  Alabama 

Tertiary-Eocene  fossils,  tine  locality  for,  iu  Caldwell 

OOUDty,  Texas. 
Tertiary  formation,  occinreuce  of,  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California  

Florida ■- 

Georgia 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

North  Carolina    . . 

South  Carolina  

Texas 

Virginia 

Tertiary  fossiliferouB  limestones  iu  Navarro  county, 
Texas. 

Tertiary  fossiliferous  rocks,  iu  Texas 

Tertiary  b  ills  on  eastern  border  of  the  central  prairie 
region  of  Texas. 

Tertiary  iron-ore  hills,  location  of,  in  Texas 

Tertiary  marls,  occurrence  of,  iu  Virginia 

Tertiary  mails  of  Alabama ,  character  and  analyses  of 
Tertiary,  occurrence  of  beds  of,  below  Eagle  pass, 
Texas. 

Tertiary  sandstone  of  Red  river,  Louisiana 

"Texas : 

Area, population,  tilled  land,  cotton  production, 
rank  among  the  states,  and  banner  couuties 
of  (General  Discussion). 
Areas  of,  devoted  to  cotton  culture,  and  discus- 
sion regarding  its  rauk  among  the  cotton 
states  (General  Discussion). 
Comparison  of  cotton  liber  grown  on  different 

soils  in  (General  Discussion). 
Cotton  fiber,  measurements  of   (General  Dis- 
cussion). 

Index  to  Report  on 

Opportunities  offered  for  a  selection  of  fair  and 
representative  cotton  samples  for  liber  meas- 
urement in  (General Discussion). 
Possible  cottonseed-oil  mill  products  of,  from 
the  crop  of  1879,  and  their  market  and  ma- 
nure valuations  (General  Discussion). 
Report  on  Cotton  Production  in  the  State  of,  by 

Dr.  R.  H.  Loughridge. 
Special  agenl    appointed  lor  (General  Discus- 
sion). 

Thermal  belts  of  the  coast  region,  California 

Thinning  oiflt  cotton-plants;  how  far  apart,  and  time 
Of,  iu: 


Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia  

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri.  

North  Carolina    . 
South  Carolina  . . 

Tennessee  

Texas 

Virginia 


18,  20 

124, 120 

.54 

15,10,49, 

51,  53, 

157,  158 

8 

112 

48,115 

42 

101-104 

28 

119, 120 
133 


34,  35, 

133-148 

11 

8,33 

10-15 

14-lli 

10,28 

12 

11 

10,11 

31 


550,  552 


281,282,315, 

317,319,423, 

424 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


20 

16 


105-173 
37,38 


11,34, 
40,110 


154 
100 
75 
68 
107 
29 
79,80 
150 
20 
74 
55-58  I 
99  I 


770 

708,  773 

52 

111-114 

38 

629 

129, 130 

791 


44,  45, 
143-158 

547 
666.  601 
190-195 
280-282 
112,130 

214 

513 
406,  407 

679 


156 

19  I 


631 

77-79 
678 

118 

17 


50 
40^13 


823-831 
49,50 


053-831 
11 


669,  692, 
704,  768 


164 
636 
633 
248 
433 
807 

181, 182 
352 
524 
606 

511-514 
471 
814 
641 


Thunder  storms  in: 

Alabama II 

Louisiana I 

Texas I  I 

Tides  in  South  Carolina,  rise  and  fall  of I  II 

Tide-water  bayous,  silt  deposit  of  (General  Discus-  I 

sion). 
Tide-water  region  of: 

Georgia,  character  and  analysis  of  soils  of j  II 

Louisiana,  description  and  roll  on  production  of  I 

Virginia,  area  anil  description  of IT 

Ties  used  in  balms  ^a- 

Alabama j  II 

Arkansas '. I  1    ' 

Florid* i  II  j 

Georgia  ]  II  ] 

Indian  territory |  I    i 

Louisiana .  I 

Mississippi I 

Missouri I    ' 

North  Carolina II 


Soutli  Carolina. . 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia 

Tillage,  deptli  of,  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California. 


II 

I 

I1!! 

ii  i 
"i 

Florida '  II 

Georgia II 

Indian  territory I 

Louisiana  '. I 

Mississippi I 

Missouri I 

North  Carolina II 

South  Carolina >  II 

Tennessee '  I 

Texas I  I 

Virginia II  , 

Tillage,  improvements,  etc,  details  of,  in  : 

Alabama II 

Arkansas I 

Florida  II 

Georgia  II 

Indian  territory I 

Louisiana I 

Mississippi I 

Missouri  I 

North  Carolina II  I 

South  Carolina Ill 

Tennessee I 

Texas I  1 

Virginia I  II 

Tillage,  results  of  imperfect,  in  Mississippi I 

Tilled  lands,  cotton  acreage,  population,  and  area.  ' 
by  counties,  in  : 

Alabama  j  II 

Arkansas I    j 

California  (no  cotton  production  reported* I  II  i 

Florida II 


Georgii 

Indian  territory 

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee)  . 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina  

Sooth  Carolina 

Tennessee . 

Texas 

Virginia 


Tilled  lands  in  South  Carolina,  statistics  regarding. . 
Tilling  qualities,  character,  and  productiveness  of 
soils  (sec  detailed  indexes)  in : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

Georgia   . . ., 

Indian  territory 


Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 
South  Carolina. 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia II 

Timber  an  indication  of  character  of  lands  in  Mis-  '    I 

sissippi. 
Timber  growth: 

As  indicative  of  the  character  of  soils  (General      I 

Discussion). 


19-21, 
34,35 


102 
69 

58, 170 
30 
81 
152 
27 
75 
58 
102 
158 
20 


153 
97 


163 
29 

77 
147 

25 

73 
51-54 

97 
153 

19 


153, 154 

97-99 

67 

103-166 

211 

77-79 

147-149 

25 

73  ! 

51-54 

97,98 

153,154 

10 


102 
IK 

130,  137 

70 

183 

34 

91,92 

163 

30 

82,83 

70 

117,118 

171,  172 


General 

folio 

(flt  bottom 

of  page). 


1H 
674 


472 

88 


121-123, 
136,  137 


165 
638 
249 

324,  436 
868 
183 
354 
525 
607 
514 
474 
816 


163 
633 
733 
247 
429 
867 
179 
349 
521 
605 
-510 
409 
811 


163,104 
633-035 

247 
429-432 

Kli7 
179-lsl 
349-351 

523 

605 
507-510 
409,  470 
81 1,  812 

041 


279 


3,4 

13,  14 

3,4 

539,  540 

3,4 

031,062 

3 

183 

3-5 

269-271 

2 

811 

109 

481 

3,4 

105,106 

3,4 

205,  206 

3,4 

501.  502 

3,4 

535,  536 

3 

459 

3-K 

375-380 

3-0 

661-604 

3 

025 

651 

794,  795 

250 

149 

872 

193,  194 

365 

528 

614,015 

526 

480,  490 

820,  630 

047 

229 


844 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


Timber  growth — tuD tinned. 

Influenced  by  presence  of  limo  in  the  GOil  (Gen- 
. nil  Discussion). 
Timber  growth  of  (see  also  original  descriptions) : 

Alluvial  hinds  of  the  central  cotton  lull    in 

Georgia. 
Alluvial  in  seaboard  region  of  Virginia 

Arkansas 

Barrens  region  of  Missouri 

Bay  region,  California 

Brown  loam  lands  in  Florida 

i  .ill  (Minis  soils  (General  Discussion) 

Col  ton  region  of  Missouri 

Foot-hills,  California 

Gray  sandy  motamorphio  lands  in  Georgia  . . . 

Long-leaf  pine  region  in  North  Carolina 

Long-leaf  pine  ridge  lands  in  Florida 

Lower  pine  hilt  of  South  Carolina 

Mel  amorphic  legion  of  Georgia 

Metamorphic region  of  South  Carolina 

Mississippi  alluvial  region  of  Missouri 

Missouri 

<  )ak  uplands  region  of  North  Carolina 

Oak  uplands  region  of  Virginia 

Piedmont  region  of  South  Carolina 

Bond  tegion  of  southern  Georgia 

Red-hills  region  of  South  Carolina 

Red  linn-  lands  in  Florida 

Red  metamorphic  lands  iu  Georgia 

Sand-  anil  pine-hills  region  in  Georgia  

Sand-hills  region  of  South  Carolina 

Sandy  oak  and  pine  ridges  of  Virginia    

Seaboard  region  in  North  Carolina 

Sea  islands  in  North  Carolina 

Siena  Nevada  Mountain  range,  California 

Soul heiii  region,  California 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Transmontane  region  in  North  Carolina 

Upper  pine  belt  of  South  Carolina 

Timbered  lauds  of: 

Missouri,  general  extent  of 

Streams  of  the  central  prairie  region  of  Texns 

'Limbered  region  of  Texas,  bottom  lands  of 

'Limbered  river  uplands  of  the  Indian  territory,  ex- 
tent, elevation  above  the  river,  timber,  soils, 
analyses,  and  cotton  production  of. 
Timbered  upland  region  of  Texas,  area,  extent,  and 

topography  of. 
'Lime,  length  of,  before  seed  comes  up,  in: 

Alabama  

Arkansas 

California 


Florida  . 


Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri  '.     

North  Carolina 

Sonth  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia 

Time  offirst  black  frost  in : 


Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory. 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri    ..   

North  Carolina. . 
South  Carolina. . 


Texas 

Virginia  . 


Page 

Of  special 

report. 


P.  n 
13-38 
10 
45 
18 
04 

n 

32,  33 
32 

15-17 
19 

211 

30,37 

IS 


114 

30 

17 

34 

39 

33 

9 

12 

13 

00,01 

37-39 

47-92 

15 

20 

20 


35,  30 
27,28 
.11.12 


75 
08 

107 


74 

55-58 


155 
19 


11,  154 
101 
08 
11,  20, 109 
30 
80 
10,151 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page}, 


030,  031 

549-574 

517 

7(13 

1(18 

70 

5H7 

690,091 

298 

547-549 

1911 

478 

295 

492,  493 

513 

500 

550 

031 

502 

410 

480 

197 

300 

305 

489 

031 

544 

545 

718,719 

695-697 

419-464 

073 

552 

482 

505 

C93,  694 

685,  080 

845,849,850 


104 
035 
733 
248 
433 
867 
181 
351 
524 
600 
511-5.14 
471 
813 
641 


75 
>  26,31,37, 
i  56, 58 
I  12.13, 
i  40, 100  i 
75,  157 

20  I 


Time  of  planting  cotton,  etc.,  in: 


Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida 

' ieorgia  

Indian  territory 

Louisiana  — ' 

Mississippi 

Missouri   

North  Carolina    

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia   

Time  of  planting  cotton  in  Moxico  (in  ltepnrt  on 

California). 
Time  of  thinning  out  cotton-plants,  and  bow  far  apart, 


Arkansas 

California 

Florida  . . . 


ngia . 


Indian  territory  I 

Louisiana I 

Mississippi I 

Missouri I 

Noii  ii  Carolina II 

South  Carolina II 

Tennessee 1 

Ce-xas I 

Virginia II 


Time  when  bolls  first  open  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas  - 


'  aiilornia II 


Florida  - 

1 rcorgia 

Indian  territory  

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri       

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Time  when  cotton  picking  begins  and  closes  in : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Florida •. 

Georgia , 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi  

Missouri 

North  Carolina  

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 


Time  when  hirst  cotton  blooms  appear  in: 

Alabama  II 

Arkansas I 

California II 

Florida    II 

Georgia H 

Indian  territory  i  I 

Louisiana '  I 

Mississippi I  I 

Missouri I  I 

North  Carolina j  II 

South  Carolina Lt 

Tennessee I 


21,164 
637 

24s 

277,  286,  435 

SOS 

182 

212,  353 

524 

607 

482,487,493, 

512,514 

384. 385. 

412.472 

7':::  815 

042 


Texas 

Virginia 

Tobacco  growing  increases  as  cotton  production  de- 
creases in  Tennessee. 
Tobacco  in : 

Alabama,  acreage  and  production  of 

Kentucky,  acreage  and  production  of 

North  Carolina,  acreage  and  production  of 

South  Carolina,  early  culture  and  method   of 
transportation  of. 

Virginia,  acreage  and  production  of 

Toll  required  for  ginning  cotton  in  : 

Arkansas 

Georgia 

Tombigbee  river  in  Alabama,  drainage  system  of 

Topographical  features  in  a  section  of  Texas  from 

the  coast  northwestward. 


Page 
el  *p<-<  ial 

report 


09 
100 

29 

79 
149 

20 

74 
21 ,  55  58 

99 
155 

19 


154 
100 

75 


79,  80 
150 
20 
74 
55-58 
69 
150 


General 

fo^O 

lat  bottom 
ol  page). 


154 

100 


108 
30 
80 

150 

20 

74 

55-58 

ion 

150 
20 


OS 
108,  170 


164 

035 
733 
249 
432 
SC7 
1SI 
351 
424 
OHO 
482,511-511 
471 
SI3 
S4I 

78! 


030 
7:::; 
248 
433 
867 
I8l,  182 


Ml 

1 51 


100 
157 


168 
30 
80 

150 

26 

74 

.15-58 

100 

156 
20 


9,10 
14 


471 


104 

030 
733 
248 
134 
60: 
182 
352 
524 
0(10 
511-514 
172 
814 


037 
733 
248 

42  1,4-12 
SOS 
182 
353 
524 
0117 

511-511 


815 


(J3H 

733 
248 
134 
868 
182 
352 
524 
000 
511-514 
472 
K14 
442 


5,6 

15,10 

110 

482 

5,6  | 

537,  538 

42  1 

496 

044 
441 

19.20 

072 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


845 


'Topography  of : 
Alabama. . 
Arkansas. 
California 

I'lmiila  ... 


l  territory 
ana 


Eodli 
Louii 

Mississippi 

Missouri. 

North  Carolina 
South  Carolina  . 
Tennessee  i 

texts 

Virginia 


'Topography  of  the  timbered  part  of  the  .state  of 
Texas. 

Trade  winds,  California 

Trail  ridge  in  Florida,  elevation,  extent,  and  lakes 
»f. 

Transmittal,  letter  of  (General  Discussion) 

Transmontane  and  valley  region  of  Virginia,  areas 

and  description  of. 
Transmontane  region  in  North  Carolina,  soils,  timber 

growth,  and  surface  features  of. 
Transportation  companies,  conditions  imposed  by. 
as  to  weight  of  bales  in  : 

Alabama. 

Arkansas , 

Florida  

Georgia 

Louisiana     

Mississippi 

\i: r 


Missouri . 

North  Carolina  . 
South  Carolina   . 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 


Transportation,  shipment,  and  freight  rates  in: 

Alabama , 

Arkansas - 

Florida 

Georgia. 


Indian  territory  . 
Louisiana 


Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

Tennesseo , 

Texas 

Virginia 

Trap-dike  in  Georgia,  occurrence  of 

Trap,  occurrence  of,  in  Texas 

Trappcau  lands  of  South  Carolina,   character  and 

analyses  of. 
Trappean  rocks  of  South  Carolina,  occurrence  and 

lands  of. 
Trap-rock  in  granite  masses  at  Tishomingo,  Indian 

territory. 
Trees  and  plants  characteristic  of  each  region  of  the 
state  of  Alabama. 

Trees  and  plant  s  in  Florida 

Trees  grow  as  if  planted  at  equal  distances  in  Ark- 
ansas. 
Trenton  and  Chazy  formations  in  Georgia,  lauds  de- 
rived from  the. 

Trenton  formation  iu  Alabama .1 


Page 


General 

'     (atSnu 
ill  page). 


14,15 
11.19 

7,8 

11 

11.39 

9,10 

7 

11.12, 

47-92 

13,14,23 


v,  VI 

7-9 


155 
102 
69 
170 
81 
152 
27 
75 
58 
102 
158 


75-148,  150 

(41,49-94, 

j  107 

69,71 

59,  67-158 

10 

43-73,  85 

(    87-143, 

(    151,  155 

15-21 

27-70.  78 

47-96,  105 

<      52,57- 

j    148,102 

11-15,21 

S      33, 34, 

j      97, 112 

17 

41,42 


in  Central   basin, 
.,  occurrence  of,  in 


Trenton   limestone,  thickness  of 
Tennessee. 

Triassic  and  Jurassic  formation 
Texas. 

Triassic  formation  in  Georgia,  remarks  on 

Triassic  sandstone,  occurrence  of,  in  Virginia 

Trinity  River  bluff,  section  of,  at  Rural  Shade,  Texas. 

Trinity  River  valley  lands  in  California,  character  ol 

Trough  of  the  central  prairie  and  Batwoods  region  of 
Alabama. 

Tulare  lake,  California  alkaline   character  of  the, 
waters  of.  \ 

Tnlare  plains,  California,  soils,  character,  and  analy- 
ses of. 


87 
25,26 


nS  17, 18, 20, 
"  I  (22,  23, 100 


74 
120 
6,46 


II    10,17,69,73 
H  |  27-30 


21-23,45,46 
545,  546 
665,  666 
194,196 

277,  285 
845,  846 

113 
213,211 

505 
541,  542 

463 

383,  384, 

419-464 

671,  072,  681 

029 

081 


606 

188,  232 


11, 12 

629-631 


165 

638 
249 
436 

183 
3.14 


514 
474 
810 
C42 


85-158, 166 

577,  585-630, 

043 

249,  251 

325,  333-424 

854 

145-175,187 

289-345. 

353,  357 

513-519 

559-002,  610 

419-404,477 

riO,  715-806, 

820 

633-637,  643 

299,  300, 

363,  378 

675 

497,  498 
466 
846 


216 
623 


27,28,30, 
32,  33,  1 10 

401 

076 

279 

630,631 

733 

778 

46.56 


<,      674. 075, 
I        727.  731 


Tulare  River  basiu,  California,  extent  of,  and  charac- 
ter of  its  streams. 

Tule  islands  of  Suisun  bay,  California 

Tub-  lands  of  California  : 

liay  country -. 

Extent  and  general  character  of 

Great  valley  region  in 

Well  adapted  to  cotton  culture 

Tuolumne  river,  California,  irrigating  facilities  of. . 
Tuolumne  Table  Mountain,  California,  nature  of  . . . 
Turned-out  lands,  proportion  of,  in : 

Alabama  

Arkansas ,   

Florida    

Georgia 

Louisiana 

•Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina •. 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia 

Turpentine  farms  in  Georgia 

Tuscaloosa,  Alabama,  analyses  of  soils  and  underly- 
ing beds  of. 

I!. 
Uuaka  Mountain  region,  Tennessee,  extent,  eleva- 
tion, and  character  of. 
University  of  Alabama,  analyses  of  soils  for  the 

Census  Office  made  in  the  laboratory  of. 
Up-country  division  of: 

Arkansas,  character  of 

South  Carolina,  extent  and  character  of 

Upland  agricultural  and  cotton  regions  of  Missouri, 
classes  of. 

Upland  of  Louisiana,  natural  divisions  of 

Upland  or  bench  soils  in  California,  character  and 

analyses  of. 
Upland  pine-woods  soil  of  Alabama,  analysis  of.  . . . 
Upper  pine  belt  of  South  Carolina: 

Analysis  of  soil  of 

Area,  width,  and  elevation  of 

Cultural  and  economic  details  of 

Surface    features    in    South   Carolina,    timber 
growth,  climate,  soils,  and  productions  of. 
Upper  Silurian  formation  of: 

Alabama 

Georgia 

Utah,  cotton  culture  in  (in  Report  on  California)  ... 

V. 

Vacavjlle  fruit  belt  in  California,  extent  and  charac- 
ter of. 
Valley  lands  of: 

Colorado  river,  in  Texas,  fertility  of 

Indian  territory,  timbered  region  of  the,  occu- 
pied by  the  Cherokee  nation. 

Northwest  Georgia 

Valley  of  California,  geological  history  of  the 

Valley  of  East  Tennessee : 

Extent  and  description  of 

Magnesiau  limestone  lands  of 

Ridge  and  cherty  lands  of 

Valley  of  t  he  Tennessee,  total  area  and  cotton  pro- 
duction of  (General  Discussion). 
Valley  or  bottom  lands  of  cane  hills  regions  in  Mis- 
sissippi. 
Valley  region  of : 

California,  extent  and  character  0    

Virginia,  area  of  the 

Valleys  of: 

Alabama 

California,  coast  region  of 

California,  eastern  slope  of  the  Sierra  Nevada 

mountains. 
California  foot-hills,  description  and  analyses 
of  soils  of. 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


52,  53,  56- 
59,  62-64 


17,20 
21,23 


19 

70,71 

36-39,  92 
38 
38 
4 

47,48 


10,17 
47-49, 
50,  57 
61,  62 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 


45 
30,31 

18 


75-148 
49-94 
38-60 

70-158 
44-73 

88-143 
15-18 
30-64 
51,52 
48-92 

60-148 
12-14 


681-683 

751 

783 
68B,  689 

070 


85-158 
5S5-630 
218-240 
330-424 
140-175 
290-345 
513-510 
502-596 
507,  508 
420-404 
718-8(10 
034-636 
313 


411,412,404 
11 


547 

463 

500,  507 


113 


(08,  509,  512- 
515,  518-520 


27,39 
287, 289 


696 
859 


408-411,  464 
410 
110 
16 


665 

629 


705-707, 
714,715 
719, 720 


846 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


Valleys  of — continued. 

East  Tennessee,  northwest  Georgia,  aud  Ala- 
bama, total  area-  and   cotton    production  of 
(General  Discussion). 
Missouri,  cottou  region  of,  depression  of,  below 
the  bills. 

North  Carolina,  transmontane  region  in 

Value  (market)  of  and  rcur  paid  for  land  in: 


Alabti 


Arkansas 

Florida 

<  reoi  gia 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina  . 
South  Carolina . . 

Tonnessee 

Texns 

Virginia    


Van's  Valley  soils  in  Georgia,  analyses  of. ., 

Variation  ami   periodicity  of  rainfall  in  California, 

remarks  on. 
Varieties  of  cottonseed  preferred  in  : 

Alabama     

Arkansas 

California      . .   - 

Florida 


II 
I 
II 
II 
I 
I 
I 
II 

n 
i 

i 
11 

ii 

ii 


Georg 


L'ltory 


Indian  terr 
Louisiana 

Mississini.i    

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

Variety,  amount  used  per  acre,  disposal,  and  price  of 
cottonseed,  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California  

Florida 


Georgii 

Indian  territory  , 

Louisiana     

Mississippi 

Missouri   

NorthJ  larolina  .. 
South  Carolina... 
Tennessee  —  ... 

Texas    

Virginia 


Variety  of  natural  features  a  characteristic  of  Ten- 

ness<  e. 
Vegetables,  production   of,   in    tive    nations  of  the 


Indian  te 

Vegetation  and  c 


iitory. 

ops  in  California,  effect  of  climate 

nd  of  the  Gulf  coast  in  Florida  .... 


upon. 

Vegetation  and  1; 
Vegetation  of: 

Marsh  lands  of  California 

Metamorphic  region  of  South  Carolina,  change 

in,  since  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. 

Vegetation  of  t be  brown-loam  prairie  region  of  Louis- 
iana. 

Vegetation  of  the  long-leaf  pine  region  of: 

Florida , 

Mississippi,  coast  marshes. 

Vegetation,    time  of  appearance  of,    in  northwest 

Georgia. 
Vera  Cru2,  Mexico,  cotton  culture  in  the  state  of  (in 

Report  on  California). 
Vicksburg group  (Tertiary)  in: 

Alabama , 


Florida 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Victoria  Peak,  Texas,  location  of 

Vineyards,  acreage  of,  by  counties,  in  California  . 


Page 

of  special 

report. 


156 
10G 

71 
174 

84 

154 

28, 162 

77 

60-66 

104 

162 

21 


General 
folio 

(at  bottom 
of  page). 


n 

134 

i 

08,00 

ii 

76 

ii 

67,68 

ii 

(     57, 58, 
i    165,  166 

i 

29 

i 

78,70 

i 

148,  149 

i 

25, 26 

ii 

73,  74 

ii 

52-  58 

i 

43,  98.  99 

i 

154,  155 

ii 

19 

154 

08,  99 

76 

67,68 

57,  58, 

165,  166 

20 

78,70 

148,  140 

25,26 

73,74 

52-58 

43,  08,  99 

154,  165 

19 


30,31 
36,37 


507 
552 


166 
642 
251 
44(1 
186 
356 

520,  609 
609 

515-522 

476 

•   820 

613 

203 


161 
034,  635 

734 
247,  248 
323,  324, 
4(11,432 

867 
180, 181 
350,351 
523.  52 1 
605,  600 
508-514 
5,470,471 
812.  813 

041 


164 
034,  6.15 

734 
247,  248 
323,  324, 
431,  432 

807 
ISO,  181 
350,  351 
523,  524 
605,  606 
508-514 
415,470,471 
812,  813 

641 

3S3 


688,  680 
402,  493 


22,23 

202,  203 

59.60, 
07,  68 

261,  262, 
209,  270 

n  i 
i 
i  I 

1  *  I 
ii 


34,35,52,    )  1(   a-  Rn 

148    $  ^  143~158 

10,11  190.191  ! 

10,28  i  112,130 

12,56  ,  214,258  j 

115  j  773 

3,4  '  661,662  ' 


Virginia : 

Area,  population,  tilledland,  cotton  production, 
rank  among  the  states,  and  banner  counties 
of  (General  Discussion). 

Cotion  fiber,  measurements  of  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 

Index  to  Report  on 

Possible  eottouseed-oil  mill  products  of,  from 
the  crop  of  1879,  and  their  market  and 
rnauure  valuations  (General  Discussion). 

Regions  of,  devoted  to  cotton  culture,  and  dis- 
cussion regarding  its  position  among  the 
cotton  states  (General  Discussion), 

Report  on  Cottou  Production  in  the  state  of,  by 
Professor  W.  C.  Ken-. 

Special  agent  appointed  for  (General  Discus- 
sion). 

Visalia  timbered  region,  California 

Volcanic  material  in  i  'aliloinia 

Volcanic  soil  in  California,  character  and  analysis  of. 

W. 

Wages  paid  in  the  working  of  phosphate  rock  in 

South  Carolina. 
Wages    paid    to,  and   condition   and    nationality    of, 
laborers  in  i 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California  

Floridn  

Georgia  

Indian  territory 

Louisiana  

Mississippi  ... 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas      

Virginia 

"Wages  paid  to  laborers 

California). 
Wages  system,  reasons  in  favor  of,  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia    

Indian  territory 

Louisiana      

Mississippi 

Missouri  . .     

North  Caioliua 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia    


Pace         Goth»»1 

of  special  .      '"''V 

report.  <flA*££" 
1  oj  pngv). 


Mexico  (in    Report    on 


Walker.  Francis  A.,  appointment  and  resignation  of, 
as  Superintendent  of  Census.  {See  title  page). 

Warrior  basin  of  Alabama,  extent,  and  character  of 

Warrior  coal-field  of  Alabama,  area  and  topographi- 
cal and  agricultural  features  of, 

Warrior  River  lands  of  Alabama,  character  and 
analyses  of. 

Warrior  river  of  Alabama,  drainage  system  of. 

Washing  of  soils  prevented  by  lmrizouializing  or 
hillside  ditching  in  i 


Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 
Louisiana     . . 
Mississippi 


Missouri I 

North  Carolina I  II 

South  Carolina I  U 

Tennessee      I 


Texas 

Virginia 

Washington  county,  Mississippi,  rank  of,  as  first 
among  the  counties  of  the  United  States  in 
total  cotton  production  (General  Discussion). 

Washington  territory,  auajyses  of  soils  of,  reference 
to  (General  Discussion). 


h\ 


k047 
61 


8,  33, 

58, 


966,  091 

716 


682 
710 


155,156 

104,  105 
130.131 


83,  M 

154 

27.  28 

77 

60  i  6 

13,  104 

101.102 

21 

130,  131 


156 
105 
71 
173 
31 
84 
154 
28 
11 
60-06 
104 
161 
21 


26,27 
26-28 


40,41,119 
0,10 


75-148 
40-94  ' 
38-60 

70-158 
22-25 
44-73 

88-143 
16-18 
30-fU 
52-54 
48-92 

60-148 
12-14 


165,  166 
040,641 
788,  780 
250,  251 
138,430 

800 

185,  1,-0 

350 

525.  526 

609 

516-522 

115,476 

810,620 

643 

768,  "80 


439 
800 
180 
356 
526 
609 
516-522 
470 
BID 
•'43 


30.37 
36-38 


.-5-158 
5a5-630 
21R-240 
336-424 
860-663 
146-175 
290-345 
514-516 
562-590 
506-510 
420-464 
718-800 
034-636 
19 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTON  PRODUCTION. 


847 


"Waste  lands  of  the  regions  of  Alabama,  plants  and 

grasses  of. 
Water-courses  of  the  bhifl'  or  plateau  region  of  Ten- 
nessee. 
Water  divide  of: 

Georgia  between  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf 

Northwest  Georgia,  remarks  on 

"Water-power  in  South  Carolina,  extent  of 

Water-shed  of : 

Atlantic  and    Gulf,  average  altitude,  ponds, 
and  lakes  of,  iu  Florida. 

Tennessee  river 

"Water  supply  and  rainfall  in  the  state  of  Texas 

"Water  supply  and  wells  of  the  upper  pine  bolt  of 

South  Carolina. 
Water  supply  of  Texas : 

Central  prairie  region 

Timbered  region 

Waters  of  the  Highland  rim,  Tennessee 

"Weather,  accidents  of,  as  affecting  cotton  crop  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia .... 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana  

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia     

"Web- worm,  occurrence  of,  iu  Texas  

"Weed,  running  to,  of  the  cotton  plant  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida- 

Georgia 

Indian  territory 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texa  s 

Virginia 

"Weeds,  shrubs,  and  trees;  occurrence  of,  in: 

Alabama 

Florida 

"Weeds,  troublesome,  as  affecting  cotton  culture  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Floiida  

Georgia 

Indian  territory  

Louisiana   

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina  

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia    , 

"Weighing  cotton  in : 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Weight  of  five  seeds,  with  the  lint,  from  different 

soils  (General  Discussion). 

"Weight,  usual,  of  a  bale  of  lint  in  : 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Florida 

Georgia 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia 

"Well  waters  of  the  Tertiary  in  Louisiana 

"West  Armucbee  valley  in  Georgia,  character  of 

"Western  Florida,  general  character  of  lands  of 

"Western  Texas,  area  and  description  of 

"Western  valley  of  the  Tennessee  river,  area,  eleva- 
tion, extent,  and  character  of. 


Page 

of  spe'cial 

report. 


General 

folio 

(at  bottom 

of  page). 

07 


282 

2SG 
489 


393 
674 
482 


694 
G81 
398 


Wheat,  acreage  and  production  of,  in  : 
Alabama. 


Arkansa: 

California 

Georgia 

Indian  territory ' 

Kentucky  (in  Report  on  Tennessee)  . 

Mississippi 

Missouri .         

Smith  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia  


135 

102,  103 

69,  70 

170,171 

30 


81,82 

183, 184 

152 

354 

27 

525 

76 

608 

59,60 

515,  516 

11)2 

474 

158,159 

S16,  817 

20 

642 

75-148 
49-04 
38-00 

67-158 
22-25 
44-73 

88-143 
15-18 
30-64 
59,60 
48-02 

60-148 
12-14 


75-148 
49-94 
36-00 

72-158 
22-25 
44-73 
78.  87-143 
15-18 
30-64 
57-60 
43,  69-74 

60-14S 
11-15 


105 
162 


TT 

155 

I 

102 

II 

30,69 

II 

170,  174 

T 

81 

1 

152 

I 

27 

II 

75 

r 

102 

i 

158 

ii 

20 

i 

10 

ii 

72 

n 

17,18 

i 

38 

i 

23-25 

85-158 
585-630 

218-240 
333-124 
860-803 
146-17o 
290-345 
513-516 
562-596 
515,  516 
420-461 
718-800 
034-636 


85-158 
585-630 
218-240 
338-424 
800-S63 
146-175 

280, 289-345 
513-516 
562-596 
513-516 

415,441-446 
718-806 
633-637 


Wheat,  soil  ingredients  withdrawn  by  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 

White  and  Inyo  mountains  in  California,  timber 
growth  of. 

White  and  post-oak  lands  of  Missouri,  character, 
timber,  and  cotton  yield  per  acre  of. 

White  land  of  Mississippi  alluvial  region 

White  marls  of  Georgia,  analyses  of 

White-oak  fiat  woods  of  Mississippi,  general  descrip- 
tion of. 

White  Oak  swamp  in  North  Carolina,  deseription  of 

White  population  of  Mississippi,  relations  of,  to  cot- 
ton culture  and  production. 
J  White  River  bottom  lands  of  Arkansas,  extent  and 
character  of. 

Wichita  Mountain  country  of  Indian  territory,  de- 
scription of;  rocks,  woodland,  water,  and 
soils  of. 

Width,  average,  of  alluvial  plain  of  the  Mississippi 
and  Red  rivers  in  Louisiana. 

Width  of  cotton  liber  from  different  soils,  remarks 
on  (General  Discussion). 

Width  of  the  state  of  Tennessee 

Williamson's  prairie,  Texas,  a  fossil  locality 

Wills'  valley,  Alabama,  area  and  geological  struc- 
ture of. 

Winds  in  Missouri,  general  observations  on 

Winds  of  the  desert  region  of  California 

Winds,  prevailing  currents  of.  in: 
Alabama 


California 

North  Carolina  - 


Wire-grass  in  Georgia,  nature  of 

Wire-grass  region  of  Georgia,  description  of. 
Wire-grass  soil  of: 


California  .. 
Texas 


477 
820 


165 

638 

210,249 

430,  440 
183 
354 
525 
G07 
474 
816 
642 

112 
338 


696 

395-397 


Woodland,  proportion  of,  in: 

Alabama 

Arkansas     

Florida 

Georgia 

Louisiana. 

Mississippi  

Missouri 

North  Carolina  

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia  

Wood's  bluff,  Alabama,  marls  from  . 


Work-stock  in  South  Carolina,  statistics  regardiug. 

Worm-proof  cotton  in  Texas,  remarks  on  and  expe- 
rience with. 

V. 

Tazoo  bottom  lands,  discussion  of,  as  regards  cotton 
production,  actual  and  possible  (General  Dis- 
cussion). 

Yazoo  bottom  of  Mississippi,  general  description  ) 
and  cotton  production  of.  ' 

Yellow-clay  soils  of  northwest  Georgia,  extent  and 
description  of. 

Yellow  fever,  appearance  of,  in  ; 

Coast  region  of  South  Carolina 

Southern  Louisiana 

Yellow-loam,  or  oak,  hickory,  and  nine  upland  region 
of  Arkansas,  area  and  general  description  of. 


Page 

uf  special 

report. 


5,6 
5,6 
3,4 
6-8 
3 
110 
5,6 


6-8 

7-10 

3 


18 

38 

24-35 


General 
folio 

(at  bottom 
of  page). 


133 

7-19 


47 
46-51 


77-147 
49-94 
35-63 

6T-158 
43-73 

87-143 
15-21 
27-70 
47-B0 

59-148 
13-16 


(  21,  24,  29, 

■  32,  35,  43, 

(  47 

155 


40,41, 
72,73 


10, 16 

541,  .542 

661,  662 

272-274 

841 

482 

207, 20B 

502 

460 

378-380 

665-668 

625 


241,  242. 

244,245 

312 


508 

27S 


553 

840 


383 

701 

27-29 

505 

756 

20 

666,  667 

543 

313 

312-317 


685.  686 
720 


87-157 
085-630 
215-243 
333-424 
145-175 
289-345 
513-519 
559-602 
419-162 
717-806 
635-638 


477,  480,  485, 

488,401,499, 

503 


242,  243, 

274,  275 

29) 


474 

140 


84: 


GENERAL  INDEX  TO  COTTOK   PRODUCTION. 


Yellow-loam  region  of 

Arkansas,  cottou  production  in I 

Mississippi,  Runeral  description,  soils,  and  cot-      I 
ton  production  of. 

Mississippi,  natural  fertilizers  of. I 

Yellow  or  brownish  loam  the  basis  and  subsoil*  of      I 

lands  of  Mississippi. 
Yellow  Bandy  soil  of  South  Carolina,  analyses  of. ...    II 


Pago 
t"  spei  i:il 
report, 

Genera] 

folio 

(;ii  bottom 

of  page) 

10 

5,0 

26-38,73 

228-240,275 

::- 

210 

12 

214 

23 

,,, 

Pago      ,,vn;:rjl 

of  special       ,  nlJV 
report      (i,,.L",tt°"1 


Yosemite  ralley,  California,  description  of 

Yuba  rirer,  California,  bottom  lands  of,  injured  by 
minin .  dfibris. 


/.. 


u^lodou,  remains  of  the 
Alabama 

Mississippi 


10! 


